Log:Resistance: Who Hunts The Hunters

Who Hunts The Hunters

OOC Date: November 12, 2018
Location: Tothis System
Participants: David Ironside, Ektor, Elrych Cometburn, Karas Darkwing, Nova Korell, Poe Dameron, The Resistance

The Tothis System is a little known handful of planets orbiting an aging red sun, near the fringes of Wild Space. It has only come to the attention of Resistance Intel recently, as the headquarters of the Emerald Reaper pirate gang. Known to operate a Guardian-class light cruiser and a squadron of starfighters, they are responsible for a brutal series of slaving raids in recent months.

Elements of Black Squadron have been ordered to raid the Tothis headquarters and test the pirate defenses. A follow-up strike by the Renegade is being considered, depending on Black Squadron's findings. The team's orders are to reconnoiter the defenses, press the engagement until meeting significant resistance, inflict what losses you can, and withdraw. A transport of troopers is attached to the mission on standby, to be deployed as the commanding officer sees fit.

As the Resistance spacecraft emerge from hyperspace near the gravity well of a small, vivid green planet, a first surprise awaits them: the wrecked bulk of an XQ-5 space defense platform orbits directly above their target, its broken profile still bristling with cannon and turbolaser turrets.

Elrych blinks in surprise as his visual scanning comes up with the blasted apart defence platform. This causes his to turn down his music which he had been blasting over the cockpit speakers. "Shwhat?" He asks, Kid, his R2 Unit who just recently had a memory wipe tweets back at him in equal confusion. <<"So much for a fight, Running scans... in all the spectrums...">> While Kid takes care of the scanning, he reaches out with the force to see if he can feel anything and assist him if any danger were to befall them.

<<Black 6, reporting in.>> David speaks. The pilot is comfortable for the first time in ages, being in the field in a flightsuit rather than trooper gear. And the leather he's seated on helps, too. <<Scanning for enemy presence>> he continues, having his droid monitor most of it while he peers out of the viewports. When his droid starts beeping excitedly, David spins his craft upside-down, taking a look at the station as he processes incoming data. <<The station has no lifeforms aboard, according to my droid. Scans say it's slowly but surely sinking down to the planet.>> He frowns, sitting up straight to get ready for engagement.

<That's no small target,> Nova muses over the tac net, from the copilot's seat of the mission shuttle. <Our pirates could've taken it on a good day, but that's not what the scanners are showing.> She hits a few commands. <Confirming your lack of life signs, Dave. It's a hulk, strictly spare parts salvage at best. And according to my readings, it was destroyed by /ground fire/... from the planet. Think our Green Goons have help downstairs?>

Rey is seated in a chair behind, and to the right, of the one that Nova is in. She's got her hood up over her head and her eyes are looking out the viewport at the derelict station that the others are talking about over the comms. Her eyes flicker down to the control panels of the shuttle and she hears Nova's response to them. "I hate to think of the damage something like that could do to a planet on re-entry." Then again she's not even sure what the status is for sentient life on this system's planet that their craft is currently closing in on.

Otherwise, the young human in the dark brown robe stays still and reaches out with her senses to try to feel for any signs of unexpected elements in the space around them.

<<Black Five->> Ektor starts to check in, before Tenner cuts him off with a squawk. "What? I am? ...are you sure, yeah? Arright..." <<Uh. Black Seven. That's what I said. Black Seven, kinda torn. On one hand, I ain't sad that we don't gotta tangle with that station.. but kinda regretting that someone else blew it up first, yeah?>> At Nova's observation, he cants his head to a curious angle. <<Huh. So... maybe there's still something on the ground to blow up, yeah Moonbeam?>>

<<"Oh, man... if we're just going to be ground pounding, I gotta change into my robes, you know. Like... This suit cramps my style.">> Elrych totally brought them with him too. They were in the undercarriage. He couldn't sense much but the noise of death and pain which happened only recently. <<"I'm not sure what happened but it happened recently and was very violent.">>

Late to the party as per usual, the XO comes out of hyperspace to join up with the rest of Black Squadron. Quickly opening up comms to Black Squadrons tacnet, <<Sorry for getting here late, Black Two here.>> he says as he moves to get into formation. He grins as he beat Poe at least.

<<Just make sure that pilot you're with doesn't drop the ball.>> David replies to Nova grimly. << I had a bad feeling before this, but now..>> He shakes his head. <<Something took that station out, and I'm pretty sure it's no friend of ours, despite the saying. I'm taking a closer look.>> He replies, pushing the throttle up, hand sliding to the S-foils release. <<Good of you to join us, XO.>> he replies to Karas checking in.

Black Leader emerges from hyperspace late in lieu of a new engine that was causing some malfunctions. It took awhile to get it sorted, but the bright flash gave away his arrival. Ahead lay an exotic planet whose details began to stream across his console. It had a breathable atmosphere, and subsequent scans revealed a defense platform in decaying orbit directly above the planet. Tertiary scans revealed a signal coming from the surface, one which Poe assumed was their intended target. <<Black Leader here. Is anyone getting signals from the surface of that planet? I think it may be the base.>>

"I don't like to think about it either, Rey," Nova agrees quietly. "I remember reading about some bunch of conquerors centuries ago knocking out space colonies and using them as bombs in shock attacks. It was... /awful/. Maybe we can talk Command into sending salvage parties, and they can blow it up when they leave." She taps the comm bead again. <Could be, Seven, and I'm not sorry, either. But whoever's down there, they have firepower to spare if they could blow this up. Suggest a fast drop and nape-of-earth flying 'til we know what we're dealing with. And Six? My pilot can hear you,> she adds with a chuckle. The arrival of Karas and Poe draws a faint smile. <Welcome to the party, Major, Captain. Take the scenic route?> she teases gently. It's surprising how much the former First Order soldier has loosened up in such a short time. Maybe it's the lack of arbitrary rules, like never removing one's helmet without permission. <Sending my scan data now. Looks like we stepped into an interesting local scene...>

"That's a dreadful thought." Rey quietly commments back to Nova when she talks of falling starbases being used as weaponized methods of war. "People seem to have no depth that they won't sink too to win whatever fight they've put themselves in."

She stands up then from her chair, her clothing shifting about her form as she rises to her full height. "I'll go in the back and let the others know whats going on here." She says quietly to both Nova and to the shuttle's pilot and a moment later she's turning to leave the control cabin behind.

<<For real, kid?>> Ektor snickers to Elrych. <<You're just too skinny to make a flightsuit work, don't worry none, you'll fill out in another couple years.>> The Tionese pilot guides his X-wing down toward the green atmosphere of the planet Tothis, adding, "Tenner, broad scan. Lemme see what's down there, yeah? I can't read drek through all this green." The droid honks and warbles in long-suffering annoyance and starts correcting the mistakes Ektor made in the initial scans. << I hear you, Lead. Tenner got the same signal.>> Nova's advice gets a short sniff. <<You saying we oughta get down and dirty, Moonbeam? I like how you think.>> Black 7 abruptly dips into a steep atmospheric dive, shields glowing with the sudden friction.

Upon entering the green hued atmosphere, the main pirate stronghold registers on all scopes. It might more accurately be described as the remains of a fortress: a cordon of a dozen turbolaser turrets guarded the perimeter of a sizable installation, with large hangars placed around a central complex of impressive buildings, with the still-smoking remains of a heavy shield generator installed at the center of a facility large enough for many hundreds of occupants.

Power is out, and focused scans read no life signs in the smoldering facility, below. Of all the buildings, only the largest hangar is left intact.

<<"Looks like someone already got down and Dirty, Xer...">> Elrych comms over the channel as he makes a flyby, looking down out through his cockpit canopy. <<"If there's no threats from above, lead. I'd like to get down there and back up my wingman.">> He is of course speaking of Rey who decided to ride along with Nova in the assult shuttle on this one.

<<Make sure that hangar's clear before anyone makes a landing approach. It wouldn't do to get here and get shot apart immediately, especially considering who's on board that shuttle.>> He pauses, then adds with a smirk unseen by anyone <<That's what, 10 million credits and then some heading right into their possible grasp.>> He frowns at the lack of life apparent in the ex-stronghold. <<Might be fully crewed by droids, be careful.>> Ah yes, Naboo history lessons. Don't ever trust a lack of lifesigns.

"I agree, Rey. Some things just shouldn't be done, no matter how desperate you are," Nova replies. "Let them know we'll hopefully have some answers soon, okay?" She turns back to the console. < If they recognize me, it's a death mark for sure. The Order thinks I'm dead, last I heard. But, back to work. Scanning... the hangar looks deserted. But they didn't blow up some of the equipment before they left. Looks like they left a comm array there, and it's ready to go. Just needs power. Think any main or backup generators still work?>

Once in the main compartment of the shuttle Rey approaches the troop commander and she spends a few moments explaining to him the situation and that they're on their approach to land. She stands beside him then as he in turn goes about instructing his soldiers on the situation. She listens closely but otherwise just stands there with a calm expression and lets her eyes roam over their faces before she nods once to the commander and then steps out of the way toward a corner where she's not in any of their way, she reaches out to wrap her hand around a metal bar used to stabilize one's self during moments exactly like this, landing operations.

Listening to the flight as they speak about what should be done, he smiles. Black Squadron has pilots that Karas has flown with for a while now all with skills and combat knowledge that is valuable to any squadron they would be on. Still as he is catching up and know of the briefing. <<Alright, by the numbers everyone.>> he calls into the comms and he begins his decent, << I will fly top cover just in case we get any surprises.>> he says as he continues down into the atmosphere as he scans the skies.

<<A few extra turns, Moonbeam. Glad we made it in alright.>> Poe increases his speed and angles his craft past the platform in decaying orbit. He has BB-8 scan it and begin working on a trajectory and time frame the platform will make it to ground and where it may strike. Meanwhile, he's angling in after Ektor, breaking through the atmosphere. When Poe breaks through the cloud cover and gets a good view of the surface, he's able to make out the shapes of dead bodies everywhere. Three starfighters are left in smoldering flames, never making it off the ground to combat whatever was firing upon them. <<Roger Black 5.>>

Ektor circles the smoldering stronghold once at speed, before falling into formation with the landing shuttle, on the opposite wing of the craft from Elrych. << I wouldn't bet on it, Moonbeam. If you ain't got a generator on the shuttle, I could prolly land in the hangar and let ya plug in to the warbird's power couplings. If you really wanna read their mail, yeah?"

<<"It's possible the First Order took care of these people before we could. We literally are competing in that particular PR department. As silly as it may seem.">> He didn't want to admit the FO did something good but a broken clock is right at least twice a day. <<"What's the standing orders, Lead?">> He asks of Poe, still waiting for his request to be answered, ready to land in one of the hangers.

<< If they did, they wouldn't have left so soon.>> David replies, ever the glass half full kinda guy. <<If you want to land, go for it, but it's gonna be a droid army waiting for you down there.>> He shrugs, pulling around as he finishes yet another round. It'd be nice to get some orders to not follow, he thinks to himself. <<Whatever happens down there, you got clear skies up here.>>

<Where the Order goes, they stay,> Nova agrees. <They probably would've leveled the place, too, so it couldn't be used against them. They have their own prefab system for constructing their facilities, and you've got to see it to believe how fast it is.>> She takes a good look over the field, once the shuttle is low enough. <Somebody sure knew how to make a mess. The Green Goons were worried about warship or starfighter attack; they completely neglected their defenses against ground attack. This place was hit with mobile armor and mounted infantry. Looks like they isolated and wiped out the defenders bit by bit, but left the hangars for somebody else's use, maybe their own. I'm not seeing any combat vehicle wrecks, so they probably didn't lose any. This was a blitz attack: quick, coordinated, and devastating. Whoever hit this place was a small, first-rate combat outfit.>

Flying top cover while the units on the ground do what they are going to do. Keeping high up and scanning the top area, he is able to see what would happen if someone did assault this place and he frowns and shakes his head. <<Looking at what I'm seeing up here, the air defenses are incredible.>> he says. <<Our ship would get beat up pretty badly.>> he comms in. There is dead air for a moment, <<But from what I can see whoever attacked this base, managed to use the turbo lasers on the orbital defense platform, but that is after they took out the defenders.>>

Poe was beginning to wonder if they were walking into a similar ambush. Dave's paranoia about droids wasn't what worried him. Whatever hit these guys was thorough enough to smoke their headquarters too. Intelligence had declared the pirate organization was working slaves, it may have been why the hangar was preserved so ships could land to ferry those away. <<So it has no power, defenses are unique, personnel wiped out, and a hangar left standing. Our orders were to test defenses and kick some tail before bringing the Renegade in to mop up the rest. It appears that's already taken care of.>> Poe's craft tips to his port and he circles again. <<Let's pack it up and head out.>> BB-8 issues the results of his calculations concerning the trajectory of the platform above.

<<Be advised, we should probably blast the orbital platform into smaller pieces. If we don't, it will significantly harm the atmosphere of this planet.>> Poe is already seen angling back skyward.

Ektor snickers back at David, <<Oh yeah? I cruise in and there's a droid army in there? Me in my X-wing gonna blow the kriff outta them tin cans, yeah? BOOM, yeah? Kriff it, I'm going in.>> His disappointment is palpable when Tenner reminds him the troopers are already on their way into the hangar and reporting no enemy contact. The hangar is empty, though they have located the intact communications array. <<What's the order, Black Leader? Extract what we can, or evac?>>

<<Packing it up and heading out, Black Leader.>> David replies. There's nothing here, so staying would only burn fuel they could use elsewhere. <<We'll just drop some ordnance on the wreckage up there, we're all seasoned enough to know where to hit it.>> He smirks at Ektor's comments. << If that's what's down there, yeah. That's what we do. But apparently not so much. I just wonder why they took such great care in taking out the base and its occupants, but left the hangar intact.>> He shrugs, X-Wing already turned to the skies after Poe's.

<Gonna land and take a quick look-see in that hangar. If our pirates left any transmission logs, it could tell us where they went, if any survived,> Nova comms back. <Shouldn't take long. We can hook up the shuttle's generator and get the console active that way.>

Hearing the command for them to bug out, Karas is holding for the shuttle to come up from the surface, not wanting to leave them behind, even if they are slow. Once they are up and moving forward, he engages the thrusters and begins moving forward taking off covering them.

<<See what you can get from that comm array, we can stick around for a bit longer.>> Poe angles back around and slows his speed to cruise above. "Keep scanning buddy, something may turn up that we missed initially." Black Leader is twisted slightly so Poe can continue to watch through the canopy and down toward the ground. He makes minute adjustments, double checking that his shields are still up and glancing at the results of his scanning.