Out of the Black, into the Dark - RP between Micha

[Michale CS]

Well, that was that. Just enough power to crash land the ship in a bog. So many hull breaches that very few of the personnel got planetside as anything other than meteorites burning up in the thick, heavy atmosphere of Rilan II.

People joke that Rilan II is only good for two things - stopping for fuel at and getting away from. And they're not far from wrong. On the edge of the Great Expanse, an area that takes a full fuel load to hyperjump from the Rim Worlds to the Core. There is literally nothing in between, except a lot of derelict ships who calculated the jump distance wrong. And a smattering of asteroid fields.

The spaceport at Rilan II knew this and charged exorbitant prices for their fuel, since they knew they were the only game in the sector. But, a bottleneck is a bottleneck, and the fuel barons of the planet only grew richer with each passing year.

The Lord's Mercy was a converted hospital ship. It still had extensive equipment, but most of the hospital rooms had been converted to passenger and crew quarters. It had been making runs from Rilan II to several destinations in the Core for nearly a decade now.

The fact that it went down right after takeoff could only mean one thing - sabotage. Also, there was the not so subtle hint of an escape pod jettisoning before they even broke atmosphere.

A quick search found the following:
​

1. Only a few crew members survived the crash - none of the bridge crew - the bridge was buried 20 meters deep in the bog. The survivors were mainly engineers and maintenance.​
2. Someone had ejected and escape pod before multiple explosions rocked the ship - with the obvious intention of destroying it. Only good luck and good engineering let anyone survive at all.​
3. One of the secure holds for sensitive cargo was broken into and emptied, and no one who survived knew what it was.​
4. The ship doesn't have a lot of power left before it shorts itself out in this bog. Too many components are exposed to atmosphere, moisture, and acidic mud. (Oh, yeah, the mud is just shy of bleach in acidity)​

The way you figure it, you've got a few ways to pursue this before the computers go kaput:

You could talk to the engineers and try to get enough power to the computers to -
Find out what was taken.
Or, get the complete manifest of persons on board.
Or, track where the escape pod landed.
It's not likely you can do all three, and even two of the above is a little dodgy.

There will be plenty of time to salvage gear, weapons, and such after the systems die out.
Then, you might want to do something about getting the heck out of the chlorine swamp the Lord's Mercy crashed in.​

 

[Ringmaster]

Character Sheet

Sabotage.

Were it anything else, he expected they would have sustained greater damage then a simple crash. No matter.

It merely meant there was no longer need for the deception he had engineered before going on board. His workmen clothing was tossed aside, replaced by something much more....Appropriate to the situation.

And from his quarters, he stepped out and breathed deeply. His respirator seemed to be working well. Moreover, the rest of his equipment seemed quite sufficient. Now there was only the question of what was taken. Whatever it was, it was enough that his Master had set him the task to protect it.

It had to be small enough to be portable- At least, enough to be taken in a single escape pod. It was obviously a prelude to a greater escape- Why else would the person choose to sabotage the ship here, rather then a more civilized sector? So small enough to be portable.

Important enough to cover their tracks.

With an escape pre-meditated. If it was information that was transferable, then his life was forfeit. If so? Then there was only one way to please his dark master.

And that was to do his job and retrieve the thief and the quarry.

So without further ado, he moved to find a speeder of some sort. Any kind of transportation a ship like this would keep for emergencies.

If he succeeded, he would take it and fly off with it, without asking.

He had an Escape Pod and its occupant to track.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

So without further ado, he moved to find a speeder of some sort. Any kind of transportation a ship like this would keep for emergencies.

If he succeeded, he would take it and fly off with it, without asking.

He had an Escape Pod and its occupant to track.

It took a few tries to find a working vehicle with any sort of speed, and it wasn't exactly a landspeeder. It was a cargo loader. But, since it was empty of cargo, it moved decently fast. It just took awhile to get up to speed, and maneuverability was poor at higher speeds, but spectacular at slower ones, since it was designed to maneuver in tight spaces when delivering and picking up cargo. The other bonus was it looked like it had just been manufactured.

Alternatively, there was a small shuttle, designed for system hopping. Because its primary use was interplanetary, it would turn like a Moldovian Slug in atmosphere. But it would be faster, and have better sensors. It looked a little worse for wear but it was serviceable. But then, he'd have to also fly at higher altitudes in order to have enough time to make course adjustments.

Finally, there was an Ugly... a Z-Ceptor that looked like it had seen better days. A quick look showed that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try to fire its laser cannons, but the ion cannons looked OK, cosmetically. Sadly, there wasn't an Astromech Droid to be found for that assist either. Of course, flying an actual starfighter around in atmosphere might raise some eyebrows - or not. This wasn't the Core, and it wouldn't be the first time someone's only transportation was a kit-bashed vessel.

So his choice would be, the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly.

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

Shaitan considered carefully before finally deciding on the Cargo Loader.

Land was no problem for him and better, for his skills.

And he could always use his quarry's method of escape to get off this rock. This was exactly the sneaky sort of approach he favored, coming in on unsuspected ways. As faster as the starfighter and the other would be?

They were too noisy.

This way, they'd never sense him coming.

@Michale CS

​

 

[Michale CS]

Shaitan considered carefully before finally deciding on the Cargo Loader.

Land was no problem for him and better, for his skills.

He had checked to make sure no one was occupying the vehicle before he got in. There were no life signs he could detect, no presence in the Force.

So, what happened next was a surprise.

Just behind the seats of the loader, below the flap behind his head to the 'sleeper' section of the cab was a large tool chest. That tool chest flew open, and up and over the seat landed this woman, grinning like a loon and pointing a heavy blaster pistol with an underslung thermal grenade launcher at his head. "Hiya! I don't mind that yer drivin' but ya ain't goin nowhere without me. One, since I own this thing and two... well..." she waggled the gun a little. "And don't try to pull out your fancy laser sword in here, there ain't room, you'll bust somethin'. No mind tricks either cause I ain't got one! Arlene Quinn, class A replicant here, and I can send the kill command to my rig in less than a millisecond so don't keep thinkin' about killin' me and goin on without me." At that point she holstered the pistol and asked. "So, where we goin? What's the score?" And to prove she had a neural link to the rig, it started up and the music player started playing.

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

There was no reaction whatsoever to the gun at his head. Though there was what might have been a glance over his shoulder as he eyed the tool box. He didn't think anyone would be able to fit there...Though if this was a replicant, that explained a bit. Setting the cargo loader to go, he said calmly.

"I'm going to kill someone. You may tag along if you wish."

Worse came to worse, he could always kill her then. Though as he fired up the loader and they charged out like the Light Brigade on holiday, he added.

"I don't recall seeing you before though on that ship."

@Ringmaster​

 

[Michale CS]

"I'm going to kill someone. You may tag along if you wish."

"Yay! My favorite kind of mission, the deadly kind." She crossed her legs and began bouncing a foot to the music.

"I don't recall seeing you before though on that ship."

"That's because I was in my tool box the whole time. Smuggling myself. Wooo! Did I need to stretch out! Man, I would have been sore if I had to stay that way all the way to the Core. I was just gonna lie low until we made the jump, then chill in my sleeper on low power." She shrugged. "I'm on a lot of no-fly lists so I can't just list on as a passenger most places. I'm sure you're Sith-athetic to my situation. Get it? It's like sympathetic but-"

Arlene stopped. "Man, tough crowd. Whatever. Dark and broody I can deal with. Lots of folks I been on missions with have that gimmick. You can be the straight man to all my jokes!"

The music changed then and she grinned widely. "Aw yeah, this is one of my favorites!"

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

She was remarkably well informed. Though the Shadow Guard was something of an open secret, doing their masters bidding wherever they may be sent. Nevertheless, he was silent still as he drove for the direction he had sensed the fall of the escape pod.

From there, tracking it down should be easy enough.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

She was remarkably well informed. Though the Shadow Guard was something of an open secret, doing their masters bidding wherever they may be sent. Nevertheless, he was silent still as he drove for the direction he had sensed the fall of the escape pod.

From there, tracking it down should be easy enough.

@Michale CS​

"Aww... and here I wanted to get at least a shocked glance from ya. You're worse than the guards at the Palace on Buckingham Five! But I'll blab anyway. If anyone who is anyone is out there whackin' people or takin' shiny doodads across the Galaxy, I got all that info in my noggin'. Helps to not step on the toes of folks you don't wanna even scuff the shoes of. I mean, what else am I gonna keep in this brain of mine? Baked good recipes?" Arlene responded, disappointed visibly.

It was going to take a good half hour to get out of the bog, and another hour and a half to get to within a few clicks of where the pod was likely to have gone down based on Shaitan's instincts. By then it would be just after dark on the outskirts of a thick deciduous forest and a small lumbering town, according the the automap on the loader.

If the replicant kept this up, this might be a really long ride...

But, thankfully, she kept quiet most of the time.

Once nearby, it was fairly obvious where the pod went down but would anyone still be there after roughly two and a half hours since it landed? Was it worth investigating near the pod itself first, or would they go into the town of Woodrow?

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

"Aww... and here I wanted to get at least a shocked glance from ya. You're worse than the guards at the Palace on Buckingham Five! But I'll blab anyway. If anyone who is anyone is out there whackin' people or takin' shiny doodads across the Galaxy, I got all that info in my noggin'. Helps to not step on the toes of folks you don't wanna even scuff the shoes of. I mean, what else am I gonna keep in this brain of mine? Baked good recipes?" Arlene responded, disappointed visibly.

It was going to take a good half hour to get out of the bog, and another hour and a half to get to within a few clicks of where the pod was likely to have gone down based on Shaitan's instincts. By then it would be just after dark on the outskirts of a thick deciduous forest and a small lumbering town, according the the automap on the loader.

If the replicant kept this up, this might be a really long ride...

But, thankfully, she kept quiet most of the time.

Once nearby, it was fairly obvious where the pod went down but would anyone still be there after roughly two and a half hours since it landed? Was it worth investigating near the pod itself first, or would they go into the town of Woodrow?

@Ringmaster

They were not friends.

If anything, he would have rather gone alone. As it was, he angled his direction over to the escape pod first. There was no rush just yet, not here. And the pod would be a great way to determine whatever tracks or similar signs remained.

Afterwards, he'd go to the town but he wanted at least a little information on what he was up against first.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

They were not friends.

If anything, he would have rather gone alone. As it was, he angled his direction over to the escape pod first. There was no rush just yet, not here. And the pod would be a great way to determine whatever tracks or similar signs remained.

Afterwards, he'd go to the town but he wanted at least a little information on what he was up against first.

@Michale CS​

When they arrived at the escape pod, it was a disaster. It looked like it had exploded. But, more than casual observation made it obvious - the pod had exploded well after it had crashed, judging from the blast pattern and where the pieces had embedded themselves in nearby trees.

It was a dense deciduous forest. The floor of which was covered in leaves, and light winds blew constantly. This made tracking hard.

But not impossible. Especially for someone who was as good of a tracker as the Shadow Guardsman was. One thing became clear quickly.

Whomever they were tracking, and it seemed like there were two, not one person that they were - were good.

They could further investigate the crash site, looking for more clues , or they could try tracking them.

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

When they arrived at the escape pod, it was a disaster. It looked like it had exploded. But, more than casual observation made it obvious - the pod had exploded well after it had crashed, judging from the blast pattern and where the pieces had embedded themselves in nearby trees.

It was a dense deciduous forest. The floor of which was covered in leaves, and light winds blew constantly. This made tracking hard.

But not impossible. Especially for someone who was as good of a tracker as the Shadow Guardsman was. One thing became clear quickly.

Whomever they were tracking, and it seemed like there were two, not one person that they were - were good.

They could further investigate the crash site, looking for more clues , or they could try tracking them.

@Ringmaster

There was only one thing he felt he could do.

Look for more clues.

Alien, human or otherwise....If there was any trace allowing him to find out what they looked out, or some idea? He would go for it. And wandering around carefully, he tried to put himself in his quarry's shoes before musing aloud.

"Two of them. Hmm....Siblings or droids?"

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

There was only one thing he felt he could do.

Look for more clues.

Alien, human or otherwise....If there was any trace allowing him to find out what they looked out, or some idea? He would go for it. And wandering around carefully, he tried to put himself in his quarry's shoes before musing aloud.

"Two of them. Hmm....Siblings or droids?"

"Well, I've seen a lot of explosions in my day, and this one happened from underneath the pod." Harley danced her way over to the middle of the crater left by the pod. "See, the blast patterns go... Whoosh!" As she said this, she spread her arms wide and twirled around. "That means it was a small device with a big whallop."

While she was explaining, Shaitan found one piece of metal embedded into a tree trunk that looked different from the others. Closer examination revealed it to be of Yautja origin. It wasn't as powerful as the self-destruct devices that they carried on their person, but the Yautja weren't known to sell their tech.

At about that time, a presence in the Force breezed across his senses. Not quite Dark Side, nor Light. No, this was more akin to the Force Witches of Dathomir. Wild, untamed. But while the Witches went by the axiom, "Never concede to evil." this presence, as fleeting as it was before it disappeared in the direction of Woodrow , felt somehow both Light and Dark, while being neither.

The physical trail that could be picked up went into the trees themselves, Deeper into the forest. There were two of them definitely, but they had split up after the explosion of the pod.

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

"Well, I've seen a lot of explosions in my day, and this one happened from underneath the pod." Harley danced her way over to the middle of the crater left by the pod. "See, the blast patterns go... Whoosh!" As she said this, she spread her arms wide and twirled around. "That means it was a small device with a big whallop."

While she was explaining, Shaitan found one piece of metal embedded into a tree trunk that looked different from the others. Closer examination revealed it to be of Yautja origin. It wasn't as powerful as the self-destruct devices that they carried on their person, but the Yautja weren't known to sell their tech.

Yautja? Here?

That complicated matters. Normally belligerent at the best of times, even the borderline heretical sorts who interacted with other races to the disdain of their own were loose cannons. Case in point, his sometime-partner who he helped with now and then. Second....If there was a Yautja here, it meant there were dangers beyond the weather and terrain. They liked places with the most dangerous monsters.

It was their Valhalla.

Fine. This changed nothing. He walked back to the pod and examined the attack. Hmmm....
​

At about that time, a presence in the Force breezed across his senses. Not quite Dark Side, nor Light. No, this was more akin to the Force Witches of Dathomir. Wild, untamed. But while the Witches went by the axiom, "Never concede to evil." this presence, as fleeting as it was before it disappeared in the direction of Woodrow , felt somehow both Light and Dark, while being neither.

The physical trail that could be picked up went into the trees themselves, Deeper into the forest. There were two of them definitely, but they had split up after the explosion of the pod.

So there was only one path to go. The Yautja would keep- It was not the target he sought. Only the one in the pod.

Which meant it was time to go to Woodrow.

He headed back to the vehicle and waited for Harley before driving away.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

Despite being on the edge of a dense forest, Woodrow proper was almost desert-like in its appearance. That was one of the side effects of a terraformed world, sometimes it took, sometimes it didn't. Woodrow rose up around the edge of the forest, but the town itself was nearly a scene out of an old Western holovid. That being said, Other than the handful of stores and the Sheriff's office, the main attraction seemed to be an inn and tavern proclaiming itself to be the Shady Lady. "So, where to first, buddy? Old Arlene is game for anything! Woo!" The replicant fist-pumped and gave her traveling companion a goofy grin.

They could go one of several places easily from where they were:

• Barnaby's and Son General Store
• Laynemulller Complete Food Store
• The Sheriff's Office
• The Shady Lady

Though they could just:

• Talk to the locals on the street or
• Explore the little town further to get more options

 

[Ringmaster]

"There is something you can do for me."

Shaitan replied as he took in the town, sizing it up. Didn't look like much of a colony-more like an outpost. No sign of a terra-forming machine. Also, no sign of any activity for a salvage crew to that ship that crashed where he came in from. So either they were all in cahoots.... Or they were all dead or fearful to stick their heads out. Either way, they were all guilty in the Empires sight.

Harboring traitors and cowardice were not tolerated.

"Find their long range communication disc. Disable it. The rebel must not contact their people."

Shaitan himself headed for the law enforcement office.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

Harboring traitors and cowardice were not tolerated.

"Find their long range communication disc. Disable it. The rebel must not contact their people."

Shaitan himself headed for the law enforcement office.

Arlene artificially lowered her voice, and since she was a replicant, did a pretty good job. "The Rebel must not contact their people." she laughed and gave him a thumbs up. "I'll get right on that... hey, did you ever tell me your name? You should probably tell me that or I'll be yelling Hey, Sith-guy! at you and that's probably a bad idea..."


After that was taken care of, when Shaitan got to the Sheriff's office, well, for all it's backwoods look, there was some serious tech here. Namely, an Ion Curtain. Stepping up onto the porch and into the office would short out any electronics. In fact, a warning sign was posted that anyone with cybernetic enhancements should ring the bell at the base of the stairs and await service, because they weren't liable for damage or injury if the warning wasn't heeded.

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

Arlene artificially lowered her voice, and since she was a replicant, did a pretty good job. "The Rebel must not contact their people." she laughed and gave him a thumbs up. "I'll get right on that... hey, did you ever tell me your name? You should probably tell me that or I'll be yelling Hey, Sith-guy! at you and that's probably a bad idea..."

"DI-634."

He intoned, unphased by her imitation of his voice. The cold serial number stripping away any lingering warmth or humanity that might have been in his voice. For all he conducted himself, he may have well been a droid himself. A robot broken under the Imperial heel and sent to do their bidding. He was a cog in the machine, a dead man in the Empires service.

And dead men had no names.
​

After that was taken care of, when Shaitan got to the Sheriff's office, well, for all it's backwoods look, there was some serious tech here. Namely, an Ion Curtain. Stepping up onto the porch and into the office would short out any electronics. In fact, a warning sign was posted that anyone with cybernetic enhancements should ring the bell at the base of the stairs and await service, because they weren't liable for damage or injury if the warning wasn't heeded.

He rang the bell. His helmet was reduced to physical protection now, but he didn't need the additions upon it.

He was well armed wherever he went after all.

Though time would tell, if this person was an Imperial supporter.

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"DI-634."

He intoned, unphased by her imitation of his voice. The cold serial number stripping away any lingering warmth or humanity that might have been in his voice. For all he conducted himself, he may have well been a droid himself. A robot broken under the Imperial heel and sent to do their bidding. He was a cog in the machine, a dead man in the Empires service.

And dead men had no names.

"Whoa. I'm the artificial life form here, and I got a name. I'm gonna call you... Dice. See ya later, Dice!" She did a cartwheel then dashed off somewhere fast enough for a normal person to lose track of where she was. Of course Shaitan could tell that she had gotten up on the nearest roof and was scouting for the best way to approach the comm dish.

He rang the bell. His helmet was reduced to physical protection now, but he didn't need the additions upon it.

He was well armed wherever he went after all.

Though time would tell, if this person was an Imperial supporter.

A man stepped out of the building, and walked down to the base of the steps. The Ion Curtain deactivated as he got to where Shaitan was. "Well? Is there something I can do for you, sir? I can tell you aren't local. You come in from that ship that went down? If you're here to tell me all about that I did all I could. All of my able bodied men are deep in that forest, doing what lumberjacks do, the old fashioned way. As much as I would love to indulge my humanitarian side, I don't have anyone to spare. Seemed to me that enough fat cats were on that ship for someone to cry home to mommy and get a proper rescue from a real town, not this little outpost." "If that doesn't cover your grievance, come on with me over to the Lady and we'll discuss. It's where I was headed anyhow."

@Ringmaster

 

[Ringmaster]

A man stepped out of the building, and walked down to the base of the steps. The Ion Curtain deactivated as he got to where Shaitan was. "Well? Is there something I can do for you, sir? I can tell you aren't local. You come in from that ship that went down? If you're here to tell me all about that I did all I could. All of my able bodied men are deep in that forest, doing what lumberjacks do, the old fashioned way. As much as I would love to indulge my humanitarian side, I don't have anyone to spare. Seemed to me that enough fat cats were on that ship for someone to cry home to mommy and get a proper rescue from a real town, not this little outpost." "If that doesn't cover your grievance, come on with me over to the Lady and we'll discuss. It's where I was headed anyhow."

"I'm not here about the ship."

He sent out a low wave impulse, seeking out signs of the force user as he fell into step.

"I'm looking for a traveler. Someone new, who arrived tonight. Any information you may have, would be appreciated and paid for."

@Michale CS​