Cogs

[Crim]

M4-78
The Droid Planet

Since the days of the Old Republic, M4-78 was a world renowned for its huge population of droids tasked to oversee the production of different things in different factories. Recently, a control computer in a factory has gone rogue, making the once loyal droid workers hostile to almost anything.

In an attempt to stop these droids from causing more chaos, a Jedi Knight and his Padawan have arrived to reset the rogue control computer...​

Whisking across the orange skies, the transport landed on a landing pad near the rogue factory. Two service droids hooked up a fuel tube to the side of the transport as a short, hooded figure walked out. A protocol droid walked towards him. The rusty red droid said, "Welcome to M4-78. Please be aware that the areas beyond the barricades is off-limits."

Ignoring the droid, Iroh walked on. He spoke to his Padawan, stating, "Our first stop is the commanding officer of the militia here." He led his apprentice to an observation tower. As the two walked, Iroh remembered what he had heard about this planet. The air smelled of oil, the architecture was boring, and there were droids everywhere.

The planet was, to say the least, ugly. However, the planet wasn't made for organics. Most droids didn't care about any of this. The only moving things in sight, in fact, we're droids. Astromech droids worked at terminals while maintenance droids walked to fix something nearby. Tiny mouse droids avoided lumbering load-lifters, carrying crates of heavy objects. Hovering surveillance drones zipped across the skies like birds would on other planets.

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla followed her master off the ship, wearing her jedi robes, over her newly acquired durasteel armor. Her two lightsabers clipped on her belt. She inhaled deeply as she stepped off the ship`s ramp. This planet had a specific smell to it. It smelled of steel, oil, smells which the child wasn`t used to, but she found interesting and exciting all the like. She had never seen so many droids in one place. Thus with her enthusiasm, she smiled and followed Iroh, as he led the way to the comanding officer of the militia.

She was excited about both the mission and being on one with her master, for she knew it would be a quite different experience from anything prior to it. She would recieve the chance to learn on the field and in action, while also serving the Galactic Alliance and doing good for the galaxy. Asalla couldn`t think of a better combination.

 

[Crim]

The two entered the observation tower and took a lift to the upper level. The upper room was round, much like the tower, but wider than most of the tower. Auto cannons searched for targets, though it could be noted that the turrets weren't shooting. The rogue droids hadn't been in sight for a while. A dirty battle droid paced around the room.

"Are you the one in charge here?" Iroh asked.
"Since 0422 yesterday. Beetoo Arten."
"Nice to meet you. So where are the GA reinforcements?"
"They were shot down upon arrival. You were lucky to make it."
"Have you got any way of getting to the area?"
"Nothing traditional. All bridges to and from that area were destroyed to contain the droids."

Thinking for a minute, Iroh asked, "Can one land in the area?"
"Well, that's the trick. Anything going near that area is getting shot down by those droids. There is a flip side; these crashing fighters and transports cause a lot of damage. Since our fighters are automated, we can tell them to point themselves at certain targets. If we can get in through a hole in the building soon after something hits it, we may be able to avoid detection."
"Have you got a stable damaged area for us to land in?"
"Yes. One of the fighters hit a fuel cell and caused a huge explosion. One could land there and use the smoke and fire as cover."
"Just show us on our map."
"Right. Any questions so far?"

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla followed her master closely and listened to the conversation, patiently waiting for it to end, as she had an idea of her own, but didn`t want to interrupt. When asked for questions, she stepped out from behind her master to look at both the droid and the jedi rabbit, all the same. Locking her hands behind her back she spoke, with a respectful and light voice.

Asalla - "Master, what if you were to put up a protection bubble around our aircraft. I`ve read about that power and as I already mentioned I would like to learn it, but that is irrelevant. What is important is that it can stop a lightsaber in it`s tracks, as well as any telekinetik ability, as well as blaster fire. So it should be quite an enjoyable ride for us, with one of thsoe around the ship, as long as it can be sustained for long enough."

 

[Crim]

"I wish it were that simple. A Force bubble can't extend to envelope a ship. However, if need be, we could use the Force to aid in our dodging of rockets or blaster fire. Force-assisted flying is a popular technique," Iroh said. He had used the technique many times during space combat, both offensively and defensively.

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla nodded. It had seemed like a good idea to her, but she hadn`t evaluated how outstretched the power would be. She nodded to her master, by saying that she had no more questions. She was ready to continue with the mission and although she was a bit worried, she knew that concentration was the key to success and that`s just what she did.

 

[Crim]

"Very well. There's a shuttle waiting for you two on the landing pad," Beetoo said. Iroh bowed and said, "I appreciate the help," before turning to leave. As the Jedi left the observation tower, the guard droids began opening fire on something in the quarantine zone. A quick firefight broke out. The Jedi kept walking to the shuttle; the firefight was not going to affect them for now.

Before long, a rocket hit the observation tower. The tower wavered before falling forward, hitting the quarantined zone and damaging several layers of the factory. It kicked up a lot of smoke, which the Jedi could use to their advantage. Iroh quickly entered the transport, telling the droid pilot to take them to where Beetoo had told them t land. Turning to Asalla as the shuttle took off, he said, "Are you ready for this?"

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla followed her master towards the shuttle, as she heard blaster fire. The inhabitants of the planet were droids, but they sure had a will to fight. Not long after a rocket hit a tower and it crashed, bringing a large dust cloud into the air, providing some sort of cover for their ship. Asalla nodded to her master, as she took her seat, sitting in a meditative position, so as to gather her strength, calm her mind and concentrate on the mission. They had to act quick, in order to bring the chaos to a stop.

 

[Crim]

The transport fired up and took off. Iroh grabbed onto a pole in the transport for support. Before long, the transport was speeding over where the observation tower was, using the smoke as cover. Embers rose from the fire that had sparked from the fallen observation tower like fireflies. As the transport dipped lower towards the western wall, a gaping hole in the massive block-shaped factory was visible.

Several stories were visible, illuminated by the fire. A tunnel of destruction had been carved deep into the building. As the transport entered the hole and landed, the engines turned off. The floor under the transport creaked upon landing. Iroh stepped out and listened for signs of activity from the building. He heard nor sensed any approaching droids.

Iroh motioned into the tunnel and quietly said, "We're going to follow this tunnel as far as we can go. Shortcuts like this are to be taken advantage of. Make sure to move quietly and be on your guard for droids. Stay close to me too. Splitting up here is a bad idea."

 

[Radiwalker]

The flight was over and they were alive. Asalla was happy with that much. She followed her master into the tunnel, heading his advise and keeping close to him. She hadn`t fought droids before, except for those in the training sessions. The girl hoped her master would help her, for she usually took advantage of weak spots in the bodies of organics, however she knew of none such spots in droids bodies, as she was a technical imbecil.

Asalla - "Master, what is a weak spot in a droid`s body?"

 

[Crim]

Iroh immediately said, "Power core," before amending, "Generally, a blow to the body should incapacitate, of not 'kill' a droid."

Coming to the end of the tunnel, Iroh noticed the burned wreck of a fighter that had created the tunnel. The air was thick wih smoke, so Iroh called Asalla back a few meters. He said, "That smoke could get really bad. I should teach you about Breath Control."

"Breath Control is a power used to keep the body awake during periods without oxygen. It can be used in vacuums or near poisons, though poisons are a bit harder to combat. It requires one to hold his or her breath or even create a barrier in the trachea to prevent gases from entering the lungs. Breath control is sustained primarily by willpower. Focus on sustaining yourself with the Force," Iroh said. He wished he had taught her this earlier, but field training can be effective.

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla nodded at her master, as he shot out an answer to her question. The power core. It was logical, for that was the heart of the droid, she just wasn`t interested in technology enough to read about it. Not a moment too late, a large cloud of smoke submurged in front of them. It was from the crashed fighter and the togruta could easily tell that if she entered it she would choke to death.

Iroh, however, had a solution ready. She nodded to her master and concentrated. She felt the force build up a wall inside her breathing organs, which should prevent the smoke from entering, she also used the force to control the air within her lungs and utilise it`s usage, instead of overusing it, as that should helo her breath for a longer period of time. She gave a nod to her master, as she felt ready to proceed, although she didn`t know how long she could hold the power active for.

 

[Crim]

"Good," Iroh quietly said as he turned on his heel. Heading down the smoking tunnel once more and using breath control on himself, he came to a tear in the wall that was big enough for someone of his size to fit through. Iroh poked his head through to make sure it was all clear. No droids in sight. Taking his head out of the hole, he widened it by pulling both sides away from each other with the Force. Asalla and he could neatly fit through.

Walking down the hall, he peered over a corner. There was a patrol droid down the adjacent hall. Upon inspection, there was an elevator attached to that hall. He waited for the droid to head down the hall until it was out of sight. He wanted to refrain from destroying droids for now; more droids might be alerted if one is taken down. Hailing an elevator, he waited for the elevator to show up.

"Come on, come on," he softly muttered through his teeth. The elevator arrived and the doors opened. He took the elevator down to the factory levels. The ride took about a minute, even with the elevator traveling at fast speeds. Looking at his datapad's map while the elevator was going down, he plotted a route. "Okay, the AI core is in the center of the building. Likely to be heavily guarded. If we can climb on the scaffolding on the ceiling, we could avoid detection. There seems to be only one way into the AI core. Energy fields will be active, so cutting it with a lightsaber won't do anything."

As the elevator stopped and the door opened, a service ramp near the scaffolding was in sight. Scaffolding stretched around the ceiling. The factory dominated the landscape. It was huge. Droids walked to and fro below the two Jedi. Iroh jumped onto a railing and climbed onto the scaffolding. It was easy enough to balance on. No worse than the railing on that bridge near the Jedi Temple on Tython. Iroh motioned for Asalla to climb up onto the scaffolding.

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla followed her master forwards, utilising her new ability as she walked through the smoke. Had it not been for it`s specific color, she wouldn`t even know where it started and where it ended, for the new ability gave her the opportunity to breath in such a location, as if she was breathing in the most preserved forrest in the universe.

The girl watched as her master took advantage of his size and got into a rather small hole, but enlargened it through the force, so both of them could easily pass through it. That was a smart move. The togruta followed her master into a hallway, until they reached a corner. The pair waited for a while and proceeded to an elevator, which seemed to take ages to arrive. Asalla got somewhat nervous while waiting for it, but just then she heard the faint ding sound, notifying of the elevator`s arrival.

She climbed into it after her master and listened in to his intructions. Their challenges were just begging and she knew it. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened, giving the pair an entrance into the huge factory. It was admirable, even by those who weren`t fond of technology. Asalla kept her mind on the mission and followed her master, as he climbed onto a railling, much resembling the one on Tython. She smiled, last time she had been afraid, but not again, she was confident in herself and her abilities. The girl quickly followed her master, showing how she had overcome her fears and was in an even better control of her emotions. She was ready to proceed with the mission and she knew that she was capable enough as well.

 

[Crim]

The journey to the AI core was long, though the Jedi went through undetected for the most part. When the AI core was in sight, Iroh stopped. There was only one way into the AI core. Here's where the missions could get hairy. Not only was the one entrance guarded, the only way down was to jump. However, a well placed blast during landing could incapacitate the guards. Iroh looked at Asalla and said, "We need to jump. I understand any hesitation, but this really is the only way down."

"Build up a Force Push to buffer your fall or use Tutaminis right when you land. Either way will provide a harmless release of energy when you land... well, harmless to you. Things standing near you will fly back by the release on energy. You, however, will remain unscathed. Do you think you can handle this?"

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla looked down, at first she was frightened, bit then she remembered what her master had told her, when she was walking along the railing. She had to overcome her fear, for if she didn`t, it would lead her to the dark side. She couldn`t let herself go down that path. The girl concentrated building up force energies within herself. Usually the smart choice would be to use the power in which you are more potent. However, she wanted to overcome the fear of falure as well, thus why she decided to use Tutaminis and not force push. She knew she had the skill which she required to perform the safe landing, for if she hadn`t her master would have told her to use force push. It was just a matter of overcoming her fears and remaining calm.

Asalla - "I am ready, master."

 

[Crim]

Pulling his hood back, Iroh jumped down from the ledge. The trip down took about fifteen seconds, which is quite a while to fall. His robe flapped behind him while he was falling. When he hit the ground, he activated tutaminis, sending the four droids guarding the door flying back. They ran into the wall or each other. Gathering himself, Iroh activated his lightsaber, illuminating the area with a blue glow. Iroh slashed through the chassis of one droid, but two more droids came to back the guards up.

The droids fired at Iroh, forcing him to ignore his stunned opponents and deflect the shots from the other droids. One blast was deflected onto a pole next to the droids, exploding into a shower of sparks. The other blast hit a droid in the chest, sending it down. Iroh jumped over the other droid, decapitating it mid-jump. He stood with his lightsaber ready to deflect the blasts from the droids he had originally stunned. Things could get hairy quickly; Iroh sensed more reinforcements headed this way.

 

[Radiwalker]

Asalla watched as her master jumped down. She smiled at first, then took a deep breath and followed the jedi knight. Holding her lightsaber in her right hand, which was locked on her chest, underneath her left hand, she looked down, while following and let out a small scream which was partly joyful. The girl was enjoying the fall, but knew that she had to act quickly in order to nail the landing. She concentrated.

Upon approaching the ground, she noticed her master had stunned some droids, but another bunch fired at him. He handled them and prepared to defend against the first couple of enemies, as they were recovering. However, Asalla arrived just in time. She used tutaminis while landing, sending the droids at the walls, yet again. She hoped that that would keep them occupied for long enough. She picked herself up, ignited her lightsaber and prepared for a fight.

 

[Crim]

Smirking a bit, Iroh tossed his lightshoto at the droids, slashing their chests open in a parabolic arc. "Well done, Asalla," he complimented. The droids slumped over as Iroh moved to open the door. He pressed a button to open the door, but the door was locked. He activated his lightshoto yet again to pierce the door and carve an opening for the two Jedi. As he worked, he said, "Every droid in this factory knows we're here. We need to work very quickly." The door began to fall back before Iroh noticed more droids approaching. He used the Force to send the door at the attacking droids, crushing one and damaging two.

He looked around the room. The room was glowing blue with stairs leading down to the AI core. The footsteps of an army of approaching droids could be heard in the distance. "We've got to move," he said, starting down the stairs.

 

[Radiwalker]

The droids were beaten and Asalla let a small smile coss her face. She was glad they had overcome this challenge, but it seemed as the mission was only just beginning. Iroh jabbed his saber into the door, carving an openning for the pair, after which he pushed it forwards, smashing another pair of droids. Resistance was good at this place, too good, actually. The togruta realised that the closer they got to the core, the more enemies they would encounter and making their exit might as well be the hardest part of the mission.

She entered the next room, being amazed by the beauty of it, with the blue lights, the marvelous staircase, the aura of the place was just enthralling. But the moment passed and she heard the clanking of many droids approachign their location. Battle would soon be upon them and as her master noted, they had to be quick. Asalla followed Iroh down the stairs, concentrating on the mission and channeling force energies, so as to be ready for battle.