Difference between revisions of "1863/One Ship - One Mission"

Latest revision as of 09:07, 24 March 2015

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
There was a mission in the works and the Legatus would need to make sure that the Garleans were not an overly seen presence during it, which means going to outside sources than the locals for aid. While perhaps some of the other Legatuses may not agree with what Gaius was planning or how he was going about it, it was agreed between himself and the man located in Coerthas that this would be the best way,

It was now just getting the pieces into play and being sure that all can indeed go according to plan. Such a piece of this operation was actually located with a conservative military woman named Juno Eclipse and the ship she piloted, Rogue Shadow. A ship that was normally kept in the hangers of the Citadel and it is here the dark armored figure of Gaius Van Baelsar walks with easy steps toward.

In his hand was a data-like pad and a scroll of some kind tucked under his arm. Though perhaps the scroll was not really required, there was just some things he liked to do the old fashion way...

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
To the surprise of precisely no one, Juno Eclipse is already in the Citadel's hangar facility.

The expansive bays are where she spends most of her time, when she isn't busy ferrying Inquisitor Starkiller halfway across the galaxy in search of Jedi to hunt. Perhaps her list of accomplishments is running a bit thin over the past few years, consisting mostly of 'fly here, pick up there; do this, repair that.' Yet there's a certain satisfaction to be had in the familiar routine, even if the details of those orders wind up being anything but routine.

One never knows what one's going to expect when one's day job is playing taxi service to a man who hunts Jedi for a living.

Still, Juno is nothing if not dedicated; and shortly before the Legatus arrives, he might hear the spitting sound of a welding lance and the bright blue-white flame of its active end. In fact, the Rogue Shadow looks completely different – one of the hyperdrives, the great engine that allows the ship to achieve hyperspace and therefore travel between galactic systems, is fully exposed. It's a sleek construct of what seems like bright chrome, sleek curves, and hard angles; a coherent, strangely aesthetic whole with pieces of black hull panelling strewn on the ground around it.

Halfway inside one of those enormous intakes is one leg dangling out, and the intermittent flare of what might be a welding lance can be seen, flickering in and out of life.

Footsteps.

The foot retracts back into the shielded intake, and then a head pops out; the black Imperial officer's uniform cap, slightly disheveled blonde hair, and blue eyes marks it as Juno Eclipse herself.

Not that she'd let anybody else within a millimeter of the Rogue Shadow's inner workings, anyway. The head stays there for a brief second, long enough to identify Gaius, and a moment later Juno hops down from the massive engine, landing in a three-point crouch with the slim torch in her free hand. She adjusts her uniform cap as she straightens and tugs her uniform jacket straight.

"Something I can help you with, Legatus?"

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
As the Garlean Legatus comes in closer, his steps slow down as he takes note of the changes of the Rogue Shadow. Pleased by the machines powerful beauty and sleek shapes, as he is a man that can admire machines and their inner works for well refined craftsmanship and in someways, the art they also hold that speaks highly of not only the ones who makes it, but the ones who also maintains it.

This is creditable in thought when he does come to a stop to see Juno peek out from under the hood and peer at him. The Legatus only stands there, not moving any closer once she makes eye contact and respecting a proper distance from the Imperial ship, given he remembers when they last spoke and he was toured about the beautiful girl that many things were, well, classified.

"Hello Miss Eclipse." Gaius returns the greeting with a nod of his head. "I hope I did not catch you at a.... improper time. As it seems you are under going some heavy modifications or repairs." While the void-lens of the helm make it impossible to tell where the Legatus gaze is going, it is easy to see by his body language that he is not trying to hide in the slightest, he is admiring what the ship has to present, but his gaze does return to her fully as he speaks up again, "I was hoping we could discuss use of the Rogue Shadow, her stealth abilities, and perhaps you aiding in a mission."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
It may be that the pilot has somewhat less faith in the Empire than she once did, but it can never be said that she would be derelict in her duties to Starkiller, or her due diligence in maintaining the Rogue Shadow. That ship veritably gleams under her care. It's a cutting-edge piece of machinery, and such careful maintenance allows it to perform at its peak.

As it should be.

"'Special Captain Eclipse' or 'Juno' is an appropriate form of address, Legatus." Juno waves off Gaius' introduction with a flick of the welding lance. "I'm constantly under some form of maintenance and repair. It's hardly an interruption, and in most cases I can work while I listen." She folds her arms, letting the depowered lance dangle from between forefinger and thumb.

In fairness, with that getup, it's pretty hard for Gaius to hide. And Juno is probably sensible or paranoid enough to have rigged this entire hangar bay with cameras and sensors; the instant anybody sets foot near her – er, Starkiller's, yes – precious ship, she'll know about it.

"Routine maintenance, actually." She tosses the lance aside, onto a nearby worktable, letting it slide to a halt by collding into a few heavier tools there. Dusting her hands, she folds her arms over her chest, cocking her head slightly up to the Legatus. "Yes, I believe you broached that subject." She reaches up to pull the brim of her cap down a bit, turning and gesturing for Gaius to approach. "Stealth systems, then."

"I'll give you the brief rundown. The Rogue Shadow is equipped with a single cohesive cloaking device that conceals the ship in almost any environmental condition, including the vacuum of space." She gestures vaguely towards the exposed engine. "At its most basic explanation, it's like a field that surrounds the ship, and prevents the ship from being seen by basic optics and the interplay of light and reflection."

She shifts her weight, looking back to the ship. "The difference between the Rogue Shadow and other ships with cloaking devices, at least in my world, is that the Rogue Shadow runs on an advanced array, with a separate power source from the sublight engines or the hyperdrive, which impacts its performance. But not without cost. The time I can run the cloaking device is a limited window, and different factors can either extend or shorten that time frame: Ambient environmental temperature, how much the engines are running, whether the shielding is active, and what kind of strain are on the Rogue Shadow's internal computer cores."

Making her way over to the worktable, she sifts through the tools, coming up with a hydrospanner. "I'm going to talk and work, so don't pay me any mind," she offers over her shoulder. "I haven't got the time to sit idle, but don't worry, Legatus; I can handle doing two things at once." Was that a hint of a smirk? She hops back up into the intake, sitting down on the inside of it and bracing her leg against the far side of the intake; twisting up to use the hydrospanner on some sort of internal plating up over her head.

"The long and short of it is that I won't know how long the cloaking device is going to hold out until I have some idea of the working conditions. Tell me more about what sort of environment you intend to take the Rogue Shadow through while cloaked, and I can tell you what kind of time frame you can expect."

She pauses, glancing down; difficult to see in the shadows except for the gleam of reflected light from her eyes. "As to the rest, well, it's going to depend on what exactly it is you need me to do, Legatus. Give me more details, and I can give you more details."

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius tilts his head faintly as she corrects him on the proper syntax of her name, then he recalls they been over this before. He hrms softly to himself at that realization and an idle mistake he'll need to make sure never happens again. While she explains the cloaking device once more, he pulls out the scroll and just holds it with the pad in the same hand.

He doesn't miss that smirk about the fact she can do two things at once, with his own quick snip back, "Being a pilot, I am sure your the most skilled at multitasking. Given you are, how was it again, the best the Imperial has to offer, at least– one of the best?" There may be a bit of his own play there, even in the serious ton of his voice.

"But I do recall you explaining a bit of the heating troubles with the cloaking device, thankfully for you, where this mission takes place is in constant winter." Gaius explains as he steps in a bit closer, but still keeps his respective distance. "It is either snowing or its in a state of a blizzard. Rarely does a snowflake not come falling from the sky after Dalamud fell."

The Legatus then hrms softly in thought before he continues, "What I shall be needing you to do is shuttle those partaking in this mission to the location. Once there, you are free to land and if possible keeping the cloaking device up."

"The worst danger you may run into out there is the Dravanian Horde, which are a species of dragons, though given Ishgards own stance against them, the Dravanian Horde doesn't often take flight in the skies around Coerthas." Gaius pauses for a moment as he shifts his weight a bit, "You may either stay with the Rogue Shadow while others go into the cave to investigate or you may also take part, given they will be going underground, it could cut off communications and thus they could lose track of time."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"The best one they'll never know about." Juno's smirk is a little hard-edged. Officially, her records have been sealed, and she might as well not exist. Even her Imperial Academy records are buried behind a thick layer of red tape and security protocols. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose; although it isn't as though I was ever in it for the glory. I enjoy piloting."

At least she's good at what she does. The same couldn't really be said of the last seven pilots whose skills Inquisitor Starkiller had made use of. She has to be good, or Darth Vader would have demoted her. The sort of permanent demotion that leaves its intended demotee without a windpipe.

No, thanks. Nope, nope, nope. She's reasonably smart and she has no intention of giving Vader any particular reason to terminate her employment-slash-life.

Juno folds her arms as more details are forthcoming, frowning a bit. A subarctic condition, then, or something arctic. That means the temperature is at least at the freezing point, or significantly below it, depending on what sort of winter it works out to be. One can practically imagine her running calculations through her head – at worst, thirty-two degrees Farenheit, or whatever the Imperials use as an equivalent, which gives her approximately...

She's snapped out of her calculations by the fact that Gaius is still talking.

"Dragons. I'm familiar with the type, although I'm to understand that most off-world and multiversal dragons are considerably different than most species' definition of a rancor." She flashes a brief, humourless smile. "Large, ugly, foul-smelling, short-tempered, and not particularly smart. They're carnivorous quadrupeds that will eat anything they can catch, and that tends to encompass a very large list."

She leans back against the intake wall, folding her arms. Fingers drum against the opposite forearm, and she tilts her head slightly to one side. "Oh, these fly. Excellent." She gives that sourly enough to indicate her sarcasm. "I suppose I'll keep an eye on the sensors. It might be better to keep the Rogue Shadow in orbit while your men conduct their business below. Safer for the ship, and less of a strain on the cloaking array." Her fingers tap in more definitive rhythm, thoughtful. "It takes only a few minutes to reach the surface from orbit in a ship that fast; less, if I take unnecessary risks in the event of an emergency."

Her fastest clock-in was less than thirty seconds, but Starkiller had managed to upset the locals.

He's good at that.

"Oh, no. Your men are going to have to keep track of time, somehow, Legatus. I can't wait on them indefinitely, especially if you insist on keeping the Rogue Shadow grounded." She slashes her free arm outward in a half-hearted gesture of refusal. "Now, I'm willing to let them spend as much time as they need underground so long as I take the ship back into orbit, but there's no way the cloaking systems can last that long, even on a frozen planet."

Frowning, she considers for a moment as she pries at a panel overhead. "You might also speak with Inquisitor Starkiller when you have the opportunity. He may be able to help you somehow, although his skills are more in line with assassination and the neutralisation of targets, rather than finding them. I'm afraid you'd have to take it up with him, and that's if the Inquisition were able to spare him. That's certainly not my decision."

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The Legatus falls silent as he listens to what Juno has to say on the matter, including maybe talking to the Inquisitor himself about this mission. He weighs things out and over in his head, of her staying in orbit till needed, the fact that someone will have to be time keeper, and that perhaps getting this Starkiller to aid them could be beneficial – if he would go for it.

Once it was all said and done, the Legatus rests the map down on top of a container, along with the data-like pad. "Then I will leave how you handle the Rogue Shadow to your discretion if she should stay grounded or head back up into orbit." He then shifts his weight, "As for this Starkiller, I shall see about speaking to him. Even if this operation requires less force and more stealth, having those whom can handle themselves well and quickly in a fight is always ideal to have around."

"After all, I cannot trust my fellow Legatus to do all the heavy lifting if things go horribly south. While he is a bull-headed and hearty man, his age will eventually catch up to him and I hate to think it be in this mission."

Gaius then looks over to the scroll and device, "Details on the area of Ceorthas and the location are listed on the scroll and on the pad," He then looks back to her. "If you have any questions, feel free to contact me."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"Oh, I wouldn't depend on the Inquisitor for stealth. If you run into trouble, though, and stealth is no longer an option, he would be an excellent ally to have in your corner." Juno looks away from Gaius, involved in tinkering with the intake's internal access panels immediately overhead. Her eyes narrow as she braces herself to coax a little more torque out of her tool. "He's very good at that sort of thing."

In other words, he's the hammer solution to a given problem, and very good at beating down stubborn nails. Just don't expect him to do anything but be a hammer.

Juno sets her attention to opening up the panel, setting it and the hydrospanner aside. With deceptive gentleness, she tugs down a handful of wires, examining them closely; although it seems like she's not paying any attention to Gaius, she's still listening. That's evidenced a moment later by her answer.

"I'll take the datapad; I can integrate that directly into the Rogue Shadow's computer systems. You can keep the scroll. I've got enough security on this ship that no one's going to be having a peek at this information unless I explicitly forward it to them." She smiles grimly, patting the inside of the intake she's perched in. "There's enough security measures on this ship to turn anyone's slicing efforts into a nightmare."

Reaching up, she fiddles with the wires, waving him off with a free hand. "I'll do that. If you need me, you have my personal contact frequency, or you can ask for me on the Confederacy's general frequency."

She pauses, glancing over and regarding him somewhat distractedly. "Anything else, Legatus...?"

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius Van Baelsar watches her work, how she fiddles with the wires, how she uses the tool. If another gender entirely, she would deeply remind him of his closest friend and perhaps even his son. Yet such times are gone and nothing but ghosts now. His thoughts though get reeled back in to reality once she looks directly at him and asks about if there was anything else from him. "Hm? No. That is all."

The Legatus then takes the scroll and then starts to make his way out. "Take care of yourself, Juno, and keep up the work. You're a natural at it, much like someone else I once knew."