Nightshade: Return to Karvis III

[GM Craig]

It takes a few minutes, but there is a big spark, and one side of the heavy blast doors grinds open a couple of meters before shrieking to a halt.

Landris signs with relief. "Godo job. Everyone grab something, and head for the vehicles."

You did not wait for Landris. As soon as the doors opened, you were out scanning the area. All seems clear - the smoking truck sits undisturbed, and your scouts report no contacts.

You cover the team as they load up with bags and crates and head for the fence. There is a rumble down the road, and you see another cargo vehicle approaching. Landris is at your side. "That's ours. You want to ride with the goods, or on the bike with me?"

[Nightshade]

"I will ride on the bike with you."

[GM Craig]

The ride back goes well. The scouts you left behind report that an Imperial patrol entered the facility four minutes after you were out of sight. By the time they confirmed issues at the depot, you were well beyond any response.

You end up in a different location than where you started. Landris parks the swoop bike behind a woodpile and throws an old tarp over it. She then takes you inside, where you find a more conventional beat-up speeder sitting in a run down building. A quiet ride of several minutes brings you back to the main safehouse where you first met everyone.

Landris takes you inside, and down to the basement again. Your agents are there, and a couple of rebels.

"We'll be alone for a while. If everyone follows protocol, they won't be back here until tomorrow afternoon. A standard precaution against being tagged, tracked or followed."

She drops her gear, and collapses into a nearby chair.

"Congrats, Nightshade. Your first mission successful, and casualties were light - mostly thanks to you. You got most of my people out safe. I appreciate that."

[Nightshade]

The Shinobi smiles a rare smile, and then cracks an even more rare joke..."The Senator didn't send me for my pretty face."

He was actually very happy with the outcome of their little raid and quite pleased with the composure of this little cell. 

"I am glad to have given you the chance to see that I meant it when I wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible.  That is always job one.  A good bit of the credit goes to you and your team here.  They handled themselves like seasoned professionals...stuck to the script and didn't pursue chances for personal vengeance.  No mean feat when you have suffered the wrongs of the Empire.  That's what allowed us to bring people back safe, and it will be key to our continued success."

"If you will excuse me, I need to confer with these two about our next steps."

Turning to the two agents that came with him, he spoke to them next, out of earshot of Landris and other rebels.  "I would like your assessment of the overall impact of our raid here in light of our overall objective.  Do you think that we stay here or do we need to move on to accomplish our goals?"

[GM Craig]

They both consider several moments. Agent Landing is the first to speak. "The raid was a success, with low casualties. They are better equipped and their morale is high. This will be an embarrassment to COMPNOR. However, this area will be hot for several days. The more we use this cell, the greater the chance of exposure. Their tradecraft is weak - sooner or later they will trip up, and bring the ISB or Military Intelligence down on them, which risks exposing headquarters. I recommend we move on to another cell."

Agent Onone looks pensive. "There is a risk of exposure. But if we move fast enough, and change safe-houses, we can probably get a second or third operation out of these folks. With contingencies in place, planned and supported from headquarters, we can keep using these people. There is also the option of bringing in another cell from outside the zone. Also, local leadership will be looking for scapegoats. If we hit a more prominent target, that will put the cross-hairs on higher elements in the local chain of command, and increase the resulting chaos as local leadership moves to protect themselves from fallout."

[Nightshade]

"Thank you for your input.  I think that we may be better served by moving out for now and continue to make this seem like a wide spread operation.  I don't want to focus attention on any given area just yet.  I think that the more we can be thorns in the side of enemy forces all over the planet, the less resistance we will see in any given area once we move on the big targets.  What ideas do you have for our next area of operations?"

[GM Craig]

[OOC: Sorry, you caught me unprepared. I needed to process some world updates before I could respond appropriately. ]

Agent Landing considers a moment. "I think in that case you might be better served consulting with Captain Barakis. We don't have situational awareness beyond this region. The Captain would be in a better position to give you a larger picture."

Agent Onone takes a breath and nods. "I concur, sir. If you wish to move on to other targets, we are not as well placed to advise you. If you did wish to remain in this region, there are other, harder, targets we might strike at, but that would suggest to our enemy that this moment in localized."

[Nightshade]

"Again, I appreciate your advice and candor.  I think it is time to return and consult with the Captain.  You two are welcome to stay here and help with the local effort if you wish."

Nightshade waited for a moment to see if they wished to say anything else before looking for Landris to advise her of what was happening.

[GM Craig]

They both nod and move off to speak with the locals. You find Landris speaking on the comlink.

"...  keep a watch on the house. They'll have DNA at least. I'll check in later, but keep me posted if anything changes."

She ends the call as you approach. "Just checking on the wounded." She takes a deep breath, then crosses her arms and leans back against the wall. "So what happens now, Agent Nightshade?"

[Nightshade]

"I believe that now it is time for me to return to HQ and see what I can do to spread this around the planet.  This will help to take the heat off any particular cell and increase the chances of accomplishing our ultimate goal of turning the Imps on each other."

Taking a moment he continued, "Your group is well stocked and well prepared to continue your fight without me.  I can see you are a gifted leader, if a reluctant one." He smiled to take any sting out of the words.  "And I suspect we will fight alongside again before long.  Until then stay safe and send for anything you need to HQ and I will see that you get it."

[GM Craig]

She looks somehow sceptical. "Does that mean command is going to let us off the leash? Or do we go back to being passive?"

[Nightshade]

"Consider yourselves off the leash.  I would advise you to not get too outlandish, at least until I can get some more ops set up and spread the attention around a bit, but I trust your judgment to do what is best with your people and your resources."

"The ultimate plan is to try to set this up as the Army encouraged a rebellion against COMPNOR to make them look incompetent.  If this deception works as I hope, we will have them at each other's throats instead of terrorizing the populace.  So, I ask that you keep that in mind when you are selecting targets, but for now consider yourself to have complete autonomy to do as you wish."

[GM Craig]

That clearly catches her off guard, as if that was the least likely thing she had expected you to say.

"You're serious..."

She stands up from the wall, her eyes wide. But she nods. "Okay... okay." She runs her hand through her hair. "I've got some work to do." She turns to go, but stops. "Thanks, Agent."

[Nightshade]

Acknowledging her thanks, Nightshade prepared to leave and return to see the Captain.  His mind was already working through the next steps in his master plan.

[GM Craig]

Arrangements are made, and without much delay you are back at the mountain landing bay near headquarters. As the shuttle doors open, you see Captain Barakis standing there, hands clasped behind her back. She salutes, and falls into step as you head for the tram.

"Sir. My analysts are still collecting and going over our intelligence, but initial projections indicate a 47% efficiency reduction in the local COMPNOR presence. We project a 15% splillover into the regional presence. It is too early to tell for certain, but we have a 55% probability that someone from local command staff will be removed from their position, which will amplify the disruption. These disruptions are projected to be short lived, and will become negligible within a week."