Jump to content

Recommended Posts

GM 

Up in orbit... 

Magnetar flew along with the other four that were dispatched to investigate the Sar-lan.  The alien shook his head slightly at Cavalier's question.  "I am afraid there is not much I could potentilly do Knight Steward, save perhaps overload the ship's sensors, which would likely be rather counterproductive." 

Aboard the Devotion... 

There was a brief pause before a response came to Corona's hail.  "Copy Devotion, you are cleared for landing pad four.  Please follow the indicated beacon."   

There was another momentary pause before the individual on the other end added, "there will be just a moment for the news feed.  Been something of a slow day, even for out here."  It was a few moments before the requested feeds were transmitted, Corona finding they mainly appeared to consist of weather reports and segments discussing plans for constructing several new buildings for an expected influx of new colonists displaced by the Communion incursion. 

Sitara, having replaced Huhunu at the helm, followed the indicated beacon, guiding the Devotion down toward one of the main continents on the northern hemisphere of Dreeda III.  As the vessel drew closer, those aboard could make out a large expanse of cultivated farmland around a small collection of large buildings in the center.  The main Lor colony on the planet consisted of approximately forty thousand inhabitants.  Under normal circumstances, the colony would have been scheduled to expand gradually over a few decades, but given the massive displacement caused by the Communion, the expansion of the colony was likely to be greatly accelerated over the next year. 

The center of the colony consisted of about forty buildings, about half of them under three stories tall and the tallest no more than fifteen.  The basic space port which served the colony was located to the north of the cluster of buildings, totaling five primary landing pads, with a couple of smaller ones for smaller shuttle craft. 

The Praetorians still aboard the Devotion could see a small group of individuals waiting near the landing pad they had been assigned, likely a combination of maintenance crew and representatives from the colonial government.

Link to comment
  • Replies 228
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

On ‎11‎/‎5‎/‎2015‎ ‎1‎:‎37‎:‎15‎, Tiffany Korta said:

“This could be the last time everything goes according to plan, so we should enjoy every moment.”

 

"That could very well be the case."  Paradigm replied with a trace of humor, though she recognized the truth behind Sitara's words.  They had been on enough missions together where things had quickly gone well beyond what they expected that it would be foolish to assume everything would go as one hoped.  "Huhunu, if you could please engage your cloaking once we have landed and follow a short distance behind us when we disembark." 

The former marine gave a small nod as he moved toward the back of the bridge to wait for their landing.  Paradigm meanwhile focused on the main viewscreen and the figures waiting for their landing.  "What are your impressions Officer K’Zan?"  She asked of the Lor representative present.

Link to comment

"That's fine, Magnetar," said Cavalier. "Moon-Moth and Mater Vyrnda sound like they can handle concealment and infiltration. Should we encounter resistance, you can focus fire and maybe rip out some walls to provide cover. Hopefully not bulkheads."  Feeling somewhat more confident, Cavalier rerouted energy into his suit's sensors. He'd pulled the concealment trick once before, and with the others covering the various visual ranges, he didn't have to worry about an ambush. 

 

"All right, so here's the plan," he said. "I'll move in first. Moon-Moth, Mater Vyrnda, you'll be keeping whatever sensors they have from picking me up on an alternate wavelength. Vyrnda, if your tech can latch onto mine, we can stay in communication. Magnetar, you'll be taking up the rear once we breach. Everyone moves up on my command. If any of us get spotted, just throw stealth out the window and open fire with everything you have. Got it?" 

Link to comment

Aya drummed her fingers on the console as she digested the news feeds flashing across her screen. "It's quiet," she said finally. "Too quiet. There's an empty prison ship drifting in orbit, but none of the news feeds are covering it. There's nothing about an increased police presence or politicians asking everyone to keep calm. There's not even a navigational warning to stay away from the Sar-lan. They're too damned calm about it all. The simpliest explanation is, the convicts are already down there and in control of the locals." She closed her eyes and quickly reviewed everything they knew about the escaped fugitives. "X'madi might be in charge of the break-out, but if she was keeping charge of the rulers, she'd be a lot more hands-on. I think it's more likely that Pheydyn's messed with their heads. We should be on the look-out for any signs of mental domination -- and be prepared to defend ourselves from that, ourselves."

Link to comment

"Affirmative, Cavalier." Mater Vyrdna nodded. Her now syntetic heart that was pulsing intensely could be easily heard in the silence of space. "I'll be ready to move on your signal. I'll try and keep communications between us open, but regardless, If you find more trouble than you can handle, don't hesitate to fall back and regroup." Turning her head to Magnetar, Vyrdna added "Same goes to you, Magnetar." Having said that, Mater Vyrdna addressed Moon-Moth this time, with an encouraging smile. "We'll be counting on you, Myothizar. Show us some magic."

Link to comment

Paradigm listened careful to Corona's response, considering the Lor's observations carefully.  "We do not yet know if the Sar-lan is empty, but I do agree it is more likely than not that it is at this point.  The team still in orbit should be reporting shortly one way or another." 

The Naram rose from the command chair on the bridge as she continue, "in the meantime, we should not keep our welcoming committee waiting overlong.  If there is any mental domination present, hopefully Moon-moth's spell will shield Traveller, and the rest of us will have to do our best to resist.  Everyone, be ready to deal with possible hostage situations." 

The Praetorian then started off the bridge, signaling for the others to follow as she made her way down to the main exit ramp to see what sort of greeting awaited them….

Link to comment

GM 

In orbit near the Sar-lan 

Moon-Moth's spell seemed to mask the approach of the four Praetorians, for none of the Sar-lan's defensive weapons tracked their movements as they drew close to the prison transport.  The large vessel dwarfed the four figures as they entered its shadow, and moved silently through the void of space.  There was no readily apparent sign of activity aboard the vessel, although it was most likely in a computer controlled standard orbit, and if there was any beings aboard, if they were unaware of the group’s presence, there was unlikely any standard activity that would outwardly show signs of activity. 

Cavalier and Mater Vyrdna approached one of the forward airlocks on the transport, with Moon-moth and Magnetar close behind.  Now it was up to Mater Vyrdna to try to gain undetected access to the vessel and keep internal sensors from picking them up….

Link to comment

For now Sitara was happy to let other take the lead and do all the boring diplomatic talk, she prefered to do her socializing with a good drink or two inside her. That kind of legwork would hopefully come later.

 

“Couple of the convicts could have snuck in without any fuss or the media feeds could be controlled. I’ve lost count of the number of little places that seem perfect by hiding their dirty little secrets.” she explained as a counterpoint to the Aya


“The trick is to spot what not being said, just watch how Amara handles this lot.”

Link to comment

Moon-moth feels himself smile as he attends to his illusionary sensor loop,having learned long ago in his wild youth that the best kind of illusions were not impressively phantasmagoric scenes but subtle alterations to the existing sensory intake...giving harmless vapor the acrid smell of leaking fuel or toxic gas..putting floors over unexpected pits and the like. It's likely any anomalies would draw attention and that would be founded productive.

 

"Sensor loop illusion is engaged,trust your eyes only within that area...I assume any occupants will not thinks to look out the windows."

Link to comment

Mater Vyrdna moved closer to the airlock. Seeing an exposed communications panel, she lightly touched it with her hand, which started melding into the panel, allowing her inner wires to fuse with the panel's, and giving her access to the ship's communications network. "I'm in." From there, she first established an encrypted connection to the transport's mainframe, using it gain root access to its functions, and after achieving that, proceeded to make all the necessary adjustments to render the group invisible to all of the transport's sensors. "That takes care of our visibility inside the ship, Cavalier. I'm gonna attempt uploading all crew and medical files, logs, etc, and filter through them as is relevant."

Link to comment

GM 

In orbit: 

Magnetar took up a defensive position near the others, keeping a close eye on the area round them for any other possible ships, as well as on the Sar-lan's nearest defensive weapons as well.  With Moon-moth masking the group's presence from anyone aboard the vessel, Mater Vyrdna was able to move right up next to the hull and meld with part of the Sar-lan to access its systems. 

Inside, the former Akarnian found a number of complex firewalls in place, but she was able to maneuver around those and gain access to the systems she needed to alter.  After completing the necessary reprogramming, Mater Vyrdna engaged the airlock they were currently hovering near, after disengaging the internal controls that would alert the bridge that the airlock was being engaged.   

The outer door slid open, providing the Praetorians with access to the prison transport.... 

On the surface of Dreeda III: 

Paradigm led out a small group of Praetorians from the Devotion toward the waiting representatives of the colonial government, with an invisible Huhunu following a short distance behind and moving off to the side to keep an eye on things.  Off to one side of the landing pad was a group of six maintenance workers, waiting for the clearance to begin providing any necessary consumables or other routine services for the vessel.

Link to comment

Aya was dressed in her armor but had the helmet back, letting the wind blow through her air. She looked around the landing pad, sizing up the delegation and the maintenance workers, trying to see dangers and threats before they pounced. At the same time she didn't want to look too obvious about it, but undercover work was ever her strong point. She stepped to the right of Paradigm as they reached the tarmac and put her hands behind her back; she didn't want them to be too bunched up if an attack was coming.`

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Cavalier moved in, taking the lead. His stealth functions were still active, providing relative protection across a variety of spectra. He knew what to look out for - roving security drones, cleaner bots repurposed into moving land mines, turrets lurking in the walls, trick panels on the floor, infrared tripwires, and the occasional nanogeyser. As far as he could tell, though, the halls were relatively empty.

 

Well. They appeared empty. And somehow, that seemed worse.

 

He edged forward, carefully. He had a feeling the prisoners may have repurposed this ship, trying to turn it into one big mess for those who didn't know just where to step. He didn't want to set any of that off. 

Link to comment

GM 

In orbit: 

Cavalier and Moon-Moth made their way into the airlock, as the outer door closed behind them and the chamber began to repressurize to provide access to the rest of the ship.  Magnetar remained outside to cover Mater Vyrdna, as the techopath began digging through the Sar-lan's computer files. 

The inside of the Sar-lan was quiet, far too quiet.  Cavalier and Moon-Moth looked down both directions of the empty hallway, before choosing a direction to start in as the slowly flew forward to avoid tripping any pressure sensors or traps.  They had not gone very far when they came to a section of security doors, designed to seal off sections of the ship in the case of an escape.  The large composite doors had been extended, but were almost completely torn apart, rending them all but useless. 

Inside the Sar-lan's computer system, Mater Vyrdna was starting to get a bit frustrated.  Far too many firewalls were in place where it made little sense for them to be.  Someone had done a considerable amount of reprogramming of this section of the computer’s memory.  Even as she was able to get through the first few firewalls and encryption, Mater Vyrdna found nothing but empty memory, the files that should have been in place either moved or deleted. 

On the surface of Dreeda III: 

As Paradigm lead the way over toward the waiting Lor representative, the others following along behind took a moment to glance at the area around them.  Both Corona and Traveller noted the six maintenance workers waiting off to one side of the landing pad.  Traveller noted that they seemed to have little in the way of equipment they would normally need to provide basic service to a newly arrived vessel.  Cornoa noted they all seemed very tense and on edge, and as she glanced at one of group, she noted his right sleeve of his jumpsuit was pulled up a bit, reveling the edge of a tattoo she recognized as part of a underworld organization that had operated along the old Lor/Khanate boarder.   

Paradigm had been primarily focused on the Lor waiting to greet them, and with her enhanced vision, the area beyond him and the two large humanoids standing behind him.  The Lor seemed a bit more nervous than he likely should have been, while the two larger humanoids were studying all the Praetorians carefully.  Beyond the three, the Naram spotted two large hover vehicles parked nearby, both with two individuals visible in the front, focused on the Praetorians and their spacecraft…..

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

"It would seeming that something forced its way out of this section of the ship" Moon-Moth states "I assumes that it was one of the escapees...the telekine most likely, there it little evidence of which way it was forced." He reasons so as to not sound like master of the obvious as he floats alongside Cavalier in the eerie darkness of the ships corridors

 

"So its safe to assume the holding cells are this way...and any forensic evidence of what might have enabled their escape from what I assume was adequate Restraints for each."

 

 

Link to comment

Aya marched forward with the rest of the Praetorians, the group coming to a stop an arm's length from the planetary delegates. The whole thing felt eerie; Paradigm wasn't speaking up, and none of the locals seemed willing to break the silence. She figured that none of the Praetorians were going to speak up if their leader didn't, so it fell to her to break the silence.

 

The Lor stepped up next to Paradigm, placing her feet shoulder-length apart and letting her arms hang freely. She consciously made her body language as non-threatening as possible, even though her back was crawling with the anticipation of an attack at any moment. "I'm Aya K'zan with ALIENS," she said. "These are the Praetorians. We're responding to a distress call that originated in orbit." She paused and let her eyes drift across the assembled worthies. "Do you have any information on what happened aboard the Sar-lan?"

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Well. This was the very opposite of a good sign. It was clear that the prisoners on the Sar-lan hadn't exactly made their escape through guile, legerdemain, and subtle con games. Cavalier kept his blaster raised and moved through to the next area. Odds of there being any guards still living - hell, even still in identifiable condition - was slim to nil, but he still pressed on. There might be some hint in here as to... well, something. Tactics favored, whether or not they'd picked up any nasty surprises before reaching this orbit... and perhaps somebody lurking in wait to ambush them. 

 

Then again, if they'd gone to all the trouble to lie in wait, why disappointment them? And so, Cavalier tread forth, keeping his eyes open all the while. 

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

GM 

On the surface of Dreeda III 

The Lor representative of the planetary government seemed a bit puzzled by Corona's introduction.  "ALIENS?"  He responded, a questioning look on his face.  "I am afraid I am not familiar with that agency."  He responded, only for his expression to then suddenly change to one of fear as she asked about the Sar-Lan. 

"Th...the Sar-Lan?"  He replied as he tried to compose himself again.  "Oh, you mean the ship in orbit..." he began to respond, regaining at least some of his composure. 

But he was never able to finish the sentence, as the two large humanoids just behind him apparently decided to act.  "Get them!"  They shouted, as they pushed the Lor aside and prepared to lunge toward Corona and the Praetorians.  Off to one side, the "maintenance workers" all reached for hidden energy weapons...

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

GM 

Huhunu was still invisible, having positioned his/her self a short distance away from Devotion and observing the progress of the others.  When the two large humanoids accompanying the Lor administrator prepared to attack the Praetorians, the maintenance workers reveling themselves to be escaped criminals as well, Huhunu took a knee as he/she readied his/her carbine, but holding fire for the moment, not wanting to give up the element of disguise just yet. 

Kharag meanwhile, had no desire to exercise restraint now that some of the escaped criminals had reveled themselves.  "Prepare yourselves scum, I am Kharag, the Scourge of Za'ak!"  He called out, before leaping forward, delivering a powerful kick to one of the large criminal's chest.  The blow sent the humanoid flying backward dozens of feet, where he landed hard on the ground, unconscious.

Link to comment

Aya's eyes widened for just a moment, then she sucked in a breath and shouted

 

"Freeze!"

 

Decades of certainty in her own authority and Aya's glowing aura caused both groups to pause, giving the Lor enough time to march the rest of the way down the ramp, sweeping her icy gaze across the groups. "I am Aya K'zan," she announced, "duly appointed representative of the Lor Republic, serving alongside the Praetorians. Those guys bak there." She jerked a thumb back towards Paragon and the rest. "Before the Lor themselves were more than screaming apes, these sentients went toe to toe with the Communion, and made those metal parasites s--- so many motherboards that they hid for a couple thousand years, just to be sure the Praetorians were gone." Aya jutted her chin forward. "And the Lor trust me to ride herd on them all. So listen to me when I tell you to drop your guns before I show you just why I hang around with the deadliest creatures in spae."

Link to comment

Paradigm was not particularly surprised when the larger humanoids behind the Lor reveled themselves to be criminals from the Sar-lan.  Of course it meant that the situation was extremely complex, the Praetorians were not about to allow themselves to be attacked without response, as Kharag quickly dispatched one of the large humanoids, and Corona delivered a very stern warning to the closest criminals with impressive force.   

Trusting that Corona's command would suffice for the criminals near the group, the Naram started lifting up into the air.  "Praetorians, subdue the criminals quickly and be mindful of any potential hostages.  We need to move quickly to find and secure any other criminals nearby and locate the ringleaders of this escape."

She then soared over toward one of the groups of armed criminals exiting nearby hovercrafts.  As she came to a halt a short distance from them, Paradigm swept her arms in front of her, bringing her hands together with tremendous force, creating a massive shockwave which rippled out in front of her, slamming into the seven criminals who were blasted off their feet and sent flying backward dozens of feet where they landed unconscious. 

Link to comment

GM 

Aboard the Sar-lan 

As Cavalier and Moon-Moth moved past the torn open security doors, the interior of the vessel began to show more and more signs of escape of the prisoners that had been held within the numerous cell blocks.  There were scorch marks along the walls in many locations, while a variety of debris was scatted about on the floors.  Occasional bloodstains were splashed on walls, while a number of lights were smashed, causing long shadows to be cast throughout the ship. 

But despite the signs of violent struggles, there were no bodies to be seen.  Whatever the fate of the Sar-lan's crew, the prisoners had apparently moved them somewhere else within the vessel. 

As Mater Vyrdna continued to search the vessel's computer systems, a voice came over the Sar-lan's intercom system, something Mater Vyrdna could hear as well while connected with the ship's systems.  "Well, this is interesting.  You have managed to avoid the internal sensors somehow, but I know you are accessing the Sar-lan's computer systems."  Stated a female voice with a distinct Lor accent.   

Link to comment

The voice came as a surprise to Vyrdnaya. She was sure that she had ensured she didn't tip the security off, and the voice confirmed as much. This, she realised, meant that the woman talking to her was able to surmise her interferring by means unrelated to the ship's internal system itself... "Tsk... so my efforts have been made, huh?" She commented, more to herself than to the voice. "Now let's see... I'm guessing you're one of the escaped convicts, then. You found out about my tampering, which isn't something that just anyone can do, which limits the suspect list to two, maybe three persons onboard these vessels. And, judging by your accent... X'madi, right? I guess I should feel honoured that the <alledged> leader of this fellonious bunch has deemed to make her pressence known to me."

 

She made sure to put as much sarcastic droll into the world 'alledged', hoping it would provoke some reaction. Information was key, especially in critical missions such as this, and any tidbit the Akarnian could extract, no matter how seemingly trivial, could make all the difference. "So, tell me, then, what can I do for you? Perhaps you'd be interested in having a nice talk while drinking some beverage? If you tell me your position, I'd be sure to send some your way..."

Link to comment

Sitara had been on her way over the phoney dockside workers, already planning to see if they were quite as they seemed. Though obviously that was completely redundant as the they chose to reveal themselves as criminals. Still she was in a postions to use this to her advantage deploying her body armour with just a thought and drawing her unique blasters.


With a nimble manipulations of the blaster unique controls she sent a wide stunning beam from her weapon towards the assembled crooks. It was really nice of them to arrange themselves in a tightly knitted group like that.

Link to comment

GM 

Travller's wide stun beam catches all six of the imposters posing as maintenance workers, although two of them almost made it clear from the beam.  But the results were somewhat mixed, with three managing to resist the beam, while the other three were either dazed or stunned. 

Back over by Corona, the remaining larger criminal that had been with the Lor representative hesitated at the Lor officer’s command, glancing over at where Kharag had just downed his comrade.  Raising his hands out to his side, the hulking humanoid seemed willing to surrender, at least for the moment. 

Dragonid deployed his mechanical wings, taking to the air after Paradigm.  The reptilian Praetorian turned his attention to the group of criminals that had exited the other hover vehicle.  Opening his mouth, Dragonid release a long line of flame that crackled across the pavement, catching three of the criminals in its path.  All three were blasted from their feet, their clothes and bodies singed by the fire as they collapsed in a smoking heap unconscious. 

The four remaining criminals that had avoided Dragonid's attack took aim with their weapons, a pair taking aim at each of the Praetorians attacking them.  The two blasts fired at Paradigm both went wide, zipping off into the sky as they missed the Naram.  One of the blasts aimed at Dragonid did the same, but the second found its mark.  However, the Praetorian's scaly hide shrugged off the hit. 

Over by Traveller, the three criminals that had resisted her stun blast all dropped their weapons.   

From his/her concealed position, Huhunu noted that there seemed to be little threat to his/her teammates at the moment. So the Ipukarea marine continued to wait for any more serious threat to appear. 

Seeing that the last larger humanoid was surrendering, Kharag snarled with slight annoyance, before he sped off toward the criminals still facing Dragonid and Paradigm.  Closing first with the two that had fired on Dragonid, Kharag delivered two blindingly fast strikes which easily dispatched the two criminals into unconsciousness.  "Is that it?  Is there no one worthy of facing the Conqueror of Thousands?!"  The Za'akis called out in anger.

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...