"5" tilts his head at the Selonian, We are...right behind you?
Valkyr inclines her head at 5 as she stares down the sight of her weapon, lining up the remaining droid in her crosshairs
A sound tactical decision, being in front of me at this juncture would be detrimental to your health
The bolt of red energy tears across the droid's armor plate
Valkyr keeps her weapon trained on her target, in case it is one of the models with a reinforced chassis and therefore capable of withstanding her first shot.
The blaster bolt tears the remaining droid apart, sending its arms flying from its torso in a shower of sparks.
The way is open...the freedom of the stars calls...
That went as expected, now I'm hoping one of you knows how to hotwire a spaceship...
She breaks off in to a run, heading for the hangar bay, weapon up and leading the way. She moves from cover to cover, glancing back to make sure the others are following.
Reaching the bottom of the load ramp she notes
We have no idea where Trex is located, let us not drop our guard just because we have reached our current objective...
Once those with weapons have drawn them she'll lead the way up the ramp.
Valkyr turns the corner through bay doors and heads for the loading ramp. The bay area is crowded with crates and stacks of other gear. Various machinery for minor starship repair lines the inner walls of the circular bay.
She is pulled up short by the sight of two more guard droids standing with blasters ready, facing the large bay doors. Standing alongside them is a huge Transdoshan - that can only be Trex.
shouts Valkyr to warn the others.
Eyes wide at being in the sights of 3 more enemies at such short range, Valkyr simply halts, weapon already pointed forward, and squeezes off a single shot at Trex in the scant hope that if she disables him then the droids will cease hostilities.
The bolt slams in to his chest
Crossing her fingers that the shot put them off for a moment, she sprints towards the ship's boarding ramp, sliding down behind it to take cover.
Curling in to as low-profile a shape as she can manage, she wishes fervently she'd had time to grab a medpack at some point in the last few hours.
Then take cover as planned, behind a handy stack of cargo crates nearby.
Tok's eyes go wide at Valkyr's sudden actions. He raises his pistol but misses the Trandoshan. He'll take cover as well. "Get down!"
The droid trundles along after the group and emits an Oh! at the sudden realization they are in yet more trouble. The droid takes cover and starts to look for a control panel for the bay doors the group just came through. "5" gestures at the R5 unit to join him We need to close the bay doors behind us, that last thing we need are more attempts to keep us from leaving...
XJ7 examines the nearby area to find a panel...
"5" fails to notice a control panel but he does spot a well covered path through the various pallets that would fit the R5 unit and keep it safe while it looks too. Over there R5, see if you can find anything. Comlink me if you see something...
There is indeed a control panel, but is not nearby. In fact, you'd have to dash across the bay door opening to reach it...
The shot scorches Trex's armor, burning through it and causing him to roar with pain. He snaps off a shot from his blaster before ducking up the ramp and into the ship.
Trex's return fire punches through the crate that Valkyr was hiding behind.
The droids level their blasters and begin firing, closing the range as they blaze away. Their shots blow pieces of crates all around the bay, but they score no hits.
Well hopefully the blaster firing companions will be enough of a distraction.
"5" begins to work his way around the room towards the panel, trying to stay behind cover as best he can on the way.
Grimacing in pain and looking like death warmed up, Valkyr rises from her cover, eyes blazing holes in the droids as she brings her blaster up to turn them in to slag heaps with a blast of fully automatic fire.
The storm of blaster fire chews its way across the pourcrete hangar floor, slamming in to the two remaining droids
Valkyr lowers her smoking weapon and glances sideways at her companions
If you're going to work with me you better know about my rules.
She indicates the droids
Rule One, never get on my bad side...
The droids come apart in a spectacular display of fire and smoke.
R5 rolls over to Valkyr in a rush. Coming to a dusty stop behind her, a small needle emerges from his casing and jabs the Selonian in the behind. A warm feeling washes over her as the bacta from the stimshot goes to work.
Valkyr notices R5 roll up, but was not expecting to be jabbed with a needle and with her focus towards the open ship door, she jerks and there is a hiss of intaken breath.
She turns her gaze on the droid, and as pain-relief washes over her, smiles and sighs
Thank you R5!
she grins, still covered in scorch marks but knowing she won't be feeling it until later.
Come on! she waves the others over
we've got to stop him taking off or using the ships weapons on us!
she moves to the bottom of the gangplank and waits for everyone else.
We need to hurry before any one of those groups of pursuers finds us!
Tok tries to get a shot off on Trex but misses and in fact hits some of his own cover.
'5' works the bay blast door controls, and the heavy durasteel portals slam closed and lock. Rae gives him a quick nod from her place in cover. Things are getting dicey, so she readies her medpack...you know, just in case.
From inside the KRAYT FANG, the sound of the engines firing up can be heard.
Val dashes over to the bottom of the ramp, covering for the rest.
From his position XJ7-511 moves to the ship as fast as he can, he assassin droid chassis giving him an honest humanoid gait superior to the hurried shuffling of many other droids.
Keeping her head down, Rae makes a run for the ship as well, excited to leave the planet behind and find herself surrounded by the infinite stars and their possibilities. "Let's go let's go"
You reach the bottom of the ramp, with no sign of Trex. You can hear the sound of claws on the metal decking from somewhere inside the ship. Outside, the engines begin to whine as the energy cycles up for takeoff.
Looking up, you can see the ramp ends at the top, where the ships passages go right and left around the circular hull of the YT-1300. In the standard configuration, the cockpit would be to your right, and the ship's other compartments to your left.
R5 rolls out from his cover, up behind where '5' stands. He lets out a low 'wooooooo'. as he peeks around the bigger droid.
Now everyone has reached the ramp, Valkyr shouts over the rising whine of the engines firing up
Storm the cockpit! He's either there and we end this quick or else we at least take control of the flight and comms systems, and we can hunt for him once we're off the planet. Come on!
Valkyr charges up the ramp and heads right, the large muzzle of her blaster leading the way.
Tok follows, blaster ready.
Tilting his head down at the astromech droid "5" nods, Agreed Under the direction of Valkyr XJ7 deploys his stun blaster and follows the others ready to shoot.
You turn the corner toward the cockpit, and find yourselves staring down the business end of Trex' blaster. He fires at close range, the flash from the shot causing motes of light to dance in your retinas. At this range, and with your sudden assault, Trex can't be choosy. His shot hits Tok, taking him in the right hip.
Breathing heavily from his wounds, he braces himself and he takes careful aim...
"Ow! You f+$+ing shot me!"
The cool and calm expression on her face not wavering for an instant, Valkyr raises her rifle and fires a single shot at Trex, mindful that a hail of autofire was likely to damage the ship.
Her shot takes Trex in the same area of melted armor that her first attack outside had targeted. The bolt chews through the remaining laminate and burns a hole straight through the Transdoshan and sending his weapon tumbling from his grip to skitter across the hallway to Valkyr's feet.
Tok's shot staggers the Transdoshan slaver, causing him to stumble out in the open, where Valkyr's shot fries him. His smoking body drops onto the metal decking with a resounding thud.
You have the ship, the stars call...
Right, the way has been cleared, now it's over to you guys to get us out of here. I'll go seal the ramp and check the rest of the ship to make sure there are no more surprises. Everyone, move now!!
Valkyr proceeds directly to the ramp and engages the lock before moving around the ship clearing each room to ensure there are no further threats present. There will be time the team to do a full inventory later, but she will keep an eye out for any medipacks or anything else that could be easily picked up and stowed in a pocket.
"I can fly. Who else? And I hope one of you has more experience than me "
Rae looks up from the smoldering wreckage of Trex with an expression of horror. "I- I can. Might be better served in the engine room, but any port in a storm."
This aint over yet...
The sounds of heavy weapons hammering at the bay doors comes through the ship's outer sensors.
XJ7 will take a seat in the co-pilot chair as he passes his hands over the console in front of him, R5 do you want to begin astrogation calculations? Anything away from here, possibly just empty space so we can get our bearings?
I think Rae is right to make sure the other portions of the ships are operational, Mr Tok I think you have the pilot chair whatever your skill is. I will make sure we have full access to the core ship functions, R5 will assist with the astrogation and ship systems monitoring...
The droid set about flipping switches, pushing buttons and otherwise fiddling with the computer looking to make sure this ship is ready to fly and that the group has access to its capabilities.
Rae starts to nod at XJ7, before pausing a second. "Empty space might still make us a target. It's a smuggling ship, we'd blend in better among others."
Wracking her brain, she tries to think of where on the Rim they are, and where might be a safe place to lay low, and she pauses a second to talk this over with the R5 Unit. 'Ryloth is close, but they wouldn't harbour us,' she thinks sadly. 'Siskeen won't work, we need to get away from the Hutts.' She pauses, before looking at the R5 unit. "Do you think we can make it to Socorro?"
She then makes a move towards the control panels and machinery of the ship, seeing what she can do to make things function.
The KRAYT FANG blasts free from Mos Shuuta just as the blast doors are blown apart. Stormtroopers pour into the landing bay, firing at the escaping ship. Quickly the ship gains altitude, and in seconds, you are free of Tatooine's atmosphere.
Then all hell breaks loose.
Warning lights go off in the cockpit, with several alert icons flashing on the ship's VDU. A rank smell permeates the ship, bad enough to be distracting to all but '5'. Then, as if it weren't bad enough, an alarm klaxon sounds, accompanied by a grunting and squealing from the ship's loudspeakers.
- A large flashing red script in the center of the screen "Fuel Low".
- A small, flashing icon in the shape of a crescent moon, or fang.
- An irritating and intermittent pop-up in Transdoshan.
- A flashing red icon in the form of a simplified cage.
That's...disgusting... Valkyr wrinkles her nose and closes the compartment quickly.
Ears flattened against her skull in a desperate attempt to minimise the horrible noises issuing from the loudspeakers, she proceeds back to the cockpit.
Amid the blaring alarms and flashing alerts she raises an eyebrow
Anything I can help with?
We appear to be low on fuel and...other issues appear to be happening...
"F@%$f*#@f&&*f~++! Imperial fighters hot on our tail! Four of them! Valkyr, there any weapons on this ship??" Tok looks at the control panel. Been a while ...how about ... He tries to bank the Krayt Fang hard left, but the ship doesn't react the way he'd hoped.
The KRAYT FANG has two sets of guns: quad laser cannons on the top and bottom of the ship.
I believe I saw the standard YT-1300 light freighter configuration of under/over quad lasers, I'll go check the under turret!
the last of this is shouted over her shoulder as she is already in motion pounding down the corridor towards the ladder shaft leading to the aft-gun. Sliding down the ladder and muttering under her breath the dire implications of not finding a working starship weapon at the end of her run, she drops in to the under turret and her heart surges to see the gun chair.
Vaulting over the back and flicking the power switches in rapid succession to bring the weapon online, she grabs the intercom headset as the weapon power up and the HUD initialises
Frakking son of a bantha! is the first the cockpit crew hear from her, before she adds
Sorry, the seat's combat webbing doesn't fit me so I can't strap in securely... in other news I believe our pilot is right, there are definitely four red blinking ships on the display in front of me. If you have gods then pray to them now...
Grabbing the gun controls she rotates the turret and waits for her chance.
Swearing at her unfamiliarity with the weapon, Valkyr nonetheless makes her shots count. Though the TIE she was aiming at was able to evade the shots, its erratic flight pattern disrupted the incoming coordinated attack pattern of the Empire's fighters.
She shouts over the intercom
Can someone please now turn off that Frakking loudspeaker!?
"5"s mandible like protrusions chitter as the droid punches away at the console in front of him, telling the system to switch to Basic and, if possible, to end the endlessly annoying sound that seems to plague his comrades.
XJ7 punches a few more buttons and the console flickers and hums as the system resets itself for operation in Basic as the various sounds end instead replaced by the droid's bass tinged mechanical voice, Hopefully that is better.
The noises stop.
Several messages pop up on the computer in Basic:
1. The "Fuel Low" message remains.
2. The crescent moon icon flashes: "Transmitting beacon to home location, ETA 1 hour."
3. The intermittent popup is now readable: "Credits for cargo pending delivery of the skins. Teemo."
4. The cage icon also flashes a message: "Sentient prisoners vital signs: green. Last refresher: 1 hour. Twi'Lek Bura'n status: Green. Drall Hargar status: Green.
5. The last message reads: "Gamorrean Opera Bash the Head, Feel the Red has been paused."
The TIE fighters come screaming in attack formation. Their attack is scattered by Valkyr's shooting, but they come around for another pass.
Rae is working to get the hypermatter reactor transmitter installed.