Dominion How befuddling! (SJC Dominion of Makeb Hex)

[Brooke Waters]

The blonde had a lot to consider in the next few moments. How was she going to fight these things. Her blade, the Kattadan Pearl off her local reef, giving the blade a warm, like sun-warmed sea water, feel. She knew that the Force was with her, she was a servant of the Light Side and the White Magick. As she was protecting others, so she would be protected herself. Watching the balls come in, she stepped forward, one slash and another, two came falling down to the ground around her. She heard the calls but she had her own people to protect. “I hear but I can’t abandon those here...” She shook her head, she couldn’t be everywhere, she wasn’t a hydra… But she wished.

Stepping forward, the Brubreen-Hybrid threw another blast of resonance out, knocking two more out of the water before using a Jedi technique to throw her net forward at another as she rolled and shouted out a spell to reinforce a wall before another of the golden balls hit it. She was muttering the spell, coming out in a song, to hold up the wall until she couldn’t feel the vibrations in it anymore. With her lightsaber in hand, Brooke turned, another snitch bearing down on her.

Moving, the Witch was working to get her blade ready but she knew she was going to be too slow, and at that same moment, the snitch crashed into the ground, before her feet, allowing her time to step over it. That was when the blonde had heard the call from Caedyn over the system.

“Roger that… Its working out here. Everyone else?” She spoke over the comms. Brooke would give it a moment before heading over to check on her civilians.

Caedyn Arenais Seva Geroux Janick Beauchamp

 

[Seva Geroux]

Brooke Waters , Caedyn Arenais, Janick Beauchamp

“Blast,” Seva cursed in vexation. She'd heard the comm chatter, they'd acknowledged her at least. But much to her chagrin, no one was coming. At least, not right now.

It was such an annoyance when people could not simply drop what they were doing to come to her aid.

She had somehow managed to free the little drone that had been entangled in her hair, good timing, too, because it went on a fast fit of flight after that. Seva shuddered to think the hair she might have lost if she had had failed. But, as she stared across the shop – the shopkeeper was still being bombarded despite being curled up on the ground.

“Oh bother,” she said, sighing heavily and rising from her hiding spot. Seva reached for a broom that sat in the corner, and brandished it bravely. Tiptoeing over, she swung the bristle-end of the broom wildly above her, whacking at the flying things. She connected with one, sending it into the wall with a rather satisfying thud.

But victory was short-lived as the rest came screeching towards her.

Seva began screeching, too, her bravery utterly spent.

She closed her eyes tight, expecting to be pummeled by the golden spheres... but instead she heard 'plop, plop, plop' as the remaining drones fell to the floor, motionless.

Seva pushed out a breath, and looked down at the shopkeeper. He was bleeding from a scratch on his brow, and he had a black eye... but he looked alright. Good. Whatever this was, it was over – and they could finally get on with the rest of their day. As for the young noble, she was going to sequester herself in the spa -- she deserved some pampering after this whole ordeal!

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Objective 2
Allies: Seva Geroux Brooke Waters Caedyn Arenais

While the other Jedi were busy on the surface dealing with the drones, Janick was hard at work operating a patch that would overwrite the corrupted firmware of the mainframe. However, there was no time for properly testing the patch before deployment could ensue, nor for documenting it, so she is taking considerable risks in doing so, and it may well take a while for other computer experts at the Concord's disposal to "pay off" the resulting "technical debt" if any issues arise. But maybe Janick was simply repaying technical debt accrued because of shoddy coding from whoever is responsible for the drone problem. Once the patched code is being compiled, as for being readied for deployment, Janick gets nervous, as the urgency of the situation mounts, and the patch's deployment is about to start. But once the patch is deployed to the mainframe, and, from there, to all of the slave devices under its control, the devices start calming down and return to some semblance of normalcy.

 

[Centin Tillo]

Objective: BYOO
Location: City streets
Tags: Risen

The small band of hired thugs vanished with Risen inside the interior of Waerlub’s “palace”. He’d always hated that place. Especially because they called it a palace. The grimy, run-down interior of a small-time crime lord’s base was about as close to a palace as Centin’s dorm room at Silver Rest was. Actually no, his dorm room was closer.

Looks like it’s time.

He figured that there wouldn’t be too much time before things broke bad inside, so he packed up his belongings in a rush and made his way down from the balcony, back out onto the city streets.

The place hadn’t changed much, all things considered. Sure, there were plenty of venues that he didn’t recognize. New restaurants, hotels, and even the occasional salon all passed by him as he raced through the metropolis. But they all still stood in the same old foundations as their predecessors. The cracks in the streets’ pavement were all even in the same spots, though it wasn’t possible those were the same ones from when he was a boy. No, those would’ve been filled some time ago, hidden until the weight of never-ending foot traffic and tow-motors wore it back down. This odd familiarity despite the alterations brought him more comfort in his old home than he thought possible. Slowly but surely his initial apprehensions about returning began to fade away.

The reminiscing session couldn’t last forever though. He approached the outskirts of the complex and halted, waiting for a break in the guard presence. His wait didn’t last long as the guards finished their brief circle of the perimeter before hurrying back to their seats near the entrance. They seemed eager to return to a game they were playing, probably some sort of gambling. Centin huffed at the sight. That’s what Waerlub had always failed to understand. No matter how much money you pay them, when push comes to shove, a hired thug is a hired thug.

The guards’ preoccupation allowed him to slip through unnoticed as he approached the central palace. He didn’t have to get too close to the large double doors before he heard the chatter of voices coming from inside, a discussion that sounded predictably one-sided.

He placed his vibroblade between his teeth and grabbed a chunk of loose stone. Bit by bit he began to scale the room’s exterior, using the occasional Force enhanced jump to hurry the process along. He reached the top quickly and peered through the circular windows near the domed roof. It seemed like a commotion had already begun, the shattering of glass quickly accompanied by shouts of alarm. His master leapt through the air with his spear aimed at the Hutt.

If there’s one thing you can say about him, he’s fast in everything he does.

With a second shatter the window below him burst as he applied a delicate Force burst to its exterior. He fell blade in hand towards the duo below. If everything went according to plan, the blunt of his blade would crack against his target’s shoulder and deliver a punishing blow.

 

[Risen]

Objective: Escape
Dramatis Personae: Centin Tillo , the Hutts

Spoiler: The Agreement

From All Due Respect:

“Fine. I can’t beat you. I get it now. So where does that leave us?”

“Rest. But the deal still stands, boy. Beat me, and I’ll step down as your master. Choose your weapon, your arena, your moment. I’ll let the other Jedi know it’s not some new outburst. Until then, you’ll come to training.”

“Yes,” Centin grumbled, “sir.”

Risen threw a side block and didn’t know why. Wrist to his ear, elbow bent, just like he’d done thousands of times over years of training. Braced against his wan-shen, the form would stop a strong hook or a charging rancor.

Pain, though. There was nothing you could do for that. Searing force hammered his shoulder.

Risen flared bright with energy. It was a form of absolute defense which he’d experienced only a handful of times: perfect clarity settled in his mind, his consciousness at last the same speed as his body. He wheeled into a back hook kick as a blaster fired elsewhere in the lounge, then went for the throat as it crawled through the air. His body knew what to do. He turned to face the aggressor —

“Centin?”

The clarity abated. Confusion took its place. Surprise, real surprise, hung on Risen’s face like it was chiseled there. But the blaster bolt that inched before now screamed towards them. He took the boy in a tackle as they dove for cover.

Was this… what was this?! Risen scrambled for a response, but the voice of the tall man in the expensive suit interrupted.

“I see you do know him after all. It is a pity we must rescind our offer of compensation.” He reached into his jacket, producing an anodized vibrodagger and electric knuckles.

“Waerlub thanks you for your time.”