Chapter 2B: Frostbound Couriers

"I'd say a valued advisor; he's probably the one to get the comm relay working again." Douklan nods at Corbin, knowing that any acknowledging nod from the engineer with will imperceptible in his armor. As the only one in a simple vac-suit, Douklan hopes he's not going to need armor as soon as they touch down. "OK, bringing it in now."

Trade Era 1235, Day 133

Relay Station Theta, Nocturna
After a bumpy ride through Nocturna's atmosphere, the shuttle smoothly touched down on the landing pad. Lieutenant Douklan swiftly initiated the procedures to remotely seal the landing pad airlock. A metallic clang echoed through the pad as the roof closed, enclosing them within the protective confines of the relay station.

Just as the sealing process completed and the shuttle's crew started to disembark, a sudden barrage of blaster fire erupted from two concealed figures outside. The unexpected attack sent red beams of energy slicing through the air, illuminating the dark surroundings of the landing pad.

Reacting instinctively, Sergeant Anderson, still clad in his formidable AV-1C powered armor, burst out of the shuttle, Gauss rifle blazing. The powerful shots tore through the hostile figures, forcing them to scatter.

"Take cover!" Anderson bellowed, providing the necessary firepower to counter the ambush. Piercey gave a blaster rifle to Lt. Paravides and stayed in the shuttle, taking cover near the shuttle's door. The other marines left the shuttle and swiftly dispersed, seeking refuge behind the ship and nearby equipment.

Corbin follows the marines off of the shuttle and into cover. Once hunkered down, he begins to look for consoles or panels that might allow him access to the stations systems.

Corbin, utilizing the cover provided by the shuttle, carefully scanned the surroundings for access points to Relay Station Theta's systems.

In doing so, he exposed himself a little but the armor shielded him from the blaster fire.

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Receive +1 XP

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Spotting a control panel near the entrance, Corbin signaled to the marines, "Cover me." With swift movements, he dashed from one point of cover to another until he reached the panel.

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Under the hood

Corbin's action: Notice DC10
Enemy reaction: Blaster shots
Corbin's results: Failure, Effect 1 (see his post)
Corbin is shot: damage 3d8, +1 (Effect), -15 (Armor)
Result: No damage (see below)

Douklan scurries to take cover behind the ship. As Corbin yells for cover, Douklan fires his blaster rifle in the direction of the assailants without looking, trying to expose as little of his body as possible.

Douklan completely misses his shots, unable to provide adequate cover for Corbin. The engineer is exposed, near the panel.

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Receive +1 XP

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Under the hood
Douklan's action: Covering fire, Shooting DC15
Result: No effect. Corbin won't receive a covering fire bonus

Battlemap


Red: Hostiles
Green: Player characters
Blue: Marines

Corbin sees a chance to split up the enemies and, maybe temporarily, remove their crossfire. He accesses the control panel to close the airlock.

As the control panel flickered to life under Corbin's deft fingers, the airlock doors started to creak closed. The remaining assailant outside realized the impending isolation and panic flashed across his face. He fired a few desperate shots towards the shuttle but missed everyone.

Seeing an opportunity, Anderson powered towards the lone assailant inside the pad, his gauss rifle still humming. The imposing figure of the sergeant loomed over the would-be attacker as the airlock doors sealed shut, leaving him isolated and surrounded.

"Surrender," Anderson's voice boomed through the powered armor's speakers, echoing with authority. The would-be attacker, looked up at the imposing figure before him. He swallowed hard, recognizing the futility of resistance and dropped his blaster rifle.

"Good job, everyone!" Douklan calls after a moment. "(everyone except me, that is. Running into a dangerous situation without my armor?)" he mutters to himself. Then, louder: "Sergeant, secure him and see what you can tell me about him. Cal, secure that weapon. Pete, cover the door. Corbin, what do you think you can tell about the station from that terminal? Take a look and let me know. In a minute I think we're going to have to open that door again unless you have some other information for me. When we do, though, I plan to go in with armor on. I don't like leading from the back, and I definitely don't like running into hostile fire without armor." Douklan hustles back into the shuttle to don the suit of armor he couldn't get into when he was piloting. As he enters, he tosses the rifle back to the marine. "Thanks for the gun, Piercey. I'll get another in a moment, and I'd hate to think what a mess you'd make of these guys if you didn't have a rifle."

Corbin will see what kind of information he can pull up on the station, systems integrity, atmosphere and is the guy in the Airlock still there or did they cycle out back to the station.

"Sir, yes, sir! Piercey, help me here."

"Who sent you?" Anderson demanded, his tone unwavering.

The assailant stammered before finally confessing, "Separatists from Draco I. They hired us for the job – no names, just credits. We didn't expect the Marines here! It was supposed to be an easy job."

Anderson leaned in closer, his powered armor emitting an ominous hum. "Why attack the relay station? What's their game?"

The assailant, intimidated by the armored giant, spilled the details. The separatists had redirected the communication antenna to establish a covert link with a hidden ship in the main asteroid belt. The motive behind the attack now revealed a larger conspiracy.

Anderson straightened up, his gaze unwavering. "You just made your situation worse. Now, you're coming with us to the shuttle. The Lieutenant will want to hear about this."

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In the meantime, Douklan dons the suit of armor he couldn't get into when he was piloting.

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Corbin, having successfully closed the airlock and neutralized the threat outside, focused on gathering crucial information from the station's systems. He approached the control panel once more, fingers dancing over the holographic interface to access the data he needed.

The first priority was to ascertain the station's systems integrity. Corbin initiated a comprehensive diagnostic scan, his eyes darting across the screen as the results started streaming in. The holographic display highlighted no malfunctions at all.

Next, Corbin checked the atmospheric conditions inside Relay Station Theta. The data revealed a controlled and habitable environment, suggesting that the station was functioning within expected parameters despite the recent disturbance.

While Corbin delved into the technical details, he spared a moment to glance at the airlock's status. The assailant had fled back into the station, and the atmosphere in the airlock had been stored in containers. The once occupied space had turned into a vacuum, awaiting the next cycle.

Corbin calculated the time required for the airlock to cycle and replenish the atmosphere. "Approximately 5 minutes until the airlock is ready for use again," he reported to Lieutenant Douklan and the rest of the team.

"First things first," Douklan snapped, on hearing of the Separatist ship in the belt, "We've got to get word to our people, if we can. Cal, see if you can get them on the horn...and if we can stop their using the antenna without destroying it, let's do it. Corbin might have some ideas in that area." Douklan hurried to finish suiting up. "But as soon as that airlock cycles, I want us in there to get the rest of them. How many of you are there?" Douklan said, directing the last to the captured Separatist.

Corbin starts the airlock cycle back to the landing bay, he wants it to be ready when the others are.

The assailant, still visibly shaken from the earlier confrontation, hesitated before reluctantly admitting, "There are six of us, Lieutenant. We were supposed to take the antenna and keep it pointed towards Draco I for while. We would leave when the ship in the belt completed its mission, whatever it is. We weren't expecting ITC military here. Please, remember that I'm cooperating now, when you put us in an ITC jail. I don't wanna go back to Draco I, the Duke would have me killed."

As the airlock completed its cycle, Lieutenant Douklan wasted no time. He signaled for the team to move swiftly, taking advantage of the opportunity to enter Relay Station Theta. Four of them could enter simultaneously. The next group would have to wait 10 minutes - an eternity in a combat zone.

"I'll remember." Having finished his prep, Douklan grabs a rifle and makes a choice. "Piercey, Will, you're with me. We're going to take Corbin to where he needs to go. Pete, secure the prisoner. Cal, start cycling the lock as soon as we get through. Chances are that, by the time the lock resets, any combat will be over, one way or the other, but it's good to have the option." We head out and join Corbin by the lock, alert to anything out of the ordinary in case a Separatist left us a surprise in the airlock.