World Tree MUSH

  Port Pixelito is still the slightly dangerous spaceport serving the whole of the planet of Malastare. Today General Juno Eclipse waits in the industrial sector. Today they're going to infiltrate the First Order base nearby, which is only half-built behind its First Order banners.

  Juno isn't actually in the base, but she's lingering in the shadows nearby, leaned carefully against a wall with her arms folded. She looks tired, but she always does. Maybe it's just the high gravity; the constant, exhausting pull groundward.

  As others start arriving she nods at each in greeting.

  "We'll wait until everyone's here. The plan is no different. We infiltrate, plant explosives, and then we get out of there. I'll trigger them remotely. The First Order shouldn't even have time to react if we do things right. If anybody screws this up, I'll be exfiltrating immediately."

  Fingers tap against the opposite forearm, thoughtfully. "If you see anything you want that belongs to the Imperials, take it. I don't care. Just don't let them catch any of us, and we'll have done our best."

    A figure steps out of the shadows near Juno, pulling her hood down. "Pass unseen in plain sight. That is one of the core tenets of the Assassin Brotherhood." she remarks, as others arrive. She folds her arms in front of her, letting her crestless cape fall around her shoulder. "I know not how to set these devices up, though I can silently clear a path of guards, though that would likely enforce a timelimit, depending on when they are set to change."

    As she speaks, she moves and her legs give off a soft, metalic grating sound... it's not as bad as when she first came, perhaps Da Vinci modified the design a little.

    This place really helps out with Hamon practice, that's for sure. The gravity's just enough to be uncomfortable, but not if he keeps his breathing in that rhythmic way of generating that sunlight-like energy. That makes things a lot easier.

    That said, this isn't a mission that sits well with him. Josuke understands that this base has to go... but the idea of letting people die just for following the wrong philosophy is just... unpalatable. But he's not about to just turn his back. This mission is going to go on whether he's here or not. Maybe he can save a few of them on the way?

    But even with that, Josuke's not about to start preaching at the people here -- as much as he counts them allies, he also knows the whole 'you're just a kid, you don't know anything' is the first weapon anyone older than him has in their arsenal. So as usual, he's going to do his own thing once they get on the mission!

    There's no need for anyone to know that though, right...?

    For now though, he nods to Juno's words. "Right... try not to be seen. I can try to short out the cameras, but that might get the guards suspicious too," he offers.

    Josuke's not the only one troubled about this mission; the more Hyouka thinks about it, the more it bothers her. She's actively participating in warfare, here. It's a little different from fighting off bandits or stopping mad wizards. This is a bombing. People are going to die believing they're supporting their government, their 'country'.

    She's consoling herself with the fact it's an oppressive government guilty of atrocities. But it still hits different. Surprisingly enough, DARGN has been largely silent so far.

    "I don't know how stealthy I can be," Hyouka says. "But I'll try. At the very least, this body can be pretty silent when I need it to be." Superhuman muscles, reflexes and body control are worth something, at least.

    "Are you sure the kid'll be alright with the droid?"
    It's a question Juno Eclipse has heard about a hundred times by now, but to The Mandalorian, this litany that he relgiously recites almost every time they so much as step foot off their ships may as well be testamant and gospel to how he feels about The Child, Droids, and the presence of the former with the latter.
    Nevertheless, The Mandalorian is here as ready as he'll ever be to bomb the everliving daylights out of the First Order. Because when the oppressive governing Empire turns into an even more oppressive faction of zealots and brainwashed flunkies, there really is no difference in 'things Din Djarin hates'
    He hates The Empire.
    He hates The First Order.
    Simple as that.

    Some people might have doubts. One here does not. Athena is in full battle dress, though not the heaviest armor she has. Suitable for movement and the like, looking akin to The Mandalorian's armor, though likely much less durable than actual beskar is. Still, it's power armor and quite solid. Her usual choice of slugthrower pistol and energy rifle is traded for two energy weapons, one rifle and one pistol.
    "I know a little bit about explosives, but just enough to know how they work," Athena says after the plan. "I'll be a scout and ready in case we need exfiltration." She doesn't really have a problem otherwise... goddess of Warfare and all. "Little Owl can be a good scout at least."

    The drone, perched on her shoulder, beeps lightly and swivels the twin cameras, as if looking around like a bird.

  "Something like that." This, to Piera. Juno leans over to one side to check the charge on first one of the blasters holstered at her hip, and then then other. Josuke earns a sidelong look. "Ostensibly, we shouldn't be here long enough for security cameras to be a problem, but as long as you don't mind imposing a time limit on the operation, feel free. If I were up there--" She thumbs skyward, "--I'd be doing that myself."

  Juno shrugs in answer to Hyouka, with a sigh. "Understandably so. All we need is to get in without alerting anyone. Getting out is bound to be messy; they'll be swarming like a freighter passing by a mynock nest if we're still in there when the charges go off. Do your best, and that's all I can ask of you."

  She only glances at the Mandalorian, staring at that opaque helmet. "If so much as a hair on his head is out of place, PROXY is keenly aware that I can and will break him down for scrap and feed him to the hyperdrive."

  End of story.

  Lastly, she glances at Athena, studying her for a moment or two. Evidently she's satisfied with whatever she finds, nodding once to herself before Athena speaks. She does lift a brow. "Serve as a spotter for us, and cover during exfiltration would be quite useful." She eyes Little Owl a moment or two. "Cute droid," she adds. While Juno might be stone-faced, she actually does mean it. The thing is strangely adorable.

  "I hope all of you read up on the information I sent you. The rendezvous point should be mostly empty; I've timed our operations to the changing of the guard." Juno claps her hands together, muting the sound with her gloves. "All right. Let's go."

  It's a quick trip to the base, which is... curiously empty. Only a few Imperials are here on their patrol rounds, and those are easily evaded, even for Hyouka, by ducking out of sight.

  Juno motions the group forward every time the way is clear, slinking further into the base with a cold determination. There's a crackling air about her to the Force-sensitive or emotionally sensitive -- this is not the gruff but upstanding veteran, but a vicious and bloodthirsty predator on the hunt. If she can satisfy some of her bloodlust while she's here, particularly in the name of Rebel duty, all the better.

  She is... probably not half as heroic as some of these people might assume she is. Not any more. There's a reason she's such a useful and efficient Rebel asset, when she's on her game.

  Small wonder she gets along so well with Mando.

  The rendezvous point is a dimly-lit junction, inside the pre-fabricated hallway of a base that's mostly empty. Construction and transport vehicles and droids parked outside suggest this part of the building still has a lot of work to go.

  Juno narrows her eyes. She pitches to a halt and her gloved hand rises, flat, in simple gesture: Stop.

  Two Imperial stormtroopers amble by, loosely carrying rifles. The old general shrinks back into the shadows, and she's almost trembling as she watches them go -- not out of fear, but out of anticipation. Oh, it's so wretchedly tempted to shoot first and ask questions later.

  Dust sifts down from the walls and ceiling as the building settles. With a mechanised 'huh?' both stormtroopers turn to look, and their helmets sweep right over where Juno hides -- she holds her breath -- but they turn away without spotting her.

  Hastily, Juno signals for the group to continue. According to the schematics, they're nearly there.

    Piera nods to the General, and falls easily enough in line as the group moves out. Even in this high gravity environment, the Assassin moves like water, somehow the creaking of her leg braces vanishes as she gets into her element. She ducks from place to place, and almost. /ALMOST/ pounces on the troopers as they turn back to look at where Juno is hidden.

    Their ambivilence saves them, as she retracts her hidden blade when they turn away again. She heads to another bit of cover once the troopers are out of range.

    True to her word, Hyouka's artificial body gives her at least some advantage. She doesn't have the knowledge of movement and posture that a trained infiltration expert would, but she does have inhuman poise and inhuman speed; a control of her body that lets her plant her feet carefully, and take swift advantage of opportunities. She moves instantly every time Juno beckons, and holds unnaturally still every time she needs to. Even the heavy gravity of Malastare isn't enough to take that from her.

    Oh lordy does her faux-dragon heart nearly leap out of her chest when the troopers whip around. She is, thankfully, tucked well in hiding; and she spends the next several seconds after they move on, deeply thankful for automated reflexes and the ability to hold her breath indefinitely.

    Josuke nods to Juno. "Yeah, it's just something to think about if it's needed, if we end up having to run, or if we need to draw the guards to other places so we can move around easier," he notes.

    As he follows the group to the base he's definitely taking the stealth approach. It's not his strong suit, but 'put something between yourself and somebody who would otherwise be able to see you' isn't too hard. And the rhythm that he's trying to keep his breathing in tends to be a softer one anyway.

    He freezes as those troopers look straight at Juno, though he's ready to leap out and pummel them if he needs to. Fortunately they move on. Whew. Onward, then!

    Little Owl beeps a little squeak at being called cute, making Athena smirk, but she doesn't comment. At least her superhuman body is able to handle the heavier gravity. She fingers her pistol lightly, but is moving with surprising quiet, though it would be... generous to call it 'stealth' so much as 'not a clumsy clatter' like might be expected.

    Fortunately she doesn't need to draw her weapon yet, glancing over shoulder when the group moves on past the troopers. Over comms, she comments, "The troops here seem pretty militarized. That kind of armor wouldn't be for walking around the city in my world."

    Mando has to be sure.
    He really doesn't like droids.
    But Juno's answer seems to placate the man in the Beskar mask.
    So it's time to move on with it.
    While stealth is not The Mandalorian's forte, he's a trained warrior, and moving quietly, even in all that heavy beskar, isn't TOO difficult.
    It's when the two Stormtroopers pass that Mando slides into a shadow, one hand slowly edging to the blaster at his hip.
    Visor swapping from normal vision to thermal, he scans to see if these two are the only troopers around.
    He can let these two go, especially if they aren't so keen on doing their job to check the shadows.
    "... So. How long can you hold your breath?"
    It's an idle question to Hyouka over the group's comms.
    "Stormtroopers are supposed to be the Empire's best. But most of them couldn't hit the broadside of a sandcrawler in the midday Tatooine suns." He notes to Athena. "Their armor's cheap and won't stand up to a good heavy blaster."

  The old general's eyes flick to Piera as the assassin readies herself to pounce, combining that urgent look with a short, sharp shake of her head: Bad idea. The stormtroopers manage to get away, none the wiser.

  She's struggling a little under the pull of Malastare's gravity, but nothing she can't keep on top of. Her breathing is a little harsh, and even in the low light she looks like she's sweating a little. That gravity makes everything cost more energy. Even the simplest actions are more difficult.

  Juno reaches up to thumb the comm switch on her headset.

  <<Mando's right. Their armour isn't as special as it looks. If it were, they wouldn't even be able to move under Malastare's gravity, and Imperial interests do so hate to recruit non-humans.>> Juno's lip curls in disdain. <<They don't even like women to climb too high in their ranks. I doubt that's changed much over the years.>>

  She's off and moving again, loping as low to the ground as she can stand to be. It takes physical effort to move like that, but walking tall would be too much of a visual signal.

  Eventually they come to an intersection of three hallways. Juno reaches for her belt, withdrawing a small box with a blinking red light on it, sticking it to the wall. With a tiny hiss of pressurised air, it clings to the surface as though glued there.

  <<First charge is set. Let's get to the second location before we're spotted.>> She glances down one hallway and then the other, quickly. <<I don't like this. There are too few stormtroopers.>> Off they go, though, and Juno leads the party forward, loping along corridors with a grimace. Her calves are killing her. <<I'll be happy to get back in zero-gravity after this. Damn. I've never liked Malastare's gravity.>>

    Piera has to rely on Aquila, clinging to her shoulder for access to the comm network. The Shinki's thrusters aren't strong enough for the Malastare gravity, so she's having to cling on for dear life as the group moves. <<It could be a trap. We should be cautious.>> advises the little robot, though Piera keeps her own council to herself. She watches the device being placed, but keeps a weather eye down the other ways in, just in case more troopers come.

    <<I know what you mean,>> Athena agrees. <<I've been hanging out on Mars too much. Lighter gravity. If I were still fully human I'd be having a lot more trouble, but even I can feel this.>> She keeps her comms mostly clear after that, the comment about too few stormtroopers making her eyes narrow in suspicion. Things going too easy is always bad.

    A little gesture, and Little Owl pops off the shoulder, whisper-quiet fans just a little louder now. The heavier gravity makes the tiny drone struggle a lot more than Athena, so the engines have to keep going more. Still, the little drone zips out to scan the area ahead for anything amiss, leaving Athena to watch the rear.

    Josuke has likely had to be furnished with a comm so he can be in the loop -- it's unlikely the comms will interface properly with a late 90s Nokia, after all. And Juno's account of these guys' organization over that comm gets a frown. He is going to keep the chatter to a minimum, but he does comment, <<That's lame.>>

    he keeps out of sight, and out of the junction when Juno puts the charge in place. And he also agrees quietly, <<I noticed that. Isn't this place supposed to be important? Or it will be when it's finished. Why would they leave it this unguarded?>>

    "Indefinitely," Hyouka replies to the Mandalorian as they get moving. She's glad of the distraction, however brief. "I don't really know much about magitech, but some of the spellwork engraved in my frame keeps me oxygenated... somehow or other. I can walk on the ocean floor if I feel like it." There's a cheeky little grin at that. She's done so, at least briefly.

    The topic of Stormtroopers is a little more sobering, and the cyborg frowns softly. "To a normal person, even a weak soldier is still scary. Just a few years ago I was normal, you know." It's weird to think of herself as no longer a 'normal person', but the life of an adventurer has slowly nudged her mindset.

    "Ah, if anyone ends up needing carried, the gravity's not enough to bother me at all, I can pick you up and run," she adds.

    Malastare's gravity is pretty daunting. Chances are high that Mando is sweating like a beast from exertion under all that heavy beskar. But he doesn't complain in the least as he keeps himself in a low tactical crouch-walk, which likely strains himself even further in the process. But he'll endure.
    When Juno plants the first charge, he eyes down the paths.
    Chances are high he's frowning behind that T-shaped visor.
    <<Anyone else not liking this? Because I'm really not liking this.>>

  At some point the loping eventually gives way to hurried shuffling. It's the best she can manage under gravity's pull, but it does get her from one end of the hall to the other relatively quickly.

  Juno is already fingering the second charge into place as they reach the point she'd designated as the second load-bearing wall. <<Sabotage is always a possibility, yes.>> Piera's caution earns a shrug. Juno pauses to eye the corridors; large stenciled markings in Galactic Basic point the way to its facilities. It'll be a pretty big base once it's finished.

  Not in her galactic back yard.

  <<There we are.>> Juno reaches for the device at her belt, sticking it to the wall as she'd done before. <<That should do it. All right, everyone. Off we go. Back out the way you'd come. We should be able to thread our way back without anybody noticing. If we get separated, we'll meet at the original rendezvous point.>>

  It's still too dang quiet, though, so much that Juno can't help feeling suspicious; a familiar old itch between her shoulder blades. <<We should hurry. I've got a bad feeling about this.>>

    Piera frowns a little. She focuses for a moment, her eyes turning pure gold as she looks around the area, trying to figure out if there's anything 'off' about the archetecture, or hidden physical signs of more people thatn there should be walking around.

    Whether or not she finds anything is largely moot, as she follows after Juno on the way back out.

>> GAME >> Piera Forta spends an Edge for: Focussing True Sight

    Athena beckons Little Owl back, and has him 'rest' on her shoulder to cool the overstressed engines for a few minutes while the charge is set. Then he has to fly off again, zipping forward to see if anything has changed in the corridors. She too has a weird feeling about it.

    <<As they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Maybe we just got lucky but let's not count on it.>>

    She draws her pistol now, fingering it with a frown. She glances at Mando, who is obviously the warrior of this group. Hyouga has power, Piera is an assassin, and Josuke has some kind of talent, but there's a difference between one who CAN fight versus one who is a soldier. <<With any luck, neither of us will need to do anything.>>

    Josuke's likely feeling that feeling of 'bad shit about to go down' too. And it's really messing with him. He'd been planning to, once the charges were set, get in front of an obvious camera and cause a ruckus, and then lead the guards out the other way. But there are just so few guards here, and that feeling of foreboding is just so strong... they'll run once they hear the explosions, right?

    So instead of that ruckus he was going to cause, Josuke remains quiet and slinks back out with Juno and the rest. It's almost unusual to see him slink away like that, with his figurative tail between his legs, honestly. But he's eager to get out -- the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife!

    Hyouka frowns softly as everyone progressively notices just how empty the place is. In truth, she herself wouldn't have noticed at all. Having it pointed out to her when she'd been so oblivious is, somehow, even more disconcerting. "Should I deploy FISTEAU? It's loud, but if we're expecting trouble..."

    Sooooooo...
    The second bomb is set.
    And still no real sign of Imperials.
    Mando pointedly draws his blaster now, visor still on thermal scanning mode.
    No words. Just a man in heavy beskar armor hustling to get away from the blast radius before it's time to blow this joint.

  The old general shrugs and sighs, pausing a moment to catch her breath as she beckons to the others with a gesture. <<Time to go.>>

  <<PROXY, patch me through to the Salvation.>>

  <<Certainly, General Eclipse. Patching your signal through now.>>

  <<Nitram, charges are in place. Stand by and detonate on my mark.>>

  The voice that answers is a little high-pitched, almost yapping, but clearly some manner of adult male.

  <<You got it, General. Hey, what about those credits you-->>

  <<Priorities, damn it!>>

  With that, she shepherds the others along back through the corridor. Much like Mando, she pulls both her blasters from their holsters, thumbing their safeties off. If anybody catches them now, it's going to be a race against the clock to get clear of the building. "These are set to bring the entire structure down," she explains to the others in a harsh whisper, a little short of breath. "We're not going to want to be anywhere near these when they go off. We have to get clear of the building. Now."

  "Not yet," she throws over her shoulder, to Hyouka. "I'd keep whatever you've got ready, though, just in case. We don't have time to negotiate getting out of here if someone spots us." Oh. Dear. "Come on. We're nearly there. That junction up ahead should take us to the way out..."

    "They're always ready," Hyouka replies, lifting up her right forearm and giving it an illustrative pat with her left hand. "Built-in, and they take about two seconds to deploy. There's just a lot of clattering." She continues to hustle steadily, but the winded sound of Juno's voice is getting a little worrying. So the cyborg puts on a little speed, drawing up next to her, and offers, "General, are you sure you don't want me to carry you for a bit? It really won't slow me down at all."

    Piera still looks a bit dubious, but she can't /see/ anything out of place. She just follows after the group, keeping quiet and low.

    "If we get caught, I can get us a way out," Josuke replies. He's not going to go into any details about it because they don't really have time. And he's leaving his Stand unmanifested as of yet -- Crazy Diamond causes electronic interference that they can't really afford right now.

    Athena gives Josuke an odd look. Unfortunately for her, while she's the goddess of wisdom and has many senses that normal humans don't, she doesn't have the ability to just look at someone creepily and figure out what their powers are. So she just shrugs for now. "Good, keep it ready."

    Hyouka however gets a shake of the head. "If we run into something, deploy then. Between myself and this guy, I'm sure we can buy you the time as a reserve unit if we need to, right?"

    Priorities indeed.
    Right now Mando's priority is to get out of here in one piece with everyone else. Taking up a defensive position at the fore of the group just in cast any surprises or curveballs get thrown their way he can at least take it on the beskar for Juno or someone else that might need the cover.

  It doesn't take long to get out of the building. In fact, it doesn't even take that long to get back to the rendezvous point. The lack of Imperial presence is suspicious, but perhaps it's better not to look a gift horse in the mouth, at this point.

  Dodging what remains of the guardsmen isn't too difficult. Even the stealth-challenged have the opportunity to get out of stormtrooper line of sight.

  Well, that ended up a lot less bloody than Juno had expected.

  By the time they get back to the rendezvous point, Juno is definitely winded. She has to lean against the wall for a moment to catch her breath, staying to the shadows. When she reaches up to thumb at her comm switch, she has to do it twice; her hand misses the first time.

  <<Nitram, let's get this show on the road.>>

  <<Acknowledged, General Eclipse. Detonating charges.>>

  The explosion is a sound more felt than heard, with a shockwave that rips through underfoot strong enough to stagger even the most solid. Juno has to clutch at the wall, grunting as she glances over in the base's direction.

  Well, that's a pretty sizable fireball and cloud of dust!

  "Good work, everyone." Her grin doesn't really reach her eyes. It's an expression Mando might understand. "Well done. You'll receive your payment shortly; Nitram will contact each of you with your shares." She turns to lean her back against the wall, exhaling. "Damn, I hate Malastare's gravity..."