[ic] Tales of the Smoking Blaster I

[Endless Flight]

Tales of the Smoking Blaster

Chapter 1

Alarm klaxons pierced the air as the crew of the Smoking Blaster realized what was happening. Just moments before, the crew had been relaxing in the lounge of the ship when they were suddenly jerked from their seats with a loud thud. They had been space-faring long enough to immediately know that the ship had been pulled from hyperspace. The crew gathered themselves quickly and made a mad dash to get to the bridge. Upon arriving, they immediately knew why they had been yanked from hyperspace. Looking out through the forward transparisteel viewport, they were surprised to see an asteroid slowly drifting ahead. A sense of dread crept into the air as they took their stations...

[I'll let you guys take over here. Just describe what you want to do (sensor checks, etc.) and I'll make the rolls and give you the results]

[Mikael Hasselstein]

"Ten to one odds that's pirates!" Louw shouted as he sat down by the nav and sensor station. He knew that pirates tended to drag physical objects into the paths of hyperroutes so as to either force ships traveling at lightspeed to drop out of hyperspace or have them collide with the object.

He figured that Gen would take care of evading the asteroid. He also figured that, if it was pirates, they would be coming in from a different vector than the asteroid so as to have the situational advantage.

He set the sensors to scan to see what, other than the asteroid, was around them. (Sensors 5D+2 + 1D for the ship's sensors)

He also tried to recall where they were headed and based upon the time spent en route where they were likely located. (Astrogation 7D+2)

[Blue Glowie]

Gen dashed for the controls as he yelled for Jeaubert to head for the turret. His first concern was avoiding the asteroid (Space Transports 6D+1) and then he'd worry about pirates if that was indeed the case.

He really hoped it wasn't the case...

[Jedi Skyler]

"On my way!" Jeaubert hollered as he ran for the gun turret. Strapping himself in, he donned the headset and tested it to make sure it was working properly. "Louw, if this is pirates they MAY be coming from a different vector," he said, echoing the old navigator's thoughts. "However, they might also shoot around the asteroid since we are effectively blind there. Make sure you keep an eye on that direction too. I'll use the targeting sensors to sweep that vector until we have confirmation."

[Mikael Hasselstein]

"Tell me something I DON'T know..." The navigator grumbled at a volume only the pilot could hear, as he checked the sensor readings to determine what sort of situation was afoot.

[Blue Glowie]

Gen grabbed the controls and flipped a few switches. "Something you DON'T know about me, huh? Louw, I think this is hardly the time, but lessee..." Gen loved to ramble during the heat of the moment. There was something calming to him about his own shrill voice, and he was sure everyone else felt the same way too.

"Ah, okay, well--I was engaged to a girl on Sullust and she left me at the altar. For a human. I think he was Imperial. Now then, tell me something I don't know about you. Also the sensor readouts would be helpful too."

[Mikael Hasselstein]

Louw didn't have time to give the captain the wither gaze he richly deserved. Moreover, with his Duros physiology and Gen's cluelessness to such social cues, it probably would have (also) been lost in interspecies translation.

[Endless Flight]

With the sensors set on scan, Louw was unable to detect anything besides the asteroid that was coming closer to the Blaster. When they dropped out of hyperspace, a quick check revealed that they were near the Itani Nebula, but further checks would have to be done to reveal if any natural or artificial bodies were nearby. Gen easily rolled the ship to one side and allowed the asteroid to pass by the ship while Jeaubert settled into the turret.

After the Blaster has passed the asteroid, Gen could see faint objects in the distance but couldn't make out exactly what they were. Were they ships...asteroids...comets?

[Mikael Hasselstein]

"I love being wrong," Louw mumbled, " but I've got a bad feeling about this."

He switched the sensors to focus and trained them toward the objects in the distance.

Meanwhile, he took some comfort knowing they were on one of the galaxy's most heavily traveled routes. It would take a very brazen pirate to come after them on (or near) the Hydian Way. Then again, he didn't like the idea of going up against brazen pirates.

[Endless Flight]

After making some adjustments to the sensor controls, Louw is able to make out four incoming ships, three Z-95 Headhunters closing in on the Blaster (at a distance of 32 units) and a modified Corellian Action VI transport trailing the other three (3 units back). Just then the com buzzes and a gruff voice hails the ship.

::crack:: "Attention, freighter! Prepare to be boarded. If you cooperate, no one will be unnecessarily injured. If you refuse, we will be forced to blast your ship into scrap." ::pop::

[Mikael Hasselstein]

"I don't know about you," Louw said to Gen, "but I don't like the idea of necessary injuries much either."

The Duros turned to the nav console, looking to see if there was a way to plot a course to anywhere or nowhere, as long as it was elsewhere. He further tried to determine how far away from the asteroid they would have to fly in order to escape its gravity well.

"Damn nebula," he thought, as he realized that they always made astrogation difficult. Still, he was the best astrogator he knew (in his rarely humble opinion) and he was not going to let a little nebula prevent him from making at least a micro-jump to get them out of there.

...or so he told himself, anyways...

[Jedi Skyler]

Jeaubert angles the turret toward the incoming fighters, training the sensors on them and powering them up. Over the intercom he says, "I'm gonna have to write a subroutine that bulids up power for the turret, but keeps it elsewhere so another ship's sensors won't know they are powered up. They're about to know our turret is powering up..."

[Blue Glowie]

"I've been running from trouble for the last two years," Gen said to his crew. "I ain't about to stop now."

"Angle the rear deflector shields. We're blowing this cake stand. Cake stands are thing on Sullust. Trust me."

Gen turned the ship around and pushed the Blaster to its limit. First he'd try to get some separation from the pirates and then he'd focus on outmaneuvering them later. (All Out movement)

[Jedi Skyler]

Jeaubert takes that as an ok...he goes ahead and powers up the turret, then actively seeks a target...

[Endless Flight]

(Round 1) After Gen hits the throttle, the crew feels a slight jerk as the Blaster picks up speed after turning around (All-Out Movement: 8 spaces). Gen realizes though that the Z95s are much faster and will close within seconds (All-Out Movement: 28 spaces). The bulky Corellian transport was lumbering slowly behind (All-Out Movement: 12). Louw quickly activated the shields and moved them to the rear quadrant, in case the Z95s sniped the ship from behind. While he was doing that, he was also trying to get coordinates from the nav computer for a hyperspace jump. It would take precious seconds, something they didn't have a lot of. Jeaubert fired up the turret and was locking in on one of the Z95s in case action was needed.

(End Round 1: 32 space gap; 32+8=40; 40-28=12 space gap beginning with Round 2: Players win initiative and can declare/use actions first. GM actions: Z95s will get within range and fire.)