Ask Old Methods

[Thel Xeros]

Ando

The ship descended through Ando’s atmosphere, heading towards the target. The target was a winemaking operation run by a group of Aqualish criminals. It was based on one of the myriad of islands dotted across the watery surface of the planet.

Thel had come to realise he couldn’t completely let go of the way he had done things when he was a Sith. He wanted control of the winemaking operation and he’d take it by force.

He’d hired a droid to help him. It called itself Captain Ahab and it was an old tactical droid. The credits to pay the droid pirate had come from part of the proceeds of the sale of the rare bottle of wine he had acquired on Eriadu.

Thel had chosen to wear his robes for the operation. He kept his lightsaber clipped to the back of his belt, concealed by his cloak. On this occasion, his main weapon would be a blaster pistol.

“Captain Ahab, how close are we to the target?”

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

Ahab turned from the trio of droids piloting the Poggle's Revenge towards his dark passenger. The brightly blue painted tactical droid actually didn't have to look downwards to make eye contact with the man, a rare instance when dealing with humans. To some, that alone would be unnerving, but for the droid Captain, it was nothing but a coincidence.

"We be making port in approximately 7 minutes and 34 seconds..." Ahab stated bluntly. "Yer little vineyard operat'n be not expecting us when we make yer raid of conquest an plunderin."

Indeed, no one was expecting an attack. Ahab had done things as beautiful as an advanced tactical droid could. Thanks to the information provided by the employer, and some of Ahab's own private actions, he had made a purchase order to be picked up directly from the winemaker. It had cost some extra credits to make it look legit enough for an in person visit instead of usual delivery, but the payment from Thel was enough to cover it, and then some.

"Once we be landed, the jig be up quickly..." Ahab explained, his deep voice a strange dichotomy to his particular kind of dialect. "I calculate less then 5 minutes before combative protocls er enacted if I speak. Less' ye have better ways of getting us further in, we will be guns ablazing after landing.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel listened as Ahab spoke. He’d encountered tactical droids before. They were intelligent things and he respected the capabilities of such units.

“You’ve done very well, captain.”

He found it interesting that the droid had adopted such a personality. It didn’t seem to have reduced its effectiveness though.

“Guns blazing works fine for me. You can do what you want with those who resist. Any who surrender should be left alive though.”

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

Ahab nodded at the man's words. Keep casualties to only those who fought. Along the floor, two small buzz droids crawled over and began to make noises. Ahab tapped a foot twice, granting them permission to climb up his chassis where they rested on his shoulders much like kawakian monkeys did with their owners. The Tactical droid even raised a metal appendage to pet one of them as if it was far more than a simple drone.

"Ye made a wise decision in hirin' us corsairs. Since some pay already be in our coffers, yer life be less protected, but we will do best we can. Just don't be makin' stupid risks. "

The ship shuddered as it began its landing. Outside, two armed men and a representative dressed in fine robes lined up to greet the buyers. There were some confused looks as the gangplank began to lower. They were expecting something a bit more 'high class' and not this shoddy looking gunship. Still, their suspicions were not entirely raised yet.

Their suspicions arose when Ahab and three highly painted B1s stepped down from the ship onto the ground. Ahab's sensors tracked that the representative's pupils grew approximately 74% before the droids fired on the armed guards. At point-blank range, it was an easy score.

"Avast ye..." Ahab stated as he pointed his own pistol at the man. "Yer place be under our jurisdiction now. Surrender, and ye may live fer now. "

Roll to get potential helper to surrender: 13/20

Taken aback, the man fell to his knees and fell silent. Ahab nodded and gestured towards the closest door. "Give us entry now"

As the well-dressed man nodded and began to go for the door, Ahab turned to the others. "I be first knocking out security inside. You, our glorious patron, go fer the communications systems an make sure no planetary authorities come a rescuin. Ye know the map of this place and fit in better than we. Still, one me rats be with ye with this helpful sod."

One of the buzz droids jumped off and crawled alongside the representative. As the door opened, the Buzz droid showed off its plasma torch and began to wave it threateningly at the man, as if to remind him who was boss. The man blubberred slightly, but quieted down at another gesture from Ahab's pistol. The b1s entered the doorway and began a sweep of the first room before gesturing it was clear to enter.

"We be causing lots of noise to cover ye. Savvy?"

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

“I don’t intend on taking any silly risks,” he replied to Ahab’s warning.

He prepared himself as the ship began its descent. Let the droids go first.

Ahab and three of their droids quickly took control of the situation. He waited for the representative to be brought under control, before descending the ramp.

He watched as the droids entered and checked that things were clear, before following. “I want those communications knocked out. First priority.”

His eyes shot towards their prisoner, who was currently being coerced by a Buzz Droid. “Where are the leaders of this operation,” he asked, gesturing towards his blaster.

“They’re upstairs. Top floor. Please don’t hurt me,” he squealed.

“Captain Ahab, you, your droids and the prisoner can deal with the communications system. I’ll take the leaders, myself.”

With that statement, he opened the nearest door. All clear. He closed the door behind him and headed down the corridor.

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

"Aye, we do that then" Ahab stated at the command. "Still, take one of the rats with ye. Such things be more useful then ye think. It'll obey ye well enough."

At this, the remaining buzz droid on Ahab's shoulder jumped off and began to crawl after Thel. For the moment, it would simply follow, but it would follow any direct commands given to it.

Ahab and his other droids continued. Room by room, the B1s cleared the area with a sweep before covering the doors. Ahab himself used his peacemaker to knock out any of the cameras they spotted, but besides that, the group tried to keep it quiet. A few times Ahab had to remind the prisonor to stay quiet or to ask for directions.

Ahead one corridor, the door to the communications array awaited. No doubt, there would be some form of security inside, as well as any technicians. Ahab normally would have thrown a explosive inside and be done with the whole matter, but given the nature of the mission, some expertise was needed.

"Charge after te count of three" Ahab told the others. With that, he armed himself with a gas grenade and slammed the door controls.

OOC: Roll for how many hostiles out of 10: 1

The lone technician wasn't ready for it. Of course, neither was Ahab, who had expected a whole security team, or at least several more technicians. Perhaps the vineyard was suffering budget cuts. Or perhaps Ahab's tactics were better than even he calculated.

Either way, the sole 'thud' of the technician falling to the ground from the gas, followed by another room sweep from the battle droids confirmed the room was clear.

"Alright, now rat, get to thee task" Ahab ordered while pointing a gun towards his prisoner.

The Buzz droid warbled and buzzed in acknowledgement before jumping off and scurried towards the central control pads. With wild abandon, the droid began to slice and dice its way into the consoles innards and into the communication arrays systems, creating a tunnel of destroyed machinery. The damage would be mostly minimal, but the effect would be what was needed.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel stalked though the corridors, silently dispatching of guards when necessary. He had “persuaded” a guard to offer up the location of the room, on the top floor, where the leaders of the operation would most likely be. So far, so good.

He stepped into an elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. Ahab’s buzz droid scampered into the elevator behind him.

When the doors slid open, he was confronted by two guards. Lunging forward, as he ignited his lightsaber, he cut down one. His second strike sliced through the chest of the other guard. A third guard, unseen by Thel, slammed a button on the wall. An alarm sounded out throughout the building. Blast.

Reaching out, he telekinetically snapped the neck of the guard that triggered the alarm.

If comms were down, then they wouldn’t be able to signal for external help. But the alarm going off would make reaching those in charge of the vineyard that much more difficult for him.

(OOC: Failed dice roll. Alarm triggered in building.)

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

The alarms began to blare throughout the vineyard. Ahab and the droids looked up in confusion.

"Blast!" Ahab stated. "An ill twist of fate...no matter!"

Ahab swung a metal fist into a wall, causing the room to shake slightly. The B1s looked frightened for a moment, as if Ahab would actually shoot them down in annoyance.

"We promised to make some noise for he, so make some noise will we! To the vineyard area men! I have a plan to lure the scum's guardians away from our quarry's nests.

The Droids all began to march out, with the buzz droid once again taking its place on Ahab's shoulder. Before leaving, Ahab rendered the representative unconscious, figuring it would be better to keep him out of the future firefight.

After kicking open a door (metaphoricly, neither Ahab nor the droids were able to lift their legs in such a manner), the droids began to open fire. In stark contrast to the beautiful day, the blaster fire that went everywhere was a testiment of chaos. None of the shots hit any targets. The droids were not aiming for the workers nor the plantlife. They simply were firing in any direction that would get attention.

"Might a party, ye lads!" Ahab shouted, firing a singular shot into a fleeing labor droid. The droid fell over lifeless before it unceremoniously blew up. "Strike the chords and loose the dogs of war, haha!"

OOC: roll to attract attention of all guards towards Ahab's location: 13: partially successful
#of guards: 10

Ahab's trick worked. The workers, fleeing for their lives, began to radio for help, saying battle droids had stormed the vineyard. The reaction was swift and vicious. The armed men began to pop out from doors and gates to the vineyard, charging forward to take on the droids.

"Get back! Take cover ye rusty bolt buckets!" Ahab commanded while switching from stun to kill. One well placed shot from his peacemaker sent one guard down, but the swarm of other guards made the tactical droid reconsider his options. The group of droids took cover behind a truck filled to the brim with plucked grapes. The battle had begun.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

A couple of guards attempted to run for cover, but were quickly shot down. Thel advanced through the corridors, his blaster pistol ready. He wasn’t encountering as much resistance as he had expected.

Passing by a window, he heard the sound of distant blaster fire. “Ahab, are comms down,” he asked, speaking into his comlink.

Turning a corner, he saw the doors to the conference room. According to the guard he had “persuaded” to offer up information, that’s where his targets were.

The doors to the conference room burst open. The two guards waiting inside were not prepared. He shot both down before they could respond. They’re not here.

Spotting an open door on the left side of the room, he went through into the room next door. Nothing of note, except for a staircase leading up. Approaching the bottom of the stairs, he could hear panicked voices and footsteps above. Perhaps it was those in charge of the vineyard, attempting to flee.

(OOC: 8/20 dice roll. To locate the leaders of the winemaking operation.)

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

Ahab's comm began to crackle with noise.

"Aye, the comms be down. Pardon me briefness, under some pressure here" Ahab stated as he popped from behind his cover to open fire towards one of the guards. The shot missed wildly, but it was better than nothing.

The B1 droids, as basic as they were, were following their battle protocols and fighting quite effectively. It was no secret that the B1s from the clone wars were, to put it mildly, basic troops who relied on overwhelming numbers over pure strategy. Thankfully, in the years of flying with Ahab, each droid's battle programming had been adjusted with each destruction and repair. GreenHorn was a bit of a wild card, but he could surprise foes in the oddest of times, and BlueBlood knew the meaning of cover like no other. YellowBelly often preferred retreating, and Ahab secretly wondered if he needed another memory wipe, but he always had an escape plan when needed.

"Alright ye lads..." Ahab said while passing out his last two grenades. "Spread out and make me proud. If they be shooting, no quarter given. Earn yer bolts and I'll shine ye me'self!"

The B1s looked at their 'captain' and nodded in agreement. As one, they tossed the stun gas grenades and began to attack.

OOC: Grenades take out 2d4: 4 and 2

GreenHorn was the most accurate with his grenade. Landing at the center of the vineyard, the grey mist made several guards choke and cough before they keeled over into submission. YellowBelly, ever the planner, tossed his grenade at the entrance to the vineyard, hoping to clear a way for a potential escape. The men who were holding the area did not expect the stunning weapon and fell over as well.

Ahab and Blueblood popped out and began to move. BlueBlood went for vines, where the foiliage would grant a modicum of protection. As he turned a corner, he opened fire and wounded a single man. Ahab, for all the slowness his chassis provided, was somewhat of a deadshot as his peacemaker clipped a singular guard.

6 down. 2 wounded. 2 to go.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Knowing that comms were down made Thel more confident of success. Climbing up the staircase, he pushed open the door at the top. He was on the roof of the building. A group of Aqualish were retreating onto a shuttle and their guards turned and took aim at him.

Pulling out his blaster, he quickly shot down two of the guards. He dodged blaster fire as he shot down three more. Reacting to a shot, his timing was just right as he used the force to deflect the shot back at the guard who fired it. The other two guards were propelled off the edge of the building with a telekinetic shove.

Jumping onto the shuttle, he used the force to smash the glass around the control pod and jumped inside. Within seconds, the pilots were shot down. Opening the door to the passenger area, he could now confront the Aqualish.

@Narzen

 

[Captain Ahab]

"Ahaha! See how they be fearin' our blasters! No quarter lads! No Quarter!" Ahab shouted as the remaining two guards began to turn and run. Whether it was because they were seeking better cover or simply fleeing for their lives was unclear, but as they had not dropped their weapons, Ahab saw no reason that his employer's orders took priority over these last few men.

Sadly, fleeing targets were harder to target, and the B1s were struggling to find their mark. They were ganging up on one of them, but could not nail the other.

Ahab however, had an odd idea.

"Go me little rat! It's time ye had some blood on yer bones!" Ahab commented as he raised a hand to his shoulder. The Buzz droid hopped onto the hand, and with one swift motion from the captain, was sent flying towards a fleeing guard. It landed on the back of head. The guard make a cry of pain as the 'rat' began to 'nibble' its way into its prize. There was a reason Buzz droids were banned on several worlds after the clone wars. They could make nasty anti-personnel in their own way.

As the guard fell lifelessly to the ground, another body hit the floor. Ahab looked up.

"Ah, it seems my good employer is handling himself well. Do ye need our assistance? We have taken out the guards down here" Ahab radiod

@DMCK