STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Rescue

Then Trax is with Xavier.

You do not have to wait long after setting up for things to start happening...

Dak- you sense the natives approaching.

Xavier- all quiet on your floor at the moment. The mercenaries are running routine check ins. Trax and the Epirean are at your side.

Rianna- you hear something in the distance. You cannot be certain of how far away it is; the fog muffles everything.

Can Rianna sense to get any idea of how far it is?

Xavier makes sure the mercenaries maintain constant communication with him.

He will also keep his own senses open trying to feel anything coming.

Force check for Rianna... 2. Difficult to tell. But it sounds like a quiet but heavy whirring noise...

-

Dak, the natives are marching slowly out of the fog towards you. The mercenaries are getting ready to fire, but the Magnesians have not yet tripped the sensors of the automated turrets.

-

Nothing happening yet, Xavier. The mercs are keeping in touch, checking in as they cycle around the floor.

Is she at least able to tell from what direction it's coming?

"They've got something out there. Keep watch..." she says.

It seems to be coming from the rear of the chemical factory.

Dak tells the mercenaries to hold. He wants the Magnesians within range of the turrets before the fighting starts.

At the head of the Magnesians is that old shaman you saw in the village. He, like the other Magnesians, are covered in war paint and mud. He jabs his staff into the ground and the Magnesians take no further steps.

The automated turrets remain quiet, and the mercenaries bristle but hold as you ask.

"What are they doing?" asks one.

Rianna will head towards the rear of the building to check it out, then.

Rianna- you still cannot see what is out there... but then a series of grappling hooks shoot out of the fog towards the building, one of them coming right at you!

Xavier- one of the mercenaries has stopped checking in.

Well, Rianna is going to quickly duck/dodge to the side to avoid getting hit by it, while drawing and igniting her lightsaber to quickly destroy it.

"They're attacking from back here!" she shouts to the mercernaries.

Xavier will head that while telling the mercenaries to group up, and fall back towards the security room.

Rianna-

You swiftly move aside of the grappling hook, letting it glide past you. It connects with the ground and immediately magnetizes to the roof. Several others do the same, but just below the railing of the roof's edge.

The mercenaries rush to your side, except the ones on the turrets who just angle them in your direction. Bringing their weapons to bear, they respond to the grappling hooks with a hail of laserfire...

-

Xavier-

Not all of the mercenaries respond to your request. More of them have gone quiet.

You move into the office area where the first mercenary went missing. It is not at all hard to find him; he is bleeding on the floor. His throat has been slit. Not far away is the second mercenary, a throwing knife through his neck.

Rianna will slice the grappling hooks away with her lightsaber, ready to dodge if anymore are fired at the roof in her direction.

You manage to cut the one that flew past you just as the mercenaries find out the costs of shooting at people with reflector shields mounted on their forearms. After the bolts disappear in the fog... they come back. The wave of bolts burst across the roof, striking at the mercenaries and forcing you to defend yourself from some of the bolts. Five of the mercenaries are fatally hit by their own shots.

And then the Shepherds plunge out of the fog, using the grappling wires as ziplines to rapidly descend onto the building. The mercenaries foolishly keep firing, the bolts flashing harmlessly against the shields of the Shepherds.

"They're shielded - hold your fire, or at least focus on destroying the lines!" Rianna instructs the mercenaries, annoyed that they haven't figured that out themselves.

About how many Shepherds are there?

"There's Shepherds up on the roof, they came around the back of the building," she informs Xavier and Dak via comm.

Dak steps forward menacingly, glaring at the assorted forces. "Well?" he shouts.

Dak- the Shaman does not step forward but starts jabbering at you in his native tongue. He gestures angrily with the staff at you and waves it at the building behind you. Language roll says you get the gist of what he is saying; that you are a murderous coward and that the Magnesians will avenge their fallen brothers.

Rianna- There are twenty-five coming at the building. The mercenaries turn their blasterfire on the magnetic grapplers, battering away at them with repeating shots. But the first Shepherds on each line uses his forearms to shield the anchor and prevent the blasts from removing the ziplines.

Well, then, Rianna's going to manually remove as many of those ziplines as she can before they reach the building, both lightsabers out and slicing the cables.