Ask Lothal Linking Lone Wolves

[Cadu Leszek]

Cadu hummed a tune under his breath. To some who didn't know him, it could seem as if he had his mind on other things - which wouldn't exactly be pertinent to the situation at hand, given that planning a stunt of this magnitude required all participants to be one hundred percent on the same page. Nevertheless, it would be clear by the frown on his face and the way in which he was looking at Darro, Aran, and their Kubaz employer that he was actually listening attentively. In truth, the tune was a short Kiffarian mantra, traditionally used to keep clan warriors alert and their reflexes firing in the immediate prelude to a skirmish. "Hrem ir-ralek, trana pashna uyr." Sing, my brother, so your ears may listen.

As Hjibram, Darro, and Aran wove in and out between their respective suggestions, two distinctive patterns of approach formed in Cadu's mind's eye. His experience told him that both had their qualities and drawbacks, and that both could work, if they were executed correctly.

Cadu waited a moment after Aran had finished speaking before he chimed in: "Aran's observation makes sense, at least to me it does. I think he's right in suggesting that we have two options: a subtle approach, and one where we have to go all in on the element of surprise and establish tactical superiority quickly and efficiently in order for it to work. I personally would prefer a subtle approach, perhaps combining Darro's suggestion of dressing up as 'delivery service' or hiding in the goods that might be transported into the facility, and Aran's purported slicing abilities to gain access to the facility, and keep it - hopefully without arousing suspicion. For that to work, however, I think we'll need perfect timing as well as a good amount of luck, and I've never been a gambling man."

Cadu had a serious expression on his face as he looked at each of the assembled beings. "Then there's the second option, and once again, Aran's not far off the mark, by my assessment. If we're going in, blasters akimbo and firing, we might as well create as large a beachhead in the facility as possible. The resistance will be fierce - especially considering we're only three," he eyed the Kubaz, "maybe four individuals on our side. It could work. It also very well might not. And I think we all know what the price of failure would be."

Cadu walked out in front of the other three. "Unless anyone has any other approaches they'd like to suggest, I think we should vote on either a subtle or an 'all in, guns out' approach. We can hash out the finer details later." He raised his right hand. "While I suspect it might inevitably develop into the latter, I would prefer to try out the former first. So I vote for subtlety." He looked around at the other three expectantly.

@Dmitri @Topher Ridge @Ridei

 

[Fidchell]

The Doctor was beginning to like this Aran Brishad - spoke his mind, and not afraid to call out flaws in plans. Strangely, that didn't always happen with the Sith. Some Sith, sure, but a vast majority held too tight a (granted justified) fear of retaliation for speaking out against a plan by a superior. The Doctor made a mental note to look into Aran Brishad later, to see if there was any potential to recruit him into the Sith Eternal. The man may not be Force sensitive, but a good soldier and tactician could fight the Jedi just as well as any Sith.

For that to even happen, he'd need to survive the current operation. And it was clear that current ideas were just being slapped around without much thought (his own included, if the Doctor was being honest with himself). "Man's got a point," Hjibram admitted. "Infiltration's hard. Even if we use a EMP to knock out several systems, manual inspection is still a thing. Ugh, this sort of thing is easier on Nar Shaddaa." And it was. Though not in the way he implied to Cadu and co. Infiltrating the Network Access hadn't been terribly difficult.

Cadu issued the ultimatum, placing the decision to a democratic vote. Since he held no preference (since, at bare minimum if everything went south and the others died, he could just unveil his true colors and devastate any remains of the laboratory) and there would be a count of 4, which could lead to a tie, he spoke, "This is your guys' rodeo. I'll abstain."

 

[Darro Tane]

As Darro thought earlier, the only real question was going in loud or quiet. Seemed Cadu wanted to take their chances going it quite. He could respect that decision, but the idea still nagged at Darro. Just too many variables to keep track of with the subtle approach and too many avenues to still just end up in a firefight anyway. In his mind if it was more than likely going to come to a fight regardless, he'd rather that fight be on their own terms. He thought for a moment and eyed each man gathered and eventually shrugged. "I don't like how many chances to kriff the whole damned thing goin' in quiet presents. I vote for hittin'em hard and fast, hell I'm best in a firefight anyhow and if we're gonna end up shootin' anyhow I'd rather take that fight with the best footing we can." He approached the hologram of the building and pointed out the hangar bay. "The bay is pretty big too. After we hit them with whatever ship we 'borrow' I can follow in my ship to deal with any stragglers then follow you boys in if we go in loud."

Then Darro thought of something else. "Hell any of you know how to rig up a slave circuit? The Colt's got a tractor beam projector that I can use to give the crash a bit more 'umph'. If we can rig something up none of us even have ta risk being on the damned ship we crash in there." Darro looked to Aran at that moment, "Are we goin' in loud?" His own vote cast and with a final suggestion he would wait to see what Aran had to say. He thought it interesting that Re had abstained from the vote, though it didn't raise his suspicions anymore than they already were. The 3 hunters were the ones taking the largest risk here, despite the man funding this little endeavor, so leaving it to them made sense.

@Dmitri @Ridei @Casmer

 

[Aran Brishad]

It was a little bit amusing for Aran that he would have a final say in how the team would approach the mission, considering he was the least experienced bounty hunter present. In fact, even their employer could have seen more firefights than him, seeing as he was eager to take some part in the endevour. A little smirk would show his thoughts for split second then he was considering his next words. "As you probably might have guessed I am voting on a subtle approach to the mission. But I don't see a reason for us to combine previous ideas and utilize our strenghts. Hear me out." Aran tried to sound reasonable, not bossy, appealing to their common sense and not ordering people around. Only by judging Cadu's and Darro's reaction he could see if he succeded.

It was clear that Aran's skillset would be more utilized when security wasn't aware of their presence in the facility, however he no longer was working alone. Now he had a backing of an experienced pair of professionals, the plan had to also play to their strenghts. Cadu could be useful inside, he clearly had his way with people and his expericense in negotiations could save their asses if some of the staff inside became suspecious. Not to mention if something would transpire, he could surely handle himself. Darro on the other hand... The infiltration didn't suit his expertise well (or so Aran suspected), so Aran saw no reason to force him out of his comfort zone. "Me and Cadu will enter the facility hidden in a cargo shipment and make our way to the target without raising suspicion. We will be moving through the path I described earlier, avoiding the hangar bay." Aran was adressing Cadu mostly, showing again the path through the mess hall. "We make contact and begin to recover the asset." Aran now turned to Darro and Re. "Meanwhile Darro uses his ship's tractor beam projector to crash the hangar bay door open. This is our way out. The security will start converging on the location, the presence of Dr. Fields shouldn't raise much suspicion. Darro will use his sniper rifle to cover our retreat throught the hangar bay and we will escape via Darro's ship parked outside manned by our emplyer here, Mr. Hjibram." The plan contained all the parts needed, Aran felt that none of the previous ideas went wasted and made a coherent whole. There was just one more thing.

"We should take some kind of drug that would impare our targets cognition. He could blow our cover when we approach the hangar bay. My knowledge on medicine slim to none so..." Aran looked around at his companion hoping that one of them would come forward with a proposition. "What do you think?" Aran hoped the plan was to everone's taste. He tried to juggle their advantages and place the puzzles in right places. Aran straighted his back a little in an incoming wave of pride, he felt like he done a good job and proven his worth even before the firefight.

@Topher Ridge @Casmer @Dmitri

 

[Cadu Leszek]

Cadu liked the way his two companions thought.

While his fellow Kiffar voted for a more hands-on approach than the one Aran had suggested and Cadu voted for, it was clear that he did not prefer this approach out of an inability to see the pros of a subtle course of action. Rather, Darro seemed to have weighed both pros and cons of the approaches against each other, siding for an overt plan because he assumed that's what they would end up having to fight their way out anyway. Cadu could only respect the other Kiffar's preference of choosing the battlefield and the conditions under which to fight. Left with no other option, a Kiffar would find the best ground on which to fight - and give no quarters to the enemy.

However, Cadu still believed that a subtle approach could be pulled off if planned correctly. Aran proved to be a valuable addition to the group in that respect. The man laid out a plan that would combine the best elements of an infiltration with the suppressive force of an assault. The bounty hunter nodded when Aram mentioned his skills at negotiation. "It'll be a tough bantha to skin, negotiating our way out if we're made. If we've got our hands on Doctor Fields at that point, we'll have some leverage, but I doubt it'll be enough. Best keep that as an absolutely last resort and hope to exit the facility with the doctor without running into too much trouble." He gestured at Darro. "But I guess his breaking in the front gate would provide ample opportunity to escape unseen in the ensuing chaos - if we play our cards correctly."

"As for the doctor," Cadu continued, "I agree with you, Aran. We should make sure to subdue him and keep him quiet. Good, reliable anesthetics might be hard to come by quickly, but a solid dose of spice may produce the effect we need too. Shouldn't be too hard to find." His curly hair swirled as he turned his head towards Re. "Unless you have anything against us drugging your acquisition?"

@Dmitri @Topher Ridge @Ridei

 

[Darro Tane]

So he was out voted. It didn't surprise him much. To be honest the quite in approach was probably the right call, but Darro had done what he always did, weighed the outcome and voted for what he thought would give them the best chance of survival. Now that the vote had been cast, Darro would work with the others to once again, maximize his chance of survival.

Darro would nod and listen to the suggestions of his comrades throw out more suggestions and Darro finally raised his hands and nodded. "Aight, aight. I don't have an issue being our ride out. Though if ya'll are goin in quite," Darro would approach the hologram and zoom it out to get a better view of the surrounding area. He saw exactly what he was looking for after a moment; "I say I hide out up here on this ridge. It should be outta sight enough to avoid attention." He looked back to the others, "It's also still within range of my rifle if things get hairy, and I have The Colt on sight in a few moments."

The Kiffar then walked back to join his fellow hunters and looked back to Re. "Of course our employer is welcome join me on The Colt if it suits'em." That was Darro's 2 credits as at this point he was ready to get underway, no matter what the plan was.

@Dmitri @Ridei @Casmer

 

[Fidchell]

Just as The Doctor reshaped his opinion regarding Aran Brishad, so too was he reforging his opinions on Darro Tone. The man would be hope with some of the other Legionnaires, with heavy strikes and little subtlty; such things had their places, but Cadu and Brishad made it noted that this situation needed a more delicate hand, at least in the beginning. He wondered what the man's reaction would be if he were to say he was acting Sith-like. In the end, a less Sith approach would be used; Tone was outvoted. Well, that wasn't exactly true. The Sith were about adaptability, and Brishad's plan definitely adapted to all the plans into an amalgamation. Granted, it wasn't good to not keep himself in his employees' good opinion.

"Points well made," Re Hjibram chipped in. "Don't get me wrong. Sometimes hitting hard is appropriate, and could maybe be used here too, but one has to consider the team's skillset. We aren't a Republic Special Forces team. The proposed plan feeds more into the group's strengths."

He turned to Cadu. "I think he's allergic to nuts; other than that, anything should be fine. I can probably acquire some anesthetics, just give me an hour or two. Spice, while convenient, is unreliable and you never know how someone will react to it for their first time." The Doctor didn't know if Fields had ever used spice before or not, but didn't want to risk it.
As for the anesthetics, well, to be honest, he could procure anesthetics. in less than a minute, considering he had some on board, but that just raised questions about why he had some on-board (not necessarily the presence of anesthetics, but the grade of them); plus it already was a bit convenient he had the charges that were brought up earlier. He'd snag some from the ship, then wander off, maybe check in on the status of the upcoming assault on CZ-082.

Hjibram returned his attention to Darro. "More the merrier, if you'll have me; unless Cadu needs me elsewhere. I know it's not common for us clients to get as involved, but I feel weird staying on the sidelines, not helping out." An idea struck the supposed Felder Robotics employee. He turned to Brishad. "Your idea about incapacitating Fields is a good idea. Anesthetics will make him loopy, so he won't blow our cover. But it will be a bit strange how he's acting. If we apply some fake blood to his head, we could claim he got a head injury during a lab accident, which would explain his behavior if asked. If we get called out at the hanger, we can say we're having him transported to a hospital. They have meddroids on-site, but they can't handle everything."

 

[Aran Brishad]

It seemed like everybody embraced the plan, even though some details were still being worked on. Aran decided he could return to a lower gear now since their ideas and probably their mission wasn't consisting of random thoughts anymore. He was content with this result, even though at the beginning of this small adventure he was reluctant to speak his mind. However what they were doing was no joke, he wasn't amateur anymore (or rather the mission wasn't appropriate for amatuer approach, even though Aran still considered himself one) and indecisiveness could get them all killed, even at the planning stage. He quietly suspected that Cadu did this on purpose, even if he didn't call himself one, he was a de facto leader of their trio, or at least this is how Aran saw this situation. It wasn't such a strech to think that the Kiffar would hold himself back to see what Darro and himself brought to the table. Brishad felt he gave his all for this part of the spectacle, he would let Cadu work out the further details.

The fake injury idea wasn't a bad one, Aran was a little jealous he didn't propose it from the start. A short burst of discontent crawled across his face when his employer made this suggestion but it disappeared quickly. Aran tried to rationalize it. They were here to brainstorm after all, not all ideas have to be his, right? "Right." Aran said to himslef to instill the confidence back to his psyche, but it was also meant for his partners. "I think it will work nicely." Aran said splitting the attention during this short sentence between Darro and Re, and showing a genuine, if a little sour smile towards the latter. Both of them staying vigilant at the exterior of the facility could provide even more usefull, the situation outside was important for the extraction and comotion could lead to altering the plan. They needed the eyes on the evac route, Darro and his rifle were esential to the plan, so it was fortunate that he embraced the role and even started to plan his approach.

Aran shifted his attention towards Cadu, they should be all set but the de facto boss should be the one give the word.

@Topher Ridge @Dmitri @Casmer