Liberation on Makeb

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna set her datapad back in her satchel as she crept down the landing ramp and would begin trying to conceal her vessel. There were reports of Imperial forces capturing refugees and attempting to put them in slave camps on this world, and so Ashlyna decided this was something she had to get in on. Given her history with slavery, it wasn't a hard choice. These Imperial bastards were going to pay. The small craft she had brought down to the planet would be left in a clearing and concealed with camo netting. She had equipped a set of Rebel Armor before heading down the ramp, a blaster pistol was strapped in her side holster, and a rifle clasped in her hands.

According to the readings from her ship, a transport shuttle had activated a distress signal only a few hours ago, so there was a chance to save this group of refugees. She only hoped her partner wouldn't cause any issues with this operation, but she didn't mind droids. Though, assassin droids were a different sort beast entirely. She wasn't quite that well entrenched with the force yet, but already she could sense the lifeforms in this area was being influenced. It was probably just from their ship landing, though it wasn't unreasonable to think that Imperial forces might be nearby. Ashlyna felt uneasy, but something had to be done about this. This wouldn't redeem her of her past crimes, but it would be a start.
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

The black starfighter, called the Amalgama, roared over the trees in the distance, low to the treeline, coming in opposite of the village location. Its vertical profile stood was distinct among fighters and it seemed to tower over many of the trees in the area. However, the assassin droid did not land the ship next to the Jedi hopeful’s, more than likely with the idea to not get the attention of the slavers.

PERSONALITY STATUS: ANALYTICAL

DIRECTIVES
PRIMARY – Interface with employer’s contact, Ashlyna
SECONDARY – Receive clarification on mission parameters
TERTIARY – Avoid Imperial personnel


Minutes later, the black plated droid strode out of the swamp and walked up to the lady. On his hip was a large heavy blaster pistol and a smaller one at his right hip. The droid’s vocabulator switched on and relayed in a mechanical voice…with a hint of inflection, ”Greetings Ashlyna. I am designated H5PAD. You may call me Hale. Your contract is in order and confirmed. Hale is ready to commence operations. It is Hale’s understanding that we are to commence rescue efforts at the crash site and eliminate Imperial resistance, if encountered…can you confirm these directives?”


@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna watched as the droid towards her through the plantlife. Even knowing the droid was an ally, watching him emerge from the woods was unnerving to say the least. She couldn't imagine how an opponent would feel seeing the same sight. The young padawan looked about, but she wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but something was definitely off.
”Greetings Ashlyna. I am designated H5PAD. You may call me Hale. Your contract is in order and confirmed. Hale is ready to commence operations. It is Hale’s understanding that we are to commence rescue efforts at the crash site and eliminate Imperial resistance, if encountered…can you confirm these directives?”
The former pirate nodded and tightened her grasp on her rifle. "I can. Those are the directives for this mission." Ashlyna turned back towards her ship and gestured. "I got a reading from a transport shuttle that landed just a little a ways from here not too long ago. It's distress signal was up, but there was no message being broadcasted. I'm thinking the Imperials swooped in and took it's occupants. I didn't notice any other emissions in the surrounding area, but it wouldn't be too hard to hide that sort of thing out here." She said plainly, turning back to the droid. "The ship is about five clicks south of here, might take a little bit of a walk to get there. Also, feel free to correct me if I'm getting anything wrong. You clearly have better processing power than me, so I'd like to know what you're thinking up there." Ashlyna tapped the side of her head for emphasis and looked at the droid. "Anything else you need confirmed, Hale?" She asked with a small smile. The voice modulator of the droid was...interesting to say the least, but at least they had sent a combat unit to help her out. SawDip was a cute little guy, but we wouldn't last long out here. Unless there was anything else that needed to be said, Ashlyna would turn South and behind the trek through the underbrush with her new companion.
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

H5PAD listened without moving an inch as Ashlyna explained the situation in more detail. As she finished explaining the scenario, the assassin droid replied, “Directives confirmed. Slave subjects will not be marked as hostile. Eliminate Imperial units. Confirmed.”

The assassin droid followed the human down the trail, alert to its surroundings as they traversed the filthy planet. H5PAD had his SB-3 Sniper rifle on his shoulder and his pistols at his hips with his quartet of grenades at the small of his back. Making good progress, the pair could see a plume of smoke ahead of them, presumably from the crashed ship. Eventually, the pair came to a large clearing ahead of them that was occupied slaves being put into lines at blaster point. Imperial soldiers interspersed throughout the area guarding the camp and directing slaves to the far side of the clearing. A pair of large dropships were landed on the far side of the temporary the clearing and they had just begun loading them into the ships. From the droid's vantage, he calculated 8 hostiles among the slaves. H5PAD slid up against a copse of trees that provided an optimal observation area until he was instructed to act...

Guard Count: 8 of 8​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Having come upon the sight of the crash, Ashlyna knelt down behind some shrubbery, and activated the magnifier in her helmet. She took in the scenario, as she watched refugees being milled about onto shuttles. They had some time before the Imperials would take off, but they couldn't take too long. Taking a few moments to factor in the situation, she turned off the magnifier and looked to the droid. Seeing as he had the better ranged weapon, Ashlyna began to think of a plan of attack. Perhaps if she circled around the right, Hale could draw their attention with sniper fire, and Ashlyna could open up on them as they attempted to engage. The padawan checked the numbers once more, and she totaled eight. They were most certainly out numbered and outgunned, but they did have the element of surprise. At this range and with this concealment, the two of them had a chance of taking most of Imperials out before they knew what hit them.
"Hale, you think you can pick toff the Imperials furthest away? I'm thinking if you can draw their attention over here, I can attempt to flank them when they come to engage you, then we can catch them in a cross fire." The brunette suggested, pausing to check her rifle's energy cell. "Got any calculations you can run on that scenario I just presented? Personally everything I say sounds like a good idea to me." Ashlyna grinned behind her helmet. This wasn't the first time Ashlyna had gone up against bigger numbers and won, however she doubted if swoop gangers and smugglers counted. She didn't think so, but hey, at least she knew it was doable. @Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Slave Crash Site
Makeb

Again, H5PAD stood still in the brush, overlooking the camp as Ashlyna explained her plan. As requested, the droid ran multiple scenario models, calculating acceptable mission completion statistics before answering, “You plan is acceptable. Hale will seek appropriate sniper nest and once ready, will commence with predetermined firing solutions. Ashlyna will then attack, taking targets of opportunity.”

With that, the droid disappeared in the brush. Its movements were eerily “human-like” as the droid disappeared from sight.

Moments later, the droid was on the highest ground possible, which ended up being a small hill some 75 meters from the camp proper. The droid laid down supine and extended his bipod and then nestled into cover where his sight lines were open to the clearing and multiple targets. His HUD already marked the ones with weapons that were a threat to him, specifically any with a light repeater and any with blaster rifles. Unfortunately, there were three guards with rifles and one with a repeater.

Once he made sure his sniper nest was adequately covered, the assassin droid adjusted the scope on his SB-3, accounted for distance and drew a bead on the guard with a light repeater slung to his side. Tagging the other three riflemen as his sequential targets, he activated his internal comlink and notified Ashlyna, “In position.”

She indicated she was ready and H5PAD responded, “Commencing attack.” With the scope crosshairs on the guard with the light repeater, H5PAD squeezed the trigger. The sniper rifle bucked and the large bolt slammed into the guard dropping him to the ground. Mechanical precision guarded the shift in targets to the closest guard with a blaster rifle. Squeezing another shot, it slammed into the guard’s back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Although the guards were not in a state of readiness when the attack began, the two remaining riflemen quickly scrambled to nearby cover and began firing back. H5PAD did not get his third shot due to the two guards firing his direction. The camp was now in chaos…

Guard Count: 6 of 8​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna watched as two soldiers went done within seconds, and sent the remaining two guards scrambling for cover. The Imperial soldiers surprisingly kept an organized formation, as two soldiers rushed to cover to engage Hale. The soldiers who were not returning fire did not break ranks, two guards moved to take up defensive positions on their flanks, while the remaining guards attempted to quicken the herding of refugees onto the shuttles. Ashlyna muttered a swear word to herself and had to move to have a clear shot at Hale's attackers. Maybe she was just not familiar with the weapon, or perhaps her nerves got the best of her, but her opening shot only grazed one of the troopers firing at Hale, buying him a small reprieve. This, however, immediately drew the ire of one of the defending guards, who fired a spray of blaster fire toward her area. The shots went wide thankfully, perhaps they didn't know exactly where she was, but this mission had just gotten a hell of a lot more complicated.
"That's what I get for slacking on my marksmanship skills." Ashlyna muttered annoyingly to herself.
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

Ducking down, H5PAD moved his sniper nest, backing down the hill under the fire of the slavers. For snipers, staying in the same spot was never wise. After backing down the hill, the droid rolled over to his left and readjusted his line of sight. Quickly requiring the two riflemen, he ripped another shot, slamming into one the guards. A second shot was loosed as soon as he required the last riflemen, hitting the man in the gut. But then he heard a buzzing sound—his energy pack malfunctioned. H5PAD quickly expelled the pack and grabbed another one, but he was forced down as blaster fire erupted into his new position…

Quickly, the assassin droid slammed home another energy pack, but he needed to move from his position before reemerged from cover. Unfortunately, any element of surprise he thought he had was now gone. The droid could not really tell what was going on with his "partner", but the droid did notice some commotion on the side of the camp. Until he knew, the droid treated the scenario as if he was on his own...the probabilitities suggested that was the best course of action.

Guard Count: 4 of 8​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna crouched down and took a deep breath. Ayasha had talked to her before about becoming one with the environment, about how she could see things with the force, extend her senses and the like. She needed to do that now as well. She focused on her center, and spread outwards. She could feel the grass, the bushes, the tree, and the small creatures who called this home. Her range spread further, and further, until she could sense them. She could feel where the Imperials were. The force would guide her to what needed to be done, right? Maybe now was the time for such things. Ashlyna closed her eyes, focusing instead on her she could sense the Imperials. She stood up, and felt something just click within her, almost as if someone was telling her the exact moment to fire. She pulled off the trigger three times in rapid succession, and felt two of the presence of two of the Imperials disappear and a third weaken. Hale would see through his sensors as it appeared that Ashlyna had tagged the two perimeter guards nearest her in the head, and a third Imperial nearest to the shuttle caught a blast to the side and fell over. She fell back into cover, and the senses she had been experiencing withdrew back within her, and she ducked down behind a fallen log. She felt a tad bit tired now, and her head was aching just a little, but whatever the hell that was...it felt amazing. The refugees were panicking now, as blaster fire was starting to become more frequent. Hopefully that would give the pair another opening against the Imperials.
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

The presence of Ashlyna and the subsequent combat actions moved the droid’s companion from “unknown variable” to “competent combatant”. She took down two with a trio of well-placed shots to the cranium and winged another. H5PAD got up from the side of the hill and made his way towards the clearing. As he got closer, he put one of the guards in his sights and squeezed the trigger. The energy pack exploded. A misfire from the circuitry caused a critical failure of the pack and it exploded into a shower of plasma and electricity. H5PAD was thrown back into the forest, slamming against a tree to break his fall. Part of his face was ravaged from the blast, in addition to his shoulder. The droid did not move, but instead ran a quick diagnostic of his parts. The right optic receptor and right audio receptor were both damaged and would need to be replaced. Without going into detail, H5PAD communicated over his internal comlink, “H5PAD can no longer provide you with cover…”

Guard Count: 6 of 8​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

“H5PAD can no longer provide you with cover…”
Ashlyna heard over her com. That certainly wasn't good news. The former pirate popped out of cover and squeezed the trigger again, nicking one of the Imperials in the shoulder. The celebration was short lived however, as one of the guards honed in on Ashlyna and let loose a shit that clipped her in the left arm, and caused her to fall back on the ground and into cover. "Ugh, damn it!" Ashlyna swore over her com, as she could feel her skin sting under the damaged plating. She set herself up and pressed her back against the tree. This wasn't going as planned. "Hale, how are you holding up?" Ashlyna asked, as she readied herself to try another go at the Imperials. She had to hope the refugees would keep them occupied and prevent them from trying to corner the pair.
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

Leaning against the tree, the assassin droid quickly checked his self-diagnostics, running the checks again to ensure his operational capacity. His pneumatic fist attachment was not operational on his left hand, but he still had one good photo receptor left. One of the guards came running up to “finish the kill”, but H5PAD had already pulled the Lullaby and loosed two shots that slammed into the guard as soon as he was in line of sight, searing through the armor and into the poor man’s chest.

“H5PAD is functional. One hostile remaining, inbound to my position…”

Slowly, H5PAD began coming to his feet, preparing itself for the last guard should it get past Ashlyna. The slaves were huddled at the edge of the forest, not sure what to do yet. H5PAD calculated that they would remain regardless of the outcome due to fear of suffering repercussions from their captors…or their “rescuers”.

Guards Left: 1 of 8​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna took a breath and steadied herself, ignoring the pain stinging in her arm. She heard H5PAD's voice over her com. Ashlyna rose up and went to line up a shot, hoping to put the final guard in the ground. She found him, low to the ground and approaching Hale's position, so she took the shoot. She squeezed off the trigger four times, sending three shots barreling towards the guard, The first shot zinged right past his armored thigh and smacked into the ground, the second just grazed his shoulder, and the third slammed right into his back, killing him. Her gun instead stalled, the energy pack having seemingly failed. Ashlyna swore and was beginning to replace the spent cell, as she called back to Hale. "I got him, do you see any more hostiles? Or is that all of them?"
@Mithias

 

[H5PAD]

Galactic Alliance Rendezvous Zone LZ-35635J
Makeb

H5PAD watched as Ashlyna took down the last guard. The assassin droid walked over with Ashlyna to the huddled slaves. H5PAD stayed quiet as Ashlyna spoke to the slaves in a calm voice. They listened in rapt attention and then waved H5PAD over as all of the slaves were now following her. It took a while to cross the dank terrain, but eventually the pair got them to Ashlyna’s Antelope-class freighter. Although the cargo bay was not meant to confortably accommodate the slaves, they would not be going far—they were rendezvousing with a Galactic Republic ship on the other side of the planet that could take them to another place. Where they were going to be taken was not H5PAD’s concern—as long as they were dropped off, the mission was done.

Once the ship was loaded up, H5PAD looked over at Ashlyna, “H5PAD has fulfilled the terms of the contract with the Galactic Alliance. H5PAD will take his leave now…”

And with that, the “odd couple” parted ways…

THE END​

@Algarus
OOC/Dice Thread