Ask Plot Where Is This Place Again?

[Zentripoli]

Hollastin. It did not possess the notoriety of Nar Shaddaa or the influence of Nal Hutta, but it was a planet in Hutt Space that rested along two Trade Hyperspace lanes. As a minor trade world, it had enough of a population to have a thriving civilization, but still had plenty of space to expand and grow. To Zentripoli, it was the perfect site for Zeno Droid Technologies to go to the next level…

Suslii City
Continent of Suslii
Planet of Hollastin
Airspeeders hummed past overhead. All manner of aliens were out in the streets during midday, hawking their wares, trying to make the next credit. In Hutt Space, most of the worlds possessed some degree of control by the Hutt Cartels. In truth, such control on Hollastin was in name only. Trade and economics were king on Hollastin. The ruling Triumvirate of the planet did not take kindly to individuals interrupting trade. After all, the Triumvirate taxed all transactions—no matter the transaction. As long as the government was given their due, they didn’t care what kind of business came through their planet. Even slaving made its way through Hollastin, but this was deep in the shadows. After all, the Triumvirate couldn’t have their name sullied…

Zentripoli floated out of The Synapse on his Boost droid, escorted by a ZDT-410 "Vanisher" Security Droid and another droid that looked exactly like a ZDT-410. The Columi looked around the crowded capital of the Suslii continent. In particular, this continent was run a no nonsense Shell Hutt who made sure that business was booming within his domain. Of course, this is why Zentripoli picked this continent on this planet—it would be an appropriate home for Zeno Droid Technologies. The Columi was going to meet some of his allies who had an interest in seeing his company thrive, whether allies or investors or both. You see, business in Hutt Space, no matter the nature, could always turn into something “violent” or “inconvenient”. As such, it never hurt to have back-up.

There was a site north of Suslii City that Zentripoli had researched. It was held by one of the governing Shell Hutts of Suslii, but none of Zentripoli’s sources knew anything about the place. While he knew he would have to get permission to be allowed access inside, the first phase would be to see the place from the outside. This whole business of scouting it out was risky in and of itself. While it was still part of Suslii City proper, it was secluded enough that it could be considered to be off on its own. Between the violent storms and opportunistic raiders, such a “surveying field trip” was never quite straightforward…

Zentripoli glanced around the market, waiting on his “allies”…

@Nor'baal
@samdragon
@Baymon Bluevynson

 

[It0]

The 2-B1’s stannic frame emerged from the bustling crowd of market-browsing organics and approached the hovering Zentripoli and his robotic retinue. The calamitous din of unbridled capitalism all but strained the droid’s vocabulator regulators. On every side, vendors and customers shouted and jostled. Boisterous disagreements and overt theatrics was the ambient background of the market. The medic seemed fairly nonplussed to it all as he stood before Zentripoli.

“Welcome to Hollastin sir.” he announced shrilly, “As requested, I’ve procured us a local willing to serve in the role of guide to your specified coordinates. A female of the Riileb species identifying herself as ‘Tilab Mundo’. Current census records list her occupation as a game hunter. Her recorded presence on Hollastin is eighteen standard-years and she is fluent in basic.”

It0 took a furtive step towards Zentripoli. The Columi had deposited the medical droid planetside only a day prior to his own arrival, but in that brief time It0 had already discovered that the Hutt’s influence on this world reached long and deep. Every two-bit cantina or dusty market square seemed to have a representative of those loathsome crimelords within. They leered and listened, eavesdropped and interjected. He found it all quite repugnant. But such unpleasantries were the cost of doing business in the Outer Rim.

"I assess her motivation for credits as quite high sir.” he confided, “Cursory inquiries have revealed she’s quite indebted to a regional Hutt family. An apparent series of poorly placed bets have left her quite desperate for income. I believe she’ll just about anything within her power to earn her pay. She has provided me with her place of residence and has no specified timeframe. She is ready when you are.”

Relying on such mercenary means of support was distasteful at best, but at times it couldn’t be helped. He judged the Crymorah’s influence and capabilities as waning in the Outer Rim. The Sector Rangers had been proactive and many of their efforts had curtailed revenue streams and talent acquisition. Coupled with the meddling of the upstart Drellis Syndicate, ventures such as those that brought them to Hollastin were more important than ever.

@Zentripoli
@BX 166

 

[BX 166]

The battle droid mumbled something as he weaved through the crowd as he went out of the Suslii City starport. His tall frame allowed him to spot the Columi and the droids, so he proceeded. "Pardon for being late, had to deal with some permits for my rifle" he said as he lifted the hefty suitcase that held in the DLT-20A longblaster he used. He waved at It0 as he went to them. "So, what brought us to this fine planet?" he asked the Columi, since the alien told almost nothing to the droid regarding their mission.

 

[Zentripoli]

Suslii City
Continent of Suslii
Planet of Hollastin
With a small smile, the Columi looked at It0 and mused, “You have been busy. Well done procuring transport and a competent guide. She has already reached out to me. Tilab Mundo should be meeting us here within 3 minutes according to her transponder.”

The small alien looked over to the commando droid, “Welcome BX-166. We are scouting out potential sites for the Zeno Droid Technologies headquarters and factory. Unfortunately, the real estate that we can afford is a bit in a ruinous state, which may have attracted the worst sort of critters and inhabitants. That is why I respectfully inquired as to your availability as well as It0’s availability.”

Looking around at the sights and smells, that of a true market, this was what a planet was supposed to be like. He could not help but think about his home planet and how it was nothing more than a technological mudball. In truth, Zentripoli took a great deal of all the credits he earned, both in legitimate and illegitimate business, and invested them back into Columus. While changes would not happen overnight, Zentripoli was determined to bolster his species as best as he could. It was a weakness—the care he had for his people, so he did not share these things with others. Weakness was not something you could show among the Five Syndicates…

In short order, as if on queue, a speeder truck hovered through the street and pulled up to the curb. Presumably, Tilab Mundo was in the driver’s seat. As she got out and came around to greet the group, the worn, yet well-maintained speed truck softly idled. The rear storage space door popped open. In her broken Basic tongue, she said, “Your credit transfer went through, so we are good to go. Some of the northern factory sites can get a bit ‘dicey’, so if you plan to explore the interiors of any of these sites, I am not your guide. There are other guides for that…”

Doing a quick count with her spindly finger, she said, “Looks like we have Mr. Credits and four droids. Plenty of space.”

She walked over and hefted the large case that was sitting next to the security droid. With a grunt, she inquired, “What in blazes is in this thing?”

Zentripoli answered simply, “Ordnance. In the event something misfortunate befalls our small expedition…”

“Right…well, lets get moving.”

@Tic
@samdragon

 

[It0]

The Riileb had taken it upon herself to contact Zentripoli directly, how a rube such as her managed to get his comm signal It0 could not begin to process. He input a comment in Mundo’s personality entry in his databanks and moved on to the matter at hand.

Despite his certainty of its contents, he opted to re-check his medbag yet again. An arsenal of salves, balms, and ointments in hardened plastic dispensers lined the bottom. Row upon row of every conceivable medic’s tool were neatly adhered to the bag’s interior, their various steel surfaces glinting in the sunlight. Most were modular, in order to be affixed to his wrist-joints when the time came. The majority of the equipment was stowed with Columi physiology in mind, but It0’s analytics ran his odds of preparedness for most medical emergencies at a near 83.4%. More than sufficient.

He flung the medbag back over his chassis and hoisted himself awkwardly into the truck. His photoreceptors flitted between the Riileb and the congested streets ahead. The sentients went about their daily humdrum, apparently oblivious to the mounting expedition. Perhaps such undertakings were commonplace here? No matter. His directives were clear and unquestionable. Zentripoli was his owner and as such It0 was duty-bound to protect, preserve and assist him.

“I am ready when you are sir.” he affirmed.Over his shoulder, BX-166 seemed to be readying himself for the journey ahead. It0 wondered how the tenants of the Droid Gotra affected the battle-droid’s daily interfaces with the world at large. He knew precious little about the Gotra beyond what the HoloVids had portrayed. They were rogue battle-droids sewing chaos in the name of robotic-liberation. Such a notion was wildly strange to the medical droid’s programming, but he found himself relieved at the commando’s presence nonetheless.

@Zentripoli
@samdragon

 

[BX 166]

166 listened carefully and took notes in his small databank, nodding as the Columi explained their mission. While the speeder truck arrived and the alien presented herself, he said "Don't worry miss, we are more than capable of defending ourselves" and then went in the truck, the suitcase with his longblaster put in between his legs as he sat. He gave a synthetic chuckle at the woman's comment on the weight of the case the Columi had brought with him, and idly tapped on his suitcase as he waited for them to depart.

 

[Zentripoli]

Northern Outskirts of Suslii City
Continent of Suslii
Planet of Hollastin
Making slow progress, the speeder truck maneuvered through the throngs of denizens scurrying from place to place in the northern streets. As the band made their way further north, the market districts gave way to the small residences, which led to the thoroughfares being cleared of pedestrians. Tilab Mundo shoved the accelerator down with her right hand, causing the speeder truck to lurch forward, sending the small band hurtling forward at a rapid rate.

Once it was clear they were past “civilization”, Zentripoli called out to Tilab, his voice amplified by the speakers cut through the rushing wind, “Ms. Mundo. Please stop the vehicle for a moment…”

With a nod, the Riileb slowed the speeder truck to a stop. The Boost droid hoved over to the ZDT-415, which promptly opened its belly. The Boost droid picked the small alien up and gently placed him in the cockpit within the security droid, which promptly began to close its belly, sealing the Columi in the other droid. The Boost droid folded its arms up and hovered to back over to the empty seat and lowered itself to a resting spot. The ZDT-415’s vocabulator spoke out, with Zentripoli’s inflection, “You may proceed Ms. Mundo…”

Secure within his “combat platform”, the speeder truck shot across the landscape once again. It wasn’t far before they ran into high canyon walls that blocked their way, but Mundo navigated the speeder truck expertly through the carved out pathway. Rounding the next corner, there was a dire scene before the group.

A pair of what appeared to be a smaller cousin to the Reek creatures had a trio of humans cornered against the canyon wall. Their smoking speeder seemed to have been crashed against an outcropping. One of the humans had a blaster pistol pointed at the beasts, switching his aim from one to the other as they stalked closer to the trio. It seemed he did not want to shoot in fear of angering the beast. At this point, the pair of creatures were about 30 feet away.

Tilab looked over at the “droids” and inquired, “What do you want me to do?”

Zentripoli’s mechanized voice came from the ZDT-415 as the droid’s head turned to It0 and BX-166, “I want your input on this scenario—quickly.”

@Tic
@samdragon

 

[It0]

"My assertion sir," It0 replied, "is those organics are likely to incur fatal injuries."

He craned his neck-unit to better gauge the snarling beasts. Hulking brutish things, muscle and sinew wrapped in a thick, ruddy hide and coarse, matted pelts. Formidable horns protruded from their snouts and they pawed at the dirt aggressively.

"Particulary grisly injuries, to be specific."

The heuristic processor was performing admirably given its short duration in service. His core programming with its rigid directives around preservation of sentient life was becoming increasingly porous. His ambitions grew increasingly self-centered. His concern around the well-being of himself and those he deemed worthy of his loyalty. As such, the medical droid felt very little concern over the trembling Hollastinians beyond what practical utility they might have.

All that truly mattered was the identification and acquisition of the factory. That would supply ZDT the production power required to mount a proper expansion effort. On the back of such industry would be the Crymorah, whose influence and reach would expand alongside Zentripoli’s own. The entire syndicate’s fortunes could ride on the Columi’s gambit.

"I’m afraid sir, that my databank entries on Reek anatomy is insufficient to provide any real insight," he continued, "but it is unlikely standard blaster fire will do much to deter them. Do you feel these people could serve much purpose sir? This could prove a costly diversion from our task at hand."

@Zentripoli
@BX 166

 

[BX 166]

166 observed the scene for a while, and then opened the suitcase, pulling out his longblaster, and aimed it at the two beasts, observing them through the scope. "Hm, I'd need a clearer shot to make sure I can hit them in the head, but a shot in the back could at least temporarily distract them. I advice to be cautious in any case, even if we'll need to enter into a fight" he stated.

 

[Zentripoli]

Listening to his droid companions as they assessed the situation, he replied quietly to It0 as he slipped out of the speeder towards the rear, “Cautious approach by both. Splendid, I think that—”

Zentripoli was about to finish his thought when the two beasts turned around, seeming to glare at the gaggle of droids and Mundo sitting in the driver's seat. The three “helpless travelers” suddenly began pulling blasters from underneath the sand beneath their feet.

"Well that was unforeseen..."

In those moments, a flurry of movement began to occur. The pair of Reek-kin dug their claws in the ground, roared in rage, and began to charge the speeder truck. The speeder truck revved, ready to dart out of their path, but a look of fear crossed the alien's face, frozen in terror as the thundering beat of the heavy beasts drew nearer. She tried to accelerate out of the path, but it was stuck on some sort of magnetic clamp underneath the bed of the speeder—it was not moving. A stream of curses came out of Mundo in her native tongue.

The ZDT-410, on Zentripoli's mental command, peeled out of the back seat and went around to the back, approaching the rear of the vehicle from the opposite track as Zentripoli. Quickly accessing the trunk, ripping open the E-11 Blaster Rifles from their casing, the ZDT-415 leaned against the speeder for cover with the weapon ready. The "Vanisher" grabbed another E-11 and settled in behind the speeder truck as well. Zentripoli could feel the magnetic tug from underneath the speeder, so he was careful not put a foot undeneath the vehicle for fear of being stuck. The trio of raiders began to fan out for cover among the rocky terrain.

It was now a firefight—with a pair of dangerous predators to boot…

@samdragon
@Tic

 

[It0]

Plumes of dust spiraled into the midday sun as the raiders began their assault on the stranded truck. From his spot in the truck’s main cab, 2-1B assessed the situation and found it dire indeed. He was not a combat droid by programming, and though Zentripoli had hewn away many of his violence inhibitors, that in and of itself did not impart any great martial ability. But as the Reek-kin stalked towards the captive party’s position before a hail of blaster-fire, it was clear it was an “all hands on deck” scenario.

He placed a steadying manipulator on the stunned guide’s shoulder and applied a calculated bit of pressure.

“Ms. Mundo,” he said firmly, “our odds of survival during this encounter are exponentially increased with your participation.”

Popping open his medbag, he produced a DH-17 pistol from its interior and carefully took aim at the nearest Zeek-kin from the passenger window. He was no practiced marksman, but he was designed with precision accuracy in mind. As he zeroed the scope in on the closer of the two Zeek-kin’s eyes he hoped relying on such cross-purpose functionality wouldn’t be a fatal error. It0 squeezed off a blaster shot.

@Zentripoli
@samdragon

 

[BX 166]

166 yelped and went down as the three men started shooting, quickly preparing the rifle for shooting. He then quickly went up again, aiming his rifle at the three men, shooting one blaster bolt at each of them in rapid succession. "I'll try to keep occupied the three shooters while you confront the beasts!" he yelled after hiding back in cover in the truck.

 

[Zentripoli]

Zentripoli hated fighting…at least when he was involved in the fighting. It was simply something that Zentripoli did not excel at in comparison to other trained fighters in the galaxy. Among other Columi, he was as good as they came, but he was not fighting other Columi.

In this scenario, others were fine…but him? Not so much. However, sometimes, in this line of work, there was no choice. The Columi reached out mentally and commanded the “Vanisher” hunkered down behind him to shoot the charging beast on the right—the same one that It0 shot in the face, which definitely rocked the beast. On command, the ZDT security droid, turned and leaned out from behind cover, popping off consecutive shots into the Reek-kin. At the same time, Zentripoli directly controlled the ZDT-415 and brought his own E-11 up to bear and began popping off multiple shots into the same Reek-kin.

Bolts tore into the Reek-kin, finally stopping the beast, causing it to slam to the ground, sliding to a stop unmoving. However, that meant the second Reek-kin was alive and well...

The creature hit the speeder truck full speed, throwing Zentripoli and the Vanisher back from the speeder truck. Mundo was reaching for the heavy blaster on her hip and was leveling the weapon when the beast hit the truck. Although it did not knock the speeder loose from its magnetic trap, it did manage to spin the speeder truck completely around, causing the blaster pistol to come flying out of Mundo’s hand and into the floorboard.

Zentripoli sent a quick mental command to the Vanisher to keep firing on the remaining Reek-kin. Coming to one knee, the security droid began to send a steady stream of bolts into the angered Reek-kin. Its beady eyes turned on the droid and began to charge it. Zentripoli also came to a knee and began firing on it as well. But the beast did not seem to be slowing…

@samdragon
@Tic

 

[It0]

There was a tremendous rending of metals as the remaining Reek-kin’s bulk collided with the truck’s exterior. Glass erupted around It0 as the pinned vehicle was violently spun round. The force of impact threw the startled droid sideways and he tumbled from his seat finally coming to rest on the floorboard. Shaking his head to clear his muddled servos, he glanced around.

Mundo’s heavy blaster lay just before him. Grabbing the blaster he shambled back to his feet and peered out the ruined passenger door. Near the rear of the vehicle, Zentripoli’s ’Vanisher’ had dropped to a knee and was released a salvo of blaster fire at the snarling Reek-kin. The beast too, had been seemingly stunned by the impact, and stood snorting and gettings it bearings before finally zeroing in on the exposed Columi.

It barrelled towards Zentripoli, its path momentarily taking it beneath the window through which It0 had been watching. Without thought, the droid flung himself awkwardly through the windowpane and onto the charging creatures back. Unfortunately as one manipulator caught hold of the beast’s thick, ruddy hide, the momentum tore his blaster free and sent it clattering to the surface below. The medical droid could do little but grab hold with both pincers now. The alternative was a rather nasty chance at pulverization.

@Zentripoli
@samdragon

 

[BX 166]

166's voice shrieked curses in binary as the speeder truck was hit by the beast, sending the droid slamming his back against the other side of the truck. "Kark dammit, I'll show you!" he yelled as he pulled out his vibrosword as the beast approached them, and swung at it's head, although the swing was a bit clumsy and so he hit the Reek-kin with the flat of the blade, at best giving it a bit of a headache while the creature tried to shake It0 off its back!

 

[Zentripoli]

While Zentripoli had been in firefights, there always seemed to be some sort of "order" to those engagements--at least the Columi was able to process the events in an organized manner. But this was something else altogether. This was chaos.

BX-166, the antiquated commando droid, was keeping the three raiders pinned down among their cover of large rocky outcroppings and boulders with suppressing blaster fire, but when the remaining Reek-kin slammed into the speeder truck, there was a tremendous CRASH!

On impact, droids, equipment and Columi went sailing everywhere, like an explosion of confetti. The remaining Reek had been shot in its flank, slammed in the head with a vibrosword, and now had a medical droid atop it, with its spindly metal arms wrapped around its back, holding on for dear life. The Reek suddenly veered away from Zentripoli and caught the ZDT-410 by complete surprise. The security droid had time to screech once before the reek-kin's twin horns caught the poor droid full in the chest, rending the ZDT-410 in two. Droid parts, sparking wires, and plumes of smoke were everywhere. But the battered Reek-kin finally succumbed to its injuries – concussions, blaster scoring, and perhaps a heart attack from being ridden by a droid…

With little cover and finding himself caught in the open, Zentripoli found himself an easy target for the trio of raiders. Zentripoli began catching blaster fire from the trio of raiders. With a mental command, the ZDT-415 fired up its jetboots and soared quickly in the air. Blaster bolts tracked the Columi's movement skyward with frightening efficiency, searing the bottom of the droid’s foot actuators as it lifted high in the air. But with both Reek-kin now slain, It0, BX-166, and Mundo now had an opportune moment to focus on the trio of raiders firing at the airborne target…

@samdragon
@Tic

 

[It0]

The heaving mass of tissue and sweat beneath the droid released a spasmatic shutter before finally buckling into the dirt below. It0 slid off its scorched back and took stock of his surroundings. Somehow he had managed to avoid disassembly and…

Blaster fire echoed off the canyon walls as a bolt struck a patch of scrub to his right. No time for post-event analysis! Less than a hundred meters away the raiders continued to squeeze off potshots at the trio. Mundo’s heavy blaster lay nearby, and scooping it up he positioned himself behind the corpse of the Reek-kin. It’s thick, armor-like hide safely between his and his attackers, he unleashed a series of carefully aimed shots towards their positions.

@BX 166
@Zentripoli

 

[BX 166]

Once he saw that the Reek had fallen, the commando droid quickly took cover and shot at the closest for a series of three shots aimed at the head, then did the same thing for the other two, alternating the shots with insults. "Dirty organic bastards" pew pew pew "I'll show you what it means" pew pew pew "to go against the Droid Gotta!" Pew pew pew! Unless they ducked, they would be surely struck by the laser bolts.

 

[Zentripoli]

Rocketing skyward at a high rate of speed provided some difficulty to the trio's blaster fire simply due to the rate of speed the Columi was traveling. However, it was also putting the ZDT-415 on a rather linear trajectory, which made compensating for the speed and adjusting the aim fairly simple--just lead the target more. Unfotunately for Zentripoli, that is exactly what the seasoned raiders did...

The trio traced their shots, bolt after bolt skyward. It was a matter of time before they began landing bolts on the ZDT-4q5. One bolt and then a second bolt Zentripoli in droid's knee actuator. This caused an immediate celebration from the three raiders as smoke and sparks began emitting from the knee of the airborne vehicle. So complete was the damage that the droid began plummeting down to the ground with the leg dangling at the left knee's actuator. Unfortunately for two of the three raiders, It0 was able to pin the raiders down and keep them from continuing their barrage leveled at Zentripoli. In short order, BX-166 was able to snap off a flurry of shots that connected with the head of one raider and multiple chest shots on the second raider. But the third seemed the most dangerous of the three. The man stayed hunkered down behind the flat boulder he was using as cover and sending well-aimed bolts down towards It0 and BX-166.

Zentripoli came down hard, in a jumble, crashing behind a rocky outcropping, tumbling in a heap while trying to land on one leg. Instead, he came down a bit diagonal and slammed to the rocky ground hard, further damaging the ZDT-415. The droid's E-11 blaster rifle went skittering and tumbling across the ground, out in the open. The Columi opted not to try and retrieve it while the deadly marksman was sending deadly bolts towards him and his allies…

@samdragon
@Tic

 

[It0]

As the shot landed true and Zentripoli’s droid collapsed on the ruined knee, every strip of circuitry in It0’s core seemed to strain and surge with his primary programming.

‘<<...//PROTECT SENTIENT-LIFE//’

The directive was strident, overpowering and all-consuming. Before the droid knew what he was doing, he had vaulted the downed corpse of the Reek-kin and strode towards the ruined passenger-side door of the truck. With one great effort, he wrenched the door off in its entirety and cast it aside like so much detritus. Their cowardly guide sat hunched beneath the steering column, wild eyes peering at It0.

“My blaster.” he demanded, placing as much authority into his voice as his vocabulator would permit. The trembling Riileb grabbed the droid’s discarded DH-17 blaster and slid it across the truck’s benchseat towards the passenger side.

Armed now with his own DH-17 and Mundo’s heavy blaster, It0 broke cover and advanced on the remaining raider’s position. As he marched through the open air, he unleashed alternating shots from each pistol. The shots were placed rhythmically and purposefully to keep the raider pinned down.

Approaching Zentripoli’s position, he knelt beside the alien’s shattered shell and offered it the heavy blaster.

“Sir,” he called as he tucked himself behind the Columin’s cover. “Do you require medical assistance? My programming prevents my harming of intelligent organic life, but I can provide covering fire if necessary.”

@Zentripoli
@samdragon