Ask No Safe Harbor

[Vera Coulter]

-THEME-​

Raxus Secondus
17:47
En Route

Vera was not happy.

She chewed her gum with a vengeance; the whole way there, in fact, she was quietly seething. Maxims was calling this in as a favor, and those above her were raining down some excuse for working with the Jedi. In her humble opinion, the Jedi were little more than goody-two-shoes, wanting to clean up the galaxy's mess, while people like her were always sent in to do the dirty work. And they gave her a kid to work with. For cryin' out loud, she was a Ranger, not a babysitter.

But... she'd been more or less informed her partner was a capable fighter by herself. And kriff, she hoped so, because if the girl got shot she'd never hear the end of it. She gave the poor gum another few flexes of her jaw out of spite, wringing out every last bit of flavour she could get from the poor wad before swallowing it down and wedging in another piece to stave off the inevitable addiction.

But her kiddo made her promise. No more cigaras. No more heavy drinking either, and no more going to the gym for her usual kickboxing lessons unless she was wearing her safety gloves and didn't try to talk up some snotty upstarts who thought an old lady like her was too brittle for their hard-knocking love taps.

Well. Time to hail the kid and blow those stupid cat slavers for all their nine lives. Flicking on the comms to a secure channel, she pinged over.

"This is Coulter on Jaws, come in kid. Got any plans for some cats?"

Good thing she wasn't a cat person, or she'd feel a smidgen of remorse. As it was, she just wanted this mission over with so she could chuck the gum and get some spicy noodles. At least that was one addiction that her kiddo could boss her on.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach read and re-read her mission brief. Then she did what she always did – she read up everything she could around and outside of the brief. The history of her destination. Flora, fauna, politics, commerce…if there was something recorded, she would read it.

She’d never been to Raxus Secundus before. Sure, she’d visited the Outer Rim Territories often, but not this planet. Renowned for its beauty, Fiach skipped over the travelogue and focused instead on not so much why she was here – but who she would be working with.

She’d never had to operate with anyone other than Jedi, not on a mission at least. Her understanding of the Rangers was sketchy and they came with mixed reputations. Which, she mused, no doubt covered the Jedi too. And if the Rangers existed along a continuum as wide as the Order, who knew what sort of person she had been teamed with.

Perhaps the first formal communications between them was the litmus. Fiach heard it alright, but it took a while for her to understand what was being said – or rather what was meant. The words were clear enough, but their meaning was lost on the Padawan, who lacked social skills the way Klatooine lacked oceans.

“Coulter…yes…this is Fiach, Padawan Fiach Dubh.” Unsure what Jaws meant, she glossed over it for now. Was it the name of a ship, or a place? She shook her head involuntarily. “No plans, as such,” she added, assuming the slavers were being referenced in a derogatory way. “I tend to…um...work things out as I go. Will that be a problem?”

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

Padawan.

Why did that word ping like a sour note in a maternal touch? Maxims said something about Padawans before... something about kids, maybe? Hell if she could recall. But she cruised closer, the misty marble of Raxus Secundus hovering with Raxus Prime. A beautiful planet in its' own right... if Vera were a history buff or a sentimental type.

There were transports full of slaves docked on the main former Separatist colony base. They would have to avoid those transports and hit hard, and hit fast. There was a way to get that attention... but as the young voice filtered through the comms about figuring as they went along, a bitter smile creased the older woman's face.

"My kind of kid. Alright, look, there's only two of us and a karking ton of them. We gotta be smart about it, and divide and conquer. What sorta firepower you got?"

She was feeling fairly confident of her own firepower and shielding, but first rule of being a Ranger; always have your partner's back. She just hoped the kid was smart enough to prep for an EVA suit if kriff ever went down.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Slavers. The mere mention of the word drew a mixture of emotions to Fiach’s mind. In fact, it was a run in with a particular slaver that allowed her to come to terms with her lack of sentiments and unlock them – finally understanding part of the reason why she’d been a cold-fish for so much of her life. But, right now, she knew she would benefit from a return to the days when even the greatest provocation would be water off a porg’s back. Right now she needed a clear head – especially as she would be held as responsible for the reputation of the Order because of her actions.

The odds didn’t faze Fiach, she was used to being the underdog and she was positive that her compatriot was OK with the lack of a plan.

In terms of firepower, it was question she was not used to. There was a textbook answer but she was unsure how well it would land. Fiach wasn’t known as a cold-fish just because of her lack of emotions. She also failed to comprehend basic social clues and did not do inference.

“I am a Jedi, or at least a Padawan.” Unsure if this was sufficient an answer, she added, “We are trained to be the weapon. Our lightsaber is just a tool. It is our channelling of the Force that is our primary firepower.”

She raised her eyebrows and smiled, hoping this would suffice as a response.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

Why would they be going in stealth mode when they could attack in ships? Easier getaway, less mess and less tangle. And if kriff really hit the fan, they could boogie out of there faster than a Twi'lek on a spice tweak. But hearing the Paddie's words, Vera just gave a long pause, both brows raised.

"Right."

That curt answer said it all.

"I meant like ships. Hit an' run type deals," she spoke crisply, head tilted slightly. "Running into there and trying the stealth... if they've got a tight security, we'd be screwed."

She was blunt and to the point; kid or not, she wasn't gonna mince words.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Right. Was that a good right, as in, that’s fine. Or was it a bad right, as is, that’s not the answer I was expecting. Or maybe it was the answer she was expecting but that still didn’t make it a good right? Fiach decided she was possibly thinking too deeply, so dismissed the comment and focused on the task in hand.

"I have Jedi Order ships at my disposal, but for tasks like this, I was gifted a vessel that I prefer to use. My benefactor’s father owns the company apparently. It’s a heavily upgraded TIE fighter. It ticks the box for stealth and firepower and speed, as well as manoeuvrability.”

Was this response also going to get a ‘right.’ In Fiach’s experience, there was only one thing worse than not getting the response you asked for and that’s getting the response to the question you asked – but not what you meant. After all, she was doing her best to answer the questions.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

A low whistle came over the comms at that comment.

"A TIE fighter? Mighty swanky, kid, mighty swanky. So here's the plan."

She powered down her ship, Jaws, eyeing the planet before them. Just out of scanner range, but close enough that if they came any closer, ion cannons would have a distinct advantage in closing in. Not good for Vera or Fiach. So instead she hummed, tapping the dash. "Prob got a light shield on ya, so keeping heat off your back would be better. So kid."

She leaned back in her seat, powering up again. "I go in first, draw out whatever detail they got. Hit hard, hit fast, and boogey on out of there. While I draw 'em out, you give 'em a good dose of your firepower, then get out as fast as you can. No heroics. I'm too old to babysit, and too old to lose a young'un on my watch. Sound fair?"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach presumed the whistle and accompanying words were positive, but didn’t dwell on the possibilities beyond that. She was here to do a job and had a ship at her disposal, so focused on what she could do and did have – as opposed to worrying about what others might think of her.

Fiach tended to associate confidence with competence. It wasn’t a perfect combination – but it served as a good rule of thumb. On that basis, she felt in safe hands with Vera.

She nodded at the assertion her shields were designed for ship-to-ship combat – and would not withstand a substantial battering. The hit and run approach suited Fiach’s choice of ship and capabilities.

“That sounds perfect. I suspect they won’t hold back when they see you, so I can judge what to avoid and what to hit as I follow you in. I’ll hit as much as I can without playing the hero and make sure we end the run with the same number of ships we started with.”


@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

Of course, the moment they'd get close enough the smug little felines would send out toy ships to intercept. She clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Go on ahead kiddo, I'll do my best to distract 'em. Fire hard, fire fast, fly faster," and with that, broke away. A hailing signal tapped on her comm, and she opened the link without image from her end. "Hey kids!" she chuckled broadly.

"Unidentified Blastboat, name your designation and purpose," came the dry voice, and she sighed.

"Children these days... no karkin' manners. I'm here for some cats, and I got a nice can o' tuna for 'em."

Ion cannon charged to the ready! She heard cursing, and calling in for backup!

Smirking, she flipped the switch...

And the power went out, sparks shuddering out from one of her panels.

"KARK!" She bellowed, as their ships started to speed in. Not one, but three now. Shields weren't up, Force knew they wouldn't hold without even the karking engine on!

"Go get 'em, kid!" she barked on the private line to Fiach.

Hopefully the girl wouldn't do something foolish and play hero, that would suck to Vera's own Ranger cred.

@Corbeau

Avoiding Initial Alarm- Mild Success
Ion Cannon- Crit Failure

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach held back and listened, as her companion opened up her comms channel in an effort to distract the enemy.

In truth, what Fiach had expected as a diversion – and what was forthcoming – were some way apart. A couple of star systems at least! Maybe there had been a change of plans and Fiach had missed it? Or perhaps Vera had something up her sleeve?

Fiach held back, not wishing to spoil whatever the Ranger had in mind. But moments turned to seconds and before it could click into minutes, Fiach decided to act. She jumped out of Vera’s shadow and opened up her throttle. Behind her was the black cold of space and ahead of her were a few key targets that she would look to take out in priority order.

She transferred all available power to propulsion and weapons – shields would be useless against the ion cannon – and she still hoped to get in and out before she was noticed and they sent any ships of their own against her.

Fiach did not bother with the display in front of her. She knew that, at this speed, she was approaching firing range and pressed the buttons that activated the weapons systems. Just before the ship’s instruments confirmed the targets were in range, the Force told Fiach to fire, and she did.

At the same time, she was aware of activity from the slavers as ships were being scrambled, which meant the ion cannon would be trained on her any time soon. She knew she had one shot at this – and it had to count.

Heeding the brief, she did not look to play the hero and instead ID’d the principle targets – there were six in total. Making a quick mental calculation as she both flew and fired, she knew she could take out two of the six easily, three at a push and four would be a real challenge and would put both her and Vera at utmost risk.

So, she made the decision to take out three and as she finished her sweep, she diverted energy from weapons to rear shields as she began her retreat, punching in hyperspace coordinates. Which was when she realised that Vera’s ship appeared dead in the water.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

So based on the readout panels, the ion cannon was dead in the water, and the cat guards were boogeying in fast. Seemed like Vera had one thing to do.

Duck and weave.

While the Kid(kriff, what was her name again?) screamed in on her little fast-running bowtie to blast some cats, she began to pull up for alternate operationals.

Just because the cannon was down, didn't mean her shields and torpedoes weren't either.

Sparks still spitting from one panel, she let out a whoop and yanked the controls down, forcing the Blackfin boat, named Jaws, down into the dark of space. Signals screamed that the enemy was right above her; she twisted it to the left hard, forcing them to bank suddenly and attempt to maneuver.

She'd have these slavers skittering into whatever bowels of hell they belonged to, she thought with a wicked, bitter grin.

Kriff them and the legend of nine lives, she had the luck of the Tion on her side.

@Corbeau

Ship Ion Cannon Repair- Failure
Duck and Dodge- Success!

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach’s perennial smile returned to her lips as she saw life in the ship after all. Have she been playing dead, or were there issues with her ship? The fact she hadn’t used any significant weapons suggested the former, and so Fiach hatched a plan very quickly. Either one of them would struggle against the ships deployed, but if they were split up, they had a chance. But first, she needed to see how many they could eliminate at once.

So, she headed straight for Vera’s ship and saw the line of enemy vessels behind her. Then, at the last moment, she veered off to port, allowing her companion a chance to take down as many ships as she could in one go – with whatever armaments she had left. It was a risky plan – who knew if Vera’s ship was operational enough – but a poor plan was better than no plan at the moment.

And, as she performed a turn that she knew the others could not match, she slowed significantly and waited to see who might stray across her cross-hairs.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

Damn, damn, damn!

Why did these kids never listen?!

"Get out, kid!" she barked out over the comms, rolling Jaws away again. "Get their base, I've got it handled here!" They already had one self-sacrificing idiot, she didn't need to add a kid on top of that. Speaking of...

She aimed a shot to one of the y-wings, prepared to fire, when another slammed a shot from above, so distracted was she by the kid. "Kriff!" she bellowed, as the shot went wide, then snarled, dragging the blastboat for another tight turn. The gal was surviving, but she would have to break soon and get some distance, lure them away from their base.

@Corbeau

Failure

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach was never a hero without a cause and she always respected the chain of command. But then, nor would she leave a colleague stranded unless there was a very good reason. Fortunately, Vera’s confirmation that she was now in some sort of control meant Fiach gladly returned to focusing on her primary objective – the enemy base.

So, peeling off from the dog-fight that was ensuing, she used her ship’s superior speed and manoeuvrability to break away unmolested and return to the base. She used the general scrum of ships as a shield from the ground ion cannon and did what she now suspected they were not anticipating – a small, single fighter taking on the base.

Things worked even better than she anticipated and she reached firing distance unmolested – thoughts of Vera banished as she focused on the job in hand. She picked off the key targets in order – firstly the power generators, then the hangars and finally the weapon systems. The loss of all three would be a blow the base would likely never recover from.

Then, assured she’d done the maximum damage possible, she turned and opened up a channel to Vera. “Mission accomplished…time to go home.”

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

The Kid was right.

No matter how fun it was to rock and trade blows with the slaver base, the kid made short work of it. No slaves could be sold from that depot anymore... there wasn't anyplace left for them to come to and leave. Now she had to trust Max to have a plan in place to rescue the slaves left stranded there... and she fully planned on coming back herself to give those Zygerrian traders a good ol' Tion welcome herself.

A couple of stun blasters to the chest would have to suffice for now, but now wasn't the time for heroics either. They had to cut loose to live another day.

"Right behind ya, kid," she replied gruffly, giving another savage yank to the controls. Man, these guys had no maneuver style. Tch.

Well. Time to call it in back home, fix the ol' ship up, and have a celebratory smoke... sort of.

@Corbeau

Successful Escape
/End Thread