Mahath clutches his bleeding shoulder as he replies "The planet seems to want us to succeed. Just about as much as it wants to kill us. Typical, really."
"If I'm not mistaken, that must be the outpost there in the distance. We should move on quickly; if this scout had a time that he was supposed to check in our be relieved, it might set off concerns or search parties."
Speaking of the scout, you hear him give a low moan from where he lies, his legs bending at the wrong angles.
How far ahead am I again?
You're at the edge of the zone, which is probably about 50 meters ahead of the others.
ok
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The Doctor swears loudly again in Huttese as the Rancor gets the drop on him and crashes rather close to him, nearly taking off his head in the swing. Though, it did hit the ground with a thunderous crash, causing his mount to stumble and trip, rolling once before leaping back up and resuming its run. Unfortunately, it forgot about its rider during that little maneuver, taking the full weight of the beast as it rolls, leaving him in a great deal of pain and his vision unfocused as he tried to recover.
Chel manages to trot his mount over to where the Doc lay in the dust.
Hopping off, Chel leans over to help Ren up "And here I thought my riding was horrible."
He then looks over at Manath "You alright?"
Mahath grunts in response to Chel. "That old thing caught me off guard. Is that a rancor? I never saw it until it slapped down that storm trooper. Another second and I wouldn't have scratches on my shoulder, I'd be two very much smaller twins."
Looking back he sees that his Master has fallen off of the mount. He will urge his mount back to see what has happened.
Master, let me help you the worry in his voice is apparent as he evaluates the situation. Dismounting he kneels down as Ren's head and taking his head in his hands begins to concentrate, calling on the Force to aid his Master.
Use the Force for Vital Transfer
// Vital Transfer (standard; one ally touched) •Light Side<BR>DC 15: heals 2 hit points
DC 20: heals 3 hit points
DC25: heals 4 hit points
Take half of the damage you heal; spend Force Point to avoid taking damage; spend Destiny Point to move target +5 steps up the condition track<BR>
hp 30/31
Chel watches the padawan harness the Force and use it to send healing energy into Ren.
Frowning, he thinks "Hmm, Master obviously didn't see the need to teach me that trick."
Turning he seeing the fallen imperial move a bit and make some noise, Chel strides over and crouches by the man.
"Hey, wake up !" he says, prodding the man with his unlit lightsabre. "We need to talk with you."
The scout trooper groans and his helmet rolls off, revealing the familiar features of an aging clone trooper. "Rebel.. scum." he mutters, spitting blood out his mouth, along with a few teeth.
Chel smiles a the clone soldier's discomfort, "Ah, yes. Rebel scum here, nice to meet you , Imperial lackey."
"Now that we're friends, tell me all you know about the troop disposition of the imperial station over yonder." Chel says conversationally, as he slowly moves his lightsaber back and forth infront of the soldier's face.
Persuasion
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Ren feels restorative energy flow from Quen into his own body, easing the pain somewhat. "Thanks Quen. That helped a bit." Smiling some at Quen and standing up, wincing still, he takes the reigns of his mount and walks over to where the Stormtrooper had fallen and Chel was 'interrogating' him. Kneeling on the other side of the trooper, he unslung his medical bag and said, taking out a few items for himself, "Allow me to make you an offer, whomever you are. You provide us with some information about the station you're deployed at, and I"ll treat your wounds."
The scout trooper nods slowly, but grimaces as the pain of any motion hits him. His eyes can't seem to focus, but you get the impression that the lightsaber is keeping his attention. "What d'ya want to know?"
Using the Force to heal always took a little bit out of the young padawan, in fact, it took a lot more out of him than he let on. He got up and walked over to where the fallen stormtrooper was and listened to what was going on.
"As I said earlier, how many of you are there? What kind of monitoring do they have in place? How often are patrols rotated? The usual." Chel says, glancing down at the soldier's ruined legs.
The scouttrooper grits his teeth and coughs up blood. "Outpost just ahead. Six, maybe seven troops. Main facility... maybe a dozen more. No more patrols... unless I report... scummmmm..." He whispers and shudders, his eyes going lifeless and staring.
Chel looks up at Ren and Quen, "Charming to the end. So unless this one reports, we can expect another patrol this way...". Chel ponders for a moment, before searching the soldier's body for any useful items and something to identify the man.
The only ID is a small holotag denoting this trooper as HVI-179885, callsign 'Gerkin'. He also has somewhat damaged scout trooper armor and a heavy blaster pistol.
"Well, his armor is damaged, but I suppose one of us could wear it as a disguise if we were so inclined. Or we can just try and go unnoticed completely while we work."
Perhaps someone could wear it or at least be ready in case the base asks for a report?
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Ren grimaced as he watched the trooper die, cursing them with his last breath. Putting his things away, he stood up and added his two cents to their next move. "As much as I don't like the idea, I'll wear the armor. I've had to deal with troopers a few times before thanks to my.. previous situation. So I know the basics when it comes to their calls and procedures. And, no offense to the rest of you, but you all carry yourselves in a very specific way, as if you've had specialized training. They may notice that. Especially when everyone's uniformed like they are."
Will we be your prisoners Master or how will we explain away a group of civilians with you? inquired the padawan.
"I would be fine with either strategy. I would be inclined to go in with you as prisoners though."
With a bit of panic and shake to his voice, No Master, no, you won't go in alone.
Chel raises his hands in mock surrender, "I'll go quietly" he smiles then looks sideways at Quen "You alright, there?"
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Ren sighed softly and gently led Quen aside for a moment, so they could talk. Though doing so among Jedi, he wasn't sure how well that'd work. "Quen, listen. I'm not thrilled about this prospect either. But, we have a mission to do. I don't want to just hand you, Chel, and Manath over to the Imperials and leave me without back up. But, we also can't just storm the place, guns blazing and swords swinging; That'd draw massive amounts of attention. Given even basic security at that outpost would be able to recognize the lot of you as Jedi and send more forces to capture you. Without me to bail you out."
He gives his shoulder a reassuring squeezing, forcing a small smile. "C'mon, you were there when I dealt with the Hutts, and being forced to patch up mercs who were shot or stabbed in bad black market deals. No, I can't fight like you, but I'm not helpless either. And, if you have a better plan, then you're more than welcome to share it Quen. The longer we sit here debating this, the less time we have to report in with what's going in, and the smaller our window gets to do this relatively quiet."
You are right Master. I was allowing emotions to get in the way of the mission. I apologize
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"It's alright, Quen. Your emotions are there to help guide your decisions. Just don't let them cloud your judgement. They must be tempered with intelligence as well as wisdom." Patting his shoulder, he returns to the group with a sigh.
"If no one else has any objections, we're going to go with the infiltration plan. I'll radio back to base, disguised as a trooper with you lot as prisoners. Mention what happened, asked for a pick up, and have you taken to your cells. Try to look weak, so we can say you're weak from hunger, or your connection with the Force has been severed somehow. Once inside, I'll locate the security room, shut off the cameras, disable as many of the other defenses as I can, then free you guys. Anything else to add?"
Chel rolls his neck, his 'wild' ride having tweakes a muscle there. "I'd suggest you don't make any mention of the Force at all, otherwise I'd wager we wouldn't last long." he says, handing his lightsabre to the medical man "You should hold onto these..." he pauses and looks at the other two Force users "And don't go showing these Imps that you're anything special. We need to give Ren a chance to work his magic."
The good doctor retrieves the radio, which crackles to life. "Trooper, report! We observed an explosion. What is your status?"
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Picking up the radio, Ren replied, "Situation nominal. Came across some unruly folk wandering the forest. Delirious with hunger. They attacked as soon as they saw me. Lost my bike in the process. I could use a pickup for myself and these three captives." He stashed the 'broken' light sabers in his bag, having each Jedi take out the power source for them as well, and hiding them under the stolen Imperial armor he had slipped into. Ren's pack had a canister of liquid cable, using it to tie everyone up and sit them down, as he loomed over them, blaster in hand. "Remember, you guys have been without food for almost a week, and gone a few days without fresh water. Really sell it, okay?"
I might help the ruse a little more, Master. as he begins to concentrate and sits down. The trigger will be The Force be with you
as he enters into a force trance.
"Affirmative. Pickup will arrive shortly. Use caution; we have reports of suspicious ships in orbit."
A few moments later a small repulsor vehicle pulls up, driven by a stormtrooper, while a second mans a small mounted blaster. The "prisoners" are bound with their hands behind them and pulled onto the sled.
You are flown past the small outpost you glimpsed from below, and toward an ugly steel building. The building has an open ground floor, with a turbolift going up to two levels above. The sled pulls up and the stormtroopers jump out. One grabs the "unconscious" body of Quen and the other motions for the prisoners to pile onto the turbolift. Once on, the stormtrooper presses the button marked Level One. You notice that the button marked Level Two has a security key slot next to it; no one can access it without the appropriate key card.
Imperial Outpost Map, Level One
You are taken from the turbolift and roughly loaded into the detention cell. Inside are three rough-looking young men, and an older man who sits with the rigidity of one who has long served in the military. You are searched, and any belongings removed. Following this, you are shoved into the cell and the door closes behind you.
Doctor, you are lead into the Command Area, where a young man with pinched features and the rank of lieutenant stands stiffly. "Good job on the capture, Trooper. I will schedule these prisoners for torture and interrogation later today. You are dismissed."
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Ren could feel his heart pounding in his ears as they were picked up, dearly hoping he could fake his way through this crazy plan. He started building a mental map of the first floor as they walked, making a note of the key lock for Floor Two in the lift. Once the 'prisoners' were detained and he was brought before the LT, he snapped a quick salute and said, "Thank you, sir."
Excusing himself, he left and headed for the Comms Room. Hoping he could access a terminal, get himself some clearance for Level Two, and set the fake security feed in place. He takes a moment to scan the Comms Room, checking to see if there's anyone inside before access the terminal.
Two Imperial army technicians sit at terminals in this room. When you walk in, they look up, nod and go back to their work.
Taking an empty terminal where you think your hacking will go unnoticed, you manage to get the fake security feed in place, but you discover that security for level 2 is limited to a physical key. You note the two possessors: Captain Vischera, currently on Level Two, and Lt. Aden, currently in the command area.
Do I get to heal?
Chel makes sure that Quen is comfortable, then turns to the other men in the cell, "Hey lads." he drawls to the three younger men , then nods to the military man.
The three men look at you with looks of disdain, but the military man nods back, clearly studying you.
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Ren nodded to himself as he saw the feed looping quite well, looking rather consistent. Seeing that the keys were physical, he wasn't too surprised. Taking a moment to consider his options, he opted to head back to the LT, hoping he could sell this. Knocking before entering, he stood at attention and said, "Sir! Requesting permission to head to Level 2. My armor was damaged in my last patrol and I need to have it repaired. I'd like to request a replacement in the meantime."
Chel leans against the wall, arms crossed and studies the military man right back.
"Hmm, could this be our Admiral?"
He looks aside at the three young men then back at the military man "Those I think I can guess why they're in here, by you , you look like you belong out there with the Imperials." he says nonchalantly.
Don't I have to stay in the trance until the trigger is given or can I break it?
The lieutenant frowns. "Replacements are in storage, trooper. You bucket-heads ought to know at least that much. And as I've told you repeatedly, Level Two is off limits. The Captain's experiments are too vital to disturb." He stares at you, clearly annoyed and slightly suspicious.
The military man frowns slightly. "Not that it's your concern, but I am Imperial. I'm sure everything will be sorted out soon." You get the impression he's not being 100% honest.
The lieutenant looks annoyed again (it's beginning to be routine for him) and shakes his head. Muttering something uncomplimentary under his breath, he removes a security key from his belt and hands it over to you. "While you're up there, inform the Captain that Admiral Varth will be retrieved by the Inquisitor in one hour. I will administer the truth serum in 30 minutes."
Chel walks over and leans against the wall nearest the military man, pitching his voice so only he can hear.
"I'm sure everything will be sorted out, that's why you're in here. Come now , Admiral, let's be honest with each other. " Chel says, hoping he's right about his hunch.
The man suddenly narrows his eyes. "I never said my rank..." He stares hard at Chel. "Who sent you?"