[Mando/Renelo] Raiding along the Hydian Way

[Ral]

Somewhere along the Hydian Way
Outer Rim Territories
0600 Shipboard Time​

Ral stood on the command deck of the Darasuum Gra'tua having chosen not to taken the captain's chair, instead yielding it to the ship's proper captain, the lavender and mauve colored Twi'lek female Aisha Odoro. The young female captain rubbed one of her violet lekku anxiously as she waited for the order to be given. It had been a while since anyone had mobilized all of Renelo's naval assets for something aggressive, so Ral wanted to pick an easy target, something that would be forgiving should someone make a mistake. Though Ral honestly hoped that there wouldn't be any such mistakes today he couldn't take the chance against a... worthier opponent as some would call it.

For today's operation they would be attacking a merchant convoy traveling from the Core down the Hydian way before finally coming to stop at Eriadu. Their raid would take place after the convoy left Darkknell and began the last leg of its journey. Ral had discussed the operation with Inga Kelborn, the other alor of Renelo who had inherited command when Sisk fell, and they both agreed that targeting a weak convoy would be for the best; they needed supplies for their clan and what remnants of Kelborn Inga had brought along with her, and it would give them all a chance to get used to commanding and working together; a bonding experience. Ral found himself rather enamored by the young red-head; she had enough tenacity to impress Sisk to make her the Blade of his forces, and had suggested several things to do with the clan since Sisk's death. He had to admire someone who could do that in spite of their young age and her willingness to help Renelo thrive.

"I hope everyone is ready for a little bit of action," he remarked to Inga over their private comm channel. With a bit of a smirk on his face, he kept talking, happy he had a helmet on his face. "This'll be the first engagement we've had since Death Wind, and before that the Genocide I believe. Well, let's just pray that nobody has lost their edge since then."

Just then, a series of ships exited hyperspace into the "pocket", or what Ral and Inga guessed would have been the likely place where the convoy would exit hyperspace to readjust at the navbuoy before resuming course. Before them were about half a dozen Action-series transports, three BFF-1 Bulk Freightesr, and four Class-A Container Transports made up the convoy with a single CR-90 Corvette for defense. Easy Pickings. Ral thought to himself. Being in the Rebel intelligence made it easy for him to get his hands on information regarding ship movements. Something he was very glad for right now. For today's operation, they would only have the three Haranov class gunships as the Shukala were in port at the Vergesso Asteroids being refitted. This left most of Ral's heavy hitters out of the action, but gave him the chance to try out some of their tactics with combining their Haranovs with their Kar'kads that they still had left. With a grin on his face Ral opened up a channel to all of the warriors present. "Alright, this is it. All ships, operation is a go! Let's see what you can all do."

OOC: Open to any Renelo member who'd like to join. Any Mando or person who might have a reason for being here feel free to PM me. Also, anyone interested in NPCing the defenses also feel free to PM me.

 

[Crim]

The klaxon alarm echoed through the greasy halls of the Dral Gra'tua, a Skukala-Class Corvette. One of the few that had made it with Jarmouth Kelborn's fleet as he retreated after the Second Mandalorian Civil War. Deck hands raced to their positions as droids raced through the halls, ready to clean up whatever damage should accost the ship during its battle. The loud alarm created a needed sense of urgency. Inga had been briefing her men when the alarm went off. Everyone knew their jobs, though. The Turen Brothers, the only Cathar in Clan Kelborn, were on heavy weapons duty. One would be operating a railgun while the other was in charge of rockets. Four humans were to accompany Inga as she boarded the ships. The Zabrak Comat Medic 'Scuttles' would be accompanying the squad while the astromech droid 'Pokey' would be in charge of hacking duties. Inga flinched as the klaxon startled her for a second. "Wasn't expecting us to drop out of hyperspace for another fifteen minutes," she said quietly before speaking up to the rest of her crew. "You all have your jobs, you all know what to do. Meet me at the starboard docking tube and prepare for a fight."

Inga patted Pokey on the droid's head as she left the room and quickly marched through the hallway to the bridge. As the doors opened, Inga looked at the communications officer, Lasmen Thirsbin and said, "Ships spotted?" The boy, couldn't have been older than 19, looked up and said, "Yes. IR scans have found heat emissions roughly 75 thousand kilometers away. Ladar confirms the presence of a convoy. Fourteen ships strong. Ten look to be transports." Inga nodded and patted the comms officer on the shoulder. "That's our convoy. Well done, Mr. Thirsbin." She looked at the helmsman and said, "Miss Rollisdottir, take us in at sublight speed. At ten thousand kilometers, I want another readout from Mr. Thirsbin on these ships. Drop down to .05 km/s and let him scan the hulls again. If we haven't heard from Ral by that time, keep us under 3 km/s and orbit the convoy elliptically until we receive word."

The helmsman nodded and said, "Aye." Easy orders for a pilot, though she wasn't down with the lingo just yet. Inga's orders could have been summed up in a short, terse 'Burn at solcee until stone toss then eliptical at static crawl, aye?' Rollisdottir wasn't quite ready for that. If Inga really wanted to torture her poor helmsman, she could have even summed it up more in Mando'a. As Ms. Rollisdottir went to work, a call came in through Inga's headset.

"I hope everyone is ready for a little bit of action," Ral Aran remarked to Inga over their private comm channel. "This'll be the first engagement we've had since Death Wind, and before that the Genocide I believe. Well, let's just pray that nobody has lost their edge since then." Inga smiled and said, "Ke Nubaatir. The Dral's cannons are warming up. Clan Kelborn is eager to show what we're made of." She looked out the viewscreen and nodded. "We're going to orbit the convoy until your men are in position. Looks like we've got about ten transports and some freighters. I think the corvette's their only protection, though it's not out of the ordinary for freighters to be armed to the teeth too."

Frankly, Inga was looking forward to working with Ral. He was a cunning warrior and one of the few Mandalorians Sisk had seemed to trust. That was good enough for Inga. Now, she was going to fight alongside him. The chance to fight with another clan was thrilling enough. The chance to have Ral on her side was intoxicatingly exciting.

 

[Bardan Kex]

Captain Kerverus stood staunch and upright gazing through the view screen of his CR-90 Corvette the Intrepid Sun. The old Falleen had been through this convoy run so many times over the past few years he couldn't even remember the exact total, but he knew why this was always his least favorite leg of the journey. Sipping his cup of recaf he'd look out at the husks of old ships and general debris that drifted through this area of space, remnants of some old battle or a destroyed space station, either way the occasional drifts played hell on their sensors. He had how ever only encountered pirates once before, a rag tag group that had easily been scared off by the Sun.

"Steady as she goes Helm." he called out, raising the cup of hot liquid to his lips. The large debries cloud they had been using as a screen just cleared out from in front of them and to his rear his could hear one of his bridge officers conversing with a crewman. He could hear the dull thud of her boots as she approached him.

"Sir," she began as she straightened out a crease in her uniform. "Scanners have detected two ships with in forty thousand kilometers, additionally several debris fields will be passing underneath us. The ships do not appear hostile but we are closing with them."

"Its not the first time we've crossed paths with vessels on this trip. Model? Are they in attack vector?"

"They appear to be Mandalorian Gunships Sir, Haranov-Class we think. And they seem to be in a patrol pattern sir."

Rubbing his chin he'd continue to star out into the stars he had spent so many of his years out among. "Hmm, sounds like Bounty Hunters looking for their quarry. Still though I think we will give them a wide birth, no need getting drawn into their hunt. Just incase though have shields and weapons on stand by."

"Very goo..." the bridge officer would be cut off as she attempted to speak as the Scanner officer jumped up in his seat souting and klaxon's began ringing. "SIR! Unidentified objects approaching from port!"


Kerverus spun in place shooting a gaze towards weapons control, "RAISE SHIELDS! PERPARE TO..." he shouted but was interrupted by a series explosions rocking the hull, emergency lighting kicked in illuminating the bridge in a dull red. A fighter shot past the main view port, racing bow to stern its cannon's blazing, several smaller explosions rocked the vessel. "Damage report! Why aren't we firing?" he called out, part of him already knowing the answers.

"Shield generator went down with the initial blasts, engines off line as well. Their fighters are too fast for our gun crews. Oh hell. Two more contacts, large anti-ship missiles!."

Captain Kerverus swore, but it was lost in an earth shattering erruption as the two missiles caught his ship dead center, breaking her back.

Minutes earlier;

Bardan Kex chose to stand beside his Captain's chair rather than sit in it for the time being, he left his helm to occupy his place as he stretched. He sipped at a cup of tea that he had let grow cold as his ship the Werda Gra'tua, and several of the Kar'kad fighters, drifted inside a debris field to avoid detection of the Convoy. He'd had ordered the ship to power down most of their systems to better blend with the surroundings, a tactic he had learned listening to his father and grandfather reminisce about hunting Pirates early in their navy day. He chuckled softly at the thought, his father had always wanted him to follow in his footsteps and join the Imperial Navy, of course he had chosen to Rebel against his father and enlist in the Stormtroooper Corps. Looks like I'm finally doing what you wanted me to do old man, or close enough anyway. he thought, watching the monitors as they showed the projected flight path of the convoy after they had lost them on sensor do to a debris field he figured they were likely shadowing. Using subtle thrusts the Haranov gunship and its escorts shifted to a debris field that would pass directly beneath the projected path, silently everone on the bridge hoped they were right, Kex most of all.

As fate would have it, their assumptions and risky maneuvering would pay off. The Convoy had predictably remain on course and would likely now be picking up the other two ships in this hunting party. "Prepare short burst message to the Dral Gra'tua and Darasuum Gra'tua; 'Oya'karir vode'." he'd say the Mando'a rough, and obviously out of practice. He'd take a seat in the Captain's chair and put on his helmet locking the seal in place. "Power up all systems, ready missiles. Prepare to fire on my mark and inform the fighters to engage on the same, they are to hit the Corvette first then harass the transports."

The Comms and Weapons officer would both announce their understanding, punctuating it with the playfully mocking "Sir" that accompanied responses to most of his orders since Tatooine. The fighter jocks signaled their acknowledgement, and Kex watched as the convoy got closer and closer. "Fire!"

The missiles soared through the debris fields chased by the fighters, the missiles targeting the CR-90's Shield Generator and Propulsion, while the fighters were to rake it with fire before moving on. As soon as they hit the target Kex ordered the next round fired, two of the Werda Gra'tua's large anti-ship missiles. They were meant to be the finishers, and the soon proved they were as the CR-90 was split in two and began to break up. "Take us out of the debris, and keep the convoy from running."

 

[Ral]

The Mandalorian stood on the bridge clad in his blue-green armor, a smirk still on his face. He was glad to see that Inga and her clanmates were so eager to join the fight and prove themselves. Hopefully their zeal wouldn't lead to problems, but he had faith that their young and intrepid leader would be able to put it towards a good use. Listening to what she had to say about the convoy's defenses, Ral gave a curt nod, even though Inga wouldn't be able to see it herself. "I would have to agree with your assessment. Though I'm not too worried about the transports, most of the heavy guns will be on that corvette. Just be ready to stop any runners from getting away. I'd like to take as many of the ships intact as possible."

Looking around the bridge, the man scanned the crew of his ship, ready to go into battle with their arms and weapons. He wondered what kind of battle they would face, how tough the resistance from the merchant convoy would be. Preying on what could be considered helpless merchants wasn't exactly glorious or honorable, but Ral didn't give a damn about either of those things. What he gave a damn about was making sure his people survived, that they would have enough supplies to make it to tomorrow, and that they would have enough parts so their ships would fall apart. That was the true reason behind their attack today. Sure, testing their edge out would be a nice added, something that they would have to keep sharp lest it be blunted through age and disuse. Though, Ral would admit he was somewhat excited about working with Inga and her clan today, to see what they could do.

Turning about, Ral noticed the petite Alora standing nearby, her brown hair was currently unbound, the old helmet that was her mother's in her hand. Taking a moment to study her, she finally noticed him. Giving her a curt nod he approached, "Today you earn your keep. When we get in close I'm going to send you in on a boarding run against the lead transport. I want you to take our the communications array. After that if you can make it to the bridge or the engine room and disable its ability to run I will be most impressed. Show me what you can do, be something your aunt can be impressed with. Come back alive and no one will question your place here, or your status as an adult." Ral had worked it out with Deidra for the younger of the Laar's to go through a true verd'goten. Something dangerous that would test her, where she might not come back alive. Naturally, Ral didn't like the idea of putting anyone into more danger than was necessary, but due to Alora's rocky history, he needed to sort her out. Appearances were still very important their people after all.

Walking back into the center of the ship, Ral keyed his comlink to Kex once he received his message. "I'm beginning our assault from the front of the column with my two ships. I'll signal Inga to assault from the rear."

"Alor, Kex has already started his assault," Aisha stated calmly, though there was a hint of annoyance in her voice. Looking at his chrono, Ral noted that he was a few minutes ahead of schedule. Motioning to the tactical officer, Ral ordered a projection of the area be brought up so he could get a better idea of the tactical situation. Examining the holomap, Ral could see that Kex had started his assault from the position he had taken from below the solar plane. Despite his prematurity, his assault went off without a hitch. The fighters attacked the corvette, and the missiles he launched followed it up effectively destroying the ship. It was painful to watch the ship go in such a way, but they had to use a judicious amount of unfettered aggression if they wanted to cow the defenders.

"Well, looks like the attack is well underway, begin firing on the transports, target propulsion systems. I want to drop them ready for boarding as soon as possible. Signal our comrades to press them from the rear while we take the front. Captain, I believe you can take it from here..." He tapped the Twi'lek female on the shoulder before stepping back. Aisha nodded at him and assumed command of the gunship. Looking at the teenager once more he said, "Time for you to show us what you can do."

Meanwhile the Darasuum Gratua began its attack run firing its light turbolasers and concussion missiles at the lead ships in the convoy as it attempted to disable the transports without outright destroying them. Destroyed ships meant destroyed supplies, and those were of no use to Ral, or Inga, or anyone. With any luck this would be a quick engagement with minimal casualties. Walking back to where a squad of commandos were waiting, he opened a channel to them. "Boarding parties standby. Once we disable a few of the ships we'll start boarding them."

 

[Alora]

Alora was not a strategist, so she didn't question Ral's plan. Deidra might, but she seemed agreeing with it as much as Alora could see.
With a signal from Ral's bridge, she jumped into a boarding pod. The thing looked like a thick torpedo, with a tight compartment for a single person. The front end of the thing was heavily reinforced to be able to punch through target ship's hull. Once it got in it would open up like a flower releasing the person inside into the target ship.
- You're staying here this time, - Alora said to her strill. - Listen to Deidra till I come back, okay?
The strill growled softly in indication of acknowledgement.
So now Alora was strapped inside the giant metal bullet, waiting to be launched at her target.
- Firing in 3… 2… 1… POD'S AWAY.
Alora was pressed hard into her seat as the assault pod was launched. Now all she could do is wait and prey to not be shot down while she was drifting at high velocity towards her target. She was armored up now, her mother's beskar'gam fully restored by Ral's armorers. They even renewed the paintwork on it. Few things she added herself, like her families crest on the helmet forehead, the akaan'uliik (lion) skull inside an ancient crusader blade ring.
Minutes passed. And just the moment Alora felt a sting of panic that the pod somehow missed the target the thing shook with impact. The lights immediately turned to red and a nervous beeping sounded through the small cabin. And in five seconds the front end of the torpedo flung open like petals.
Alora quickly slid out and scanned her surroundings. She was in the service corridor, a narrow space between the inner space and outer hull. That was for the better. She sprinted off, scanning the walls along the inner plating. There it is. A metal grate leading to the service lines holding the ships cabling and power lines along with ventilation. Gripping the carcass she kicked the grate open and slid inside.
- Comm is green… comm is green… comm is… there you are, - she said with relief as she detected a bundle of green cables. The cables ran along the ceiling to her left. Alora followed them, crawling on her knees until she reached the split. The way went to either side of her and one well led up. The green cables went up as well. Gripping the carcass Alora climbed after them until she reached what looked like a large metal box. On the door was a sign of communications - a pictogram of a dish array. Alora ejected her beskar blade from the gauntlet and cut the lock, swinging the door open.
Inside was what looked like insides of a computer. Boards, circuits and chips. And a few plugs. Alora grinned to herself. She might pull off her trick after all.
She dug into her belt pouch and pulled out a small flash chip. The plug on it seemed to match the terminal perfectly. She jacked it in and looked at her wrist monitor. "Processing… upload complete".
She punched execute. The virus she got from Deidra wasn't very intricate one, but it was very hard to trace once it was in the system. She checked the backfeed of the virus.
- Comm channel 71.341, 71.342, 71.343… c'mon… 109.011.
Done. The 109'th comm channel, the long range one, was switched off with no way of manual override. And the formation channels, the 71's, were filled with… static of sorts. Alora clicked a few buttons and listened to 71.341.
- Kshhhhh..kh.kh… Blood… kshhh… of… the… shhhhhhhh… warrriors… shall be… repaid… kshhhhhhhh… We have come for you…
The last phrase was said with a clear low menacing voice. And then the channels exploded with screams of pain and torture along with creaking static.
Alora grinned and disconnected from the terminal. It will take them a while before they figure out how to fix it. By that time mandalorian boarding parties will overrun the ships and slaughter the crew.
Alora opened a secure link to Ral:
- Comms down. Going to the engine room.

 

[Crim]

The Dral sped through space like a clunky bullet, flying through the vacuum with ease. As it sped forth, the bridge crew was hard at work. Helmsman Rollisdottir kept her eyes peeled. She sipped a minty herbal tea infused with focusing drugs, her pupils contracted into narrow, tiny dots on her eyes. The ship shook and groaned as the inertial dampeners, old but serviceable, worked in overtime to keep the crew from becoming splatters of blood and gore on the inside of the ship. Inga made a mental note to strip the CR-90 of its inertial dampener. It was just about time to switch that component out and inertial dampeners were one of the more expensive parts of any ship. The comm terminal beeped twice as Officer Thirsbin put an old headset to his ears. "Tightbeam message coming in. Mandalorian signature. Not very long. Should I play it?" Inga nodded and said, "Let's hear it, Mister Thirsbin."
"It says 'Werda Gra'tua'. Send by Bardan Kex."

Inga smiled. "What's the readout on those weapons?"
"The corvette's armed. We've got several people targeting the corvette."
"Ral wants us attacking the rear," Inga said before loudly saying, "Attack them from behind. Release a payload of buzz droids on the convoy. Mister Thirsbin, start scanning the ships. Many of those are probably water ships, but I'll be there'll be something they want to protect."
"Aye."
"Okay, Miss Rollisdottir. Bring us in."
"Yes, Alor."

As the ship sped in the direction of the convoy, the helmsman took a deep, shuddering breath. "Nervous?" Inga asked conversationally.
"N-no... yes. Yes, I am fairly nervous."
"First time flying like this?"
"Something like that."
"Just keep your hands on the throttle and your eyes on the viewscreen. You'll be fine"
"What if I hit something."
"There's a such thing as shields, Miss Rollisdottir. Even then, we're a Mandalorian ship. You'd be hard-pressed to put a hole in the hull."
"I... that makes me feel better. Thank you."
You're welcome. Remember to stop the ship."
A red flashing proximity warning flashed on the bridge as the helmsman brought the ship out of sublight speeds. The convoy was visible outside the viewscreen. They came CLOSE to tearing through the convoy like a brick through wet paper.
The ship would have been fine, though the convoy would have been completely destroyed. "Nice timing," Inga said as the ship flew behind the convoy.

Officer Halberdsen, in charge of cannons and weaponry, said "We are in range to unleash the buzz droid payloads."
"Buzz droids away, Mister Halberdsen."

A cloud of droids flew at the convoy and attached to each of the ships. With luck, the buzz droids could prevent runners. The ship might never even have to fire a cannon and risk losing cargo. This was safer to the cargo and the crew. Anything, even draining the air from the ship, could damage cargo. Inga didn't want to risk it for now.
"Let's see how our little droids fare."

 

[Ral]

"Watch for escape pods, I want them all recovered. We will give them full quarter and treat them as prisoners. Does everyone understand that?" Ral asked over the open frequencies to all of the Mando ships engaged. There were reasons for that order, but he didn't want to kill or murder needlessly, if they were going to be dreaded it should be for the right reasons. As he watched the hulk of the CR90 float dead in space, Ral wondered if there was anyone alive still on board.

Watching the battle beginning to unfold before him on the viewscreeps and on the holoprojections before him, Ral felt like the conductor of a grand orchestra, but instead of strings he had star fighters, and instead of brass he had gunships. It was a beautiful thing to witness, but he knew he could stand there marveling at the sight and at the sounds of the combat reports coming in over the comm channels. Alora's assault pod had launched a few minutes earlier and according to the readouts she had just landed on her target ship. Let's see how well she does out there on her own. Make your clan proud, Al'ika, make me proud. He thought to himself while he continued pacing back and forth along the command deck of the Haranov.

"Looks like Inga has released some buzz droids. That's not a bad idea, I'll have to give her my compliments for coming up that strategy," Ral muttered thoughtfully as he watched the battle develop with Inga's little droids doing their best to prevent the other ships from running. The buzz droids also had the added benefit of disabling the merchant ships without serious damage like a turbolaser or missile would making salvaging the ships easier.

Ral instructed the ships of his battlegroup to move in and avoid firing upon any ship with the buzz droids already attached; after all, he didn't want to destroy their own assets needlessly. Unfortunately, not all of the convoy was content to go down quietly without a fight. Several of the Action series transports and the container transports had light laser cannons for anti-piracy or point defense purposes. In this case they would be used for both forcing Ral to order his two craft to open up a barrage of light turbolaser fire at their hulls. The green bolts of Ral's ships splashed against the shields and armor of the convoy craft, overloading them in just a few seconds of sustained fire. Having his gunners target the weapons or power junctions for the weapons, Ral managed to silence a few of the guns before they claimed too many of his artificial allies.

"Communications from Alora's ship has just gone out," reported the Comm Officer after a few minutes of fire had forced the convoy to take evasive maneuvers.

"It seems the brat did her job then." Aisha remarked with a bit of a satisfied grin on her face.

"Indeed, it's best you remember if she makes it out of there alive she'll be your vod too. Best we don't speak too ill of our family." Ral responded cooly as he watched the battle maps. Between Ral's ships, Inga, and Kex with the fighters the convoy had little room to maneuver, and almost anywhere they went would see them under assault. One of the bulk freighters struck their colors and surrendered as its shields flared and failed.

"If..." Aisha stated tersely.

She will. Thought the alor. Turning to view Inga's ship, Ral signaled her over their own comm line. "How's the situation looking from your side? Are your warriors ready to claim their prizes?"

Meanwhile, on the ships not yet surrendered, the crew prepared to repel boarders as they moved in groups to the access points of the ships. The few hired "marines" would be augmented with a few dozen crewmembers armed with blasters on the bigger transports. The smaller ships would be lucky to field a full squad in defense, but they would soon have other problems as any undestroyed buzz droids would begin tampering and interfering with the ships' systems.

 

[Bardan Kex]

The Kar'kad fighters darted in a lose formation through the Convoy like a pack of wild dogs through a Nerf herd, their laser cannons erupting with green jets of energy that tore through the lightly armored flanks of the transports. They weaved around clouds of buzz droids as the flocked to the open wounds of the ships to get at the sensitive systems with in, none of the pilots gave it a second though how ever, none of them wanted to, a buzz droid could be nasty business if one found their way to a crewmen. The convoy was now mostly crippled, the boarding parties and weapons of the gunships would keep which ever ships still crawled from going anywhere. The flight lead adjusted his course, broadcasting a quick message for the others to form up, they'd now provide a screen in case anyone had gotten an SOS out.

From the Captain's seat on the Werda Gra'tua Bardan Kex would watch as the fighters performed their dance of death through the merchant ships of the convoy, their assault showing the beauty of ordered chaos. His own ship drifted around the edge of the convoy, sensor's sweeping for escape pods, so far they had found none. It seemed the boarding actions had completely taken the defenders off guard, coupled with watching the Corvette split in two. That or the crew's realized that escape pods simply meant they'd be captured more quickly or even killed with out chance of a fight. Part of him, the part that remembered romanticizing war as a child hoped it was the later, more glory in it. He had been pleasantly surprised to learn that the first ship to be successfully captured was the one Deidra Larr's niece had lead the boarding of, it seemed she could follow orders, perhaps there was hope for the girl yet. Truthfully though he only had the words of others to judge her on as Ral had expressly forbade him from going anywhere near the two women, apparently it was terms of Deidra's return to the clan, he had laughed when told. The sensor station chimed as the gunship got closer to the first kill of the hunt, its crewman suddenly much more interested in what the screen had to say. "Sir! Sensors picking up life signs readings on the CR-90."


"I'd prefer to board her after the battle, but those people might not have that long and Ral did mention having something planned for the survivors." turning his chair from the Sensor's Operator Kex would look back out to the burning void, particularly the flaming husk of the front half of the Corellian Vessel, there was something mesmerizing about the image. "Helm, take us in. Comms, raise the others, ask them if there is anything they want from the Corvette."

 

[Crim]

The buzz droids attached to the outer hull of the transports, their tiny little legs piercing the metal covering of the ships. One buzzdroid was enough to put a tiny hole in a ship that size. A swarm of buzzdroids could quickly take a ship like that out of commission, draining its power and slicing the hull open like a can-opener. In the soundless vacuum of space, the high-pitched whistling of the buzz droids was silent, but it would have been near deafening in atmospheric combat. Inga watched from the bridge as, one by one, the engines on the transports began to falter. "Divert the buzz droids away from the transport on our left. I think they're about to have an engine blowout," Inga said. Halberdsen said, "Aye aye. Diverting buzz droids to-"

He was interrupted by a bright flash. The port engine on one of the transports had blown out. The air inside combusted as the ship tore itself apart. A sphere of water condensed where part of the ship had been. "Looks like that was just a water hauler," she said. Still, at least she knew. "Did we lose any buzz droids in that blast?" Halberdsen read his board. "Looks like we lost three," he said, squinting as he read. "Okay, that's not too bad. Take the remaining buzz droids and have them attach to the other transports," Inga said. "Do we have readout from any of the other transports?" Halberdsen opened half-a-dozen orange, holographic menus before saying, "Two of the transports were filled with food, one other water hauler, and one of the freighters has... well, if you would believe it, nothing but various brands of ale, wine, mead and beer. The other freighter has weapons." Inga smiled and said, "I would hit that beer freighter right now, but we're not alone. Dock us alongside that weapons hauler, Miss Rollisdottir."

"Alor, a message from Ral Aran," Mr. Thirsbin said.
"Patch it through."
"How's the situation looking from your side? Are your warriors ready to claim their prizes?" Ral Aran said.
"We found a weapons frigate a frigate carrying beer. The two things Mandalorians need. We're set. Docking with the weapons hauler now. I'll keep in touch via helmet-link. Inga out."
Inga turned and said, "I'm joining the boarding party on the port airlock. XO Rollisdottir, you have the ship now."
"Aye, aye," she said.

Inga grabbed a plastic cup of water on her way out. She walked down the dirty, grimy halls of the ship, placing two pills in the water and downing it quickly. She tossed the plastic into the garbage chute and put her helmet on. As she turned the corner to the port-side airlock, her boarding party of seven organics and one astro droid waited for her. Inga looked at them and said, "Okay, we went over the details in the briefing room. Give Pokey room to do his thing. Cover each other and don't go off on your own. Scuttles, keep your damn mouth shut. This should all be over soon. Then we can hit the beer freighter and call it a day." The squad nodded in compliance. "The hull should be pressurized and the antigrav should still be on, but be prepared for anything." The doors of the airlock opened as the squad moved in.

 

[Alora]

The flash grenade falling from the ventilation grate in the middle of the bridge caught the crew totally off guard. One minute they were shouting over the banging and explosions of the battle around them, at the same time trying to fix the comms, the next they went completely deaf and blind. Alora jumped down from the ventilation shaft and released a volley of blaster fire. Three men were killed instantly, one was hit in the shoulder and collapsed on the floor screaming. And before anyone could do anything, the whole crew was neutralized and Alora had the ship's captain at gun point.
- Shut the engines down.
The captain just stared at her for a few moments. Alora quickly lowered the barrel and gave a single shot at the chair behind the captain. The blaster bolt shot just a few inches past the man's side.
- Next one will be in the knee. Or the crotch. Shut the engines down.
The man slowly lowered his hand on the console and cut the power to the engines. The ship went still.
- Back away. Slowly.
The captain took a couple of steps back from the control console. Alora tilted her head looking the man straight in the eye. Then she raised her gun and sent a blaster bolt right through the man's forehead. The captain dropped on the floor like a bag of meat and bones.
Alora turned to the control console. Summoning up the shipment manifest, trying to follow Ral's instructions as best as she could she looked through the cargo list.
Beer, ale and… unused space, 10 tons? But the readout said the cargohold of this ship was full. Alora turned to the only surviving crew member, one she shot in the shoulder. The man was panting now. She jerked his head up by the hair.
- What's the cargo?
- We… we are civilian transport… only beer and stuff.
Alora ran her foot under the man's ribcage. He moaned in pain.
- What's the cargo?
- I told you.. Beer and…
Gritting her teeth Alora shoved the barrel of her gun into the wound on the man's shoulder. And she twisted it.
- What's the cargo? I'm tired of asking.
- Okay, okay! Artillery ammunition!
- Wasn't hard, was it?
With that she put a gun to the man's head and fired. She opened a comm channel to Ral Aran and reported.
- Ship secured, engines down, convoy's comms are down. Cargo is beer, ale and artillery ammunition. Ready for evac.

 

[Ral]

The young alor listened to what his opposite, Inga, said about her situation having just shielded his eyes from the engine blow out of one of the transports. He frowned as he wondered what that just cost them, but seeing that it was mostly just a water shipment, Ral found himself breathing a small sigh of relief at how fortunate they had been. A smirk crossed his face when Inga made note of the shipment of beer and one of weapons. Indeed they were everything a warrior of old would need, but the warriors of today would need more than a stiff drink and a gun if their clans were going to survive. However, Ral knew and understood the effect a good drink could have on morale, and how it could create camaraderie amongst the clan. And with that thought in mind, Ral became a little excited knowing it would help to solidify the bond between the clans. A bond that he hoped would only develop, grow, and strengthen over time, a bond which the clans seriously needed. "Roger that, Inga. Good hunting."

With Inga planning on taking her crew into battle it was time for Ral's own gunships to move in to board the freighters and transport ships; to capture them and take them as a prize with their cargo intact. Ral turned to face the comms officer who had just spoken up. "What is it?"

"Kex has signaled that he is approaching the remains of the corvette looking for survivors amongst the wreckage. He wants to know if there's anything we'd like. We're also receiving a message from the girl, Alora. She's reporting that her ship is secure and has beer, ale, and artillery ammunition aboard." The officer reported, an undercurrent of disdain in his voice, barely noticeable when referencing the two. Shooting the officer a look that said "lose the tone." the man quickly realized his mistake and turned about in his seat.

First, Ral signaled Kex, "Any weapons, tech, like computers we can use for our ships, or scrap would be nice. And standing order to take all survivors alive remains the same. Good luck out there," Keying the comm channel Alora was using, Ral would send her a message acknowledging her transmission. "Very good, Alora. I'll have a ship pick you up once we can spare one. Until then stay safe, and remember to act in a way that Deidra would be proud to call you her neice. I look forward to inspecting your handiwork and what you can do. I shall see you soon, verd'ika."

Ral killed the channel with a blink of the eye after that. Facing one of the bridge officers Ral gave his order for them to carry out. They would begin boarding the transports and taking them just as Inga was doing. Ral signaled the sister ship to move for the middle while his ship would begin the boarding actions at the head of the convoy, or what remained of it anyways. As his ship neared the lead ship that hadn't been taken yet, Ral moved back to the dozen or so verde that were waiting next to the airlock, ready to take the ship with fire if needs be.

 

[Crim]

Metallic boots clamped onto the floor of the transports, ready for anything to go wrong. The engine could fire and break free from the docking ring. The antigrav could fail. Clan Kelborn was ready for anything. As the door to the other ship opened, the Mandalorians reached for their visors and turned on their LED helmet cameras. The ship had been largely powered off save for non-essentials. The lights were off and the doors were locked. Crates were strewn across the floor. "Credsen and Ayar, start looking through these crates before bringing them into the ship, aye?" Inga said. The two humans nodded. Inga turned and said, "Alten, sweep the aft end of the ship and look for survivors. If you see them, you know what to do." The Mandalorian nodded. Clan Kelborn had been under orders to eliminate any witnesses. Kelborn would remain hidden. It wasn't a job they wanted to do, but it was a job that was necessary.

Pokey wheeled past Inga and began trying to hack into the blast doors. It made a curt beeping sound at Credsen, who had knelt in the droid's way. The Mandalorian moved to the side for the droid as it continued on its path. "Cover the droid. If they're waiting for us, Pokey's going to get chewed up," Inga ordered to the remaining Mandalorians. They waited in cover as the droid's hacking probe twisted and turned. It pivoted its head to look at the Mandalorians and emitted another curt beep. "If it happened before, it'll happen again," Inga replied to the droid. The droid whistled and beeped before returning its attention to the door. The droid had been shot before, suffering damage to its casing. A sign that read 'No parking' in Aurebesh had been hastily welded onto its front. The patchwork appearance befit the droid's personality well.

The door opened as Pokey emitted beeps that sounded like laughter. Inga and her clan pointed their guns into the hallway. Inga poked her head into the hallway. Nobody was patrolling the hallway. Only red warning lights illuminated the hallway. She motioned her hand in a way that demanded wedge formation for her troops. One would cover their backsides while they scanned the hallway. As the Mandalorians moved up, they encountered no resistance. Before they reached the end of the hallway, Inga commanded double formation position as Pokey moved through their ranks. He extended his arm into the panel and emitted a screeching sound. The blast door to the bridge couldn't be hacked. Inga motioned for charges to be placed on the door.

Once the door had been prepared for breaching, one of the Turen brothers pushed the button to detonate the charges. The noise echoed through the hallway as Mandalorians poured into the bridge. There were ten people waiting for them. They had all retreated to the bridge. "Pokey! Smokescreen!" Inga shouted at the droid. It wheeled over by the door and emitted a smokescreen, allowing Inga and a few other Mandalorians to move up. Inga fired at a man who hadn't been in cover properly. She heard a shout. It wasn't a lethal hit, but it was a hit nonetheless. As more Mandalorians fired their weapons, one of the Turen brothers began firing into the bridge with a chaingun.

The rounds punched through metal, consoles, and flesh. Inga heard shouting, cries, and, finally, mutters of surrender. "Stop! Kriffing stop! We surrender!" said a young voice. "Cease fire," Inga said. The remaining crew came out with their hands up. The captain had been hit, so it befell the XO to take up his position. "Acting Captain Jared Curo," said the same young voice. It was a young man, a teenager. Probably worked the frigate because he had nowhere else to go in life. Sad for him. "I turn my ship over to you, but spare my crew," the acting captain said, a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Inga looked at her men. She didn't want to do this. "I accept your surrender," Inga said. She holstered her weapon as her squad covered her. "This is my El Tee. You and your crew will follow him and do exactly what he says."

The captain nodded and followed Inga's El Tee. As they left the bridge, Inga slowly walked to the bridge console. "Ral," she said, holding the comm button down, "The weapons hauler is in our hands. Feel free to dock and take your pick of the haul. Might take the ship itself back to our world for parts." In the distance, Inga heard the shuttering of an airlock opening into deep space. Her El Tee had put the crew in the airlock and spaced them. "The crew has been neutralized," she continued.

 

[Bardan Kex]

Bardan stood aboard the dying CR-90 waiting for the last of his team to cross over from his ship, behind him the hull was open to the vast emptiness of the void from where the ship had been split asunder by the Werda Gra'tua's missiles. Around him the majority of the small boarding party was assembled, the lead one had a portable scanner and was checking for life signs on opposite sides of several of the blast doors, Kex didn't want to breach anywhere that might compromise the survivors. The last of the team, a young and like Alora relatively inexperience Warrior, had almost finished crossing over via cable assisted space walk when the line was clipped by debris. The young warrior was close enough that the snapping wire flung her into the room with the rest of the team, she shouted and Kex turned in time to be struck by the flailing woman. As she struck him he quickly wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from bouncing off, and fired his maneuvering thrusters to keep himself up right, not wanting to risk the possible damage being flung to the ground with magboots still activated would do. The blow from the armored women still knocked the wind out of him and he was fairly certain once he was able to breath again that inspite of his own protection he might have fractured Ribs, from the pressure when he breathed. He noticed that he was still holding the warrior as got his breath back and lowered her back to the deck, the soft thud of her magboots locking into place echoed faintly through the hold, and he saw her rub her should in pain. "Sorry Sir..." she'd say using the basic colloquialism for his rank in a serious manner rather than the playfully mocking one used by the more experienced warriors further showed her inexperience with the team. He waved it off, there was little she could have done to avoid it, and hitting him probably saved her from bouncing off part of the ship and into space. It also served as a reminder of how dangerous space walks could be, but it had seemed the safer option compared to risking the whole ship in docking with a dying one.

The team was now in position and ready to move. Kex turned to the sensor operator who had stopped in front of one blast door on the opposite side of the room and was running a secondary scan. "Find something interesting Ori?" he'd ask approaching the Mando'ade.
"Looks like we found our way in Sir." her voice dripping with sarcasm as she presumably stared past Kex at the younger warrior that had followed him and the rest of the team over. "No life signs and it looks like atmosphere is intact, it'll vent a little when we get over but it shouldn't be an issue."
"Right." he'd press a button on his gauntlet mounted datapad and the half of the ship the team was on was projected in a blue hazy holo-image, using scanner data from their gunship and additional data from the portable scanner areas where living crew members were suspected to be would be highlighted. From what they could see some where already hiding in escape pods, where all the team would have to do is fire them, and the rest were scattered around the ship. "Ok then, like we discussed we are to split into two teams, move systematically through the ship find any survivors and get them to one of the escape pods, mark it and fire it. The Gunships will do the rest. When the pods are full grab a Zero-G Suit we'll space walk them back across to the Werda. Anyone too wounded to be moved, well... make it fast, make it clean."

The team breached through into the habitable parts of the stricken vessel, and then once more into the corridors where they would split in two to begin their search, Kex taking one team on one side of the ship and Ori taking the other. Speed would be of the essence, the Werda was reporting that the rear half of the Intrepid Sun was undergoing power surges.