- Portions encrypted for personal use only -

35:2:8 12:19

A true blow to the Empire has been struck! - I only hope that the attempts to pin in on Sabik work; I fear that the rest of the vision I caught from Larness may be yet to come…- After the despair of yesterday, it was good to have a fairly successful completion of a mission.

I do worry about what Dash might be up to though; when we awoke this morning he was gone, and a guard told us he'd left earlier headed towards Sobrik. He was out of comms range by the time we found out, and as the only we advantages we had were surprise and speed, we decided to press on with the mission and track him down later. – I'm afraid he's had a lot of hard lessons lately – as have we all, but he's not had the experiences to help cope with them that the rest of have. Perhaps a long chat is overdue after this is done, to see how he's doing… assuming he feels like talking. –

Sticking to the speed advantage, we just took speeders towards the mine, and the three troops that Telmarr could spare. By 10:30 we were nearing the mine entrance, the Twilek troops hanging back out of sight but within comms range. Playing to the “advance delivery group” story, Sprend & Fox were wearing trooper armor scavenged from the convoy, and I'd put my officer accouterments onto my own clothing (Tor-nenko was in his regular – spotless still somehow… seriously, how?! I may have to get tips from him… – clothes - he'd have no problem passing as standard help).

Soon enough we were inside, the guards having bought the delivery story and Sprend's claim to be T4-887. I stood back to “supervise” the unloading by Fox & Sprend, and Tor-nenko was attempting to chat up the mine's mechanic (not very successfully it seemed, though he did still end up shadowing him further into the mine).

I tried to Sense how many guards we might be looking at, to no avail. - I was too jumpy about being in an Imperial facility and being uncovered I think… the only Force I could access in that state of mind felt… wrong. - I tried to convince the trooper commander that I needed to run an inspection before the coming influx of slaves, only to receive a snort and a “Why would you inspect this dump? Bad things would happen if we had to do an inspection, if you know what I mean…”

He was right - it didn't take the Force to see this place was in rough shape. A single minifridge as the commissary, junk everywhere, and a glimpse of very dubious-looking refresher as Fox opened its door and went in. Sprend followed him in and came back out shortly after, spinning a tale about his buddy slipping and hitting his head, and needing help dragging him out. The commander rolled his eyes but ordered one of the other troopers to go help out (well played, Fox & Sprend!).

As soon as the refresher door closed back shut, I walked in front of it, doing the dance common to most species. - Not the cleverest distraction… but not the cleverest people I needed to distract. - The commander seemed to be getting a little suspicious, so I reached out with the Force and connected Sprend & Fox in order to aid them in their subduing, and sent a “Hurry up!” into their minds in the process. - I wonder what THAT made them think… I later realized I'd not mentioned my newfound ability to do so. - A moment later Sprend commed asking if they should come out; I moved over towards the fridge: “Anything good in here?”, and as the commander was distracted I sent another “come out shooting” order to Sprend & Fox's minds.

They didn't disappoint; the refresher door popped open, and a blast from Sprend's rifle hit the commander square in the chest (and then ricocheting off and killing the control panel to the exterior doors… on purpose, or lucky shot?). Fox seemed a bit distracted though, as he swung & missed with his vibroknife. My own shot at the commander STILL didn't bring him down… which meant he was able to comm out. “These guys are nuts, we're under attack!”, followed by a dive behind some machinery.

Thankfully it went a bit smoother after that; the commander was clearly rusty in his training, as his shot went wide of me. My return volley knocked him out cold. The troopers outside were able to blast their way through the door before the Twilek reinforcements Sprend commed for could arrive, but they didn't last long under our combined barrage. - Although it did look like Fox dodged right into a nasty hit… - Sprend quickly commed Tor-nenko “We got 'em all”, shortly responded to with an update. It seemed Tor-nenko had found some kind of computer room and some samples of the ore being processed – it was a kind used in stealth field technology.

After a quick recon remote scouting of one of the other rooms (and some Sensing… apparently something large was in that “refresher”, good thing Fox & Sprend weren't in there any longer!), we all decided to join Tor-nenko. There was an apparent slave standing by the room's ore conveyor, and I strode right up to him and ordered him to tell us where they kept the mining charges. He seemed less than impressed to be ordered around - Damaria, he's a SLAVE - perhaps keep that in mind next time, and treat him nice instead of like every other Imperial he's had to deal with! -, but finally acquiesced and pointed towards the previously-reconned room.

Seeing none of the other “gentlemen” on the team were wanting to cross through the oil-slicked (and teeming with miniscule lifeforms) water into the explosives room, I muttered under my breath and headed in myself. A quick shout of “Equipment inspection!” seemed to mollify the occupants (they seemed pretty apathetic anyhow, no big surprise). After a quick warning that they might want to leave before Sabik came, I headed back through the slime into the conveyor room with a couple of packs of explosives. On the way back I saw Sprend standing at the edge of the “water”, staring dubiously at it. I glared back at him as I passed; he didn't need Force powers to tell that I was less than happy about doing ALL the carrying, and I heard a splash behind me as he went in to help.

Tor-nenko yanked out the security footage as we worked, and once enough explosives were carried in we set to work rigging the room to blow. (The Twileks were shuttling as much ore as they could out to the speeders in the meantime; no sense in wasting it all!) I once again reached out and connected us all through the Force - though it felt a little different this time; helpful still, but not as much so -. Tor-nenko managed to rig a comms-controlled remote detonator, and after a brief moment of apparent panic, Brown Fox shook his head clear and found the perfect place to set the charges. After clearing the room of the slave - apparently those in the explosives room had already fled – I wonder what Sprend said to them when he went in there? -, we booked it out and set off the charge. A loud rumble, a huge dust cloud, and the sound of a collapse, then silence. Mission accomplished.

- But what of the slaves still in there?! We didn't have enough room to bring any of them with us, and had to leave them to their own devices. Not right, not right! But… what could we do? Much as I'd like, we can't save everyone every time… but we should still be trying. -

As we sat outside the mine, Fox suggested heading to the raider camp and “acquiring” the stolen mining equipment to pay back Sabik with. It seemed a good a plan as any - and admittedly, a little revenge on them for the slaughter they perpetrated seemed sweet -, and so now we're on our way to the camp.

35:2:8 23:45

That was… not so successful.

The run-down camp had appeared fairly silent, so I sent the recon remote in to check it out. Nearly empty; just a few huddled slave girls, an elderly Duros women scrubbing the floor, and a couple of unrestrained women sitting at some desks in the middle of the back room. The older (non-pregnant, unlike the other) of those two spotted the remote, spat, and looked right into it: “Why don't you just come in, cowards?” Pushing further in, I spotted a room full of the equipment we were looking. A sudden jolt spun the remote as I flew it back out - a cracked lens showed the grinning visage of the old lady.

We decided to head on in; I took the lead, figuring the raiders would be more willing talk to a human (female, no less). - First mistake: not telling Fox to put back on the trooper armor. - It seemed to work at first; when we entered the back room the old women spat again, asking “Who are you? What've you done to our warriors?!” - Second mistake: assuming that meant these women were therefore not THEMSELVES a threat. You, of all people, should NOT be assuming that! - I responded by telling them we hadn't killed their warriors (technically true, although the explosives we set off the night of the attack might have), we were just there for our equipment and would be taking anyone back with us who wanted to come (looking pointedly at the slave women as I said this). - Third mistake: giving the raider women a choice, and time. -

Before I could react, the old woman then pulled out a pistol and aimed at Brown Fox. As she screeched “Die alien scum!”, I dove towards Fox and pushed him aside. A disruptor blast! - PAIN! Screaming in my head, fog in my mind, the back of my head feeling like a million fever wasps were burrowing into it! - Just a blur after… Sprend yelling something and leaping, a massive explosion, everyone on the ground.

A few moments later the shock abated and Tor-nenko ran over to Sprend's shrapnel-filled body (NOT a pregnant woman - apparently a bomb was strapped to her!) and tried to staunch the bleeding. I cleared my mind enough to reach out with it to Tor-nenko as he worked on Sprend. Thankfully he was able to stabilize Sprend enough to move, though the constant grimacing on Sprend's face and the network of shrapnel wounds crossing his body betrayed the pain he was still in. - We all owe him our lives… my respect for him continues to grow, he's certainly a much more vital part of this team than I'd thought on that first mission. -

While Fox, Tor-nenko and the Twileks started clearing out the mining equipment, Sprend & I sat together on the charred floor of the room, trying to steel ourselves to carry on. Tor-nenko came rushing out of the equipment room soon after, telling of a computer he'd hacked back there that said the Human League had captured Baron Swift and gave the location of the secure warehouse he was being held out. Sprend quietly handed me a stim with a grim nod, and we got up to carry on.

So now we're back in our van (retrieved from the convoy location) and headed towards Bin Prime. After looking at Sprend, Tor-nenko did what he could to help with my own injury. - I don't feel the mental fog anymore, but I could tell from the look on Tor-nenko's face that the wound wasn't good. After he moved back towards the front of the van, I checked out the back of my head. I think I'll have a scar there from now on… thankfully I think that I can cover it with my hair most of the time. –

Given the crazy way Sprend & Fox are driving - with a touch of help from the Force… I fear my condition led to drawing upon the darker side of it, but we need to get to the Baron as soon as possible! -, we will either get to the Baron's location in the middle of the night, or we won't get there at all.

35:2:9 13:26

We're all alive, and the Baron is free. I was worried that might not end up the case, but at least that much is true.

When we got close to the warehouse, Sprend winced and hopped out of the van, taking up a sniper position. As the rest of us continued on towards the entrance (guarded by two sentinels), shots rang out and the guards dropped. So much for the need for stealth.

Tor-nenko fiddled with the lock while Fox searched the bodies (a snort of derision indicated they were indeed Human League). A few seconds later the door slid open silently, and Sprend commed to indicate he was heading our way.

Murkiness beyond the door… this warehouse was MASSIVE. I crossed the dim threshold and reached out with the Force to try and Sense for life… nothing in range. - I was still preoccupied with worry for the Baron… again, I didn't care what part of the Force I had to draw on! - Fox & Tor-nenko followed behind as I went further into the warehouse, slipping between crates and between vats filled with a foul-looking green liquid. Finally, a sense of life! Weak, flickering, pain-filled… but I could feel it was definitely the Baron! - Apparently familiarity with someone allows me to sense more that just signs of life…-

I started darting as fast as I could in the Baron's direction, Tor-nenko and Fox trailing like hunters after a houndbeast. Shots and an explosion showed that Sprend had encountered resistance – a combat probe droid! Luckily he was able to take care of it as the rest of us continued towards the Baron. - My stomach turned when he quickly commed to tell us… what else might have gone unnoticed by me senses? -

Finally we found him! He was stuck inside one of those vat-like energy fields, surrounded by the vile liquid. As Fox had just shot at another of those vats in an attempt to slow down the droid, I knew shooting the Baron's would be a bad idea. As I closed in to inspect the tank closer, Tor-nenko suddenly stopped and yelled “It's a trap!” at me, the sound echoing through the building… followed shortly by Sprend's frustrated yell of “Shut up!”. - I know we're all injured, tired, and in a foul mood… but show some discipline! Are you TRYING to get us found?! -

A quick search of the area around the vat didn't show any traps. - I think Tor-nenko was just sleep-deprived and seeing things. - It also didn't show any obvious way to free the Baron, so I whipped out my blaster and hit the tank with its butt. Glass exploding everywhere! The liquid spilled out of the tank, gashing my hand and knocking the blaster out of it, and the Baron slumped to the ground. He was in bad shape, unconscious, obvious injuries to his arm and leg… we were going to have to carry him out. - Fracking Human League… I WILL take them out yet for this! -

As we stumbled through the vapors rising from the evaporating liquid, headed for the entrance, a loud clanking sound reverberated through the room. It was… familiar? I peered into the darkness, and my eyes widened in fright. An AT-ST at the far end! A panicked warning to the others, followed by renewed efforts towards the door. Another probe droid! As we passed by Sprend, he fired into the green mist flowing from the remains of the tank that had been shot earlier… fire rocked the warehouse! A portion of the roof collapsed, hampering the path of the walker that we all now saw rounding the corner towards us. Fox seemed to pass out in fear at the sight - thankfully Sprend was still nearby and hauled Fox through the doorway as Tor-nenko and I followed suit, the Baron swinging limply between us. The walker was not far behind, we'd never make it to the van in time!

Dash?! Apparently Marv had contacted him with details about the rescue, and he'd shown up from… whatever he was doing. - A LONG talk in order, I think. - We threw Baron into the van and all sped off back toward the Reactor Core, the sounds of heavy walker blasts ringing against the side of the building as we escaped.

And now we're back at the base, under Merlyn's worried care. Sprend and the Baron are in the bacta tanks, and the rest of us are being examined and treated as best as possible. - They both paid for their loyalties to the team and the Rebellion's ideals… the least I can do now is stay here providing what comfort I can while they heal. My injuries will heal on their own in time, according to Merlyn. - So now we rest and recover, hopefully out of the Empire's crosshairs for now.