ca_lazerdwarf Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 "It sounds like our best lead, the Sar-lan" agreed Dragonid. "Is there a regional capital in the disrupted sector? Maybe local communications are more reliable, and we can seek information there, if the nearby colony does not prove fruitful." The saurian warrior thought as he looked over the map, it was still difficult to grasp the size of space, with even a single world this would be a daunting task, with so many worlds and so much empty void.... "We may need to enlist local authorities to help us corner the criminals, if they are on the move."
trollthumper Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 "There's also some value to 'boots on the ground' intelligence," said Cavalier. "You said it yourself - the Lor have been overtaxed, and haven't exactly had a chance to get field intelligence out. The way these guys were described, they're likely to stand out - and, given their track records, odds are at least one of them is going to try to carve out some form of power, be it overt or covert. If we find signs of disturbance, we move on those. If they've had the wisdom to go to ground, then a few of us might move in among the other habitations. Pass for refugees or visitors, put our ears to the ground, and see if one of these guys has tried to sweep in and become the new dealer in illicit goods. Or god, or whatever they want to be."
Tiffany Korta Posted June 16, 2015 Posted June 16, 2015 Sitara strolled in fairly relaxed, having all the time did mean she could be tardy at time.“There was a flow irregularity in one of the regulators, the Lor make decent parts but they don’t mesh quite right with our tech. We could do with a cache of Praetorian spares, if such things still exist out there.”With her explanation for her lateness out of the way she pitched in her opinions on how to find the prisoners.“We need to find a weak link in the chain and use them to get to the others. In all my existance most humanoids have three, four for those races that like fighting, needs they tend to indulge. Best place to find one of them is in a establishment that caters to these needs, especially as they’ve been denied them for quite a few years.”
Thevshi Posted July 3, 2015 Author Posted July 3, 2015 Amara listened to the comments by the various Praetorians who spoke up with thoughts and suggestions. All had merit, but some had the potential of leading them on a long chase throughout the quadrant looking for some information on the escapees. Given they had a somewhat recent sighting, the Naram did not want to go off looking for other possible leads and run the risk that recent lead went cold. "We may well wish to try to send out some of us covertly to see what we can learn." She finally stated. "But that will depend on how we start this investigation and what we find." Pausing a moment, Amara then continued. "Given the recent sighting of the Sar-Lan, I believe we should start at the Lor colony at Dreeda III to ensure it has not been attacked. If the escapees wanted to indulge in any of their needs, Dreeda III is a likely place for them to do so, by force or otherwise.""If there is no sign of them there, then we will reassess our options."
Mad Scientist Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Hūhunu nodded -- the point was decided, then, or at least certainly enough so for the small marine's purposes. "Dreeda III it is, then." Agreement came easily, since taking orders had been drilled until it had become second nature. A strong hand at the helm was always preferable. "That transit will take us some time, even through irrelevant space," the de facto pilot informed their commander. "Should we, perhaps, use the transit time to develop some contingent strategies for dealing with any or all of the escapees as we may encounter them?" That had been, in the end, the greatest downside to working amongst the Praetorians; while each was a powerful, individual hero, they tended to act as individuals, rather than a cohesive unit. Bolstering each others' weaknesses or augmenting each others' strengths would make them even more formidable of an organization, if they could start to depend on doing so consistently....
Exaccus Posted July 13, 2015 Posted July 13, 2015 moon-moth tilts his head this way and that as he contemplates possibly contingencies for the monsterous array of villains they were now poised to engage "I's beliving this will be no gentlemoths engagement." he says as he lowers his legs back to the ground and resumes standing at his lofty but lanky full stature "I would suggests we seperates into teams so that we can bring down individuals more quickly and join with groups having difficulties against hardier quarries as we thin there ranks...many of us have methods of moving as such speeds as to render the distance of a planets surface inconsequential..at least one such person to each group so we cans reallocate our forces on the fly if things go as they say south for the winters or smoother than expected."taking a moment to rub his chin with long slender fingers he adds with a slightly ponderous tone to his voice "maybe have a skeleton crew on the ship so we can attempt to disable their vessal if some parties do manage to make a run for it?"
trollthumper Posted July 14, 2015 Posted July 14, 2015 "All right," Cavalier said. "It's been a while since I dealt with having to round up a bunch of people at once, but..." He took a look at the various dossiers, trying again to find common threads between the various fugitives. "Okay, so, it seems a number of these fraggers need some room to think if they want to be able to do something. We've got mentats, psychokinetic construct makers, teleporters - been a while since I encountered some of these, especially the last one, but last I checked, you really want to keep your head in the game when you're using your mind to reorient the universe. Especially if you don't want part of that universe to go right up your backside, like in the case of some teleporters." There was a term for that type of screw up on some of the craft that used teleporting technology - "steel burial." Cavalier really didn't like to think about it. "So, if we've got some sort of distraction capabilities - flash-bangs, mental influence, Black Sabbath blaring over the speakers - may be a good thing to utilize."
Mad Scientist Posted July 14, 2015 Posted July 14, 2015 Nasal ridges flared a shockingly bright coral as Hūhunu grinned."I have generally found the most effective distraction is coming under fire from an unexpected direction, at an unexpected time, by an unexpected enemy," the little Marine observed, perhaps unsurprisingly. "I do not have any weapon systems meant simply to disorient, but I have had much practice at picking my moment to ruin carefully laid plans." Which was true, so far as it went -- but what it came down to was, the versatile energy carbine the Corps was issued had no such thing as flares, or flash-bangs.Or 'Black Sabbath', whatever that may be.
ca_lazerdwarf Posted July 27, 2015 Posted July 27, 2015 "Our ship is not any known model of the Lor empire. At least it will not immediately betray us as law enforcers when we enter the system." Dragonid suggested, "Once we close on them personally, I think it will be harder for us to appear peaeceful. They may be expecting us, but they will have less knowledge of us than we have of them.""If diversions are what we need, I will do what I can. I usually hone my fires for heat, but I could try to burn them brighter or cause loud explosions to distract or confuse them."
Tiffany Korta Posted August 11, 2015 Posted August 11, 2015 “The fact that we’re not know is something we can use to our advantage, but it’s also going to make things difficult for us. After all it’s been a good few thousand years since I was around this part of the universe.” it was a serious point but there was lightness in her voice.She looked at the Lor and the Star Knight who were a good few centuries younger than any of the Praetorians.“Do either of you know anything about this region of space? What can we expect when we finally touch down on one of these worlds?”
Thevshi Posted October 5, 2015 Author Posted October 5, 2015 GM It turned out neither Cavalier or Corona had much information on this sector of the Republic, unable to provide any more than was contained in the information the Lor had provided to the team. Paradigm decided they would continue on their route toward Dreeda III to check on the Lor coolly world, then determine how best to proceed depending on what they found. With the decision made, the Praetorians fell into a somewhat familiar routine during the remainder of the trip. There were systems to check and monitor aboard the Devotion, but for the most part there was a fair bit of downtime during which to discuss tactics and otherwise prepare for when they found the escaped criminals.Of course, Corona and Cavalier were not accustomed to the routine aboard the Praetorian ship, but both had spent their share of time aboard large spacecraft, so they had little trouble adapting to the situation. The time passed quickly, and soon several of those aboard who did not have some task requiring their attention were gathered on the Devotion's bridge as the ship neared the Dreed system. Paradigm was seated in the command chair as Huhunu was at the helm. "Dropping back to real space." The marine replied as he disengaged the ship's FTL drive. "Begin running sensor sweeps." Paradigm stated as she watched the stars on the view screen return to normal. "I want to know if there is anything out there."
Raveled Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Corona nearly went insane from having to sit around the ship for so long. She was used to having a job aboard a vessel, or at least a berth and a bunch of paperwork to sort though. Here though, on the Praetorian ship, she had a bed and nothing to do. She didn't even know enough about Praetorian tech to offer her help, all she could do was sit around or get in peoples' way. She ended up spending most of the time either in her bunk, reading up on what little the Lor knew about the Praetorians, or else exercising in the bowels of the ship. When they finally reached their destination, she could've jumped for joy. Instead she dressed in her battle armor and took a position on the bridge, avidly watching the sensor sweep. Her fingers itched to reach out and do the job herself; she was used to flying alone in her own shuttle and had to fight the impulse to do everything on her own, but she knew that she needed to step back and let the Praetorians work.
Exaccus Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Moon-moth made his excuses when he was no longer directly required and retreated to the cargo bay of the ship, making use of his illusions for entertainment and reminiscing purposes, recreating the view from lanterns surface across the area, then the hall where he and so many others had been inducted into the ranks of the praetorians on that fateful day millenia ago; with its vibrant nebulae and ribbons of energies he was beginning to suspect only he could see laced through each scene, always empty and silent he resisted the urge to recreate any of his family members or his fallen friends for now the immediate threat of the communion had passed he now had the time and inclination as an ageless observer to remember in excruciating detail almost every hour he'd spent amongst them and whilst many had survived even more had been lost; he couldn't deny his nature, he would readily fall into deep melancholy if he simply stopped fighting it off let alone began to actively indulge in it. When the ship dropped out of hyperspace he readily teleported onto the bridge in a subdued flash of light and turned his eyes to the scene before him, atenna twitching slightly and stationary eyes tilted to various angles as he takes in the scene, before using taking the initiative to bring up a secondary display of the sensor readings on a wall terminal for those without a connitor station, gesturing welcomingly towards the two newest members of his surrogate family to lend their expertise.
Tiffany Korta Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 Sitara had spent the journey with the ship engines making sure that the Lor made replacement parts integrated well with the Delaztri originals, they now were starting to have the capacity to make there own but the poor ships were kept pretty active what with everything that had happened during the last few months.So intent in her activities, apart from occasional breaks for food or sleep, she wasn’t aware that they’d arrived until the drive powered down having done it’s job. Giving the unit a little pat or a job well done she went to find the others and find out what the plan was going to be.
Vahnyu Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 After ensuring allong with Sitara that the engines were operating within parameters, and that the automated processes were properly online, Vyrdnaya followed The Traveller to the bridge. As soon as she came to, she greeted the other Praetorians. "Mater Vyrdna, reporting for duty." Truth be told, she felt that the escapees would have been stupid if they'd decided to all go to Dreeda III; stupid, or overconfident in their abilities. But the Praetorians couldn't afford to split into 3 teams and investigate each of the three hotspots seperately. As it stood now, at worst, they'd face all twelve escapees at once, which would still mean that the playing field is more or less even, while at best, they'd only find a small scouting team, something that should prove easier to deal with. Giving a sigh, as the suspense from waiting the scanning results mounted, Vyrdnaya hoped that they'd be prepared to deal with whatever laid in wait for the Praetorians.
trollthumper Posted October 12, 2015 Posted October 12, 2015 It had been a long time since Cavalier had been this uncomfortable around this many people on a spaceship. And the last time, he had the excuse of being naked. This was not unfamiliar territory to him. When he'd first been picked up by the Starforger, he'd had to deal with falling in with a well-organized, well-oiled unit on a starship and feeling about as useful and wanted as a training wheel on a motorcycle. He'd eventually managed to find a place on the ship and work his way in with the crew - as, he knew, he'd eventually do with the Praetorians. It was just that, for now, there was still the initial awkwardness, and knowing that it would clear didn't make it any less awkward. When the ship dropped back into real space, he let out a sigh of relief. He adjusted his blaster, rerouted the energy through his armor, and prepared for when he'd have to step inside. "So, where we going first?"
Thevshi Posted October 15, 2015 Author Posted October 15, 2015 GM As the Devotion settled into normal space, the Praetorians gathered on the bridge saw a yellow sun sitting off in the distance at the center of the system. A small blue and green planet sat between them and the Dreeda star, hanging in the blackness of space like a multicolored pearl. The ancient Delaztri vessel's advanced sensors began sweeping the area around the Devotion, before focusing in on Dreeda III as Huhunu guided them toward the Lor colony. As they drew near, the marine glanced at the data being provided on another screen by the scans. "Sensors are picking up a vessel in sub-equatorial orbit around Dreeda III." Huhunu announced as he activated an enhanced viewing window within the main view screen for the bridge, which displayed the lower hemisphere of Dreeda III, with a small thin shape visible against the blue and green planet below. The enhanced image magnified a few more times, bringing the vessel more clearly into view."It would appear we have located the Sar-lan."
trollthumper Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 Cavalier looked down on the planet. He had come to terms with the fact that many planets across the universe followed an Earth-like pattern. For all the gas giants, red planets, floating ice balls, and binary systems, it was slightly reassuring that there were many places across the universe where he could cool his heels with minimal risk of death (not that it was ever completely absent). There'd been a time when it had been somewhat disappointing to keep running into the same blue-and-green marbles, but now... now it was familiar. But familiarity could be the death of you. Some days, you had to embrace the new. He charged up his blaster, trying to calibrate it for the next move. "So, how do we want to do this?" he asked. "I've been able to recalibrate my armor for stealth effects before. If you need me to go in and get a better understanding of the layout..."
Thevshi Posted October 27, 2015 Author Posted October 27, 2015 Paradigm looked at the image of the Sar-Lan that was displayed and was quiet for a moment. Then when the Star Knight spoke up, the young Naram focused back on the others. "Huhunu, continue course for the main colony on the surface." She then looked over to Cavalier. "A small group will make its way over toward the Sar-Lan once we approach orbit." "It seems suspicious to me that the vessel would be sitting there casually in orbit if all of our targets were aboard. There might be a few, but I suspect at least some of them are down on the surface. If so, I do not want to give those down there time to prepare or escape while we investigate the Sar-Lan." "Knight Steward, in addition to yourself an Moon-Moth, take Mater Vyrdna and Magnetar as well. Moon-Moth can get you all down the surface quickly if it becomes necessary. Or bring some of us up if required."
Thevshi Posted November 4, 2015 Author Posted November 4, 2015 GM As the Devotion continued toward the surface of Dreeda III, the four Praetorians assigned to investigate the Sar-lan exited through an airlock to begin making their way over towards the prisoner transport vessel. The Devortion continued down into the planet's atmosphere, receiving a hail from the colony below. After identifying themselves, those on the Devotion were provided clearance to land at the colony. Up in orbit over the lower hemisphere, the four Praetorians sent to investigate the Sar-lan approached the long vessel. It clearly appeared to be operating under power, with navigational lights running, but there was no apparent reaction to the approach of the four figures. The minimal external weaponry the vessel possessed remained still, and there was no hails or other attempt at communication.
Raveled Posted November 4, 2015 Posted November 4, 2015 Aya took her place in the Praetorian vessel, situating herself near what she believed was the communications console. She didn't know nearly enough about Delaztri tech to try and fly the shuttle down to the planet, but she felt comfortable enough to at least talk to people, and in any case if this was a Lor planet than her official duties as a liaison required her be the one talking to the spaceport. If there was one thing Aya K'zan took seriously, it was her official duties. So she was very precise in following the correct codes to contact the port authority. "Dreeda III, this is the Devotion, Aya K'zan speaking. We request and require a clear landing pad." She paused and added, "And the latest news feeds." She glanced down at her gauntlets, self-consciously running and rerunning the armor's diagnostic checks. She didn't want any surprises when a fight started.
trollthumper Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Cavalier moved in on the Sar-Lan, looking for obvious signs of disturbance - or, at least, obvious traps. Those would have been nicer than a gigantic ship, known to be held by dangerous assets, floating with few signs of life, but one had to make do. Apparently abandoned ships, floating in high orbit, he thought. Never had a good track record with those. This model of ship was somewhat familiar to him - even if he wasn't sure of the precise layout, he at least had some idea of the entryways. He could easily adopt the cloaking mechanism, but it might draw power away from key defensive systems - and would not mean anything if they could see through it. "Moon-Moth, Mater, Magnetar," he said, "any of you got anything significant in the way of camouflage and infiltration?"
Tiffany Korta Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Sitara sat in the pilot seat carefully bringing the vessel down towards the planet. She wasn’t the best pilot they had but was more than capable of controlling a vessel like this, that she’d been piloting for a very long time. She couldn’t help but keep an eye on the vessels engineering reading, she’d like to know the system were operating within tolerances. Normally she would have handled landing communications, she’d known Lor for longer than they had an Interstellar republic, but for now she was happy to allow Aya to handle the details. “This could be the last time everything goes according to plan, so we should enjoy every moment.”
Exaccus Posted November 6, 2015 Posted November 6, 2015 Moon-moth feels the odd calm and serenity of the void as he slowly glides out from the air lock, and towards the seemingly abandoned vessal with practised ease, something about this did not sit right with the lanternian mage, he was about to voice his concern when cavalier spoke up. "I believes I may have a few tricks up my sleevesies..." he says as he works his magic, extending his vestigal wings to their full length and with the eye-like patterns scintilating silently in the sparse starlight weaves an illusion over the vessal before them, surrounding it in a zone of slightly off colour energy, one that relays the all clear through as many diffrent sensors as myothizar could think to exclude, infra-red, electromagnetic resonance, motion tracking...leaving only the naked eye...normal vision able to pierce his veil uncontested. "I havings the bad feelings about this....it smells of a tricks and traps." he says wearily "maybe a deadly suprise awaits us inside."
Vahnyu Posted November 7, 2015 Posted November 7, 2015 "That makes two of us, Moon-Moth." Mater Vyrdna replied to the Lanternian mothman, as the group made their way into the vessel. "As for me, Cavalier, I believe I'll be able to hack into the sensors of the ship as soon as we get real close to it. Jumble a few electrical signals, rewire a few circuits, make it so that the receptors filter our audio-visual and motion signals, recalibrate the current weight of the ship's cargo... it would be as if we are complete ghosts, once inside. I could probably be able to also run a complete diagnostic on the ship's status and its personel." Knowing the ship's layout and its occupants would certainly eliminate most surprise elements the Praetorians would face in their search mission. Though some of the criminals they were after could already have taken anti-scrying measures, if particularly paranoid... or alerted...
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