| abstract
| - Bothawui had been under Imperial rule for decades during Palpatine's rule and while it was amongst the first worlds to pledge itself to the New Republic, the planet had enjoyed less than a decade of true freedom before it cautiously welcomed the return of the Empire during the Dacan Pandemic. In the years that followed, Bothawui had become one of the Empire's least policed systems and a key port of entry to the massive and relatively lax 'domestic' shipping routes maintained by the New Order. The sudden search and seizure of Jaspar's ship must therefore have come as quite a shock, a level of aggressive policy typically reserved for more troublesome planets that perhaps signalled a shift in the Empire's policies toward the region. The starship impound lies several miles outside of Drev'starn City - a massive open-air yard cordoned off by repulsor fences - two imposing turbolaser turrets at opposite corners threatening to spell swift doom to ships attempting to escape their bond. Vane & Co, a half-dozen pirates, Jaspar and Ka'una lie in a low ditch surrounded by the light scrub of the open plain, she lowers a set of binoculars and gives a disgruntled growl. "I count at least a half dozen guards on patrol. Probably another dozen in the building." a motion toward a ferrocrete bunker whose up-swung spotlights illuminate an Imperial starbust banner. "Plus the laser towers...this is not going to be simple. Anyone have any bright ideas?" Ka'una remains silent for a long moment. The twi'lek does not seem to quite fit the bunch of pirates and outlaws. Her flair is somewhat different. A dark grey, flexible metalloid weave suit is covering the twi'leki amazon's form from head to toe, including the interesting amount of four long lekku. Merely the face is exposed..and in this case, not even that is exposed beneath a breathmask and night goggles. Her posture...is relaxed. Laying on her belly, head lifted, hands resting on their elbows and folded beneath her chin. "The port does not look like it has generators. It probably gets its power from town. Prepare to move in, cut the powerlines with small charges buried in the ground so they are not too loud. That will also take care of the turrets, because nothinng leaves that port airbound with them active." she remarks. Jaspar shifts around in the dirt next to the women. He seems just as comfortable on the ground as he would airborne. "We'll need to be quick. If they find the cargo, my employers will not be happy." He notes, glancing to the two next to him. "Whatever we decide, it will need to happen soon." He then seems to realize something, as if for the first time. "...Damn. I don't have a weapon in case things go south. Everything I have is still onboard the ship." Vane lets a beat pass. Just one. Then she props herself up on an elbow and looks back over her shoulder with an expression of utter derision in Jaspar's direction. "In case things go south?" she glances to the mesh-clad twi'lek, the pair exchanging the briefest of looks before the pirate draws a spare blaster from her belt and passes it back along with the viewfinder. "Can you see your ship?" the rattataki ask. A shuffling amongst the assorted pirates produces a small satchel holding a half dozen detonite charges passed to Ka. "Alright...as soon as we cut the power they're going to scramble. I'd guess we'll have a few minutes at most before interceptors arrive from Drev'starn and reinforcements won't be far behind them so lets keep this tight. No sightseeing!" Ka turns her head, as the charges are getting passed to her...and she slowly clears her throat. "I never said that I know how to place charges properly." she remarks, a shade of good amusement in her otherwise serious voice beneath the mask. "I will go in. Do not mind me." Her head turns, a few lekku twitch, and she glances towards the starport again, index fingers tapping her chin a few times before she pushes herself onto her feet, staying low however. "I will catch you when things go crazy." she remarks, while her right hand picks up two long, thin vibroswords from the ground. A moment later they are safely attached to a balancing, magnetic attachment at her left hip, sheathless. Jaspar takes the offered viewfinder and blaster, tucking the latter into his empty holster. He raises the viewfinder and begins scanning, dialing through the various spectrums and things in an attempt to locate his ship. "There!" He says, after a few moments, followed by "..No, wait." He lowers the binoculars, cleans off the display, and tries again. "...Hm.." "How hard can it be?" Vane replies to the twi'lek with a shrug and a tone of rhetorical snark, the Rattataki rolling onto her back, propped up by the small rise of the ditch as she draws her own blaster and checks the charge pack, gesturing to a pair of the pirates carrying long rifles. "You two set up here." she instructs. "Keep the reinforcements from the base pinned down and if you get the chance, pick off anyone whose giving us too much trouble. We'll swing back to pick you up once the ship is secured." Jaspar's less than encouraging response recieves a deadpan glower. "You are joking, right? If we can't be sure the ship is there, this is a suicide mission! Find it!" The twi'lek glances at Vane. Hard to tell what her expression right now is, but the body language she displays to Vane almost seems playful for a moment. Then she waits. Seems like she does not intend on going anywhere without it being clear where the ship is, and what exactly it looks like, her eyes drawn towards the starport again. She uses the moment to glance over its architecture. The fences that will hopefully not be a problem anymore if they are fast enough. "Target sighted. Back of the lot, northwest corner." Jaspar notes. "We have time... it looks like they're beginning inspections, plenty of time if they follow protocol. It could be 'Protocol Be Damned' day, though." He glances to Vane, the pirates, and Ka. "Relaaax..." Vane chortles, stowing her blaster pistol and exchanging a quick round of nods with her crew. "...we'll just collect your ship and be on our way." a gloved hand waving away the concerns as if shooing a bothersome fly. "Right - one more time. Ka sets the charges and we move up to the fence. When they go off, we're through. Snipers cover us to the ship where Ka will meet us. We take off and swing back for a pickup - then we fly like hell out of the system. All clear?" "Got it, loud and clear." Jaspar replies. "Ready to move on your 'go'." "Clear." is Ka's simply enough reply, charges gathered. "Best get as close as you can." And with that, she is off after the go, the four weaveclad lekku wrapping around each other in a sort of braid as she swiftly makes her way off into the darkness. "Try not to get yourself killed..." Vane entreats quietly to the Twi'lek as she hops clear of the ditch. "Alright you scum, a hundred credits to the first one to reach that ship!" and with that she crests the ditch and hunkering low, hustles through the darkness toward the fencline, foboding red lights marking their posts. "Don't shoot until they do..." she cautions Jaspar. "...and keep moving. They have time on their side." Ka is well enough on her way to the fences when the muffled explosions go off. With luck, muffled enough to simply make it seem like a blackout. The guards will be on their toes enough either way. She stays low, moving quickly and silently towards the compound, the night vision goggles showing the eerie pseudocolor surroundings. For now she does not look ahead to the ship...the immediate deactivated fences and guards are the important matter to the Twi'lek. Jaspar keeps his gun at the ready, glancing periodically around to gauge the positions of the guards. When the explosions go off, he calms himself, steels his nerves, and moves up with Vane, keeping pace relatively easily. He may live and work in the underworld, but working unaided in darkness is still a bit challenging for him. The impound lot is suddenly plunged into darkness, the grey monolith a darkened mass on the horizon as floodlights lights abruptly cut out and an eerie silence falling as the repulsor-fields fail, their constant low thrum vanishing. An instant later the yellow cones of underslung flashlights lance between the rows of landed starships - small freighters of many sizes and shapes arranged in neat rows and columns, bay assignments painted on the ferrocrete - the quick sweeps across quiet hulls cover a remarkable degree of ground, lights flashing by the pirates overhead and narrowly missing the mob as they freeze in place. "Groking power cuts...can't those furballs keep anything functioning." the distinct peel of Imperial accents exchange similar sentiments as they work down row by row. "Ahead..." Vane whispers, blaster drawn and the barrel used to wave her crewmen and Jaspar on as they weave between the hulls, coming at last to Jaspar's craft. "Do the honours please, Mister Andromidas...quickly, quickly!" The distant grind of metal, shuffling footsteps and muffled voices announcing the arrival of a second squad from the bunker to support the search. "Hang on, just a moment.." Jaspar says, stepping up and tapping in the security code for his craft's hatch, stepping back for it to open, then jumping aboard. He moves into the cockpit and begins warming up the engines, whilst simultaneously checking to make sure his baby hasn't been banged up too much during her stay in captivity. Blasted Imperials. Or, at least, the engines WOULD warm up, had they not been disabled, as evidenced by the cacophony of rocker switches being flipped, to no effect. "Fuck me." Jaspar remarks. Ka sticks to the shadows, a task definitely not being made easy with the cones of flashlights waving lie a Gungan with the shakes. The twi'lek makes her way across the compound at varying speeds, rushing between covers, handling it slow while there. Almost to the ship. She knows the others are already in there, but as she gets closer, she is downright waiting for the sound of engines. Come on, almost there. The report of the ship's hatch opening peels out across the ferrocrete, the neat rows of ships amplifying the sound. The beams of light turn toward the vessel as a sharp cry of "There! Blast them!" from one of the soldiers alerts his compatriots and the boarding ramp becomes a hail of blaster fire, Vane diving for the cover of a landing strut as the engines fail to roar to life. It is fortunate that it is dark, the angry red bolts glancing off cover or streaking away into the night rather than finding their mark none the less pinning down the would-be thieves while the remaining guards advance. Jaspar begins working the controls with incensed vigor, man-on-a-mission style, attempting to un-screw the situation in which the group has found themselves. Let's see... pull this, push that, twist that, extricate the Mandalorian doll from the mess of frayed wires... Ohh sithspit! That's pretty much the sentence going through a certain twi'leks head as the echo of the sudden metal sound resounds in the area, and..light. Flashes. Shooting and shouts. Not good at all. And still no sound of the engines. The twi'lek remains where she is for a moment, watching the lightshow aimed at the ship, before she deeply inhales...and begins to move. Not through the suicidal barrage of shots. Self-darwinism in't the twi'leks forte. Take it slow. Find a good opportunity to sneak through, or take some guards out and -then- sneak through. What Vane lacks in Ka'una's subtlty, she makes up for with rank brutality. "OPEN FIRE!!!" the pirate captain roars, the pirates returning a blaster volley of their own, the rapid torrent of scattered shots forcing the advancing troopers into cover of their own. The exchange of fire is all the signal the distant snipers, the reinforcements driven to ground under fire, dividing the dozen guards in half. A sharp chirp-beep on Jaspar's comlink signals an incoming call from Vane. "What's going on in there, Jaspar?! We need to be leaving..." Jaspar grumbles. Let's try again... pull this, twist these bits together, flip these switches. "I'm *working* on it! Something's not right. The engines aren't responding." He comm's back. "Unless you'd prefer to come in here and take over?" And while everybody is busy exchanging painful red blasts of laser and plasma, a certain twi'lek slips past and behind the whole ordeal. The moment she makes herself known is when she pretty much taps Jaspar's shoulder and crouches down next to him. "Let me try." she says, pulling off the breathing mask and goggles. Crimson skin. Crimson eyes. And an expression of concentration as she studies the open engine panel, while she blindly feels around for the toolkit. "Tell Vane to hold out a little bit longer." Not like they have a choice. Jaspar just barely startles, before glancing up, nodding, and scooting out of the way as much as possible to allow room to work. He keys his comm: "We've got fresh eyes looking into the problem. Hold out just a bit longer!" He then hops out of the jump-seat to give full range of motion to the ship-fixer-upper, moves to the airlock/hatch, swings out, and begins firing at the surrounding nogoodniks. Jaspar's well aimed shot catches one of the guards in the shoulder, knocking him clear off his feet with a cry of pain. The wound smoulders, the thick padding of his blast vest absorbing the worst of the damage, the polymer-fabric mesh bubbling away as it dissipates the heat. "Haha!" Vane cheers, pausing her own volley of fire to look back to the hatch and punch a fist into the air. "Good shooting!" her own weapon levelled again and a quick volley scattering through their number and producing much the same result. "Now, keep it up! Ka, how's that engine coming?" The answer to the question is a roar of the ship's engines a moment later, breaking the noise of blaster shots there is crackle in the comm, and Ka's shouting voice. "Just so you know, I cannot pilot worth a damn except in a straight line, so get Jaspar in here ASAP!" Inside the ship, the twi'lek slams that panel shut and gathers her mask and goggles, before she takes the moment to put them on again. The goddess knows, it wouldn't be the first unexpected shipwreck she suddenly finds herself in. "On my way!" comes the reply from Jaspar, tucking his weapon away and sprinting up to the cockpit. "Move!" He growls, hopping into the seat and going through the startup sequence *again*. Flip-flip-flippity-flip... "Come on, baby, come on.." "Yes yes..." Vane mutters back over the com-link as the pirates start to peel back into the ship as the weight of fire shifts in their favour. The Rattataki bringing up the rear, back-pedaling up the gangway as she squeezes off blaster shot after blaster shot before ducking in through the hatch, rolling around the frame and slamming her elbow into the door release, sealing the ship and the low thuds of blaster fire harmlessly striking the hull echoing around the craft. "I was having fun!" she insists, sure-footedly making her way toward the cockpit as the thrusters fire and the ship clears the ground. "Swing around and pick up my men..." she directs, pointing through the viewport, as the long-range sensors begin to bleep in alarm, a pair of TIE interceptors closing fast. "It's gonna be squeaky." Jaspar notes, glancing up to Vane, as he swings around and positions himself to receive the cadre of very-much-helpful men. "Everyone strap in and hold on, it's going to get bumpy REAL quick!" He calls back, once everyone is safely aboard. "Ohhh sithspit!" Ka vocally lets out that thought this timme, before se rushes to the nearest seat, and straps in tightly. "No way we can actually outrun those! Jaspar, what kind of armament does this thing -have-, if any?" she asks, the pilot, before she glances at Vane, just silent for a moment to read the pirate's expression. "We'll find out if it's enough to at least slow things down... Arming weapons!" He punches a code into the computer, and flips another switch, warming up the ship's weapons as he moves to disengage from the fleetyard. "Come on, baby, let's get out of here.. You can do it." He whispers to the ship, as if speaking to a loved one. Blaster fire continues to streak from the ground, the soldiers firing in vain at the escaping ship as it rotates and pulls away, turbolasers slumped - dead and motionless as the craft skims low across the dusty plain to where the remaining pirates await, their comrades hastily dragging them aboard. "She's right. They're faster than we are..." Vane confirms, a grim expression forming as the screaming interceptors close into visual range. "Ka, jam their transmissions!" She barks. "Fill the comms with static! Evasive manuevers. set the nav-computer to heading zero-one-four, mark, nine-two-seven, mark three-oh-three..." the pirate sliding into the co-pilot's chair and swiveling about to fire control. "Weapons, aye!" Ka deeply inhales, remaining motionless in her seat for a moment..before she swivels it about, and begins to work on the comms. "Don't count on a good jam. I know crap about imperial frequencies" she remarks, while her fingers dance over the controls. Jaspar moves the control yoke around, dialing in the proper coordinates, and engaging coordinates and hauling ass at best speeds. On the way out, fire from the TIE fighters gives the craft a nice battle scar, taking off a chunk of paint but doing no real damage with the first shot. The second shot whizzes by the old bird as Jaspar works some serious magic with the control yoke. >>Continue
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