In Darkness we must Fight (Non-Canon)

[Nate Phantoms]

"Agreed, you might want to stay behind me, no offense" It was the truth, he wasn't going to take the chance again, and he pulled his rifle off his shoulder, checking the magazine. Now was not the time for compassion, he had lives dependent on him to succeed. With a nod, he stood at the front of the elevator.
[member="Ultimatum"]

IC

Spoiler

Apologies for the short post, but I think it allows for us to better form the next scene, as we Arndt just rushing everything with one post. Is that cool with you?

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum fell behind Nate and picked at the weapon the hunter had given him. It was probably no longer time for subtlety. Now was the time for action, yes compassion had no place on the battlefield. There was a time and place for everything, on the war front emotions merely got one killed. It was strange to be going into the field with no certainty of survival, or a much larger chance of survival at least. There was fear, something more potent than what he was used to. This could be his last fight, there was something that would need to be taken care of then.

Pulling a device from his chassis he tapped [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]'s shoulder and held it out. "Just in case. If things don't go according to plan and you get out, use this somewhere in the open and a ship will come to pick you up." It would not be the first time that Ultimatum's actions could be considered theatrical, but sometimes the cliche was something that had to be done.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

The small device seems like a beacon...but that meant it was for [member="Ultimatum"] when he decided to leave. He shook his head, putting it back into the droids hand, for he had no plans of leaving this man to die. In his eyes, the droid was much better then other men, so that meant that he was figuratively a honest man, one who knows strife. "What? There is no way I'm going to bail on you like that, for all means, you'd be the one using that, not me." As the bottom floor grew near, he patted his shoulder, nodding. "I'm going to draw their...attention, and I'm going to need you to sneak around the side, take anything that could help you, and make sure the supplies are actually down there. Don't want be down here if we don't have to," ​​If they succeeded, the town's people would live through another rotation, he and his newfound companion would be able to leave the planet.

 

[Ultimatum]

Yet again the organic showed himself honorable in the face of adversity. Ultimatum had offered that for two reasons, the first being the obvious one of seeing if he would accept and attempt to escape. He could have done nothing to stop Nate, nothing that would have mattered anyways. The second and less obvious reason was so that should he die, the organic would be able to recognize the device and probably would be able to figure out its use.

The droid nodded, this was going to be interesting if nothing else. The doors opened and the cavern outside seemed to be empty of any openly hostile enemies, for awhile. Ultimatum had enough time to get a basic idea of the layout of the cavern. There was a rather neat sorting system used to keep military equipment from medical supplies away from food. The food and medical were what Ultimatum was chiefly concerned with, of course it didn't matter what he wanted if they couldn't get it out of here. The elevator they had used was far too small, it wasn't a cargo lifter. Therefore, somewhere else down here there would need to be either some other elevator or a walkway, either of which would be preferable. Then there was also likely a hoverplatform of some sort in order to better move all this around. It would likely be stored on the side of cavern, out of the way of everyday walking through.

The cavern was almost the perfect definition of convenience mining. Whoever had dug this, Ultimatum assumed it was a newer cave, had dug into a softer rock to make this cave and had avoided as best as possible drilling the denser layers in the area. This had likely been a pocket of lighter material that was either useful for some form of production or simply easier to remove. Whatever the reason, the cave had been roughly carved out of the earth, the length and width of the cavern were about equal at 20 meters and the height was 3 meters. Ultimatum could see three guards walking around as if everything were normal. He was willing to bet that there were more hidden out of view behind stacks of materials or something. One of the guards began to walk towards the elevator, almost casually. Ultimatum decided to wait for [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] to make his move.

OOC:
Sorry for not responding sooner, I keep forgetting. But yes, makes sense to me to take a little slower right about here.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

The final seconds before the elevator touched down, he tossed aside the hat he took from the guard, and shouldered his rifle. As the door opened, he met eyes with the guard approaching them, and he faltered, this man was ten years younger then him, still had a whole life ahead of him. He couldn't kill him, he refused to comet such a act.

"Afternoon Foster," the kid smiled at him, pushing past onto the elevator. Visibly relaxing, Nate turned back to the caverns, eyes scanning the shelves and guards tacking stock. Nodding at [member="Ultimatum"], he whistled loud and clear, drawing everyone's attention, and waved them over. "Go, it's going to get crazy and I need someone to make sure we success in getting these supplies out of here, the forklift over there is your best chance."

Not waiting for the droid to reply, he moved to the group of guards, all curious on what he called them for. If only they knew that would be the last thing they did.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum noted that Nate allowed one of the guards to get away, but simply guessed that it was because he wanted to try and get as many people as possible into a confined space. The droid missed the momentary slip on the hunter's part, something that the droid had been trying to comprehend before the black out. Organic emotions were strange, more powerful than the ones he had, the approximations that were implanted in the droid could be overridden or shut off when he needed to, whereas organics seemed to have to live with them always.

As [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] moved towards the guards, Ultimatum walked as quietly as he could behind some of the containers nearby, he then began to look the food stores and a lifter of some form. Surely they would have something to help them move all of this. But then again, it was unlikely that they had that many parts to rebuild an entire hoversled. Perhaps they had something much simpler, either way he would have to find it after he identified which containers he would need to move.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

As [member="Ultimatum"] discretely moved off into the shelves, he made sure he had all of the guards rounded up, and standing before him. These ones were of course, much better armed than the previous ones; these men all had actual slug throwers, and some vibro-weapons too add into the mix as well. This was going to be tough one out get out of, as there was no cover around him, and even if he were to use a gaurd as a human sheild, the rounds would tear them both to shreds.

Let's go crazy. With a smile, he pointed the rifle at the men inform of him, yanking his vibro knife out as well, and all hell broke loose. First, he sent some rounds into the guards in front of him, taking out three in under four seconds, his arm flicking out, the knife whipping through the air, sending a man onto the floor, his hands on his chest trying to stop the blood poring out. The guards reacted instantly, returning fire. Bending back wards, a few shots soared over him, as he spun on his knee, in turn shooting the four men in front of him. Then he felt it before he heard it. BAM. The pain spread slowly, and he looked down, to see a hole in his side, right below his ribcage. Dumbfounded, he looked up, to see his attacker. The young man he let go was standing a few feet away, a grim look on his face, a pistol in hand. The irony, this is what you get for sparing someone, they come back to kill you. His arm dropped, the rifle hitting the floor with a loud clang. That...inconceivable bastard. Was this his punishment? To have to kill this young man? Maybe so.

Only reason he was still alive, those horrible enhancements he received sitting his time on the Purgatory, it allowed his body to mend itself, but the pain was excruciating, and it wouldn't save him if her were to get stabbed in the heart. Rising slowly, his gaze went from confusion, to pure rage, the fire igniting behind his eyes as he made his way to the boy, who in shock, sent another bullet into Nates chest. All he had to do was keep moving, and stop the kid from sounding the alarm, simple.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was moving around when the gun shots started. It didn't take long for it to come to a stop. The droid didn't bother too much with the battle, just keeping his head down and focusing on locating a means of transportation. It didn't take long before he noticed a small three meter long alcove in the wall, it would have been hidden from view of the elevator by the stacks of materials in front of it. Inside were four primitive transportation devices. They near enough fit the description of wheelbarrows. Truly this technological regression was a deplorable state of affairs.

Once he had moved one of the barrows out into the open he popped his head over a short pile of medical equipment. He couldn't see the floor from his vantage point, so he couldn't count how many people had fallen, but he did catch the kid shooting [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]. Ultimatum had seen Jedi and Sith fight through pain before, in fact he knew more Force sensitives than not, so seeing the hunter begin to move towards the poor soldier. There was a momentary thought, that this was the guy Nate had let go before. It was probably going to be even more painful to turn around and kill the young guy, emotionally speaking.

Over the course of a second, Ultimatum raised the rifle he had been given. It took about five milliseconds for him to make the necessary adjustments to put the target in the center of his sight. He pulled the trigger and watched as the physical bullet traveled within less than a second the space between them and struck the soldier in the head. It being a bullet from a rifle at a relatively close range, the projectile punched clean through, and for the sake of avoiding the grisly side of things, Ultimatum pushed away the thoughts about the biological response to being shot in the head. He hoped that that move would save Nate from having to do anything he would regret. Needless to say, the man was dead.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Just as he neared the kid, a bullet tore through his head, brain matter exploding all over. Shocked, he turned to see [member="Ultimatum"] standing there, rifle in hand. Looking down at his bullet ridden shirt, and then at the elevator, the numbers increasing, the sign that someone was hailing it. "Anything we can use to get this stuff out of here? I think we got company!" Taking off for the elevator, he slammed the but of his rifle into the control panel, the ran back to Ultimatum, slightly winded, he wasn't as young as he was before.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum turned back to the wheelbarrow as [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] spoke. "Unfortunately, this is it. There are a couple more over in that alcove, but nothing much better." He moved to the medical supplies, there was a large package containing Bacta canisters. Each one contained about sixteen ounces of Bacta, more than enough for most basic wounds. Each individual canister was worth killing for just about anywhere in the galaxy. Without Thyferra or similar worlds that produced the liquid there was a steadily dwindling supply across the stars. Ultimatum had been there, at least over the planet, news that he had picked up told him that when the technology had stopped working, many of the devices used to assist in the production failed and with them the vast majority of the Bacta producers. Even if there were still shipments capable of taking the Bacta to other worlds it would be such a small amount that few would be able to enjoy the benefits of it.

He put the packet along with a collection of antibiotics into the wheelbarrow. "You've been in that town long enough, what do you think they need most?" Ultimatum assumed that the non-perishable ration bars, Bacta, and what rifles there were would be good to take back. But he was unaware of what they truly needed as he had not lived among the people.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

He nodded at the antibiotics and Bacta canisters, those where being clamored about after the recent attacks on the town, so they were in fact needed. Moving quickly, he started to search the remaining items, the ration bars would come in handy in later times, so he tossed them into the wheelbarrow as well. The rifles were also a ideal choice, but there were only a few, and most went very well manufactured. Then, he remembered, the town was running low on their supply of drinkable water. Grabbing the box with about two dozen water purification tablets, and a few canteens, he nodded at @Ultimatum. "Time to make ourselves scarce, my friend. The elevator is currently in use, more coming down so we will have to either make a stand or find an alternative."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum pulled the barrow with him as he moved beside the wall. He felt along it for about a meter or so until he came across what appeared to be a wooden pallet nailed to the wall. Behind it was an obvious tunnel that led away from the elevator shaft. He used his rifle and struck the door twice before it began to crack. A third time and the old wood splintered and the tunnel became accessible. He pushed the wheelbarrow ahead of him saying, "This may be our exit. If this is what I believe it is, we should come to a ladder or an extra elevator fairly soon. Either that or a dead end." He began running down the tunnel, it was a long one for whatever reason.

The droid was trying to maintain a sense of hopefulness, after all this was for a just cause. Either they would succeed or they would perish, either way they would have been doing so for the betterment of people rather than themselves. That was all Ultimatum cared about. The galaxy was even worse off than before and he was intent on helping where he could.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

[member="Ultimatum"] seemed to know where he was going, so Nate followed close behind, the sounds of the guards soon erupting behind them. Things were slowly but steadily going downhill, which wasn't very good. They might die, or not. But either way, similar to the thought the droid had, they were doing it for the people who needed it most. "I sure hope so, and a dead end means... our death's.. reassuring" Chechink over his shoulder, he silently prayed that this was an exit, they needed some good news.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum heard the people coming before the tunnel opened slightly. The light was very dim, but there was enough to see the faint outline of an old elevator. It had no front cover, obviously meant for people to run in the case of an accident with the other elevator. The droid moved into the shaft and pulled the equipment behind him. If the enemy began firing he wanted to absorb most of the fire.

"Let's see how this goes." Once [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] was on, he tapped the button that began raising the lift. He aimed back down the tunnel they had come, if the enemy was going to try and rush them, they were going to have to come at them down a choke point. Strategically a very dangerous situation for the enemy.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

He d the fact that the droid was shielding the supplies with his own body. If things got that bad, he'd use his saber tos deflect the brunt of the fire. It was indeed a good defensive position, aside from the fact that the shoulders could fire down the hallway at them volley style. Seeing the first shadow appear from.around the corner, he fired, dust rising from the floor as the bullet hit it. That stopped them. Until either a few brave or stupid men came charging at them. "Idiots" four rounds, four guys. They hit the ground almost simultaneously, one even sliding on his face a few inches. This was going to be the deciding factor for them, and he hoped him and [member="Ultimatum"] would succeed.

 

[Ultimatum]

As the elevator rose Ultimatum was irritated with the speed, or lack thereof, which was keeping them within enemy fire range. It seemed that the militia had learned from the mistake of those four men and were now standing at the end of the hallways, firing at the elevator. He felt himself flinching as the bullets began to land around him. That was a new sensation for the droid, but he fought through it to try and return fire. He found his grip tensing, making his aim a little less accurate than he would have preferred. His program was not complete enough to allow him to simply override the basest of self-preservation protocols.

It wasn't that long, about thirty seconds before the elevator was beyond the sight of the attackers. Ultimatum aimed his rifle through the floor, expecting the enemy to try shooting them back down. "So far so good."

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

"Let us hope it stays that way." The wall behind them was riddled with bullet holes, almost appearing in a human shaped outline. There was no panel indicating their current floor position, but it seemed to go up, hopefully up to the first floor. Or maybe into the barracks, where they would be greeted with a few dozen, unhappy, sleepy gun wielding maniacs. Only time would tell, but he knew they'd be screwed over if it as the latter.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum could feel where a few bullets had hit him, some had struck harder portions of his body and simply dented the metal while others had punched through. All he could say was that he was glad nothing vital had been damaged, like a lubricant line or something. The damage was definitely detrimental to the overall integrity of his body and he would need to have the metal repaired, he hoped that in the future he would not come across that kind of conflict again. Though, really it was doubtless going to happen again, the galaxy was in such turmoil.

It took about five minutes, during which Ultimatum had been going over the supplies making sure they had not been harmed by the fire, before the elevator reached the top. It came out on a nearby knoll outside of the base. Nearby was a small shack that had a lock on its door, there was a small sign that read something along the lines of 'restricted'. Probably some more stuff that they could take advantage of in there.

He turned to [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] and said, "Well this is something good. We need to sabotage the elevator, so it can't be used. I think we might find something in that building that could help us deal with the would-be rulers here. Do you want to take care of the elevator or check the shack?"

 

[Nate Phantoms]

"I'll take care for the elevator, but watch yourself in that shed; we don't know what's in there." With a brief nod, he took for the elevator, standing on the edge. The crank was in motion, showing at is was indeed in use. It was coming up, and still had a ways to go. Better to wait for it to get higher to cut the wire to make sure that they can't just repair it.

After about a minute, the elevator was half way up the shaft, around 8 stories above the warehouse. Time to get to work. Igniting his saber staff, he swung the blade around in a heavy handed stroke at the wires holding the cabin. Sparks flew as he sliced through the wires, the others snapping under the weight. Stepping back, he turned and approached @Ultimatum. The loud crash and explosion ringing out behind him.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum smiled in response, yeah all they had done today and caution was the words of advice that he got? Little late for that, but the droid planned on being careful, this was his only body and he wasn't about to play risky with it. He turned his attention to the lock on the door, putting his rifle on the ground for a moment. He used both hands to break the lock, stretching the metal till it tore apart.

Picking up the rifle he pushed into the shack. It was mostly empty, aside from what appeared to be a weapons closet. It was then that Ultimatum realized the purpose of this construct. In case of an attack the militia or maybe the aristocracy would be able to either defend themselves or begin a counter-attack. It didn't have a lot in the way of advanced weapons, in fact not a single blaster or powerful slug thrower was in evidence. Instead there was a rudimentary rocket launcher, a few mines, pistols, and a shotgun. The closet was not well organized so Ultimatum tried to pick out what he believed would be useful.

What was most surprising to Ultimatum was the single pair of Infrared goggles that were hidden underneath a pile of pistols. He pulled that out and immediately knew what he was going to do with these. Pulling the rocket launcher and two warheads out of the closet he ran to [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] with a plan. He reached him just in time to hear the explosion of the elevator's demise. "What do you think? Bet we can take out those priority targets now?"