Private What is that I cannot see?

[Aiden Wolf]

Location: Dantooine, outskirts of ruined city post invasion
Equipment: Body/Suit/Sword, M-107 Anti-Material Rifle (five rounds), M-18 Pit Viper (one magazine of APFSDS rounds), 2 SYC Grenades, 2 Ion Grenades, 1 Flashbang, 2 DEX Satchel charges, EBFAK
Tag: G 3 M 1 N 1 , Var Talon


The wind howled through the ruined apartments that Aiden found himself hiding out in. At the fifth floor of an eight floor building he had a pretty decent spot to sit tight for a minute to rest after he’d fled the battle. The past few days had been him avoiding various patrols, running from search drones and other people in the city proper, and otherwise trying to stay away from anyone who might report him. Because they knew he was here, they knew what he looked like and thanks to the NIO’s meddling he’d been forced to reveal that he was on the planet. In short the last few days made one thing clear to Aiden.

It was all over.

Everything he’d done, all the sacrifices that he’d made, all of it was gone. The last piece he’d had connecting him to Sergei, was now a pile of ashes and a little black box he’d been able to recover from John. According to his initial scans it was damaged in the crash, which meant that he didn’t know what exactly had been lost or if it was even recoverable. For all Aiden knew, the John he’d been with for the past couple of months on the run was gone. A memory. Something that used to exist but now was relegated to the past tense. Just like his father. He curled up in the abandoned place as he tried to make sense of what to do from here. Where could he go? What could he do? He was branded a criminal, no, a terrorist. And thanks to the NIO’s meddling, he’d been forced to reveal himself which meant that his chance to take that Sith on with the element of surprise was now gone as well. He couldn’t go back to the CIS. He couldn’t keep pushing forward without having a massive bullseye on his back. And thanks to John’s noble sacrifice he was stranded anyways. Which left only one certainty for the boy.

Aiden was out of ideas, and knew that he could barely think straight thanks to one of his closest friends being murdered in front of him. Damn the NIO. Damn them all. Those stupid idiots decided that using missile artillery against targets in a city was a great idea? Aiden silently wished that they hadn’t been so stupid. He wished that all of the things he’d seen been better. That people would be better. He’d seen bounty hunters who had no regard for innocent life. He’d seen and watched “soldiers” who thought an acceptable tactic was to turn civilians into living shields on both sides. He’d even accidentally given into the shade of his mind and slaughtered his way through a pirate station to get more equipment to try and help him fight a Sith Lord.

At least I didn’t kill any civilians, despite what you think of me.

Shut up.

What? Mad because you enjoyed it when I was in control? Angry because despite all of the lies you spout to make yourself feel better I won’t go away?

I. Will. Never. Be. You.

Fine then, but remember that when you need me to come save your weak self.

And just like that, the shade would fade. Leaving Aiden well and truly alone. The only sound he could hear was the wind whistling through the blasted windows, shattered glass rattling on the floor every now and again. So he just sat on the bed, curled up into himself and slightly rocking himself as he started crying. He couldn’t even cry himself to sleep thanks to his power core forcefully keeping his body awake. He was alone. No ship, literally down to a few shots in his pistol, the sword and dagger he kept with him, and a first aid kit with a few grenades left in case he had to help someone or otherwise defend himself. He’d started this journey with a ship, a droid, and some semblance of a plan. Now all he had left were a few fragments of a droid, wishful thinking and shattered dreams. He’d hit rock bottom. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse than they were now.

 

[Var Talon]

DANTOOINE

Officially, Var Talon wasn't here.

According to all accounts, the Echani was sitting pretty on Naboo. Draining shots with a few off-duty Knights. There was no reason under the sun that an Obsidian Knight would be on the ass-end of the Galaxy. At least, that was the image he was attempting to project. A well-placed protocol droid, equipped with a holoprojector was all the alibi he needed. Standard protocol for such an operation. Fingerprints? Burnt off on the way over. Voice? Modulated. At a glance, the Echani was no different from any vulture who attempted to pick battlefields for the valuables of the fallen. In truth? He had been sent to seek out any of their own.

Equal parts black bag and rescue, though there was no guarantee of finding anything in the wake of such a battle. Hell, even Terrik and her Dauntless had taken a pounding at this theatre.

Nonetheless, Var Talon did the job he was supposed to do. Which, at the moment, had taken him to the blasted apartments. By all accounts, any survivors of the battle would be laying low. Such a locale would be perfect. Plenty of hiding spots. A wealth of resources - at least enough to survive. If any man had sense and was attempting to get offworld, they would most likely be there. The Echani lowered himself to a crouch within one of the many alleyways. A few bats of his eyelids commanded his visor to respond. A variety of sensors blipped, one after the other. Infrared. Night. The works. He resumed moving after the lifeform scanner confirmed there was nothing alive in his vicinity.

As quietly as possible, he breached one of the apartment buildings. Another sensor sweep. No booby traps as far as he could tell. He looked at the walls - looked upward...a faint blip, a few stories up. As far as he could tell, it was one soul, alone. Worth checking out. The Knight quietly ascended the stairwell, and just as he entered the hallway of the fifth floor, he misstepped. It was a human error. A rookie mistake. His boot crunched a shard of glass underfoot. It wasn't particularly loud, but amidst dead silence he might as well have been screaming. He moved as quickly as he could, ducking behind a downed vending machine. Whoever was on his scanners was only a few doors down.

And he seriously hoped it wasn't a plastoid wearing yahoo.​

G 3 M 1 N 1 | Aiden Wolf

 

[G 3 M 1 N 1]

Tag:​

- Aiden Wolf \\ Var Talon ​

Weapons: ​

- S-66 Scorpio // L 86 - Pisces x3 // T 91 - Taurus x3 // Rotary Blaster // Diamondback​

Armour:​

- G3M1N1 Chassis​

Attire:​

- This​

Theme:​

- Theme​

​

Gemini had spent the last seven days within fleeting states of consciousness, blaring lights bearing down on her from nearby heavens as mysterious hands probed her innards for the gilded shards which penetrated her systems, threatening to tear her apart from the inside with any fleeting movement. She'd been getting repairs from the combat she'd been ingratiated into upon the pirate station with Frank and Aiden, the screams of the citizens and the haunting hallways of the veritable slaughter that Aiden had caused when he'd lost control... even they didn't deserve that. She could remember the roar of the combat with the monster, blows launched against one another like greased lightning as the shuddering impacts rattled the interior of the docking control room. She'd had the creature in her grasp, literally, for a moment as she'd underestimated the skill of her enemy... but she'd caused damage. She'd caused a lot of damage, enough to knock him out of his hateful spiral... and subsequently with the aid of that monstrous combat droid, escape. ​

​

After her repairs were complete, they had eaten a portion of the myriad bounties she'd claimed and split with Frank following the summary of the events, 50/50 they had made a fortune off the back of Aiden, there were even a couple of rewards for finding the civilians who had been taken to be sold into slavery lingering. It had felt good to help people, rather than kill, Gem hadn't foreseen that the pent up blood-lust that exploded from G3 when she had been unleashed upon the unsuspecting Aiden. To Aiden's own admission, he had defeated the person who had trained the Direwolves' ghost company, a group who even mere members of had impressed Gem and G3 to the point they had wanted to work towards joining their ranks. But, unleashed to her full potential, G3 had fought the boy to a standstill...​

​

But in so doing, Gem hiding within the folds of the digital reality her consciousness had been tucked away into, she'd witnessed something ugly that day, the destructive, unfeeling logical power that the AI wielded without oversight was terrifying, thankfully she had put a single moratorium on her actions. Ensuring that Aiden could not harm any more people. Gem was convinced that the fact that safety of the others on the station was bought into question was one of the few reasons that they were alive. Gem, whether it be true or not was convinced that G3 was extreme enough, that in order to see her goal completed, it would have sacrificed them all...​

​

Frank had commitments, the fallout after the event was hell, he had contacts that he was able to make contact with while Gem was sent ahead rapidly to ensure that the trail of them didn't go cold after her repairs were completed. They couldn't have a repeat of before, following a cold trail and needing to reset their progress on hounding him down for their own reasons. Sure enough, moving from port to port, the scent and deeds of Aiden had led the cyborg to Dantooine. The sand played hell with her forensic scanners, bleaching everything and sanitizing it sterile so that she wasn't able to pick up even the slightest hint of DNA, so Gem had to move to standard recon, canvasing the natives, asking questions, sleuthing around areas where a person like him, with that many bounties would be able to hide on a world like this and be left alone...​

​

There weren't many places. ​

​

An apartment complex was the sixth place on Gem's list, 'I had told you in the beginning this location has a 26.984% likelihood of the target being here.' The enigmatic voice of G3 would sound within the scrolling text of her eyes, unable to be ignored, repeating ad infinitum until such a time as it was addressed. Gem attempting to inform it that while it had the highest likelihood of success, the likelihood wasn't that high and there were other, closer locations that may as well have been checked on the way. 'The compiled likelihoods of his being in any of the other 5 locations were, 2.480%, 3.798%, 5.206%, 5.901%, and 7.011%... this is a combined total of 24.396%. In the time it had taken to search each of those locations, searching this one alone would have been more efficient... additionally...' Gem was done with this conversation.​

​

Simply sighing and agreeing for the mean time in order to quiet the AI, she would hear the subtle sound of broken glass from the complex before her, perking up at the sound as she would move to view the side of the wall, scanners for body heat penetrating the walls as there was one source, true to form that seemed to be stalking the halls with military precision, and another whose signals were mixed, denoting a varied sum of cybernetic enhancements. It was him! What's more, he wasn't alone....​

​

Taking to the fleet Gem would run, bound kicking off the side of the wall and vaulting to a second story window sill, slipping in with some haste, repulsar-lift generators functioning to lighten her in order to make her more agile as Gem would rocket up the stairs bound for bound with the intent on catching up to whoever was moving through the halls and advancing on Aiden. Hoping, praying that who-ever this was, they weren't some criminal assassin or killer sent to end the boy. Gem still needed him for information. Catching up would take some time, Gem was faster than a Brynadul, but no Jedi, likely catching up as all three of them were on the same level. ​

​

"Stop! who are you!?" She'd call out, in part hoping to warn Aiden, in case of the worst, flashing the Medallion which signaled her as a contractor for the CIS military... having no idea of the Knights Obsidian member, who she was unwillingly and unknowingly impeding in their task...​

 

[Aiden Wolf]

Location: Dantooine, outskirts of ruined city post invasion
Equipment: Body/Suit/Sword, M-107 Anti-Material Rifle (five rounds), M-18 Pit Viper (one magazine of APFSDS rounds), 2 SYC Grenades, 2 Ion Grenades, 1 Flashbang, 2 DEX Satchel charges, EBFAK
Tag: G 3 M 1 N 1 , Var Talon

Aiden was sitting there, just letting his grief consume him at a mission that now seemed impossible. His resolve was broken. His will to try and come up with a plan was now in tatters. He didn't know what to do next. He didn't even know where to begin as to what to do. He couldn't go home. He couldn't stay here. Whereas before he had a calming voice at his side that was always reminding him of his objectives, of his mission he now only had himself. And with all that he'd seen in the past few weeks, maybe even a couple of months by now, Aiden didn't know how to make sense of it. What to do. His thinking would be interrupted however.

With the sounds of crunching glass, followed by someone bursting into the building and yelling.

They were here, they were coming.

Suddenly instinct kicked in for Aiden. He had to run. He couldn't stay here. On top of the bounty on his head he was more than likely a wanted criminal in TSE space. Every bounty hunter in the sector would be on him, and while he wished they were of the mind to take him alive, he'd seen their work firsthand. The brutes wouldn't hesitate whatsoever to kill the boy. After all if civilian casualties were seen as acceptable, what was one more death on the table? Aiden immediately slid off the bed he'd been hiding on and weighed his options to run. Thankfully his helmet cameras weren't obscured by the tears he had still streaming down his face. And their 360 degree view would be most helpful. He could leap from the window, but at only five floors up, that would be a paltry distance to follow especially if they had someone waiting for him on the street. Which if it was a bounty hunter hit team, a group of Sith assassins, or worse, the Sith Lord with several cronies to help him hunt down the boy that had dared to demand from a Lord of the Sith. No, he had to go up. He had to get away. Being caught meant being caged or killed, so escape was his only option.

He sprinted to the door with his forearms crossed in front of his helmet and chest smashing through it into the hallway with a loud crash. As the dust settled Aiden couldn't see the source of the first sound but he definitely saw the source of the voice. It was the droid! He could hear the shade in his mind laughing at him as it mocked him.

Good luck boy.

If it had been some troopers he could have fought. If it had been just some bounty hunters he would have held his own. She was neither, and Aiden didn't bother trying to formulate a plan. He instead immediately turned down the hall opposite of the seen and unseen and ran. His voice would tremble as he half shouted, half screamed at them.

"GET AWAY FROM ME! STAY AWAY!"

He could hear the shade roaring in laughter at Aiden's lack of resolve. Where it would have accepted the challenge of possibly two attackers, Aiden hated violence and since he didn't have to fight, chose to run. His arms would pump and his legs drive into the floor as he ran as fast as he was able. He didn't tap into his enhanced strength or speed however, as he didn't know how strong the floors or the walls of the building were. It had sustained damage during the battle, and while he certainly could have run much faster had he used his CMAS to its full abilities, he didn't know if the floor could sustain repeated blows like that before collapsing. It was a forty meter dash to the staircase, which lead to the next floor up. He didn't have a clue who else was here, but if the droid was here, he didn't want to wait and find out.

So his only choice was to run.

 

[Var Talon]

DANTOOINE

The Echani was definitely not dealing with a yahoo.

Though Var had done his absolute best to keep his approach quiet, his advance was perceived by another. He hadn't heard the female arrive - which was a black mark in his ledger frankly. Yet her call had caught him ever so slightly off-guard. The Knight's first instinct was to lean against the nearest wall, dominant hand flying to his waistline. Normally, there'd be a lightsaber waiting; but due to the disguise there was only a sidearm. His fingers flexed, swallowing the instinct to draw and fire. Slowly, the Echani dipped his head out of cover.

A huff of relief escaped him. Then honest suspicion crept in. His gaze settled upon the medallion clutched within the female's grasp. It denoted that she was a friendly - probably with the Confederate Armed Forces or something. However, someone could have easily plucked that off of a corpse. Well. Why do that in the middle of New Imperial territory? Decisions decisions. As he ruminated over his next move, there was a cry erupting from the target room. Rather than face them, the occupant flew down the hall in the opposite direction - screaming to be left alone.

Great. Like that wouldn't draw attention by any patrols.

"Easy. I'm friendly." came his reply. The Echani ultimately decided to gamble on the fact that the female was actually aligned with his superiors. Thus, he raised his hands ever so slightly. "We've got the same boss."

His chin then jutted in the direction of the fleeing man. "He with you?"​

Aiden Wolf | G 3 M 1 N 1​

 

[G 3 M 1 N 1]

Tag:
- Aiden Wolf Aiden Wolf \\ Var Talon Var Talon
Weapons:
- S-66 Scorpio // L 86 - Pisces x3 // T 91 - Taurus x3 // Rotary Blaster // Diamondback
Armour:
- G3M1N1 Chassis
Attire:
- This
Theme:
- Theme

Gem would begin to feel the repulsars flaring to life as his hand went for a side-arm, ready to bridge whatever gap was between the two of them in the flicker of an instant before he proclaimed that the two of them were on the same side. She would hesitate, nodding slowly as she would attempt to run facial recognition through some of the CIS Military channels, maybe he was a friendly? Maybe not... Aiden had made a lot of enemies on the satellite station they had been on. Though, as Aiden let out a frightened cry, Gem couldn't help but think that he didn't seem the same as the bloodthirsty monster she had allowed G3 to take over and fight to the death that day... only for him to escape.

"That's Aiden Wolf, we've been tracking him down for a while to bring him back to CAF headquarters. I could use a hand if you're offering."

All the while Gem would be trailing his heat signature through the walls as he would make his way for the stair-well, they were pretty high up, she would be able to head him off there almost no matter how far he got down on the stairs. For now, the boy seemed in a panic, she could sense the combination of fear and cortisol production increase across what parts of his skin weren't synthetic as it permeated his body... He was afraid... but of what? Them? Or maybe something else had happened.

"He's unstable, and also incredibly dangerous. . . I could really use a KO right about now. . ."

After listening to a reply, Gem would begin to move, her heavy feet slamming on the fragile ground of the building they were on as she would begin to chase down their mutual target. Gem wasn't sure about how far gone Aiden was, but, she had experience with targets who were in a mental state like this one, willing to do anything in order to get away . . . even causing great harm to themselves and others. They couldn't allow him to get to a populated area. The last thing they needed was a bloodbath on the scale of that slaver satellite with civilians on the line instead of criminals.

As she chase continued, Gem would yell out after the fleeing man "Aiden stop! We're here to take you back!" Her voice filled with worry, oscilating and cracking much more like an imperfect human voice rather than one that was firmly mechanical, bringing a hand to the side of her lips to project in much the same manner although such systems were all automated now. So much muscle memory driving the machine that were it not for the obviously metallic doll-like frame a person might mistake her for something that was alive.

​

 

[Aiden Wolf]

Location: Dantooine, outskirts of ruined city post invasion
Equipment: Body/Suit/Sword, M-107 Anti-Material Rifle (five rounds), M-18 Pit Viper (one magazine of APFSDS rounds), 2 SYC Grenades, 2 Ion Grenades, 1 Flashbang, 2 DEX Satchel charges, EBFAK
Tag: G 3 M 1 N 1 , Var Talon

Their hesitation in in pursuit would give Aiden a chance to get ahead of them, reaching the staircase and starting to run up as he could hear the droid and apparently a compatriot of hers exchange a quick couple of words before turning to him. This eliminated the option of the Sith Lord, or some of his cronies coming to kill him, but the alternative was being dragged back to the CIS, to The Dire Wolves and John Locke . Of being forcibly locked away and made a prisoner. Becoming little more than a caged animal.

Never, never again.

"I won't be caged!"

As he came up the second flight of stairs he saw the building's damage extended to the staircase, the stairs having fallen away leaving the last two floors with no walkway up to them. That was a problem, and he looked back down and could tell they were closing on him. He had to get away, he had to run. He would take off down the hallway looking for alternatives, trying to see what options he had as he needed to escape. An open door suddenly revealed itself to him, and he would practically rush inside as he looked about the room for his next move. Except there was a huge problem. Whereas other rooms had been living spaces, this room had no windows nor furniture of any kind. Like a storage closet for janitorial staff if a larger one.

Oh frak!

Aiden frantically looked for a possible exit, any possible way to effect a further escape. He had a single option that was a bit radical, but he didn't know if the building could take it. He glanced to his arm and silently prayed it didn't come to that.

 

[Var Talon]

DANTOOINE

At the very least, identifying as a friendly was enough to keep from being drawn upon. The one flashing the Confederate emblem rendered a nod, which told the Echani it was safe to lower his arms. He then posed the question - who the heck was that who sprinted off. The name was not one that Var readily recognized - but then again if it wasn't one of the big bosses he wouldn't. The goal, however, was right there with the whole reason the Echani had been dispatched to Dantooine to begin with. Retrieval of their people.

"Never heard of him." he admitted. "But if he's our people, I'll help bring him back."

Enough said. Var rendered a nod as if to say lead on before sprinting off behind Gem. He listened as she called out, pleading for him to stop. Yet, the request seemed to only make Aiden frantic. His response was a yell - he won't be caged. "No one is going to put you in a cage." Var said. Though ignorant of the situation, he wasn't there to lock up their own people. Getting them out of enemy territory was the priority. "We're behind enemy lines and we're getting you off this rock. Calm down so we can get the feth outta here."

A little crass, but the point was clear.​

Aiden Wolf | G 3 M 1 N 1​

 

[G 3 M 1 N 1]

Tag:
- Aiden Wolf Aiden Wolf \\ Var Talon Var Talon
Weapons:
- S-66 Scorpio // L 86 - Pisces x3 // T 91 - Taurus x3 // Rotary Blaster // Diamondback
Armour:
- G3M1N1 Chassis
Attire:
- This
Theme:
- Theme

Upstairs! Gem would figure that if he was going up, he would have to find a way to the ground, remembering that he was highly augmented she would take her chance as she slammed into the guard rail of the stairs leading up to look down the well. If he got to the top and jumped he would have a clear shot to wherever he needed to go. She could likely keep up with him in a land-race but she could likely be alone. She wasn't so good in combat that she was sure she would be able to take him one on one while he was desperate like this. But that being said if she leaped down to the bottom with thoughts of trying to head him off, she would be leaving this guy with him one on one to potentially the same result.

Allowing the mysterious man to take the lead she would begin to bound up the stairs, more sturdy than the floors of the building allowing her to activate her repulsar-lift boosters to bound up the levels step by step, skipping three, four and five stairs at a time as they would chase their person towards the roof. Round and round the well until Gem rushed past an ajar door, sensing something standing within it forcing her to double back grinding to a halt as she would move to face the guy down, charging the electrically charged nodes in her knuckles ready to fire with the intent of stunning him long enough to capture if they intended to fight.

"Yes, like he said... we're not going to put you in a cage, come with us, explain everything to us and we can deal with this together. Okay?"

She would mind her tone, attempting to etch closer step by step with one hand splayed before her to attempt to get him to stop, watching him, monitoring what his next action was going to be. She couldn't see a means to exit the room, windows or doors seemed to be barren which put him into the worst predicament that he could have been placed in. He was trapped. At the realization, Gem would become notably more tense, she'd stiffen, waiting for an attack or him trying to push past her in some way, hoping that it wouldn't come to delivering a counterattack she would later regret...

"What are you doing Aiden? What's going through your head, talk to me."​

​

 

[Aiden Wolf]

Location: Dantooine, outskirts of ruined city post invasion
Equipment: Body/Suit/Sword, M-107 Anti-Material Rifle (five rounds), M-18 Pit Viper (one magazine of APFSDS rounds), 2 SYC Grenades, 2 Ion Grenades, 1 Flashbang, 2 DEX Satchel charges, EBFAK
Tag: G 3 M 1 N 1 , Var Talon

That's right, they're going to take you out of here the voice mused, manifesting itself once more as a shade behind G 3 M 1 N 1 .

Take you back to them. So they can put you in restraints. Lock you away, so we aren't a danger to anyone.

"I'm not a danger to anyone, you are,"

Oh? So the wannabe jedi you clocked in the face was just a fluke? A random chance? Or how about the bounty hunters? I bet they think you're just a blast at parties with how you knocked each of them out cold.

"I didn't kill anyone. I didn't hurt anyone,"

And yet here they are. Ready to put you in restraints, I bet they'll say it's for your own good.

"Shut up,"

That way they can drag you back to them to answer for what you did, and never giving you the chance to get the answers you sought, the closure you wanted.

"SHUT UP!"

The last phrase was loud enough that it wouldn't take enhanced hearing for both of them to hear the words. It was the only warning G3M would get that he was attacking, he wasn't looking at her instead looking behind her at the shade that was now mocking him. His leg would sweep out in a blinding fast round house kick that just so happened to be aimed at its head. It was just pure luck, or lack thereof that G3M's head was in the way, the shade now obscuring her from his vision as it occupied the space where she stood. Adrenaline was shooting through Aiden's veins as his breath was quickening, he knew she was there but he didn't quite hear her as the voice seemed to twist her words to mock him even more.

What are you doing Aiden? What's going through your head, talk to me.