Open Road to the West

[Jasper Holliday]

OOC: This thread takes place concurrently with Operation Corellian Run. Only PCs who are not occupied there and know the routes of Exegol can oppose. This is an intrigue thread.

The Bothan Spynet must be incredible to find the dirt that leads to a mission like this one. Aboard a G1-A starfighter running silent, Ranger Holliday and his companion had just double-checked all their gear for the task ahead. The fighter was rigged to self-destruct on command, vaporizing both navicomputer and the black box. No one in their right mind who knew about this would think Jazz didn't take his job seriously, general attitude aside. At least, assuming he lived. Best not to dwell on it.

They lay in wait along a secret little spacelane that lead to some kind of super secret Sith shipyard, the fighter's systems and engines set for a quiet approach on a transport they knew was coming in advance. Jazz may be a medic- and at this point had made great progress with his university classes and all that- but he was still a Ranger with experience from the syndicate war. And a man of Llanic. Sure he'd deny any criminal history or skill, but he had both criminal history and skill, which would probably come in handy. That, plus the collection of supporting droids stored in the ship.

"I ain't looking forward to this," he grumbled, making sure his Python was charged for the tenth time, then his BA-20C carbine. Only an insane person would be, frankly. At least they were getting hazard pay. Jasper moved the sling with slicing and other mission supplies next to himself and a duffel full of grenades and stared at the console. A couple more grenades were on a belt pouch, both concussive.

After a short while, the console started beeping. "There's our horse. Jamming." He flicked a switch, preventing outgoing Imperial distress signal frequencies- another sneaky little thing the Spynet had found out. Then the fighter moved surreptitiously through the void toward the transport in order to latch onto one of its docking rings undetected. "Let's be quick about this and get outta here."

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

Despite his relative silence, Darius couldn’t deny the nerves that swirled within him - manifesting the moment he was assigned to the mission, and through every minute of their journey. It was a testament to the skill of the Bothan Spynet that they’d come across the intel, and the Ranger knew precisely how much was on the line now. The success of their mission had the potential to devastate their enemy, and made it worth all the risks that were involved. “Yeah, me neither.” He said with a small sigh, reclining ever-so-slightly into his seat. The Ranger deliberately didn’t dwell on their odds of success, or the price of failure. It would be a death sentence, or something far worse for certain.

For the hundredth time, Darius did a brief check of his weapons - ensuring his pair of DL-44’s were charged and his rifle was prepped. He was far more accustomed to more open spaces where his Sharpshooter specialty could really shine - but was nevertheless prepared for whatever was to come.

“‘Bout damn time,” The Ranger rose to a stand, picking up his belt from the dashboard. A fusion cutter and trio of grenades - one smoke, one concussive, one thermal - were clipped in plain view. He let Jasper carry the high-tech equipment in the duffel bag, as Darius proceeded to pop a helmet over his face.

“Think Thorne’ll give us a medal if we pull this off?" He said almost hopefully. As a loyal fanclub member, the thought of being personally honored by the half-Sephi almost made Darius forget the personal risks involved. Almost. With his equipment secure and once Jasper had securely attached to the docking tube, Darius began to make his way towards the port - prepared to slip onto the Imperial transport to conduct the first stage of their attack.

 

[Jasper Holliday]

Jazz made a dismissive noise. "Yeah, sure. Not really doin' this for him though, are we?" Sith were known more for exploding things than diplomacy, whatever nerfshit their mouthpieces vomited out onto the galactic stage. Yeah fame, woo, cool, whatever. Jasper signed onto the Rangers to help people in ways he couldn't on Llanic and make a better future for himself. Less so for the personal approval of politicians, as much as a shiny medal would help with pay negotiations. Although a speech might be gratifying.

Well, time to get to work. "Stick to stun," he advised. Quieter and kept damage off the uniforms. "And if I die, destroy my hard drive." Quieter and kept damage off the uniforms. Consortium Rangers were well-funded and practically military. Rather than breaching loudly, they had a subtler solution to sealed airlocks. Jazz opened the starfighter's door and placed a small ion charge on the door. After stepping back and letting it short the door, he stepped forward with one of his favorite tools; the humble and compact fire axe stored on a rack by the docking tube.

"Stack up, eyes open," he barked, jamming it into the door gap and moving to the side to lever the door open while Darius kept watch. Less luck and more normal, there didn't appear to be anyone loitering next to the airlock once the door cracked open. Still, dragging it open wasn't silent so they needed to get moving. He left the fire axe wedged in the doorway with the handle on the Imperial side and stepped inside, raising his carbine.

"Hey, you hear that? Jim, you dragging a crate again!?" was shouted down the hall from somewhere, followed by the sound of footsteps. Two pairs of boots, no distinct clanking of plasteel armor. Crew, not security.

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

“Pft, ‘course not.” Darius said with a huff, brushing off Jasper’s implication that this was all being done for Thorne. That definitely wasn’t why the Ranger was doing it - duty to his nation, protecting his people and all that. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a genuine motivating factor, either.

“Figured,” Darius said, the comment followed up with a click of his pistols to stun. As much as he didn’t mind popping a few Imps, the Ranger knew that stun was quieter and more ethical. Not that the latter really mattered in the heat of open warfare.

He scowled a bit when Jasper mentioned what to do if he died. “You ain’t killin’ over anytime soon, so cut your shit.” Darius commented flatly. He wasn’t about to entertain any of that type of dialogue at that moment. Instead, he focused on the task ahead - drawing one of his pistols as he stepped through the wedged door. It was louder than he would’ve hoped - and his sapphire eyes immediately narrowed at the sound of voices up ahead.

He glanced back at Jasper, jaw set into a firm line. Darius lifted a hand and silently gestures two fingers towards the corners of the doorway up ahead, signaling the other Ranger to move out of immediate line of sight. Though the footsteps weren’t heavy and there wasn’t many of them, Darius wasn’t taking any chances by letting them be seen first.

Taking position around a corner, Darius waited for the footsteps to grow louder - pistol raises at chest level and tucked in, prepared for whatever was to come.

“Jim?—HMMPH!” A member of the crew stepped around the corner, glancing for his buddy for only a moment, before Darius’ gloved hand wrapped around his neck and covered his mouth. The Ranger yanked him around the corner and out of the hallway, while his other hand - and the pistol he carried - pressed into the man’s back. Before he could struggle or make much noise, Darius pulled the trigger - loosing a stun bolt directly into his lower back. It was more than enough to drop the dude - who Darius proceeded to drag into a corner of the room. He expected Jasper would like have no problems dealing with his own opponent.

“Hit the bridge?” He said quietly, voice echoing through their shared comm channel through barely a whisper.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Jasper Holliday]

He smirked at Belari's admonishment. "Nah. Might keel over, though." Then they went in. As the two crewmen came by and Darius grabbed one, Jazz thrust his carbine barrel into the other's throat and simultaneously pulled the trigger. Grasping the very stunned man's jacket Jazz pulled him behind cover and stored him with the first one. Both crewmen's comms and ID cards were removed and their hands were zip-tied to the nearest convenient surface.

Jasper let his carbine hang free on its sling and popped the back off one and stored the other. "Hit the bridge," he quietly agreed while pulling out the comm unit's encryption key and slotting it into his squad radio. Now the Rangers had listening privileges to the local ship comms network. After one more check of the empty hall, he stalked in that direction with carbine in hand. As they approached another hall junction, he nodded toward a cramped door on their left and swiped the crewman's ID.

The door hissed open and Jazz motioned for Darius to take point. They'd be taking the side passages closer to the bridge. Even though stun shots were quiet, that hinged on someone else not noticing them first or managing to fire back. Jazz preferred the approach that minimized that, and the two Rangers happened to know where they were going.

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

Darius deliberately didn’t linger for very long - moving right past the stunned crewmembers and down the hall. Despite the obvious risks of their operation, the Ranger knew they were working with some degree of advantage. Not only had they got undetected, but no one aboard the transport would reasonably suspect an attack. From what he understood, Exegol was a secret to even those in the Empire - and the possibility of attack wasn’t serious considered by much of anyone.

Moving right alongside Jasper, Darius kept his pistols drawn and at the ready - finger running parallel to the trigger. The ID card conveniently allowed them to bypass most of the more open and frequented hallways that ran towards the bridge, instead navigating the more cramped and corridors used by members of crew.

Fortunately, Darius and Jasper would find their route largely unmolested - with most members of security stationed around important equipment or main junctions.

All the same, the voices from up ahead were unmistakable.

“Gettin’ tired of these damn supply runs,” A voice echoed, accompanied with a huff and clear unamused edge. “Don’t even get coordinates of where we’re goin’ half the time.”

“It isn’t so bad,” Another voice replied. “The pay is good. And is beats being one of the poor bastards sent to Corellia.”

“Fair enough.”

 

[Jasper Holliday]

Jasper grimaced as the sound of voices echoed down the maintenance corridor. He figured the speakers must be around the corner up ahead where the cockpit was supposed to be since they couldn't see anyone just yet. His hand tapped Darius' left shoulder from behind, then grabbed the back of the other Ranger's armor and rose his carbine up in one hand. Typical entry tactic since they couldn't exactly flash and clear without alerting half the ship.

The intiial idea was they'd turn the corner as one close unit, Darius sweeping left for his target and Jazz working the right side. As the two of them edged forward, they'd see where the voices were coming from; a partially opened air vent cover. Through it they'd see the backs of the pilots, both chatting it up as the hyperdrive recharged for the next step of their journey to Exegol. Mostly the minimalistic visual was just helpful so they had some idea where the targets would be.

He let go of Darius' armor and tapped him on the right shoulder, scootching over toward the vent area with the intention of firing through it at the leftmost pilot. Jazz flashed him an 'OK' sign to let him know he was good to fire once Darius opened the door.

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

Truth be told, Darius was expecting more members of crew or security to round the corner at any second - and kept his blaster pistol raised high accordingly. The moment he spotted the air vent, however, the Ranger had to stifle a smirk. It was the perfect cover for one of them, and would allow one clean assassination while another bust through the door. It made their job - which had gone seamlessly thus far - all the easier.

Allowing Jasper to take position by the vent, Darius instead slinked his way towards the door - pressing his shoulder just outside the doorframe. He flashed Jasper an ‘OK’ sign and nod, signaling that he was prepared as well. Raising three fingers to the other ranger, Darius began a slow countdown - with each digit lowering after a moment ticked by. At the count of three, Darius reached over and slammed the bottom of his hand against the door panel - causing the durasteel barrier to hiss wide open.

The pilot on the right barely had time to react before Darius pulled the trigger of his pistol - sending a stun bolt hurtling into the center of his chest. He allowed Jasper to work his magic with the remaining pilot, knowing that the other Ranger had a clean shot.

The moment both pilots were downed, Darius slipped properly into the cockpit - moving to drag one of the men into an adjacent refresher - limbs zip-tied and mouthed taped to prevent any shouts or screams. With the close of a door, Darius turned towards the co-pilot’s chair, though not before making damn sure that the door leading into the cockpit was locked. Even if there was crew outside, they weren’t getting in - and would have no idea what was going on in the cockpit.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Jasper Holliday]

After clearing the transport's bridge crew and himself shooting one pilot, bits of Jasper's history on Llanic started coming out. He let the carbine drop, walked in, and turned to Darius. "Do we need the crew alive?" The pair of Rangers now had control of the bridge, but that wouldn't last if engineering turned their shit off. The crew were surprised, sure, but once they noticed something was up, the Sith had solid anti-boarding protocols.

Which the Rangers also knew about, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be a pain if they let them go through with it. However, "We could trigger emergency venting throughout the ship, clear it out. Our droids'll be fine." Jasper was not a nice man sometimes. On that note he slid into the co-pilot seat and started pulling out his various electronics, popping open a control panel to plug things in. Just like hotwiring a speeder. A really big, really expensive speeder.

The transport's hyperdrive was still going through its cooldown cycle, so they weren't going anywhere for a short while yet, but they'd need to figure out a way to secure the ship with the least chance of sabotage or disruption.

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

Darius was settling in for a nice, comfortable ride to Exegol - only for Jasper to mention the reach of the crew. The Ranger blinked a few times, considering the pros and cons of what his colleague was saying, regardless of whether it a ridiculously brutal tactic. After a moment, Darius offered a small shrug.

“I didn’t like this damn crew anyway,” He said simply.

Without much hesitation, the Ranger went about doing exactly as suggested. From the bridge, Darius had control over most of the functions of the ship - and it wasn’t particular difficult to find the controls that would vent the ship. It only took a moment of disabling safety protocols, ignoring a few high-pitched warnings, and slamming his fist against the console.

Within only a few seconds, the emergency venting within the shop opened to the expanse of space - beginning the process of emptying out the ship of its crew in the most horrific fashion possible. The multitude of droids, and the bridge alone, were completely unharmed by the procedure. With no one to stop them, it was kind of a matter of just.. Waiting for the crew to keel over.

“Nice of them to leave coordinates pre-set.”

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Jasper Holliday]

With his jaw firmly set, Ranger Holliday made no further comment on the Imperial crew as they died. Once the ship was cleared and beginning to recycle atmosphere, the supporting droid crew and soldiers who'd been folded up were activated and made their way to their stations.

"Squad Aurek and Bash online, standing by." As coordinates were already set, Jasper remotely detached the starfighter, allowing a basic astromech pilot to take it out and away. He hit a button, tapped a screen, and said, "Prepare for lightspeed." Pulling a lever, the transport shot forward on its road to the west.

-----
​

The transport boarded a docked Onager undergoing final procedures, flying casual and all procedures checked off properly. The massive flying gun would eventually be crewed and sent to burn more ships, turn worlds to ashes. Jasper had no love for shit like that, and he wasn't actually looking forward to what was coming. He was a medic. Suppose he'd just have to call it pre-emptive medicine.

Barely crewed at all, the rush of droids and a duo of ISC Rangers storming from the materiel transport took them completely by surprise. Darius would split to engineering with one squad while Jasper rushed to the bridge, access codes and security spikes making quick work of doors. A jamming beacon aboard the transport delayed any response, and frankly, Exegol just wasn't somewhere the Empire expected an attack.

Bursting onto a bridge solely occupied by maintenance droids and technicians testing systems, Jasper and Squad Aurek stunned them all. He and his droids took to the controls, scurrying around and occasionally referencing an instruction document. Thrusters would come to life, beginning to maneuver and sheering off bits of the connecting dock. Good thing it'd take a few minutes for Imperial fighters to scramble in response.

Jazz clicked his comms. "Darius, need those main gun arrays cycling, full power!" He turned to the droids, barking orders. "Ready shields. Hyperdrive?" "Primary unit inactive. Backup available." "Fuck it, ready escape vector." The droid buzzed a response, emotionlessly carrying out its orders.

"Target Exegol's main facility."

@Altaris

 

[Darius Belari]

Darius offered little commentary the last leg of the journey. He knew what they’d done to countless Imperial crewmembers, and while the Ranger didn’t feel particularly good about it.. It was his duty to the Consortium and would keep people at home safe. That is what the Ranger told himself, those final few minutes of Hyperspace travel.

By the time they began boarding the Onager, Darius didn’t have any time for such thoughts. Instead, he rushed with Jasper and their squadrons of droids - storming off the material transport and into the corridors of the freshly minted vessel. He had to admit - Imperial naval vessels were downright sexy.. If it weren’t for the totalitarian maniacs who decided where they went.

Except in this case, anyway.

With his squad, Darius deviated away from Jasper - carving a path through Imperial troopers and into the engineering bays of the Capital ship. He had the access codes needed to open doors, while crew and security alike were quickly dispatched by the Blackwell Droids. Stun bolts whizzed through the air, bodies dropped, and Darius made it to his destination without any real resistance.

“Roger that,” Darius commented back over the comms. Both the Ranger himself and his droids began working to bring main weapons arrays online, diverting power from nonessential functions and pushing it into shields, hyperdrive and weapons. They’d hit hard, hit fast, and get out of dodge before the Imps realized what was happening.

“Begin recording,” He issued the command over the comms, knowing the droids would be fully capable of recording the scene. Footage would be used against the Empire, exposing their secret facility and how it all went up in flames.

All that was left was to watch the fireworks.

 

[Jasper Holliday]

Jasper took a long, deep breath. Here he was, just some street rat from Llanic, standing on the bridge of a stolen Onager as part of an offensive mission against the Sith Empire. A sense of guilt threatened to edge in, and he could only imagine the faces of some friends if they knew. One white-haired doctor came to mind, as empathic as the man seemed to be to suffering.

Another breath, expression set. This was war, and they hadn't started this fight. But they would finish it. He spoke his command in somber tones, the eulogy to a funeral of thousands.

"Target locked." "Fire one."
​

Massive, oversized particle cannons rumbled with energy, focusing and compressing it until it exploded forward from the Onager's left barrel. A second later the blast would strike the primary Exegol complex in a blinding flash of light, cracking the diseased earth and scorching the entire structure and in-progress ships. Already unstable, the sudden massive detonation would collapse the stone beneath it, the entire thing falling into black, earthen pits that crackled with unnatural electricity.

From space, it just looked to Jasper like a really big explosion, with no hint of the death unleashed in an instant.

"Fire two."
​

Their orders said to make sure it was unrecoverable. The Onager's right barrel fired, and the resulting second impact made sure with extreme prejudice. After that second flash of light, nothing remained of the complex from top to bottom, nor anything in a massive radius around it. No life signs, no droids, no walls, no ships, nothing left but smoke and molten slag. Jasper slowly sat down in the bridge command chair, staring at the new crater, easily visible from space, that the Onager had left behind.

"Exit vector set," informed a droid, drawing his attention away. "Right. Demolish the drydock on on our way out." Following orders without question, two droids moved to the weapons console. As the stolen Onager banked to flee, two turbolaser turrets would unload cannon fire into the drydock facility, easily destroying the unshielded structure, the very last piece of the grand Sith shipyards on Exegol.

A few TIE fighters made a passing attempt to fire on Onager before it launched to hyperspace, backed up by a couple of patrolling Raider III, but they had no chance of punching through the shields. And now they didn't have any backup from the shipyard hangars. Shields flared but held easily enough.

"Prepare for lightspeed," Ranger Holliday warned flatly over comms. A few moments later, the Onager would shoot forward into hyperspace on its way to Consortium space. "Best set up the IFF beacon so we're not shot at," he said with a deep breath, then got up again to get started.

Jasper hoped they'd rename this ship the Last Resort, and that its use would follow its namesake.

//End Thread

@Altaris