Quote: from admiralducksauce on 1:41 pm on Nov. 23, 2005
The shuttle disabled, the next phase of the operation begins: capturing the Imperial ship before they bring their systems online... or worse, as the expanding cloud that was Tau 2 illustrates.
"Hang in there, Ganet...Mandall." says Dutch, appraising the current situation.
"Head for the wounded shuttle. Those not directly involved in the capture should keep a close eye on any asteroids that get near the operation. Blast 'em to hell if they so much as threaten our immediate space. Everyone else, prepare for boarding actions!"
"They are tough," replies Jorm as he runs a diagnostic on the battered Y-Wing, checks the comm logs to see if the shuttle got off a distress call, and watches the sensors for any signs of approaching ships and/or the shuttle powering back up.
Jorm's sensor sweep doesn't show any sign of incoming reinforcements or any distress calls. The Lambda drifts silently a little further, guarded by the snubfighters, until the Dagger makes it way through the field and tractors the Lambda.
Jorm turns back to his appraisal of the Y-Wing's damage - the starboard engine's out, and won't be coming back until they dock and get it fixed. The hyperdrive, deflectors, and weapons are still online.
The shuttle is completely devoid of power for the moment, unable to even comm for surrender terms. Dutch spots some movement through the shuttle's viewport, however, then sees flashes of light. It's the standard Imperial visual code (like Morse code) - someone onboard is using a hand-held light and spelling out "WE SURRENDER."
Having made sure that the Y-Wing isn't going to blow up catastrophically in the next few minutes, Mandall tunes his Comm to an imperial frequency.
"We've got you folks by the nutsack, but we're the good guys and all, so if you can avoid the sore loser cliche, we ain't gonna squeeze. No shame in being outmatched."
"I doubt they can hear you Mandall. Else the wouldn't be flashing we surrender into the darkness of space. We should probably stay off the Imperial frequency in case someone picks up our transmission and comes to investigate."
As his damage readout comes up, Jorm comms Dutch, "Sir, our starboard engine has been well and truly screwed. All other systems, including hyperdrive appear to be functional. Ganet and I should be able to compensate for the missing engine. On the plus side, since it's a Y-Wing we haven't actually lost much manuverability or speed."
"Huh. Okay, you're the tech guy. All told, though, if you guys have to get out of here, I'll be glad to hold off any reinforcements that come this way."
Calsera cheers as they shut down the Lambda's systems. "Nice shooting, Eritram. Think you can remove and floating rocks from their path until the Dagger gets here?"
Cat will shepherd the prize until Dutch arrives and gets the tractor beam locked on. Afterwards, as the Y-wing is damaged, she'll focus on watching for uninvited guests until they're ready to bug out.
"Looks like another successful mission, eh partner?"
"Alright, watch your back when you get onto the ship anyway. If there's anything I've learned, it's to expect anything when you step onto someone else's ship the first time."
Ganet's been in his share of boarding actions. Not pretty business, but if you need to take a ship whole, it's quite necessary.
Ganet checks his suit pressure and brings the Y-Wing close to the Dagger. Meanwhile, Dutch tractors the lifeless shuttle in for an airlock seal.
A few minutes later, Ganet, Calsera, and Dutch are armed and standing in the airlock. Aurelia's taken cover outside the hatch, but won't be the first wave through.
Ganet holds the knife in his left hand tightly, the blaster in his right loosely, wiggling his fingers on the grip. Waiting an eternity for the ion barrage to stun the Imperials and keep him from taking a blaster bolt. Dutch is taking calm, deep breaths. Calsera's eyes flash with anticipation - is this how she looks in a dogfight, or is this something more primal?
*This is Jorm, ready ions on my mark: 3...2...1...*
The Dagger's lights flicker slightly and then the airlock hatch slides open with a whirr. Ganet's the first through and narrowly avoids tripping over some long crates. He's in a shower of sparks still falling from ionized consoles; he can see silhouettes of a handful of men shrinking back from the ion attack. His glowlamp illuminates the shuttle interior.
Four Imperials. All unarmed. Three cowering with hands raised. They don't have to be told twice when Dutch yells at them to hit the floor. The last one is a black-uniformed naval officer, hands raised but defiant.
"Who are you people? Pirates?" He says this with an arrogant tone for someone staring down a blaster. "Reinforcements are on the way. You kill us and things will not go well for you."
The shuttle's cargo appears to be long, heavy crates - the ionization seems to have shut down their floatation repulsors. Popping one open reveals tighly-packed uniforms, some casual tunics, and some personal items.
The officer crumples against the bridge controls, stunned. Two of the remaining three Imperials seem to come to the conclusion independently that if they're only going to be stunned they're gonna go down swinging. One charges Dutch while another yanks a blaster from underneath the communications panel.
Dutch stands there, gives the guy a "what were you thinking" look, and blasts him - but he doesn't drop right away. The Imperial stumbles but plows into Dutch. The two men go over one of the crates in a tangled mass and land softly in a pile of Imperial uniforms. Dutch has had worse beatings from Jawas (in other words, no damage).
Calsera and Ganet open up on the armed Imperial - Cal's shot hits the comm array, startling the Imperial from his firing position. Ganet takes a split-second longer to fire but is rewarded with a solid hit. The armed Imp sits down on the deck, his legs refusing to work. His shot barely misses Calsera - Aurelia snaps her head back under cover as the errant blast craters the airlock hatch. Theirs aren't set on stun.
There's just something about cowering humans that reminds Calsera of mice. Juicy mice. Boarding the shuttle and finding three people on their knees with their hands raised is almost more than she can bear.
Then Dutch makes the call to shoot people that have already surrendered. Not a choice that Cat considers wise, and it quickly blows up in their face. Shots are exchanged, and she herself is nearly hit! Fortunately, she's quick and manages to avoid the blast.
Cat continues to fire, still on Stun, at any Imperials still offering resistance.
Calsera, Ganet, and the Imperial fire several shots that fly everywhere but their intended targets. Debris and fire cloud the shuttle bridge as Ganet and Cal finally put two stun bolts into their man. He hits the deck with a thump, followed soon after by the remaining Imperial for good measure.
Meanwhile, Dutch and his maniacal assailant roll across the clothing. The Imperial forces Dutch's blaster away as the Vandal slides the setting from "blue" to "red". A kill-bolt arcs to the ceiling, shattering a darkened display. Dutch overbears the man and rolls on top of him. Desperate, the crewman grabs for anything - his hand finds something in the cargo crate and he whips it into Dutch's head. Dutch sees stars and then the crewman's back on top, his knee holding Dutch's blaster on the deck. Dutch, vision blurred, sees his attacker in slow motion, backlit by the gunfight happening all around them. He has a broken trophy in his hand, shattered by their melee - Imperial Flight Academy Spaceball Champions - the berserk crewman buries the jagged splintered trophy in Dutch's stomach through his blast vest.
Dutch grimaces and takes the hit even as his man twists the impromptu shiv. He pulls the Imperial down by his collar, headbutts him, and manages to get his blaster free. Dutch brings his gun around as the crewman grabs his arm, but wedges the blaster under the man's chin. A final blaster shot, then Dutch is rolling the smoking corpse off of him and wondering if he can get all this blood back inside his abdomen...
Quote: from admiralducksauce on 12:02 pm on Dec. 1, 2005
Dutch brings his gun around as the crewman grabs his arm, but wedges the blaster under the man's chin. A final blaster shot, then Dutch is rolling the smoking corpse off of him and wondering if he can get all this blood back inside his abdomen...
"Yeaarrgh! Can't kill an old bird like me." grumbles Dutch, grabbing an Imperial shirt and applying pressure around his bellywound.
After missing her shot yet again, Calsera pauses a moment to shake her head. "This is not happening," she thinks to herself. Finally, the fight ends as Dutch blows the head off the Imp he's rolling on the floor with.
As the smoke clears, Cat takes a moment to examine her blaster. Maybe there's something wrong with it... She wipes a fried whisp of something from the barrel, but doubts that it could have been the cause.
Looking over, she notes that Dutch is bleeding all over the place. "Dutch! Hang on!"
Whirling around, she spots Aurelia in the hatch. "Aurelia! Dutch's wounded! Get some patches! Quick!"
