Twi'leck Triplet Dubh
Member
Pog mo thoin
Posts: 416 
Affiliation: Óglaigh na Iarndóideanna – Warriors of the Iron Fists
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Post by Twi'leck Triplet Dubh on Sept 8, 2021 15:27:11 GMT -8
Exiting from the Cloud City Spaceport a ship immediately shot out cutting the distance between itself and the edge of Bespin space in no time. The vessel then made the jump
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Dec 12, 2022 17:56:49 GMT -8
Esthh Krazhmir's Matalok cruiser exited from darkspace.
"Move towards the planet, but scan the system. If necessary deploy coralskippers in order to do so effectively. We are looking for Clouzon-36, at least that is the people of this galaxy's name for it, its a gas they use for energy. It is also used by a space faring animal called a Purrgil, and we are going to capture one. They are nomadic however, so we will just have to watch and wait, but in the meantime, we have other things to find. Any mynock type creatures called Grallocs. They are a mynock like cousin, so examine any of the like creatures. They will be larger than typical mynocks, which are in the qhasas, they are said to have certain attributes that could be useful. While you are doing so move towards the planet. We are going to obtain some Beldons..."
The matalok slid along as coralskippers fanned out looking for their odd prey.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Dec 12, 2022 18:32:53 GMT -8
Two squadrons of coralskippers fanned out in the system, spreading out in wingman pairs. The set about their tasks in a predictable pattern, one squadron covering half the system and the other half covering the other half of the system. They began examining gas clouds and asteroids and other debris, looking for their targets. Mynocks were not difficult to find, finding the Grallocs however proved more difficult and the coralskippers kept looking. The correct gas was found without too much difficulty, Clouzon-36 was in the area, but the sensory biots came up empty for Purrgill.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Dec 13, 2022 13:20:04 GMT -8
Radu Shamra was growing bored. It was natural, a trained pilot who had been in dozens of battles in the so called Unknown Regions and the Known Regions, faced almost as many species as battles, now found himself looking for vermin. Not just vermin, but a specific kind of vermin, vermin that looked like other vermin that were present. Look for big mynocks that are more maneuverable. What a great order. He growled to himself, not just look for vermin, but chase vermin to find the ones that are harder to catch. He knew his frustration was his own fault, Esthh Krazhmir had proven a capable commander and gotten his task force through the war intact, despite being cutoff from reinforcements or access to other resources that the rest of the invasion had. This wasnt a glorious assignment, far from it, but if Krazhmir had a reason for wanting these creatures, it was probably a good one. He only hoped that-
What was that?
A small group of mynocks had jumped off of an astroid in a small cloud and were sailing about using the solar winds to propel their movements, but something was odd, two things now that he looked closer with the senses of the Coralskipper. The mynocks looked bigger than normal, but some...the bigger ones, were looping back in tighter circles, against the solar winds. He checked the direction of the solar winds, not difficult as the system’s primary was the strongest source and direction, some interstellar winds coming from other directions allowed for some movement, but nothing like should have been allowed that those larger mynocks were doing.
Excitement started to build as he signaled his interesting find to the rest of the squadron. Ordering his wingman to sit back and track the creatures in order to tag them for the rest of the squadron to grab. He focused in on one in particular and gave chase. As he closed in the creatures suddenly veered away in a startlingly sharp turn, sharp enough that his speed overshot the target track, forcing him to circle around. This time he came in at a slower velocity, but this creature double juked him and he lost it again…
Twenty minutes later and he was getting ready to simply shoot the creature, it had evaded him at every turn, and he had decided, begrudgingly, that the creatures were at the very least good practice in...what was it that the infidels called it….dogfighting? The turn and dive, climb, and break. Not only had it managed to outmaneuver him most of the time, but when he used his capture tentacles the creature had managed to just slip out of the trap each time. Looking around it seemed that the rest of the squadron was having no better luck. It was time for a different tactic.
He called his wingmate and together they went after one of the creatures that he was now certain were indeed Grallocs. They approached as slow as seemed to work the best, but the creatures had picked up on the danger and started moving away sooner than they had 20 minutes earlier, but this time as the pair approached, they spread apart and started using their dovin basals to grab and slow down the creature as they both used capture tentacles. Not having much mass the smaller creature was all but helpless against the combined attack. The creature flailed back and forth as the arrest tentacles wrapped around it and was brought close.
Radu looked at the creature closely feeling through the Coralskipper, the struggles that would have started an unpowered craft slowly spinning. Now firmly anchored he began taking his prize back towards Bespin and Esthh Krazhmir. The squadron started repeating the tactic again and again until they had 11 of the creatures, the lone coralskipper simply giving up on wasting time. The reports of no Purrgill yet would have to be delivered.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Dec 20, 2022 16:19:42 GMT -8
As Radu’s squadron returned to orbit he received a message that the squadron on the other side of the planet had found their quarry. They counted five of the creatures and would have to get one. However they had been instructed not to implement any action without Commander Krazhmir’s approval.
His villip tied to the Matalok everted and the squadron controller of the ship’s visage appeared.
“Void squadrons are to keep locations on the creatures but from extreme distance on the outsystem side of the creatures. The Matalok is on the way and will assist in the capture of the creatures.”
Radu growled to himself at now being sent to watch wildlife rather than at least chase them. Esthh he suppose had his reasons, he always did. He shook his head, this was beneath him thinking this way. The commander had brought them through the Unknown Regions, not only intact, but with fewer losses and just as many victories in the Unknown Regions as the commanders in the known...and all without replacements, reinforcements, or supplies that they could not grow themselves. He sighed, mirrored inside and out as he reset his mind. Guard duty. That is what it was, reconnaissance perhaps, both vital functions. If he needed to guard a rock, it was his duty to his commander. How many Yuuzhan Vong had been thrown away by other commanders...and now their numbers were now depleted and had not recovered since the war finished. Esthh represented the light of a distant galaxy, a distant star, the possibility of a new way forward. He resolved that he would marshal his feelings in these matters. Patience and vigilance, violence of action, even if he were to be obviously sacrificed in a losing battle before the battle even began. His life was in service to his people.
His squadron turned out system and headed in the direction of the other squadron already taking up a loose screen on the out system side of the planet. It didn’t take long for his coralskipper’s sensors to pick up the life signatures of the creatures in the gas, aided in their search by the coralskippers from the other squadron that had already pinpointed them. Curious things, but now to get into position and wait.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Dec 20, 2022 16:23:42 GMT -8
The Matalok climbed from the grips of the gas planet and began moving towards the area where the purgil were reported.Esthh looked at the situation with the benefit of the cognition hood.
Twenty four coralskippers were arrayed out system of the purgil, he and his matalok were inside. The size of the purrgil were not large it seemed, the individuals in question were between twenty and forty meters in length. Certainly they would be difficult prey for something as large as his matalok, but the ship’s dovin basals would come in extremely useful. Capture tentacles of course...he didn’t want to have to resort to killing the beasts outright just to get samples, but if necessary it was an option. The coralskippers only had arrest tentacles because they had proven a useful addition for towing damaged coralskippers back to a mothership to rescue the pilot and heal the craft, or reuse its biots. They had proved useful in obtaining the grallocs, and would no doubt prove useful for capturing these creatures… The purrgil however were said to be able to flee into darkspace, something that he wasnt sure the coralskippers would be able to handle on their own. Not knowing how the beasts even moved it was possible that they could prove to much for coralskippers.First order of business was to put his forces where he needed them… with a thought he started shifting his forces around. One squadron of coralskippers began circling about to set up one side of a spherical screen on the in system side and the other squadron moved to mirror them on the out system side. The matalok moved to the out system side but off to one side. He surveyed the positioning of his forces one last time, noting the position of the starfighters, the asteroids, and the five purrgil that still seemed unaware of the attention being placed upon them. He had no doubt that that would change quickly as he gave the order to start tightening the noose.The matalok moved forward slipping through the void and obliquely into the asteroid field. The coralskippers began to slowly contract their circle, ever so slowly tightening the net. The net closed tighter and tighter. The coralskippers slowly started entering the asteroid belt and were forced to maneuver slightly to avoid asteroids, but the pilots had been instructed to hold the pattern until the word was given. The animals started to notice something was wrong and began to move in system within the asteroid field, the gasses making straight vision difficult in addition to the asteroids themselves. Esthh ordered the coralskippers on one side to pick up their pace to close the noose and the others to tighten to more of a cone shape, pushing in slightly, slowly making a truncated cone with the large end being anchored by the as yet undetected Matalok. The purrgil got near the narrow end of the cone where the coralskippers were the tightest, the animals noticing the coralskippers turned...and that was what Esthh had been waiting for.
He knew that he couldn’t expect these animals to be as unintelligent as most beasts and be predictable, it had been said that they were fairly intelligent, and he expected them to realize that they were being herded if he waited too long and took too many chances. It was also true that he did not know what the animals survival instincts were, they could gather tightly in a school to confuse a predator, gather in a tight school for mutual defense, or scatter in all different directions. Too many things to chance with too much space. It wouldnt do to get outsmarted by a creature, the irony was that creatures didn’t think like other thinking beings and so they were strangely enough sometimes less predictable. That unpredictability meant that it was time to strike while the Vua’sa was distracted.
The coralskippers surged forwards as the purrgil turned away from them. The purrgil seeming to sense that the organic starfighters were a threat turned and increased speed with the coralskippers in hot pursuit, those coralskippers on the sides tightening and making themselves more visible to the purrgil. The purrgil moved quickly towards the matalok. The purrgil closed in and the matalok did its best to look like an asteroid, the purrgil and the two squadrons of coralskippers closing in, the direction of the matalok appearing as the only escape. Esthh waited, and waited, watching the icons quickly swell into visible flashes of the animals as they twisted and slipped around the asteroids with a near effortless grace. Beautiful creatures really, mostly purple with some yellow spots, at least this group was. The purrgil closed with the coralskippers just out of capture range behind them...until…“Now.”The matalok’s dovin basal operators commanded their creature charges to reach out and grab the rapidly closing purrgil. The creatures suddenly lurched hard towards the matalok, pulled hard by focused gravity beams, the creatures reacted in surprise and panic as capture tentacles lashed out as the purrgil struggled against the new force dragging them down and hampering their movements. The purrgil twisted and spun but capture tentacles from the matalok snared one, and the coralskippers knew it was their time to pounce as their quarry were slowed. The coralskippers pounced in threes and fours upon two of the purrgil, grabbing them and pulling them towards the mataloks waiting arrest tentacles. The two purrgil that managed to escape the pouncing coralskippers and the arrest tentacles from the matalok managed to get asteroids between them and the strong pulls of gravity from the matalok and fled, with coralskippers in hot pursuit. The matalok continued to pull the three purrgil, now tightly wrapped in its arrest tentacles closer to itself. The free purrgil fled in terror as they dodged arrest tentacles snapping out from the coralskippers, asteroid pieces scattering into space dust at near misses, the creatures turning and twisting as if their lives depended on it, which it did. Finally a coralskipper managed a connection, quickly followed by another, and another. The creature cried out in distress and turned on its attackers, nearly ramming one of the coralskippers and turning back for another go before the other two caught on and prevented it from doing so. What the pilots did not see in time though, was the still free purrgil turning around and doing the same thing. The purrgil collided solidly with one of the coralskippers, heavily damaging the smaller starfighter, knocking it out of the fight but not killing it completely. This decision, with hate in their eyes at their attackers however was their doom as they were swarmed by the nearly whole squadron of coralskippers that had been chasing along, giving them time to catch up and add their own arrest tentacles. With half a dozen coralskippers now firmly attached to each of the two, and one coralskipper dragging the injured ship, the group headed back towards the matalok that had pulled the original three onboard, firmly wrapped in arrest tentacles.
The matalok began moving out of the asteroid field with the last coralskippers quickly catching up and allowing the matalok to reach out with its own arrest tentacles to bring the still struggling creatures firmly aboard. It was at this time that the third squadron of coralskippers returned from Bespin itself, having each scraped or rammed over a dozen different beldons all over the planet to obtain genetic samples.
Esthh waited for all of the coralskippers to be recovered, and the pilot of the damaged coralskipper to be cut out of his dying craft before heading for the bridge. The shapers were already busy with all of their charges, quickly cataloging and examining their specimens as instructed. It would likely take some time to unravel all the secrets of the creatures and begin experimenting with them to find their best uses for the Vong. Until then it was time to go on to the next creatures on the list. With a flicker of motion the matalok jumped into hyperspace.
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Endor
New Rebel Alliance
"No man is good enough to be another's master."
Posts: 205
Affiliation: New Rebel Alliance (NRA)
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Endor on Mar 5, 2023 5:31:52 GMT -8
Following the NRA mission to the Mon Cal Shipyards...Along the main hyper-lane through the system, an eruption of flashing lights appeared as a school of purrgil emerged from the simu-tunnels they had formed through real-space. There were hundreds of the space whales, including several of the larger ultra variants that were dragging something behind them. Tentacles released their holds of the hulls of two MC80 star cruisers in varying states of completion. One was a liberty-type variant, the other a home one type. The two warships, both absent a crew save for the techs fortunate enough to be trapped aboard when Tarfang and Endor made their daring escape from the shipyards over Mon Cal, as well as a few Quarren Dominion foot soldiers that the duo had managed to subdue. With a little help from the Mon Calamari shipwrights they had unintentionally rescued, they gathered up all those soldiers into escape pods and jettisoned them towards the planet, where the local authorities could deal with them. That had been General's decision. Tarfang would have preferred to bring the quarren back to Bright Tree Village so the ewoks could dine on fresh calamari for a while, but Endor still had the moral compass of a Jedi and felt some responsibility for the wellbeing of their prisoners. But since they couldn't bring them back to Hoth with them, well, Bespin was the best solution. After all, both Endor and Tarfang were both intimately familiar with the planet and still had some friends at the Cloud City Police Department (CCPD). At the very least the local authorities would slow the return of the squids to their evil empire.After that was done, he made contact with Tibannopolis and spoke to a few techs that used to work for Ricky Bolt. If was difficult to explain to them who he was, let alone how he'd returned, but in the end they agreed to extend their services to the growing Alliance. Tugs could be seen traveling to and from the surface, helping to bring the two cruisers into working order, as well as provided crew that the General had been able to enlist from the ranks of smugglers and spacers that frequented the Drunken Rancor cantina on Cloud City.Sadly, the time eventually came for the two friends to part once again. Endor found himself in the hangar of the MC80 Home One-type star cruiser that the growing crew had taken to calling the Aura Blossom. The General looked the part wearing a set of combat fatigues much the same as the rest of the rebels who didn't yet have a consistent uniform and had to scrounge for whatever they had. The wooden handle of his lightsaber hilt hanging from his hip set him apart form the others, however, as did the flight jacket he wore over the plain grey t-shirt clinging to his muscular frame. He stroked his beard as he stared down at Tarfang, a look of sadness writ across his usually warm features. As for Tarfang, the elderly ewok was wearing his signature weather worn blue long-coat and a matching tri-corn hat upon his furry head that helped conceal the bald patch of burnt hair."You wearing that long face for me?" Said Tarfang, a smirk starting on the left side of his face beneath his eye-patch, then carrying across to the other side as he tried to dispel Endor's somber state. "Don't worry. We'll see each other again. You know you are always welcome to return home with me. Kneesaa is overworked as it is dealing with Malani and Chewfang's litter, she could definitely use a hand and I think it would do you good to spend some time with the little ones. Plus you could stay at the new hut the village is building for me." He tapped his cane on the ground. "I think Logray's eager to have his place back to himself so he's been encouraging the other ewoks to speed up the construction." Truthfully he would have loved to accept the offer, but... "There are too many people counting on me right now. I can't take a break until this rebellion has gotten off the ground. Send Kneesaa my regards, and let Chewfang know his favourite uncle misses him.""Favourite?" Tarfang raised a furry brow, then chuckled. "Sure thing. Take care of yourself, old buddy. May the Force be with you." He looked thoughtful, scratching his furry chin. "That's what you say, right?" "It is, though I'd just as happily settle for good luck. Goodbye, my friend." The fingers of Endor's hand folded over Tarfang's paw as they shook farewell, though the older ewok pulled Endor into a full bodied hug, which he reciprocated for a few seconds longer than was necessary. After he stood and watched as his childhood friend climbed up into the cockpit of the StealthX he had flown and shortly after left the hangar.
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Endor
New Rebel Alliance
"No man is good enough to be another's master."
Posts: 205
Affiliation: New Rebel Alliance (NRA)
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Endor on Mar 6, 2023 9:26:03 GMT -8
After several weeks of rousing speeches that pushed the former Jedi's charismatic abilities to their ultimate limit, the General secured enough staff to crew the two MC80s stolen...err, I mean, liberated from the Mon Cal Shipyards. Most had come from Cloud City itself, though he'd made a few calls to nearby systems and was rewarded with a supply of eager freedom fighters willing to take a stand against galactic evil. Wookiees, ewoks, shistavanens...quite a few species with a lot of hair or fur. Quite frankly the janitorial droids were being pushed to their limits, but trivial matters such as these couldn't stand in the way of the pursuit of galactic freedom for long.
With General Endor aboard the MC80 Home One-type star cruiser the Aura Blossom, and newly promoted Mon Calamari Admiral Dackbar aboard the Libterty-type now called the Star Urchin, the two rebel warships headed away from the planet at sublight speeds. Once clear of Bespin's naturally formed gravity well, the two cruisers entered hyperspace on a course for the Incom Corporation on Fresia.
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Gráinne Mhaol & Fiach Dubh
Member
Is mimic a bhris beal duine a shron - often a person's mouth gets their nose broke
Posts: 722
Affiliation: Oglaigh na Irandoideanne - Warriors of the Iron Fists
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Post by Gráinne Mhaol & Fiach Dubh on Dec 19, 2023 3:10:15 GMT -8
A YT 1300 light freighter, this beast dubbed The Utopic Vulture, squeezed effortlessly into Bespin orbit. Onboard things were quite the opposite. The hound, tongue hanging from mouth, tail wagging stayed sitting. The little girl too sat quietly. Boland and Grace? They manned the ship. And they engaged in a spirited argument
-Grace- “And how may I ask does this creampuff travel from system to system; planet to planet in a sleigh dragged by antelope?” Always the gentlemen Boland was slow to respond at last spoke, an edge of anger in his tone -Boland- “Reindeer honey. He uses Reindeer not antelope..” sighing deep “Force sensitive ones at that. The sleigh is made of solid beskar….. And the overweight dude who digs red? That dude has some gnarly powers.” The Raven sat nestled in a corner absorbing the words
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Gráinne Mhaol & Fiach Dubh
Member
Is mimic a bhris beal duine a shron - often a person's mouth gets their nose broke
Posts: 722
Affiliation: Oglaigh na Irandoideanne - Warriors of the Iron Fists
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Post by Gráinne Mhaol & Fiach Dubh on Feb 12, 2024 4:02:22 GMT -8
With Boland at the helm theUtopic Vulture entered Bespin orbit. The ship cruised through space to the edge then made the jump
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