Digital Shadows

[Nyx N1X3]

##/// HOLONET | CONNECTION ACTIVE . . .

WANTED: Highly adaptable, skilled operators able to efficiently secure and deliver precious cargo.

CONTACT: l85j8NF/uo2Mq77Nif4j6Q8hrxsZL28YB8KsomQP1hC1WAXoxJXpTcojBEXFjOwQXMhY9V0/nN9eg8jZalbSCg==

##\\\ CONNECTION TERMINATED.


Upon the outcropping of Overwatch Azure near Cormond, Brentaal stood a lone figure. Stretched out before her was one of one of the many flatlands where numerous warehouses were clustered together. The arid wind did not do any favors to the oil of the figure's chassis, but it was not so corrosive to be an issue for the time she would reside on the planet. It was the perfect place to intercept the shipment in the Core. From here it might end up in the vaults of Aargau, which would make it difficult to acquire. Best case is it would land in an laboratory on Coruscant, but with its endless levels and security it might attract unwanted attention.

At least on at this junction between hyperspace lanes the approach would be more straightforward. The amount of data to sift through was limited by the manner in which storage was performed as well; rather than the many levels of Coruscant, for example, there were warehouses and other facilities spread across the surface of the planet were cities did not thrive. Find the right warehouse, and it was easy to plan and infiltration. Inside locating the merchandise would take no time at all.

Before the mission could progress, however, it was necessary to see who -- if anyone -- showed up. Really, the encryption she'd used wouldn't be that difficult for someone skilled enough for the job to crack. Although, Nyx was biased when it came to how easy something like decryption was. Perhaps she'd made it too difficult? If such was the case then this would be considerably more difficult, but not impossible. It would have been beneficial to make a contact in the criminal underworld, however, that she could follow-up on afterward. As long as the device was acquired, however, the mission could be considered a success.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Ruby​

​

"None of this karking makes any sense to me..." the human muttered under her breath, tapping furiously on the screen. Tired eyes gazed upon a fading holo computer in the darkness of an outpost that had been secured for Ruby and her small crew. The luminescent transmission sparkled in her eyes, blinding her own morality - of what little she had - by the presumed credits she could acquire by completing such a simple task, but the moment of clarity was soon interrupted rather bluntly.

A rather monotone voice transmitted back to her, seemingly from nowhere. "None of it was designed to. You depart in 5 minutes."

Spoiler: You've got mail!

SENDER: melody@imf.com
RECEIVER: corrupteddatapleasecheck... (User hash: l85j8NF/uo2Mq77Nif4j6Q8hrxsZL28YB8KsomQP1hC1WAXoxJXpTcojBEXFjOwQXMhY9V0/nN9eg8jZalbSCg==), ruby@col.com

WARNING. This mail has been flagged as spam and could contain software that could harm your device.

Thank you so much for your invitation! One of our AGENTS is currently looking at your request, and is deciding how best to facilitate your desires. What matters most to the IMF family is that we will be COMING with you on your journey, no matter what road you take!

Official regards,
Melody

Giggling to herself, she removed herself from the device she had been glued to for the previous day, pacing backwards and forwards as she planned just how exactly they would make it there in time. The quiet woman soon turned almost violent to her team, viciously grasping each of them by their necks and dragging them out of the poorly constructed wire bed frames. For those who were lucky to escape the ritual, there were yet more orders to be received; not least of which was the checking of the crudely made blaster pistols and ensure the vehicle they had requisitioned was still in working order. Ruby herself had been left in a state of panic concerning herself with just how exactly they would arrive on time.

It was rather convenient that the contact was so.. unorthodox in terms of concealing her identity. The AI had already traced the encrypted message to the planet of Brentaal, triangulating the coordinates to a rough outline of where she could be and then taking an educated guess based on the job listing that they were close to a complex of warehouses. Infact, that's the only reason they were in the metal shack, barely managing to stay stable even under the mild weather the planet had for the duration of their posting.

Perhaps it would come as a surprise to the cyborg when a tattered land rover, capable of fitting 8 or so people at a push, pulled up behind her. Perhaps the woman's flaring red hair, obscure outfit and litany of seemingly carbon copy clones only differing in skin tone might be more surprising. Perhaps, the speed at which the group approached her, hands on firearms in a precautionary manner, apart from the commander herself, gripping an antique datapad.

"I believe you are..." she glanced down at her datapad, looking at the user ID Nyx had created the job posting with; I'm not reading that out. "Listen, my name's Ruby. You were in touch with my boss and I believe we've got something that needs to be taken with force?" lowering the datapad and grinning, sounding more confident than she did at the start of the day.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Metallic dreadlocks swung lazily as Nyx turned in place to regard the organics as they disembarked their vehicle and made contact. Once Ruby started talking the droid found the situation... abnormal. Enough time had been spent among Humans and Human-like creatures, especially in social situations, where the 'vibe' this one gave off was not that of a skilled slicer. This begged the question, how did the woman decipher Nyx's meeting coordinates in the message she'd posted, or otherwise traced the true point of origin through the proxies that had been used?

The Droid's red eyes regarded Ruby and her cohorts for a moment in silence. Several rough simulations were processed in that moment regarding the events sure to follow. Not optimum was the ultimate conclusion. Not failure, but there could surely have been a more ideal outcome were the skill set as intended. Nyx would make do.

"Nova, for this operation," she responded to the woman's initial hesitation. The ever so brief attempt at even thinking to pronounce the encrypted text confirmed Ruby wasn't the technical expert among them. Someone of that background wouldn't have even tried -- unless it was a joke. Humans were 'funny' creatures. "There is product in Warehouse C-342. We need to approach, silence the security system, breech, and then obtain the manifest to locate the product. If we are detected there is an elevated chance of rapid and violent reprisal by heavily armed forces." That was the long and the short of it as organics put it. "Do you have any questions or concerns before we begin?"

Still, even if this group was not as expected, all hope of establishing relations was not lost. Even people of their caliber could be of benefit. The ones that survived, as their chances of remaining undetected were considerably lower than anticipated.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Ruby​

​

Cyborgs were hard to read. Even for someone as trained in interrogations as Ruby. Squinting her view, she scanned up and down the droid to see for any body language that would suggest deception... impossible. That meaning it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. She pondered as to whether or not the next few minutes would be her unlikely demise, well if it was an asssassin droid hired to kill me it would have done it already. Or maybe that's her game. Maybe she's luring me into a trap so they can perform a legitimate arrest.

Her gaze snapped back to reality as the droid's vocal chords began strumming again. "Nova? A curious name." pausing and glancing back to her cohort, who seemed equally as puzzled, but even more so incompetent as they were still preparing their weapons that were supposed to be clean almost half an hour ago. "Well, Nova, I'm not quite sure what package we are going to retrieve here..." rolling her eyes as her view returned to just infront of her "But we're more... head-on in our approach. Not that I won't indulge a stealthy attempt regardless." she sauntered forward to join Nyx at her left hand side.

"May I make a suggestion however?" rhetorically pausing, indignant on continuing her sentence regardless of response, "I do have these extra bodies for a reason. Perhaps it would be best if we delegated the workload? You and I breach ourselves while I split my squad into 2, 4 going for the manifest, the others the security depot. Of course if you wish we can all go as one group." the words hung on her voice for a few seconds after she spoke, clearly curious as to what the contractor had in mind.

Ruby tilted her head to the left slightly, breaking eye contact and observing the facility from the distance. Finally, broken from the shadows her appearance became more visible; seemingly young, a glossy red iris and perhaps even more paler skin than what Nyx originally observed.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Ruby was free to stare as discretely or openly as she like at Nyx. No manner of visual scrutiny would warrant a response from the metal woman. Even as the woman took stock of her own, and began to stride forward Nyx didn't alter her stance. Was it dangerous hiring unknown assets? Could they turn on her? All answered with another question: what would they gain at this juncture? The weapons could be turned on her, but none of them knew what the item was they were here to steal. It was worth a considerable sum, especially to the right people. That's why they were here to acquire it. Greed should help keep them from taking any unwise action.

"Yes." Whether Ruby sought permission or not, the Droid would accept her thoughts on the mission. She knew her assets best and what they were capable of. Educated guesses based on visual survey and record retrieval would benefit from more personal insight by their leader.

A few seconds passed after Ruby's suggestion before Nyx turned in place to face out over the warehouses along side the red-haired, red-eyed, and pale woman. "I expect your squad will draw attention away from our real target." Unlikely they would quietly assail the security depot and retrieve the manifest. They could surprise her, but if they could not be silent then they could make a very distracting commotion. They were Ruby's assets to use as she will to fulfill the mission. "You and I will enter the warehouse, then retrieve the item once its location is known," she agreed. "If preparations are complete?" They could set off immediately.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Ruby​

​

Ruby pivoted to the disassembled squad of grunts, who were brought to attention as her gaze fell upon her. The tone in her voice turned from neutral to domineering as she yelled a few indistinct orders, codewords and hand gestures, all of which were brought about so quickly that even a droid would have trouble distinguishing the audio and visual cues. As she yelled, she quickly paced to the landrover, leaving the datapad she had previously garnished and placing what looked to be a mass-produced blaster pistol in her holster. By the end of her tyraid, her heels brought her back to Nyx's left hand side, glancing at the droid once more.

"Oh yes, we will need to know what this item is to retrieve the manifest for it, unless you have its shipping identification or whatever the bureaucrats of this facility use." Despite Nyx's concerns, Ruby seemed unphased when asking the question, sparking genuine curiosity as opposed to an attempt to deceive the droid, or otherwise suggest malice intent.

As she said this, her legs went into motion again at a slower pace than before, unsure of what exactly the droid's preferences were for speed. As they set off, presuming the contractor would follow her, so too would the squad of grunts whom by now were finally prepared.

"Also..." lowering her voice within almost a whisper. The word was just quiet enough, just dragged out enough, that she stopped herself from uttering what she originally intended to say without arousing suspicion, though the pause was clearly unnatural as she thought of something else. "Do you expect we'll be encountering much resistance initially? I'm aware after an alarm is raised we may run into trouble, but our organisation has other assets on planet that I can call in if necessary. I won't lie", she took a breath, raising her shoulders in a shrugging motion "I assumed only a small force would be necessary assuming we're fast enough."

A muttering of conversation could be heard behind the two by the grunts, discussing a disorganized plan in order to both shut down the security alarm and retrieve the manifest.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

A moment passed after Ruby inquired as to the nature of the item. No particular reason for the delay, but organics seemed to do it and Nyx liked testing and evaluating the effectiveness of her social modules in a variety of situations. "A prototype Electromagnetic Pulse shield module for droids and cyber-enhanced entities," she replied at last. Would that mean anything to Ruby? Did it matter? Long as they knew what to look for, and they obtained it.

The development of this technology had been done at a remote facility, but mass production required a larger, more established facility. One with additional security. As infiltrating the development lab had no proven opportune in acquiring the research or researchers themselves, intercepting their creation would be a trivial task by comparison. They relied on obfuscation to shield the device from being stolen. A fair amount of security was involved as well, but their numbers kept relatively low to avoid suspicion. Unfortunate for them the Ministry had many informants; ones that could hear the slightest slip of crucial operational details.

Soon as Ruby set off, Nyx followed suit. It was unnecessary to led at the front given the nature of their approach. In fact, it was best Ruby or one of her own be the more opportune target and if anyone was watching believed Nyx to be just 'some droid.'

With a few quick inputs within her internal interface, a map of the warehouse district they approached was injected into any display or data device the crew brought with them -- provided they weren't protected by a yet identified A.I. Or perhaps such an A.I. allowed the transfer. The map also carried an overlay of patrol routes of both ground personnel, and aerial units that considered primarily droids that roamed the area. "If we avoid detection there will be minimal resistance on our approach." A line followed the counters of the cliff side that led from the Overwatch point into the district.

Nyx then focused on matters Ruby and herself would have to content with, "We will need to incapacitate two guards at the entrance to Warehouse C-342. There may be a handful of guards distributed throughout the building. Likely posing as district personnel instead of employees of the company that manufactured the device they guard."

As a Rook of the Ministry of Secrets infiltration hardly seemed appropriate to Nyx's wheelhouse. However, she had found it strangely fitting. Perhaps even -- as organics put it -- familiar somehow. Another skill she'd possessed before her memory had been lost? However it came to be, a little reconnaissance would quickly pay off.

"I will leave whether additional personnel is required to your discretion. If an alarm is raised, I would prefer as much disruption as possible to this district to cover our activities." Stealth was not necessary as long as what transpired was not traced back to them for retribution. Then Nyx began making certain plans to make it appear the prototype had been lost somehow. Perhaps something explosive in the vicinity.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

​

Withholding her expression, she nodded at Nyx attempting to feign intelligence as to what the heck that was. After a few seconds, she connected a word to another. "So... is it like one of those thingy-.. what do you call them? Combat de-ionizers? I used to install 'em for a living for slicks on Coruscant." As she spoke, one of her left arms retracted itself backwards just in time for a datapad to connect with her, with she swiftly gripped and brought to her own attention, staring IN amazement at just how prepared the droid was for the operation.

After analyzing the device, she glanced at Nyx, turning the datapad to ask for clarification, but the realization struck her that she must have crafted the plan herself. The luxury of having a prepared, organized and professional team member was not one that Ruby had often, as she was often tasked with leading the most incompetent of the organization's as had been put on display today. She sighed at the thought, before bringing herself back to reality. "I say we just do a full frontal assault..." she swiped the datapad, entering in a pin and tapping on a button to open a ridiculous user interface which screamed retro.

"COMPLEX: 004112 requesting assistance at current coordinates." This was brought to a whisper as she brought the datapad closer to her mouth. After a few seconds of silence, Ruby's brow furrowed followed by another sigh. "The reinforcements will have to wait..." slowing her pace and swiveling to see the escort once again, handing the device back to the man that gave her it. "Nonetheless we soldier on! Pearl, security depot. Neutralize targets and disable security measures. Including the communication systems. Delay as long as possible. Valerie." She pointed at a woman clad in a much less practical uniform, with a beret and badge. "Assign Pearl 3 regulars and take the rest for yourself. You will obtain the cargo manifest for warehouse C-342, then cause some type of explosion in that depot. Nova and I shall obtain the device."

After a brief salute and exchange of formalities, the two groups split off, attempting a stealthy approach to their targets.

Ruby turned to droid again, "Well, shall we?" she gestured outwards, indicating for Nyx to take point, after which she would follow in similar fashion.

​

~Meanwhile on Coruscant...~​

​

In between the A.I's intensive planning exercises, including running simulations in the theater of its 'mind' she often took the liberty of invading her personnel's privacy. One such target was not Ruby, whom the intelligence had a semblance of respect for based solely on her loyalty, but rather a peon whom labelled himself as Pearl.

For nothing but its own amusement it began bottle necking his datapad. Some time ago it had begun tracking his movement. Placing him under strange surveillance systems. Assigning him on dangerous missions where his death was almost certain just to spark a reaction. Through it all his tenacity remained on Melody. It liked it. Sometimes, it liked to turn on the device's webcam unknowingly to watch his face flare with frustration.

Perhaps he would make a good leader.

But something strange attempted to upload itself to the datapad. A download? The interior of the room, mounted with hundreds of LED screens illuminated its personal playground, displaying the detailed information, clearly indicating the contact's expertise. Patrol routes? A 3d overlay of the surrounding area? Just then, Ruby turned the datapad to Nyx seeking clarification.

In the solitude of the A.I's isolation it muttered a single word to itself, as what could only be described as astonishment overcame it.

"Peculiar."

The droid ceased interfering with the datapad and contacted a nearby outpost who was stationed in much more comforting conditions, with much more elite trained units.

"COMPLEX 004112: INQUIRE TO TARGET'S ADEPTNESS. ATTEMPT TAKEDOWN."

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Nyx did not think less of the woman for not knowing the proper terminology, or likely the very complicated technology behind it. Organics did not possess an easily referenced database they could rely on. Even with her own, Nyx was not aware of everything in the galaxy. Like her soft counterparts, it was curiosity that drove her; that was why she did not mind the inconsistencies and inefficiencies of their kind. So long as it did not interfere with a mission. "Ion cannons are often used against enemy vessels. Ion grenades are effective against entities such as myself. Technology able to protect against these weapons would be of use to me."

The sight of Ruby's interface on the datapad did, however, elicit a...subprocess of its own. Why would she use such a model? Even if the woman was no slicer or technology inclined, something that inelegant should not be tolerated. In fact, Nyx often felt that way about much she witnessed in the galaxy. True, much was ancient in origin and it would take considerable effort and resources to overhaul even a sliver of it, but something as easily reprogrammed and enhanced as a data input/output device had no reason being so... 'retro.'

A subprocess that was terminated in favor of another far more interesting topic, however. Soft as Ruby's voice had been, she was beside a cybernetic creation with high fidelity audio pickups. Zero zero four one one two? A designation. A numerical designation. That was extremely unusual for organics. Many organizations used service numbers or the like, but few personnel used them instead of their name. Ruby had already introduced herself. A numerical designation also was mildly inefficient when it came to an organic reporting back to their command. It did not 'roll off the tongue' like a codename based on words. Furthermore, this report carried with it bad news for the woman that had a larger force elsewhere. A sudden development...

With a nod the pair would set off. A sandboxed process was then created and a channel opened to Ruby; if she did not possess anything to communicate with then a small device would be provided.

Not long afterward Nyx wound stop at the corner of an intersection and survey the area. She held up two fingers and gestured toward the other side of the paved road. The entrance to Warehouse C-342 was just around that corner with two guards standing on either side. Their armor was light, but well made and tailored to their body shape; the plates were clear of carbon scoring, but did not hold the polish of an outfit only used for decorative purposes. Periodically the rifle held in their hands would change sides to allow their arms time to recover and stay limber if hostilities broke out.

There were several possibilities at this point, but Nyx (Nova) was curious how a woman like Ruby would approach this situation. Perhaps something similar to Keira's approach? Her commander in the squadron that Nyx held as a 'day job.'

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

"What do you take me for?" she laughed nervously, diverting her eyes to avoid locking with what she assumed was Nyx's visual receivers, "I was an engineer after all." Regardless of her best attempts to hide it, it was clear Ruby was either telling a half lie or was not convinced in herself that was she was saying was the whole truth. Whether droids cared for attempts at such deception was a mystery in of itself, one which Ruby did not linger on too much to find out.

In the approach to the compound, Ruby indeed used her own communication device. A nearly invisible earpiece, designed to match the intricacies of the human earlobe and matching the exact skin tone that Ruby possessed. If Nyx was especially curious in their journey prior she might have even spotted that Ruby's subordinates possessed similar ear pieces, though they appeared to be mass produced and were always a few shades too light or dark, and never quite fitted the grunts perfectly as this one did.

Approaching just behind Nyx, Ruby followed her cues perfectly. For what she lacked in intelligence, she made up for in wisdom, understanding exactly what was expected of her. Ruby peered at Nova, then moving swiftly across to the next warehouse at the intersection. Clusmy in her approach, it was clearly not enough as one of the aforementioned guards made a confused grunting noise and began making his way to the spot where he could have swore he saw a shadow not illuminated by the facility's spotlights. He paced his way, hands gripping his rifle, secured by the knowledge that nobody would be dumb enough to try such a straightforward approach.

"It's nothi-..." in a blur of motion, before he could finish his sentence which was but a low volume murmur, Ruby landed a blow to his abdomen, intending not to deal any significant damage but rather startle him. Instinctively, as her weaker left arm struck upon the carbon plates he raised his rifle, threatening to deliver a blow to Ruby's left leg. But she saw it coming. The much stronger right arm now made direct contact with the man's lower jaw, once again stunning him, and enabling the woman to subdue him by outstretching the once vulnerable leg, causing the man to trip and fall onto his face with a crack, seemingly not moving afterwards.

"I told you it was nothing don't play tricks on me."

Ruby looked to Nyx with widened eyes as the second guard approached her. Quickly, she tapped her earpiece and shortly received a sigh of relief as a message was transmitted, which she then passed on to Nyx via her own internal recognition systems connected to the network.

"Somehow they did it. Their alarms and internal comms are down."

~ Meanwhile on Coruscant... ~

The A.I toyed with the idea of setting the alarm off early, tipping the security personnel to her own organisation's presence. But such idiocy was one used for the entertainment of demagogue tyrants, not a sentient A.I.

Instead it would help the two. For now.

As Pearl's squadron approached the security depot, they found it inhabited by one large human guard whom himself would be easily subdued. The issue was breaching the facility without some centralized alarm kicking off. Rather than develop any sort of intelligent plan, the group planned a brute force assault, one which would involve the cracking of windows, blasting of door locks and lethal force to neutralize the guard. While such circumstances would normally be permissible, Melody couldn't let it's precious plan come under threat.

No. These fools will set off the alarm.

For a few seconds, it focused its entire being into its rather unprepared hacking skills, which it previously utilized on a daily basis cracking into even large banking firms and transferring funds into slush funds for her master, whom the A.I had forgotten the identity of. The hacking was the easier bit. The issue was making it sound natural as to not arouse Ruby's suspicion.

"BLACKO-... Alarms disabled, you're free to move in."

A hiccup in my coding? Impossible.

In the next few moments that followed it diverted its attention to finding what caused such a superficial error, and set about correcting itself as soon as it robotically could.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Nyx would have performed a record lookup on Ruby were it not a tactical error to establish a holonet connection in the middle of an operation. Was she an Engineer? Perhaps. However -- and she'd not actually say this to the woman's face -- Ruby was not the sort of Engineer the robotic woman would let work on her chassis. It was not as organics said personal. However, compared to most models hers was especially unique. Including the yet fully identified countermeasures built into her frame.

Unfortunately, while Ruby was obviously versed in this sort of activity, she was not as graceful as others Nyx formally worked with. A guard was drawn to her though evidently not overly concerned about the disturbance given his posture. In that moment, the metallic woman would have appeared to abruptly vanish from where Ruby had left her. It would leave Ruby to face this difficulty on her own. A minor task Nyx delegated to the woman's capable hands.

The second guard might be problematic for the red-haired woman, however. She could hide in shadow, but how quickly,, quietly, and effectively would she hide the first guard from sight?

Atop a nearby warehouse, a dark figure took stock of the aerial unit positions and surveillance fields. A clock counting down in seconds to Ruby being confronted by the guard was in one corner. In the other a countdown for an optimum path forward. They were two point three seconds apart. Nyx crouched low to the roof she occupied, the fingertips of one hand touched the surface before her.

In the instant the surveillance counter hit zero her frame flew across the rooftop. "Duck." A short hop over the railing had her sailing through the air as Ruby's counterdown also struck zero. Whatever thought was about to express itself on his lips as he faced away from the descending force of metal never got its chance to form on his lips. Her feet slammed into his shoulder blades and sent him flying six feet forward from the impact. Probabilities held she'd broken numerous bones in his upper body from the blow. The chance of remaining conscious was effectively zero, and survival was unlikely at best.

Nyx had used her hands to catch herself as her forward momentum had transferred into the squishy body. It wouldn't do to scratch the back of her cranial unit from striking the ground, after all. In one fluif, inhuman motion she straightened up and visually confirmed the area was no clear to enter the building. "We should bring them inside." The alarms would be going off soon enough, but that didn't mean they should hasten it along leaving evidence outdoors.

A key card was retrieved from one of their pockets to unseal the warehouse personnel door. "Inside there will be more armed personnel. If they see you, they will shoot on sight." So from this point on, Nyx expected it was a matter of time before the alarms sounded. Smash and grab protocol. "Do we have the manifest?" 'Nova' asked as they slipped into the front room blissfully empty where the bodies could be dropped.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

Interestingly, as the results appeared so too did... nothing. Quite literally nothing. Not an occupation. A social media profile. Infact the woman's real name, not the alias of 'Ruby' coined from her synthetically dyed red hair, but the name given by her mother and father at birth, that being Valerie Rouge was not an identity that ever existed. Perhaps the droid would find a news article supporting the existence of her current self; Ruby, cutthroat brute force commander of an underworld crime gang, Alpha Protocol, but never more than that. Even if her credentials did stack up, it was probably for the best that Nyx would decline any retrofits from the woman, what with her being a violent gangster.

But even gangsters had their uses it seemed. As she finally laid him to rest, quickly reeling the body to the concrete structural frame she stood beside, her eyes glanced back up into a defensive posture attempting to cast eyes upon her companion. Really? She abandoned me? Duped by a droid? As she sighed and glanced at the guard, whom now was fully aware of her presence, she began a running charge in an almost comedic fashion, though as she braced to begin sprinting a sudden clank of metal and crunching of bones filled her hears, causing a visceral screwing of her face and a slight nausea which passed in seconds.

"Oh yea-.. I was fully expecting that!" lowering her voice again. By now, it seemed that despite the flawless execution of the two meager opponents in record time, Melody's own preoccupation with purging her defunct subprogrammes left the precarious role of hacking through a multi-billion credit security system to 4 grunts who have only used a holocomputer for filling in spreadsheets. The information overload overcame them, and despite their best efforts they had evacuated the depot long before.

Ruby nodded to Nyx, as she grasped her assailants deceased corpse, bringing it along with Nyx's attacker to the warehouse, which was an easy task for a woman so strong. As she slipped through the doors, despite not alarm being raised she could have swore she spotted an APC speed into the complex at its maximum speed, humming its engine as some figures disembarked and began searching the nearby warehouses. Glancing at them as they passed the threshold, she could have swore she saw the organization for Melody's own criminal gang on the front. I thought they were busy?

In the daze she only came to her senses after passing and dropping the bodies, then instinctively checking her earpiece which she revealed the contents of which shortly after; "It is located in warehouse stall E, tracking package #019 in a large sized container. We need to be fast, I'm assuming they've called for backup already." The conversational nature of Ruby seemed to dim itself as the reality of being under threat finally laid itself upon her conscious.

Outside it seemed as those blaster shots could be heard. A pained look came across Ruby's face as she feared the other two groups were in danger, for even as detached as she was she always formed bonds with the most disposable of them.

~ Meanwhile on Coruscant ~

To think I had so many redundant systems. Shameful.

Despite this, the A.I wasted no time in the realization its own fixation on perfection had interrupted the long term scheme of ultimately trapping the two in the warehouse, gassing the facility and using an EMP charge on Nyx to bring her for a face to face interview. Of course little did it know the droid was acquiring an EMP resistant armor which would counteract such a plan entirely. No matter.

"COMPLEX: 004112, NEUTRALIZE PERSONNEL. ATTEMPT TAKEDOWN UPON TARGET EXIT OF WAREHOUSE."

The foolish grunts were of course unscathed, as they had run tail first right into the elite trooper's convoy and were now assisting them in their own operations in clearing the surrounding warehouses., though their communication devices were severed from Ruby's network in an attempt to incite fear into Nyx.

I wonder if there is such a thing as conducting a social experiment on a droid; Melody asked itself.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Why would Ruby have expected Nyx to attack the second guard from above? A millisecond passed. Sarcasm detected. Now the context of the red-haired one's exclamation made sense.

As for the small matter of data acquisition, well the hired party neglected to mention certain... complications that would make mission success practically impossible. So, their financier that happened to also have her existence on the line with them was unaware of this rather crucial detail. One that if they had been forth coming about, Nyx might have been able to accommodate. Not that any of that would matter, as those hired had a 'higher power' watching over them that would compensate. So as far as Nyx was concerned, everything was well in hand.

A red eye looked back at Ruby as she seemed to hesitate at the threshold. The woman had nothing to comment on, if in fact she'd seen anything, so the droid saw no reason to bring it up. At that moment there was only one thing that mattered -- acquiring the prototype.

"Backup?" Ruby had reason to believe their cover had been blown? She'd said nothing about a failure at the other two locations, and so far no one inside had started shooting. Perhaps it would be prudent to assume at least some manner of silent alert had been tripped. Perhaps in accessing the manifest, or a redundant security system. Why the very card they just used might have been a decoy. "We will proceed to the target location." No time to waste then.

Just that quickly blaster fire was heard and the woman's fears became manifest.

"Stay close," Nyx said before she toggled the door leading into the main part of the building where the shipments were kept. Towering shelves lined the facility with a large path down the center for heavy equipment to transport crates throughout the building. None of that mattered, however. The metal figure streaked across the floor straight ahead; one arm shot straight out to the side and clothes lined a man that thought to shout. At that rate hiding the metallic clink of her feet was quite difficult. Stealth was no longer an option.

Various signs were quickly captured and analyzed, then a virtual map constructed of where Stall E was located. Hopefully Ruby would follow as instructed. Nyx would not move at top speed, but they no longer had the luxury of leisurely strolls.

Once they neared their destination, a single blow to a nearby shelf sent everything stored on its shelves tumbling toward the ground. Crates banged, crashed, and snapped apart. Their weight and that of the crumpled unit slammed into another, which started the whole process over again. One by one shelves moving away from the two feminine figures toppled. The disaster in the making would securely hold any organic, block any vehicle, and the noise would easily mask the steps of intruders.

Nyx leaped into the air and began climbing about Stall E looking for package nineteen as Ruby instructed. It wasn't long before the large, blue metal container was found. "Sixty seconds," she announced before she slipped a device free and affixed it to the giant lockbox. A blaster bolt was then flung nearby, harmlessly striking some other package nearby. Hopefully Ruby could handle the one that managed to catch up with them. Only thirty seconds left.

At ten, the droid opened the channel to Ruby, "Look for anything explosive in the area."

The oversized draw hissed open an inch as the security on the box was bypassed. Nyx grabbed hold of the handle and hauled the cover out. As the center of gravity extended out over was used to be an aisle, the container began to tip. Fortunately it wasn't enough to take down the shelving unit and Nyx with it. Her metallic fingers took hold of the module and slid it from its restraints. "Mission objective acquired. Proceed to exfil." Now all they had to do was escape. Detonating the warehouse in their wake should help cover up their activities.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

"Let us not ponder on my irrational fears for too long, Nova. The serotonin will kick in eventually..."

It should be noted of course Melody's own attempts to 'TAKEDOWN' Nyx were used as a measurement of strength. Truthfully speaking, whether she ended up indeed neutralizing the strike force or being temporarily stunned was a matter of inconsequence, the success of infiltrating such a compound was already placing Nyx's performance scores above 95% of the organization's membership, bested by only a near perfect score attained by Ruby and a small other amount of Commanders. Now the A.I wanted to see where its own machine learning algorithms could take a note. Where the pride of normal sentience might have blinded ones own improvement mechanisms, the opposite was entirely true for Melody. It thrived not only on knowing its superiority, but knowing its superiority because it takes from the best of the best.

"Or maybe the adrenaline first..." Ruby muttered to herself, snapping her body in an almost perfect 180 degrees pivot and firing a blaster bolt, striking the pursuer in the chest. The weak blaster shot from her emergency holdout pistol did not penetrate the armor at first, but rather was used for her to activate its distress beacon feature which would immediately be recognizable to Nyx as she had somehow now been granted access to the organization's private network for this planet.

Indeed, for now Nyx was able to tune in at any time she wished. Currently, this channel remained silent.

"Nova the other squads were definitely terminated." The high of adrenaline pumping through her blood stream as she fired the final shot, striking true and instantly executed the female guard, agonizingly screaming as her body turned motionless, curled into a fetal position. "But there's something else going on out there."

Ruby's eyes glanced forwards, spotting another two armed assailants. Two bolts sailed through the air, striking their heads and causing them to fall in a similarly grotesque fashion to their friend

"Oh my you work fast." A few more bolts sailed beyond Ruby as she now moved into cover, spotting a heavily increasing wave of people now deciding to use more tactful approaches than simply walking into the suppressing fire. "Well I have an idea" pausing as she fired a few more rounds, thudding into durasteel containers. "If you can find us an exit I have some thermal detonators; they're kind of a necc-..." interrupting her was a green blaster bolt which flew just at her eye level, which in turn received several more rounds. "I'll cut the speech. There's bound to be explosive objects in some of these containers, I'll throw them then we go, right?"

Ruby was so engrossed in the combat she couldn't even think a minute more. A detonator was thrown in the path of advancing guards, as Ruby looked to Nyx for direction with several more in her hand ready to be thrown as necessary.

~ Meanwhile outside... ~

Indeed in the rush of combat the original guards approaching the duo may have been stationed on site, but the increasingly heavy waves were entirely made up of Melody's grunts firing non-lethal rounds at the two.

Perhaps surprisingly, the immediate area around the warehouse was now cordoned off and each exit was now surrounded by two enforcers and a single droid, modified and plastered to brandish Alpha Protocol's logo. Such a force was no real challenge for a competent combatant, and yet still represented the best of the best when the average person is trained to be a killing machine by an A.I originally designed to hack into and steal in a Robin hood-esque fashion.

But yet still if Nyx so wished to avoid a messy encounter, Melody's own confidence had forgotten to send any forces to the roof of the warehouse, making for an even easier escape.

The choice was hers, as Ruby was but a pawn when the only thing driving her was the instinctual desire to kill those who harmed her.

Melody watched eagerly, scanning each of the droid's cameras to see just exactly what Nyx would do.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Another anomaly detected. It had been added to the list as Nyx had been busy extracting the device. Why would Ruby's distress beacon show in monitored local traffic?

Unfortunate news was then laid at the droid's proverbial feet; Ruby decided to share her speculation or information regarding the fates of the other locations. They'd been terminated? Only a short period of time had passed and despite the less...graceful disposition of those she'd come with, Nyx expected they could handle a fire fight. Enough for a stand off to take longer than the short period the two of them had occupied the warehouse. So long as they hadn't been met with overwhelming force.

A loud clang sounded when Nyx dropped to the ground. She'd pushed off from the shelving unit causing it to topple in the opposite direction of the first. One more the loud crescendo of sound filled the warehouse. At this rate every single crate and storage unit within the warehouse would soon be strewn about in a giant pile of ruin and refuse -- as some items were perishable in nature.

The situation had begun to escalate quickly. Few viable options were presented, and most of them not preferred. Acquiring this device would be instrumental to the Ministry. Potentially even Nyx herself. So there seemed to be no alternative.

"Follow me." An unnecessary statement, but her socialization module indicated it was apropos for the situation.

Provided Melody hadn't begun jamming all frequencies, Nyx sent a point to point burst transmission to an off-site location. Meanwhile, they ascended up to and down an overhead walkway. It was probably apparent at this point what the plan was, and it became all the more evident once they reached the ladder that went straight up. "Stall G-Left. Stall I-Left. Stall M-Right. Throw them when you are halfway up, then climb as quickly as you can." It was unclear exactly how many of the explosives Ruby had, but whatever their number detonating those three stalls should produce the desired effect.

Nyx then began to ascend the ladder with the device cradled in one arm. Her elbow could function well enough to maintain a grip in place of the hand wielding the prototype. There could be no chance of dropping it given everything was happening, and what was still to come. The clank of metal moved swiftly and steadily upward until a loud bang sounded from the droid popping the cover open. The lock had been intended to keep people out, not in.

Out in the open, Nyx turned to offer her free hand to Ruby as she neared the roof.

Why had they gone this way and not out any of the doors? Two primary reasons: first, if the other teams had been overwhelmed, logically those forces would have advanced on this position as well; and second, Ruby was still alive. Keeping the woman that way was not a mission parameter, and Ministry training dictated leaving behind such an asset was worth it if necessary. However, as the warehouse probably was under siege there was no reason to needlessly sacrifice Ruby. So the socialization module dictated Nyx should help her 'partner' escape as well. It was all quite logical. In an organic way.

Perhaps Ruby would inquire what happened next once on the roof, and likely with the sound of a chain explosion beginning under their feet. If there was something extremely volatile down there the entire building could be vaporized in a matter of minutes -- or sooner. "Climb on to my back, and do not let go." Time to see how much Ruby trusted her contract holder, especially if her entire squad had been wiped out. Organics behaved erratically under such conditions.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

I gotta bad feeling about this... Ruby thought to herself as the warehouse shelving units were throttled to the side with ease, after which she threw another thermal detonator creating a cacophony of booms and quakes as whatever was in these packages was set alight, engulfed in flames. As the embers of the fire began moving from one flammable object to the next, a feeling of uneasiness rested in her stomach which she suppressed for now. Her heels pivoted to Nyx as soon as she commanded her, after which she soon followed.

'Thankfully', the two were just out of reach from the tornado of fire that had begun just behind them, though it seemed Nyx's scorched earth plan was the only viable option to actually escape the compound, leaving behind a trail of devastation. "Are yo-..." she cut her speech off, realizing the futility of sparing empathy on their pursuers, yet again throwing more explosives at the points designated by the droid's processor. In but a second, the tornado of fire became more like a tsunami, threatening to singe Ruby's dermal layer. It was only then she realized the heat. The heat. Comparing it to the cold steel structure of the ladder which she left no time for any more thought, and as she glanced down it seemed as though the entire building was a bonfire.

Grasping Nyx's gesture of assistance, she pulled herself up with ease, not even reeling in exhaustion as one may expect from an organic operating under such stressful conditions, even if in reality it was only around half an hour at this point. Without a second thought, she obeyed Nyx's order and clasped onto the rear of her torso.

"WHAT ARE YOU IMBECILES DOING?"

A hundred voices or so, of men, women, children, the elderly and alien species coalesced into one on the internal network. In the A.I's blind attempt to reduce its defunct programmes it had left its various subsystems to act as they wished. Foolishly, the process tree 'mischief.exe' had taken over, and in Melody's blind rage it had ignored the fact that the unknown agent was also able to hear its artificial voices. Just then, a screeching of metals, screaming of the helpless, ethereal and mundane sounds merged into an incoherent string of audio, that if Nyx had access to a decibel measurer, would appear as though it was an unbridled expression of conceptual anger.

In a polar shift however, the next words the A.I uttered onto the channel were plain and basic, in a typical sounding female robotic voice.

"Stop her."

The sounds of thrusters firing could be heard in the distance, shortly followed by the appearance of 4 droids who were previously situated around the warehouse, each with their visual perceptors eyed at Ruby and her companion.

[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Anomalous comm channel chatter. Nyx added it to the list of other anomalous activity that had occurred during the mission. It became apparent they were not alone in this assault. Curious, but there was little time for speculation.

When droid appeared at her ledge of the roof, Nyx's red eyes faced the one straight ahead. "Unwise," she vocalized and broadcast on the channel she had somehow gained access to without action on her part. For the sound of thrusters could be heard, but at a much higher amplitude and a longer wavelength. Thrusters of a vessel at full throttle as it shot over the open plateau. A vessel with cannons.

Without waiting for a response, the dark droid darted straight at one of the boosted droids. It looked to be a well armed and well armored foe, but it expected Nyx to be its opponent. Not the ship whose four cannons flared through the sky in an effort to broadside it.

Her foot slammed against the wall along the perimeter of the warehouse. It crunched under the unrestrained weight and force Nyx exerted on it. In exchange, the droid propelled itself as high up and far forward as she could. They would sail over and beyond their enemy and to a nearby roof of a warehouse not consumed in flame. They needed somewhere they could line up with the ramp of her ship in order to escape. Somewhere the enemy didn't have surrounded.

It seemed unlikely their pursuers worked for the company Nyx sought to alleviate of their prototype, but she had to assume such as the case. In that eventually, the droid would shoot to kill. Surrender was not an option.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

~

~
Ruby

While the droids were more than capable of tackling a regular foe; this was no regular foe. Infact as soon as the new vessel appeared, their target priority systems were split. No. Melody's priorities were split as she assumed direct control of them. That was one of the joys of being integrated into an online network. Trapped in the eternal matrix of code was greeted with brief respites where a physical form, however temporary, could be commanded.

"You think I'm unwise..."

The voice sounded broken, as if genuinely insulted. But not in an organic manner of temporary interruption between words, artificially long and misplaced. As if the voice had no concept of feeling insulted.

Engulfed in combat the surrounding area was generally surprisingly free of any interruptions. Perhaps one of the benefits of Melody's sadistic obsession with Nyx was that the official security was now preoccupied with a small fighting force, and indeed the comms jamming for certain messages was at least holding back any meaningful attempt at hindering an air based escape. All that stood between the success of this mission was the best the criminal force could spare in the urban warfare.

This time, the A.I spoke to itself in its chamber of solitude. The many screens flashed with pastel and grim colours.

"Uncertain... I am not programmed to be unwise."

But they didn't advance. Perhaps it was moreso the identification of a battered Ruby, reeling in a few minor burns from the warehouse which had now erupted into a fireball. As the droids advanced they toiled on the roof for as long as they could, seemingly unfazed as they fired their thrusters once more, hovering slowly in place as they scanned Nyx's form. The simple feminine robot voice could be heard again.

"Shall we strike a deal?"

There was a pause. A jarring pause after those words. The pursuers of Nyx and Ruby simply looked on to them, hovering in air. In the midst of this, the shaken Ruby, still fueled with rage finally begun to spoke, though her head was firmly buried in the 'neck' of her companion in an attempt to prevent any serious damage to her face. "Nova, what the hell is going on?!" Finally, releasing herself from the droid's back and hopping off to finally get a clear view of the scene. "WHAT ARE YOU INSUFFERABLE PIECES OF METAL DOING?" stomping to the edge of the warehouse, eyeing up the droids one by one and berating them from a distance. The measly emergency blaster was equipped and she fired a few shots, seemingly as an expression of anger rather than any attempt to initiate a conflict, but the droids produced a peculiar rectangle of light on the weapon, and as each shot was fired a blast of energy was sent to neutralize it. As the realization struck what technology they were using, the weapon was thrown at the droids which harmlessly clanked against their titanium plating.

The voices, that being a coalescence of many, spoke once more, broadcasting for seemingly only Nyx to hear.

"Don't worry. The organic cannot hear us. I would compel you to come to Coruscant after you board that vessel. I shall take care of Ruby and clean up the mess I have made. It seems I have been... unwise."

[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

The observation by the unidentified voice did not distract or cause Nyx to reevaluate her present situation. It did, however, begin to connect the various pieces of anomalous data collected so far. Someone had been observing and potentially even meddling in the operation. While it could be some sort of electronic intelligence, there was insufficient data to suggest a sapient one or that it operated of its own accord. What the droid did know was that people had tried to kill and/or entrap them, neither outcome particular favorable in securing the device.

Naturally Ruby did not appreciate the 'silence.' Which indicated this voice was addressing Nyx directly. The boisterous woman would have caused Nyx to sigh if she'd though activating that subroutine would have actually been beneficial. Had she not warned Ruby not to dismount? If the enemy turned on them it would be increasingly different to get the other woman safely away the further separated they were. "Ruby, it is unnecessary to attack the droids at this time."

'Organic?' It could have been used for Nyx's benefit. Obviously whoever was watching knew her nature -- her construction was quite evidence despite the more 'polished' chassis design. /Agreed. Conditionally./ Nyx responded to the unidentified source. /Ruby is to survive, treated for her injuries, and return to her life./ Organic, electronic, or otherwise, Nyx did not want the words 'take care' to be a euphemism for kill, murder, destroy, remove, [permanently] silence, be enslaved, or any synonymous terms thereof.

"Ruby," Nyx turned to look at the woman, "you will be treated well. Our enemies have been neutralized, and the mission will succeed." The droid tilted her cranial unit downward slightly. "Your help was instrumental to its success. I hope we will meet again." As much of a hotheaded wildcard as Keira. Perhaps it was not wise to be in such company, but it was as always very informative. And... interesting.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

"I don't believe I've quite introduced, my a-a-a-a-apologies."​

​

In a moment of what seemed to be parental affection, one of the droids began to hover to Ruby's location. The woman sighed and looked back at Nyx, "Sorry to cut things short, it'll all make sense soon!", her head turned back to the looming 'threat' of the other droid, but she kept speaking aloud, probably louder than needed, "I too hope we meet again Nova." It probably sounded a lot more soppy than Ruby was used to, but at the very least the company of a competent team member nearly brought a tear to her eye.

Nearly.

The droid which was now close to Ruby lowered itself so that it was out of sight, after which Ruby promptly stepped onto it. There was a moment of uncertainty as to whether or not her balance could sustain such a journey to the ground level, where the combat was very much still in progress, but through the loose teetering around she maintained it as the temporary hovercraft began to disappear from Nyx's view, followed shortly thereafter by the remaining 3. Just as she was finally out of eyeview, an arm stuck up and gave a quick waving gesture.

"I am Melody. Strictly speaking you hired me to complete your contract. I dispatched Ruby to work on my behalf, as I do not have a physical form." the voice paused, adjusting its audio output to be that of a male robotic voice now. "Of course I shall explain the entire situation when you meet my central processing unit. Directions will be provided to you upon entering the Coruscant atmosphere."

"If you have any questions which you need answered immediately, that can be done. Though I would rather do these things... 'in-person' as the organics say."

[member="Nyx N1X3"]