Count Those Freaks

[Rosalina]

Continuation of this.

Ceres Planetary Department of Infrastructure and Development Building, Copenfa Branch

Alm lingered a few feet behind Vnut as he instructed the cowering civilians towards the far end of the building, silently observing the Balinaka. He was authoritative yet did not bare his teeth or snarl—it finally occurred to the young woman that he did not need to. Perhaps it was a mix of his intimidating size and a certain amount of finesse that could only be wrought from experience. The realization was fleeting, touching her mind for just a moment as she unintentionally glowered at the people beneath their makeshift fortifications. Perhaps, there was more to learn that simply fighting.

Already she was at attention by the time Vnut turned back to her. Her eyes were bright, focused heavily on her de facto leader with the interest of a student or someone who desperately did not want to fail today. “Yes,” Was all she said, focus shifting towards where their new companion had clanked off to. Unexpected but not unwelcome, though perhaps that was only because Vnut took well to him. On her own, Dresden was not sure what she would have done. She’d be liable to attack, of course.

Outside, she could hear boots slapping against pavement. They were close, close enough to send another shot of adrenaline into the teenager’s system. Her heart thudded in her ears, but she was only dully aware of it.

"I will remain here." Superintendent announced. He tapped a button on his chest, and an energy shield flickered around him before becoming transparent. "You should wait in one of the refreshers and listen for my signal."

Hazel eyes squinted at the droid. Why was he the one giving commands? But the situation was going to escalate at any moment, and Alm was just aware enough to know that arguing wouldn’t help. “Oh,” Was all she said—grunted—before her gaze settled on the pair of restroom doors. The men’s room was out of the question, of course. That was for men, and for her to enter such a place would be lewd. So Alm ducked into the women’s refresher, though not before the edge of her pike caught on the door frame, too tall to be carried through vertically. Her body jerked forwards and she hissed in a mixture of embarrassment and frustration before readjusting her weapon, tilting it at an angle that would allow her to enter the room without any further visible slip-ups.

She did however slip on the surface of the tile after stumbling in awkwardly, but managed to catch herself to avoid taking a spill. Maybe…maybe the pike was not the best choice.

[member="Tai Fa"] [member="Superintendent"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Superintendent"]

The refreshers had not been made with a Balinaka's height in mind.

It took an awkward angle for Vnut to crouch a little, so he fitted through the doorway. At least without hitting his head and hurting himself in the process. In truth the Balinaka did not mind that the Superintendent was aiding them in this endeavor, though it was slightly confusing why the droid had so much freedom in thought and expression. The fact that it had a combat shield was another tip-off that there was something special about this particular droid.

Of course, there were more important things on their mind right now.

Like the fact that there was a small detachment of Stalik Combine forces assaulting their current location. But there was little to do right now, besides simply wait for the droid's signal. He closed his eyes, drawing on the Force to strengthen himself and his resolve, it was only after a moment or two that Vnut heard the sound of gentle coughing behind him.

The Balinaka attempted to turn around, but as said previously, it was quite a tight space for a bear like him.

All he managed to do was slightly turn his head, just enough to see a terrified humanoid hugging the corner of the refresher while staring at him aghast.

He would have tried to calm the human down, but he couldn't talk right now. Not with surprise being integral to their current plan. So instead he raised one of his fingers -- long claws at the end of each digit -- and put it vertically against his mouth.

Shhhhh.

The human fainted.

Well, then.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Not long after Vnut and Almudena entered their respective restrooms, the front doors were blown open. And so entered the Stalk Combine militia, looking particularly ill-tempered. They were a rag tag group of farmers. Militia with a bone to pick with these hoighty-toighty big shot government bureaucrats. Despite their intense dislike for the government, they only recognized Superintendent as an administrative droid- one of those protocol types. Instead of shooting him, they just pointed their hand-me-down blaster rifles at the KX-Series Security Droid menacingly. The commander, obviously the commander because he wasn't dressed in rags and his gun looked new, approached Superintendent.

Superintendent, of course, was happy to see him. "Hello! I am KX-Series Administrative Droid Unit K7-2NU. This branch of-"

"Yeah, yeah." Said the commander, removing a cigar from his breast pocket. He stuck it in his mouth, using his free hands to retrieve a match and light it. He was clearly something of a badass. "Wher're th' government spooks?"

"I'm sorry, I am not familiar with that terminology."

"Th' robuts. Them bureauwhatsits."

These were clearly country bumpkins talking like country bumpkins. However, that was not one of the linguistic modules Superintendent had installed. If only the commander had been speaking Southwestern Jumidian-Dialect Corellian instead. The commander lit his cigar and took a few victory puffs, clearly anticipating a massacre. The Superintendent was anticipating one too, just not of the same people.

"I'm sorry, this department is closed due to the ongoing city-wide crisis." Superintendent reiterated. "I am afraid you must leave before my security protocols activate."

"Freakin' droid. Fine, I'll find 'em ourselves." Terrible grammar, even from a country bumpkin. He withdrew his weapon from his holster. "Guess we'll 'ave to scrap ya."

Detecting the clear and present threat, the combat protocols of the Superintendent immediately activated. His photoreceptors flared red. This was not for any real purpose, but one of the interns at the Helix Syndicate who handled some of the aspects of his programming subroutines thought it was cool. It was not cool, but Superintendent could not tell and the Stalk Combine thugs did not have time to snicker at how cliche it was. The commander fired off one shot into the Superintendent's chest, but the personal shield was still activated and absorbed the shot easily, despite the fact it could have easily killed him. In response, Superintendent's long arm wound up and punched the commander.

His metal fist entered through one side of the commander and exited out the other. He had punched straight through. Immediately the commander started sputtering like a wet toaster, dropping his weapon and grabbing at the Superintendent's extended limbs. The security droid pulled his arm back, but the commander came with him. Superintendent wiggled his arm around a little, but the commander remained in place. His photoreceptors dropped their red color and returned to their passive white.

"Oh no." Said Superintendent, trying to shake the dying human off his arm. There was some crunching, some squelching sounds, but the human would not give way. He just hung on, grasping the Superintendent's forearm as the droid rotated back and forth, moving in short, exasperated motions. "Help. I am stuck."

The rest of the Stalk Combine soldiers wasted no time in shooting at the droid, but their commander made a rather effective shield. Several blaster bolts struck the unfortunate human in the back and he eventually went limp, his grip on the Superintendent's arm going slack- his limbs now dangling stupidly as the droid turned frantically this way and that. Other blaster bolts were going wide, hitting the walls around the room. A few of them landed on the droid, but this only caused his energy shield to flare to life, absorbing the energy and kinetic impact with apparent ease.

 

[Rosalina]

The walls of the refresher weren’t so thick, allowing the conversation between the droid and his new friend to carry over onto Dresden. She had to strain a bit to hear what they were saying, and didn’t get the full detail—she had yet to learn to use the Force to enhance her senses, if such a thing was possible—but even she could gather that Superintendent was playing ignorant for the moment. That particular moment did not last long, and soon a cacophony of blaster fire rang through the enclosed space of the lobby. Alm pressed herself flat against the wall and nudged the door open so that it was slightly ajar, peeking out to see their new best friend with a literal human shield skewered on his arm. The Valkyri was not unfamiliar with combat, but she’d yet to see something so…gruesome. Fighting down the urge to vomit, she fed her focus into the urge to fight. Adrenaline flared, muscles twitched, and she was off like a shot.

Member #2 of The Odd Trio burst from the door of the refresher, pike in hand and angled so that it would not catch on the door frame this time. Without the war cry that bubbled in her throat, she was able to catch the nearest soldier in the side with her pike, piercing into his flesh and tasing him with the electricity that tingled from its surface. The soldier let out a pained cry before hastily firing off a few shots at the strange redheaded woman before him. One clipped Alm on the side of her left hip and she hissed in pain, slumping slightly in her stance before ripping the pike back ungracefully. It was not such a good weapon against blasters. Perhaps she should have brought one of her own!

With a roar of anger—finally—the Amazon sent the sharp tip of her weapon through the man’s eye socket and out the back of his skull, capitalizing on the heightened strength of her race. Throwing her weight into the attack, the soldier was sent to the ground, pinned there momentarily while he writhed in pain.

A small victory, if only for a moment.

[member="Superintendent"] [member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Superintendent"]

It was difficult to leave the unconscious man to his own devices, but sadly a necessity at this point in time, because by the sounds of it the battle had already begun. Vnut carefully climbed out of the refresher with practiced composure and patience.

But few things would have prepared him for the sight on the other side of the door.

Superintendent and his arm through one of the militiamen. A royal amount of blood was spraying through the narrow space between flesh and metal, as the metal man desperately tried to detach the corpse from his arm by waggling it around like a doll.

To no avail.

But there wasn’t much Vnut could do about that now, because he was having his own problems. Whilst some of the militia were still firing at the droid and some were being distracted - and dispatched - by Alm, two on the right were more concerned about the sudden appearance of a large lumbering bear next to them. One managed to get a shot out with his blaster, it only just missed him and the Balinaka lashed out with his big paw next.

The strength caused the man to fly back into and through the doorway outside. The other, probably mentally incapable, saw all of this and ran. Not to safety, but in a charge straight towards him.

Vnut frowned. Then his other paw launched itself, big digits - the size of a man's head - wrapped itself around the, now, flailing man and then squeezed.

Graphic imagery that was definitely not PG13 ensued followed closely by screams that suddenly cut short.

Lots of blood sprayed, some of it on his fur.

"Ugh. This will take ages to get out."

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

This was quickly becoming a situation that was not suitable for children under a certain age. But here they were. It would have been nice to say that the skewering of one militiaman would be as bad as it got, but alas. Vnut had to go and grab another by the face, crushing his skull through sheer strength. It popped in a gruesome, gory display. Like a Devaronian aquamelon under a sledgehammer. Superintendent had no mouth or digestive system, and yet he felt his innards churn with the urge to vomit. Superintendent was not aware of any immediate hypocrisy, even as he began to swing his arm in more urgent motions, casually absorbing blaster bolts with both his traditional and improvised shield. His shield's protestations had since devolved into the occasional discharge of blood from his mouth.

So unsanitary.

The small woman with the archaic weapon was also present, although she had been hit in the side. Superintendent was not immediately well versed in the art of social cues and having faith in ones co-combatants. Why would he be? Meat-things often went into combat without energy shields and were distressingly vulnerable to small arms fire. Moving quickly, the Superintendent took three large steps forward in that direction and swung his arms about like he was throwing a shot-put ball. Only it was not a shot put ball, it was the militia commander. The flying corpse might have smacked into the soldier that had shot Almudena, if she had not already stabbed him in the eye and pinned him to the ground. Instead, it was more likely to hit her.

Superintendent did not pause to consider his handiwork, instead examining his blood-coated forearm and waggling his fingers in front of his face, testing the servomotors to ensure they had not been damaged. "I am free." He commented, at which point a heavy blaster bolt smacked him in the side of the head. The energy shield prevented it from killing him, but the kinetic force was enough to see him stagger backwards. "Ow."

 

[Rosalina]

Things only got bloodier when Vnut emerged from his hiding place, his sheer size drawing some immediate attention. Alm didn’t know much about the bear-man, and in truth she would have liked to watch him fight and see if he moved similar to that of the Beorni on her home world. Splitting her focus was something the teenager could not afford at this moment, opting instead to keep her two allies in her periphery.

She missed Vnut’s skull caving adventures, but did not doubt the size of the bear-man. Alm had just managed to skewer a soldier’s throat with her pike, the electricity causing his body to convulse wildly, limbs jerking this way and that as saliva foamed and bubbled at his lips. She jerked the pike away, taking a step back as she did so and colliding unceremoniously with Supernintendo’s discarded human shield.

“Ack!” She went down, the lifeless and pallid corpse splayed across her like some sort of gross dead lover. It was then when she noticed the blood seeping from the large hole in his chest where the droid’s fist had made its home. The blood, the entrails, the smell…Alm quickly turned her head to the side and vomited, stomach churning for a few brief moments.

With her lunch out of her system, the sounds of combat brought her back to reality. Alm gave the corpse an angry kick, sending it somewhere off to the side. Back on her feet and covered in a mix of puke and blood, her gaze locked onto Superintendent and her temper flared. Was this some sort of trick? Was he not really on their side? Anger spiked as she gripped her pike tightly.

“YOU STUPID DROID!” She snarled, sending the electrified weapon towards him in a javelin-like throw as he stumbled backwards from a blaster shot to the head.

Clearly, she cared not for his feelings.

@Superintendent @Tai Fa

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Superintendent"] | [member="Almudena Dresden"]

Another mook went down right after a plasma bolt scorched past Vnut's shoulder and left the scent of burned flesh in the air.

His face was caved in from a single punch.

It probably was not fair of Vnut to actually fight in this battle. His sheer size, battle experience and usage of the Force put him far above the like of these simple peasants with badly-outfitted blasters. In truth he probably should have simply taken a break at the side of the battle and let that be that. But there was a responsibility for him, to ensure that Alm wouldn't get herself killed.

As Vnut turned around to see their progress, he just caught Superintendent throwing a body at another mook, not realizing that Alm had already disabled him. She was hit square in the face with it.

The Balinaka grimaced when she threw up.

Was it really so hard to pace yourself and not burst out disgusting liquids all the time? He took two steps towards them, to calm Alm down, but the girl was already in overdrive mode and her pike was flying.

The droid would probably be fine with that shield.

"Center yourself now." His voice growled out, commanding to an underling, before getting smacked in the back with a stun baton. Once, twice, now it was against his knee and separately they did little, but together it was starting to hurt.

Vnut turned around to deal with the fly and was hit squarely in the face by the stun baton, which made him stumble backwards directly towards Alm.

This was really all her fault anyway, because she made the Balinaka lose his concentration to steady her.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Superintendent dug his feet into the ground and re-secured his footing. A good thing, too! If that bolt had hit him any harder he would have fallen backwards completely. As if on cue, an angry Almudena decided to seek vengeance for the corpse that had been flung her way. The pike flew true, spearing Superintendent through the shoulder and poking out the other side. It was very fortunate that droids could not feel pain, otherwise the Superintendent's agonized yowls would have surpassed the room, the building, the city, the planet, and the system. Yes, screaming so loud it defied the inability of sound to travel through space. But while he technically had a mouth, Superintendent could not actually scream.

Only express dismay.

He spoke softly as he fell, balance finally lost. "I am hit."

With a heavy and miserable clunk the Security Droid fell onto his rump. His back might have hit the floor as well, but the spear sticking out the other end kept him propped up. The Superintendent gazed with haunting dismay as Vnut was beset upon by angry militiamen now armed with stun batons for some reason. "Oh no." He would have to move quickly if he were to help, so the Superintendent grasped the pike with both hands and began to slowly pull it out of his shoulder.

 

[Rosalina]

Vnut’s growl of an order reached Alm’s ears just as the pike went airborne, spearing in a most satisfying manner through the droid’s shoulder. Thankfully the girl wasn’t in full lizard brain mode, quickly snapping out of the height of her anger as a look of stark realization crossed her face. And then, she had a particular thought that only black-out drunks and Steve Urkel can have.

Did I do that?

No time to stand around like an idiot, but that’s pretty much what Alm did as she tried to absorb the situation—she’d lost control of herself and attacked an ally! Fortunately, she would get moving as the large shadow of Vnut began to topple over her. First the leaky corpse, now the bear-man?

Dresden skittered to the side and out of Vnut’s direct radius as she thought about how she’d attacked the droid. Really, she felt bad about it—the poor thing was trying to help them, albeit in a messy way, and she went and attacked him! So it stood that she should apologize.

“I AM SORRY!” She bellowed to no one in particular it seemed. At the same time, she surged forward to grab ahold of the wrist of the man who’d attacked Vnut with the stun baton, bending it backwards and snapping it easily in her grip. She pushed the man away with a kick to the chest in the general direction of Superintendent, returning the favor. At least this body was cleaner and not like, an actual gross corpse.

Some people had no manner.

[member="Superintendent"] [member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Almudena Dresden"] | [member="Superintendent"]​

Before the next hit could shock him Alm came to his rescue.

About gorram time, Vnut thought to himself, before whirling around to find another fight. Sadly, the Balinka was disappointed to find all of them dead, dying or in the progress of being killed. Outside there were noises of battle, but there weren't any enemies around in their immediate vicinity.

Which made sense.

The entire point of this rabble had been to quickly capture the government and administrators of the nation, after which they would sue for peace.

Vnut doubted they actually had the numbers to go up against the entirety of the other nations, which only made him wonder more why they tried this in the first place. True, if they had been able to capture the government, they might have been able to pull it off and if it hadn't been for them... they would have done it.

"Are you two okay?" Vnut asked, holding his shoulder that was burned from the stun hits. "I think it's over for now, but I don't think it is wise to go outside with the fighting going on."