SHANTIPOLE: Episode III: To Retake Shantipole

[Jedi Skyler]

Cursing under his breath, Zinn lines up his blaster on the Imp who just winged him and fires again. Inwardly, he's thinking how he's going to have to get this armor customized, both to provide more protection and to not be so bulky...

[kipper]

Clark snatches the carbine from the wounded stormtrooper and fires at Lt Pollard.

[GreyWolfVT]

Gavin gets up and runs for the Out Runner being prepared for take off. Dodging attacks on the way.

[max_vale]

The wild shoot-out in the hangar bay continued with the traitorous LT Pollard taking aim at Rebel Pilot Kylin with his Heavy Blaster Pistol and dropping the poor man with a pair of bolts that hit him in the chest. He then flinched and ducked down behind the fallen crate again as a Blaster Bolt from Professor Clark narrowly missed him....

After firing a Blast at Pollard; Clark was jostled for a moment by a weak punch from the bleeding Stormtrooper at his side as the Imperial attempted to reach out and reclaim his weapon from the Rebel Academician turned commando...

Gavin Storm rushed across the bay at a loping run; complete with a zig-zag thrown in which was nicely timed as a Blaster bolt from one of the two Stormtroopers up in the catwalk came lancing down and just missed the speedy Rebel. Gavin was soon racing past the body of the poor Kylin and the Mon Calamari Farrak; leading the frightened crowd of Verpine prisoners and was now quite close to LT Pollard's position and close to the ramp leading into the over-large Imperial Shuttle's bay....

Zinn lined up a shot at the Imperial who had just wounded him and placed a blaster bolt perfectly into the center chest of the Stormtrooper and dropped him to the deck. He also saw and felt a blaster bolt zip down from up on the catwalk and glance off his appropriated armor; which this time did its job and kept him from harm. Glancing up; he saw the two Imperial Stormtroopers; one aiming his way and another out towards the other side of the hangar bay where Gavin and the Verpine and other Rebel prisoners had run towards. He also caught the sight of black uniformed Imperial pilots beginning to climb up the ladders towards the catwalk which led to the quartet of TIE fighters...

On board the Out Runner La'Reth raced into the cockpit and quickly engaged the start-up for the main engines and the light Freighter began to hum to life as power raced through its circuits. Glancing over at its weapons systems readout; he saw that the Freighter only carried the Twin Laser Turret mounted on the belly of the ship; which had a turret station in the Cargo Bay; or could be controlled from the Cockpit but at much less accuracy*. He also knew that this weapon wasn't intended for Anti-personnel work; but rather for taking out Fighters or other Light Freighters and vessels and was powerful enough to do SERIOUS damage in an enclosed Hangar Bay like this....such as possibly blowing out the magnetic screen generators which kept the atmosphere inside the base from the vacuum of space**....


*The Turret can be fired from the Cockpit with no modifier to the Gunnery skill of whoever is firing it (i.e. the MECH Attribute Score if the character has no Gunnery skill (which La'Reth doesn't; leaving it at 2D for MECH 2D).....if fired from the turret station (in the Cargo Bay); you get to add the Fire Control Code of +2 to the Gunnery skill (So La'Reth would have 2D+2 in this case)

**The twin Laser Cannon has a Damage code of 5D; which translated against personnel targets is 9D. However; any missed shots could blow huge holes in the Bay and the wiring in the walls; which might impact things like the Magnetic Scree....or the Artificial Gravity; etc. Just wanted to let you know!

[angelicdoctor]

La'Reth examining his options, decides that perhaps the best course is to cause further confusion amongst the Imperials. He fires up the repulsorlift engines and slowly begins to lift the Out Runner, positioning it just under the catwalk and the stormtroopers currently engaging in the fire fight with his friends. He makes contact with the catwalk causing the metal to twist and give way for the light freighter.

Does the ship have an external intercom system?

[GreyWolfVT]

Gavin will sneak to where he thinks he saw LT Pollard dash off too for cover and try to blast him.

[Jedi Skyler]

As Zinn lines up a shot and fires at the Imperial above him who had so recently just tried to punch a hole through his sometimes-working, sometimes-not armor, he activates his comlink, hollering out so everyone in earshot (or without a comlink) can hear as well as those who have a comlink on and active. "Get those pilots!!! They're going for the TIEs; we can't let 'em take off!!!"

[kipper]

Clark fires point-blank at the wounded trooper.

[max_vale]

The firefight in the hangar abruptly rose to a crescendo as La'Reth fired up the engines of the Out Runner; and the sounds echoed off the walls of the asteroid base, ringing in everyone's ears....

Professor Clark fired a point-blank shot at wounded Stormtrooper who had just punched him and ended the threat posed by the Imperial and then quickly hit the deck as a somewhat unstable Out Runner rose up off the deck; with the boarding ramp still down and it began to move in his direction; towards the control tower....

Gavin Storm had rushed across the Hangar Bay and found himself perpendicular to LT Pollard; who noticed him and quickly spun around and cut loose with his Heavy Blaster Pistol which grazed the Rebel's side; but the shot didn't pierce the armored clothing the Rebel Agent had donned. Gavin's return shot caught the double-agent full in the chest and Pollard fell back and down; ending up slumped over the crate he had taken cover behind and not moving. Storm kept his blaster trained on him as Farrak and the Verpine prisoners rushed by behind him; moving up the cargo ramp onto the over-sized Imperial shuttle. Farrak calls out to Gavin; "I'm gonna fly this thing outta here; you coming with us?"...

Zinn lined up a shot on one of the two Imperial Stormtroopers firing down on them from the cat-walks and smiled grimly when he saw his Blaster bolt hit the Imperial and drop him to the Hangar floor some 20 meters below. He then quickly did a double-take as he saw the wobbly Rebel Light Freighter coming his way and he just managed to dive out of the way as the ship staggered by and slammed into the supporting beams holding up the catwalk; causing the metal to rend with a terrible grating sound and send the last Imperial Stormtrooper on top to come falling to his demise below. The Rebel Pilot DID notice however that the black flight-suited Imperial Pilots had made it to the TIE Fighters and were beginning to power up the Ion-engined fighters....

Borsk La'Reth had made it to the cockpit and powered up the engine; making a mental note of the inert R2 Droid with a burned hole in its middle with tell-tale scorch marks from a blaster bolt on the edges of the damage; lying on its side in the small cockpit area. He didn't concentrate on that however; instead shakily managing to lift the ship off of its still locked-down landing gear and moving it towards and then INTO the catwalk supporting beams close to the Control Tower; taking a grim satisfaction in watching one of the Stormtroopers come plummeting down to the Hangar floor and landing with a slight bounce. He then set the ship down again and noticed through the cockpit transparisteel that the Mon Calamari prisoner was leading the dozen or more Verpine prisoners onto the large Imperial Shuttle with Gavin Standing nearby. He couldn't see Clark or Zinn; but he DID notice the button for engaging the P.A. speakers on the on the outer hull of the ship...

[GreyWolfVT]

Gavin runs along following Farrak to the shuttle "Absolutely I've had my fill of this place." is his return reply to Farrak.

[Jedi Skyler]

"Thanks for the help...but BE CAREFUL WITH MY BLOODY SHIP!!!" Zinn hollers as he dives for cover.

Hitting the toggle for his comlink, Zinn called to his teammates. "There are Imp pilots firing up those TIE fighters; we gotta blow 'em up before they launch!"

In order to match deed to word, Zinn looks to see if any of the Imp heavy repeaters are close by and serviceable; if so, he'll take aim and start firing on the TIE fighters.

[kipper]

Hitting the toggle for his comlink, Zinn called to his teammates. "There are Imp pilots firing up those TIE fighters; we gotta blow 'em up before they launch!"

"No time for that now!" Clark admonishes Zinn through the comlink. "We can take care of that once we're in the air. Clock's ticking!"

Clark heads for the nearest/best way out of here. If he can make it onto the Out Runner's nearby boarding ramp, he will do so. Otherwise he'll head for the shuttle.

[Jedi Skyler]

Knowing they can't leave the prototypes behind, Zinn starts heading for the B-wing that hasn't been loaded. He keys his comlink again. "Repeater is out of commission; we're gonna have to face the TIEs when we hit vacuum, unless you can hit 'em with the cannons on the Out Runner. I'm gonna take the B-wing they didn't get loaded so we don't have to scrap it. Have Banshee give you a hand if you need help flying the ship."

With that, Zinn gets into the prototype fighter, straps in, and does the fastest pre-flight he can while familiarizing himself with the controls.

[angelicdoctor]

Borsk, quite pleased with himself at this success with navigating the ship at least resulting in the chaos he had hoped, turns his focus on the loud speaker. His blue-black fur betrays his excitement, however, as it ripples up and down his spine he nearly shouts into the microphone, "Get those prisoners on board and fast! I'm gonna blast us outta here!" Shifting his focus to the laser cannon controls, the alien force user slips on the head harness of the ship's targeting computer and will line up a shot with the cargo bays' shield generator.

[max_vale]

With barely over three minutes remaining until the explosives go off; the four members of the Rebel band make their way onto 3 different ships....

Clark, wincing at the loudness of Borsk La'Reth's announcement over the external audio system; bounds up the landing ramp of the Out Runner and slams on the button to raise it up as he races aboard. With the ramp up; he moves into the cockpit and notices that La'Reth is shakily turning the light freighter around to face the magnetic screen and space. Through the cockpit glass and sensor screen read-outs he sees that Zinn has climbed aboard the unloaded B-Wing and closed the cockpit and the landing ramp for the over-sized Imperial shuttle is closing and with no signs of any Verpine prisoners still in the bay; nor any signs of Gavin Storm; the Professor assumes he has boarded the Shuttle as well. He noticed the fallen-over R2 unit with a blaster hole in its center and he quickly moves the Droid out of the way and takes the co-pilot's seat as Borsk suddenly opens up with the Twin Laser Turret mounted on the Out Runner's belly and with very poor aim; his shots slam into the walls of the hangar and barely miss the Imperial Shuttle. He also notices the quartet of TIE fighters dropping from the launch rack and accelerating out into space....

Gavin Storm runs up the ramp into the cargo-hold of the Imperial Shuttle and presses the button to raise the ramp as up at the front of the cargo-hold; the Mon Calamari Farrak presses a different button which causes a bench which runs almost the length of the hold to pop out of a recessed compartment in the hull and which is long enough to easily seat 25 people. The weary and frightened Verpine prisoners plop down onto the bench; and one of them waves his antennae at Gavin and he realizes it is Suskafoo. "I am very glad you are still alive hive-mate Storm"; the young alien cheerfully calls out. Before Gavin can respond; the Mon Calamari Farrak has moved through a short tunnel and opened up the hatch to the cockpit. Farrak's voice with a tone of confusion and fear calls back a minute later....."Ahh....Storm was it? Do you mind coming here for a moment?"

Gavin moves up into the cockpit and sees the strange sight of a human male wearing the Imperial coverall uniform of a JR LT (Junior Lieutenant) assigned to the Engineering branch of the Imperial Navy; handing a Blaster pistol over to Farak while a pair of Imperial pilots lay motionless in their chairs. Farak looks over and says; "He stunned the two pilots and then starts to hand me the blaster while claiming he's an Alliance Agent on a deep-cover mission." The human male looks over at Gavin and says; "I'm not claiming this; I'm TELLING you this....it's the truth. When I saw you guys making a move to take the prototypes and free the poor Verpine prisoners; I figured it was a good chance to get out of here and help you guys out. I can confirm my story when we're back with an Alliance ship or at a base. If you don't trust me; here's my Blaster. By the way, the name's Jackson Crowdoski" Gavin takes the weapon while looking hard at the man and occasionally glancing over at Farak. "Look, we don't have much time; this base is about to be blown apart. We've got to get the hell outta here, now. Farak, can you fly this thing?", he asks the Mon Calamari. "Yeah; but I'm gonna need at least one of you to man the Shields and Weapons on this thing. That TIE flight just took off and I don't think they're gonna just let us fly out of here with out a fight." "Right....what kind of weapons is this thing packing?" Jackson replies with; "Four medium lasers fire-linked in the forward arc and two twin laser turrets mounted on the port and starboard upper hull." As Gavin tries to determine exactly what to do; Farak powers up the engine and slowly moves the ship out of the hangar bay and into space. As he does so; a pair of laser bolts flash out from the belly turret of the Out Runner and narrowly miss the Imperial Shuttle before blowing huge gouges out of the Hangar Bay's walls. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING?"; Farak asks in a panicked voice....

Zinn Valimar; after realizing that the Heavy Repeat Blaster was in need of serious repair; looked up at the sound of the Twin Ion Engines powering up and saw the 4 Imperial Fighters roar off into space. Jumping into the cockpit of the B-Wing prototype with a curse; he quickly closed the Cockpit and noticed both the Out Runner and the Imperial Shuttle begin to depart the bay into space. Looking over the extremely complex controls; he missed the sight of the Rebel Freighter taking a poorly-aimed shot INSIDE the hangar bay that narrowly missed the over-sized shuttle...

The B-Wing was essentially a cockpit which rotated around a long, narrow body frame, with the idea of keeping the pilot always stabilized and better able to concentrate on his primary mission; which based on the fighter's weaponry; was to BLOW THE HELL OUT OF ENEMY SHIPS. With an impressive arsenal of weapons including a trio of Medium Ion Cannons; twin Blaster Cannons in the nose of the cockpit; a launcher bay with two Proton Torpedo tubes and a central magazine of 12 torpedoes that either tube could fire; and a Heavy Assault laser cannon which came in just barely under the power of a Turbo-laser; the B-Wing packed more firepower in a small frame than anything Zinn had ever even heard of. In addition; there was an astounding fire-control system that utilized a laser tracking system which would GREATLY help with making sure anything fired from the B-Wing hit its target....though at the price of giving the target a great help in pin-pointing the B-Wing targeting it and making it easier to fire at in return.

If the computer monitors were to be believed; the fighter also had impressive Deflector Shield power. This all came at the expense of speed and maneuverability; as Zinn could quickly tell that the B-Wings speed and agility were more along the lines of a Shuttle or Light Freighter than advanced fighters like X- or Y-Wings. Also, while it was equipped with a Hyperdrive system; it only had the ability to carry a pair of per-plotted jump coordinates and it lacked a Droid socket for on-board repairs. Still; it was FAR better than nothing....

Vallimar took off; locked the S-Foils in attack position and moved the Fighter off of the Shantipole base and into space....

[crazy ski 1701]

Jackson simply turns, then slides into the co-pilot seat with the ease of a experienced pilot. "I have the bird Mr Calamari" he declares with confidence. "I'm a better then average pilot, gunner, and fully qualified in this model. the Mass and Balance will be off with that dead bantha strapped to our belly. so unless your some sort of pilot savant, i hope you don't mind flying 2nd stick." To counter, the Mon Calamari powers up the repulsers, pivots the shuttle on its vertical axis, pointing it out into space. "then again, not bad..." he gives the Mon Cal a approving nod. "you have the bird."

ducking with a wince as the Hawks blaster bolts cut across the canopy. "HEY" he looks over his shoulder at the scruffy looking human, "Mr, Storm, was it? stop pointing that Damn weapon at me, and do something useful like telling your friends to stop shooting at US!" "activating shields to standard," declaring in a excited tone as hes hand fly's across the center panel controls. "unless your a gunner..." looking back over at Storm again, i can take the gunnery station. If you are, ill stay right here."

a big smile roles across his face... "i haven't had this much fun in years.... wish i had my music player plugged into the intercom..." he chuckles. as the Mon Cal gooses the throttles forward, taking them out, with the rumble of the hull, as the main drives reverberate in their housings. Jackson he starts to hum some tune, just like he did back in hes race days.

(OOC... my first post, YAY! )

[angelicdoctor]

Hang on, professor. I have been graced with many gifts and not one of them relate to piloting a freighter out of space dock. May the living Force be my guide!

[GreyWolfVT]

Gavin "Eh? oh? what? Sorry. Yes Storm but Gavin will do nicely." putting the guns aside looking around "More or less I'm a jack of all master of none. As I look at it. Gunner I can do for you. You stay there and I'll deal with the weaponry." Gavin goes to man the guns on the ship. Then tries to get on the same comm frequency as his friends in the other two ships. "Guys it's Gavin Stop shootin at us! Fire back at any one trying to follow us from the base damn it!"

[Jedi Skyler]

Zinn takes a moment while the engines are spooling up to take one of the medpacs out of its pouch on his utility belt, administering the meds contained therein to help bring his wound under control. After he's finished seeing to that, he allows a feral grin to cross his face as he guides the B-wing out of the hangar bay. Keying the comlink to the team's frequency, he says, "This thing is a real beaut, guys. You've just gotten yourselves a SERIOUS escort. Let's blow this system, shall we?"

As he exits the hangar, Zinn activates the targeting computer, tagging his allied ships as friendlies, and waiting to see what else the computer designates on his screen.

[kipper]

Hang on, professor. I have been graced with many gifts and not one of them relate to piloting a freighter out of space dock. May the living Force be my guide!

"Hey, you know at least as much as I do about flying!" Clark replies. "If we get out of this in one piece, I'd call it a success."