Mechanical Introduction Thread

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

What did he say? The treacherous thought ran through his mind before he could stop it. His grip tightened marginally on the hilt of his saber. He shouldn’t have cared where Jacen was or if the man had asked after him. Two years of brutal training on Coruscant had prepared him for worse than this, he didn’t need the help of an aging Jedi. Or to just hear him say everything was on track. Trextan kept his lips sealed shut.

He gave a curt nod to Taheera and continued forwards. He couldn’t help but admire Xena’s stubborn attitude. As they moved forwards he could hear that metallic pounding that kept a consistent cadence. It sounded very much to him like an entire droid army marching towards them. Instead, as the corridor branched out, he found that it was an array of machines across a wide hall. Their corridor led to a series of offices and walkways that were above the actual production floor.

Trextan looked down, there were no completed droids here, just parts being machined.

“That office is out of sight. Might be able to check what commands this thing is running?” He didn’t mention the bloody stains across the floor that he assumed were from the staff who had previously issued those commands.

 

[Xena Amonali]

"That office is out of sight."

Holding onto Taheera for some support while she moved, Xena gave a quick nod of her head. "Sounds good... we can also sit and collect ourselves... maybe look over everything IF it is all intact." Her voice sounded tired, like whatever had been going on was starting to get to her.

She kept her eyes open to what was going on around them, trying to make sure there was no other movement nearby. It would really suck if they ran into one of those ball like droids again.

Stepping into the office it was surprisingly intact. The computers that ran the whole operation just flickering a bit while they ran. Xena moved herself and dropped down onto one of the office chairs. This would be one of the only times that Xena let her actual pain flare across her face. Moving her tunic away from where her wound was hidden, she inspected it. It was a good sized injury, probably due to an impact of one of the light blaster bolts to her side. Her eyes looked over the wound, the crimson hue of the blood mixing with the black charred cloth. The extremely odd thing was the fact that the wound was visibly healing. The flesh rebuilding itself right before their eyes. It had been maybe a few minutes, if that, and her side looked as if she had just been grazed. A bit of silver scarring followed after the rebuild flesh, contrasting hard to the slightly gold tinge her skin normally had.

"Well.. at least it isn't worse." she mumbled under her breath. "Trextan, could you check the computers. I would say you too Taheera.. I will look at the ones over here." Motioning over to the computers and monitors next to herself, starting to get to work on them soon after.

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[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] | [member="Taheera Sollo"]​

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[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="Xena Amonali"]

Keen-eyes caught a glimpse of the girl's wounds. She had natural abilities. And it was a relief. The mirialan allowed herself to relax, just slightly. She blanched at Xena's suggestion.

She and computers weren't friends. She could work a comm and was learning to pilot a ship but anything else technology related. She'd have more luck training a gundark. "Yeaaaah Trex, check those computers, good idea Xen," she hedged and knelt down back by the entrance to the office, checking that blood trail.

Looked a little too fresh.

Frown grew. Senses slowly crept forward in the force, trying to find any signs of life or potential survival, or emotions of pain from a potential survivor from whatever happened.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

Trextan gave a curt nod. Whether by the Force or biology the girl was healing fast. Her voice was even more clear now. He didn't like the constant sound of the machines. They would cover the advance of any more droids sent to capture them. They needed to find the heart of this, what was controlling them. Might be they couldn't be overridden and they were running on local programming, but at least they could shut down production.

Trextan laid his lightsaber down next to a terminal. One showed a visual map of the production floor with different colours to show what was on or off. The other was a black screen with green text. Some kind of command line interface. The youth held out his arms in exasperation.

"I can confirm..." he called out, "...that this is definitely a computer." That was about all he was going to achieve without a week's course in operating the system.

 

[Xena Amonali]

She just rolled her eyes, looking back over to [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] "Thank you captain obvious." Her tone was so heavily sarcastic that it would be impossible to miss.

Xena scratched her head a bit, looking over the data on the screens. "You would think that they would label these better..." she murmured under her breath. She wasn't the most tech savvy, but she at least knew how to look through something. "Try looking for changes? A thing like this has to have logs of it. I don't think they would just leave it all unlabelled.. that is just dangerous, and reckless."

Flicking through what she could, Xena realized they may need more help. Pressing just behind her jaw, she began to speak quietly into the subcutaneous commlink she had. "Everyone, we found some more droids that were altered.. we are in one of the control rooms but could use some help with figuring out what everything does and where the changes were made. If any of you could reply, I will send out our coordinates across the secure channel." Finishing up the message, it sent itself immediately off to the other group.

Her golden amber eyes returned back to the screen, flicking through it some more. Using the force like a sort of sonar, she passively kept track of where [member="Taheera Sollo"] and Trextan were. Given how hostile this factory had become, it was paramount that they all stuck together. At least they had a small bit of a break from the fighting in the safety of the office, though it was hard to tell how long that would last.

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[member="Winter Ardmore"] | [member="Lokthra Dawning"] | [member="Azna Kahn"] | [member="Elmont Block"]​

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[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

"Great job, Trex," she deadpanned but didn't take her eyes off the trail of bloodspots. "Yeah Xen, let the others know," voice sounded distracted. She sensed something. A faint trace of life out there. Myrtle-ellipses narrowed.

"I'm gonna check something out. Be right back." Legs were already moving forward as her eyes tracked the blood and her senses followed the force. Purple-lips drew into a frown and her hand fell to her lightsaber hilt as she approached a set of stairs.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

1) Create new FJ10 form [X]
2) Diagnostics [ ]
3) View FJ10 status [ ]
4) Enter Incident Report [ ]
5) Return to previous menu [ ]

Trextan ran both hands through his hair in frustration. There was a faint flush to his cheeks at the embarassment from the wall of sarcasm he'd been hit with by his companions. Right now, he would take another wave of droids over this machine.

He hit 2 which moved the little x down and then the return key. A wall of text and further options came up. It meant nothing to him. He returned to the previous menu and tried the first option. It seemed an FJ10 was some kind of work order. You needed to digitally sign it, add dates and materials required.

Trextan went back up a level and then looked at the status of previous orders. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Additional support struts for a new bulk purchase of labour droids and spares, optics to replace some of the internal cameras. There was one form at the bottom marked 'In Progress'. Everything else was marked completed or cancelled.

Unlike the others there was no plain text description. Each field was filled with some form of machine code. All he could read was a source. Lab C. Was that where this had started?

"Erm, guys?"

 

[Xena Amonali]

"Erm, guys?"

Without looking up from her monitor Xena responded to [member="Trextan Voidstalker"], "What is it Trex? Did you find something?" Her own eyes appeared to be glossed slightly, reflecting the green text from the monitor infront of her. She hadn't found much on her computer. Just logs on shipped orders and a layout of the plant.

She was vaguely aware of where [member="Taheera Sollo"] was going, unsure as to what the other girl had found. Pulling her head away from her computer, she tried to find the other girl to see what she is was getting off to.

"Hey.. Taheera. What's up? Where are you going?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="Xena Amonali"]

She was already halfway out the door and barely caught Xena's voice. "Checking out a lead," she called, just above the factory line's steady clanking and roar. Didn't want rogue droids zeroing on her position. She began going down the stairs, hilt in her hand.

There was a closet at the end. Where the blood stopped. Foot cautiously tipped it open. Eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was definitely an unmoving lump on the far edge of the room, just beneath the cleaning supplies.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

Trextan threw up his hands in an exasperated sigh. "I don't know. Maybe go to Lab C? That seems to be where the orders are coming from."

The mirialan had just left the room, her reply drowned in the sound of factory equipment. Trextan wasn't entirely sure what he should be doing now, but letting one of the group wander off didn't seem like it was the right choice. "Seen any maps?" he asked Xena as he followed Taheera down the stairs.

He only noticed that she was following the trail of blood when he nearly slipped on it. But there was no flush of embarrassment. The questions died in his throat as he looked over her shoulder, some of the colour quickly draining from his face.

 

[Xena Amonali]

Getting up to follow after [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] and [member="Taheera Sollo"], turned her attention mainly to Trextan, "I had a layout of the plant on my computer. I think lab C was just across the way on the other side of the assembly line. We shouldn't have too much trouble with finding it."

As much as Xena's movements were slower, she was still able to keep up with the other two. Following Taheera's eyes, she glanced over the blood on the floor, looking into the same closet as the mirilian.

She had a sneaking suspicion that their group may have found out what happened to the workers who couldn't get away. She wasn't even aware of Trextan looking over her shoulder, or what he had seen. Though when she turned to him, seeing the ghostly pale look on his face, she couldn't help but follow his gaze her eyes looking past Taheera to the lump in the corner. Flicking on her glowlight, it illuminated the room and the being that was inside of it. The worker, if you could call him that, was huddled under the cleaning supplies, the soft laboured sound of breathing coming from him. It was clear he was the source of the bloodstains.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="Xena Amonali"]

The lump flinched at the luminescence. It was a man, barely alive. She was already kneeling by his side, soft healing energy through the force pulsing through her hand as it hovered over the worst of his wounds.

"I'm Taheera Sollo," she whispered as she knelt in close to him. "That's Xena and Trex. We're with the Alliance and here to help. We won't hurt you. I've got you." The man gurgled a response, blood coming up his throat. She didn't back away but concentrated more on the force and knitting broken tissues, cells, and organs back together before it was too late.

It might still be too late.

A shaky hand offered her a datachit, covered in some of his blood.

"He-it...Mentor," the man sighed, then passed out.

Frowning, she gently took the datachit and tossed it back to Xena. "See what you can find out on that." She caught a glance at Trex, her healing still pulsing into the man barely alive. "Whoa Broody Pants. Take a seat before you pass out, 'kay? I don't want to have to heal you too."

There was humor in the nickname, meant to distract him but her voice was serious in a gentle tone.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

He'd never seen anything alive look so dead before. The man was dealthy pale, blood trickling from his lips at every attempt to breath or speak.

His wide-eyed expression collapsed in on itself to at that name again. Trextan and opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to find a response. Something witty and rude, or at least vaguely charming.

The battle droid saved him, in a way. He heard the clanking feet on the walkway above before it leaned over the railings and fired a shot at then. That damned nickname had already started to galvanise his resolve, but now he had an outlet.

Rather than go back up the stairs and through the office he leapt up to the walkway. It was a high jump for him, but the Force seemed to tell him he could make it. Violet blade snapped to life as he picked out one bolt, then cut the droid in two. He doubted it would be alone.

"We have to move soon!" He called. "End this."

 

[Xena Amonali]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c55Cc_brh_0&ab_channel=Amunak

"Agreed. I will lead the way, Taheera we need to go.. just stabilise him and put him back under the supplies. We really need to turn off the factory before the droids swarm us." She quickly moved forwards with [member="Trextan Voidstalker"], pushing past her fear to help curb the evil protocol droid plague. Sure she was still healing and it was starting to get to her, but they had a perfect moment to go and finally stop the facility.

"Trextan, I will take the catwalk and give you cover. The map said that Lab C was in the middle of the two production lines but it didn't say if it was on the top or bottom floor." She ran up to the top catwalk, slipping out her blaster pistol. She would need it if she had to take out some of the droids that were bugging Trextan. The clanking of incoming droids could be heard to the group, but it was clear that they would be able to get to at least somewhere safe before they all hit. She hoped that [member="Taheera Sollo"] was quick with the healing, they would need their whole group of three to get this factory under control.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="Xena Amonali"]

"I'll be there in a sec," she called after, though her attention remained on the man. They were jedi. They were supposed to protect. She couldn't leave this man. She trusted Xena and Trex to fight whatever was out there. And she trusted the force.

If they needed her, she'd jump in.

But for now, she did her job and as a healer, she stayed with her patient. Green-palm spread wide over his wounds as she continued to pour healing energy into the worker, eyes scrunched closed as she concentrated.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Taheera Sollo"] [member="Xena Amonali"]

His blade came up high, then down and around, cleaving a droid from shoulder to hip. As Jacen had thought him, he kept his hands loose on the hilt and kept them as central as possible. He twisted the blade to cover all angles with minimal effort moving his arms and shoulders.

"Cover that way!" Trextan called to Xena, indicating the exit towards Lab C based on what she had said. He shifted his saber to his left and drew his ion pistol. He'd never been able to shoot with his left, but perhaps it would be prudent to learn. He fired at the smaller exit to the side where more droids were arriving. "Got to hold while Taheera gets him stable."

Lab C wasn't far now. The source of the problem would be quite obvious to the trio. Someone had been conducting some bleeding edge research for the company and a graduate had plugged something dangerous into the main systems rather than the isolated research network. The remains of a machine from the Clockwork Rebellion. It had sent a distress call and the Mentor had replied, giving instructions to cause as much damage as possible.

 

[Xena Amonali]

Using the force to guide her aim, Xena shot off into what appeared to be random directions giving [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] and [member="Taheera Sollo"] more time and cover. The bolts buried themselves into the heads of 4 altered protocol droids, broken husk sinking down to the ground. She let her pistol recharge between shots. One after another the droids dropped, each shot meeting either the chest or head of the droids. As much as her mind screamed at her to run and hide, it was much easier to turn that into a fight response of "Shoot it before it gets closer."

Glancing over to the problem, Xena couldn't help but blink a few times in confusion. "Uhh.. How do we stop that thing? Unplug it?" asked before firing off another volley of shots to drop some more droids. It looked like they were going to have some major problems soon if they couldn't clear this problem fast. The droid tides appeared to be endless, constantly crashing against their hold. "I can keep up a hold for now Trex, unless you want me to rush into Lab C." She purposely left the question open for other suggestions from both of her allies.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

The man came to, finally. He stabilized. Shoulders slouched in relief. "You're going to be okay," she held onto his clinging hand. Blaster bolts zinged against the doorframe from the right Trex and Xena were in. "I hope. Stay here."

He nodded still a bit dazed.

The healer stayed with him a moment later, sending calming emotions toward him that would make any Zeltron a bit jealous. Jaw-set and grim face, she took hold of her lightsaber hilt and made her way to join the others.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Xena Amonali"] [member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I don't know!" Trextan shouted. What was clear was that the droids were piling into the area now. He fired off several more shots as he back into Lab C, but even more came his way. With his left he was still able to deflect a few bolts that came close.

A routine inspection was now becoming a last stand. He turned towards the tank that held a very alien looking machine. As soon as he tried to think of something to do the blaster fire intensified in his direction.

"Fegt! Kark!" He shouted as he was forced to do more with his saber. A bolt skimmed past his shin. It didn't even make contact but the wash of heat still hurt like hell. "Sod it."

He locked his lightsaber and threw it towards the top of the tank, bright violet blade carving out a spinning disk as it went. Trextan dove for cover as the bolts continued to stream in.

 

[Xena Amonali]

Watching [member="Trextan Voidstalker"]'s lightsaber slash into the tank, Xena got a quick idea. Quickly holstering her pistol, Xena raised up her hands. She began to draw in all of her energy to herself as blaster bolts flew past them, dissipating into the wall. "Trex... Taheera... One of you kill that thing permanently. I am going to hold these droids," with that Xena moved her hands forwards in a powerful force wave, a mixture of emotions and calm powering the push forwards. Each droid it hit was sent flying, most of them crumpling into a heap from it. The sheer pressure from the push caused pipes nearby to burst and wires to fall down around the entrance.

Taking in heavy breaths, Xena worked on refocusing her mind. Her heart was racing at a mile a minute. It took her a moment before she was able to refocus her mind again, long enough for more droids to arrive. Seeing the reinforcements she called out to [member="Taheera Sollo"] "Taheera! Help me bring down the pipes. We can use it to block the entrance." Her hands motioned up to the pipes and wires that lead into Lab C from the production floor. If they could make them drop it would force the droids to go all the way around the production floor to get into Lab C, giving the trio more then enough time to disable the test tube bot.

She held her hands up at the ready, shaking a bit on her feet. Her body was starting to give her the warning signs that she was pushing it too far, but it was either this or potentially getting everyone inside of Lab C killed. Xena was not going to let the latter happen.