ASSAULT on the REGAL TABBIR

by Ross Hedvicek


From the Author: This is the third mission I've written for my sourcebook (the Black Cobras) - it is also the longest. The other two (and the many that will be coming in the future) dossiers/missions can be found on my website - Black Ops. You can find a link under "A – F" of the starwars-rpg.net links section.

Dossier 3/4:BR:VS - Operation Rapid Sabre

Date: 5/30/198 Tabbir (~2 Months Before Battle of Yavin)
Time: 9:00 AM Standard Tabbir Time
Location: Baril Aerospace construction yards - in orbit around Baril.

Primary Objective(s): Board the Regal Tabbir undetected
Secondary Objective(s): Prevent detonation of explosives
Tertiary Objective(s):
        1. Secure the Regal Tabbir
        2. Neutralize all non-friendly forces

Synopsis:
The merry bunch of marauders calling themselves the Ur'k'ai has struck once again. Turns out that the Rodian Navik Rasan was nothing more than a "cell leader" – however, one in charge of several cells. His capture has caused the Ur'k'ai many headaches, but has not crippled them as first expected. Updated intelligence directly from Fort Silvosa indicates that there are eight more cells as large as the one commanded by Rasan. Unsettling information to say the least.

What we have here is a case of retaliation. A sizeable force of Ur'k'ai terrorists, dressed as Baril Aerospace workers, boarded the Regal Tabbir just before the command bubble was to be removed and seized command. The Regal Tabbir is a large cruise ship about to be delivered to Tabbir Cruise Lines. The finishing touches were completed only hours before the terrorists boarded, and nearly all of the workers remaining on the ship had the chance to flee to safety. However, there are still seventy-eight workers hiding on the ship – none have yet been discovered by the terrorists.

The terrorists are demanding the usual: lots of money, the release of Rasan and all "political prisoners being detained unjustly by the corrupt Heiter Industries." If their demands are not met, they threaten to blow up the ship. This is their only real bargaining chip. According to them, and verified by Infinity's slicing of their internal security network before he was cut off, the terrorists have planted a large bomb on the main reactor core. If this is detonated, the reactor core will melt and explode. This cannot be allowed to happen. If the Regal Tabbir were to explode, it would destroy nearly one fourth of the entire Baril Aerospace capital ship construction yards. Baril execs have been hounding Alek Heiter to either give in to the terrorists or take them out; such is their fear of the destruction of their construction yards.

Since Alek Heiter has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists, we've been given the green light. Boarding the ship will be the toughest part. Most of the terrorists are holed out on the bridge, sweeping actively with sensors. Obviously, any craft that nears the ship will be noticed immediately. The crew access tubes have been sealed off and are being monitored. This will be the most likely entrance. Once on board the Regal Tabbir, the squad will proceed to the main reactor core, locate the bomb and defuse it. Once the bomb has been secured, the team will head to the bridge and secure the ship.

Execution:
Squad three will be used for this mission. Assaulters will be issued silenced M-4 carbines. Secondary weapons will be silenced Mark 23's. Ammunition will be JHP. Teams will enter and move with stealth unless compromised.

Mission Write-Up:
Wes Orlan stood by the viewport, watching the white hull of the Regal Tabbir in silence. He couldn't help but wonder how he and his team would board that huge ship. Taking it down would pose very little problem, but getting aboard was something else entirely. The terrorists had their active sensors sweeping the immediate area: if his team tried to board the ship by docking with it, they would be seen the second they neared it. But the worker access tunnels were all sealed and being monitored from the bridge. Getting in there would also pose a problem. Infinity would have some pretty slick slicing ahead of him to get them through the access hatches undetected. Unless there was another way…

Rall Kolin clapped Orlan on the shoulder from behind, "Looks grim doesn't it. What do you think would be the best course of action?" Orlan's gaze didn't shift from the viewport as he answered, "Give them what they want, get them off the ship and into something more manageable and take them down then." Kolin nodded, "That would be the ideal situation, but as you can see, things are far from ideal." Orlan snorted in response, "No kidding. What's bothering me is how we get aboard. If we use a ship and dock, we'll be noticed on sensors. If we try and go through the access tunnels, we'll be noticed the second we break the seal, unless Steck can pull off some slicing the likes of which he hasn't done before…"

Kolin turned to look at Orlan as he spoke, "We might just have a chance to get aboard without being noticed… Come with me…" Kolin walked back through the orbiting construction platform to a conference room set aside for the Cobras. Walking briskly through the doors, Kolin and Orlan were met by a fat, short and balding man, sweating profusely. He asked quickly and in a demanding tone, "Kolin, have you figured out what your next move will be? Your idea about slicing into the ships internal network failed…" the man glared at Kolin with his next words, "… your 'expert slicer' turned out to be less competent than he first claimed…" In back of the room, Arie Steck leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the table, "You shut your belligerent ass on up, you fat bastard, I'm more competent than anybody in your employment, that's for sure."

The fat man began sweating even more profusely, "How dare you speak to me in that tone! I am Nicoli Fanax! Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the CEO! I will not tolerate being spoken to in such…" Steck jumped out his seat and cut him off abruptly, "You're nothing more than a high level lackey! Now shut your mouth and know your role!" Standing just inside the door, Orlan and Kolin glanced at each other, visibly amused. Kolin decided to stop this argument before it turned violent, "Enough. Shut up. Both of you." Steck simply nodded and sat back down in his seat, but Fanax steamed, "I will not tolerate such insolence from your men Commander Kolin, I will file a complaint with my superiors immediately upon returning to my office. You'll be in a whole universe of trouble, I guarantee you…" Kolin cocked an eyebrow slightly, "Go ahead, write your report. We'll see who's out of a job first, you or me." Fanax sat down in his chair with a thud; he'd met his match. This man was obviously very well connected. Fanax could instill fear into most men, especially his underlings, with nothing more than a sideways glance. But not this one. Who was he? All he'd been told was that this team had been sent from above - from Heiter Industries, the parent company of Baril Aerospace.

Kolin interrupted Fanax's thoughts with a question to Steck, "Why couldn't you gain access to their internal network?" Fanax couldn't help but interject his own thought, "Because he's incompetent…" Steck, still irked by his failure, was having none of the fat man's lip, "Shut your fat Gamorrean-sized ass. One more word out of your filthy mouth and I'll break both of your fat legs and shove them up your…" Steck caught the look Kolin was giving him and halted. Turning to Kolin he sighed, "… because all the channels are blocked. There's only one open, channel 80, and that's used for voice communication with the authorities. I can't piggyback a signal on eighty; it's picked up too easily. Shows up on their comm scanners. If we could sustain a long transmission, a voice conversation or something with the tangos, then its possible I could piggyback a packet with some code in it that could possibly unblock one of the channels, and give me some access. Then I could work." Steck paused, "But my instincts tell me they have a slicer in there. Nobody except a slicer would know how to block all channels, there's hundreds of them used for background tasks, some of which are so unknown they aren't even listed on logs. He's got them all covered. Each and every single one of them. The guy's good, I can tell you that much."

Kolin grimaced as he thought, 'Our main source of information right now is facing a closed door. Damn. We've got to change that.' Turning to face Fanax, Kolin asked, "We need the use of one of your refueling ships. Can you authorize this?" Fanax shrugged, "Depends on what you need it for. If you want it to simply ride around in, it shouldn't be a problem…" Kolin finished his thought, "It will be destroyed to provide a diversion." Fanax nearly jumped out of his seat, "Destroyed?! No! I can't authorize that!" Kolin remained passive, "Baril Aerospace will be compensated in full for the cost of the craft…" Fanax was adamant, "No! I cannot authorize that! I'll have to speak with my superiors before anything like that can be approved." Kolin nodded, "Fine, go speak to your superiors. I want a fueling ship available for me in one standard hour. Arrange it. Steck, come with me."

Turning on his heels, Kolin walked out, Orland and Steck in tow. Heading down the hallway, Orlan asked Kolin, "What do you have in mind, chief?" Kolin glanced at him and grinned, "You'll see soon enough." A few seconds later, the trio arrived in another conference room, this one filled with the rest of squad three. Everyone took their seats as Kolin began.

"Gentlemen, what I'm about to say might sound a bit unorthodox, but it is slowly becoming out only feasible course of action. Our form of insertion will be a space walk." The members of the squad looked at each other, grins on their faces. Corporal Noor, a grin on his face, was the first to say anything, "OK, chief, sounds great. Now what's the real insertion method?" Kolin's face didn't change, "That is the insertion method." Noor raised his eyebrows, "You're for real chief?" Kolin nodded. Noor sat back in his chair and muttered, "Damn, and I thought you were kidding." Kolin shook his head, "Nope. I asked that fat Fanax character to get us a refueling ship, it will be used as a distraction." Kolin picked up a remote and clicked a button. The holoprojector in the middle of the table flickered to life, showing a section of the construction yards, centered on the Regal Tabbir. Everything was included, from the position of support ships, to the crew access tunnels. Kolin clicked again and a refueling ship slowly began moving towards the liner. Noor squinted at the holo, "What are those things attached to the side?" Kolin replied with a lopsided grin, "That's you and the rest of squad three." Noor cocked an eyebrow, "I don't follow you, sir."

Kolin clicked again and the picture zoomed in, showing the refueling ship in detail. Nine men in space suits clung to the outside of the ship. Noor spoke up once more, "There's nine suits, but there's only eight of us. Who's the ninth?" Kolin looked at Steck and grinned. Steck slowly got the picture, and began to vigorously shake his head. Kolin said with a grin, "The ninth suit is Steck. He'll be joining you for this operation. According to him, there is a slicer on board the liner. Steck can't gain access from here, so he'll have to patch into the ship's network from the inside…" Steck protested, "Sir! No! I'm a slicer, not an assaulter like these guys! The only gun I know how to handle is my sidearm! I'll be in the way more often than not!" Kolin shook his head, "No, you will remain in one place for most of the operation. Your primary task will be to find a data outlet, patch in and work your trade. Get around whatever the other slicer may have done, and make life easier for the squad. You'll have to open locked doors, patch into security cameras and give them a fake feed, that kind of stuff. You know what to do. You won't ever be in any danger, except for the ride in." Kolin grinned.

Steck still wasn't completely convinced, "But, sir! The holo shows us being delivered in space suits! Walking around on the outer hull of the liner! I can't even operate a swoop bike, let alone walk around space in a powersuit!" Kolin looked at the rest of the squad and asked, "Do any of you have experience with powersuits?" Everyone shook their heads. Kolin grinned as he turned to Steck, "There you go, you're all on an even plane, you'll all be learning. Besides, it's not that difficult, you'll all receive a crash course in powersuit operations. You won't be doing anything really technical in them anyway, just hanging on to the outside of a ship, then walking a few meters along the hull and boarding the liner. It's going to be a walk in the park." Noor mumbled under his breath with a chuckle, "Yeah right boss." Kolin grinned, "You don't believe me? Go find out for yourselves. You're all expected in Hangar Bay four. Your suits, equipment, weapons, and your ride are all there waiting for you. I'll be watching your progress from the observation deck. Now go and show those terrorist scum what happens when they screw with Heiter Industries." Slowly everyone got out of their seats and filed out the door, Steck remained seated, pouting. Kolin looked at him and said stiffly, "Hangar bay four, get there. Now." Muttering obscenities under his breath, Steck slowly got up and moped to the door. Halfway through the door he turned and looked back, hoping that Kolin would rethink his decision, "Do I have to go?" Kolin nodded, "Yes, you do. You'll make like much easier for the squad. You said yourself you can't do anything from here. Now move it." His shoulders slumping lower, Steck shuffled out into the hallway.

Walking into Hangar bay four, Kolin watched as his nine men walked around slowly in their powersuits, getting used to their feel. A short, squat man in his forties barked out orders, telling them to perform certain actions. Kolin walked over to the man and asked, "How are they coming along?" The man shrugged, "Great for beginners, though they seem to take this whole business with a grain of salt, they've been laughing for about the past fifteen minutes." Kolin nodded, "Have you shown them zero gee yet?" The man shook his head, "I was about to do that now. You better hold on to something immovable." Kolin obliged and gripped a pipe running along the inside wall of the hangar just as the instructor yelled out, "Alright ladies! Time to float! I'm disengaging gravity generators, you'll be in zero gee from now on. Get used to the feeling, try moving around some. Test out your suit's equipment, namely the couplers in your boots and the grappling hook. You'll be using those two the most in your little jaunt." Noor, the clown of the bunch, immediately got into antics. Turning on his couplers, he proceeded to walk up the hangar wall and towards the ceiling, singing in a high pitched nasal whine, "Oh, I was walking on the wall one daaaaaay!" His team mates snickered under their breaths as Orlan yelled at him, "You're such a goon, Noor. Get down from there, and stop taking this whole space walk thing as a joke, it's a serious matter." But Noor continued on up the wall until he was standing on the ceiling, looking up at his team mates on the floor. Chuckling he asked, "What are you guys doing on the ceiling? How'd you do that?!" The Lt. had had enough. He barked at Noor, "Get down from there, now." Noor persisted, "But boss, we're going to be walking along the hull of that liner. At extreme angles, maybe even upside down. I'm getting used to the feeling. Seeing if the blood will rush to my head and stuff. So far everything is good. I feel lighter though…"

Hanging onto the pipe so he wouldn't float off, Kolin nodded, "Kid's got a point. For once his antics had a second meaning." Orlan realized this a split second later, "Damn Noor, I didn't think you had sufficient brains to actually think up something worthwhile. Good job." Hanging upside down on the ceiling, Noor grinned, "I'm a veritable genius guys, why don't you all see that?" One of Noor's team mates muttered, "Must be the goofy haircut…" A minute later, the whole nine man entourage was on the ceiling, hanging like bats.

The instructor walked out away from the wall, his coupler boots clomping along the smooth durasteel surface as he moved. He looked up at the team and said, "OK, now try out your winches. Get back to the ground without walking on the walls." He clomped back to the wall where Kolin was holding onto the pipe and said, "Twenty more minutes of this and they should be good to go." Kolin nodded, "Excellent. Thank you."

Twenty minutes later, the squad was finished with their crash course. Kolin walked back into the hangar bay just in time to see everyone getting out of the suits. He walked up to Orlan and said, "Once your men get out of their suits, have them hit the showers and suit up. We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes. Their equipment will be put into a special duffel bag that they'll carry strapped to their waists. Everything has been prepared for them in the locker room. Any questions?" Orlan shook his head. Kolin smiled, "Good. I'll meet you guys in the hangar bay in fifteen minutes." Kolin turned and walked out of the room.

The fuel tanker had been filled and prepared for the short trip over to the Regal Tabbir and was waiting for the squad as it entered Hangar Bay eight, each carrying their own duffel bag. The power suits had been checked and all were functioning as they should be. Kolin looked up from his datapad and walked over to the squad, "There has been a slight change of plan…" The team collectively rolled their eyes, knowing that no news is good news. Kolin continued, "We contacted the terrorists that we were sending out a refueling shuttle and a service crew to fuel the reactor. We gave them a phony story about the reactor using a special kind of highly volatile fuel to power the onboard systems until it could be started for final time on delivery. They didn't buy it. They refused to allow any ship near it, they smelled a rat. Rightfully so." Orlan held up his hand, "So how do we get aboard?" Kolin replied quickly, with a cocked eyebrow, "You float in. The shuttle will be destroyed, but in such a way that the debris field runs between the now destroyed shuttle and the liner. You then aim yourself at the liner, give your ion booster a quick fire, shut it off, and use your momentum to carry you to the liner in silence. With no ion trail to pick up, the liner's sensors will see you as yet another piece of junk in the debris field. Once you get to within a safe distance of the liner, you fire your grappling hooks and reel yourselves in."

Orlan reiterated his question, "OK, so getting to the liner will be relatively straight forward, but how do we get in the liner itself. Before we were relying on the explosion of the shuttle to rupture the hull and create a door for us. What now?" Kolin, never at a loss for words, replied, "Through hangar bay three. You'll have to pass through the mag shielding at a specific location. There is only one camera in that hangar bay, and it's immoveable. As long as you stay out of it's angle, you'll be safe. You'll have to come up directly underneath it, you'll have a full map in your power suits, that should help you. Once inside the hangar bay, you will proceed to one of the many prep rooms, remove your suits, and arm up. You will then proceed aft to the main power generator. There you will defuse the bomb. Steck, you will find a secure area and patch into the internal network. You can work your magic from there, you know what to do. Once the bomb is secure, you will proceed to find the tangos and eliminate them. Most of them are gathered on the bridge, so your options are pretty limited. Questions?" The squad shook their heads. Kolin nodded, "Very well. Get in your suits, it's time to rock and roll."

Several minutes later, with the entire squad suited up, the fuel ship went up in a ball of flames - scattering it's much larger than anticipated debris field at the liner. Immediately communications from the terrorists spiked. While Kolin gave them a story about a spark in the fuel shuttle, the squad floated out of hangar bay eight and into space. Firing their ion engines in turn, the squad made their way through the debris field, slowly picking their way between pieces of hull. After nearly two minutes of floating, they were within range of their grappling hooks. Firing them, the squad members carefully reeled themselves in, opting to move slowly so as not to attract the attention of the sensor operator. After nearly a minute of reeling, the squad was now securely attached to the hull of the liner, their fusion coupler boots gripping solidly. Orlan turned to face his men and gave them the hand signal to move on. Slowly the squad made their way along the hull towards hangar bay three.

Several minutes of slow tedious walking passed before the team reached the hangar bay. After a quick consultation with the deck plans in his suit, Orlan confirmed that this was indeed the place to enter. Carefully he reached through the mag shield and grabbed onto a pipe. Hauling himself up inch by inch, he finally reached the railing of the service walkway. Gripping it with one hand, he turned and motioned for the rest of his team to continue up. Hoisting himself over the railing, he quickly looked up towards the camera: pointing away towards the numerous pleasure craft in the hangar bay. Excellent. Looking around for any tangos, Orlan spotted an open door. Quickly pulling his fighting knife out of his duffel bag, he crept towards the door, his boots giving away his approach. Walking through the door, he shone his suit's spotlight around, revealing an empty control room. Breathing a sigh of relief, he went to the door and ushered his team in, one by one.

Walking through the door, Steck realized that this would be the ideal place to set up shop for his techno goodies. Quickly stripping off his suit, Steck set up his equipment and plugged into the data outlet below the control panel. While the rest of the team took off their suits and geared up for battle, Steck ran diagnostics before announcing gleefully, "I'm in. Complete access, now I can work." Orlan looked up from tying his boots and commented, "Excellent Steck, now show me some surveillance shots. Where are these guys?" Steck's fingers danced over the keyboard before he looked up, "Seven on the bridge, four wandering around the Promenade looting." Steck paused, "Audio shows that the leader is communicating with three others, but I can't locate them." Orlan nodded, "Fine, good enough for me." He turned to his squad and said, "Lets get that bomb." Following his squad out the door, Orlan said over his shoulder, "Keep in touch, the comlinks are synchronized. Warn us of any approaching baddies or those civilians hiding out. Don't want to tag a civvie. I'll give you a holler if we need a door opened." Steck's eyes didn't move from his screen as he replied, "Right. I've located several of the civvies already. Got the bomb under surveillance also. All is clear. Go get 'em. Cap a tango for me." Orlan grinned as he walked out.

The trek to the reactor core was an uneventful one. Steck kept everyone informed, while carefully keeping the squad out of the surveillance cameras. Reaching the reactor room, the team searched and cleared it before the go ahead was given for Private Nobrin to defuse the bomb. While the rest of the squad covered the doors, Nobrin spent several tense moments disarming the bomb. After getting around a particularly nasty gas grenade surprise designed to kill any unsuspecting fool who tried to disarm the bomb, Nobrin tossed the grenade to Orlan who caught it deftly, "Present for you, lets use it on those bastards on the bridge. If we can get Steck to lock the doors to the bridge after we toss this through… well lets say that it'll make clearing out the bridge much easier." Orlan grinned, "You're one devious son of a bitch, you know that Nobrin?" Nobrin chuckled, "That's what they tell me…"

After five more tense moments of figuring out the wiring pattern that the bomb maker used, Nobrin was convinced that he knew which wire to snip. Looking at the row of blinking green lights along the top of the circuit board on the bomb, Nobrin called over his shoulder to Orlan, "Yo, boss, I'm about to snip the wire. Wish me luck." At hearing the news, the squad yelled back with answers ranging from encouragement to "you'd best snip the right wire, you owe me five hundred credits from that last bet! I intend on collecting!" from Noor. Crossing his fingers, Nobrin snipped the white wire. And the lights went out. Breathing a sigh of relief, Nobrin put his wire cutters down and sat down on the ground with a thud. Orlan walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, "Way to go chief. Thanks for not blowing us all up." Nobrin grinned, "Yeah, you're welcome. Now how about we use that gas on those tangos on the bridge? They've caused me an excessive amount of stress in the last fifteen minutes. More than I care to take from a group of imbeciles like them. They've earned what's coming to them. What do you say?" Orlan shrugged, "Sure thing, I'm all for stuff that kills the bad guys and keeps my men alive. We gas 'em." Nobrin grinned as he stood up and slung his M-4 around, "Great, chief. Now lets see if Steck can pull it off, I mean completely close off the bridge, air ducts and everything." Orlan nodded and spoke into his comlink, outlining the situation. Steck replied that he would work on it, and that he'd spotted the four looter terrorists still snooping around the Promenade. The squad set out, using the passenger hallways to avoid the security cameras. After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, the team finally came upon the area where Steck said the looters were.

Carefully peering around the corner, Orlan spotted two of them nosing through a jewelry store, pointing to the empty display cases. Using hand signals, he motioned for two of his men to stack up to the door and prepare to clear it. They nodded and got up beside the door. Orlan got on his comlink and asked Steck, "Where are the other two? We've got two of them in the jewelry shop." After a brief moment of silence, Steck came back, "The other two are two hundred meters ahead of you, towards the bow of the ship. One is on deck eight, the other is on deck six. Deck six is on the opposite side you're on. You'll have to cross one of the bridges or snipe him. You're clear to engage the jewelry store. The other two won't see you." Orlan looked at the two men stacked against the door and nodded, then gave a thumbs up. Silently and efficiently the two men stepped into the room, their weapons already at the ready. A pair of pop-pop-pop's later, the two tangos dropped to the purple carpet lining the shop. Orlan motioned for the squad to get inside the shop before whispering into his throat mike, "Search the bodies. Collect any information they have. Secure the weapons."

Quickly the team went to work. Two men searched the dead tangos, while two more collected and secured their weapons. Both weapons were blasters smuggled into the sector, probably through Sillon. Energy packs and gas caps were removed before the weapons narrow barrels were bent. Nobody would be firing these blasters any time soon. Once the search was complete, the team filed out of the shop and down the Promenade, with Steck giving updated information about the two remaining looters every thirty seconds. Janson was given the task of sniping the looter on deck six and set about it quickly. Setting up his perch near one of the numerous connecting bridges, Janson waited patiently for his target to come into the open while the rest of his team went down four decks to deal with the looter on deck eight.

Just before his squad mates arrived on deck eight to clear out the third tango, Janson's target walked out of the store he was looting and proceeded to walk to the next one. He stopped in front of the glass window and looked inside, checking to see if there was anything of value inside. He looked up to read the sign above the entry. Printed in big bold red and black letters on a white background was the name of the store: MusicLand. The terrorist looked down and shrugged. Eighty meters away, on the other side of the Promenade, Janson lined up his shot. That sign was the last thing this terrorist was going to read. One of the squad's best shots, Janson had little trouble keeping his shot steady, even as he breathed a farewell wish to his soon to be departed target, "Say hello to my little lead friend…" Squeezing the trigger, Janson watched through his sights as the terrorist's head bucked to the side and began to waver. The bag he was carrying slipped out of his grip and dropped to the ground. He fell to his knees, before collapsing to the ground completely, blood slowly seeping from the massive head trauma he'd just received. Janson got on the comlink and told Orlan, "Tango down. Deck six clear." Moments later Orlan replied, "Deck eight clear. Heading up to deck four. Meet us one meters forward of your position."

Janson crawled back towards the cover of the hallway before standing up. Ducking back into the passenger hallways, he walked the hundred meters to the arranged meet point. Along the walk he spoke to Steck, "Where are those three tangos you were talking about?" Steck checked his console before replying, "Can't locate them exactly. I've tried tracking them using com signals, but the best estimate I can give you is a radius of fifty meters, anywhere between decks fifty-five and sixty-five – towards the bow of the ship. They seem to all be in the same area, or in close proximity to one another. I'm guessing they're all in the amusement park, enjoying the rides. I'll keep you informed if their position changes." Janson smiled at he thought, 'Terrorists riding the roller coaster like little children. How amusing.'

After meeting up with Janson, the combined force made the six hundred some-odd meter trek to the bridge. After walking slightly over fifteen minutes, the team reached the bridge. Ducking into one of the passenger cabins, the team waited for Steck to prepare things. Orlan contacted him on the comlink, "How are things with the doors? Can you lock them up tight? How about the air ducts? We don't want any gas escaping into the rest of the ship. We have gas masks, but the civvies hiding out don't." The comlink was silent for a few moments before Steck replied, "Everything looks good. The air ducts are sealed tight. The bridge is now completely sealed. I've locked all four doors to the bridge. Nobody is getting in or out. When you're ready to roll, give me a shout and I'll unlock your door. I'm assuming you'll be using the starboard door on deck one, correct?" Orlan looked up at the ceiling, visualizing where in the ship they were, "Yes, starboard door, deck one." Another short pause, "Very well. Hurry up though, they might notice something funny when they can't open the doors." Orlan motioned to Nobrin, then tossed him the gas grenade, "You get the honors." Nobrin looked up, a calm look on his face, and nodded, thumbing the grenade.

Orlan walked over to the door, pointed to Janson and Temed, and motioned down the hallway, away from the bridge door, "Cover the hallway, we don't want anyone sneaking up behind us." The two men walked out and set up, raising their weapons, aiming them down the hallway, prepared to send lead downrange if anyone happened to cross their path. Orlan motioned to Nobrin, "Get up against the door. Prepare to toss the grenade in." Nobrin walked over and knelt beside the door, preparing to pull the pin on the grenade. Nearly forgetting something, Orlan told the entire team to put on their gas masks. Everyone did so quickly and quietly, tightening the straps securely. Motioning for Noor and Makezh to cover the door to the bridge, Orlan walked into the hallway and covered the door himself. That left Olbeg and Hirken unassigned. That quickly changed when they were both assigned to cover the bridge door.

Preparing for the final entry, Orlan got on the comlink to his team and Steck, "OK guys, here we go. Steck, when I say 'door', open the door. Nobrin, the second the door opens, pull the pin and toss it in. Try and get it into the pit area. Steck, I'll give another signal, 'door' again, you close the door. Everyone got it?" Eight affirmatives came back. Orlan paused, taking a breath, "OK, here goes. Door!" The door hissed open. Nobrin pulled the pin and tossed the grenade in. It bounced off the forward viewports and landed in the pit amongst a startled scream of "What the hell!" Orlan gave the second command, "Door! Steck now!" The door closed again, "Lock it! Tight! Don't let them out!" Steck came back over the comlink, "Already done chief. They're not going anywhere." Screams emanated from inside the bridge as the terrorists slowly succumbed to their own device. Blaster bolts hit the durasteel bulkhead in a last ditch attempt to get out. Slowly the shouting ceased. Orlan asked Steck over the comlink, "How does it look inside? Anyone still alive?" Steck panned the camera around, now able to do so without alerting the bad guys, "Negative. There is a slight green mist inside the room though. Do you know what that is?" Orlan looked at Nobrin, the squads EOD specialist. Nobrin nodded, "Side effect of the gas. It was originally made for terror groups for just this application, the green was made so that they knew when it was safe to enter the room. The green means that the gas is still active. The color slowly fades over the course of about sixty seconds. Once you don't see the color it's safe to enter the room without a gas mask." Orlan nodded, "I see. Steck, tell me when the green color is gone."

Almost two minutes later the green disappeared. The long dispersal time attributed to the small size of the bridge. The grenade in question had been designed for a room nearly three times as large. The team stormed in, clearing the room, kicking weapons away from their owners as a precaution. Just the Steck's voice came over the comlink, "The three amusement park terrorists are moving. They're dispersing. Looks like their hiding out. You want to go after them?" Orlan looked at his team mates, all of whom were shaking their heads vehemently, "No, not our job. Open the worker access tunnels, I'm calling in the mop up team." Orlan changed channels on his comlink and said to Kolin, "Ship secure. All tangos except three have been eliminated. The three are hiding out on the lower levels. Request a search team in here to hunt them out. Steck has their rough vicinity. Repeat, ship secure. Requesting security teams to flush out the remaining three tangos. Ess-Three out."

Watching the silent, unmoving Regal Tabbir through the viewports in the conference room, Kolin turned to face Fanax, "There you have it. Your ship is secure, with presumably minimal damage to it's interior. Dispatch your security troops to search out the remaining three terrorists. Our job here is done." Kolin put his comlink to his mouth and replied to Orlan, "Roger ess-three, copy that. You may proceed back to the locker room. Security will handle the rest. I congratulate you on a job well done. You've earned some time off. Kolin out." Kolin looked Fanax straight in the eye and said, "I bid you farewell, Fanax. It has been a distinct pleasure working with you. Give my regards to your superiors." With that Kolin walked out of the room and towards the locker room. His team would be arriving soon, and he had to have a case of lum waiting for them when they got there. Now if only he could find one…

After Action Report:

Primary Objective(s): Achieved
Secondary Objective(s): Achieved
Tertiary Objective(s):
        1. Achieved
        2. Failed

All objectives achieved. Boarding the ship turned out to be a very unorthodox operation, after which everything went smoothly. Bomb was located and disarmed, and the terrorists on the bridge were neutralized with their own poison gas. Baril workers were later found by Baril security forces after a full scale search of the ship was performed. Three more terrorists were found and shot by security forces during the search

Friendly Casualties: None
Enemy Casualties: 14 Killed
Total Operation Time: 93 minutes standard
Total Rounds Fired: 10
        Snipers: 0
        Assaulters: 10
Combined Accuracy: 100%
        Snipers: 100% (0/0)
        Assaulters: 100.0% (10/10)

Overall Evaluation: Success



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