[member="Formorta"],
The assassin would have successfully closed in on the droid, who seemingly was either too busy talking with another machine to notice, or didn't care for her attack. However when she tried to slash him on the neck, or back, whichever she chose in the end, something she may not have planned for happened. A shimmering blue energy layer lighted up around him, surface of
Abregado Combat Shield triggered by her attack. One could wonder how the droid was able to notice Formorita and activate the shield when the previous patron who attacked him seemed to be able to punch him just fine without it triggered. He didn't, or at least didn't had to, due to the shield's Matrix Focus HK could instinctively channel its power to reinforce specific points, or lower it in specific parts without cycling it on and off completely. So when the man tried to punch him, the droid simply focused the deflector shield to other part of his body, letting the organic break his hand on his face instead of being thrown back, and then returned the deflector shield to its normal state covering his body, which was then triggered by the assassin.
Closing her blade in Formorita would feel a peculiar feeling within the weapon, and her hand, for the closer it got the more his shield begun to magnetize it and repel it away from him. It wasn't an impossible barrier to cross as most of the time his deflector shield wasn't able to completely stop slugs but only slow them down to minimize the damage, but then again one could presume she was not stabbing or slashing with the same force that was put behind a bullet. Trying to attack him in melee, at least with the shield up, would require much more effort than she would originally suspect, at least to keep up the speed of it as without it the shield would make her more sluggish, trying to push and throw the blade away from the droid.
So Formorita would have a choice to face, she could stick with it and try to still slash the droid across the back or neck, which she would be able to do and then there was the question of how well the chitinous armored plates of
the protective biot he wore fared against a melee strike, as well as whether or not it affected
the Phrik-forged combat body underneath it. However it would make her vulnerable as pushing in with her strike and triggering the deflector shield it caused the machine to notice her presence. And while she attacked, with a whir and soft growl of the biot around the droid, she would end up staring off with HK, his faceplate turned even as he still spoke to the other droid in the face, looking right at her, or at least in her direction. One of his hands would snap then and extend to try and grab Formorita while she struck across his armored plates and his body to whip her overhead and fling her away from him across the establishment into the bar where he had previously thrown a Gamorrean, where Switch and Lancer were still fighting. An attack and counter-attack.
Or she could just back off while she could to change her plan once the droid's deflector shield was activated, his faceplate would still whir around to try and face whoever it was but by the time she retreated away from him, instead of taking extra time and energy to push through the force field, when his hand would snap to try and grab her, his six fingers would only close around empty air as darkness rolled in around them from the shadow-sorcery summoned by one of the other bar patrons.
It was actually a desired effect that Formorita was so annoyed with the machine, for he had a very peculiar fighting style. Being a droid, and especially one with so many tricks, gadgets, and designs like HK, he was much more effective in close combat, and he knew very well just how annoying he was, plus he loved attention. So his strategy usually was to taunt or make comments, whether witty or just dumb, to focus the attention of enemy on him, let them come to him instead of the other way around, for even if they landed hits on him, well there was a reason why he considered himself immortal. His outer Vong-based armor was designed to withstand heavy caliber weaponry, and it protected him from other Forces
wink, his Phrik body could withstand plenty of punishment including lightsaber strikes, and due to his many redundant and backup systems he could survive much more than a common organic soldier. For example even if Formorita managed to decapitate him, the droid would be still active, both his head, which would of course keep talking, and the rest of his body, which would keep fighting. It wouldn't be the first time if HK was decapitated, had to finish the fight, and then fuse his head back onto his body and carry on like nothing happened.
[member="VZX-73258 ~Mr. Copper~"],
Meanwhile, as HK dealt with Formorita, and the unnatural darkness rolled in around them from one of the Force users in the bar, he kept on talking with the other machine, of course, being able to speak while dividing his attention on the fight, because machines are good at multi-tasking,
"
Oh well I am so sorry, Princess,"
HK replied to Copper in as good start as any to potential partnership,
"
But that is literally what you were in relations to me, you were designated as Unidentified Unit, just as this piss-sack attacking me is designated as Unidentified Hostile Target, until I learn what your identification is!"
The older droid explained to Copper,
"
Nice to make your acquaintance Monsieur Copper, as to how our alliance will help you, well since you are a droid like me, and I am actively talking to you in this bar fight, if one of the organics decide to attack you, or more likely more of them form a droid-lynching mob, I will help you fight them off! It will be easier to survive through this if we work together!"
Of course HK wasn't personally worried about surviving the bar fight, since again, he considered himself to be an immortal, if not divine, being, but the logic angle usually worked with other droids in the past when it came to arguments and proposals.
"
After the fight I can always arm and equip you, I have access to plenty of resources and I know of a group of free droids like me who banded together!"
[member="Lancer Damar"], [member="Switch"], [member="Vokun"], [member="Captain Marek"], [member="Marcus Itera"], [member="Ghorua the Shark"],
Speaking of resources,
As the inky blackness of Vokun's making rolled out across the bar, HK grabbed his lightsaber with his free hand, lifting it up like a lantern and activating it. A pure-white blade of light pierced the shadows amassing among them, driving them away in the droid's immediate area, which would probably include Lancer, Switch, and Formorita, whether or not she decided to slink away from the machine. It was
the Sliver of Light, an ancient lightsaber HK used especially when fighting darksiders. At its core the laser sword had a Solari crystal imbued with constant presence of the Light Side long ago, allowing neutral beings like droids to use it, and giving it special abilities. Its abilities were few, it could not cut or burn through normal beings, it burned with the aura of the Light Sight, serene glow of peace and hope that could have been now felt washing over those in his proximity as it drove away portion of the shadows, and it was especially useful against Shadow-Sorcery, or what some called Umbrakinesis, among other things since the droid used it to fight off Sith constructs, ghosts, and a Force-Wound at one point, also vampires.
Either way, as its light begun to dispel the shadow manipulation in his vicinity, returning visibility to some of the patrons, plus maybe allowing them to reconsider whether to fight or not, as they were touched by the aura of the Light Side, Zaiden would probably be able to recognize the lightsaber, and the droid, as in the past HK used it before to neutralize and literally cut off and dispel his shadow-constructs before.
"
A million platinum coins for the first person who finds whoever decided to bring Shadow Sorcery into a bar fight, breaks their wrists, kneecaps, and feeds them their own chit! Or someone else's chit! I am not that picky!"
HK called out, announcing an impromptu bounty within the bar, which pretty much cancelled out the serenity of peaceful push of the Lightside he threw out to dispel the shadows around him by starting to rile up the mob once more. He decided to use actual physical currency instead of credits because for one thing, he didn't knew if credits were or were not good there, for the other he could afford it, running his own company with multiple successful deals, and thought that showering someone in platinum coins would look pretty cool.
