Faction Real Steel [Darkwire]

[Under Foot]

"But how are you laying odds when half the bots aren't even finished yet?"

The Squib had been about to make a reply about knowing the mechanic behind the bot, when she walked in.

His tails drooped down on the floor. His head seemed to flop forward, and his heart started racing the moment that he caught a glimpse of Hex . And how could it not? She was like danger and adventure.

And also engine grease.

"It's me under here! Had a little thingie in the garage..."

Okay, real talk. Who didn't love a woman who could crack a droid chassis and turn it into a killer robot? "I... uh, hi... uh..."

He was trying to say something witty. Except he totally forgot what he was going to say. So, then he was just going to say hello, but then that didn't quite work either.

He'd pretty much forgotten how to speak at the moment.

"I need a drink..... hey cutie..."

All right, at this point, his heart was probably about to explode out of his chest. And he also felt like he'd forgotten how to breathe.

...also, was it hot in here? Because he was sweating way more under his fur than earlier.

"Please can I have a large glass of something cold, and if you've got an 11mm hydraulic hose behind there that would be handy too."

She needed something to drink!

Unlike earlier, the Squib fumbled a few bottles and even dropped a glass that shattered onto the floor. Hex needed a drink... What did Hex drink? It needed to be cold. And it needed to be perfect?

Water?

Lum?

Did he have any lum?

He nabbed a bottle off the back shelf. It was Corellian (did she like Corellian?), but it's what he had. Did she like it on the rocks? How was it going to be cold if it wasn't on the rocks?

Dropping some ice into a tumbler, the Squib poured out a double and then slid it in front of the woman. His fur was visibly standing on end as he waited to see if she liked it or rejected it.

What else?

"Oh, a hydraulic hose," he uttered, as that finally clicked. "I think I have some in the scrap yard out back," he mused, hopping down and then making his way out the back of the bar to rummage through the trash.

He'd missed Cartri Keswoll 's outburst, but when he returned, he could sense a tension in the air that just seemed...

...well, you ever walked into a room and thought okay, what'd I miss? That.

"Uh, here," the Squib offered, taking his eyes off Cartri as he passed the length of tubing over to Hex.

 

[Cinder]

Cinder fixed Daiya in a slightly perplexed sidelong glance. Glitter? Ah, yes... little shiny bits. Messy, but effective. When Daiya looked at her, Cinder seemed to try to shrink in the other teen's view.

She blinked.

Then, Daiya's arm was around her shoulders, which made her tense up awkwardly. She said nothing in response to the quip about her acting like a bot already. Cinder was probably more bot than they knew. When Das asked if she was handy with droids, Cinder shifted her weight – unsure if she wanted to stand still or move... but Daiya's arm held her there still.

"I like machines," she said, honestly.

A smile flickered across her face when Das held out the wrench. "Thank you," she said and gave a small nod. Cinder sidestepped away from Daiya's side, then moved over to the droid being worked on. She merely stared at it for a good long moment – maybe a moment too long.

Cinder jumped slightly, as if caught nodding off.

For now, she couldn't let the other teens know of her strange ability to 'talk' to machines. She didn't want to end up getting hauled back to the lab on Denon. So, she started to busy herself with tightening some bolts. Hopefully unknown to the others, she used the 'static' to reach out to the machine – learning about its circuitry and programming. And if she was lucky, she could even give the bot a small boost. Cinder kept working, even if most of the actual work was taking place mentally -- melding with the machine, in a way.

"Try it now," she said. Then, figuring she ought to try and fit in with these other teens... she asked: "Which bot has the most bets?"

Das | Daiya

 

[Hex]

Tag: Cinder Cyran Vaas Under Foot
Daiya Brie Jaxx Cartri Keswoll
Location: Altier
Objective: Build a robot

Spoiler: Equipment

• Neon Lady suit
• ap-25i SIMP pistol
• 'Candles' Heavy particle blaster
• 'confetti' Rocket launcher
• Party Poppers (3 explosive, 3 gas)
• Dancer repulsor board
• Jade Void Amulet
• Dervish Knife

Spoiler: Hex dialogue colors

Poor Hex hears voices in her head

Hex speech to others
Hex speech to herself

Hexes inner voices
'...Neutral...'
'...Doubt...'
'...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter

​

Hex greeted Brie Jaxx with a wide smile that hid her nerves. She knew how close those too were, and Hex and Daiya barely even covered up their affections for each other on Weilu.

''How is Daiya today? How do you think she will take it to see Cartri at the games?''

"She's good, not impressed with the travel conditions on my ship. She's got her hands full with Das about now I guess..."

'...Just ask her...'

"Er... did she tell you we.... Oh hey Knuckles!" Hex was interrupted by the ginger boy walking over to join them. His mood registered with her badly, and his greeting was cool at best. Hex had been there for Daiya after the breakup, and had been someone for her to vent to, even offering to enact some measure of violence on Cartri Keswoll on order to cheer her up, whether she would or not... who knows, she still thought a lot of Cartri.

Cartri slammed his whiskey on the table a little harder than intended

Hex flinched more than she would normally have, as if the rage was directed at her. "You know, you should see her, don't you? Denon needs people like you, who are sensible and compassionate and chit, but it also needs people like her. People willing to risk literally everything for the cause....

...and you know it." Her words were blunt and her voice was elevated, but not framed in anger. Hex understood enough about their relationship that the two were very different people, but ones who complemented each other well, most of the time.

'...What are you doing?...'
'...You'll just push him back to her...'

Hex scowled, she didnt know what she was doing, this wasn't her business, why did she care about this? Even to her own potential detriment.

"She still loves you Knuckles, you both need to get to a place where you can get over it, or just say hey, thanks for the kisses, shame it didnt work, now let's carry on sticking it to the corpos." she put on mimicry of Cartri's voice, then started giggling at herself. She was losing her point a little when Under Foot Got back to her with the drink and a hose.

"And you!... she snapped at Undie, suddenly realising she was a little stuck on her emotional volume right now "Thank you, you've been very helpful." she laughed at herself for using the same blunt tone to thank her friend at the bar. She took a long swig of the cold drunk, just waiting for the hammer to drop and Cartri to lose it at her, or Brie for sticking her nose in. She looked at Underfoot, "I'd avoid girls if I were you, not worth the mess." she had dropped to a much more relaxed playful tone again with him and stuck her tongue out teasing again. Her eyes brightened at the taste and Hex made a little yummy noise at the drink before standing again.

"I should probably head back and finish my robot, what do you think Undie? Hydraulic jaws or a big old circular saw for weaponry?" she asked him before turning to the others again. She looked at Knuckles, softer this time. "I'm so fething sorry you got hurt knuckles, we couldn't have known half of the Galactic Alliance would show up the moment I pulled the trigger, I'm glad your doing alright."

 

[Cassus Akovin]

​

"I erm,"
"looks really really like… "
"Sorry dun know."

Cassus expected that reaction, he wasn't much of an artist, and out here on Altier, the DireX probably don't feature in their politics. He accepted that his statement likely wasn't going to even have a chance at being understood, except maybe by his friends. Friends who were his next stop before the arena. He'd even risk being a little late if it meant showing off for his friends.

"Defs ya gotta have a name. I mean, I think?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I should think of a hint. See you in the arena," Cassus returned Glade the salute and separated with his dopey bot trailing behind. Before he left, however...

Their two Anzellans chanced to come. One on her chair arm chewing old wire, his friend standing proudly with the Ball-Bot smoking a huge cigarra. A second Cigarra was offered to Cassus Akovin by their little guy, trying to do so discreetly. His Cigarra gift was actually hollow with a Mem-stik inside, maybe something Cassus had been looking for, or just a gift of a well-known corpo's security code. #Plot Hooks Asked any question, their Anzellian would just smoke and play dumb.

... Cassus didn't smoke, but it seemed rude to reject it from the diminutive alien, and he was glad he did. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a valuable score. Cassus wondered if that had been part of the scrap or if this had been an elaborate cover for one of his contacts. Whatever the case, he would remember these two. Maybe they knew Yatta Yadda?

"Hey guys," Cassus called out as he approached the bar with Under Foot , Hex , Cartri Keswoll , a few others he didn't recognize ( Yoroi Argosa Junker Jonn ), and of course, the lovely Brie Jaxx . It looked like he was interrupting a pretty deep conversation, and something told him it was one Cartri wanted to get out of. He couldn't blame him, things were different, vastly different, and none of it was his fault.

"I got a sneak peek for you all. Can you guess who Profits Prophets is supposed to be?" Cassus gestured towards the five head droid with a security-safe stomach, tank treads, and an oblong droid head with a knife in its head trailing behind by a chain.

"I'll buy the next round for anyone that can guess correctly before I have to go out to the arena!" Feeling unusually proud of his silly contraption, he smiled.

 

[Glade]

Tag: Open
Mission: Rock'a'Bot. Waiting to Beat'a'Bot.
Location: The Arena.

Trundling around to the center of their arena, her hoverchair moseyed on about, peeking around if anyone was coming to watch. Glade-bot aka Purple Point of View rolled after her, learning the arena. Well nobody said it couldn't right? I mean probably not, nope definitely fine! Maybe she could make some creds? She was broke and someone must wanna bet. Pulling her visor back down over her eyes, the Kiffar started listening to music waiting for the competition to start. Immersing herself in a completely encased holovideo and music adventure.

The tiny Anzellans had made, what was to them a large metal sign. In reality, it was about as big as a human's forearm, looking to pin it somewhere. If you squinted you could probably read it, or might just ignore completely as yet more graffiti. It was the bot's name, currently upside down because they'd written it looking down. Arguing now about where it should stand, they were comically wrestling with it in front of the chair somewhere, stepping on each other's feet.

Meanwhile what seemed like an innocent music joyride was actually pictures of her daughter Althenea | Atticus lost and still not found... and her lost mother. So many memories which she'd programmed into her visor. A lifetime's worth and still counting. Drifting off into her own world. If she couldn't ever be part of their worlds, she could at least remember what used to be. A fragile strand to soothe and give solace. Unnatural wind wisped around the arena floor, but no tornados today.

Taking another stim she eased back in her chair and her mind raced, the memories moving at twice the speed. Twice the rapture. Her chair looking like a dim lightshow in the center of the arena, with tiny gruff look Anzellans holding tools like weapons, which they could barely hold up. Telling the competition to bring it on!

Fyor droid would beep before the contest started, and get her ready, moving her clear, but till then this was her ride…. a memory chair.

 

[Das]

Location: Altier | Objective: Real Steel | Soundtrack: Live Free

Das smiled back when Cinder grasped the wrench. She liked this girl already, it made her feel less... odd, to have another teen with a heart for machines.

She watched with interest as Cindy dug around inside the droid, twisting and turning the tool in places Das hadn't tried before. After a few moments of tinkering, her new companion seemed confident enough with her alterations.

"Try it now," she said. Then, figuring she ought to try and fit in with these other teens... she asked: "Which bot has the most bets?"

Das shrugged. She hadn't really paid much attention to the other contestants, admittedly; All her focus had been on getting her own bot to function at least halfway properly. She thanked the stars she wasn't in some kind of victory-or-death contract with the Hutt. Even with all the hours and modifications, Das wasn't overly confident about her droid's odds.

"I hope it's not this guy," the teen said as she stepped around to power up the bot. She gave Cinder a nod, then flipped the machine on.

Its glass eyes flickered to life, followed by a low hum resonating within its metal chest. Seeing that it didn't explode on activation, Das cracked a huge grin. She looked to Cindy and shook her head with excited disbelief.

"No sparks, no smoke, no... exploding... It's alive!" she mused, spreading her fingers like a mad scientist.

"You're a wiz, Cindy! How did you do that?"

---

Tags: Cinder ; Daiya ​

---

 

[Darkwire Prophet]

AT THE DEATH METAL ROYALE ARENA​

"Big! Boxy! Aaaaaaand beeeeeee-utiful, that's what I see in here today!" Olly the announcer stood atop a stack of scrap-metal crates, welded together in the distinct style of Altier-chic. The three-tiered soapbox clearly doubled as a winner's platform as well, assuming they weren't destroyed during the battle royale itself. "I'm talking about our bots here for today's DEATH METAL ROYALE, are you with me on this?"

A loud noise came from the crowd assembled around the makeshift arena, only separated from the action by a thin, shock fence. Its live current was meant to disable any bots attempting, intentionally or not, to break through. The crackling sizzle of unrestrained current kept most of the crowd a healthy distance back as well, the only frying these fans wanted was for the foods sold at the very edges of the arena ring. If they weren't loud enough already, then Olly's commentary was sure to get them fired up.

"It is 1737 hours, and I see our contestants have finished assembling. I sure hope their fleshbags stand FAR back from the carnage! We don't want any incidents like last year, now do we? Not that I wasn't entertained by the bot-rider idea...for the seventeen seconds it lasted. No, no, we're here to see brutal metal carnage, not blood and guts," Olly assured the crowd. He raised his hands, waiting for them to cheer their agreement. "Then let's not wait a second longer! Bots online? Ready? DO YOUR WORST!"

With that, Olly hopped down and ran the short distance from his perch at one arena end, retreating behind the safety of the shock fence. Inside it, the bots would engage, and only a few, perhaps just one, would survive!

Bot Builders, this is your ruleset. Write whatever you want in your post, describe your bot's actions or yours, or both! And then make sure you click ROLL DICE underneath your post before hitting the reply button, because only the dice will determine the true victors!

To determine the action of your next post:
Roll 2D6

• If results are an odd and even number, your bot misses!
• Evens? Your bot hits one bot for 2 damage.
• Odds? Your bot hits one bot for 3 damage, or two bots for 1 damage each.
• Doubles? Your bot hits one bot for 6 damage, or up to three bots for 2 damage each.

All bots start with 4 health, plus 1 health for every additional post made before the fighting starts.

Please include the status of your bot's health and current target(s) in your posts. And for both spectator and bot-fighter, have fun!

 

[Daiya]

“On second thought, the more glam, the better - this poor fella needs a little shine.”

Daiya grinned easily, opening up her satchel. She showed its contents to Das, a half-dozen Glitz Spray Paint cans, neatly arranged to display their colors. That, for all her lack of contributions today, was something she could be proud of. The teen brought along the proper colors: pink, purple, green, blue, silver, and black, all mixed with glitter to give the paint a good sheen. All the better to stand out in a sunny, dry place like Altier.

Or the Corpo-side of Denon.

"Good choice," the teen winked at Das, and felt Cindy step away. Daiya had only guessed, so when the other girl confirmed she liked machines, it brought a smile to her face. She let the ponytailed Altieran work as she crouched down to the other side, trying to pick out the best colors to accent Das' bot. "Purple would look good, and pink is my favorite..." she glanced up at the slicer girl, and her eyes widened, "but green it is!"

Daiya giggled as she pulled out her green can of paint, giving it a good shake to mix the glitter and just for the effect. Half of any good graffiti artist was flair, even on a small work like this. Das' bot was small, and with the scent and slime trail of Hutt still lingering around, Daiya guessed it wasn't exactly hers. So she kept it small, tasteful, and classic.

Soon enough, the bot was adorned with a green, glittery smiley face on each of its appendages.

"That should do it," Daiya stepped back to admire her work, just as Cindy and Das switched places at the bot. The teen stepped closer to her newest friend, giving her an appraising pat on the shoulder when the bot turned back on. "You weren't kidding. Looks like machines like you, too, Cindy!"

The teen beamed and flicked at the other girl's ponytail. "I'd have to check again with Undie, he's running the bets. I know Hex has one, she'd never let us down, and Cassus said...something? He's such a tease. Right now, at least, I'd give Das' a fighting chance, enough to put a buncha credits on."

From far away, Daiya could hear a buzzer sound. She checked the time on her datapad, gasping and pulling at Cindy, "It's almost time. We should get to the arena. We don't wanna miss out watching the fight." She started to step away, waving back at Das, "Good luck! Don't let the botstards get you down!"

Cinder Das​

 

[Cyran Vaas]

Time: 0 Hours before Death Metal Royale
Location: Altier

​

Confidence was key Cyran believed, although he himself would not be personally partaking in the carnage. In the final hours the zeltron and his team were able to scrounge together a “functional” personality matrix for his droid gladiator. Although on the outside she didn’t seem like a junk droid, the internals and software told a different story. What worried Cyran the most was that the main computing power for his droid was taken from an ancient and busted B1 battle droid.

This was a fact that the bounty hunter was rapidly regretting as the feminine robot was constantly running her vocabulator the moment she was activated. And they didn’t have the time to remedy the issue. Hopefully the battle droid programming should make it worth it. Eventually the team made it to where the event was being held. Cyran, along with his astromech R4-P4 and their new droid fighter made their ways into the arena. The zeltron and P4 had decided on a name for their champion, Rita the Ravager. She basically looked just like a normal BD-3000 with a considerable amount of rust, but had some nice surprises under her chassis that he hoped would prove well.

P4 helped Rita get to where she needed to go to compete in the battle royal while Cyran stood by some. Scooping out some of the other competition. But he didn’t have much time since he was almost late to the event and the announcer began to start things off. P4 rolled over to where Cyran was and spoke up. “Before we got the B1 processors in Rita I was pretty confident we had this in the bag, now I’m not so sure.” The astromech began to express their doubts. The announcer asked if the bots were ready and online Rita turned to look back at her creators before giving Cyran and P4 a friendly thumbs up before the match began.

“I don’t know, she seems pretty confident I’d say.” The zeltron replied…

 

[Cinder]

Cinder couldn't help but smile when Das started up the bot. But when asked how she'd done it, the teen's grin faded as she worked out... how to say it. Truly, she didn't even know how to explain what she'd just done. It was instinct, a feeling.

"I... I, uh..." she stammered. Daiya had already made the point that her social skills were... lacking. "Y-you had already done most of the work." Which was very true.

Thankfully, Daiya – and the buzzer – saved Cinder from having to form a real answer. Someone else was mentioned... Undie, whoever that was... but he was running the bets. Cinder agreed – if she had any credits, she'd put it on Das' bot. It looked the part now that Daiya had added green glitz and smiling faces.

"Good luck, Das," Cinder said as Daiya tugged her hand. "Bye!"

With that, she'd let Daiya lead the way.

Daiya & Das

 

[Junker Jonn]

​

Location: Altier, Death Metal Arena
Tags: Cyran Vaas | Other Bot Fighters
Bot Health: 7/7 from three prior posts
Bot Target: Cyran Vaas 's bot

​

Junker Jonn left the bar on unsteady feet, full of both alcohol and vague overheard knowledge about teenagers' relationship issues. Neither had made him feel any better. He picked his way through the dirty streets of the town, trying not to look down at the abomination he had unleashed upon the galaxy. It trundled cheerfully along beside him on its mismatched treads, oblivious to his shame. As they approached the arena, the venue's bouncer lazily jerked a thumb toward the contestant entrance. It was obvious, after all, why Junker was here. No one else would travel with a bot like that.

The roar of the arena would ordinarily have hurt Junker's sensitive aural receptors; he was a being who preferred to work in silence or something close to it. Working a crash site with a small, well-disciplined crew, who seldom spoke and let only the purr of their fusioncutters fill the air, was peaceful. Scrapping a wreck in hard vacuum, where sound could not carry, was bliss. But right now Jonn was too drunk to care. He'd slammed back several Fuzzy Tauntauns in rapid succession, and was riding the numbness.

Time was as wonky and blurry as his vision, and he didn't really hear most of what was going on, or process how quickly it was happening. One moment he was arriving at the contestants' area of the arena, and the next the gates were opening to admit the bots, a motley crew of improvised engines of destruction. "Well, there's hic no bad outcome," the scav captain reassured himself, looking down at his own utter monstrosity. "Either I hic win and can retire, or another hic bot erases my sin." Absolution through combat.

With a slap on the back of the chassis, he sent his mismatched creation into the killing field.

Its strange away of weapons spun swiftly into action, blasters blasting, flamer flaming, buzz saws buzzing...

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Altier
Objective: Drink sorrows away
Tag: Brie Jaxx / Under Foot / Daiya / Junker Jonn / Hex

it also needs people like her. People willing to risk literally everything for the cause....

Cartri slowly shook his head from the fact Hex was making Daiya out to be some kind of hero. He knew there were still ways of doing this compared to all out destruction, although it was far too late for those options now. Daiya had risen tensions to the extreme, to the point where the corpo's and Jedi were looking for their heads. Sooner or later, all of them were going to be joining Doc in depressing and horrible deaths if they continued on this path.

"You may think it's a joke in your little world but it's far more concerning than just skipping over to her and asking Daiya to be my girlfriend again. She's fucked up, not once but twice and every single time you seem to be there" Cartri said with narrowed eyes at the girl. Ever since their chat, he'd figured out she was lost in the head. Now from the looks of it, she was starting to put that crazy influence on Daiya. It was well documented Cartri had his issues with anger problems, for now, he was doing well in keeping them under control.

"So you admit to blowing up the train too huh?" he said expressionlessly after wishing him well with his health. Cartri appreciated the sentiment, yet the fact she just admitted to pulling the trigger on that bomb really made his mind run mad "What else did you expect when trying to blow the fething sword of the Jedi!" the ginger grunted with a raise of his voice and a step closer to Hex "Did you think the Alliance let alone the order would let their poster girl get killed by a bunch of teenage terrorists? are you two insane?!"

Cartri looked Hex dead in the eyes, glaring straight into her soul "Do you know what we got in return from all this, Our good friend Doc Painless getting a blaster shot into his skull. Tell me, was his life worth it in the process?" the teen said to her in almost a whisper, venom ringing through his voice.

The only thing that achieved that day was tears. If anything, they were lucky the pair of them didn't lose Cartri too.

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Location: Altier, the makeshift bar
Objective: Save a relationship?
Tag: Under Foot , Cartri Keswoll , Junker Jonn , Yoroi Argosa , Hex , Cassus Akovin

​

"Er... did she tell you we.... Oh hey Knuckles!"

Did she tell her that the status of roommates now were being reevaluated upwards? Uh, yes! It was a wonder that half of Darkwire didn't already know about it, but they had kept it pretty secret, Brie would give them that and she weren't a telltale girl. Cartri was a friend and had been Daiya's partner, though. That was some difficult decisions her both girl friends put her through.

​

Cartri slammed his whiskey on the table a little harder than intended, the first sign of accidental aggression coming from the young man "No... I don't want to see her yet" Cartri sighed "I... I just need time to myself before I even think of speaking to her again"

That was going to make this a stern conversation, Brie thought as she jumped slightly on the spot when the glass of whiskey met the counter at a speed telling you someone was irritated.

''They'll come together... the pieces...'' Brie uttered quietly, soon realising that what she said might just be lie. She were far from naive, but hope were the last thing that deserted a person. She had learned that from searching for her history and her family. Ruby Jaxx were living proof of that statement about hope.

Brie listened to Hex also trying to encourage Cartri to get in touch with Daiya, and trying to see things from another perspective. She nodded and fully backed the blue haired girl on this one.

"Uh, here," the Squib offered, taking his eyes off Cartri as he passed the length of tubing over to Hex.

Brie's eyes grew wide from seeing what the squib just heaved up on the counter and passed over to Hex.

''The kriff are you going to do with that?'' she said with a chuckle. Weird Girl was definitely up to something. Again!

"Hey guys,"

A familiar male voice rang out behind them, and Brie immediately felt relieved that he was there. Even though Cartri and Cassus had their fair share of fights before, this was neither the time or place to do it once more. Also, Brie had gone in between them once before and wouldn't think twice doing it again if the boys couldn't keep their testosterone in place. She slid down from the chair and walked up to Cass, giving him a soft and loving smile before she lightly touched his arm and moved her hand up his shoulder blade and shoulder. She didn't made a move to kiss him, even though she wouldn't deny one coming to her, but the topic of the conversation between the three shadowrunners had put her out of mood and in front of everybody seemed slightly inappropriate, considering said topic. After the match, though...

''I think we need to see some crazy and hilariously fun chit go down, to turn this party around.'' Brie said with a sigh, glancing over to Cartri and Hex. She then leaned in close to the bounty hunters tonight-turned-robot-fighter's ear. ''Can you give me a clue? I think I'll need something strong to help me patch this mess between Cartri and Daiya up...'' she whispered, aiming at the name guess of his robot. Either way, Brie would tag along with Cassus for tonight. She needed to work on a romance saving plan rather than a robot. What unfolded between Ginger Boy and Weird Girl though, even made Brie silent and out of options, as she glanced at Cassus to see if he would do anything. Right now, it seemed that someone was dangerously close to getting stabbed by a vibroblade.

 

[Hex]

Tag: Cinder Cyran Vaas Under Foot Daiya Brie Jaxx Cartri Keswoll

Location: Altier
Objective: Build a robot

Spoiler: Equipment

• Neon Lady suit
• ap-25i SIMP pistol
• 'Candles' Heavy particle blaster
• 'confetti' Rocket launcher
• Party Poppers (3 explosive, 3 gas)
• Dancer repulsor board
• Jade Void Amulet
• Dervish Knife

Spoiler: Hex dialogue colors

Poor Hex hears voices in her head

Hex speech to others
Hex speech to herself

Hexes inner voices
'...Neutral...'
'...Doubt...'
'...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter

​

''The kriff are you going to do with that?''

Hex laughed and pulled the cord close, "Just fixing my bot, I managed to blow to old rotton hose" she gestured to her still grubby face and grinned before Brie Jaxx went to chat to her man and she and Cartri we able to... chat.

She said her piece and his temper just seemed to grow, and very clearly directed at her now.

"You may think it's a joke in your little world but it's far more concerning than just skipping over to her and asking Daiya to be my girlfriend again. She's fucked up, not once but twice and every single time you seem to be there"

Hex grit her teeth and scowled. "I didn't say it would be fething easy did I? People mess up, and yeah I'm there, because I'm her fething roommate and she is my friend." Hex had literally been in the gutter before she met Daiya and having to fight off rats for half rotten food, of course she was there for Daiya.

"And yeah, of course I admit to blowing up the train, you know I was involved..."

'...Did he? Would he rat us out?...'

Hex twisted her head slightly and raised her eyes in a way that asked would you?

"No, he's not that guy..."

Hex's emotional stability was begining to suffer from this conversation a d rivulets of pink streaked through her blue eyes.

"What else did you expect when trying to blow the fething sword of the Jedi!"

"That maybe we would have more than a moment to get away.... that maybe they would investigate before they started blasting.

You werent even involved in the bombing, and but they tried to kill you in cold blood, doesnt that tell you something about which side we are on?" Her voice was angry and was shaking as she spoke.

'...shoot him, he's not on our side...'
"....I can't..."

Hex had to fight her urges, Cartri was wrong, but she wasn't completely right either.

"Do you know what we got in return from all this, Our good friend Doc Painless getting a blaster shot into his skull. Tell me, was his life worth it in the process?"

"Fuck you Knuckles!!" Her knife was in her hand and its blade was pointing towards him, as she spoke angrily. "I never meant for him to die, and I never meant for you to get hurt..... but...people...." she grit her teeth hard to fight her urge to stab the ginger boy in front of him. "...Just stop it." Her body language, even with the knife out was obviously more defensive, there was no indication she wished to use the knife, but was protecting herself.

Later on at the bot fight.

Hex's bot had somehow been finished after her encounter with Knuckles, and she had not spoken to anyone else since. She sat alone on the wall and let her bot fight. It wasn't what she had hoped, but then sticking a rocket launcher on was prohibited in rule H. Her bot spun into battle and began to fight, striking at the nearest combatant with its circular saw and hopefully taking a huge chunk out.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

​

''I think we need to see some crazy and hilariously fun chit go down, to turn this party around.'' Brie was right, but Cassus didn't have a clue what he was walking into, and really, he should have. It was a reminder that this distraction on Altier wasn't a vacation. It was a consequence of rebellion taken too far (or a rebellion triggered too early, in his opinion). It was certainly a mess and not one he anticipated. Cassus never saw eye to eye with Cartri, and they both had very different ideas of how things ought to be done. Ideas that his better half didn't share and who violated an unspoken promise. Cassus remembered trading blows with Cartri over their differences, and ever since that night, he considered their differences resolved as long as he didn't get in their way.

''Can you give me a clue?" Brie requested. Recalling those memories distracted him momentarily from his original, tone-deaf request of his friends. A request his own better half seemed happy to try and fulfill, even if he could sense she, too, was thrown off by the sour mood in the air.

"Your clue is: These five heads look down on us on Denon, and their First Bank has lost its head."

"I think I'll need something strong to help me patch this mess between Cartri and Daiya up...''

"Yeah, I agree, but I think alcohol will probably just make that situation worse..."

The verbal tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

​

Cartri looked Hex dead in the eyes, glaring straight into her soul "Do you know what we got in return from all this, Our good friend Doc Painless getting a blaster shot into his skull. Tell me, was his life worth it in the process?" the teen said to her in almost a whisper, venom ringing through his voice.

"Fuck you Knuckles!!" Her knife was in her hand and its blade was pointing towards him, as she spoke angrily. "I never meant for him to die, and I never meant for you to get hurt..... but...people...." she grit her teeth hard to fight her urge to stab the ginger boy in front of him. "...Just stop it." Her body language, even with the knife out was obviously more defensive, there was no indication she wished to use the knife, but was protecting herself.

Cassus saw the knife, and although he had a reasonable idea the blade wasn't intent on stabbing Cartri (or else she would have already), the intent of another person wasn't easy to read when intoxicated. Unsure of what kind of state Cartri was in (but surely not in a good one), Cassus decided to step in more directly this time in light of his previous failure. In a couple of strides, he positioned himself between the two, arms stretched to catch either of them so only he would potentially get stabbed. He glanced between the two of them.

"First, do no harm." Cassus recited something he was pretty sure he learned from Doc. "We're all banged up here, and words are powerful enough to hurt. That's what you think, right, Cartri?" He was glancing between the two but trying his best to measure where Cartri was at, what words Cassus thought would be most effective at this moment. Cassus had no honest idea what Cartri wanted, just that it wasn't what Cassus had been doing.

"We should all take a moment to cool off. Maybe let these, uh, dumb robots take a wallop for us for the day. Hard to get patched up if we're cutting each other down." If the moment cooled, Cassus would try and lead Cartri away from the bar and over to a junk pile. There wasn't a lot of time left, but Cassus had a lot of leftover scraps he didn't end up using for Profit Prophets.

"What do you say?" He gestured for Cartri, then looked over at Under Foot and mimed a drink for Brie. Hopefully, he got the idea, and Cassus didn't look like an idiot. It was okay if he looked like an idiot though. His focus was on one of the few guys his own age.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

PROFIT PROPHETS HEALTH: [4+ 3] = 7
BOTS TO ENGAGE SO FAR: Cyran Vaas Junker Jonn Hex

"It is 1737 hours, and I see our contestants have finished assembling. I sure hope their fleshbags stand FAR back from the carnage! We don't want any incidents like last year, now do we? Not that I wasn't entertained by the bot-rider idea...for the seventeen seconds it lasted. No, no, we're here to see brutal metal carnage, not blood and guts," Olly assured the crowd. He raised his hands, waiting for them to cheer their agreement. "Then let's not wait a second longer! Bots online? Ready? DO YOUR WORST!"

Trying to clear his head from earlier, he wanted Brie near him as he entered the contestant booth overlooking the Arena. He saw as Profit Prophets entered the arena on its tank treads, looking out of place from the rest of the death machines. Like tacky paper mache next to blast-furnaced clay. As it entered the arena, it alternated the direction of its treads to do a turn in place, swinging the severed-droid head on a chain clattering around it, bouncing along the ground due to the knife embedded in its forehead. The security-vault door swung open and started blasting fire out of it before closing.

Smiling, Cassus really wanted to see it fucking explode.

"I owe a kiss from earlier," Cassus fulfilled his obligation and planted a quick one on her cheek.

Cartri Keswoll Brie Jaxx

 

[Daiya]

The arena was loud, busy, and smelled terrible. It brought a smile to the young shadowrunner's face, who felt almost at home in the place. If she ignored the naked sun sapping the cold and moisture from everything, the wide open sky unobstructed by buildings, and the fact that it was all outdoors, Daiya could nearly believe she was at a fight arena on Denon. "This is fething great, isn't it?"

Daiya didn't bother to check if Cindy agreed with her. The Altieran girl had a surprising talent for hiding inside herself, and she probably wouldn't hear it anyway if Cindy wasn't on the same screen. Or it would be something stilted and robotic. The teen nearly giggled to think of it, trying to lead the other girl by the elbow, pointing off to where a particular, golden-furred Squib was stationed. "Over here, I wanna place a bet."

As much as the teen had bragged about knowing who was on top, she was operating more by gut and loyalty instead. Hex and Das were building bots, and she was satisfied to see Cassus on the rolls as well. There were other names she didn't recognize and one or two she squinted at as if a glimmer of knowledge was there for the taking.

Or it was just the heat, which made shimmering beams of haze under its unforgiving glare.

"Chit, I'm thirsty. You see anyplace to get a drink?" Daiya suggested by way of asking. Her throat was parched, and her skin felt like it was already peeling. She rubbed a hand over her arms, trying to brush it off as if just dust or sand. There was some of that, too. "I am soooo not built for sun. The heat is great, but I'll take a hard pass on everything else."

The young shadowrunner held that thought with her as she made it up to Under Foot, a credit chip tumbling between her fingers. "How come you're always the one making credits off of me?" Daiya giggled and handed over the chip, listing off a few names and their associated bots. "Let's do a 40% of that on your favorite girl, the rest split evenly."

Her mouth twisted as Daiya thought of the Squib's special affections for Under Foot. She wasn't sure Hex noticed that when she was describing it to her roommate, but the teen surely noticed. She just winked at him, giggling some more before letting Cindy make any bets she wanted.

Cinder Under Foot​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Jacen approached the betting counter, his hands in his pockets. He took in his surroundings slowly, his gaze wandering the arena. There was a faint smile on his lips, like he simply enjoyed being there and absorbing the atmosphere. The sights, the sounds, the smells...

Okay, maybe not so much the smell. A few of the people in the stands were badly in need of a shower and some deodorant. But the pungent aroma of motor oil and rusted metal was helping to mask the stench from the bench seats.

While he waited to place his bets, Jacen watched the Death Metal Royale as the cobbled-together droids began to fight. But his focus was soon drawn away from the arena to the two girls standing in front of him, one blonde and the other brunette. They initially caught his attention because they were both kinda cute, sure, but the blonde placed her bets like she knew what she was doing.

Did the girl have some kind of insight into the contestants and their skill levels? Or was she was just really confident? He wasn’t sure. But he listened closely to the wager she made, with half a mind to make the same bet...

Daiya Cinder Under Foot Cassus Akovin Brie Jaxx Cartri Keswoll Hex Junker Jonn Cyran Vaas Glade Das Yoroi Argosa

 

[Cinder]

"It is great," Cindy echoed. "Fething great."

While Daiya navigated the arena like she owned the place, Cinder followed along awkwardly. The supposed Altieran native hadn't seen anything like this place before. So much sound. So much to see. Her head was absolutely buzzing as her multiple implants worked to process all of the information. It was a definite advantage that she'd yet to tap into.

Cinder found herself standing before a small-ish creature, Under Foot . Golden fur. Cute. She blinked hard when Daiya asked about getting a drink. Her eyes darted about, noting the beverages in the hands of passersby – some had bottles and some cups with logos printed on them.

It was then that Cinder spotted a teenage boy with dark hair.

Her own throat went dry.

"Drink machine," she croaked at Daiya, her index finger indicated there was a machine just off to the side. It was probably not the drink that Daiya had in mind, but she hadn't located the place where others were buying them.

Cinder shuffled away as Daiya stepped up to place her bets.

She placed her hands on the side of the vending machine and worked her 'magic.' Two bottles of fizzy citrus drinks fell down. Cinder picked them up and made her way back, totally unaware that her nose was now bleeding – just a little bit. As she made her way back to Daiya's side, she bumped into Jacen Nimdok as he was placing his bet.

"S-s..." Cinder started to say, but then closed her mouth and moved next to Daiya .

 

[Under Foot]

After the heated confrontation between Hex and Cartri Keswoll , a droid death match was a welcome distraction.

Tensions were running high. Perhaps even higher than when they'd gone underground into the Tombs. It seemed, holding the knife, that Hex was teetering on an edge. Ree wanted to do something to help, but... this was a problem he didn't know how to bargain with.

It didn't exactly lend itself to an easy solution.

The Squib was distracted from mulling over the issue further when Daiya appeared, along with a Shadowrunner he hadn't met yet. For her part, Cinder seemed a bit rattled herself. Or maybe distracted?

Ree's tails wagged behind him. He was genuinely glad to see Hex's friend -- and his -- even if she was somehow smack dab in the middle of whatever it was that was going down between Hex and Cartri. But, it seemed Cartri wasn't talking to the girl, or at least he'd seemed to suggest as much earlier, so she might be as lost as he was.

It was all so confusing. Easy to lose track of who the real enemy was.

They were up against the Corporate Authorities of Denon, if for no other reason than acceptable of the reality that the Corpos had been against them -- against anyone who didn't factor into their profit analysis -- from the very start. They couldn't afford to lose track of who their friends were.

Glancing between Cinder and Daiya, the Squib's ears fluttered in a sign of frustration. There was a lot he wanted to say, to ask, but he wasn't certain he had the right words. This wasn't contract negotiations and Daiya wasn't a bargaining employee.

Non-Squib relationships were... even more complicated. In part because they rarely dealt with the business at hand. Or even business at all.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, there was a stranger waiting there who seemed to be waiting to conduct some business. As Ree briefly made eye contact with Jacen Nimdok , he knew that he wouldn't be able to talk freely -- regardless of whether he had the capability or not.

...capability..?

He did have the capability!

"I'm sure the drink machine can help with that," the Squib offered brusquely, as if dismissing the teen's comment. As he did, Ree reached across with one hand to scratch at his right arm -- the precise location where his Darkwire Tattoo was concealed beneath the amber fur.

It was a gesture that, perhaps, she or Cinder would understand.

"Now, make your bets or step aside please," Ree uttered, taking a step forward to move between Daiya and Cinder so that he could address the gentlemen behind them. "You, good sir! You look like a betting man."

While he was speaking, the virtual environment of the tat(t)-verse was overlaying his vision. It was something he was starting to adjust to, but could still be a tad vertigo-inducing as perception began diverging between reality and augmented reality.

"Sorry about that."​

Through the virtual environment, the Squib had mentally composed and transmitted a direct message to Daiya. She wouldn't receive it unless she was also on the tat(t)-chat then, but it would be waiting for her when she did log on.

"I didn't want to risk saying something in front of the normie. Oh, and tell your friend not to go near the drink machine. I rigged it to just take credits."​

This was Altier. It was something that he'd found in the scrap yard and then just propped upright to see who'd come along and put credits into it.

Seriously, who was going to stock it out here?

In the real world, the Squib blinked as he shifted attention away from the virtual message to the man in front of him. "Perhaps you'd be interested in the spread? I'm offering good odds on the gonk droid," the Squib remarked, referring to Junker Jonn 's entry.

Bit of a bait and switch. The house was favoring Hex but he wasn't going to say that.

Also, the guy was proving a distraction from Daiya cutting into that action. She already knew how the Squib was betting.

"I can provide you with disrupters, spice, explosives... you think I can't also get you a drink? What would you like?"​

Taking out a small datapad, the Squib was waiting to record the man's bet.

"And whose your friend?"​