Force Storm - Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor)

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Dec 27, 2009, 9:31pm

Force Storm :: Expanded Universe :: Expanded Role-Play :: Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor)

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Topic: Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor) (Read 303 times)

Iaana Morranne
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Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor)
« Thread Started on Jan 9, 2008, 11:20am »

<<All-- If you are with the Rebellion/New Republic, go ahead and post as being on Coruscant. Just introduce them, and have them doing ordinary, everyday things, like repairs or meetings or whatnot. As a warning, don't engage in conversation with each other just yet. The last part of my second post will slow down the time, but until my characters reach Coruscant, I'm going to be skipping a couple days. Sorry, but I'm not planning on having any Imperial characters in this, unless they've switched over to the New Republic. You're welcome to RP any unclaimed character on the New Republic's side except Lando Calrissian, who will be an NPC. Minor sub-plots are okay after my second post, as long as they don't take too long or aren't too crazy. Please read the Additional Biography in this thread prior to participating, so that you know more about what's going on. However, this is not required. Thank you!>>
<<Leia-- Don't worry, I'm only planning on one more post as long (actually, a little bit longer) as this, so that my characters can get to Coruscant. They have a stop to make first. >>

Concord Dawn

There were nine markers in the cemetery atop the hill. Each bore a name and some dates, telling anyone who looked upon them who was buried there and the span of their years. The first three were Fetts, the parents and sister of Jango Fett. The next two were Tiniya Uryann Lazime and Jango Lazime, followed years later by Roy and Eric Lazime. If it had been Arca marking the graves, she would have put a message on the headstones, telling others who the dead ones had been.

The last two were the newest. The first was a memorial. Arca had placed it there, not knowing where his body lay and not wanting to disturb it anyway. The stone read simply, "In memory of Jango Fett, Mandalorian." This was followed by some dates, just like on the others. The last gravestone, followed by the dates, read, "Jhon Lovek. Mandalorian, brother, friend."

Arca Lazime stared down at this last grave, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. How many years had it been? Twenty-seven? It seemed like it was just yesterday, when she held him as he lay dying. He had looked up at her then, using the last of his strength to tell her how he felt before it was too late.

"All these years I've known you," he gasped, tenaciously holding onto life as he struggled to get his words out, "I kept telling myself you were only a friend. To protect one of us? I don't know. Because I was scared of what you might say if I told you? I think so."

"Jhon, don't talk. Save your strength." Arca struggled in vain to hold back the tears; to remain strong. Jhon shook his head, however painful the action must have been. "I've got to tell you. I love-" Jhon coughed, then tried again, but Arca already knew what he was going to say. "I love you."

The tears that she had tried to hold back burst free as she heard this. All these years, from one year before the Clone Wars to now, two years after the rise of the Empire, they both had felt the same way toward each other but neither had known it. And now, the truth made itself known, only for one of them to die. "I love you, too, Jhon," she whispered, almost unable to get the words out. She kissed him gently on the forehead, then held him to herself and began to shake with the sob building up within her.

He wasn't dead yet, though, and he placed a comforting hand on her arm. "‘Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya,'" he said softly. "‘Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger.' Be strong, Arca. You need to, in order to survive. You are Mandalorian." Jhon squeezed her arm gently. Before she could say anything, he mustered up a smile and whispered two final words before he slipped away. "Be strong."

Jhon had told her soon after they first met that he wanted to be buried alongside her father, whom he considered to be a brother. They had fought alongside each other when they both were serving under Jaster Mereel. So Arca did as he asked, and brought him back to her family farm, which she had not been back to since the attack. She had returned many times since then. In those years, she had taken up a more active search for the murderer of her father, brother, and bounty hunter friend. That had become a side objective, however, when she took a more active stance against the Empire. She helped the Jedi whenever she could, but chose to anonymously help the Rebellion. She wasn't sure how much they would trust someone called "the Mandalorian Smuggler." Many of the supplies and weapons they received were from her, however, even though they didn't really find out who exactly was giving the stuff to them.

"Captain."

Arca started slightly at the sudden sound. It was Kahk, on the communicator. "Yes, Kahk?"

"We're receiving a communication. It's for you."

"Who's it from?"

"It doesn't say. It says it will be on the holocomm, though."

"I'll be right there." Arca allowed herself one more look at the gravestones before she set out for her yacht. It was one hundred yards away from the house, which was two hundred yards away from the cemetery, with the three points forming a triangle. She crossed that distance at a jog, which only took a minute at most. When she arrived in the cockpit, sliding into her seat, she was fully prepared to apologize for the delay until she caught sight of whom exactly it was that was calling her. As soon as that happened, nothing in the galaxy could persuade her to be completely civil. "What do you what?" she snapped, fighting to control her anger. Arvril Thord gave her a smile that was decidedly less than pleasant. "I hear you've been looking for me."

"Of course I'm looking for you. I've been looking for you for about thirty years." Arca narrowed her eyes, allowing herself a smirk. "Age has not been kind to you."

"Shut up, woman," Thord shot back, his patience short. "I didn't call to be taunted by you."

"Then why did you call? To taunt me?"

"No. I know you have connections with the New Republic, even if they haven't ever met you in person. I would like you and your Noghri to deliver a message for me."

"Oh, you're asking me do something for you? I'm honored," she answered sarcastically. "And pray tell, what is this message and why should we do as you ask? You're not exactly on the top of my list of people to help."

"If you don't deliver the message, my hostage will suffer greatly." The image of the Death Watch soldier stepped aside slightly and pulled a battered and gagged man forth. "I believe you know Lando Calrissian."

Arca and Kahk hissed at the same time, though the Noghri's hiss was decidedly more vicious. The man was, indeed, Lando. "Fine," she bit out, a feeling of dread washing over her. "What's the message, and whom do I deliver it to?" You are going to pay, Thord. You are really going to pay.

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Iaana Morranne
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Re: Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor)
« Reply #1 on Feb 23, 2008, 6:51pm »

<<I'll go ahead and post this, bringing the time to normal. You may now interact with each other, if you participate. *hopes someone finds this interesting*>>

Hijarna

"Karrde. We've got company."

Talon Karrde set down his drink and pressed the comm switch, forcing back his apprehension. Aves wouldn't have called to tell him that if it were friendly company. Then again, it could be someone he hadn't met yet. "Details, please," he requested calmly. To anyone but his lieutenant, who sat nearby, he didn't seem the least bit nervous. Mara Jade, however, picked up on that sort of thing easily, thanks to her strength in the Force.

"Modified yacht, identity unknown. "Um . . . They're hailing."

"I'll talk to them," Karrde answered. "Patch me through."

"Done."

Karrde silently cleared his throat. "Unidentified yacht, please state the nature of your business here."

"Hello, Karrde," came the answer, startling him. Mara had no trouble picking up on that. "Someone you know?" she murmured.

"Yes. One of the last people I expected to see again, though," he murmured back. "Then again, I shouldn't be surprised." He turned once more to the comm. "Captain Lazime. How's your daughter?"

"She's here with me. Other than her anxiety at a new crisis, she's fine."

Karrde's brow furrowed. "What's happened?"

"Maybe we should talk face-to-face. You're going to want to hear this."

Karrde shared a glance with Mara. "Very well. I'll clear a spot for you. See you soon."

"Yeah. Lazime out."

Karrde sat there in silence for a moment, then spoke to Aves again. "Aves, send her coordinates for a landing zone. And send word to whoever's on duty in the vehicle bay to have a landspeeder ready for me, with a minimum capacity of six. I'm going to meet her myself."

"Yes, sir." Aves proceeded to do as asked, leaving Karrde to turn to his lieutenant. "Care to accompany me?"

Mara gave him a look. "As if I'm going to let you go alone."

Karrde offered a smile. "Well, then. After you."
~~~
It was a different Arca Lazime than Karrde was used to that greeted him upon exiting her ship. Based on that, and her earlier mention of a crisis, Karrde figured something very bad had happened. However, he waited ‘til they were all back at the fortress to inquire further in that regard. He was mystified by her manner all the way there. There were no smiles, no laughs, no smart aleck remarks or jokes. Her whole demeanor was grim, and this spoke volumes about her opinion of this new "crisis."

Arca turned to him as soon as they arrived in his office of sorts. "How much do you know about me, Karrde?" she asked straight off. He returned her level gaze. "Not much," he admitted.

Arca seemed to consider something, then her expression cleared again. "Very well. Have a seat. I trust you won't tell anyone this, if only because you still owe me plenty." She managed to compress her life's story into ten minutes. When she was done, both captain and lieutenant looked mystified. Mara, however, wasn't going to say anything at the moment. Karrde, fortunately, asked the question they were both wanting the answer to. "Why are you telling us this?"

Arca glanced at her copilot, who stood off to the side with Warbler and Aya. "I need to talk to Councilor Organa Solo in person as soon as I possibly can."

Karrde's eyes narrowed. "That's quite a requirement. What do you expect me to do about it?"

"This isn't a game, Karrde! I understand why you don't realize the importance of this yet, because I haven't yet told you everything. I need you to get me a meeting with her as soon as you can. I'll take you to Coruscant myself if that gets it done faster."

"Why the urgency?"

Arca turned to Warbler and nodded. He whistled, then played a recording of her conversation with Arvril Thord. When he was done, both Karrde and Mara were mortified. Sounding stunned, Karrde nodded. "Take Mara and I to Coruscant, and you'll have your meeting."

Arca visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Karrde. I'm sure Calrissian would thank you, too, if he knew you were doing this."

"I had my people start fueling your ship when you landed. In an hour or less, we can go."

"Good." Arca's knotted stomach eased slightly. "You might want to start telling your people that you're going on a little trip."

"I'll get to it immediately. In the meantime, try to relax. You've only used one day of the two weeks we have available. It'll only be another two to Coruscant, at which time we'll have eleven days. And you should start pulling some of your strings to find out where Thord is. I'll get my people on it, but I can't promise you anything."

She nodded. "I've already got someone looking into it. He owes me big, so as a little repayment of that debt, he's doing it for free."

"Don't tell me who it is." Karrde shook his head. "I'd rather not know right now."

Arca gave him her first smile of the day. "Don't worry," she said. "I won't."

~~~
Coruscant
Two days later

Arca glowered at the brightly lit city-planet hanging before her. "I've got both good and bad memories of this place. Most prominent are the bad, when Order Sixty-six was enacted. Maybe after we rescue Calrissian, I'll have time to visit here in peace again."

Karrde leaned forward in his seat. "I hope so," he agreed, reaching for the communications panel beside him. A few inches from his legs, Warbler whistled for a second. "Warbler wants to know if you need his help," Arca translated. Karrde smiled, inputting the frequency of Leia Organa Solo's private comm. If she was in a meeting, oh well. This was more important in his opinion - and probably hers - than a financial report or something of the sort. A few moments after he began transmitting, the comm was answered.

"Councilor Organa Solo?" he said before Leia could say anything. "This is Talon Karrde. I'm with Mara and three associates and their droid. Mara pulled a few strings and got us a landing permit on the north platforms of the Old Imperial Palace - platform twenty-seven. One of my associates has an urgent message to deliver to you concerning Calrissian. Could you meet us there as soon as you possibly can? It's very important." Karrde stopped to let Leia speak. While the Councilor answered, Arca set her yacht on autopilot for the landing coordinates and watched Galactic City pass by while growing ever larger. For once, she actually felt her fifty-five years as the knowledge of Calrissian's situation weighed down on her. When this is over, she promised herself silently, a vacation is very much in order.

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If I'm a hyperdrive, I'm the Falcon's.

Pretty Pink Princess of Foo and Procrastination (and Clashing

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Iaana Morranne
Rebel Alliance Leader

Leia's Right Hand
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Also RPing as Wedge Antilles and Boba Fett

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Re: Rescue Operations (Time: 6 yrs. post Endor)
« Reply #2 on Apr 10, 2008, 7:43pm »

<<For those of you who don't want to read all that, here's a shorter summery.

Arca Lazime is a smuggler, and has a Noghri copilot named Kahk. She owns an astromech called Warbler and has adopted a daughter who is named Aya. Thirty years prior to this RPG, one year before the Battle of Geonosis, an evil man named Arvril Thord killed her father and brother, her only remaining family. She escaped, became a smuggler, befriended a bounty hunter, earned the title of Mandalorian, saved Kahk's life - prompting him to become her copilot - helped the Republic, befriended Jedi, was big trouble to the Separatists, helped some Jedi children escape from Order 66, became a real pain to the Empire, adopted Aya, and was generally on the lookout for Arvril Thord for thirty years. She has run into Boba Fett a few times, trading debts with him, and can pretty much have him flat on his back in the space of a minute. Now, Arvril Thord has contacted our friend the Mandalorian Smuggler with news that he has kidnapped Lando Calrissian. He has demands, which have to be delivered on within two weeks. To speed up the process of getting word to Councilor Organa Solo, the crew of the Mandalorian's Jewel stopped by Hijarna and picked up Talon Karrde and Mara Jade. Now they're at Coruscant, and Karrde is setting up a meeting with Leia Organa Solo. (It's 6 years post-Endor)>>

<<Leia-- Last section of last post concerns you. We'll just NPC Han, Luke, and the others until they arrive (If they want to participate. If not, we'll just keep NPCing them.). Don't forget, Leia has an honor guard of Noghri. >>

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