(L,F&E #22a) Escape from Coruscant

[kalenath]

Val was slowly coming to again, her eyes flickered open once more...

 

Ugh her arm, it was burning badly. She winced as the pain began to stream through her once more. Remembering how badly things went the last time she hopped up she propped herself up slowly with her good arm and looked at the medic wearily.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

[kalenath]

Dron winced as the girl, Val, started to rise. His voice was strangley gentle for such a hard bitten, battle scarred man.

 

"Ma'am, please don't move. You're hurt. We are going to be taking off in a minute and well... Will says its going to get hairy." He grinned, mirthlessly. "And if his previous actions are anything to go by..." He strapped himself to his chair and checked hers, they were tight. They were not restraints, just an acceleration harness, but he wasn't sure the girl would know the difference. He hoped she wouldn't hurt herself further, he was worried about her arm, the Wookiee hadn't meant to hurt her, but he had. Dron watched her closely. He heard the hum of the engines. Then...

 

Aleesa and Troc sat in their bubble turrets, their heavy weapons purring in readiness. Neither said anything, neither had to, they would live or die, fighting.

 

A Sith war droid raised its bulbous head. It stood in the midst of a platoon of troopers, all of which had been detailed to guard this bay. One of the troops looked at it, his posture incurious. His posture changed rapidly as it's shields came online and its weapons popped out. He screamed as it opened fire.

 

Alarms started sounding though out the starport. Radiation alarms! All of the experienced spacers ducked for cover, some heading for ships, some heading for survival shelters. The Sith star port commander looked at her screen and blanched! Baradium bomb! She started barking orders.

 

Other alarms started ringing, a ship launched, a Sith transport. The Sith commander at the heavy anti-spacecraft gun battery covering the star port flinched. It was a transport, just like the one described. But it had a hundred troops aboard? He stared at his screen, his crew pressed him for orders, he shook his head and was about to order them to fire when another took off. Another Sith transport, this one read empty!?!

 

"What the frak?"

[kalenath]

Val still eyed the man cautiously. Acceleration harness, no restraints? Hearing him mention Will she allowed herself to relax slightly as she moved her good arm to cradle her injured one.

 

"Why are we on a Sith ship?"

 

She was going to stop trying to guess, her assumptions just seemed to lead her to more pain and with her head still killing her she wasn't really in any condition to think things through. Besides it was apparent that she wasn't going to be able to get off, might as well get answers or at least try to in the meantime.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Dron grinned at her question.

 

"This isn't a Sith ship. I don't know WHAT it is, but one thing for sure, it ISN'T a Sith ship." He sat back as his weight seemed to triple.

 

Will smirked as his hands flew across the controls. No less than SIX identical ships were boosting for orbit now. And with the Sith sensor arrays in complete DISarray, well... Nobody shot at them. In moments they were in the upper atmosphere. A sensor beeped. He sighed. Sith fighters inbound. He keyed an alert to the gunners, hoping they could handle the job, then put it out of his mind. He couldn't merge. He knew that, so he just had to get...creative. He grinned.

 

The leader of the Sith fighters snarled into his com as his flight closed on the ships that had escaped from the ground.

 

"No Sir, they won't get away. We have..." He broke off as his screen went nuts. Where there had been six ships, now there were twelve, no make that twenty, no make that... He snarled again. "They have deployed decoys! Visual sweep, close range scan, find them!" He muttered to himself. "Who are these guys?" The decoys scattered and his flight did too.

[kalenath]

Not a Sith ship? She knew her ships this was Sith in design, it screamed it but not Sith... then perhaps it had been captured, converted, modified.

 

She moved her hand to her head and rubbed her temples hoping the pain would vanish so she could process things properly again... so she could think. She removed her hand from her head and returned it to her arm, her brown eyes looked back over him a little less suspicious this time.

 

"Then you're a friend of Will's?"

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Dron looked sheepish at Val's question.

 

"Not...er... well... He hired us. I don't know what you remember, but, uh, just before you got shot, well, we..." He slumped. "A guy hired us, said it was easy money... I'm sorry Ma'am I didn't know that the Sith wanted you, we don't work for them if we can help it..." He shook his head. "Well... I'm sorry." He finished lamely.

 

Will spun the ship into an insane trajectory. It actually collided with a drone decoy, sending a clunk through the ship. It was working though. He keyed teh intercom.

 

"Gunners stand by, we are clear for the moment. Hyperspace calculations are going through now. As soon as we clear the gravity well, we are gone. But once we leave the drone swarm we will be visible to every Sith ship in the area, of which there are a lot. And we will have about fifty seconds befor ewe can jump. So be ready."

 

Aleesa stared at her screen. A lot of ships indeed. She swung her guns. They tracked smoothly, far more smoothly than any dual six-rated heavy lasers she had ever handled had before.

 

Troc watched and waited. He was ready, that was all that mattered.

 

Olana growled and Will nodded. The Sith had sent in big guns. Then he smiled.

 

"The capital ships are going for the decoys. But keep an eye on them."

[kalenath]

"Wait Will hired you but before that you worked for someone else... someone who..." A frown crept over her face and her brow furrowed slightly as she froze for a second. The blurred recollections from earlier flitted into view...

 

The man who took off her watch, the mercs, the shot and pain, Will's voice... horrific smells, the mercs again, garbage... ship.

 

"You, you tended to my arm after I was shot." She rubbed her temples again hoping it would make the pain in her head go away. A slight smile crept upon her face and her eyes no longer seemed to regard him as the bane of her existence, they looked much more friendly despite the apparent signs of pain. "Thanks."

 

Hearing the unmistakable sound of metal striking metal reverberating through the ship Val's attention shifted. Was that a good clank, or a bad clank? The intercom buzzed to life, at the sound of Will's voice she felt relief until she heard that last bit... 'visible to every Sith ship in the area'. That was not good, not good at all.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

[kalenath]

Will sat at his controls. Then he keyed the intercom again.

 

"OK, here we go... Gunners stand by, Dron, Val, I hope you are strapped in." He slewed the ship sideways, and put all power to the engines. A high pitched whine came from the abused inertial dampeners. And the engines roared as the ship tore free of Corucant's atmosphere at last.

 

The Sith flight commander cursed loudly. They had IDed dozens of contacts, but now three of them were making a break for the edge of the gravity well. He heaved a sigh of relief as tractor beams shot out from the closest Sith capital ship and pulled the fleeing transports in. But then...

 

"Commander, sensors have pierced the jamming, no life forms aboard any of these." He froze as the com came from the capital ship and then he winced as all three captured ships blew up. Inside the Sith cruiser's hangar bay. He snarled as he saw the damage and then some sixth sense, he knew he had no force ability, told him o look away. He did just as space lit up and the cruiser disintegrated. When he opened his eyes though, he saw another transport running, in an odd direction. He smiled grimly and boosted his fighter into pursuit. His wingman followed.

 

Where else would these tricky people go, except where not expected?

 

Will cursed. All but two of the Sith fighters were still chasing decoys, but those two were coming hard.

 

"Gunners! Weapons free!"

[kalenath]

((Aaaand another newcomer!))

 

A black-and-red droid had been seated within a small room on the same level Val was on. When the ship exited Coruscant's airspace, the droid had activated, as though following a preset chain of commands dictated by him. he droid stood up, uncurling itself from its almost fetal-like position on the ground. His red eyes illuminated the room as he made he way out of the room he was stashed in and onto the hallway of the level.

 

Raising his head up, he gazed at the durasteel roof of the hallway, beeps of data coming from his body as he began to organize parameters and objective patterns. Pulling out a small metal disc, he lowered his head and gazed down toward the room Val was in, making his way toward the room while making sure he was not seen. One of the prime directives he was given was to not be seen leaving his origin point, entering the ship, walking through the ship itself, or leaving the ship to return to his origin. Any who would see him is considered expendable, and he had to remind himself to delete any security vid data to eliminate the idea of him having even been on this ship in the first place.

 

He had been tracking Val for a time, ever since he heard that a sought-after ship engineer had left the Empire. However, he was not here to take her back, or kill her for having deserted the Empire. He was given a different objective.

 

The door slid open and HK-50 walked into the room, the door closing shut behind him.

 

"You are Viala Sunrunner," The droid said in his deep voice. "My client has need of your services. Do not worry- you shall be rewarded for your work."

 

((Posted by Zelkin))

[kalenath]

Seeing the droid walk in Val's brown eyes widened and she jolted up still in the acceleration harness causing the pain in her arm to well up once more. Her eyes darted frantically from the HK unit to the medic trying to gauge his reaction, she had been wrong about the ship initially but droids, droids were something she currently was not fond of... especially not HKs or astromechs.

 

"Is this clanker with you?" Her eyebrows rose as she questioned the merc. She had a bad feeling about this.

 

Returning her attention to the droid, the confused yet wary expression remained. "And who would your employer be?" It wasn't marked the same as the HKs who had escorted her but that didn't mean that it's intentions were any better, correction that its client had better intentions.

 

Right now she was really wishing that she possessed a blaster of some sort and the ability to decently use one, how ironic the weapons maker can't fire a gun... she sighed internally. Will, she wanted to scream for Will... he hated HKs, surely he wouldn't let one on board... not unless it had a good reason for being on board. Ugh her head hurt so badly.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Dron heard Val's question, but it didn't click... then something did and the floor came up to meet him...

 

Will relaxed as the ship jumped into hyperspace. They had made it. The Sith fighters hadn't quite gotten close enough. He relaxed for a moment. Then a startled exclamation from Olana made Will look at his screen. He flinched, teh surveillance screen showed Dron on the floor and Val cringing back on her bunk, but whatever she was cringing from was not on the screen. He jumped out of his chair and grabbed his gear belt, heading for the medical compartment at a run.

[kalenath]

"How bothersome."

 

The HK unit stood there above the fallen body of the medic, shaking his head. He was not in the mood for bothersome mercenaries, much less having his mission and covert operation compromised due to a security leak. He had to make sure to hack into the surveillance system before he left the ship. What he needed to do involved secrecy and subversion, and not mindless killing and destruction. Though HK units are typically assassin droids, he was designed with stealth, speed and cunning in mind. His algorithms allowed for a higher level of thought process, above the mindless killing other HK units were designed for.

 

Walking toward the console next to the door, he pressed his clawed hand against the keypad. A few seconds later, the door was sealed. He then turned around to face Viala, lowering his arms. The most noticeable things on the droid were small single blades on each forearm of the droid, and the blade-like kneecaps. They weren't extended or looked like a weapon of any sort, however.

 

"I am not here to harm you, Viala Sunrunner. My client, Marik Fatir, requires your assistance with the algorithms and energy distribution of a ship. We believe it to be of your design, but if not, we suspect that it is not unfamiliar to you."

 

Raising his left hand up slightly, he activated the disc in his hand, emitting the image of what looked to be a Basilisk battle-droid, but of larger, capitol-ship scale, with the mouth end of the ship closed and with six legs instead of four.

 

"We have determined that there seems to be a problem with energy distribution between these sectors," The droid pointed with his free hand at the head section and the body section. "The ship will not function properly without the leg-like stabilizer and boosters being provided with energy."

 

"If you are willing to help me, I will call off the Imperial forces who are currently en route to your current position. They have tracked this ship through the gravity well. I will also give you five hundred thousand Republic credits."

 

((Posted by Zelkin))

[kalenath]

She glanced down at the merc lying limp on the floor and then back up to the droid. Marik Fatir, that name didn't ring a bell but that ship, she had seen designs like that floating around but before she could lay her hands on it she had been bumped to another project. Wow had they made that large of a design flaw... that was shameful.

 

Her voice was a little shaken but still rather firm. "I'll help if you call off the Imperial forces and promise not to touch anyone else... actually make that not kill, injure, or incapacitate anyone else unless I give you permission. And five hundred thousand credits is a generous offer, your master must want this fixed badly." Her brown eyes studied the HK unit, this one seemed different from the rest she had been exposed to and it intrigued and frightened her... but she couldn't put a finger on it, perhaps it was just the way its processing core hummed.

 

The fix seemed simple enough in her mind, in practice however the design flaw was a major one. If she was back at the labs and had seen this pass through she would have personally gave those working on it a piece of her mind... it was just shameful but correctable.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Will ran towards the medical bay, wondering what the heck had happened. Dron wasn't a bad sort for a merc and a quick check had shone the other two in the turrets still. So... He was expecting the doors to open as they always did so it took him completely by surprise when he ran full tilt into a hatch.

 

"OW!" He hit the manual release, it didn't open. He keyed in an override code, it still didn't open. He swore and pulled out his tools. This wouldn't take long. He just hoped whatever had happened wouldn't be fatal for the girl.

[kalenath]

"Affirmative. If you wish, I would be willing to protect you until the cruiser exits hyperspace, where I can make my quick escape. My objective here is to ensure your survival and assistance in this matter, and not to shed any unnecessary blood. My current directive demands that as little death be committed while trying to accomplish my task. It also demands that you continue to live, even beyond aiding with my task. Your life is far too important... to my Master."

 

The HK droid extended his hand toward her slowly, offering the hologram blueprints of the ship to her.

 

"Now please, if you would be so kind; once the modifications to the blueprints are complete, I will give you the credit slide and alert the Imperial forces to back down. That, however, will not stop any individuals from further pursuing you, as my command does not encompass Sith Lords or Imperial Commandos, unfortunately. I apologize for the inconvenience this will no doubt create, as I am ninety-five percent certain that you have individual pursuers."

 

((Posted by Zelkin))

[kalenath]

Will slowed his steps. Something was very wrong. The surveillance cameras in the area were deactivated. Almost all of them. That took skill. These were not normal Sith installations. He checked his blaster. He had found three blocked hatches so far and a check showed they had all been sliced, expertly. He had never seen such quick and elegant slicing. He could slice, sure, but his was ham handed compared to say someone like Trava, and even she might have been outclassed by…whoever this was. He was getting close now and he froze. He… Something…He shook his head, for just a second he thought he had heard something, but… Nothing was there. He activated his stealth field generator anyway, just on general principle. He came to another hatch, the last before the main hold and medical. He pulled out his tools, not even checking, he knew it would be sealed. Just a few minutes now…

[kalenath]

Val nodded and took the hologram and set it on a small shelf next to her with one hand, the other arm remained limp at her side and she didn't plan on moving it unless absolutely necessary.

 

Reaching into her cargo vest with the same hand she used to place the hologram on the table she pulled out her datapad and it flickered to life as numerous security prompts popped on the blue screen. The woman winced as her other arm was called back into service and she moved her hand pressing it against the datapad and typed in a few codes before numbers and words began streaming across the screen. Pulling a wire from her pocket she attached it from the datapad to the hologram and downloaded the blue prints in a matter of seconds.

 

Sitting down she kept the long black wire connected as she began making alterations. The Power grid needed to be better distributed and the soure moved closer to the areas which required the most energy to function to make the grid more efficient. Adding in another source with similar capabilities in the grid would take care of the flaw and solve all power problems, it was the ideal choice but the most drastic.

 

She tapped her fingers on the side of the datapad for a moment after writing in the changes, there had to be a more cost efficient method, a more feasible option. Her fingers moved over her datapad again as she saved the current blue print and started another. Increased power at the sources and some rewiring to make the circuits more apt to carrying power to the places which needed the most of it would cause the systems to be more efficient. She let out a satisfied smile.

 

She saved the second blueprint and uploaded them both to the hologram for the droid. The pain in her arm became blatantly noticeable again and she winced as she set the datapad down and her arm brushed against her vest as it fell limp next to her side again. She deactivated the datapad with a quick series of prompts which she issued with her good hand, disconnected it from the hologram and stashed it back in her vest before collapsing into a chair behind her clutching her arm. Her face was even paler than it was when she began and her voice was a little shaky. Her brown eyes were obviously in extreme pain from the prolonged use of her arm.

"There, two options, both I uploaded to your hologram. One is better functionality wise but will cost your master more credits and modifications than he would probably be willing to spare. The other will allow the ship to functions, possibly not quite as well but it will be a quicker fix and ultimately easily done in terms of credits and alterations. The first will take you years to revamp, the other a matter of a week depending on who you have doing the rewiring and what resources are easily attainable. Now call them off."

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

[kalenath]

The droid took the hologram emitter and nodded.

 

He then lifted his head up and began speaking into his built-in com, but the speaker was audible enough that it could be heard by anyone near him and just outside the door.

 

"All Imperial Forces are to stand down, by direct Imperial command, sub-section 574-B. All forces currently in pursuit of the ship engineer are to disengage and return to base, by order of the Emperor himself." His voice had become deeper and more human-like, resembling a certain helmeted Sith.

 

"But, my Lo-" A voice echoed from the droid's com.

 

"Did you not hear me, Commander? This is a direct order from the Emperor." The voice echoing from the droid put intense emphasis on the words 'direct order'. They were menacing, even terrifying.

 

"Y... yes, my Lord..."

 

The droid tilted his head back down to gaze at Viala, pulling his hand back behind himself and pulling out a small pack, placing it on the shelf next to her, along with the credit slide.

 

"My Master foresaw that you would be injured. I brought a small amount of medical supplies to help aid you." His voice echoed back to its normal voice. "If you have need of me, you may contact me via datapad. In the meantime... I shall remain here until we exit hyperspace."

 

The droid walked over next to the shelf, curling back into his fetal position. As he did so, the blades around him expanded over his body like sheet metal, then seemed to transform it what appears to be an expansion of the shelf. No memory core humming, no signal. It was as though the droid had cosmetically enhanced himself to look like the rest of the environment, while deactivating himself to further enhance the illusion.

 

((Posted by Zelkin))

[kalenath]

Val's long hair parted as she looked back up at the droid as his voice changed. The droid's master must trust him immensely for him to allow the droid to use his voice... or what she assumed was his master's voice. Pain was kicking in and things were starting to get blurry this time.

 

Medical supplies? The droid had brought her medical supplies, but why? It had what it needed, it or it's master didn't need her anymore... this was getting more and more confusing. And then the droid disappeared and she started to wonder if she was going insane but the medical supplies was still there as was the credit chip. Shakily she pulled herself out of the chair and grabbed the pack digging through it with her good arm... she needed something to take the pain away. There was something she needed to do first, she grabbed the credit chip and stuffed it down in her pockets... Will couldn't know, Will hated HKs and it wouldn't end well not after the droid so easily took out the merc.

 

She turned her attention back to the pack... it was starting to get a little hazy and her head felt light? Something else was wrong. She looked down at her arm and saw blood trickling down her sleeve, her run in with the wookiee combined with her using it to reconfigure that ship must have done more damage than she thought. It was clear that she didn't have much time, she pulled out a syringe and stabbed it in her arm. She was hoping it was what she thought it was... the ships started to fade away faster. Stash the pack, she had to stash the pack.

 

Grabbing the back she zipped it up and threw it in a cabinet. It was getting duller, the universe was grey, she melted in a chair. The cosmos went black.

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Will moved slowly and cautiously into the medical bay. He saw Dron stretched out on the floor and Val unconscious in a chair.

 

What the flarg? How in the…

 

He looked around. There was no sign of anyone now. No marks on the floor, no residue of gasses, no nothing. He checked both of them and slumped in relief as he found them both breathing. Dron was out cold, no sign of what had knocked him out. Val… he was worried about her and flinched as he felt her injured arm. It felt… wrong. He pulled the medical scanner off the wall and ran it over her. He froze at the readings. He wasn’t a medtech, but he knew what some things meant. It was bad. He came to a quick decision.

 

Mysteries can wait, she needs medical care now.

 

He hit the comlink to the bridge.

 

“Furrball, max speed to Tattooine, we need to get there ASAP.” He moved to wake Dron, he had a sinking feeling they would need the medic. Soon.

[kalenath]

Viala was out cold and not responding to anything. Her body laid there limp as a rag, her long brown hair partially obscuring her face as she continued to breathe faintly. The last thing she remembered was darkness...

 

 

The Yinran logo blazed on the wall as she tinkered away on the massive engine in front of her. It was her pet project, her hobby. Any spare time she went went directly into that engine and it showed, the tubing and hoses all perfectly aligned and cleaned, the burners positioned to .000000001 degree of accuracy for maximum efficiency, everything was perfect or as close to perfect as was humanly possible and even then some. The funny thing was that it would never see action, it just sat there gleaming in an old lab for show, fuel would never run through the injectors, it would never fly.

 

'Viala Sunrunner.' A metallic voice called out echoing through the empty sterile space. She rolled out from under the engine and looked up at the droid.

 

'Yeah 79 what is it?'

 

'There's a conference coming up on Coruscant and the Corporation wants you to go. Starship design is the topic and your expertise is greatly wanted.' The protocol like bipedal droid began following her as she got up and walked over to a table meticulously putting her tools away.

 

'Clanker I don't want to go.'

 

'But Mistress Sunrunner you must. It could do wonders if you went and the Corporation has offered to pay for everything. Think of the recognition you could bring to the members of your team.' The droid was persistent and it knew what drove her, it had been programmed to.

 

She paused and turned towards 79. 'Fine 79 I'll go. When does this conference take place?'

 

'In approximately 48 standard hours.' The droid seemed to be almost leaping with satisfaction.

 

'Joy. I guess I better pack.'

 

'There is not need Mistress Sunrunner, it has all been taken care of.'

 

She shot the droid a curious look and scratched her head. Why didn't this feel right? 'I guess I'm good to go as soon as I change into something that's not covered in grease then. Method of transport?'

 

'Company starship.'

 

'Can I pilot?' Her eyes gleamed at the prospect of flying.

 

'No, corporate protocol dictates that...' She was gone the door whooshing shut as she left. The droid was left standing there mid sentence.

 

 

(OOC: ok just for reference grey text indicates a dream sequence/flashback just to make things easier)

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

Will hated the feeling of helplessness. It wasn’t something he could fight. They were pushing the engines as far as they would go. He had coaxed every ounce of speed they were capable of out of them. He sat, watching as Dron worked on Val’s arm again. Once again, he kicked himself for not shooting that slime Squiggy as soon as he had seen him. He had hoped to avoid bloodshed and the girl had been hurt as a result. Dron looked at him, the merc’s face was bleak. Will got up and left the medical bay. Aleesa and Troc were cleaning weapons in the main hold and Will nodded to them. He moved to the cockpit. Olana was slumped at the controls. Will sighed.

 

“It wasn’t your fault furball.> Olana snarled softly, but his heart wasn’t in it.

 

<I hurt her, I was trying not to. I…I hurt an innocent.> Will looked at him and sighed.

 

“Bad things happen. We just have to deal with it.” Olana nodded and left the cockpit to get them both a drink. They were coming up on Tattooine space and so… Will hit the intercom. “Gunners, its time, lets hope we don’t need you.”

 

A few minutes later readiness reports came in from both turrets. Olana brought Will’s drink and he sipped it quickly. Olana gulped his and then took his station. The stars reverted to their normal twinkling right on time and they were in Tattooine space. And, wonder of wonders, there were no bad guys chasing them. Will smirked, the double jump he had done must have worked. Some of the pursuers would undoubtedly come here looking, but some would also go haring off to Correllia, the other destination along that jump path. Double jumps were tricky and dangerous, but worth it for throwing off pursuit. Will keyed his comlink to heavy encryption and sent a message. A few minutes later a familiar face appeared on his screen.

 

“Will, you are a crazy son of a barve for coming here.” Will grinned. He never tired of hearing Cranna the Hutt speaking Basic. She did it to poke the eyes of the Hutt elders who had exiled her from Nal Hutta for daring to become a warrior. And what a warrior she was…

 

“Medical emergency Cranna. Can we land at the clinic?” She tensed, then nodded.

 

“Clearing a slot for you now, see you when you land.” She had the best medical facilities this side of the outer rim, but she didn’t open them for just anyone.

[kalenath]

As the ship exited hyperspace and entered the Tatooine system, the black and red droid removed itself from the camouflage cosmetics it had been customized with.

 

The thin metal sheet that acted as what seemed to be an extension to the shelf once more turned black, then receded back into the arm blades of the droid. With the camouflage disengaged, the HK unit's eye lenses illuminated red, signaling its reactivity. It had made sure to scan for nearby lifeforms, and with none in its immediate vicinity or in any adjacent rooms, it came back to life and retracted from its fetal position.

 

Standing up, it walked out of the room, heading the opposite way of the bridge and onto a turbolift that led to another level of the cruiser. Scanning for lifeforms as the turbolift descended, it exited the lift and made its way to the waste management system. The HK unit pressed its right hand against the nearby console, sealing the door and activating the airtight seal which ejected waste out into the darkness of space. As the alert sounded in the chamber to indicate that waste was going to be expelled, he calmly walked toward the exit hole. He knew that this would alert the bridge, but when they discovered the activation of the waste chamber, it would already be too late. To ensure his safety, he made sure that the crushers did not activate.

 

Once more, he re-assumed his fetal position, but he curled his body up tight into a ball of some sort. His head unit pushed downward, the blades on his forearms extended and went around him into a sort of circle-like setup, while the blades on his knees extended up and over his head, then over his back and connect to the bottoms of his mechanical feet.

 

The waste system ejected himself and a few debris out into the darkness of space. As it did so, a small personal shield generated over his body as he was flung far out of the range of the large cruiser. As the HK unit continued floating out into space, he engaged his com unit.

 

"Have a shuttle come to pick up my droid," He spoke in the deep, hollow human voice he used to command the soldiers earlier. "It is currently floating on the outskirts of the Tatooine system. Pay no heed to the Sith cruiser that is landing on Tatooine- it is not hostile and should be ignored. Your objective is my droid, and only my droid. I want it transported back to Korriban immediately."

 

"Yes, my Lord." Replied a female voice on the intercom.

 

It wouldn't take very long for the droid to be picked up by a Sith shuttle and quickly leave the system. As he was retrieved by the shuttle, however...

 

"The Shatterer is nearly complete, Master."

 

And he was gone, just like that.

 

((Posted by Zelkin))

[kalenath]

Will landed the ship deftly and was gratified to see a medical team with a gurney approach as soon as he dropped the ramp, he ran to meet them, leaving Olana to shut down the ship. They waited at teh bottom, they knew him. He ran down the ramp.

 

"Come up. Patient is human female, blaster wound to right arm, crushing trauma as well." The doctor in charge of the team nodded, one of the nurses noted the information on the datapad as they followed Will into the ship.

 

Will led them through the maze of twists and turns and quickly brought them to the ships small medical bay, Dron stepped back as the team moved in. The doctor, all professional, examined Val quickly, then barked orders to his team.

 

They moved her gently onto the hover gurney and prepared her for transport. He looked at Will. Then smiled. A heavy weight seemed to fall off of WIll's shoulders and he slumped. He nodded to them and they started off. He knew that nothing would get past Cranna's security. But... he stopped as he saw the mercs lined up and he smiled.

 

"You guys want to keep going or is this your stop?" Dron shook his head and smiled back.

 

"We can find our way from here. Life is a little too exciting around you, you know?" Will grinned at his dry tone, then nodded and extended a hand. Dron took it, WIll shook with Aleesa and Troc as well, then handed each a credchip. They looked at them and then stared at him. He smiled and inclined his had to teh exit. AS they left, he heard ALeesa exclaim.

 

"He's insane... thirty thousand EACH?" He grinned at Dron's reply.

 

"He may be, but... I hope we don't face him again." The other mercs replies, if there were replies, were lost in the howl of the Tattooine wind as it tore across the outer hull. Olana came up, his face was a study. Will smiled at him.

 

"She will be all right furrball. They will take good care of her." Olana nodded, but seemed distracted. "What?" Will asked.

 

<The waste system was activated as we were landing. The compactors shut off.> Will's eyes widened. <Only one type of thing I know of could have sliced all of our systems, gotten in there, and survived being blown into space.>

 

Will nodded his eyes hard.

 

"Droid..." He stared after Val, then turned back to Olana. "Search the whole ship, and you know what to do with this one. We don't take it back." Olana nodded. Then Will moved off, his thoughts furious.

 

A droid, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! Did it...hurt her?...or what? Probably another FLARGING HK! What am I? An assassin droid magnet?

 

His com chirped and he saw it had downloaded mail for him. He had been, very out of touch while helping a Jedi search for the source of an attack on the Jedi Enclave on Tython. While it had ultimately been unsuccessful, it had kept him occupied. He looked at the first message marked urgent and froze in his tracks.

 

Nia...

 

((For any who are wondering, Will just found out his daughter was hurt on Alderaan. And he is now officially POed))

Edited January 26, 2012 by kalenath

[kalenath]

'Mistress Sunrunner Corporate has given you a new astromech to accompany you on your trip.' As 79 spoke a yellow and blue striped astromech rolled towards her issuing several various beeps clearly 'happy' about its new master. Viala was putting on her jacket as she was heading towards the ship which was to whisk her away towards Coruscant. Glancing at the astromech and back towards the protocol droid she sighed.

 

'79 I do not need another droid.'

 

'But the Corporation insisted. You must take it with you. It possesses detailed maps of the area where you will be staying as well as all the information about the conference.' The protocol droid was struggling to keep up with her and the astromech.

 

'Fine, fine I'll take it with me.' Just what she needed more walking cans following her around everywhere.

 

She jumped in the small transport as the astromech rolled up the ramp beeping rhythmically behind her. Seconds later the ship rose from the landing platform and disappeared as it exited the atmosphere and made the jump to lightspeed. Pulling out her datapad, Val plugged her headphones in and completely ignored the astromech which continued to chirp and chime in order to gain her attention.

 

'Mistress Sunrunner we have arrived at your desired destination.' The metallic voice of her droid pilot rang out across the intercom and Val let out a deep sigh.

 

As the ship touched down on Coruscant Val shut down her datapad and rose from the ship strolling down the ramp. The droid continued to beep and chime as it followed her.

 

'Listen rust bucket, please please shut up. I understand you perfectly, you don't have to repeat yourself fifty times and you don't have to chime in every two seconds because I'm ignoring you. Trust me save your voice chip for times when I actually want to hear you talk. Got it.' Her brown eyes glared at the astromech and the droid stopped beeping instantly.

 

'Greetings Miss Sunrunner. We've been waiting for you.' The voice came from the cloaked male figure approaching her from the ramp. The ship behind her suddenly retracted the landing ramp and took off. Things were wrong, very wrong.

 

Val paused something wasn't right. The cloaked man continued to walk towards her and several armored soldiers appeared behind him, their rifles raise in her direction. Her eyes darted down towards the astromech.

 

'Engage combat program 11C.' She glanced down at the droid her voice was raised. 'Engage!'

 

The droid let out a series of snickers, a hatch opened some sort of device flew out targeting Val. It all happened so fast, she never had time to react. The universe faded to black...

 

 

The young woman's eyes slowly opened, her surroundings were hazy as if she was shrouded in a fog. Wait, where was she? She opened her eyes wider attempting to focus. Things slowly started coming into view... doctors, medical facility perhaps. Oh her arm, she had nearly forgotten... how long had she been out for?

 

((Posted by Nitwhit))