|
Bravery of the Krayt Dragons
| |
| Radim_Thek | Date: Saturday, 04 Aug 2012, 7:54 AM | Message # 1 |
|
Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 30
Status: Offline
| Radim would leave a young, but promising Twi'lek in charge. Every capable male and female would be gearing up for war. No, not gang war. Yes, war against the Empire. Most of them were hardened veterans of the gang war on Taris, but most didn't face the stormtroopers too much. He would issue an order to have every non-fighter members, except for those on security duties, to gear themselves for the defense of the base in case the battle goes ill.
Radim, plus 50 Krayt Dragons, would all set out in their speeded bikes. Thek would strategically split Tue fifty into teams of five, with an exception of his team. It would be six. Pretty soon, they scattered throughout the city. A team would do their best to sneak around an Imperial camp that may have set up to restore order in the Lower City. Three teams would do their job and pick off Imperial patrols. However, the rest of the teams would committee hit-and-run operations against slightly larger contingents of stormtroopers. The leader was among those teams.
Soon, the Lower City would turn into one large-scale urban warfare. Hopefully, some of the smaller gangs would jump in and assist the Krayt Dragons. The gang hadn't set off the homemade bomb yet. They would decide to use it as either a distraction or use it to make a big noise before going down fighting. There were laserfire and small explosions everywhere from all the grenades. It would be harder to fight with Tue civilians around as well. Would this battle turn into their favor? Radim would find out soon. He had an escape plan in place should everything result in chaos.
~Radim Thek
Leader of the Krayt Dragons
|
| |
| |
| Governor_Tarner | Date: Wednesday, 08 Aug 2012, 7:30 PM | Message # 2 |
 Private
Group: Users
Messages: 4
Status: Offline
| Tarner had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Not this moment, specifically—no one had expected an all-out assault on Imperial forces in the Lower City—but a moment like this one. In other words, an excuse. The decrepit, alien-infested Lower City was a blight on his planet. Tarner, as Governor, had made a tidy fortune buying up most of the best real estate on the planet; the Lower City, however, with its rampant crime and swoop gangs, drove down property values.
Thousands of years ago, Tarner knew, the entire city had been burned to the ground. But in time, it was replaced with exactly the same thing—an ecumenopolis with a decaying Lower and Under- City. Tarner wouldn't repeat history's mistake—this uprising, he knew, was an opportunity to cleanse the Lower City once and for all, to force out the alien residents, tear down their pitiable homes and replace them with luxury accommodations owned, of course, by Tarner himself.
When word of the swoop gang's attacks on Imperial forces reached him, the Governor didn't hesitate. First, he ordered the immediate withdrawal of all Imperial forces from the Lower City in Radim Thek's area of operations, and issued a warning to Human residents of the Lower City to evacuate. Then, the small number of turbolifts to the Lower City—ridiculously, the only way from the Lower to the Upper City—were shut down. If anyone tried to scale the turbolift shafts, Tarner declared, the shafts would be filled with duracrete. (Tarner's shell companies had access to duracrete mixers and pourers).
All communications from the Lower City were severed, water was shut off, and no food or supplies were allowed in. As an additional precaution, Tarner ordered his troops formerly of the Lower City to patrol sewers and ports for anyone attempting to escape. A simple message would be broadcast, repeatedly, into the Lower City: "Radim Thek, turn yourself in."
Some of the wealthy residents of the Upper City would say that, at night, they could hear the moans of the hungry and the sick echoing up from the depths, or was it simply the wind whistling through the city's ventilation shafts?
Added (08 Aug 2012, 7:30 PM)
---------------------------------------------
On the fourth day, the fires started. By then many of the homeless had died of thirst (alcohol was not an adequately hydrating substitute for water). The smell of death was trapped in the Lower City along with its surviving residents. The marginally more fortunate of them managed to hoard water and hang in there, but the fires might be soon to prove too much for them; no one knew how they started, but in the wine cellar of a cantina here and the garage of an apartment complex there, the fires spread from room-to-room, then corridor-to-corridor, then housing block-to-housing block. With the water to the Lower City cut off, it was difficult, if not impossible, to put out the fires.
Is this what Radim Thek wanted? Still, on an hourly basis, the transmission was broadcast on the only channel available to the Lower City: "Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in."
The people of the Upper City were broadly supportive of Governor Tarner's crackdown on the criminals and rebels that plagued the Lower City. The tendrils of smoke that whisked from the slender ventilation shafts into the blue sky of Taris were a sign of progress, as far as they were concerned. Once the criminals and indigents of the Lower City were cleared out, they'd all sleep better.
Huxley Tarner
Imperial Governor of Taris
|
| |
| |
| Radim_Thek | Date: Thursday, 09 Aug 2012, 5:41 AM | Message # 3 |
|
Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 30
Status: Offline
| They had been mildly successful in fighting the Imperials. When they were pulled back, the Krayt Dragons had let out the cheers of victory. Radim was the only one that didn't. He knew the Empire was capable of committing the atrocities the Sith Empire had done four thousand years prior to present. Radim had witnessed that brutality when the Republic had transformed into the Galactic Empire. For all he knew, the Governor may be drawing up a deadly scheme. Radim's instincts proved right when Governor Tarner had ordered the turbolifts be shut down.
Fortunately for him and the rest of the gang, they had their own bases to protect themselves from suffocating for the time being.
Radim had sent a two-man recon team to investigate the sewers and there were already stormtroopers inside the sewers. The ports were blocked as well. So every access to the Upper City was blocked, he had one last plan in store. As the days goes on, there were indeed people suffering from lack of basic needs. Stink was everywhere. The fire had been spreading on its own. The Krayt Dragons couldn't afford a decent set of probes, but he does have a set of gyrohopters. Thek would order three members each to put together a homemade explosive.
Two gyrohopters would be sent up two different pathways for two of several turbolifts, each assigned a two-man detail. Then the third one would be sent to a port. The same type of protection would be enacted for the third one. All three had tapes holding together the homemade explosives, along with a camera so the controller can see where it's going. The leader would attempt an escape. He was hopeful he could pull this up. The man would rev his Belbullab-22 starfighter and waited for the plan to be put into the effect.
That's when three explosions would be heard. The mystery is, whether the explosive effects would be enough for an escape remains to be seen.
~Radim Thek
Leader of the Krayt Dragons
Message edited by Radim_Thek - Thursday, 09 Aug 2012, 5:41 AM |
| |
| |
| Governor_Tarner | Date: Sunday, 12 Aug 2012, 7:07 PM | Message # 4 |
|
Private
Group: Users
Messages: 4
Status: Offline
| The first of the gyrocopters, having ascended one of the turbolift shafts leading to the Upper City, would presumably bump up against the bottom of the turbolift itself and explode. How much impact it would have wasn't certain—gyrocopters generally weren't built to carry anything but their own weight, so it was doubtful that very much in the way of explosives could be attached to them successfully. Presumably, a hole would be blown in the bottom of the turbolift itself, but from a tactical standpoint one had to wonder what this accomplished.
The second gyrocopter, also sent into another turbolift shaft, had somewhat more success in that it managed to blast the turbolift from its rails and send it plummeting to the bottom, where it crumpled into a heap of twisted metal.
As a result of the attacks, both of these turbolifts were out of commission permanently. That suited Governor Tarner just fine—he'd begin pouring the duracrete and have them sealed off for good, as promised. Huxley Tarner was a man of his word.
The third and final gyrocopter, depending on how exactly it would reach a spaceport in the Upper Levels (one of the narrow ventilation shafts, perhaps?), might have made it to its destination or might not have. If so, it would presumably succeed in blowing itself up, and it was possible a stormtrooper or two, or perhaps a handful of civilians, would sustain minor shrapnel and burn wounds. It was doubtful there was enough explosives on the tiny gyrocopter to seriously injure anyone—nothing a stormtrooper's plasteel armor couldn't withstand.
How this would help anyone escape, however, wasn't clear. The entrances and exits to the Lower City were still blocked off. Indeed, more so than before. And a handful of innocent bystanders may have been injured at a spaceport.
The same message would continue to be broadcast to the Lower City: "Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in." Until he did, people would continue to die. Sooner or later, everyone in the Lower City would. No doubt, the many residents of the Lower City who wanted nothing to do with Thek's crusade would turn on him, marching through the smoldering and corpse-strewn corridors of the Lower City, armed to the teeth, looking for the man they blamed for the Imperial crackdown. If he didn't turn himself in, perhaps they'd turn him in instead.
As hunger and thirst set in, this crisis would also test the dedication of Thek's swoop gang. Would they all stay with him to the death? That would be uncommon dedication for mere criminals.
Huxley Tarner
Imperial Governor of Taris
|
| |
| |
| Radim_Thek | Date: Monday, 13 Aug 2012, 8:48 AM | Message # 5 |
|
Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 30
Status: Offline
| Indeed, most of the Krayt Dragons weren't in this to fight Thek's battle in eliminating the Imperials off Taris. Despite his fierce attempts at swaying them, they were still stuck in their world where petty differences gets in the way of unity. It was time for Radim to leave his homeworld. The problem is, how does he escape with every access poured and filled with duracrete. Things were going south for the now-former leader of the Krayt Dragons. Along with his own gangs, members of other gangs and angry residents of Lower City were coming for him. It doesn't help when there were also local mercs and bounty hunters aiming to hand him over to the Empire.
The man knew that if he surrenders, then it's highly unlikely that anyone would come to rescue him. That chance went out the window when the Krayt Dragons turned against him. Therefore, he was left with only option besides surrendering. He also had to act quickly before the Lower City gets him. He was already inside the Belbullab, activating the holographic transmitter. It was on a general frequency, which meant it could reach the negotiator on the Upper Levels or the Governor for all he knows. "Radim Thek speaking. May I speak with Governor Tarner?" Thek's tone was firm, he had known Governor Garner was running Taris for a while now.
~Radim Thek
Leader of the Krayt Dragons
|
| |
| |
| Governor_Tarner | Date: Saturday, 01 Sep 2012, 7:42 PM | Message # 6 |
|
Private
Group: Users
Messages: 4
Status: Offline
| There was no answer. Only the same broadcast set on repeat: "Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in." Tarner, meanwhile, was at an elegant cocktail fundraiser in the Upper City. An aide whispered to him about the transmission from Thek, and Tarner excused himself from the party. Then, a strange thing happened. The transmission, sent on a general frequency, had been easily traced back to Thek's starfighter, parked in a landing shaft in the Lower City. Within an hour, the opening to the landing shaft opened above his fighter, revealing the clear, cool, starry night far above Thek's transparisteel canopy. No stormtroopers ambushed him, no downpour of duracrete from above. He, and only he, had a clear path to escape.
Huxley Tarner
Imperial Governor of Taris
|
| |
| |
| Radim_Thek | Date: Monday, 03 Sep 2012, 6:20 AM | Message # 7 |
|
Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 30
Status: Offline
| Because he had to wait within the hour, the mob had poured into the docking bay Thek was in. However, he was safely tucked away inside the Belbullab. When the opening to the landing shaft had opened up, he didn't hesitate to take that opportunity. Radim knew he had to be careful, though. There's no knowing what would happen next. The fighter took off, right through the opening. The time of Krayt Dragons are over. The Lower City gangs were lost to him. If he wanted Taris liberated from the Empire someday, he'd have to find someone else. Radim would keep an eye out for the TIE fighters, he'd need some time to get into hyperspace. Radim would break for the exit of planetary atmosphere.
~Radim Thek
Leader of the Krayt Dragons
|
| |
| |
| Governor_Tarner | Date: Monday, 03 Sep 2012, 1:54 PM | Message # 8 |
|
Private
Group: Users
Messages: 4
Status: Offline
| Conveniently—too conveniently, perhaps—there were no TIE patrols in the vicinity, and Thek would escape to hyperspace before the Imperials scrambled anything to stop him. A mob had swarmed his fighter as he fled, but importantly, no one in the Upper City noticed Thek's Belbullab slipping away in the night. No one but Governor Tarner, that is. Thek's escape was perfect for Tarner—he needed an excuse to continue his campaign to "cleanse" the Lower City. As long as Radim Thek was at large, Tarner could keep starving the innocent people of the Lower City until he turned himself in.
He knew that with the Lower City turning against Thek, however, that the swooper-turned-rebel couldn't remain at large for long. Hence, his escape was necessary to Tarner's plans.
The next day, the same message would continue to be broadcast into the Lower City: "Radim Thek, turn yourself in. Radim Thek, turn yourself in," and so on. The turbolifts and water supply remained shut down, the fires continued to burn catastrophically in the enclosed Lower City, and the residents, desperate for food and water and failing to find Radim Thek, would turn against each other; blood was spilled, but not enough of it to douse the flames. Soon, everyone in the Lower City would be dead, the stench of death replaced by the smell of crisp, burnt flesh.
Months later, Huxley Tarner—now a very rich man—stood over a large drawing table, surrounded by architects and engineers beaming with pride as the Governor looked over their designs for expensive, upscale apartments to be built where the slums of the Lower City once marred the planet Taris. At last, the Upper City and Lower City would be one, linked together by majestic, transparisteel-roofed atriums that let the nourishing sun shine on the wealthy, 100% human residents. The designs were complete with reflecting pools and artificial waterfalls.
And on the corner of Tarner's drawing table, a slip of paper with a design on it for a sculpture—of Radim Thek. Beneath it, a placard that read: "Radim Thek, the criminal whose cowardice made possible the cleansing of the Lower City and freed our world of its ancient class and species divisions for all of humanity."
Huxley Tarner
Imperial Governor of Taris
|
| |
| |
| Radim_Thek | Date: Monday, 03 Sep 2012, 5:22 PM | Message # 9 |
|
Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 30
Status: Offline
| Surprisingly, there were no Imperial fighters in vicinity. This made him more suspicious than he would have if there were actually some around. However, he wasn't going to stick around and find out. The Imperial tactics had turned the populance of Lower City against Thek. They would portray Radim as a villain for the time being. His time on Taris has ended. If he was going to liberate Taris, he would have to make friends offworld. Being a former Separatist and a former gang leader wouldn't sit too well with many sentient beings. Nevertheless, the Belbullab had left the planetary atmosphere. He didn't know where he was really wanting to go, so he decided to dial in the coordinates to Utapau. Perhaps so he could hide out for the time being. When the ship readied itself for a hyperspace travel, Radim had pulled the trigger.
However, not long after entering, he decided to drop out long before Utapau. The Belbullab would fly driftlessly into a deep space. Radim would look at the stars, punching in a Separatist distress signal that were commonly used during the Clone Wars.
~Radim Thek
Leader of the Krayt Dragons
|
| |
| |
|
