Ask Plot Nar Shaddaa The Old Factory

[Song Wren]

Night had come. Song entered the dark abandoned factory with careful steps. She swept her blaster, and the flashlight attached to the barrel, across the wide room. It had formerly been used to build assassin droids, ship parts and pieces from the Imperial era. Old crates were scattered all about. Armored plating and droid arms sat on conveyer belts, under hydraulic presses and other machinery. Heads to unfinished corvettes hung to the ceiling, hooked like coats left on a rack.

Second floor catwalks snaked around the building, and Song wished she had gone in by the roof, if that were possible, instead. The factory gave her a bad feeling.

She shouldn’t have gone alone. Should’ve asked the masked man, with the lightsaber and magical gimmicks, to come along and help. There was no telling what laid in wait for her, or just what Dr. Fields was up to. She hoped he didn’t know the Mandalorian had come for him, but the room was quiet. Too quiet. Something was bound to happen.

Song was ready for it.

She was carrying a thermal detonator, and had switched out her computer spike for a wrist rocket, each bought off the same vendor who helped give her Fields’ location, in preparation to the man’s capture. As a droid researcher and technician, she was afraid he might follow in the footsteps of the augmenter she and the “Jedi” dealt with: droid bodyguards. A lot of them. If she wanted to survive, Song would need to be wary of it.

And she was. Her eyes were like that of a hawks, and the slightest movement or sound would catch her focus immediately.

The Mandalorian hoped this would be easy, even if deep down she knew it wouldn’t.

@Darasuum

 

[Dr. Xavier Fields]

The perks of residing in an abandoned building was that it rarely got any visitors. A singular probe droid hovering in the high shadows of the main building sent a signal to its master but did not engage the Mandalorian, at least not until its master ordered it to. Two seeker droids hovered with different angles on the newest arrival. Their small bodies even more unnoticeable in the darkened rafters.

---​

The datapad in the gloved hands of Doctor Fields alerted him to a proximity alert. He pressed the command to have the probe droid try to deter the new arrival by any means necessary. Afterwards he pulled off the gloves revealing one cybernetic arm.

"Someone's here." He said to the inert form at the back of the room. Walking over to the tall and dark figure the Doctor turned the droid on. Red photoreceptors brightened and focused on him, awaiting its command.

"There is a trespasser upstairs. Eliminate them." He commanded. Binary was the only reply. The vocabulator on the droid had been damaged and the Doctor had used what working parts were available to get the droid back into working order to protect him while he was on the lam. +understood+

The IG-89's receptors turned to the side, laying eyes on the E-11 blaster rifle. Xavier had his own sidearm though he had confidence in his automated bodyguard. It would be a moment before the droid came into view of the Mandalorian but it began the trek to the first floor, blaster at the ready. While that went on, the Doctor donned the uncomfortable blast vest he preferred to keep off when working. Hopefully he would not need it.

---​

With the command from its master, the probe droid drifted more towards the entrance but keeping to the higher section of the abandoned factor.

The two seeker droids moved much faster, weaving between pieces of machinery. Their built in shockprods buzzed threateningly. Technically they did not know for sure the bounty hunter was here for their master but they had orders drive him away or take him out.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Song continued to plunge deeper into the factory. Her eyes never stayed in one spot, but constantly moved between the machinery on the floor and the catwalks which dangled above her. Her flashlight fell over a rusted set of stairs leading into the next level. Chances were, Dr. Fields was hiding somewhere upstairs, oblivious to her arrival. If she could reach the second floor quietly, carefully, she might find him and be in and out of the dump.

She was wrong to believe that.

She heard the whir of two seeker droids barrel down towards her. Its blood red eyes easy to catch in the darkness of the factory, electricity cackling and popping between its metal hands. Her left hand, armed with her DL-44 blaster, raised into the air and fired a storm of shots their way. Not enough to empty her clip, but enough, or so she hoped. One or two shots failed to strike anything but the dangling parts from the ceiling, but she was calm. Collected.

Song knew what she was doing, her aim focused on one droid before it would move onto the other.

She kept her free hand close to her waist, afraid that she might have to pull out her brother’s ceremonial blade if either of the seeker droids came too close. If they did, she’d be ready to mince them into the parts and pieces just like those scattered across the factory.

While her senses were fully engaged on the enemy ahead, she’d make note of anyone, or anything, else moving in on her position. She still had no idea about the assassin droid upstairs, or the probe droid by the entrance, but she knew two seekers would only be the start. This was Dr. Xavier Fields she was dealing with. Not some third-rate smuggler.

If she wanted to make it out alive, she had to act like it.

@Darasuum

 

[Dr. Xavier Fields]

The seeker droids were frequently wiped by the diligent Doctor. As a result they had their standard protocols in place rather than learned experience. This limited their ability to adapt in a combat situation or develop personalities. As the armored bounty hunter fired her sidearm at the two flying targets blaster bolts truck machine parts from the factory but none the less ended up scoring fairly decent shots on small moving targets before they reached her.

Sputtering droid chasies cracked and sparked on the floor a few meters before the Mandalorian. Being a second or two slower on the draw and she would have probably felt the unpleasant sensation of the droids' shock prods. The light slowly dimmed from one while the other had been outright obliterated from the blaster shot. It only took one bolt to really take one of the machines out but their speed and small profile had not been enough to beat the skill of the bounty hunter.

*pew*

The initial red blaster discharge of the probe droid above and behind the Mandalorian would be aimed at her back. It was followed momentarily by a second. Should the Mandalorian take evasive maneuvers the probe droid would fire a third and fourth but it was not made for outright combat. At least this way it would likely injure the tresspasser.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

The seeker droids went down much faster than she expected. A single blaster bolt shattered one’s glowing photoreceptor, and it exploded into a small splash of parts and shrapnel that Song made sure to avoid. The second one required two shots, the first which sent it spiraling out of control, but the next one laid it to rest. The droid clattered onto the concrete floor at her feet, its shock arms flickering before it too finally died.

Another second later and it’d have probably wrapped itself around her neck.

Song was thankful it hadn’t though, but she was caught by surprise when she heard a blaster bolt fire at her from behind. Her head twisted, but the shot connected with the beskar-alloy fixed over her back. The armor absorbed most of the shot, but she could feel its bleed-through, and the slight burn it left in her skin and the suit she wore underneath. She grit her teeth, but didn’t spend another split second standing around. She could handle it.

The moment the bolt hit her, the Mandalorian spun around and fired three shots into the probe droid. She took several quick paces to the side at the same time too, aimed to dodge any second, third or fourth shots that came her way. Still, she hoped her own bolts would connect with the droid before it fired anymore.

Song kept her back turned as well, towards one of the larger storage crates for cover. Her eyes were now all around her, above and behind. If someone or something decided to catch her off guard again, she’d be ready to leap into more cover. Into a defensive position.

Or, move into the offensive.

@Darasuum

 

[Dr. Xavier Fields]

The probe droid dropped as if to confirm its hit for a moment. It managed to avoid getting hit by the first bolt Song fired back. The second would clip the droid sending it juking to the side slightly from the impact. The third struck it in the main section of its undercarage causing three of its manipulator claws outright fell to the ground. The droid dropped further. A beeping sound began to radiate from it. The lights on the probe droid's body all turned to red as it began to run its self destruct sequence. It used all of its remaining energy directly towards the Mandalorian as fast as it could.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Two of the three shots Song fired connected with the probe droid, the first throwing it off balance and the second destroying several of its claws, but it continued to charge at her like an oncoming train. A train that wouldn’t stop. By the flashing red in its eyes, to the drum of its self-destruct sequence, the Mandalorian realized she needed to move. A second to waste, and she’d be fried.

She might’ve taken on a stun bolt, but could she take on an explosion equivalent to a thermal grenade? Likely not.

With the tap of her heels, she activated her jump boots and launched to the side. Left, towards another collection of storage crates she could hide behind, but that wouldn’t be necessary. At least, she hoped it wouldn’t. Because mid-air, she would pour the next three shots into making sure the droid couldn’t follow her ten-meter leap. Moving made her aim less accurate, but she prayed the sheer number of shots would make up for it.

She’d trained years to fight. Something had to land.

If not, Song was prepared for the worst. The moment she landed, she’d move behind an a set of containers about her size, each surrounding her flanks, while she kept her eyes up and ahead.

Damn droids. Never knew when to stop.

@Darasuum sorry for the wait!

 

[Dr. Xavier Fields]

With a slight delay the droid adjusted course. It made it about halfway before the bolts from Song's blaster added to it injuries. Crashing to the ground in sparks, its repulsor taken out completely meaning the probe droid could no longer move under its own weight especially with fewer manipulator arms than ever.

The photorecptors of the probe droid did not dim and the noise did not falter. The thermal detonation boomed deafeningly and would echo in the strangely inactive factory meant to have hundreds of moving parts. Debris and crates would be thrown away from the blast but even the edge of the explosion was still several meters away from the Mandalorian that had made it to cover in time.

When the smoke cleared the audible steps of the IG droid echoed momentarily. It was not trying to conceal its presence but the loud explosion would give the droid a moment to locate the general area of activity as the dust settled. With its blaster raced it began to make jerky steps around large pieces of industrial equipment. It had not laid eyes on the woman. Her exact position was unknown to the droid but for now it kept the weapon leveled, ready to bring it to bear should its solitary target decide to reveal herself. The cold manipulators grasped the blaster steadily with inhuman calmness and continued to circle around though it would fire a bolt at anything that moved since there was no other droids left.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

The explosion rocked the factory, sent debris and dangling parts crashing into the floor. Shrapnel and smoke drenched the room. Song was fortunate enough to have been stuck behind a few containers for cover, but she was growing hot and weary in her armor. Not from a lack of endurance. She had trained in the Mandalorian arts for all her life. Rather it was something else. Worse.

She pressed a hand to a dull pain in her waist. Her gloved hand came away slick with red.

Song glanced down to find a piece of shrapnel from the probe droid embedded between the cracks in her armor. She prodded at the wound for a moment, cringing. It hadn’t touched any vital organs, or thrashed her mobility, but it put a serious dent in her stamina. Her confidence faded like sun had in the last hour, bathing the factory in the dark. Only the firelight from the wrecked droids lit the chamber.

Then Song heard it. The creak and groan of metal, another droid. She grit her teeth.

They just kept coming.

Choking back the pain, she slunk into the shadows, hiding where she could. Behind droid skeletons, storage boxes, ship parts. She stalked towards the audible steps of her enemy. She couldn’t risk looking, afraid to get shot, so she decided to take another approach: a shot in the dark.

From behind a short cover, she primed a thermal grenade and tossed it high over to the droid. Second it left her hand, and tumbled to its feet, she ran from her protective spot and into another. If it managed to avoid her detonator, it would be after her. And she was not sure if she could take on an assassin droid.

@Darasuum