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The Praesitlyn Job
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| Malos_Yhemn | Date: Monday, 30 Jan 2012, 10:12 AM | Message # 1 |
 Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 49
Status: Offline
| Malos Yhemn had worked to slow his breathing and calm himself since the YV-929 freighter Tough Job, registered under a Druckenwellian shipping company, had departed from Nar Shaddaa, having been registered previously as having made a jump from Druckenwell. Yhemn didn't question the ship, which was a little battered and used, nor did he question what he figured was a high-level fake IFF job and registration system. The ship ran like a dream on the inside nonetheless and its weapon systems were as perfectly calibrated as one could have on such a freighter. Yhemn, therefore, was ice. He was ready to undertake the rather simply explained, but difficult to execute mission parameters that had been given to him.
The ship was slated by cargo manifest to take on a load of timber and some natural minerals for transport back to Druckenwell; Druckenwell and Sluis Van, as many knew, having some form of trade accords that allowed each access to the others' trade goods. His emergence along the spacelanes showed he was not the only freighter near Praesitlyn. While he was unsure of all registries, he was sure some would belong to Brentaal, while others to other varied worlds. A pair of Law-class light patrol craft appeared on his sensors as well, long range, and he assumed they were doing a flyby scan. A few moments later as he drew closer to the planet, he flicked on his comm and transmitted.
"Praesitlyn Control, this is Druckenwell freighter Tough Job here on a standard run. Transmitting clearance for landing and taking on cargo."
Malos Yhemn
Contractor
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| Toben-Domon | Date: Monday, 30 Jan 2012, 10:48 AM | Message # 2 |
 Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 347
Status: Offline
| Despite the problems between Brentaal and Sluis Van's authoritative rights at the moment, things were still working efficiently on Praesitlyn, at least in most regards. The world did see a good number of shipping craft and freighters, so one more, especially registered to the allied world of Druckenwell, was no issue. The human working the control monitor that was overseeing the traffic stifled a yawn as she checked over the manifest and reason before pushing it through into acceptance.
"Tough Job, this is Praesitlyn Control. You are clear to enter atmosphere at three-five-zero and continue on to Logger's Point Station. Enjoy your stay on Praesitlyn." The operator cut the comm and went back to talking to her friend in the office; one whom she was currently engaged in extracurricular activities outside of work and as such, made for a more interesting subject.
Toben Domon
Senator, Sluis Van
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| Senator_Cambrist | Date: Wednesday, 01 Feb 2012, 1:03 PM | Message # 3 |
 Lieutenant general
Group: Users
Messages: 761
Status: Offline
| The situation on Praesitlyn was tense, though not as tense as it'd been made to seem. Contrary to misinformation on both sides, no property-holders on Praesitlyn had been evicted, and there had been few, if any, threats to the Human prospectors and laborers who had descended on the planet. Brentaal's encampment—truth be told, more of an "interplanetary encampment" now that Brentaal's prospectors had contracted with mining companies from throughout the Core Worlds—had become semi-permanent and home to close to 200 (predominantly Human) contractors. It now had its own commissary, where Sluissi and Brentaali cuisine had come together for the first time, as far as anyone knew. It was, however, one of few examples of harmony between the two cultures; no one had been evicted, it was true, but trees had been felled and carbon loudly mined from Sluissi property (a loophole in the Imperial resource laws, in which a claim for resource rights was considered "tentatively approved" even if it hadn't been approved, allowed Brentaal's contractors to proceed).
Some property-holders, mostly Sluissis but one or two Humans too, might have wished they'd been evicted from their land as the sound of drills and saws kept them awake at all hours of the night. The Governor of Praesitlyn had apparently told the people of the planet to wait until the Khedive's authority was established in the Senate and the resource rights could be recovered, but as the Senate debate dragged on and the property-holders saw the resources on their land being carted away, some of them took matters into their own hands. Indeed, tensions were higher than usual on Praesitlyn because, last week, a Sluissi and his son had taken up arms and confronted a group of miners from Telos IV, who became alarmed and shot both of them; the father was recovering in a medcenter on Sluis Van, his son had died immediately. The Telosian mining concern has issued an apology—Brentaal was also called upon to apologize and angrily refused.
Thus, more weapons flooded into Praesitlyn and for the first time the interplanetary encampment had been fortified with cordons and QuasarFire turbolaser turrets. Brentaal's prospectors had also made the controversial decision of hiring a small defense contractor to protect miners (the miners had threatened to unionize if they didn't receive some protection). That's where the situation stood on Brentaal's end of things when the Tough Job appeared over the planet.
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| Malos_Yhemn | Date: Friday, 10 Feb 2012, 10:02 AM | Message # 4 |
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Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 49
Status: Offline
| Logger's Point was a strategic site situated two kilometers from the settlement and four from the Brentaalian lumber camp. This gave Yhemn a unique option: instead of hitting one or the other, he could just as well hit both; it wasn't in his mission parameters, but it wasn't outside them either, and it was wonderfully creative. Scanning over the information automatically transmitted from Praesitlyn Control, which included the addition of the ground-based turbolasers for all freighter captains and pilots to be aware of, he made his choice. Utilizing his navigation system, he marked on the computer's control system the location given from Praesitlyn's control station, as well as the settlement center and important buildings including the mill. Yhemn was now rapidly reaching the junction of no return and, after a last-minute check of the Law patrol craft, which were currently making a sweep, according to the readout, towards the far side of the planet, he made his move.
Slamming the throttle to full from three-quarters speed, Yhemn tugged the control rod slightly to starboard. He was already in weapons range, so it was an easy matter. With the targets marked for the fire control systems, and the automated assistance helping, he unleashed a barrage of fire from the dual light turbolaser cannon, the partially turreted ion cannon, and two of the three triple blasters and following by a launch of five concussion missiles and five assault concussion missiles into the settlement proper. The entire movement and launch took exactly seven-point two seconds at maximum speed. With hands flying over the controls, feeling almost not in his own body, he wrenched the ship around, aiming directly at the Brentaalian camp. Sixteen-point-two seconds until he was overhead. He opened fire even as he flew at maximum speed, unloading his remaining five concussion missiles at whatever turrets existed, followed by the remaining five assault concussion missiles, even as he triggered the aforementioned beam weaponry, including all three blaster cannons. His movements were evasive to avoid any possible incoming fire, and his shields were full. As he neared almost the edge of the encampment, he wrenched the ship straight up, shooting straight towards the atmosphere while unleashing ten assault concussion missiles from his rearward launchers directly at the encampment.
Hopefully, the patrol craft would just now be getting word of the attack.Added (10 Feb 2012, 10:02 AM)
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With no retaliation immediately possible, and with a trail of dead Sluissi, humans and Brentaalian workers, as well as a shattered town and camp, Yhemn blasted into space unopposed, the speed of his attack making it very possible that no immediate response would be capable of halting him. If unimpeded, he would move beyond the planet and then enter hyperspace, vanishing for now.
Malos Yhemn
Contractor
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| Toben-Domon | Date: Sunday, 12 Feb 2012, 3:08 PM | Message # 5 |
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Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 347
Status: Offline
| The speed of the vicious attack put Praesitlyn Control off guard. By the time they noted the freighter moving away from its assigned path, the first blow had already been struck. "What the hell is he doing?" the male worker in the office muttered, seeing the sudden jink on the radar and then the ship moving back the other way. Being several thousand kilometers away, he couldn't hear the explosions or weapons fire, but the erratic behavior followed by... "This guy's insane. He just went vertical. Contact the patrol craft we have. Tell them to look into this guy if they can."
The Law-class patrol craft Bravo-1 and 2 received the message from Praesitlyn Control. Despite being on the far side of the planet, they could turn easily enough, but they were not the fastest craft in Sluis Van's arsenal. Nonetheless, Bravo-1's pilot exclaimed in dismay as he saw the explosion and fires from the sub-orbital level. With the craft's communications officer calling in an emergency from down below, Bravo-1 dropped off the chase, falling planetside to see what exactly had happened. Bravo-2 kept on following the suspicious freighter, gunners warming up their cannon as this particular craft's communications officer broadcast, "Freighter registered as Tough Job. You are ordered to immediately comply with Sluis Sector laws and ordnance and power down your vessel."
Toben Domon
Senator, Sluis Van
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| Senator_Cambrist | Date: Friday, 17 Feb 2012, 8:48 PM | Message # 6 |
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Lieutenant general
Group: Users
Messages: 761
Status: Offline
| The skeleton crew on the Arquetins-class cruiser Dividual, nestled among the trees, barracks, and warehouses of Brentaal's encampment, tracked the ship as it approached the planet, if for no other reason than that it had nothing else to do. But it did nothing about it, having no authority to do so ("No more authority than Sluis Van has for traffic control on Praesitlyn," the Lieutenant noted to himself sardonically as he watched the Law-class ships on his sensors too, then disregarded them). The Dividual paid no further attention to the Tough Job until it started shooting. There being far more firepower in Brentaal's encampment than in the nearby town, it was a tactical blunder to attack the town first and thus provide advance warning to the encampment.
But it made no difference. The Tough Job would be able to strafe the camp unimpeded; the turbolaser turrets weren't manned regularly, but rather on an as-needed basis. They were needed here, of course, but this wasn't known fast enough for anyone to man the turrets, or to get to their battlestations on the Dividual. The cruiser only managed to fire up its engines as the Tough Job pulled up and away, leaving behind it the smoldering remains of the ground turrets, a number of warehouses, a barracks, a duracrete landing pad, and fourteen dead and almost as many injured (among the dead, two security specialists from Anaxes, a pilot and his Aeeqi co-pilot from Telos IV, an impartial observer from Chandrila and one from Naboo, and a laborer from Empress Teta).
The loss of property and resources was more costly than the loss of life, however. There would be repercussions for this, as far as Brentaal was concerned. There would be a debate in Brentaal's media about whether or not suspending the operations on Praesitlyn would be "encouraging the enemy," until the prospectors relented and suspended the mining for the safety of the employees, who continued to be paid in the meantime. The Governor of Praesitlyn would receive an ominously-worded letter about his inability to keep the planet and its people safe, and the possibility that Brentaal may have to do this itself if the "Khedive" didn't shape up. These sentiments would already be forming even before the Tough Job, in all probability, escaped from the planet.
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| Malos_Yhemn | Date: Saturday, 18 Feb 2012, 6:00 AM | Message # 7 |
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Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 49
Status: Offline
| Yhemn was was not about to halt for anyone; Brentaalian, Sluissi, it didn't matter. Setting his turreted turbolasers to automatic target and fire, he concentrated on breaking the well of gravity and jumping to hyperspace, even as the turrets opened fire on the distant craft to his rear. If all still went well, he'd jump in a matter of moments and escape the entire situation. He had other jobs to do, after all, and little time to fully do them in.
Malos Yhemn
Contractor
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| Toben-Domon | Date: Saturday, 18 Feb 2012, 6:06 AM | Message # 8 |
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Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 347
Status: Offline
| Bravo-2's pilot executed a sharp bank to port as the incoming fire took him by surprise. The distance was great between the obviously hostile craft, and Bravo-2's laser cannon turrets could not match the range of the turbolaser turrets. Nonetheless, a tone sounded as the patrol craft achieved a lock on with its torpedo launcher. Firing was a matter of a moment, but even as the torpedo screamed towards its target, the ship vanished into hyperspace. The solitary torpedo detonated in empty space, leaving the cursing crew feeling as if they should have somehow been able to do more. Circling back around towards Praesitlyn, they contacted Praesitlyn Control, informing them of their intent to land near Logger's Point and assess the damage.
Toben Domon
Senator, Sluis Van
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