Joran and Alaric call for Vintressa to take the shot, and she calmly breathes out and pulls the trigger... only for nothing to happen. She looks down and sees that the blaster's safety switch is caught just off of its single-fire setting, preventing it from firing. It's a one-in-a-thousand mishap, and fixed in a moment's notice, but it means she misses that first opportunity.
In the compound, the group readies for combat, drawing weapons and igniting lightsabers, dissolving the illusion as bright and thrumming energy blades fill the air. "Jedi!" the armored man states, going for his pistol as he turns to look at the Ubese. "Get them!"
But even as the rest of the enemies ready for combat, the Ubese steps back, the vocabulator crackling again. "I only kill Jedi when I'm paid to. You're on your own."
True to his word, the Ubese begins walking away--never quite turning his back fully to the apparent start of a battle, but clearly not interested in taking part. The man in modified armor follows him for a moment, then turns back to face your group. "Now listen, maybe we can talk this out..." His hand does stray from the pistol, but at the angle he holds them it's also easy to notice what looks like an integrated blaster on the underside of each wrist.
"Bite me scum sucker," Jal says flatly. He flicks the trigger on his grenade and tosses it into the middle of the enemy squad. "I don't have time to waste playing nice."
"You were ready to kill us. There will be no negotiations," Alaric says, holding his blade at the ready.
After Jal's concussion grenade goes off, Alaric reaches out with the Force towards the man speaking. A second later, the Jedi Knight's hand closes as he draws his arm back and the man is pulled from his feet towards Alaric, who shifts the position of his lightsaber blade. Just as the man draws close enough for a strike, Alaric's free hand grips the haft of his lightsaber as Alaric pivots on his back foot and swings the bottom blade of his lightsaber up and across with a quick slash at the armored man's chest.
Noticing the Ubese begin to turn away from the group, Vintressa eliminates him from her list of immediate targets. She will aim at one of the men wearing heavy armor.
With Alaric having already engaged one of their foes and Vintressa firing at another, Callum, ignited lightsaber in hand, turns to one of the others. He does not attack however, not with his weapon at least.
"With your... associate unwilling to help you against us, with you already hurt, you must realize you are outnumbered and stand little to no chance of defeating us," he says in an even voice, his tone calm, as he allows the man a moment to process both of the successful strikes to two of his comrades-in-arms. "You will not win. But you may survive this. Surrender."
Following the Ubese's retreat, the team launches their attack. Jal is the first to move, throwing a concussion grenade just behind the enemies; they all reflexively shy away from the explosion, avoiding the brunt of the force. Alaric reaches out with the Force and draws the speaking man toward him, and he slashes with his lightsaber, catching a weak spot in the armor--the man is still up and able to fight, but off-steady. Meanwhile, Vintressa lines up a shot on the other armored fellow, and her blast connects with his helmet. The man reels, clutching at the scorch mark as he staggers. Callum raises his lightsaber and speaks to the remaining enemies, and his words do seem to give them pause.
The man in modified armor, apparently the leader, curses as he lands next to Alaric, keeping his feet as he does so. He brings up one arm and, sure enough, a blue-ringed blast pulses forth from the barrel on his wrist. The Jedi Shadow, however, dodges out of the way, and the stun blast dissipates as it flies past. "I don't want to kill you, fool!" he shouts.
That sentiment clearly doesn't extend to everyone, however: the other armored figure lets loose a howl of rage and rushes into melee with Alaric as well, its vibro-ax thrumming to life. Alaric once more drops back, knocking the strike aside with his lightsaber as he dodges away.
The matched riflemen also raise their weapons, pointed at Callum. "You first!" one shouts, somewhat foolishly, and they both pull the trigger, more stun blasts filling the air. One goes wide, but the other is well-aimed to center mass--even a trained Jedi like Callum would be hard-pressed to deflect the shot.
Devastating Attack (Rifles): (Core pg. 53) Choose a single exotic weapon or weapon group with which you are proficient. Whenever you make a successful attack against a target using such a weapon, you treat your target's damage threshold as if it were 5 points lower when determining the result of your attack.
Penetrating Attack (Rifles): (Core pg. 53) Choose a single exotic weapon or weapon group with which you are proficient. Whenever you make a successful attack against a target using such a weapon, you treat your target's damage reduction as if it were 5 points lower when determining the result of your attack.
"You had your chance." Jal just shrugs and aims at the nearest rifleman, opening fire on him with his blaster pistol. He feints left, looking like he's about to dive out of cover for a better shot, then suddenly rights himself and fires straight for the man's center of mass. He seems to fall into a strange focus as he aims, blasting the man's torso with exceptional accuracy.
After spinning to the side to avoid the stun bolt, Alaric lets go of his lightsaber with one hand and grips the heavily armored man with the Force, lifting him just slightly off the ground with his feet dangling in the air. "Then what do you want?" Alaric asks, his lightsaber still ignited in case another of the assailants attempts to attack him. "You had best answer quickly."
The illusion of a quiet prison is shattered by the break out of the fight.
Hugo grins ah a fight against live foes and reaches out through the Force to embolden his attacks.
Use the Force - Activate Battlestrike -
Trevan charges at one of the riflemen his red blade gleaming in the darkness of the facility.
Rapid Strike
Lightsaber Attack #1
Lightsaber Damage
Lightsaber Attack #2
Lightsaber Damage
As the Ubese backs away, Joran keeps an eye on him, but dismisses him from current threat consideration. Based on its comments, he suspected that they were after Kaul Wren, as well, and he didn't want the Ubese flanking them and grabbing the man. He figures Jal, Hugo, and Callum could handle the riflemen, but Alaric seemed to be taking on the big fellows all by his lonesome - and vibro-ax boy was looking pretty lethal. Taking careful aim, Joran squeezed the trigger, firing a blast into the man with his ascension gun.
Trevan rushes one of the riflemen, surging past Callum with the Force guiding his attack. He brings his lightsaber forward in a pair of lighting-quick slashes that shred loose parts of the man's armor and singe at his body, not quite slashing through vitals, but clearly winding him as he dodges back.
Joran, meanwhile, makes use of the fact that he's still escaped the notice of the most heavily armored foe. He brings up his pistol and takes a moment to carefully aim, and then fires. The blast once more doesn't quite penetrate the thick armor, but the impact does stagger the man, off-balance from his attack, and he gives another roar of anger as he looks over his shoulder at the Republic agent.
Jal quickly sidesteps, drawing the attention of the rifleman Trevan attacked, and when he fires, the man is dodging the wrong way. The blast catches him dead center of the chest, and he drops to the ground, the blaster tumbling from his hands. Alaric, meanwhile, grasps the leader with the Force and raises him into the air. "All I want is Wren!" the man says. "I can see I'm not the only one."
Callum winces as the stun blast hits him, but remains upright. "Really? That can hardly be your best retort," he quips, though his words fall on deaf ears as the rifleman is down, courtesy of Hugo and Jal. Shrugging he turns to look at the two armored men currently menacing Alaric, only to find one of them suspended in midair.
"Care to elaborate? If only because I generally have found bounty hunters to not be so polite as to merely try to stun their adversaries when in pursuit of their quarry," he says conversationally, at the same time reaching out with the Force to lift the one wielding the vibro-ax in the air for but a moment before hurling him into the remaining rifleman.
Vintressa aims at the back of the armored man that Joran is attacking, refusing to be rattled by disruption of their plan.
This mission is not a total loss yet. Just eliminate this group and then get Wren out of here before anyone else can show up.
Dastardly Strike: (Core pg. 46) Whenever you make a successful attack against an opponent that is denied its Dexterity bonus to Reflex Defense, the target moves -1 step along the condition track.
Improved Stealth: (Core pg. 49) You may choose to reroll any Stealth check, but the result of the reroll must be accepted even if it is worse.
Keen Shot: (Core pg. 49) You take no penalty on your attack roll when attacking a target with concealment (but not total concealment).
Armored Defense: (Core pg. 52) When calculating your Reflex Defense, you may add either your heroic level or your armor bonus, whichever is higher. You must be proficient with the armor you are wearing to gain this benefit.
Devastating Attack (Rifles): (Core pg. 53) Choose a single exotic weapon or weapon group with which you are proficient. Whenever you make a successful attack against a target using such a weapon, you treat your target's damage threshold as if it were 5 points lower when determining the result of your attack.
Penetrating Attack (Rifles): (Core pg. 53) Choose a single exotic weapon or weapon group with which you are proficient. Whenever you make a successful attack against a target using such a weapon, you treat your target's damage reduction as if it were 5 points lower when determining the result of your attack.
Hunter's Mark: (Core pg. 208) If you aim before making a ranged attack, you move the target -1 step along the condition track if the attack hits.
Point Blank Shot: (Core pg. 87) You get a + 1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons against opponents within point blank range.
Careful Shot: (Core pg. 82) If you aim before making a ranged attack, you gain a + 1 bonus on your attack roll.
Precise Shot:: (Core pg. 87) You can shoot or throw a ranged weapon at an opponent engaged in melee combat with one or more of your allies without tak ing the standard -5 penalty.
Weapon Focus (Rifles): (Core pg. 89) You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using the selected exotic weapon or weapon group.
Steadying Position: (Galaxy at War pg. 26) When you are prone and aim before making a ranged attack, your target does not benefit from its Dexterity bonus to Reflex Defense.
Callum reaches out with the Force, and the vibro-ax wielder, still reeling from Joran's shot, is thrown backwards through the air, colliding heavily with the rifleman who's still up. Both parties stagger from the hit, with the rifleman nearly toppling over onto the ground, and in the aftermath Vintressa takes a well-aimed shot. The ax-wielder barely has time to plant his feet before the blaster bolt strikes his neck, and he lurches forward to land face-down on the ground, his hands twitching out in a spasmic death throe.
The armored man still floating the air looks to glance around at his fallen allies, and he raises his hands. "Alright, fine. I know when to cut my losses. Take Wren." He still seems on the defensive, however; understandable, since he's still held in midair.
The only other enemy still standing likewise holds off, his blaster at the ready but not directly aimed at anyone.
Hugo considers striking down the other Rifleman but holds, ready to strike if his finger so much as twitches. The red blade glows eerily in the light of the prison a reminder that Hugo was once Trevan.
Vintressa activates her comm again. "Are we allowing them to surrender or do I take another shot?"
"Hold your fire. We're going to talk things out."
Joran picks up Kaul and begins moving toward the door. "We'd appreciate it if you stayed here while we left."
"Who hired you? Why are you after Kaul Wren?" Alaric softens his voice a bit, and while his lightsaber is still ignited he lowers it to a less threatening pose. "Tell me what you know, and you and your remaining soldiers will leave here without further harm."
Joran sighs, and looks over at the Ubese, making sure he's still wear he chose to stand during the fight. He really didn't care who they were and why they were after Kaul, especially since they were just as likely to lie or claim "client confidentiality". They had an opportunity to escape, and he'd really prefer they take it. Joran moves himself and Kaul so they're near to Callum, Hugo, and Ral, providing additional protection for their semiconscious charge - and also closer to the door.
The armored man keeps his hands up, palms out with the fingers spread wide. With everyone on edge, it's a little disconcerting to see him so seemingly relaxed. "I'm a bounty hunter. I'm after Wren because I was paid to acquire him. And seeing as I like my job, I like to think I'm good at it, and I need to keep up a reputation, I'm not about to tell you who's on the other end of that payment. I can already tell this job is a bust." He looks down at the fallen bodies and shakes his head. "At this point I just want everyone to walk out of here with no more bloodshed. I'd think a Jedi would want the same."
Joran looks over toward the Ubese, and sees that he's still walking directly away from the compound, out across the clearing. Vintressa also has a clear view of the figure, and he looks entirely unconcerned with what's happening behind him.
Kaul interrupts Joran's thoughts with a cough and a weak smile. "Joran? J-Joran Gr-g-g... Gr-Gres. D-don't tell me I'm sa... saving your s-sorry ass again."
"Yeah, that's not going to work for me." Jal can respect a bounty hunter with standards and loyalty, but this is too much of a coincidence for him to let it go. He walks up to the mercenary and waves two fingers in front of his face. "You will tell us who hired you to bring them Kaul Wren."
Voice over the comm. "Update, the only thing crossing the clearing right now is the Ubese. Still no sign of any guards or any other unexpected visitors, at least for now. May I suggest you move now and question later? There is no guarantee that Ubese won't alert someone."
Hugo raise an eyebrow at the use of the Force by Jal Raxis but says nothing about the matter. He looks down at the remaining Riflemen, "Drop your weapon and let's start heading out the door shall we? I don't want to kill you and I am sure you don't want to die here". He ever so slightly motions towards the exit with his red lightsaber.
"We really need to be moving..." He states to the rest of the team though his eyes remain locked on his "prisoner".
"A pretty good suggestion," Callum concurs as he keeps his eyes on his surroundings while others question their captive, his lightsaber still ignited just in case. "Let us give the man a moment to see if he... remembers anything else he might like to share and then off we go, yes?"
Joran grimaces as Kaul says his name. Damn, those mercenaries heard it. That's not good. No doubt they'll be willing to sell that information.
"If you must interrogate them, bring them with us. We'll deal with them on the ship."
The man floating in midair glances down at Jal as he steps up, and for a moment he's quiet. Then he seems to shrug and starts speaking in the curious tone most people take after receiving a Jedi mind trick. "Tell you who hired me to bring them Kaul Wren? I'm not certain. An intermediary set up the deal... a Duros. Said they wanted Wren, offered a lot of credits. I think he worked for a Hutt."
The rifleman facing Trevan stares at his boss for a few moments, then grudgingly lowers his blaster to the ground. "Alright." He starts edging toward the door, although not faster than Trevan directs.
Sure enough, even as some of the group voice concerns over the time, their commlinks produce a small chirp. Although only loud enough for each individual to hear their own, they know they're in unison: the timed alert that by now, they should be on their way out of the compound, back to the ship. Trevan's illusion should keep anyone from being alerted for a few minutes longer, but that doesn't help the new guard shift that'll be arriving soon.
"Hutts." Jal absently spits to the side. "Well, that can't possibly be anything good. Alright, I've held us up long enough. Let's get moving and finish up any questions when we're not in danger of having the Empire come down on our heads. Though I have a feeling that the duros middleman is the only one who has the answers we probably need."
At the chirp, Tressa comes over the comm again. "Shall I take point back to the ship now or hang back and make sure nothing is following us?"
Joran whispers back, "You saving my sorry ass? I seem to recall I needed to come pick you up after you flew head over heels off your kybuck."
With the chirp and Vintressa's question, Joran thinks for a moment, "Get back to the ship. We don't want you to get caught out if someone discovers what we've done early."
To the others, "Let's move."
When the man answers Jal's question, Alaric loosens his grip on the Force and casts him aside; not enough that it causes injury, but enough to leave the man winded. He keeps his lightsaber ignited and ready to swing, but otherwise leaves the bounty hunters unscathed. "Another guard shift will be coming, keep your guard up." Alaric looks back at the bounty hunters, but shakes his head and keeps moving.
Alaric tosses the man to the side, dropping him from the Force, and the rifleman moves to help him as the team makes to leave. They quickly leave the compound and make their way across the clearing, and Vintressa begins the trek back through the pipes to the ship. The Ubese is briefly in view as the team starts to leave, but as he hits the foliage his camouflage poncho activates again and he quickly fades from view, his form too indistinct to make out in the low lighting and cover.
The trip back to the ship is uneventful, and Callum is already moving into the cockpit as Joran brings up the trail end of the group, Kaul Wren still weak but on his feet. As the ship comes to life, however, its sensors beep with recognition of an incoming vehicle--a landspeeder. Even as that notice goes off, the communications also activate, alerting the cockpit that someone's trying to make contact with the ship. That alert shouldn't be coming from the Republic; they were to maintain silence until you first contacted them. It looks like it's time to get going--and fast.
Vintressa looks at the ship's sensors curiously.
"Hmm, a landspeeder isn't a typical attack vehicle. Does anyone else have another side mission here?"
She'll move to flip the comm on, but remains silent and listens unless anyone stops her.
Jal drops into his seat. "Let's get out of here before we find out who they are. We already got what we need out of this nonsense." He doesn't move to stop the sniper from checking who the hell is contacting them when they're supposed to be radio silent.
Hugo keeps his mouth closed, fight don't fight. He is fine either way. He looks at Alaric watching his reaction.
"Jal is right. We have Kaul Wren. Let's get clear before the Sith notice we've got him."
Joran won't do anything to stop Vintressa from listening, but he expects the ship won't turn around regardless of what the person on the other end says.
The time Callum takes to prep the ship for launch is not long, but it may very well give the pilot of the unknown landspeeder the opportunity to speak up and say whatever it is they have to say. The Jedi is not about to strike up a conversation though. As others have already pointed out their mission is over and successfully so. Or at least one part of it is. The last part, their getting away unscathed, is just about to begin.
"Do buckle up," he says with a crooked smile, almost a grin. "Speed is of the essence methinks, so there may be quite a bit of it."
Alaric nods when Vintressa flips the comms on to see who's making contact, but doesn't voice any disagreement with getting into the air to make their escape. "Definitely not the Republic... it could be another Jedi, but I wasn't informed there would be any others on-world to rendezvous with." He noticed Hugo looking his way, waiting to gauge the Jedi Knight's own reaction. He nods to the other man, reaching out with the Force to calm Hugo's nerves. He slides his lightsaber back into the hidden sheath at his back before moving to the vehicle's weapons, just in case. "We should have people ready to fire if needed," he says, activating one of the turrets.
Hugo will nod back at Alaric and head to a turret.
While Callum boots the ship and makes ready to take off, Vintressa opens the comm channel. The team remains quiet, but they quickly hear an incoming message in any case. "Unidentified transports, this space is restricted under order of Imperial forces." The woman's voice is firm and disciplined, clearly that of a military officer. "This is Captain Tadia Kord of the Imperial Army. Power down your ship and make ready for a boarding inspection, and you'd better have the proper clearances."
This possibility did have instructions, actually: in the event that you were contacted by the Empire during the exfiltration, asking for clearances, you were to simply leave. Callum's piloting should get you away from the danger before they can cause you any real trouble, and the ship itself can't be traced back to the Republic.
For a moment you may also wonder what the woman meant by transports, plural, but then the ship's sensors pick up a burst of power from a spot some half a kilometer away--another ship taking off. It may be a good time to do similar.
"I advise you, in the least polite manner possible, to go kiss a Hutt." Jal reaches out and shuts the communicator off. "Punch it Callum. And power up the guns. We're about to have company."
Joran raises an eyebrow at Jal's highly unprofessional remark, but given the unorthodox nature of the group, it wasn't worth a reproof. Besides, it might further convince the Empire they were another bounty hunter group with no ties to the Republic. He simply says, "Blast out of here. And let's get ready for company." He then straps Kaul into a seat before doing the same."[/b]
Alaric nods at Joran's comment, before preparing for take-off. "It seems our bounty hunter friends have left as well, leaving alongside them seems a good cover. We may even be able to use them for our own escape."
"Well, it is not so much punching as it is...," Callum begins to say and then stops. "You know, nevermind."
It takes a moment to bring the guns online and then another moment or two for the actual piloting to start. The Jedi does indeed "punch it", whatever "it" is, reaching into the Force almost instinctively to lend its aid in his getting himself and the rest of his companions away from here and quickly.
Jal cuts off the comms before the woman on the other end of the line can respond, and Callum revs the engines of the ship. Just as the landspeeder breaks the foliage into the clearing with the ship, the transport takes off, leaving behind what is undoubtedly a team of confused and infuriated Sith military personnel. No shots are fired from the surface, and even in orbit, the small armada present to garrison the planet seem unaware of the trouble until it's too late. The ship's sensors pick up a power signature suggesting a capital ship readying to fire even as Callum hits the hyperdrives into gear, and the danger is left behind--at least for now--in the blur of hyperspace. The course was already preplotted, heading for an empty space in the Mid Rim to throw off pursuit before swinging back to an established lane to Coruscant. The whole trip takes a few days, but it's safe and easy going--and gives time for everyone to rest and treat their wounds, especially Kaul Wren.
The ship is hailed almost immediately when it comes out of hyperspace near Coruscant, and not by typical planetary control, either. The communication is directly from your immediate handlers in Republic SIS, and a holotransmission lights up on the pilot's console. The figure displayed is a thin human woman, dressed in plain dark clothing and with her hair pulled neatly back into a professional bun--an SIS handler codenamed Whisper, known well by Joran and recognized by the others. She was placed as probationary handler of the new SOE initiative, just as the six agents are probationary members of the team. "Probationary" turning to permanent rests on the outcome of this mission, and what the higher-ups think of things.
"Smoke Squad," she says, using the established callsign for the team. "I trust everything went to plan. You have the asset?" She waits for confirmation that Kaul Wren is on board, with any other comments receiving only a slight frown in reply. "You're cleared for landing on Navy Pad Sixteen. Report for immediate debrief once you've landed." With that, she closes the communication, leaving the team to wonder amongst themselves or just silently wait to touch down.
The landing is smooth, of course, and the team is greeted almost instantly by a small squad of soldiers who lead them into the nearby complex. Several hallways and a brief elevator ride later--during which Kaul Wren is whisked off by medical personnel--the team reaches the debriefing room, a plain hexagonal room with a table in the center and a dozen chairs. At the door is Whisper , who greets you with a small, professional smile. Also inside are three more figures, seated near the end of the table. On the left is Quel Doran , a Jedi Master and one of the backers of the SOE; on the right, Kida Fothe, one of the few publicly recognizable officers of the SIS; and at the head of the table is Vulk Giska'kith, a Senator from Bothawui and the direct overseer of the SOE for the Republic government. Whisper gestures for you to take seats, and hands each of you a glass of water. Once everything is in order and she takes a seat next to Fothe, Vulk Giska'kith clears his throat and leans forward, folding his hands.
"It is my understanding," he begins, his voice rough but warm, "that the mission was a success. Rather than go through tedious paperwork, I thought it would be good to hear your thoughts straight from your own mouths. What do you have to report on the events, agents?"