[The Survivors RPG] Mission: Tatooine, pt.2

This is the embarrassingly late second part to my submission for the Survivors RPG Tatooine challenge an entirely random, unrated side build that just happens to be set on Tatooine. Seriously, though, October/November were extremely busy and I wasn't even close to completing it on time. I'll admit that after spending most of my focus on the story and getting the octagonal walls and roof to work for the structure, I struggled with creative inspiration on filling in the interior. I also wanted a second level below it to act as the mechanical room to show Lin actively doing the repairs and planting the explosives. However, with this challenge already having been over for more than a month now, I decided to post it as it was - partially finished - and move on.

 

The photo quality is not great - working with a 4 year old smartphone, but my new Galaxy S20 arrives this week so hopefully these will get better.

 

For context: part 1

www.flickr.com/photos/thulium42/50409321793/

 

Photo, left to right: Lin, undercover and checking the repaired climate control; Velius, undercover and enabling the not-pictured Rhodes to hack in remotely; a very distracted Imperial officer; Talia, undercover and providing a very Falleen distraction; and two very distracted stormtroopers.

 

///Log Entries: Keldon Velius\\\

 

[5 days before the assault]

 

Early this morning, before dawn, Lin and Rhodes sent in their miniature spider droid, piloting it right up the side of the tower and squeezing through the fan vents into the ventilation and climate control (VACC) unit. Whatever they sabotaged - Lin tried to explain it to me, obviously considering it extremely clever, but honestly I only understood a fraction of what he was saying - they did it so it would take effect later in the morning whenever the unit kicked on for the first time.

 

Meanwhile, Penn and I headed into the city, visiting each of the local VACC install/repair groups and tapping into their networks. From there, Rhodes started hacking through the security system for each, giving himself backdoor control over their comm systems (to intercept calls later), and downloading everything he'll need for temporarily adding us as employees with authenticated ID badges.

 

[4 days before the assault]

 

Having arrived late last night, Talia's reaction to our plan was about what I expected: "You had me fly halfway across the galaxy just to flirt with some stormtroopers?? Maybe you should do your own flirting once in a while."

 

"I don't think," I countered, "that any of us want to gamble a liberated Tatooine on the success or failure of my flirting with stormtroopers."

 

"I sure don't," Lin interjected from another room.

 

"Shut up, Lin, that was rhetorical. Come on, Talia, we need your charm and you know it."

 

Talia raised an eyebrow as she considered this, then agreed: "You're right, your sense of humor is hopeless."

 

She's right, my sense of humor could use some help. But that's not the point...it's just an inside joke.

 

Part of the mysterious, semi-reptilian humanoid race of Falleen, Talia has a number of unfair advantages, including greater strength, faster reflexes, and a 200-year lifespan (she and I worked together hunting smugglers and pirates in our 30s... now here we are in our 50s and I'm the only one that looks it). But her most useful advantage against humans for this mission? Pheromones.

 

Most humans know the head-over-heels feeling of being in love - impulsive and emotional instead of logical, and you can basically chalk it all up to a biochemical imbalance in the brain. Now imagine a species that can plunge you into that state in an instant. That's the effect most Falleen have on most humans. Falleen are notoriously cool-headed, so maybe it takes stronger doses of whatever this is to be effective on each other? I don't know. However it's supposed to work for Falleen, humans seem particularly susceptible to it. It's not bad if you're aware of what's happening, but most people are caught off guard and so suggestible they may as well be hypnotized.

 

In summary: those stormtroopers are in for the crush of their lives.

 

Other updates from the team: Lin has been spying on the Imperial technicians trying (and failing) to get the VACC unit up and running again, and Penn handed me a hydrospanner that I would never have suspected contained a miniature time bomb. I love working with these kids.

 

Rhodes has completed his takeover of all the VACC groups' networks and has hijacked comm lines ready, so we're each taking shifts to keep someone always standing by to take the call.

 

[3 days before the assault]

 

Lin reported the Imperial techs were rappelling outside the tower today, swearing up a storm as they continued to fail to uncover the problem. It won't be long now before they give up and call for help.

 

[2 days before the assault]

 

Rhodes took the call this morning, answering on behalf of OaSys Services, expertly handling the upset Imperial officer, and promising to send out a maintenance team immediately - including a supervisor "to ensure the highest quality of work for you, sir." After the call, he turned to Lin with a grin: "Well, must be working, he seemed pretty hot under the collar." I groaned. Lin didn't bother to look up, putting the final touches on our OaSys ID badges.

 

We arrived at the tower 26 minutes later (much faster than the real OaSys would have been able to manage, since we've been waiting night and day) - Lin and I in simple work gear, and Talia in a simple black dress that contrasted with her green skin magnificently. We were greeted (I use the term loosely...there wasn't much welcome) by the officer and a stormtrooper.

 

In typical Imperial fashion, the officer was prepared with a scathing speech: "Well, it's about time you got here, we've been waiting for-"

 

"-for much too long, I agree," Talia cut him off smoothly. "We'll have you up and running in no time, sir." She eyed the stormtrooper carrying a handheld scanning unit, then barked at me: "Jak, scan your own equipment, I'm sure this stormtrooper has better things to do with his time than babysitting you."

 

"Of course, of course," I replied, gently snatching the scanner from the stormtrooper, who was too busy puffing out his chest and trying to look impressive in front of Talia to really notice what I was doing. I quickly flicked the sensitivity to its lowest setting, then scanned our tool bags, pleased to see that it was detecting no concerns with the large amount of tool-shaped explosives; then I reset the sensitivity and handed it back to the stormtrooper.

 

We were led up to the fifth floor of the tower, which contained all of the mechanical equipment, including the VACC unit. Lin and I immediately set to work, Lin repairing his own sabotage and keeping up a steady stream of mechanibabble (that could be real or fake for all I knew) as I handed him tools and tried to look busy.

 

Talia remained in the turbolift, amiably chitchatting with the officer and the stormtrooper, keeping herself the center of their attention. "How are we looking?" she asked after a few minutes.

 

"Just about done!" reported Lin.

 

"Great. You're fine down here by yourself, right, Drall?" Then turning to the officer: "We can head upstairs so Jak can run some diagnostics on the computer." Her tone was simultaneously matter of fact and reassuring beyond any dispute, and the smitten officer nodded without a second thought. I smirked at Lin on my way into the lift, knowing that he would take full advantage of his time alone to stash highly explosive tools throughout the room.

 

On the sixth and highest level, we entered a control room with windows in every direction. A second stormtrooper looked up from one of the consoles and immediately strode across the room to fawn over Talia.

 

"Okay if I run some quick diagnostic reports?" I asked politely. The stormtrooper mumbled a "Sure, whatever" and gave an ambiguous hand wave in my general direction, not bothering to look at me.

 

Well, Talia owned the room and I was invisible...time to bring in Rhodes. I inserted a data disk and started loading a simple diagnostic program featuring two status indicators, both currently yellow. The first, labeled "Operational", switched to green after a couple of minutes - this meant Lin had the VACC unit fully up and running again. If asked about the second indicator, labeled "Monitoring", I would have responded that it was running diagnostics on the VACC unit. In reality, that was already done - the yellow indicator meant that I had successfully connected Rhodes to the tower, and he was actively hacking into the network remotely.

 

Lin appeared in the turbolift a moment later, announcing that everything was back online (nobody paid any attention to him). After handing me my noticeably lighter tool bag, he pulled out a scanner to measure the air temperature coming from the ceiling-mounted vents. Trying to appear busy myself while we waited, I glanced through some actual diagnostic reports and noticed a 14% efficiency increase vs. before the sabotage...darn it Lin, we're blowing up this tower tomorrow and you're giving them a tune-up? That kid never gives less than a 110% effort.

 

The second indicator changed to green - Rhodes now owned the network and all of their comm systems. "Everything looks great," I reported, removing the data disk and turning to Talia.

 

"Anything else you gentlemen need," she inquired, "or should we let you get back to protecting the galaxy?"

 

"Simply doing our duty, ma'am, and we appreciate your crew's excellent work today."

 

We made our way down and out and loaded back up the speeder. The officer and both stormtroopers (yes, they left the control room completely unattended) were obviously reluctant to see Talia go, but she gave them a professional salute with an unprofessional wink, then turned and entered the speeder without another glance. We headed back to town.

 

"Uh, Talia, ma'am," asked a slightly nervous Lin, "have you ever heard of the legendary Jedi mind trick?"

 

"Yes, Lin, why do you ask?"

 

"Can't be more powerful than what you just did."

 

"Shut up and drive, Lin, I think it's working on you, too," I laughed.

 

Returning to our rented house, I contacted Kevin: "Mission successful, sir, and cheers to the Survivors - Rhodes is uploading all of the network keys for you...you now own the Imperial Remnant's comm network on Tatooine."

 

\\\End Log Entries///

Done