[i]a short time later[/i]

Sergeant Sekula called the room to order as Lt. Byron entered. All the Liberators were gathered -- old and new -- for their first mission brief together as a unit. Byron, feeling himself like the newest face, was quick to put everyone at ease, and rolled hastily into the mission overview. This objective had come from Fleet command prior to his arrival, so it came with holo imagery from the Intel division. He controlled these with a small remote, and flicked through points of interest as he spoke.

"Everyone settling in, I hope? Well, we'll get back to that soon enough, but first things first." A developed world flicked onto the display. "You're looking at Col Besba. Unassuming planet, not much special about it. Imperial controlled, but they get a lot of slack and we're about to take advantage." The holo display zoomed in on a spaceport. "This is Ganatoo, primary trade hub and home to a skeleton Imperial garrison. Now these aren't fighters -- it's a support unit for the [i]Lionesse[/i], a Victory-class destroyer that patrols the sector. We're talking mostly spanner jockeys stationed here, with a small security detail that mostly stays home to protect their supplies from the criminal elements. Today, we don't bother them and they don't bother us -- we're interested in the comm relays, out here on the outskirts of the city." The display moved again, west about a click, and displayed a confounding array of antennae and power stations. 

"Intel is.... what was the word they used... [i]'keenly interested'[/i] in cracking the Imperial secured networks. They've had some success, but now they're looking for a way to introduce some kind of worm, which they've given to us. Our primary objective is to introduce this worm to this relay. From there it bounces off the [i]Lionesse[/i] and into sith-knows-what, and if we're lucky, someday the data finds its way back to the spooks. If that's ever going to happen, we can't have the imps smelling rebel activity, or they'll just purge the worm before it can do its thing, which brings us to our second objective.

"Your good friend Slooga has offered to support the mission. He has interests in Ganatoo, and a personal visit shouldn't trigger any red flags on the spaceport's traffic logs. A personal visit also means personal security, which will serve as our cover for the relay op. We'll ingress on Slooga's craft in two teams, one for nominal security on Slooga, and one for the slicing objective. Slooga's team will stay with him and -- this goes without saying -- keep him safe for as long as it takes to close his deal. Presently there's nothing to suggest any threats on that front, but this isn't the core worlds, so keep your heads on a swivel. When the deal is done, security detail will give the all clear and the slicers will rejoin at the craft for exfil.

"Two things can blow this op wide open. One, the [i]Lionesse[/i] goes off-schedule and returns to Col Besba before the slicers are open. Their software detects a hack, it's game over. Fleet is watching them closely and if she jumps our way, we'll have thirty minutes to get clear or lie low. Number two, if the imperial garrison gets any [i]hint[/i] of Alliance, they might -- if they're smart -- think to check the codes. If they do that, the worm is dead and we failed. This is an undercover operation -- uniforms off, leave any standard gear at home, and act as Cartel as you can manage for as long as you're on site. The preference is we do this whole thing undetected, but if enemy contact is inevitable, plan B is to make this look like crime. We have discretion to either pull the worm out, or leave it in place and disguise the op as something else. Swipe a few credits from the Imperial slush fund, and they might just miss the real damage.

"A sensor sweep can happen at any time, so keep the comm channels clear. We're going to use real basic codes for status updates -- security detail, you're the pet nerf. Slicers, you're the weather. Check on the other team by asking about the weather or the nerf. If one of you has a problem, the nerf is sick, the weather is bad, whatever sounds natural, just keep it short. If everything goes according to plan, we're in and out and back on deck in four hours or less. 

"Sergeant Sekula will be leading the slicer team. Dob, Beskad, you'll go along too, in case we need to run plan B. I want the droids with Slooga's detail, along with anybody else who can pass for a pirate. If you've got preferences, talk to the sergeant. We'll need our teams ready by 2300.

"Questions, concerns, anything that needs clearing up?"