Log:Mandalorian Revivers: Rescue Party

Rescue Party

Location: Y'Toub System
Participants: Narsai Ordo, Harmless (Storytelling)

The thing people don't talk about - when they talk about Mandalorians, that is - is that even warriors need transports. Many of these are hired, and tonight, there is a small clan, the Zamani, who have pledged to join your mighty band of families and chartered a bulk transport to ferry them from the wastes of Mandalore to Nar Shaddaa. Zamani is small - a hundred men, women and children - but energetic, and known for punctuality...so it is strange that they do not appear when they are supposed to. Indeed, that's not normal, nor is it that the freighter carrying them cannot be raised by hyperradio or holocomm. Something is wrong.

You have only three sets of coordinates where their path of travel is concerned: Mandalore itself, the midpoint where the ship was meant to take on fuel at Tatooine, and then of course the ship's entry coordinates in the Y'toub system near the asteroid belt. Are they late, or are they just...unlucky? Shall Mandalore herslef go and find out?

Ordinarily, and perhaps if her brother were in charge, such a venture would be undertaken with the Malachor, but the corvette was waiting for command to jump and join here. The Thunderheart had ran many a blockade and Narsai had boasted many a time it was the fastest ship this side of the galaxy. A subtle responce would be better than what was basically a warship turning up straight away. Perhaps Narsai would have been better off sending another in her stead, but she was still Narsai.

With the Thunderheart setting its blistering pace, she'd likely be there in minutes, but the ship was prepped and loaded for whatever may come. First stop was to check the asteroid belt, then she'd back trace their coordinates with Russ' R5 unit monitoring the coms and pinging the transport's frequency. Dire as her mission could be, this was...wonderful. She'd always loved flying, even as a little girl across the deserts of Ordo and the Thunderheart was her pride and joy ever since she rebuilt it from its wreckage in her early teens. To fly this ship wasn't something for 'Mandalore' or even a Reviver. It was for Narsai.

The screens read clear - no transponder, no matching hull or debris. Which is likely very disappointing, given it makes things more difficult for you: and what makes things even more difficult, of course, is that what /does/ appear on the screens, deep in the scanner field, come new blips. Something coming out of the asteroid field, no, /multiple/ somethings, coming at you fast. Well, that's no good.

Well, that indeed isn't great. Narsai gives a little exhaled breath before the Mandalorian woman seals her helmet in place and flicks the alert on her craft. It had been a little while since the Thunderheart had seen a fight, but there was a reason the redhead Mechanic turned Mandalore still maintained the craft every day. She was as ready as she could be. "<Fire up the Quad-Lasers, we've got contacts!>" she instructs before engaging the thrusters. This ship was once proclaimed the finest ship its creators could ever make, and it was about to be put to the test yet again.

< At once, Mandalore! > Though a bit gung ho, the lads and lasses helping crew Thunderheart are swift to fill the transport's gunwells and the secondary crew station - the blips demonstrate themselves to belong to a smll horde of raiders coming in, Z-95s with heavy ion cannons. While the first pair open up with their ion guns as they draw near, Thunderheart's turrets spew a hail of death in their direction - the first explodes instantly, while the other barely manages to escape certain destruction. As for their own fire, your sure hand ensurs the ship is missed by a mile.

Narsai's hands at the controls move smoothly, she knew her ship and knew how it could move. As the fire misses her and the first ship explodes, she takes a breath and then speaks. Words were always Russ' talent more than hers, but she couldn't rely on her brother anymore. Opening a channel even as she continues to fly, intending to engage one of the fighters while the turrets kept the others off her back. "This is Thunderheart to unidentified fighters. I am seeking a transport ship that came through here. Power down your weapons and disengage..." a breath, she traces her gloved fingers over the triggers without pulling them, "or all of you will die here."

The ships don't stop - they just open fire, though again your piloting is peerless. Lances of blue light spit past the hull as you jank elegantly through the hail of more fighters as they close in. The gunners only honor their people, converting another fighter into a cloud of gas and fire and shredding the wing of a second; the fighters have another few in reserve, but they start to slow now.

< The attackers seem to have lost their taste for blood, > bellows one of the gunners. < They see that Mandalore is among them! >

Sweeping around, Narsai brings her own nose guns towards a fighter, frowning a little before she speaks again. These raiders had come for her people, she had to be vicious and relentless even if it wasn't her normal nature. "Those who surrender and give me the answers I seek may survive another day." What happens to the others? Well she doesn't speak that. Instead the woman jams down on the triggers of her blaster controls.

Bringing the ship about to open fire with the transport's forward guns throws the gunners off a bit; their turrets strafe the void, but the pirate fighters, now swarming about Thunderheart, dip and bank around the web of crimson fire that spews from both sides but nothing makes purchase. Your own volley scrapes the shelds of a passing fighter, flickering blue envelope scattering sparks as it passes, but it's a fleeting strike at the very least. More fire at you now, but between the turret fire and your own maneuvers, none of the pirates can make purchase on your vessel. They don't even speak over the /comms/, these guys. So what gives?

There was only so many times one could threaten or offer bargins, if she was forced to investigate her people's disappearence the old-fashoned way? She'd do it. No more words, instead the Mandalorian woman's mouth fixes into a grim line as she focuses on flying and killing the other craft.

The turrets are back in action as you come around, and this time the gunners are on target, shredding two of the five remaining fighters - one of the gunners, a woman named Atii, lets out out a whoop. "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur," she bellows in Mando'a - 'Today is a good day for someone /else/ to die.' - and that is not at all incorrect

Some ten thousand kilometers away, a new contact appears; a blocky form enters realspace, and firing one final salvo of ion bolts at Thunderheart the fighters break and head for the transport. Your transport!

Despite herself, Narsai actually laughs, a laugh aloud given as she picks up the transport. They were running late? It's enough for her to shake her head before she wheels the Thunderheart around. Her baby could keep pace with almost any fighter, and easily out-maneuver a Z-95. If the fighters were rushing the transport? They'd made a fatal mistake showing their backs to a dangerous foe and ceasing their evasion. "Fire everything you have at these remaining fighters!" she calls before keying her comlink, not to the hostiles...but to her backup plan. "Thunderheart to Malachor, transport located. Jump to my location and prepare for retrieval. Make it fast or you'll miss out on the fun."

"Yes, Mandalore!" The gunners chime in unison, pouring death into the remaining ships - one of them takes a full burst in its aft quarter, buckling shields and shredding armor, but not damaging it enough to stop it; the other is a complete miss as the two fighters begin pouring ion bolts into the transport's hull. Your own shots are easily dodged, and now the transport lists slightly blue lightning playing over the transport's hull, its drives flickering and dying out.

Another scraping of the damaged ships hull, and that's enough; your guns blast through the fighter's aft quarter as a loosed misisle strikes the other, transforming both ships instantaneously into flames and debris. More whoops from the gunners, with the chatty one letting out a victorious 'Kandosii, Mand'alor!' as the light of the dying fighters flickers across the hull.

Now that the raiders are gone - at least for the moment - your focus can be drawn to the disabled transport. Though large, the ship's systems seem fairly fragile thanks to the heavy ionization from the pirate fighters' guns; the transport looks old already, and so it is likely in bad shape thanks to all that. How bad - or if it is indeed in bad shape at all - is not easily told from this distance, but the slablike ship lists in the dark, hull flickering in places with blue light.

It was only going to be a brief wait till the Malachor would arrive and the stricken transport could be brought aboard the corvette, but that didn't mean the craft wasn't in danger. Narsai's hand goes to the ships controls as she tries to dial in on short-wave communications. Hopefully someone aboard was wearing their helmet. "Thunderheart to clan Zamani, report your status. Our corvette is en route to retrieve you, can you reestablish power?"

Well, no power means no comms - the transport just sort of hangs in space, its drives occasionally pulsing fitfully. It'll come back on, or at least one /assumes/ it will, but without comms there's no real way to determine what's going on in there.

What's going on /out there/, however, is different. The scopes show new contacts, ones you very well could have missed while you were staring at the transport. Six of them, two of them larger than the others, moving fast out of the asteroid belt. Welp.

There's a curse under her breath, then the Thunderheart banks around, putting itself between the new contacts and the stricken ship. It was unlikely these newcomers were friendly, even as the 'Heart's scanners washed over them. They had more missiles, they were still in one piece, all they had to do was buy time for either the transport to escape or the cavalry to arrive. Right? "Prepare yourselves!" she calls back to her gunner crew loudly before speaking the next words quietly. "...This could get a little uncomfortable..."

The crew has no worries for discomfort. "Oja, Mand'alor," calls the male gunner from the dorsal turret over the comms. "Mishuk gotal'u mehuroke!" He laughs, a feral sound that mirrors the grin he wears inside his helmet; your people are ready to go, in/deed/.

Meanwhile, the contacts are closing fast on the transport...

This time around, your salvos miss - the missile loses lock once a fighter rolls clear, and the guns miss one of the other fighters by a hair, but oh, you've got their attention now. While the larger vessels, a pair of what look like boarding ships head for the transport, the escort fighters (yet more Z-95s) turn and move to intercept Thunderheart, spewing lasers fire in your direction.

Though your piloting is peerless as usual, these bastards are just lucky. The fore shields flicker with the first hit that lands, and the next, far heavier salvo buckles them. Alarms go off as the hull is bitten deeply by the plasma bolts that manage to get through, but the gunners deliver revenge; the quads shear through two of the marauders, even as power flickers all around you but but briefly. Just a bloody nose, but there are still two fighters remaining, and they swarm you angrily.

Her ship would hold, Narsai simply had no doubt. Her baby had been through too much for her to think anything less. Pushing the throttle of the insanely fast freighter, she sweeps around and tries to shake the fighters. She simply had to outrun and outfly them until her gunners could take the shot. Her eyes go towards the boarding craft and there's a hiss under her breath. She had to work fast, and hope the clansmen aboard were ready for a fight.

Taking off to meet the escorts, the ship's guns roar anew - yet both you and the fighters miss as they fire at each other, the pilots better than the previous batch, and their fire is keeping you from the transport. Meanwhile, the shuttlers are closing on the transport, and begin docking on the ship's port and starboard sides. And that...is no good.

Where the hell was the Malachor when she needed it? Narsai grits her teeth as she reaches out, trying to conjure the same trick she'd managed on a speeder...but on a much larger scale. There's a flicker of energy here and there, but not enough to form the barrier. Instead she's forced to keep on course. Straight at the boarding craft that would be stationary targets at the transport, but also force her to be a more exposed target. Hopefully her gunners could cover the rear. It was time to hit the transports with everything she could!

Concentrating upon summoning the shield as you are, one of the fighters - still untouched by Thunderheart's gunners - manages to put a missile straight through the aft plating. The explosion that goes off throws the vessel bodily through the void, and power begins to flicker violently as systems hit by the warhead's detonation begin to fail across the board. Thunderheart is hardly killed, but she's taken one hell of a wallop. As the world swims in your field of vision, and lights blink in panels all around, the enemy fighters prepare to come around again, this time to end you...but suddenly, a shower of bright red lances send them scrambling for the belt.

< Thunderheart, > calls a voice in Mando'a, < This is Malachor. We are here to assist you, Mand'alor! > The shuttles, not having docked for but a handful of moments, are already detaching from the hull of the transport in order to get the Hell out of dodge. As they do, Malachor herds them with fire, and it's not likely they'll get away.

There's a laugh. Despite everything, despite the near death, Narsai gives a laugh as the Malachor announces its arrival. Her hands come up, touching the 'face' of her helemt before she grins and pats the console of her beloved ship. "Atta girl," she breathes before swinging the ship around. "Malachor, defend the transport and prepare to recieve its crew. I'm bringing the Thunderheart in for a landing as well." She's certain that her 'mentor' would speak of this as the intervention of the Force, but the redhead woman was happy to give credit to the crew of the Malachor today.

"Kote, vode an..."

The ships flee at speed, though the shuttles barely escape with their hulls intact - Malachor does not pursue, instead moving to dock with the transport to affect repairs. And so does Mandalore save more of her people, though it will prove that the warriors of Clan Zamani were slain almost to a soul before they were able to escape the ruined land of your forefathers. But still...they are people, and they are yours. Women and children are warriors, after all, if not yet blooded. And so does the family grow.