Star Wars: Warlords of the Sith (Closed/Started)

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PrinceOfShapeir

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"This was four thousand years ago. The Jedi have more important business than guarding a metal-filled hole. The defenses at the facility were all automated when I was there nine years ago, I have no reason to believe any different. If the droid defenses can be silenced without a signal reaching Coruscant it will simply be a matter for fusion cutters to handle at our leisure."
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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The transport to this ship from battle to here had been oddly quiet. In the beginning, it had been punctuated with enemy fire, but the pilot had taken evasive maneuvers and he had repaired what machinery and shield maintenance had been needed. Sadly, while Sirus was capable with his hands, he was no great pilot, nor was he an expert in astro-navigation. For all his ability to keep alive and be useful, he needed much more time in the pilot seat before becoming practical in its use. Ah, there was that word again. The knife had branched out, but not enough. Well, we'll see... They came to the meeting - nine of them and one speaker - and the speaker explained why exactly they were called here. Stupid, stupid fools, those three. In-fighting in the middle of a war when the enemy will just shoot your back when you turn on each other? Time and a place, you idiots. Time and a place. What they were lacking in was resolve. Such things as trust and loyalty may not come easy in the Empire. In fact, many times it was in negative supply, but an empire has necessity and drive. That has to work in there somewhere, or what was ever the point in being there?

Zana exposed herself as being a droid in human form - Why is it that people felt the need for their thinking machines to look human when they themselves did not feel it important? - and explained that she was in the support of making a lord...out of one of them. Sirus knew immediately the thought that had to cross their minds, because it crossed his: 'How can I make this so?' He knew well the minds of Sith, the Sith pattern if you will. People act in a certain way. His training with weapons from the knife to the saber had shown him that you must understand all the little signs in a person to make sure your attack finds the kink in their armor. People are to be read and made to fall to the knife, and he was such a knife. Now, as questions were asked and addressed, he remained silent. His focus was on the room and those in it. Let others ask what is on their mind. They would provide him with information before him. Only then would he speak.

In response to the slaying of Darth Erinyes, the enemy had made their move and begun a new campaign on the Sith Empire. This was going to make things complicated... There were questions of how a droid can help them or why not seize power now? Really. Did any of them really look as though they could suddenly take command? His own ego and belief in his abilities aside, he was a better killer than a leader. Leadership required more than they had in power and brains...for the moment. The droid was still a droid, though. Droids were useful even if they didn't have power. Sirus would find some value in Zana even if she only picked up a blaster and shot somebody with it. That would be something. Still, she was a Sith's droid. Presumably, she worked FOR someone. He had to wonder if her master was dead or that she was taking secret orders, or...perhaps there was one other option? Well, that was a subject for another time.

What REALLY got his attention was the mention of Coruscant, of an area sealed tight and defended by machine alone. Maybe a long time ago, this place was maximum security, but perhaps in this day and age some bold Sith might decide to try it. If it was low priority to some and undisturbed, there might be something useful. The old Master had made mention that a single man of power can grip an empire's heart and force it to beat to his whims as he spoke of Palpatine, nay Sidious. His Master had been something of a manipulator himself. Not a sorcerer, per se, but with enough mental power to keep many in a similar grip that he had on one Sirus McLaylen. This seemed to be the sort of idea that was only marginally risky with a definite payoff. It screamed that word at him again: Practicallity. It had worth. Do it. Finally, Sirus broke his silence.

"I believe attempting the facility is a worthwhile enough endeavour. Provided the droids can be blocked from outside contact - a jammer would be nice for that - and then pacified, the only thing we would have to be concerned with is a routine patrol or accidental appearance. We might even reprogram a droid to tell anyone curious that everything is fine to provide us cover, given the chance."

And from that one breach of his silence, he then went silent again, waiting for reactions. He was a knife, and he wanted to stab into this facility. What measure would they use to dissuade him, when he had some sort of working plan forming?
 

Elfgore

Your friendly local nihilist
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Dec 6, 2010
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Alrayn stood in silence, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Alrayn had spent the first half of Zana's orientation thinking of how to best get in her pants. Upon learning she was a droid, he lost all interest completely.
"Pay attention, you fool!" Lord Karbal shouted inside Alrayn's head.
"But it's so boring..." Alrayn groaned. "You're the only reason I'm here and not making some easy credits." Lord Karbal silenced himself and remained that way. Alrayn had no will to be here, he saw no point in this petty struggle for power. But something within in him told him he needed to be here.

Alrayn decided that listening to Zana couldn't hurt him. If he did fail this challenge, he would end up dead. Which is the last thing Alrayn wanted. When Zana reached he "sith ruins" part of the questioning, I suddenly took interest.
"Hate to dispute your "facts", but I've found an artifact on Korriban just a few years ago." The smirk on Arayn's face was filled with a since of arrogance and all-knowing. If Alrayn enjoyed anything in life, it was being right.
 

PrinceOfShapeir

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"Finding a piece of pottery or a scrap of cloth is nothing to celebrate. If you can focus on the practical the artifacts we require have more purpose than being fixtures in a museum with the power to drive you insane if mishandled. I used 'picked bare' in the euphemistic rather than the literal sense. Now if you would like to contribute valuable knowledge instead of drivel...what is or isn't on Korriban is at any rate immaterial. Slipping into the edges of the Coruscant system is a far cry simpler from breaking through the blockade around Korriban."
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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There was a small pause in Sirus' thought while one of the others spoke up on some endeavour on Korriban, thus entering a debate with Zana over the validity of finding that rare piece of ripe fruit on an otherwise spent tree. Sirus tended to ignore that kind of quibbling as an unimportant hindrance of efforts. Alrayn didn't see the irony of arguing with a machine over something like this in the wake of an empire civil war in the middle of a regular war. It was, in a word, pointless. So, Sirus just pushed right on ahead as though this interruption didnt' exist.

"Oh, I should ask one thing, Zana. Do we have the equipment on-board to handle this undertaking?"
 

socialtangent

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"It has never been opened, after Sidious' death the Jedi discovered it and decided to seal it forever, burying the access shaft under a million tons of durasteel."

Aria scowled. "Such are the ways of the Jedi. To find knowledge, to collect it, and to stash it away. Fools."

She appreciated the forwardness of McLaylen. Another mind concerned with the objective at hand, rather than reciting hollow cliches or indulging in pointless showboating, unlike the other human male. He would likely prove to be irritating in due time.

"Oh, I should ask one thing, Zana. Do we have the equipment on-board to handle this undertaking?"

"I second that concern. An intact facility belonging to Lord Sidious would be worthy of exploration, but knowing of its location does nothing if we do not have the assets. Are we capable of silencing the automated defenses?"

Darth Sidious was one of the few Sith in history to successfully topple the Jedi Order and rule the galaxy. It was said that he mastered the technique of transferring his soul into fresh living bodies, among other powerful Force talents. If this facility contained any of his knowledge, it would be a valuable find indeed. Traveling that close to Coruscant, however, would prove to be dangerous. Discretion was key.
 

Mr.Ivebeenframed

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Meria listened to the others but soon she grew impatient. Once another Sith mentioned Coruscant and possibly breaching a facility there known to house great power, Meria perked up again. She crossed her arms at the notion but the more she thought about such an endeavor, the more she saw a reason to break in. With the Republic Fleet elsewhere in the galaxy, slipping into the core worlds would be easier than it was before but it was another matter of remaining concealed.

"I can deal with the droids," Meria spoke up to the other Sith. "but the security and alarm systems are another matter. I agree that we should go to Coruscant. Perhaps even there we can procure the necessary equipment needed to breach the facility. Their criminal underworld is just as extensive as Nar Shaddaa's."
 

Pm0n3y

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Jul 29, 2009
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"Are we capable of silencing the automated defenses?"

"That would be the assumption, Echani. I would imagine a few signal jammers would be fairly easy to acquire for powers such as ourselves, if not already in storage somewhere on this ship. Same would be said for plasma cutters, as the droid Zana already mentioned." He addressed the white haired, silver eyed woman.

"My concern, however, would turn to the proximity of such jamming devices. Would they be able to simply disrupt the signal from a safe distance, say, from the comfort and safety of this ship's confines, or would contact have to be completely direct?" He asked, mostly hoping for an answer in favor of the latter than the former. After past events, he needed a reason to vent.

"Either way, I would imagine we would have to be as fast as we were quiet." He fidgeted in his seat again. "If all our needed equipment is here on the Glaive, then would there be anything else stopping us from starting this incursion?" He addressed the droid once more.
 

Mr. Omega

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Thalo, still appearing as if he wasn't actually paying attention, decided to add his own question to the list of those to be answered. "And while it's all well and good to discuss the first line of defense... what about once we're past that? What if Sidious was a paranoid man and left defenses of his own in there?" He smiled as he imagined the thought of some foolish Jedi getting vaporized by a booby-trap.

"This was something owned by a man who had, however briefly, near complete control over most of the Galaxy and was responsible for the death of thousands of Jedi." He suddenly looked a little more serious "If I were a Jedi, I would strip that place bare, destroying anything I couldn't keep. It's certainly better than risking someone else finding it. Unless, of course, they couldn't actually get in."
 

PrinceOfShapeir

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"I can have a deck crew strip the ECM off one of our scout fighters and modify it into a wide-band comm jammer easily able to fit into a shuttle hold. As for the durasteel, while the mining equipment necessary is not immediately at hand my original master, Darth Vicissus, had a number of large credit accounts with the IGBC. It will be a simple matter to arrange a delivery of mining equipment to a world en route."

Zana looked at each of them in turn. "Unfortunately the Glaive will not be able to accompany us. It recently engaged in battle with the RSD Sanguine and took critical damage to a number of systems. More importantly the Glaive is rather easily detectable. One of our Onith class transports could carry the necessary supplies and be unlikely to be detected by the Republic."

"If you are prepared this mission can begin within the hour. I have already ordered the deck crew to begin work, and placed the order for the equipment to be delivered to a safehouse on Tralus in the Corellia system."

Zana regarded Thalo directly. "There are significant internal defenses, of which I have no intelligence. The report I uncovered mentioned seven Jedi entering the facility. Only one, a Jedi known as Kyle Katarn, escaped alive."
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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It seemed like his personal concerns brought out at least a few others, regarding security. It was true that they couldn't just think of it as a simple droid-run outpost. Well, okay, it WAS...but it was a military outpost with combat droids who bolster the numbers of regular soldiers. They weren't always that easy to take care of at times, so their battle plan had to be more involved than just charging in. There was security, alarms, surveillance... The situation was more complex than it appeared on the surface. Sirus mulled it over in silence. How to deal with the issues at hand...?

"And while it's all well and good to discuss the first line of defense... what about once we're past that? What if Sidious was a paranoid man and left defenses of his own in there? This was something owned by a man who had, however briefly, near complete control over most of the Galaxy and was responsible for the death of thousands of Jedi. If I were a Jedi, I would strip that place bare, destroying anything I couldn't keep. It's certainly better than risking someone else finding it. Unless, of course, they couldn't actually get in."

Sirus felt he should answer this one.

"We're discussing this part at length because the implementation of it requires both good timing and a bit of finesse under pressure so that we can secure the area long enough to even penetrate the facility. If done correctly, we gain adequate time to cut through the armor-plating and investigate it. During which time, we would be able deliberate on how to approach the dangers. As for the Jedi picking it clean or even destroying the contents, you do not think like a Jedi. If they tried and failed to enter the facility for your very reasoning, they would just destroy it, with very large ordinance. If it were impossible to both enter or destroy, there would be no point even guarding it. So, they sealed it out of fear and ignorance, putting a guard on it to make sure."

He was not so much as talking TO Thalo as hearing the words and responding to them as though scratcing an itch. He had no care of caution except in the pursuit of the object, not running away from it. He was not interested in shirking from this. His instincts told him that there was something in there worth taking, something worth risking even life and limb for. He had already made it his life to push farther than the normal safety limits of his capabilities. Every limitation was a hurdle, not a wall. It could be scaled, overcome, and should be. At least they had the equipment on-board, though they could not take the Glaive. Too much damage. Zana made warning that a host of Jedi had indeed died during a visit here. Sidious did trust no one, but then again the suspicious nature of a Sith was better-suited to handle such a place. Sirus' eyes narrowed at the droid and then he spoke out again.

"The necessary equipment for jamming and cutting through, plus ten-to-fifteen troops and ourselves seems adequate. If it is possible to approach undetected, we should. Given that in mind, those with stealth should attempt to sabotage the base or even secure their command area. That much could handle alarms or surveillance. It may also prevent a signal being sent out that way, but the jammer should be implemented at the first sign of complications. The troops will occupy droid forces and we ourselves should blindside them at every turn to cull them quickly. As I said before, though, leave a few intact for reprogramming. If nobody from the outside suspects that there is anything wrong, we can sink as much time as necessary into this."
 

PrinceOfShapeir

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"You misunderstand. The defenses are exclusively Droids. From what I understand every decade or so a team of engineers come out to perform maintenance and upgrades, but besides that no living thing has set foot in that place in centuries."

"As for why the facility was not simply destroyed, uncertain. I would theorize however that the Jedi feared that even a full Base Delta Zero orbital bombardment could not destroy everything Sidious hid away, and might even release it. Exotic manifestations of the Dark Side held in check only by delicate spells, alchemical monsters and plagues, I can scarcely imagine what else. Sidious has few rivals for his sheer mastery of the power of the Dark Side. I suspect the Jedi were right to fear the potential consequences. And there is no guarantee that such a bombardment would even damage the facility. If armored in phrik or beskar and heavily shielded it could survive the surface being reduced to molten rock, and planet destroyers tend to be frowned upon by Jedi."
 

Mr. Omega

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Thalo laughed at droid's descriptions of both the interior and exterior of the facility. "Wow, he WAS paranoid. Makes me wanna go there and see what sort of goodies the ol' Emperor was hiding!" he made note of Sirus. That one seems to think himself in charge. Or at least a decent tactician. He thought that anything worthwhile had now been brought up, and started walking backwards to where they needed to go next. "Come on, now. Anyone else got anything to say, or are we ready to go?"
 

socialtangent

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Aria gave a slight nod.

"The sooner we act, the better. I am ready."

She felt a twinge of excitement. The prospect of battle was always one that invigorated her. It would also allow her to observe the nature of the Sith she has found herself in cooperation with. Echani martial training put heavy emphasis on reading their opponent by the way they fought. The way one moved and threw their blows could say more about their personality than hours of trivial conversation. That they were going to raid a potential treasure trove belonging to an ancient Sith Lord was a lovely bonus.
 

Lambi

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Oct 20, 2009
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Sitris had chosen to stand there and merely listen to what the others had to say. She simply wanted to get to the action instead of standing there and discussing, even if the discussing was important. Some of the others showed the same kind of impatience she had, but she didn't concern herself with them. Despite all her powers right now, seizing the throne of the fourth Sith Lord was not something she thought she could do now. She would have to train herself in patience. She was well aware of it, but felt it hadn't been an issue until now.

"I, too, am ready." was all she had to say, following with the Echani's statement of being ready.
 

blaze96

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Lampay remained quiet and simply listened to the information being shared. The plan seemed solid enough, he figured it was a good enough time to put it into action.

"We should get going, the sooner we leave the sooner we will hold that which we seek." For once he and his persona agreed on something, he was looking to see what secrets would be hidden in that old temple. They would be a first good step to achieving the power he sought.
 

PrinceOfShapeir

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"All arrangements are complete." Zana rose to her feet and pulled her officer's cap on. "I've also detailed a squad of Storm Commandos to accompany us, if you have no objections."

A short turbolift ride later they emerged onto the hangar deck, the ugly bulk of the Onith-Class Transport waiting for them, the cargo hatch open. Assembled in front were ten men in black armor, each carrying a full pack, blaster carbine, pistol, vibroblade, and no doubt any number of concealed implements.

"Ten-shun!" One of the soldiers said, the voice low but feminine. As one the commandos slammed their heels together and stood in ramrod straight parade posture. "Lords of the Sith, it is our honor to serve!" They slammed their free fists to their chest and dropped to one knee.

Shortly thereafter the twenty of them boarded, the rather bare cylinder of metal and circuitry that was the jammer secured in a corner of the completely empty and barren hold that was the heart of the ship, and their home for a three day journey. Zana ascended a ladder at the far end to reach the maintenance crawlspace to the cockpit, and then they were off, the hatch sealing shut and the ship jetting out of the hangars towards open space, and from there on to Hyperspace.

* * * * *

Seventy-three hours later the ship made final course adjustments and made the last jump towards the outer edge of the Coruscant system. It was a short jump, a little under an hour.

A journey that couldn't end soon enough - nine Sith, ten soldiers, seven mining droids and a jammer ate up all the cargo space with only inches to spare, and they had been like this for sixteen hours."

"On the bright side we can dump the cargo droids on the moon, the ride back should be much less unpleasant." Zana's voice came over the intercom. "Commandos, begin final weapons checks. You are here to serve the new Dark Lords directly. Do not disappoint them." The commandos said nothing, but touched fists to chests in silence. They had been still and silent for most of the journey, only speaking at all when spoken to.
 

Mr. Omega

ANTI-LIFE JUSTIFIES MY HATE!
Jul 1, 2010
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Thalo spend most of the journey meditating, occasionally swaying with a tune he hummed, snapping up to his feet when the journey was completed. "Aha! We're here! At last, our mission can begin!" he curled his fingers briefly before heading to the nearest exit.

He spoke up in regards to Zana's comments. "Oh come on... I'm sure we can think of something useful for the droids! No need to waste resources." He wasn't serious, mostly thinking of ways to reprogram and re-purpose them. He then turned to the Commandos. "Lead the way! And don't worry... you have the Sith watching your back. I'm sure you can't think of a more reassuring thought!" he said, laughing to himself before he stumbled over to the nearest fellow Sith, the Enchani, Aria.

"Looking forward to this? Bet the ride over must have bored you to tears. Itching for a fight, all that good stuff. Well, don't worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of droids to slice up." he said, cackling as he waited for the Commandos to leave. He was still measuring the other Sith, curious to see which ones would take point and which would lag behind.
 

Pm0n3y

An emaciated shadow
Jul 29, 2009
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Ja'Ysr managed to do some meditating of his own, just not as much as he would've liked. He would've wanted to spend the time to mull over all the events leading up to his current predicament, but the way he and the others were crammed into a ship not designed for the extra bodies, it made it hard to focus.

Finally, the crew reached their destination. "Commandos, begin final weapons checks." The replica droid patched through to the cabin. Alongside the impressively armored soldiers, it reminded him to check his own weapons. He examined his blasters, one at a time. Both DC-17 blasters were still in working condition, triggers locked, and power cells loaded. Even down his path as a Sith, he's always appreciated a good blaster. With a quick, flashy twirl, he dismissed the two guns back into their respective holsters.

With another question forming fresh in his psyche, he pushed and squeezed his way through the crowd and equipment to reach the nearest intercom console. He could hear the vibrantly colored Bith individual attempting to strike up a conversation with the Echani female (which wasn't all that hard, seeing as everyone was in breathing distance of one another). "...Well, don't worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of droids to slice up." Ja'Ysr smirked at the claim. "Just make sure you leave enough of them for the rest of us." He piped up in passing, before reaching the intercom and patching back up to the cockpit.

"How will this jamming device be utilized? Will it be moved from the ship, or will it successfully operate where it stands?" He imagined with a few Sith prominent with their abilities in the Force, moving the massive cylinder wouldn't be as hard as one would think.
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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Well, the statement regarding just how non-destructible the facility might actually BE caught him off-guard for a moment. Not so much as surprise as more of an 'Okaaay...' kind of glare, with nothing further to say on the matter. He did smirk at Thalo's enthusiasm, though. Yes, the more well-protected a thing was, the more you just had to see what it was all for. Dangerous, of course. Deadly, for certain. Some who were incautious - even among the Sith ranks in this room - would end up dead, perhaps. Some would find that fortuitous, but Sirus believed...slightly differently. He believed that their death should only come at the hands of hampering him, rather than being usable in some fashion. A Sith was a Sith, after all, viable power to be thrown against foes when they came knocking. It's only when they themselves became enemies...well...the assassin liked to think a little potential danger kept his skills sharp. In any case, it looked like all the others were ready to go and that preparations were complete. Before they actually stepped inside, though - because three days was a LOOONG wait in a smallish vessel - he prepared a little light reading. That is, he wanted to learn more about this Kyle Katarn...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Of course, all this time had not been devoted to reading. While being an assassin could mean alot of keeping still, Sirus would get up and move when he felt his eyes needed a break. Oh these occasions, he would eat or drink, go relieve himself, etc. Sleep was done lightly so. Occupational necessity. One other thing he had done at least once was to inspect all of their equipment, tools and miner droids alike, just to be certain for himself that things were in order. One thing in particular he attempted was to see if the jammer could be modified to exclude their channel. Sadly, it was broadband and messy, so no go. He didn't talk to the troops because he didn't have anything to say to them that wouldn't be commands he could express later. Meditation was different for the likes of Sirus. He was mentally-envisioning his modes of attack from a sit-still position like he was in when he heard...

"Commandos, begin final weapons checks. You are here to serve the new Dark Lords directly. Do not disappoint them."

He wondered what might possibly go wrong in here. Many things could happen unexpectedly. At least, for the moment, none of them were seemingly planning any betrayals...yet. He must always be aware that the knife could come for him as well...and anticipated it. Anyway, everyone was getting up and Thalo had to make that comment... Oh, if those soldiers were any less zealous towards the Sith and the Empire, they would find that statement worrysome. Still, Sirus stretched at he got up, then prepared to leave. They would find him less-talkative and more keen to get out and do some damage, mostly because he believed a bit of infiltration should precede the true attack. One of the others asked about the jammer and its deployment.

"How will this jamming device be utilized? Will it be moved from the ship, or will it successfully operate where it stands?"

"Stripped as it was from another ship, it will block all communications in range of wherever it stands, inside or out of the vessel. The downside of it is that it will block everything, ours and theirs. There's nothing that can be done about it. Which reminds me, where exactly will we be deploying, Zana?"