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The Day of Reckoning
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| Archa_Sabis | Date: Wednesday, 09 May 2012, 10:23 AM | Message # 16 |
 Private
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| Orion_Karath : The communications within the system, including incoming and outgoing to Imperial Center, had been jammed in the attack. Instead, the communications network was hijacked by an AI that had been unleashed, which was blocking in fact overloading those communications, rather than truly jamming them, with a process which sent out regular messages which would point to it being all-clear on the planet. The AI worked aggressively and proactively in ensure the space around Imperial Center was abandoned, and free of interference. It was part of a plan to ensure that the Empire had fallen before the Empire even knew. Due to the fashion in which this was done, however, it left short-range communications and planetary communications fully online. Occassionally, the AI's work would briefly interrupt the unaffected communications networks, but this was rare. A few minutes ago, was one of these rarities, and it had halted the movement of the Commandos. They needed to be fully aware of the status of the overall campaign, and able to gain technical support from the Senate Guard at any moment. Once the local communications had returned, they moved into the Senate Building. "Delta Team, head for the security center and work on disabling any remaining automated defenses. Gamma Team, go with them, but slice into the observation network and scan for anyone else trapped in the building. Alpha, Beta... let's move." he instructed, as the unit split up. Those with him went ahead and made their way from the entrance, towards Senator Thanatos' office.
|[ ARCHA SABIS ]|[ Sabis had calculated to within a 95% confidence interval that the probability of the success of his revolution was a mere 37%, depending on how one defined "success." He was pragmatic enough to know that the end of the revolution would be the end of him, and not the end of the Empire. But it was worth it to him to shake the people of Imperial Center, the supposed Queen of the Core, out of their complacency and perhaps, even, to inspire others to rise up and commit further acts of organicide. To what end? Maybe Sabis wanted to force the galaxy to confront its age-old mistreatment of droids and the many, himself included, with cybernetic enhancements. His real motives may never be truly understood, but it was certain that this revolution wasn't intended to change the galaxy itself--the communications jamming, a part of Sabis's virus, was similar to a distributed denial of service attack on any network, in this case civilian-grade communications networks and even occasional disruptions to military-grade networks too. But it was certain that the rest of the galaxy would know that something was happening on Coruscant--publicity, after all, was essential. But if the communications jamming was having only limited success, the compromising of the Senate's defense grid had been far more effective. It would be unusual for Karath and his troops to see the always-crowded Senate building completely empty, their footsteps echoing down its marble colonnades. But the quiet and false sense of peace would be shattered when, from above, a pair of dual blaster cannons extended from the ceiling (not unlike the turrets seen in the hangars of Lucrehulk-class ships) and took immediate aim on the "intruders." Meanwhile, a similar cannon extended from the ceiling outside of Senator Thanatos's office and let loose a barrage on the door, pausing occasionally as it was programmed to do so as not to overheat. Sooner or later, it would punch through the security door. ]|
Ilanah_Thanatos moved to the floor and sat next to Senator Ryuun, waving off the security detail that was trying to check his wound. "Here. Let me." She murmured as she pulled the hastily placed bandage back. "Can I see that med kit?" She asked the man, who handed it over without question. Ilanah turned her gaze to the Senator and eased the blaster from his hand before she settled next to him and slathered the blaster wound with antibiotic. She had done something similar for Kal years before, so she was careful. After a few moments, she spoke. "We're not going to get out of here, are we?" She asked him, a man she barely knew despite the fact that they worked together. There was a hint of worry there, of course.
-= [Lomen Ryuun] "Oh, we'll be fine, Senator Thanatos." Ryuun offered her a tired smile as part of the painkillers began to kick in. It wasn't the most reassuring of things he could have said, and as such, he did his best to add to it. "The Imperial security forces should be here before we know it. We're quite safe within this room." As if to make a liar of his words, the cannons outside fired at the door that kept them safe. One of his security detail jumped at the unexpected assault upon the door. Ryuun simply closed his eyes briefly. "I suppose in the end it will be a race to see who gets here first though... the droids or our rescue. I do hope the other senators are doing better than we in our current predicament."
-= [Roman Lekpin] Lekpin was still at something of a disadvantage under the pule of rubble, though thankfully, he could hear the chatter of words over the communicator in his pocket. At least something was up and running once more. His free arm, which was to say the only truly movable part of his body at the moment, minus his chest, which was struggling under the pressing weight to continue drawing air, was the second. Fumbling and groping around, Lekpin was able to withdraw the communicator with two fingers, if only just barely. His communicator had been last utilized to communicate with Stark and he was surprised and a bit grateful to find it still on the channel. The voices coming through were a tad broken up. Likely the man had found himself safe in orbit somewhere, but the call he was about to make was worth a try. "Stark... Stark, you bastard of Malos... damn you, I need your help... get someone, the Senate Guard... anyone. I'm trapped on an avenue under a damnable taxi... west of the Senate Building." His words dissolved into a fit of coughing as he fought to keep himself conscious.
-= [Alyn Stark] "We've got three... no, make that four marks coming in at us from the twelve. Prepare to clear the path." Tarin Mako's voice was harsh over the comm as they broke atmosphere. Ahead of his craft, Azaghor Azhirai's Tri-Mark VII and Mako's AIAT opened fire with a blistering stream, hosing down the rogue taxis that had appeared from seemingly nowhere to attempt a suicide run against the ships plunging groundside. Exploding in flashes of light and debris, Stark was unable to hold back a flinch as a piece of one taxi, quite large, whipped past his cockpit. On his sensors, one of the green dots representing one of his T-009 interceptors winked out, apparently a victim of being unable to avoid the piece of debris that had shot past. Stark reflected for a moment that the drones were, after all, designed to replace human pilots and as such, he'd actually saved a life there. The broken and distorted voice of Roman Lekpin over his comm system made him smile at least. "Bastard of Malos, eh? Sit tight, Senator. I'm sending help your way." Switching his communication frequency over, he hailed in the clear, not having access to specific Imperial military channels, "This is private vessel Infinite Thought, requesting Imperial security and medical assistance at the following coordinates." The set of numbers he rattled off corresponded with the computer's location of Lekpin's broadcasting grid. "This is going to get rough, folks. Stay tight, let the drones cover our rear and let's get to the surface in one piece." Back on the internal squadron channel he shared with the shadowguard, Stark felt back in his element. In some ways, it was the Clone Wars all over again. Though never nearly as agile as the interceptor he'd once flown and that now happened to be sitting in his cargo area, the YV-666 was a beauty to fly, aside from being quite ugly to look at. "From the looks of things, I'm going to have to hit the ground running and-" Stark was cut off by Malinara's angry voice, "You're doing no such damned thing. None of us can keep a good eye on you if you're grounded and setting a ship down out here is asking for it to get demolished." "That's why I want you to escort it back into space. I'm programming the return coordinates into the system and locking down the controls. I'll be taking the suit out with me and-" Again, he was cut off by her voice. "You're -jumping- out of that thing? Are you insane, Alyn?" Stark laughed over the comm system. "Hell, I own the damn company. What better way to promote a GTU suit than to a do a combat drop in one? No more arguing, Malinara. I've been through worse and we both know it." Her sullen silence was enough of an answer, and he knew that if he survived the next ten minutes, he'd well wish he'd died before facing her tongue lashing. "I'll be dropping on the target site from three klicks up. Keep me covered. I'll be back in touch soon." Programming the intricate controls on the highly-customized vessel, Stark made his way back to the loading area, knowing his ship would come out of the dive more or less above Lekpin and then return to orbit. For now though, he had a very brief time in which to get into the AV-1A assault armor in his cargo bay, power it up and get it ready to drop.
Orion_Karath : "Dammit, take cover!" he shouted, as the turret opened up on them. They dove behind the pillars to give natural cover. One of men in Beta team had taken a hit in the shoulder, he would be fine for now, eventually requiring a patch job. He glanced out from his cover to observe the turret. He was trying to find the sensor node, which controlled it's ability to essentially do anything. Before risking having his head shot off, again, he commed in to his other teams. "Delta, how're those security systems coming along?" he asked, as they came under occassional fire. "We're pinned down by a group of security droids and two turrets guarding the control center." replied the other Captain. He shook his head. "Frak..." he muttered before attempting to line up a shot on the sensor node. He was doing so while keeping himself under optimal cover, and having been trained originally as a sniper, and being the top marksman of the unit, the shot would come easy... it was getting into position without losing his rifle, or arm, or head, that would be the problem. "Hanley, toss a frag at the turret," he ordered, having an idea. His teammate did so, the turret picked up the grenade, shooting it down as it arced towards itself. Hanley having been at the point, meant that the unit was spared the ensuing explosion of shrapnel. The turret, however, wasn't spared from Karath's expertly placed shot right into the sensor node at the moment of the shot at the grenade. Another shot took out its uplink as it frantically search for targets while lacking the sensor required to do so. In its death, it fired a burst of shots at random, but the Commandos remained in cover until it was clear. Once safe to move, they made their way to the C>Senator's office. Finding another turret firing into the door, which appeared to be about to give way. As they rushed forward, he again displayed his excellent marksmanship by firing to crack shots, into the side of the sensor node and into the uplink, to kill the turret at the door gave way. The Commandos immediately prepared to move into the office, but before they did so, his team took position behind a pillar, while the other stacked up on the door. The point man shouted into the door, but out of sight of those within. "Anyone in the room lay down on the ground. Drop and kick away any weapons you are currently holding. Lethal force will be used if you do not comply."
Meanwhile, in the skies above the city...
A flight of TIE/gt Starfighters and a flight of TIE/fc Starfighters accompanied a squadron of TIE/ln Starfighters in the area Stark's group moved. The term 'extreme prejudice' was being used in copious amounts today by the Empire, taking absolutely no risks. Stark, would be no exception. The TIE/fc Starfighters picked up his drones, and the force immediately went into action. The TIE/ln Starfighters accelerated to their top speed and moved on attack vectors on the drones, while the TIE/gt Starfighters lined up shots on the various freighter-sized craft flying together, obtaining a lock on the Grace of Form, Null Echo, Rend, and Infinite Thought. Each, a second later, had a proton torpedo fired towards them.
-= [Lomen Ryuun] Imperial soldiers were not exactly known for their leniency in the best of times, and this was far from the best of times. Ryuun pushed his holdout blaster away from himself and motioning for his remaining security detail to do the same before tugging Senator Thanatos down to the floor with him, laying flat and shielding her body as best he could. Likely her bodyguard and Seraphine Leroy (also present) would follow the instructions as well. Lethal force was never something anyone wanted done to them, especially from the people who were meant to save them, after all. The captain of Ryuun's detail called out as loud as he could, "We're all unarmed in here! We have wounded people and two Senators! For the love of the Force, get us out of this mess!"
-= [Alyn Stark] The alarms that came as the TIEs vectored in were not lost on Stark, or his shadowguard. Still able to utilize the comms via the ship's internal systems, Stark hailed them "TIE pilots, this is private yacht Infinite Thought en route with escorts to attempt a rescue of a trapped senator. Break off your attack, break it off!" By then, though, the torpedoes had already been fired. If the Empire had ever had a doubt about Stark's drones, though, those doubts might well be put aside after what was to come. Eleven T-009 'Thunderbolt' drones and six S-005 'Striker' drones made up Stark's rear guard. The Striker-series was not well suited to combat against smaller craft. Under their current programming (protect Stark and his craft), they were ill suited to combat the warheads fired against them. As such, secondary programming kicked in and brought about a different mode of defense. All six drones swiveled their pair of dual turbolaser cannon to the rear and began to stitch a pattern back at the pursuing TIE fighters while simultaneously maneuvering to block the torpedoes with themselves. The blasts of fire were short-lived as Stark utilized a vocal command to halt their actions; he wasn't trying to kill Imperials, after all. the result was that four of the drones took the proton torpedoes intended for the transports, exploding into debris. The eleven 'Thunderbolt' drones were another matter. Three-point-one meters in length and fast above all else, they broke right and left of the formation, whipping back around in an evasive pattern directly at the pursuing TIE fighters. Stark's escort took no chances from here on out. Stark had given his wish to go on alone. The seven vessels in his retinue broke off in groups of three, with Gadrid Morthol's clone Z-95 being the solo which whipped straight upwards. It was clear from the pattern they were flying, wide and back to orbit, that fighting the Imperials was not something on their agenda, a fact they were all more or less shouting over the communication systems to the Imperial pilots. Stark, now in his suit, would continue on alone. He was tapped into the Infinite Thought's systems from within the suit now; a remote sort of flying as he accelerated the vessel even faster. It was a dangerous thing he was doing, but he'd already committed to the rescue and he was not about to turn back.
|[ ARCHA SABIS ]|[ Ray shields were common counter-measures against intruders, and the Senate building was replete with them. To the dismay of Karath and his troops, a ray shield would materialize behind them, blocking the route they'd come. A difficult, but not insurmountable obstacle, one would think. But then another could be seen materializing farther down the corridor they'd come from, then another, then another. Disabling them all one at a time would be time-consuming and perhaps even impossible; the virus had taken over central control of the building's security grid, meaning that Captain Timmons's pass card, plugged into a security terminal, could only override local defenses (i.e. a particular room or section of hallway). Sabis would have made this impossible too if the Senate's firewalls hadn't stopped the virus before it had the chance. This would be of some, if rather small help to Karath and his team. For now, there was only one other direction to go, farther up the corridor into the Colonies wing, where a duo of police droids could be seen peering out from behind a marble pillar and firing on the Imperials with inhuman precision. ]|
Orion_Karath : The first team moved in, and collect the arms that had been abandoned. After an all clear was given, the second team moved into the room, with the two medical specialists giving treatment to their wounded, as well as to the civilians they had just recovered, the Senators coming first. Looking after Senator Ryuun's wounds, and tending to the still pregnant Senator Thanatos. Afterwards, they would tend to the security team, and then to the wounded Commando. Where they could be lenient in policy and procedure they would, but certain training could not be shaken, and they were engrained to have a heavy hand in these situations. There was no way to go except towards the two droids that functioned essentially as snipers. It would, however, be dangerous to take the civilians down that path, and it would be wreckless to abandon them. Instead, the Commandos made their own route, in luck to the Senator's office being an externally facing one. "Shield your eyes." Karath called out, before shooting out the window. It could be considered forunate that the Chandrilla office was on the first floor of Senatorial offices. This was debatable, as it was still at least 75-100 meters above the ground. Despite that, this was their only 'safe' option. The first team that had entered the room how dropped their packs and began to unpack gear, and preparing for their next move. "Alright, unfortunately, we can't walk out. So, we're going to have you rappell down the side of the building. We'll help you, don't worry," he said to them. While one team would help the civilians, four at a time, down the side of the building, the other time would provide security. Thankfully, the TIE Fighters were doing an excellent job of maintaining the no fly zone around the Senate Building.
Orion_Karath : In the sky...
Orion_Karath : The return fire, despite stopping, only compounded the situation for Stark. Earlier actions were deemed that towards potential hostile, solely due to the drones. Had he not had any drones flying with him, Stark would've simply been ordered to fly to the spaceport and be grounded for the duration of the crisis. Instead, local Anti-Air batteries opened fire upon Stark's compatriots, despite their calls over the comm. It was simple, all droid life not under direct military control, and even then some exceptions had existed, had become open aggressors against the Empire. They were flying with droids, and thus possible aggressors. The Empire would take no chance, and moved to brook the threat. Now that they had attacked Imperial forces, they were confirmed as aggressors and would be treated as such, at least until the drones were shot down. Another squadron of TIE/ln Starfighters moved in on an attack vector to the drones, while the TIE/gt Starfighters gave pursuit, outside the firing solutions of the anti-aircraft batteries, firing another salvo of torpedos torward the sentient piloted craft. The Infinite Thought had, however been abandoned as their target. This did not stop ground monitoring, which would move Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps units to his projected landing zone. A Commando team, was tasked with retrieving Senator Lepkin after some analyzation of the message, however it would be several minutes before they would arrive. As it seemed it would be a lengthy affair, an enterprising officer made an offer over the come to the sentient piloted craft. "Attention, sentient craft. If you wish to survive this day, proceed immediately to the former Newport spaceport and ground yourselves. You will be placed under arrest for the duration of the crisis, and while your involvement in this affair is investigated. This is your only warning."
-= [Lomen Ryuun] Ryuun, injured still and tended as best as could be in the field, was still not easily capable of descent. His security team was more than a little unhappy about having to go unarmed, but the Imperial commando team made the rules in this situation. As such, they would follow along with the man they'd sworn to protect as Ryuun was guided down towards the ground far below. There really wasn't much any of the group of civilians could do, outside of follow the directions they'd been given by the commando leader. With any luck, all of them who'd made it this far through the droid crisis would make it through the rest of the day. It would certainly make for an interesting story to tell grandchildren one day, if nothing else. Hell, it wasn't every day that droids went berserk on a large scale and Imperial commando teams blew holes in the wall of the Senate Building to make an escape, after all.
-= [Alyn Stark] The drones that remained, largely the pair of Striker-class and then the Thunderbolt-classes, would be prey of sorts for the TIE fighters and the anti-aircraft batteries. By and far larger than their faster counterparts, the Striker drones were dismantled by the accurate fire from the massed forces. The Thunderbolt drones though had another vector: orbit and space, to return to their berths on the Viridian Sky. If the Imperials wanted to destroy those small, agile drones, they'd have to give chase, and the TIE fighters were not up to their maneuverability in the atmosphere and out of it as the interceptors gave full thrust. As they passed through the initial TIE formation, it was possible, but unlikely, that a midair collision might have happened. However, the control systems aboard the drones allowed for pinpoint corrections, so the odds were small. Stark's seven-man flight group received the command from the ground. Unforunately, they'd also been fired upon, so simply altering course wasn't going to be enough as they now had to evade and pop chaff. Gadrid Morthol in his Night Arrow was likely to have the best luck making orbit and space beyond, for the safety of the Viridian Sky. His Headhunter, equipped with a prototype SLAM system, was far and ahead of the rest of the Shadowguard, twisting and turning in evasive maneuvers most pilots would not dare to pull off. The Null Echo was not so lucky. The Tri-Mark VII had managed to deflect its attacking torpedo with chaff, but the explosion had damaged one of its three engines. "Shadow One, this is Shadow Three, I've got a damaged thruster and these folk aren't making it easy to maneuver. I'm coming about to the Newport Spaceport. See you all in a day or so." Azaghor's voice was calm as ever as his craft began banking towards the spaceport as per the officer's given coordinates. Tarin Mako, who'd managed to shoot down the pursuing torpedo in his modified AIAT Flame of War came about as well, covering Azaghor's damaged ship en route to the spaceport. "Shadow Four is heading with Shadow Three. Did anyone see Shadow Two?" Larna Mosset in her Pursuer enforcement ship clicked her comm. "Shadow Two broke orbit as far as I can tell." Her own torpedo threat had been outdone by three flares and some fancy flying, and she was still outbound towards orbit. Nobody really trusted the charity of the Imperial pilots at the moment, but with any luck, they'd be far, far ahead of all of them if they'd continued to pursue the drones. Rukk'khrik in his freighter Rend had actually gone a bit unorthodox, and his torpedo had left a gaping crafter in the side of an apartment building. Unfortunately, Rukk'khrik's ship had scraped an opposing building in the maneuver and he'd lost a few systems and sensors. He, too, followed the path of his other two compatriots and brought his ship around towards the spaceport. That left Irlilia Dannen in her Rainhawk transport and Malinara Starey in her ILH-KK Citadel cruiser. For Irlilia, the matter was easy. The Wings of Destiny was equipped with a number of expensive jamming systems and countermeasure suites, and trying to lock a warhead onto it would be comparable to a blind man trying to grab a greased pig in a downpour of oil. Where -that- particular proton torpedo went one could only guess, but the Hapan female was headed outbound. Malinara's Grace of Form, easily one of the larger craft, took a near miss with a save from its extra chaff systems, but in the interest of safety, maneuvered for the spaceport as well. That left Stark, alone in his dive. His ship was already preprogrammed, it's onboard systems capable of defending it in flight. He wasn't about to leave a fellow Lorrdian alone though, and he called as much. "Imperial officer, all the craft I've just tagged for you are friendly ships. We'll comply with your orders if you stop firing... but you'll have to arrest me on the ground. I won't leave another Lorrdian behind." So saying, he hit the ramp for the access hatch, not feeling the wind that whipped the cargo bay and jumped, more or less. From two and a half kilometers up, he was a sight faster rescue for Lekpin. What he hadn't taken into consideration was that the suit had a flight ceiling of only one kilometer, which became painfully aware as the repulsor would not kick in this high, and he was rather heavy. Trying his best to work the controls in the short time he had, Stark was able to engage the assault suit's repulsor a bare five hundred meters from the ground. It wasn't quite enough to compensate for his fall though and he went in hard, snapping off one of the E-web blasters attached to the suit and jarring him. For a moment, all the suit's systems flashed red, then slid slowly back into the green as he rose. Well, grounded he was, more or less, and freeing Lekpin was his first order of business. Fortunately, he'd impacted practically on top of the senator, albeit some thirty or forty meters off.
Archa Sabis
Founder and CEO, Sabis Technologies, Ltd. (Retired)
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| Orion_Karath | Date: Thursday, 10 May 2012, 10:10 AM | Message # 17 |
 Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 71
Status: Offline
| Eventually, the last of the civilians were rappelled down, out of the Senate Building. Personnel on the ground would tend to them further and load them into a waiting Sentinel-class Landing Craft. There they would wait for the Commandos to come out of the building, following their sweep for further survivors. Inside the Senate Building, Beta Team unhooked the rappelling set up, repacked their gear, and after five minutes, the Commandos were ready to move. Karath took point, moving out of the door and along the wall under the cover of a nearby pillar to avoid being shot by the Police Droids up ahead. He decided to throw out a thermal detonator, modifying his throw in an attempt to keep his hand under cover, and tossing it in hopes that it would bounce off the wall further down the hall and towards the two droids.
* * *
As soon as the sentient-piloted craft began breaking off, so did the TIEs. They immediately formed up on the various craft to escort them to the spaceport and ensure they didn't attempt to run for it. While the Wings of Destiny was making a break for orbit, and all attempts at sensor readings were failures, it was however the new primary target for the local Anti-Aircraft batteries, now that the drones were out of range. While the comms for the system were largely ineffective, sensors were not, and the Veridian Sky had easily been identified. The ISB and II, in a rare act of cooperation, that had its own undertones of competition, worked to process the information on what data they had gathered on both the Veridian Sky and the craft that were moving on to the former Newport Spaceport, largely abandoned before the Clone Wars and now being used as a central military forward operating base and make-shift prison for those suspected to be involved in the Droid Revolt.
After Stark had a full minute to gain his bearings and move towards the Senator and begin his rescue, and perhaps with enough time to consider how to get the injured Senator out of their current location, a LAAT/i Gunship blazed in on the scene. It remained, hovering ten meters off the ground, and holding a target on Stark himself, while its full load of Commandos disembarked by roping down. Once on the ground, they trained their weapons on Stark. "Drop the Senator, now! In the name of the Emperor and under the authority of the Emergency Military Powers Act, you are under arrest!" screamed the officer-in-charge.
Major Orion "Reaper" Karath
Imperial Army
Special Actions Group
Hero of the Empire
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| LomenRyuun | Date: Thursday, 10 May 2012, 6:34 PM | Message # 18 |
 Lieutenant general
Group: Users
Messages: 696
Status: Offline
| As the landing craft would (ideally) depart for somewhere safer, Ryuun was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing he was safe; that his team, and Senator Thanatos were safe, let him be far more at ease than he would have been otherwise. At that time, the pain medication caught up with the senator and his head slumped down to his chest as he fell unconscious.
Lomen Ryuun
Senator, Doldur Sector
Senator, Druckenwell
Representative, Monor II (10 BBY - 9 BBY)
Representative, Geridard
Representative, Boranall
Representative, Therenor Prime
Vice-chairman, Defense Committee (Temporarily suspended)
Controlling Shareholder - Druckenwell Arms Corporation
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| Alyn_Stark | Date: Thursday, 10 May 2012, 6:46 PM | Message # 19 |
 Generalissimo
Group: Users
Messages: 1359
Status: Offline
| For those who were accepting guidance to the spaceport, there was a certain satisfaction in knowing they could wipe the majority of their escorts from the sky without actually doing so. Azaghor, Tarin, Rukk'khrik and Malinara all flew in a two-by-two formation that placed them in a rough square, moving at the speed the damaged Tri-Mark was capable of making, which at the moment was not terribly fast. Nonetheless, odds were good that they'd all make the spaceport without further incident.
The Wings of Destiny was not immune to all sensor scans, as any that saw it would be capable of reading a life-form aboard; it was simply harder than hell to get a weapon lock on the craft, which was different. Before the drones, still pursued by the TIE fighters, could make it close to the Sky, the remaining eleven detonated without warning into balls of gas and metal as they self-destructed, still clear of the liner. The Wings of Destiny was another matter though as the pilot dropped into an evasive pattern. Ideally, the life sign on board, as well as the outbound destination, would prevent the anti-air batteries from firing.
On the ground, Stark had recovered in under a minute and had actually managed to retrieve Representative Lekpin from under the air taxi, which he'd tossed aside thanks to the strength boost from the suit. He was not foolish enough to move the injured man, though. As the LAAT/i zoomed in, allowing its load of commandos and overly-loud officer to approach, Stark reached slowly up and removed the helmet, setting it on the ground beside him. "I'd say the senator's safe, no thanks to you boys. I'd also hazard a guess I'm under diplomatic immunity and the protection thereof, depending on how Representative Lekpin feels. Either way, arrest if you will, but tend to the injured first. Oh yes, when do I get my HoloNet call? Authority of Emergency Military Powers Act or not, I think you gentlemen wouldn't wish to deny a war hero and a decorated humanitarian the right to place one of those little things."
Alyn Stark
Lord of Kinyov
Senior Captain, Retired, Republic Navy
Head of House Malos (former)
Licensed bounty hunter
Majority shareholder, Lorrd Engineering
Owner, Stark Defense Conglomerate
Civilian Medal of Honor recipient
Representative, Lorrd (10 BBY-9 BBY)
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| Roman_Lekpin | Date: Monday, 14 May 2012, 9:09 AM | Message # 20 |
 Colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 207
Status: Offline
| Lekpin was still conscious; able to breathe better now that he didn't have a taxi on him, largely in part due to Stark's intervention and not at all due to the slow response of the Imperial commandos. Having dredged himself awkwardly to a half-sitting position with his good arm, the other still being rather damaged, and fighting for breath with the broken ribs, Lekpin cleared his mouth by spitting phlegm and blood in a very un-Senatorial manner and croaked out. "Diplomatic. Immunity. He's. He's with me." If anyone had truly, truly known the depths of dislike between Houses Malos and Garth, it would seem almost amazing that Lekpin had done what he did in those few, brief sentences for Stark.
Roman Lekpin
Representative, Lorrd (11 BBY-10 BBY) (9 BBY-Present)
Chosen of House Garth
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| Alyn_Stark | Date: Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 4:13 PM | Message # 21 |
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Generalissimo
Group: Users
Messages: 1359
Status: Offline
| (( Jaron, man, it's your play here.  ))
Alyn Stark
Lord of Kinyov
Senior Captain, Retired, Republic Navy
Head of House Malos (former)
Licensed bounty hunter
Majority shareholder, Lorrd Engineering
Owner, Stark Defense Conglomerate
Civilian Medal of Honor recipient
Representative, Lorrd (10 BBY-9 BBY)
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| Orion_Karath | Date: Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 4:49 PM | Message # 22 |
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Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 71
Status: Offline
| ((Actually... it's all on Sabis, otherwise I would've posted already. I'll check to see how long of a wait it's going to be for a post from him... might switch the Stark events onto another account. Trying to keep things as least confusing as possible, so that might end up being preferable in the long run, anyways.))
Major Orion "Reaper" Karath
Imperial Army
Special Actions Group
Hero of the Empire
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| Alyn_Stark | Date: Friday, 18 May 2012, 8:33 AM | Message # 23 |
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Generalissimo
Group: Users
Messages: 1359
Status: Offline
| (( C'mon Sabis. :P Let's keep this little soiree movin' along nicely now. Or something. Gotta get back into the action and poor lil' me is all held up here. ))
Alyn Stark
Lord of Kinyov
Senior Captain, Retired, Republic Navy
Head of House Malos (former)
Licensed bounty hunter
Majority shareholder, Lorrd Engineering
Owner, Stark Defense Conglomerate
Civilian Medal of Honor recipient
Representative, Lorrd (10 BBY-9 BBY)
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| Archa_Sabis | Date: Friday, 18 May 2012, 12:46 PM | Message # 24 |
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Private
Group: Users
Messages: 10
Status: Offline
| Very well, since you've appealed to my humanity. I shall have a post up today. ))
Archa Sabis
Founder and CEO, Sabis Technologies, Ltd. (Retired)
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| Alyn_Stark | Date: Friday, 18 May 2012, 2:19 PM | Message # 25 |
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Generalissimo
Group: Users
Messages: 1359
Status: Offline
| (( Whatever would we do without you? ))
Alyn Stark
Lord of Kinyov
Senior Captain, Retired, Republic Navy
Head of House Malos (former)
Licensed bounty hunter
Majority shareholder, Lorrd Engineering
Owner, Stark Defense Conglomerate
Civilian Medal of Honor recipient
Representative, Lorrd (10 BBY-9 BBY)
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| Orion_Karath | Date: Friday, 18 May 2012, 5:11 PM | Message # 26 |
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Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 71
Status: Offline
| ((At Sabis' request, I'll be posting ahead of him here, with his post following. Not sure if he wants you to jump him as well or not, but for fairness sake, I'd assume that unless he beats you to it, go for it.))
The trick shot with the grenade worked, and the droids were destroyed by it. The team moved forward now, using the pillars as cover as they moved through the hall, shutting off the ray shields one-by-one, leap frogging their way forward. It was a slow, deliberate and time-consuming process. Any droids they spotted, they immediately engaged with lethal force. After a few more moments, the other teams penetrated the central security center, able to at least slice into the building's internal sensor suite. Control of the actual defense grid was impossible with the layers of encryption the virus had enlaid on the system. They would need an AI to crack into it, which would likely become corrupted with the virus still live. Suddenly, his ear piece cackled to life after prolonged silence.
"Ghost 0-1, this is Demon 0-1."
"Go ahead, Demon 0-1."
"Ghost 0-1, we've penetrated the security center. Defense grid remains active, targeting all organics. Virus has encrypted the system, we can not slice with the gear on hand. Sensor suite shows the building is, however, devoid at this time of any organics, except us... it's too late for anyone else in the building."
"Roger that." He took a moment to click over to the unit wide channel, assuming his second position, and call sign, within the unit. "All units, this is Specter 5, fall back to Waypoint Alpha and prepare to proceed to Waypoint Beta."
With that, the team moved back to Senator Thanatos' office, again leap-frogging back, and rappelled down to the Senate landing pads themselves, with the other two teams exiting the building simultaneously. Immediately, the commandos loaded up into the Sentinel that held the VIPs, seeing that Senator Ryuun had passed out and Senator Thanatos was being tended to, they would personally escort them to the Senate Apartments. After some preparation, thirty minutes since they had breached the building, the Three Sentinel-class Landing Craft and two Gamma-class ATR-6 Assault Transports launched once more into the skies of Imperial Center, the squadron of TIE/ln Starfighters that had previously escorted them assumed escort position once more, breaking orbit of the Senate Building.
* * *
At the long abandoned spaceport, which had been commandeered by the Imperial military during the crisis, the members of Stark's escort unit which complied with Imperial demands were meet by several Stormtroopers and Imperial Army Special Missions Troopers, all of whom had their guns drawn on the subjects once they complied with the order to exit their craft. Taking off would be unwise, as several squadrons of TIE Fighters now orbited the spaceport and several anti-aircraft batteries were active in the area, not to mention the turbolaser pointed at each craft that was ready to fire at any hint of escape attempt. The pilots would put under arrest and taken to cells that were more fitting for a death camp than make-shift field prison that the abandoned spaceport had become. They would be under constant guard while being processed, to await interrogation by Imperial Intelligence and the Imperial Security Bureau.
Alyn Stark, on the other hand, found himself surrounded by Imperial Commandos, who had seen too many die to today, and were already battle-hardened veterans. There was a simple fact that Stark, and Senator Lekpin, seemed to not realize. These were no longer the days of the Republic. War hero, humanitarian, diplomatic immunity... all things Stark clinged to, all of which no longer mattered. A squad of Commandos moved in to take the Senator from Stark, while another squad moved in to take care of Stark. All of them were ignorant of the petty feuds of planet of Lorrd, only being aware of the Core Worlds, all being assigned to that geographical region. All they knew is that Stark came blazing into Imperial Center under the escort of droids, and willingly fired upon Imperial forces when confronted. At this point, he was nothing more than a traitor, and to the Empire, guilt was readily handed out by association. While the Senator would be taken into their care, he too would now be bound for Newport rather than any of the local hospitals or to the Senate Apartments. Stark, however, in order to 'correct' his attitude, was treated to a harshly, and powerfully, delivered rifle butt to the mouth. "That should shut you up, treasonous scum. Strip him of his armor!" the squad leader shouted, to which the team quickly began to assume the task of striping Stark out of his armor while he was surrounded, every gun possible trained on him.
Major Orion "Reaper" Karath
Imperial Army
Special Actions Group
Hero of the Empire
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| Alyn_Stark | Date: Saturday, 19 May 2012, 10:29 AM | Message # 27 |
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Generalissimo
Group: Users
Messages: 1359
Status: Offline
| Striking Stark in the mouth with any sort of real force would be a bit more difficult than it sounded, especially with the rifle butt, as he stood half again as tall as the men around him while in the armor. Nonetheless, it was a good attempt and did bloody his lips. Stark would remain still as the Commandos fumbled about at his armor. Being what it was, a GTU product and the company's premier assault armor, it was not exactly designed to be removed from without and unless they had an extra-large can opener, they wouldn't have any real success.
While not oblivious to the weapons trained on him; none of which, Stark noted, would have any real measure of success in penetrating the armor easily, Stark was in fact hyper aware of the current situation. It was the commandos who were unaware of their situation, it seemed. Spitting blood to the side for a moment, Stark appraised the squad leader, an enlisted man by the look of it and if tradition held. "Sergeant, if I were a traitor, I would not have come this far to save Representative Lekpin and, I assure you, your men would be dead. However, if we can agree to get along, I will remove the armor myself and submit to your custody. I fear your soldiers, elite as they might be, did not come with the proper tools to remove it."
Alyn Stark
Lord of Kinyov
Senior Captain, Retired, Republic Navy
Head of House Malos (former)
Licensed bounty hunter
Majority shareholder, Lorrd Engineering
Owner, Stark Defense Conglomerate
Civilian Medal of Honor recipient
Representative, Lorrd (10 BBY-9 BBY)
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| Garik_Taynor | Date: Sunday, 20 May 2012, 8:19 PM | Message # 28 |
 Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 29
Status: Offline
| When it happened, Garik, like most of the Coruscant Security Force, had no idea what to do. There was no day of the week you would prefer this to happen, no amount of weeks away from retirement. But arguments could be made that Garik Taynor was the both the worst and best qualified man on the force to deal with this situation; he was one of the few "old timers" who remembered the Battle of Coruscant quite well held onto his job despite the Empire's budget cuts. On the other hand, he was an "old timer," closing in on mandatory retirement, and accustomed to the trivial cases he'd been assigned to; who was dumping their personal trash in the public trash bins on the Esplanade? Who wasn't throwing fish back into the reservoir? It was true that Garik hadn't seen a crisis of this magnitude in a long time, but no one else had, either.
When it started, Garik's precinct was in chaos. Police droids and cruisers no longer responded to commands, and worse, neither did the red-armored stormtroopers of the Coruscant Guard. Supposedly a part of the Coruscant Security Force, it became apparent that when push came to shove, it answered to the Empire, not to them. And with the Empire having reduced the ranks of the CSF over the years to the point of irrelevance, it was left with practically no personnel beyond its detective squads.
The Empire considered them useless and told them to remain indoors.
Three hours in, Garik couldn't stand it anymore.
"That's it," he said, standing from his desk and tucking his blaster pistol into his under-arm holster, "We're going out there."
"Is that a good idea?" someone asked.
"Probably not," Garik said, candidly. He stuffed his trench coat under his arm and headed for the turbolift. After a moment's hesitation, the rest of the office followed him.
* * *
As it turned out, the CSF cruiser was what made it a bad idea. There were 5 of them in it; Garik, the pilot, and 3 CSF officers who weren't droids--an increasingly rare sight, they were pitifully-armed with standard-issue sidearms and stun batons. Garik reasoned that, the cruiser having been deactivated when the virus had been uploaded, it wouldn't be infected. Not exactly a computer scientist, he was wrong, which became quickly clear to the cruiser's supposed pilot. Tearing over the city at over 300 kph, there wasn't much they could do but hold on as the cruiser pursued its own course.
The course took them in behind a formation of Imperial TIE fighters escorting a Sentinel-class landing craft over the Senate district. As the cruiser swooped in with its lights flashing, Garik knew this wouldn't end well--especially with the persistent warnings over the comm from the TIE fighters. They tried to warn the Sentinel, but the transmission was scratchy at best. It was too late, anyway; the cruiser opened up with its package of heavy laser cannons and concussion missiles. The fire appeared to be indiscriminate, but the Sentinel would take the most of it. It was possible, Garik knew, that the cruiser had approached too fast for the TIE's to stop it in time. One or the other of them was going to be shot down, possibly both.Added (20 May 2012, 8:19 PM)
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(( Cleared with management. ))
Lieutenant Garik Taynor
Coruscant Security Force
Homicide, Larceny, Special Cases
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| Zack_Tuesti | Date: Sunday, 20 May 2012, 8:59 PM | Message # 29 |
 Private
Group: Users
Messages: 11
Status: Offline
| Some time later, in some random part of Coruscant...
Hour One
It had been one hell of a day for Lt. Zack Tuesti, moderately-proud detective of the Coruscant Security Forces, and it wasn't even noon yet. After his cruiser had decided to take an unexpected detour into the side of a much larger freight carrier, an hour spent walking dazedly around the streets of Coruscant's upper-class district had led him to a hospital, aptly named Refuge Medical. After taking a moment to appreciate his good fortune, the detective had stumbled inside and come upon a group of civilians.
They were mixed in both profession and appearance, from patients to doctors and nurses, and were scared out of their wits. The sight of a man of the law had, thankfully, calmed them enough for Zack to barricade the door and settle in. Declaring that he was officially in charge (as if he wasn't already), the Lieutenant wisely decided that they'd bunker down and wait for rescue.
Hour Four
The civilians had gotten hungry, and Zack had to admit he was famished as well. Having been unable to enjoy his morning bagel (which is was in the process of eating when his vehicle had decided to turn homicidal) he had eventually gone to search for food in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the cafeteria was blocked off by rubble, and thus the only food they had to sustain themselves with were some hallucinogenic mushrooms one of the male nurses had smuggled in. Zack's specialty was homicide, so he admittedly knew little about recreational drugs. The kid called them 'Fairyshits' or something, and they were revolting in both taste and texture. They were, however, quite potent. Within ten minutes or so, Zack and one other man, a patient named Neros, were gigglng together next to the makeshift barricade.
Their conversation was pleasant, almost as though they were lifelong friends reunited after a grueling separation.
"You think the Empire's gonna fall, man?" Zack asked, a wry smile forming.
"Nah," said Neros. "Well, maybe, I don't know."
"I bet it does. We're gonna be worshipping droids pretty soon. Just watch, we'll be bowing down before every damn street-light and toll booth like they own us."
"They're going to take the women first," Neros stated, rather bluntly in fact. In response, a number of the women in the room clustered towards the far wall, muttering worriedly about how exactly droids prized females.
Hour Seven
"Okay," Zack said at length, gathering the survivors around him. "I have enough charge left for ten kills, if we aim true."
"There's thirteen of us," Neros replied, glibly. Zack nodded, his sunken, bloodshot eyes trained on his newly-made friend.
"Yes, which means three of us have to stay behind. It's not going to be a pretty death when the droids get us," he paused, watching as one of the men descended into a panicked, gibbering mess. "But as the ranking officer here-"
"The only officer," Neros interjected.
"Right, the only one. I volunteer to die a horrible death for all of you. You're welcome.
“Now, that leaves two more people who will have to stay behind. While it makes sense for us to let the old and the sick die; because, let's face it, they don't have much to live for anyhow.” He cast a saddened glance at the one old man that was with them; a jovial, round-stomached fellow he believed was named 'Hanklin' or somesuch. Hanklin's face turned pale as Tuesti eyed him, but any sort of retort or protest was silenced by the detective's outstretched hand.
“You're a brave man, Hanklin!” He bellowed. “They'll sing songs of your courage and heroism at my side, maybe, if we're lucky. Speaking of which, Neros, are those cameras on?”
“No idea.”
“Damn, oh well. Now, who's going to be the third volunteer?”
Nobody came forward, and who could blame them.
Hour Eight
“Well I'm sorry!” Zack exclaimed for the umpteenth time. “Nobody bothered to speak up or anything, you're lucky my gun jammed.”
Hanklin stared daggers, Neros stifled a shroom-induced giggle.
Hour Nine
"This will be my last entry," Zack said sullenly into the camera, his blue eyes carefully scanning the sleeping group of survivors scattered about the lobby. "Who knows how long its been, my estimate would tell me at least three days, now. Things are quiet outside, they have been for some time, but I dare not venture outside to see if anyone else lives."
A dramatic pause, as the reality of his situation soon sank in.
"I'll never see my daughter again," he mused. "Or Sarah, or the guys at the precint. No-one. I'm gonna die here, with these strangers, and a few bad mushrooms as my last meal.
"It's sad, really," Zack continued. "I wonder what happened to them all. Garik, Jonesy, Taggart... Jorin, Bryce, Pedroya."
Neros shifted beside him, the snoring man draping one thin arm across Tuesti's stomach, and the detective allowed him this final spooning.
"Neros has been a good friend through this ordeal, I'll miss him dearly. If anyone finds this, whenever the storm clears and life can begin here anew, our story must be heard."
Zack chalked it up to the hallucinogenics flowing through his system, but he could have sworn he heard a ruckus of sorts coming from the hospital entrance. In the off-chance it was the droids, Zack readied his stun-baton and gave the camera one final look.
"Remember us, these brave few who stared into the abyss of annihilation with courage in their hearts."
He charged, then, or perhaps it was more of a slow jog, but it certainly felt epic to him. He charged screaming bloody murder, running right into the outstretched arm of Garik Taynor, a tree-trunk of a man whose blow sent Tuesti flying to the floor, out cold.
Sighing, Taynor motioned for his fellow officers to go wake the 'survivors'.
((Note: This happens after the events of the thread in question, I just wanted to get it in now. Hence why I left the outcome of everything vague, for the most part.))
Zachery Allen Tuesti
Lieutenant, Coruscant Security Force (CSF)
Message edited by Zack_Tuesti - Sunday, 20 May 2012, 9:03 PM |
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| Archa_Sabis | Date: Friday, 25 May 2012, 11:16 AM | Message # 30 |
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Private
Group: Users
Messages: 10
Status: Offline
| (( Bump. Orion's post, I believe. )) Added (25 May 2012, 11:16 AM)
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(( I've forfeited by post in place of Taynor, for the time being. ))
Archa Sabis
Founder and CEO, Sabis Technologies, Ltd. (Retired)
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