Log:Array Consortium: Dirtside Antics

Dirtside Antics

Location: SS-422-BX7
Participants: Zerna, Samaya, Atria Foster, Adhar Gann

//Adhar proves that he's not to be trusted in battle without stern women keeping him in order. Gets shot. Nobody is surprised.//

It's a surface raid!

Hired by members of the Stantar Merchant Guild, members of a pirate outfit responsible for the theft of three hundred tons of industrial metals - vital to the ailing guild's finances - have been located along with the purloined stash on planetoid of SS-422-BX7 in the far-flung reaches of the Quiberon sector, the Outer Rim sector famous for the Rothana and Quiberon systems. Located in the backwater of a backwater, the planetoid circles a small, angry red star, bathed in its light, a rocky hellscape devoid of any life. There aren't many hostiles expected, as this is but a waystation - so a rapid strike team is assembed, for once led by the Captain, and the rapid is launched.

Not detecting any starships, the Corellian Hello makes the drop outside the sensor range of the surface compound. While the civvie pilot waits in the cockpit, the raid group emerges from the belly of the ship, the Captain in command.

"Right," says Adhar, looking to distant lights; he wears heavy battle armor, not his usual lifter suit, colored gray and blue and bearing a jetpack on his back. "Barduur, take the Chief with you and set up a forward position. We can operate ased on what you pick up." Between the two, after all, there is Bar'duur's enhanced helmet optics and Atria's sniper senses (and powerful, armor-piercing rifle.)

Along to serve as copilot and ground support, Sion Corvara isn't technically Security, but she's filled in for them a number of times. As second officer, it's technically on her list of responsibilities, even if her presence isn't actually demanded for such things. But she's the hands-on kind of officer.

Besides, it beats staying at home, standing bridge watches and worrying about her friends. Which is what she'd be doing if she weren't here.

She moves to cover, feeling underdressed in her light armor. "Think they noticed us coming in? I doubt this rockball gets a lot of starship traffic, even shuttles." After all, it doesn't even have a real name.

Hefting the four-and-a-half foot length of her rifle, Atria exits the Hello and looks around. "You always take me to the most wonderful places, Captain," Atria quips in her Coruscanti accent. At Adhar's order, she looks to Bar'duur for her orders and gets ready to move out.

Zerna was armored up and ready to go. Looking to her gun, she reloads her gun then. Rolling her shoulders, she just glances over to Bar'duur with a smirk before nods a bit. "It's alright....just give me my orders so we can get to a real vacation spot when this is done?"

The planet's surface is full of rocky plains, boulders, and rills; though the red light from the seething distant star is thrown low across the landscape, the majority of you have armor that allows you to see just fine in the dim conditions. Atria, scanning along with her superior officer, finds a proper rill about a mile in the direction of the camp, which is about two and a half miles away.

Meanwhile, Adhar smirks. "Well, they can't all be garden spots," he says. They're never garden spots, though, Captain. Never. "The rest of you, make sure your weapons are ready. We'll head in on foot, and based on what we see, call the Hello over to do strafing runs. Sion, you take the Hello for that."

Atria chuckles softly, "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those garden spots. I'm still waiting on that beach party." With that, she heads off after Bar'duur, hoofing it across the barren landscape until she finds a proper rill to set up. She falls prone, setting her rifle and using its scope to scan the terrain between her and the pirate camp. "See anything I'm missing, Bar'duur?"

Samaya shifts slowly while murring gently and looks to the gathered. Time to look about, so the large feline woman keeps walking along, weapon slung. She is quiet and murring faintly.

Up on the rill, peering through the advanced optical scope of her A280, Atria's survey of the location seems fairly simple: four prefabricated surface bunkers, standing on reinforced legs, make up the base, along with a comms tower and a cluster of pallets loaded with crates in the center of the location. Just outside the circle of structures, there seems to be a permacrete pad big enough for a light freighter or shuttle to land upon the rocky soil. There are also a few floodlights up on poles, keeping the place well lit.

Guards, however, are hard to count: thee are a few fellows with guns and mustard-yellow combat armor out there, but it's hard to track numbers or equipment precisely.

<< Okay, Sion, >> Adhar says over the commnet, << Soon as we get an idea as to what's up there, we'll range ahead in the speeder packed on the Hello. Then we'll call when we need you to come bring the thunder. Keep her warmed up, all right?" >>

<Kayo. I'll be ready,> Sion replies, bending to the task of prepping the ship for close air support.

Atria surveys the landscape, then reports over the comm, << I'm seeing four prefab structures, a comm tower and a landing pad. There's a cluster of crates in the middle of the prefabs. >> She pauses a moment to look over the camp again, then continues, << I see some guards in horrid yellow armor, but I can't really determine numbers or equipment from here. >>

Samaya continues to stand near by, she just sees the guard shacks so she merely watches from her spot. unsure how to move forward buuut she is just watcheful, keeping tabs on whats around them at the moment.

With that knowledge in mind, Adhar grunts. << Right, >> he says over the comms, << Let's get that speeder out and head over. Samaya, Atria, we'll be right over. Atria, you'll lead the combat team. >>

The speeder is a two person repulsortruck, with Adhar in the driver's seat and Atria up front - Samaya and Zerna take up cargo bed in the back, though it can seat six. Driving casually, Adhar picks you all up and drives the speeder truck very close to the earth and at low speed, avoiding dust pick-up as he makes not for the complex directly but a series of large rocks a few hundred feet from the compound. The plan is this: move the speeder smoothly across the way, cutting the speeder's rear thruster so that it 'coasts' into the shelter of the rocks before we can set up firing positions and rain hell on the opposition.

It does not go this way.

Adhar makes it carefully toward the rocks, all right, but as he nears the bounders he hits...something...that gets jammed in the speeder's engine outlet; as dim, bloody day begins to cure into night, the quiet is broken by the trilling, bell-like sound of a rock stuck in an otherwise indestructible jet fan, filling the night with noise.

<< Ah, shavit, >> Adhar bellows over the comms, << We're made! Get out into the rocks, they're gonna be coming for us! >> He stops the speeder behing the rocks for you all to get out, led by Atria, and then punches it into high speed as he now makes around the rocks and directly for the camp.

Samaya looks at Adhar. <<You could you know.. STOP FURTHER OUT!>> she hisses over the comms. The large Togorain -really- hates the sound as her hearing is waaay more sensitive than the rest of those gathered. So she just covers her ears as best she can.

<Need cover, Ground Team? Angel is standing by,> Sion comms, strapping into the pilot's seat, with the reluctant sub pilot for co-pilot.

Atria jumps out of the speeder and behind the rocks. She sets up a firing position, watching for the guards to come investigate and ready to blast a few apart. << Take up positions and get ready. Those guards are likely to head this way after all that noise. We'll give them something to think about. And give the Captain some cover if he needs it. >> She watches him barrel in towards the camp, then adds, << Which he probably will. >> Off the comm, she mutters, "If he gets himself kriffing shot again..."

Zerna gasps as she feels the jerk but frowns. <<Smooth...>> She just pulls her gun out as she holds onto the side of the the cargo bed she sits in. Sighing a but she just shakes her head. <<If I get shot again I swear.....>> Chuckling she moves to a crouching position slightly.

Well, the thing about hellscapes is that it's hard to get your purchased on all the flinty bullshit rocks and such when jumping out of a SCREAMING REPULSOR-DRIVEN BELLWAGON without getting tripped up - which most of you are, now, as you make your way to the rocks to set up those firing positions. Adhar, on the other hand, has taken to driving the ailing speeder into the middle of the camp like Satan's own ice cream truck, terrifying a number of armed guards, and leaping out of he truck manages to get clear as the thing /crashes into a building/ and EXPLODES. From behind the rocks, the sudden thunder of the blast can be heard, possibly surprising nobody but definitely not making things easier.

Or well. Maybe so! It's a DISTRACTION.

<Angel, still standing by,> Sion comms again. <What was that just now? I heard an explosion...>

Samaya shifts slowly while looking over base. "So.. now we have to..go get him.." she murrs with a frown. The large feline, having set up to fire on people coming to get them now it's got to go fetch Adhar. She doesn't move however looking at the boss.

Atria spews various curses that just sound odd in her 'proper' accent as she slips and slides around and tries to scramble up the rocks to get to a good firing position. In the process, she replies to Sion, << That was the Captain being the Captain. In any case, the pirates are distracted, so I'd say it'd be a good time to start a strafing run. Unless the Captain has other plans for you. >>

Zerna groans as she just shakes her head. "Here we go....." She then gets on her comms then. <<Captain? Are you alright?>> She struggles to get up the rocks but just gets there to get in position. Time for the party to actually start now that the fire works have gone off.

<< I'm okay! >> this over the sound of what disturbingly sounds like a jet or rocket engine, peppered with the sounds of blaster fire; on the other side of the rocks, Adhar, having managed /not/ to die, kicks in his jump pack to lift himself into the air at speed while taking shots at one of the guards now streaming out of the buildings. He drops the man easily, smoke spewing from craters in the pirate's plastoid breastplate, while shouts and LOUD NOISES are emitting from all around.

<Copy. Keep your heads down and if you've got any targets, now'd be a good time to speak up. Angel is inbound! Setting up for a run from the north, heading south!> Sion comms as the ship lifts off, turreted blasters ready to wreak havoc. Ion cannons and shields are powering up as well. With a surge of power, the /Corellian Hello/ goes into a wide turn to get where it's needed.

Atria finally manages to get into position and rests her rifle in a crook of rock to steady her aim with the large rifle. << Pick your targets and open fire, ladies. The Captain needs cover. >> Doing as she ordered, she squeezes off a shot, the loud retort of the A280 preceding the impact of the blaster bolt into one of the pirates, dropping him to the ground in one shot.

Samaya shifts slowly as she rests her gun forward, she just takes her time for the one. She then squeezes the trigger, her target is rather unlucky as the shot goes right through is middle and leaves a gapping hole where she hit. The Togorian growling low as she moves to take another target.

The withering blaster fire coming from the rocks throws the group into even greater chaos; Atria's pinpoint shooting along with Samaya's repeater fire is enough to scatter the armored pirates even more, allowing Adhar to tear throught he group from on high, still floating aloft via his jump pack. Putting another man down, he's about to fire again when a couple of the remaining pirates are able to return fire - and though he's like a flamefly from Hell, darting back and forth through the enemy fire, he takes a couple of shots as he flies about.

<< Augh, shavit, >> Adhar calls over the comm. << Sion! For the love of Fortune, tear these jackanapes a new one! >>

<Copy, Ground. Angel is in hot from the north.>

The calm in Sion's voice contrasts with the strain she's under, trying to work almost blind in this unfamiliar ship. Without ground targets pointed out, all she can do is take her best guess. Opting for caution, she sets up her run, arms the ion cannons, and goes in!

The first sign of trouble is the growing thunder of ion drives in atmo. It's quickly followed by a fusillade of bright blue ion cannon fire stitching through the middle of the camp, leaving puddles of arcing lightning across the ground and sparking from every metallic object within reach. /Corellian Hello/ thunders by overhead, pulling up from the low-level strafing run and vanishing into the distance.

That should keep their heads down!

And possibly Adhar's... along with the rest of him. One of those shots grazed his rocket pack, and it's arcing blue electricity all over itself. And going out. In midair.

Uh-oh...

Atria curses some more as she sees the Captain take fire. Muttering under her breath about killing Adhar if he survives this, she takes aim and fires again. The A280 had been known to cut armored Stormtroopers in half back during the Rebellion and it proves this legend now as Atria's shot does much the same thing to one of the armored pirates. Poof.

Samaya shifts a bit, as she had lined up her next target and then, with a squeeze the triple report from her rifle and then the womp sound is heard as the shots hit their target, first goes the left shoulder flying some feet away from the body as the next bot his center mass leaving a large hole through the pirate and then the last taking out the right leg sending it some feet behind the pirate as it drops dead.

It isn't just the jump pack that's gone out; Adhar's armor goes crazy, visual systems and comlink out. One can hear him, though, as he falls out of the sky, a gloriously climsy eagle. "OHHHHHHHHHH SHAVIIIIIIIIT!"

CRUNCH.

Miraculously enough, he isn't knocked unconscious - he's not even terribly hurt, or at least nothing that Maeve and a good session with a chiropractor won't fix. But his carbine is flung from his hand on impact, and though there are only a few pirates left on the field, that makes him very vulnerable.

<Angel is clear, setting up for another run,> Sion comms in the distance. <If anyone sees something that needs to be blown up real good, /please/ tell me what it is, and where? The view's not that great from up here!>

Samaya shifts a bit while she takes aim at hte last unfortunate soul be to standing and well she just layins into him, he's a pile of gore by the time her shots finish hitting him and the Togorian stands up and 'roars', a deep chested angry sound, guess thats what happens when you're a natural hunter.

Atria continues muttering about killing Adhar when this is all over even as she decapitates another pirate with her rifle. As the last pirate goes down under Samaya's withering fire, she speaks into her comm, << Angel, LZ is clear. I repeat, LZ is clear. Captain's down and needs an evac. >> She then stands, hefting her rifle and begins the trek towards the fallen Captain and the supplies they were paid to retrieve. << The rest of you, with me. >>

Adhar gets to his feet, shruggig off his lifter pack and pulling off his helmet; the damned things aren't going to work for a while anyway. Cursing a steady stream as he throws the helmet to the ground, Adhar pulls a monstrous pistol from his belt as he stumbles across the field, the floodlights and the crashed speeder giving him good view of the carnage wreaked upon the pirates. "Well," he calls out, "I'm okay. But these sumbitches gonna need a whole lot of putty to plug these holes. Gods be DAMNED!" He lets out a whoop of a laugh, then a loud roar of his own, human and more 'we're gonna get FUUUUCKED UUUUUP tonight!' than primal and bestial as Samaya's is, but it gets the point across.

And proves also that he's not dead.

Overhead, the /Corellian Hello/ circles and drops smoothly into the prepped LZ, engines still humming on standby. Sion'd rather avoid any surprises. <Angel is wings folded. Better get the Captain on board... is that our speeder over there, inside the building? On fire?>

Somehow, she has a feeling she doesn't want to know the answer. But at least they won't be needing it, what with being able to land here where the stolen cargo is. Bonus!

Samaya returns to her normal self.. sorta and mrrs softly. "Yes, captian.. put it into the building." the large feline growls softly as she picks up her weapon and shakes herself out a bit.

Yet. He's not dead yet. << Yep, that's our speeder. >> Atria replies to Sion as she approaches Adhar. She shifts her rifle to its shoulder strap so her hands are free...to take a swing at Adhar. Her gauntleted fist catches him across the jaw, but it's not enough to knock him down. "Don't you ever do anything that stupid again." After a beat pause, she begrudgingly adds, "Captain." Then she stalks off to help get the pallets of crates ready for loading onto the shuttle.

Welp. A couple of holes in his armor - note the smoking crater, blood not seen this dark - Adhar sways a touch when Atria clips him one, and manages to call out "Love you too!" as she sashays away. He sits down on an empty crate, propping his feet up on the fallen body of one of your collective victims, and opens up his armor before tending to the two smoking, now-revealed wounds perforating his midsection.

Samaya shifts looking at pair with a growl, yep he is in trouble with the large Togorian as well.

"Well," Adhar says, "At least we popped a whole bunch of these fuckers." Applying fleshfoam into the channels of the wounds as a stopgap, he looks up from his box and waves his hand. "Don't worry about that, Chief," he calls to Atria. "We aren't transporting, we're just cleaning house. They'll be here soon as we call 'em to do the pickup. Made sure nobody had time to call for help, didn't I?"

Atria nods once at Adhar's comment on the crates. She then *stalks* back to the Captain and 'helps' him to his feet, forcefully. "Then I guess we better get you on the shuttle then so you can make the call." She looks at Samaya, the hard edge of her voice softening, "Find the Captain's discarded equipment and bring it onboard."

Samaya nods to Atria and gets the equipment, gun, armor peices, helmet. THat done she moves to follow to the shuttle.

"I'm fine," Adhar says with a chuckle as he gets to his feet, walking with Atria. "This how it's gonna be now? Every time I do something risky or shot in the field, I'm gonna have a boat fulla angry angels to yell at me?"

Atria shakes her head, the hard edge returning to her voice, "There's a difference between risky and stupid." She walks quietly for a few more paces before she speaks up again, her voice quieter so only Adhar (and maybe Samaya with those ears) can hear her, "Do you even realize what would happen to this crew if you died?"

Samaya frowns a bit. "It likely would have fallen apart.. and.. the ship sold." The Togorian murrs out following now.

"All the more reason I'm not usually in the field anymore," Adhar says, looking down at himself and shoving his pistol into its holster. "But I can't sit on the bridge all the time, and I'm /more/ than skilled enough to do shit like this and survive just fine." He looks between the two of you. "I mean I even had the gilding stripped off my armor like I used to have. All right?"

He adds, rather tartly, "You know what it'd do to me if either of /you/ died?"

Samaya growls a bit. "I know very well what it'd do to you." She murrs a bit kinda wilts after that so she just shuts up and keeps following.

Atria shakes her head again, "That's our *job* when necessity calls for it. It's not yours."

He is very quiet for a moment, storms operating behind his remaining eye blunted only slightly by the painkillers racing through his system. "Now I'm only going to say this once," begins Adhar, looking between the two of you as he speaks. "I understand the risks, and I work to mitigate them - but nothing is going to change the fact that I am the single greatest fighter on that ship. Best shot. Best swordsman. Best at hand-to-hand combat. I break myself every day to make sure of that, because I am going to be in the field sometimes, and I /will/ use those skills to protect the people I love and the people who serve with - and the way things are on that boat, many of you are the same damned thing. So pretty please, with sugar on top, don't give me shit about fighting. I don't do it often, but I need you to trust me enough to know I'm not an idiot."

Samaya hmms faintly. "Then no repeating what you did today and you have it." She murrs with a smile then. Shifting slowly as she puts down the gear on the drop ship. A long growling murr and she smiles.

Atria listens to Adhar's proclamation, then steps in front of him to stop his progress. "I'll grant you the best shot and best swordsman. I only know enough to know which end to hold. But I don't remember *you*," the word is punctuated by a finger poking his chest, "lasting very long against Hex." Then comes her patented smartassed smirk and she withdraws the finger and gets out of his way. "Though Samaya does have a point. I don't care how good of a shot you are. You're not invincible, especially *alone* in the middle of an unknown number of armed pirates."

He looks back at Atria. "I've gotten forty-seven point six percent better since then. And he ain't on my ship." Adhar shakes his head. "I get it. But you have to get over the fact that I'm gonna fight some times, and sometimes I'm going to do it in strange ways. The tactics are sound. Three people just took down ten, and I am only mildly wounded where in any other situation we could all be dead. I'm just saying, keep all that in mind."

That said, the Captain turns toward the shuttle. "Let's get out of here. I need to call in that recovery ship before the baddies realize nobody's on the other end of the comms."

Samaya leans up and flicks his head. "You did not agree to 'not be stupid' again." she murrs softly. "I accept you will fight, I would not see it any other way.. But to fight stupid is to die stupid."

Atria snorts softly, "I don't care if you fight. In fact, it's often quite fun to watch. But making yourself the sole target of a group of armed hostiles, distracted or not, is not sound tactics. You were *lucky*. And luck doesn't hold out over time."

"I didn't fight stupid," Adhar mutters. "You don't understand, it's fine. The tactics were unorthodox, that's all. It worked better here than it did for Thannix." With a grumpy toss of his head, Adhar ends the conversation, turning to head up the ramp. "Let's get out of here."

Atria just smirks behind Adhar's back, looking at Samaya and shaking her head. She lets the matter drop. For now. It's by no means a 'win' for Adhar, though. She follows him up the ramp into the ship.