Plot Force the Breach

[Orn]

​

The passenger bay of the shuttle shook and bumped as laser fire from the starfighter battle that had taken to space. Task Force agent Orn had been assigned to a small grew of various rangers and former police personnel, and were tasked with one of the more dangerous jobs. They were to breach and secure a station that was crawling with dangerous criminals and pirates. Orn, covered his face with a simple mask, and wore a blast vest and helmet as he readied his E-11 blaster carbine.

His eyes shifted over the dozen or so troops, though his eyes caught one in particular, a woman sitting beside him. "800 Meters out from the target zone!" The pilot called out through the shuttle, leaving the troops antsy with nervousness. Orn took a deep breath as he sat back against his seat, there was no reason to stress now--this is what he trained for.

"What's your name," he'd ask the woman sitting beside him. "Cover my six and I'll cover yours."

tag: @Kestrel

 

[Bast Emblai]

Bast sat with her cybernetic spine straight against the seat. She stared out the viewport, looking at nothing in particular. Instead, she had focused on the plan of attack. The Ranger had been sent with a small deployment of Sector Rangers to secure a port. Apparently, it was an asset they could not let the criminals and gangs have. Bast’s speciality had never been combat, atleast, never since her accident. She was a trained detective and at one point held the position of DS. Yet, here she was. There was unfortunately no time to focus on murder in a time of conflict-even war. The announcement from the pilot shook her back into the grey-walled reality of the ship. “800 meters out from the target zone.” The ranger pulled on her helmet and brought her blaster rifle across her chest in preparation, trying to slow her heart rate.

Rather suddenly, the man beside her spoke. Perhaps it was from nerves that he sought company, or perhaps he, too, had been deep in thought. She offered him a small smile as greeting. “My name is Bast Emblai. Who are you?The last time I was in such a tense situation, the Coruscant prison was overrun. I know the evils of murder, conspiracy, and spice, but forward attacks are something I rarely have experienced. It would be helpful for someone to have my back. I will watch yours as well.“ She decided it was unnecessary to tell him that if she was shot in the neck, shoulder, or back, she would likely be paralyze. There was no point in causing more stress for the crew.
Many of them seemed young, excited, innocent. It saddened her slightly to know that many would soon carry the weight of killing another or having to bring difficult justice. Bending laws only led to corruption.
———
The ship landed with a jolt and Bast rose, jogging down the ramp beside her new comrade. She began giving commands in her com: “Get the dock cleared. Someone stay with the ship” Then to the Ranger she was back-to-back with: “Let‘s go directly into the facility. The more surprised they are, the better. What do you say?”

 

[Orn]

​

Orn would place a hand on the woman's shoulder as his other hand gave a thumbs up, "Orn, Spice Enforcement Agent.." She couldn't tell, but he was smiling under the mask, "Take a deep breath, I got your six in there you got mine..keep your eyes up and your head low.." The alarm on the shuttle would sound and the go light would begin to flash. The squad would deploy out from the outside of the ship landing down in the low gravity portions.

He made sure his respirator was attached firmly as he took in a deep breath--one stray blast and the whole squad would be sucked into the emptiness of space. "Hold the kriff on.." He'd move towards a panel with another ranger, preparing a blast charge. "This is the spot, low structural damage..Place the charge.."

The men would plant the charge onto the panel, backing up as they took a firm stance against the wall. "When it blows, we're gonna have 30 seconds before that life support wall comes rolling in to patch that whole..be ready." He counted down in his head, waiting for the detonation.

But, the sound of a turbo canon muted the detonation, as their shuttle quickly lost it's connection to the station and scrap went flying everywhere. They had no way out now, and they had no choice to take the station or die. "Go!" He'd begin to throw the men down the whole, his mind counting the seconds. He would let @Bast Emblai go next, before jumping down last--just enough time before the protection came sliding into place.

"This is Thorn, we're in..shuttle down and two pilots and one ranger KIA." He'd call through the comms as he pulled the respirator off his face. "We need to secure this station..permission to engage has been granted..."

tag: @Kestrel

 

[Bast Emblai]

Bast didn’t need to be told to go twice. Luckily, her reactions were still as sharp as a vibroblade. She hopped through the hole, quickly followed by Orn into the hallway as the hole closed. She landed rather hard on her feet and was grateful for her supportive boots as she recovered. The ranger scanned the hallway looking for any immediate threats, but only spotted a few guards near a turn in the corridor. Thankfully, they appeared to take no notice of the intruders, gathered round a hand held holoprojector watching some sort of sports match. It seemed as if the facility was unprepared for attack- news had yet to spread. That would serve them well- surprise left little time for deception, traps, or strategy.

Stepping behind a stack of crates Bast spoke in a hushed tone to Orn. “Three men down already? They had barely set foot on the station.“ She took her helmet off to gaze back up in the direction of the remains before ending her moment of silence and replacing it. The ranger believed in dignity, even for the enemy. Honor for the fallen was reserved only for those who had sacrificed for justice. She wondered if it had been any of their first missions. The woman fought to bring herself back to the presen and scolded herself. She had always been analytical and respectful, but her accident had caused her to wane nostalgic and remorseful. Still, she knew though emotion began many battles, it ended no wars.

“Three troops visible at twelve o’clock. I’m going to take out the surveillance camera. Hopefully we can do this relatively cleanly and quietly. Ready?” Bast steadied her arm, resting it on the top of a half-locker and took one shot with her blaster rifle at the lens mounted high on the wall about five meters down. The shot hit its target, but she must have hit some extremely combustible area of the tech as a small explosion ensued, destroying the camera. All three previously occupied men looked up and drew pistols. Distant shouting echoed and two more men appeared. They weren’t in uniform, but all five were dressed in a hodgepodge of light armor and two had gang tattoos.
“Mm. We have five incoming. I can cover but we cannot let them get too close. “

 

[Orn]

​

Orn readied his E-11 Blaster, motioning towards the four remaining rangers to take position behind the various crates, blasters drawn and ready for any possible retaliation for Bast's attempts at taking out their camera systems. The Agent thought it was a risky attempt, but it was too late and she already began to fire, causing a minor explosion to occur.

Slowly five troops that manned the pirate station would emerge down the hall, blasters drawn. "Bast take cover.." He'd motion for the woman to take cover as things slowly began to unravel. "12 O'clock.. you heard the lady," laser shots began to snap and hiss over their head.

"Fire down range," Orn and the four other rangers would begin to fire down the hall towards the five pirates that scattered. While the Rangers themselves had adequate cover, the same was afforded to the Pirates who began to take cover, firing suppressing shots down towards their trapped area. Orn managed to strike one in the chest, taking them down, but the four others had taken secure coverage.

Alarms began to sound through the station and the other 4 troops came rushing down the opposite end of the station hallway towards them. "Our Six!" Orn would call out, but it was too late. There would be a boom and the metallic platform in the station would shake. The two rangers farthest to the back had already been taken out by the explosion. Leaving just Orn, Bast and two others. The Ranger would aim behind, motioning one of the troops to do so as well. He'd point towards the other, "You help Bast.." He'd peek for a moment, calling out to the woman, "We're pinned out here!" Before ducking down behind his crate. They had 4 from their twelve and 4 from their 6 o'clock positions..things weren't looking good.

tag: @Kestrel

 

[Bast Emblai]

Bast dove for cover as she saw the first blood-red bolts fired at her men. She was breathing hard, clutching the side of a metal crate, back to the wall. They had completely lost their element of surprise because of her. It had been a calculated decision, but still the wrong one. Was it just that her comrades might die because of her mistake? Did they know what they had signed up for? So many people got caught up in glory that they forgot about the possibility of death. She hoped they had known, but the uncertainty caused her gut to twist. The woman spent so much time solving other’s mistakes and bringing them to justice, she couldn’t help but feel some guilt.

An explosion rocked the walls behind them. Two of their men were thrown, but Bast did not look away. She would reap what she had sown. This would be a bitter reminder to plant a better crop in the future. Everything was happening so fast. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. She had to think, analyze the best course of action, but she had no time. A man ran over through the fire to crouch beside her. “What’s the command, Emblai? Do you need cover?”

“We have got fire coming from our six. We must stop them to avoid getting pinned further. Fire at will. Orn’s got those ahead of us. What’s your name, Ranger?” The woman was not one to form many attachments with those she was stationed with only for short periods, but she would care for the interest of morale. The law, she believed was best carried out by unbiased individuals. Communities that began straying too far from that were ripe for corruption and conspiracy.

Both rangers took a knee and began to fire at the four pirates running at them from the hall that had come through. Bast steadied her rifle and fire one shot. It hit true, right in the stomach of one man, who stumbled and fell face-first onto the hard duracrete floor, carried forward by his momentum. She aimed carefully again at the head of another pirate running straight towards her and killed him in an instant, his body crumpling. She would cleanly, painlessly, efficiently, if she could. The remaining two pirates took cover, one behind a large footlocker, the other behind a recess for a door. She waited patiently for one of them to poke their head out, as did the man beside her. The air was thick with electric tension.

Faster than she could blink, a shot flew so close to Bast she could feel its searing heat. Someone had fired. Half a second later, the soldier next to her fell backwards, clutching at his thigh and groaning. She grimaced as the smell of charred flesh got in her helmet and took a second to give the man a medpac. “Come on. Stay Conscious. What is your name?” She asked more forcefully. The fire from behind them had stopped. It had become a waiting game. “Answer me.”
“Zygon“
“Ranger Zygon, I need you to stay still and keep talking.“ She couldn’t lose any more men.

 

[Orn]

​

It seemed bast was holding her own out there, but they were severely outgunned for this operation, and Orn knew it. His teeth clenched as he cursed under his breath, he wanted his enforcement agents with him for this operation, but that was too late now. He was just as much responsible for the lives of this disaster as Bast. Focus on the task Ranger...we all knew what we signed up for, don't start acting like a KNG now..

He and a Twi'lek focused on the four men ahead of them, their fire focused on drawing them back and then they could figure out the next course of action. Together the two of them focused fire ahead, striking one of the pirates in the leg, and causing him to fall and cry out in pain. Two of the pirates would move out, grabbing the pirate and slowly starting to drag him back, while the other focused fire--striking the twi'lek ranger with a bolt to the head, killing him instantly.

Orn pushed the thoughts away as he continued to fire on the pirates, striking the one they had wounded in the gut and killing him instantly. The two would drop him and begin to run as the third fired a shot towards the exposed Orn, striking him with a grazing shot to the side of his ribs before departing. The agent would fall down against the side of the crate, his hand clenching his side as he clenched his teeth. Keep focused.

"What do you want to do?" He'd ask with a drawn out voice, doing his best to hide the pain that he had been shot from Bast.

tag: @Kestrel

 

[Bast Emblai]

Bast knew their advance was sinking fast, despite trying not to focus on the peril that surrounded them. Zygon had stopped talking in the time she had opened fire at the pirates behind them. She had struck one in the chest and the other had once again retreated behind the storage locker. Three bodies laid on the grimy floor ahead of her, their eyes open, one of the bodies still gently smoking from the bolt wound. The ranger regarded the scene with her steely gaze, her emotion unreadable on her expression. She simply observed, her steady breathing echoing in her ears.

Then, the sound of electricity in the air, a quiet cry, an impact of a body hitting the crate. Bast shifted so her back would be protected by the crate she was behind and turned to see Orn clutching his chest, leaning against a crate for support. He was grimacing, his body tensed in pain. The Twi’lek who had been fighting by his side lay lifeless on the ground. They were the only ones left. The two rangers and the four pirates. Orn spoke strongly but softly. He tried to sound normal, but Bast’s ears were attuned to deception. He was struggling. "What do you want to do?"

“We must hold out. I can treat your wound and fortify our position with more crates. However, we need reinforcements. Reinforcements we don’t have. We are trapped. How many pirates do you reckon are left in the base? If we have no one coming, we can lie here in waiting to pick off the rest of them slowly as they come through the hall routinely. I could hide the bodies. We have to do something, or die trying.“

Bast laid out her first aid kit, given to her by the Ranger Head on Corelia. She handed Orn a medpac and instructed him to inject it to ease pain and hasten healing. Then, disinfecting his graze wound with an antibacterial protective spray, she gently applied anti-burn gauze, and finally a bandage. She knew the pain of being shot.
“Do you have any suggestion?”

 

[Orn]

​

Orn grunted as he placed the bacta injection into his side, squirming a bit as he clenched his teeth, slowly a spray would begin to inject into the blaster would, and would provide temporary aide to the wound, but it wouldn't last forever. His side still kicked like a tauntaun and to make matters worse they were stuck with little to no escape.

"To be fair ma'am," he'd say with a faint breath, "We don't have time to play hide and seek..I recommend we head for a ship and get the wounded out of here..and hope that the battle plans are going well elsewhere..there is no shame in falling back and licking our wounds." He assessed that they had blown any chance at securing the command room.

"They're probably putting up E-Webs as we speak around the command center and fortifying the positions, kill squads will be lurking throughout." He'd grunt in pain as he pulled himself up and began to limp down the hall, his blaster raised. "If our intel is correct, a hangar should be up ahead."

The Ranger would move ahead, the wounded ranger and Bast following behind him. The three of them would find a hangar, but unfortunately for them, they would find thirty pirates prepping ships and prepping to hunt the rangers. The hangar doors were shut as well, trapping them in. "They're going to burn us out..we need to move, find a vent or something and get to escape pods."

He would turn towards the door, but heard the yelling as the pirates spotted him coming back into the hallway. "Alright, we need to find a place to go! Now!"

tag: @Kestrel

 

[Bast Emblai]

Bast whirled around, knowing there was no use firing at the crowd of pirates. Their frantic cries of “There!“ and “Get them” echoed throughout the hanger. Their best chance now was to run back down the hall from which they had arrived, but before the group had rounded the corner of the corridor, safely, Zygon received a blood red bolt directly to the chest. Bast, who had been supporting the injured ranger, had no choice but to let him drop, almost tripping over his body as it slumped. She felt a surprisingly sharp pang as she glimpsed his face, frozen in pain. She had seen hundreds of brutally killed bodies, but she had never known them. Still, this was no time to mourn, she had to remember.

Emblai panted as she sprinted behind Orn under the flashing fluorescent lights, her adrenaline pumping hard. The ranger was still clutching his side as he ran, clearly in pain, yet impressively fast for an injured man. The pair paused at an intersection in the hall and Bast scanned hurriedly for cover. Out of the open, they would be harder to track down. She motioned for her comrade to duck behind more crates for a second as they calculated the path of least confrontation. The branch to the left was monitored by a holorecorder. The one to the right sounded with distant footfalls and yells. Orn leaned against the duracrete wall for support, his jacket wiping off a layer of dust and grime. Only, the clean streak left by his clothing was not duracrete after all. It was rusted metal. A keypad jutted out from behind the ammunition crates, also covered in grease and dirt. The door seemed to be unused, perhaps forgotten.

“Orn, please move back for a minute. I believe you have found us a secret door. Are you feeling any better? This has been a rather difficult going so far” She offered him a quick smile now that they were temporarily safe and attempted to slide the door open. Nothing. “Locked. Flimsy though. Would you be able to help force it open? I know my limits and strength is no longer a skill of mine- Exo-spines do not lend themselves to heavy lifting”
——
A few minutes of precious time had been spent prying for cover. The room they were in was pitch black, with only a sliver of light leaking through the ruined door. With a quiet click, Bast flipped on her headlight. A narrow hall stretched out ahead of them. Insects scurried out of the light and water dripped from a pipe above. Considering the lack of lighting and the state of disrepair, Bast gathered it was rarely used. “This is certainly a path travelled less rather than more”. She looked to gauge Orn’s reaction to their new surrounding. It was eerily quiet. Bast continued down the passage, her footsteps sounding unnaturally loud. Despite knowing this was simply the effect of the confined space, it unnerved her.

After what seemed like hours of swift, quiet walking, another rusted door appeared. “Shall you enter life would you rather I do? Staying in a network of passages we know nothing about is strikes me as unwise.”

 

[Orn]

​

The Agent smirked a bit towards the woman as they peered towards the door, it was pitch black, but relatively quiet for now. "I wouldn't mind staying in this room with you for a bit," he'd chuckle, a little banter couldn't hurt the situation they were in, and with the amount of death and the failure they had suffered at the pirates, it was best to keep your thoughts off it all.

He peered towards the door, holding his side as he made his way towards it, "looks like a maintenance room, we could use it to secure and shut down doors in this area, possibly buy us some time to find an escape pod." The mission was already pretty much a failure, getting out alive was the priority at this point.

Raising his E-11, the Ranger would press the button on the door, watching it swoosh open. He'd step through, finding three workers chilling and watching a few terminals on the damage the station had suffered. "Freeze..." He'd say as he stepped in. The men turned, hands up, except for one who kept his back turned towards them.

Orn would move towards the man, placing a hand on his back, "Hands up.." The man would turn, grabbing Orn who was already wounded with quick speed. He'd slice across his exposed neck, tearing open the flesh and sending the ranger down to the ground. His vision was blurring, but he could see the other workers jumping on top of the woman, as they called out for the pirates to come. He could see his body being dragged away, but it was all drifting away.

_
​

A Holo-Broadcast would display over the battle frequencies, it would show Bast captured and bound with Pirates all around her. Orn's head would be held by one of the pirates who sneered into the screen. "Pathetic..you send these men to hunt us, and we killed them all...except for her. End this petty battle and your acts of aggression against us, and maybe we will release her."

/END Thread
tag: @Kestrel