[GCW] The Prototype (IG-88, Open)

[Lt. Renz]

Lt. Renz sat on the bridge the Guardian-class light cruiser Warden. The pilot and copilot moved the ship through the asteroids of the Ahibassi field, managing to avoid damage from the larger floating rocks. The vessel bounced constantly as tiny chunks of ice bombarded its shields and were incinerated, but it managed to keep a fairly straight trajectory. Renz hardly noticed. He had been on far more dangerous flights. Even so he gripped the arms of his command chair rather more tightly than usual, as if in anticipation of what was to come. The screen before him came to life, revealing the image of his superior, Colonel Dyer.

"Lieutenant Renz. I trust your journey is proceeding well?"

"Well enough, Colonel. I have, however, heard some rather worrying information. Rumors are circulating that the bounty hunter IG-88 is aboard to assist with our mission. Did you order this?"

"I did indeed, Lieutenant. IG-88 is a highly qualified bounty hunter, and this mission involves a delicate matter that requires the precision he is famed for."

"Of course, Colonel. I'll have him sent up to the bridge so you can brief him."

"See that it's done quickly. I am on leave in Theed at the moment and would rather not deal with this matter for any longer than necessary."

"It will be done, Colonel."

Renz's face clearly showed his distaste. He dislikes bounty hunters in the best of circumstances, and is clearly hurt at Dyer's lack of faith in his abilities. Nonetheless he swallows his feelings and activates the ship-wide comm, leaning close to speak into it.

"IG-88 should report to the bridge for briefing and discussion of his payment."

With that Renz sat back in his chair to await the hunter, trying not to show is mixture of anxiety and outright dislike for his superior's decision. After a few moments the turbolift arrives at the bridge level, and Renz swivels in his chair to await the opening of the doors and the entry of the killer droid.

[IG-88]

IG-88 waited on his ship, IG-2000, which was landed on the hanger. Inside the IG-2000 was the shutdown IG-88 sitting on the front seat. Resting his circuits.

"IG-88 should report to the bridge for briefing and discussion of his payment."

Immediately a red light shun from the assassin droid. "IG-88 on-line." He said to himself. Before leaving his seat and his ship. IG-88 made his way to the bridge. This pay had better be good. IG-88 did not have much like to the Empire. But his job would only be a distraction from his main objective.

IG-88 stood in front of the main doors. The doors slowly opened and IG-88 took a few steps in before spinning his head to observe he room. In the middle of the room was Lieutenant Renz who had been facing him. The inferior human. "You called me for briefing and discussion of his payment?" IG-88 called out from the distance he was standing.

[Lt. Renz]

Renz's knuckles grew white as he gripped the arms of the chair harder than ever before. The sinister cylindrical head and red sensors turned to face him, sending a chill down his spine. This was a droid that had killed hundreds without even looking back, a true terror to behold. Renz could only hope that its weapons weren't pointed at him. Still, he was an officer of the Empire, and should act as such.

"IG-88, you have arrived. Colonel, IG-88 is here and ready."

Colonel Dyer's face appeared once again on the monitor. Even his face seemed to be slightly paler than normal as he beheld the droid, but he showed no other signs of worry.

"IG-88, it is good that you have arrived in a timely fashion. We have a task that requires your... unique skills. You see, a Rodian named Kavdak, formerly in the employ of Seniar Fleet Systems, has made a poor decision. He stole the blueprints of the TIE Advanced 2 prototype, intended for Lord Vader's personal use, and fled to a remote base on an asteroid in this sector. We believe he intends to sell them to agents of the Bothan Spynet. If this were to occur it is entirely possible that the Rebel Alliance would lay hands on them, and that is not permissible. Your task is two-fold. First, eliminate any agents of the Spynet and recover the bluprints. Destroy any duplicates Kavdak may have created. Second, capture Kavdak to be brought back to Imperial Center for trial. If he is near escape, you may be forced to kill him. He must not get away. You will be payed fifty thousand credits if Kavdak is killed, or eighty thousand if you capture him. All objectives must be completed before the credits are transfered to you. Are these terms agreeable?

Renz sat perfectly still, awaiting the droid's response. He hoped that Dyer was being reasonable in his bargaining, because if not his life might well be forefit.

[IG-88]

IG-88 stood still. SHowing no sign of movement or emotion. For a minuet he thought to himself. Fifty thousand would be easier. But eighty thousand was alot more rewarding. Of course he could return the blueprints. But also why not build an Advance 2 TIE himself. Some new advance TIE's would greatly help him on his objective for the end of obsolete life forms.

Suddenly IG-88 had broken the silence, and tension. "Primary objective one. Eliminate any agents of the Spynet and recover the blueprints. Destroy any duplicates Kavdak may have created. Primary objective two. Capture Kavdak to be brought back to Imperial Center for trial. If he is near escape, you may be forced to kill him." IG-88 went back into silence and pondered. "Agreed" He said out loud.

[Admiral Ackbar]

ooc: i hope its ok if he is giving the plans to the Rebels instead.

Admiral Ackbar sat in the command center of a remote base located on an asteroid. "To pick such a place for a transaction." he said awaiting the arrival of the Rodian. "Captain. When was our transaction supposed to take place? We need those plans."

"About half an hour ago Commander Ackbar." the man said growing somewhat impatient himself.

"I see. Well I suppose if we get the plans it will not matter as much. I am still worried about the threat of the Empire. They are sure to be searching for these plans." Ackbar said as he sat somewhat on-edge in his snowish white chair.

[Lt. Renz]

((OOC: Sure, no problem.))

"Excellent! Well, now that that is settled, we can move the ship into position. Renz, prepare your men. We don't know what to expect."

With that the Colonel's face disappeared, and Renz breathed a sigh of relief. He had survived the negotiation process. Releasing his clenched hands from the side of his chair he stood as the Warden moved into position. A few domed buildings on the surface of the asteroid were visible outside the viewport, but otherwise the area was startlingly desolate. Strangely enough a ship much larger than the Warden seemed to be on the other side of the asteroid. A sensor malfunction? The cruiser extended its combat grapples and brought its airlock to meet with the station's. Renz hurried down to the airlock, trying to ignore the sinister droid that tracked his every move.

His squad of twelve stormtroopers was assembled, with another squad of eight ready to perform backup duties. Taking a deep breath Renz took a position at the back of his group. He nodded to the squad leader, who removed a powerful fusion cutter from his utility belt. He sawed through the station's airlock, then kicked in the door. Renz gave the order to charge, and the squad was inside like a flash.

The stormtroopers ran in firing at anything that moved, causing a pair of droids to explode into scrap metal. One of the stormtroopers was reduced to a pile of ash, but the Twi'lek who shot him with a disruptor fell to the ground moments later. Renz had shot her directly between the eyes. The squad continued in, fighting off a few criminals in their quest to reach the center. They paused for a moment, and Renz took out his pocket scanner. Sure enough, there was a ship on the other side. A Mon Calamari cruiser. The Rebellion had arrived already!

"Men, fan out and look for our target. Be alert, there are Rebels here with us. They must not escape with the blueprints!"

[Admiral Ackbar]

The alarm blared flashing red lights all around the base and the computerized female voice continued to repeat, "Alert! Alert! Empire ship en route! Evacuate the base!"

Once the alarm had gone off Ackbar sighed for the trade with the Rodian had just begun. He stood up quickly and said, "Follow me to my ship. If you leave in that tiny fighter of yours you will be annihilated." The Rodian obliged and followed Ackbar through the white hallways. Once they had reached the docking bay the alarm changed it message and said, "The Northern airlock has been breached! Evacuate immediately!" Ackbar frowned and then quickly boarded Home One along with the Rodian and a few other Rebels.


ooc: this was the sig i made for you

[IG-88]

IG-88 followed Renz into the airlock. He awaited patiently behind the crowd of storm troopers. Once Renz had opened the door, IG-88 had already darted through. Before Renz could even give the order to move out. Outside the surface was as any normal asteroid. Hard and rocky. the sky was pitch black with a few shining stars. Of course, but there was no time to concentrate on that now.

Right now nearly all fire power was aiming on IG-88. And IG-88 fired back at his attackers. Killing one human and as the storm troopers arrived to aid him. 2 more fell dead. IG-88 threw a thermal detonator in a small ditch were few of them were taking cover. As the enemy ran out noticing they had few seconds to run before they were killed. They had to suffer the flame coming from IG-88. IG-88 equipped his flame thrower and began putting the enemy on retreat.

IG-88 had already burned 5 enemies. Until another explosion was seen. The small scrap metal of the now destroyed droids fell below IG-88. IG moved over to the dead astromech droids. He had slight grief for them that his own kind were killed by the faction he is now working for. With that IG-88 ran back into battle.

[Lt. Renz]

Though the troopers combed the base and even the asteroid's exterior no sign of their target could be found. That left only one possibility: the Rodian was already aboard the Rebel cruiser. Unfortunately, while the Warden was more than a match for small groups of pirates it was ill-equipped to take on a capital ship. That left only one possibility: a lightning boarding action. The squad would have to dash across the retracting boarding ramp and onto the ship, then locate and destroy the blueprints. They would have no line of retreat unless they could reach the escape pods, but as long as the objective could be accomplished the men were willing to die for their Emperor.

Even as they reached the south airlock, blowing a few mercenaries out of their way, it was almost too late. The ramp was half way back. They would have to jump. While the stormtroopers and IG-88 didn't need to worry about exposure to vacuum, Renz was not a droid and didn't have a sealed suit or air supply. In the cold vastness of space he'd only be conscious five seconds, and only live for ten. The odds weren't good, but the objective had to be accomplished. Renz and his troops took a running leap out into the freezing darkness.

White armor struggled to reach the rapidly retracting boarding ramp, hands outstretched. If the troopers bumped each other they might go flying out into the void. Some of them did, taking their inevitable doom silently. They had died, and their deaths must not be in vain. At last one of the troopers reached the ramp and grabbed on. He sent a grapple line back, and five more troopers managed to cross it. Two had flown to their deaths, and four were forced to remain behind if they wished to survive. Renz struggled, the darkness around him growing steadily darker. The last thing he saw for several minutes was an armored hand held out to him.

When the officer awoke the squad medic was desperately trying to get the artificial respirator to function. If Renz's lungs failed to fill, this trooper (a normal human recruit from Corellia) would be held responsible. Fortunately for him, the officer was breathing under his own power again. He had survived, but only barely. The group stood in the airlock. Both of its doors were sealed, denying them both exit and entry. They would have to blow their way through to proceed. TU-776, the team mechanic, pulled out his fusion cutter and began to slice his way through the interior door. Hopefully they could gain entry before internal scanners picked them up...

[Admiral Ackbar]

"We've got to make the jump to hyperspace! We don't have the time to stay here and fight! More Imperials will be here soon!" Ackbar shouted at the crew. "Prepare for the jump! Oh and Captain activate the self-destruct. Those Imperials won't find anything in there."

"Yes sir!" the man exclaimed before hurring off to a console. He began pressing a sequence of buttons and soon an alert message could be heard from the asteroid, "Self-Destruct Sequence Activated. Base will Self-Destruct in 10 minutes." Alerting all on the asteriod of the impending explosion every 30 seconds.

"We will be long gone by then." Ackbar said before turning to the Rodian, "Well I suppose we should go discuss the terms of the exchange now." Ackbar walked out of the Bridge motioning for the Rodian to follow. Eventually they reached a conference room. Both Ackbar and the Rodian took a seat and began to discuss the exchange.

[IG-88]

IG-88 aided Renz and his stormtroopers, to the south air lock. WHich was where IG-88 would enter and split up as he knew were to locate the plans when he secretly scanned the ship. He had to get to those blueprints first before anyone else. Once they reached the south air lock, it was a disappointing sight. The ramp was already drawing back. Leaving the storm troopers confused and hesitating. It was only Renz who had the same idea on his mind IG-88 did.

IG-88 would have to take the first move. And to show the stormtroopers what they must do. IG-88 took a run up. Jumping out into the freezing vacuum. There was no breathable air. No air particles. It seemed as if everything slowed down. He was half way in his jump now. And already IG-88 felt the ice coldness. His circuits slowly freezing as IG-88 was not built for going out in the exposure.

IG-88 finally made it on the rebel cruiser. So did the other troopers and a nearly dead Renz. TU-776 came trying to fusion cut his way through the air lock. IG-88 looked at him pathetically before he went to the right side of the room where he examined the control panel to open the door. Of course the rebels would only know these codes, which the Empire would have to try and figure out or break in, leaving the enemies aware of their intrusion if they do break the doors. IG-88 closed his hands and fused one of his circuits coming from his shoulder onto the control panel. 3 Seconds later the panel was hacked and the door was unlocked. leaving the stupid mechanic surprised and confused.

[Lt. Renz]

TU-776 dropped his tools as the door slid easily open, hacked by the assassin droid the Empire had hired. IG-88 was certainly proving his worth, but how far could he be trusted? The mechanic gathered and put away his scattered instruments, then followed TU-778 through the now open door. Renz came at the back of the group, marveling at the feeling of fresh air in his lungs again. The Rebels seemed to be unsuspecting of the infiltrators: no troopers patrolled the hallways, and the crew remained at their stations. The squad would have to quickly locate the Rodian and take back the blueprints, then destroy them unless they could reach an escape pod. Just then a transmission came through, and Renz picked up his communicator.

"Renz, this is Captain Shoranne of the Warden. We've detected an explosive device on the asteroid that could potentially destroy my vessel, so we'll have to pull out all troops and disengage our docking clamps. We'll be unable to provide any fire support or pick up your pod, but I'll try and stay in the system for as long as possible. We'll use the asteroids as cover to remain undetected. If there's anything we can do, let us know. Shoranne out."

Renz breathed a long sigh. The squad was now well and truly isolated, without any real backup. Their only hope was to destroy the plans before being killed. Still, they had a powerful bounty hunter with them. They stood a good chance as long as they weren't double-crossed. The officer turned back to his squad and looked over each of them in turn.

"Men, this may well be the end for all of us, especially if the Rebels intercepted that transmission. In case we don't all make it, it's been an honor to serve with you all. Let's move! For the Emperor!"

The squad leapt around the corner, firing stun blasts into the crew of the rear port-side sensor station. If the Rebels were scanning the ship for life signs they would pick up the stunned crew members, hopefully not noticing anything was amiss due to a lack of fatalities. Unfortunately Home One was a large ship, and the Imperial troops could only guess where to go from there. Then Renz was struck with a brilliant idea.

"IG-88, we need you to hack into the sensor station and determine the location of any recently accessed meeting rooms. They should have a security system on the door to any such place that records who opens it, and if we can determine where the highest authority authorization codes, perhaps those of a captain of even a higher ranking officer, have been used we can locate the room where the exchange is taking place. We'll cover you."

The squad took positions around the computer terminals, then allowed IG-88 through. Hopefully they could complete the information download before Rebel security forces noticed them.

[Admiral Ackbar]

ooc: Just out of curiosity. Don't you think a breach anywhere in the ship while out in space would alert those aboard it?

[Lt. Renz]

((OOC: Three reasons: first, the door wasn't fully cut when IG-88 hacked it. Second, it was the inner door, meaning that even if it ruptured no oxygen would leave. There would be no direct conduit to space, which means that it likely wouldn't be noticed anyway. Third, most ships would have their alarms on the outer door, as that would be the first one breached during a boarding action))