Nar Shaddaa - Rebel Alliance Headquarters

[Blest Fate]

Fate didn’t move when she heard Hugglepup’s voice, nor his birds noises. She was just done. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to continue. She just wanted to sit and do nothing and never move again.  It was easier than to keep trying. Maybe she could just lay down and never get up again. Or maybe she could…

 

Fate’s head shot up as she heard a new noise from the subway tunnels. Clanking and chirping, as metal strode over concrete and durasteel. 

 

Huggle… Fate started to attempt to call out for help, forgetting her vocoder was in pieces somewhere in the tunnel. However, afterwards she was happy she didn't speak, cause she could hear voices coming from the tunnel. 

 

“And so I think we ought to kill the next person we find.”

 

“Shall I do it?” a second voice chimed in. 

 

“No, no, lets not do that…” a third voice started to disagree. Fate stood up and slowly took a step back towards the stairwell She wasn’t sure what was approaching, but it sounded big. The only thing stopping her from dashing off was the fact that there were voices. The fact that anyone else was alive down here was nothing short of a miracle. 

 

“Well what should we do?”  The second voice asked the other two. 

 

“Oh! Would you look at that?” 

 

A red light suddenly blinded Fate as it flicked on from several light sources. 

 

“Quick, shoot it, shoot it good!” The first voice demanded. 

 

“With what? Stunners or blasters?”

 

“How about we be nice to it first?” 

 

“Oh come on, I want to kill something its been too long.” 

 

Fate uncovered her eyes and looked at the ‘thing’ that had approached. Lumbering through the tunnels on four legs, the larger than normal droid was intimidating to say the least. It easily stood 3 meters tall, modified over and over with an assortment of scrap parts. Fate believed it may have had the base of a MI-series security droid, but with how much rework it had, it was difficult to tell. Besides which, the thing had not just one, but three heads, talking amongst themselves. Welded on quite well, the heads were actually able to rotate to face each other. 

 

Fate started to raise a hand to try to get its attention, thinking maybe she could convince the security droid she was a jedi. Perhaps it was just patrolling the tunnels and needed a memory wipe.

 

“Be quiet you” all three voiced at the same time, before speaking to themselves again. 

 

“So are we going to shoot it?” 

 

“Oh shoot your own head off”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“You talk too much”

 

Fate looked the droid over and realized that maybe Hugglepuff had a point in staying aboveground. 

“No he doesn’t”

 

“I thought you were on my side”

 

“I am! Come on guys, lets stop arguing and get a nice oil bath”

 

“Alright, alright, we kill this thing, and then we get an oil bath, and a recharge of our batteries”

“Oh must we?” 

 

“Okay okay, no recharge, but lets kill the thing anyway.”

 

All three heads nodded to each other in agreement and turned to face Fate. 

 

“Uh…where did it go?” one of the heads asked. 

 

Fate was already halfway up the stairwell, nearly crashing into Hugglepuff” She didn’t even stop when she passed the Zabrack. With no way to talk, she hoped that her terrorized energy would be enough to convince him to follow.  

 

However, if her running away wasn’t enough to convince him, the sudden blaster fire from the subway tunnel as the three-headed droid gave chase

“Hey look! Another one!”

 

“Shall we kill that one too?

“Come on, come on! Don’t let up! Shoot them all!”

 

“Right!” the other two heads agreed, as the droid continued to open fire. 

[Hugglepup]

Hugglepup stumbled backwards as he was swept over first by the terrorized aura of his traveling companion and moments later by her physical being as she charged up the stairs. The young naturalist did not have much time to react as a flurry of rounds pinged off the duracrete steps and metal railing.
 

“Gaaah!”

 

He cried out in surprise as his eyes widened in shock. he scrambled backwards on his hands and feet until he was atop the stairwell and rolled to the side out of range, at least temporarily, from the maniacal murderous three-headed bot.

 

”Bird!”
 

he called out as the massive falcon leapt clear from the blaster fire. With a single beat of his massive wings sending plumes of dust into the charged air, Bird was off the ground. The creature knew what Hugglepup was implying even before the Zabrak pointed at the Anomid; a benefit of  bonded minds.

 

The winged beast lunged forward, two sets of scaly clawed limbs  grasping the woman about the shoulders, the second set extended to keep her from flailing and grabbing anything but his legs. With a beating of his wings, Bird took to the air.

 

Grabbing his staff, he rolled, laying on the packed earth alongside the slotted railings that jutted above the ground. He waited as the strange self-amalgamated three headed robot charged up the stairs in pursuit. By the will of the force, or maybe a little luck, Hugglepup jammed his staff between the slots just as the droid erupted upward out of the stairwell.

 

The staff snapped beneath the robot’s shin. The machine still tumbled forward, crashing into the few remaining stairs and faceplanting. Hugglepup did not stop to see what damage was done. He leapt to his feet and began to run. He broke into a sprint, his muscles burning after days of malnourishment. He ran even so, toward the train station as thunder rumbled, nearer this time. A lightning bolt arced across the sky eightening the landscape in an evil green hue for a mere moment.

 

Bird screamed in the air as he dove toward the station as the rain began to fall. Crashing into the station, Bird pulled up before slamming @Blest Fate into the polished glass covered floors.

 

Hugglepup ran, the force speeding his steps and nourishing his body. The rain began to pitter patter on and around him, quickly turning into a downpour of torrential waters across the packed ground. Thunder rolled across the sky and as if by premonition the Zabrak leapt into a dive just before lightning struck where he was. Tucked into a roll, the Jedi Apprentice rolled and tumbled into the station, the glass crunching beneath him.

[Blest Fate]

Being grabbed and forced to do something suddenly was an experience Fate decided was not pleasant. It was a sudden relinquishment of control of what was happening with your very body. In all of her years of training at Jedi Temples, losing control of a situation was not something she did very well. Meditating was difficult of course, and early combat training brought out the worst in her, but Fate fought every step of the way to maintain control over herself and her actions. 

 

So when Fate was grabbed by ‘Bird’, she at first tried to flail as a reaction, trying to regain control. However, ‘Bird’ had several talons to use, and made sure her flailing wouldn’t be a problem. 

 

You kriffing son of porg! Fate tried to swear. 

 

Still, she couldn’t help but then feel a rush of exhilaration as she took to the air. Looking down and seeing her feet leave the ground and not rapidly return was a new experience. In another time, it would’ve been enjoyable. Only younglings who’s parents would hoist them into the air felt this way. 

 

“Hey, that thing tripped us!” One of the heads bemoaned. 

 

“That little twat!” Another head cursed. The large robotic being struggled to pick itself up. Its design with four legs was never intended to fall over easily, so its makers had never included programming methods to get back up. Still, it tried to find a way, as it pushed against the floor to tip itself upwards. 

 

Fate crashed into the floor with more grace then Hugglepup did. Because of that, she picked herself up quicker than he did and glanced back towards the three headed droid. It was already up, and charging after the group. Acid rain fell on it, sizzling holes into its chassis, but it ignored them. Or at least, one of the heads ignored them. 

 

“See? This is why we should have had an oil bath!” 

 

“Don’t care, I’m gonna crush that horned one’s head!” 

 

“That does sound better then shooting him. Feet or arms?”

 

“Shut up! Feet of course!” 

 

Fate’s mind was working in overdrive. Like with the cultists, she would have gone off instinct. However, unlike the cultists, she was having to protect her comrade, who was in mortal danger of the charging colossus of metal. Before she was fighting for herself. Inside the train station, she was unsure if Bird would be able to get hugglepup out of the way of danger in time. Here, she was fighting to protect someone else. 

 

In spite of this, or maybe because of this, Fate felt her next actions more influenced by the Force than any other time. Her next actions felt so in tune with the Force that she actually felt one with it. 

She ran towards the charging bot, hand reaching for her makeshift hook. With sudden deftness, she dived and slid beneath the droid’s four monstrous legs, one of them stomping right next to where her head was a split second ago. Once on the other side, she threw the hook up and pulled on the Force to guide its throw. The hook flew and wrapped itself around the neck of the central head. As her last action while still completely in tune with the Force, Fate pulled, forcing the droid to stop and nearly fall over backwards. 

 

Hugglepuff! Get up! Fate tried to shout. She got to her feet and pulled the hook tighter . Hopefully the droid would again fall over backwards and without the stairs, be unable to get back up.  

[Vox]

Entering out of Hyperspace was sudden yet there was no feeling of joy with the sight they were faced with. Nar Shaddaa, for however long her conflict was over, was burning and ruined. Despite the victory of the Alliance, the Sith had dealt their damage and Vox didn't need the Force the feel the deaths of thousands of not several million from the cityscape orb. What happened here? Were his kin alright,  how long have they been gone for? 

 

"God's below..." Romulus says, he had stopped the finishing touches of the equipment he repaired and was now gazing at the planet, "You can see areas that are still burning... Vox, we need to get back to the others, if there was a war here we gotta make sure they're okay!" 

 

The Nudono Jedi nodded and turned his head to the pilot, he gave them the exact coordinates of the shuttle station or refugee camp his remnant tribe was settled... He could feel that they were alive and well thanks to that tinge of the Force that lingered, he refused to worry about their wellbeing. Even before their dropout from Hyperspace he had stopped the practice of his saber as there was a tich of death, cold and malicious,  however the perpetrators had long since left it felt... But knowing the scale of war himself, Vox now started to think about the remaining soldiers that were left over. For right now, his own soldiers. 

 

As they lowered into the atmosphere the damage became more clear,  there were still fires around the military infrastructure and compounds, fuel and repair stations burned as there hadn't necessarily been a way to put them out quite yet no thanks to the now-ignited fuel cells and whatever else. However there were clearer signs that the Alliance and the Imperials were rebuilding, various camps and recovery areas were built for the wounded and lost. Portions of the city weren't as damaged and families and friends, even strangers were becoming more communal and helping one another out. And of course there were those who were simply scavenging and out for themselves.  

 

As they passed over the ruins of a train station Vox felt a sudden pinch in his arm. Something or someone in trouble? He tapped into a small fraction of the Force to root it out but instead of immediately seeing where they were he felt the heartbeat of one individual. They were running and fighting, they were in desperation of an action to happen, and his head turned to where they would be just about. He was a bit urgent about his people however this would take pressing matters, he readied himself and slid the saber hilt into a ringed pouch and fastened the weapon. 

 

"Lower the ship... Here." Vox said to Alcemène, and when it was at a reasonable height he said before leaving the cockpit, "I want to thank you for what you have done for me. If you are in need of help, I will be there as soon as I can. Please drop Romulus off at the refugee camp." 

 

"But Vox-" 

 

"You will join the others. I will not have protest over this." Vox said to his smaller engineer in a stern tone. He would love to bring the smaller Trandoshan with him however this matter only required one. From there, Vox had moved to the cargo hold and once the vessel had lowered he dropped from the catwalk. He landed a littke less gracefully through the hole of a ruined building, regardless he was still on his feet as the dust from the the landing settled slowly and despite the light that was present the interior was still dark save for the open doorway which light poured through. He still had the Mauler he kept just before leaving the planet to becoming a Jedi, granted he preferred the Spiker Carbine it was better than nothing. 

 

And so the Trandoshan moved through the rubble and out of the building he was in. There were noises nearby but they were still meters out of the way, and in that same direction he could feel the heartbeat race. Tuning into the Force Vox allowed his vision to become enhanced, as before when he first used these powers all else was dark gray with white outlines, anything still living was represented by a unique coloration via its life force. When he confirmed that only a spare avian or rodent were the only things around he deactivated the vision until he could see regularly, and then he moved quietly with haste. Being born in thick jungles with massive beasts the ruins were almost lime that, so Vox moved with superb agility and found the rubble easier to trek through. 

 

The noises got louder and moved onward, a bit closer to his position after minutes of traversing the area, Vox disconnected the energies coming to him as to focus more. From here on the rooftop of a train station he peered through the cracks and crevices of the roof, readying his lightsaber. There he saw it, an automota attacking an individual, she used what looked to be a makeshift hook in hopes of tripping up one of the many legs of the machine. He didn't move yet, no, it was a matter of patience, Vox would know when next to take action, for now he watched as the two struggled and remained hidden. He starts to creep on the metal top and slowly tracked the duo preparing for his next course of action. 

[Blest Fate]

Fate Felt her hands start to bleed as the chain on her makeshift hook dug into her palms. As strong as she was, the droid was heavy, big, and balanced. Her plan to pull the thing over and leave it stuck was failing as the three headed droid began to regain it’s balance. 

 

No no no no! Fate wanted to shout. She knew the cost of what would happen if this thing regained control of the fight. She had only survived this far out of luck and skill, and if she did not continue to capitilize on the thing’s unbalance, she would be under its metal feet, dead and worthless. 

 

“Come on, kill that stupid thing!” The droid’s left head shouted, completely rotated to look at Fate. 

 

“I’m trying, I’m trying! Why don’t you do something useful?” The middle head groaned. The entire body groaned as the back legs continued to hold the thing down. Its front legs were flailing in the air, but barely off the ground.

 

“Oooh, why didn’t I think of this? Should I shoot her?” the third head chimed in, rotating its arm towards the Anomid.

 

Fate’s eyes widened at the situation and changed tactics. Instead of pulling the thing back, she ran and jumped towards the droid, pulling at the force once more like a taught rope. 

 

“Ack, its on us! Get it off, get it off!” The middle head began to complain as the entire body began to flail wildly. Both of its arms began to open fire randomly in every direction.  Many of the shots were aimed upwards towards the ceiling, but thanks to Fate’s position on the droid’s shoulders, the shots missed. 

 

Choke on this you stupid fragging son of a scrap heap! Fate tried to curse through her broken vocoder as she wrapped the chain around the three heads and pulled tight. She felt like one of those renowned Reek Wranglers from the holovids, trying to tame a wild beast. If this was one of those Reeks, she felt like she could choke it to death. However, Reeks were biological and could feel their necks. Here, wrapping the chain slammed all three metal heads together, giving them more to complain about.

 

“Get off me! Give me some space!” The middle head screamed, the entire body still spinning around and stomping wildly. 

 

“I can’t! Can’t you do something?” The left head griped, firing its blaster erratically into the environment. 

 

“How about we slam into a wall?” The right head chimed in. 

 

“No, more blaster fire! More blaster fire!” The middle head commanded. 

 

“Right!” The other heads agreed simultaneously. 

 

Amidst the flurry of blaster fire lighting the train station like a rave party, Fate held on tighter than ever. She could already feel the bruises form on her legs and her bleeding hands, despite the adrenaline pumping through her body. But she pulled the chain tighter and tighter, and held on for dear life, unable to think of anything else. Perhaps if she kept pulling tighter, she would break a wire, bend a frame, something that might give her an advantage. Or maybe the thing’s blaster fire would bring the entire roof down on the two and end them both. 

 

I WILL NOT LOSE YOU STUPID CLANKER!