Meet My Metal Friends

[Audren Sykes]

Every couple weeks or so, one of the people he'd befriended with the Free Colonies sent Audren updates on the goings-on of the galaxy. It was mostly from the perspective of the less-than-legitimate population, which meant there was actually news there that he hadn't heard or wasn't widely carried by the news nets. That was why he paid attention to them. That was why he'd seen the news about a mercenary group taking over a droid factory. Both names caught his eye, the mercenary group from his Ceredir sales, the droid producer from his previous research.

A call to the friend diminished his adrenaline burst, but only somewhat. That bit of news was only a rumor, but it was a rumor backed by some fact. The droid factory had indeed gone silent, no scheduled shipments arriving at their destinations. The mercenary group had indeed disappeared into thin air, like they did on jobs. It wasn't solid proof, but it was enough circumstantial evidence that he decided to look into matters.

The Knight left notice with the Sanctum that he was looking into a rumor about a Dynamic Automata foundry. He didn't ask for help, didn't even leave which foundry it was. There was no need for a strike force if the two rumors were wholly disconnected after all.

The hyperspace journey would take several days from Voss. He spent the time preparing his weapons - cleaning and honing them - then much of the rest of it doing more research into Dynamic Automata and the droids they offered. More specifically, into what kinds of droid this particular factory created. Not that they advertised which locations produced what, but that was the benefit of having back alley friends. Of course, it was just his luck that this particular location produced the high-quality security droids. Not the mass-produced ones like security forces used, but the bodyguard droids. The teams used to defend heads of state and their locations. The only thing preventing these droids - ranging from slim and flexible to heavy cannons - from being battle droids was the programming inhibitors. If this was indeed a situation, it would be a hairy one.

[member="Cambria Zadira"]

 

[Cambria Zadira]

Word had come to the Twi'lek Guardian through her contacts on Ryloth that a droid factory may be under new management. Since the Techno Union had collapsed, groups were scrambling after the leftovers. If this news was true, then that could lead to a very bad outcome as the droids made at this particular factory weren't your ordinary security types. They were bodyguard droids, and in the wrong hands could cause a lot of grief.

Cambria had taken it upon herself to go and check this out. The Jedi Knight often worked alone when not assigned with the Freespace Rangers. If anything came of it, she would notify the Sanctum for back up. Course who was to say someone else might have gotten the same information and thought to investigate as well.

Camouflaged high up in a tree with her Force-signature dampened, the blue-skinned Twi'lek used a pair of macro binoculars to keep tabs on the factory's comings and goings as well as the security measures. Once a pattern presented itself, Cambria then would move in for a closer look.

[member="Audren Sykes"]

 

[Audren Sykes]

Factory Control Center
"Is everything in place?"

"Aurek is live. Besh is being armed now, Cresh is still on the assembly line."

"And Corporal Nikora?"

"Still looking, sir."

"Keep me up to date."

"Yes, sir."

Captain Vasco was the commanding officer of the group of mercenaries involved with this Dynamic Automata factory. They had once been a true military unit, fiercely loyal to their world. Until a coup had happened and the government they'd fought for no longer existed. If they'd stayed on-world they would have been hunted down and killed, in the galaxy they could at least live and make a living. He owed his command that much. Some had decided to go their own way, others had elected to stay together as a fighting unit. It had been their choice.

The man knew there was no way to take his planet back to what it had been, not with all the armies of the galaxy. The damage had been done. But he could at least enhance his soldiers' ability to survive. Which is why he'd accepted this job - the first three batches of droids off the assembly lines were to defend the location in addition to the preexisting defenses. After that, every tenth batch of the first hundred would be given to the organization free of charge. Beyond that, every hundredth batch was theirs in perpetuity. And all they had to do was take over the factory and hold it until a replacement crew arrived. A generous deal, so long as they were alive to make use of it.

He intended to make sure they were.

So when the passive sensors they'd installed indicated that there was a vessel performing long-range scans on and around the facility, an alert was sent down the lines. Not blaring alarms and soldiers rushing around, that would attract attention they didn't want. Just the same, soldiers began preparing for possible unfriendlies.

Audren

From the upper atmosphere, nothing looked out of the ordinary. No soldiers or vehicles moved around on the ground and there wasn't a shield protecting the area like he would have expected. There was a general tension and unease about the place through the Force, about all he could sense at this distance. All that really meant though was that he didn't have any better idea what was going on. Which in turn meant that he had to get a closer look.

The Sephi kept his approach slow, smooth, and reasonable. He had no interest in spooking people be they legitimate or otherwise, as that had a tendency to make them shoot first and ask questions later. And even if everything was on the up and up, they could still shoot at him: five turrets positioned around the property indicated that Dynamic Automata took the threat of attackers seriously. Fortunately, none of those turrets shot at or even tracked the heavy starfighter as he dropped in. He didn't have his own guns powered on or shields up in an effort to prevent potential misunderstandings. And while he didn't send any hails over the comm channels, his own comms were open to receive. But there was only silence.

It was only once the starfighter was near the empty landing pads and his landing gear was extending that the turrets came to life. No warning was broadcast, just the sudden swiveling and zeroing in of the guns and the first of the cannon bolts. Clearly the controlling intelligence wasn't interested in warning him off. It was only Audren's ability in the Force that let him survive: the warning flicker of impending danger and the speed that allowed him to slap the shields on. Even then, the first couple bolts slammed into the armored hull and caused diagnostic screens to light up red. He couldn't pay attention to them though, nor could he shoot back as both hands were busy with the throttle and control stick. The fighter awkwardly shifted away from the landing zone and quickly started gaining speed to put space between it and the factory.

Clearly this wasn't going to be easy.

[member=Cambria Zadira"]