RPlog:Retribution - A Risky Plan for the Orphans

Message from Aramis Tyrese  (Plain text message on the internal communications system.)

General Skywalker;

I don't know if you remember me - I piloted a speeder for you down on Coruscant when you and your apprrr11010 $$#0 g L 556 $#% 54 o me mmmmportant artifacts or something the other day. That's not so important as some advvv 545 gag 59 %@$H %% & ^ kids in Winnn %%646 overnment buil444

Most important, though, if things go south for us, I hate that those kids might get 558 $$$ #% !)^ ing you, in case you might have an idea what to do. My apologies if this is wasting your time, sir, and thank you for reading this.

2nd. Flt. Off. Aramis Tyrese

  Bracing one hand on the back of the nearest chair, Captain Caiton listens to the bevy of alert tones and sounds and sensor warnings even as the Tactical Officer calls out the incoming fire warning. The ship itself shudders as the NRSD Fusillade fires, the shields taking the brunt of the hit, weakening the defenses on that side. "All units," Caiton calls via comm, "fall back to the rally point," she keys in the coordinates for the Malevolence, "I repeat: fall back, initial mission accomplished." With that order to fall back, Caiton anxiously watches as the fighter squadrons scramble to obey orders. Wolf escorts Black Squadron into the bay while Inrokana escorts War Shrike as well. With several damaged fighters in both Viper and Basilisk, the Pillager and Prowler hold station long enough to retrieve all deployed assets before maneuvering around to the relative safety of the Malevolence. With all units recalled and the Prowler and Pillager set to standard recon and security detail, the Broadsword has taken the time to make the necessary repairs to her shields and replenish the weapons available on both ship and fighters. While in the shadow of the Malevolence the Broadsword and her crew continues to monitor all traffic in the Coruscant area, with the standing orders being followed regardless of which officer is on the watch. Taking her turn at the bridge after a few hours of sleep - or what passes for sleep - Captain Caiton offers a crisp salute to her bridge crew before reaching for the updated sensor log and the most recent reports offered from the task force.

Keline continues to bank the ship as the NRSD fires upon them, the shields being impacted but taking the hit, before she turns their weakened side away and moves the ship away from the battle toward the Super Star Destroyer Malevolence, as per her captain's orders.

 Following the reception of a garbled message from 2FO Aramis Tyrese, Luke Skywalker had taken a few moments to make sure that blasted starboard stabilizer would stay in place this time, before prepping Jedi One for a trip to the Reprisal. Pulling his flight gear over the Jedi attire, Luke seats himself in the cockpit and closes his eyes, drawing on the Force to bring him clairvoyance on the situation above. After nearly an hour, he is prompted to go. With the Imperial forces withdrawing to the relative safety of the Malevolence, it will be the Force that allows the Jedi to thread the needle and make it to the Reprisal. Up into the atmosphere soars the X-Wing, carefully evading Imperial patrols in the sky. When she breaks into space, the Jedi Master leaves the s-foils in their closed position, routing all power to his engines. "Artoo, make sure I don't have a burn out," he instructs, as the X-Wing burns at record-breaking speeds toward the Reprisal. They will see him; it's only a matter of time before he has to take more defensive measures.

 Keline maintains the Broadsword’s position near the SSD Malevolence, it's form a rather comforting sight from the Imperials, as she stares at her screen at the image of the wrecked Golan Defense Station they battled with last night. Suddenly the computer blips as the sensors pick up something moving a good deal faster then it probably should, away from the Reprisal. She tries to focus the image as she speaks. "Captain, a small ship has left the planet and is moving toward the Reprisal at high speed. I can't quite make it out yet...

Captain Caiton straightens ever so slightly, drawing up to her full height before reviewing the sensor details. "Open a hailing frequency to that ship," she orders calmly before addressing the ship in question, pulling up a sensor scan of the ship and continuing. "The planet Coruscant is currently under Imperial Blockade courtesy of Taskforce Hammer. All ships leaving the surface are encouraged to return and do something else for the time being. Should you continue in your course we offer you two other options. Accept the hospitality of the Broadsword or be fired upon. Choose wisely," she adds.

 Jedi One continues its race toward the Reprisal, visible on the sensor scan but nothing more than a tiny dot in space ahead of him. Battles rage in the distance, with barely recognizable flares of blue, green, and red turbolaser fire. Rolling his head to the side, Luke engages the open frequency and speaks a simple message in response. "I am well aware of the blockade, Captain Caiton. Any starfighters you send to intercept me will be destroyed. This is your first and only warning. Skywalker out." With that, he cuts the frequency and locks it in on the NRSD Reprisal's tactical bandwidth. "Reprisal, this is Jedi One. Get me an emergency landing clearance. I promise I won't scratch the hull this time." R2-D2 chirps happily, and Luke glances at the screen, grinning. "I know, Artoo. Start the procedure in approximately... six point four seconds."

 Keline is, well, somewhat surprised to hear that it's the darling boy of the NR floating their rules at them. She squints at the image, her artificial eye dilating slightly, before she sits back and looks up at Lynae. "Magnification is at maximum, Captain, and the ship is still too small to see. Orders, ma'am?

Captain Caiton takes a mere moment to consider the options then replies, calmly, "Then we'll just have to move closer," she orders. "Bring us to -135 -70 -194," she says to Nelhrn before opening a channel to Prowler and Pillager, "On my mark, escort us to -135 -70 -194, have your squadrons scramble for engagement of enemy assets. We are taking point on target SF-4462, target identified as Jedi One, Luke Skywalker. All units fire once target is acquired." She glances around slowly at her bridge crew, seeing the look of eagerness that no amount of professionalism can conceal before replying to Skywalker directly, "It will not be the starfighters that you dance with today, Skywalker. Today I am your dance partner. Tell me, did that lovely little winged creature of yours deliver my message to that doctor friend... " She pauses as though searching for the name, then says it with such care, "Brandis Finian? Or am I going to have to find another messenger?"

 Calmly, Luke glances toward the comm console as Lynae taunts his response. Instead, he reaches over and toggles that frequency to drop its amplification volume in half. As the Reprisal grows in the distance, Luke's eyes remain set on it, as the astro-droid jacked in behind him activates the procedure requested. The engines drop to half power, the s-foils expand and lock in attack formation, and the shields come online, double front. "Great job, artoo. Route power evenly between engines and weapons." The Force guides his actions, and the starfighter begins banking ever so slightly to port, prepared for the first maneuver. He can sense it coming... he can feel the danger that's imminent, but he has confidence, for as he sinks into the Force, it tells him exactly what to expect. A smile spreads across his face. "Here's where the fun begins," he murmurs to himself.

 "Bridge to Jedi One. We are clearing you for landing in the Fighter Bay. Fire crews are standing by." The comms officer casts a look up at the shift commander and opens the intercom to the fighter bay. "Fighter Bay, clear Jedi One for emergency landing. Fire up the tractor beams, in case." Oh, boy. The officer winces at the name coming up on the display for the maintenance and repair team. Lt. L. Blackledge. Again. This should be good. When the green light comes, moments later, he opens the channel to Luke again. "Jedi One, you're clear whenever you're ready."

 Keline enters the coordinates Lynae gave her on her nav console, a window opening appear on her screen that displays a representation of the system, and the course from where they are to the coordinates Lynae specified. That done she turns around and looks up at her captain. "Coordinates entered, Captain, and awaiting orders.

"Engage," Captain Caiton orders, seeing the Prowler and Pillager already forming on in escort vectors, begriming to turn towards the relayed coordinates and moving towards the Reprisal and the tiny dot that indicates the flight path of Jedi One. "War Shrike," she orders via ships intercom, "prepare to disembark for a formal dance," knowing that War Shrike lead will see the humor in her comment and the seriousness all at the same time. Seeing that Skywalker has decided to continue on his course she smiles, a slow smile that spreads and transforms her face into an expression that can be attractive yet scary at the same time. "I love this job," she breathes. "As soon as you have a firing solution, I want forward weapons to shoot that target."

 "Patience, young Skywalker." The voice of Yoda echoes in Luke's mind, and he knows it is more than a mere voice. The Jedi Master was one with the Force, and as Luke sinks deeper, even in the space above Coruscant, he could commune with his old, green friend. "Trust your instincts." His instincts tell him to act. Mere moments before the Broadsword's tactical officer can find a firing solution, the X-Wing throws itself into a dive, twisting about on its X-axis as it goes, then pulls into a wide arc, dropping speed, before altering course again and blasting at maximum power. The firing computers aboard the Broadsword will have one hell of a time tracking the maneuvers of a Jedi Master, especially as the Force keys him in on exactly when to move. "Reprisal," he says, leaving no trace in his voice that the ridiculous stunt show has taken anything out of him. "Call in capital reinforcements. They might try to use this as an engagement protocol." Another jink to the side, and R2-D2 screams with terror. "Oh, shut up, Artoo, you know she can handle it."

 "Reprisal to Fusillade. Requesting deployment of Corvettes Harrow and Hydra as well as Carracks Redstar and Jack Cade. Hold your line until further notice." "Fusillade to Reprisal, reinforcements enroute." Two gunships and two carracks move off of the line once held by Palliata Station to intervene as Fusillade fires up her engines to back them up as needed.

 Keline activates the ship's engines, causing it to move forward slowly, and then with more speed as it follows both of its picket ships toward the coordinates Lynae gave her. As the ship moves she begins plotting the firing solution, targeting Luke's much smaller X-Wing, as the forward weapons begin to turn to lead the target, but as anticipated are having trouble locking on. "The firing computer is having difficulty looking onto the X-Wing, Captain."

Captain Caiton chuckles softly, a low sound of wry amusement as she replies, "I don't believe I've ever seen a rebel ship run so fast for the relative safety of the Reprisal." She opens the link between ships and calls the Pillager and Prowler back to station, "Break off attack," she orders calmly. "Mission accomplished. " She opens a channel next to broadcast towards the Reprisal and the rebel fleet. "This is Captain Caiton of the ISC Broadsword. Let me make myself clear. I have issued standing orders regarding all ship traffic within the blockade zone and the three options I present are this: Stay on the planet, do something else instead of lifting off and making a run for it. Option two: accept the hospitality of the Broadsword and our delightful sous chefs. Or three, be fired upon. Choose wisely." She pauses for a moment then continues speaking, after all, personal motives are so much fun. "And since we're relying on professional courtesy, would the captain of the Reprisal be so kind as to identify himself?" she leaves the comm open for that to be done.

 Skywalker keys the comm to life, bringing the open channel back on once more. "This is Skywalker," he says, his voice dry and patient. "Your idea of professional courtesy is nothing more than overconfidence. This is war, Caiton. Treat it as such and leave the idle chatter to the dinner table." He immediately cuts the channel, and cues in the Reprisal. "Do not respond, Reprisal. I repeat, do not respond to the Broadsword's open hails." He reaches over then and presses a button that causes the s-foils to close. Another fancy maneuver gets him back on course, burning for the Reprisal at max speed.

 The Reprisal keeps her station, awaiting the arrival of the X-Wing, while in the hangar crash nets are being hung. Somebody really did not want her hangar floor to be torn open again. As the request comes over, then the order of the General, the acting Commander just peers over to the gunnery crews, waiting for the thumbs up to signal the Concussion missiles have a lock on. Just a bit closer. Put, put, put, Broadsword....

Starfighter Hangar -- Deck 15 -- NRSD Reprisal A smaller hangar than the main bay, this chamber houses the Reprisal's complement of starfighters. Several New Republic Marines guard the important caches of craft weaponry used on the ships. Two vast blast doors provide the entrance to the hangar- one bearing the Republic phoenix, the other bearing that of the former Alliance. => Lianna => Aramis => Johmac

Crash webbing, emergency fire crews, medevac teams, support technicians. All unnecessary. In space, what could have turned into a fiery collision of Imperial fighters against a lone X-Wing was stalemated; a combination of an Imperial Commander's haughtiness, and the Force-led skill of a Jedi Master. Skywalker's X-Wing comes in for an easy, graceful landing, the canopy opening as it touches down. "Artoo, run a full diagnostic and give it to the crew chief. We pushed her pretty hard out there." He swings his legs over and drops to the floor, using the Force to buffer his landing, and pulls the helmet from his head with a breath of fresh air.

Aramis, cleaning up his own craft, hops over a sullen fire control droid now that the emergency is over. The thing squawks dejectedly and Aramis turns to look at it. "That's just morbid, man," he says, shaking his head. He shoos a cleaning unit away from Falcon 2 when he gets there; the little unit had taken advantage of the confusion to start scrubbing a bit of scoring of the A-Wing. "Hey. Hey. I can do this myself," Aramis protests. Grabbing the toweling he'd been using, he starts rubbing away the suds. "Tsk. Those brushes are too harsh."

R2-D2 beeps and chirps as he obeys Luke's command, and soon, the Jedi Master is joined by one of the deck hands. "Can you point me toward Second Flight Officer Aramis Tyrese?" Within moments, Luke is walking on over toward Falcon 2, observing the A-Wing with a look of respect, until he catches sight of the familiar pilot. "Hey, Tyrese. I got your message down on Coruscant, but it was garbled and I couldn't make out all of it."

Aramis looks over his shoulder, then jumps down from his A-Wing, drying off his hands. "Sir." He salutes, more by way of a genuinely respectful greeting than worrying about huge gap between their ranks. "I didn't want to bother you too much, but..." He stops and glares at the cleaning droid inching toward his A-Wing again. "I see that, Scratchy." The droid beeps dejectedly and rolls to a halt. "...but I was just. Well, over in that government building down by Raider, they've got a handful of kids. Ones that don't have their parents. And, well, things aren't looking too good in that area and the Minister in charge up and quit. See?" Aramis looks a little sheepish and uncomfortable now, eyeing Luke uncertainly.

A look of clarity comes over Skywalker's face, and soon it brings in a clouded, darkened frown. "Oh, no," he murmurs quietly. "Do you know which Minister they're under, or which wing they were kept in?" he asks, squinting his eyes.

"It didn't get hit, did it?" Aramis goes a little gray under his usually dark skin, becoming agitated at the notion. "It's Wing C, sir, I was there just the other day. They're good kids, and no personal disrespect meant to anyone, I think its crap that they're left there. The guy I talked to wouldn't let me in or anything, but he said they've got no civilian leadership, but they have protocols to follow still. Sir, if they got hit and evac'd... it'd be like shooting them outright. Where are they gonna go?"

"Orphans." Skywalker tilts his head down a bit. "I know of the children in Wing C. A few of them were gifted ones studying at the Basilica along with the Force Sensitive younglings, before it was evacuated during the Cochran crisis." Concern is etched over his face, for those who were there, he knew them personally. There are a few moments of intense thought, when suddenly, an idea strikes him. "Tyrese... you have standing orders with the 22nd, right?"

"Yes sir," Aramis says, looking a little more hopeful through his own concern. "Do you think we could do something for them? I know it's a big war on, but that... it feels like that'd be losing on another scale if something happened to those kids on our account." He shuts up promptly, then, looking contrite at his outburst; he's worried and frustrated and not accustomed to either.

Luke nods his head. "Well, I don't want to force you away from your duties with Falcon Squadron, by any means. But there might be something we can do." He turns slightly, beckoning for Aramis to leave his starfighter and walk alongside. "Kyrin and Brandis have been keeping watch over the Jedi artifacts on board Brandis' ship. At some point, very soon, we need to find a way to get those artifacts off this planet. Now... Kyrin is able to pilot the ship, and I've already promised to serve as escort, but there's a possibility we could use his ship to carry some of the children off planet as well." He stops walking, and turns to face Aramis with a motion of his hands. "I mean, it’s risky. The Empire could scan the ship and learn that there are refugees on board, and that could make it either more of, or less of, a target."

Aramis follows along, hands in his pockets, listening. "Sir," he says grimly, turning to face Luke, straightening. "If scanning refugees doesn't make it less of a target in the sky... well, it's not going to make them any safer leaving them on the ground is it? If they're going to kill innocent people for being associated with us, they're going to do it down there, too. Right? Least this way, they're not waiting for the crossfire helplessly. So what do you need me to do?"

Crash nets being taken down, and Emergency crew set on their way, Lianna finally finds time to walk over to Jedi One, giving the craft one last once over and talking briefly with the technician who gets instructed on the status by the rude R2 droid. Only then does she begin to walk over towards Falcon Two and the Jedi Master. Not too fast, as them being in conversation is plain to see and - well - she is not really keen on meeting up with Luke. Why? Well, wasn't it her who got proved wrong on the estimation of Kyrin's demise? Even if it was an estimation, a probability and so she was not really wrong.

Luke lets out a light sigh. "This is going to be difficult," he muses, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "I still have two Jedi unaccounted for down below, and nobody to pilot the Voidstalker, another one of our ships. Plus, I don't think I can handle escorting both the Voidstalker and the Rising Phoenix. On top of this, we can't just try and jump through the Empire's hoops any damned time we'd like. That little stunt I pulled out there today won't work when we're escorting freighters." He takes a calming breath, and looks around to try and free up some of his thoughts. Catching sight of Lianna Blackledge, he nods his head to her in a silent greeting, then looks back toward Aramis. "A coordinated effort might be better. If we can try to sneak the freighters, loaded down with children, through a war zone..."

"We'd have to move, and fast, while there was something else going down, perhaps," Aramis says thoughtfully. He gives Lianna a nod and smile when Luke's nod alerts him to something else. "Sir, what's on the Voidstalker? I could run escort, but Falcon 2 isn't exactly big guns. Maybe I should be piloting something else up here instead, like the Voidstalker. Maybe... maybe even run decoy for the Phoenix." That's a really uncomfortable idea, throwing a ship up in the way to grab attention, but if it helps, well. It is how it is.

Don't you hate it when you join a conversation, and get bits of the conversation, like: Voidstalker and guns, but not in what context? But the whole mood reflects doom and gloom? Yeah. Lianna is barely suppressing a sigh, but before she can turn and run...I mean, turn and walk elsewhere, Luke and Aramis spot her, even nod to her and she can't make an escape undetected, right? So she closes in. "Sir?", she offers to Skywalker, before nodding to Tyrese in greeting.

"That depends on how many children we need to carry," replies Luke. "We'll need to scramble a tech crew down there to retrofit the ships with crash webbing and child restraints, I wouldn't want any of them getting knocked around, and it'll be a guaranteed rough ride." He turns aside to give the Lieutenant a nod of greeting. "Hello, Lianna." Then he looks back to Aramis. "Voidstalker's carrying another member of the Jedi Order, Sabrina Rheatis, who has been locked in a coma for months. She can't be left behind. We might have to use both ships to carry the children, though if you're telling me you could get permission to fly the Voidstalker, I'd take it. We'll still need another pilot or two to run escorts... I'll see if I can't get someone like Wedge to help, but anyone from Rogue Squadron just might attract more attention."

"Ma'am." Aramis greets Lianna respectfully, not a hint of their previous little run-in in his expression or his posture. "If you wanted me there, sir, I'm pretty sure I could get permission." Aramis' frown darkens at the mention of the other Jedi, out of worry and nothing more. "I'll ask my CO if he'll let me go. And I know any of the guys would jump in. We've been fighting our way up and down regularly anyway. What you said about the attention makes sense, though. If they want to have a go at you or Rogue Squadron, maybe it'll work out for us somehow."

There is a bit of confusion at the way the conversation goes between the two, but Lianna is a bright one and soon enough she catches up, waiting for the two to hit a lull in their conversation and then she chimes in. "Civilian evacuation, children and medevacs?", she wonders, before pondering what she would need to get a craft retrofitted for that. The flying, she will leave to the pilots. That is not her expertise and so she won't put her nose in that. As for the earlier run in? Lianna is not letting anything be noticed about that. Nope, she's professional calmness incarnate. Ahem.

"Right," nods Luke. "It might be enough to draw the attention away from the freighters and onto us. Captain Caiton of the Broadsword seemed pretty frell-bent on mocking me over the open channel on my way to the flagship, we could use that mentality in our favor." He smirks. "Besides, the chance to throw a few dirtballs at cocky TIE pilots never hurt anyone." He looks between the both of them, then back to Aramis. "Tyrese, I'm gonna have to put this on your shoulders." He looks at the pilot with the sort of dead-centered expression that suggests the heavy weight behind the operation, and the simple fact that it will require a lot of responsibility. "Do whatever prep work you can, and then either get a team to Coruscant, or find a way to send me a message through the scrambled frequencies. I should get back down to Coruscant while I still can, and make final preparations."

Aramis looks a little surprised but he recovers and nods. "Sir, yes, sir. I'll let you know when I'm down there. I will be down there." He looks resolute. "Thank you for taking this seriously, sir."

Just a slight eyebrow raise at Aramis getting tasked with the operation. Whatever operation it might be, but Lianna is not saying anything. Or questioning it. No, she has the distinct feeling she is - for once - better off NOT knowing. "Sir..." she offers in farewell, before waiting for Luke to head off.