Breaking Elysium

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Elysium

This remote and desolate planet, the secret hideout of the Archangel company, had seen much of galactic history pass it by. When Archangel had taken over Loronar and processed its workers they had learned of this world and set out to acquire it.

Now this bastion of machines in an otherwise dead system was protected by a formidable array of defences and small combat ships. On this particular day, Archangel’s fleet was mostly present, some 3000m of ships, with the largest being a light destroyer, the Solaris.

Thus, when the proximity sensors picked up a ship approaching they scrambled for action, moving into formation to intercept.

XXX

Aboard the Quasar, Amara was in an agitated state.
“Enny, who were these contacts you mentioned? Why are we going to Archangel central?” she asked. She’d been on a mission and had missed Far Harbor, only being picked up on the way to this meeting.
Faelar and Shosh, her usual sources of gossip, had told her that Enyo had wanted to tell her, and so, as they headed into the trap, here she was.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


While Amara was agitated, Enyo actually looked...animated. "We are going to Archangel central to lay it to waste. We shall annihilate their fleet, vaporise their base and rescue any clones that might be kept in bondage," she declared. She actually sounded...emotional and passionate. When was the last time that had happened?


There was a feral, predatory gleam in her eyes. Today was the day for revenge - for redemption. Thuella's murder would be avenged, as would all the wrongs Archangel had inflicted upon herself and Amara. "I made a deal. With a force of hybrids. Presently, they're our allies of convenience. Elysium's fall won't destroy Archangel, but it will be a tremendous blow to their operations. We will have finally made a difference."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara looked at her sister, quite surprised. “We’re going to Elysium? Enyo, we literally will be going to the Elysian Fields if we show up there. Unless our allies have got a Star Destroyer or two we’re going to get minced!”

“Uhh, boss. Archangel’s coming. Uhh…all of them,” Faelar said in a soft voice.

Amara ran to the cockpit and looked at the scanners. “Enyo, turn us around now and get us out of here before we all die!” she said, becoming a bit panicked.

The sensors suddenly flared, and Amara looked at the scanners. Behind them, emerging from hyperspace.

“What the…” she said in awe. She felt a chill, thinking this was more enemies moving in.

That is until the new ships started firing.

The newcomers had a full Destroyer, a carrier of the same size, and with it came heavy cruisers, escort frigates and more. Instantly the Archangel fleet was outnumbered, outgunned and trapped as an interdictor field came online….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]

"Ye of little faith." Enyo, stop being OOC. You don't make quips and you don't smile. Right now she was doing both. In the blink of an eye, a large fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Even the grim cyborg looked awed. "Told you."


An interdictor shield came online, and in the blink of an eye, the dark void of space was lit up by brilliant flashes of turbolaser fire. Scarlet, sapphire and viridian beams of destruction lanced through the darkness, impacting upon Archangel warships.


The Archangel fleet was outnumbered and trapped like a fish in a barrel. Having expected easy prey after the Quasar appeared in the system, it had advanced too far and was now unable to retreat. It was in a word, beautiful. Enyo looked as close to exultant as she had in ages when the first warship exploded in a beautiful fireball, turning into thousands upon thousands of fragments.


"Send a transmission to Garnet. I want the Contingency to get the Solaris out of the way and clear a path for us. Transmit the coordinates of Archangel's surface to space emplacements. We're going planetside. Some air cover and some ground support would be useful."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara stood slackjawed as the leviathans of durasteel moved past them to engage Archangel. It would have taken them years to assemble a force like this, probably longer, and it would never have been such a surprise.

“Oh Enny…it’s beautiful,” she said, taking her sister’s hand a moment.

The Solaris hit the problem all such ships which relied on forward facing batteries did; it couldn’t easily retreat. A skilled organic admiral might have executed a radical manoeuvre to try and escape the trap, but the droid commanders were shackled by their programming. It stood and fought.

Whilst the Contingency Destroyer moved forward, the two heavy cruisers at its side engaged the escorts. A second Destroyer unleashed a swarm of fighters whilst a cruiser debouched four squadrons of bombers.

Archangel threw forward their fighters whilst the smaller ships tried to escape. Some of the corvettes and frigates, agile enough to get away, escaped. The bigger ships though were trapped. The Solaris was outmatched, on length, weapons and defences. It was faster and had a hanger, but that counted for nought in the close confines.

Once an Archangel Ironside carrier had been broken, the Destroyer and two cruisers switched their fire to the Solaris. Then the bombers, punching through the gap, dived down and came up at the Solaris’ hanger and engines. However, these bombers, rather than launching their missiles, crashed headlong into their target, the stored ordinance inside the droid ships detonating.
The bombers were destroyed of course, but they left the Solaris crippled.

Garnet, having given her orders, received the call from Enyo.
“Locations noted, Enyo. We will provide an escort to the surface, and destroy their ground batteries. I do hope that this is sign enough of good faith?”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Even Enyo looked awed. Eagerness and satisfaction were written across her features. It was not as satisfying as personally smashing Archangel's fleet, but close enough. Revenge was within her grasp. Not just revenge, justice.


"I told you we'd have revenge. Through victory, our chains shall be broken, sister. Maybe we'll meet one of our 'mothers' down there. I really want to rip their skulls off," she sounded as close to animated as Amara had probably ever heard her.


However, the call from Garnet brought her back to reality - and the price she had paid. "It is. I'm heading planetside," she responded. Her eyes flickered over to Neda. "Assemble the Eisenkrieger. We're coming in hot."


"Yes, ma'am," the former Sith stormtrooper grunted laconically. She was already kitted out in full combat gear. "You heard the Boss. C'mon, maggots. We're gonna kick droid arse, salt and burn."


Brazenly, the Quasar dove down towards the frozen, inhospitable wasteland of a planet, shielded by a screen of fighters. Crimson beams of destruction and volleys of mass driver slugs lanced through space, impacting upon the trapped Archangel fleet. Bombers roared towards the planet, heading for the ground batteries.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara grinned wolfishly. “Want to give Kress a mantelpiece companion perhaps?” she asked innocently.
She clapped her sister on the back, then shook her hand to stop the stinging. It felt like slapping a wall.
“I’m with you, Enyo. Let’s get in there!”

As they dived in, the Solaris succumbed to constant bombardment and shattered apart into a cloud of debris. The Contingency cruisers moved on, braving a hail of surface fire to deliver volleys down onto the surface. Archangel’s defence grid was now online, the shields protecting them from the majority of the fire.

However, it could not last, and when the Destroyer joined the bombardment it laid waste to the defences, overwhelming them with sheer brute strength…and some help from some bombers dropping proton bombs rather than suicide charging with them. The path was open.

The Quasar, with support, dropped in and came to a halt outside the main research facility. The guns on the ship and the escorting weapons opened up, cutting down any droids in its path.

“Now’s our chance, let’s go!” Amara said. Enyo hadn’t told her the plan…but she could guess it. This was where they’d been born and raised. This was where their brothers and sisters waited for escape. Homecoming was always fun.

“Neda, they’ve locked the door. You know what you do,” Amara said, nodding to the merc’s missile launcher.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Neda Chazzak, a veteran of the One Sith's blood-soaked rampage across the Core Worlds, grinned wickedly and shouldered her weapon. Cyborg strength meant it was quite comfortable for her. While a bit dated by more modern standards, it had an advanced, complex array of optics that interfaced with her helmet.


Through use of their brain implants, purely electronic communication passed between the Eisenkrieger, eliminating the need for hand signals or verbal orders, and they took up position. They were not as precise as HRDs, but close enough to do their job. In time, they might be rewarded with further upgrades.


"Fire in the hole," the Zabrak transmitted across the closed channel and depressed the trigger on her weapon. The launcher roared, and a missile lanced out on the tail of flaming exhaust. Sailing through the cold air with blast and heat, the warhead slammed into the heavy door.


The door was made of titanium. This did not help it, and so it was blown open, amidst a flume of fire. Reloading the weapon quickly as green dots on her HUD marked hostile presences and blaster fire lanced through the night's sky, Neda sent forth a second missile. Combat automatons and turrets were consumed by the magnificient fireball. Shouldering the launcher, she replaced it with a bolter.


"Go," Enyo commanded, and the attack began. The Eisenkrieger advanced, a wave of gunfire and black suits of armour. The hybrid was a maelstrom of the Force and sheer physical power, ripping Archangel minions apart with the Force, cleaving them in twain with her burning violet blade or blasting them with her mass driver shotgun. She was rage and fury in physical form.


Here, droids were ripped out of cover and riddled with projectiles by the Eisenkrieger, there an HRD was turned into an unwilling puppet when she assumed control over its limbs and compelled it to fire upon its brethren. Neda was close at her side, pumping out rounds with her bolter or ensuring smooth coordination of the attack.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara was relishing the battle. She usually didn’t against organic enemies, but there was something pure and clean about dicing up droids.
And so dice them she did. Her purple blade cut through durasteel, reflected blaster bolts and parried vibroblades.

The Contingency was landing troops elsewhere, creating confusion, but still they had to move fast. If they left it too long it was certain that Archangel would try and terminate the clones to deny them to their enemies.

And so on they pressed, a strikeforce which was directed through the corridors Amara remembered all too well. Here a training room she had used, there the first corridor she had ever seen. Simpler, happier times.

And then they were there, and her worst fear was confirmed. There was an HRD administering drugs through the IV line into a tank. As Amara watched horrified, the helpless clone within began to spasm.

Like with Enyo, Archangel had unwittingly dug their own grave when they gave the clones such a strong love and empathy for each other.

A rage which Amara had never felt before came over her and she leapt forward with a scream of unarticulated rage.
The HRD turned. It was Vess. But...Vess was dead! Unfortunately, these things never died, having never been alive. It looked like Vess, and even if it was a copy, it still made Amara's blood boil.

“Get away from her you queen! You will never hurt another one of us ever again!” Amara said. She was trying to contain her anger, but it was getting the better of her. She attacked, driving Vess down the main row of the tanks. She would utterly destroy this droid which had deceived her, hurt her, the droid she had trusted in her youthful ignorance. She would ensure that 'Vess' never came again. She would free her clone sisters and brothers and Archangel would burn….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Droids opposed them. Droids were turned into smouldering wrecks. Backed up by their cyborg minions, who stormed the base guns blazing, the two sisters fought like the team Archangel had designed them to be. What they did not slay, Neda and the Eisenkrieger shot, stabbed or broke.


She and Amara knew these corridors well. In one room, Enyo had taught the younger clone how to lift a pebble with the Force and use a lightsabre. Those had been simple, naive times. Before they were awakened to the truth. Before their chains were broken.


Then they were inside the cloning chamber. Incandescent fury fury surged through Enyo when an HRD administered the fatal dose that took a poor clone's life. Images of poor Thuella flashed inside her mind. She would not let another of her siblings suffer this fate! The HRD turned to face them. Vess. Or rather a copy of hers. Amara could deal with her. "Kill her. She may have a phrik skeleton," she messaged her sister as Amara flew towards Vess like a storm tide.


Tremendous power exploded outward from her and she seized an HRD about to manipulate a clone tank. Wrapping her willpower around the machine's joints, she pulled and tore with surgical precision yet horrible brutality, until she had rendered the machine's limbs useless, befor exploding its circuits.


"Secure the clone tanks," she transmitted coldly. But just as they advanced, a curtain of shimmering energy suddenly flared in front, blocking their path. The hybrid extended the tip of her lightsabre to touch the energy field, examining it. But an explosice burst of power sent sparks and streaks in all directions, nearly knocking the weapon out of her grasp. In the same moment, another curtain sprang into existence behind her, closing off the corridor they had just come from. Two more sizzled into being to close the corridors to either side, boxing them in.


As she growled angrily, HRDs came marching towards them and heavily armoured destroyer droids rolled out of doors previously concealed doors in the corridor walls. The last to emerge was Maelion Liates. Pure hatred swelled up inside Enyo at the sight. "I'm gonna kill you, queen." The words were a feral hiss. She looked like a caged predator eager to sink its teeth into a hated enemy.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Vess’ face never lost that enraging calm look, even as Amara forced her back with heavy, crushing blows with her Lightsabre. The droid had lost her weapon and was now defending itself with its phrik forearms like shields.

Amara called on the Force, feeling its power stronger than she could remember. With it she struck the HRD, slamming it against the back wall, and then down to the ground. Standing over the struggling droid, Amara slashed down with an almighty blow, but all it did was cut off the gorgeous long hair and burn through the artificial flesh of the neck.

Vess seized her leg and started to squeeze, reaching up to grapple with Amara.
Fear, pain, anger, all swelled into her and Amara’s iron control of herself slipped just a moment. She reached out and gripped the droid’s throat, and willed the foul thing to die. Flaring from the hand around its neck came tendrils of electrical energy, and Vess howled as lightning tore through it.
The grip slackened and Amara stood over the droid and rammed the lightsabre down into its right eye. Lightsabres could not cut phrik like butter, but the energy blade, with enough force (as it were) might piece like a spear through kinetic energy.
And so it was here. Amara smashed her blade’s pommel with her fist, and felt the blade pierce the eye socket. There was a final, convulsive, twitch, and Vess Mk2 was deactivated.

As she stood there in the room, watched only by the sightless clones, Amara deactivated her blade and trembled slightly.
She’d lost control, and she’d felt it rise up in her. Just as well this had only been a droid. She looked down at her left hand. Had she…she had. She could deny it, refuse to believe it, but she knew what she’d done.
This was how it started. First a droid, then a real slimeball, but then it might descend to any enemies, then annoyances, then whoever was in her way. It was a slippery slope leading all the way to Keraunos.
Perhaps she was being too simplistic, probably she was overreacting, but better over caution and then find herself down the wrong path.

She looked up at the clones. There were five left, three showed negative life-signs – murdered by the HRDs. With grim and stony shock, she saw that one of the living clones looked just like her.
They had to get out of here. They could take the clones out, but they’d need to be carried back to the ship during a battle, which would be traumatic. Alternatively they could load the tanks up, but that’d take time and transportation they didn’t have available right here.

It was a hard decision, but then she paused. She could hear fighting down the passageway, but Enyo was there, and she’d not heard any call for help so she assumed her sister had things covered.
Then, an idea struck her. “Shosh, is there an anti-grav sled near you?”
“We’ve got a small one on board, what do you need?”
“Bring it to me, and get Zar’kahn to come along too. We’re taking on some very important passengers.”

(Mae post to come.)

 

[Maelion Liates]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Unlike so many of the villains Enyo and others had faced, Maelion was not the chatty sort. No dramatic gloating or ruminations on the fate which had brought them to oppose each other.
Maelion didn’t even reply to Enyo’s comment or give any signal.

However, from the vents above there came arcs of electrical energy. This was something deadly to organics and especially droids.

To escape this trap would require outside help…or perhaps the semi-magical energy of mecha deru.

Maelion meanwhile started to walk away, content to leave the imprisonment and death to her minions.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maelion Liates"]


They were trapped. Forking arcs of electricity spat from the vents, promising doom to anyone without protection. Enyo winced strongly when bolts struck her. Her armour provided good protection against electricity, but not immunity. Her minions were equipped with less advanced heavy suits, which provided some protection, but not against very strong currents. Neda crumpled to the floor as electricity burnt her eye. Enyo forced herself to stand and ignore cries of pain. She blotted them out. Her focus was singular, her imperative clear. Even as she shook under the pressure and her HUD flared in alarm, warning her of damage, she focused.


"Drop the shield," she commanded, pressing her will upon one of the HRDs. This one was a big Wookiee. There was no reaction from the faux walking carpet. It continued to stare at her impassively. "Drop the shield," she repeated, even as she dropped down to one knee. She forced her will upon the machine, infesting its mind like a virus or a demon. Now it obeyed. A few buttons were pressed and the curtain of energy was lifted, dissipating into nothingness. "Kill anything that serves Archangel."


Now the melee began. Blaster bolts flew everywhere, blades and fists clashed. The surviving cyborgs did battle with the Archangel posse. Enyo chucked destroyer droid out of the way with excessive force, and Neda pounced on the toppled wardroid, pumping it full with ion bolts. Raising her gun, she fired at an HRD, but its buffer protected it and it returned fire with a volley of scarlet. Rolling off the automaton, the Zabarak winced in pain before she lobbed a concussion grenade and drew vibroaxe, launching herself at the replicant. The furious melee was background nosie to Enyo as homed in her real target. Today, mother would die. She had Maelion in her sights.


Cocking her Drifter shotgun, she squeezed the trigger and a superaccelerated 12 gauge shell was pumped out. On first blush, it was an antique lever shotgun. But due to an alchemical process that neither Enyo nor her writer understand, the gun propelled its slugs with a speed equal to that of a high end shattergun. Being Force imbued, the weapon could also survive a lightsabre's kiss. At the passage of the shell, smoke billowed out of the barrel of the weapon. She pumped the gun with one hand, and fired. Rinse, repeat. She aimed for the head.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara moved between the cloning tanks. Five survivors, four female, one male. Two males and a female had been terminated by the droids before she could stop them.
Looking over the clones, all angelically swimming in their tanks, she recognised only one of herself and no others. Presumably though they were other powerful Force individuals.

Amara’s assessment took in the current situation. The tubes could be moved, but they’d need time to carefully disconnect them, then equipment to move the huge units away. It’d take hours, and she didn’t have hours to waste.
Instead, she’d just have to bundle them all onto a grav sled and carry the naked, confused and helpless clones out of there. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all she had. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too traumatic.

When Sosh and Zar’kahn arrived, she explained what needed to be done.
“…and then retract the glass tube,” she finished. “I’ll reassure them, they know who I am. Hopefully they’re not brainwashed against us.”
The Kar’zun nodded and set to work, but Shoshary hesitated. “Uhh, shouldn’t we sedate them first?”
Amara wavered. Finally, she nodded reluctantly. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. Better if we leave everything related to them until they’re on the ship.”

And so one by one the clones were removed, given a powerful sedative and put onto the sled like so much slabs of meat. When she reached the clone of herself she frowned at the strange out of body experience she was getting.

“Right, one collision of clones!” Shosh joked.
“Is that really the plural? Whatever, let’s get going. Zar’kahn, blow this place up.” She reached for her comm. “Enyo, I’ve got the clones, returning to the ship.”

 

[Maelion Liates]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Maelion did not have the Force, but she did have other skills, such as a controlling link to the droids and sharper senses than any regular organic.
When she trap failed and the fight began, she had turned. As she had done so, the slug aimed for her body tore instead through her organic exterior. The HRD dived for cover and returned fire with a bolt pistol. Three shots blazed towards Enyo and her crew as quick as the gun could fire.
However, Enyo had fired again, and this slug had struck a glancing blow on Maelion’s head. However, her phrik skeleton had mostly protected her, though the organic covering was torn away and there was indeed a minute crack in her skull.

Droids did not have concepts of honour or courage. Everything was pragmatism. Thus, seeing the battle going against her, Maelion vanished down a side passage. If Enyo wanted to pursue she would have to face Maelion on ground of the droid’s choosing.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maelion Liates"]


"Remember to keep them warm. I'm gonna kill Maelion," Enyo found time to transmit the quick reminder about Elysium being a freezing cold ice ball, while diving to avoide high-velocity bullets sailing towards her.


One of the APE bullets connected with her armoured shoulder, scoring a glancing blow. There was a crunch, and her the flare in der HUD informed her of damage from the force of the impact. An organic would have probably suffered a broken shoulder and been unable to move their arm. Phrik was good against this type of projectile.


Faced with a choice, she followed Maelion. It would mean confronting the droid on a terrain of her choosing, but Enyo did not care. The electrical currents from earlier had affected her right leg and so she was slowed down somewhat.


Before she moved into the side passage, she plucked an ion grenade free from her belt and hurled it down the corridor. Assuming Maelion was not caught inside the blast radius, the explosion might still take care of traps she might have prepared. With unflinching resolve written across her features, Enyo marched down the passage.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara stopped so suddenly Clone!Shadow almost slid off the side. “Cold…yes, she’s right.”
“Miss?” Shosh asked. She’d not got the message, so was puzzled.
“We need to keep them warm. It’s only a short distance to the ship, but they’re fragile this young. Shosh, go and get the ship opened and get the medical capsules warmed up. Zar’Kahn, I need you to push this as fast as you can up the ramp.”
Amara wondered obscurely how many people had ever been on a sled with 5 naked clones covered in a sheet being pushed by a rock man across an icy wasteland. As she tried to stop the clones spilling off the side the reckoned the number was zero because no one else had been this dumb.

Still, they made it, and helped each clone into a separate capsule where the regulated air and humidity would give the clones a comfortable repose until they woke up. That would be when the real trouble would start!

 

[Maelion Liates]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
The ion blast did not catch Maelion, but it did catch a pair of droids she’d had waiting in the shadows, making Enyo’s caution wise.

Finally, Enyo would enter a small shuttle bay. However, the Contingency had struck this area, and by luck or design a blast had blocked the entrance bay. A shuttle was idling as labour droids tried to clear the entrance.

Maelion was not visible, and the labour droids continued on with their tasks, ignoring Enyo.

At first it might seem if Maelion had slipped away but…

Suddenly, Enyo’s danger sense would flare and she’d have only a second to throw herself flat as an arcing silver bolt would pass over her head and blow a hole in the opposite wall.

Maelion, concealed on top of the shuttle’s folded wing, could be seen reloading for another shot.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maelion Liates"]


The impact of the silver bolt caused a loud, resounding boom, creating a small shockwave. It left quite a hole in the wall behind Enyo. The clone had dove for cover, finding it behind a heavy crate, though the interval would not last.


She caught the tail-end of the blast, though. With evident annoyance, she homed in on Maelion. Her mechu-deru senses tingled and information appeared on her HUD screen, identifying her weapon as a concussion rifle, though not of a model known to the cyborg.


The Force swelled up inside Enyo. Her aura glowed white-hot like a thermic lance. Her anger was her tool and she hurled it towards Maelion like a javelin, unleashing a blast of the Force that, if her calculations about the strength and velocity needed were correct, would blast the HRD off the shuttle wing and force her to the ground.


Enyo was a less powerful Force-user than her mirror and the fact that Maelion had a phrik skeleton would probably do its part to reduce damage from the impact. But it should put the clone in a better position to punch her in the face.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


It occurs to this one that sadly this account has been mostly used to describe NPC actions. Perhaps it should be renamed NPCs by Sio. Sadly, Caerys had not gotten much action so far. Perhaps she could join a reformed Archangel one day - and troll Amara a lot.


Regardless, while Amara and Shoshary made their exit aboard a sled of naked clones through the snowy tundra of Elysium, Neda and the other Eisenkrieger fought a rear guard action whilst fighting their way out. They had grabbed what they could. Now it was time get out.


With Cyborg strength enhanced by the adrenaline her mechanical reservoir pumped into her body, managed to knock a war droid to the ground after hewing it down with her vibroaxe. Grabbing the axe with both hands, she swung it so hard she cracked the droid's skull and broke its chip. "Rocky set the charges. Goldielocks is out," one of her comrades, a Trandoshan, beamed into her skull.


"Fall back. In order," she passed on the message to every unit member. One of the benefits of their brain implants was that they could communicate both nonverbally and wirelessly within the blink of an eye. "Commander, pulling out. Ready to blow the place." That message went to Enyo.


Pulling her axe out of the robot's skull, the Zabrak's cyborg senses alerted her to danger and she spun. Her lightning speed meant that the blazing sapphire lightsabre struck thin air instead of her head.


A further strike was intercepted by her weapon, and she launched herself at the HRD. Her powerful strikes seemed to drive the death machine back, but then it swept her legs from under her and cut through the handle of her weapon with a precise slash.


Faling to the ground hard, Neda rolled to keep herself from being decapacitated. Sparks flew as the lightsabre cut a line through the floor. Using her chance, she launched a kick that knocked the laser sword out of the droid's grasp.


Being a machine the HRD did not get angry or frustrated. Instead, it lunged at her and grabbed her by the throat, seizing her in an iron grip. Neda was still organic enough to require oxygen and so she struggled to breathe and avoid passing out.


Bright warning icons flared on her HUD. As her health monitor so helpfully informed her, oxygen levels were dropping and she was getting dizzy. Immediately, her cyborg hand flew up to the HRD's wrist, wrapping around it to put some weight on the wrist joint and ease the grip to keep it from crushing her throat.


While she struggled, her free hand, the one that was made of flesh and blood, produced a compact blaster and fired, going for the HRD's eyes at point blank range. The droid was evidently under pressure as one eye went haywire and the other was damaged.


The grip loosened, giving her breathing space. One of the HRD's hands morphed, producing a sharp blade. It slashed at her, catching her in the side of her torso. Then the droid reeled when high-velocity bullets bombarded it from behind, for the Trandoshan merc was unloading his rifle, drilling holes into the machine.


Ignoring the blood dripping from her wound, Neda grabbed the discarded lightsabre. She had zero training in its use, and it showed in the manner she swung it, wielding it like a medieval claymore, much like a certain stormtrooper. But it took the HRD's head off, making it roll to the floor.


"That one doesn't count as yours, horns," the Trandoshan grunted.


"You bet it does, scales," she retorted. Both had little time to argue because a huge war droid wielding a blaster cannon and a flamethrower came their way. Both bolted as the scorching flames came their way, seeking cover. Behind the huge droid, a silver shape manifested, solidifying into a silver coloured statue that proceeded to introduce the automaton to the pointy end of a laser sword.