Old Ghosts

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He'd actually managed to make the thing flinch! That was a start. His attacker was a massive thing - easily twice his size, and clad in a suit of durasteel. The blaster bolts that managed to hit him seemed to do little more than cause him a moment's pause. Whatever he was, this creature was tough. The Cabal never employed anyone who they did not think could do the job, after all. Rook lowered his rifle as the great beast approached. Rather than stand and fight here, he sprinted down the balcony, and found himself in a much larger hall.

Ahead was the turbolift that supposedly led to the Grandmaster's room. Granted it had been years since the temple was mapped, but rooms didn't just move on their own. Not usually, anyway. Jedi had a way of making things break the laws of reality.

He stood in the center of the hall, facing the doorway that the beast - and those near him if they chose to follow - would stride through. He slipped his rifle back over his shoulder, and dropped his hands down to his belt. A single thermal detonator hung from a loose strap. He undid the binding, and held the destructive orb up high.

"See how you far when I bring out the big guns." He growled, wincing as his leg began to ache. The grenades his assailant had tossed were beginning to take their toll on his body. No time to worry about that now.

He clicked the activation switch on the detonator, and hurled it toward the door.

@Kairus @Jyr 3-13 [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[Kairus]

Kairus moved slowly across the corridor, his footsteps reverberating into the hall in front of him. He maintained his vision on his prey as the man fleeted into the hall. Kairus pressed down on the trigger of the Stokhli Spray Stick as Rook motioned towards his detonator, but it was too late. The electric web flung out of the weapon, shooting out in Rook's direction. At that moment, the thermal detonator rolled into Kairus. He paused, looking down at the Thermal Detonator and letting out a short grunt. The grenade exploded, shredding the armor on his lower body and ripping off his left leg with its great force.

Kairus held himself up with one arm, staring balefully at Rook. He grasped his Stokhli Spray Stick. If the web indeed hit Rook, he would push on the trigger, sending out an electrical shock to immobilize his prey briefly. Kairus' decimated leg shot out tendrils from its wound, attempting to link with the remainder of his limb. The tendrils would strengthen over time if left alone, regenerating his leg with its fibrous structures.

 

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The ringing in his ears registered before the pain. His suit's internal systems were going crazy - the web had successfully shorted out its life support, along with all of its other secondary functions. Not that Rook would need them. He began to move; to retaliate, but found himself unable to move. Then agony took him into its icy grip as electricity ran up his arms and pulsed through his torso. He tried to scream, but his lips would not part. The pain continued as the Gen'dai began to slowly rebuild himself; forcing Rook to watch as his would-be killer prepared to deal the death blow.

Shields online.

In the process of shocking Rook, the Gen'dai's web had given his mobility shield the juice it needed to kick in. The function was automatic, and the results instantaneous. Rook regained control of his limbs as the shield provided a dampener for the electricity. He drew one of the many knives that hung from his belt, and sliced through the web, managing to free himself of the webbing. His body still smoking, the warriors managed to stumble up to his feet, and drew his twin DC-15s sidearms.

"Whoever's sent you is doing it for the wrong reasons." He blurted out; his gaze momentarily slipping toward the entrance of the Grandmaster's chamber. Was that something moving? "You need to stand down."

[member="Kairus"]

 

[Kairus]

The ominous tendrils hardened and squeezed together, successfully binding his leg together. Kairus pushes himself off the ground, latching his Stokhli Spray Stick onto his back. The gargantuan Bounty Hunter drudged slowly towards Rook, gazing menacingly at him as he clenched his fists.

Kairus' PLX-2 Missile Launcher beeped. "Weapon operational." It hummed within his headset as the PLX-2 swings over his shoulder and points at Rook. "You will be coming with me, dead or alive, but preferably dead." He declares in a grim tone. "Tell me, how much are you willing to pay for your life?" The inquiry brings a smirk about his face, hidden beneath his mask. If allowed, Kairus would be no further than three feet from Rook.

 

[Jyr 3-13]

Jyr kept shooting for when his rifle didn't need to cool down. His attention diverted to gaining the correct path, climbing the shelves and cracks between the pillars to reach his goal.

"Sorry," he muttered to one of the records as it went tumbling down the few dozen feet below him, crashing on the floor. Signals seem to bounce around in his head, like the temple wasn't entirely forgotten, only its population delayed and numbered. He tried to ignore it as he pressed on.

Upon climbing to one of the pillars, he saw the Gen'dai move up the stairs. His hand went to the cracked ledge of the bridge leading to the room, only for chunks of it to fall away and for him to almost fall again. He regained himself, grabbing another crack in the pillar and continuing on. In just seconds the droid leaped over to the bridge, rolling some and then dashing after the two armed gentlemen.

Upon stepping on the previous area where he shot a good number of times, the ground broke away due to all the holes. He grabbed the ledge and tried to climb up again, fueled by panic at the sounds of the continuing fight. The droid heaved himself up and kept on his trek, rifle at the ready again.

Upon entering the upper room, he gave a quick look through his scope. "How much are you willing to pay for his?" He fired twice, both liquid bolts seeking to melt through the Gen'dai's armor and melt a few tendrils around the chest.

[member="Rook"] [member="Kairus"]

 

[Kairus]

Kairus huffed as the two bolts penetrated his armor and tore away at his chest. He shifted on his heels, leaving his back exposed to Rook. "Your life meant nothing to me, until you decided to intervene." With that, the PLX-2 missile launcher whizzed about, targeting Jyr. "Target acquired. Firing mechanism activated." It alerted Kairus through his headset. Kairus then unleashes a pair of missiles at the droid. The behemoth follows behind the launched missiles with the intent of a close-quarters assault on Jyr.

 

[RC 212]

Location: Upper floors

Still chaos raged below and Vassara was having none of it. She creeped ever so slowly through the shadows, flitting from one dark spot to the next. As she made her way down the steps of the main chamber she could hear the fighting off to her left. She wasn't here to fight, she was here for other reasons. The archives might be a good place to start.

The droids mapping had worked wonders and as they floated their shiny little bodies back to her she reached out and snatched them up. Following the map was easy, a right here a left there. go through this hole in the floor. Avoid that hole in the floor. It was not long before she found herself at the doors and reached out with the force. Her shotgun hung from her hands as her eyes snapped closed and she felt the door, searching for traps...

 

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The logical thing would have been to run. Rook very much wanted to. He wanted to break into a dead sprint for the Grandmaster's room before the Cabal could clear its records of their sins. The temple had been a loose end; the events that occurred here brought about by a secondhand group. The Cabal had left that group to their own devices, and they'd been sloppy. Now they sought to tie up that loose end in the form of a murderous Gen'dai.

He really should have run.

Rook charged the Gen'dai's back. His sidearms roared as he poured plasma fire into the beast's back. The weapons could only handle six bolts each before overheating, and were quickly discarded. His vibroknife sprung up. Rook jumped, aiming to leap onto the Gen'dai's back and run his blade through the creature's neck. Not to kill it - you really couldn't kill a Gen'dai without heavy ordnance - he wanted to sever the hunter's head while his back was turned.

"Not a credit. How much are you willing to pay for your head?"

@Kairus @Jyr 3-13

 

[Jyr 3-13]

Jyr charged forward and dolphin dived into a belly flop to avoid the incoming missiles, only for one to crash near his side and blow a good chunk of him off. Still functioning, he tried to shoot another liquid bolt at the Gen'dai's legs, more around the knee to severe it away from the rest of his body in a hopeful attempt of making him trip over.

[member="Rook"] [member="Kairus"] [member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Kairus"] [member="Jyr 3-13"] [member="Rook"]

No traps that was good. With a small nudge from the force the hinges screeched a long sound and the doors opened. Hopefully the rest of them would leave her be, too engrossed in fighting. Besides she was after something completely different than what folks normally raided temples for. This one was rumoured to have been a central base, which means it still some schematics hopefully of old Jedi Ruins.

Ruins meant treasure, and knowledge. Stuff not only the Rogue Circle could use, but stuff that the Sith needed to stay away from. Or be kept from.

Her eyes managed to spot an outlet in the dark and she sauntered over, quickly plugging in her datapad. The power in the room whined to life, running on backup no doubt. She accessed the main files, tapping her fingers furiously and moving them into a dump file. The dump file was then copied into her datapad at astonishing speed. Cool how newer tech could rip data so quickly.

About ten minutes later she had all that her datapad could handle. A starmap detailing other ruins, some ancient texts in old Jed'aii language. A few odds and end too it looked like. Schematics for a fighter maybe? Who knew, but she knew one thing. Who ever was fighting upstairs was beginning to irritate her.

With swift determination, now that her mission was complete she flew down the halls, going back the way she came. soon she was peering around the corner at two strange figures and a monstrous being. They were blasting and jumping about and Vassara smirked.

"Gentlmen."

She uttered, moving from the shadows.

"Must we really continue this madness. In the house of the ancient Jed'aii no less?"

 

[Kairus]

The missiles exploded. Everything within a three foot radius was utterly eradicated, everything but the resilient droid. Kairus charged forward with an unwavering momentum toward Jyr. The plasma fire made contact with the Gen'dai's back, singing holes onto his armor. Kairus hardly stumbled as he pressed on, fueled by an overwhelming adrenaline rush. Rook's decision to jump atop him baffled the Gen'dai "Fool! I will crush you as I will your droid!"

Jyr's liquid plasma bolt zooms through the dust kicked up by the missile impact. It strikes Kairus' knee dead-on. His knee buckles inwards as the caustic liquid tears away at his armor and flesh. Rook succeeds in slicing clean through the Gendai's neck, but the joy ride on his back was over. The Gendai tumbles forward, just meters before Jyr. His descent is met with a resounding thud that reverberated across the vast halls of the temple. If Rook has managed to have held on by now, he surely wasn't holding on to the behemoth's head. The head would be completely stripped of its helmet. His earpiece suddenly chimes in "Collection of this bounty is no longer possible. Employer is now deceased."

The droid's voice through the ear piece was fairly audible to the group. The Gen'dai wasted no time as his tendrils slithered out towards each other.

Vassara Raxis Rook [member="Jyr 3-13"]

 

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Rook was a large man. He stood a full head taller than the average human, but Gen'dai were bigger, and this particular Gen'dai was enormous. To his credit, he managed to maintain his hold on the creature for a few long seconds before being tossed from its back. He went sprawling across the hall, sliding on his back until he collided with one of the many pillars. The crash wasn't too dangerous, but Rook certainly felt it.

With a groan, he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Not crushed." He quipped, brushing off his arms. "You done?" He called down at the bounty hunter, though there was a bit of audible strain to his voice. He positioned himself to pursue the creature when an unfamiliar, feminine voice quipped.

"Not so ancient. The Jedi here came about in the past twenties years - granted they're all dead now." He turned slowly toward the woman, a hand falling to the sidearm at his hip. "So I suppose that might count for something."

@Kairus @Vassara Raxis [member="Jyr 3-13"]

 

[Jyr 3-13]

Jyr began crawling back from the incoming Gen'dai, coming in close to the doorway, only to hear a woman talking. He got up and aimed his rifle at her for a moment, stepping back some. A large portion of his chest was missing from the recent blast, dripping a white glowing fluid onto the floor after leaving a trail from where he crawled. He was utterly confused and backed into a corner, pointing his rifle in all directions. "Who are all of you? Why pursue this place...? Somebody came through here, and now it's all gone... Too many songs were silenced... Your voices are sour... Determination is hollow..." The droid started to mutter to himself, quite paranoid along with the fact that he was 'bleeding' out.

 

[Kairus]

Kairus' head was dragged along the floor by the tentacular muscle fibers, attaching itself to his neck. He raised to his feet, gazing down at Rook, an apathetic expression on his face. "Your mercy is misplaced, clone." He uttered to him harshly. "However, your life is no longer mine to take. Perhaps another will come." Kairus turned towards his helmet. He placed it over his head, immediately attempting to scan the newcomer with his HUD. He stares her down as his HUD begins gathering information. "Worthy opponents, no doubt. I give credit where its due." He states sincerely, readjusting his shoulder pads.

The Gen'dai appeared to hold no grudges. This was business, after all.

[member="Rook"] [member="Vassara Raxis"] [member="Jyr 3-13"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Rook"] [member="Kairus"] [member="Jyr 3-13"]

Vassara tracked each of the two as their hands went straight to their weapons. She laughed a bit, letting the sweet sound echo around the chamber. But she did not move to her weapons nor did she make a threatening posture. Her hands hung loosely at her sides as she regarded the strange bunch. A droid, a monster and a Clone?

"So what brings everyone here?"

 

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Rook really could not have stood his ground against the Gen'dai much longer. These creature was a special kind of beast, and he was only a man. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to let his ego inflate; only to a marginal degree, of course.

He lumbered over the massive being, and took a moment to scan his surroundings. The hall was empty save for the combatants and this woman. whatever faint hope he might have had of making off with even a meager reward was dashed; not that it mattered. He was here for a reason, and greed was not going to give him any pause.

"Going upstairs. Looking for something important." He stated plainly, motioning toward the elevator at the end of the hall. "I guess the droid is too. As for you..." He turned toward the Gen'dai, head tilting to the side. "My name is Rook. Not clone. Cabal send you?"


[member="Vassara Raxis"] @Kairus @Jyr 3-13