Aggressive Negotiations

[Astrid Gray]

Time had passed since the Galactic Alliance's fall, and even now the Core Worlds still hadn't fully recovered, potentially not for a long while. Amongst all the humanitarian efforts, there were the groups both political and business looking to take advantage. But Astrid's presence wasn't necessarily for SINN's benefit...

Okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true.

She wasn't there to make a spectacle of it, but it was for business none the less. Besides, even Astrid knew it was pretty damn hypocritical with a corporation like hers. You know, part of the Sith Empire, one of the factions that had a direct hand in the Alliance's fall and the subsequent chaos that occurred amongst the pillaging aftermath. It would've drawn too much attention, and none of it good. To that point, Astrid had gone fairly incognito, keeping her outfit more casual but still business-like. None of the usual crazy outfits and hairdos.

A client had asked for a meeting but had refused to enter Sith Space to do so. But as annoying as it was, Astrid was willing to meet elsewhere. The journey took her to the Core Worlds, to a planet still recovering from the onslaught it had endured. Though Astrid's destination wasn't there, but the space station above. It was bustling with people, a prime target for anyone seeking to cause some chaos.

They must've had scouts placed ahead of time because it took little effort for them to capture the critical points, specifically the hangar bays.

For Astrid though, she got an up-close experience. She was walking to her meeting, with a couple of guards flanking her. Only for two masked goons to come up behind and shoot the pair in the back of the heads. To Astrid's credit, she flinched and didn't panic.

"Don't think about it lady, put your hands up." She complied, and one of the guys searched her for weapons. They found none, nor would they unless they were in the know. "Alright, let's get moving, this way." Astrid felt the barrel of a blaster pushed against her back. A silent warning.

They were heading towards one of the larger audience rooms. It seemed that whoever had attacked the station, they wanted hostages.

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

It seemed as if nowhere was safe anymore in the Core. A deep sense of irony had spread itself across the galaxy in which the further from the Core you got the safer you were. Sith Space, Confederate Space, Silver Jedi Space, even Mandalorian Space. Anything beyond the Inner Rim or perhaps the Colonies were a desperado’s wet dream, and with the collapse of the First order it didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. There were people out there trying to shape it into something else, turn the lawlessness around, but they were meeting resistance. The Imperial Confederation was still taking its first few steps out of the cradle, the New Republic was in hot water with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Things had looked better for the galaxy, there was no denying that.

It was rare for Kaili to visit the Core these days unless it was to go home. Not only because of the current political situation but because it was also the place in which she could disappear again if she so decided. Today had not been one of those days however. The second she had stepped onto the transport’s upramp she felt the panic spread like a wildfire all across the station. With a dejected sigh she took a step off the ramp and let the others fly off, the last in a good many ships that would actually manage it. The men that had come to collect her had been nothing if not efficient. Rough, but efficient. With a big group of people hoarded into a large hangar the men started to give out their demands, not just from the hostages but their respective others as well. So far there hadn’t been any examples made, but that could change faster than ever.

All it took was for someone to ignite it, that small spark that rippled through the crowd to cause a mass panic. That was to say, a greater panic than what already circulated throughout the crowd of the space station. Kaili looked over at the people working the crowd with a trained glance, sizing each and every mercenary up and down. They were too well-armed for this to be a coincidence. But why attack this station? It wasn’t particularly central to anything at all, just a small pit stop between worlds. She eyed the distant sniper holding overwatch on the room and she knew that he saw her right back. The men with the carbines, maybe four or five of them that she knew of. There had to be more throughout the station.

She had faced worse odds.

Besides, who didn’t love a challenge?

More people were escorted into the room.

… Make that eight people with carbines then. Interesting.

 

[Astrid Gray]

As she walked forwards, Astrid attempted a glance behind her. But it was only for a moment, as she felt the blaster's barrel dig into her back.

"Eyes forward."

She had to stop herself from retorting. There was nothing to gain for irritating her captors. Instead, she tried to focus on what she had seen. Both were wearing armour, leather by the looks of things. It wouldn't protect them from everything, but she imagined they weren't expecting much resistance. One thing Astrid did note, however, was the fact there was no uniformity to their outfits.

The likelihood of them being pirates had just got a bit higher.

"Yeah boss, we're starting to round up folks over here."

It sounded as though they had multiple holding points, a sensible strategy for a station as big as this one. The hangars would've likely been the first to be locked down, meaning they had sealed off the main entry and exit points.

One of the pirates walked ahead, his rifle raised as the doors slid open. He did a quick sweep, checking for anyone within before he motioned them in. Astrid knew she'd have to make her move sooner rather than later. Provided the pirates weren't dumb, they'd keep at least one person to watch her. She'd easily take care of one, but the second would still be a loose end.

Mainly because what she had in mind wasn't going to be quiet.

The moment the doors closed behind them, all hell broke loose. First was the sounds of surprise and panic, followed by blaster fire. Then the sound of metal meeting leather and flesh. After that there was nothing but silence, settling for almost a minute. Soon the doors slid open once more, with Astrid striding out with her heels in one hand and an earpiece in the other. Fortunately, there was no one else within the vicinity. She could hear commotion not too far away, but it was coming from multiple directions.

"I guess these are going to be useless..." Astrid always hated having to discard a good pair of shoes, but their constant click-clacking were not going to help. Besides, this wasn't exactly the first time she had been barefoot in a life threating situation. She threw the heels aside and slipped the earpiece into her right ear. "Now let's see what a little bit of eavesdropping can do."

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

The appearance of a captive was easy to keep up. Just sit on your knees, hands behind your back as you undo the bindings, and then wait for the right opportunity to strike. As the mercs kept running a tally of their captives Kaili looked around at each and every single one of them trying to size them up. The leader still hadn’t showed himself which in itself was a problem. The best way to end something was usually to just nip it at the bud and diminish their morale.

Kay had to be more clever about how she went about it then.

One of the men got closer and she took the chance to strike. Isolating the right frequency, getting into the hardware of an earpiece was no problem. Smaller items like this was usually constructed with the most simples of tools in mind, and despite their well-armed equipment the earpiece did not seem to match. It was just a matter of bending and corrupting the right mechanism.

The man went by her and tried to give a report.

But what he got instead was a feedback loop. A sharp high-pitched noise began to audibly ring throughout the entire hangar and quite possibly the station as a whole as pirate after pirate seemed to hunch over in sudden pain. This was her shot. In a rush Kay undid her bindings in full and made herself disappear. Like a flash she found her way up to the sniper’s nest and with a surprise right she flattened him out on the floor.

“Now,” She said and looked down at the crowd for a better view. “Let’s see who we are dealing with.”

 

[Astrid Gray]

The pirates were everywhere. No matter where Astrid went, she always encountered one or two patrolling around. From what she gathered, they were looking around for any stragglers they might've missed. Astrid had to hide in a vacant room to remain hidden.

What concerned Astrid however, was the fact they seemed to have specific knowledge of who was present on the station. Either someone leaked information ahead of time, or they got their hands on the manifest. The answer was likely a bit of both.

Astrid had never been more grateful to have used a fake name. There was no doubt in her mind that if she hadn't, and if the pirates were looking for specific individuals, her previous 'escort' would've been a lot more numerous.

"Status report?" It was a modulated voice, covered by a bog-standard robotic replacement. Giving nothing away about the source, not even their gender was clear.

Alpha is secure.

A myriad of voices echoed across the pirates' comms. Each one calling out a code for what Astrid assumed was for specific areas of the station. It wasn't until they reached the hangars, that everything went weird. A high-pitched noise suddenly pierced out through the earpieces. Astrid pulled hers out within seconds before it could do any damage. She could still hear it, but it was no longer directly in her ear.

What the hell...?

She heard a pained yell from outside her room, luring Astrid to take a peak. A pirate was on the floor, practically spasming in agony. Thinking quickly, Astrid dashed out and snatched the blaster on his belt. Before he could even realize what had happened, she pistol-whipped him directly in the face.

At least it put him out of his misery with the high-pitched feedback.

Eventually, the noise was stopped, rather forcibly too. There was a sharp snap followed by silence until an angry voice replaced it.

"What. Was. That?" Yeah, whoever their boss was, they were not happy. "Answer me damn it, where the kark did that come from?!"

Astrid however, was more focused on dragging the now unconscious pirate into her room. A quick search of his belongings resulted in nothing useful, but she did decide to discard her jacket. She'd much rather just put it aside; hopefully collect it later, than just tearing it from erratic movements.

Suit jackets did not work well when pistol-whipping someone, who knew?

With a bit more weaponry on hand, Astrid clipped the weapon to her belt and left her hiding place.

@Kaili Talith​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

One of the pirates in the room down below did not seem happy at all about what had happened. Kaili watched her with great interest, and amusement, as she threw a tantrum at her soldiers. From this distance it was hard to hear what it was about but she did seem to approach the soldier whose earpiece had been destroyed to wrap her arms around his throat in a tight, vice-like grip. His chokes were hard to hear but ever so gently a small gag would reverberate around the room. The woman let go and the man fell to the floor gasping for air.

Kaili had seen enough to understand what this group was. A professional group would have reprimanded the recruit and taken it later. This must have been little more than a highly organized pirate raid then, and if there was one thing Little Miss Talith herself was good at it was how to handle pirates. She raised the rifle in her hands and took aim. For a second her finger tapped against the side of the receiver as she considered her options. Taking the shot would incite panic, or it would incite rebellion against the captors. The question then became to what extent could Kaili protect them?

No, the safest option was to not do anything at all.

Placing the rifle by her side Kaili proceeded to pick up the sniper's earpiece and plug it in. The angry voice still ranted on about amateurism, about how they were supposed to be greater than this and that their cause was just.

Great, they were not just well-organized pirates, but pirates with a sense of grandeur too. A cult, if you would. Kaili shook her head and stepped out the door to the overwatch point. Reaching into the force she felt the way the signatures of men and women with carbines seemed to patrol the hallways. For pirates this seemed far too elaborate to be just a coincidence. As far as motives went Kay struggled to come up with one, but that was perhaps what came later. The headset came back on.

Well there really was just the one thing to do.

"This is Charlie, reporting a DELTA, ECHO, ALPHA, DELTA in sector INDIGO SIX. Incidentally what you fethers are about to be." Kay scowled in her headset and crushed it under her thumb and palm to create yet another feedback loop.

"That will get their bloods running." Kay snickered and proceeded to sneak out of the area. "Now then, to find their leader..."

 

[Astrid Gray]

"I've located where the feedback loop originated, Tannis. It's in your hangar. Find. It."

There was a distinctive click over the comms, clearly indicating the group's leader had closed the channel. But it raised a question, who was the actual leader? Immediately after the call ended, Tannis was yelling at the pirates around her. And they looked sufficiently cowed and sheepish towards her.

"Get off yer lazy arses and look around!"

"But we already rounded up the-"

"I don't want yer lip. I want yer arse moving and finding our little rat." Yeah, she wasn't happy. "Oh, and remove your earpieces." And not dumb either, though it wasn't the case for everyone. The pirates in Tannis' immediate area neglected to pass the word on to their fellows. Tannis sighed, rubbing her temple before she started shouting again. Yelling at her fellows for being amateurs and being better than the stumbling mess they were right now.

Something about a just cause too, but that code for 'we're getting paid a lot.'

And then Kaili decided to make herself known. It immediately clicked in Tannis' mind, that someone had been listening in on them. But by the time she thought to look up Kaili was already gone.

Meanwhile, Astrid had decided to take a less obvious route. The hallways were still swarming with heavily armed pirates, and while she could probably dive in and out of rooms. Astrid wasn't going to bet on her luck eventually running out.

She had found an alternative path via the ventilation tunnels. It had taken a bit of time to climb up into them, requiring some box stacking in a side room. But even as she managed to navigate more safely, Astrid didn't have a single clue where she was going. She crawled and occasionally changed direction. It went well enough for a while until a series of unfortunate events happened.

With the earpiece still on her, Astrid decided to slip it on again to eavesdrop some more. A regretful decision, as the newest feedback loop was still active. She hissed in pain, quickly yanking the device out only to also slam her head up against the ceiling. Dazed, Astrid moved forwards without noticing there was a drop right before her.

She slipped and fell down the ventilation shaft. Astrid cursed and braced herself for impact as she neared the grate. Loud bangs and thumps echoed out to anyone nearby, followed by a loud crash as Astrid's body smashed through the grating.

Landing right in front of [member="Kaili Talith"].

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

There was something exhilarating about the work she had, yet frustrating nonetheless. It was the perfect mix of knowing you did the right thing with the off-chance you might die. Running the numbers in her mind she would wager against her at this point with complete honesty. They had numbers and they had guns. Kaili had ingenuity, an arsenal of highly specialized force abilities, and two fists that could punch a through armor with relative ease. So perhaps the odds were closer to fifty-fifty, but that was still far too favorable for the pirates.

From around the corner Kaili heard the sound of heavy footfalls as they rushed down the corridor, her own frame hugging the wall as they passed her by with a hurry. From what little she managed to make out as they passed her by they were looking for her. Given the fact that she wasn’t caught most likely said something. Kaili was just about to turn around and leave when the vent decided to make a lot of noise. Seeing someone fall, Kaili extended her arms to catch her.

As the initial surprise wore off she perked her brow at the woman in her arms. Not because it was a weird first impression, that was certainly part of it, but because of who it was. While it missed a lot of the grandiose accessories that Astrid was famous for in some circles, it was still her face. That was hard to get around in the end. Kaili let the woman down onto her feet and brushed the arms of her own jacket off.

“Didn’t take you for an investigative journalist.” She said, jokingly, and kept an ear to their surroundings. “Or maybe you have habit of falling for-” Those words just about parted Kaili’s lips before she felt the panic inside push her to explain herself in a hurry. “As in- literally- like, you know- like fall.. You fell, and I caught you-”

“I am going to go in this direction.” Kaili said in a most abrupt manner and went away in said direction. “Welcome to tag-along if you want. I’m just going to punch pirates. Until I forget what I just said.”

Yep. Punch things that weren’t herself or her own inner voice. Good times, easier to deal with.

 

[Astrid Gray]

She had expected to hit the ground, eyes clenched and body coiled in anticipation for the impact. But it never came. Instead, Astrid found herself feeling somewhat weightless, of being carried. It wasn't a familiar sensation for her, the last time being when [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] pulled her from the firey ruins on Jaminere.

Even now her memories of those events were still hazy. And if she was going to be honest with herself?

She hoped to never remember that day.

Astrid opened her eyes to find herself staring up at her supposed saviour, or catcher in this instance. Blue eyes, blonde hair. Even seemed to be around the same age, if Astrid's assessment was accurate. Although she didn't recognize the stranger, it wasn't mutual. She was surprised, even though she had come here expecting it at some point.

Giving a soft 'thanks' after being placed down on her own two feet, Astrid ran her hands across her clothes, straightening them. Her attention shifted to her hair, noticing it had started to come a bit undone after crawling through the ventilation.

She sighed. There was nothing to be done about that, nor was of particularly high priority right now. Even if her old habits were kicking her to make sure it was perfect.

Astrid opened her mouth to speak but stopped when the blonde began to stumble over her words. That elicited a reaction, in the form of a raised eyebrow. Her inner journalist wanted to know, but at the same time, she recognized the look that flashed over Kaili's face.

It was better to not address it.

"Well, it does get awfully boring being sat behind a desk every day." Not something Astrid was entirely opposed too, but even she had to admit when it became too much.

She followed after Kaili, bare feet tapping along the metal floor as she hurried to keep up with her. Definitely seemed like the blonde wanted to do anything to keep her distance from whatever memory had been stirred.

"I was intending on finding wherever the station's communications are located. Try and get a message out, a call for help." Though if the pirates were smart, they'd have that whole thing locked down.

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

She meets [member="Astrid Gray"], and of course she messes it up. Kaili felt the frustration bubble inside but it seemed to be for nothing. The reporter came along and the blonde woman looked at her one more time before she continued to push along the corridors. It was a solid plan close to what Kaili herself usually would have done as well. The only problem was that with space stations these things weren’t as straightforward as it would have been on a ship. The communications array could have been anywhere and so could they, Kaili and Astrid, be.

“Sounds like a plan.” Kaili nodded and continued down the corridor. “Open channels, send it to literally everyone in the area…” She chuckled. “Yeah, that could work.”

The buzz all around them of soldiers making rounds was felt within the force. They passed in a hurry, passed without really checking. The chaos Kaili had helped cause wasn’t as innocent as they would have hoped. Dead bodies and an unconscious sniper was enough of a cause for worry that patrols needed to keep every sector on lockdown. Yet the men seemed to miss the two women as they passed.

The sound of heavy boots echoed down the corridor of a nearby intersection. Kaili leaned in against the wall, held Astrid back with a hand behind her back as they hugged the wall.

“Bodies make trails.” She whispered as the soldiers passed by. “We need to be smart about what trails we leave.”

A moment of silence passed. Hardly a second.

“Nice, uh, legs by the way.” Kaili said and looked at the cybernetic, not registering what she said, deeply fascinated by the contents of said legs. “Not many reporters with a hidden cybernetic sword and all.”

“Very useful.”

 

[Astrid Gray]

For Astrid, it was an odd feeling to not be in charge. She was the CEO of a company, of a news network at that. Every bit of media produced was present to her for the final say. Determining whether it would air, be binned or filed away for another time.

It was something Astrid liked having.

And yet here she was, not questioning the fact she wasn't in charge. Then again, Astrid didn't want to be in this scenario. It was a completely different situation, one that could potentially be life-threatening.

Much better to let the blonde stranger take the lead. After all, it seemed like she was an expert in sneaking around. There was something about the way Kaili moved, that made Astrid suspicious. It wasn't as though the woman knew the station's layout, but instead, she seemed to anticipate the pirates' movements with little issue.

"Makes sense to me." She whispered back. The more conflict they could avoid, the longer they could move undetected.

A look of surprise crossed Astrid's face, taken aback by Kaili's words. And it wasn't because of the unintended compliment.

"H-how do you know that?" Far as Astrid could see, the woman had no obvious cybernetics, at least nothing to identify her own. She stared at Kaili with a mix of suspicion, wariness and curiosity. "Seriously. They're not meant to be so easily discovered."

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

Of course! Kaili was really good at making sense outside of the few times when she didn’t! And here she was sneaking around with a woman she had seen on her holoscreen countless amounts of times as she tried to keep tabs on the galaxy and the workings of the worlds. Right now, very little made sense. To deny that Kaili had a fascination for Astrid’s outrageously elaborate get-ups at times would be an outright lie, but given the situation this was not the time to bring that up.

… Given how she had handled social interaction in general with the news anchor and CEO, there would never be a time for that. The idea hadn’t so much as surfaced before it was time for Kaili to explain herself again. Blinking she turned to look at Astrid and then her legs, and then her face again.

“Uh.” Words were hard. “I, uhhh-...”

“Oh boy, I…”

“Hmmm, yeah-”

“The force?” Kaili offered in a high pitched whine and a shrug. “Just, don’t worry about it. It’s hardly noticeable- at all, you can’t-”

“It’s-”

“Look, I know because that’s what I’ve practiced since the day I was born essentially.” Kaili felt the temperature in the room rise and her head spin. “Force stuff, it’s… A thing.”

For a moment she blinked before abruptly turning away to head off towards their destination. Any moment not spent facing the fire that burned against her back was good. Her hand pressed hard against her nose and mouth to mute and stifle any further embarrassingly horrible phrase or sentence uttered by Kaili Talith, fether-upper extraordinaire.

 

[Astrid Gray]

It really shouldn't have surprised Astrid so much, that the blonde's sudden insight into her hidden cybernetics was due to the Force. Being part of an Empire that was heavily involved with it, Astrid had a lot of homework to research. And even then, knowing was not the same thing as partaking.

Unfortunately for Astrid, she hadn't a lick of Force talent - far as she knew anyway. Records indicated that it flourished during one's childhood, either wildly unleashed or left under the surface for someone to notice. Neither had happened for her, and she was glad it hadn't.

Astrid wasn't one to shy away from admitting that the Sith Empire's use of the Force was for the majority very unnatural. Especially the creatures or 'SIthspawn' that were produced in various laboratories. It didn't feel right for someone to have the power to manipulate something's very nature, but the potential in the Force was seemingly limitless and open.

Which amused the news anchor, watching the woman try to explain her ability through rather socially awkwardly means. She certainly couldn't see her twisting some creature's very biology.

Eventually, the duo arrived outside their destination. There were no guards, leaving Astrid at least quite wary. She looked to Kaili as she continued to lead the way, taking up a position by the door. It wasn't locked either, increasing Astrid's concern they were heading into a trap. Her worries were unfounded, however, as what they found was nothing but destruction.

There was very little that wasn't destroyed, sparks still flying about from the larger machines. Astrid let out a frustrated sigh.

"Of course...should've known they weren't going to let this be simple."

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

Astrid Gray at her back, pirates at her front. The distractions and accompanying chances of a sudden, very painful death was hard not to consider. As they approached the door Kaili put her fingertips against the cold metal. The door wasn’t locked, but there was pain on the other side. Not actual pain but chaos and destruction, circuits crying out for connections they no longer held. The doors opened with a slow hiss to expose the critically injured machine-forms.

Kaili couldn’t help but shake her head. This wasn’t necessary, she had studied these consoles many times before. Maybe not this exact make but ones that were very similar. All they would have needed was to find the switch and destroy that. This was of course the simpler solution, but it was one that ultimately was little more than a rash decision made in a hurry. Though if anything, perhaps that said more about the invaders’ mindset. This whole operation had gone from simple to FUBAR in a hurry and it was all thanks to two particular individuals. No doubt resistance was being had elsewhere but it would prove easier to keep in check.

Kaili and Astrid, not so much.

“This is salvageable if we had the time…” Kaili said and grabbed a broken off piece from a circuit board on the floor. “But if there is something we don’t have, I’d say it’s time.”

“Still, at least this tells us they are getting sloppy. Their plan has failed and they are scrambling to come up with a new one.” Kaili then said and placed the circuit board on what remained standing of a nearby console. “That’s the real first step here.” She said and turned around to face Astrid yet kept scanning the room for something. “We have made them panic, but they will have time to recover.”

“Suggestions?”

 

[Astrid Gray]

Astrid had learned long ago that the galaxy didn't work on 'simple'. If you thought things would be straightforward, you would be fooling yourselves. Unless you took matters into your own hands, you'll be at the cruel mercy of fate and luck.

Depending on whatever your beliefs were in those.

She let out a frustrated sigh, looking around at the destruction before them. The fact they found no pirates nearby, likely meant they had torn this apart some time ago, maybe as a backup? Astrid wasn't entirely certain. Did they take it out to ensure no one; with any kind of technological skill set, could use it? Why not lock it down, forcing any potential rescuers to resort to hacking?

Ironically, Astrid's response was a much simpler answer.

"Well they are pirates after all, you don't expect a great plan or anything particularly intelligent. More likely to be ruled by impulses and greed." But it wasn't always the case. In fact, their current captors had indeed managed to take over the station quickly. So there was some organization...wrapped around to conceal the disorganized mess pirates typically were.

"Attempting to overthrow them would be foolish, as we do not have the numbers. There aren't very many armed guards on civilian stations, and even if there were, they're likely captured or dead by no-" Astrid paused as she caught sight of something. She didn't move, but her eyes flicked between Kaili and just over the blonde's shoulder, towards the ceiling behind her. Seated up there, tucked into the corner was something, black in colour and seemingly attached. It had a single optic, a very faint red hue dominating the center.

And it was looking directly at them.

Stepped away, Astrid moved over to a terminal that wasn't sparking. She grabbed a piece of debris, small enough to pick up and immediately threw it at the mysterious device.

It struck dead on, and the thing dropped to the ground. But just as it was about to land, it flipped over and sprouted six thin mechanical legs from its small body. The previously faint optic suddenly lit up and it scuttled towards the door.

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

It seemed Astrid had a pretty good grasp on the situation. High organized pirates were a given at this point, and the little resistance that a station such as this could have put up was most likely obliterated by now with the exception to the two of them in this very room. Yet as she was about to complete her assessment she seemed to be taken off-guard by something.

Kaili turned around to spot that little red dot. Before she could react there was already a piece of debris sent hurling towards it. A pained shriek called out from the droid that began to scuttle out the door. Kaili raised her hand and with a gentle pull she sent it flipping back towards her. Her hand caught the droid by the little lens and not long after that she was already forcing her way down its circuits.

Surprisingly resilient given the make. Peculiar.

“Let’s see what is inside of you…” Kaili said and kept her hand on the lens as to let whoever was controlling it from seeing her face in detail. “Sorry for this, bub.”

Never let it be said Kaili didn’t care for Droid Rights. She held them close to her heart.

 

[Astrid Gray]

If the Force wasn't so prevalent across the Galaxy, she would've probably accused Kaili of witchcraft. Or maybe the blonde was just good with her hands, either way it was very impressive. Astrid had walked up, stopping relatively close to get a good look. Even then, it was impossible to tell exactly she was doing to the small drone. An educated guess could be made sure, the sounds and flailing it was making being clear indications.

But Astrid wondered how much of it was the ability, or if the woman just had an extensive knowledge of how to open up the internals of a machine.

It was a very handy skill, one Astrid wished she knew herself. She surrounded herself with technology, and not everything was infallible of breaking. They had the techs to fix it, but it would've been one less headache for her to deal with.

For Kaili, she'd find that while the exterior was indeed modified to be a bit more durable, it's base framework was still the basic model. A pretty common one in fact, but once you began to dig deeper, it got a more complex. The internals were all custom, bits and pieces from different parts of the technological sphere. Some were done to improve it's capabilities, whereas others were simply changed because they could be. Parts that didn't have to be altered, but still were.

This was a hobby, to whomever the owner was.

"Uh, before you go dismantling it. Would it be possible to reprogram it so it'll lead us to its Master?" Astrid also wanted to ask for Kaili's name, realizing she had yet to even ask for it. But stopped when she noticed the blonde was deliberately keeping the drone's optic from looking straight at her.

Keeping her identity hidden? Interesting.

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

The internals seemed untouched at first, at least to the naked eye. Kaili disconnected the camera from the circuitry and began to hover the droid before her as to allow herself the usage of both hands as she began to prod and poke around the insides of the droid’s chassis. The metal creature kicked and punched in its weightlessness but found very little in the way of purchase.

As Astrid mentioned the possibility of reprogramming the little soul Kaili gave the other woman an incredulous look. Why would she have destroyed this little thing for? That was just an unnecessary loss of life. Her slowly moved down and then up again as the look on Kaili’s face remained.

“I wasn’t exactly going to destroy it.” She said and went back to the droid. “These things have a life of their own, you know. Think of this more,” Kaili tugged at a cable to detach it from the board with a grunt. “As a good therapy session. Make this little creature see the…” She slowed down, squinted her eyes for a better look at the motherboard before she gently bent one of its pegs over and pried it off before she put the cable back again. “See the error of his ways.”

The creature stopped kicking and settled down. With a content smile Kaili plugged the camera back in and the unit began to blink as it recalibrated its viewport. One final change was needed, however. Kaili closed her eyes and began to route the impulses running through its circuits. Before long she would have them altered, the receptors twisted to allow her a small fragment of control over it.

The holographic device on her arm lit up with a screen that mirrored what the droid could see. Before long she would let it down on the ground again, the droid turning to look at her only to find itself faced with a black void where Astrid and Kaili’s silhouettes would have been.

With a wave of her hand Kaili gave it only the one instruction. Return to base.

“Come on, we need to move.” Kaili said and beckoned for Astrid to follow. “And avoid cameras if you can. Buys us time.”

 

[Astrid Gray]

Astrid was admittedly taken aback a bit by Kaili's reaction to her question. But the raven-haired woman shrugged in response. It was how she interpreted whatever Kaili was doing to the small droid.

But it had further cemented Astrid's decision to research it. Even if she had no ability in the Force, she simply needed to know. Thank the Empire she had a reservoir of knowledge to draw from...once she got back home anyway.

With Kaili's use of the Force to levitate the droid, one of Astrid's questions were answered and several more cropped up. Was she using a specific ability to shift around the internals, or was it a combination of the Force and non-Force knowledge? A mix of both?

Astrid filed those thoughts away, this wasn't the time for distractions.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it."

She watched as Kaili seemingly finished her 'therapy session' and looked content as she gazed at the floating droid before her. Astrid raised an eyebrow as everything went quiet as Kaili closed her eyes. Even she could tell the Force was at work here, and waited until the blonde finally opened them again.

"Now that is handy." Astrid had moved up to Kaili's side, peering down at her holographic device to see their images were now nothing more than silhouettes. She gave a nod as Kaili led the way back out of the room and wherever the new little friend would lead them.

Which was a maze, it would seem. Not intentional, but with pirate patrols lingering around it became a game of having to backtrack and take alternative routes to avoid them. Not to mention the cameras that were littered around, although there no more of the little spider droids, just the regular surveillance the station had.

Eventually though, the droid suddenly deviated and began leading them towards a dead end. With the only thing of note being a ventilation cover. Astrid let out a frustrated groan.

"I don't know about you, but I've crawled through enough ventilation tunnels today."

[member="Kaili Talith"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

“Magic fingers.” Kaili said with a quirky raise of her eyebrows as she twitched her fingers in all directions for emphasis. She could work remote, of course, but Kaili had found that being in touch with the piece you are trying to manipulate, or at the very least close the gap in between, brought forth better results and strained her far less.

As they came to the ventilation cover she noted Astrid’s frustration.

“I mean, it comes with the job at times.” Kaili said and shrugged before kneeling down by the cover. “Less visibility but cramped, and hell on your knees. Which isn’t to mention whether or not it is the vent carrying cold or hot air, and where it leads.”

The blonde squinted as she continued to peer through the vent. Ventilation wasn’t as easy to navigate as the corridors were. There were no signs, it was not a mechanical thing so using the force to get a glimpse of the area was… Highly doubtful. A frustrated sigh burst through Kaili’s nose as her lips thinned out into an annoyed grimace.

“We could take the long way, and try to find a map of this place.” She said and turned around towards Astrid. “We don’t know if these ventilation shafts thin out to a point where we can’t fit or not. We’re on a space station, so odds are also parts of it leads into the vacuum outside.”

Morbid grin spread on the blonde’s lips as she looked at her companion.

“Not sure SINN’s health insurance plan covers that. What do you think? Risk it or no?”