Log:The Sith Care For YOU!

The Sith Care for YOU

OOC Date: December 29, 2023
Location: Coruscant outside of RazielCorp
Participants: Aryn Cortess, Julia Teldan, Tessa Velt, Gema Vaunn, and Sloane Azarin as ST for Savage Flight

Things on Corusant are not all roses and commerce at the moment. There are fires raging, some on the surface and some in the subterranean levels of the ecumenopolis. Whether it is the political pressure of having these firestorms encroaching on the headquarters of major companies, or because the Sith Lords are just finally concerned, it's time to do something. Flamethrowers have been reverse-engineered to spray forth suppressant instead, and these updated technological marvels have been pressed into the hands of the planet's most elite firefighters. There's just one thing... Hersn escort is needed.

Savage Wing has been called on to be this escort. With their two shuttles and elite training, the squadron is to fly the firefighters in to the blaze near the hq for RazielCorp, a manufacturer of hyperdrive corps, and put out the inferno while filming the whole thing for a propaganda holo. It should be an easy babysitting mission...

-(OOC)- Sloane Azarin says, "Pilots give me a piloting check at 100." [PASS ( +40)] Tessa's Pilot @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +25)] Gema Vaunn's Pilot @ (100) diff.

"Shuttle Omega One, descending. Following course two-three-three-alpha-stroke-seven," Tessa says into the comms of her shuttle. She pushes a few buttons, turns a small dial on the joystick, and begins her descent from the orbitol platform where the squadron had picked up the crew of firefighters. Her bay is full of men and women in shiny quasi-metal protective suits and anti-flamethrowers. Precious cargo, she's well aware. A quick flick of a blue toggle switch changes her comms to internal only. "This is your Captain speaking, just giving you a heads up. We're going to have some turbulence from the heated updrafts from the fire. Just stay buckled in, hang on, and try not to lose your lunch." She flicks the comms back to Control and continues her shuttles descent, spiraling down around the flames as she looks for a clear area.

"Omega three, this is Omega one. I'm not seeing a good place to land. It's just all smoke and rubble from my point of view. Are you spotting anywhere?" Tessa checks her screets, looking for something that the computer may have found that she, herelf, has missed by looking through the view ports. The ground is growing closer, rapidly, and Tessa's silently glad she's had air speeder traffic quarantined from the area.

"Omega three, descending Omega one," Gema keys into her comms and indication she's following the same course as Tessa's shuttle. As the Theta-class shuttle makes its way through the atomphere, spearing through clouds, the shapehsifter regards her instruments and sees the same thermal pockets that Tessa had. She hits the comms to the back of the shuttle and announces, "Things are going to get rough before we land. Just a little turbulence. Hang on." She's not military and her announcements are not always as professional. Luckily, Sloane's in the other shuttle!

"Omega One, copy. Adjust course ninety-two mark seven-one and slow half. You should see an empty construction lot that will work to land us and leave us about a click from the blaze. I'm sure everyone can hoof it from there." Gema's already making the adjustments to head there. True to her word, the ride is getting rough, the shottle being tossed around as it tries to break through a thermal layer.

In the back of Omega Three, Julia is seated with firefighters all around her, her armor not nearly as shiny as theirs. She has a rifle across one shoulder, a blaster pistol at her hip. She very much looks the part of a soldier going to war. Bob-E, her favorite droid, hovers on its repulsorlift nearby getting images for the holo recording, panning back and forth across the rows of brave men and women, as it were. At the warning of turbulence, Julia reaches up and grasps one of the loops hanging from the ceiling, holding on.

Picking up her comlink, "Try not to shake us apart, Gema," Julia says into the device. "I think there's still some lunch left in some stomachs back here." She knows there's likely nothing the pilot can do about going through the thermal layers, but she'll give the woman a hard time about it allt he same.

[Sloane Azarin tests an NPC's ranged:artillery.] [PASS ( +13)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [Sloane Azarin tests an NPC's ranged:artillery.] [PASS ( +54)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +34)] Tessa's Pilot @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +3)] Gema Vaunn's Pilot @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +68)] Gema Vaunn's Pilot @ (150) diff. [PASS ( +8)] Aryn Cortess's Pilot @ (100) diff.

Kappa Leader, a TIE Whisper, follows along as escort. Its crimson shell and array of arsenal weaponry just a shining beacon of the Empire's technological prowess; serving as the source of fear that locked much of the galaxy in place. Within the confines of its protective chassis sits a Dark Lord wrapped comfortably in the black vestments. Her blonde hair and scarred visage bare and absent the need of a helmet. Behind her, a BB series droid warbles, its green and white shell reminiscent of her noble house colors of green and white.

<<"Kappa Leader checking in,">> announces the poised accent of Aryn Cortess; a member of the high society for which this squadron is dispatched to protect. A gloved hand reaches out to initiate her shields, and cutting through the atmosphere and clouds screams her TIE, welcoming conflict should it show its handsome face.

It happens fast! Just as the two shuttles are breaking free of the thermals and heading for the comstruction lot, two fiery plumes streak out from somewhere. Rockets of some sort. Tessa is quick and able to evade, but they come from behind the sun from Gema's perspective and one slams into the side of Gema's shuttle, sending it into a spin.

Watching from the copilot seat of Tessa's shuttle, Sloa ne swears silently. "Get us down and open that bay door! Salamander and Phoenix groups stay put. Savage Wing on the lookout. Kappa Leader, did you catch where that came from? We're taking rocket fire."

[PASS ( +13)] Tessa's Spot @ (100) diff.

If there's one thing an Imperial Navy Officer knows how to do, it's take orders. Tessa banks the shuttle to the starboard and rolls forward, zags, and then finally touches down atop a pile of compacted earth...which compacts further and gives everyone a brief feel of sinking. She presses a button and starts the lowering of the bay door at the back of thes huttle. Her helmet is picked up from its place nearby and snapped into place before she grabs her rifle, undoes her restraints, and moves with alacrity to the back of the vehicle.

Once at the open door of the shuttle, Tessa kneels on oen knee, presses the butt of her blaster rifle to her shoulder, and begins to scan the area for signs of trouble. She keys her comms so all the military members, including the TIE, can hear her. "About half a click to the north, there's a smaller building. Something glinting in a window ... thirty-five floors up or so. Sniper or our rocketeer."

Gema's precious shuttle! As the metal caves in and the shuttle begins to spin, Gema grits her teeth and fights against damaged control lines to get it down in more or less one piece. It's close, it's probably more harrowing than the firefighters (Phoenix Squad?) want to deal with, and it's some shakey-cam footage for Julia's droid. Eventually they come to rest on the ground with a plume of dust and debris flying into the air, some small rocks tumbling back down to land on the shuttle hull with a tink-thunk-tink-tink-thunk sound of solid earhten rain. Gema's soon following Tessa's lead, unkowingly, and opening the rear hatch, taking up a rifle, and going to take a defensive position to scan around.

Or that's what she would do if the rear bay door would open like it's supposed to. Something's become broken in the attack and everyone's trapped inside with the door only opening a few feet. Gema growls at it, like that's going to help, and goes for the emergency toolkit, starting in for some quick repairs. A spanner here, some electronic probes there. Five minutes later the bay door comes open to half and that's probably as good as it's getting in the field. It's only a small jump to the ground.

[PASS ( +91)] Aryn Cortess's Computer Use @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +55)] Julia Teldan's Diplomacy @ (100) diff.

"Ung!" Julia makes a most poetic sound as the shuttle comes to a landing, her hand whiteknuckling the safety loop she's been holding on it, but no one can tell since she's weairng armored gloves. "Smooth, Gema." She unfastens her seat belt and gets up, going to hit the door release, but it's not working. Gema's on it though, so Julia just waits, impatiently, while standing there with her rifle. She peers out the crack. "Bob-E, go see what you can find," she instructs the floating droid.

The floating mass of metal tentacles makes its way out the crack and begins to search through the area to see what might be safe and what might be a target. Julia scans with her scope to do the same. "This is just another moment of danger than the brave men and women of the Sith Empire face in order to make the lives of its citizens better, every day," Julia says in a winning manner into the holo camera as the droid fades away, amping up the propaganda.

[Sloane Azarin tests an NPC's ranged:artillery.] [PASS ( +81)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [Sloane Azarin tests an NPC's ranged:artillery.] [PASS ( +56)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +78)] Aryn Cortess's Danger Sense @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +88)] Aryn Cortess's Pilot @ (22) diff. [PASS ( +94)] Aryn Cortess's Pilot @ (22) diff. [PASS ( +0)] Aryn Cortess's Ranged:fixed Mounts @ (125) diff.

[+PO] Sloane Azarin has added Aryn Cortess to the pose order.

Aryn did not answer immediately, she was investigating the anomaly as it happened. Flipping a few switches on her console, her overlay, which scanned her immediate vicinity, came up and she used it to track the recent passage of the rocket, its contrail, and point of origin. When she found it, Aryn discovered a stealth craft and two personnel manning a rocket system. She brought up the weapons system and set an intercept course.

Her comms clicked, and her measured tone finally answered. <<"Established positive I.D. on two enemy personnel manning anti-air rocket systems. I will engage.">>

The Whisper's afterburners ignited an ion blue as the craft immediately broke the sound barrier, streaking by. Two anti-air rockets released from the ground in pursuit of her craft, but the Dark Lord, aided by her command of the force, pre-emptively adjusted her craft allowing both projectiles to slip by, her craft unmolested.

Heavy cannons came to bare the moments that followed as green-tinted tibanna blasts ignited the ground from whence the projectiles came. Paired with the noise of the sonic boom, bass-like kinetic bursts of pure concussive energy sprang outward with each laser lance impact, stirring up dirt, dust, debris, body parts, shrapnel, and anything else caught in its wrath as the vessel whipped by in the blink of an eye.

Twisting off into the sky for an impressive loop back around, Aryn's mouth formed a thin line. <<"Scanning for survivors.">>

[Sloane Azarin tests an NPC's ranged:blaster rifle.] [PASS ( +24)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [FAIL ( -74)] Tessa's Ranged:blaster Rifle @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +33)] Tessa's Ranged:blaster Rifles @ (100) diff.

Keeping an eye on the distant building while waiting for further instructions, Tessa remains kneeling at the bck of her shuttle. "This is definitely a sniper," she calls over the comms. "Not moving, getting lens flarre, too far away for many detai--fuck!" The 'fuck' being her response to a slugthrower's projectile suddenly sinking through a durasteel plate and working its way more than she would like. It doesn't penetrate flesh, but it's /felt/ and gives the equivalent of a bad charley horse. This time. "They're getting range and windspeed. Officer Teldan, there's cover ahead five hundred meters, can you take a shot from there? I'll distract until then."

Lining up a shot, Tessa looks down her sites and lets off a few bolts of red energy to go flying down range and toward what she has identified as a sniper. They don't make it as far, but they're showy, and maybe distracting, and might buy Julia a chance to run for cover closer to take a better shot.

[PASS ( +34)] Gema Vaunn's Repair @ (100) diff.

Gema bangs a spanner on the door one more time but it does nothing to get the shuttle door to open any farther. She rolls out of the available space and begins making her way forward, looking around. With whatever's pinning them down being kept occupied by Tessa, Gema stands up, grabs the toolbox from inside, and goes to look at the rocket damage on the outsid. She sighs. There are exposed lines and not all of them are still connected.

"I'm going to need some time to get things going over here. Don't let me get shot," she says over comms. Taking out tools, Gema sets to work repairing her shuttle. After making an emergency repair to one of the exposed hydrolic lines, the shuttle bay door finishes lowering and is now fully available for use.

[FAIL ( -20)] Julia Teldan's Run @ (100) diff.

"Roger, Officer Velt," Julia calls in. It's hard not to smile in her helmet when she hears that the Darth is dealing with the ones that tried to shoot them down. Sith are not known for being easy with those firing on friends and allies. The officer holds her rifle near the chest and begins running across the ground toward the spot of cover that Tessa has identified.

It's all going well, until Julia sticks her foot in a sinkhole and slams forward, helmeted head bouncing off the ground with a CRACK that was definitely felt and would probably have been a lot worse were she not in armor. What's for sure is she's not making it to cover at the moment. No, she has to shake off the stars and try to get back to her feet first.

[PASS ( +99)] NPC's 100 @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +67)] Tessa's Dodge Ranged @ (100) diff.

With the rocket threats neutralized, only those intending harm toward Imperial personnel on the ground remained. With the aerial loop completed, Aryn honed in on the ground and brought her craft to a brief halt where she slipped out. "Cedar, you have control of the craft whilst I handle things below," was all she imparted upon her droid before leaving.

Landing on the ground below, the Dark Lord's cape settled behind her and she looked to take in what was happening before reacting. Casting one side of her cape away from her dominant hand, she unhooked her lightsaber and held it up near her face to activate its crimson hue. The weapon roared to life after a brief squeal, its blade positioned before her face in a salute, then guided to her side at the ready.

When comms activated, she spoke, <<"I have landed upon the ground. I will aid our assets on the ground.">> And thus, she began to move.

Aryn Cortess has removed her Lightsaber - Aryn from Black Utility Belt. Aryn Cortess depresses the black button on her curved metallic lightsaber hilt and with an electric snap-hiss a crimson red energy beam springs forth!

With the targets taken out by the Sith, the life of the others has just gotten a lot safer. Sloane creeps out of the shuttle in a duck-walk with her own rifle at the ready. "One your feet, Teldan," she growls the order. She can show concern for her second-in-command later. She taps Tessa on the shoulder and motions the dark-haired pilot forward, assuming the position that Tessa had previously taken. "Good work, Kappa Leader," she calls over the comms.

"Form up on Darth Kalus," Sloane orders, urging her tema forward. "Salamander and Phoenix stay put! You're safe in there with the rocketeers gone." With that she starts a double-time march, zig-zagged, through bits of safety toward the Sith Lady. "Sniper's shooting slugs, Lady Aryn."

Blam! Another such slug goes to Tessa again. Someone has an admirer.

At Sloane's urging, Tessa's already surging forward, duckng behind some crates of auto-sealing steam bolts. She's just peaking out plan her next move to catch up to the Sith with the lightsaber when Blam! Another slug cracks through her armor, and this time there's blood that leaks out of the cracks. "Son of a...." The pain in her voice is heard, the words cut back at the last minute. "That one made it through, Azarin. Fine for now, but this guy's good."

A few more blaster bolts are sent flying like red beams of anger to the building so far away, and while they're in flight, Tessa moves. She double-times it to the sith, taking the left side and keeping well clear of that deadly red sword.

[FAIL ( -26)] Gema Vaunn's Repair @ (100) diff.

Looking left, then right, Gema calls to her passengers, "Don't mess up my ship!" She doesn't immediately move to join the other scary women with their weaposn, though. She looks at the mess made by the rocket and goes about trying to make further repairs on the shuttlecraft. "Just need to connect this to..." ZZZT! Something shorts out, sending a shower of sparks that makes Gema jump back and out of the way.

With a sigh, the Shi'ido appraches the damaged area of the shuttle one more time, mutter about hoofing it back to the orbital platform. She swaps oout to a diagnostic piece of equipment with some allegator clips and and continues her testing. Keying the comms, "A problem for later, but we may need to call a new ride. I'll see if I can't fix this one while you guys take care of our sniper friend."

[PASS ( +23)] Julia Teldan's Diplomacy @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +14)] Julia Teldan's Entertain: Singing @ (100) diff.

"MISTRESS!" comes a tiny voice, a little on the whiny side. Whatever searching that Bob-E was doing ends when Julia falls. The droid makes its way over to the fallen soldier like it could help her off the ground. "CORUSCANT, HALT YOUR ANTICS AND RELEASE MY MISTRESS." The droid may have a warped understanding of how gravity works.

Julia pushes herself up from the packed earth and reclaims her refile. "Bob-e, get a shot of that," she says, pointing to the Sith and the two-woman escort. "Get in tight and follow them." The droid complies. The blonde pilot begins to hum a rousing battle hymn as she keeps pace with the floating droid, setting some background music to the sight of Aryn's cape and lightsaber, the determined look of all three. Julia is, of course, the bard of the group.

Catching up, Julia and Bob-E fall in at the back, forming the rest of a diamond formation.

[PASS ( +96)] Aryn Cortess's Spot @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +78)] Aryn Cortess's Greater Telekinesis @ (100) diff.

Sniper fire was an easy thing to figure out, even when it was a slugrifle. Aryn was able to discern orientation and direction just based off how the soldiers were being hit from the suppressing fire. Remaining in position, Aryn caught sight of them, her eyes squinting, and in that moment she called upon her command and mastery of the Force to aid them.

"Found you," was all she uttered, then she gestured with her free gloved hand, raising it skyward before pulling it back toward herself. To those who could see what she wrought, it was a sight that was surreal and terrifying all the same. She had arrested the sniper from their nest and pulled them through their window, body bending and breaking to fit through the opening with little care or hesitation in how that transpired.

To make matters worse, when they hovered some 35 stories from the ground, Aryn's next gesture released them, and they fell to their deaths (if they weren't dead already) to create an impact of organic matter that was a mural in and of itself. Aryn breathed sharply, eyes briefly glowing an orange color as she fueled her actions, her power with an intent that was dark in nature. Even if that operative had been a soldier, she murdered them in the most unfair manner possible.

"Threat neutralized," she intones, yet Aryn leaves the lightsaber activated for the moment as they assess what was left.

Well that's... that's one way to handle things. Sloane looks at the Sith with some awe, but only for a moment. She has things to do. A quick look around, and she neither spots anyone nor any incoming fire. "Phoenix and Salamander Squad, you are released. Let's get this fire out asap! Officer Velt, get back to the shuttle and check that wound. Teldan, get the shots you need." For her part, Sloane remains near the Sith like some unnecessary bodyguard.

The firefighters in their shiny metal-cloth suits rush out to do their jobs. They're like some civil-service Mandalorians, quickly and efficiently using reverse-engineered flamethrows to spra white fire retardant on the fires that threaten RazielCorp's headquarters. It's not a /fast/ process, but no one molests them and before too long it's mission accomplished and the group can return to base as mother fucking heroes.