[IC] Star Wars: Shadows of Exaron

[Hotshot]

Captain David Mullir
S2 (Intelligence Officer), 4th Regiment (Ranger), 5th New Republic Special Forces Division
Tikirt, Exaron, Exaron System

Captain David Mullir looked across the briefing table at the two people who had come to meet him for this particular briefing: the first was a female pilot, Commander Orama Sal, who had been assigned to fly cover for the 4th Regiment's covert operations on Exaron, and the second was a lithe, suave-looking intelligence agent, Rowan Thanewulf. Thanewulf had been assigned as an attache and liason between the 4th Regiment and New Republic Intelligence. "Commander, Agent," said Mullir each in turn, "thank you both for coming. I know OP-tempo is high right now and we don't have a lot of time to waste, so I won't mince words. I trust that each of you have read my intelligence summary?" He received affirmative responses from both of them, so Mullir continued, "Good, then I won't need to waste time explaining the basics. Since that IntSum was written, not much has changed. The Empire Miccol, the ship which has been referred to many times in the Imperial Intelligence reports, is slated to arrive on Exaron in less than twelve hours now. It is leaving Fondor shortly, supposedly hauling foodstuffs for the Imperial citizens of Vratokh. From what I can glean from the communications, the Miccol will be docking in Vratokh, the Imperial capital of Exaron. Right now, I don't have the personnel in the city to be able to effectively track what is going on with that ship once it touches down, and that's where I need help from you, Agent Thanewulf. Is there any way you can get either you or one of your people inside the city's spaceport and observe what gets offloaded from that freighter when it touches down?"

"Commander Sal, what I need from you is to be a cue for Agent Thanewulf," continued Mullir. "I want to know, in advance, when the Miccol has entered the Exaron system, and I need you to track its trajectory down to the planet, as well as try to pick up on its comms with the surface. There are over a hundred docking bays in the Imperial military portion of the spaceport, and even though the Miccol is listed as a bulk freighter carrying food, I'm sure it's going to land in that sector and not in the civilian spaceport. I need you to monitor the comms and trajectory and determine which docking bay the Miccol is going to land, and that way Agent Thanewulf can get to the right docking bay to observe the unloading."

---

Major Patrick Rudder
Commander, Alpha Company, 4th Regiment (Ranger), 5th New Republic Special Forces Division
Tikirt, Exaron, Exaron System

Major Patrick Rudder walked through the makeshift barracks bay which had been assigned to his Company upon the seizure of Tikirt from Imperial forces several days prior. Tikirt was the second major city to fall to the New Republic Army during the Republic's invasion of the planet, and Alpha Company had been instrumental in helping the Army secure it. Patrick had led a strike team from the Company into the city in a grav-chute insertion in the middle of the night, landing behind enemy lines and sabotaging several power relays which ran to the Imperial's defensive lines to the west of the city. When the New Republic Army had attacked, the Empire had found that many of their turrets were either not working or were severely underpowered, leaving gaps in the defense which the Republic was able to exploit. Since then, however, the company had not been assigned any new missions, with Patrick being told little about what was in their future. The uncertainty was eating at him, and he knew it was likewise doing so to his men. They were always at the forefront of any operation being undertaken by the Army, but this time the armor and infantry had pushed ahead, with other Special Forces companies still accompanying them, while Alpha was left in the rear.

As he walked through the barracks, checking on his men, he saw his headquarters section medic, Corporal Fyar, and stopped next to the young man's bunk. "Corporal," Patrick said, nodding. "How are you holding up?"

[reem]

Corporal Vince was quietly checking his aid bag making sure it was completely stocked with fresh medical supplies, noting the expiration dates of all medications and bacta. It was the medic's way of preparing in the downtime to make sure he was ready to do his job best. He noticed Major Rudder approaching him, silently cursing the bastards who didn't call the room to attention. Discipline wasn't the same as it was back in Lightning Squadron, but he'd make sure it was up to Imp standards. If the Empire could do that and slaughter the innocents, then the good guys needed to keep a better standard. He called the room to attention before he was told to carry on.

"One-hundred percent, Sir, I'm ready to pull the ears off a gundark. Making sure the Joes next to me keep their areas clean, change their socks, and drink water, but other than that I'm good to go." The ranger grinned with confidence at the officer.

[Hotshot]

Colonel Erran Devgoth
Commander, Imperial Intelligence, Exaron Detachment
Vratokh, Exaron, Exaron System

Colonel Erran Devgoth looked over the recent report which had just come across his desk. The MV Empire Miccol was slated to arrive in Vratokh in just under twelve hours, carrying its precious cargo. Everything was still going as planned, with the ship having been listed as coming from Fondor rather than Borleias, which was its true point of origin. General Derricote had been promised that everything would be taken care of and no possible way would be left to discover what was truly onboard the Miccol, and thus far everything had gone perfectly. Now, with the ship having departed and heading towards Exaron, Devgoth needed to make the final preparations. Picking up his datapad, Devgoth send a short, brief message to Lieutenant Tobias Redge, one of his junior intelligence officers. Few people had been informed about what was going on in terms of the shipments and their true nature, but Redge showed promise, and it was time to bring him up to speed on Intelligence's new primary function on Exaron. The message summoned Redge to Devgoth's office, and the Colonel sat back to await the arrival of the Lieutenant.

[Red Fox]

Commander Orona Sal
4th Special Forces Regiment, 5th Special Forces Division, Third Battle Group
1st Squadron, 327th Fighter Wing

" Affirmative, Captain. You can count on the 327th. "

Commander Sal was already thinking about the execution of the mission. A smaller number of crafts with highly tuned sensitivity and one that will tap into the Imperial communications." Agent Thanewulf, me and my squadron will track and then proceed to triangulate the descent vector of the Empire Miccol from as early as we can. Me and two another crafts will do so, while I will be personally responsible for tracking their communications. As soon as we have the descent vector, we will transmit it to you so we can narrow the number of docks that may be the landing place. I will also personally inform you on the exact platform, but I cannot give you a one hundred percent promise here - the Imperials can protect their transmissions very well. Now, if you won´t mind, I will start preparations for the mission. Captain, Agent." She turned to both of them as she addressed and saluted them.

From the briefing room to the room where the 327 will be briefed during the Exaron Campaign. There, she placed a note on the board that held the announcements to the squadron - actually, it was the first note. Orona was used to tables full of notes, both positive or negative ones - at least that is how she remembered them from her previous campaigns. She would gather her squadron in four hours, as she wanted them to be fully rested for the mission. After that, she will proceed with a one hour long briefing, the planes will be prepared within the next six hours after that, and they will be ready to take off. But before that, Orona herself decided to go through the file once again - she might find something about the Empire Miccol that she missed before, something that might be crucial to the success of the mission. So, closing the door n her bunk, she lied onto her bed and opened the file once again.

[Sep]

Redge sighed as he received the message. It was always during the most... annoying times. He put down the tool he was about to use, hearing the man give a sigh off relief. "I don't have time for this now Jacobs. Tell me what the rebels are up to.""I... I don't know... I'm just a courier. They give me things to deliver that is all I do." Redge sighed again as he pulled out his blaster. "Wrong answer" as he fired a bolt into the mans head killing him instantly.He sighed before holstering his blaster again and walking out of the room and into the main building. That being done he moved to the elevator and upon accessing it traveled to the higher levels of the building. The superiors didn't like being anywhere near the levels Redge worked at, the ones that technically didn't exist.

Once he arrived at the top of the building he moved up to the Generals door and knocked. Oh he hated the formality of it all. How much easier it would be if he could just walk straight into the room and not have to worry about any of this. How much easier it would be if he was given free reign, if he had that he would of had the rebels back before the Alliance staged a full out attack on the planet and had "liberated" it.

[Hotshot]

Major Patrick Rudder
Commander, Alpha Company, 4th Regiment (Ranger), 5th New Republic Special Forces Division
Tikirt, Exaron, Exaron System

"Good to hear, Corporal," said Patrick, clasping the young medic on the shoulder. Looking around at the men standing at attention, Patrick said, a little quieter, "Thanks for the heads up, but no need for that here. I know what it was like over in the Empire, believe me, but things are much more relaxed over here, especially in SpecForce." Patrick smiled, adding, "But thanks for the sentiment." Looking around again at the other men, Patrick said, "Relax, people." He began to walk through the bay again, speaking loudly so all could hear him, "I know sitting back behind the front lines isn't something we're used to, or something we enjoy, but there's a reason for it. I don't know what it is yet, but there's a mission coming down for us, something important. So just sit tight, keep your gear straight, and get ready for the next op."

---

Colonel Erran Devgoth
Commander, Imperial Intelligence, Exaron Detachment
Vratokh, Exaron, Exaron System

Colonel Devgoth heard the knock on his metallic door and reached forward, pressing a button on his desk which told the door to slide open to the side, revealing Lieutenant Redge standing there. "Ah, Lieutenant, come in," said Devgoth with a wave of his hand. Motioning to one of the two chairs in front of his desk, Devgoth added, "Please, take a seat. Lieutenant, I am about to read you onto a top secret project, one which will change the course of the war, not only on Exaron, but throughout the galaxy. You will be granted a great amount of responsibility in this matter, but first, I want to ask if you want this task. You may turn it down now and walk out of this office and continue your work, but once you accept, you cannot come off this project, no matter what."

[Red Fox]

Commander Orona Sal
4th Special Forces Regiment, 5th Special Forces Division, Third Battle Group
1st Squadron, 327th Fighter Wing

Nothing. The Empire made their very best to turn the Empire Miccol into a true mystery for the New Republic. So much commotion about a ship hauling foodstuff and other supplies to an Imperial planet was unheard even in the ranks of the Empire. Thus, even after four hours of going through every piece of intelligence at their disposal, Commander Sal could find nothing of value that could aid them. She decided to give it up and gather her squadron for a briefing on the situation. Downloading the data she found of importance, she left her bunk and headed towards the briefing room. Some of the members of the 327th Wing were already present, greeting her with salutations as she entered the room. Saluting them back, she only had to wait a couple more minutes before the entirety of her squadron was present. Plugging in her datapad to the holoprojector in the room, she let display everything they knew about the Empire Miccol. Most of the pilots, being veterans from previous actions, shown a slight hint of surprise on their faces - just like Orona, they expected a bit more information to be available.

" Attention!" The entire wing stood up as one, saluting Orona, who returned the salute. Once they all sat down, Orona started." Based on the intelligence at our disposal, we know that this ship - the Empire Miccol will depart the shipyards of Fondor in eight hours. Supposedly hauling foodstuff and other goods for the Empire forces on Exaron, our SI found out something to be out of place for a food freighter - cooling cases, six pieces of something we know nothing about and a research lab. Now we all know that a research lab is not needed for foodstuff. The SI assigned us the mission to track the Empire Miccol as soon as it enters the system - we are to track its landing path, find out where will it be docking and tap into their communications to bring some more light on the matter. We will take off in six hours, wait for the Miccol to jump in the system - we will then proceed to triangulate its descent vector and tap into its communications. Once we have any reliable data, we will send those to SI operatives in the city of Vrakoth, so they can do their job. Any questions? "

The briefing lasted less than an hour - the 327th Wing spent the entirety of the time devising the best way to carry out the mission. They all agreed on the triangulation, so the matter was settled. Giving them a dismissal, Orona herself headed back to her bunk. Getting dressed into her pilots uniform, she will spend the last few hours in the hangars, helping the mechanics to prepare their crafts for the needs of the mission. The first thing she did was to hand over the datapad to the Chief Mechanic, who nodded and hurried up to gather his team so that they can start the work on the planes immediately. Orona herself approached the oldest looking X-Wing in the hangar, her personal craft. Despite the appearances, her X-65B version of the craft was in top condition - it was just the paint job that made the plane look like it was in a terrible shape. As she walked to it, she started consulting her mechanic for the configuration of the plane, as the rest of the pilots started to appear. They had six hours left.

[Sep]

It must be important, the Colonel had actually asked him. He hadn't been told he had been asked. Of course his surprise didn't show it was just all rattling around in his head with all his other ideas problems and such. He sat in the chair as indicated, as natural he was surveying the room for any possible devices of scrutiny and at the same time planning escape routes in the case of several different emergencies. He could see why people called him paranoid, he just liked to think of himself as... prepared. "With all due respect Sir, when have I ever turned down a mission?" not that he had ever been given a chance however if he had wanted to leave the Empire he had the training and the resources to do so. He even had a dozen escape routes all planned in case Exaron failed or the government succeeded to what the Rebel Alliance was now calling themselves, Alliance of Free something or other.

"I will accept the mission, just read me in and tell me what you need me to do and I'll see it done."

[Hotshot]

Colonel Erran Devgoth
Commander, Imperial Intelligence, Exaron Detachment
Vratokh, Exaron, Exaron System

Colonel Devgoth nodded. "Good," he said. "I expected as much." Opening one of his drawers, Devgoth pulled an encrypted datapad from it and handed it across the table to Lieutenant Redge. "The password is your mother's birthday," Devgoth said. "Now, first things first: this is a top secret-compartmentalized project. Only those read onto the program are allowed any information on it. Some of the agents working under you will not even be privy to all of the aspects of the project, only their assigned parts. There is a short list on that datapad of all the people involved in the project in various means, as well as the compartments to which they have access, so you do not accidentally divulge any information to the wrong person. Now, take a moment to read over the basics of the project, and we'll speak after that." Devgoth watched and waited while Redge read the information in the abstract section of the datapad, analyzing the man's reaction to the no doubt shocking information contained within.

When Redge looked up from the datapad, Devgoth said, "As you can see, the shipments aboard the Empire Miccol, as well as the secrecy of what they are intended for, must be carefully guarded. That is why I chose you, Lieutenant Redge; your record to this point has been impeccable. Now, the Miccol will be landing at 2000 local time, at which point you will meet with Special Agent in Charge Sando Qortini. Once you take possession of the shipments, you will transport them to the forests to the east of Vratokh. There, at the coordinates listed on that dapatad, you will find a top-secret facility run by Doctor Christopher Plano, whom you will deliver the shipments to. Do you have any questions?"

---

Special Agent in Charge Sando Qortini
Imperial Intelligence, Borleias Detachment
Aboard the MV Empire Miccol

SAIC Sando Qortini looked through the eyepieces of his black full-face-sealing mask as the six Imperial Intelligence agents pushed the six sealed, pressurized containers up the loading ramp of the MV Empire Miccol and into the ship. His men were dressed in identical uniforms to his: a black, fully-sealed helmet with integrated mask, its eyepieces opaque from the outside, as well as black combat uniforms complete with gloves and blaster carbines hung at their sides. The Imperial crew of the Miccol stood by warily, eying the Intelligence agents and their cargo with a mixture of suspicion and fear. Good, thought Qortini; he liked it that way. Once all of the containers were aboard, Qortini followed his men back into the cargo hold of the ship, where the agents were already securing the containers magnetically to the floor and ensuring that they were spaced out evenly throughout the bay.

Walking up to one of the containers, Qortini waved the agent next to it back away from it and knelt down. He punched the code into the keypad on the side of the container; there was a loud hiss and an accompanying release of misty air as the container depressurized and the top pushed up and slide to the side. Qortini stood up and looked down into the container, ensuring that all of the precious cargo inside was unharmed and secure. Stepping away from the container, Qortini nodded to the agent, who walked forward again and began resealing and pressurizing the container. Qortini pressed a button on the wall, activating the ship's intercom, and said simply, "Take off."

"Right away, sir," came the shaky voice of the captain's reply, and the engines hummed as they started up. Several minutes later, Qortini settled into a jump seat in the cargo bay as the ship blasted off away from Fondor and into hyperspace.