Ask Maramere Crystal Calling

[Naxa]

Spoiler: Music

Song

Per my standard OP template this thread is death enabled
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Galactic Location: Maramere, Karthakk system, Q-17 - ISC space

N4-X4's archives contained details on the Confederacy for Independent Systems to the point that they were able to detail extensive records of specific Trade Federation officials. The infiltrator had amassed more intelligence than what its creators had possibly expected and it certainly led to some quirks. But the droid was more than capable of using this information to their benefit.

The droid had outfitted itself with a slight modification to its chassis. There were small jets replacing the magnetic functions of N4-X4 feet as well as other minor thrusters around joints. Along the soles of its feet to aid it in aquatic travel should they become submerged. The heavy droid body was not as adept at swimming as some creatures and needed to compensate for it. With the foot modifications the droid had the same capabilities as one with jetboots.

Ahead of them was one of the planet's largest islands but it was not Naxa's ultimate destination. Mount Merakan held the secure facilities the droid needed to create the technology they desired. The former Trade Federation bases on the planet were old and even forgotten to time. It would take some effort and time to get them working with decent results. But in the end if the second half of the work could be accomplished then they would have a capability that might terrify those who learned of it.

There were rumors of a hidden island, one invisible to any scanner or map. But word spread and scared bounties talked. The droid had cultivated their own information about an island supposedly covered by stygium crystals. Such a discovery could lead to the harvesting and using of such resources to execute proper cloaking. N4-X4 could acquire one by theft by some means or another, but they wanted more than just a single creation. It was important that they begin working on a fleet of ghost ships.

The droid was not alone on this endeavor. After previously working with an anonymous male with a significant degree of discretion they once again made contact with an enticing offer. In exchange for the success of this mission the young man could name their price. N4-X4 expected it to be some form of service or perhaps the sharing of future assets.

The Revenant Aiwha circled the rendezvous point before coming in for a smooth landing. The ship wound down its engines as its owner told the S3 AI to follow its standard security procedures. The BX commando droid exited the ship to meet with their mysterious partner. Signs of neimoidian architecture stuck out clearly and the half submerged form of a control core protruded from the side of a mountain. N4-X4 was in the right place.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

The young Sith was not expecting to get a message from the droid he worked with earlier on, but he did not mind it. While it was "just" a droid, the halfbreed had gained respect for it and it's capabilities. This was enough for Cerberus to reply, and set up a deal. He wanted a cut of whatever the droid made out of this. He didn't ask for a large cut considering the droid had both the contacts and means to profit best from this, but it was a decent cut nonetheless.

He arrived on the planet through various transports, as he did not have a ship himself yet, and then walked to the destination because it was the best way to get the least amount of attention. Well, as long as he did not cause a commotion, which he made sure not to do.

Of course he was wearing his black and gray armour, just like the last time he met this droid. Soon he was within sight of the droid and walked up to it, stopping nearby. Cerberus gave a quick nod to the droid before speaking, "What's your plan?" he asked plainly. He'd give his opinion on the plan, or suggest changes, if necessary, but the droid was the mastermind of this so Cerberus needed to know its "thoughts" first.

@Darasuum

 

[Naxa]

The island at large was still very much a mystery even to N4-X4. The droid was well aware of how the Confederacy of Independent Systems operated well over a century ago but a lot could change in that amount of time. Furthermore, the hidden nature of the island made it all the more unpredictable. The BX commando was not foolish enough to believe they knew everything that they would encounter.

N4-X4 was joined by their ID-21 seeker as it left its charging port on the ship to hover by its master's shoulders. The photoreceptors of both droids picked out the civilian transport that their contact was likely aboard as it approached the island alone. They waited patiently for the male to disembark and join them.

When asked, N4-X4 produced a hologram projector which promptly displayed a rough image of the surrounding landscape. The stygium itself and Naxa's limited records made it hard to provide exact mappings of the terrain. "Nearby is an intact abandoned stygium mining facility. It still possesses a great deal of useful equipment. While outdate, the equipment is still likely operational with some minor repairs and replacement needed. Adjacent to the mine is a variant of an LH-1840 control core that can supply the mine with a work force necessary to resume excavation operations." This was one of the few times N4-X4 would consider using B1 battle droids. Otherwise their opinion was quite low for their mass produced counterparts.

N4-X4 continued with the real options for their plan. "We will infiltrate the control core either through the mines and access its upper levels to reach the bridge where factory operations are facilitated..." Their manipulator pointed out the likely route they would take through the mountain's subterranean accessways.

"The other option is to scale the mountain the control core is integrated with and climb the exterior hull of the ship to reach the bridge tower. Whichever option is selected will ultimately have the same goal. Reach the bridge, take control of the droids. With the droids under my direction we will have a suitable work force." While the ship was old there was definitely the likelihood of there being operational defenses active. N4-X4 wanted to approach with stealth in mind and also utilize slicing skills they both shared to navigate the technical obstacles the LH-1840 had. Otherwise they were likely going to come up against dozens if not hundreds of battle droids along with anything else put in place by the facility's previous owners. On Mustafar Naxa had encountered booby traps, probe droids and slicer counter measures among other defenses.

"Which route would you prefer?" Each option had their risks and benefits. Seeing as their partner was force sensitive from what N4-X4 had observed it might also prove useful to have the young man's sixth sense helping them.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

"Let's scale it," Cerberus said simply. While he hadn't spent much time with Naxa, he was use to being the one in charge between them so he simply blurted out what he wanted. Ceberus assumed if Naxa was displeased with anything between them the droid would say it. It'd shown nothing but excellent behaviour so far, and the young Sith would do the professional thing and listen to his current boss, of course.

The halfbreed turned to look towards the mountain and terrain in front of them, thinking for only a handful of heartbeats before walking towards the mountain. He stopped after a few steps to look back at the droid, to see if it was watching. "It looks like the northern part of the mountain near that large eye-shaped slit will be easiest to scale," he said.

"There's also a window or some sort of chute we can look into on the way. Maybe there's something near it we can utilize," he added. Maybe there was a lift near the window that still had some power, and it could help them scale a few floors quickly. Maybe there was nothing and the pair would have to keep moving. It was still a good path and still a chance of something. They could also use the droids ship to get higher faster, but there was danger in that approach too, considering the mountain and the structure of the old ship might be fragile and crumble if anything like a ship got close.

@Darasuum

 

[Naxa]

N4-X4 nodded at the decision being made. Force sensitives with their sixth sense had an unusually high chance of making correct instinctual decisions. It was not exactly calculable by droid standards but enough of historical records spoke to this ability. There was minimal difference in difficulty between the two options as far as Naxa could tell so they were fine either way and did not protest.

The droid began walking a step after the organic male. They looked ahead but stopped a moment after him. "There are droid maintenance lifts that run throughout the interior of control core. They are small, single occupancy turbo-lifts and should be operational to transport us vertically." The eye shaped slit was midway through the center of the control core and would mean they would have to go through the interior quite a ways and possibly risk being seen by droids. "I advise we scale the exterior for as long as possible until we reach the control tower's base on the outside if you possess the means to cut through their hull. I can attempt to breach it with a large amount of welding putty but it will take a few minutes to complete. Otherwise, we will have to go through the hangar bay or find a window." The BX unit realized it had made an assumption. Thinking that the organic operator had displayed his affinity for the Force they must have a lightsaber. However that may not actually be the case.

The interior of the ship likely had CCTV surveillance along with guards patrolling the halls. The hangar bay was also likely containing many droids, some of which may even exit to meet them if they were detected outside of the control core. That was why N4-X4 did not want to fly straight towards them. They would likely be intercepted in a matter of minutes by droid starfighters if there were some still operational after all this time.

@Dread

Spoiler: Picture

Red arrow = control tower's base
Blue arrow = "eye shaped slit" (I may have misinterpreted)

 

[Cerberus]

Cerberus nodded, "Alright, let's make it the control tower's base. I have a tool that will cut us through, found it laying around some lab," he said, half lying. It wasn't like the droid could sense him lying, though the thing might be smart enough to pick up on it. Cerberus just didn't want to admit that he built his lightsaber, nor was he interested in sharing his religious beliefs right now, maybe never with the droid. There was a lot of bigotry towards his religion.

He began walking towards the base of the mountain to the spot they agreed upon. If the droid followed quickly, Cerberus would increase his speed with the Force and jump to the first rock before propelling himself to the next rock, and so on. Because the mountain was large, it did take some time to climb it. There wasn't much excitement about it though, considering the outside defences seemed either lacking or offline.

Due to the lack of outward defences, Cerberus didn't have trouble making it to the lower area of the tower that Naxa pointed out. "We'll be in it quickly, prepare yourself," he said, unsure of exactly what would lay behind the entrance he was about to carve out. They could be facing many defences at once, or none at all.

@Darasuum

 

[Naxa]

"Roger roger." The BX unit's deep pitched vocabulator confirmed. They did not seem to care so long as the tool was at the duo's disposal. N4-X4 had been previously owned by Sith that had masqueraded as Jedi. They had partnerships with other dark siders and had no opinion on either religious order.

The droid was nimble and would be able to follow the force assisted organic well enough. Their synthesized limbs did not grow tired like living muscles. A few times there were gaps too large or too dangerous for Naxa to cross but they used their ascension gun attachments to navigate the way in time. The BX droid refrained from using their small jet thrusters for now to not waste fuel and to not risk the noise attracting attention.

The droid expected there was a chance for probe droids to be scouting the area around the control core but they did not spot any. Their own ID-21 seeker floated ahead of the two and scanned for any perimeter defenses like proximity sensors, turrets or traps. But they did not find any and relayed the best possible path for them to take while flying with ease.

The infiltrators descended on top of the upper dome of the control core before long. "Ready." The droid readied their nightstinger blaster pistol. The weapon was set to its lower power setting that would also have reduced noise while the bolts themselves would be harder to see. The ID-21 seeker droid also waited close by, ready to move into the opening made by the armored man. There would hopefully be a quick and direct route to the turbo lifts like they planned. But if not they would be ready to deal with what was waiting for them on the other side.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

Cerberus' blade was right near the end of the hole he was cutting. He paused for only half a second to prepare himself for whatever laid within. Also, he felt a tiny, little, itty bit bad for Naxa since it’d have to have the cut repaired later. Thankfully Cerberus would probably be long gone before these sorts of repairs started.

With only a short pause, Cerberus finished cutting and kicked in the extra metal in the centre of the cut. The metal circle clambered to the floor to reveal not one, not two, not three but FIVE droids at the bottom of the tower stairwell. Right then the young Sith knew he had to drop anything he was pretending and simply be himself. He batted away blaster bolts sent his way with his lightsaber blade, and the shots Naxa's way, to protect the droid and his employer.

Between bolts, since Naxa hadn't freaked out about Cerberus using his lightsaber, the Sith reached out his free hand and released bolts of lightning towards a small group of the droids. The bolts hit two of the droids, bouncing over to one more, but the other two were across the room and did not get hit by the bolts, so Cerberus had to rely on Naxa to back him up, just like before. He wasn't sure when or if more droid were going to show up either.

The defence system itself began to blare its alarms, however, something seemed wrong with it. The blaring alarms changed tones and eventually the sound stopped by itself. Obviously, it also needed some repairs.

@Darasuum

 

[Naxa]

N4-X4 stood with their blaster at the ready and waiting for their partner to complete the breach of the tower. They did not have to wait long. The saber wielding operative would move into the ship first, leading with their blazing weapon of energy.

Almost immediately they received fire from a squad of battle droids from inside. The BX commando droid aimed their weapon at the nearest targets but held their fire with programmed discipline. They did not want to hit the organic and disrupt their lightsaber defense. What's more, they produced electricity from their fingertips, frying the nearest group of B1 battle droids.

N4-X4 adjusted their aim and targeted the battle droids further away. The commando droid shot a total of four times. Two for each enemy droid so that a light blaster bolt struck a neck joints and heads. The headless and damaged B1 units managed to still pull the trigger but their blaster bolts harmlessly impacted walls of the stairwell.

As quickly as the fight had broken out it ended. Smoking droid parts was all that remained of the arguably inferior machines. "More will be on the way." Naxa vocabulated their prediction as their head looked upward. They did not waste any time on building a defense or trying to ascend the stairwell. Instead they moved to where there was the mentioned maintenance droid turbo lifts down a compact hallway. "This way. These will lead to just below the bridge."

@Dread

Spoiler: Dice

rolled to find turbo-lift
90/100 discord die
not seeing dice guidelines anymore in story OOC so I'm assuming this is a rousing success based off of what I remember

 

[Cerberus]

Cerberus nodded, deciding to keep his lightsaber ignited while the pair walked towards the turbo lift. Just as they entered the lift, the familiar sound of droids clambering down stairs hit Cerberus' ears.

Once Naxa got into the lift Ceberus moved to just behind the threshold of it, batting away the shots fired towards them from the new droids. Naxa was, afterall, his employer. It was Cerberus' job to keep the droid safe regardless of its ability to do it itself. After a few bats, Cerberus used the Force to push the many advancing droids back. Though it only momentarily knocked them off balance, it was enough for the turbolift door to close before they fired again.

Cerberus noticed a button to the floor they desired so he pressed it. With a whirl sound the turbolift took off, quickly too. As the lift made its way up, Cerberus made a comment, "I'd appreciate it if you kept the finer details of my skills to yourself." He knew Naxa had no obligation to do so, though Cerberus hoped that his work gained enough respect for the droid to oblige.

The turbolift was nearly at the top floor, and Cerberus once again moved close to the entrance to be one of the first to exit and face whatever was there.

@Darasuum