Faction Blue Screen of Death [Jedi Padawans]

[Resh]

Dojo, Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Open to Jedi Padawans

At first, Resh assumed the heightened intensity of his training droid partner was simply another test from his master, Maeve Linahan . She had put him through the wringer during their first training sessions (if you could call it that, given Maeve's absence for 90% of it). It figured she would preempt something like this for the young pureblood. Resh was impressing himself in the process; He had done a good job avoiding the hits thus far, even when the droid pulled out a second lightsaber and stalked froward with spinning limbs. Maybe all this strenuous practice was paying off after all.

The other training droids in the room were seemingly upped in difficulty as well. The few glances Resh spared at some of the other sparring padawans surprised him. Had she gone through the trouble of setting up all the droids to be more challenging? That didn't make sense…

…Resh's danger sense suddenly flashed, more painfully that it ever had during a session like this. He jumped back as his droid partner swung a blade towards the ground in front of him. It left a superheated cut in the floor. These weapons were supposed to be set to training mode, "Uh…" The droid swung again, and Resh blocked. The heat of the weapon suddenly seemed a lot more noticeable. "Guys?!" He spoke up in a panic, before one of the floating remote droids took a shot at him. He ducked, and it hit the wall, leaving a smoking scorch mark. All the other droids amped up their assaults on their respective padawan partners. There were no masters observing them all. They were on their own. And the bots had gone rogue.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise was having fun.

She was used to training sessions against droids being a cake walk, but today was a merciful break from the monotony. It seemed that someone had upped the difficulty level. She almost wished she could find the person responsible and thank them for giving her such a treat.

Her droid swiped viciously at her with two lightsabers, picking up speed. She dropped to her knees and slid underneath the swing, slashing at the droid's back, grinning all the while.

"Uh… Guys?!"

"What?" she shouted. The droid had bounced back, forcing her to retreat. She dodged left, but the droid managed to clip her shoulder and—

Ow! What the feth?!

Rather than a mild shock and a slight welt, her skin blistered at the brief contact. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a Jedi Padawan felled by his robot opponent, who then moved in to deliver a killing blow.

With her own droid moving to strike again, she had to act fast. A telekinetic push sent the other Padawan's droid flying, while she spun around to cross blades with her old nemesis. The droids weren't playing around, so neither would she.

Resh​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo yelped for the umpteenth time, as the droid scored another 'kill'. Since coming to the Temple, Sazo's...lack of talent with the lightsaber had been immediately noted. Bladed weapons were one thing- the concept of fighting with liquid plasma, and no weight on it, was a mental block to the young Korun that she was diligently trying to fix.

Emphasis on trying.

Sighing, Sazo resumed her opening Djem So stance. And she fell into a comfortable rhythm, parrying here, feinting there. Then she heard one of the other Padawans, Resh, scream out:

"Uh…Guys?!"​

And Force screamed at her to move nownownow.

Sazo, heeding the Force's wishes, shifted the left. So when the droid's speed increased exponentially, and it lunged forward, spearing her to the ground, it only pierced Sazo's shoulder and pinning her to the ground instead of running her through then and there.

Screaming in agony, she channeled the Force to her arms, holding the blade and the droid's arms in place as the droid attempted to drag it's lightsaber through Sazo's shoulder, to her hip.

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Resh]

Resh had gotten lucky. Some of the other padawans learned their droids went rogue the hard way, including one who was currently piercing through the shoulder. Eloise was moving to help others, and seeing that forced Resh to swallow his panic and do the same. He needed to learn control. He couldn't lose it now. With the Force, he seized the remote droid that had just tried to shoot him, and threw it full force at the humanoid one trying to kill Sazo. Hopefully, it would at least distract him, if not destroy both machines altogether.

The murderbot pursuing Resh took advantage of this distraction, cutting the boy along his back leg. Resh yelped, and fell to a knee. He raised his lightsaber to blow the second strike, which hit forcefully enough to disarm him. Then, the droid inverted its grip, and plunged both its blades downwards to spear the pureblood. Now acting on instinct, Resh raised his palms, holding the blades in place. The droid continued to resist, the blades slowly pushing closer and closer against his telekinetic resistance. The hum of the weapons grew louder in Resh's ears, until it was practically roaring. He felt his grip on them unevenly slipping. It was only a matter of time before one broke skin.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass - Open​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo suppressed a sob of relief as a remote became a projectile- courtesy of Resh- that slammed into the droid with enough force to seperate it's head from it's body. The Korun's relief turned into rage as she got on one knee, then leveraged herself up with her good arm. The other arm was...functional. She could feel her extremities, so thankfully no nerve damage. She just could raise it over her shoulder.

Sazo pushed that aside as saw Resh about to meet a similar fate, as the droid slowly, methodically, pressed it's way into the pureblood.

Howling with defiance, Sazo charged. Focusing the Force into her legs, she closed the gap between them, then, focusing the Force back into her good arm, grabbed the murderous droid by the collar like a stray dog, and throwing it hard enough to skip it across the ground several times before it reoriented itself, now compensating for two Padawans to kill instead of one.

"Any plans how we stay alive to make it to dinner? You know it's Alderaan night", Sazo quipped, holding her lame arm gingerly as the droid stalked back towards them.

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise lost herself in the current of the Force, letting it control her actions. She had done this before in the heat of battle on Zaathru, surrendering herself to the wild eddies of life energy all around her. Ironically, she had used this power to kill. At least this time she was fighting to protect rather than to conquer and destroy.

She dismembered her droid opponent, then moved on to the next. There was a fluidity to her motions as she dispatched them, almost like she was a machine herself. She didn’t think, she just acted, cutting them down methodically.

Resh was in trouble. Eloise made her way to him, intending to save the Pureblood, but someone else beat her to it. A girl she didn't recognize.

"Any plans how we stay alive to make it to dinner? You know it's Alderaan night."

"Destroy them all," Eloise shouted back. "It's our only chance. We leave to get help and the droids will kill everyone here!"

She set about doing just that, falling back into her battle trance.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Resh]

The moment the plasma made contact with his skin, pain immediately erupted. The tip of the saber laid burning against flesh with no resistance beyond that which Resh could muster through the Force. If he could keep it like this, the wound would be little more than a painful scorch mark, but it sure felt like he was being impaled all the way through, as it continued to sear.

Then, the pain subsided. Resh looked to the droid properly thrown away from him, his telekinesis falling as it did. The boy panted, laying a palm over the space between his chest and shoulder, where the blade had pierced and now left a smoking brand, "Thanks," He muttered to Sazo, recognizing her as the girl he'd just helped. It was nice to see karma circle back around so immediately.

"Destroy them all," Eloise shouted back. "It's our only chance. We leave to get help and the droids will kill everyone here!"

Resh nodded. Eloise was probably the most skilled fighter in here, and she knew what she was doing. He looked to Sazo again, and gestured at the dual-wielding droid, now coming back for seconds, "I'll go low. You go high?" A dual attack would hopefully be enough to finish it off, and they could move on to fighting the rest. Resh charged forward, lurching to the side before making a low sweeping attack at the droid.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

"I'll go low. You go high?" A dual attack would hopefully be enough to finish it off, and they could move on to fighting the rest. Resh charged forward, lurching to the side before making a low sweeping attack at the droid.

Nodding grimly, Sazo took off after Resh, mirroring his movements; except as he juked to one side, Sazo juked to the other.

Then, gathering the Force, vaulted into air. She held her lightsaber loosely as she fell, fell, landed...

...On the droid's shoulders. If it had the ability to make facial expression, it would be something to the tune of What even is this?

"Hi", Sazo said to the murderous automaton.

She stabbed it through the skull with her good arm, as Resh commenced his attack.

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise set off like a whirlwind, immersed in the Force, battling the training droids like she was taking on a whole army. Resh and the girl seemed to have each other’s backs covered, so she left them to themselves, putting all her focus on eliminating every single one of the sabotaged machines.

When the last murderbot was a sparking pile of metal and wires on the floor of the dojo, she finally relaxed her stance and deactivated her lightsaber. Suddenly she was aware of the sweat slicking her hair to her brow, the thudding of her heart behind her ribs, and how she had to pant to get enough air. The pain of her burnt side and perhaps a few other welts she had accumulated here and there came rushing at her, but she ignored the feeling.

Green eyes surveyed the other Jedi Padawans. Many were severely wounded, groaning and crying out in pain, those that could walk limping toward the exit and those that could not lying unconscious on the floor. Were some of them dead? She couldn’t tell.

“Who’s gonna tell the dojo master about this?” she asked, sounding rather reluctant to be the one who had to deliver the bad news. They would probably be understanding, especially since there had been casualties, but the dojo was still strewn with destroyed equipment. She was not going to be the one who had to clean it all up.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Resh]

Resh followed through, swinging his blade against the machine's midsection. Between him and Sazo, it was enough to bring the droid crumbling down. The pureblood was surprised by their efficiency, "Nice job." Working as a team had its benefits after all. Better yet, he had stopped his panic from getting to him. When the battle came to a sudden end, he realized his lightsaber was shaking in his grip, and his heart was pounding against his chest. But he had made it through, as had the others (albeit some with a few gnarly injuries).

“Who’s gonna tell the dojo master about this?”

Resh wasn't even thinking about that, "I'm more concerned how this happened," He gestured to the ruined piles of metal, "Why'd the droids get all murderous on us?" There had to be something else at play. They surely weren't programmed with the possibility of just naturally becoming violent.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise shrugged. She figured this kind of thing was something for the Masters to deal with, not the Padawans. But if Resh was going to try and solve the mystery like some intrepid teen detective, she might as well tag along. If only to make sure he didn’t get himself killed.

"Why'd the droids get all murderous on us?"

“A programming error, or deliberate sabotage,” she answered. Kneeling down, she used the Force (and a bit of field medicine) to begin healing one of the other Padawans who looked like he had a broken arm. “There are no other options. Either it was a freak accident—which I really doubt—or someone did this on purpose.”

Who would want to kill a bunch of Padawans? She could think of several answers to that question. But given that they were on their home turf, it seemed unlikely that there was a Sith in their midst engaging in active sabotage. "It would have to be someone on the inside. Maybe a fallen Jedi, or a disgruntled droid overdue for a memory wipe."

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo grimaced, holding her shoulder. Eloise's rationale made sense, grim as it was.

"So then the question is, who had access & motive? And was this meant for us, or any Jedi that was unlucky enough to walk in?"

Sazo shuddered. 'So either a targeted killing, or a sociopath. Great.'


Eloise Dinn | Resh

 

[Resh]

"That's one heck of a programming error," Resh cast his doubts over that theory. For all the droids to undergo the same surprise kill switch purely through a glitch would be one cosmic level moment of improbable misfortune. But that wasn't the prevailing explanation anyway. It was far more likely that someone did this intentionally. "This raises even more questions..." How did they gain access to the Jedi Temple, let alone the mainframes of the droids inhabiting it?

There was a collective hesitancy on how to proceed. The gut instinct was to go to their superiors, naturally; But Resh was eager to prove himself. Perhaps overeager, given the circumstances. Nonetheless he swallowed his doubts, and emboldened himself in the image of his master. She was an investigator. Of sorts. What would Maeve do?

Probably rebuff any offers for help and gun it alone. That wasn't really in the cards for Resh. He definitely needed help. Normally forcing himself to ask would've been an obstacle unto itself, but Eloise was the closest thing he had to a friend here; And both her and Sazo were already entangled in events as fellow victims. "Uh, any of you good with computers? Or know anyone good with tech? Maybe we could find the cause and… trace it to the source?" Resh was more or less talking out of his ass. He wasn't really tech savvy himself, but that seemed like how this sort of thing usually worked.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Sazo was getting involved too. Eloise felt oddly resentful of the other girl’s presence,like Sazo was going to steal Resh (the last and closest thing she had to a friend) away from her. Stupid thought. Three people was better than two for a thing like this.

"Uh, any of you good with computers? Or know anyone good with tech? Maybe we could find the cause and… trace it to the source?"

“Not me,” Eloise said. Nor did she know anyone good with tech. Mainly because she didn’t know that many people here all that well.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

"Not me," Eloise said. Nor did she know anyone good with tech. Mainly because she didn't know that many people here all that well.

"Nor I", Sazo echoed, still clutching her shoulder. "I think that this might be an adult problem", she added. "No telling if this programming error is a one-off, or something more systemic. And if it is systemic, is it by design? These are problems we currently don't have the expertise between us to troubleshoot. It might be the more responsible to warn someone who can figure this out, and make sure nobody enters this dojo until this is resolved."

Sazo paused.

"Also, there is a gaping hole in my shoulder. And it is still Alderaan night at dinner."

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Resh]

Nobody here was particularly well connected, it seemed. Still, Resh wasn't ready to give up, even as Sazo suggested they move on and notify a superior instead. Probably the smarter choice, but Resh was still compelled to prove himself, "Well, you can go get medical attention if you need it. I'm going to see what I can find out." The pureblood was also injured, but his were at least a little more manageable than having a bore through your shoulder. He could hardly blame Sazo for wanting to step out and get treated. He glanced at Eloise, hoping she would tag along. But if he had to go it alone, so be it.

"I heard one of the other padawans bragging about being able to hack into the SIA one time. Think it's bogus?" Resh was a bit gullible about such things. But the kid did seem tech savvy. "He might not be an able to do that, but maybe he could help with this." He scratched at one of his bone spurs, and stood up, "I'm gonna check his dorm." The invitation was open for them to join, but if not, he would leave solo.

Sazo Vass - Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

At Sazo’s complaint about her shoulder, Eloise stepped forward. “Here, let me see.” With the other girl’s permission, she would use the Force to heal the wound, or at least spur on the healing process. She wasn’t nearly as skilled as her master, but she was better at it than the average Jedi.

“If you go to the Halls of Healing, you’ll probably miss Alderaan Night,” Eloise pointed out. “Unless you’re dying, they keep you waiting for hours before you’re seen by a doctor.” Not that she wanted Sazo hanging around, necessarily. She knew Resh was cool, but she didn’t know about Sazo.

"I heard one of the other padawans bragging about being able to hack into the SIA one time. Think it's bogus?"

Eloise did not look impressed. “Sounds like BS. But I can’t think of anybody else who could help.” Hopefully Resh hadn’t ratted this kid out. Some Padawans who grew up Sith or other Dark-leaning cultures tended to overdo it when they became Jedi. Snitching on the mild mischief of their peers, reporting tryhard bullchitters as if they were speaking truth, and just generally being insufferably over-concerned with the less-than-perfect behavior of others—usually because they were frustrated with themselves and their own inability to be perfectly good. So far she hadn’t seen Resh act like that, but he did seem the type.

“What’s the twerp’s name?” she asked, following Resh out.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo whistled in appreciation at Eloise's work. There was no longer a gaping hole in her shoulder; it was still stiff and sore, but it she could at least raise it over her head. "Thank you", she said meaningfully.

"If you go to the Halls of Healing, you'll probably miss Alderaan Night," Eloise pointed out. "Unless you're dying, they keep you waiting for hours before you're seen by a doctor."

"...All night?"

The feelings of jubilation and relief died like ashes in her mouth as Sazo digested what the girl said, visibly deflating. She had assumed that there were enough healers to go around, but that simply wasn't the case. Which means that, because some nerf-foresaken schutta decided to try murdering them, she'd have to likely wait a month for Alderaan Night. Which is what she'd been looking forward to for most of the month since coming to the Temple; Core World foods were a rare, expensive delicacy on Haruun Kal.

Also- and arguably more importantly- someone had tried to murder them. And if her fellow Padawans- who saved her life- weren't going to tell someone, honor demanded she do her upmost to ensure they don't die in this investigation, at the very least.

Righteous indignation filled the void of sadness.

The die had been cast.

"What's the twerp's name?" she asked, following Resh out.

"Let's find this son of a grasser", she snarled, following Eloise out.

Eloise Dinn Resh

 

[Resh]

Eloise took the opportunity to show off some of what she had learned, being apprentice to the Chief Healer. It would've been nice to learn something like that, Resh thought. A way to help rather than harm. Maybe one of these days. Maeve didn't exactly seem the healer type herself. Though Sazo was eager to leave, assurances of medical bureaucracy threatened any hope of her making it to dinner. That was enough to get her on board.

"Can't hurt to try," Resh shrugged, "His name is Gorp." With that, they were off. Resh lead them into the padawan dorms, and stopped at a door on the far end of the hall. "I think this is it." He tentatively knocked, and after a long pause, a nasally voice replied.

"Who the frick is it? I I don't have any frickin' visitors!"

"Uh, it's Resh."

"Who?"

"I heard you're a pretty good hacker. Is that true?"

"Is it true?!" The voice scoffed, "Oh, it's true all right. But why? I don't give out my services for free…"

Sazo Vass - Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"Thank you."

“You’re welcome,” Eloise grunted.

On their way to the Padawan dorms, Resh revealed the identity of the hacker: Gorp. She immediately snorted in amusement at the funny-sounding name.

Resh knocked on the door. The voice that answered immediately began to grate on Eloise’s nerves, but to her credit she stayed quiet for most of the exchange that followed. Until Gorp brought up payment. “If you help us, I won’t fold you in half like a cheap lawn chair. How's that sound?”

Resh Sazo Vass​