Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Dapper Dog]

The Ortolan of the Power Station send an emergency message to Echo Base, White Maw pirates have come to make them pay protection and demand that they give these jerks the boot.

The team is enroute when the event begins.

OOC: This is open to Four characters, no sidekicks. They should have access to a hoth-proof mode of transportation to arrive in time.

[Jan Melmoar]

Jan had considered ignoring the emergency message, really she did. But it was just so...blinky there on the dashboard, and worse it could only be snoozed for 5 minutes at a time.

So with a sigh she'd jumped aboard her recently hoth-proofed speeder (which now sported a golden Ortolan decal) and had gunned it for the power station to meet her obligations.

And maybe also shoot someone, who can tell?

[Pipka]

Hearing a distress call had come in from the Ortolans, Pipka could only thing of his forever friend Gibzy Wizy Tik. The man, humanoid elephant, sentient being was a week away from retirement and had a fiance waiting for him at home. No way he would let a bunch of pirates take that from him.

Pipka dropped everything he was doing and hauled out of the hangar in the Rabbit.

He was relieved to see Ms. Jan on her way as well.

[OOC] someone can flag me down and hitch a ride if they want, I've got room for passengers. No guns on the speeder, but good, long range sensor array and heavy defense.

[Omandri Rist]

Omandri heard there was an emergency and hitched a ride with the little chadra-fan. He bundled up in his winter coat and hat with a big shield on his back in case things went sideways.

"Thanks for the lift, didn't have a chance to Hoth proof my ship yet."

[I'll take you up on that]

[Katarzyna Panteer]

Covered in her thermally protected Jedi robes and wearing her armor as usual, Kat was quick to answer the call as well. She attached the fusion lantern to the saddle of her thranta and followed after the speeders.

----

OOC: I'm in. Kat has a thranta that can tolerate the cold.
In addition to her gear in the signature, she's bringing a fusion lantern.

[Qozaiym Zholyeva]

“Well Team Ortolan, our friends were light on details but expect heavy Pirate Maw resistance. Zhis is our first real encounter on the ground against zhese brigands, assess zheir combat capabilities and organization. Given our first encounter do not underestimate zhem,” the General said over the commlink.

[Leontyne Saresh]

The senator added over the commlink, “But this is still a diplomatic mission, we don't want to antagonize these pirates needlessly. Use your best judgment.”

OOC: Give you a few posts to plan/roleplay if you like or just get to it, your choice.

[Omandri Rist]

"Well if we can resolve this without a firefight I'm always going to vote for that. Best thing is if everyone can make it home and it'll be good to get a chance to observe their weaponry before we have to face it. But we'll do what we have to." He replied

[Jan Melmoar]

"Zis is Jan Melmoar, Ze Zall Zink carefully on our actions."

Flicking her comms to the local (PC channel).
"Pipka, darling, was that you I saw flying down? How's the launcher feeling today? And your passenger, I knew Hoth was a small world but this is ridiculous, if you wanted to see me again you only had to call."
Jan leans back in her chair.

"And there appears to be someone flying some kind of dinosaur above us, that's new. That's not Princess Panteer is it?"
She listens to Omandri over the comms without polite interest.

"Oh yes, hope for peace but prepare for war? No objections from me dear. No objections at all. I'm all about the peaceful resolution of problems. That being said I might just stand behind everyone during the meeting, I get terribly cold in this wind."

[Qozaiym Zholyeva]

Back at he Base

"Was she mocking me?" the General considered.

[Pipka]

"That's right, the mission, I shouldn't blow it for our clients or Nudimsu will get upset." Pipka mutters after hearing the general's and senator's announcements.

"Hi, thanks for jumping on to help out, my name's Pipka by the way." He extends a hand across his body to Omandri while piloting the speeder. "If you want to collect some information, hop in that seat over there and spool up the sensors."

Pipka happily responds to Jan, "Yep, it's me. The launcher is ready and waiting. I'm with you, hopefully we won't need to use them, but I'll have mine for when we do."

He leans forward to try and get a look above them, 'Princess Panteer, and she's a flying dinosaur, I only know about the four human princesses, did one of the princes get remarried. Or is it an illegitimate child. I wonder if she's the late king's or the queen's. I really need to visit Alderaan, I can see why Jerri is so inspired now.'

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[OOC]Can Omandri use the long range sensors to get a lay of the land and maybe detect pirate vehicles or comms?

Additional Rules:
Long-Range Terrain Scanner: Make an average (2 difficulty) Computers check to produce maps using the scanner. These maps add a success result to survival checks used to navigate the terrain shown by the maps (plus 1 success for ever 2 advantages from the computers check).

[Katarzyna Panteer]

"Katarzyna Panteer," she responded over the comms, figuring she might as well introduce herself. "Pleasure to work alongside you all. Hoping it won't come to violence and we can get the pirates to back off, but ready for a fight if they want one. But knowing these pirates, it probably will be a fight."

"In case that happens, I am more of a close-range fighter... I will try to protect anyone close by."

[Pipka]

Pipka calls back over comms, "I just want to make sure my friend Gibzy Wizy Tik and his people are safe from those pirates, by whatever means that takes. I like to stay at a distance, and my launcher does tend to go boom and not discriminate between friend and foe, so fair warning there." Realizing he wasn't going into combat with his usual allies who knew his capabilities and shortcomings gave a slight hit to his confidence.

[Katarzyna Panteer]

"Noted," she replied with confidence in not only her own abilities, but the abilities of the entire team. "We're all in this together - we'll succeed. The Force is with us."

[Omandri Rist]

Omamdri moved to the scanners as they approached getting ready for the possible confrontation.

[Dapper Dog]

OOC: Omandri can make the check I will flip a destiny foe 1eC+1eD+2eS accounting for the blizzard.

[Omandri Rist]

Omandri wasn't exactly a computer guy but he was clever enough to make sense of the controls fairly easily.

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D3 MM ortolan aid average Computers, gm upgrade 2 setback: 5eA+1eC+1eD+2eS 5 successes, 1 threat

[Immortal]

The power station was an open U-like structure several hundred meters across with small homes crowded into the center, most one to two stories but at least it was orderly. Omandri gets a clean outline of the region but his scanning tips off the pirates who dig in.

By the time they arrive the pirates have moved most of the residents into the main facility, a central building at the apex of the U.

The blizzard rages as a group of pirates file behind a blast door.

The rest of the pirates are congregated in the central area and they notice a trio of ortolan standing there, under some duress. One central figure stands out as they stand behind the three ortolan, a sidearm in hand.

[Jan Melmoar]

Mildy. "Well, that looks ominous. I hate hostage scenarios, everything always gets so very complicated. And everytime the negotiator fails they scream at the snipers to fix it."

She brings her speeder to a slow stop, not too close to alarm the pirates or Ortolans, then there's a couple seconds of working out which of her guns to take before she just decides to grab all of them. This could get rather interesting after all.

"Well, whoever wants to jump out first and go talk to them, be my guest."

[Katarzyna Panteer]

"I'll go," Kat volunteered. The good thing about the Jedi is that they were willing to step up to such tasks as getting shot first.

Landing the thranta, she let the creature fly away to keep its distance. She knew she could call it to return.

The armored Jedi stepped forward calmly, empty hands held out to her sides to show that she wasn't holding any weapons. "What is going on here?" she asked, getting their attention hopefully, and also trying to assess the situation more closely.

[Omandri Rist]

Omandri pulled out his medical kit and found a pill from his refined strain and took it. He had reduced the side effects but the compound was a little less stable. The pill took effect immediately calming his nerves and suppressing them allowing him to be more affable and at ease.

"I'll come with Kat, I'm not much use on the speeder." He said following just behind the jedi eyes scanning the area as they approached.

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D3 MM ortolan aid stim app presence hard medicine boost from med kit: 2eP+3eA+1eB+3eD 3 successes, 4 advantage


Take 1 strain use 1 adv to heal, 3 adv to notice something interesting/useful about the scene?

[Katarzyna Panteer]

A nod was given to Omandri as he joined her side. Two was better than one.

[Pipka]

Pipka had pulled the Rabbit about a medium distance away from the assembled pirates before letting Omandri out.

He prepared three rounds of anti-infantry rounds and one anti-vehicle round (just in case) in his launcher and stayed in the safety and cover of the Rabbit, waiting to see how things unfolded before giving away his tactical advantage.

[Immortal]

The armored Jedi stepped forward calmly, empty hands held out to her sides to show that she wasn't holding any weapons. "What is going on here?" she asked, getting their attention hopefully, and also trying to assess the situation more closely.

“You realize you are interfering in White Maw business,” the leader said in a modulated voice.

“You must be stupid, or have a deathwish.”

[Katarzyna Panteer]

"These ortolans called for help. We answered." She replied cooly as she took off the helmet, letting soft steams of warm air out from the heating system. "They are allies of ours. And... you must be one of the leaders of the White Maw, I take it?"