Pale Moon Light (Bounce)

[Willa Isard]

Location: Gromas

[member="Bounce"]

Willa didn't know who she was meeting, or who had been sent in but she had some thoughts. With all the work she had been doing to help out her friend Zreame at Armatech well... she was looking at it all to make a big thing and standing there with Eve as the Human replica droid made a small face. THe last time she had been here on the world the remains of Lagoon squad had tried to kill her and she had let loose with Zreame to save themselves. Lorna's clone surviving and this time.... this time at least she was just here in the mines investigating bandit attacks.

They had gotten speeders and an armored transport as she was looking over some of the equipment and let the jericho armor close around her face. All the suits systems activating as she released the drones for her sniper system to give her a full layout of the battlefield and checked her wrist attachments. The darts and rockets clicking into place and she brought her hood over her helmet with a small smirk. She could at least try and get some nice things the silver jedi will be able to use and her rangers will need to work at things.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Gromas.

Who the feth named a planet Gromas? Seriously, it sounded like a sexually transmitted disease.

You okay, brah?
Nah, man. I think I caught the Gromas from that Twi'lek chick we met last night.

Not helping the outlook on the name was the fact that the Rangers had called in a medical droid to provide support on a phriking expedition. Maybe the Vahla he was sent to support was worried she was going to catch something. And not without good reason. With the phrik mines in operation, Gromas was the MidRim's biggest whore; open for business with spacers coming and going from port to port from all avenues of the galaxy. You had your Dark Side douchebags, Mandalorian wannabes, the obligatory washed out fighter jockey, and just about anyone with a light freighter and a pickaxe.

With the Primeval and Korriban to the galactic north, the Mandalorians to the west, Republic to the south, and SIlver Jedi to the east what you had on Gromas was the intersection of any number of species perpetuating airborne pathogens in a cornucopia of viral permutations.

Had he a respiratory function, the small droid would have taken a deep breath. Because he loved the smell of job security in the morning.

Approaching the coordinates for the rendezvous, the afro-headed droid resembled a dark skinned human youngling. Only the way he carried himself didn't seem to marry up to mere appearances. There was no awkwardness or excessive motion to his movements. They were precise, economical.

Plus, he was wearing Sasori Ranger Armor. With an old E-11 compact blaster rifle thrown over one shoulder, and two medpacs on his belt. He wouldn't be performing brain surgery... well, actually, he'd probably never perform brain surgery. He was a 4001A, not a 2-1B surgical droid. But, an emergency appendectomy or tracheotomy? He had it covered.

As he neared the rendezvous, the boy spotted a woman who looked like she fit the role of the Ranger.

That being, she looked like someone who'd still look pissed off smiling. In armor. And in general like she was someone as likely to kick his ass than say hello.

Also, the Vahla tattoo on her left cheek was something of an indicator.

"Ranger Isard?" the boy inquired, looking over the speeders and other equipment nearby. "BB-4001A," the droid supplied, glancing back up at the moment as he gave his make and model number.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa looked when she heard her name and her first instinct was reaching out to sense what she could.... but there was nothing there as her ears heard the crunch of something walking. Her head turned quickly when she heard the name and it was a designation while she looked at the droid raising for a moment her eyebrow. "Welcome to the part, I hope you got you game face on." There was a smirk on her face while she was looked at the Jericho armor helmet and sealing it. Her hood rising up while she started walking. "This is gromas and it is... well a fun place with all the chances you have for things."

She was walking and leading the way to a convoy that was loading barrels of phrik into the center of it. Willa looked at BB and spoke. "I don't have much time to explain but we are getting phrik for the rangers as payment for escorting it to the processing facility. Some bandits have been raiding them and they need protections." She took the rifle off of her back and held it while climbing up on top of the transport trucks looking at him. "Get your weapon ready and get into place we're going to be heading out soon enough and I am hoping changing the way to the facility will help but just in case."

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Move the phrik, get the reward.

What was there to explain? "Phrik it," the boy summarized, giving the woman a two-finger salute as he ran over to one of the cargo sleds carrying a load of ore. Kicking up from the ground, the boy-droid nimbly scaled up the side of the container. Settling into a position on top, the afro-headed medic slung the E-11 from off his shoulder and began to prep the weapon. Checking the gas canister, the youth flipped the rifle around the inspect that the blaster cartridge was secured in place. Unfolding the stock, the boy extended out the rifle to its full length before setting to work calibrating the mechanical sights along the top of the weapon.

Pulling the stock of the extended blaster into his shoulder, the small droid dropped into a three-point crouch as he brought the rifle up to test the alignment. "Phrik it good," he echoed, lowering the weapon down as the convoy prepared to roll out.

Now it was just a waiting game.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa had to admit there was a grin on her face while she was moving on the cargo transport. The drivers arriving she getting in as they were moving out. The sounds of the engines revving before they started to pull out of the mine area into the open landscape. While they were picking up speed heading down the pathway she could feel the sun beating down upon them. Her rifle coming off of her back and she held it against her shoulder while she was looking out around them. She watched the caravan go while checking a plume of dust in the distance with her scope. The very look of it had her searching for something that could draw their attention and she took to her knee watching on the horizon. They still had a long way to go while moving.

Meanwhile at the legion of doom

Charmane was looking out from the landspeeder they were in. The gang had been working to steal from the miners in transit and as her boss had run the raid on the old routes she had been sent out here as the duraplast armor gleamed a pale blue in the harsh light. They were moving towards the convoy before she held her rifle and blasters. A man going to the turret before they were speeding there and an explosion ripped across from the decoy transports that were blown up.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The droid's afro was blown back by the wind, the coarse fibers further brushed out by the effect of the wind through his thick head of hair.

Within the sealed, temperature regulated Antarian Ranger armor, the automaton was quite comfortable riding in the open air as the convoy sped along. Magnetic locks in the heel of his left boot kept him firmly grounded, as the suit was designed to be functional even in a zero-g or vacuum environment. Without a respiratory system or tear ducts, the boy weathered the wind in his face without complaint.

In all honesty, it was actually starting to look like it might actually be a decent ride. Tuning into the HoloNet through the remote slicer contained in his modified mainframe, the medical droid had been listening to the local talk show.

[ "My dear friends, the galactic media has done it again. Now they're saying that Hoth is melting! Well, that's crazy talk. And if that's not enough to get you mad, we've just learned that..." ]

An explosion ripped across the convoy. Planting his free hand down flat against the surface of the container he rode atop, the droid's gyro-stabilizers worked to maintain his balance as the transport slowed sharply, diverting its approach as it was waylaid by the interruption. The boy's droid brain ceased monitoring the HoloNets, as his processors instead turned to breaking down the replay of the last several seconds and extrapolating the physical interactions either explicit or implied by the kinetic display.

[ Theory: Explosive projectile. Calculating probable trajectory... ... ... ]

As the boy's head panned right, a landspeeder burst into view. With some heavy equipment of their own.

How convenient that the local tow truck was so close nearby...

[ Target acquired ]

Bringing the rifle up to the ready, the boy lined to sights on the blaster so that he had a bead on the approaching landspeeder at the front of the pack. Adjusting the angle of the barrel, the youth focused on the turret and gunner as the most obvious and immediate threat. A final series of physics calculus analyzed the firing geometry before running a final check against his standing orders for rules of escalation of force.

[ Rules of engagement: Self-Defense authorized. Weapon Condition: Red I ]

Bringing his trigger finger up, the droid fired off a series of three shots.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa saw the speeders coming at them and she was turning with her rifle as she set for a moment, her body going still while she was rocking in place for the time. Then she was looking at the ones coming after them and... these weren't normal ones. Heavy armor, heavy weapons they knew what they were doing. That meant some training on their part which she was looking at the drivers as shots from BB came at the speeder. The drivers side was peppered and he lowered himself to present a smaller target as rifles were pulled out and being set to fire on them. CRACK... the sound of the anti material rifle as she fired it into one of the wings of the speeder and there was an explosion.

The whirring sound came to her ears while she saw the driver struggling to get stabilized with one engine and keep them going while his men were jumping off onto another speeder. She reloaded and fired another shot jerking it with the force up as it hit the man in the leg while he went flying up into a twist. Another caught shots from BB while he was moving and his helmet cracked sending his head into the sand and a streak below the speeder until the body was coming off. Willa moved forward while the convoy sped up and the one directing them was behind one of the panes of glass. The men moving to jump on the furthest convoy back while Willa switched to the grenade launched under attachment firing into the path of another speeder to bank it into the damaged one and she saw a flip as they were going end over end."

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The recoil from the E-11 was absorbed by the hydraulic servos. The afro headed boy pulling the trigger and then immediately re-assessing the target priorities. His processors were overclocked, running calculations in tandem as he continually analyzed the different moving pieces of the battlefield before him. Determining the lines of motion and drift of the convoy. Anticipating the movement and reaction of the belligerents. Tracking their shots for vulnerabilities.

Even as he aimed and fired a single shot, he was already determining options for the next five targets.

The boarding of a rearward convoy vehicle presented some targeting challenges. Crawling along the sides of the boxcar-like transport, the droid didn't have an angle of attack that didn't risk compromising the vehicle or its cargo. While Isgard switched to the grenade launcher, the young droid folded the stock of his rifle under -- collapsing the blaster into a more compact form before slinging it over his shoulder.

Glancing at the boarded transport, the droid quickly assessed the distance between his firing position and the transport, the rate and angle of approach, and the geometry required to achieve the desired landing zone.

A jump of two-point-three meters ascent, with a forty-seven degree angle of attack, ought to suffice. With a margin of error of point-two meters in any cardinal direction.

With a click, the magnetic lock in his left heel disconnected from the top of the cargo sled. With a quick series of steps, the droid re-aligned his internal power systems to increase the output of the servos powering the thrust for his lower locomotive systems. Pushing hard with his legs, the diminutive youth sailed through the air as he made the leap from off the back of his own transport.

His own rate of motion in the air, with the convoy moving underneath him, altered the lines of physical geometry within a point-zero-five meter of the extrapolated drift. Tucking into a ball, the droid dispersed the kinetic energy as he made the landing. Flipping up to his feet, the afro-headed boy now stood atop the rear-most vehicle in the convoy -- just as three pirates were scaling up from the sides of the transport.

Reaching down to his waist, the youth brandished a pair of tonfa stun batons, the ends glowing with electrostaff charges as he went barreling toward the trio of thieves.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa watched what was happening quickly, taking in her droid back up as he jumped and she thought for a moment he might overshoot it but he was better able to calculate it then she would have been as she was moving now. on her transport. The sight of the landspeeders coming at them were still there but they had moved off now after having some of their men board. She was looking at them while they seemed to be sending in the pawns to soften them up while she moved seeing the other speeders going in towards the rear and she locked eyes with the pale blue armored woman who was looking over them. She couldn't pick up her com chatter but she was looking at her speeder which was the most heavily armored compared to the one that had deployed its men. That was it thanks to the grenade launcher and she wasn't going to jump down towards them. No she was looking at the ones there on the transport who were moving to fight the droid and in something remarkable they went to try and use their guns to shoot him in the chest. Not knowing what he was while they were barely keeping their footing and working to attack as a group over one at a time.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Now this was a little more his speed.

Action. Reaction. A chain of events triggered and set in motion like a domino knocked over. As the trio of belligerents brought their blasters up to aim at the boy's chest, the droid was already past the planning phase of his exit strategy and working instead on its execution.

[ Objective: Slide across roof, underneath center assailant. Disable with stun baton. Conclusion: Temporary loss of consciousness. ]

Kicking his legs out in front, the boy-droid twisted on his left side as he went sliding across the top of the cargo transport. Red blaster bolts sailed overhead, his small frame passing through the legs of the man in the center of the triangular firing squad. The center shooter suddenly seemed to undergo a seizure, as electrostaff energy surged through his body. Smoke rising from off his clothing, the man dropped his blaster as he crumpled down on top of the transport.

[ Objective: Get back on feet. Bring right baton into right elbow of second assailant. Twenty-two-point-seven kilos of pressure should dislocate the joint. Left baton in an overhead arc to the back of the head. Conclusion: Minor concussion, temporary loss of consciousness. ]

Kicking up from the roof top, the droid had his back to the two men as he popped upright once more. Bring his right arm under and across his body, the afro-headed Ranger stepped into a right-back pivot as he swung out with the tonfa. As the shooter to his right brought his blaster pistol to bear, the droid's baton smacked sharply against the crook of the man's elbow. The sound of bone shattering could be heard. The man's hand opened with the spastic trauma to the nerves in the arm, dropping the blaster.

Continuing with the motion, the boy left baton came up and around as he completed the turn. The electrostaff charged end connecting with the side of the man's head. Static energy crackled loudly, before the second man joined the first, unconscious, at the droid's feet.

Two down, one remaining.

[ Objective: Left forearm underneath... ]

As the afro-headed automaton directed its processors toward the third assailant, the droid realized that there was a blaster leveled at its chest. The sound of a blaster shot was a secondary consideration, as the boy found himself being thrown back by a sudden impact. The Sasori armorweave dispersed most of the blaster bolt, the kinetic impact throwing the lightweight droid off his feet.

This hadn't been part of the plan.

[ Re-calculating... ... ... ]

Letting go of the tonfa, the boy's hand nearly missed the edge of the transport roof as he went sailing off the top of the convoy vehicle. His right hand firmly latched onto the top of the truck, the boy dangling in the breeze as the convoy sped on. His stun batons bounced along the dusty road, as the boy held on for near life even as his droid processors worked to create alternative courses of action to deal with the armed shooter now standing over him.

Not to mention the armed speeders.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa kept her eye on the movement of the droid as he was moving and there was a wider grin on her face while she was going towards the edge of the transport. Her smg in her hand as she was firing its line launcher towards him to grab hold onto as she attached it to the transport in a secure holding while she was holstering it and taking aim with her rifle. The ones on the speeders moving to get better shots as she fired into the mans leg with the shell tripping him. Killing might not be the objective but she wasn't there to hold down the bodies when the transports had a chance to turn or rock them off. She was caring more about the droid while the drivers were nervous but keeping their wits about them for now. She was hoping they could keep them while looking towards the speeders still following them. She moved to reload and was watching them as they were coming in close to the lead transport. The blue armored woman moving to climb aboard the front transport ahead of Willa and holding a nasty knife on her hip while Willa was moving and fired another grenade at the back speeder as it wobbled rearing into the sand.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

As the boy was affected by muscle fatigue, he wasn't bothered by the thought of losing his grip on the edge of the flat top of the truck.

Droid servos in his hands and arms maintained a constant pressure. The glove of his Sasori armor supplying the necessary traction against the metal surfaces to maintain a hold. The problem was the shooter getting into position to pick the afro-headed Ranger off.

[ Warning: Incoming projectile. ]

Turning his head, the droid's cyber-organic eyes tracked the motion of a grapple line that had been fired his way. Ranger Isard appeared to be lending him a hand. Which, her intentions and the boy's devised purpose for the line might not have been entirely in line with one another.

Reaching out with his free hand, the droid snagged the grapple line a meter shy of the weighted end. Pulling back against the inertia on the line, the droid pulled back and down on the line. Above him, as the shooter extended out his blaster pistol in a modified Weaver stance, the line snagged over both the pistol and firing hand as it was snapped back. Entangling the man's arms, the shooter was pulled from off the roof as the vehicle that the line was connected to, and the vehicle that he was standing on, moved out of sync with one another. The man gave a scream as he ripped through the air, dragging along the ground behind the vehicle where Isard's gun was anchored.

Swinging himself up, the droid rolled atop the roof, pushing himself up beside the other two assailants that he'd disabled earlier.

The unconscious forms of the two men went over the sides a moment later, rolling along the ground as the droid took out the trash before slinging the blaster rifle from off his shoulder again. Dropped into a kneeling firing position, the boy again brought the E-11 to bear as he targeted the closest speeder and began firing off shots aimed at the shooters and the engines.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa barely noticed the man on the line but she was watching the armored figure on the lead truck with BB on the back and her in the middle while she was moving. Running quickly forward as she lept onto the back of the lead transport and started climbing up. The thump that came as the driver took a shot to the head in the landspeeder and was veering to the side while the gunner was jumping onto the middle transport. His blaster firing on BB as Willa got up and stood looking at the pale blue armored woman as they charged at each other with their blades out and Willa withdrew her smg firing it while her blaster was going off.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Blaster bolts sailed past the young-looking automaton.

Objectively analyzing the battlefield, the afro Ranger casually ducked and adjusted his position as he calculated to be necessary based on the geometry of the constantly shifting paradigm that they were operating in. It was a far from ideal scenario, with the terrain and independently operated vehicles supplying an infinite set of variables into any equation that the droid could dream up to compensate or calculate his next attack.

Ranger Isard seemed to be taking the more direct approach, as he had earlier. Keeping an eye on her, the boy just continued firing his E-11 with the hoping of keeping anyone else from joining in or interfering with her fight.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

She was moving on instinct as the armor gave her a good amount of flexibility in this situation. Her sniper rifle on her back and her combat blade clashing with the woman's as she fired a clip as some of it pelted her knee plates. She collapsed and was still holding her wrist while fighting her and the blaster pistol she held was in between the containers as she pulled and jerked on Willa's arm. That got her a feeling while she was moving and rolled dropping her smg in between the crates so she could hold the woman's wrist as well. Her eyes glaring at her from behind the helmet while the blades were locked as she activated the fire on the dauntless blade to give her a jump for a moment as Willa pulled away not able to break the grip they had on each other but she came back slashing her blde to lock and it started melting through the durasteel as she got it to dig into the woman's shoulder.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

All this, for a ton or so of ore.

At least Ranger Isard seemed to be enjoying herself. The woman locked in mortal combat with a woman on one of the speeders chasing after the convoy. As assignments went, this was certainly one of the more crazy ones. But, then, the Silver Jedi weren't known for making the Blue Milk Run on any operation that they undertook. So he ought to not be surprised that the Rangers liked it rough.

Another speeder overtook the convoy, blazing a trail of dust past the truck where the afro headed droid was standing. Tracking the movement of the obfuscated belligerents, the boy dashed forward. Kneeling at the edge of the cargo sled, just above where the driver was working at navigating the road under these conditions, the boy took aim at the dust clouds where he estimated the engine exhaust of the speeder to be.

A series of blaster bolts were fired from the boy's rifle, a third igniting a small explosion as it seemed to find its mark in some delicate machinery. A fourth followed on its heels, so that black smoke mingled with the dust blown up from the road.

The speeder went careening wildly off the road, its engine disabled, before turning over to dump its occupants unceremoniously out into the arid Gromas landscape.

Taking a step back, the young medic was greeted by the sight of more pirates boarding the truck from the rear. Taking advantage of the boy being distracted, this group had tethered a vehicle alongside and were creeping up the roof and along the sides of the vehicle toward the driver's cab.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa kept herself locked in combat with the woman as she was lifted up. The commando almost suplexing her off the transport as they both went forward and smacked into the cab with Willa rolling onto the hood. She looked up and at the driver speaking into the comlink. "How far out are we?" There was a look at her as he spoke. "Twenty kilometers." There was a look on her face while she was moving up and slashed with the heated blade getting it to bite into the armor plate as it stuck in place. She was fist fighting with her now as they brawled and she felt the woman grab her now as they were falling for a moment. Willa didn't notice it but suddenly there was the sounds of nothing. No engines, no speeders just her blood rushing through her head while she rolled over and was on top of the woman in the sand. Her leg was at an odd angle as Willa felt her body in pain but no bones to break.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The E-11 blaster rifle sailed through the air.

Confused, the pirate on the left dropped his pistol as he fumbled to catch the carbine before it could strike him in the head. All the while, the small droid was sprinting across the rooftop. A well placed kick to the chest sent the pirate on the right flying back into the one bringing up the rear, sending both over the edge of the transport. Side-stepping, the boy caught the barrel and grip of the E-11 as the remaining pirate brought the borrowed weapon to bear. Stepping back and around, the afro-headed boy used the man's arms as a lever -- ejecting him in a classic Teras Kasi throw that sent the man airborne.

Glancing up, the boy saw a speeder pass on the left.

He wasn't certain, but it appeared to be the one she'd been fighting on earlier. Except she wasn't on it now.

In fact, he didn't see her. A quick frequency scan with his remote slicer pinged on a commlink several meters behind the convoy, with an increasing distance.

Had she fallen behind?

As a speeder began to overtake the transport truck on the right, the small droid jumped down into the open canopy. A series of blaster shots echoed, before a pair of pirates were ejected out onto the road and the afro-headed youth was riding dirty behind the wheel of Grand Theft Landspeeder.

Flipping the speeder into the opposite direction, the boy dropped the transmission into gear and sped back down the road to where he'd picked up the signal.

He wasn't going to be able to protect with convoy with just himself. He didn't know enough about the parameters of the mission or where the ore was headed, where it had come from, or what, precisely, it was intended for.

And Ranger meant that no one got left behind.

[member="Willa Isard"]​

 

[Willa Isard]

[member="BB-4001A"]

Willa groaned as she was laying there and she could hear the woman below her as she was puched off. The woman was alive but her body was just as damaged as Willa's and the ranger rolled grabbing at her belt for a caltrop as she set it in the ground and held a mini detonator in case she needed it. The dune as they both rolled down it had her detonating it to alert BB unknowingly where they were. Willa was on the woman's back quickly as she was going for the armor itself to get it off her, you couldn't cuff someone who had a suit on as the back plates came off easily enough and the shoulder before she was struggling. A broken arm causing her to stay alert with the pain of it all before she smacked Willa away and punched into the vahla's armored helmet. That got a scream of pain from both of them as Willa felt the impact on her nose and warmth on her face before the helmet opened up with Willa limping and jumping on her again to roll while she got the cuffs out. Ranger standard issues they could use for dangerous people while she cuffed her broken arm tightly to get a scream and jerked it backwards to get her other arm.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Spoiler: ooc note

Sorry for the wait!

The afro headed droid neatly avoided getting sideswiped by another landspeeder, as he plowed across the arid landscape toward where [member="Willa Isard"] had managed to get herself into some trouble.

Pulling up beside the armored woman, the boy-machine cut his eyes over to the woman as he turned his head and said, "Need a lift?"

They'd have to catch up with the convoy. And hope that nothing else had gone completely wrong. Plus, now they had a prisoner. That never made logistics any easier. In fact, if anything, this might have just gotten more difficult.

If he were human, he'd probably have said this was some karking poodoo.

...if he were human, that is.