Starline Express [TSE Incursion]

[Lark]

Lark sat atop one of the numerous ships that had recently landed at the Time Foundry, hastily left behind in order to learn what exactly was transpiring in the silent factory. He didn't know who the ship belonged to, but he doubted he would be there for much longer. Indeed, after a few more moments of tranquil silence, the closing sounds of flapping wings drew him away from his thoughts. Since he landed, the almost unnatural silence sent all kinds of red flags soaring around him. He did not fear whatever it was that awaited them inside, but he wasn't one to take unnecessary risks, especially with his head on the line. Instead, he sent a being of his own creation, a Svarrif, a birdlike creature, to scout ahead. And now, it had returned from him. "What tidings do you bring from me, dark one?"

The Svarrif perched on his shoulder, and he saw what it had seen. Shadowy corridors, void of almost all life. He could sense other Sith wandering around inside, most as confused as a child after their parents abandon them. Corpses of those who were operating the facility littered the hallways, a bloodless massacre. One figure glimpsed through the bird's demonic gaze Lark recognized, [member="Venthis Zambrano"] was seen darting through the foundry, with something else trailing behind him, the echoes of metallic footsteps surrounding him.

"I suspect that no matter what we do, we'll be just as trapped as we were before," Lark said to the Svarrif. "I know not what foul deeds befell those who perished here, and I'd like myself not to join them in their enigmatic demise. But we can't leave our friend all alone now, can we? And besides, I want to know what happened here." Lark gently drifted towards the ground, his landing as soft as his voice. "We'll have to give them the satisfaction and let ourselves be led right into whatever trap they have set. But when we're through, they'll choke on it. Lead me to Venthis," he commanded.

After a dozen or so corners and countless bodies stepped over, he eventually found the one he sought. The Time Foundry was eerily quiet, and while something was clearly amiss in this haunted locus, Lark's heart skipped not a beat. "If it is droids we are up against, I'm afraid you won't be of much use," he whispered to the bird. "But you shall remain by me still, an extra pair of eyes to assist us." Indeed, the sound of heavy footsteps had grown more noticeable. Was it the echo, or were they that close? It was well that he had found a partner. "Venthis," Lark said quietly, as to not attract to much attention. A large snake followed close behind him. "Let's unearth this mystery together, hmm?"

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

A memory.​

Spoiler

“Filiae, how do you disarm a trap when you do not know how it works?”

-The Pale had asked her. The trap on display that day was a simple jaw-trap, but its mechanisms were obscured. Filiae remembered not being able to look inside or under it. To disarm the trap normally would require her to reach through its jaws – One misstep and she would have the teeth of it jabbing into her arm. Even her prosthetic would find that uncomfortable. The Chiss picked up a long, plastic pipe and turned it between her fingers.

“You make something else spring the trap instead of you. Then set an ambush for whatever put it there.”

The Rattataki nodded to Nethil, half a smile playing on her lips. Filiae put the pipe into the trap and pressed it down. The jaws clamped down on the pipe, then wrenched it 180 degrees to make sure whatever it caught was thoroughly crippled.

“Something, or some-one. Their lives are energy, a resource for you to utilise; make sure you spend it to the greatest possible effect.”

Nethil looked at the plastic pipe then, seeing phantom flesh and blood. She bowed her head for the Csen’ai.

[SIZE=8pt]“Filiae.[/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]Darth FIliae.[/SIZE] ma’am?”
The Chiloon Rift
Approaching Time Foundry

The cyborg knight shook the memory from her head and looked at her assistant, a Mirialan acolyte.

“Drop in 10.”

Nethil looked into his eyes, a smile spreading on her lips. She nodded and put her voidfaring helm on and secured the oxygen supply. She straddled the cylinder and braced herself against it with the attached handles. A strap was wrapped around her torso, attached to the cylinder and a quick-release in her hand. Even if she lost grip, she could release herself quickly.

“Are you sure this will work?”

What she straddled was essentially a rocket, based on the start thrusters of an escape pod. Its head was a special-made contraption she had clobbered together; It was made to penetrate hulls before detonating and blowing a hole big enough for boarders to enter. She would have to detach herself prior to impact, hence the quick release.

Filiae shrugged at the question. The few who had seen it before had only uttered a single word: Suicide. Nethil thought of it as more of a ‘high risk entry’. It had not yet been tested, but what did her mother usually say? Success or Death. Sometimes, one just had to go for it.

“Five… Four… Three… Two…” Launch.

Nethil braced as her contraption and she were shunted out from the ship’s hangar. She just managed to catch half a breath before the rocket engines shot the object forward. Filiae almost lost her grip, but found herself caught by the security harness. Everything rushed past her as the only thing between her and certain death was a lightly armoured voidsuit. It felt just a little more terrifying than riding a swoopbike.

‘Holy chit this thing is fast’

The space station seemed to rush toward her, and a second later than she would have liked, Filiae unclipped herself from the security harness and kicked off from the rocket’s body. She still had momentum, albeit much less than the accelerating piece of projectile that now slammed into the outer shell of the Time Foundry and burrowed into the metal. The following detonation was smaller than one would have guessed based the projectile’s size, but it was focused on blasting a tunnel through, rather than dealing great amounts of structural damage.

Nethil shifted her weight in the void, putting her feet in the direction of the opening. Her hands extended towards the hole as she reached out for it with telekinesis and, rather than pulling it to her, pulled herself to it. Once more the world blurred. Sharp edges encircled her on every side as she shot through the hole against the stream of air now being sucked out. Once inside, she had to grab on to the inner edge and cling to the wall to not be sucked back out.

“I can’t believe that actually worked.”

The Pale’s Shadow had landed in the Time Foundry.

[member="Emerald"]​

 

[Vereshin]

The particles of the gas slowly began to disappear beneath Vereshin's hands as he destroyed the matter of the oozing substance, which slowly absorbed into the Force. Diverting his concentration, he traded a glance with Harley who sulked at the sight of him destroying the gas. The woman almost threw a tantrum as she lunged her saber into the door. Feeling his eyes grow red and the inside of his nose burn, the smell soon disappeared to leave behind clean air. His grip grew clumsy as he transported the particles of gas and what remained was sucked into his pull and exploded, the fragments of the orb littering the room and spraying the walls.

By the time Vereshin fell backwards into the wall by the force of the blow, he turned his head to watch Harley slice open a clean hole in the door. The explosion released the remaining gas and the Sith quickly stumbled on his feet and followed Harley through the hole and outside into the next corridor. The two of them ran beneath the high metallic ceiling and past machinery until they were far away from the vicinity of the toxic gas.

Reaching for his handkerchief again, Vereshin stumbled over and fell into the chest of the woman. He wiped the red sweat from his face and the tears welling from his eyes, gasping for clean air while not noticing his elbow planted between Harley's person. His cheeks turned purple and his heart skipped a beat as he quickly pulled himself away.

"Apologies, miss!" He shook his head and stood up right, raising a hand to slick back his hair and make himself look presentable again. "Thank you very much for handling the door." Nodding with acknowledgement towards Harley, Vereshin offered her a coy smile. He regretted he had not yet learned to breach dimensions like his master and slid the handkerchief back into his coat.

[member="Harley"]

 

[Hailey Sosis]

As she finally cut through the bulkhead, she heard a bang behind her as she stepped through the hole she created. Then with [member="Vereshin"] they ran into a metallic room, past machines and then the gas was far behind them. She turned round to say thank you, but as she did he must have been still running, as he fell into her. Damn I tripped him up, Sorry she said as he apologised to her, she did not know it was the toxic gas she breathed in the metal smoke from burning a hole in the door, but the puppy looked cute, and he was so nice about her tripping him up. She said Thank you puppy as she launched herself at him, she kissed him on the lips. She put her arms around his ribs, there was hardly anything there, she would have to get him to help out at [member="Darth Carnifex"] curry wednesday, the was always left overs. She had decide she was going to help feed him up, so he did not look so frail, though he was adorable. She also started to feel a tingle, she was enjoying kissing the man that just saved her life.

 

[Yaadri Osi-Yyn]

The Time Foundry,
Chiloon Rift.

As silence filled the halls, his attention diverted to the side hearing the footsteps of a fellow Sith by the name of Lark. He squinted his eyes first, in anticipation. The snake-like creature slithering behind them would make its way up onto Venthis' back and hang around his neck. Lark's voice spoke out, in an attempt to be quiet. Venthis gathered a nod in turn.

"We shall. I feel as if we should head for the center of the Foundry." Venthis would speak from the cover, attempting to mask his voice in the shadows. Only speaking outwards specifically to Lark and no further than him. He would point forwards to a large doorway, seemingly opening and closing every couple of seconds. Crouching, he would make his way over to the right side of the doorway. Counting the seconds it opens for in his head, the snake still slung around his neck passively. He would dart through the door after waiting for Lark come alongside him, as it opened again, immediately facing a group of droids. The snake around his neck would leap from around him, onto one of the droids wrapping itself around it, and contract inwards crushing through the droid's chassis. Continuing onwards after it was sure it was no longer operational.

Venthis would flick down his mask, and roll to the side as he did throwing his lightsaber while igniting it with micro-telekinesis. It would slice through one of the droids, leaving two more for Lark to deal with. Venthis would collect his lightsaber from the ground, and be sure that each of his two droids that he had destroyed was truly broken by crushing the power cell in their chests.

[member="Emerald"] | [member="Lark"]

 

[Vereshin]

As Harley apologized coyly for colliding with him, Vereshin outstretched his hand in a calming gesture, trying to find the words to remind that she did not trip him. He repeated the motion of brushing back his hair and blushed fervently when she referred to him as a puppy.

"I'm not a pupp..." He stopped mid-sentence to rethink his statement and decided that Harley's nickname for him made sense. "Well alright then." Holding a finger to his chin, he thought about the idea for a moment. An unassuming and passive Sith, he never exactly suited the typical ideal. Vereshin's mind began to wander, before her felt Harley's arms slide around his waist and her lips colliding with his own. Freezing in his position, stars and numbers soared past his vision as he struggled to move and surrendered to the kiss.

Raising his hands, Vereshin allowed them to caress Harley's waist and slid one upward to rest on her shoulder. They released and stood apart from one another and he gently removed his glasses to clean away the condensation. He propped them back over his ears and looked the woman up and down once again.

"Would you like to see something amazing?" He almost whispered as he strode forward and took her hand, pressing onward towards the distortion field at the center of the rift.

[member="Harley"], [member="Emerald"]

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

The Time Foundry
Upper Levels: Corridor

Time was short.

In mere moments, the section would be sealed by blast doors off to prevent decompression of the entire floor. If Darth Filiae wanted to remain largely undetected, she would have to slip through before they closed. Any interference with the blast doors would likely be registered as a second tier had to be sealed.

Nethil climbed along the wall as fast as she could; She was fighting time, gravity, and the deadly pull of the void, feverishly venting the air through a jagged tunnel. It was not just a fight for the objective; it was a fight for her life. If she was sucked back out there – even if she survived the way out – she would be floating in space, unprotected. She pulled herself along a cable, using hands and feet. The blast door was closing, closing – She was so close – closing. Darth Filiae jumped, stretching as far as she could to grab onto the door and pull herself inside.

Closed!

The blast door shut behind her. She could feel it against her back. The air felt so still here, and Filiae was breathing heavily. She was safe, for now. Sitting up, she looked around. What did she see around her? Cameras? Guards looking down at her confused while cradling weapons in their arms? Or perhaps it was just the quiet nothingness of a corridor in the top part of the Time Foundry.

The Chiss got to her feet, exhaling to reign herself in. It was not a matter of detachment, but of focusing one’s passion – To seize the power within her and be the wielder, not the wielded. She clenched and unclenched her steel hand; She was Darth Filiae.

Nethil removed her voidfaring helmet and zipped open the protective suit in order to give herself more mobility and better access to the weapons she carried within. Though, she did not dare remove it entirely. Being vented was not fun.

[member="Emerald"]​

 

[Hailey Sosis]

As she let her kiss go, she saw him clean his glasses. She was nervous, as she looked up at him with blue eyes. Then he said something, she was unsure he was on about, but did not really care. She just smiled and said Yes. As he took her hand, she wrapped it round her, so it came over her shoulder, and she leant into him. She left her hand inside his, and left it on her chest. As they walked to where ever he was talking her, she realised she was going smell bad, by time she get's out leather armour. Though she did occasionally accidentally on purpose, sway her hip into him. She always tried to look innocently up at him when she did, she liked him, though she knew in her heart it would not last, as she had a hell of temper. She had no control over it, and when it came on she entered a murderous rage, it was greatest boon on combat, but it also meant she had very few friends, as who would want to hang around with someone, who you set off, would likely try cut you in two whilst biting your throat out. Though he could be friend with benefits, yeah he could be that. As they walked, she was being as tactile as she could with free hand.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Lark]

Lark looked towards the door that his new companion pointed towards, opening and closing with a constant, mechanical whir. He nodded, and together they silently slithered beside the malfunctioning door. His concrete heart beat to the rhythm of the door, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. His Svarrif was perched on his shoulder once more, and Lark spoke to it telepathically. I fear your talons are not sharp enough to pierce their metal shells. And these droids are well-made, I see no loose wires for you to sabotage. All the same, your utilities extend far beyond that of combat. Follow close behind us, and ensure nothing approaches from behind. When these four droids are dealt with, return to me.

An inaudible flap of wings was the sole indication the Sithspawn registered the orders given. He turned his attention back to the door, and after a few more rotations, Venthis dashed through and immediately began attacking the droids. Lark was less than a step behind. The hallway was narrow, and Lark's enchanted sword long, so he did not even bother unsheathing it. One of the mechanical intruders pointed it's blaster at Lark, and with a slight nudge of the Force he pushed it away. With a quick flick of his wrist he drew his enchanted dagger, and with a sudden strike he cut through the metal around the thing's neck, removing it's head and letting a small static sound emerge from within the droid. Before the final droid could make a move, Lark threw his dagger directly towards it, hitting it square in it's head.

He walked over towards the fallen invader, and retrieved his knife. Lark watched Venthis destroy the power cells of the droids, and he followed suit. One could never be to careful, especially given the present circumstances. Not a single shot had been fired, but he didn't know how much it mattered. They were likely still being watched. With a hushed approached, his Svarrif was suddenly back on his shoulder, serrated talons digging into the padding that lay underneath his clothing. Idly, Lark pet it with a pale finger, giving thought to Venthis's earlier suggestion. "Secrets are often found in the center," he mused. "Let's see if anything is waiting there for us. But we should stay wary," he said as they continued progressing through the Foundry. "The deeper the depths we travel, the more danger we shall confront. All those who perished here have no external wounds, as far as I can tell." He cast a wary gaze to a vent they passed. "Perhaps we should use our breath wisely. Their soldiers aren't subject to the same weaknesses as we are."

[member="Venthis Zambrano"] [member="Emerald"]

 

[The Major]

The constant organic mad jabbering distilled by one [member="Vereshin"] and one [member="Harley"] had earned them the mathematical wrath of the micro processing gods. Read: make a lot of noise talking; garner attention. They were lucky to have at least remained together to increase their chances of survival. They were unlucky to enter a cramped and confined hallway 3 meters in width that ran long down to the next series of doorways. At the end of this intersection, two Iron Knights, already detecting their antics and honing in like a combat addled hornet, marched to close the distance.

"HARK!​

Fleshbag,​

state your purpose here."​

The second knight in the pair advanced in time, also offering his noble opening statements.​

​

"You are loud, Human.​

You are also trespassing. ​

By what authority do you come here?"​

​

[member="Emerald"]​

 

[Carach]

Outside the Time Foundry.

They couldn't truly be blamed for all of this.

After all, they had never fought an enemy like this.

Emerald studied the sensor outputs projected in front of him and if his mechanical mind had the capability of professing laughter then surely the Shard would have done so. Instead there was simple, cold amusement as the fleets of the Sith Empire floated cautiously into the system proper.

They deposited their shuttles and traversed the distance... intelligent, considering the asteroids floating around and making a direct approach quite difficult.

"Now."

Once the last air-lock was locked it happened.

The fleets of the Sith would suddenly receive new sensory input. One ping, two pings, ten, hundred, five hundred, from every conceivable direction on the geometrical axis.

Up, down, next to them and behind, it seemed as if the enemy presence simply... warped into existence. If one of the admirals could fight through the rising panic they would realize what had happened.

The asteroids themselves turned into independent weapon platforms and protected by hyper-advanced sensory deprivation materials. Since they had been running cold there had literally not been anything to detect.

The element of surprise was on the side of the Incursion.

Darth Lykos

"One of them is seemingly trying to address you, Emerald." He looked past Verdite. Impassive, but perhaps some flickering of curiosity in the way lightning radiated just right.

"Put him through, please."

Whomever you are that took control of this station, and do forgive me for not being able to address you by name, I applaud you for managing to achieve what conquest you have. But, you have more planned for this station, I am sure. Why else would you turn your gaze here? However, the question I am most curious about at the moment is thus: why have you let me and other fellow Sith aboard? Why have not opened all airlocks?"Come, try and kill me? Reveal intent within your actions? Or, perhaps, we can talk as civilised beings?"​

Why not indeed.

"I am quite tempted to do just that, Verdite." He let his second know, while pondering the meaning of the question. Most organics were barbarians and fools. They stormed in without thinking, no consideration whatsoever, but this one... wished to talk. A gesture of his claws and his voice would suddenly sound in Lykos' immediate surroundings.

"We offer salvation, organic. Power to those who decide to follow our path. Do you wish for power?"​

​

Venthis Zambrano | Lark

It was strange.

The doorway had been consistently opening and closing, speed and pace equal, until the last droid dropped between them. Instead it screeched to a halt, metal whining as it was rudely interrupted by a set of jagged metal claws suddenly snatching the lids and forcing them open once more. This was not the face of a simple droid.

This was more.

An Iron Knight stood before them.

Large, in its claws already four lightsabers engaged and humming in anticipation. Its head tilted, almost as if it was listening to something and then it launched itself at Venthis.

Its lightsabers blurring as speed and momentum took over.

Darth Filiae

"Oh, no! What have you done??" A robotic voice suddenly sounded from Filiae's left. It was a protocol droid - its eyes red instead of the usual soothing yellow.

"I just fixed that!"

Already its hands were rubbing against one another, in a sign of distress, metal screeching as it scratched. "Oh... this is bad, very bad, structural weakness, no, no. no..." It was already ticking away on a nearby terminal, trying to assess the damage? Maybe. It was difficult to really know what it was doing with the way its fingers were ticking away.

The way the screen blurred as speed took pace.

[member="Verdite"] | [member="Harley"] | [member="Vereshin"] | [member="Ardana 'nilim"] | [member="Vaylin"] | [member="Darth Lykos"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Atmeiktes"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] | [member="Darth Abyss"] | [member="Lark"] | [member="Venthis Zambrano"] | [member="Darth Filiae"]​

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"Salvation. Equivalent to ascension in many ways, is it not? Perhaps not in the meanings of the words themselves, yes, but, more so in their use. Both are religious in connotation, so, does that mean that this is a religion? Or an assault based upon a religious dogma? How... boringly common." A false, heavy sigh would explode from between the Iridonian's lips in an attempt to express annoyance and disappointment. However, beneath the act, his mind was spinning, factoring the fact that the assault of the Droids may well be driven my religion in some form. The captured Padawan on Commenor, for example, had been described by the the Knight-Commander as having been presented freedom. Freedom from pain, choice and suffering - to paraphrase the video he was recalling - by being ushered into the service of Onyx; one of the Trapped Ones, whatever they were. With the idea of prescribing a religion to the video, everything seemed to fall neatly into place.

Assuming that his conclusion was correct, that meant that he would have to alter his plans. Loyal soldiers could be bough, tricked. But, zealots? They were another story all together. Passionate, driven, they would never betray the edicts that they had sworn their life to, would twist their own lives to follow said edicts and would easily find themselves commiting untold atrocities against those that stood against the religion's commandments. Bartering would no longer work, quick word play would no longer work. Patience that would have been present in a loyal soldier would not be present in a zealot. The best way forward he could see while also discovering as much information as he could, would be to play to their commands, dance to their tune. But, then, he was a man of Masks, such a feat would be simple enough.

Oh how he loved zealots. Despite them being so commonplace within the Galaxy, they were so fun to play with and win against. Of course, his success was dependent in his assumption that he was dealing with a religious order, but, he was confident in his conclusions. He would just have to stick his arm into the wolf's jaws and ensure that it did not bite down.

"But, you did not ask to hear such a response from me. You asked as to whether or not I wish for power?" A low rasping chuckled growled out from his throat as he cast his arms wide. "Look at what space you are in. I am Sith. Power is Evolution. Power if Growth and Progress. It is shunting the chains of oppression and stagnation and carving your way in life, against the whims and wishes of foes and the Galaxy itself. Power is Life, their is no difference. You ask if I wish for Power? I wish to live as I dictate, no Chains to bind me. I wish for power, aye."

By the end of his speech, Lykos had carefully pitched his voice so that it would sound as if he was ranting, a zealot himself obsessed with the pronouncements he had just made. Within the Force, a similar story was being sung as Mask of Quey'tek Meditation - crafted years prior when he was a Knight and had been tasked by the Sith Assassins to eliminate a religious cult and maintained until he had had need of it again. Obsession, passion, self-interest and desire rolled off of the Iridonian in waves, crafting their story within the Force. Let them see him as a man obsessed. Let them deal with him as a man in love with Power.

His speech made, Lykos lowered his arms - having played the part and made the gesture - just as a wave of pain and anguish echoed within the Force from outside the Foundry. Instinctively, his head snapped towards the metallic wall that separated him and his Hand from the void of space. How? How had the Incursion been able to strike such a quick blow? There had been nothing th... his thoughts stuttered for a moment as he realised what had been there. What had been surrounding the Foundry and that no one had paid any thought or attention to. Asteroids. Asteroids that he knew could be easily hollowed out or transformed into weapon platforms. He, himself, had once thought to use such a ploy before; even if he had never gone ahead with it.

"Impressive. Most impressive. Utilise what is out of sight by being in the line of sight. I congratulate you. But, I assume you have no wish to listen to me preform the role of a sycophant. So, I must ask. Are we to meet? Am I to prove myself to you?"

Even as he spoke those words, whispers carried upon the waves of death struck his mind and caused Tiae'khta to use her position stood against his back to steady him in place, to prevent him from collapsing. Visions of his body falling, dead and cooling, had flashed across his mind's eye. The cold of the Nether once embracing him with a sense of finality. And, through the vision, that disjointed whisper remained. "See the void. This is what you will be. Come to me. Come to me. Spare yourself the pain. Come to me."

[member="Emerald"]​

 

[Vereshin]

The closeted intellectual became more and more confused as the seconds passed. As Harley lifted his hand to place it on her chest, he felt his heart leap into his chest and his stomach drop, jerking away his wrist and starting at the ground. Backing away, he glared at her very subtly and told her through his expression that he was not comfortable with her actions. He held his breath for as long as he could and then released as she walked beside him, jolting with every touch she made and feeling his hand grow sweaty. He conjured indiscernible equations in his mind and focused on infinite numbers, void of soul, while they moved into the next corridor to the rakish sound of beeping.

Vereshin almost thanked the interruption of the two fierce droids for giving him something else to do. Suddenly, the prospect of violence did not concern him and brought a pang of relief as Harley's busy antics were cut short. Technology was not an area in which he possessed great knowledge, the lack of emotion or need for attachment in droids was something that interested him, at least in a sense that he could relate to. Vereshin did not deny his present emotions, confronting them was another feat entirely.

"Fleshbag? Well I suppose that is not inappropriate..." Vereshin removed his hand from Harley's and smoothed over his hair as he usually did in a nervous state. He stood before the droids with confidence and attempted to slow their intentions with words, not that he guessed it would do much good. "I am not here to disrupt your operations, I merely wish to see the wonders of this foundry for my own research." Gripping the edge of his lapel, he rolled his toes upward and balanced on his heels in a nonchalant pose. Whether or not he intended to deal with insurgency along with his fellow Sith remained to be decided, his sole interest was the distortion field.

"I am a sorcerer of the Sith and the time distortion field is of great interest to my studies." Vereshin said to the second droid. "My presence here is passive and I mean you no ill-will." As he spoke, he cast an intricate glance over the build of the two droids and gradually calculated a means to deactivate them delicately, sliding a telekinetic grip into their frames and applying force to the power cores. Wires within their metal bodies burst one and after the other as he flexed his fingers in the air, disguising the casting gesture.

"I am disabling them from within, do not attack them." Stepping backward and heightening his concentration, he spoke through to Harley's mind with a dire tone. "Understand?" Lights began to burst on the droids and the speech became garbled. The sorcerer bit his tongue as he tried not to provoke them.

[member="Harley"] @Hark! An Iron Knight

 

[Hailey Sosis]

[member="Hark! An Iron Knight"] [member="Emerald"] [member="Vereshin"]

Harley was trying to keep his attention, and so she could possibly make out near this singularity thingy majig. Then this droid, a droid of all things, no not just a droid two fethin droids. Come up and interrupt him. He let go of her, her mouth began to shake a little, and she started muttering to herself B,b,b,bu,bu,bu,but it is just droid, why is it stopping us. Her anger was building up inside, she could not help it, it was just her. His words about not attacking it, just fell on deaf ears, especially the bit where he tried to communicate with her through the force. As the force had already taken over what little harley called a brain, and it was making her made and bring in her into a rage. Her eyes began to turn YELLOW, her body began to have the force sift through it, strengthening her and removing her ability to feel physical pain, as he stepped back, she stepped forward. She then shouted NO ONE IS HURTING MY PUPPY DOG! Then she charged and lit up lightsabers, and went full blast to turn them into scrap. She had no ability to block, but she was armoured, and felt no pain. She was also wielding two lightsabers aggressively. She had no interest in them surviving next few seconds, as they interrupted her possible next kiss.

 

[Yaadri Osi-Yyn]

The Time Foundry,
Chiloon Rift.

They continued from the previous small conflict, with the four droids. Though now they were faced with a far bigger opponent. Stood before them was an Iron Knight, equipped with four lightsabers. In moments, it sped towards Venthis. Reacting instantly, Venthis reignited his blade catching the Iron Knight's, stopping the blades from striking him. He would then apply a great ammount of force to push the Iron Knight's lightsabers. Using the force to augment his strength as he did.

Venthis released a soft grunt. "Together Lark, we need to strike together." He said, panting. With that, he would nod in the direction of his partner. Venthis would then using telekinesis attempt to pull at the Iron Knight's leg, in an attempt to bound it to the ground not allowing him to move. In the moment, he would then dash forwards and attempt to strike directly at the chest of the droid, in a slashing motion.

At the moment, he stood alongside Lark. Hopefully they would both come out of this alive, finding out the intentions of whoever had actually taken over the Time Foundry.

[member="Lark"] | [member="Emerald"]

 

[Vaylin]

They had only been on the station for for a minute when the group felt a sudden shift in the air. Everyone looked at one another, until the airlocked behind them snapped closed, entering into a lockdown.

"Well, that's not good..." One of the soldiers muttered, receiving a glare from Vaylin. The Zabrak went to speak, until an eruption from outside of the Foundry reached their ears. Not of an explosion but the sounds of the defences all turning on at once and being aimed towards the Sith fleet.

"Nor is that." This time it was one of the other Sith.

"Zip it, both of you. We have our mission as does the fleet. That's their problem, we have ours." Namely with the fact they were now locked and trapped in the station, along with the other groups and individuals that had managed to gain access.

"I'll be taking point, you three will take up the rear." She pointed to two of the soldiers and one of the Sith. Each grabbing their weapons, although the latter didn't activate his blade. "That leaves you two with me." The last soldier and Sith nodded as they took up positions either side of the Valkyrie.

From there the pushed onwards, slowly making their way down the first hallway. Vaylin kept her eyes on front, the troopers held their rifles up and ready to fire at a moment's notice. While the Sith remained alert, searching for any signs of approaching danger.

[member="Emerald"]​

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

Time Foundry
Corridor.

“Oh no!”

Her head snapped towards the source of the sound. Her right hand went to the inner pocket where she kept her lightsabre, but she did not outright draw it once she saw what spoke. Nethil let go of the cylinder. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the red in the droid’s eyes. Red, wrong, they were supposed to be yellow.

Many ignored the droids around them, the little details of their mechanical lives. Filiae was not one to make this mistake. Droids saw much, knew much, and they often took it all for granted. Protocol droids were best treated with civility if one wanted to learn from them.

“I am not sorry. The hull needed stress-testing and I found a weakness in your outer shell. This is serious.”

She approached the droid as non-threatening as she could, but with a very determined look on her face. The hand that formerly gripped for her lightsabre now brought out a small datapad and flipped it open.

“I may have to dock points because of this. The facility is not secure, even for droids. There is a serious radiation hazard out there!”

While her mechanical arm made motions that looked very important on her datapad, she focused intensely on the screen, her cybernetic eye and cerebral cybernetics tried to catch what the protocol droid was doing.

“But perhaps it is something we can fix right here and now. I mean, I’m not here to give you more trouble than you need, uh- What is your number again?”

[member="Emerald"]

 

[Lark]

The droids lay discarded behind them, for all the fight they put up the battle could barely qualify as a skirmish. They weren't even a few meters away when a metallic crash erupted a few paces behind them. A slight hum reverberated from the source as the echo from the sudden crash traveled through the abandoned halls. The beast was far larger than the previous droids and as it emerged from the shadows a dull light faintly covered the walls, four lightsabers each held in a separate claw. It slowly walked towards them, movements reminiscent of a puppet on a string. And then, without warning and with surprising speed, it charged directly at Venthis.

His companion reacted well, and Lark eyed his Svarrif. Where were you on that one? The bird fluttered away, it would be no use against a mechanical monstrosity such as this. And the droid spun it's blades so quickly, flashing lights always caused the Svarrif some confusion. Venthis shouted for Lark to join him in the attack, but his sword was not yet drawn. With practiced movements Lark reached for his enchanted dagger, flicking it into his wrist and throwing it towards the droid with startling speed and accuracy. He didn't want to get up close and personal with the knife, not against a four-armed opponent in close quarters. In case his knife or Venthis's strike did not land true, he drew his own weapon, and joined his fellow Sith in the attack.

[member="Venthis Zambrano"] [member="Emerald"]

 

[Carach]

[member="Lark"] & [member="Venthis Zambrano"]

For a moment there was a distinct impasse between the Iron Knight and Venthis. Then the Force was applied to stick him into place, which worked... to a degree, but this was a droid.

Not a person.

As the Knight suddenly felt his inability to move his metal leg and maneuver around, calculations were applied at the back-end level, until a new strategy was extracted. It went something like this: for a brief moment the Iron Knight ceased all movement besides continuing to exercise pressure against the force met out by Venthis.

Then suddenly something shifted.

From knee-high the joint suddenly hissed and the Knight rotated around its axis, changing the entire scheme of his attack vectors. The sudden sweeps would press against Venthis' focus, applying even more strength under its attacks as momentum increased. It would get increasingly more difficult for Venthis to stand the tide.... a different strategy might be better. Lark's knife rushed in and got him during the second rotation, stabbing the Knight right between two plates.

Hisssssssss.

Something was punctured.... but the Knight did not seem to be letting up.

[member="Darth Lykos"]

There were many thoughts passing Emerald's mind as he looked and listened to what the Sith was relaying. Many thoughts. Hundreds of thousands of them racing through his inner cortex with the speed that could encircle the Galaxy twice with a single breath. Options were picked out, opportunities established, risks calculated, in the end the Green Shard hummed to himself.

There were discrepancies between the initial response, the approach and then the secondary motive, followed by the tonal faculties.

It implied... but that did not matter.

"Am I to prove myself to you?"

"Yes." The cold voice rang out in response without missing a beat. "There is a Sith outside of Hangar Bay C-28."

"Sapphire skin. Obsidian eyes. Metal beast rather than organic mutt." [member="Darth Filiae"]

A breath passed.

"Kill her." Suddenly Lykos' comms would bleep as his systems were bypassed, until a map was uploaded directly to him. "Power demands sacrifice. Kill and be accepted."

[member="Darth Filiae"]

The droid did not immediately cease its operations.

Its screen was flickering and the code was complicated. Very complicated, far more complicated than a service droid had any right to be operating at a good day. If Filiae was paying enough attention, she might notice that whatever it had been operating... some of the strains of code were directly pertaining to this section of the ship.

Perhaps it was a trace call, so someone could track them. Maybe a venting procedure that was along its way every moment they were talking... or perhaps it had simply run a diagnostic to ensure the facility's integrity was still intact.

Instead it ticked one more button and then looked back to the Sith. The red shine lessened in intensity as it seemed to mull over what the sapphire-skinned one was trying to tell him. It wasn't really clear if the droid bought it or not, but after three breaths the custodian of C-28 nodded once firmly and turned around completely.

"This one's designation is C-2-8." Once more it inclined, now in a token amount of respect. "I am here to serve."

Or to stall anyway.

[member="Vaylin"]

This part of the corridors were empty and relatively clean.

No bodies littering the place, scorch marks of blaster fire, nothing. But there were maintenance displays installed in the walls periodically and if Vaylin or one of her detachment paid enough attention?

They might notice a faint emerald shimmer.

Like something was watching them.

Once they passed a vent... it started to produce a minuscule sound, almost impossible to hear, unless you were looking for it.

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

 

[The Major]

To the veritable duo, [member="Vereshin"], and [member="Harley"] . . .

These most honorable iron knights were beings of poise, rationality, and extensive training. Decades of drilling had honed in their abilities. One of the core tenants of their beliefs was to always ignore absolutely anything an organic said. It could plead, supplicate, petition, or even curse at the knights, and they would not pay no more heed to it than that of a mote in an empty room.

Such was on display now, for Vereshin would speak, but they would only rely on their augmented senses to calculate the fastest path of demise.

As he reached out in the Force, a sudden resistance would sparkle against his deceptive intentions. One of the knights stepped in front of the other and whipped up a small shield. This act was symbolic, both covering his partner and serving as the channel of focus for a Force Barrier. It was not visible to the naked eye, but the energy sputtered and crackled aggressively.

Caution! A surge of energy is palpable from the knight hidden behind his partner.

Once Harley charged and screamed her ardent affirmation the first duelist with the shield ducked enough to allow the second knight to surge a powerful Force Slam which reverberates down the hall, into the intended path of the one yelling about a puppy.