[SAGA]: The Empty Throne [IC]

[RandomLunatic]

Rada sighed, activated his sound sponge so his footsteps would not give him away, and then proceeded up top the next level to find a vantage point to spy on the opposition without being spotted himself.

((Take 10 on Stealth=24))

[Noedig]

Spoiler: OOC

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apologies for brevity. reinjured my hand, slightly worse this time.

Rada

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The third floor is empty of hostiles, leading you to suspect that they are on the roof. These supsicions are confirmed as you catch sight of a parked LAAT/i, it's pilot and co-pilot currently snoozing after what looks like a serious bender judging by the numerous bottles all around them.

[RandomLunatic]

((Again? You really need to find a gig with fewer sharp object.))

Making sure to stay out of the cockpit's field of view, Rada cautiously approached the scene, giving both pilots a nudge with his foot to ensure they were out. Once he had that settled, he drew a blaster and cleared out the interior of the craft to ensure there was nobody else.

Once he was satisfied there was nobody to interfere, he dragged both pilots into the troop compartment and bound them. He only had one set of binder cuffs, so the other got some liquid cable. He made sure to secure both of them to a non-movable portion of the intyerior so that even if they came to, they would not able to cause problems. Only them did he disarm and de-comm the pair and go through their pockets in search of a flight plan or anything else that would help him pull off the masquerade he had in mind.

[Noedig]

Kradu

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The principles behind this weapon are rather elementary, just scaled up to massive size. The main hurdles with this type of weapon of this size and power are recoil, handled artfully in this case with a beautifully designed series of supporting honeycomb structures braced with shockabsorbers on the inside, and power consumption. This was handled messily, in your estimation, by relying on other ships as batteries. You can see what amounts to six massive power outlets, like to house the cables that ran from the dreadnoughts to this ship. The flaw in their design was made painfully evident when you transmitted whatever it was Mr. Ashe created into one their 'batteries.'

Your further investigations of the ship reveal a substantial amount war material that can salvaged, as well twenty four more of those strange, highly radioactive shells that you found on Thanos.

Rada

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Your search reveals no flight plan, but one of the pilots does start half awake and chuckle lightly as you pat him down.

"Stahhp. 'm ticklish."

He remains conscious, drunk and not fully understanding of his situation.

[Thundercracker]

Dr. Doran Kradu

Kradu commed Kang.

"Captain," Kradu said into his comlink, "we've completed our investigation of the ship. The weapon is not overly complicated in theory and I'm fairly sure we can replicate it or develop countermeasures against it given enough time. There is significant war materiel in the hangars which we could benefit from. I recommend sending over a few transports to bring it back to be catalogued. In addition, I have made a few other discoveries which I believe we should discuss in private."

Without waiting for a response, Kradu began issuing orders to the stormtroopers.

"We're heading back. Load up whatever is most valuable that we can carry on our transports, we'll send ships back for the rest," he said, "good work everyone."

While they are busy, Kradu inspects the warheads, looking for a similar timer as on the last batch they found. It wouldn't do to have them blow up in their faces. Once he is satisfied they are relatively safe, he finds a radiation proof crate to load them into for transport.

[ChronicLunacy]

Rear Admiral Andan Kang

"Doctor, this is Revenant-actual. Very good. Dispatching salvage teams immediately. Apologies for the inconvenience, but every effort will be spared on quarantine upon your return." the Admiral replied. He didn't want another plague like the one that had just killed his oldest comrade back at the Thanos Shipyards and likely at least several thousand more on the Interrogator. Whatever time they had to spend making sure of it, Kang was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

Meanwhile, the first orders had been sent to the gunnery stations for the beginning of the pinpoint planetary bombardments. It wasn't going to be a spectacular display, as they had to keep an eye out not to damage resources they were trying to get back, but between the Star Destroyers and their bomber flights, led by Commander Sandez, they would soon see very real destruction of enemy war materiel and troops. He made the order to begin dispatching cargo shuttles to the wreck of the Leviathan, wanting to get them off ship and on the way before the ground invasion of stormtrooper shock troops, speeders, and massive Imperial walkers started.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm sorry. It seems that Imageshack has been screwing with my avatar's image size...

[RandomLunatic]

Rada quickly deactivated the sponge, stole the flight helmet from the mumbler's co-pilot and donned it. Not a very convincing disguise, but fortunately his target was past "bombed" and in the realm of "Base Delta Zeroed". In the best drunken slur he could manage while suffering the handicap of sobriety, he said, "I'sh me. Head-headq-bayshe shaysh there'sh trouble in our sh-shector. Thing ish, I forgot what shector we have!" And then he laughed like a ninny.

((Still taking 10. 21 Deception.))

[Noedig]

Rada

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"Karked if I know. It's 'n t' bird. Lemme alone."

[RandomLunatic]

"Fine. Thanksh a load, pal."

So it was in the gunship's computer. It had been the next place he would have looked anyway. He headed up to the cockpit and checked the computer, hoping the craft was assigned near the central district so he could get a nice aerial view of his target.

[Noedig]

Rada

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The ship's computer is curiously empty of the information that you seek, and after a moment's confusion, you glance around and find a datapad.

Booting this up, you do indeed find the sector this craft (designation Mynock 4) is stationed in: this one. However, you also note that this craft is late for its routine maintenance check in Central district.

[RandomLunatic]

Leaving the helmet on to fool casual observation, Rada climbed into the pilot's seat, buckled in, and took off in the direction of central, keeping below the rooftops to thwart scanners.

But before he got too far, he had a better idea, and pulled up into a hover while he started to dial Vecta's comm. Then he realized she had been captured, and her comm could very well be compromised. As far as the Paladins knew, Colonel Tobias Ran did not exist, so he called him instead. "Hey, it's me. The girls with you? Good, put one of them on.

"Yeah, it's me. No, I haven't found the thing yet. What I did find was a carelessly parked gunship, which we now own free and clear of suspicion, so I have a new plan. I call it 'Air Raid'. I would need some gunners to pull it off."

[Noedig]

((DERP FORGOT TO POST YOUR STUFF))

Kradu

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There are in fact timers on the racks like you encountered before, but it looks like they've been fried by an Ion surge. This is convenient because there are 24 racks in total, and the explosion if they all went off at once would be cataclysmic.

They are transferred to the Revenant by hazmat teams, and the salvage operations begin in earnest. When you arrive back aboard your home ship, you find that nearly every fighter aboard is in a holding pattern, waiting for a go from the surface.

Rada

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As you near central, your comm crackles.

"Mynock 4 this is control. You've deviated from entry flight path and are on course to breach no fly zone. Repeat, current course takes you into zero-zone. How copy, over?"

Glancing out the front viewport and consulting the grid, the zero-zone would appear to be set up around the tallest building in the city. You're not sure of its dimensions however.

[BananaPhone]

Sienn


Anything to get out of this pit, Sienn said to herself quietly.

Taking the comms. gear away from whoever Tobias had handed it to, Sienn spoke clearly – her voice slow and carrying its usual melody across radiowaves.

“We’ll go. Afterwards we can ride it to the Imperial landing zone where Colonel Tobias can direct the offensive. I’ll get us there safely.”

With that the twi’lek handed the object back while turning so that the majority of the resistance fighters were within her purview.

“You’ve all done your job and done it well,” she said, speaking up so that her words would grab the attention of all within ear-shot, “without your efforts this city would remain in rebel hands – you've done your duty. Those who have intimate knowledge of the local terrain will need to be forthright about anything that can help us, but the rest are free to go to your loved ones. Return to them - this will all soon be over.”

With that, Sienn looked back to the radio operator and told him where to instruct Rada to pick them up.

Assuming no objections or differing of opinions, the Sith proceeded to fulfill her stated goals so that she could move on to rendezvous with Rada.

[Thundercracker]

Dr. Doran Kradu

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Sorry, I missed the last update for my character.

Safely back aboard the Revenant, Dr. Kradu made sure the warheads were stowed properly and access to them was restricted, then he made his way to the bridge to find Kang. In his left hand, he carried his trusty security kit, and in his right, he carried the case with whatever it was he downloaded from the enemy ship's memory banks.

Once on the bridge, Kradu walked right up to Kang.

"Captain," Kradu said, "If I could have a word... we should probably speak privately."

[RandomLunatic]

"Uhhh... control, this is Mynock 4. Wait one." Flipping off the gunship's comm system, he turned to his own unit. "Coordinate received. ETA 10.

After giving just a little bit of pause, during which time he checked the LAAT/i's threat receiver to see what had pinged him on the approach and where it was located, he turned the comm back on. "Sideways. Un-kriffing-believable. Nothing looks right because you've been holding it SIDEWAYS this whole time!

"Control, Mynock 4. We've had a slight navigational error. We're going to go back and try it again until we get it right!" Then he turned the craft around and slunk off to the RV.

((Deception - (1d20+11)[16]+ 6 FP=22))

[BananaPhone]

Sienn


Sienn drew in the fresh breath as she stood within the gaping mouth of a sewer exit. From her vantage point the Sith could peer out across the sunny day that fell gently upon an empty maze of criss-crossing pathways and apartment blocks. Derelict in the wake of the rebel occupation, such buildings were unlikely to survive intact when the Imperial army trained their weapons on the city in the name of liberation.

Tucked away from prying eyes and teased with the fragrance of clean air, the twi'lek watched and waited for the arrival of Rada and his magnificent flying machine.

[Noedig]

Sienn

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A gunship zooms low over the rooftops, bank sharply downward and pulling a difficult turn before it comes to a halt mere meters from you. In the cockpit, you see a helmeted figure.

[BananaPhone]

Sienn narrowed her eyes.

'Are you here yet?' she sent telepathically to Rada. 'Pivot the ship to the left if you are.'

[RandomLunatic]

Rada tilted his head at Vecta in a deliberately exaggerated "Really?" expression, then yawed the nose about 60 degrees to port, opened the door, and waved for them to get in.

[BananaPhone]

Sienn

'Now tip it on its side and make it dance.'

Clearly the twi'lek was having fun by now.

Giving her surroundings once last look over, Sienn departed from the sewer entrance with the rest of the small group in tow.

Soon she was hoisting herself up inside the LAAT/i and taking a comfortable seat where she could see everyone present. Picking up a piece of comm. gear, Sienn spoke to Rada via radio this time, "Let's hear your scheme."

[RandomLunatic]

"What, was the name not enough?" Rada asked on the intercom.

"Fine. This bird is overdue for routine maintenance at an airfield in Central. Unfortunately, the Rebs have a no-fly zone surrounding the tallest building in a hundred klicks. Coinky-dink? I think not. Of course, if the sky falls while we're passing through central on our way for downtime, no-fly zone enforcement is suddenly going to be come very... tricky, at best. Can that telepathy of your reach outer space?"

[BananaPhone]

Sienn


"There isn't a mind in the galaxy that can keep me out." the twi'lek answered, having an idea of what Rada was thinking.

"Got exact coordinates on the tower?

[RandomLunatic]

Oh great, now I have a liftetime of random communications from the witch. That is not how I like Twi'lek babes randomly popping into my thoughts, Rada sulked mentally.

"Uuuuum," said Rada. "Hang on." He checked the datapad and then the flight computer to see if he could find the coordinates there.

[ChronicLunacy]

Rear Admiral Andan Kang

Once on the bridge, Kradu walked right up to Kang.

"Captain," Kradu said, "If I could have a word... we should probably speak privately."

"If you insist, Doctor." the Admiral replied, clasping his hands behind his back as he surveyed the ongoing bombardment. Concentrated laser fire, calculated down to near perfect accuracy by massive cogitator banks and targeting computers, lanced down upon the planet in timed bursts. There would be civilian casualties, as there was only so much you could do with the huge turbolasers that the Revenant was equipped with, but they would be light. Up here, it was a silent study...just tiny lights blossoming on the planet's surface. Planetside, each crust-cracking turbolaser would hit with enough force to rock the ground, producing mushroom clouds and booming explosions like a manmade thunderstorm. Kang studied it for a moment dispassionately before turning and leading Doctor Kradu to his ready room.

Once there, he sat down in his office chair and swiveled it to regard the superweapons designer. "Please, sit, Doctor. What do you have for me?"

[Thundercracker]

Dr. Doran Kradu

"The weapon aside, we found more of those strange glyphs on the walls, I had the men stop staring at them, as they began to give us headaches. One of the Empire's HoloNet controllers identified them as ancient Sith runes... we'll need to find my old blue skinned escort at some point... she has the best chance of recognizing them, that is, without bringing Imperial security down on us. We also found more of those warheads; they're locked in a security container in the main hangar.

Most interesting, however, is the discovery of a shipboard AI, I believe."

Kradu hefted the case onto Kang's desk.

"I managed to download it into this storage device before the ship's power failed completely. I'm not certain whether this is the ship's AI, or whether it was tied to the weapon, but I think it would be wise to restrict it from any kind of network access until it can be studied further," Kradu said, "have you ever heard of anything like this before?"

[Noedig]

City Group

Spoiler

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You do indeed find the coordinates of the building at the center of the zero-zone. Based on the information in the ship computer and on the datapad, it would seem that even the rebel air traffic is diverted around it. No explanation as to why.

[BananaPhone]

Sienn


Sienn purses her lips and closes her eyes as her mind searched for a small island of reflection within the panicking chaos of the city.

ooc:

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Search your Feelings: Take 10: "Will blowing up/neutralising that tower have any detrimental effects to Imperial forces?"

[Noedig]

Sienn

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Probably.

[BananaPhone]

ooc:

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Haha, "..to determine whether a particular action wil yield favorable or unfavorable results to you in the immediate future".

So not just a vague, cryptic answer .

[Noedig]

Spoiler: OOC

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Unfavorable then.