Faction &nbsp; When Droids Attack [RTL &amp; Allies]

Audren Sykes | A ARS VAMI | Pash Tafo |

Dagon Kaze | Maya Zhou

As the drop ship swung low above Ido outpost, Yula's concentration remained firm. Typically easygoing, the emotive features of her face had hardened into an unusual focus—which was a far cry from her first meeting with the Rimward Trade League, where she’d been incredibly drunk. Her fingers danced along a datapad propped up by a miniature spider droid, one that whistled and whirred and whined in response to the dropship's jerky movements. Yula remained as still as one could, shifting her weight to accommodate for the transport’s dips and turns, face appearing almost lavender bathed in the blue light of the screen. Dagon or Kaia might have recognized the harsh expression and bright spark in her eyes; it was the look of intensity she often wore while fiddling with one of her gadgets or gizmos.

They approached the surface, and the little droid, Emily trilled in concern. Yula’s attention broke away from the display, refocusing on those who’d answered her call for assistance. She smiled at them in acknowledgment, lopsided and awkward in a moment of genuine sheepishness before clearing her throat.

“As you’re all aware, something happened to the 3-HAW martial droids to turn them against the civilians they were designed to protect. They’ve mostly kept pirates and raiders at bay until now, but I’m not entirely sure what it was that caused them to go haywire. I managed to pick up some of the feedback from their signatures, and it looks like something...buggy. Ahem.” Faulty programming? That would have been too simple. As uninhibited as she was, Yula made sure to field test earlier builds for coding and security deficits. No, something external had messed with them. Probably. She just wasn’t sure what.

A few taps of the datapad, and a holo-map projected in front of her. “This is a snippet of Bpfassh’s surface. We’ve got intel that the droids are concentrating here, and here.” She gestured to two dots on the map, at a scale of several kilometers from one another. “The first point is Ido Outpost. The droids overran several settlements before getting there, and those previous towns are where most of the initial distress signals came from. We need to stop them before they harm any more civilians. The second dot is an abandoned mine at the base of a canyon. From what I can tell, this is their makeshift base of operations. We should eliminate that too, but I’d also like to incapacitate and extract as many droids as we can. The signatures I’ve picked up are starting to vary somewhat from droid to droid, so whatever has infected them might be mutating." Her eyes narrowed at the thought of whatever this virus was, it wasn't static. The more it changed, the increasingly difficult it would become to combat it. "I can’t be sure until I have time to dig into their code, though. It’s far enough from Ido Outpost that there shouldn’t be any civilians around.”

She left the map up, shifting her gaze to sweep over those who’d agreed to accompany her and help clean up this mess she…may have created. Maybe it was inevitable, maybe she’d fallen behind on routine maintenance, or maybe there’d been a huge security flaw in the droids from the get-go. Either way, she felt responsible.

“Fair warning, these guys can be ruthless. They’re not incredibly fast or strong, but I modeled them after bounty hunting droids and threw a bunch of guns and sensors onto ‘em. Sabers should take ‘em out pretty quickly, but blasters and EMP grenades might not work as well as you'd think. You all should have the specs I sent over. I guess the silver lining here is that we know the enemy pretty well.” She gave a sheepish smile to the group before deactivating the map with a blip. This was definitely a bitter situation, given that she'd poured a ridiculous amount of time into the production of the martial droids to the point where she'd considered them to be something like children. The little spider droid, now free of her task, crawled up Yula’s back and clenched around her torso like an arachnoid backpack. The door to the dropship slid open, and a rush of wind shifted the Zeltron's dark waves back. One last look from the corner of her eye to the group, and she half-smiled from one side of her mouth.

“Oh, and thanks for the help. Drinks are on me.”

Then she jumped.

Objective 1: A cadre of 3-HAW droids have taken over Ido outpost. Sweep the town and protect civilians by eliminating any rogue droids. Many of the townspeople have barricaded themselves inside the local cantina, attracting a swath of droids. Intercept them quickly, but don’t forget about the civilians in the rest of the town.

Objective 2: Several kilometers away, the rogue 3-HAW droid’s base has been located inside an abandoned mine at the base of a canyon. Far enough away to avoid any civilian casualties, the team venturing here is tasked with incapacitating and collecting the infected 3-HAW droids for Yula to study. Capture as many as you can, as the virus has been showing signs of mutating the longer it propagates.

Feel free to begin at whichever objective you choose. Go nuts, but be cool to your fellow writers. This thread is open to all members of the Rimward Trade League and allies.

Jared Starchaser · Sep 2, 2021

Monster hunting. That was what Jared preferred to do. Easier to track in the Force, smarter and more reactive than droids. But it still didn’t help that this outpost was being overrun by something, anything, that was harming those who were staying out of their way. But the other part? It was a Perl who was making the request, and not just any, but Yula. Kaia would kill him for turning away a call, granted she had other things to do. Someone had to make the credits for the family.

And his father? Oh, well, he was terrified of Joza, and that meant he’d help any of the Perls out of everything. And the families were actually… almost one. At least in the way

Kyra Perl existed. Good kid, that one. Still, it made it so Jared’s choice was easy. Provide some muscle for the RTL and do some good. That was fine by him. As he was listening to the briefing, he was readjusting his armor, the navy-and-gold armor, representing an ancient sea beast of Corellia. He was carrying his lightsaber, obviously, and his kyber cannon, but for today? A few short ranged magpulse grenades, and a vibropike to handle properly disabling the droids.

“I can make my way out to the settlements.” He said, his helmet, a Jensaarai standard, still on the table, the Mirialan green skin reflecting the blue of the hologram. As Yula then reminded them to check the spec sheets, Jared recalled droid-not-organic, but ‘special droid.’ Still, the magpulse may slow them down. On his back went the vibropike.

Looking over to the rest, "Anyone want to come with?” He’d end up taking whoever, really. And then he turned as the drop ship’s door opened and Yula Perl jumped out.

That was a Starchaser move. He grabbed his helmet, putting it on, and grabbed a grav chute. Time to move.

Shaye Ares

Aeshi Tillian · Sep 2, 2021

ROGUE DROID BASE

She jumped. Of course Yula karking Perl jumped out of the transport. Aeshi scowled down out of the hatchway as the transport whipped through the atmosphere, wind snapping at her hair tied back in a braid.

Aeshi shook her head and tightened the sling around the Voxyn charric rifle around her shoulder, doubled checked the Gatecrasher in the leg holster, and affectionately patted what were fast becoming her trademark.

Double .48 Morellian Enforcers. Black market, one hundred percent. Each one fired slugs the size of her thumb and punched through anything up to light combat vehicles, for those fast and steady enough to hit them.

Sometimes it paid off to have durasteel arms.
She wasn’t overly concerned about the droids, having studied them carefully. Blasters would be more problematic, but she didn’t pack blasters anymore. Not usually, anyway.

“With me to secure their base!” Aeshi yelled over the rush of the wind. “We’ll come in at the top of the canyon and scope it out before moving down to cordon off the mine entrance!”

She grabbed a gravchute and stepped out of the hatch, her mind flashing back to the sucking cold of vacuum and the searing pain as the escape pod hatch crushed her arms as her ship disappeared before reappearing, smashed against the shields of a First Order interdiction station at L-49. But then the chute kicked on and she opened her eyes, a long stream of profanity flowing from
her mouth as she plummeted.

The Requiem had an ion cannon turret. All she would have needed to do was park outside the mine and hammer the droids with the cannon. But apparently that would have been too much firepower. It was what she hated about ground operations. She was a Warden of the Sky. Not a Warden of the Ground. But since she couldn’t convince everyone to live in space, sometimes she had to do her job dirtside.

The wind whipped her hair and dust made her eyes water as she squinted ahead and guided down towards where she calculated the landing zone was, waiting for those who would follow.

Cryx Tillian · Sep 2, 2021

SETTLEMENT

Cryx closed his eyes and let his mind sink deep into his memories. The quiet tombs deep beneath the Jensaarai enclave and the silent pool at the heart, going deep into the rock of Susefvi. It was where he drew his strength and found his calm. Just like he found mental silence in his memories of the moon of Dyspeth, with the Disciples there.

The Jensaarai perched on the balance between the light and the shadow, but the Disciples dwelt there, on a moon in perpetual gloom. There were metaphors there that could be mined for years.

But he had not been one to stay, for his home world has been occupied, but now liberated. Jobs like these had never been his primary forte, he had been an operative, but one of the Huntsmen. Information and secrecy were his job, not commando strikes. Times changed and responsibilities broadened. But this was also one for stealth. It gave a chance to sneak into the last remaining holdouts to let them know help was on the way. And while he had never been a master of mechu-deru, preferring illusions and mentalism, he had the gist of it, which could help.

One by one, they began flinging themselves out of the transport. That didn’t bother him. He’d done many of them with ORION in the past.

“I’ll be right behind you, Jared,” Cryx said, double checking his gear. Dataspikes. Ion grenades. His modular A280 set to sniper mode initially. The Ranger Corps was using the rebuilt versions for now, and so was the slowly reconstituting ORION. His badge gleamed faintly. He glanced over towards Pash Tafo, “Headed with us?”

Shaye Ares · Sep 2, 2021

Shaye squinted at the pink woman, her selective hearing picking out buzzwords – droids, eliminate, drinks. She missed out on quite a lot of it. But she figured that she'd gotten the gist of it. But how did she get roped into actually doing something useful?

She wasn't even sure herself.

But the green guy had something to do with it. Jared – cousin Jared – or something. Not that long ago, she'd visited the temple on Kattada and accused Coren Starchaser of being her father. He wasn't. It was actually his brother, Marek. So she'd been told. Still, meeting Coren had opened the door to a side of her lineage she'd never even known existed. Not that Shaye was feeling mushy at all about it. She'd keep these people at arms length... just like everyone else.

She gave the saber clipped to her belt a tiny pat. It was odd to have one, she'd never dreamed of it. A mysterious woman named Ashin had enlightened her to the ways of the force (the darker kind). But she'd learned very little since. Having a famous Jedi uncle might help. After all, he did provide her with a saber... sort of. She hoped Jared wouldn't recognize it as one stolen from the temple.

“Uh, I'll go with you,” Shaye said to

Jared Starchaser , her mouthful of Space Bar, which she immediately chased with the last of her Rancor Stim Drink. A good buzz would keep her going. “I guess,” she added, like there was any other option. Well, there was... but she figured it might be best to just follow Jared's lead (and let him do most of the work if not all of it).

Her eyes widened slightly when people started jumping out of the ship.

Well, kark... these people don't mess around. And so, Shaye grabbed a chute and followed suit.

Dagon Kaze · Sep 3, 2021

WHEN DROIDS ATTACK
Outer Rim Adventures vol. I
Issue #1

When Yula had first asked - or rather implied asking, because she never directly asked - for his aid on a mission to the middle of nowhere, far, far in the Outer Rim, Dagon had been initially reluctant. The rising tide of crime on Denon had been the least of reasons. The Maw burned through worlds, closing in on the Core, and the machinations of their Sith masters had sown an irreparable discord between the Senate and the New Jedi Order. The war may still have been isolated to Unknown Regions, or the Alliance's frontier for the most part, but the silence in the Core was an eerie calm before the storm.

A storm so grievous that the Stygian Campaign against the Sith Empire seemed to pale in comparison.

But Yula had that look on her face. Grim and serious. A face he saw so rarely that it wasn't hard to convince the raven-haired Jedi whose biggest fear was letting people down.

So as he observed the holomap and listened to her brief aboard the dropship, surrounded by people of Yula's colorful past (and present) in the Outer Rim that he did not know, Dagon opted to seek the silver lining - all the good reasons. Well, first of all, he'd grown watching Deputy Law, an Outrim space opera holoflick, and to be able to actually emulate him fighting DROID COWBOYS did seem like a dream come true. Secondly, Dagon finally donned again the iconic New Jedi leather jacket or what remained of it. There were more patches to it than leather and he stubbornly resisted Yula's shopping sprees for a new one. Crimefighting on Denon had taken the jacket away from him - you can't get near a goon hideout without that thing screaming Jedi leaving him swallowing clouds of speeder exhaust. His lightsaber being visible was also a welcome change. He felt more a Jedi than a detective, and that had been a while.

The sight of Emily crawling up her back never failed to contort his face into a slight cringe. Frankly, Dagon had been getting more used to it and the rest of Yula's not!junk. The more time they were together the more he opted to carrying and using some of her neat gadgets, finding their utility extremely advantageous but he'd rarely admit that to her. Guess he was picking up on her pettiness more than he'd like.

As Deputy Law would say, "Yee-haw, partners." he mimicked the words in a pitiful attempt at a space cowboy's accent, before freefalling out from the dropship spreading his arms and gluing his legs as graceful as the best of acrobats.

And then there was that liberating feeling again. Soaring. Just like from rooftop to rooftop across Coruscant and Denon. Weightless. The cold air brushing hard against his face, turning warm the closer they neared the surface. In these moments he felt truly free. Free of all burdens, free of all troubles.

Flying.

Tags |

Audren Sykes | A ARS VAMI | Pash Tafo |

Yula Perl | Maya Zhou | ok i copy paste tags ig

Pash Tafo · Sep 3, 2021

Pash's blue gaze swept the interior of the jumpship, where the volunteers sat, their attention fixed upon the defacto lead of the mission,

Yula Perl . They were a motley bunch, a mix of spacers, gunslingers, Jedi and fringey Force-wielders. Some Pash had met at the Alana Sunrider's gathering of Forcers, others he was meeting for the first time there on the dropship.

Yula and just torn herself away from her display, over which she had been poring over in silence for quite some time. The woman Pash watched was far different than the one he had first seen at that gathering on Susewfvi, where the Zeltron-blooded woman rolled in three-sheets to the wind. The Yula leaning into the display was all business, and more. It was not hard to see that she took the mission personally. Pash knew she had designed the droids who had gone haywire, certainly she felt some responsibility in rectifying the situation.

As she tossed up the holo map, Pash stood from his cross-legged position. He had prepared as best he could for the coming challenge. He performed the Alchaka and then the art of Emptiness to help attune himself to the Force. That connection did not come to him as easily as it did the Jedi in the group, but the Matukai practices, using his body as a sort of Force antenna, allowed that connection to flow.

The Zeltron technowhiz gave her spiel. She had already provided information on the droids they would face, indicated where they would have to be contended with and summarily jumped out of the ship. Pash was starting to admire the quirky, unpredictable woman.. In the wake of her departure, team began to divide up.

Jared Starchaser was the first to call his choice, the heavily armed man soon joined by

Aeshi Tillian , who opted for the mines.

Cryx Tillian (the relation between the two Pash had yet to guess) sided up with Jared, and coaxed Pash to join them. Cryx was the one who had asked Pash to participate in the action in the first place. Freeing the settlement seemed to line up better with the Matukai's skills, so he too would go to the settlement, as did

Shaye Ares .

The last thing Pash heard was the spunky 'Yee-haw' from

Dagon Kaze before he snugged up the harness that kept his collapsed wan-shen against his back and leapt out after the others.

A ARS VAMI

Jared Starchaser · Sep 4, 2021

Time to get to work. He didn’t really leave himself much time to think. Perls and Starchasers were more the do-ers of the Jedi... and Jedi adjacent, in Jared’s mind. Others took the time, paced themselves, but not the way he was raised. Plan of attack? Attack. End of plan. He had an idea on Shaye coming with him, he’d heard of her through his father. Apparently she was a cousin, so more Starchaser blood. That was…good, maybe?

Coren had been a bit quiet on the exact lineage and where Shaye was, at least to him. Probably one of Marek’s. And if they could direct her into the path of Coren? Well, that was better than a Starchaser out there going dark. That was something Jared lived with, out on the Rim. Choices were more different, more drastic.

Once in the air, the Hunter focused himself and his body to reduce drag, heading for the landing zone. Tapping on his wrist-datapad, he sent it over to Shaye, a landing zone he identified. Using the Force and physics to push himself through the air, he was watching the height and as he hit the required minimum safe to launch his grav chute, he did, lightsaber in hand. As he landed, a blast of the Force was snap freezing the area around him, spikes of ice catching one of the droids as he turned to ensure the landing spot he selected was safe. At least for

Shaye Ares .

Audren Sykes · Sep 5, 2021

ROGUE DROID BASE

The expression on Yula's face wasn't quite worry, wasn't quite anger. In all honesty he couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it was a far cry from the inebriated and carefree happiness she'd presented during the initial Circle meeting. Obviously this was something she cared about. That she'd managed to wrangle in so many others on this as well...she definitely cared.

Audren had examined the details of these droids just like everyone else present. If he'd read the schematics correctly one of the bots would be impressive, two dangerous, and more made a formidable force. Especially if they coordinated and their weapons loadouts for maximum efficiency: they were programmed for a variety of guns, each with different strengths. It was clear that they could work together - though there was a slight chance that was the byproduct of this madness - since they had set up a base camp some ways away from the assault on villages. There was little doubt in his mind that a group of the mechanical cowboys could hold off or subdue a decent-sized detachment of your standard pirates. Though in this case they weren't hunting pirates, they'd gone haywire and were instead hunting civilians. Which in turn meant that those in the ship were hunting the droids.

Immediately after Yula claimed the drinks were on her - a bold claim that might just lead to bankruptcy with this group - she leaped from the dropship. One by one the others followed, many declaring their intended locations. To the Sephi's ear it sounded like most would be going to the settlements; wise of them since civilians were actively under assault there. He'd come prepared to hit a stronghold, and Aeshi declared her intention for that as well. He just hadn't planned to jump from the dropship; might as well have taken a freighter if they weren't going to put down under cover. Thank goodness for grav chutes though. As the vessel emptied he stood and pulled one on, securing it carefully. The case that he strapped to the front of his body was nearly half his height and very close to his body weight but was balanced by the chute.

Though it was an awkward few steps to the exit it was less than it could have been given the balance of the case and chute. He carried his normal gear in addition to the case and so took a split second to check the rest before simply tipping forward and surrendering into gravity's embrace. Once he was in the air normal grace returned, there was only the minimal friction to slow his fall and he angled after Aeshi's distant form. It seemed she'd engaged the chute early: he was quickly gaining on her position. It would have been so much easier just to have the drop ship perform it's namesake duty and drop them off.

Yula Perl |

Shaye Ares |

Dagon Kaze | Pash Tafo | A ARS VAMI

Yula Perl · Sep 6, 2021

Rimward Trade League & Allies

//LOCATION: DESCENDING ONTO BPFASSH
// GOAL: ELIMINATE AND/OR EXTRACT THE INFECTED 3-HAW DROIDS

Objective 1- Protect the Civilian Outpost |

Shaye Ares | Pash Tafo | A ARS VAMI

Ido Outpost was little more than a dozen buildings. A simple dot in the middle of the desert, life was harsh enough given the environment and wild beasts. Add in the threat of rogue murderbots, and the situation became dire. Fortunately, the Rimward forces managed to make it there in the nick of time.

As Jared landed, his quick thinking froze two droids in their place just as they’d aimed their pistols at the incoming Jedi. Soon after he landed, however, their servos whirred angrily, and two pairs of mechanical arms broke through the ice. Their bodies still remained encased for now, though they struggled to free themselves, but they’d begun to shoot, aiming to take out as many of their assailants before they’d even hit the ground.

At the town center—really only a few paces from the landing zone—a concentration of droids unleashed a barrage of blaster fire on the local cantina. The shabby building was holding the majority of the town, and had boarded itself up the best it could, but blaster holes and slugs had pounded the barricades thin; they didn’t look as if they’d hold up for another 10 minutes or so. Some of the denizens were returning fire from inside the cantina, though at a much slower, and more inaccurate rate.

A few paces away, a boy about the age of 12 was running from a pair of droids. The 3-HAW units were had smoking blaster shots to the head, which was possibly why their own shots were hitting the ground behind the boy’s feet. The lad was quick too, and the blaster clutched tightly in his hand painted a picture of what had likely happened only moments before.

Objective 2- Eliminate Rogue Droid Base & Capture Droids |

Audren Sykes |

Dagon Kaze

Yula’s descent was slowed by her grav boots, the miniature repulsors giving her enough thrust to land with a tuck-n-roll. Dagon’s ‘yee-haw, partners’ was still ringing in her mind like a holdover from that time his inebriation made him believe that we was Deputy Law. Silently, she hoped that the theme wouldn’t follow them elsewhere, but was thankful for his presence all the same. She hadn’t said it yet, but he knew it. The others would soon follow, dotting the barren landscape of Bpfassh with their humanoid forms. Wiping the dust from her jacket and pants, Yula couldn’t help but notice how bleak and sun-banked the landscape was. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been here, and that thought was pretty embarrassing.

Fortunately, they all managed to rendezvous at the crest of the canyon, which was all Yula had heard from Aeshi; whatever had come after that was replaced by the wind. “Thanks for helping out us planet-siders, Tillian.” She flashed the other woman a wide grin, teasing but genuine enough. The Tillain brood was known far and wide, especially as wardens of the Outer Rim—they never let anyone fight on their own, no matter the job. Accompanying their ragtag group was Master Sykes, a humble Jedi known for his capable nature. Another name passed on to her from Joza, who’d joined him for a few Silver Jedi missions in her youth.

Hunkering down on a ridge overlooking the gorge, Yula scanned the valley with a pair of electrobinoculars. “There!” She said, without gesturing to anything. “Right there.” The entrance to the mine wasn’t particularly difficult to see with the naked eye, but the shadows angling against the wall of the canyon produced many similar-looking indents. This one was at the base, though—and if one looked close enough, they’d see that rather than having irregular edges, the opening was in the shape of an arch. Man-made. Or maybe droid-made. Who knew.

“Huh, that’s weird though-“ Yula frowned, spinning the wheel of the enhanced binoculars back and forth as she tried to adjust the settings. “I’m not seeing any electrical signatures. There should at least be a few, unless I didn’t fix these well enough…” She smacked the side of the device with one hand, as if that would help. Sometimes it did. This time it didn’t, and she pulled the binoculars away from her face with a sour look, then began fiddling at the plates with a screwdriver. “Maybe we should send in a probe first, they might be further back in the ca-“

A series of clicks sounded from behind the group. Maybe the others had sensed the impending ambush while Yula was busying herself with the binoculars. Even if they tried to warn her, their words would fall on sorely preoccupied ears.

Either way, they were surrounded by a dozen or so of the rogue droids, with Kathol-era blasters trained on them. The 3-HAWs had fanned out in a semicircle, effectively trapping the Rimward folk between their guns and the literal edge of a cliff.

"You'd best be moving along."

One of the droids intoned flatly, and the situation itself suggested exactly where they were supposed to move along to.

Cryx Tillian · Sep 6, 2021

IDO OUTPOST

Jared Starchaser

Shaye Ares Pash Tafo A ARS VAMI Maya Zhou
=================================================
Cryx let the air hiss past him as he knifed downwards, counting the seconds of descent. He angled his body and let the variability air pressure guide him towards the landing zone just outside of Ido Outpost. Jared was already taking out two as Cryx spread his limbs and let the shock of the sudden deceleration ripple through him before he tucked and rolled across the parched landscape. Pash was not far behind him and he kept a close eye on the Matukai behind him.

Not that Matukai were incapable of handling themselves. In fact, they were some of the best at hand-to-hand combat. But being able to hold off droids with lots of guns in a stealth infiltration was something else, and it was the first operation like this he knew for Pash. And he didn't want to lose any more junior agents.

The two droids chasing the boy were his first concern, but he could hear the sounds of blaster fire from the village cantina where the rest had barricaded. He snapped up the carbine and fired two shots, but the blaster bolts flickered off the deflector shield and he grunted, letting the rifle fall back on his sling and letting out a long breath, wrapping the light around the boy so he disappeared from vision. He couldn't do anything about infrared or thermal yet. That was a much more complicated ability and not possible to apply to other individuals.

"Need to take out the droids!" Cryx called back behind his shoulder. "I can distract them!"

Aeshi Tillian · Sep 6, 2021

DROID BASE CANYON

Audren Sykes

Dagon Kaze
====================================

Aeshi stumbled and grunted as she staggered onto the landing zone. "Karking commando missions," Aeshi grumbled and grimaced as she rubbed her stiff knees. "Planet-siders," Aeshi grunted and picked herself up slowly. "I don't know why the rest of you all can't just live in space stations like sensible sentients. No gravitic arthritis. No bacteria. No viruses."

She squinted into the glare at where Yula was pointing, shading her eyes with the brim of the hat. Something surged in the Force and she spun on her heel and let out a low whistle.

Aeshi considered for a moment and eyed the familiar, albeit old Kathol weapons.

"Why am I always getting told what to do by droids." She cocked her head and stared over at the droids. "First it was Omni's minions. Then it was a bunch of automated transit drones and security sensors. Now it's you lot. And I'd be more than happy to move right along once we have some answers."

Pash Tafo · Sep 7, 2021

The landing was a rough one, Pash only decelerating when he was close enough to the ground to employ the Force against the dusty earth. He had prepared his body during decent for the landing. In true Matukai form, Pash hit the ground at a low angle, already rolling, slowed some by the Force push against the ground, he took a series of these shoulder rolls to slow down, finally coming to his feet several paces behind Cryx. One hand deftly snatched the wan-shen from his back and extending the polearm's haft.

Pash's eyes followed Cryx's, seeing the damaged droids pursuing the boy. It was clear what the Tiilan had done, working to conceal the child and hinder the haywire droids. Pash began to move with a Force-driven swiftness to flank behind the droids and incapacitate them. But only a couple steps into his movement, the need to rescue the boy seemed moot. A woman wielding a lightsaber appeared literally out of nowhere, as did a number of Wookies who dispatched the droids. None of them were part of the team from the dropship, and unfamiliar to Pash.

Turning to shoot a glance at Cryx, Pash shrugged and swung his gaze back towards the besieged cantina.

Cryx Tillian

Jared Starchaser

Shaye Ares Maya Zhou A ARS VAMI

Shaye Ares · Sep 7, 2021

Shaye felt a rush as the wind whipped through her hair. But as the ground seemed to rise to meet her, she let instinct take over and sharpen her senses. Shaye wasn't trained like Jared was, but she'd had a lesson – a single lesson – in how to use the force. She remembered being asked to jump and similarly remembered the fall. Her cousin cleared the way, freezing two of the droids that were poised to attack. Actually, hold on... they were attacking. A red bolt cut through the air and went right through her chute.

Her chute did its job (barely), and she landed hard but with enough assistance from the force that she didn't break any bones. The bolts were still flying and the droids were probably about to break free at any moment. She grabbed her saber and fumbled with it for a moment before the blue blade buzzed to life. Of course, she lacked the skill to deflect anything that came her way and chose to duck and roll instead. But she was able to leap at one of the droids and cut off an arm.

Blue eyes flickered towards the cantina, where return shots were being fired... hell, that's where she'd be if she'd been planetside while this was going down. But the people inside were pinned down pretty well, at least they would be if the droids came in force. But it looked like some of their people were headed that way to help.

And speaking of droids, the two frozen droids needed to be dispatched quickly if they were going to get these people out. “This is fun!” she hollered to Jared as a red bolt narrowly missed her. She didn't know doing good was actually going to be fun... or else maybe she'd have done something to benefit the galaxy sooner. Nahhhhhhh.

Cryx Tillian | Pash Tafo | A ARS VAMI |

Dagon Kaze · Sep 9, 2021

WHEN DROIDS ATTACK
Outer Rim Adventures vol. I
Issue #1

"...or maybe they're right here." Dagon muttered, finishing Yula's thoughts. More than a dozen cowboy droids surrounded them with weapons leveled at the interlopers. The Knight would've probably admired the poncho, the revolvers, and the stand-off hadn't the droids just 'politely' asked them to plunge down to their deaths. While their aesthetic seemed fascinatingly on point with the holoflicks he'd watched, Dag was certain their capabilities were very, very real. Yula had a crazy commitment to her inventions.

Aeshi Tillian said:
"Why am I always getting told what to do by droids." She cocked her head and stared over at the droids. "First it was Omni's minions. Then it was a bunch of automated transit drones and security sensors. Now it's you lot. And I'd be more than happy to move right along once we have some answers."

"Don't think I'm gonna wait for their answer, lady." one I expect would come through the end of a barrel.

Outnumbered, outgunned...

...this is gonna hurt.

Callin upon the ethereal, he summoned an upward telekinetic wave to push the droids back and their aim up in the sky before he launched himself high up into the air aided by the Force coalescing over his feet. The cerulean blade snap-hissed to life, greeting the really warm welcome of blaster bolts following his aerial form. Playing distraction always hurts. Landing at their back with a few scorching marks already on his leg, shoulders, and chest, the raven-haired Jedi had a limited time before the blaster fire inevitably overcame his defenses.

The others had to act.

This window of breathing space wouldn't last long.

Tags |

Audren Sykes |

Audren Sykes · Sep 9, 2021

As he neared the landing zone, Audren shifted his positioning from semi-guided flight to more of a typical falling posture and triggered his grav-chute. As with most safety devices it triggered almost immediately, causing the straps to dig into his body. He bore the strain without complaint, knowing that by packing the extra weight and not activating the chute earlier he'd only increased the punishment he was receiving now. The closer he got though, the more obvious it became that the grav-chute wasn't going to be quite enough. So with difficulty he thickened the air beneath him to give more resistance. this slowed his fall enough that when he hit the ground with bent knees as a cushion...and a meter or so of skidding.

He'd made up the time he'd lost on the dropship's exit, but just barely. Yula, Dagon, and Aeshi had all landed before him. The Sephi immediately unstrapped the case - and the chute - and lugged it over to where the others had gathered. Yula was already peering through a set of electrobinoculars; by the time he set the case down she'd found the cave reported to be the home base. The report that there weren't any electronic signatures got a raised eyebrow as he dug into the bag, not even bothering to open it up.

Then came the clicks from behind them.

Said clicks were also accompanied by slight whines of items powering up. A glance showed that those items were actually blasters, held by no fewer than a dozen of the very droids they were here to stop. Of course they were. Because he couldn't sense these droids - or their intentions - through the Force they weren't where expected and instead were positioned to ambush the ambushers. Oddly, they didn't immediately open fire but insisted the team be 'moving along'. Not that there was anywhere to go, what with that cliff just ahead.

Aeshi started talking about always being told what to do by droids, then agreed to move along if the team were given answers. Thinking that outcome less than likely, Audren's hands closed around two items in the case. They did so blindly but he had the distinct advantage of being the one who'd packed the case and thus knowing what went where. At the same time he sank into the Force. He couldn't detect the droids themselves but did have a slightly better-than-average precognition sense. If he sensed that the droids were attacking then he would react, and the same if one off his companions acted.

As it turned out, it was Dagon who made the first move. The Sephi sensed the ingathering of Force power and caught the hint of a falling sensation...Dagon would go high as a distraction and come down away from the other three. As the other man's initial effort - a telekinetic wave - started, Audren pulled both hands free of the case and rotated to face the droids. He took in the entire situation at a glance and within a fraction of a second both objects were in the air. His own telekinetic effort was much more precise than the Knight's, intentionally so. Along with the telekinesis however came a brief burst of telepathy. Not his strong suit but hopefully enough.

EMP!

Twin spikes of telekinesis hammered the grenades as they were in the air. One of them had been tossed further away from the elfin Jedi: there was a quiet pop as the small amount of accelerant lit off...just enough to drive it into the ground near the droids' feet. There it detonated into an EMP blast that probably wasn't enough to drop the droids permanently, instead being the additional delay they might need to stay alive. The other likewise lit off, but when it hit the ground near the middle of the droid's combat line it gave a noisy huff and a cloud of gas erupted. It kept spraying; this particular grenade was designed to give that initial blockage but still fill an area.

By that time Audren was up on both feet and halfway to the droid nearest him. His own orange lightsaber blade burned to life as he closed to striking distance, fully intending to dismember all of the artificial cowboys within range. Behind him, the case lid was on the ground to reveal the contents: nestled in padding was a grenade launcher with varied grenades as well as parts that - when pieced together - would form a heavy repeating blaster. She'd said the things were tough after all.

Yula Perl |

Dagon Kaze

Jared Starchaser · Sep 11, 2021

Elementalism, that was the discipline of the Force he was currently playing with. Taking what he could find in the world around him, and manipulating it, using it against his foes. Here on Bpfassh, it was going to present a bit of a challenge, but in the same direction, it was providing good practice. Droids were beings that Jared had no misconceptions against. Yes, he and his family always had droids around them, but they were only as good as their programming, and were not… normally sentient.

But these ones, well, they were on a bit of a rampage, and… stronger than he suspected. As they brought through the ice with their arms, he reached forward and hurled his lightsaber in a sweeping arc. Going for at least one or two of the arms.

“What did you put in these things?” Jared all but shouted over the comms, directed towards

Yula Perl . He turned his eyes to the sky to see the others coming down. And Shaye, his possible cousin coming down a little bit harder. As his lightsaber arced back towards his hand and he moved to double up the cold on the ice slow the droid’s servos down.

What was surprising to him now was how

Shaye Ares was working once she landed. Maybe she had some of Jedi blood in her somewhere. “Just keep your eyes peeled!” He shouted as he deflected a bolt back to the droid that fired it, only for it to fall uselessly off to the side, hitting the droid. “Need to move in close.” And with that the Hunter of the Fringe leapt closer to the droid, one between him and the cantina, landing with the lightsaber leading him.

Pash Tafo A ARS VAMI

Cryx Tillian

Yula Perl · Sep 12, 2021

Rimward Trade League & Allies

//LOCATION: BPFASSH SURFACE
// GOAL: ELIMINATE AND/OR EXTRACT THE INFECTED 3-HAW DROIDS

Objective 1- Protect the Civilian Outpost |

Shaye Ares | Pash Tafo | A ARS VAMI

The pair of droids chasing the young sharpshooter fell to the woman with a lightsaber, and once Cryx’s trick of the light had worn off, they’d find the boy wide-eyed and roughed up, but no worse for the wear.

“What was that! What in the Nether did you do!” The lad gawked, equal parts surprised and impressed with the strange newcomers. They came from the sky with their own weapons, a few even had lightsabers—and that made him energetic with hope. “Most of the people are stuck in there,” He pointed aggressively towards the cantina. “Yall better work fast, ‘cos the droids are mad an’ I don’t think the walls are gonna hold for much longer.” And with that, he scurried away.

With Jared and Shaye working to dispatch the frozen droids by severing mechanical arms and redirecting blaster fire, the units besieging the cantina took note of their new targets. In a stroke of momentary fortune for those trapped within the bar, a handful of rogue droids turned their attention away from hammering at the thin barricades. Instead, their focus was redirected onto Cryx, Pash, Amanda, the Wookie, and assorted company.

“A new primary threat has been detected.”

The 3-HAWs strode forward, blasting at their new enemies relentlessly with brutal calculation. Little did they know that they were dealing with some of the finest scoundrels the ‘rim had to offer.

Objective 2- Eliminate Rogue Droid Base & Capture Droids |

Audren Sykes |

Dagon Kaze

Yula’s upper lip curled in a mix of vague surprise and offense. Had she really programmed these droids to be so…dramatic?

The answer was yes, obviously.

Four Jedi vs. a dozen bloodthirsty droids designed to shoot things. At least they didn’t waste any time—Dagon surged forward as a distraction, deflecting bolts and eating blaster fire where necessary. His interception bought Audren a few moments to prepare his own assault. An experienced combatant, the Sephi employed the use of telekinesis to detonate a pair of EMP grenades exactly where he intended before deploying a canister of gas that, unbeknownst to Yula at least, would dampen the effects of blaster fire. Like Dagon, he charged into the fray with his saber.

For her part, Yula rolled away. Jared’s voice crackled in her ear and she cringed, managing to answer him while scrambling to her feet. “Is that sarcasm or do you want an actual list? Because this build is-“ The Zeltron paused to duck below a trio of bolts burning straight for her head. “-proprietary.”

The droid popper went off, and three droids stiffened for a moment before spilling to the ground as fluidly as a mechanical skeleton could. Yula took this opportunity to dart in low, grabbing the head of an unconscious droid with both hands. “Sorry, Aeshi!” She called out over her shoulder. Similar to the other woman, she’d found the droid’s behavior to be…difficult. It was like seeing your own child turn on you, or so she’d imagined. “I think they take after me too much!”

Dagon would never let her hear the end of that.

Feeding the Force into the droid, she trawled through its system, patching new connections and willing her influence over the very mechanical brain she’d designed. Fortunately, it wasn’t too tricky; she’d spent hundreds of hours designing this model to the point where the schematics were burned into her brain. The droid’s eyes flickered to life and Yula scrambled back in baited hesitation. It rose, facing her, and appraised the Zeltron for a few moments while rebooting. Then it turned around and shot one of its brethren in the head at point-blank range.

Yula grimaced, but whooped. She had visions of the Jedi slicing their way through a metallic graveyard and it made her soul weep.

“Don’t destroy ‘em all! I found a way to sav—uh, fix some of em;! Remember it’s for science!”

Or something.

Pash Tafo · Sep 13, 2021

With the boy safe amid the wreckage of his destroyed droid pursuers, Pash turned to train his gaze where the child pointed. That was the cantina Yula mentioned. It was surrounded by besieging droids. The handiwork of the offworlders had been noticed, Pash noted, as a trio of the rogue droids turned to engage, weapons blazing.

With a darting glance to his companions, both from the dropship as well as the lightsaber wielding woman and the Wookiees, Pash began to surge forward. He channeled the Force through tuned muscles, urging it to course along his arms and up the haft of the wan-shen, until the weapon from blade like head to butt of the shaft was imbued with the Force. He began to move with lightning speed, the polearm whirling around him, blaster bolts deflected from the flashing head back at the assaulting droids.

His hand shot out, directing the Force to lift a duracrete planter and hurl it at the closest droid.

@Yula

Jared Starchaser

Cryx Tillian

Shaye Ares A ARS VAMI

Aeshi Tillian · Sep 14, 2021

ROGUE DROID BASE