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| | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | [For Mirror Team: 2BB-2, Amos, J.B., Jix]
GM
With its drive-belt squealing, the Railcrawler slows to walking pace and enters the Ghidrah bunker. There's no magnetic containment field, the terminus shares the same atmosphere as the planet.
The terminus is dark and cramped, enough room for the conveyex and platform and not much else. It's dimly lit by low energy auxiliary lighting, amber.
Wide blast doors grind open and four First Order security droids stomp onto the platform.
Developed from the old Imperial KX-series, these are tall humanoid droids, agile and strong. Protected by white plastoid armour with small, glowing red eyes, they could almost be Stormtroopers. The droids are grimy, dented and scratched, as if they're being used for hard labour.
Their hands are free, they're unarmed. In sync, the dorsal carriages slide open and the droids busy themselves with off-loading onto the platform.
Durasteel beams, rods, screw jacks, barrels of plascrete mix, repulsor guns and other construction equipment. Coils of cables and conduit, junction boxes and a fusion furnace.
A shiny black and chrome BB-series droid rolls onto the platform, issuing noisy commands to the other droids in Binary and flashing its warning lights.
"Electrical supplies to the databanks. Construction supplies to Sublevel 1. Maximum performance settings are mandatory!" Says the unit in Droidspeak and the security droids get to work.
The engineers stay in the Railcrawler but its other passengers have already debarked.
Crouched on a maintenance gantry, in the darkness above the auxiliary lighting are Amos, Jix and J.B., with 2BB-2 beside them.
The organics in Mirror Team have their scanners activated. Amos and Jix's are built into their helmets, J.B. has her cherished goggles.
These devices have two main vision modes, image intensification for adverse light/low light, and general purpose scan, which renders a grainy 16-colour image of the surroundings, even in full darkness, with various infographics that can highlight electrical activity, vibrations, etc.
2BB-2's upgraded optical suite has every vision mode possible.
So the team are able to detect the two white pyramid-like shapes sat either side of the blast doors. First Order sentry droids, about the size of an R-series. They have motor-balls in each corner and can move fast over flat surfaces.
They look harmless enough now but once triggered, their chassis will extend upwards revealing an array of shock pulse emitters and dual-linked SE-44C blasters. Some even have inbuilt deflector shield generators.
Conveyex lines are unusual though in that they have over and under sections. The ventral carriages on this Railcrawler aren't being used it seems, probably to avoid maintaining two platforms.
But the second, lower platform is still there, visible beyond the tracks from above.
Zooming in on an old emergency evac sign, the team can deduce there are two levels above ground, three below. Logically, the databanks would be located on the lowest, most secure level.
Last edited by nemarsde; Sun 25/10/20 17:48 UTC.
| | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
Well the jump wasn't quite as bad as he thought but certainly better than what might have faced them if they had continued inside.
First Order sentry droids by the door. Nasty and best avoided.
It looks like they need to find a stealthy way in to the lower levels. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | [Yes, quite a few interesting possibilities here, not all of them obvious.
The lower platform and stealth looks alluring but you don't have to rule out a 'hammer blow' first strike while you're dictating the terms of the engagement.
You could also go for mash-ups of the above. Use stealth to follow the droids to the databanks, or wait for the BB-unit to be isolated and jack it. Etc.
I'm sure you guys can come up with other options too.]
| | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgThe Twi'lek watched and observed, waiting on any of the others to offers an opinion or reveal anything they might have discovered. She was only operating on her own assessment as seen through her goggles. BaBay had a much more extensive array of sensors and features. But everyone was quiet. Finally she whispered into her comm, "Stealth is still best. But we can't wait long for the that BB unit to move away and then hope we can get it before it transmit an alarm. Stay with Stealth. When we lose that we will have to fight the rest of the way. Better if we only have to fight our way out instead of both ways. I say down to the lower platform? Yes? If we can find a port for BaBay then he can slice their systems and keep us off their sensors, maybe confirm the exact location of the Databanks as well. If not, we move on and head for the lowest level and try to trail those KX droids if we have to..." | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He nods and adds.
"Should avoid the First Order droids if possible." | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos (Returns from the dead) "Might just have to make you first officer there JB, good plan. Keep it quiet and lets see about getting in on that lower platform and hope BB gets lucky." he murmured to them over their comms. Amos slowly starts moving in that direction. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
The team climb down through the gantry to the lower platform, then across to the door, aware of the footprints they leave behind in the thick dust.
Getting through the blast door is a more immediate concern though. It will take a combined effort. 2BB-2 slicing into the controls via the panel, to release the locking mechanism and ensure the door opening goes undetected, whilst J.B. and Jix try to jemmy it open as quietly as possible.
Amos can stand ready to greet anything on the other side with his scatter blaster.
This could be where the mission goes to hell in a hoversled. It could also be a quick and dirty way in that pays off big time.
An even more stealthy alternative would be to search for a secret way into the bunker. For example, there must be a large powerline coming off of the conveyex somewhere to supply the bunker. It should have its own conduit and be routed through the bunker's fortifications. Imperial regulations often meant powerlines, vents and flues were accessible for their whole length for inspection, which meant crawlspace.
But finding it and gaining access would take more time. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He assesses their situation. It is not his place to question the plan, others have much more expertise than he. He is a soldier, a member of the team. His role is to add any insights he might have and to then execute the plan to the best of his ability.
There is quite a bit of risk here, a potential for things to go badly wrong. But he is also aware of the other team and their exposure, especially as the TIE fighters have added a large potential opposition in their area. So time is not on their side.
Getting in quickly is foremost, ideally without attracting attention. He can help get the door open, then if they get spotted, he may need to hold off the enemy at least until they can either fuse the doors shut or make their way inside to a safer vantage point. He can probably buy them some time if the worst occurs. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 | 2BB-2
The slicer droid carefully swept the area with his scanners. It was Amos’ call as to how they chose to proceed, but 2BB-2 was going to make certain he had the best information available with which to make that choice. | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
He looked at the blast door for a long moment, lips pursed in thought before nodding.
"We go through here. We don't have time to look for another route unknown to us. Not with those new Ties arriving. BB, see what you can do." he said, holding his weapon at the ready. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 | 2BB-2
Chirping an affirmative into the comms, the spherical resistance operative carefully rolled forward to see how best to trip the door without tripping an alarm. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgJB nodded. The less spoken words the better now. Decisions were made and now it was time to do the thing. The Twi'lek wasn't an imposing figure and she was more agile than she was strong, so trying to wedge open a blast door was not really her strong hand... But, she could try to use the Force to part the doors. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He hands ready to assist in any way he can. Everyone working today usually produces the best result. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GMWith a whir of servos, 2BB-2 extends his manipulator, popping open the panel and slicing into the blast door's subsystem. Old Imperial code again but designed for anti-intrusion. It takes some finessing but the droid suppresses the alarms then activates the door mechanism. After three decades of disuse it struggles but Jix and J.B. are there to help it, using pry bars from the Twi'lek's utility suit. Inituitively using the Force, J.B. sees inside the door, feels where it's sticking and where best to jemmy with their tools. A moment's exhertion and then the blast door grinds open under its own power. Fortunately the idling Railcrawler masks the noise. Amos levels his scatter blaster at the darkness beyond. No time to delay, they press onwards. *** It's impossible to move silently when the floor is covered with debris and Mirror team must be careful where they step. Hanging around them are draperies of melted metal and on the floor puddles of acid. Steam rises from various gas leaks around the walls. It's pitch black, so the team see with their scanner-vision, communicating through their breath masks via comlink. 2BB-2's trundles quietly alongside, peering around with his lens. Between them, all but Amos are technically-minded and they conclude that the megacapacitor loop on an upper level must have ruptured over the years and leaked down through the bunker, acid eating through the floors. They follow the primary power conduit, routed along the conveyex track and now zig-zagging through the bunker. It must lead down to Ghidrah's databanks. The team tentatively cross a metal gangway above an enormous trench that must run around the inside perimeter of the bunker, probably designed to create columnar air-cooling for the hyperwave. Rather than operating in small, high-powered bursts like you'd expect of a starship's hypercomms, the Ghidrah node must be always-on. Stepping off the gangway into an enclosed, workshop-like space, they trigger an old motion sensor and consoles light up around them. One of them short circuits and blinks out with a burst of sparks. In the middle of the room a huge specimen tank illuminates. Filled with viscous Ambori fluid, suspended inside is a creature of immense proportions, about 20 metres long. A smooth, torpedo-shaped head, tentacled rear end. Its flesh is pale, decayed and peeling off in layers, and it's body is disected, run through with tubes and wiring harnesses. It's Amos who realises what it is from the old fringer yarns. A Purrgil space whale, creatures that lived in the void and were able to jump to hyperspace naturally. This one must have been a calf, the adults were ginormous, the size of a battle cruiser. There are still datapads strewn around on trolleys, hastily abandoned by the Imperial scientists back in the day. [ 2BB-2: Ph Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, Me Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, So Stress 0<9 +0 Resist; Amos: Ph Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, Me Stress 0<9 +0 Resist, So Stress 0<9 +0 Resist; J.B.: Ph Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, Me Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, So Stress 0<9 +0 Resist; Jix: Ph Stress 1<9 +1 Resist, Me Stress 2<9 +1 Resist, So Stress 0<9 +0 Resist;
=UNSTRUCTURED TIME= 2BB-2. "Over-ride door panel". Mental-Off5. G+GGG¬PPP (*Slicer, Equipment² vs Hard Difficulty, †Neutralize Ghidrah)... =G(4,3,3,1), P(5,3,1). YES! Success but suffer 1 Mental Stress, -1 Resistance =0 Jix with J.B. assisting. "Slide it open" Physical-Def4. G+GGG (*Athletic, Assistance, Equipment vs Difficulty without stress)... =G(5,5,3,1). YES! Success 2
=KEY= G Green dice (aka positive dice) P Purple dice (aka negative dice) * Green or purple feature † Trauma ² Worth two green or purple dice ³ Worth three green or purple dice ] | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgThe force-sensitive Twi'lek entered the chamber beyond the heavy blast doors. She gasped in the startlement that was followed quickly by a grief and a pain. Then nothing else mattered to her in this room except the large creature suspended in the tank. So magnificent and yet so terribly heartbreaking as well. She was drawn and held fast by the plight of a living being cruelly held and used for some twisted experimentation. Other emotions threatened to cloud her, the kinds of emotions that Maz warned her about. The kind she had felt almost all her life now. Anger, pain, fear, rage, revenge... they all lead to one place as Maz said, the Dark Side. Jelly Bean understood captivity all too well. She also understood that whatever the evil purposes of those who enslave others, it was still a suffering of unimaginable proportions for those in captivity. Without hesitation she tried to reach out to it, raising her hand and focusing on touching the life-force before her. She had to clear her mind and her heart, search her feelings and reach out to the creature... Was it even alive? Was it in pain? How could she help? Why? Why would anyone do this to such a beautiful and majestic being? Oh child. Too many questions. Relax. Calm your mind. Control your emotions. Feel the Force. That's it, close your eyes. It moves through and surrounds every living thing in the universe. It connects everything together...Maz Kanata's voice brought her back to her own center. She did close her eyes, hand outstretcyhed, and she tried to touch the creature's life essence... | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
J.B.'s hand touches the glass, her mind touches what is inside.
The calf's enormous eye opens, its brilliant light now a dim glow in murky depths, like a distant star.
J.B. senses terrible suffering, deep emotional trauma and most of all abject confusion. But that light has not gone out. It lives and like all animals, until it's shut off, until it's dead, a hope remains that it will be free once more. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgThe weight of this animal's suffering is seemingly immeasurable. An infinite despair, and the pervasive and overpowering feeling of demoralized bewilderment. The Twi'lek's knees buckled a little and she starts to drop to the floor, her hand sliding down the glass. She couldn't let go. She wouldn't. The emotions she felt, her own and this creature's mixing and merging, brought tears to her eyes. She had cried more on this mission now then she had ever done in her whole life before. And she had plenty of reasons to cry. Truth is, Jelly Bean, done cried so many times in her life while she was in captivity, in every way one can cry except tears. Twi'leks had very underdeveloped tear ducts- just enough to 'wet' their eyes. Those born and adapted to desert worlds like the tidal locked planet of Ryloth could ill afford to lose any water at all. She slowed her breathing again, still feeling the creature through the connection. If she could give the child... It was a child. Young scared. Stolen from home. Separated from everyone it had ever known and enslaved by those who only valued it for what it could do for them. JB didn't know what that was, but none of that mattered either. In those moments she felt's life story in the feelings they shared, and she shared her own life story in the same way so the creature would know that she understood it's sorrow. She shared her own grief at a life stolen from her, and used and abused... but now she was free. She wanted the poor thing to feel her hope. She wanted the creature to know she would not abandon it. She wanted to stir that same hope in the beautiful living being in front of her. The Force connected all livings things, but it was more than that. It was the bridge between souls as well. JB found her strength again and she stood straight again, hand still welded to the tank. "We have to help it," she said determinedly. "But I don't know what they've done to it... all those wires and tubes... I don't know how to help it." | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
"What is it?"
A simple question but one that needs an answer if they are to find a way to help. He is focused on the mission though but then maybe it could help them too? | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
The older man steps into the room alongside his companions and stops to look in wonder at the creature trapped in the specimen tank.
"I don't believe it!" he said, stunned for a moment before responding to Jix.
"That has to be a Purrgil space whale. They live in the void and can naturally jump to hyperspace." he deep voice was muted in sorrow at the pain the creature must be suffering.
"We will. But first we must complete our mission." | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgJelly Bean looked from the Purgill to Amos. She wasn't an officer, she really wasn't any rank at all as for as the Resistance went. She had been rather clear with Maz Kanata that her helping the Resistance was to gain her access to information that might help her find Maljean. Killing First Order scum was just the cream spread on top of the fibrek bun as far as she was concerned. And now she came hard up against something that challenged her sense of priorities. Despite being so different from this creature, she had never felt more connected to any other living thing save for Maljean. And, she had never found so much in common either. She wanted to refuse Amos. She wanted to figure out how to save this creature. But she didn't even know what had been done to it. She didn't know anything about it's physiology either. By the looks of things around the room, and the age of the technology, the poor creature had been here since Empire days, which was about 30 years ago now. So, at least thirty years of suffering and pain, cut open and harnessed with wires and tubes... being kept alive in a tank of some fluid or liquefied gas that must be what it needed to survive. It would take a whole team of doctors and submersible medical droids, like the Gungan of Naboo, the Selkath of Mnaan, or the Mon Calamari and the Quarren from Mon Cala. And then there was the fact that the creature would need to be put into so much Bacta that JB couldn't even imagine how she could figure this out. She looked back to the creature. her hand still firmly pressed into the tank wall she made her thoughts clear to the creature. "I will figure this out... I will find a way to help you. I will not abandon you! You will be free again. I promise."She then snapped her head around sharply so sharply her head tails whipped about her head. She focused on Amos again. "Promise me we won't leave this poor thing here. Promise me the we will do whatever it takes to help... Promise me, Amos... Please?" | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
The older man turned to the young twi'lek and stepped closer to her, speaking softly to her and looking her in the eyes, resting one hand on her shoulder.
"If there is anything that we can do for the Purgill, we will. Even if it is nothing more than releasing it from its torment. I promise you Jelly Bean. My word of honor."
She had been around the rim world lawmen long enough to know that he takes that seriously. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgJelly Bean looked at Amos with narrowed eyes. She didn't know him well, but she 'felt' she could trust him. She had trusted him already. She nodded, and turned her attention back to the creature. She closed her eyes and focused until she could see the creature in her mind, feel it's sorrow and pain, and have it know that she was there as well. My name is Jeleasi'Beni... You can call me Jelly Bean. Maybe you can feel my life and know who I am and what I have survived. I promise I will find a way to help you. I will not leave this place until you are free. I have to fix something right now. I have to stop the bad people. I don't know if you can hear me, or understand me... But I know you can feel me. You keep fighting to live. Don't give up now...She waited to feel the recognition and any sensation of acknowledgment. When she did break free, she felt the pang of separation come at her in a wave as her own emotions resettled themselves. With a quick look around she nodded, but then quickly ran to gather as many of the old scattered datapads as she could. Somewhere in them might be a clue or a way to understand what happened to the Purgill, and from there, maybe a way to help. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
J.B. gathers up a couple of the higher capacity datapads. Her mechanic's utility suit has a pouch shaped just for datapads. She slides them in and secures the flap.
The point of light in the Purgill's eyes glows brighter for a moment, as if rising from the depths and J.B. feels it struggling to respond to her as if trapped in a translucid nightmare.
It's not much but shows she has reached it, communicated.
Then the moment is interrupted by the stomping of metallic feet. Thunk thunk.
More automatic lights switch on in a ramp leading down to the laboratory, and shadows are cast by two marching First Order security droids. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgThere is no place JB can go, not with any real stealth now. The lights on the ramps were already activating, and in a step or two the Droid's presence might light up the lab as well. She looked across the room at the others, Jix and Amos, and even Babay, who was still plugged in. She motioned for them to sink back up against the wall and into any available shadow. That might work until the lights came on, but maybe Babay could help with that. Or block their comms. Something. Babay knew what to do... If they could avoid firing the blasters that would be best. 'This is why you're here,' she reminded herself. Of course, if she hadn't delayed them with her concern for the Purgill then maybe they wouldn't still be in the lab. No, The Force surrounds and connects all living things and all things happen for a reason. With Force sensitive reflexes, and her saber hilts suddenly in her hands, JB leaped up on top of the tank to hide herself there and wait for the right moment to take out these droids if needed. She slowed her racing mind and let the Force fill her. She let it flow through her. It helped her with her sped and agility, as though she could almost see what was going to happen a moment before it happened. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
Nothing wrong with his hearing, although a verpine's vision is better. Time to make scarce. He looks for any cover, any place to hide and gets there quickly. | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
He moved silently into the shadows as he slowly drew his vibro machete that would cut through most anything. Silent and deadly. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 | 2BB-2
He had observed the interaction with the Order BB-unit on arrival, and sent an inaudible query to Amos to see if he should try spoofing their IFFs. In any case, it wasn’t a plan to execute on his own, so he rolled into cover, extending sensor radius and relaying movement and location data to the team. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
J.B. Force-jumps into the rigging above the tank. Jix ducks into cover behind a blue barrel of Berko-8 cleaner. Its liquid contents should absorb blaster-fire well and the barrel is the right height for resting the bipod of his heavy blaster rifle.
Amos crouches behind the ramp with his vibroblade and is joined by 2BB-2 on high alert.
Even with the lights activated, the laboratory is dimly-lit and shadowy. The team are well-hidden from human eyes at least.
Stomp stomp stomp. The First Order security droids stomp down the ramp, carrying a large spider brace between them. Probably to the shore up a critical structural support.
Each droid is over 2 metres tall with white laminate armour and enough servo-strength to lift a grown man off the ground in each hand.
They stop at the bottom of the ramp, looking around suspiciously with their glowing red receptors. Why are the motion-activated lights already on?
They might continue with their task or they might revert to security protocols, report and investigate.
But what will you do?
Last edited by nemarsde; Wed 18/11/20 20:55 UTC.
| | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
He waits to see if they continue in their task or not, ready to slice and dice if needed. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He is patient. No point in taking on droids if they don't need to. He remains still and silent. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 | 2BB-2
The Droid considered overriding the motion sensors to make the lights go out or flicker, behaviour which would be indicative of a mundane fault, but silence and stillness seemed to be the order of the day. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | JB
Patience.
The Twi'lek waited in the shadows above, crouched and ready to fall on the droids from above. Her saber hilts were in hand as she stilled her mind and focused on the Force. She would react in that instant that the Droids changed their protocols... only then. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
2BB-2 has rewritten his chipware on-the-fly to allow him to lag-out the droids' sign/counter protocols using his networked slicing uplink. He could also actively jam with his comlink.
Both might give the team an edge but also tip off the First Order to their presence.
The security droids don't initiate a priority scan though. Instead they report in with robotic voices:
"Request sentry units to Sublevel 1. Possible signs of crawler infestation."
"Proceding with support task."
They carry the repulsor brace into the lab and set it down in a precise location before activating.
The brace hums and hovers into the air, ascending to the ceiling and unfolding load-bearing members.
There's a grinding of metal but the brace seems to work. The two droids spin on their heels...
"Task complete, returning to station."
...and march back up the ramp. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
"Swift exit?"
If they can vacate this area quickly enough, they could avoid the security droids, especially if they could get down another level. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Beanhttps://i.imgur.com/5u4oxaT.jpgJB dropped down from her perch, putting her light sabers away before putting her hand on the tank one more time. "We have a,,," She sought the right word to make herself understood. "A purpose. He have to stop those who hurt you. Turn off there machines so we can save the galaxy." She tried to imagine images to go with her words. "But I gave you my promise. We will help you. I will not leave you here." Once finished, she turned her attention to her team. She was ready to finish this. | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
He waited and watched the repair droids finish their job and request security, then nodded to Jix.
"Lets be away from here and on to our mission before those sec bots show up." he said, sheathing his machette and motioning for Jix to take the lead. With her enhanced sensory abilities along with 2B, they had a chance to stealth away. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He does not need any more encouragement and heads deeper in looking for a way to descend, a way towards their goal. Weapon at the ready, he is intent of speed but is aware of possible alerts.
"2B can you check for any alert triggers?" | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 27,597 | 2BB-2
With sentry droids incoming, a swift exit was their best option, and preferably not along a vector the support called in would take. A brief affirmative chirrup at Jix' request, as he kept his sensors active and on high alert. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GM
J.B. feels the pull of the Purrgil's gaze once more. It sees her and she senses a creature whose natural world is all spaces, real, hyper and beyond.
She can be sure that the Empire were studying this animal. The Purrgil ability to communicate across whole sectors of space is too closely related to Ghidrah's ambition for it to be mere curiosity.
The question is, is this Purrgil calf crucial to Ghidrah's operation or is it just a relic of the Imperial research project, left behind and never terminated?
The First Order don't seem to be much interested in it and they're the ones who completed and now run Ghidrah.
J.B. has datapads from the original project though. Hopefully she gets a chance to scrutinise them.
For now, Mirror Team must push on but even as they leave the laboratory, J.B. can sense the calf's awareness almost as if it haunts her.
2BB-2's awareness is focused on the airwaves as he rolls down a ramp. He picks up encrypted burst communications from First Order sentry droids, the pyramid-shaped units with the in-built armaments and deflectors. They're inbound at high speed.
Mirror Team are one step ahead though, already disappearing into the darkness of Sublevel 2.
At the bottom of the down-ramp the team switch their optics to general purpose scanning, seeing in absolute darkness via grainy 16-colour images.
Still, it's easy enough to follow the metre-wide primary power conduit as it zig-zags through the bunker.
This level of the bunker might actually be in worse condition than the one above. As above, drapes of acid-melted metal hang from the ceiling, caused by ruptured mega-capacitors, but the plascrete walls are also cracked and breached and it's as if the mountainside has crept into the bunker. Rubble, dust... The team see what look like bore-holes in the walls, then Jix steps on something crunchy.
Perhaps lifting it up on the end of the bayonet fixed to his blaster, the Verpine sees a segmented carapace; some long dead arthropod.
As the team stop moving, they become aware of scurrying, scratching noises that seem to echo in the dark. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
"Need to be sharp. Small critters around and we don't know how much of a threat they are. Let's try to progress quickly."
He starts forward again. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 Moderator | Moderator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 24,648 Likes: 10 | Jelly Bean
Emotions were problematic for Force Wielders. She didn't consider herself a Jedi even though she was trained like one. Maz had pointed out to her hat it would be her emotions that presented the greatest obstacles on her path forward. Jelly Bean knew that to be truth. She could feel it, even now, as she moved to leave the lab room and the Purgill. She felt it all through her training, this keen awareness of how her emotions affected her. The feelings she had for Maljean and the anger she had for the First Order. Further back, the years of enslavement to the Hutt Cartel. But simmering underneath all of it were the emotions and pain about her childhood. Abandonment and betrayal by her family and her clan.
JB focused her thoughts as narrowly as she could, finding a focus point. A flickering candle flame in an infinite darkenss. She poured her feelings into that flame until it turned as black as the darkness that surrounded it. And when she could only see the black flame rippling against the black void, she extinguished it.
I promise... I will help you.
But the creature's presence lingered in her mind, ans maybe that was comforting. It could be a focus for her.She followed her team further down toward the goal of their mission.
When they paused in the dark and the creepy sounds began to become pervasive, Jelly Bean stilled her mind again. She remembered the caverns of Ryloth and the many dangers that existed there. They could all be dealt with so long as you remain calm.
She reached out to put a hand on Jix as she stretched outward with the Force to feel for life and sentience. Again, another of the skills she was taught but never felt she mastered. The jumping and twisting and spinning skills... those were the things she was best at. Even pushing and pulling were better than the mental things. It took so much patience and calm... She thought of the Purgill and slowed her breathing and cleared the errant thoughts away yet again. | | | | Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 Babylon 5 Rules Administrator | Babylon 5 Rules Administrator Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 173,430 Likes: 7 | Amos
He trusted to his people in front to guide them safely but he pulled back out his vibro-machette in case any creature needed to be dispatched without the loud sound that his scatter blaster would make. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 Wizop Administrator | Wizop Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 76,218 Likes: 55 | Jix
He is aware of JB's hand resting on his shoulder as his antennae quivered. He reaches up with one hand and rests it there for a few seconds, acknowledging and welcoming the contact. JB might not be Verpine but she is part of their team. It may not be the same but it is the best he has now. | | | | Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 Wobbly Headed Administrator | OP Wobbly Headed Administrator Joined: May 2000 Posts: 13,050 Likes: 9 | GMJelly Bean uses the life-sensing technique that Preach is so adept at with mixed results. Through the Force she senses there are many many things alive down here and all-around but what they are exactly she can't tell. They feel jumbled, indistinct, not individuals but an... ecosystem. Maybe this planet isn't as barren under the surface as it appears from above. With their scanner-vision, Jix and Amos see movement, creeping, crawling through the cracks, and 2BB-2's thermoptics show swarms of hot bodies emerging from the cold. [Go to CFH11m: Accessing the Databanks] | | |
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