Lion El' Jonson
May 27th, 2004, 09:28:54 PM
In space, cast almost invisibly against the darkness, a ship slithered out of the shadows. It was small and sleek, with a smooth, black colored hull. The only visible light came from a tiny slit near the front of the vessel, where a wrap-around transparisteel window cast an orange glow out into space from the vessel’s bridge. If there were running lights, they were obviously not turned on. The familiar glow of sublight ion engines was not visible on this ship. The drive system was obviously baffled, for nothing escaped to be seen. As far as anybody was concerned, this ship didn’t exist. As it passed in front of the system’s moon, it was visible against the white background for a split second before something reconfigured, and it disappeared again.
This vessel was a Mistryl-class Corvette, better known as a Prowler. They were used exclusively by New Republic Naval Intelligence.
The Mistryl was a brand-new design, designed and put into production less than two months ago. It had been designed as a Stealth Corvette, to facilitate Intelligence covert operations. Equipped with the latest in sensor-stealthing, static-damping, and sensor-absorbing materials, these vessels could go nearly unnoticed. They employed a state-of-the-art Active Camouflage system, run by a bank of supercomputers deep within the vessel. With it ability to blend, Defel-like, into any background, it was nearly impossible to see these ships. For stealth reasons, weapons were stored behind armored hatches and deployed only when needed. They were extremely expensive ships; each Mistryl cost the same as a full-size frigate, yet they carried only a sixth of the firepower. Their usefulness, however, was undeniable.
In the briefing room aboard the Mistryl, located aft of its bridge, two squads of troops sat and received their mission objectives. They were ODST’s, a crack unit that fell directly under the command of Naval Intelligence. Where lesser commandos might enter a battle by being deployed by shuttle, the Orbital Drop Shock Troops literally went in “feet-first”. Deployed from an orbiting ship, they plummeted through the atmosphere in specially designed pods, landing undetected…or at least with the advantage of surprise on their side. Equipped with the latest in weaponry and technology, the ODST’s epitomized the efficiency of Naval Intelligence.
“Your primary objective will be to infiltrate the target compound and secure the information that we need. Secondary objective is to plant evidence that will link this attack to separatist groups, and destroy the facility when you have accomplished your primary objective. Tertiary objective is to extract any personnel or technology you feel would be useful. Since we haven’t had a good look inside this facility for months, I’ll leave that under your jurisdiction. Any questions?”
The leader of two squad, Lieutenant Garo, raised his hand.
“Sir, how will we enter the target?”
The man briefing them, a Colonel, nodded.
“There are three points of entry, Lieutenant. One is a loading dock on the north-east side of the building. The second is the rooftop hangars. The third is a maintenance elevator that leads into the building from the droid-maintenance shop. I’ll leave the choice up to you. The hangar entrance is preferable, because with any luck you’ll be able to secure your method of extraction. The Circumference will stay on station for 24 hours; any longer and we risk detection. Make sure nobody knows who did this.”
The Lieutenant sat down, nodding.
“Very good…How do we get to the enemy, Marines?!” the Colonel yelled.
The men stood as one and barked “We go feet first, sir!”
“Dismissed. We reach the drop point in 60 minutes. Be prepared to deploy by then.”
The men filed out of the room, heading for the equipment lockers. This mission was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
This vessel was a Mistryl-class Corvette, better known as a Prowler. They were used exclusively by New Republic Naval Intelligence.
The Mistryl was a brand-new design, designed and put into production less than two months ago. It had been designed as a Stealth Corvette, to facilitate Intelligence covert operations. Equipped with the latest in sensor-stealthing, static-damping, and sensor-absorbing materials, these vessels could go nearly unnoticed. They employed a state-of-the-art Active Camouflage system, run by a bank of supercomputers deep within the vessel. With it ability to blend, Defel-like, into any background, it was nearly impossible to see these ships. For stealth reasons, weapons were stored behind armored hatches and deployed only when needed. They were extremely expensive ships; each Mistryl cost the same as a full-size frigate, yet they carried only a sixth of the firepower. Their usefulness, however, was undeniable.
In the briefing room aboard the Mistryl, located aft of its bridge, two squads of troops sat and received their mission objectives. They were ODST’s, a crack unit that fell directly under the command of Naval Intelligence. Where lesser commandos might enter a battle by being deployed by shuttle, the Orbital Drop Shock Troops literally went in “feet-first”. Deployed from an orbiting ship, they plummeted through the atmosphere in specially designed pods, landing undetected…or at least with the advantage of surprise on their side. Equipped with the latest in weaponry and technology, the ODST’s epitomized the efficiency of Naval Intelligence.
“Your primary objective will be to infiltrate the target compound and secure the information that we need. Secondary objective is to plant evidence that will link this attack to separatist groups, and destroy the facility when you have accomplished your primary objective. Tertiary objective is to extract any personnel or technology you feel would be useful. Since we haven’t had a good look inside this facility for months, I’ll leave that under your jurisdiction. Any questions?”
The leader of two squad, Lieutenant Garo, raised his hand.
“Sir, how will we enter the target?”
The man briefing them, a Colonel, nodded.
“There are three points of entry, Lieutenant. One is a loading dock on the north-east side of the building. The second is the rooftop hangars. The third is a maintenance elevator that leads into the building from the droid-maintenance shop. I’ll leave the choice up to you. The hangar entrance is preferable, because with any luck you’ll be able to secure your method of extraction. The Circumference will stay on station for 24 hours; any longer and we risk detection. Make sure nobody knows who did this.”
The Lieutenant sat down, nodding.
“Very good…How do we get to the enemy, Marines?!” the Colonel yelled.
The men stood as one and barked “We go feet first, sir!”
“Dismissed. We reach the drop point in 60 minutes. Be prepared to deploy by then.”
The men filed out of the room, heading for the equipment lockers. This mission was about to get a whole lot more interesting.