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Post by Keith-070 on Jan 27, 2016 22:20:19 GMT -8
Cars 26-30
*The pause. The paling. It was very telling: There was more to this mission than initially reported. Just the mere knowledge grated on Keith; top secret ops were his specialty. But that experience also allowed him to understand the need for secrecy, much as he didn't like it. He had half a mind to demand Corinne divulge the contents of the train, if she hadn't already announced the presence of the other AI aboard. But Alpharius was the commanding officer of this mission, and Keith knew his rank; belligerence should not be tolerated, even from himself.
Alpharius then announced that he had no idea there existed an Imperial AI, before explaining that he had been chasing something; from the sound of things, a useful weapon was being stored on this train, one the Imperials thought equally valuable. Was... this mission driven by personal gain? Keith couldn't say he was familiar enough with the Epicanthix to judge his character, so he had no way of knowing whether or not this was the case. His service with the Republic had been exemplary, however, and for Keith, that was the only assurance he needed of his quality.
All the same...
The explanation was cut short when Alpharius's attention was stolen by what appeared to be his ship making unauthorized movement. As he chattered angrily with his pilot droid, Keith turned to Corinne.* "Any idea what's on this train?"
"Remember, I'm fighting a battle here," *she snapped.* "I'm doing all I can to keep it from getting eyes on us or alerting any Imperials of our presence, but that one's a long shot. I can at least fight it and gain access to the train's locking mechanisms, but I'm having trouble accessing anything other than a general train layout."
"Give it to me," *Keith requested, somewhat concerned about the strength of the opposing AI; Corinne was a rather top-of-the-line AI herself, and if she was having trouble...
As requested, the train's schematics were transferred to his HUD. Keith skimmed over them, noting the various compartments and where the weapons—as well as Alhparius's—would likely be located. The luxury cars were the most pressing matter: There were civvies on this train. Even if they may have been loyal to the Empire, it was Keith's job to minimize civilian casualties. All he could hope was that those cars put up the smallest resistance and they could press through them with little-to-no harm done.
Alpharius finished chattering with his pilot droid and refocused his attention on Keith, asking if he was satisfied. Removing the schematics with a flick of his eyes, he nodded, departing the rear car.* "Much as I can be, sir." *He turned his head toward Morgan, nodding forward.* "Come along, soldier." *He was silent for a moment, contemplating his next words to Alpharius and if it was his place to speak them, before deciding to voice them.* "Sir, classified operations is my forte. If possible, I'd prefer to be kept in the loop." *With that in the open, he proceeded through the next two cars, which turned out to be no more than baggage storage.
Where they briefly hit a wall was the bulkhead between cars twenty-seven and twenty-eight, where Corinne had a mite difficult time discerning the contents and who was within.* "It's a gaming room," *she announced through the team's comm system.* "Mostly troopers and officers, but there are civilians within. Be careful where you shoot."
"Don't need to tell us twice," *Keith responded, waiting on one end of the door before the lock gave way and slid open. Before Corinne had even announced it, Keith had appeared in the doorway, firing a handful of warning shots from his rifle toward the far wall.
It had the desired effect: Cards and game pieces scattered as civilians scrambled to flee while the trained Imperials drew their weapons. Keith aimed for the quicker draws, removing the most imminent threats before dashing to the side. Even more cards and chips scattered as he kicked over a sabacc table, sliding it over toward the car's entrance for cover; for now, Keith relied on his suit's shielding and the other infiltrators to defend himself from the Imperials' shots. Upgraded armor or not, it was still little match for his rifle...*
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Morgan Calmcacil
Member
Posts: 931
Affiliation: The Jedi Order
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Post by Morgan Calmcacil on Jan 27, 2016 22:44:38 GMT -8
Cars 26-30
*While Morgan awaited the answer from Alpharius, she turned her head ever-so-slightly towards the landing pad, where she'd suddenly felt a spike in concern from their Bothan comrade, "Fade," centered on... Morgan? Why was that? Morgan nearly tilted her head, but she was trying to keep in total control of her posture and movements; like a soldier. Then again, she was a small child, which, to most trained soldiers, didn't belong on a battlefield. Morgan knew there would be protesters and doubters, and even ones concerned with her safety, but something about the Bothan's concern ran a little deeper than just general concern...
She had no time to further attempt to divine his feelings when Alpharius's entered her mind much more prominently, for he'd allowed them to show visibly as well. He was worried now, all because of the presence of an Imperial AI. He then explained that he was after someone, and that something on this train might be just what he needed to catch the man, but he didn't know about the AI. The explanation was cut short when the ship they came in on vanished, which was of concern to Morgan; where was it going and how do they get out now?!
Alpharius was reasonably upset, but it seemed he had, as best he could, sorted the situation, and determined to move forward with the op. Keith had meanwhile received a layout of the train from Corinne, while the latter continued to attempt to hack into the train's systems. And then all of them were moving forward, through baggage cars, until they were met with the first obstacle. Morgan listened intently to the report through her comm as the AI attempted to free the lock. Civilians were in there? Not good... but there were also Imperials. People she could fight and prove her skills against. She took a deep breath through her nostrils, calming, focusing herself, then released it in an exhale.
She was ready.
Keith went in first, clearing the car of civilians with a rather simple tactic. Morgan tried to stay out of sight, out of range of any bolts, her bow primed to fire but held low. Then she saw the table slide in front of the entrance; cover had been created. Keeping crouched, Morgan scrambled into the car, for a rare moment grateful of her small size; while the Imperials were distracted by Keith and the larger opponents, she was unseen. It gave her time to reach out with her senses, allowing the Force to guide her aim. Then she shot up from behind the table, bow drawn, as she found her first target: A uniformed officer. She let her arrow fly, and it embedded itself just to the right of his navel.
She had remained in sight just long enough to take in the scene, and a certain other detail stood out to her which she contemplated as she ducked back under cover: These stormtroopers looked different. The helmets, mainly... She scooted along to the opposite side of the table, drawing another arrow, before once more appearing to fire off another one into a trooper, piercing the thigh armor and proving the strength of rancor-bone arrowheads. She ducked down, now with a clear image of the trooper's helmet on her mind.
It was similar, but different. Darker, more defined... and that odd set of lines...* "What are these, 'Smiletroopers'?!" *She commented aloud, priming another arrow. She squeaked when she both heard and felt the impact of a blaster upon the table, and the smell of smoked wood quickly entered her nostrils. Hopefully this cover would last, and if not, she hoped this engagement would be quick...*
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 23:36:34 GMT -8
Cars 28-23
Rawkill rose from where he was seated as Andrew landed on the roof of the car just a couple steps behind him, his programs running into some trouble, as like Corinne, he too realized there was an imperial AI that was not going to give up the information he wanted easily. At the very least, he'd managed to glean information on which cars were cargo and which were passangers, so all it was now, was a process of elimination to work out just where the more dangerous stuff was. He pocketed the datapad, as he sent a copy of the bare info he'd gotten to the rest of the team, before turning a side long glance towards Andrew, the man pulling out his E-19
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
With things like this, we very rarely are the only party, which is good for us...
He paused in his thoughts, as he sensed a shift in the force, and he turned his attention along the length of the train, up to the roof of the 19th car, where a small figure was standing, looking towards the front of the train. Of all the people that could have been assigned to this train, surely it was not her, not here of all places. As he reached out with the force, he almost immediately felt her presence, and quickly pulled back as he stood staring at the far off figure off Atlantia Ren. So the reports had been correct, there was something important aboard this train, and if they had a Knight of Ren protecting it, it could definitely not be anything good for the Imperials to have in their posession
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
If you had any doubts about this before now, Knight North, let them be dismissed. No Knight of Ren would be on a simple cargo train... Let's get a move on, you concentrate on any troopers, and make some noise, we need to draw attention to us, don't forget that...
There was about 10 cars between them and where Atlantia Ren was, and a good majority of them were filled with civilians, which was why they were going to draw the stormtroopers out. Although they seemed slightly happier these days, a stormtrooper was a stormtrooper, and they needed to be treated with an equal amount of caution. The Ewok Jedi Master then took a few steps back, before drawing the force to himself as he got a bit of a run up and did a flip through the air, landing atop the roof of the next car, turning around briefly to look back at Andrew and giving him a wink
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
Try not to fall too far behind...
Going from the brief schematics, he was over the 27th car, meaning it was still a baggage car, but from the 26th car to the 20th car was all passangers, meaning they would have to carefully draw some attention so as not to injure any by standers. He turned back around, before gaining some momentum again and leaping across the next set of cars, using a quick force push to blow out the sky lights just before Keith and Morgan breach the car, before he kept on moving and leaping across to the next car, doing the same once more, making sure to do a flip over each sky light so as to draw the trooper's attention within to him, as he moved on to the next car, repeating the process as he landed upon the 24th car, not stopping as he moved finally to car 23. It was here, that he drew one of the saber hilts from his back. The main purple blade sparked to life, before being followed by the smaller blades upon the crossguard, as Rawkill swung the blade in a wide arc and planted the tip through the roof of the 23rd car, before extracting it and holding it ready as a series of Riot Control Troopers and regular Stormtroopers started making their way to the roof, with Morgan's comment coming over the comms at that moment
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
Bring it on Smilies!
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Aedon Gavin Montrose
The Organization
Enjoying a well-aged bottle of scotch...
Posts: 356 
Affiliation: "Veritas" Crew
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Post by Aedon Gavin Montrose on Jan 28, 2016 1:36:27 GMT -8
Cars 28-26Na'me continued to move forward, following the rest of the team. It wasn't long before they were at the door to Car 26, and Spartan's in-suit A.I. was divulging the info regarding it being some sort of "game room". Kriff...first encounter has a mix of civvies and military personnel? Hmm. Oh well. Na'me began to settle into his battle rhythm. It wasn't but a moment later that something came over the team's comlinks...*
*Na'me was humming.*
*He thumbed his blasters over to their high-capacity stun setting, then rolled from behind his cover, charging in behind his compatriots. He targeted the first Stormtrooper he saw, and let loose a stun-bolt, hitting him square in his sternum. The familiar "ZOTT" as it made contact with the trooper's armor was enough to make him grin as he spun back into cover. That was when he heard Avatar's comm-chatter--"What are these, 'Smiletroopers'?!"
*Flashbang explodes. Na'me removes himself from cover, his brow furrowing, his eyes intense. There were a few "Smilies" who must have managed to take cover in time. Na'me made them pay for that. The first took aim at him, fired. Na'me had already dropped to one knee and fired a stun bolt directly into his face-plate. The second, he unloaded three shots into his chest and abdomen. And the third - an officer, from the looks of it - drew down on him and started to fire. The Bothan pulled a tactical roll to the right behind cover, barely avoiding the shot. It was then he was able to see behind him, where two other troopers were still recovering from the blast. He fired a split-shot - both blasters aimed at separate targets - tagging them both in the side before setting the blasters to recharge via the Tibanna-stores that would spool the energy."Reloading! Two hostiles at your eight and two o'clock. One at your twelve, unaffected by the flash! I'm pinned!"
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Post by Azria Delvardus on Jan 28, 2016 1:36:58 GMT -8
In Between Car 18 and 19
As Azria makes her way out of Car 18, she slings her F-11D blaster rifle over her shoulder and pauses just long enough to tap her PAC20 visual wrist comlink. The small screen on the inside of her wrist had chimed at her moments before and she had not the time to answer it until now. It was a notification concerning one of the veteran Stormtroopers under her watch that had been assigned to the latter half of maglev train. FN-3266. Frowning, the Imperial refreshes the telemetry data from the trooper’s biosensors. There was no way this was correct. What had happened? The laughter evaporated from her eyes, her customary warmth gone faster than a twi’lek’s virginity. “Atlantia!” Azria shouts over the roar of the wind viciously whipping by them. It was clear her focus was on the small screen on the inside of her wrist as she furiously tapped away at it.
It appeared the Imperial’s focus was somewhere beyond the Knight of Ren, as if Atlantia had become invisible to her. The biosensor data indicated that approximately 30 seconds ago FN-3266 experienced a climb in heart rate that registered at 130% above the acceptable levels, a respiration rate 46% above acceptable levels, a body temperature that exceeded well beyond three standard deviations of FN-3266’s mean, and a perspiration rate several ounces beyond what it should have been. All of these biosensor readings would have been what the First Commissar would have expected of a Stormtrooper engaging in combat. But then all telemetry data appeared to rapidly decline before terminating. That could only mean one thing. “Come with me, Knight of Ren. I have a job for you.”
Tapping her wrist comlink again, Azria opens up an encrypted channel to all First Order military personnel. “This is Azria Delvardus speaking.” While the Imperial was more than confident in the First Order’s ability to encrypt their personal military communications channels, she knew there was always the possibility for someone else to be listening. Thus, she purposely did not announce her rank and instead merely used her name. It was only a name. A name that had zero meaning to whoever was currently attacking her train. All of the First Order military personnel knew better than to use ranks at times like these, but one could never be too careful. “Multiple contacts have been sighted near the fore and aft of the train. I want all military personnel on high alert. This is not a drill. Move to intercept all red forces.” Azria’s voice held a tone of authority as she spoke with a cold formality, her Imperial accent heavy.
Turning back to Atlantia, the Imperial cuts the comm channel and takes hold of her blaster rifle. Flicking off the safety, she checks the integrity of the power pack and reinserts it with a click. Blinking several times in quick succession, her retinal combat implant comes online and immediately begins feeding her telemetry data about the surrounding friendlies and prompting her to paint the red forces. Her facial features held a stillness indicative of her state of mind and her movements belied the extensiveness of her combat training. The time for deliberation was over. The look in her eyes was enough to tell those she was surrounded by that she would have no problem pulling the trigger and there was a tenseness she was not even trying to mask. Turning to look over her shoulder, Azria makes eye contact with the squad of troopers that had been stationed in her personal car. Waving two fingers to the side of her head, she grabs their attention and signals for them to follow her as they pass into car 19.
Car 19
Azria slid her palm against the biometric scanner outside the door to car 19. Although, the door looked more like a blast door. A loud clank resounded throughout the car they were currently standing in as the locking mechanisms disengaged and the door slowly began to roll open. Utilizing this time wisely, Azria reaches up and taps a particular spot right behind her ear to activate her Psicom 1260 Interface. After the wireless interface initiates a connection, the Imperial AI, whom liked to be referred to in the male gender as AI Pratts issued his usual cheeky greeting, “’Ello, sweetheart. About time you came out to play. I feel I should inform you that I have been violated several times now in your absence.” AI Pratts activated the augmented display on her retinal combat implant and suddenly a male Mon Calamari began walking alongside the Imperial through the car as she approached the opposing door and once more pressed her palm to the biometric scanner. As the door to car 20 slowly began to roll open, Azria turned to AI Pratts and spoke in a coolly authoritative tone with a trace of roughness to her voice, opting to ignore his smart remarks, “Activate defensive protocols. FO-access-Priority-Alpha-Code-Zero.”
“FO-access-Priority-Alpha-Code-Zero, confirmed. Activating defensive protocols." The Imperial AI intoned. "Will I need to take Omega Order Five into consideration?” AI Pratts questioned, and if she were not mistaken, there was an edge of insolence to his voice. “Not yet.” Azria says with a chuckle. She could almost see the sense of relief wash over him, it was rather amusing. “Now get to work.”
Car 20
The AI mock salutes the First Commissar before fading from existence and Azria steps over the threshold into car 20, striking an imposing figure as she stands still and silent, gaining her situational awareness. Glancing over her shoulder, she makes eye contact with her squad and holds her arm up, hand balled into a fist, stopping everyone in their tracks. Suddenly the PA system aboard the train activates with a crackle and Azria hazards a glance up at the ceiling.
"Thank you all for your service to our great cause. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.” AI Pratts speaks over the PA in a smooth baritone voice and there is almost a hint of smug superiority in his voice as a series of loud clicks resonates throughout car 20. The civilian passengers look up at the ceiling with expressions of distress and shock before their eyes are drawn to Azria and her crew standing as silent observers to this arcane horror. The cold stare of the First Commissar is enough to set the civilians edging out of harm’s way – pity, it was not something they could actually escape. By now, it is clear that nothing good was going to happen next. The interior automated defense system activates as an autoturret drops down from a compartment in the ceiling in all four corners of the car. In a matter of seconds, the car erupts into the screaming and begging of the masses. To which the response was the immediate chatter of blaster bolts being discharged across the cabin. Azria and those around her remained safe from the carnage, AI Pratts saw to that.
Silence fell with the sickening speed of an electroguillotine, complete with a public spectacle, condemnation and all. Without hesitation, Azria points with her index finger toward the ceiling before straightening her arm to signal for the squad to move ahead of her. The Special Forces Stormtroopers fan out across the car and take up defensive positions, moving the clutter of the bodies out of their immediate paths of egress. Flipping tables and repositioning crates, they began to settle in for the long haul.
On top of Car 23
As AI Pratts begins activating the automated defense system, four turrets pop up out of hidden compartments on the roof of car 23, one at each corner. They spin up with an ominous whirling noise and immediately begin firing without warning, spraying blaster bolts at Rawkill and Andrew. The standard targeting systems of the automated defenses had been improved upon exponentially with the installation of AI Pratts on the maglev train.
Car 26
And here was the violation of which AI Pratts had been tracking. The AI’s connection tracing protocols had been running the second Corinne began initiating a direct connection with his own system. “Mm mm…it has been quite some time since someone violated me in such a delicious manner. Enjoying our interfacing session, my dear? I can be much more gentle if you like.” AI Pratts spoke in rich, silky tones directly to the trespassing AI, Corinne, in a manner that could only be construed as one who was rather cocksure. Before Corinne could make his presence known, the AI fires up the automated defense system in car 26. Four autoturrets drop down from hidden compartments in the ceiling, covering the four corners of the cabin. Paying no heed to any civilians that may be in harm’s way, AI Pratts paints targets directly upon the interlopers intruding upon his train. Simultaneously, AI Pratts initiated an offensive protocol that sought to break through Corinne’s firewalls by simply overloading her system with garbage data entries and queries. In between the waves of the garbage assault, the Imperial AI also attempted to insert a backdoor protocol into Corinne’s programming. This would more than likely go unnoticed due to the sheer volume of the data assault underway. However, this simple piece of code would afford AI Pratts a remote way to access everything in Corinne’s databanks and keep an eye on her and the interlopers that accompanied her. All without leaving the slightest trace or hint of his ongoing presence.
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Jan 28, 2016 2:54:13 GMT -8
Cars 19-20
Atlantia turned her attention down to the First Commisar, the video link between her and Panno cutting off in that instant, as she wondered just what Azria was so concerned about. A notification then came through signalling that the door to the AA turret at the back of the train had been breached, and she knew then just what had caused such a reaction. She turned to look at the back of the train and saw a ship that by all sensor readings, shouldn't be, before she noticed that Rawkill had been joined by another, much taller, Jedi. She then signalled for her Right Control Troopers to follow Azria through the 19th car, whilst Atlantia moved quickly across the roof as her HUD tracked the Ewok Jedi Masters movements. As she reached the end of the 19th car, she used the force to help her flip through the air to the roof of the 20th car, whilst the Riot Control Troopers climbed up and formed a defence behind her as she continued along the roof, pulling out her own saber, before the cracked crystal ignited to produce an unstable looking blade, it's own crossguards activating a few moments later as she opened a comm line to Azria
I've got the roof covered, but dont hesitate to call if you need help... I'd hate for that fine ass to be damaged...
Well, if anyone was listening into their comms, it would quickly become quite apprent, that Atlantia had inherited something of a bad habit from Harnan, and was quickly becoming a bit of an ass fiend like her Bigger Brother. Still, she was comfortable enough with her sexuality to make these comments, and if Azria asked her to stop, she would, and if she asked for more, well, that would be one fun night of experimentation. Either way, her attention returned to the present, knowing that the turrets wouldn't stop the Jedi Master, and he would have closed the distance within seconds the moment he had dealt with them to fight her
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2016 16:08:55 GMT -8
Car 1
The engineers had surrendered rather quickly after the lone stormtrooper in the room had developed a double case of smoking-chest-craters. After getting the engineers to tie each other up in the corner, Mig tied up the last one himself & checked the ropes on the other. Not the best work, but it would hold well enough. Heading back toward the door for a moment, he finally pulled the rolled up log of cloth next to it. It was a party favour for the next station they were to pass which would be coming up shortly. He called it the cloth pinata.
Pulling himself up into the much too tall chairs at the head of the room, Mig stood on the seat & began poking around in the control systems. It seems one of the engineers hadn't been smart or quick enough to lock his terminal. It wasn't hard to find both the speed controls & the intercom. Keying the intercom on, Mig started speaking to the entire train, jamming the speed indicator to full halfway through his speech.
EVERY Car
-Mig on the train intercoms
This is your conductor speaking. The train will experience some slight turbulence. And then explode.
The entire train jerked roughly forward as it began to quickly pick up speed, regardless of the dangerous conditions & the planned stop ahead.
-Mig on the train intercoms
ALLLLLL ABBBOOOOARRRRDDDD!
The intercoms continued to play for a few moments as maniacal laughter echoed down the train before cutting to a strange but upbeat song.
Car 1
Stepping away from the recording now hooked into the intercom, Mig made his way back toward his cloth pinata. Mig lit up a cigar liberally dosed with what he knew as crystal, Mig watched the station draw closer. Once the train was roaring its way through the station without stopping, Mig pushed the glowing tip of the cigar to a fuse extending from the log shaped package, then kicked it out the door. It bounced several times before the cloth burst into flame on the loading platform of the station, a second later, nearly two dozen grenades had been launched into the air from the makeshift explosive.
EVERY Car
A rapid series of explosions jostled the train as it continued to build speed. Anyone looking out the windows or on the top of the train would see much of the platform they were passing wreathed in flame & confusion from the unexpected attack. The song on the intercom, despite the upbeat tune, seemed mainly to be a sad love song from a man to whatever a dog & a truck was.
Car 1
Mig drew in a deep breath from his cigar. The red light of it contrasting sharply with his yellow glowing eyes. Pulling out his pistols again, he waited for the first of the people that would obviously be coming to end his fun.
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Panno
The First Order
Posts: 365
Affiliation: Imperial Knights
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Post by Panno on Jan 28, 2016 17:45:12 GMT -8
Car 2The train suddenly jerked beneath Pannos feet just as he reached the second car. Losing his balance he nearly fell off the train and onto the tracks below. Grabbing hold of the edge of the train with his left hand his crushgaunt rent the metal as the train continued to speed up. With the mountain at his back, the train at his front and some purple vegetation beneath him. For a second it seemed like he was going to fall of before he managed to get a hold of the train with both hands and pull himself back up. All aboard is right. Hanging there he heard the call over all frequencies that the train was under attack. Well no shit.
Making it atop the train just as the station burst into flames. Laying on top of the train as the shrapnel and metal and fire raged around him the heat was worse than anything he had have experienced before. Not even his forge had been this hot. His skin blistered and the only thing that kept him alive was his armour and an iron will kept him from losing consciousness. The flames matched his armour and somehow he made it through without losing his head.
Rolling onto his stomach he tapped the code and dropped into the train with a thud. For a second things did not compute and the song he heard made no sense. It had to have come from a real back water planet. After all who still used gas? Pulling himself to his feet he brought his hand back up to his ear.Delvaradus Im about to enter the locomotive. Stand by for a status update. Despite not announcing himself he assumed that the woman would know who he was. After all this was Nicademuses sister, and if she was anything like he was then she would know everyone on board.
Walking to the door he pushed it open with his silver blade drawn and at the ready for whatever or whoever was in the front of the train.
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Post by Rik Idannian on Jan 28, 2016 19:13:55 GMT -8
*At about two seconds into my decent I had the funny feeling that I had just jumped into something with far to little information. 'Yup,' I thought. "Definitely getting myself killed this time."The pod barrel rolled through the atmosphere as I fell from the heavens like some sort of deranged thrill seeker playing chicken with burning up on reentry. The only thing from keeping me from bouncing around inside was physics. Useful stuff, physics. Though on the next rotation when I saw just how rapidly I was descending and how physics was going to make me very very dead very very soon, I rethought my former sentiment. 'Stupid physics,' I muttered.
Just then the thrusters kicked in throwing me forward in my harness as they did. I we slowed and slowed some more and then, suddenly there was a huge crash and the scream of bending metal. I gathered my wits and stumbled outside into the great rush of wind and stumbled on the top of the train..... on car 30.
"Hey, this isn't the first car!!!"
Car 30
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Alpharius
Member
Posts: 400
Affiliation: The Rebel Alliance
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Alpharius on Jan 28, 2016 21:02:21 GMT -8
Car 26 At the comment of being kept in the loop, Alpharius had found himself unconsciously agreeing with the Supersoldier. He too had wished that his contact had been more forthcoming with the details about this train, however, no matter how hard he had pushed - they were stuck with what they got.
That was until the Spartan had uploaded an Artificial Intelligence program of his own and had forcibly taken the layout of the train from the terminal - something that he should've done beforehand. He was getting sloppy as the pursuit dragged on, and that was unacceptable. His thoughts were clouded, and the Epicanthix longed for what was no longer his to command. It felt like an aching void in his heart that could never be filled, no matter how many vices he encouraged himself to chase. However, the former Assassin had to ground himself in reality. As much as he would've loved to indulge his perchance for escapism, this was far from the appropriate time to do so.
Clenching his fingers around the contours of his pistol and gritting his teeth, he forced himself back into the right state of mind - only to come back to the Soldier and the Avatar moving off into the Maglev Car before them. Inhaling what he believed to be his last breath of fresh air, Alpharius followed after the pair, knowing that Fade would follow suit after that.
When they had passed through what was later revealed to be a couple of baggage carriages, the Infiltrator hadn't given their contents a second thought. While it would've been entertaining to steal Imperial clothes and personal treasures - such an act would jeopardize the mission and throw caution to the wind. They had, for the most part, been able to sneak aboard the rolling transport undetected and he had wanted to keep it that way for as long as was humanly possible. All of that changed, however, when the implanted AI had forced the door to the Twenty-sixth car to open and reveal what lay beyond.
This was where things had gotten interesting, as his visor had painted all that stood before him with various shades of crimson. Though they offered no resistance or posed little threat, the known civilians were picked out in an almost pinkish hue - signifying that they were to be unharmed and, if possible, subdued so that they didn't alert the rest of the Train to their intrusion. Officers or those that appeared to hold some rank (Being that their Uniforms weren't known Imperial regulation standard) were painted in a darker shade to portray that they were targets of opportunity and should be subdued for interrogation. While it was nice to have an AI on your side, having a talkative foe proved to be just as advantageous. The rest of the car's occupants were given the darkest crimson outline that his targeting matrix could present. They were Stormtroopers or something similar due in part to their new uniform.
And they stood in his way.
Everything that had happened in the moments after the doors had parted was a blur. He knew that the Supersoldier had entered first, taking an upturned table as a protective trophy. He watched the little one take aim with her bow and drop an Imperial officer, before ducking once more behind cover. The Bothan had sprung into action too, taking shots at the enemy and priming a flashbang. It was at that moment that the flurry of combat had cleared, and his mind had settled into the instant at hand. Using a stun grenade in these enclosed quarters could wreck havoc on the aural receptors of those unused to such devices, and it meant that it was possible to blow out Morgan's eardrums in the resultant blast. So, as the grenade was loosed, Alpharius threw his pistol to the floor and dived for the little one; covering her ears as the device blanketed the room before them with a disorienting white light.
With his ears ringing, the Epicanthix withdrew his hands from her head and clenched his dominant hand into a fist. From there he placed his enclosed fingers above his chest and mimed the hands of an analog clock moving clockwise - a sign that he was Sorry for acting impulsively. Offering up a smile of reassurance, the Infiltrator rolls to his feet and retrieves his weapon.
Now, it was his turn to do his part.
Holding his pistol stable with both hands, Alpharius rose from behind the carbon-scored table. In a matter of seconds, the lone Stormtrooper that had been unaffected by the flash - and who had decidedly elected to keep the Bothan Commando pinned - was dropped with a smoking hole suddenly erupting from his Helmet's obsidian lens. Responding almost as quickly as he had, the remaining Stormtroopers drew a bead on the Infiltrator and fired. He ducked behind the table then, letting the supercharged plasma sear the door housing behind him with splotches of vaporized ozone. As the firefight played out before him, insanity had begun to take hold of the train. Shaking his head, the Epicanthix peeked out from behind the upturned table to see that several panels within the roof had withdrawn, leaving him with that old familiar feeling crawling up his spine. Turrets. Well, it was a good thing he had come prepared then. Taking a second to blink-connect his comm unit to his team, the Infiltrator calmly announced what was about to happen - so that Corinne would have enough time to withdraw from the Car as the device he decided to toss unleashed it's devastatingly low, but highly disruptive payload.:: Droid Popper! ::Alpharius depressed the switch and waited for several seconds, before lobbing the grenade at the withdrawn hatches. Timed almost too perfectly for his liking the low-yield EMP flash fried the gunnery systems in the blaster turrets, rendering them completely and utterly useless. However, it wasn't only the turrets that had suffered. The lights had gone out, and various devices surrounding the detonation point had been disabled.Now shrouded in darkness, Alpharius set to work. He vaulted out from behind the upturned table and surged forth into the room. One of the Stormtroopers that had been caught in the EMP's radius had swung violently as his Helmet feed had rebooted, only to see a padded foot connect with his armoured chin when the system had been restored. Thrown onto his back, the Infiltrator straightened his hand and swiftly struck at the exposed neck of the downed soldier. The man would choke for some time, gasping for air and the like, but he would ultimately live. However, as the Car suddenly jerked, Alpharius had violently lost his footing and felt something snap beneath his knee. Cursing in various languages, the former Assassin stood from the now dead Stormtrooper and aimed his pistol at the last hostile standing."I'd drop your gun, or so help me I'll send you to your dear and fluffy maker."The Trooper made to shoulder his weapon, but with a small amount of pressure applied to the trigger of his Intimidator Pistol, the nozzle erupted with superheated gases as it discharged. He crumpled, a smoldering cavity perforating his throat. That was when the emergency lighting kicked in, bathing everything in an arterial tint of crimson."I think that's the last of them here, and it sounded like they know we're here. Let's get the Civvies out of harms way and see about decoupling the last few cars. I know our Jedi friends above would sleep easier knowing that we've saved a few innocent people - even if they're misguided Imperials." |
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Post by Chloe Dawn Listyr on Jan 29, 2016 15:19:49 GMT -8
Car 23
Before the attacks started Chloe could feel something not right, an anomaly. She was not a person that likes anomalies, things were supposed to be in order. She looked around the car seeing what was off. She kept coming back to the big senator from earlier. He was the anomaly, the bit that didn't fit. She was starting to walk up to him to figure him out when a flash of danger filled her senses. The train was under attack.
Everyone! Please stay calm, we are experiencing disturbances in other cars. Her voice booming to be heard by all, but at the same time very calming and soothing. As we all know, we have the best security people in the galaxy, it will be dealt with soon.
She unzips a small pocket in the fold of her tunic on her hip. Her small but very powerful hold out blaster was there. She did not pull it until she was very close to the big wolf like man. She was fast, living life on the fringes and being a beautiful woman there made speed a necessity. The blaster was in his side obscured from view of the other patrons by his fur. She whispers so only he can hear her. Please do not make any sudden movements. This train is under attack and you do not belong here. Tell me quietly what is happening and this can work out for everyone.
Her voice lacked malice, but is had resolve. With it she made it clear that she didn't want anyone hurt, but she wouldn't hesitate if it came to that. She wanted things resolved and order maintained.
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Post by Keith-070 on Jan 29, 2016 18:58:06 GMT -8
Car 26
*"Smiletroopers"? Keith supposed that was accurate enough. Whatever they were, they were the enemy and his target. Keith picked his targets wisely, creating a path towards the prize counter, which he leapt behind and used as cover for himself. A few glancing shots bounced off his shielding, creating flickers of energy about him, but he was otherwise unscathed as he continued the firefight, ducking down into cover as the flash grenade was thrown. His helmet was able to filter out the sound, though he realized Morgan was probably not prepared for such an event. Did Jedi even have abilities to protect their own healing? Judging by what he knew of them, they probably did.
Once the grenade blew, Keith reappeared from cover to begin picking off more Imperials, just as a warning came in his comms from Corinne.* "Look out! He's triggered the car's defense turrets!" *Keith looked towards each corner to see the panels withdrawing, then turned to fire upon the corner nearest Morgan, hoping to destroy it before it could even fire. Alpharius, thankfully, was prepared with an EMP charge to disable the guns before they could fire. As well as the lights. Keith's HUD switched to infrared mode, allowing him to gun down the remaining Imperials in the area; it seemed the EMP had effect on the troopers' lower-end armor, which made this step simpler.
Once the car was clear, Keith hopped over the prize counter again and returned to the rear of the car as Alpharius suggested getting the civvies clear and possibly detaching the rear cars for their safety. Keith agreed to that plan, although something had caught his attention in the glow of the emergency lighting: Morgan, squatting on the ground, face in her knees, hands holding her head. She looked to be in pain. Not from the flash-bang, as her hands were not holding her ears. But from what then... *Car 26And here was the violation of which AI Pratts had been tracking. The AI’s connection tracing protocols had been running the second Corinne began initiating a direct connection with his own system. “Mm mm…it has been quite some time since someone violated me in such a delicious manner. Enjoying our interfacing session, my dear? I can be much more gentle if you like.” AI Pratts spoke in rich, silky tones directly to the trespassing AI, Corinne, in a manner that could only be construed as one who was rather cocksure. Before Corinne could make his presence known, the AI fires up the automated defense system in car 26. Four autoturrets drop down from hidden compartments in the ceiling, covering the four corners of the cabin. Paying no heed to any civilians that may be in harm’s way, AI Pratts paints targets directly upon the interlopers intruding upon his train. Simultaneously, AI Pratts initiated an offensive protocol that sought to break through Corinne’s firewalls by simply overloading her system with garbage data entries and queries. In between the waves of the garbage assault, the Imperial AI also attempted to insert a backdoor protocol into Corinne’s programming. This would more than likely go unnoticed due to the sheer volume of the data assault underway. However, this simple piece of code would afford AI Pratts a remote way to access everything in Corinne’s databanks and keep an eye on her and the interlopers that accompanied her. All without leaving the slightest trace or hint of his ongoing presence. "So, it does speak," *Corinne quipped as the opposing AI finally addressed her directly, in a rather arrogant, suggestive manner.* "The guard dog knows some tricks after all." *And speaking wasn't the only trick: He was able to both trigger a hidden defense system within the car, as well as attempt to overload Corinne's system defenses through a forced entry. But Corinne was also a very sophisticated AI, capable of her own tricks. The first was splitting off a small data packet, warning Keith of the activating turrets. The second, micromanaging her subroutines' defense systems against the attempted forced entry, while identifying and eliminating the foreign program attempted to be inserted into her system.
Unfortunately, she found herself unable to do much more. This AI at least knew how to defend his systems well, not that she would admit that. And what with the EMP being tossed into the fray, her usefulness had run its course. This was going to be an uphill battle, and she'd extracted the most useful basic information; Keith and the rest of the team could act on it efficiently, as well as tear down the doors.* "Spartan, it's no use, pull me out of here," *she commed directly to the soldier's helmet. As she appeared in holographic form from car twenty-seven's control panel, she left one final message for the Imperial AI.* "Sorry to jet, but you're not my type after all." *As Keith's hand passed over her hologram, she disappeared from the train's system and back into his suit. Once she was properly situated, she sighed an apology.* "I'm sorry." "You're fine," *he assured her.* "You got us the train layout. I don't suppose there's something else you managed to grab before you had to pull out." "Well, there's apparently a VIP on the train, but who it is, I have no idea," *she admitted.*"That's more than enough." *His assurances were sincere, but did little to ease her sense of failure. But she had at least accepted the action was necessary; whoever that slimy AI was, she felt better off no longer being in his presence. If they ever crossed paths again, she would be ready for him, and next time, things wouldn't end well for him...*
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Morgan Calmcacil
Member
Posts: 931
Affiliation: The Jedi Order
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Post by Morgan Calmcacil on Jan 29, 2016 19:38:07 GMT -8
Car 26
*"Flash incoming"? What did that mean?! There were only two ideas that came to mind, the first one being a Force flash, but she was pretty sure Fade wasn't a Force-sensitive. And the other... she was pretty sure that wouldn't actually help in a firefight. Then she saw the object flying through the air and it suddenly all made sense.
Also Alpha was diving at her.
Her eyes widened, but he'd only clapped his hands over her ears. A muffled bang and a flash at the corners of her vision hinted at the true purpose of the grenade; now she understood. Well she certainly wouldn't have been prepared for that.* "Th-thanks. Er, sir," *she stammered, looking into Alpha's mask, before the fight resumed. Morgan managed to get off a handful of shots before she felt her danger sense prick. Simultaneously, Alpha threw another grenade. It looked different from the flash grenade, but Morgan covered her ears anyway.
This one, however, was not the same kind of grenade. In fact, it had the opposite effect: Instead of a bright light, now there were no lights. Oh... It was one of those grenades that disabled electronics. Well, that was handy. And now she knew what had triggered her danger sense: Four now-deactivated turrets hung limply from each corner of the room. Well, that was a close one—
She suddenly grunted in pain, tensing up as she remained crouched beneath the charred sabacc table. The sting of death had been present, yes, but this... this was different. A collection of fear and absolute panic seeped into her, gripping her. Then the pain, accompanied by screams in her mind. Death... simultaneous and in a large number. It assaulted her senses and her mind. Bow dropping to the ground, she grabbed at her head, pressing her face into her knees, groaning in pain. Something bad had happened, many lights had suddenly been extinguished, snuffed out without a second thought.
Morgan was paralyzed with their pain, their terror. That was, until she heard his voice.*
"Stand up, soldier."
*Keith... her commander. Her sergeant. He was giving her an order.*
"That's an order, soldier."
*She promised she'd obey him, submit to his command as long as they were on this mission. She couldn't disobey his orders. She had to carry out this mission. With all the strength in her form, she forced herself to comply. She planted her feet and lowered her hands to the ground. She pushed, struggling for a moment, but slowly her strength returned and she managed to pull herself to her feet. She turned to face her officer, standing above her, rifle held low, visored gaze focused on her.*
"Wipe your tears."
*Tears? She'd cried? She wiped her eyes with her wrists quickly, then wiped these on her dress. Then, she hardened her face and saluted.* "I'm okay, sir!" *she declared with certainty.
He gave her a nod.* "Good work, soldier. Get your weapon. We've got more to do."
*He walked past her, retrieving Corinne from the system as she did as told. Great, now she felt terrible; not because of the assault, but because of her reaction; for all the other members of the team knew, Keith included, she'd just had a breakdown in the middle of the battle. She did not want to appear weak in front of them, give them doubts or want them to further attempt to protect her. Whatever had happened, it was terrible, horrifying even, but it wasn't going to slow her down.
Her face hardened once more as she prepared to follow further instructions; she'd prove to them that she was suited for this mission. And find out what had happened to those people...*
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Aedon Gavin Montrose
The Organization
Enjoying a well-aged bottle of scotch...
Posts: 356
Affiliation: "Veritas" Crew
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Post by Aedon Gavin Montrose on Jan 30, 2016 19:07:56 GMT -8
Seeing Alpha's weapon discharge after he'd stood from cover alongside Avatar, Na'me soon found himself under the realization that there wasn't a "no kill" order. If everything was now weapons-free, then Na'me would oblige. He'd hoped not to have to kill anyone on this stint, even though they were using live ammo on him. He watched as the lone gunman rose and moved about, firing at his targets, right up until he was standing next to the Bothan. It was then that the car grew quiet, and Na'me looked on with increasing horror as the turrets dropped from the ceiling. There was a mixed jumble of warnings shouted across the comms, and Na'me's eyes grew wider as the realization hit him.
"...Oh, kriff!"
In that blink of a moment, Na'me raised his blasters, taking aim at the two turrets simultaneously. If he could, he'd manage to get off a full round of shots with his stun bolts and knock out their optical sensors with the electrostatic discharge. But his eyes caught the glint of something to his right. A small orb that the soldier beside him was carrying. No sooner had it dawned on him than he'd heard the man shout out "DROID POPPERS!" Na'me quickly thumbed the kill-switches for his blasters, and just managed to switch off his comms before the device detonated, taking out the turrets in one fell swoop.*
*It was in the aftermath, once Na'me had removed one of his earbuds, that he was able to catch wind of what happened. Everyone seemed to calm down, to regroup. Spartan was attempting to coax the small 'soldier' - as he kept calling her - who sat there on the ground with tears in her eyes. From what, Na'me didn't know. She didn't seem to falter in the firefight. Thumbing his blasters back on, he heard the charge spool up in each weapon, singing like clockwork. Their default was "KILL"...and so it remained. Just as Alpha was addressing the group, referring to the "Smilies" as "misguided Imperials", Na'me's unadorned ear caught a bit of noise. His ear flicked for a moment, and then he listened more-closely. Sounded like...plating...shifting around. It was attempting to be quiet.*
*The Bothan's eyes widened as he realized where it was coming from. No sooner had he stood up and swirled around than he caught glimpse of the white helmet over Alpha's shoulder. One trigger press, and it was done. The Bothan squeezed off a single, well-placed shot to the trooper's dome, sending him choobs-over-caf-kettle to the floor of the train car.
"Sneaky little kriffers, aren't they?" He said before checking his sighting down his gun. "We ready to move, sir?"
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Post by Azria Delvardus on Jan 30, 2016 20:05:43 GMT -8
Car 20
Azria moves to secure the door to the vault on car 19, pulling the leather glove from her hand finger by finger with her teeth. Once more swiping her palm over the biometric scanner, she replaces the black glove on her hand. The hall was still passable, however, and she left that open for a very good reason. The gears to the vault door whine in protest as it slowly slides closed and she turns once more to face the carnage before her.
This was certainly not part of the plan. Activating the defensive protocols should have only caused AI Pratts to go after the interlopers on the train, not shoot up a whole car full of civilians and be snarky about it. It was as if his limiters had been removed – he was no longer constrained by the boundaries restricting his actions, there were no longer any limits to what he was prepared to do to win. The Imperial began to wonder whether his behavioral circuitry matrix had been tampered with because she was quite certain – no, Azria was positive she had not missed any bugs in his programming. Blaster bolts! When her brother found out, he was going to vape her on the spot.
The First Commissar stood there upright and rigid as her visual wrist comlink chimes at her once more and Atlantia’s voice rang out clearly through the bead in her ear. :: Roger. Can it, Banshee. No more discussing my fine ass over comms. Sovereign, out. ::
Looking back down at her comm as it chimed again, she sighed at the sheer amount of biosensor termination notifications. “Pratts!” The Imperial shouted in a voice that would make anyone quake had it been directed at them – it was a voice of authority, vibrating with power and command. Though, it was clear her temper was on a hair-trigger when it came to the Imperial AI. “Sir?” The AI asked in a questioningly, meek tone as he activated the augmented display in her retinal implant, his Mon Calamari form following not long after. “Why is the door to the main cockpit pod on MY train registering as breeched?” The AI seemed to stand there stupidly silent for a long moment, projected eyes appearing unfocused and dim. Then again, when did Mon Cals ever display any semblance of intelligence? “Pratts!” Suddenly the AI refocused on her, “Sir, it appears there is a Jawa operating the control systems of your train.”
“Please Pratts, would you care to enlighten me as to why there is currently a filthy Jawa on my train?” AI Pratts went to respond to the First Commissar, but was stopped as the Jawa keyed the intercom and began speaking. Azria sucked in a deep breath as she shouldered her rifle and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking a hip as she stared down the AI. Pratts scanned her face for some clue as to what she was thinking, the silence droning on and hanging in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters on the ground. He expected her to lecture him, turn red in the face, and scream at him. He did not expect this. This quiet storm. The glare Azria gave the Imperial AI caused him to visibly wilt. Then before even giving him a chance to respond, she held a hand up to silence him. “No. Go take care of it. Now!”
“Yes, Sir!” The Imperial AI fired off a salute before disappearing from her sight. Movement caught the corner of her eye and Azria turned her head slightly to look out the viewport. She had to hand it to the First Order engineers; they sure did a number on the inertial compensators since she had not even noted the increase in speed. Clearly, they had now passed regulation speed limits. Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, she takes hold of her F-11D blaster rifle and tucks it into the crook of her arm.
Car 1
AI Pratts had to hand it to himself; he sure knew how to get on the First Commissar’s sithspit list. His first order of business was to cut the Jawa’s access to the maglev train’s control system, effectively shutting the thing out. Next was the silencing of the music blasting over the train intercom. This was not First Order-approved material. It was garbage! It was like a Merr-Sonn Excluder and he was the Shredder bat. He would have fallen right out of the sky, if such a thing were possible, solely from the high frequencies currently playing over the intercom. Only First Order-approved literature, First Order-approved vids, and First Order-approved music were allowed to be consumed by any First Order personnel. It was the task laid at the feet of the illustrious First Order to initially remove disorder from within its own ranks before it sought to extricate that which had begun to grow rampant within the galaxy at large. This was the path to progress, to returning the galactic civilizations to some semblance of stability that once existed under the rule of the Empire long past.
AI Pratts was a spiteful AI to the end. Even with Omega Order Five hanging over his head, his own execution drawing near. As such, he felt the need to torment all of the interlopers on the train – these were not merely creative tales he had been weaving, but long forgotten dreams he was slowly bringing into existence. He enjoyed seeing their despair and somehow it made his own suffering that much more bearable. His emotions did not match the grimness of the situation. Where he felt glee, there should have been anguish. Nope… Nope, nope, nope.
The Imperial AI began sorting through his subroutines and defensive protocols until the decision support system finally pronounced a verdict. This would be certain to light up the night, render atoms into merely atoms once more as organic bodies became nothing more than a borrowed element forged in a star. AI Pratts did not have any deliberate purpose to kill these people; it was simply the most logical way to ensure the First Order’s success. It seemed as if he had carefully choreographed it, when in all reality it was nothing more than an improvisation. This was only fair.
As the train rounded the bend, the option to take one of two forks in the tracks presented itself. The left track was the main line and the track they were expected to take according to the schedule that had been so meticulously laid out. The right set of tracks curved, eventually running perpendicular to the left track. These tracks were still supposed to be closed for servicing, but after consulting his database, Pratts decided it would be safe to travel. He just knew the First Commissar wanted the filthy Jawa off her train and given the fact that she did not specify how, he was free to do as he pleased. Her mistake. So Pratts accessed the protocols governing the energy coupling mechanisms linking car 1 to car 2. Given that all cars on the maglev train were equipped with their own repulsorlift generator, it would make no difference if they lost one car…or a few. So the Imperial AI deactivated the coupling mechanism just before they reached the fork in the track. However, the latter half of the train maintained the same speed momentarily so as to not alert the Jawa to what was going on. Then right as the train was just about to cross the fork in the tracks, Pratts slowed the latter half of the train, which resulted in car 1 shooting away down the left set of tracks, while the rest of the train veered off down the right set of tracks.
"All aboard? I think not." If he actually had physical hands, the Imperial AI would have acted as if he were brushing them off. “My job here is done.”
Car 20
Observing the flames streak by the viewport, Azria merely arches an eyebrow. Her eyes wander up the reflective surface of the transparisteel viewport and for a moment she sees her eldest brother looking back at her. He had always been the one she looked to at times like these, he was a natural born leader it seemed and that was why she had always tried to imitate him when she had been younger.
Panno’s voice broke her from her reverie, though. She was very much like Nicademus in several aspects, one of which being the fact that she made a point of knowing every shred of information or detail she could find about those she worked with. So the second the voice came over the comm bead in her ear, she knew it was the Imperial Knight, Panno. The First Commissar’s fingers drifted across the visual comlink unit on her wrist as she sent a double click resonating across the silent channel, keying the mic twice, in response to Panno. This indicated her confirmation of the message received and affirmed that she would be standing by for a sitrep.
Again, her comm unit chimed as termination notifications flashed across the small viewscreen mounted on the inside of her wrist. There was also a message from AI Pratts. “Pratts. Status report?” Suddenly the form of the Mon Cal AI flickered into view just off to her left. He fired off a salute before beginning to speak.
“Sir, your filthy Jawa problem has been dealt with.” Azria crooks an eyebrow, but says nothing. Part of her wonders how he dealt with it, but she does not bother to ask. “Good. What about the rear cars?”
“Sir, I activated the defensive protocols…” The Imperial gritted her teeth, she had a feeling she was not going to like what came next. “..but for some reason my access to car 26 has been impeded. I am unaware of what is going on in there, but car 27 and car 25 remain clear.” That was where they were then, car 26. She had them in her sights now. “Sir?”
“Get out of my sight, Pratts.” The Imperial AI was smart because he disappeared immediately without another word.
However, this was turning into a bit more than a mere obstacle in the road. It appeared fate was presenting her with an opportunity to prove herself. An opportunity to think harder, to develop a new solution. Azria felt a trickle of courage come to light deep inside her – she grasped it, embraced it, clung onto it and urged it to grow. It was an amazing feeling – she felt as if any doubts or deep-seated fears flew from her body as the warrior broke free inside of her. She could do anything.
Walking to the front of the car, the First Commissar positions herself to the side of the door before turning and looking at her squad. Taking a deep breath, she decided it was now or never. Waving two fingers by the side of her head, she grabs their attention and signals for them to follow her. However, she first makes eye contact with each and every member of her squad, waiting for them to nod in affirmation of her orders. Tapping the two Stormtroopers just ahead of her to the left and right, she points at the door. They nod before she depresses the controls to open it.
Car 21
Azria taps her two troopers on their shoulder pauldrons once more and they step over the threshold into car 21. Following both of the troopers in front of her, the Imperial and her squad suddenly find themselves face to face with eight other elite Stormtroopers. Not about to lower her guard, even among allies, the Imperial approaches the Commanding Officer. “Think you and your men are up for some action, Sergeant?” Though, Azria presented it as a question, it was less of a request and more of a command she expected to be fulfilled. “I have it on good word that there is some fun waiting for us in car 26.” A smirk slowly spreads across her lips, a hint of deviousness reflecting in her eyes. Nevertheless, the much smaller woman held herself with the utmost confidence, her bearing reflecting one of authority.
The Sergeant snaps off a quick salute to Azria, "First Commissar, it is good to see you are well. My men and I would be honoured to join you." The Imperial nodded in approval to the commanding officer of the other squad.
Here was a woman who knew how to toe the line between being one of the men, or women in several cases, rather than appearing as if she were above them, forbidden and powerful. Untouchable and something vaguely inhuman compared to them. Azria knew how to distance herself just enough that no one ever managed to forget who she was, always showing respect, but never fear. These were the men and women of the First Order that she had trained, some from birth or early youth, some farther along in their lives. Even those that may have been former dissenters to the First Order’s causes and had seen the error of their ways, rededicating themselves to the First Order and the message they sought to burn across the starways in their march to order. What she and her brother, Nicademus Delvardus, Supreme Commander of the First Order, offered their people was freedom. Something they had never before tasted. Not even with the New Republic supporting its citizenry as they claimed – instead, sitting in stagnation, incapacitated by corruption and depravity. Not even with the Jedi guarding their doorstep – they were the ultimate source of disorder in the galaxy at large, leaving all they claimed to protect to simply wither and die. No, the First Order would put an end to this decadence, this exploitation of the galactic citizenry. All would remember today as the day that the First Order took hold of a fire that started thousands of years ago and nursed it until it became what it was always destined to be. This was not just a call to arms, it was the only proclamation that will ever matter. Today, the First Order would begin to bring law, at long last, to what had become a lawless galaxy...
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Post by Nicademus Delvardus IV on Jan 30, 2016 23:54:24 GMT -8
Car 21
Car 20 was a complete and utter mess as a small group of Imperials moved through it, having originated from some cars further down. Valek Madine, a Major within the First Order, glanced only slightly at what had been left behind by, what he assumed, was Azria's work. She was the only one who contacted his group to activate their units and move to Car 21 to reinforce her position there. The Major turned to a group of six black-armored Stormtroopers, who remained at ease with their blaster rifles in hand. Calmly, the Bastion native waves to them, indicating that they should quickly move the corpses out of the way for better trafficking. Four of the Stormtroopers nodded and hung back in Car 20 for now, dragging bodies off to the side and making sure there was room to walk.
Yet the mess only became worse as a loud thud was heard, followed by a sickly crushing noise. Major Madine turns back to a pair of lumbering figures, who were more eerie than the rest of the Stormtroopers present. One of them had smashed its heavy boot down upon a civilian's head, causing all sorts of particulars to fly off and cover its boot. These were what had been activated... per the First Commissar's orders and were gifts by the Supreme Commander to guard his sister. There armor was as black as their Stormtrooper counterparts. One was armed with a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle, a rapid fire rifle with good range and a powerful magazine. The second of this pair carried a standard issued T-21 light repeating blaster. Both of these black armored figures would slowly lumber towards the Major as he, and the other two Shadow Stormtroopers, walked through what remained of Car 20 and would pass through the doors to Car 21.
Major Madine would notice the First Commissar immediately, snapping a crisp salute to her, as two of the six Shadow Stormtroopers stood with him. He moved forward some, giving room for the Glory-class Dark Troopers to move into the car. The lumbering abominations of human flesh, augmented by droid parts, would quietly remain by the door to Car 20, rifles in hand and ready for action. Valek would turn his attention to Azria, immediately beginning his report.
First Commissar, We have activated two of the four Glory-class Dark Troopers. However, the Inquisitoriums are taking longer to activate. We have additional soldiers stationed in your personal car as engineers work to awaken the remaining Dark Troopers. I have also brought six Shadow Stormtroopers. Four of them are cleaning up Car 20 to make sure we can walk through it without tripping on corpses...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2016 13:20:21 GMT -8
An encrypted communication makes its way from Fresia - after being bounced around half the galaxy to mask its origin - to Commander Cormac on Garqi. After listening to it briefly, the light cruiser's decryption algorithms decrypting the message before playing it, Commander Cormac gave the order for immediate and rapid retreat. The soldiers, still attached to their rappel lines, reeled their way back up into their respective ships. The airspeeders attaching themselves back into their respective racks, the guardian cruiser pivoted and ascended into orbit as fast as its engines would allow.
Strange things were afoot, and, if the Quincy were lucky, it would never ben known that they were here.
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Alpharius
Member
Posts: 400
Affiliation: The Rebel Alliance
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Alpharius on Feb 1, 2016 18:29:08 GMT -8
Above Car 10 The operational chronometer had passed the twenty-minute mark, and already the team had been engaged by hostiles. So far, FEG-32 believed that the mission had taken a turn for the worst. Through the various data logs that had been transferred over to the Aurelian before this mission had begun, it was assumed that the Train was just another ordinary Cargo Transport delivering arms and armour from one base to another. A simple job, he said. In and out, he said. As time proceeded to relentlessly advance, the Pilot Droid believed that this assignment was nothing more than an elaborate trap laid out to capture those after the item Alpharius tirelessly sought. The others were treated merely as collateral, and FEG-32 was sure that was exactly the reason he had kept everyone in the dark in the first place. Plausible deniability. An ace up their sleeves, should they somehow fail in their mission and end up in the Imperials custody. While it was unlikely that was to happen, the former Assassin believed that it was prudent to have a Plan B should things go south.
Thus, with this in mind, the Pilot Droid sat in the Captain's chair of the heavily modified YT-2400 Light Freighter and became an observer. His previous task of dropping off the Juicer, yet another product of the myriad Supersoldier programmes dotting the Galaxy, had offered him a measure of much-needed excitement. With the lack of memory wipes, FEG-32 had become an individual in his own right, but had never settled on a name, Not because he felt it humanised him, but more out of the reason he wasn't sure what to call himself. So, as he had edged further and further away from the restrained lifestyle of a Droid, FEG-32 had come to understand sentient emotions and why his master had done the things he had done. That foreknowledge had led him to this point, where a droid had become bored with simply sitting back and watching things take place from afar. In response to this sudden surge of uncharacteristic instinct flowing through his wiring, his ebony enameled digits impatiently tapped against the dash.
He wanted to do something with the Aurelian, something more than sitting in this chair and watching as the train sped across the surface of the planet. As if Fate herself had struck a merry chord, his state of inaction would not last, and FEG-32 felt this odd sensation of bored wash away. Through his solitary ochre photoreceptor, he spied two pairs of turrets reveal themselves atop the Twenty-third car - where the Ewok Jedi Master had landed and was followed swiftly thereafter by the Elderly One. It had taken only a micron to notice that they hadn't seen these deadly weapons slip forth from their housings. Without even registering the danger, the Pilot Droid cycled the Freighter's armaments live and targetted each of the now protruding Autoblasters. Depressing the triggers on the vessels yoke, the two turrets - one located on both the ventral and dorsal surfaces and aimed at either side of the train car - opened fire. Nearly a dozen bolts from the quad cannons had raked the metallic surface of the car, tearing into the hull with the intent of destroying these automated turrets.Car 26 Bathed in the crimson emergency lighting of the Twenty-sixth car, Alpharius surveyed his surroundings and offered a smile to those now standing behind him. They had done good work in subduing and slaying the Imperials that had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though it was far from over and wouldn't be the last time they had encountered such resistance, he figured - that for the sake of the little one - they celebrate the small victories. However, as his eyes had glossed over where she and the Supersoldier resided, Alpharius quashed any notion of offering congratulations. It wouldn't be right to override the Orders that the Spartan had put in place. She was to follow his commands at every juncture, and if he had followed through with making light of a dire situation - it would be seen as unwholesome. The Infiltrator had to be serious, simply because if he wasn't, a child's life was on the line. Not once in his entire life had he come to harm a child, and even went out of his way to ensure that the emotional impact of his assassinations was minimal on those that were left behind.
So, with the thought lingering in the back of his mind, Alpharius began to police the bodies. Something to keep himself occupied and off what he had just been thinking of previously. :: Fade, :: He commed over their encrypted squad level channel, :: I want you to cable-tie the stunned Smilies, cannibalize anything of use. I figure they've still got Bio-metrically locked Thermal Dets and various other Grenades attached to their person. Those rifles and pistols look fancy too. No doubt our Techs back home would love to get their hands on those. After you're done, feel free to blow out the roof and Signal Thirty-Two. He'll swing by and pick up whatever you've managed to salvage::The Infiltrator paused for a moment and cast his gaze back towards the man that had managed to hide from his visor's targeting array and had almost taken him by surprise. Giving the corpse a small kick with his padded foot, Alpha turns back to the armoured Bothan and offers a smile.:: And thanks for the save. :: Turning his gaze to the rest of his fireteam, the former Assassin lets out a short guffaw. :: Drinks are on me when we make it out of this. Non-alcoholic for Avatar, of course. I don't want to see her Father's face when he hears that I offered his little girl an Ossberry Ale. ::With that said, he turned to the Supersoldier and let his warm smile fade - taking on a more serious demeanour.:: I'm going on ahead to toss a few stun and smoke grenades into the passenger cars, can I count on you two to have my back? :: |
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Post by Keith-070 on Feb 1, 2016 19:29:41 GMT -8
Car 26
*Keith had witnessed firsthand that Jedi could sense the emotions and pain of the others. He'd been told that death on a large scale could easily be sensed, and the sensation wasn't pleasant for Jedi. Morgan was tough, and battle wouldn't break her down; there was no doubt in Keith's mind that, somewhere on this train, people had died in a high number. Other assailants? Removal of civilians in an "efficient" manner to make way for the troops to engage the invaders? Morgan had reacted just about the same time the turrets would have been actively picking out targets... Pure cruelty; if Corinne hadn't had to surrender the fight against the AI, perhaps it could have been prevented.
But instead he had simply ordered her to her feet. It was not out of cruelty or lack of empathy, but because he knew it would help her recover. She was tough. She would follow orders, no matter what it took; including snapping out of a breakdown. And she had, valiantly, and once more she had been ready to move. While his visor and body language wouldn't betray it, he smiled at her beneath his helmet.
He then stepped across the bodies, even as Fade was given orders to collect them, and removed the arrows embedded within those Morgan's bow had found. Tossing them into a pile, he pointed at them and added,* "Get those out of here as well. Wouldn't want the Imperials to trace their origins." *He spied one other arrow, embedded directly into the chest of a fallen "Smiletrooper." No other visible wounds. Morgan had done that one in herself. His blaster, looking to be an updated model of the famous E-11 blaster rifle, hung loosely in his hands. Keith tossed the final arrow into the small pile and snatched up the blaster, attaching it to his belt.
He turned toward Alpharius when he explained his next move and asked if they had his back. Keith gave Morgan a brief look. She had clearly regained her composure and seemed once again determined, dedicated to the mission—perhaps more so than before. Looking back at Alpharis, he nodded.* "Any day of the week, sir."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2016 20:44:49 GMT -8
Car 23-21
As the turrets began to pop up from their housings, Rawkill began to feel that this was turning into something of a trap, and they had just activated it. Thankfully, as he placed both hands upon his saber hilt and began to turn to the turret behind him, the YT-2400 was coming back along the train and fired upon the pair of turrets at the front end of the car, whilst Rawkill rushed back at the turret in the back left corner, bringing the blade up to deflect the incoming bolts either off to the side or over across at the troopers that had been attracted by the distraction that he and Andrew had caused. He then brought his blade across to the side as he cut through the turret, doing a slight turn as he did so, to face back towards the front of the train, his gaze settling upon Atlantia Ren atop car 20
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
I'll take care of the Knight, you go help Alpha, Spartan and Avatar in the cars!
Rawkill sent a quick thank you comm to FEG-23, before he used the force to speed his actions, as he raced across the length of car 23, using a force assisted jump to make it to car 22, but he didn't stop there as he kept charging ahead, his blade slicing through a couple of stromtroopers as he kept going on to the roof of the 12st far, and stopping at the rear end of it, as he faced towards Atlantia Ren and the wall of Shield wielding Smiletroopers behind her. These Imperials had definitely changed up their game in recent times, especially if they were so callously killing civilians, even if they had sided with the Imperials
=Jedi Master Rawkill=
Coward! To kill soo many in cold blood? Your own people even... Does the depravity of the dark side know no bounds?
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