Access Denied

[Arage Bao]

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

The lack of a daze allowed him to react-

Instead of the butt slamming into his head and knocking him out, it was caught by his shoulder. That was where the good ended and the bad began, because it hurt like a gorram fether. Lightning coursing through his bones and rattling his nerves, all punctuated by a sharp hiss from his lips, but Xian was not a stranger to pain. He had felt more pain than most people could imagine in his time as a slave and it no longer caused him to curl up and cry in the dark.

The moment the butt connected Delilah met a mountain, instead of a collapsible wooden fortification, the sudden resistance enabled Xian to reverse the move against her.

His own leg coming sweeping out of the dark as close proximity made it difficult for her to get away in time. Trying to hook her ankle, so she would collapse and then use his weight and size to his advantage on the ground. Something rattled in his shoulder though, it was enough to warrant a mental note at the back of his head.

Caution was advised.

 

[Malen]

Malen quickly knew that sooner or later, people were going to come for the Network Access. [member="Janeth Farr"], an agent of theirs had been kidnapped, meaning whoever they were fighting were going to come after them. The slicer knew he had to prepare himself for a number of scenarios. Despite some disagreements, he did not want the Collective to fall, viewing it as a useful asset for an ever increasing network. As always, when it came to dealing with things in the fifth domain, he had to be prepared, otherwise one mistake could be his entire downfall.

Having spent some time in the Underworld, and in cyber-space, Malen knew there was always a possibility force-users could be employed or be part of the personnel conducting an operation. Even if Nar Shadaa had hundreds of billions of people living in the planet, and trying to find a specific force signature could be extremely difficult, Malen still used force stealth as a back up measure. The Epicanthix hybrid however didn't concentrate as much as he already would, knowing full well that the huge population of Nar Shaddaa would serve as an effective cover.

Having been employed in Aladon, as well as always taking many odd jobs allowed Malen to be able to develop his skills. Like many slicers, he also had a bunch of programs, each with a specific function that would help him in his fight.

The first defensive line was a firewall that functioned like any other firewall. The only thing was that it used supervised, and unsupervised learning, blending the to and creating an algorithm that could self-learn.

The second, more powerful defensive wall was the Epicanthix was using a series of VPNs, all using the quantum variants of SSL, PGP, GPU and other encryptions to be able to protect who he was, and so forth. That added with a proxy that functioned like a VPN made it more than he needed to be protected. Fortunately for him, the cloud servers didn't even log his IP address meaning even if they were hacked, he would still remain anonymous.

Thirdly, in regards to his location, Nar Shadaa was a technological juggernaut in the galaxy. If there were any place slicers were, it was here; tracking those packets, and their addresses, even with multiple AIs, and other hardware, would be a difficult task. Where he was especially was a hub for Holonet traffic. Having participated in multiple covert operations taught Malen a thing or two however, so he was no where in site from any visible person to see him.

Even then, Malen still carried another bag of old tricks, one that he had certainly improved when he an AI had decided to attack his datapad. No way was he letting that happen again.

One would assume that with all this programs, Malen's datapad was using a large amount of resources to be able to maintain this programs. He however, had redundant qubit processors(or Aladon's equivalent for it) that made processing things very easy. That and the added bonus that his OS didn't use many hardware resources(think a Linux distro like Linux Mint compared to Windows anyway) made it more efficient for him.

Using a quantum encrypted channel, he like fellow slicer [member="Jest de Rous"] contacted the AI Xira. With his datapad connected to the terminals, servers, etc, he like the many slicers in the Collective, was more than ready to help them, if the AI willed it.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

It was the way the movement of his muscles felt against the butt of the rifle that warned her he was not going to take this lying down. Just a hint, the way his shoulder started to rotate- it wasn't enough to tell her exactly what he was about to do, just that he was about to do something.

And she doubted it would be him crying 'uncle' and showing his belly.

So she was already moving back as his own leg swept toward hers. Instead of hooking behind her ankle and taking her down, the toe of his boot impacted against the side of it- harder than it had any right to. If she hadn't been wearing boots of her own it would have been blindingly painful. As it was, it was still deeply unpleasant and she dropped to one knee, bringing them eye to eye but not prone to the ground as he'd hoped.

Del had no intention of grappling with this beast of a Twi'lek. Gravity and size were strictly against her there. Ground fighting favored the larger opponent in most situations, and that sounded like the worst possible way to end today.

So she punched him square in the bridge of his nose. At least, that was the aim- a quick jab, the location chosen for maximum startle (protect the eyes, the brain said, and a punch there would seem to be going for his eyes)- if she could break the fragile curve of bone there, where it turned to cartilage? So much the better.

If the hit landed, she'd use the opportunity to stand back up....

[member="Xian Valart"]

 

[Sturgis Tal'Verda]

Objective: Clear The Room
Enemies: The Collective @Janeth Far
Allies: The Compact

"Where did all these guards come from?!"

Pew-Pew

"Hrng!"

Pew-Pew

Sturgis thought that there would be less resistance inside the actual network access of Bloc 1. Turns out it was just as heavily fortified inside as it was outside. The Hutt's forces were taking too long to get through and it seemed like more and more guards kept pouring in. Something needed to happen soon or his small band of Mandalorians would be over run. His comrades blasted away taking down turrets and scrambling from cover to cover. He sucked his teeth and pulled what looked like a shotgun slug from his belt.

Celeber.

It was one hell of a drug. He might have been a little addicted. He tapped his helmet's com twice, paused, and tapped it three more times. It was a signal to get to cover.

"Oh karking hell," muttered Joura. "Get to cover!"

With his back against a warm server and his wrist pointed up he fired a small smoke bomb into the center of the room before jamming the shotgun shell-looking syringe into an exposed portion of his suit on his neck. Oh yeah. That was the stuff. He could feel the rush, or rather see it. His pupils constricted and everything around him became sharper. He even felt like he regained a little more of his hearing. He felt the weight of his dual blaster pistols in his hands and watched with wonder as the black smoke filled the server room. He stood up and vaulted over the short data bank he had been hiding behind and smirked behind his glowing red T-shaped visor.

​

His feet landed with purpose, or at least he liked to think so, his HUD picked out targets one by one, vital organs and weak points. Turrets weren't safe either. The first pull of the trigger and it began. A flurry of blaster bolts from the cloud. He could see them, dropping like flies. Friend, foe, he didn't really care. He just wanted to kill something. Click Click Click. Out of ammo, no problem. He shoved the pistols into their holsters and drew his beskad and jumped from the cloud, taking a shot right in the shoulder. 'Faster.' His heart was pounding. Probably from the Celeber, or was it the fight? He really couldn't tell anymore. The cloud had cleared, sucked through the ventilation above and the battle resumed with more guards taking the place of the dozen or so he had killed his his flurry.

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Location: Bloc 1 Entrance (Main Exchange Forces), Exterior (Droid Rearguard), Approaching Bloc 4 (Tactical Team)
Allies: The Compact/Underworld - [member="Sturgis Tal'Verda"] | [member="Koda Fett"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"] et al.
Enemies: The Collective - [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Ras'Kel'Kanto"] et al.


Bloc 1, Network Access
Nar Shaddaa

Exchange thugs stormed the bloc, taking losses as they did so. The toxic gases outside had forced most of the organic contractors from their position holding the Compact's entry point, but a contingent of DD-S1 security droids remained behind in case things went south and to pick off those foolish enough to attempt to escape in their direction. Their orders had been vague, to provide support for their allies and engage only if necessary. Well, now it seemed necessary. The hired goons in riot armor took up positions providing cover for the independent mercenaries attempting to wrest control of the site from the Collective defense forces.

The flagging band of Mandalorians were fortified by the surge in reinforcements, but without proper leadership there was little in the way of strategy. Against the better trained and better equipped Collective personnel, there was little they could do but provide harrying fire and hope for a lucky shot or two.


Outside Main Access

"It isssss no good, bossss," Hakar hissed into his encrypted commlink, out of sight of the Collective forces for now, "There are too many. Sssstealth will take usss no farther, and I don't have enough men to take the posssition, not without calling our men away and alerting the otherssss."

"That is unacceptable," Ifan's voice crackled over the private channel, "By the time the rest of them get around to taking the Bloc, our quarry will have had enough time to wipe their data cores. All of this will have been for nothing."

"Maybe we could catch them by sssurprissse, break through their posssition," the Trandoshan reasoned it through aloud, "But we wouldn't make it back out. Sssertainly not the sssslicer."

"Also unacceptable. We'll just have to try our luck with a remote access," the Exchange lieutenant responded, "Double back to Bloc 1, and have your slicer plug in and pull as much as they can from whatever they can get into."

"Underssstood," Hakar acknowledge despondently, not used to failing in a mission when he promised the Prince otherwise.

At least in the server room, he would likely find an opportunity earn more for his tally. Gripping the hilt of his double-blade, he ordered the tactical team back the way they came.

 

[Ras'Kel'Kanto]

Ras'Kel'Kanto​

Location: Bloc 1 - Nar Shadaa​

Objective: Support the Collective​

---

---

---

---

​

---

The Duel.
Hab-unit seventeen
​

Set music.​

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure.

Ras's immunity to ion weapons was his greatest secret, one of the few things the Saurin intentionally kept Koda in the dark about. As a soldier, Kanto had a responsibility to plan and prepare an ace for every eventuality. Koda probably packed that EMP grenade for this very fight and Ras needed to press his advantage before the bounty hunter recovers. So the cyborg continued to press, rapidly closing the distance between him and the retreating Koda. He was so close to ending this- he just needed to keep up the pressure. So when the flames came, Ras just crossed his arms over his face and continued. Fire lapped around his durasteel frame, which began to glow red-hot and radiate waves of visible heat off his figure. His cybernetics were rated against such temperatures, but his actual organs were not- heat alarms flared across Ras's HUD as he continued to barge though the flame.

A half a second later Ras was though, well within arm's length of the backpedaling Koda. Ras lunged and pivoted, transferring his momentum into a haymaker directed at Koda's faceplate.

 

[Lemon]

Koda Fett​

Location: Bloc 1 - Nar Shadaa
Objective: Destroy the Collective

---

---

Koda kept moving backwards towards the railing, the flames protruding outwards in a desperate attempt to take the life of this cyborg. Though it didn't seem to work, the Lizard kept coming through and before he knew he knew it a metallic fist collided with his helmet. "Ooft!" Fett grunted, staggering backwards from such a heavy hit, so much so that he fell backwards over the railing to what looked to be his impending doom. He even let himself fall for a longer period of time whilst he let his head recover from the hit. He was a super-soldier, bred for war with a high tolerance to hits such as that, perhaps the average person would've been killed by it. If not for the helmet, he surely would've been killed.

He bounced back, he always did. Activating his jetpack whilst turning his feet to the ground, he slowed his descent before moving back upwards. If Ras bothered to look over the railing he'd be met by a flurry of blaster bolts that headed in his direction. Ras was a worthy opponent, and Fett would have to make use of every weapon in his arsenal in order to take this one down. The Lizard was an impenetrable metal killing machine, not much was going to take him down, but Koda has done the impossible before. Let's hope he'll have the same positive outcome as those times.

 

[Subject 37]

Bloc 3
Allies: [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Loray Tares"]
Enemies: [member="Vilaz Munin"] | @Sangria( [member="Sanguinaria"] ) | [member="Wes Rykker"]

Things happened fast, they always did in a fight.

The Grenade that Aver had thrown popped with a loud bang. A brief explosive blast peppering the inside of the room and tearing into the various security systems in the hallway. The HRD's caught some of the flak, tiny pieces of metal peppering them as they continued their march forward. The droids paid no mind at all to their surroundings, taking blaster strikes from automated turrets and defenders alike, they marched like an insatiable legion, their faces impassive.

Slevin watched them quietly, following behind the wall of mechanical bodies.

He didn't bother rushing forward, he didn't bother running into the fray.

This wasn't some grab for glory, they weren't here to show who was best, just to win, to wipe out the little ants that had claimed the wrong mound. The Crime Lord stepped forward slowly, his blaster lifting every few feet to destroy another one of the security cameras that hung from the ceiling. His face remained impassive even as he stepped over the bodies of those Human Replica Droids that had fallen, a slightly squish echoing out as a mixture of synthetic blood and oil pressed free from the corpse.

Another pop resounded from his blaster, a camera shattering into a thousand pieces as the bolt struck it. He frowned for a moment, glancing down the hall and observing the CRE's press forward. Loray and Aver joined them, rushing into the fight and pushing the group forward into Bloc 3.

Slevin wondered if they'd even receive a challenge today.

 

[Aver Brand]

Bloc 3
Bae 1&2: [member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"]
Bae 2’s Murderbot: [member="Six-O"]
Sulky Nephew: [member="Onley Xiangu"]
Broody Niece’s Current Side Ho: [member="Xian Valart"]
Allies: [member="Helix Syndicate"] | [member="The Prince"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Kaine's NPCs"] | [member="Kael Rose"]
Enemies: [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Sola Tymon"] | [member="The Slave"] | [member="Dyxra'a"] | [member="Delilah Keyes"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"]
Engaging (forgot the ring at home, though): [member="Sanguinaria"] | [member="Vilaz Munin"] | [member="Wes Rykker"]

The Thousandhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/115631-the-thousand/ deployed at the beginning into Bloc 1 were already decimated by half. This did kark all to stop the raving madmen (and women, Nadir is an equal-opportunity employer). Buffed to the nines, convinced of their own invincibility, and – naturally – armed to the teeth, the berserkers breached into the Access district ahead of the Heralds and Demons. The organized forces following behind were there to deal with the disoriented, lacerated enemy and capitalize on their confusion.

And wounds. And losses. That sort of thing. They were accompanied by the brave, rabid, and hate-filled Lowraidershttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/115701-the-lowraiders/, who were there to prolong the crippling effects of the EMP bomb. Sometimes, even completely neutralize the loads of technology this Collective were toting.

Putting all your eggs in one basket. Such a schutta.

In Bloc 3, the situation wasn’t much different. Here it was the Coratanni HRDs paving the way for the blodletting crimelord trio, soaking up fire with their dead, fleshless bodies. Turret shot off an arm? The HRD don’t care – the HRD don’t give a shet.

Loray with a Force-souped up warhammer in the corridor. Aver with a frag grenade behind the cover. Slevin with a knife around the corner.

Could almost play a game with this, if you wanted.

Unfortunately for their enemies, they weren’t here to play games. The goal was simple – pierce to the core, wipe out the Collective, split up the difference.

As they pushed deeper into the Security base, their foes began to live on borrowed time.

 

[Janeth Farr]

NAR SHADDAA
Network Access

And so the two sides clashed at all but one of the bloc entrances. Bloc 1 turned into a deadlock between the Collective's defenders and Compact's assailants, the remaining defense turrets battered and destroyed along the way. Save for a number of them aside the defensive perimeter set up by the security forces. Without the secondary ray shield, it wouldn't be too long before they breached the choke point and really began to threaten the Collective's foothold within the bloc.

At Bloc 2 things were different. The enemy forces had amassed there, and already word of a Sith Lord rang throughout the defenders. Yet despite the local enemies, things were far too quiet. What was happening within the shadows of the Smuggler's Moon? At least two agents were out there fighting the enemy, but the security forces stayed put. Unwilling to step outside the relative safety of their fortifications where they could at least mount a defense against a numerically superior foe.

Within Bloc 3 saw the heaviest fighting. Here the Compact seemed to press forth with its spearhead assault, and soon the interior ray shield would fall and the security forces behind it were sure to drop swiftly following. It would be up to the marvel of three defenders: [member="Sanguinaria"], [member="Vilaz Munin"], and [member="Wes Rykker"] to slow them down. If not then the Collective would have to accept a far greater sum of losses during their evacuation.

Xira, kept busy, was all too unaware of the small party sneaking beneath the data center. Perhaps one of the slicers would be able to spot such discrepancies, but the artificial intelligence had more pressing matters to engage first. After sifting through essential data, storing what she was able, and scrubbing the rest; Xira was finally able to begin phase one of their evacuation. The plan was already underway. The thirty or so operatives were hard at work deep inside the blocs away from the fighting. Their means of rescue would arrive soon enough.

A heavily encrypted channel opened to [member="Jest de Rous"]. "It is up to you to use your ship's broadcast beam to scramble tracking and targeting systems within range. This will hinder our enemy's effectiveness during the evacuation, but it will also blind our turrets at the same time." Such a trade off meant that Jest's timing would have to be near perfect.

Without support from the turret grid, then the Network Access' defenders would be subjected to the brunt of enemy fire. An enemy unafraid to push further knowing that the heaviest of hitters were unable to target them. "Once you begin I will go offline. When that happens they will arrive." The channel disconnected. Her slicers would know of this eventuality, and they would be her primary guardians in the process.

Now she waited.

Collective: [member="Sola Tymon"] | [member="Delilah Keyes"] | [member="Dyxra'a"] | [member="Evoros"] | [member="Faceless"] | [member="Malen"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="The Slave"] | [member="Ras'Kel'Kanto"]

Compact: [member="Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Darth Vulkan"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"] | [member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Kaine's NPCs"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Xian Valart"] | [member="Kael Rose"] | [member="The Prince"] | [member="Koda Fett"] | [member="Sturgis Tal'Verda"]

 

[Ruug'la Jag]

NAR SHADDA
NETWORK ACCESS
Near BLOC 2
----------------------------------------------------------
Allies: [member="[/B]Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Darth Vulkan"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"] | [member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | Kaine's NPCs | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Xian Valart"] | [member="Kael Rose"] | [member="The Prince"] | [member="Koda Fett"] | [member="Sturgis Tal'Verda"]
Enemies (General): [member="Sola Tymon"] | [member="Delilah Keyes"] | [member="Dyxra'a"] | [member="Evoros"] | [member="Faceless"] | [member="Malen"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="The Slave"] | [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Ras'Kel'Kanto"]
----------------------------------------------------------

Music

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnY7ZvEAJK4

Nar Shadda metropolis glimmered in the sky in all its artificial and holographic beauty. Ruug'la Jag and the rest of his Ures'alor Company (The Clanless - Mandalorian Mercenary Company), perched above the Network Access complex from the vantage point of an adjacent building among the ecumenopolis. Wearing his mandalorian armor with his helmet on, he tapped a circular plating at the temple of his helmet to activate an internal area map on his HUD. It lit up in the visor's interior in a ghostly blue gleam.

The are seemed to be a large complex of tight fitting city blocs. An ecumenopolis clustermess. But, the Ures'alor had been given their contract mission objectives. Somewhere within the mess of buildings and tunnels, and hallways was an A.I. core that needed to be unplugged. An entire fortress for one socket. Ruug'la Jag smirked twitching his larged grey beard behind his helmet. He tapped his temple once more to set aside the map. Tapping a few touchscreen buttons on the wrist mounted commdevice of his armor he addressed the members of his team arranged behind him ([member="Lyth Meran"], [member="Teroch Werda"], [member="Muad Dib"]).

"I hope you have studied our contract briefings?" Ruug'la Jag joked. He then rose up from his crouch. He walked a few steps. Craddled in his arms was a heavy blaster assault rifle gripped by the handle with its barrel propped up by the other arm. Ruug'la Jag stopped by the edge of the building's roof. With two fingers tucked together he pointed to the roof of Bloc 2.

"There." He said in a cold declaration, continuing, "Jetpack dive onto that bloc and we'll infiltrate the connecting building inside through an air access point or perhaps even brute force via explosives....They know we're coming so the infiltration doesn't have to be stealthy."

He turned to face his team, "We will attract a lot of attention. But, I like it that way."

"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur [Today is a good day for someone else to die.]" Ruug'la Jag jeered as he lept of the building and blasted his jet pack's thrusters. Above the action he flew until he lowered and decreased the jetpack's output. Reaching Bloc 2, he cut his jet pack and dropped onto the roof. Landing immediately he ducked into a roll that had him land beside a rooftop ventilation box. Ducking down and crouching behind it he motioned for the others to follow by gesturing with his free hand while still keeping eye on the front.

While he waited he switched his commlink to his contractor [member="Gorba the Hutt"], "Big Green, this is Old Fox...we are in position. Preparing for infiltration of the hot zone. Copy."

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

LOCATION: Bloc 2 Entrance
ALLIES AT LOCATION: Droid Boyfriend [member="Six-O"] | [member="Kael Rose"] | [member="Bareesh"] Karjidic
ALLIES ELSEWHERE: [member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Aver Brand"]
ENEMIES: [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="The Slave"] | Collective NPC Forces

Matsu Xiangu was no God.

She had reached great knowledge of the Dark Side through decades of study and practice. Her prowess came only through immense effort and dedication, and even then she would never live long enough to know every aspect of it. To some it would seem as if she were a deity. Pain had warped her in to something that did not fear for her physical body - she’d only gotten stronger for surviving. Practice had made her a mentalist and sorceress capable of working without speaking.

But the second one assumed themselves immortal simply because of some ability, they were doomed.
She knew could die just like the rest of them.

That was evident as a rifle bolt tore past her head, its energy sending a tingle over the skin on her face at how narrowly it had missed her. Every nerve in her body screamed for her to move - a mobile target was more difficult to hit after all.

But…

The direction of the bolt told her where the sniper had perched.

Her influence would still be mildly imprecise due to the fact that she didn’t have time to get a perfect glimpse of her attacker - pausing for that would leave her open to a bolt through the brain. Instead, she used her own sense of urgency to fuel a crushing wave of mental power at the mind she felt crouched on the lip of the building above. It was a dampening, something that allowed her to use less of her power than she might have if she were trying to encourage irrational feelings in an opponent. What is the point? It’d be easier to run. It’d be easier to turn my rifle on myself. It’d be easier to just fall off this building. Quicker. Go. Do it. Come on, don’t be scared. It’s faster than what she’d do.

And then she heard another voice.

She only turned her head, swirling amber eyes finding the armored thing that called to her.
She smiled.

Turning that power from the Agent above, she flared it towards the opponent she could directly see and found - a wall. Not whole. But this one was clearly at least partially Epicanthix. Were she determined she could crawl over the lip of that wall and influence him regardless, but it was a wasted effort on a battlefield. So instead, she called on sorcery. Illusions through Sorcery did not affect the mind, but instead manipulated the flow of the Force around an opponent, altering their perceptions. To The Slave, it would appear as if Matsu Xiangu had simply disappeared. (Drawing closer, picking towards the insect in the center of the web.)

Of course, to anyone she had not directly pressed her sorcery towards, she might appear only semi-translucent…

 

[Onley Xiangu]

LOCATION: Bloc 2 Entrance
ALLIES AT LOCATION: [member="Six-O"] | [member="Kael Rose"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"] | ULTRA-VVVVVV! | [member="Ruug'la Jag"]
ALLIES ELSEWHERE: [member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Aver Brand"]
ENEMIES: [member="Janeth Farr"] | Collective NPC Forces

It was fairly evident to Onley that there was a void between himself and the other man, one that anything other than conflict or a mutual enemy would not have bridged so easily. But when it came to having the same goal, they could put aside whatever it was. For his part, Onley was not the sort of man to lose it just because someone wasn’t Sith - perhaps a holdover from his Mother. Hell, he could easily work with a Jedi if their goal was the same. He respected strength and wit above the path one chose.

And of course, as long as one didn’t mess with his personal interests.

Returning the other man’s agreement with a nod, he caught the half of the bandolier and ducked to the left.

From his cover he did quite similar to his temporary partner, calculating when it would be safe to peek his head out with least chance of getting it removed. The ground rumbled beneath his feet, up through the arm which rested on pavement to steady himself as the turret charged and fired over and over. It became something like a song, a rhythm repeated until he could play it too. And then, with a press of his thumb and a throw he didn’t aim overly-careful seeing as he wanted to be quick about it, he tossed his grenade. It landed close enough to do its job.

As soon as the turrets went down, fire from within the Bloc came rocketing out, aimed mostly at the massively terrifying General. Some of it pinged off the cover behind which Onley and Kael had positioned themselves and their crews but mostly it seemed...haphazard, and as if there were less of it than Onley imagined there should be. That meant most of the enemy forces remained deep within their fortification for some reason beyond the simple strategic advantage of staying within.

Taking a wider path, he moved up again, men trailing behind him. It was then that he smelled it - something wafting, something faintly bitter. Had he not been so suspicious he might have missed it entirely. Almost immediately, yards from the entrance to Bloc 2, he choked on something that was filtering heavily out of its system.

Clever.

“Masks on if you’ve got ‘em!” he yelled to his men, alerting the man with whom he’d fallen in as well. “Something poisonous being pumped in to the air.”

Which meant either the Collective agents inside had filtering systems, or that the gas didn’t extend all the way in to the Bloc. They had to move.

Onley hadn’t brought a mask himself, but his connection to the Force would help him ever so slightly. For a short time at least. If they didn’t move as fast as they could it would start to take a toll on him as quick as any other man.

Raising his hand, he signaled forward those of his men who were better armored. Two of them had shields and went first, holding them up straight to try and absorb fire as they charged the entrance, a dangerous choke point. That was evident as one of the two shielded men collapsed under the weight of the fire directed at him, but the flow of men and women in to the building kept moving, climbing over each other to get in and find cover. And Onley followed, staying close enough to Kael that they could at least hear each other if they needed to formulate a plan.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

He didn't dodge the fist.

Didn't even try to snatch it or deflect - one arm occupied with keeping him steady and relatively maneuverable, the other still in pain and Xian wasn't willing to bet how much mobility he had in it right now. So, the thick-headed Twi'lek did the one thing that came up in his mind in that particular moment and time.

Xian headbutted the looming fist.

Instead of meeting soft nose, it met hard bone and structure, instead of a squishy snap and the breaking of bones, it met firm resistance. She hadn't been wearing gauntlets or gloves, so...

Pain shook his head as the fist connected, but inverse force was a thing, she would experience the same strength against her fist.

He was seeing stars, but through those stars was Delilah trying to rise and the Twi'lek needed space, before she would try to finish him off. So he used his purchase against the floor and kicked towards her knee. Trying to either break it, snap against it or shatter something, but at the very least it would create space for him to rise and use his sword.

 

[Muad Dib]

Location: in transit to the roof of Block 2
Allies: [member="Ruug'la Jag"] , [member="Teroch Werda"]
Enemies: anyone who gets in our way

The flat black beskar'gam clad mando'ad stood alongside his vode, perched on the rooftop. The HUD in his buy'ce scanning for potential hostiles and threats. Turning his head slightly he looked to the Old Man who was talking to the unit of mandalorians. A jet pack dive to the roof below where they would begin their infiltration.

Nodding silently he turned back to the ledge as his left hand pulled the bow from his back. A slight depression of the activation stud and the energy bow hummed to life, the quiet buzz of the energy field sparking into existence. Stepping his left boot into the ledge he held the bow, covering the Old Man as he leapt from their perch.

The older Mando drew neither a slew of blaster fire or even a raised head at his crossing. Chuckling he deactivated the bow and turned his head to look at the rest of the unit.

"Last one to get blooded buys the first round, eh? OYA!"

Kicking off from the ledge backwards he spun in the air as he activated the rocket thrusters in his boots, directing himself toward the roof below. As he neared he somersaulted and pointed the soles of his boots to the ground activating a full burn that slowed his descent. Cutting the thrusters he dropped the final two meters to the roof, his bent legs hitting first, then rolling forward to a knee while activating the bow once more to scan the rooftop once more.

"All clear for the rest of the unit."

His words crossed the short range unit frequency they used. Rising to his feet he raised his right hand and removed his helm to hook on his belt within the netting. The breeze hit his face as he turned to scan the nearby rooftops looking for snipers or enemy units. The grin on his face revealed the fun the mad man was already having.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Even mandalorians didn't tend to head butt an incoming punch. She felt the pop as something in her hand went, pain flared and fire blossoming from middle knuckle straight back. A bone, a ligament, she had no idea but it shot all the way up to her elbow and she let out a growl of pain.

She'd been punching at a point two inches deeper than his nose- to be met with forehead almost a foot before where she'd expected to impact at all was deeply unpleasant.

Del drew her hand back, cradling it against her body reflexively.

She caught his movement as his hip pivoted, broadcasting his move. Everything was too close, too fast, and all she could do was pull her knee down slightly, his foot connecting but at an angle and skidding up instead of full on. It still hurt like a mother, and she'd have a bruise halfway up her thigh in the morning, but it was better than the dislocating force a direct hit would have been.

Using the momentum from his kick, she did roll to the side- but it was a controlled shoulder roll to take her out from beneath his reach when he stood. She pushed back to her feet, reaching to try to grab the carbine where it was swinging from its strap- but the pain that shot out from her right hand caused white to explode in her vision- useless. Something broken, and not one of the small bones that could be ignored for now.

Of course, he didn't give her any further chance to recover- if the situation had been reversed, she wouldn't have either.

[member="Xian Valart"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

The edge of his blade sliced through the air just as Delilah was trying to grab for her carbine.

It could have cut right through her throat and leave her for death.

It didn't.

Instead it halted half an inch before her throat, barely kissing her skin and making her freeze every single movement she made. She looked up, he looked down and Xian inclined his head in respect for a fraction. "You fight well, but I need more and you will give it." There was a hunger rooting through his body, heat and adrenaline and pain racing through his veins and senses in an overcharge of emotion. He wanted more, needed more and Xian wasn't ready yet to end the fight.

Slowly the Twi'lek went for his belt, before unsheathing yet another blade.

It was like the pirate was a street vendor for weapons at this point, but that was simply the way it was with these space pirates. The blade (once more a dagger in his hands, yet a respectable short blade in anyone normal-sized) was dropped on the floor in front of her. "Pick it up, fight, survive, show me what you've got."

As to punctuate... his foot caught the blade and pushed it away behind Del.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Network Access
Bloc 2

Friends │ Collective & [member="Mara Kellarov"]
Foes │ Compact & [member=Six-O] , [member="Onley Xiangu"] , [member="Bareesh Kajidic"] , [member="Kael Rose"]
Equipment │ Sword - Pistol 1 - Pistol 2 - Necklace - Armor

The Slave caught only a quick glance at the perverse smile [member="Matsu Xiangu"] held, each lip curling upwards to gaze at his frenzy before vanishing in a moments notice. Indeed, her assumption that altering his perception would force her into a singularly perceived invisibility, that coupled with the fact his electronics and sensory equipment weren’t working created a situation for disaster; should he not do something. Yet, as the black widow drew closer, the Acolyte seemed to retain his composure, albeit altered by the gore he had just transferred over most of the walls.

A grin of his own mirrored hers, although he couldn’t see it now. There wasn’t much use for his helmet if he couldn’t use it for immediate feedback, so as she walked towards him; he let the clips on it release. Clipping it to his hip, he revealed the faint alabaster features of a man amidst his youth; the only true sign of his corruption was the sulphuric yellow eyes made renowned by sith that came eons before he.

“So you can remember my face.”, he uttered, taking a harder two handed grasp of the hefty sword in his grasp.

His eyes wandered seemingly aimlessly as she approached, clueless as to her position. Although his physical senses were lost to what he assumed was a simple cloaking mechanism, he could still feel her presence around him; although faintly. It was obvious he couldn’t rely on it; as every second he focused on it, it would seem to fade. She existed solely in his metaphysical peripherals, and there wasn’t much time to ready himself.

Not that he minded. He did better under pressure. Why else would he approach a Sith Lord?

It was then he released his own force nullification. A menacing aura seemed to flood from his skin, filling the room with some oddly sentient and cruel determination few had likely felt before. For an acolyte, it was very out of place since something similar would be found on the more skilled and powerful of the force users in the galaxy, yet he carried it just as they would; with an arrogance he couldn’t hide.

The cloud of abysmal energy itself was something strange as well. Every current it seemed to follow led it to spread farther, like the nerve gas outside; yet it was obvious far more wraithful than a simple chemical could ever hope to be. Although The Slave obviously couldn’t see Matsu, this energy… This abhorrent display of force prowess watched her every step, hungering for her strength, her skin. Every few seconds, it would even attempt to offer her a proverbial taste test, running its sticky presence over her skin before retreating.

It wasn’t normal, even for the highly corrupted. Yet, nothing came to disturb her walk; both The Slave and his eldritch shadow simply waiting for her approach; something that entirely betrayed his berserker mentality only a moment before.

Would she sense danger, or would she assume the acolyte for nothing more? The choice was entirely hers, and would likely determine the conclusion of the fight from the beginning.

 

[Six-O]

LOCATION: Bloc 2 Entrance
ALLIES AT LOCATION: Spooky Girlfriend [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Kael Rose"] | [member="Bareesh"] Karjidic
ALLIES ELSEWHERE: [member="Loray Tares"] | Totally Androgynous Not Vrag Creature [member="Aver Brand"]
ENEMIES: [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="The Slave"] | @Collective NPC Forces
NPCS: UltraV
EQUIPMENT: Gorgon Web Rifle | Magnetic Reaper | MK-3 Heavy Bolter | On-Board Weapon Systems | Phrik Machete

The drawl of an MK-3 Heavy Bolter resounded melodically down a street that tapered off abruptly with a wall of sturdy, load bearing, duracrete. A structure that competently shouldered the immense weight of the numerous Levels above. Ungenerous, yet with a glowing red sensor that keenly--one may claim passionately---understood the sordid glamour of vicious violence, IGa-60 strummed away.

Furious sobs blistered up from underneath the flesh of the Machines carnage. For all that had changed, so much still remained the same. It was almost a sickening sort of magnetism, not necessarily the sort of thing that seemed to be drawing it's circuitry, coding and obsessive memory core towards The Haruspex that stood brave and unflinching some measure behind it - actually, to that regard, [member="Matsu Xiangu"] stood precisely 17.3 Meters away. But rather a far more woeful enthrallment. Something pleasurable. Something delicious. Something divine.

Like the subtle and palliative euphoria of a song - much like the one that played right now through the Artificials Vocoder; just loud enough to breathe over the drumming blast of the heavy weapon that rattled in the Droid's clawed hands as the ammunition belt smoothly glided in to the feed mechanism before unleashing another blast that shook the windows of the parked Speeder the Droid stood just to the left of.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut5uC91FcbI[/youtube]

Reduced to ribbons of gore, limbs and torsos shaved ragged, gashes weeping waves of blood that left debris soaked streets glimmering in the bedlam.

And on Matsu, shining brighter than ever, one of those numerous globes of shimmering crimson. Always watching. Observing. Calculating.

To her left stood a row of shops, figures cloaked in darkness huddling in what meager safety they could find. To her right, flexing glass that exhaled yellow smoke squeezing through tight crevasses of a massively webbed and cracked window. The building, set ablaze at the outset of this skirmish, used to be the home base of an Air Refresher Factory that quite recently had just relocated to New City, on Maena.

Gold Coast Spring Breeze - a Limited Edition Scent from their Corellian Line - was a huge hit with WhiffHeads and Nostalgia Hounds that agonized over the loss of the World to this day. Coincidence Matsu had chosen this location to insert her team? Highly doubtful. But the highly flammable contents of that Factory could present an interesting obstacle as this small battle waged onward.

Spoiler: UltraV

UltraV, the Bastard of Ylesia, renown in Hutt Space as a Cannibal Child Soldier and Leader of the deadly Dead Chuba Killers. Had been an asset that Matsu also acquired from here on Nar Shaddaa, Six-O had initiated the contact, and the dreadful Mentalist had brokered a deal that saw this dangerous gang pledge loyalty to her and Maena.

And while the majority of the DCK were shipping off to their new home, UltraV had decided to stick it out and see just what this woman was made of here today.

"Tryin' ta get me 'chuta, betta hit me 'chuta. " Said the young Killer in his unmistakable Hutt Space Pidgin, unleashing a torrent of shots from the barrel of the Magnetic Reaper that had become the DCK's weapon of choice. A spray of hyper-velocity pellets that shattered the body of a Gamorrean in to a welter of gore most could not easily shake their mind off from. "Still da same 'lil 'chuta since I was livin' on Ylesia 'chuta! " He continued on, loosing another volley before he thrust the side of his weapon against [member="Onley Xiangu"]. "Boska!! Go! "

 

[Evoros]

LOCATION: Gorba's Palace
ALLIES: [member="Janeth Farr"] when she wakes up, I guess
ENEMIES: [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Kaine's NPCs"]

A voice that belonged to a human. That was a start, anyway.

"Charmed. I'm Agent Evoros," she began, silvery words.

She would've liked to lie. Lies were convenient. Lies were safe. But her mission was making the Helix Syndicate trust her enough to hand over Janeth Farr (I swear to Chaos, if I go to this effort and they've already killed her I'll need a damn raise) and stand down their war on the Collective. Forging her identity to the point of fabricating a name didn't seem like a good way to start things off.

"Your forces are going after the Network Access and we're short an agent."

Inwardly she grimaced, mentally cursed.
Outwardly, nothing.

"What I want, Tytos Ardik, is to negotiate."

Yvonne was not a fan of meeting people halfway. She had gone to great lengths to hone the art of getting her way with minimal resistance. But that option was currently neither available nor convenient. So it was negotiate or fight her way through the palace, grab Janeth and escape, and hope along the way that folks at the Network Access were doing alright.
Negotiation it was.

"I'd like to know what we can both settle on happily," Evoros continued, smiling at the unseen face who owned the voice. If she were to guess, it was a dreadfully stern one. Regardless. "Do you want to go first?"