“The Concordia is sitting in the Sallera system. Preliminary reports and scans show that life support and power are still operational. No life forms can be detected either. It is presumed that all hands aboard are dead. Your task is to recover the jump data and any intel on what happened before the Concordia went missing. Additionally, the Shroud Slicing Suite is still on board, and recovering it is a high priority after you accomplish your mission, destroy the ship and, return in the Rim Runner. Any questions?” Shooter stated to the assembled team.
Korvis watched from behind him as he gave the mission briefing. Now he walked up to the table. He wouldn’t be joining the team on this operation but would be observing. Any intel they could get on the disappearance of the missing ships would be invaluable.
Galvan Starfist was a man short in stature but a man who stood tall when he saw the extensive work he had done on the Basilisk. He was brought to the Brotherhood by Juda Graves, not because he was a proficient combatant, though he was. There was more to the man packed in a four foot frame. He was a tinkerer, an artisan, a craftsman. His fingerprints had been left on the finest armors and weapons of Vizsla’s warriors and his inventions have made easy tasks automated and difficult tasks easier. So when the call came through, Juda could think of no better man to assess the damages on a vessel than Starfist.
The bearded prodigy grumbled as he took a swig of Gangoon Rye from his flask. The shuttle in front of him ran through boarding and take-off procedures while he grabbed his gear.
“Time ta go, Mak” he spoke to the MK-Series maintenence droid wheeling up behind him.
Mak rattled off a series of binary chirps and whistles that made Galvan chuckle.
“That’s right, another adventure. I hear the Sellara System is a nice place.” he added with a mocking tone. “Wonder who else they suckered into this mission.”
“I’ve a question if you have a moment.” Hector Von Ricmore proclaimed. The 6 ft 7 Sephi was a sight to see, appearing even taller in his heavy Mandalorian armor. “Has the Rim Runner been modified with any countermeasures against the Shroud Slicing computer? If not, that should be our utmost priority. It would be foolish to chase a ship which could easily disable us from afar and escape once again.”
The Consul of Vizsla and Shooter exchanged a look as if trying to read each other’s thoughts before Korvis gave an affirmative nod towards the spymaster.
“We didn’t really want this information out there. We built a failsafe into the slicing suite to help prevent it from being used against us. It isn’t foolproof but will take much longer to slice into one of our own ships. This should allow you to dock and get onboard.” Came the reply from shooter.
“Obviously once you get into the system docking is an immediate priority. Board as quickly as you can. In your testing we found no way to prevent the slicing suite from getting through, all we could do was delay it.”
“wonder who else they suckered into this mission. ”, Aeternus heard next to him. “That would be me.”, he answered. “just in case anything will need to be messed up.”
That was in fact the reason he was requested to go on this operation: his combat prowess. Barely able to fly a shuttle, but quite capable to take down nearly anything in combat.
“Aeternus, we haven’t seen you for months and now we are on two missions back to back.” Kanal chuckled at the irony. “Good to have you back though.”
Kanal sat at the briefing table, completely expecting to be the pilot on this mission to get everyone to the Concordia.
The Sith turned to kanal with a slight grin. “I am not about to let myself get rusty. I consider it good training.”
“Training is good, but money is better. In this mission we will get infiltration training and that is about it.”
Vailhanz after returning to his home in the Vizsla clan and having adapted to life in the clan again he is ready for this mission.
then Vailhanz puts on his armor and wraps around whit his cape and Vailhanz says
“I’m ready to go, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Someone say Money?” Chrome asked, knowing full well he walked in at the right time
He shot a look to Kanal, giving him a nod. The two soldiers had definitely made a lot of money together so even the mere mention of a few extra credits sounded fun.
After the nod, Chrome tried to discern what Kanal was thinking. “My turn to fly, right?”, he added after sitting down.
Galvan ruffled his mustache as he surveyed the boarding party.
“I don’t care how I get there as long as we get there in one piece.” He barked, stamping the pommel of his powerhammer against the flooring. He was ready to go but was curious as to the preparedness of his team.
“Oh and Vailhanz,” Starfist grunted, snaking his cybernetic hand around to his back. “Juda wanted me to give this to you. Fresh outta the forge.”
A glint of light sparkled off of the polished blade of a vibrodagger.
“Don’t go cuttin’ anything off, now. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Kanal walked over to the newest recruit in Vizsla and grabbed the vibrodagger out of the scabbard. Before he could object Kanal was spinning it around to test its durability and balance.
He handed the dagger back, “it is a very well balanced weapon. Remember to stick the enemy with the pointy end.”
With a frown, aeternus observed what seemed to be an assertion of dominance. Suppressing a chuckle, he just made a statement.
“are we ready to go?”
“If there is nothing else… pressing, you best be on your way. You should find the Rim Runner adequately supplied and the crew is ready for departure.” McGavin said with a bit of annoyance.
Galvan hoisted his engineering backpack onto his shoulder and as the boarding ramp lowered, he and his droid boarded.
Vailhanz takes his vibrodagger back and looks at Kanal
“Leave it to me… I know very well how to use this”
“You take the helm this time, Kanal,” Chrome said while boarding.
He shot another look over and grinned, “I’ll sit nearby and take over when you get scared.”
“If you two can not decide who will take the helm, then I will.”, Aeternus interjected, completely deadpan. He was very much aware of his lack of reputation as a pilot, and headed around the corner before they could answer.
“Let’s not be hasty now.” Von called as he boarded the ship, a small crate held in his hands. “The Rim Runner has a capable crew that will get us to our destination. In the mean time we should come up with a plan. I brought some things from my ship that should help. If we decide to breach the ship from the exterior I’ve got several space suits for anyone who needs. I’ve also brought 2 fragmentation grenades and a flash bang for those with the skills to use them.”
“I would suggest that we use the suits and board the Starhawk at its bridge. From there we can reacquire the Slicing computer. We could then fight our way to engineering where we can arrange the destruction of the vessel.”
“That sounds good to me. Just get me on that starhawk.”
As the last of the team filed up the landing ramp the ground crew finished the refueling operation. The startup procedure was initiated and the Rim Runner powered to life ready to carry the members of the boarding party to their location. Clearance was given by the tower and as Korvis and Shooter watched the Rim Runner took flight and was soon entering the upper atmosphere of Daemunn.
After entering the space outside of Daemunn, the crew strapped themselves in or simply held on tight as the Rum Runner powered up. The navcomputer spit out coordinates and like a bullet, the vessel accelerated in the blink of an eye. Their next stop?
The Sellara System.
As the trip was not expected to take too long, Aeternus simply sat down in the crew compartment. there was some commotion going on as the ship entered hyperspace. the Sith simply closed his eyes in a chair, taking as much rest as possible before going into a potential battle.
“We will be exiting hyperspace soon.” the intercom announced. “Boarding procedures will begin shortly after.”
“Here’s where the fun begins.”
The Rim Runner exited the blue swirl of hyperspace and returned to normal space as the star lines turned back into little dots in the sky. As Kanal looked out the front viewport he could see the Concordia sitting right there.
“Captain, we need to dock immediately. Get to it!” Kanal ordered quickly.
The minions onboard the ship worked quickly to move the Rim Runner into docking position.
Making his way to the airdock, Aeternus did a last check on his gear. Even though he knew everything was as it should be, he had made it a habbit to check, and check again.
Others had made it to the dock already. “Time to suit up?”
“Let’s get on with it!” Galvan barked as he took another swig from his flask, “I ain’t gettin’ any younger.”
Hissing filled the hold as the Rumrunner began its docking procedures, the engines lowered to a moan.