Log:Resistance: Yet Another Train Job

Yet Another Train Job

OOC Date: September 20, 2018
Location: Taronda
Participants: Devii, Poe Dameron, Alexis Carew, with special guest Zhu Yan and GM Sapphira Solari

The briefing room. It's a room for briefings. Spaphira Yavok, daughter of the infamous Captain Yavok, is giving this one. Unlike most briefings, however, the woman giving this one is not in uniform. She wears a black jumpsuit and a black translucent scarf. "Alright," she begins. "So we've received intel that the FIrst Order is setting up a new presence on Taronda. It's a mining rock that's got a lot of good, basic ores there, but it's so far out no one usually cares too much." She looks down at the little remote in her hand, pressing a button. She frowns, presses it again. Nothing happens. Again she presses. Again, and again. She turns and points it at the blank screen behind her. She smacks it. Presspresspress. "What the krif." She squints at it, bringing it close to peer at the button labels. "Oh." Another button. The screen lights to lift, showing survaillence footage of a rocky land with some flatlands and some mountains. It zooms in on a mag-lev grain, which coils up the side of one of those mountains from the mining colony below, toward an older fort with a few TIE fighters orbiting

"The landing pads at the fort aren't strong enough to hold cargo ships," Sapphira reports to the group. "So they bring it up by Mag-Lev from the mining colony below. We've received the manifests for the next 48 hours, and that's how we know which train will be carrying 200 F-11D blasters and 1000 powerpacks for the garrison." She pauses, looking around the group. "This is an intel mission, so we're going in as bandits. No ID, no uniforms. Poe will drop me off at the colony, and then wait for my signal. Once I'm on the train and I can confirm which train car has our goodies, Poe will fly in and the extraction team will rappel down, break through the ceiling hatch, take out the guards, and we'll rob the thing. Poe," she looks to the pilot. "Sensors aren't reliable around those mountains, blocked as they are by the ore and rock. As long as you can stay low, they won't sense you. Also," she looks back to the others, the extraction team. "If you're too noisy breaking into the hatch, you'll alert the guards and probably have to fight a lot more folks than necessary. Everyone remember: this is intel, not army. You do what you have to in order to get the job done. Let's go."

The group soon finds themselves in the lounge of the Redline, a YT-2000 with two shiny turrets at the ready. As they come out of hyperspace, everyone makes final preperations. Sapphira appears, the first time all trip. Only she barely looks like Sapphira in that very stiff First Order uniform, her red hair in braided buns. Why, she even has a (forged) badge over her breast. She looks uncomfortable. "Right. Poe'll drop me off at the mining colony, then wait for my signal and rappel down to the marked train car. Any questions?"

At the helm of the YT-2000 is Poe Dameron, who seems immersed in the ritual of making a 'routine' landing for a mining facility. When prompted for landing, Poe does his most non-descript voice to obtain a temperary landing zone. Then it's just a matter of breaking atmosphere and guiding the craft to it. Engines of bright blue contrails burn through the clouds as he angles the ship downward following a holographic trajectory that keeps them at a reasonable course of approach and speed. He makes adjustments based off the pressure of the sky. "Closing in on the first LZ now." Poe says through the internal comm unit of the ship. He initiates the landing gear for the Redline and settles the ship down gently upon its struts. A green light indicates that external security picked up no threat near their exit ramp and that it's safe to initiate its descent.

For someone who's run and organized almost every Intel Mission the Resistance has run since Hosnian Prime and the loss of hound base, 2nd Lieutenant Devii Keva was finding it odd to be taking a directive from someone else. Though, the Mirialan was attentive her orange eyes paying attention to the redhead and not attempting to undress her with her eyes today. "Understood. We'll get it done." She can't promise things will go as planned, they never do but no matter what they needed those blasters and especially those packs. She's got her jacket on, a white tunic, blue breeches with gold servie stripes, Coruscanti Republic Security by the look of them. "Good luck, sweetheart." She says to Sap as she heads out and waits for the go, moving to check the harnesses and such.

Alex looks up only when she hears Poe on the internal comm unit before diving back down into the bag she has resting on her lap. Fairly large it contains everything she may need on this mission. Bacta patches, suture kits, pain meds, bandages and even a special kit she made up to allow for minor surgery - you know, all the really important stuff. Once she deems it complete it is zipped closed and slipped onto her back as she struggles to get her right arm through the strap. Finally done she looks up to the others and mentally checks the gear they wear and carry. Making sure that nothing apparent is out of order. The blaster pistol on her side is pulled half way out, a test of the weight and to make sure it can be pulled out of it's holster easy enough. "I'm ready," she announces to everyone and no one in particular. Calm and focused, it would appear that she is indeed ready.

See, Zhu Yan (Miracle Man) was in a pickle. On one hand he was not the stealthiest person in the room. It was there to generally be obnoxious while other people did the work. Which usually involved jetpacks, heavy power armor, big guns, the works. On the other, though, this mission didn't call for that. It called for some sneaky-sneaky sithspit. So, he dispensed with the hardware. He had his own jacket on. It was fluffy. It was stained. It was old. It was a beautiful relic of a bygone era and in Yan's mind it made the Mirialan's jacket look like a dime-store trash piece. Of course it wasn't the case but Yan lived in a fantasy world and he wasn't about to snap out of it now. Over the top of it was a small jetpack, a KDY FormStar, perfect for little ops like this one that didn't involve lots of smashing, and strapped to his right thigh was the hand-cannon of a Bryar pistol.

He clenched and unclenched his left hand. It wasn't a real left hand. It was a near-black synthetic, attached to the matching arm and shoulder that lived in the crater that held his real flesh and blood limb once upon a time. He was a bit nervous, mainly because someone else was flying his ship. But the pilot wasn't Hex, or Stavros, so he wasn't THAT nervous. "Isn't it weird how the palm doesn't get sweaty?" he mused, mainly to himself, as he examined the hand with curiosity. "So weird." Was he ready? Yeah, he was ready, but he was off in la-la-land again. Zhu Yan has removed KDY FormStar F-0 Jetpack - 12798 from his Yan's Duffle Bag.

"Shoulda put lifts in my shoes," the petite redhead running this particular mission says to Devii as she wishes Sapphira luck. With a calming breath and a nod, the woman turns to make her way off the ship with her most Imperial-looking step that she can muster from that low to the ground.

Poe will have time to refuel and then take off, flying on a nobody-cares trajectory around a few mountain ranges to the south before he gets the call. It takes about forty five minutes or so, but soon Sapphira's voice is there. "Just left," she says in hushed tones. "Fourth car from the lead, just coming out of the tunnel now."

That's the cue, Poe. Time to fly everyone over in a daring low-to-the-deck way, hover over a moving train, and let your teammates rappel down to the moving train car below. Easy peasy, right?

[PASS ( +66)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (150) diff.

Refueled and briefly serviced, the Redline gets the que that it's time to go. Poe preps the craft, and soon it lifts up and rotates. At a safe distance from the platform, Poe initiates the craft's ample speed, sending them clear over the mountains to disappear into the clouds. He switches views and monitors several screens to ensure they remain undetected and out of sight simultaneously. This gives Poe enough time to turn about and shut the cabin door, locking it from inside just to ensure he isn't interrupted mid-flight. He had to focus.

At the call, Poe's voice details the update to the rest of the crew, and those assigned to the gunnery positions move to that location of the ship and take their spots in the turrets. Poe watches from the feed in the cabin as both operators function check the turrets before giving the good to go 'thumbs up' to the source of the feed. Glancing to BB-8, Poe smirks. "Alright buddy, this is where it counts. Hang on." Poe angles the craft neatly between the valley of two mountains and dials back the speed enough to allow the train to pass beneath first. Like a phantom, The Redline drops from the clouds and resumes its course and speed matching the train below. At the nominal point, he initiates the green light to the crew that /this/ is their moment to move.

[PASS ( +60)] Devii's Jump @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +82)] Alexis Carew's Dexterity @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +58)] Zhu Yan's Rocketeering @ (120) diff.

Devii finds the ropes after putting on a pair of fingerless gloves, mostly to protect her palms from rope burn as she slides down. She glances to Yan a moment, raising and eyebrow as he takes out the jetpack but dosn't say anything. Once the greenlight is given and the hatch opens, she says to the others. "I'm heading down first. I'll help you all down once I'm there." Or Be like Yan and do something nuts. Either works. Without any further preamble she jumps and slides right down that rope, almost at a free fall. She lands on the balls of her boots, into a crouch and waits as she gets used to the new environment. Then she's waving down who ever is next.

Alex watches Devii as she drops down to the train. She doesn't mind repelling, she doesn't mind repelling from a ship. This is a first time to repel down from a ship to a train all the while moving. Unlike Devii she has full fingered gloves on, and takes the rope and for a brief moment pauses "It's why we get paid the big bucks," she says to her self before swinging her legs out and down she goes. It's not really fair to say she closed her eyes all the way down. Not at all. More likely she was protecting them from the wind. Yea, that's what she was doing. Then shock upon shock as her feet strikes the top of the train "Hot damn, I made it!" she says with a broad grin as she moves away from the rope to allow the next to make it down.

The art of rappelling is one honed into military minds from early in their training. Sliding down a rope into hostile territory is an art refined from years of development with many different variations, from the Eriadu Method involving a face-first descent, SimulRappelling wherein two people occupy one rope, and the classical counterbalance method of a man on the ground, as demonstrated aptly by Lieutenant Keva. There is a very good reason for such refined techniques, that is, they are safe, efficient, and effective, and any deviance from them risks supreme bodily harm.

Nowhere, in any military or civilian codex, official or unofficial, is there documentation of techniques that involve rappelling without a rope.

Zhu Yan just bloody well jumped off the ramp.

Fate would hold the view that Yan's journey, brief as it is, would come to an abrupt end either on or underneath the train, after all, without guidance, what is to stop the very force of air resistance and natural weather patterns from throwing him figuratively (and maybe literally) to the wolves? To call it suicidal would be an insult to shooting oneself in the cerebellum. Indeed, his current course would terminate the tracks immediately before the train crossed them, which of course would result in an unfortunate but expected loss of life. Zhu Yan, being Zhu Yan, had decided that the most dangerous course of action was obviously the correct one, but in this sole instance, his judgement, suspect at the best of times, was sound.

Recall, the jetpack affixed to his back. There was a brief BWHUUUT as the tiny jets flared and Yan's course, fatal as it was, was suddenly waylaid towards the train. His aim was true. His goal was in sight. His course was ideal. His feet landed on the correct cart against all logic and odds to the contrary, and he fell to one knee, latching on as hard as he could to avoid nullifying his hard-wrought victory. "THAT was fun! Let's do it again! But not here. Somewhere else." Whether he could be heard over the whipping of the wind was something else entirely.

The team has made it onto the appropriate car; fourth from the front. But what will they do now? There's a hatch with an access panel that can be hacked or broken into, but who knows how many men reside inside? What are they possibly armed with? Is there another way, a better way, to do this? It's up to our heroes to determine a course of action. That is as true for Poe as it is for those below. He has the choice now either to continue to hover and stay with the group, or break off from his current position. Or, perhaps the handsome, roguish man will come up with some other plan entirely!

[PASS ( +38)] Poe Dameron's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

Poe flips the switch to bring up the sensor equipment. The feed was going a bit haywire, but Poe slapped the side of it to bring a clearer picture. While he could not detect other crafts, but that wasn't what he was looking for. He needed to see the terrain. He saw that the cut that was made into the mountain for the train hugged the mountain pretty tight, but it allowed for him to run parallel. The scan showed the track disappearing though, which he interpretted as going under ground. He adjusted his flight course and angled up a bit to hide in the clouds. Only the ventral turret could be seen watching the train to the crafts starboard side.

[FAIL ( -59)] Devii's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

"Where did Sap find this guy?" Devii says under her breath as she watches Yan jump from the ship and then barely rocket his way back to safety while helping Alexis keep steady if she needs the help. "Hold one..." She says to the two before moving towards the hatch and it console. She loks at it, scratching her head. "You... weird guy... what ever you name is." She points to the computer. "Give this a shot huh?" In the mean time Devii moves around the other side of the hatch and pulls her pistol for when the thing finally gets open

Devii slides her Modified EL-718 Blaster Pistol - 9550 out of its holster, bringing the weapon to bear. [PASS ( +38)] Zhu Yan's Computer Use @ (130) diff.

A nod of her head to Devii as she indeed needed a bit of steading as the wind tore at her clothes. "Thanks," Alexis says and no sooner are the words out of her mouth than they are ripped past them as the train speeds on. Squating she watches Yan rocket pack down and shakes her head as a hand clutches tightly at a hand hold. As Devii calls out for Yan to help she shifts a bit so she can look at what they are working on and still keep a eye out up and down the train so no surprises can come.

"Yo guys, there were windows. We might have been seen on our way in," Zhu Yan pointed out, gesturing towards the sides of the train. "Little ones though so we might be good. Who knows?" It was pretty clear from the briefing but he had a habit of stating the obvious. He shivered. It was cold up here. Really cold, from the wind, and Yan's natural aversion to this level of temperature as a hot-blooded Thyferran native. He'd already done the unthinkable, zipping up his jacket and fasteneing the collar straps together to keep the warm fluffy goodness bound around his neck. He kinda looked bland without all the jacket fur hanging out. Handy.

"Hey, I'm not weird, I'm cool!" protested Yan impotently as he crawled over to have a look at the panel. "Oh!" He'd seen one of these panels before! It was in a vault on Storinal. Double bypass lock. "Hang on." He reached to the side, lifted the panel slightly, and unhooked a cable. Then he punched in 12345678, then 54321, then 12345. There was a beep, and the hatch unlocked. "Hokay, we're good. You there, Globes Of Fury," he said to Devii, loudly enough to be heard over the wind. "You're the boss. Wanna do us the honours?"

For now, everything seems calm. The train rattles along, no sounds of nefariousness to be detected, and no sights of it either - at least not from where they're standing, crouching, kneeling, or laying atop train car four. Poe is high above in the clouds, keeping a close watch on those below. So he'll be able to watch as the train comes up to the first curve around the mountain, shifting heavily to the starboard side as it begins to coil upwards toward the ominious looking fort above.

[PASS ( +67)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (120) diff.

Poe recognizes the change in terrain and adjusts the craft to stay parallel while not endangering the crew still aboard, and those negotiating the train. He pulls back on the speed some and continues to monitor the readout from the monitors. "BB-8, plug in and see if you can reinforce our sensor strength."

[FAIL ( -17)] Devii's Dexterity @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +67)] Alexis Carew's Dexterity @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +24)] Zhu Yan's Dexterity @ (120) diff.

+Chance roll by Sapphira Yavok - (50/50) Success! (79)

[FAIL ( -24)] Devii's Spot @ (150) diff.

[FAIL ( -60)] Devii's Strength @ (135) diff.

Devii was about to open the hatch but a strong wind gust along with the train turning knocks her off her feet. Luckily it was face first as she slides off the side, managing to grab on to a shallow railing there to keep from falling. She tries he best to pull herself up but the back wash from the train and the gravity of the turn the train is making is working hard against her, keeping her pinned up against the side of the car.

[FAIL ( -19)] Alexis Carew's Strength @ (120) diff.

Alexis is just doing all she can to hold on. Looking back forward to the hatch she spots Devii just as she goes over the side. With no thought she dives out, laying flat on the train roof, her right hand darting out and grabs hold of the LT. With all 115lbs of her she tries to pull Devii up but, yea, that ain't happening. "I got ya," she calls out "I think," she mutters. "How about a little hand here," she yells to rocket man.

[PASS ( +38)] Zhu Yan's Strength @ (120) diff.

The intel agent hereby dubbed Globes Of Fury was not really much of Zhu Yan's concern. After all, she wasn't paying him. Instead, he sighed to himself and said, "Alright, I'll do it, kay thks." Wow. Apathetic much. However, before lifting the hatch and going all Filthy Herreh on everyone inside, he realized something very important.

Globes Of Fury was paying him.

"I GOT'CHU, HOME-GIRL!" he burst out, throwing himself towards the edge of the railing and wrapping his left synthetic hand around the Green Menace's outstretched arm. The arm was freezing cold, sorry Big Green. "Up you come!" he grunted, as he PULLED. Using the extra strength afforded him by the cybernetic limb, he hoisted the commander up on to the deck. It was only after this milestone that he remembered that the limb afforded him no extra strength, and the power was within him all along. Touching!

You summon a Stormtrooper Sergeant and it appears in the room with you!

In the few short seconds it takes for Devii to slip and for the other teammates to pull her up, the train has come around that particular bend and is moving once more on a straightaway. The trio, for one brief moment, has everything back under control.

Kiss that moment goodbye. With absolutely no warning, the already unlocked hatch swings open and a helmeted First Order trooper, gun raised, stands up out of the hatch. His gruff sound of surprise can be heard even over the wind. "HEY!" While the man can't really dodge, he brings his weapon up to bear and fires off a couple of rounds at the general group.

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Sergeant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 130 difficulty! (-19)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Sergeant (12805)'s attack misses Devii at a 130 difficulty! (-75)

[PASS ( +40)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (120) diff.

[+prove] Zhu Yan has the Quickdraw feat.

[PASS ( +1)] Alexis Carew's Perception @ (120) diff.

[»ATTACK« ( +88)] Devii's DL-18 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Sergeant (12805). <70 WP/34 SP> (120 Difficulty)

Devii is happy to see Alexis' hand and tries to help with pushing herself up as the Sergeant pulls. Though as Yan comes to help she's finally up and crawls back onto the roof. She takes a moment to breath, "Thanks..." She says to Yan, looking to him a moment with her orange eyes. Alex gets a bit more attention, the LT reaching over to give her a peck on the cheek, "Thanks for trying. I owe you a drink." Then to Yan, "You too." Then, she's about to go to her feet when the trooper pops up and starts his firing. She drops to her stomach before returning fire on the the trooper. So much for stealth. Hopefully he was the only one who heard or saw... and there wasn't a wack-a-mole opportunity coming about. At least the hatch was open. He first bolt finds it's way right though the chest plate. It's still travelling as it slides through him like butter, burning away his heart. He'll likely slump over without much of a protest then fall back into the car. "Cool-guy, cover the hatch!" She says as she scrambles to move there herself. "Sergeant, on me."

Alexis Carew slides her BlasTech EL-718 - 1169 out of its holster, bringing the weapon to bear.

You unsummon NPC: Stormtrooper Sergeant (12805) and it vaporizes into thin air.

The kiss on the cheek causes Alexis to blink "Uh, yea, sure. Anytime," she stammers. But then the head appears from the hatch and she goes for her blaster. As she draws it Devii has already dispatched the fellow. "Nice shot...Hello, what's this," she says as she makes her way to a flat panel nearest her. Not daring to stand this close to the edge she studies the panel for a moment "Hey now, this, I think, can seal doors and even decouple the car!" She tells the other's "This could be useful, no?" But then the LT is calling her "Want me to try to seal the doors first?"

"Oh is this a First Order train? Sithspit! GUYS WE'RE ON THE WRONG TRAIN!" bellowed Zhu Yan to his comrades of the day as he hung over the edge of the train, utterly apologetic, thoroughly sincere in tone, truly sounding like it was a genuine mistake despite the fact that he was sending his lie off a cliff by drawing and aiming his Bryar at the Stormtrooper's... disappeared... heart. Oh. "I was gonna say, 'this blaster bolt terminates at your face' but it's kinda redundant now," he quipped, agonizing mothers and children everywhere with the quality of his humour. As ordered, he pointed his gun at the hatch as he dragged himself on to his stomach to get a better angle to shoot any more investigating Stormtroopers. He wanted a kill today, damnit!

[PASS ( +61)] Zhu Yan's Bluff @ (100) diff.

You summon a Stormtrooper Lieutenant and it appears in the room with you!

The trooper makes that sick whining sound (apparently the guys on guard duty at some mining colony on the ass-end of nowhere don't get the most up-to-date armor) and he goes limp, tumbling back into the hatch from wence he came. When Yan crawls along to peer down the hatch, he will see that the hatch ladder has been lowered, and standing at the bottom of it, staring at his buddy, is yet another trooper. Said trooper, with his blaster in one hand, seems at a loss at the sight of his mate, but when he looks up with those big, blank, bug-like eyes, he sees Yan. You can almost see those brows furrow. "Hey! Stop right there!" He calls, lifting his blaster and sending off a bolt at Yan. "Sound the alarm!" The same man yells, and Yan will just get to see a second trooper hurrying past, toward a glass-enclosed red button that reads EMERGENCY.

[PASS ( +39)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (130) diff.

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-102)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 130 difficulty! (-94)

Zhu Yan slides his Modified Bryar out of its holster, bringing the weapon to bear.

Devii is about to look down into the hatch with Yan but then the blaster bots fly out and into the sky. That answered her question about if the guy had buddies, he did. The order to sounds the Alarm comes out and her yellow eyes look to Alex, "Do it... Do it now. Seal those doors and try to get this thing decoupled." She pulls out her comlink, <<Guns to *whateverPoe'scallsignis* Ran into a snap. Going to try to decouple the car and I'm really, really hoping you can tow it with that hunk of junk.>>

[FAIL ( -30)] Alexis Carew's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

[FAIL ( -20)] Alexis Carew's Perception @ (120) diff.

Alexis flexes a finger after hearing the order. Brows knit up as she studies the panel. "I wonder if it is this," a shake of her head "Maybe this one?" What? She is a medic, not a computer wiz kid. "Well here goes," she presses the one button. Waits, eyes shifting "That do anything? Anything at all?"

[PASS ( +65)] Zhu Yan's Ranged:blaster Pistols @ (120) diff.

[»ATTACK« ( -49)] Zhu Yan's K-16 Pistol misses NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). (130 Difficulty)

+Chance roll by Sapphira Yavok - (50/50) Fail! (42)

BIG RED BUTTON! "No seriously guys it's all a mistake!" sputtered Zhu Yan, as he sent a steaming hot yellow bolt of death straight into the emergency button. So much for a clean in-and-out. "Heh, in and out," he laughed to himself, ignoring the obvious danger of being shot at in favour of his own dirty jokes. "HEY YOU!" he yelled at the guy shooting at him. Letting off some return fire and scorching a hole into the deckplates. "STOP IT!"

Okay, so, this isn't exactly going according to plan. First, there's the tiny issue of the sealing and decoupling. Rather than locking the first door, Alexis selects the wrong button and the door OPENS. Though none of them can see it yet, another four troopers are meandering into train car 4. But it's okay! Our intrepid heroes can deal with another four troopers! Right? Right? Well, perhaps. Except it's likely going to be more than four troopers. Rather than disabling the emergency alarm button, by shooting it, Yan sets it off. Red lights flash inside the train car, and a voice sounds across the speakers. "EMERGENCY ON THE TRAIN. EMERGENCY ON THE TRAIN."

[PASS ( +50)] Zhu Yan's Perception @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +7)] Alexis Carew's Perception @ (120) diff.

[FAIL ( -30)] Devii's Perception @ (120) diff.

The alarms are all very distracting, but fortunately not so distracting that most of the team don't notice the fact that they're heading into a tunnel right now. Most of the team, but not Devii. It's not a tight enough tunnel to immediately smear them across the top of the train car, but it is a bit of a snug fit.

[PASS ( +25)] BB-8 (Astromech Droid - 888)'s Computer Use @ (120) diff.

[FAIL ( -26)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (140) diff.

[FAIL ( -73)] BB-8 (Astromech Droid - 888)'s Pilot @ (140) diff.

[PASS ( +42)] Devii's Dodge Melee @ (120) diff.

[PASS ( +54)] Devii's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-49)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-42)

<<Copy that. Ensure you do not disconnect until you are out of the tunnel. Might be awkward fitting this thing into a tunnel.>> Poe says while having to veer away from the mountainside to avoid pancaking against its surface. BB-8 squeals and warbles as a series of proximity alarms sound. Not only are they close to the terra-firma and flying at a breakneck speed, but there's inconsistent signals indicative of enemy fighters on the way. "Damn it!, well we avoided them for as long as we could buddy." Poe flips on the intercom to inform his gunnery team. "Hey boys, wake up! We've got company coming in and visibility will be limited to what you can see. Pay attention to your targets /and/ what lies beyond them. We don't need to accidentally smoke something we didn't come her to smoke. I'm bringing us out of the cloud cover! Hang on!"

The Redline dipped into view from the white cloud cover above, appearing like a massive black and gray shadow that weaved expertly from side to side. Poe reached forward to switch off the annoying sound of the alarms and brought the shields online. "Alright pal, give us some bulwark to the front, it's going to be a helluva a fight!"

The Mirialan is to busy watching Yan dodge scarlet blaster bolts to notice the tunnel coming. The tell comes when the others Duck and she turns just in time to see the tunnel wall heading right for her at a million miles a second. She DROPS, right onto her back and watches the lights streak by on the cieling. Somehow she manages to flip over and start crawling towards the rear coupling. "Keep trying, Alex... but wait till were out of this tunnel or we'll be stuck in here." She says to the medic, she got it after all and her computer skills are still mediocre at best. The rear cars decouple and start to fall behind as they slow down. <<Aknowledged...>> She starts to crawl over towards Alex to see if she needs help. Yan seems to be holding his own with the troopers.

[PASS ( +55)] Alexis Carew's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

"Well that didn't seem to do anything." Alexis says before studying the panel again. "Maybe this one," her finger pauses as Devii reminds about the tunnel and she turns to look and there it is! "Crap," she says and pushes a different button instead. There comes swooshing noises as doors close and seal. "Got the doors sealed," she cries out.

[»ATTACK« ( +24)] Zhu Yan's K-16 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <56 WP/29 SP> (120 Difficulty)

[»ATTACK« ( -10)] Zhu Yan's K-16 Pistol misses NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). (130 Difficulty)

"GUYS THIS ISN'T GOING WELL HELP," exclaimed Yan as he kept firing into the hatch, flinching away from incoming fire. One sizzled close enough to his hair that he yelled "ACK!" and withdrew entirely! "Hoo boy," he hissed out, before poking his head and Bryar into the hole again. PEW PEW went the Bryar, shot one colliding into the aggressive Stormtrooper's shoulder, and shot two impacting the floor behind him. Then he popped back into cover again. "This is not going well at all!"

+Chance roll by Sapphira Yavok - (50/50) Success! (98)

No, guys. This is not going well. Devii has managed to avoid losing her head in the tunnel, and in what feels like only a few short seconds, they're back under the big open sky again. That's something, right? They've also got the doors sealed around the train car, meaning that no additional men save for one were able to get into the train car. When the time for decoupling comes, they'll be able to do it immediately. But there are still some problems. For one, there's now two troopers in the hatch door, firing upward at Yan as he ducks back into cover. For another, that unhappy scream is eminating from the sky. For Poe and the boys in the turrets, there's two TIE fighters screaming down at them from the fort above. Green blasters light the evening air, aimed at the top of the Redline.

[FAIL ( -27)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (140) diff.

[PASS ( +81)] Poe Dameron's Ranged:turret Mounts @ (130) diff.

[PASS ( +5)] Poe Dameron's Ranged:turret Mounts @ (130) diff. <Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-50)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-62)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 100 difficulty! (-27)

<Combat> NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805)'s attack misses Zhu Yan at a 120 difficulty! (-11)

The hits the freighter takes make the shields shimmer and reveal its oscillation sequence, but they have little effect given the orientation of /how/ the shields deployed. The advantages of flying a YT-2000 in Poe's hands is that he used to own one that was just as fast and manueverable. He adjusted to intercept, turning the ship vertical and sending any loose gear within the confines of the vessel /all over/ the place. The straps keeping Poe in place tighten as he is forced to slightly lean one way.

The purpose of the manuever revealed both turrets to the enemy TIEs and resulted in the immediate death of one, who exploded from the impact from the dorsal quad turret. The other TIE sustained a nasty scoring along its port fin, coercing the pilot to break from his current course after having witnessed his partner being obliterated in a single pass. Poe, unable to maintain the current manuever, adjusts back to the pull of gravity and again things shift, including BB-8 who ends up jettisoning his harpoons to stay in place with an annoyed warbling sound to announce his displeasure. "Nice shot! He's going towards our stern, orient the turrets there, I'll adjust accordingly!" Poe told his gunners. The freighter hit supersonic speeds then, adjusting course and angling up a bit. It crests the high point of a low bearing mountain, making the trees bend until they snap!

[»ATTACK« ( +23)] Devii's DL-18 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <42 WP/20 SP> (120 Difficulty)

[»ATTACK« ( +19)] Devii's DL-18 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <35 WP/17 SP> (130 Difficulty)

[»ATTACK« ( +20)] Devii's DL-18 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <35 WP/17 SP> (140 Difficulty)

Yan calls for help and Guns is on it to come assist. As soon as she can see sky again she makes her way over to the hatch, "Get that side uncoupled!" She says over the sound of the train and wind to Alex. She slides next to Yan and picks out the two troopers. She puts another hole in the the one Yan shot, then two more in his partner and they go down like a sack of bricks, "You good?" She asks the smuggler before looking to Alex, "How's it looking?"

[»ATTACK« ( +43)] Zhu Yan's K-16 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <70 WP/36 SP> (120 Difficulty)

[»ATTACK« ( +18)] Zhu Yan's K-16 Pistol hits NPC: Stormtrooper Lieutenant (12805). <47 WP/24 SP> (130 Difficulty)

"When you two are done kissing I have some ass-kicking for you to do!" yelled a highly frustrated Zhu Yan at the Resistance operatives, who were doing a wonderful job of not shooting down the hatch at these crazy Stormtroopers. Honestly they had their work to do, he was just stressed out and highly strung at the minute. At least one of them was coming to help. Hiding behind the hatch, he could only watch as Big Green made two of them regret breathing today. "My Empire for a grenade, is how it's looking," he grumbled before poking his head back into the hatch and firing two more shots into the last guy. He came down with a bad case of sudden fatality syndrome. "Finally, I killed someone. Now I feel better." The threat gone, for the moment, Yan turned around on his stomach and descended the ladder into the train car. Finally, solid ground! Thank goodness! His Bryar had one shot left in it, so he popped the power cell and put a new one in. Last thing he needed was to run out of ammo at a critical moment.

Zhu Yan ejects the old powerpack from his Modified Bryar, sliding a new one into its place with a click.

When Yan slides down into the train car, he'll find it's a bit of a tight squeeze - no offense, Yan - as one side of the car has four large crates bolted to a frame that is bolted to the traincar itself. These must be the weapons! The doors on either side of the traincar are sealed. And there, standing with her hands on her hips, is a flushed First Order Officer Sapphira. "What the krif are you guys doing up there?!" she demands of Yan, speaking with more exhasperation to him than she would toward the others. "You do kick up quite a racked, don't you?"

Meanwhile, Poe has one last TIE fighter between him and victory. Just one last one, and he can drop the cable to the train car and lift it up and away. Why? Why because Alexis has uncoupled the last lock on the train car! They're maintaining speed, for now, and it's hard to tell just by looking that the cars are even detatched! Just that last TIE fighter....

[PASS ( +9)] Poe Dameron's Pilot @ (140) diff.

[FAIL ( -13)] Poe Dameron's Ranged:turret Mounts @ (130) diff.

[PASS ( +38)] Poe Dameron's Ranged:turret Mounts @ (130) diff.

[PASS ( +52)] Poe Dameron's Computer Use @ (120) diff.

Poe aligns the craft for his gunners just as the TIE is coming in with revenge on their mind. They open fire, but the quad turrets bite back. It's the ventral turret this time that impacts and tears the TIE in two inciting a brief explosion which concludes with the TIE falling from the sky as a smoking heap of debris. The Redline turns sharply about and Poe flips the sensors switch back on. "BB-8, come on buddy.. get these.." Poe slaps the side of the monitor again to clear the image a bit more. "Okay, I've got them." Angling downward, Poe slows the speed and comes to a heated hover above the respective train car. From the external hull on the ventral side, four compartments open and cables begin to lower with the hook apperture upon each. <<Sorry I'm late.>> Poe says over the encrypted comms.

Devii is there and ready to grab the hook when Poe comes around, <<No Problem L'ulo, I've got the line.>> And she does, she grabs the line and attaches it to the car. <<Okay, attached. Wait one while we get in the car.>> "Alex, let's get inside the car." She moves over to the hatch and starts to climb in where Yan and Sap are.

Alexis rather proud of herself as she figured out the panel and the cars decouple and the one they are on begins to slow rather abruptly. She makes her way to the hatch where the rocket man has gone down and Devii remains "I am guessing it's time to do some shoot'n?" Alexis asks as she swaps the blaster from her left hand that was holding it while she worked on the panel to her right. "I /can/ shoot better than I can work junk like that," and she waves the blaster in the direction of the panel. It is then she realizes the shooting's done and shrugs "In the car, Aye El Tee," and she begins to follow and final makes her way into the car.

"Ah, Sapling, you made it," was the harried voice of the sweaty and stressed out Thyferran, who didn't sound like he was in the mood to banter just yet. "You and I are gonna have a looooooong catch-up after this," There was no humour or sass or smartassery today. Just exhaustion. A running gunfight will do that to you. "Over drinks and drugs and whatever the hell one does to wind down because holy sithspit." Yeah he was definitely too used to deciding a firefight in the first shot. Yan ran his synthetic hand through his hair, observing once again that, though he were sweaty and exhausted, his arm wasn't fatigued at all. The joys of cybernetics. His hair was all askew. He needed to brush it. And probably shave. And DEFINITELY shower. "I brought you presents." Dead bodies behind him! Aw, how caring!

With the cables locked in place, Poe flips a switch that essentially preps the engines for heavier lift. As they go within the car, the cables tighten until the point they begin to sing then straighten. The weight shifts to the craft and the thrusters holding it in a hovering pattern begin to increase their output. Poe initiates the retraction of the cables lifting the car until the magnetic plates lock it in place with a deafening THUMP from above. He eased the craft into motion then, leading them from the current scene to a safe location where they could get the gear inside and ditch the freeloading car.