Welcome To The Machine [Incursion PvE]

Ara Zambrano · Sep 17, 2017

The maintenance tunnels opened up before their small group, darkness encased in metal peppered with the red glow of neon lights acting as beacons to the unwary. The Knight of Ren could feel the presence of so many others deep within the tunnels, her skepticism of this mission once again rising to the surface as narrowed eyes inspected the cool, uncaring maw before them. The metallic glow of the lights upon smooth curves, pipes running the length until they disappeared in the abyss drew her attention, a slight head tilt and bitter smile as similarities to the underbelly of Coruscant, her once home, came to mind. One finger ran over the edge of one such metal fixture where it protruded from the entrance, the hum of the machinery deep within vibrating and sending a chill down her spine.

Stifling a shiver, she turned away from the tunnels, her attention returning to the Master in their midst as she spoke. The helmet they all wore distorted her voice until it was unrecognizable by those outside their secretive order, the tone one she expected from the young, violet-haired Samka. Her own eyes glowed crimson with power and excitement as she nodded, a smirk forming behind the half-mask she’d finally acquired after months of working with the armourers of the First Order to replace the last. Cool metal and Duraplast covered the bottom half of her features, her eyes free from impediment. The Hapan-Epicanthix mix was glad of her decision to forgo the full helmet, her low-light vision severely lacking as it was, a visor would have only served to render her completely blind in the tunnels before them.

”With pleasure.”

Eyes locking with the gaze of Decitus Ren through the opaque glass of her helm, anticipation and bloodlust answering her call and order as the older woman bowed slightly from the waist in acknowledgement that her will would be done without hesitation. The blade at her waist pulsed in its own answer, the blade forged on Mustafar all too willing to spill blood for their cause, or any cause for that matter.

A familiar aura approached, arriving via another transport and accompanied by another of Hapan heritage, Ara’s smirk grew behind her mask as Kyrel Ren joined them. Inclining her head in greeting, her cool gaze landed not on the armoured man, but on his companion. A cursory inspection raised more questions than it answered, her appearance seeming familiar but the countenance and aura surrounding her anything but. Kyrel was full of surprises recently, ones the Zambrano girl filed away to unravel later. For now, she offered the slightest of bows out of politeness and curtesy, a name applied to the face as the youngest of their group spoke a greeting.

Ms. Temi, indeed.

Any questions she might have fielded were rerouted as Mishel continued, Ara raising one eyebrow in curiosity as she regarded the Disciple of Ren.

”Why not both?”

A dark chuckle distorted eerily through the vocalizer, the family sigil hidden beneath her robes clinking as her body shook slightly with the sound. She hadn’t been present on Rishi, her duties on Panatha had dominated her time in the recent weeks, much to her own displeasure. Only by pushing for this assignment and out of Samka’s grace, had she been allowed to join. The Ren who was no longer a Ren, an outcast of sorts within their group…for now.

”With your permission…”

Turning her attention back to the young Master, a slight tilt of the head indicating her interest in continuing into the depths of the facility, her blood humming with anticipation that was only agitated by the time spent waiting and talking. She was patient, but with the thrill of the hunt flowing through her, she ached to move and do, action far more interesting than words after so long without.

The stillness assaulted her more than any noise or sound might have, the pure unnaturalness of it setting her frayed nerves on edge. Occasional sounds broke the oppressive atmosphere along with their own footfalls, each one drawing her attention with a quick turn of the head, as little more than shadows danced in her vision in the darkness. The group following were bright stars in her mind’s eye, the Force flowing through each a beacon of varying strength, the dots of signatures far ahead acting as an unintentional compass for their path. Black liquid pooled along the path, the inky sludge blending into the flooring, but the tell-tale squish beneath her boots curling her lips up in disgust. Small metallic shards of metal scattered throughout the ooze made her pause.

”It seems we missed the excitement.”

Rekha Kaarde · Sep 17, 2017

Location: heading into the Facility
Allies - lightside forces
Gear: Thunderclap | Woebringer | Taozin Amulet | Backpack with bottle of whiskey

So when your name is Rekha there are some things you never leave home without, big gun, bottle of drink. She had both today. Maybe this time she'd finally get to fire the really big gun, the Thunderclap. But for the meantime she held the Woebringer in her hand. This place was giving her the creepy crawlies. She didn't like feeling like she was walking blind.

But here she was once again somewhere she probably shouldn't be, doing something that could likely get her crispy, or scarred as she walked with her signature strut and devil may care grin. She wasn't insane as some had supposed. Nope. She had just gotten to where life needed a bit of adrenaline, and this adventure had great promise of that. But now the choice of who to follow and who not to follow....now she knew ole [member="HK-36"] but did she want to follow him? OH and wouldn't you know it, the forcies outnumbered the non ones again.

She arched a brow as she took the first steps...ok...

Where to go what to do...the halls called and Rekha went forward

Ylva Heavenshield · Sep 17, 2017

Location: Unknown Facility
Objective: Discover the origin and intent of the contingency for the Iron Empire.
Allies: [member="Aster Rose Baelor"], [member="Caelag Vass"]

Of those that had arrived, there were few among them that Ylva Solveig recognized from the Iron Empire itself. To say that they were friends or well acquainted with one another would have been a lie but among them their motives were the same and for all intents and purposes in being there today, their loyalties would prove to be more aligned in her opinion than anyone else could offer the Wilder there. The sudden scream from the young Princess Aster had given her reason to turn and glance back beyond those closest to her, Ylva pausing while the group slowly decided to move on in its own pace parting some and giving the huntress a clear line of sight to the younger female. It was curious to see her there, even in the company of what appeared to look like bodyguards no less. Quite frankly it didn't sit right with Ylva, though her opinion of men was biased due to her upbringing among a more feral nature of peoples regardless of gender when it came down to it, she simply understood the men among them to be more feral and violent by nature than women were, thus two older males guarding over a younger princess; suffice it to say she didn't know their qualifications nor how they got their posting, yet nor did she see reason to take any chances. It was something out of character for her though, perhaps Théodred was rubbing off on her after all for all his talk of protecting others. This Princess was no sovereign leader of hers, Ylva saw her as a person, an individual and one in a very dangerous place given her age. Approaching, she made no move to hide her skepticism.

"What're you doing here..." She asked. Ylva was forward, lacked manners and wore her heart on her sleeve, she didn't care for how she sounded as long as people understood where they stood with her and with this girl being here, there was both concern and frustration in her tone, "Weren't you kidnapped by the Chiss or somethin'? Now you're in this place...-No wonder Théo's so uptight" she shook her head to herself before looking over these Wolfsglaives of hers. "I'm coming with you" she exclaimed, seeing as the Princess had brought it upon herself to enter the game of roulette, Ylva would be damned if her new high born Jedi friend would give her grief over letting the Princess get herself killed. Not to mention Ylva was finally starting to get in with the Iron Empire itself. If she were sending the men off down each path then Ylva would stay behind and keep Aster company; better this than someone else to threaten her in their absence.

"There's another one of ours here too, can't remember her name, I'm still trying to know yer' faces" She muttered under her breath watching the Wolfsglaive walk away following her orders somewhat reluctantly now. "Cale?..Caleg...-Something like that".

[member="Onyx"] | [member="Zircon"]

Formorta · Sep 17, 2017

Contingency Facility
Coordinates: 5, 8 -27.8996 56.7890.
Team: Lightside ererererererish
Objectives: Eliminate All Threats

She preferred to work alone, with so many people about some one was bound to screw up, but for the moment everything had been going well, to some extent. The stealth ships had arrived easily enough, and for once the Jedi and Sith were not killing each other, for now that is, she had a sneaking feeling that some of the present Sith would undoubtedly stab the Jedi and maybe their own allies in the back for what even reason that made it more convenient for them.

Though for now that didn't matter, she was just here to help escort [member="Kainan Wolfe"] and follow his orders nothing more. The incoming drones were destroyed easily enough, but as her superior officer stated this was most defiantly a trap, it was all a matter of when it would be sprung, and how would be caught it in. Foromrta gave Wolfe a slight non and walked to it side, all weapons at the ready to be fired, her red eyes scanning the hallways for the slightest detection of enemy movement.

Sure scanner were useful but they could be fooled, hacked into, a persons eyes never lied, and Formorta's were as sharp as ever. Slowly the grouped edged closer, everyone being as careful as possible.

@everyone

Aryn Teth · Sep 17, 2017

Aryn Teth

The Maintenance Hallway, Contingency Facility.

Team: Lightside

Objective: Investigate the Contingency Facility

The ride down in the dropships had been uncomfortable for Aryn. Indeed, any spaceflight on something less than a capital ship was uncomfortable for Aryn when he was not himself in the pilot's seat. He had grown over such a long time to rely primarily on his own skill as a pilot, that leaving his life in the hands of others, especially in a situation such as this, was disconcerting, to say the least. He briefly cast a glance over the others in his dropship. There were familiar faces, members of the Alliance, and the many Jedi Orders, Aryn had fought alongside them, and indeed, was there at their request and calling for aid. Still he did not exactly count himself among their number, and indeed, he was still only properly comfortable around Arisa, through their connection with the Rebel Alliance, but it reinforced his confidence somewhat, being in the presence of so many renowned individuals.

Of course, as he stepped off the dropship and into the maintenance entrance, looking over the group again reaffirmed that being in the presence of such well-known individuals was not always a good thing. His gaze drifted over the Sith, the Imperials, and those members of the First Order and their allies. For some time, he'd spent a great deal of his life fighting these people, and he had met a few on the field of battle before, both on land and in the stars. He almost appreciated the fact that the contingency was so large of a threat that they were not all murdering each other in that moment.

It occurred to him just how many of the individuals around him were Force Users, and the lightsaber, relatively newly-acquired and sitting on his belt, became more and more present in Aryn's mind. For most of his life he had been oblivious to his own connection with the force, and indeed for some time after the discovery still shunned it. Yet slowly he had begun to accept the connection, and while he had trained, and indeed come far in a short time, the man was still little more than an apprentice with the weapon, and with the Force. For the time being, he was still far more comfortable with the blaster at his side.

The appearance of the drones was certainly enough to drag Aryn from his thoughts, his hand reaching down to wrap firmly around the grip of his blaster as they appeared. Yet, as quickly as they showed up, the drones seemingly were defeated, exploding with the black liquid, of which some splattered down and onto his flight suit. He appreciated the fact that he'd been closer to the back, but gave his splattered leg a slight shake, to try and purge it of as much of the material as possible before he continued on. It wasn't too long before they were stopped again however, stuck with the time-honoured trial of which door to take. For now, Aryn chose to separate himself from the decision-making process, standing towards the back with his arms crossed and briefly searching the crowd again for the faces he recognized.

Ein Harper · Sep 17, 2017

Location: Walking down that left tunnel, leaving the entrance to the twin paths
Team: Lightish red
Nearby Folks: [member="Aryn Teth"], [member="Formorta"], [member="Muad Dib"], [member="Venthis Zambrano"], [member="Vaylin"], [member="Razel Kolt"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Kor Vexen"], [member="Ylva Solveig"] [member="Darth Lykos"], [member="The Slave"], [member="Ex-Major Blitz"], [member="Onyx"], [member="Zircon"], [member="Zai Avery"], [member="Aster Rose Baelor"], [member="Captain Ironbeard"], [member="Jessica Matthews"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Andorreth Vikar"], [member="Lark"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"], [member="Vereshin"] (My B if I missed folks, character dialogue could be heard throughout the room)

Vague memories of a humanoid droid spouting insults and accusations of racism bubbled up in Jorah's mind. He blinked twice at the automaton (@HK-36) and his company, shook his head, then nodded. "I was on the station when these folks first showed up. You called me a racist or...something," the hunter shrugged.

"I'm Jorah anyway. Figured I might be the only fellah who knows how to stitch someone back up here, so I had to come along for the ride." He gestured all with an armored gauntlet. "That, and I've got a few plans for these guys once we're done here."

His gaze shifted from one face to another. From Jedi to Sith: Imperial to Rebel, Confederate to Mandalorian, and everything in the middle. They all seemed to huddle up in one space or another, whilst others were keen on moving forward of their own accord.

Responses ranged throughout the room, but [member="Caelag Vass"] in particular stole his attention. "If chance cubes are our way of making decisions, I'd rather just go at random. This one seems bigger," he gestured toward the tunnel on the (1st) left, which was most certainly the same size as its twin. "Let's take this one."

Another pause. Jorah turned to [member="Pom Stych Tivé"]. "Probably a generator somewhere in the facility's lower levels. Might be cabling just below the metal though." He gave another shrug, and then a nod to the Lord of Shrouds ([member="Kainan Wolfe"]) words.

"Well," the flashlight at the end of his rifle flicked to life. "I'm going down the left tunnel. If you get shot, I used to be a doctor, so..." Jorah's arm rose as pointed toward his backpack with an outstretched thumb. "Let me know."

The hunter-doctor-guy meandered his way down the (1st) left tunnel, his rifle whirring as it came to life in his hands. "Meaning if you want a proper doctor around, you should probably go left!" He called back down the tunnel.

Hopefully these people value proper medical training.

HK-36 · Sep 17, 2017

[member="Jorah"],

"Oh yes, I remember."

The droid nodded when Jorah pointed out how they met,

"You assumed I was with the Contingency, or at least I thought that was what you meant. I am usually somewhat harsh when it comes to such general assumptions, especially since, although I am a droid, my stance towards what future relations between organics and machines should look like is much different than that of these scum bag idiots who build the Machine."

As Jorah went out towards the left door, the droid would call after him,

"I would not rush in just yet, I know for a fact that these machines are capable of using the Force, if the meditating Sith can sense something about them, it will be quite useful knowledge on how we should proceed. Although to be fair, both ways are probably equally dangerous. Either way, you do you, Jorah the Hunter."

Using this excuse to hold off from following the results of [member="Caelag Vass"] and their dice, although he did appreciate being called "Sir Droid". In the end the droid was probably going to follow [member="Vindica"] mostly because the Force user already nodded towards the droid as if he was trusting that the machine would have his back, so now HK would feel bad if he just abandoned him.

[member="Pom Stych Tivé"]

In response to Pom's question the droid replied,

"Probably down towards the core of the planet, geothermal energy is quite efficient in powering up droid foundries and capacitor units to keep the machines powered up."

Watching Jorah go, or change his mind to maybe team up with the droid on this one, HK looked over the others in their rather sizeable group, [member="Aryn Teth"] in his flight [member="Formorta"] in the back who the machine recognized from that one bar fight when he managed to punch a powerful shadowmancer right in the balls, [member="Rekha Kaarde"] an old friend and partner-in-crime, to her the machine waved, [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] who the machine recognized from the battle between the Iron Empire and the Sith remnants when the droid was re-awakened, he assumed the other one with her and the small group of soldiers were part of the Iron Empire as well, although he was somewhat disturbed that he saw the young girl coming along with them into such dangerous areas.

Then there was group from Firemane, [member="Nima Tann"] and [member="Tempest"], to whom the droid nodded and quipped,

"Hello, ladies, you come here often?"

And there were others like [member="Captain Ironbeard"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"], [member="Jessica Matthews"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Andorreth Vikar"], [member="Venthis Zambrano"], [member="Vaylin"], and [member="Kor Vexen"], some of which the machine recognized, others not so much.

At [member="Razel Kolt"]'s suggestion they prepare for combat, HK spoke up,

"Right. Some of you may know me, some of you may have fought me in numerous battles. As my appearance suggests I am a droid, not a cyborg, not a shard, fully machine. I am here because, unlike what the Contingency believes, not all droids want a world purged of organics, I believe that to truly prosper our two kinds need to cooperate. Plus I often find you hilarious. Either way, I would consider this special enough circumstances to temporarily suspend any conflicts or loyalties we had and share our strengths to kick some evil droid arses. Some of you look rather fresh, however, you may already know this information, or you may have not actually fought a droid before in your life, if that is the case listen up because I am not going to repeat myself."

The droid would walk over to [member="Kainan Wolfe"], pointing at his slugthrower rifle, as the droid move his black cloak would flap around, revealing the armor he had on beneath. Although his head would be uncovered, at least for now, the glimpse at the suit beneath would shot a fleshy blackened substance covering the droid along with thick chitinous plates. It looked like the droid somehow managed to get his hands on some Vong-shaped organic armor,

"Slugthrowers are a good choice for bringing down a droid, right behind high intensity electromagnetic weaponry like EMP grenades. Most common armor plating is forged from durasteel, denser duranium is used often as well, you will need a good armor-piercing weapon to go through that and damage internal components, energy weapons work better against flesh, unless you have a lightsaber. Never aim for the head, most of us can survive decapitations, last time someone beheaded me I grabbed my head and bashed them to death with it. Aim for the torso instead, either upper chest, by solar plexus, or lower abdomen by the connections near the hips, you will damage their main power units and motor functions, it will technically not kill them, but they will not be able to fight any longer."

HK instructed as he took out a personal ion blaster from his belt,

"If the Contingency did not had enough time to prepare, ion weapons will work, otherwise,"

He aimed the blaster at his head and pulled the trigger,

BZZZZZZT

The weapon sounded out as it unleashed its ion charge, causing a shield to appear around the droid and absorb it,

"All they need is a system of insulated plates protecting their inner workings, deionizers, or capacitance shields to make ion weapons useless or even use them to empower their systems, same for electrical attacks like Force Lightning. EMP grenades will still work due to higher electromagnetic intensity, most systems are not able to diffuse so much of it in a single quick burst- Hey, nice haircut."

HK paused slightly, commenting on [member="Zai Avery"]'s haircut, bringing the attention to him as he moved over to [member="Ylva Solveig"], motioning to her axes,

"If you have a lightsaber or melee weapons, be wary about the density of droid armor, it might take longer to get through it than with organic foes. Try to aim for joints in the bodies, like armpits, hips, ankles, or wrists, the armor is weaker there to maintain higher degree of movement, be careful as often when one of our limbs is cut off but the enemy is still close we can use the heated severed limb to still impale them on it. Just because a droid is on the ground does not always mean they are harmless, overloading their core could cause an explosion comparable to a thermal detonator or worse, try to stay clear from the fallen machines or push them away with the Force if you can. They will also probably have some sort of hidden armaments on them, so you might have that to look forward to. Some of them may be forged out of Phrik, if that will be the case, just use telekinesis to move them away, hopefully drop them down some shaft where we will not have to worry about them. I also know for a fact that they have Force users among them as well, most likely Shards, so those of you who are vulnerable to such things, do not let your mental defenses down."

Moving away the machine shrugged,

"And as weird as it sounds, try not to overthink or plan too much when you will be in actual combat. Us droids, we have pretty Forcedamned good reflexes and reaction times, but we do not have intuition. We can respond, we can react, we can predict based on our calculations, but if you will start fighting purely on instinct and gut feeling, it will make our analysis that much harder. That is pretty much all the tricks my kind has nowadays to fight against the organics and other machines."

[member="Onyx"], [member="Zircon"],
Hearing [member="Lark"]'s comment about being covered in oil, the droid replied,

"I do not think that is oil."

And looked down at the black substance covered his fingers, trying to scan it properly this time to try and find out more about its true nature,

LT-137 · Sep 17, 2017

Location: Platform -> Exterior Maintenance Tunnel.

Objective: Act as Escort for the Knights of Ren.

Allies: The First Order and Friends (Team Darkness.) - [member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Castor Ren"] | [member="Ara Zambrano"] | [member="Mishel Zanteres"] | @Everyone Else

Enemies: The Contingency - [member="Onyx"] | [member="Zircon"]

Equipment: See Biography Page - Equipment Listing.

Alone for the first time in his decorated career as a Soldier, the veteran stormtrooper sergeant had found himself burdened with the difficulties of adjusting to the esteemed company he was assigned to. He wasn’t even certain why they elected to choose him, nor why he was given the duty of escorting those that didn’t require his prowess. They were the trained Knights of the Supreme Leader and were set to answer the taunting challenge of this newfound threat. There was an errant thought that ran through his mind when the dataslate containing his orders had slid his way before this assignment had begun, which involved choice comments regarding the seemingly convenient cycle of events that threatened the galaxy once every few years. Nevertheless, the Bakuran-born soldier was proud to serve his militaristic nation in whatever capacity they wished of him, and thus accepted the mission without valid complaint.

Shaking the lingering fog of reminiscence from the forefront of his mind, the Stormtrooper began readying himself as their dropship sliced through the seemingly slumbering defensive network. Whilst the others chanted their oaths of moment, and began their own rituals of preparation, Torian started reciting ancient litanies that were believed to enhance his war-gear through the power of faith. While it would confer little in the way of an advantage during the chaotic tumult of combat, it gave the bearer some comfort to know that his weapons were properly prepared and that the chance they’d fail him would be drastically reduced. Slamming a fresh plasma cartridge into his rifle’s housing, and racking the activation slide, the Stormtrooper listened intently as the weapon unleashed a pleasant hum of activation. When the cycling was complete, and his armoured warplate had detailed the slight harmonic variance, the Sergeant began the process anew with his sidearm’s and ensured they were mag-locked to his thighs when the tedious task was complete.

As he clamped his massive Chain-weapon to the backplate of his ivory cuirass, the soft ochre light of the drop ship's interior darkened into an arterial crimson, signaling that their time for action was nigh. The Stormtrooper could feel the palpable anticipation build within the mechanical belly of the beast, as he watched those before him, fidgeted and shift uncomfortably. They wanted to be unleashed; to set upon whatever foe that taunted them with a ravenous fury, and teach them the folly of their arrogant ways. He couldn’t blame them, not after what he had gone through during their Incursion at Alexandria. All those promising cadets, butchered in the hopes of crippling the foundations of the First Order’s righteous future. When the revelation had struck the Stormtrooper, that this “Machine” he and his strike team were currently headed towards, and the crushing blow dealt out to the Alexandrians some days prior were connected - Torian had flown off the handle.

He wanted revenge, and none would deny his wroth.

When the assault ramp had slammed down and allowed his compatriots to disembark, the Stormtrooper was the last to pass through the gaping maw of the deployment craft. He was chosen to act as the rearguard, especially when the knowledge was made clear that they’d be working alongside several strike-teams comprised of his government’s most hated enemies. While the Knights of the Supreme Leader were more than capable of dispatching whatever threat would come their way, it was always good to have another set of vigilant eyes in the darkness. One could never be too sure what would happen when they ventured into the unknown, and even when hostilities between the two stellar empires were set upon unsteady ground, there were unseen acts of violence that managed to slip through the cracks. Thus, due to his positioning in the slowly moving procession, the Stormtrooper was one of the first to see that the “Machine’s” defensive network had activated and torn their infiltration craft out of the sky with barrages of ground-to-air missiles. He watched as several dropships blossomed into flowers of shrapnel-laced fire, snuffing out his hope of a swift extraction.

It seemed, by the cruel hand fate dealt, they would be forced deeper into the facility - and hope they would be able to catch a ride out of here before the end.

Fanning his fingers across the length of his Charric’s foregrip, grasping the weapon tighter, Torian kept his head on a swivel as his eyes, and war-plate’s scanners actively scoured their surroundings. They had come down to an exterior maintenance platform, which seemed like an easy ingress - but as several members of his strike team had already expressed - it reeked like an ambush. There was nothing that his armour, nor the man himself, could see that would dissuade him of agreeing with that notion. They would have to be extra careful as they ventured into this facility, and he had hoped that with his companions power over the metaphysical realm, they’d be able to keep themselves alive to face down this burgeoning threat.

When the words of warning had come from the lithe figure, shrouded in mystery and masqued by shadowy armour, regarding the presence of erstwhile foes - a venomous smile had peeled across the Stormtrooper’s face, leaving him with a rictus grin. He had known that there was other infiltration craft that populated the skies above this massive wrought-iron platform, but what he didn’t know was who populated their mechanical innards. Jedi, and those that enslaved themselves to the Light. It was nothing more than religious connotations, to the Stormtrooper, for he cared little about who served which side of this mysterious, all-powerful energy field. There were Jedi who acted like their darker cousins, and relentlessly slew his comrades without a moment’s remorse. There were Sith who ruled their world’s peacefully and worked in opposition to their religious tenets. All that did matter in the end was there was a chance to visit his righteous fury upon those that wronged his armoured kindred and threatened the relentless advance of the Supreme Leader’s domain.

:: This is Sergeant Pierce, :: The Stormtrooper said, allowing his words to spill across the encrypted comms channel, that would doubtlessly echo through the helmets of those who entered before him. As the link was encrypted with the First Order’s military keys, only those whom had been given earpieces and were prescribed to the correct frequencies; holding in their possession the proper access codes - could hear what the Soldier had to say. :: Taking up position as Rearguard for the column. :: It was a fruitless gesture, as they moved on without him, knowing that their mission wouldn’t wait for the only one of their number not gifted with mastery over the Force.

After checking his surroundings one last time, and training his rifle towards every possible threat that whipped by overhead, the Stormtrooper roused himself from the platform and began backpedaling towards the facilities daunting entrance. There, once the pathway had been cleared enough for him to enter without smashing into the horde of allies, or possible enemies, Torian joined the others who entered the "Machine," all the while - keeping his eyes, and weapon abreast for whatever trouble may come their way.

Astromech DD2-R8 · Sep 17, 2017

DD2-R8 stopped briefly at the left door after having a lingering feeling of despair, which is a bit odd for a machine to have really. The dome turned to look at everyone milling around, and also to [member="HK-36"], who was a very interestingly intelligent droid...

"*You are a strong leader. I can tell. Maybe you will unite this silly group.*" The Astromech beeped and shook in some sort of happy motion, then decided to wait at the door for everyone else to arrive first, not willing to be designated cannon fodder for this battle.

It doubted though that the light and the dark would actually work together even in the face of a great threat, not that it had much experience with the light side, of course, it was an imperial droid once.

Muad Dib · Sep 17, 2017

LOCATION: the hall leading from the left door
OBJECTIVE: to see just how deep the rabbit hole truly was
ALLIES: lightside, [member="Atlas Kane"], [member="Jorah"] , whoever joins the Merry band

Twenty meters down the darkened corridor the man crouched, one gauntlet hand placed upon the floor to see if he could sense any vibration. Nothing. The lack of tactile evidence proved only that if there was something in the darkened hall it was neither moving nor breathing. A cold smile twisted his lips as he remembered the mad dash through Far Harbor Station. Idly he wondered if this facility had a power core somewhere buried deep that could be over loaded. Of course if it was too deep there would be no escape for the Mad Knight this time.

"Sometimes the price is necessary."

Rising to his feet he extended his left hand, focusing on the force, and creating a sparking ball of lightning that illuminated the path before him. Smooth walls and ceiling revealed nothing hidden, and yet he knew anything could be hidden behind false walls or portals.

Slowly he moved forward, his head cocking to one side as he heard several others join him in the hall. Most would consider him immediately heading forward foolhardy. Or perhaps even a type of brash, misplaced courage. Perhaps it was both. But he also knew that everyone sitting in a single spot was foolish. You never stay in a single spot with all your strength behind enemy lines of an enemy that was aware of their location. Factor in the fact that there was no chain of command, the group loosely held together by a common enemy. A group made up of enemies. The scene spelled disaster.

His boots echoed faintly in the hall as he continued. Was he walking into a trap? Surely that was the case. Two paths led from the room which would inevitably split their force in twain. But even so, the trap that would surely come upon them soon would not go as the Contingency had planned. For nothing was more deadly then a caged, cornered animal.

Nearing a bend in the corridor he paused to wait for some of his new comrades in arms. Action in the face of stagnant milling around May be foolish, but continuing alone was even more foolish then what Muad Dib was even capable of. Right hand lightly gripped the Mythosaur bone handled kad at his belt as he waited for those who chose action over wasteful words to join him.

Nima Tann · Sep 17, 2017

Location: Facility, Large Room
Allies: Team Firemane, [member="Tempest"] [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"] [member="Laira Vereen"]

The group moved on through the tunnels, following the bright light, and it led them to... First she heard some voices, which sounded like... people talking to each other? Then a smell that Nima could describe as a thousand decaying corpses in a small room with ventilation problems hit her, which she responded by almost gagging, and then the shock followed when she saw how many people were in this area. It was a large, bright room. Everybody was speaking. It was like an introvert's worst nightmare. Luckily, it wasn't a party where you had to be social. She could feel both the darkness and the light. Some familiar presences, and some completely foreign. Sith and Jedi.

It meant the message was a big deal for everyone, which was not that surprising. However, Nima wasn't that comfortable around so many Sith. Trust was a difficult thing to gain, even though it seemed they had a mutual enemy. For now, she moved a bit forward to examine the room more clearly, and saw there were two doors in front of them. Left or right? Decision time!

Before she could decide though, she heard a familiar voice, which belonged to their droid friend [member="HK-36"].

With a nod and a smile, she answered to his unique way of greetings. "Hello, HK. Long time no see."

And then he moved on to his own companions and started giving tactics. Since he was a droid himself, it would be valuable to listen to him, so she did. As surprising as it sounded, he was being quite serious and giving good advice if you don't consider his usual behaviour on pauses, as Nima only saw his sarcastic and joking side. HK could probably sense that she was surprised.

But anyway, keeping what HK said in mind, it was the time to decide what door to choose. "I feel like we should go right." She told her companions.

Progflaw99 · Sep 17, 2017

Silence had punctuated the Knight's presence - a cold, calculating aura about him. Not merely a predator, but an apex predator. Decades of experience and envelopment deep into the intricacies of the Dark Side had only amplified his natural born abilities. Castor Ren had done much behind the scenes for the First Order at the behest of the Supreme Leader - and some of his own design. He wasn't a blunt instrument to be used as some of the Ren, a more diverse skillset did he possess. Not only could he strike with power, vengeance, purpose.. but he could do so at the right time. It was almost with disdain the elder man listened to the discussion ahead of him, his own footsteps leaving him near the rear of the group. Decitus had been given oversight of their mission, though lately the Knight of Ren had begun to view things in a different light - these weren't missions, they weren't merely forays into unknown, this was life. A life sworn to service, to the propagation of an idea.

*Order*. It was the idea of order and its pursuit which found them here, the express executioners of Sieger's will - or at least it had been the threat to that order. War was no stranger to the First Order and her people. The extensive war they'd endured with the Galactic Alliance, the continued hostilities with those nations which had delivered aid to their enemies. The price of that support had been paid in full, at least as far as the First Order had sought it. Vengeance had been theirs in some shape or form - but this.. this was something different.

Before the war, before the Occupation of Dosuun by the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium, there had been another threat. Remnants of the One Sith had brought a super weapon to bear. Near everyone in the galaxy had put their differences aside to battle the threat to the galaxy. It was hard to tell if such a feat would happen again, or had loyalties and deep seated hatred gone too deep?

"Perhaps that is not wholly unfortunate." he said, his voice concealed by the vocoder embedded in his helmet.

Castor spoke in response to the comment made by Ara Zambrano. He knew little personally of her path, though it was easy enough to connect the dots. Related to none other than Kaine Zambrano, dethroned ruler of the Panathan Reach. At least - partially dethroned. According to their intel he had ascended further, claiming the mantle of the Dark Lord of the Sith. It was an interesting turn of events, but one eclipsed by their current predicament. It had taken nearly every ounce of discipline within Castor not to turn their arrival into a bloodbath - so many agents of the enemy within reach - and yet he had held firm.

Pom Stych Tivé · Sep 17, 2017

Location: through the wall
Objective: locate power supply, central computer
Companion: [member="Vereshin"]
Alliance: Sith

Nobody seemed to take a start to Pom Stych Tivé. Vereshin of course, took note of her question, if anyone was up for hunting the power source, and immediately searched for a vibration. [member="Jorah"] suggested there might be cabling buried within the walls. Pomsty agreed, for the next room was lit brightly.

[member="HK-36"], a droid, remarked his suspicions, 'Probably down towards the core of the planet, geothermal energy is quite efficient in powering up droid foundries and capacitor units to keep the machines powered up.' His remark gave Pomsty an idea to ad the hunt for a central computer to her list. "Wish I had studied ancient civilizations, there are bound to be some differences, inherent bugs that could be to our benefit." She hopes for a simpler interface than those networked today. Maybe they would be wired. “The drones had erupted on their own. Time is to our benefit here.” Although the drones likely fell apart from corrosion, she is aware things are still quite dangerous to them!

In all but a moment Vereshin had grabbed her hand, and using the Force he had Phased them through a wall. The only way she or anyone could follow was to touch him and create a chain of power allowing Vereshin to lead her through. Had anyone else traversed the physical boundary of the wall with them by latching onto her, the Sorceress has yet to discover.

Vereshin’s beaming smile told all. Pomsty smiled back at him, “Impressive by far, Magus! I do hope you can do it again (when necessary).” She was only a tad concerned that she might get stranded there. Looking over the structure. “You've done it!” she exclaimed with astonishment. They seemed to be standing within a utility corridor, a backdoor that might lead to the underbelly, a vast storage of engineering machinery, electrical power grid, or computer networking. Whatever is here, she suspects is the behind the scenes drive of the little show put on for those within the main entrance.

“Well let's go then!” Pomsty declared with another smile. The trail of wires aglow red, would lead the way first to a transformer, then another.

Kurayami Bloodborn · Sep 17, 2017

Kurayami listened intently as the droid spoke. When [member="HK-36"] mentioned the Contingency and the capabilities of the droids employed by them, he began recording the audio for reference later on. He pulled the Punisher revolver from its holster on his right hip, transferring the gun to his left hand, a smirk working over his features as he felt the weight of the weapon in his hands. While the audio was recording Kurayami scanned the crowd gathered, noting a few people from the Silve Jedi had shown up. No surprise there honestly, though some he was familiar with, there were those whom he didn't recognize. [member="Audren Sykes"] made an appearance it seemed, as did [member="Jessica Matthews"]...he knew for sure he had fought alongside the Sephi before, and Matthews was a name he knew he had heard before, though he was unsure if he had fought alongside her as well. Didn't really matter did it? After today he would be able to say that he had fought alongside many of those here, Jedi, Sith, non-Force users, and anyone else who had responded.

He moved closer to the gathering crowd in an attempt to see which way people were tending to go. Seemed like most everyone had chosen the left door. To his senses the seemed equally off, sighing, he pursed his lips in thought. There was the possibility that the right door could be a more direct route, yet if that were the case it would definitely be more heavily defended. However the left side already had a group heading through it. Neither option would be considered the 'good one' or 'better.' He made his way over in front of the right door, placing his hand on it. As he did so he surrendered himself to the Force, following the threads that he could see. There was a problem however, and not a small one either.

The sheer number of Force users, hell just the number of people, gathered here made determining anything about what lay beyond the door next to impossible. There were an untold number of threads to try and separate. There were multiple threads from every single person gathered. There were paths that ended early for all those within, there were those where only some ended, others where none ended, and every other possible outcome. Taking his hand from the door he withdrew from his meditation. He turned back to the crowd seeing who had taken note of his odd display. Seemed as though most were content to try and reason their way through this instead. He could feel the tensions, the aggression that boiled beneath the surface of those on opposing sides. Another sigh and a mumbled string of obscenities.

He approached [member="Jessica Matthews"] and [member="Andorreth Vikar"] nodding in greeting to the two of them as he came to a stop beside them. After a moment of silence he activated the annunciator in his helmet to provide a more formal greeting.

"Never was the best with introductions so I'll keep it short. Name's Kurayami Bloodborn, one time master in the SJO and ace pilot. Came because this Contingency thinks organics don't already punish themselves enough. Any idea which door the two of you are heading through yet? Left seems a bit crowded to me at the moment, was thinking someone might want to go right and see what is there, but I sure as hell ain't going alone."

After his somewhat rambling introduction, he went back to watching and listening to see just what the consensus was from the others before making a decision that was going to be life altering in some form. Just hopefully not life ending as that would be bad.

[member="Onyx"] [member="Zircon"]

Evoros · Sep 17, 2017

All the sudden, a sign over the first door - the one on the left - bore the lit words Power Generator.

To this direction, the path would draw to a halt before the Machine’s source of power; if it was correct, it could shut down the Machine. It could stop the Machine and provide an end to the threat of eradication before time ran out and the Contingency had their way with the galaxy.

Perhaps the power that the generator made could be rewired, used to the advantage of those who fought against the Contingency’s crusade on the galaxy. Perhaps when the power was taken away it could be used not just to stop the Contingency but to bring them down.

After all, the Machine had to be powered somehow and if the source of that power was discovered . . . perhaps there was hope to stop this for good.

Those who took the path to the left would need to keep going for a few moments until they found a room with blast doors at either end, and the one that brought them into the room was unlocked. This room seemed fairly nondescript - dim lighting made sight that bit harder, but the room was well-lit enough to show that there was nothing of apparent interest. Some monitors, some screens, some levers, all underscored by the sound of a faintly tinny mechanical whine.

Zircon · Sep 17, 2017

[SIZE=11pt] A sign came to life over the door to the right that said “Main Facility Terminals.” If it was correct then everyone would be lead to where the most important part of the facility was being held. They could be used to shut down the Machine or possibly even reprogram it. A skilled slicer or just a very determined individual could potentially turn it against the Contingency forces and anyone else that they desired. The chances that shutting down the power generators could work was low as most would be sure to hook up such an important weapon as The Machine and the main terminals up to their own power sources separate from the rest of the facility.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt] Those who chose to go to the right would find a passage that was similar to the one they had just entered the facility from. After a couple of minutes of walking, they would be lead to a spacious room with all kinds of monitors and interfaces. There was more buttons than usual at them as well as if someone with a fetish designed the place. The only other doorway was a huge blast door on the other end. There was a ring of buttons it seemed being made around the entire room due to the monitors and only the doorways kept it from being complete. A small holoprojector rising a few feet from the floor sat in the middle of the room with even more buttons around it. Outside of these things nothing was out of place about the room. If anyone tried to mess with the panel to the blast door or anything else in the room however they would find that nothing seemed to be working despite there being power.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]OOC: Everyone needs to add on a route section to the top of their posts so everyone knows who is around them. Also make sure to tag myself or Onyx depending on which route you take. Terminal/right side is me and Generator/left is Onyx. Thank you for helping write this story together![/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Tags:

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Armand Temi · Sep 17, 2017

Location: The room on the other side of the wall
Objective: Make new friends

Since the Sith and Sorceress essentially teleported through a corridor wall, they did not choose either door. This meant that they found themselves in a utility corridor which lead straight to a wide room with a high ceiling, and nothing but a large cage inside. At first it appeared as a hunk of metal and spare parts inhabited the cage, but then the parts began to move around.

Clunk, scrape, clunk, scrape, clunk, scrape, hiss.

Rainbone's glowing orange eyes flashed and his canine head turned towards the two visitors. He emitted a whine, not unlike a hound dog who wanted to be freed from the cage and his tail - a razor sharp swoop of metal with spikes on the end of it - wagged eagerly.

While they might have thought the cage was locked, it wasn't. Rainbone came bursting out of it, bounding around the room and heading straight towards the Sith Knight and Spellweaver. With excitement he tore a large chunk of the glowing red wires off of the metal wall and shook it as though a dead carcass.

GRRRRRRRR.... WOOF! WOOF!

His mechanical speech was more of a bellow than a bork. Rainbone sprang over and lay the wires at the feet of the pair as though he wanted them to touch the red cables. But now that the droid-shard had mangled the wires, sparks flew out from the wall and from the wires themselves causing an electric current to sizzle and crackle through the room, one that appeared as though it could give off a deadly shock if crossed.

[member="Vereshin"] [member="Pom Stych Tivé"]

Via Dolorosa · Sep 17, 2017

Location:Facility
Route: Right [member="Zircon"]
Allies: Team Darkside

The sign read Main Facility Terminals over the door.

The Bone Queen passed through the door, the bones in her hair swaying and jingling in her swamp-washed hair with every step she took. Another passage greeted her, earning another smile from her corrupted face.

After a short burst of walking she found a room decorated with monitors and computer terminals, all foreign to her. Walking through the room, she studied the rings, finding an incomplete pattern. The blast door, now that was interesting; as was the holoprojector in the middle of the room.

First, Darth Venefica studied the blast door, feeling the substance constructed of material unfriendly to a lightsaber. There would be no cutting through it. Secondly, she turned her attention to the holoprojector, examining it closely. The several buttons seemed to be faux contraptions. She thought about depressing the buttons, looking for a pattern that might activate it, but her common sense took hold.

Sitting on the ground, twirling one of the bones in her hair, she stared at the holoprojector.

"Time means nothing to me....fools."

HK-36 · Sep 17, 2017

Route 2: Main Facility Terminals

Suddenly a little ding sounded out from above the doorways as the lights above them came to life, denoting where the paths were heading, conveniently enough,

"Ah, see!"

HK pointed out towards the signs,

"Good things come to those who wait, now we know where we are heading. Our Sith friend,"

He called out to [member="Darth Lykos"],

"You may cease your meditation now, unless you felt something within the Force other than which direction to go, as to the rest of you."

HK looked over the others,

"I will be heading towards the Main Facility Terminals, according to my calculations whoever is behind all this, whoever is the head of Contingency, will be there. I have a score to settle with them, and if by the end of today I would be able to crush their processing units under my heel, it will be a good day. Any of you are free to come with me, although we should send a team down towards the power units as well. Plus I like the idea of turning the Contingency's machines against them."

[member="Astromech DD2-R8"],

As HK turned to move towards the Main Facility Terminals, following [member="Vindica"], he motioned for the Astromech to come as well,

"Come little friend, us droids should stick together, plus your skills will be quite useful by the terminals. On the way there you can tell me about what weapon systems you have on you."

The droid would move out, but before he crossed the threshold he would stop and announce to others,

"Oh and I would suggest all of you who are organics do the best you can to get as much of that black liquid off of you as you can, especially if you remember the Dark Harvest incident like I do."

HK suggested before adding,

"My scanners show it was definitely not oil that splashed over us all, it seems to be organic in nature."

With that he would be off, going off with [member="Darth Venefica"] and others who would choose this path, making his way through the tunnel towards the main terminal. Once inside he would move towards the closest console, looking over it, glancing to the Sith as she went by the holoterminal,

"Slicing was never my strongest ability, do you see anything of interest over there?"

He asked her before looking over to see if DD2 has indeed followed them, his skills would have been very important at that point as he could probably interface with one of the terminals and find out more.

Kainan Wolfe · Sep 17, 2017

[-SOUNDTRACK-]

Contingency Facility
Coordinates: 5, 8 -27.8996 56.7890.
Team: Lightside
Path: Middle

Wolfe nodded gratefully at Jorah's offer of medical assistance. It made sense for the members of the stranded infiltration team to band together, no matter what. He then turned around, to listen to what HK-36 was saying. It was sound advice, though, in truth, he was no stranger to fighting droids, himself. As a response at the droid's mention of a lightsaber, Wolfe drew his cloak away just slightly, revealing the ornate hilt of the lightsaber which hung there.

"Sound advice, master droid," Wolfe said to him. "Allow me to share some of my own. The supposed leak which brought us here, was a trap. I've been keeping tabs on this Contingency ever since Far Harbor and they tend to operate in a certain manner. They lure individuals to a location and then try to trap them there and coerce them into various actions. While we're in this facility, trust nothing you see, or hear. Expect the enemy to spring the trap when we least expect it."

Wolfe noted that Formorta took position beside him, when the two lit signs turned on. Knowing that they were only seeing what their 'hosts' wanted them to see, the warlord decided that neither of them was the right way to go. He wasn't going to play the rat in the maze for the Contingency. No, he would make his own path.

"If there was any doubt that this is a trap, the signs lighting up at the convenient moment when we were debating which way to go, should be enough to convince everyone," said the warlord. It was time for someone to take charge of this 'expedition', he decided. "Whatever you find down those hallways, it will only be what our 'hosts' want us to see. I say we put aside our differences and various allegiances for now and stick together. If we want to survive, we need to play by our rules, not the Contingency's," he spoke. "Trust nothing you see, touch nothing and look for vents, or other ways to make our own path."

As if to drive the point home, Wolfe took the lead, looking at each sign with a disgusted look on his face, as he could see right through the ruse. "Well, isn't this convenient," he said sarcastically. "They placed the control room so close to the only unsecured entrance into the facility. And they expect us to fall for that," the warlord said, disgusted by their hosts' amateurish attempts at trickery. He then lifted his head and spoke into the empty air, addressing the Contingency droids that were undoubtedly watching them "I'm done playing games," he said, his tone cold and promising violence.

Then, he drew his lightsaber and ignited it, bringing the crackling black blade to life. Turning to face the end of the corridor, he advanced on it and drove his lightsaber into the wall, slowly cutting himself an man-sized rectangular opening, though he had no idea what awaited him on the other side. These droids wanted them to choose between the left and right-side path, so he chose to go down the middle. He was going to find the real control room of the facility and then the droids who ran this place, would be in for a very painful and unpleasant surprise.

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