Ask Plot Dagger in the Back

Lorcan

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Corran and Kal had already made their attack on the refueling depot which was useful but the Rangers still needed to strike at the main issue with the base on this jagged little rock; the fighters. The pirates themselves were nothing to write home about but a pirate in a dagger-class starfighter was a pirate who could be more dangerous than anything they could draw from their tattered little smuggler vests.

Daggers were quick and they were deadly, even without missiles.

Observing the parked fighters from a vantage point some distance away from the landing strip itself, Lorcan had to admit that they were more organized than pirates he was used to fighting. The ships were all separate from each other so there was less chance of one exploding causing damage to the others. That would have made their mission a lot easier but he wasn't about to complain too loudly.

From what he could see there were only three starfighters but there didn't need to be too many here he supposed; the pirates had some odd freighters handy and the corvette was landed away from these ships. Which was good because he didn't want anything they did here to effect their chances of taking the corvette that the pirates had managed to keep.

Only two guards by the front gate... Lorcan was sure there would be more inside but two on the outside was enough for now.

"Alright Corran, I say we try and sneak our way inside without having to deal with the two outside at all. If we can, we can set charges on the ships themselves and be out of here before anyone realizes what's going on. Agreed?"



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Corran Velt

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The land strip seemed smaller than the fuel depot Lt. Dross and Corran had captured previously. Only three fighters, even if they were kept apart and protected, seemed like a rather small force. Either that or other fighters were elsewhere, like the station in system. Still, three fighters with the right pilots can destroy or capture countless cargo haulers. Corran would know; he saw plenty of brigands in his time on the hyperspace lanes.

The rookie Ranger’s partner for the mission was a man named Lorcan. Corran had never worked with him before, but initial assessment was that the man was a bruiser. Lorcan had that white-knuckle brawler aura about him. That’s why Corran seemed surprised that his fellow Ranger wanted to go in the stealth route. The detonation of the Daggers was more direct.

“I wish we could capture one, but you’re right. Destroying the fighters is our mission and the wisest plan. In and out.” Corran checked the settings on his blaster rifle to make sure it was prepped and ready along with securing any of his other gear so that it wouldn’t clank or jingle. “Let’s roll out.”

The rookie Ranger actually had some experience infiltrating pirate bases at this point. The fuel depot operation had required some careful evasion of patrols as well. This was no different. Advancing down from the vantage point, the guards at the gate seemed more bored than alert. Typical as a landing strip for fighters hidden on a desert world was usually pretty dull work. Not too far from the gate was a section of the fence that had been worn away by the elements. Corran gestured with two fingers to point it out to Lorcan. Luckily, the guards seemed more intent on talking and passing a cig back and forth. Corran dashed first in a crouched run before diving over the damaged section of fence. Pressing his back against one of the duracrete barriers that helped prevent fires on the base, he motioned for Lorcan to follow.

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Lorcan

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Lorcan was, as Corran had surmised, not a subtle man in a lot of ways and trying to break through a treeline, sprint across open sight lines and then vault a fence? All without being seen?

Yeah that was out of his ballpark for sure.

Rather what actually happened was that he watched Corran make it over the fence safely (and unseen) before he made a start toward the fence himself. Unlike Corran however, the guards almost immediately were aware of rustling in the treeline. Cursing a little bit, Lorcan backed away from the treeline and pressed at his comlink with Corran.

"I've been made."
he reported bluntly, "Attempt to accomplish the mission in stealth as agreed. I will draw attention and fire."

With that said, Lorcan sprinted off from his 'hiding place' and the two guards took note, calling it in on their own comlines before cautiously giving chase into the treeline.



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Corran Velt

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“Confirmed. Good luck, Ranger Lorcan,” Corran replied into his communicator. As soon as the link was severed, a slow sigh escaped the young man’s lips. “I was just getting to know the guy,” the rookie jested to himself as he assessed the situation. With the two gate guards investigating after Lorcan, that gave Corran, for now, an easier time to make his way into the landing strip.

Getting back to his feet, the Ranger glanced over the duracrete barricade quickly before ducking back down. The coast was clear. From the previous vantage point, the fighters were grounded on the west side of the base. Vaulting over the barricade, Corran sprinted to a barracks-like building and pressed up against the corner. Glancing around again, he rushed forward to hide behind some stacked cases that looked like they previously held rations. Peering over the crates, the young Ranger finally laid eyes on his objective. The three Dagger-class fighters were sitting in a zig-zag pattern on their struts with ample space between them, complete with fire-prevention barricades. This prevented a strafing run from taking them all out in one go. Whoever set up this landing strip knew their stuff.

Corran made a move to advance on the landed fightercraft but dove back behind cover when he heard voices. Carefully leaning over enough to get a look with his right eye, the Ranger spied 5 pirates in total. Three wore flight suits - likely the pilots here to inspect their ships - and two held blaster carbines with light armor. Another base patrol, possibly escorting the pilots. Were they planning a launch soon?

Sliding back into cover, Corran pressed his thumb on the comlink, “Lorcan, if you have a distraction, I could use one.”

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Lorcan

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Well Lorcan might not be all that good at sneaking into a place from the jungle - but it seemed that he had something of a knack for taking advantage of the fact the he was seemingly not the only one who had issues with it. With his rifle slung on his shoulder, Lorcan instead held his pistol in his left hand and his vibroknife in his right hand.

He had made sure to turn his pistol from stun to lethal rounds.

With his back pressed up against a tree, Lorcan waited until both of the guards passed him before lashing out. Stabbing his knife into the shoulder of the rear-most guard, he dragged the man down to the ground and brought his blaster pistol up. He blasted the second guard twice in the chest, ending his life.

Pressing his knee against the throat of the guard he had pinned, Lorcan touched his com link.

"Distraction coming up."
he reported, "Godspeed."

Reaching down, he grabbed the com link that the squirming guard had been using. He released the guard's throat and twisted his blade in his shoulder to have him scream down the com link to the guards within the compound.

"Do I have your attention now?"
he mocked them before pointing his blaster right in the pirate's face, "Your friends are dead now."

He pulled the trigger, blasting the guard's skull clean in half before tossing his com link away. Unknown to Lorcan, the two armed guards would respond to his taunts and leave the compound. Lorcan set himself up within the undergrowth a short distance from the corpses he had made to wait out any response.



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Corran Velt

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Lorcan had kept his promise. After sounding off on the comlink, whatever distraction he had come up with obviously worked. The two pirate guards near the pilots looked at each other, as if speaking silently with their eyes and listening to their communicators. One of them went pale as a ghost. They ran off towards the direction of the front gate, rifle carbines at the ready and soon out of sight. Corran made sure to duck down as low as he could behind his cover as they jogged by.

With the most dangerous hostiles out of the way for the moment, the way had been left open for Corran to make a move on the objective. Peeking around the stack of storage bins to visualize the best path to approach, the Ranger saw that the pilots had been unnerved by their escort running off in search of some threat. They had walked away from their fighters - but still in sight of them - and spoke in an anxious triad. They all had sidearms, but nothing more than that.

Corran decided to take his chances and timed his dash to the landing struts of the nearest fighter for when the Dagger pilots seemed most distracted by their worrisome conversation. Crouched low and AC280C held close, he crept around the various barricades and mechanic crates up behind the starfighter platform. Breathing in careful, shallow breaths, the rookie pulled a small circular explosive disk out of his pack. Now where does this go?

Looking all about the platform, Corran decided to stick the explosive on the fuel cable that led to the Dagger. It was the least protected and the explosion would blow upwards into the craft itself. He set a timer on the device, giving himself plenty of time to attached the other two explosives while also not mandating that Corran needed to be anywhere near here to set them off himself.

"First charge planted. Moving on to other two. Count two hostiles heading your way." Corran's voice in the comlink was shallow; a quiet, breathless whisper.

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Lorcan

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Two hostiles huh?

Lorcan moved from where he had been laid down in the bushes but kept his blaster rifle there, letting it peak out from the bushes as though he were still there waiting in ambush. In the end however, he decided to climb higher. Reaching a tree by the clearing, he quickly climbed up the tree to rest atop one of it's branches. Wanting to be as quiet as possible, he drew both his vibroknife and his vibrosword and waited.

They didn't disappoint, blundering into the clearing and immediately lighting up his old hiding place because of his strategic placement of the rifle. With them firing, Lorcan didn't even need to be quiet as he jumped aimed and threw his vibroknife. As the knife sailed through the air he jumped down himself.

The knife slammed into the back of the neck of one of the guards and Lorcan tackled the other to the ground from the sky. With the advantage of surprise on his side, Lorcan was able to roll the man onto his front and kneel on his lower back. He raised his vibrosword with both hands and plunged the blade into and through the man's neck, killing him instantly. Removing his sword from the man's neck damned near decapitated him.

He collected his knife and his rifle as he spoke to Corran.

"Two more tangos down - how's it going?"




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Corran Velt

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One charge down. Two to go. All it would take is some quick maneuvering and the two Rangers would be out of here before the bombs went off. Blaster rifle in hand, Corran made a rush towards the second fighter. He was too focused on the objective and not enough on his surroundings. Only a few steps beyond his previous position behind the first fighter, one of the trio of pilots saw the Ranger over the shoulder of his pirate comrade. The bandit squinted and finally cried out, “Hey… Hey! What are you doing!?”

The other two pilots turned around to see who the third was shouting at. A man, looking nothing like a pirate, with a blaster in hand. The trio immediately drew their blasters and began panic firing. Corran immediately dove back behind cover, landing flat on his stomach and crawling back into total concealment. That’s when Lorcan chimed in with his much welcomed report. This guy has taken down four pirates already? Incredible.

“I've been discovered," A blaster bolt could be heard burning some metal on impact over the comlink, "Three, lightly armed. I think I can take 'em but I wouldn't say no to some back up. Over."

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Lorcan

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Corran had been discovered but that was alright.

Lorcan had made short work of the more heavily armed and armored of the pirates so he supposed it made sense that the pilots would notice something amiss. After all, what kind of crazy person would attack their base from the outside on their own? No, even the brain-dead morons who worked for pirates knew that one man didn't assault a base on his own.

Not unless there was something else to be seen.

"On my way."


He didn't need to bother going over the fence now that the gate guards and their buddies were dead. Instead he came marching through the open gates with his rifle up and his eyes down the sight. Even as he approached from the side he opened fire on the three pilots from the side. One of them took a blaster bolt to the side of his thigh and went down wounded. The remaining shots were not so lucky but they did manage his primary goal of scattering the pilots into cover and taking all their attention off of Corran.

"Complete the planting."
he instructed Corran as he laid down fire with his rifle, transitioning into a crouched position behind some crates, "I've got their attention."



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Corran Velt

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The moments seemed to tick by at a glacial pace as the inaccurate, but withering, blaster pistol fire from the pirate starfighter pilots kept Corran pinned. The rookie tried to peer out from his cover but the bright sparks of a near-miss blaster bolt sent him reeling back to relative safety. He couldn’t even get a good look for possible return fire. Even more pressing, the charge near his head attached to the starfighter platform kept ticking down. The only reassurance was that Lorcan had promised he was on his way.

Suddenly, a second sound of blaster fire interrupted the deluge of pistol blasts and a being started crying out. Peering around the edge of the fighter support platform, Corran glimpsed the two other pirates scattering for cover with a third on the ground, holding onto his thigh. Is Lorcan not using stun!? The rookie’s eyes stood wide open in horrified shock.

Only Lorcan’s stoic order to complete the planting shook the rookie out of his daze. With the barrage of fire temporarily ended, Corran pressed off the platform with his back and sprinted to the second starfighter platform. He slid on his knees once he made it to cover and drew another charge from his pack. The timer on the bomb was set to roughly the same time as the first charge was at now to have them erupt at near the same instance.

Only one to go. Before exposing himself to potential blaster fire again, Corran pulled the final charge from his pack and attempted to make it ready for placement. The screen refused to light up. None of the signals displayed. The explosive was either defective or simply wouldn’t take commands.

“We’ve got a problem Ranger Lorcan,” Corran spoke into his commlink, “Third charge is inactive. It won’t signal.”

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Lorcan

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Lorcan could tell something was wrong because Corran hadn't immediately gone onto the third and final fighter. Instead he had noticed the way the kid seemed to look at him but Lorcan was a little bit too busy to care immediately. When the pilots were behind cover he was firing slowly, methodically, to keep them in cover even as he began to inch closer, moving to closer cover himself as he went. The injured pilot was just screaming on the ground behind cover, not even trying to shoot him.

Poor form really.

He frowned slightly at the message.

"Copy."
he reached down and flipped his holstered pistol to stun again, "Be with you in a second."

One of the pilots moved to ready himself to jump to a different piece of cover and exposed his knee.

Lorcan blasted the knee apart, sending the man screaming to the dirt. The one pilot who hadn't been injured yet turned and ran, breaking from cover entirely in the belief that Lorcan wouldn't shoot him. Or maybe because he thought that he would need to reload? Either way, Lorcan merely raised an eyebrow before firing, clipping the man in the back, on his right shoulder, and sending him spinning into the dirt. Marching forwards, Lorcan holstered his rifle over his shoulder and drew his pistol.

With the stun setting on, he blasted the first two injured pilots where they lay before stalking after the one who had tried to run. He was crawling ever so slowly. Hearing Lorcan's approach, he spun and fired a wild blast from a pistol but it missed without Lorcan having to even move. Crossing the distance, Lorcan kicked the pistol from the pilot's hand before leveling his blaster pistol down at the terrified man's face and pulling the trigger.

The man slumped, stunned, and Lorcan stepped away.

"Take a breather, Corran, you can take your time with it now or you can fly it out. Your call."
he shrugged slightly, "I'm sure command would likely let you keep it too. I'll make sure to call them in for these three morons once we've cleared the final camp - that corvette's gonna be a bugger."



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Corran Velt

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Corran watched in disbelief as his fellow Ranger scattered the pilots like a Rancor descending upon prey. It was like Lorcan had an aura about him that simultaneously instilled dread and deflected blaster bolts. As the last of the bandit pilots was dispatched, coldly, Corran found himself stunned. Where did the Rangers find this guy? The gladiatorial fighting pits?

With the hostiles now reduced to unconsciousness, if they were lucky, the novice Ranger came out from behind his cover and examined the defeated pirates with intimidated curiosity. He then turned his eyes to the last remaining Dagger. “I’ve never flown a starfighter before, but I think I’ll fly it out. Take it back to the Fuel depot we captured and turn it into Command. Who knows, we might need it against the station,” Corran said eye-balling the craft seriously.

That’s when it hit him. Lorcan only said he would call in for these three stunned pirates. “Ranger Lorcan,” Corran began slowly, “Only three? What happened to the other fou-” The rookie cut himself off. In this instance, he didn’t want to know. He’d let Command sweep the base for survivors and any investigation that followed. “Nevermind. Just make sure to be clear of the other two fighters. They’ll detonate here shortly.”

With that, Corran stowed his rifle by the sling over his back and jogged to the inactive Dagger. Luckily, he found the cockpit hatch already unlocked - likely because its now-stunned pilot was previously nearby. Sitting down into the seat, the young Ranger immediately noticed how much of a tight fit it was compared to his YT-1300. “Okay, okay… let’s see how this goes,” the rookie said to himself; a naked attempt at calming his nerves. With a few hesitant flipped switches and a best guess on a power button, the Dagger fighter began to hover. The fuel read a little below half, but that would be just enough to get back to the captured fuel depot. Gripping the joystick tightly, Corran dared the starfighter into flight. The craft was significantly lighter than any freighter he had ever flown and the speed pinned him to the seat. Up in the sky, adjusting to the power of a fighter craft for the first time, the rookie who prided himself on discipline and professionalism couldn't help but let out a yell of excitement.

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