In Darkness we must Fight (Non-Canon)

[Nate Phantoms]

He nodded, watching a rusted land speeder zip past. The offer was extremely tempting, but he couldn't think about it, they were about to enter a heavily fortified establishment to steal supplies. After that he remained silent, preparing for the next few hours. The streets were becoming less and less familiar. He was starting to wonder how far they were and how much longer it take. He had no problem having civilized conversations but he did have a problem not being able to see where they were going and not being able to get a first person view of the fortifications.

Patience is a virtue though
[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum watched the surrounding, glad a little for the silence. It was pleasant enough for thought processes and pre-battle preparation. He noticed a sign as they passed by, they should be there soon. In fact, as they crossed the crest of a hill the complex could be seen in an otherwise splendid view of a valley. What could only be described as a makeshift fortress had a small river running through, obviously their water supply, as well as a entrance onto a bridge that spanned the body of water.

"There's the target. What do you think?" It had obviously been adjusted recently, there were new Durasteel plates that had been put over certain points. It was not artistically appealing, but it was more than likely the closest thing to a military dream of defense. However, there were few people to be seen, either there were not enough people to fill out a proper defense grid, or most of the men were being kept hidden within the complex.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Hopping off the back of his bike, he instantly went to DEFCON 4. Slipping onto the ground, he peeked down the sight, scanning the fortifications. "Seems empty, how you want to do this my friend? Quiet or guns blazing?" Unless they had caterpults and crossbows this would be easy, but he learned the hard way to not judge a book by its cover, this building had a interior did it not? That meant more space, which meant more people.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was less concerned with him being seen, after all a droid was hardly something that would be a concern if seen. They were hard to find and most were not very useful as they were novelty items rather than functional helpers. He stepped off the bike and looked down at the terrain. His eyes were not capable of the zooming function that his original body had, so he focused his attention on the environment, which would help in its own way.

He thought about the method of entry. Obviously both would have their advantages and disadvantages. Ultimatum would usually have had some form of ship support, something that would completely change the game and give them the unconditional superiority. However that was beyond them at the moment. From what he recalled learning, the enemies had managed to rebuild some blasters. Because the number of repaired weapons was unknown, it was inadvisable to take a frontal assault method. At the same time they were not really prepared for most forms of stealth operations. Either way it would be interesting to see their success.

He decided and spoke, "I believe it is in out best interest to avoid open confrontation and the dangers to ourselves that that presents. I would therefore suggest we attempt a covert approach, sabotaging what we can while obtaining the supplies. Do you think that it will be possible?" Ultimatum openly admitted that he was no expert on potential battlefield outcomes, not anymore at any rate. The loss of a large portion of his program without the HoloNet access left him with many a missing capability.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

The Droid made a good case, and as he was listening, everything that was talked about was soon in his crosshairs. The dozen guards surrounding the front gate, were indeed armed with rebuilt blasters.not a good sign, for the turrets might also be operational, leaving them with one option; stick to the shadows."Yes, I think it will work, but inside the chances of being identified will be much greater, I should be able to snatch you a rifle, but I'm not positive." Rising slowly, he grinned up at his metal companion. "Ready?"

[member="Ultimatum"]
(I apologize for the short posts, I'm confined to mobile)

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had come to that conclusion, there was a lot that could and probably would go wrong. It was very likely that they would be identified, unless of course they could figure out a method of obtaining a disguise. As the building was originally some form of palace it would possible that using the large number of hallways they could ambush a couple of guards and perhaps Nate could wear one of their uniforms.

"Ready, let's go." Ultimatum began making his way down the slope, heading towards the river entrance. His body might not be completely waterproof, but it would have to do. It was also likely the only entrance that would definitely not have any guards. No doubt there would be a point where part of the river was diverted to a water tank or something so as to give the base a long-term supply, Ultimatum knew that it would also probably have some form of hatch for internal inspection, so that the owners could make certain there was no rust or contaminants in the water. Further the hatch likely could be opened from the inside, in case someone was accidentally shut in. This was all assuming that the organics followed the usual safety first process that the droid had known them for.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

(No problem.)

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Nodding, he holsterd his rifle and made his way down to the water, following @Ultimatum Were droids now water proof? No..so that means neither was his new metal friend. "Hold on, I don't want you short-circuit and electrocute me." Making the water bend to his will, a small whirlpool appeared, about four feet by four, just the right amount of room. Then he made his way into the water as well, not bothering to clear it out of his way. "Two guards are stationed outside the water sanitation room, and they have a droid with them...." ideas swirled around his head like a photo reel. "I could act as one of the guards, and you could be the droid, surely no one will had played enough attention to the guards to see the difference." That might just actually work, or get them both killed.

After s few minutes, the reached the tunnel, which reeked of dead fish, nasty. Pushing down his breakfast, he continued, the ladder coining n to view. "Who's going to be on point?"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum moved quickly to the water's edge. He was pleasantly surprised by the creation of a space for him to walk through, he nodded his thanks to [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] before walking into the gap and moving down the river. Together they made their way up to the sanitation room. It was fortunate that the guards outside had a droid with them, though the droid appeared to be in an even worse condition than him, which may or may not be an issue. Depending on whether or not there was an experienced engineer in the complex somewhere, the person might recognize a difference in droid types, but then again meeting that one person in the entirety of the complex was unlikely.

The droid was ready to move, "You go, you have quicker reflexes." That and the man was likely going to be able to adapt to whatever might happen faster than Ultimatum could. It was a matter of logic, the organic was far more suited to the role than the artificial was, in this case. It was time to see if they could do this, but there was no turning back. Ultimatum planned on following the organic almost immediately, hoping to help down at least one of the three enemies, preferably the droid.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Upon hearing [member="Ultimatum"]'s word, he took hold of the rings on the ladder, pulling himself out of the water, steadily making his way to the hatch. Looking down, he gave the droid a nod, then, as quietly as he could, pushed the hatch open. Trained eye scanned through the darkness, the only source of light being the control pad on the filter. Everything was going good, until a womp rat scurried about, knocking over a few crates, and then disappearing into a hole.

"Did you just hear that?"
"Lets check it out,"

Turning, he motioned for the droid to find cover, just as he heard the key card get scanned, the doors locks spanning back. Taking a quick step to the left, he was behind the door, his vibro-knife in hand.
"You check the filter, and I'll go see if the river entrance was breached."
"Hmph....fine"

Ad the door slid open, he pressed himself against the wall, waiting. As the first man came into view, he flew into action. Grabbing hold of the guards collar, he flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him down onto the floor. Without wasting anytime, he brought his elbow down, hard, upon the man's neck. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the knife whistling through the air and into the second guards throat. All that took about 10 seconds.

"Huh, I still got it...." pulling his knife out of the man throat, he nodded at his droid companion. "Lets do this"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum followed suit, less quickly than he would have preferred. As [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] moved to take care of the two guards, he focused his attention on the droid. It took the AI a moment to locate his target and then once out of the hatch it took a bit longer to make his way across the small room. By the time that Nate had dealt with the two guards Ultimatum had reached the droid and began tearing at its exposed parts. A rather gruesome affair, it would probably have appeared like a deranged man ripping into his fellow. The droid was meticulous in his work, making certain to sever both key electrical components and important hydraulic systems. When Ultimatum was finished disabling the droid his hands were covered in the fluids used in the droid, his previously tarnished silvery arms were not various shades of red, blue, and black from his work.

Without allowing himself a moment to think on what he had just done, Ultimatum turned to Nate and replied, "Let us get going." Before moving to take a position behind the Bounty Hunter, Ultimatum pulled a piece of metal from the now dead droid's body, tearing it in an almost silent manner as though he were ripping a piece of bread from a loaf, the ersatz shiv would do just fine for taking down organics who were unarmored.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Never cross that droid, ever. Deciding to not mention what he had just saw, he quickly stripped himself his black military fatigues, before pulling the unconscious man out of his uniform. After effectively tossing a semi-nude man into a dark corner, he put on the guards uniform, actually appearing to be a guard, he definitely had the stature. "Okay, I feel like we should head into the severity terminal... if they even have one. We'd be able to scout this whole place."

Storing his clothes, he strapped his vibro-knife into his thigh, unseen as it was underneath his outfit. He debated taking his rifle, for there were no signs of any major weapons on the two dispatched men. With a shrug, he picked up his rifle, making his way over to [member="Ultimatum"], tossing the droid a fresh rag he found in one of the storage containers. "Might want clean that...stuff off before we head out."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum accepted the rag thankfully, wiping down his arms to some semblance of cleanliness. It was an unpleasant experience, his first time killing a droid in such a personal manner, however he could not allow himself to dwell on it. The mission at hand was far too important to waste time and allow his mind to wander on what he had done. There would be many dead today, possibly. If they did nothing then many more would perish as food and parts became more difficult to acquire.

It took only a minute or two before the droid was pleased with the result, he threw the rag over to the dead droid. He then spoke quietly, "Alright, let's go." Ultimatum pushed the shiv into a part of arm, where it would just appear to be another rusted part of the droid body. He was ready to move out and begin the mission proper. In his original body he would have used advanced sensors built into him in order to locate nearby organics and begin to get an idea of the layout of the base, but this body had none of that. It was truly frustrating in that regard, but he had come to terms with it already.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Following close behind, he took in all details about their surroundings. Dim lights, well outfitted guards, surprisingly, and some long hallways. He didn't get so much as a sideways glance, but [member="Ultimatum"] did, but once they saw Nate behind him, they lost interest. Finally, coming up to sfork in the hallway, he read a quick sing in aubresh and nodded at his droid friend, pointing down the right hallway. "Stay in front, and get that shiv ready, we will be coming on the main rooms very quickly."

 

[Ultimatum]

It had been rather stressful for Ultimatum, ever time they passed a guard he expected to hear someone call out the fact that he was not the droid that had been built. Fortunately, his fears were unfounded, as of yet. He was feeling uncertain, he had never had this terror before. He was mortal now. There was no HoloNet for him to escape to should his body be destroyed, instead he would simply die. There would be nothing left, no true physical mark left to show that he had been here. This droid body was not him, he was a program and was as easily destroyed because of it.

Once they were close to the main room, Ultimatum pulled the metal chunk from its place and hid it as best he could in his hand hold. The first door, Ultimatum moved into and looked around. Four organics, three unarmed and one with what appeared to be a makeshift slugthrower. The droid waited until [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] was ready. Once they were both in the room, Ultimatum moved as if to take a position in the corner, but as he passed the guard, his arm came up and with a heavy blow he struck the organic in the face. The force was equatable to being hit by a slower speeder. This move was followed by Ultimatum using his blade to stab the man through the now somewhat damaged skull. Certainly a slit throat would have been a little cleaner, but it would also have been considerably louder. When one had to remain stealthy, sometimes it got unpleasant. Ultimatum then turned his attention back to the other occupants in the room, looking to see what Nate had decided to do with the opportunity. While the other people might have looked unarmed, it was entirely possible that they had concealed weapons. It would come down to what the ex-bounty hunter decided.

 

[Nate Phantoms]

That droid knew hoe to scarring, that he knew. The droid punched a Manx and it looked like the poor dude got hit by a God damn truck. Then stabbing that same man through the skull? Pretty scary.but not as scary as three knife wielding psychos. They came running at him, one going towards @Ultimatum. "Nope, sorry buddy." Sidestepping st strike, he took hold of the man's wrist, wrenching it backwards, using the man's momentum against him. With push, his fist connected to the man's throat, amplifying the force of which the man fell nearly four times. The result, crushed windpipe, and a shattered skull.
Next!

Pulling the man's rusty knife, he sent it flying into the an rushing Ultimatum. His aim was true, and the blade soared right through the man's neck, his eyes widening as blood rose into his mouth. Still one left, and Nate needed directions. Grappling with the man, he managed to snap the guards femur, wrist and elbow. Helluva combination, and the man went to scream, but Nate just gave him a strong right hook. "You keep your mouth shut or I'll rip out your windpipe. "Seeing fear not the guards eyes, he smiled, mission accomplished. "Now, you are going to tell me where the main storeroom is...and the master suite... right now"

 

[Ultimatum]

It proved a good decision to go to the Hunter for help. Where Ultimatum took one down Nate continued to pull ahead by killing two and disarming a third. Normally Ultimatum would have simply put it to an attempt on his part to avoid unnecessary killing, however in this case he knew that it was mostly the fact that his body was in a horrendous state, compared to what he had had so many years ago. Certainly, Ultimatum would have wanted to avoid killing these organics, but in war it is important to not think about your opposition in a compassionate manner, or one runs the risk of realizing the truth of his fighting.

He moved back to the door, closing and locking it behind them. The droid did not want any unexpected guests to come across them during the interrogation. He moved over the bodies, looking for weapons and similar objects that he could use.

---------------------------

The captured guard was afraid, very afraid. But he was also in much pain, in fact he was likely to go into shock if he didn't go catatonic soon. As a natural response to an aggressor he did not want to answer, but the threat of pain and impending death were too much for him. He was only able to manage a low croaking voice as he tried to speak, "Down the hall further along... on the right th-there's a elevator.... Third floor to the left is the... the suite... Supplies are kept in the cave... take the elevator down."

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

"Hmm, let's go..." Releasing the man's collar, he pulled out his Vibro blade, and the man started to whimper, and he hesitated; was he about to kill a severely injured,unarmed man? Was that what the world had done to him? He had planned on being that survivor, the one who would tell his kids 'yeah the world went to sh¡t...but I didn't let it me take me down with it'
With a sigh, he tossed the man a bottle of pain pills, and straps he could use to reset his broken bones. Then without another word, he took off for the elevator, steely determination glinting in his eyes. Smashing the button on the elevator, he waited, his foot tapping rapidly. They just needed to stay focussed on the task at hand, even though [member="Ultimatum"] seemed perfectly focused. Now it was his turn.

 

[Ultimatum]

It was good to see that the destruction of one aspect of organic life had wiped away what redeeming factors they had. Compassion was a quality so easily lost in the galaxy before the event, afterwards it was rare to find it. Seeing it in an organic who had survived the last ten years was a sign that there was hope yet for organics. Even in this age of darkness there was light to be seen and by which this galaxy may yet see a new era.

The droid followed [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] as he walked to the elevator. As the elevator lowered, Ultimatum looked at the organics and asked, "You alright?"

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Some of the tension left his body, and he turned to the droid, his eyes holding a deepset fury. "……yeah, but we should get going." As he finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, for better or for worse, was empty. But was needed to.be done first? Securing the supplies down stairs, or killing the aristocrats upstairs who were probably watching their every move? "What comes first, the supplies, or the aristocracy?"
[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum didn't even need to think to answer that one, "Supplies, if something goes wrong we want to get what we came for."

Aside from simple tactics, it would also give those aristocrats time to stew over the enemies that were in their compound. If they were smart they would retreat either into a more protected area, or they would flee the complex and leave their soldiers to defend it. Of course, Ultimatum doubted that they would willingly be parted of their throne of power. The droid was willing to bet that if those people left, one of their hired protection would claim command and thereby remove what power the aristocrats would have had.

Of course, the danger in going down the elevator was that the aristocrats would attempt to send a warning down to the basement or move more of their forces down there. However, it was unlikely for a number of reasons. Firstly they probably did not have any comms systems or similar means of immediate communication, most of the electronic parts would have been used on the blasters and that droid. Secondly that would mean that they probably used couriers and messengers to deliver information to different parts of the compound. Since there was no way they could have been certain that the intruders, which they may or may not be aware of, would go for the supplies. Most organics are more interested in power than immediate necessities. It was likely that if they had found out about them they would bring more security to themselves rather than sending them to secure the supplies.

The elevator opened and Ultimatum waited a moment to make certain that no one was in there, it was empty fortunately. He stepped aboard, and clicked the button to go down, he then waited for his friend to get aboard.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]