Ask The Old Lab

[Khlan Gonk]

Khlan screeched as another blaster shot nearly nailed him before the invisible foe turned his weapon on the others. Frantically, khlan skittered across the floor like some kind of rodent, hearing the shout of 'take cover'.

Dice roll: 13/20

If one word could be used to describe the gank, it was lucky. Three words used by several crossed beings would be ' lucky jawa scum' , but there is no use dwelling on such harsh connotations.

Khlan certainly demonstrated his luck when he rolled under some rubble from a ceiling tile and an overturn table. The fire from the explosion licked at the gank's exposed skin, and he would suffer from some minor burns, but no permanent damage.

Hunter-3 exploded into numerous pieces of metal and flesh. His invisibility had been rendered useless, as the anti-tank missile had completely destroyed his disguise matrix and set most of his fur alight. Ironically, where his parts scattered in the room, the only traces of them were the fires that seemed to burn around the shadows of the defel covered limbs.

Still, despite the explosion, and as a testament of the akranian's enginuity, Hunter 3 lived for a few moments longer. Little more than an upper torso of flesh and metal, part of a metal arm and a head, with face completely melted off, Hunter-3 crawled forward slightly. Part shadow, part fully visible, the last person he saw was trodai. With bleeding gums and one broken eye, the cyborg whispered its final phrase as it tried to get closer in a vain attempt to attack.

"Xeno filth."

He dragged himself two more times before both his artificial and organic internal organs failed all together.

Khlan popped out of his hides hole, coughing from the smoke.

"That..." khlan almost shouted as he beated his chest to get out the worst of the smoke. "...is why I hire people! Hehe, lets see magic do that!"

Khlan coughed a few more times before the entire room shuddered. Khlan looked around in slight fear of the building collapsing, or at least the room. After a few moments, it seemed to settle.

"Alright, we need to keep moving. And for future reference, I'd like at least one specimen more in tact. Come on, I'm not waiting for this room to collapse."

---

" Hunter 3, report" Hunter 1 radioed in his comm. All he reviewed was static.

With a sigh, he returned to his work. Deep in the basement of the lab, he had found the power generators and begun to reactivate them. One switch after another, the generators began to whirring to life.

"Hunter 2, I'm sending power to your area..." Hunter 1 reported. "Comrade was unable to report numbers of intruders. Advise to start up the Defects "

"Negative comrade. If started without proper codes, their autocontrols will deem us an enemies" Hunter 2 radioed back.

"Override that thought process. Utilize stealth and lead the Defects towards any advisories. It'll be easier to shut them down then any invaders.

"Affirmative Comrade. Activating Defects 1-20. The revolution lives on"

"The revolution lives on" echoed Hunter 1 as he pulled another lever. Soon, the entire lab would begin to hum with life. The emergency lights would start first. Later Hunter 1 would get everything else working properly.

Spoiler

Ooc: have an idea for what the "defects" are. Will allow you guys to set up what the next area will be with your next posts, and then will introduce the enemy.

@The Mad Hammer @Trodai Narat-iv-Adas

 

[Xim Zhan]

Fire. Everything that could burn was burning. Chemicals with inky black smoke, bits of smoking fur, plastics, a long dead potted plant. Thankfully most of the room was steel and polymers and even though they were hot and contorted, they were not on fire.

Xin unceremoniously flopped the ceiling tile that had fallen on him onto the floor with a crash and plume of dust in the sooty smokey air. “Oof.” He felt that in his back, his knees, his shoulders. “So maybe not one of my smartest ideas,” he mumbled to himself. “But still,” he slowly stood up and smiled at @Trodai Narat-iv-Adas behind his helmet, his voice bellying his entertainment, “it worked.”

Standing up Xim slowly, almost painfully hobbled toward the downed toros of the . . . thing. As it uttered it’s last, Xim canted his head to regard it, “Filth this.” He grumbled as he pulled his pistol from his thigh and let a dual of blasts ring out into the thing’s head. If Xim knew one rule about hunting monsters it was this: DOUBLE TAP.

As his employer climbed from the rubble screeching, Xim looked around the room. He was not sure if there had been anything useful in here before, but for sure now, whatever had been of use was no longer. Reaching for a threaded loop on his waist, Xim pulled out a fresh wrist rocket and began to delicately lodload it into his launcher. “Where there is one,” he muttered pondering what had just happened, what was said, and what that might all mean awaited him going forward.

He did not have a lot of time to ponder it; however, as the station seemed to rumble, the precarious mountainside the base was on taking offense to the violence occurring within it’s cloister lf frozen solitude.

Avalanche Ticker (d20): 2
*roll any time activity May disturb the precarious mountainside. Missiles, explosions, etc
*when total of d20s for seismic activity reaches 50 the avalanche begins.

Grabbing @Khlan Gonk by the collar, Xim yanked him toward the hallway with him. He was not about to let the man signing his check out of his sight, not with the potential of more of whatever that was dodging about. And just as they skittered into the hallway, the rumbling stopped: a good thing. Additionally, the hum of generators clanking and coming to life echoed in the distance. Doubting it was true, Xim turned a concerned faceless glare to Khlan, “That better be your droid plugging his shebs in somewhere.” And then the ceiling flickered, and the clank of one overhead light after another powering on preceded the sudden bathing of dull yellow-white light that suddenly illuminated the hallway of dried blood smears, rubble, dangling wires, fallen panels, and were those claw marks hewn through the metal wall all the way down to the corner?

With more force than was probably necessary, Xim threw Khlan’s collar as he pulled his blaster rifle up and held it at a low ready. “Don’t forget, you’re reimbursing me for any lost equipment.”

@Akheron @Narzen
((OOC: Feel free to move us on @Akheron ))

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai observed as the cyborg was lit up like a christmas tree. Burning and meltin, crawling towards them. But he just looked at it dispassionately, no remorse...no mercy. As Khlan screeched he just ignored it, about time he got his hands dirty he thought. He was impressed by Him and his tactics, although unorthodox they were effective. He gave him that much. And so there was a newfound respect.

He smiled as the creature was dispatched. Although it was a shame they couldn't save the technology.

Trodai looked as the roof rumbled, deciding it was a good time to move on. And then on came the lights, it was obvious now they were not alone. Someone was here...and they were being stalked. Troda I noted the claw marks among other things, there was definitely others here of some kind. He ignored Xim comment, instead opting to go forwards past them into the next room. He approached cautiously, hoping not to be like Khlan and suddenly get struck.

Trodai continued down lab hallway and looked at some of the tubes they passed. Being careful not to disturb anything. With luck. He didn't like the look of some of what he saw, and if the last encounter was anything to go by he expected more trouble ahead. Exiting through the door they came across another large open area, probably used for maintaining equipment.

@Khlan Gonk @Xim Zhan

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Khlan glanced at BoomBox as if he somehow could've connected to the power network by himself. The droid was impressive, but not that impressive.

"Gonk!" Boombox honked.

"Not my droid." Khlan hissed. He was getting annoyed at being held by the collar, but for now said nothing of it. "Aren't you glad I didnt just bring one of you?"

Khlan and BoomBox followed the others cautiously, now fully understanding it was better to let them lead the way.

When they finally entered the maintenence area, they began to hear the banging and clanking noises. All around the room, the noises of hands beating the ground or walls came.

In the center of the room, a small device, which was beeping and sending radio signals in all directions.

---

In the corner of the room, Hunter-2 observed. The radio emitter was doing its job: summoning the Defects.

Spoiler: DEFECTS

D.F.C.T.S. , or Defensive Fortress Cadaver Technology Samples, were crude things. They were Mlmeant to be used as emergency services or Shock Troops, using the corpses of failed rebels, soldiers who fell in battle, or captured prisoners. By utilizing the preserved brains and nervous systems, the arkanian rebels used simple ai to command the bodies. By removing the legs, the defects could fit and crawl through areas too tight for most, and their cybernetic arms gave them both speed and strength. These beings, in the loosest sense of the word, would use anything they could. Throwing objects, firing blasters, tearing people down and apart, anything was allowed for them.

Suddenly, the things arrived. Popping from under the floor plates, crawling through the air vents, swinging from the ceiling, the things roared as they targeted the intruders.

@Trodai Narat-iv-Adas @The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

As the trio plus shambling battery entered what could only be described as a desolte maintenance bay, Xim all but expected there to be machinery abuzz as the lights seemed to activate before them. He was snot disappointed, although the sounds were bit what he expected. He had figured even in a place this old and cast aside they might have droids toiling away timelessly.

And yet, the yawning expanse was empty.

Empty and noisy.

Xim scanned the room. At it’s center a mounted device seemed to be bleeping. It seemed entirely out of place as if it had been placed there intentionally and recently. It was out of place. No doubt the red-skinned squid that @Khlan Gonk had brought along would want to smash it right off; and he would not stop him. There was another more pressing matter at hand. Xim’s HUD began registering unknown . . . things crawling from beneath loose floor plates, from vents in the walls and overhead, from doorways and access shafts. The Mandalorian’s digital readout continued to climb upwards, stopping as it registered 83 potential hostiles. Scratch that: ACTUAL hostiles as haphazard blaster bolts rang out and the clatter of oddly expertly hurled projectiles zinged through the air forcing the Mandalorian to sidestep a airborne piece of engine block.

With his E-11 cradled in one arm and wedged against his hip, Xim spun his Westar from it’s holster. With targetting assist, he began to pour firepower downrange driving the shambling mechanized monstrosities backward. It was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers; but Xim hesitated to pour out another salvo of rocketry, lest the entire base collapse in on them.


“<O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, that I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy—
Which, like dumb mouths, do open their ruby lips to beg the voice and utterance of my tongue; a curse shall light upon the limbs of men.
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Mandalore.
Blood and destruction shall be so in use, and dreadful objects so familiar, that mothers shall but smile when they behold their infants quartered with the hands of war, all pity choked with custom of fell deeds, and Mandalore’s spirit, ranging for revenge, with eight by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice>” Xim called out in Mando’a as the sounds of gunfire filled the air, a testimony to the religion of all those who had come before him

“Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!”

@Akheron @Narzen

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai observed the surroundings, something just didn't seem right. It was too quiet. That was until he heard some kind of incessant beeping, his heightened hearing being particularly sensitive. He spoke out.

"Can you hear that? What is that beeping?"

He didn't get a chance to hear a reply as he heard shuffling and the scrapping of metal against metal. As some amalgamation of metal and claws attacked...it reminded him of another incident he had previously encountered. While the Mandalorian shot up part of the room, Trodai tackled the other as the cyborg erupted from every hole possible. Gnawing and gnashing away. And then the Mandalorian decided to start spewing some kind of war prayer. Trodai simply sighed, now he knew what it was like to be on the other end of the rambling.

Regardless of Khlan's personal feelings it seemed they had little choice but to reveal at least in part what they were. With so many, Trodai took out his lightsaber, giving Khlan a knowing nod as of to say we have no choice, if they intended to survive.

Trodai sliced the first down the middle, revealing the inner workings, and the brain now severed where the blade cut through. He moved to another, narrowly avoiding a razor claw before chopping it off. He moved like a crimson hurricane, a tornado of death and destruction. As those who sought to end him met the end at the hand of plasma and darkness.

@Xim Zhan @Khlan Gonk

 

[Khlan Gonk]

If it wasnt for the sheer danger of the situation, khlan's good eye would've been twinkling with awe and wonder. Such monsters were amazing to behold. They were no doubt organic as a baseline, but with so many cybernetics and the missing limbs, they were certainly more machine than man. If he could aquire either a fully intact sample, or the plans, he would have a whole new product unlike any other. This 'mechromancy' or whatever it was called would secure contracts with government militaries alone!

However, he first had to survive this ordeal. While the mando was singing a war song of some kind, or practicing some very poor poetry that the gank failed to understand, he seemed to be handling some of the enemies well. Trodai had to drop all appearances and began to use his lightsaber. Khlan only hoped that xim was professional enough to not shoot on the sight of a red blade.

Not a combatant, khlan hovered back near his droid until he realized something. Someone had to place the 'beacon' in the room. Scanning the area, khlan saw what he was looking for. A pair of red photosensors moving along the edge of the room, careful to avoid the attention of monsters.

"Clever bantha" khlan hissed.

A ceiling tile crunched down. A Defect landed on top of the gank, forcing the two into a roll. Khlan ended up underneath the thing, but he quickly produced his trusty plasma torch as the thing tried to choke the life out of him. The things head practically melted as khlan shoved the torch into its face. Not as powerful as a lightsaber, but still nasty and much more legal.

"Oiy!" Khlan barked at the others as he rolled the defect off of himself . "There's another one of those invisible dwangs somewhere!"

---

As the group fought the defects, Hunter 2 made his way to a better spot where he could get a better aim. Unlike his now dead comrade, he saw no reason to move with his eyes closed. There was so much chaos that no one would notice a pair of red receptors.

Raising his weapon, he aimed at the one swinging the blade. Out of the three, he was the least armored and a killing shot was more than certain. The armored one was formidible but alone he would be overwhelmed, and the small lizard was hardly a threat judging by appearances.

The safety was off. The rifle was raised. Just needed an opening through the chaos. One would come surely.

@The Mad Hammer @Trodai Narat-iv-Adas

 

[Xim Zhan]

Even as the mechanized zombie horde pressed forward, Xim carved a path through them, pressing his way into the fray. He moved with precision and ferocity, whipping left and right as laser fire cut down zombie goon after zombie goon. Within minutes the power packs on both weapons began to vibrate in his palms telling the Mandalorian that he was running low on juice. Thankfully, he had planned for such a contingent and had extra packs on his belt. It was the reload that would be a problem.

Of course, it was about then that a crimson beam seemed to pierce the dark cool air. “Darjetii,” he snarled to himself, as he wordlessly manipulated his HUD to begin targeting the being with the glowing blade. He should have known such a place would be a den of such a foul beast. Still, the blade presented a welcome if only momentary respite as the mechanized monsters were drawn to it; and Xim, not being one to waste such an opportunity, activated his Mandalorian wings and raced upward into the air with a snort of rocketry until he came to rest easily within the swaying rafters of the room. From here, it was easy to reload both of his weapons as well as take survey of the battlefield below. Back where they had entered, he watched as his benefactors sliced a droid’s face in two with a plasma torch. He nodded his approval, “Unorthodox, but effective.” Swiveling, the Mandalorian looked for the red-skinned violence prone one, only to be less-than-surprised-than-he-should-have-been to see that he was the one carving through zombies with the lightsaber, “I should have known.” He remarked to himself as he shook his head, turning to look between the two. He knew enough about the Jedi and the Sith to realize that they did not do work for others without something in return; and as Xim’s gaze fell on Khlan two things happened. First, his HUD chirped within, signaling a lock on Trodai should he wish it. Second, he watched as Khlan shouted his warning and wondered in a hushed whisper amidst the din of battle, “and what pray tell are you then master of manipulations?”

He did not ponder it too deeply though as Khlan’s cry over the moans and scrapes of the dead and damned filled the room caught his attention. Another machination was about and most likely none too happy that they had all but vaporized his counterpart.

And then he heard it, that all too familiar and highly illegal sound, the retort of a disruptor rifle from across the way. A bolt of pure destructive energy lashed out over the chaotic battlefield, heading straight for @Trodai Narat-iv-Adas !! Xim did not worry about the shot. If the Sith was worth his salt, he would weather it. If not; it was no loss to him. Slinging both his blasters, Xim gripped his weighty beskad blade and leapt from the rafters. Just as he was about to freefall he engaged his rocket pack once again, for but a brief moment, enough to catapult him forward toward the glint of the rifle that had fired. Such a sound was unique. It was a call of danger and of a disregard for life. It was illegal on all civilized worlds.

As he hurtled through the air, Xim crashed down bringing the weight of his moment and body onto one razored edge. His shimmering beskad blade smote the barrel of the rifle, carving it nearly in two as the barre was bent upward.

Xim’s knees screamed in pain and his face twisted in a grimace; but as he saw the glowing red eyes, he wrenched the blade free and with skillfully practiced hands plunged the arcing blade toward where he hoped the monster’s chest would be.

@Narzen @Akheron

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai was busy slicing and dicing, making metal and sinew fly about. His skill was evident, as he expertly tore the cyborgs to pieces, molten metal and melted bone dropping to the floor as he cut a path through them. And yet he wondered if another like before was lurking.

He struck at the next, avoiding the disrupter as the Mandalorian flew into them. Yet he didn't stop to watch, not when more droids were about. He approached the closest.

Spoiler

OOC: Actions Taken - How many enemies killed -
Roll D20 Xim - 12
Roll D20 Trodai - 12

The strike was a success as he sliced it diagonally, he went on a rampage. Kill after kill were stacked, as cyborgs or what remained littered the area. The Mandalorian had been equally as effective. It earnt him a approving nod. He waited until he was done with the one controlling things, confident he would be fine on his own.

@Xim Zhan @Khlan Gonk

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Spoiler: Music

The numbers thinned, but more Defects continued to swarm. of the 83 Xim had noticed, 24 (25 counting the one Khlan took care of) had fallen. More and more had filled the large area, and despite the advanced weapons the group had, Khlan doubted that the three could handle them AND the invisible hunter that Xim was dealing with. Already, several of the Defects were swarming towards the two fighting warriors.

Khlan looked at Trodai. He was fighting skillfully and wrathfully, but even a sith had his limits. If Khlan was going to escape this place alive, he needed to do more than just observe. He needed to participate in the battle. But each moment in the fight screamed stress at the Gank. He was not a fighter or a warrior. He was a coward and an opportunist at heart.

Khlan's cybernetic eye focused on the device in the center of the room. The beacon. An idea suddenly occurred to the Gank. A horrible idea, but one that might relieve some of the pressure off the others and give them a better chance at victory. Sure it would be risky, but he was slick. He knew how to handle risky situations.

Khlan charged forward, ducking and weaving through the Defects like the lizard he was. BoomBox honked in fright as his master abandoned him, but overall was ignored by the Defects at the moment.

"Come on, you perfect creations!" Khlan shouted as he scooped up the device into his arms and took off for the opposing door. "Come and get me! I sure know you want my fine works!"

I cant believe I'm actually risking my neck for these idiots Khlan thought to himself. Scurrying along, Khlan continued to make as much noise as possible trying to get more of the things after him so the others had a fighting chance. True, he would probably get chastised later by both of the idiots, but at least they would be alive enough to help him claim his prizes. Risk was part of life in the galaxy after all.

OOC: D20 to see how many DEFECTS follow Khlan.
Result: 20
Remaining Defects: 38 (20 following Khlan)

---

The armored warrior attacking was a surprise. Even as his weapon How had he been so perceptive that he spotted the perfect creation such as Hunter-2? What kind of enhancements had the government applied to this underserving pitiful Xeno?

Hunter-2 didn't have time to dwell on such issues. The blade the Xeno used struck true, and plunged into Hunter-2's device, rendering him the appearance of a living shadow, as well as hitting one of his hearts.

"Internal Organic Organ failure detected" a robotic voice came from Hunter-2's headset, loud enough to be heard. "Utilizing articficial organ. Repairs commencing. "

Hunter-2's red eyes, despite being cybernetic, burned with hatred towards the Mandalorian. Raising up an arm at point-blank range, the hand opened up, revealing the blaster cannon inside. Hunter-2 began to open fire as he tried to get some distance from the Mandalorian.

@Trodai Narat-iv-Adas @The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim was confident as he felt the pressure of his blade sliding through what he perceived to be ribs. A killing blow for most as he wrenched the blade free and met the burning coals of hatred with his masked T-visor. It would be the last thing this monster would see before its ended in this life and moved onto the next; or at least it would have been. The whine of the blaster cannon was the only predication of the heavy-palm mounted weapon firing, and even as Xim twisted to move out of the way; he swung his beskar guantleted arm down onto the abomination’s arm. It was probably what sages him as the shot rang out and caught him squarely in the side of his armored modriff and sent the Mandalorian tumbling, his pained knees wrenching in agony as he tumbled across the ground and his attacker flickered in and out of shadow as he best a hasty retreat.

Xim grit his teeth in pain and frustration. He should have known better. As he rolled to his back and sat up, Xim looked for the creature; scanned for it. In the din and the chaos all he could make out where the fiery red eyes fading back in the distance. Whatever monstrosity this was, the Mandalorian had no intention of letting it escape. With a flick of his tongue and jaw, Xim brought his left gauntlet online; raising it he pointed in the direction of the monster and fired; not even bothering for a target lock as clearly the monster was cloaked in some way.

OOC: 1d6 for # of hits, -1 1=0 2=1 etc 6=crit
Results: 2 (1 hit)

Four miniature seeker missiles streaked forward, whistling through the air as they looped in a tight circle from his gauntlet toward the shrinking red eyes. Only one of the four miniature missiles found it’s mark as it tried to bury itself into the unknown targets frame and detonate with the power of a lethal, if not light, explosive charge. The remaining three missed their mark and streaked through the air until they impacted with distant walls.


Avalanche Ticker (d20): 2+3d20=2+8+17+17=44

*roll any time activity May disturb the precarious mountainside. Missiles, explosions, etc
*when total of d20s for seismic activity reaches 50 the avalanche begins.

The missiles must have struck a weak point in the walls of the bay, for even as three light light plumes of fire filled the air, the entire room seemed to quake and seize, as if the birth pains of the mountain continued. “Whoopsies…” Xim muttered in shock as dust was shaken loose from the many undisturbed surfaces overhead.

The only positive was that the unsettled dust that shook up from the ground and wafted down from the ceiling illuminated the shadowy creature-thing in the distance as it scurried away for cover in the darkness. Forcing himself to his knees with a grunt of pain, Xim’s hand found his discarded Mandalorian blade and he lurched to his feet, sinking it into a shambling droid-creature that had thought him easy pickings

18 remaining shambers minus 1 = 17 remaining


With a lurching gimp in his first couple steps, Xim started after the rapidly fading abomination, blade in hand as he fished his Westar from his hip and fired a pair of random shots in the direction of the thing.

@Narzen @Akheron

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

As Trodai tried defending himself, he was forced to momentarily retreat to get to better ground and hold them off. He knew they couldn't keep this up forever. Sith or Mandalorian. For now they had a common cause, a problem needing dealt with. Although it didn't help when the temporary ally decided to fire some more rockets threatening to bring the mountain on them. Trodai wasn't amused by it.

"Be careful! If you got to fight, try not to bring the mountain down." he said, having no intention of dying and beyond caring what he thought. He was becoming a nuisance. He found it amusing when Khlan ran with a large group on his trail, chasing the thing that had been beeping. However he couldn't help, he was occupied. Two approached, forcing Trodai to carve one in the eye before twisting up and turning, using his momentum to come down on another.

OOC: Actions Taken - Enemies killed by Trodai

Roll D20: 2

@Khlan Gonk @Xim Zhan

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Khlan didn't notice the lab shaking due to the fact that there were 20 abominations chasing him down the hallways of the building. The noises they made were both sickening and delightful to the Gank's mind. Mechanical perfection utilizing organic imperfections to pursue a target to beat it senselessly to a bloody pulp. If he wasn't the target, Khlan would've been thrilled.

Khlan spotted a doorway and a stairwell, going both up and down. From the looks of it, the lights were no longer functioning in the area, as the stairwell was near pitch black inside. Seeing an opprotunity, and feeling all of his muscles burn with exhaustion, Khlan did the most sensible thing he could imagine and tossed the beacon down the stairs and booked upwards. Once up a flight, Khlan quieted himself down and listened. Hopefully, the monsters would pursue the beacon and its tumblings, not realizing he was actually someplace else.

OOC: D20 to lose the Defects
Result: 5 failure

For a moment, Khlan thought he was successful. The Defects paused at the stairwell, looking downwards towards the tumbling beacon.

Then the dang thing broke and stopped activating.

With the beacon destroyed, the Defects viewed down the stairwell with their sensors, and upon seeing no living beings, figured their target went upstairs.

"Oh no..." Khlan utterred as he heard the whirring of gears and metal joints sound closer and closer. Once again, he was moving up the steps, thankfully a little lighter, but now with the Defects hot on his trail, mere feet behind him. Khlan knew that right now, death was inches away from his soft head.

---

Hunter-2 ached in pain as he tried to move away from the armored warrior. Whatever weapons he was armed with, they were deadly. He could feel most of his interal organ fail, and the cybernetic ones were barely keeping him alive.

Then a blaster shot to the back made him fall to the ground. With hagged breathing, he began to crawl away. He needed to find some place to hide and recover. These Xenos, they were much more well-equipped than expected. He needed to find a hiding place. He needed...

"Comrade, report in" A voice came through his head, loud enough to be heard.

Oh kriff Hunter-2 thought to himself.

"Comrade, report. Are the Xenos disposed of?"

Hunter-2 was about to tell the officer shut up, except he had just noticed that several of the Defects were looking right at him.

"Comrade, I've heard commotion near my area" Hunter-1 kept talking as Hunter-2 began fighting for his life with the several Defects. "Looks like a Xeno is making way towards the central computers. Will dispose of it. Be aware, activating the Mechanics. Radio in when ready for security codes. Over and out"

@Trodai Narat-iv-Adas @The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

The clatter in the distant dark told Xim all that he needed to know: he had found his mark. With his blaster out, Xim slowed his pursuit slightly as the crawlers seemed to materialize, crawling the same way he was pointed. They reached the shadow-beast before the Mandalorian did and set upon him with a strange furor that surpassed the brutal effectiveness of machines and bellied an animalistic passion.

Across the bay, the numbers seemed to be thinning as they were cut down by gunfire and blade, others giving pursuit as Khlan fled the battlefield. Of course, Xim did not know that his employer had fled the battle. He was set on stopping this abomination.

The call of a metallic voice over the din of feral metal was barely audible; but Xim was able to make out bits of it. “Xenos?” He whispered, questioning the choice in descriptive word choice. As Xim approached, he slowed to a walk, giving the rabid zombie-bots plenty of berth. “Something is being activated,” but what that was, Xim hadn’t the foggiest of ideas.

Stopping mere feet from the impssioned murderbots, Xim was able to easily raise his Westar blaster and double tap one crawler after another until all that remained was the sparking shadowy form of the red-eyes monster. Even as it struggled to sit up, Xim stepped forward, planting his foot on the being’s shoulder forcing it back to the ground. With the weight of his armored body pressing down on ‘Hunter-2’ Xim leveled his weapon at the thing’s head. “Stay where you are, comrade,” the word twisted with disdain sarcastically in his mouth, “What are you? Why are you trying to kill us?”

@Narzen @Akheron

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

As Xim dealt with Hunter-2 , Trodai attempted to deal with the remaining defects all 15 of them. The longer it went on the further he became enraged and more his Wrath and internal Rage grew leeching into the Darkness. Klhan would soon feel it as it threatened to explode. Until it did. Trodai became a tornado of fury as he let his Wrath take control.

As the Darkness aimed and aided his every action.

OOC: Actions Taken - Kill Remaining 15 defects -
D20 Roll: 15

His lightsaber was a blur of red crimson, yet he kept it away from himself, expertly wielding it. In this moment they were one and the same. As defect after defect came, he held them off ending them like they were nothing. Empty souls. And then he did something he had not intended, had not expected. As he raised a hand, he felt the Darkness coil around those remaining as his Rage and Wrath crescendo into the Dark. And they lifted before smashing into the far wall simultaneously. At speed.

What had been metal, flesh and organic became a messy mulch at impact. Nothing but parts.

With the defects destroyed, Trodai relaxed a little and also approached the Hunter-2. It was time for some answers...however possible. They would be persuaded to cooperate.

@Xim Zhan @Khlan Gonk

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Hunter-2 coughed, some blood spilling and becoming very visible from his mouth. He groaned in pain as his insides rearranged themselves in trying to keep as many of his internal organs as possible running. The Defects had done a number on him. While it wasn't neccessary lethal, he almost halfway wished it was.

The Armored one who had a foot on him spoke. It disgusted Hunter-2 to no end. How many enhancements his government had forced upon the humanoid? How many crimes against nature had his people done to a species that did not deserve it, and then forced those lesser species to serve the amoral tyrannical rule? Such pitiful things. These Xenos did not even realize what had been done to them. They should've remained in a blessed primitive, and more importantly ignorant, state.

"I am someone who knows better!" Hunter-2 growled, his own voice a mix between organic vocal cords and vocabulators. "And you Xenos must be put out of your misery for the good of the galaxy. I don't know how long it has been, but the revolution never dies, even with me! Kill me if you must, but you cannot hope to end all of us!"

---

Deeper and upwards in the lab, Khlan tripped and fell. He didn't mean to. He turned a corner too quickly and the debris from a shatterred doorway caused the Gank to fall. Within moments, he was swarmed by the cybernetic monstrosities, each one beating him down and trying to tear him apart. Khlan screamed in pain as his cybernetic leg was torn away.

"Security code, 10110010110101" A voice garbled out. "Change activity to subdue and cease operations."

The monstrosities stopped and pulled themselves away. Khlan, beaten and broken on the floor, breathed deeply as he felt each broken rib move with each breath. Over him, two heads appeared, sillouetted by the glow of the overhead lights.

"What the scrap are you looking at?" Khlan groaned.

"What do you make of it?" The first voice asked. Khlan's cybernetic eye flickered a bit, but he could see the outline of a gun pointed in his face.

Khlan also could hear something else. It sounded like gears whirring and moving, but also slithering?

"SUBJECT: BIPEDIAL LOCOMOTION." A robotic voice sounded out, its tone completely flat and emotionless. If Khlan could've thought better, he half expected a droid talking. "CRANIAL PLATE. INTERSKELATAL BODY STRUCTURE. HEAVY CYBERNETICS IDENTIFIED. DIAGNOSING POSSIBLE SPECIES IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FURTHER STUDY. CONCLUSION: MODIFIED HUMANOID. NOT YAKA. MOST LIKELY EMPLOYED BY ARKANIAN DOMINION"

"That's what I thought too" The first voice agreed.

"Wait, wait wait, I'm not... whoah!"

Khlan suddenly found himself being picked up by something strong. Khlan moaned in pain as the feeling of what felt like metal vicegrips gripped his good foot tightly. Now being held upside down in the air, he was able to get a good look at the two speakers.

The first was like the one Xim had blown up before, as well as the one in the mechanic shop area before he seperated from the group. A living shadow, with glowing red cybernetic eyes. Putting two and two together, Khlan realized that those three broken containers must have held these individuals.

Th other however both frightened and excited Khlan to no degree, and answered the question of the strange noise. What may have been an Arkanian in the past was anything but that now. Crawling on the ground with its arms due to lacking legs like the Defects, it looked up at Khlan with robotic eyes, a vocabulator mouth, and a head that looked more like a droid than an Arkanian. On its back, in addition to numerous power packs, fuel canisters and it instead sported several large metal tendrils on its back. In addition to the claw one that restrained Khlan in the air, Khlan noted a plasma torch, a buzz saw, some kind of syringe device, a drill, a bacta spray tank, and even what looked like a blaster rifle. This thing had everything and then some.

"Wait, I'm not from any dominion, I'm just a... ACH!" Khlan couldn't finish his sentance. His leg, or rather, the stump where the cybernetic one had been, began to throb as blood dribbled down it.

The Mechanic turned its head curiously. "CIRCULATORY SYSTEM UTILIZES IRON. FURTHER STUDY REQUESTED"

Hunter-3 thought a moment than nodded. "Very well. Let's take him to your dissection table. The Defects should protect us long enough to find out what we need. Once we get word from our comrade, we can begin the activation process for everyone. Today, we reignite the revolution."

"Wait, no need for that, I'll tell you anything!" Khlan begged to no avail, as the Hunter-1, the emotionless Mechanic, and the 20 Defects made their way back to the central area of the lab.

Spoiler: "Mechanic" based on this image

@The Mad Hammer @Akheron

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim scoffed at the creation’s response. “I not know what the druck a Xeno is, but I assure you greater forces than your pitiful revolution have tried and failed to destroy the sons and daughters of Mandalore. Even,” Xim tore his eyes from the wretched sparking creature and looked at @Trodai Narat-iv-Adas. “the Sith,” he spat, betraying that he had been able to deduce what his traveling companion was.

Xim would have continued his interrogation, but his attention was diverted by the distant scream of @Khlan Gonk somewhere deeper within the research facility. He glanced in the direction of the scream and then back at Hunter-2 and then Trodai. The Mandalorian felt a sense of duty to the man who had hired him and who seemed altogether most likely to die in this place. On the other hand, he had a prisoner at hand who was also now his responsibility and he knew if left in the company of this Sith, the thing was likely to not survive. That said, Xim was a Mandalorian, bound by preset oaths; but more than that, he was not just a Mandalorian, but a foundling of the Watch; a soldier who did the unthinkable in the pursuit of their cause; one who did what had to be done, regardless of how distasteful.

Turning his gun on the red-skinned Sith, Xim threatened, “He better be alive when I get back.” He did not need say anything else. His prowess spoke for itself. Directing the gun back at Hunter-2, he continued, “I don’t care about your revolution. Hell, I may even help you for a price, but if you do not tell him,” he waved at Trodia, “what he asks, I will sink this entire base into the mountain myself and kill us all with it!”

Turning, Xim activated his Mandalorian jetpack and shot through the air toward the stairwell that Khlan had vanished into. From there, he quickly and carefully swept the path before him with his blaster as he began to search for the Gank.

What he found instead was a bloody cybernetic leg in an empty hall . . .

@Narzen @Akheron

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai just had to chuckle when the man didn't even know what a xeno was. Where had he been hiding...even Trodai knew what it was and he was Pureblood. Instead he signed as he replied in response "It means aliens. It thinks us inferior...yet it fails to account for many factors. It faces something beyond it's comprehension. It will soon learn the futility of it's existence when faced with a force of nature."

He faced Hunter -2 rebuking it's words "You know nothing cyborg. I am perhaps the only one capable of your end...for you face one not like him. I am unconstrained, unchained. You face not a mortal but a true Sith. One born to the Dark not adopted by it."

Then he heard Khlan.

He was beginning to get annoyed, he kept getting himself in trouble. If he caused one more issue he was half tempted to just leave him to his fate. As the Mandalorian vacated, left with the cyborg. Trodai smiled a bit, now he could enjoy himself a bit...take his time. Make it suffer for his aggravation. And so pinning it, he spoke a lightsaber close to hand "Who took the cyborg? And where? Why do you want him? Speak or suffer. You will long for something as sweet as death before I am finished. Believe me if you do not answer and truthfully."

@Xim Zhan @Khlan Gonk

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Hunter-2's mind broke slightly. The armored mandalorian didn't care about the revolution? How dare he! That was his purpose here, wasn't it? To squash out the revolution that would change the galaxy? To eradicate the last vestiges of hope against a tyrranical and unethical government?

Unless... what if these Xenos weren't part of the dominion? No, that was impossible!

The red one spoke. There was a barbarism in the thing's eyes and words. He had no idea what a Sith was, but it must have been one of those cultists that splintered off from the Jedi. That would explain its weapon.

"Most likely my comrade, and any Defects with him. He stated he was activating our mechanic, and if that's true, then he will have been taken to central processing. Your cyborg will be dissected and analyzed, and converted into a defect if he dies in the process, or restored to a better standing as he is deprogrammed from your barbaric practices. We are not cruel, we are just better than you, but i doubt you could understand that, you sith thing..."

---

Finding the arm, the Mandalorian would find a thin trail of blood leading away and down a few halls. Even when the trail began to end off, the sounds of Khlan screaming and heavy churning of gears would get his attention.

He would eventually find the central processing chamber. Part laboratory, part small-scale factory, the place looked like a technician's dream. Along many of the walls, large hooks held up humanoids heavily modified with cybernetics in some kind of sleeping state, as small robotic arms extended from the ceiling be work on them. A similiar humanoid figure, his feet practically welded to the floor, moved via belt along a counter top, working on what appeared to be bodies of Defects and their assorted parts. the 20 already active Defects seemed at the ready all over the room, now armored with blaster pistols, but seemingly in a stasis mode around the room.

And at the end of the room, underneath a large window that stretch upwards to the top of the entire building, the Mechanic worked on Khlan. Strapped to a table held upright, Khlan was screaming as the mechanic's tendril arms went to work. Buzz saw blaring with wicked life, plasma torch hissing and burning, metal arm pulling and yanking, and bacta spray covering the newly formed wounds. Within moments, the Mechanic held the organic leg apart from the Gank and looked at it closely.

"Analysis?" Hunter-1 said as he looked over the thing's shoulder at the panting Khlan.

"ACCESSING DATA FILES" The mechanic utterred as it activated a nearby computer terminal. "DNA SHOWs SUBJECT TO BE GANK. A XENO THAT, LIKE US, EXPERIMENTED WITH CYBERNETICS, ALBEIT CRUDELY."

"That's what I was kriffing saying!!!" Khlan shrieked, surprised that he had not blacked out, though he wished he did at this point. Even though the bacta spray helped stopped the bleeding, it did not ease the pain.

"Think it's part of the dominion?"

"POSSIBLE. FURTHER ANAYLIS REQUIRED. MUST OPEN UP SUBJECT'S CYBERNETICS. BEST CANDIDATE: EYES"

Khlan's eyes widened further. Now he really wanted to be unconcious. "Wait, I can tell you everything! I will tell you whatever you want.

Hunter-1 looked at the Gank.

"Open him up"

"WHAT?!? NO!! you cant do this to me! Its pointless!"

"If he's part of the dominion, he's most likely brainwashed into saying whatever they want him to say. Can't trust a word unless we prove he is not a member of their tyrrany."

The Mechancic nodded

"VERY WELL COMRADE"

@The Mad Hammer @Akheron

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai listened, tightening his boot upon the cyborg Hunter-2 as he spoke in return. The creature before him knew little, understood little if they thought themselves superior to the Sith. Thought they were better. No. They were weak and had proven weak in combat. They were deluded in their thinking or so he thought.

He continued to listen as it explained what would happen to Khlan. He was half tempted to let him be dissected, but then he remembered he had uses. He laughed at the irony. They thought they were not cruel...that they were perfecting. When it was a simple mockery of life. No better than the abominations some used.

"You delude yourself to think you are a Sith's better. That you are not cruel...or just as morally devoid. Look around you, what you have done? You are mere metal and failing parts. Barely alive. While you lack the Force you will always be lesser, just as you underestimate just what a Sith truly is. Regardless, my smaller ally is of use and I will not have him dissected. Take me to him and your death may be quicker. But no funny tricks"

He said, coiling the Force, about it to make his point. He dragged it, going where it might lead him.

@Xim Zhan @Narzen