Deep Trouble

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria nodded and grabbed her vibroblade as well as the pistol from her belt. Her eyes said she was very scared, but her readiness gave no sign.

Asteria heard the thumps as they were moving up and turned slowly back around and started to ascend backwards, just in case of attack from behind.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] [member="Raziel"] [member="Nomad Crimson"]

 

[Raziel]

Raziel's blaster came up quickly. He fired a quick double tap of heavy bolts that caught the nearest droid in the chest and neck. It dropped down, smouldering as the others charged past it. They were fast, very fast. Many droids from the Clone Wars were still in manufacture, but Raziel had no idea of the history of the Magnaguard.

He got one more shot into the should of an approaching droid before he dropped the blaster unceremoniously. His sabers were in his hands and active in a flash. As he crossed his blades to block to first swinging polearm, he noticed the first droid he had hit starting to get back to its feet. Tough bastards, he thought. He was surprised as his sabers didn't cut straight through the head of the polearm. The droid reversed it's angular momentum, servos and motors twisting its whole upper body. Raziel was slow to change his posture to block the other end. The impact sent a jolt of pain up his arm.

He backed away from the two droids he was engaging, his blades a colourful blur as he wove them through a tight defensive pattern. He allowed them to come on, shifting and dodging away from their frantic attacks. They were powerful, fast, programmed to fight well. He would bide his time and see how they adapted, testing the limits of their programming before attempting to go on the offensive - if they would ever give him that chance.

 

[Ahra Martrey]

"I'm always ready." Cliche? Perhaps. True? Eh, probably not, but adaptability beats planning nine times out of ten.
Blade and blaster at the ready, Ahra clicked over to night vision as they entered the nearly unlit manufacturing center. Great machines and fabbers that no doubt had once run tirelessly stood dormant, a monument to the creative power of centuries before. Inactive worker drones and decaying conveyer belts littered the dead factory.

Motioning for [member="Barkt Melan"] and the Knights to hold their ground for a moment, he stealthily climbed a nearby machine for a better vantage point. After a few moments, he dropped back down. "I think there's a control center a few hundred meters to the north. If we get there, perhaps we could get some lights, or see if there's anything still active."

 

[Raziel]

Raziel twisted, turned and weaved an intricate pattern of defensive swipes. The pair of magnaguard pressed on. They were both using different tactics, which suggested a level of intelligence and coordination. One engaged directly, using powerful sweeping blows to prevent Raziel from closing. The other kept to his side, using careful stabs with the pole to keep Raziel off balance. The pair were herding him, Raziel realised as a crackling purple polearm passed perilously close to his chest. If he didn't alter his tactics they'd back him into a corner soon. Without room to manoeuvre, and with a third closing he'd be in trouble.

Raziel used the Force the press the button on his radio. The old piece of tech was hardware only. Simple electronics that could transmit and receive audio on a pre-designated frequency band. Jammable with a few credits worth of kit if you knew what you were doing, but essentially un-slicable.

"In contact, need assistance! Droids!" he called between breaths. Ahra and Barkt had been scouting not too far off to his left, perhaps they could provide assistance. He idly wondered what Marek and the group heading to the storage racks had found.



[member="Marek Starchaser"]
[member="Nomad Crimson"]
[member="Asteria Starcatcher"]
[member="Barkt Melan"]
[member="Ahra Marcon"]

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria got the distress signal and raced back down to [member="Raziel"]'s assistance. "Coming, sir!" She replied into the old radio.

Almost tripping a few times, she activated her vibrosword, came up behind the droids, slid under one pole arm and sliced upwards at one of the droids, who dodged and jobbed where Asteria had been only a few seconds ago. "Dang clankers!" She used the Clone Wars era term for droids. Now she was in a defensive stance, trying to draw one of the magnaguards away from her leader.

 

[Raziel]

Raziel held his ground as the two magnaguard increased the pressure on his defences. Three would have been a challenge, but he was confident he could deal with two now one had been drawn away. Sensing further motion in the distance, he decided it would be necessary to act quickly. One of them swung a powerful overhead strike, aimed to force him backwards or else it would crush his shoulder. However, Raziel had the measure of them now and they had little in return. He'd worked a tight defensive pattern, but that was all.

It was how it worked. There was no need to give away more than necessary. Even today he would barely display his power. There were enough names in the galaxy already. There was no need for any of the mercenaries - or even ACA staff - to walk away talking about another Jedi Master and talented swordsman they had met.

Raziel shot fowards, displaying inhuman agility as he moved under the staff. His right saber came around at the exposed side of the droid. The turquoise blade met resistance as it cleaved through the droid's upper arm, but it still severed the limb. At least, Raziel reflected, the whole droids were not made of sabre-impervious materials. He used the Force to pull at the knee joint of its leg and then hit it with a more powerful, but less controlled, telekinetic blast that sent it tumbling.

Allowing the Force to guide him, he turned and crossed his blades. He caught the powerful strike of the second droid, even though the impact sent another wave of pain through his wrists. They held there for a moment, weapons locked. One on one now.

[member="Asteria Starcatcher"]

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria came up silently behind the second droid and stabbed it in the back and shot at the other one, in case it got any ideas about getting back up.
[member="Raziel"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

Nodding to [member="Ahra Marcon"], the Bothan began to move forward as quietly as he could. It didn't take long before something happened. As his foot set down, the room was bathed in a flash of white light. He staggered, disoriented. The Satchel fell from his shoulder. Something had gone off. A flashbang, maybe. He could hear something building up, charging.....
"Down!" He yelled, moments before a blast of plasma flew over where he had been standing. It took one of the Obsidian Knights in the chest, blasting him across the room. The lights were on now. Another noise, one that was far too common these days. The snap-hiss of a lightsaber.

Spoiler: Image

The droid stepped forward, raising it's hand again. The humming noise began again. It needs to charge the plasma shot. If I can interrupt that....
His hand shot into the satchel, pulling out a simple cylinder with a button on one end. Pressing it, he sent it rolling to the droid's feet. He heard it begin to fire as the EMP grenade went off. Shoulders slumping for a moment, Barkt grabbed the satchel and moved back. The Droid reactivated, and began to advance.
"The Plasma gun should be damaged. Those lightsabers are the only concern now."

 

[Raziel]

Raziel nodded his thanks to [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] , though he wasted no time in using his sabers to finish the dismemberment and ensure the droids were down for good. He took a moment to study their internals. They were build with a good redundancy of systems, but a few key nodes in the centre of the chest were vulnerable. He noted their positions and looked back up to his aid.

"I didn't catch your name?" he said.

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria sounded a bit out of breath when she answered, and she was breathing hard, "Asteria, sir." She never gave her last name for fear of recognition by any Sith.

[member="Raziel"]

 

[Ahra Martrey]

In the red glow of the droid's lightsabers, Ahra could just make out the glint of the grenade as [member="Barkt Melan"] pulled it from his sachel. Why a grenade...?
And then he realized.

More concerned about the EMP than the plasma bolt - the droid didn't even seem to be looking at him yet - Ahra ducked behind a particularly sturdy machine, hoping the blast wouldn't affect him. In almost the same instant he heard the plasma bolt fire and the loud pop of the grenade. Judging by the fact that all systems were reading normal, the machine must have had a fair amount of lead inside. Who knew?
Judging by the impact sound of the plasma, one of the Knights had been hit. Whether or not it was fatal he couldn't tell, but he wasn't hearing any screaming, so it was either not serious at all or fatal. Either way, best finish this quickly.
Doing his best to be both quick and silent, Ahra continued around the machine. With any luck, he could catch the droid in a flank - he had no idea if this thing was capable of blaster deflection, but even if it was, different angles would still be hard to deal with. Hopefully.

Passive scanners only, he made his way around and up the giant machine, coming to a conveyer belt about ten meters from the ground. Always best to take the high ground, he thought, pulling out his Firelance. The rifle was mostly famous for its stun setting, which wouldn't be terribly useful here, but it still packed a solid punch. Taking up a prone position, he prepared covering fire against the advancing droid.

 

[Raziel]

"Very well," he replied. He was looking to the building - if that's what the shard of metal erupting from the cavern floor could be called - and considering taking a look inside. Then he heard the noise of the EMP grenade off to their left. Without pause, or even a cursory check to see if Asteria followed, he dashed through the streets towards the sounds. Adrenaline coursed through him as he used the Force to aid him in weaving through the piles of scrap metal that blocked the road ahead. He would be with them in moments.

[member="Ahra Marcon"][member="Asteria Starcatcher"][member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria didn't follow, but instead took one of the guards' poles and activated it, spinning it a bit before turning it off and attaching it to the magnetic part of her armor that could turn on and off at will, and headed back up to Marek's position with her new trophy.

[member="Raziel"] [member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Raziel]

[member="Barkt Melan"] [member="Ahra Marcon"]


Raziel rounded the corner to find the droid advancing on the pair of specialists. Ahra was up on a conveyer belt, sighting carefully down a rifle at the droid. Barkt was exposed, with the droid heading straight towards him. Raziel raced forwards, pulling a heavy blaster from his belt. He fired a pair of shots at the droid's back, hoping to turn it and draw it away from the specialist.

 

[Barkt Melan]

Backpedaling, the bothan fired a few shots from the gun, which the droid easily batted aside as it matched him step for step. The mechanical monster emitted a laughing sound as it closed in, Barkt once again reaching into the satchel. As his hand wrapped around the cylinder, the bolts that [member="Raziel"] fired slammed into it's side. Spinning, it raised a Palm at the man, as Barkt rolled away from it, ducking behind a piece of equipment. A blast ripped at the droid. Now missing an arm, it began to charge at the New opponent, brandishing a crimson blade spinning in wild arcs.
[member="Ahra Marcon"]

 

[Ahra Martrey]

Ahra kept the droid in his sights, noting how the droid couldn't seem to make up its mind on whom to attack. It seems to be attacking whoever attacked it most recently, Barkt's second grenade notwithstanding. Interesting.
As the droid rushed Raziel, blade swinging wildly, Ahra lined up his shots and fired three times. The first shot was deflected by a lucky flailing of the remaining saber, but the second and third slammed into the droid's torso and shoulder, knocking it to the ground and severing the remaining arm. The lightsaber flickered off as it skid across the stone floor.

Slinging his rifle across his back, he jumped down from his elevation and, pulling out the red datapad, proceeded to run a short scan. He motioned the others over. "Hey, take a look at this. This droid wasn't autonomous, it's connected to a control network." He glanced up from the pad to the others. "Suppose that's to be expected, that's how they did the armies back in the Clone Wars. Problem is..." he unplugged the datapad and put a single shot from his pistol through it. "...that means that whatever's down here not only has access to any droids and machinery it can turn on, but knows exactly where we are. Not to mention that it knows we're armed and probably got a glimpse of 300 years of 'pad technology."

[member="Barkt Melan"] [member="Raziel"]

 

[Raziel]

[member="Ahra Marcon"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Barkt Melan"] [member="Jared Ovmar"]

"Concerning," Raziel replied simply. He took the time to crack open the breach on his grenade launcher and load another ion grenade. "I would surmise that was a test of our capability. Let's move more slowly now. I suggest we check out that faxtory," he replied with a thump as he snapped his grenade launcher back together.

 

[Raziel]

Raziel stepped into one of the largest factories. Toe-heel, toe-heel, he moved in complete silence now he was on his own. The intense trepidation hadn't left him yet. Even without the Force, he'd seen the foundries. This place had the capacity to churn out thousands of droids, yet they'd only faced a handful. His eyes followed the pop-up sight on his grenade launcher, the electronic display continually updating this distance targeted. His mind, however, was concentrating more on the Force. He allowed his influence to expand in all directions, drinking in his surroundings and waiting for signs of threat.

He paused at a wide blast door, checking his surroundings before daring to take a moment to force them open. Re-shouldering his rifle, he stepped into...the bridge of a starship.