Faction Blue Screen of Death [Jedi Padawans]

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo followed the duo into the dorm, where they confronted the alleged hacker, Gorp.

Who proceeded the attempt to extort them(really?). Sazo contemplated letting Jiub eat the little schutta. Eloise reacted...gracefully:

"If you help us, I won't fold you in half like a cheap lawn chair. How's that sound?"

Sazo put her hand on Eloise's shoulder, deciding to play the good cop to Eloise's bad. "I'm sure our friend Gorp is joking. Because he surely wouldn't ask to pay to find how who's trying to murder his fellow Jedi.

She smiled sweetly at Gorp. "I'm sure Gorp will do the right thing, without any need for...incentivizing. Right Gorp?"

Eloise Dinn | Resh

 

[Resh]

Gorp seemed unperturbed by the threats and concerns of the voices on the other side of the door. But something caught his attention, "Oh-ho, do I hear what I think I hear?" He could be heard getting up and approaching the door. It slid open to reveal young Toong male. He had gangly limbs, a trademark trio of antennae upon his head, and a wide and exquisitely punchable face. His smirk was rehearsed, as he glanced between Sazo and Eloise, then back to Resh, "You needed only say you brought a pair of lovely dames with you," Gorp mimed the tipping of a nonexistent hat to them, "Ladies— For you? First time use of my services is free of charge."

"Um. Great. Can we come in now?" Resh interrupted. Gorp shot him a look, but stepped aside to offer entry. The room was unkempt, with clothes and a few greasy Pizza the Hutt boxes lying about. Posters of comics, games, and Artisan cartoons splattered the walls. In the corner was a desk laden with halfway completed tinkering projects, and an army of empty energy drink cans. Within it all was a high-end computer, with noticeable tweaks and improvements made. The whole place smelled of teenage boy.

"So, what could be so serious as to require my help?"

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise shot a side-eyed scowl at Sazo before shrugging the girl’s hand off her shoulder. But things only got worse when the door opened to reveal… a member of one of the sillier-looking alien species. Not only was Gorp saddled with a goofy name, he looked goofy as hell too.

"Oh-ho, do I hear what I think I hear? You needed only say you brought a pair of lovely dames with you. Ladies—For you? First time use of my services is free of charge."

Eloise’s eyes rolled heavenward. She had raged against plenty of Padawans for various reasons, but she couldn’t really sustain her anger toward someone who was so blatantly pathetic. He just wasn’t worth the effort.

“Whatever, nerd,” she muttered, wrist bangles jangling as she waved her hand. “Somebody fethed with the training droids, made them go berserk on the students. You’re the first suspect. If you did it, fess up now. If you didn’t, you’re going to help us figure out who did.”

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo looked at Eloise askance; was she not a people person, did Sazo do something to her, or was she just rude?

As she opened her mouth, the door flew open, revealing Gorp- and a truly...interesting smell. Sazo wrinkled her nose- both at the boy's sheer gall, and at the intensified smell when they entered the Toong's room. It was reminiscent of the must one got after training for a extended period of time. Except it was all contained in one room. She eyed a Pizza the Hut box, and nearly jumped with it hissed at her and scuttled under the bed.

"Somebody fethed with the training droids, made them go berserk on the students. You're the first suspect. If you did it, fess up now. If you didn't, you're going to help us figure out who did."

"And maybe quickly, please and thank you", Sazo added, glancing at Eloise again before scanning the room for any more hostile life-forms.

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Resh]

Gorp took the rejections in stride. He would no doubt win them over in due time. His large mouth was agape at the accusation, however, "I would never! Not on purpose or by accident. To put fellow padawans in danger, especially ones such as yourselves," He smirked, "It would be beneath my code of honor."

Resh revealed a droid processor he had snatched from the scene, handing it over to Gorp, who connected it to his computer, "This is someone else's work." He began typing incessantly, interpreting codes and processes Resh was far too technologically illiterate to comprehend. "Wow. Whoever did this really got deep in there. Their work is almost as good as mine."

"So what exactly happened down there? Are people hurt?" He continued clacking away at the console. Until eventually the screen began to flash red with a warning. "What the—? Someone's trying to break through? They traced us through the processor!" A hacking duel of presumably epic proportions was underway. It didn't really look any different, other than that Gorp was typing faster.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

If Eloise noticed the look Sazo gave her, she didn't seem to care. Her gaze was focused on Gorp, then on his computer screen as he began examining the droid processor from the inside. None of the code made a lick of sense to her. She just wanted to appear as if she understood what was going on.

"So what exactly happened down there? Are people hurt?"

"Nah, the training droids just distributed candy and toys," she muttered sarcastically. "About a dozen casualties, maybe some dead. I didn't stay long enough to tell."

The screen began to flash red, and Gorp exclaimed that they were being traced. Eloise immediately took position by the door, lightsaber in hand, ready to attack anything that might try and come through.

Sazo Vass Resh​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo looked over Gorp's shoulder, curious about the process. Well, not his shoulder per-say, but far enough to have the reek of the Toong in her nostrils, while close enough to see what was going on.

Until eventually the screen began to flash red with a warning. "What the—? Someone's trying to break through? They traced us through the processor!"

'When it rains, it pours', Sazo thought, looking over at Eloise taking a position at the door. The Korun opted to stay near the Toong; obnoxious as he was, this proved something was going on, and they needed him healthy and whole. So Sazo continued to watch Gorp type, hand sitting lightly on her vibroblade as he waged his hacking duel against an unknown yet formidable opponent.

Sazo Vass | Resh

 

[Resh]

"Oh," Gorp stopped talking after that. He hadn't expected to hear such a severe attack had taken place. His focus was then taken by the counter-hacking that was underway. Eloise posted up by the door, and not knowing what else to do, Resh joined her. Meanwhile, Sazo stayed close to the hacker. For a time there was nothing but the incessant clacking sound of his keyboard. Then, the screen turned purple. A lull, as Gorp stopped interacting with the console.

"…Children?" An omniscient voice seemed to finally say, "Unfortunate. Efforts will need to be upped significantly next time."

"Thank you for the access, padawan. Test Two complete." The computer began to heat up, and more warnings flashed on screen.

"Test two?!" Resh picked up.

"It's- It's trying to access the Temple's systems through us!"

"So stop it!"

The Toong began to tap away futiley once more. Resh had been so focused on the computer, that he was surprised when the front door suddenly opened, and another training droid was standing there. It reached out, and grabbed him by the throat.

Sazo Vass - Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"…Children?" An omniscient voice seemed to finally say, "Unfortunate. Efforts will need to be upped significantly next time."

“Ay, ay, ay, what's going on?” Eloise muttered as an omniscient voice filled the room. “Where is that coming from—?”

Then the computer started to smoke, and the door suddenly opened to reveal another hacked training droid. Resh, who had moved over by the door as well, was immediately targeted. Eloise ignited her blade and swung at the elbow joint of the arm holding the Pureblood by the throat, hoping to sever the limb in a single slash.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

"Thank you for the access, padawan. Test Two complete." The computer began to heat up, and more warnings flashed on screen.

"Test two?!" Resh picked up.

"It's- It's trying to access the Temple's systems through us!"

"So stop it!"

The Toong began to tap away futiley once more. Resh had been so focused on the computer, that he was surprised when the front door suddenly opened, and another training droid was standing there. It reached out, and grabbed him by the throat.

Sazo swore, relaxing only lightly when Eloise deftly severed the arm constricting Rash's air flow.

"Gorp, how we doing? I don't want to rush you but...", she said, motioning in Rash & Eloise's general direction and not taking her eye off the door.

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Resh]

The droid lifted Resh up, only for its arm to be quickly cut off by Eloise. The pureblood stood to help, but was then kicked back, rolling towards the back wall. "Why do you fight?" The same voice seemed to emanate from the training droid, as it then lunged for Eloise, attempting to grab both her wrist and throat, "The place will bring you nothing but ruin."

"Gorp, how we doing? I don't want to rush you but...",

Gorp was trying his best, but clearly becoming flustered, "It's… I can't keep up!" Resh, without another word, ignited his saber again, and destroyed the computer. Gorp gasped in disbelief, and sat frozen in his chair.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"Why do you fight?"

Was this digital clown really asking that question while attacking them? As if it were only logical for them to lay down and die. Feth that!

As the droid lunged at her, Eloise slashed at its other arm with her lightsaber—and kept going, roaring as she targeted its legs in hopes of turning it into a dismembered torso. She was quite intent on her task and didn’t pay the others much heed.

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Gorp was trying his best, but clearly becoming flustered, "It's… I can't keep up!" Resh, without another word, ignited his saber again, and destroyed the computer. Gorp gasped in disbelief, and sat frozen in his chair.

Sazo had seen enough. "We need a more defensible position", she said, pulling the Toong out of his seat. "One where you can work and we are not trapped in an enclosed room with one way in, one way out. This dorm room is a death trap."

Simultaneously, she reached out to her familiar via their Force bond, empathizing the danger she was in. Jiub, sent a bevy of responses- indignant at being locked in the menagerie(she was working on it, she emphasized), anger at his master's situation, and the glee he felt for imminently breaking out of the menagerie for a "just cause".

Resh | Eloise Dinn

 

[Resh]

With the computer destroyed, the cyberattack seemed to be stopped. The droid Eloise was fighting ultimately held up no better than the one's in the training dojo. Its arms were severed, followed by its legs, leaving it immobile on the ground. Resh dared to step closer. Gorp stayed right behind Sazo.

The defeated droid looked up at the gawking students, "You should reconsider your allegiances, padawans." His voice stuttered under the damage he had sustained, "The Jedi won't be able to protect you anymore. Not from the Sith. Not from the Empire. And not from me."

"And just what are you?"

If the droid could smile, it would have, "I won't spoil the surprise. Just know, you've been warned. There's no shame in turning away. Living a… normal life." Resh looked to the others skeptically. Sure, he didn't hate the idea of a life without all of this. But he wasn't exactly buying whatever their attacker was selling.

Eloise Dinn - Sazo Vass​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"You should reconsider your allegiances, padawans. The Jedi won't be able to protect you anymore. Not from the Sith. Not from the Empire. And not from me."

"And just what are you?"

"I won't spoil the surprise. Just know, you've been warned. There's no shame in turning away. Living a… normal life."

Eloise took a final batter’s swing at the downed training droid, cutting off its head with her lightsaber. “This is as close to normal as I’m going to get,” she muttered, reaching down to pick up the smoking severed head. “Hey Goop, do you think you can use its brain to trace it or something?”

"We need a more defensible position. One where you can work and we are not trapped in an enclosed room with one way in, one way out. This dorm room is a death trap."

"Agreed," Eloise said. "We'd be better off in the fething library. At least we could take cover behind the shelves. Or the mess hall. Could use the tables as shields."

Resh Sazo Vass​

 

[Sazo Vass]

Sazo started to respond, then smiling as Jiub came bounding around the corner, startling several Jedi, before skidding to a stop.

"Grab the smelly one. Protect him", she said in Korunnal as the akk dog chirped indignantly, before picking Gorp up with his tail and putting him on his back.

She looked back at Resh & Eloise.

"Maybe the library. The Archive should probably be pretty encrypted for him to get to the bottom of all of this", Sazo replied, dipping her head.

Eloise Dinn Resh

 

[Resh]

The droid was promptly silence by Eloise, its photoreceptors flickering out one final time.

“Hey Goop, do you think you can use its brain to trace it or something?”

The frozen Toong startled, and stood at attention, "It's Gorp," He muttered, "Um, I could try." He took the head and stared blankly at it while the girls planned. Resh didn't seem quite as raring to go, however. His danger senses had faded, and no warnings lingered on the horizon.

"Why wouldn't the whole temple be on lockdown by now?" Surely if this were getting even bigger, others would have started to notice, "I think it's done."

Mechanical servos sounded off, and rushed past the door. A trio of droids full sprinting down the hall. Not at the padawans, but past them.

They were trying to escape.

Sazo Vass - Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Like the others, it didn’t take long for Eloise to realize their attackers were in retreat. Peering out the door, she saw a trio of droids fleeing down the corridor. With a roar of anger she chased after them, long legs chasing them down like a predator pursuing prey.

Her green blade ignited, decapitating one of the droids. She moved on to trying to dismember the next one. But the third escaped her reach entirely, disappearing from view.

Resh Sazo Vass​