Wet Works

[Zara]

"A party?"

Zara would lift an eyebrow in slightly annoyance, her voice sounding like a hiss. If there was a thing that she could truly not the describe this situation has, the term would definitely be anything that is remotely close to being a party. A party is supposed to be fun and full of pleasurable things as far as she could ever tell - seeing as she hasn't really been allowed in any parties lately or public dance floors for that matter -, not filled with dead people, blaster shots and tons of people that want to kill everybody on this turtle of a vehicle to steal their minerals.

She would huff, roll her eyes, then look back towards the little battlefield that had just been created right in front of her eyes by the side of the large vehicle, its sands welcoming the various corpses of the bandits and metallic wastes of destroyed speeders here and there. Of course, there were still people that were very much alive out there, seeming to be unaffected by the ambiant death surrounding their speeding arrival towards the vehicle.

"Those sons of Hutt are rarely getting on my nerves.... They're way too many of them."

She frowned, then looked towards the Jedi seriously, taking her blaster rifle from her back once again so she could take aim and riposte back towards the incoming hostiles.

"Go get that Lightsaber maniac! I'll deal with those guys and push them away as much as I can!"

She ordered to the Jedi, seeming to get a hold of the situation at this point.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu said it while she was moving and agreed that she could better go after the saber wielder... assuming it was a sith or some dark jedi. If it was one of those people who found a saber and kept it to scare others well this would be easy as she looked at the numbers. They certainly had some going against them but she had faced worse while moving and holding in one hand her lightsaber. THe other was projecting a barrier around herself as she let the merc handle the other problems of people coming. THey must have heard the news that the mandalroains were looking to keep permanent residence here before she went down a level of the mining droid into the processing conveyor.

 

[Zara]

As Matsu would head inside the vehicle, she would notice that there was a lot of noise coming from the guards in the cargo area along with Lightsaber noises followed by screams of pure agony and death. The walls, which were intact before the whole escort, were now filled with traces of blaster shots and Lightsaber-made damages that were still burning from the plasma that they were affected by even within this very moment.

No doubt, there was definitely something going on around here, and it wasn't pretty. Now, the true question would be as to why such a situation has happened. Was it one of the Jedi researchers who did this? One of the mercenaries? Were one of them hired by the speeder pilots outside that kept assaulting the vehicle within a non-stop assaulting manner? There was nothing that could possibly well explain what was happening.... but it clearly had to be stopped before any more people start dying against such a dangerous foe.

"Jedi!"

A Mandalorian guard would quickly reach Matsu's position, seeming to be bleeding from hip and carrying a blaster pistol within his right hand. The young man, for he was truly young-looking, probably aged around the 25th year of his life, was in full dark red-colored Mandalorian armor, with his helmet missing. He looked wounded, but not enough to actually be on the brink of death, clenching his teeth at the pain that was resonating from his wound. His hair, dark brown in color, was sweating and seemed to fall in front of his eyes for the most part after he would try to push them away with his hands.

"That Assassin Droid you hired? She had a Lightsaber with her all along! Why the hell haven't you checked that thing before hiring her up?!"

He would criticize her, then look back towards where he was coming from.

"It hasn't killed the researchers yet, but it has been hacking through our guards like butter! It's a damn freak! It's like it's purely specialized in fighting like this!"

Strange.... Was this Droid programmed with various combat systems that would actually guide her as an Anti-Jedi weapon? Probably, but it wasn't acting like this before. In fact, the last time Matsu talked to it, it was acting really similarly to that mercenary outside holding off the bandits.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu looked at the guard as she was looking over the things there while she spoke. "I'll handle it, go and work with your sisters in the cab." She was moving and focusing the force energies while seeking out the assassin droid with a look towards some of the things. A rogue droid was dangerous but they were in a large mining droid and she turned off the processing machines that were running while bringing it up with the small repair droids preparing the force powers. She was skilled with ionize for a reason, it made droids a little easier to deal with in the long run while she had her saber ready to defend.

 

[Zara]

"You serious....? You're going against that thing on your own?"

The Mandalorian guard would reply back to Matsu with widened eyes and clenched teeth, noticing how reckless and almost downright suicidal the words of the Master Jedi are, but would soon look down as he would be reminded that this woman would probably be able to handle it for real. After all, she is a Jedi, and a Master at that, and he was only but a foolish rookie, still new to this whole job of bodyguards, despite his 25th years of age. If he had known about this whole thing that the sisters were aimed at, he would had probably bought much more equipment and ammunition to do the trick!

Noticing that his words were still standing in the air, he would then simply nod to Matsu and head towards the cab silently, still holding on to the blaster pistol that was in his hand.

In the meanwhile, Matsu, her, would start hearing the sound of battle in the distance as, once she would turn off the processing machines of the vehicle, she would notice that two corpses were lying on the floor, owned by Mandalorian guards who seemed to have been too slow to defend themselves accordingly and switch the vehicle off on their own. After she did so, her path would then be filled with many of them, seeming to have all been slashed down with relative swiftness. Most of them had their heads cut off, but there were some here and there that had wounds to the stomach, or their arms and legs cut off.

No doubt, this Droid was strong, and, for some reason, it had at least one Lightsaber with it. If it was an Assassin Droid, there was surely a chance that it was still around the vehicle hunting down the remaining guards. After it is done with them, it might surely start heading for the researchers.

"Master Jedi!"

A sudden voice would rise from the hallway as one of the guards would run towards her backwards, aiming and shooting towards a target ahead.

"Get to cover n-!!"

He would try to warn, but, unfortunately, it was at this very moment that a Lightsaber would suddenly pierce through the plating of his armor and pass right through his stomach, making him fall on his back with intense pain before his head would be crushed by the Assassin Droid, the latter having jumped on him before he could get up. There were not much hope for the guard anymore; it was pretty clear that he now either had his neck snapped or that he had a lethal skull fracture.

Staring at the Jedi ahead, the Droid would slowly take the Lightsaber out of the guard's chest, showing its bright purple color to her.

"J-J-Jedi..... Jedi you are...... Jedi? Jedi, yes, Jedi.....!"

It would stare at her a little bit more, clearly seeming to have some screws loose as its head would often shake, seeming to be unstable.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-IIIIIIII'm going to sa-sa-savor your deaaaath, Jedi......!!! T-T-T-T-The Force c-cannot s-kriiiiish-top US!"

It would suddenly respond before letting out an incredibly high-pitched electronic screech, then put its arm and shoot something out of its wrist in Matsu's direction. It was fast, and seemed to be actually some sort of taser shot at first glance. However, once it would be close enough to the Master Jedi, it would suddenly open and reveal itself to be an electric catching rope, not made to stun, but to provoke slow, and terrible pain.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu looked at everything happening, the death was one thing... she had been in war and lose of those who helped her was one thing but had to be practical. Losing your head because someone was dead only endangered you and the one you were protecting. It was a thing some didn't like but she was moving and seeing more as finally the culprit came towards her and was moving. Matsu felt herself sink into the force, her heart beat pounding in her ears while the world slowed around her and the things she worked on well worked. The reflexes giving her uncanny speed and dodge while she used her size to duck down and around letting her hand come up to release an arc of ionized energy at the droid before she was drawing her saber in her other hand and letting it activate with its silvery white blade. She knew how to fight but was wondering more what set this droid off on a rampage.

 

[Zara]

Although Matsu has boosted her speed and agility thanks to the Force, the Droid, though, wouldn't go too easy either, quickly jumping away towards the Master Jedi's side after it missed its slash, then using its purple lightsaber to deflect the upcoming arc of energy towards a nearby wall instead with surprising ease, holding on to its weapon quite strongly. It was clear that this Assassin Droid has been modified to accommodate the use of the Lightsaber in its hands.... but there was only but one true question behind all this: Who was the person who actually constructed or modified such a dangerous Droid unit?

Needless to say, now was not the time to think about such things as the Droid, aware that, now, the fight was going to get messier than its programming was actually predicting, would quickly hiss towards the Jedi's direction, then take a combat stance that now seemed more to aim for defense than actual offense, which was strange, especially for a Droid unit such as the Assassin.

"You C-OW-W-W-W-W-Ward! Using the F-Fooooooooooooooooorce to fight instead of the Lightsaber, the true weapon!"

It would let out another scream, then suddenly rush forward once again before fainting to strike towards Matsu's chest, but quickly stopping and slashing towards her hand instead, the one that was not using the Lightsaber, seeming to aim to prevent the Master Jedi to use the Force as a weapon.

"You think you are so smart, so s-s-s-strong because of the Light!"

It would hiss and snarl like an animal, shivering as if its systems were about to break down.

"I'm going to kill you! No! I'm going to eat you alive! The D-D-Dark will consume me! Make me stronger than ever!"

Eat? But it was a Droid. A Droid does not have the ability to consume anything organic. It seems that this unit has completely lost any ability to reason or even to think properly.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu was watching it, letting the force energies build in her body as she shifted position and withdrew her second saber calling it to her hand with the force and activating it with a storm grey blade to offset the white silver one she had. She could see the droid while the sound in her ears was the pounding of her heart and surging into her muscles while she moved holding both blades and watching the droid. "I do not know what has happened with you but you are certainly a strange droid." The jedi master said it while moving back to make some distance before going forward as she slashed to try and catch the droids blade with one saber and lock before striking with the other to try and strike the knee of the assassin droid.

 

[Zara]

Needless to say, it was true that the Assassin Droid was strange, in fact borderline broken and incredibly dangerous. For it to be able to murder maybe a dozen Mandalorian guards on its very own and almost hold up with a Jedi Master is truly something incredible to behold. There was a great possibility that this Droid was primarily programmed to actually fight against Jedi warriors and to counter Force techniques with hidden gadgets.... which meant that it must had been built by either a criminal organization working with the Sith, or a Droid that has been directly built by the Sith, seeing as it is seemingly not stopping his claims about the Sith would destroy the Jedi Order and rule over the Galaxy.

Certainly strange indeed....

Against Matsu's offensive maneuvers, the Droid would quickly catch on to the situations and adapt its combat style to Matsu's dual blade stance, blocking the first incoming attack, then quickly moving to the side to avoid the other, trying, in the meantime, to hit the Jedi Master straight against her stomach with its metallic knee. The Droid was surprisingly fast..... Maybe even too fast. This appearance of its must not be its true one; there must be parts underneath its Assassin Droid plating that isn't normally in general Droid production nowadays.

"You are t-t-t-too slow!"

It would snarl, then put its lightsaber up, trying to directly strike Matsu towards the neck, its own head now constantly shivering as if its systems were truly starting to break down in their entirety.

"Long live the S-SITH!"

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu kept her focus on the droid and was moving with it, letting her stomach feeling impact as she rotated up and around hovering as she moved suspended with the force energies to block the blade coming near her. More attention on the droid itself while she was listening to it and the force to guide her movements with her slashes becoming reversed and downwards instead of just simple ones to the body. Blades going while she raised up a litle more to reduxe her area and could use duel phase blades for extended reach and attacks going towards the droids arms, head and shoulders.

 

[Zara]

Now that Matsu seemed to use a little bit more complex combat style that forced it to use much more complicated moves, the Assassin unit would slowly start picking up the pace and even accelerate it, now using its own weapon much more menacingly than ever before as it would try to quickly slash towards the Master Jedi's weapons to confuse her and even jump from side to side from time to time to quickly strike towards the legs or even the neck.

Then, suddenly, the Droid would freeze as it blocked one last attack, then quickly jumped back with a howling electronic screech with an arm that aimed its fist directly towards the ground. This strange set of motion would then be followed by some sort of device coming out from the top of its wrist, then shoot one small, but beeping dart towards the ground.

"YOU FOOLISH JEDI!"

It would screech once more, then, in an instant, the beeping would stop, and the Droid would freeze, this time around in a completely immovable state. It then slowly started looking downwards, bringing its body down as the iron would slam loudly against the flour, the Lightsaber following suit and slowly closing itself after its fall.

Huh..... Looks like it deactivated itself completely. Maybe its systems had been damaged during the travel by something, and, as such, it simply went completely haywire.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu remained there hovering as she was looking down at the droid and moving up towards the roof with a raised eyebrow. This was a strange droid and the dart it fired was something they would have to be careful about while she moved her hand to her forearm datapad getting the drones to come. Their sample retrieval arms and containers would serve a better purpose while she was directing it. She remained hovering while looking at the body trying to plan where they could keep it while a proper paddock and restraining rack would be needed. "I don't know who made you but lets try to get you into a safer place." The duel was one thing but they were near the mines now and more guards, more workers and droids to operate things while she was moving into so they could unload and exchange crates.

 

[Zara]

In the meantime, as the Assassin Droid would be taken away to a much more constrictive place, Zara, her, has been taking care of the raiders with relative ease. After a while of fighting against them, they simply started to flee away from the transport vehicle and into the deserted lands far away now that they were about to reach the mines. Towards this reaction of theirs, the Droid would stare at their fleeing figures, then let out a "Tch." before standing back up, then checking her rifle to see if it had any damages. Seeing that it was still intact, she would simply put it on her back under her cloak, then finally head inside to see what the bloody hell was going on back there.

Reaching Matsu's position, she would stop once she noticed the Droid that was being carried away by Matsu's drones, frowning. Wait a minute.... That Droid.... It was the same one that tried to tell her to get away from her not too long ago, the one she pushed away.

But that wasn't the detail that caught her attention..... No..... It wasn't that.

What caught her attention was the Lightsaber one of the drones was carrying along with the Assassin Droid's body, which made her freeze. That Lightsaber..... Was it....?

"Give me that!"

She hissed towards the drone, quite literally yanking the weapon away from its grip with surprising strength, then stared at the weapon, frozen yet once again. That Lightsaber..... It was hers. It was the one that she once used during her training with Master Saratzi... and Fay...

"This is...."

She would mutter underneath her breath, then stare at the weapon once more before slowly putting it underneath her cloak, hiding it away, before slowly turning towards the Master Jedi.

"Why.... Why did that Assassin unit....?"

She would ask in a surprisingly cold tone, looking down.

"Why did it had my Lightsaber?"

Her Lightsaber? To Matsu, this would probably be a surprising reveal, seeing as, earlier, she would had probably thought of Zara as your typical Droid, even though it was a Droid made in the ways of entechment.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu was surprised but relied on that jedi training to internalize it over showing it on her face. A blank expression looking at the droid before she raised an eyebrow composing herself. Inside there were a lot of changes detectable but on the outside it was all focused before she fi9nally. "Your lightsaber? Very interesting but more then that it was how the droid was fighting. It and you originally being organic and trained might have something to do with it." She stood there before walking. "I am not certain though but it if had it then it must have been given it either by you originally or whatever you did to be in a droid body might have programmed her differently."

 

[Zara]

Zara couldn't help but frown in a dubitative way as the Master Jedi mentioned that the Droid that she had been fighting was actually once an organic being in the past. That thing.... was once an organic being and was trained in the arts of lightsaber combat, maybe even Jedi training? And it had her own lightsaber, of all things, with it?

...

No, it couldn't be who she is actually thinking it could be. That person died a long time ago, and she has read a lot about entechment and how it basically works. For it to function properly, the energy within the individual you want to carry towards a metallic being must still be alive in some way or another. Fay, her... She simply died, and she knew that it must be quite impossible to bring her back to life. After all... she killed her herself, and she saw her die in the most horrible ways that she herself has put the other Jedi through...

The Droid would come back to reality once she was noticing that she had been clenching her fist for quite a long time. Surprisingly, she was doing so in such a hard way that it provoked a slight bending sound a metal would let out when a great pression is pressed onto a metallic material. Fortunately, her hand did not really bent at all, but it was as if it really did for a moment and she couldn't help but feel a little bit surprised by her own strength.

"Tch...."

She would let out, then call towards the Jedi as the latter walked away, letting out an angered form of sarcasm along the way.

"No, really? I really was not aware of that! Thanks for the advice!"

She huffed, then walked away towards the top of the ship once again, where she would simply stare at the dunes in the distance with her lightsaber in hand, silent.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Zara"]

Matsu heard her and the droid was going off as she got outside with a small look at the guards in the mines. Penty of them there and some of the defenses you would want in the desert. THey could see to the dead and unlad the crates replacing them with the new ones for everything as she noticed the droid looking over the dunes while moving up towards her with a case like the ones given to the few others who had signed up. "Your payment, phrik and credits for whatever it is you need. There is always more work usually with less dangerous encounters. Milk runs the others call it but protection details in the jungles or bouncer work at some of the reseorts we oversee."

 

[Zara]

As Matsu headed towards the Droid on the vehicle and gave her a case that was basically filled with whatever you could call as "payment" for all the things she has done for the Master Jedi, Zara would stare at the crate, then take it rather calmly, which was not how she usually did seeing as she was usually pretty greedy when it came to such things. But now, since she had her lightsaber yet again.... memories that she had sworn to leave behind, to forget... They just started coming back one after the other, swarming her thoughts with Fay's corpse and the pain that she has felt once she received that lightsaber straight to her chest.

Her reward case in one hand and her lightsaber in the other, she would stare at the Jedi weapon for a second, then silently put it on her belt before looking towards the dunes once more in a remote silence that lasted for about ten seconds. For those ten seconds alone, only but the sounds of the people putting the shipment of the vehicle working on their own would be heard alongside the relative wind and some rare blaster shots here and there in the distance, which the Droid would only guess it to come from Pirates whom, angry of their failed operation, would fight between each other to cool off.

Then, suddenly, she let out a sigh before nodding towards Matsu, breaking the silence as she considered her offer, then gave her answer.

"You can call me whenever you need me as long as it pays. Since my work here is done, I'll borrow one of your speeders so I can head back towards my ship, unless my reward includes an special escort. In the case there isn't any, eh, don't be ashamed about it. After all, those guys in the dunes back there... They were all jokes. Most of them didn't even knew how to fire a damn blaster properly, I'd say."

She walked forward, heading towards the exit of the vehicle before stopping and saying one last thing, turning her head towards the Jedi with a serious frown.

"Goodbye. I am pretty freaking sure we will see ourselves once again in the near future. In the meantime, I'm going to craft some stuff, I guess.... and deal with that lightsaber you've snatched off that Droid."

She then headed off the vehicle and went back towards the main spaceport in order to get back towards her ship and head off-world into the black oblivion of space above. As the Droid would do so, the people who would have escorted the Assassin Droid that attacked the vehicle would notice that its main hard drive was gone for some reason.

Strange.... Strange, indeed...

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

Matsu bowed her head in understanding and acknowledgement. The pirates who had tried raiding them were not that impressive and the droid had clearly better programming and skill. Which made it almost unfair but what could you do? That she wanted to use one of the spectre speeders surprised her for a moment until well it was one of the best choices to use going forward. The lightweight frame and speed could get her back to her ship quickly enough so she could head off and there was contact information for future jobs. A small smile curled her face while heading back towards the large crates they were unloading. "Oh I am certain we shall see each other again, I rather enjoy mysteries."