Star Wars - DRK-1X and its Mistress

[shadowbloodmoon]

[sblock=ooc]Well, not exactly. Though there is some evidence to the contrary, ships (or anything else for that matter) can not simply pass through the fields. They need to be shut off, as they are, in fact, force fields. This is why hangar bays are usually cleared of personnel not in suits or droids without magnetic clamps before any ships are brought in or launched. Turning them off without the proper precautions is akin to punching a rather large hole in the hull of the ship or station. Certain video games (Battlefront comes to mind) show the opposite, but I think this is more for ease of gameplay than Star Wars reality. In others, it verifies the effect, often used by the protagonist to *ahem* clear the bay of enemies. Going by the movies, Episode III shows in the very beginning that before Obi-Wan and Anakin can land on Grievous' ship, they have to take out the hangar shield. [/sblock]

Taking in the measurements of the room, you determine that the ceiling, in order to accomodate the shuttlecraft that occupy it, as well as the loading and docking machinery, is nearly 15 meters in height. However, that being said, some of the machinery hangs down far enough to hide a small spherical probot, such as DRK-1X. It takes a little extra time, but eventually you are able to cross the hangar, apparently without being detected, though you are quite certain that without anything to hide behind, someone would have probably spotted you.

Timing the two patrols allows you to access the vent and replace its grating before they come over to your location on the other side of the hangar. You are long gone before they get there.

This new route is slightly off track, but eventually you are able to make it back to your original trajectory. Finding an air scrubber transfer point, you are able to bypass this subcommand center and are now headed towards the main hub.

Many hours and close calls go by, at times having to cross empty hallways or even bringing you close behind a wandering patrol. You've had to stop only once to recharge, but due to there being a nice power conduit that you mapped your journey to, this wasn't too difficult. You've come to develop a routine for the operation and as such, are quite used to it by the time you reach the next leg of your journey. It's been almost two days now, you are very near the outer layer of the center hub, hiding inside a vent with perhaps another hour of travel left. Then a message comes to you from Four:

"Face...orange...setup. Two sides.... having trouble.... where?" The message cuts out abruptly.

 

[Ambrus]

The black spherical probot is swiftly gliding along a ventilation shaft, one amongst the hundreds it had passed through on its way towards the central hub of the massive construction facility, when it receives it's ally's broken transmission. Quickly coming to a halt, DRK-1X quickly rotates its chassis sideways to give it enough room to fully extend its receiver antenna, all in hopes of increasing its comlink sensitivity. Having heard the woman report her orange status, the probot refrains from sending Four a reply for fear of possibly alerting her pursuers, whoever they are, of its own existence and location.

As it anxiously waits for a follow up message from Four, 1X busily analyzes the data log of the woman's last transmission. The probot attempts to glean more of the message from the broken transmission while doing its best to triangulate Four's approximate direction and distance from its own present location. To increase its chances with the latter task, DRK-1X accesses the data from Four's earlier transmission to determine her projected whereabouts for this time period. If successful in confirming the shapeshifter's current location, 1X will cross-reference it with the data it has stored in its databanks concerning that location within the facility, all in hopes of possibly establishing Four's current situation.[sblock=OOC]Depending on the success or failure of its analysis and whether Four manages to send a follow up message or not, DRK-1X will most likely head towards the nearest isolated computer access port. It'll attempt to access security camera images or reports, starting with 1X's best guess at Four's location and working its way outwards from that location until it finds something.[/sblock]

 

[shadowbloodmoon]

According to what Four had sent to you previously, she should still be in the personnel section of this part of the complex, unless she had some mishaps prior to this one that delayed her schedule. More specifically, she should be in the area of an Olin Shan, a male Corellian spatial engineering specialist, if the records are correct. Her purpose there she had only hinted at.

The transmission seems to come from somewhere near there, in an adjoining passageway on another level it would seem. Other than that, there isn't much else of the message you were able to get.

It doesn't take you much longer to find another computer port, and in that time, there are still no further transmissions from Four. You find yourself alone in a private communications room that seems to be somewhat isolated from a part of the complex.

Sending your Code at breakneck speeds through the system, you pull up the security monitors for the sector Four is supposed to be in. There is a security alert in that area as well as in a few others in the complex. The station is also still on alert from the incident during your arrival as well, but this has been downgraded to low level.

Other than a few organics and the occasional maintenance droid, there is nothing on the security monitors where Four is supposed to be, but searching through as many as possible all at once, you manage to find a view of a squad of troopers racing down one of the passageways.

Just off in the distance, you spot a number of personnel dressed in maintenance and technician clothing firing blasters at the soldiers. There are bodies on the deck and one of them has a female face. It is difficult at this distance to tell if she is still breathing.

Corellating that feed with what you have triangulated Four's location to be, they appear to match up.

 

[Ambrus]

OOC: What would be 1X's estimated travel time to the location of the firefight and does 1X have a reasonably safe route in mind to get there?

For the moment, 1X will stay plugged into the computer network and continue to covertly monitor the situation via the security feeds. It'll also attempt to access and analyze the security reports in the system in an attempt to determine what's known to have occurred in that area to have first triggered the alarm, what security measures were taken in response, how those measures have panned out thus far and what other steps, if any, imperial security is planning. For instance, what forces have been dispatched to the area so far and how many more are en route?

It also occurs to 1X that this event, taking place so close to the central hub, might in fact serve as an opportunity. With security personnel currently tied up with this problem now might be the best time for 1X to proceed with covertly entering the central hub and trying to access the isolated computer network there. The probot will do its best to evaluate the overall security situation in an attempt to try and pick out any openings or weak spots suddenly opened in the central hub's security arrangement.

 

[shadowbloodmoon]

Quickly going through the plans that are currently stored in your memory banks, you determine that it would take at the most fifteen minutes to reach where Four is. That is, unless you wanted to travel the main hallways, then it would take much less time, barely five minutes.

According the incoming reports, someone tipped off a security team that there was someone attempting to release the enslaved scientists and take them off the station. They have sent two squads to the locations and two more are on the way. This leaves a large gap between where Four is and her path to the Central Hub. Your path still has some troops left in it, but their number has been halved to reinforce other sections nearby, in case the runaways get past the soldiers sent to stop them. You determine that this has shortened the time for you to reach Dofina by fifteen minutes, down to less than forty-five minutes.

You notice also that the other security alerts are similar in nature, in that someone has been releasing workers all over the complex. It would seem that this was a coordinated attempt.

 

[Ambrus]

The black spherical probe droid's scomplink probe continues to spin in the computer access port with a soft whirring sound as its neural network tries to analyze the incoming security reports. The station's security forces were indeed being thinned out and consequently exploitable gaps were opening in their defenses, but for how long? Could the insurgents hold out against the imperial forces and possibly even gain further ground? If so where would they seek to go? Would this part of the complex soon be overrun with yet more security personnel? There seemed to be simply too many undetermined variables in play to properly project the outcome of this chaotic scenario. Was Four still alive? Would the insurgents abandon her where she'd fallen or carry her along with them during their escape attempt or simply bury her beneath their bodies as they fell to the onslaught of imperial clone troopers? Alive or dead did she present a risk to 1X is she were captured? Could the probot do anything to help her if it chose to? Should it take the present opportunity to try reaching Dofina now?

Luckily, DRK-1X had been outfitted with a heuristic processor designed to learn and adapt to dynamic situations. The probot continues to use its slicing abilities to access key trooper and security droid deployments throughout the section in question and to analyze and identify the best travel routes for it through and around the area. All the while, 1X continues to watch the firefight between the pinned down insurgents and the recently arrived trooper squad. It waits a few seconds to see which side is winning, whether the combatants move forward or retreat, which way they go and to see what becomes of the unmoving woman's body on the floor. As soon as it has enough data to project the probable outcome of the firefight, DRK-1X withdraws its code from the computer core, retracts its scomplink probe back into its chassis and exits the communication room. Briefly scanning the empty hallway around it, the black spherical probot sends a surge of power into its repulsorlift engine causing 1X to tear away at high speed.[sblock=OOC]At the moment, 1X isn't as worried about being seen as it normally might. With this section's alarm having been raised and its security forces being spread thin and on the move it seems unlikely that a single security droid racing about is likely to be noticed or stopped. Still, 1X doesn't take unnecessary chances so it's doing its best to travel through empty hallways and away from other nearby probots and security sensors. Before disconnecting from the main computer, 1X quickly verified to see which specific probots are currently assigned to this area, what their current orders are and where exactly they're supposed to be.

Without being plugged into the computer network 1X's ability to determine what's going on nearby is more limited. DRK-1X will try to keep track of new developments by continuing to monitor security reports and official orders being transmitted via its comlink. Still, it remains possible that the situation at its destination will change significantly by the time the probot gets there. Consequently, as it travels, 1X will take advantage of any long empty stretches of hallway by taking run actions whenever possible in an attempt to reduce its travel time as much as possible. Whether it's running or hustling though, DRK-1X will continue to exercise its stealth abilities (Hide +24, Move Silently +18, taking 10).

DRK-1X's primary goal at the moment is too covertly reach Four, determine whether she's alive or not and to search her person to retrieve any compromising equipment she may be carrying, such as her personal journals. If she's alive then 1X may try to help her if it seems feasible. If she's dead 1X will simply leave her where she is and proceed carefully with trying to breach the central hub outer shell. Since you mentioned that there was a wide security gap between Four's location and the central hub this little side-trek seems to me like a good shortcut to take at the moment, perhaps even faster and safer than 1X's planned route?[/sblock]

 

[shadowbloodmoon]

Before disconnecting from the computer acess port, DRK-1X watches for a few moments as the fire fight in the personnel section continues. The new squad of troops is pushing back the escaped workers. One of them stop to attend to the female on the floor, but is gunned down for his troubles. The squad continues past where the body lay. According to the reports, it seems that security is attempting to herd them towards the hangar bays.

Your query about other probots in this sector comes back with a list of four of them altogether in this sector and on the path to where Four is, all here to monitor activity and not interfere with the troops unless overridden by a ranking security officer.

It takes approximately four and one half minutes to finally reach where Four was. During the trip, your scanning of the communications system picks up random tidbits from different security sections and from the troopers that are actually fighting. Most of them are simply confirming locations as well as maintaining a running status on the fight as it occurs. It appears that your prior judgement was correct. The troopers are attempting to push the escapees towards the hangar bays in order to corral them in one location. They've ordered the docking workers and droids to clear the area.

When you reach the place you saw in the monitor, the smoke from the blaster fire has all but cleared. You can pick out the sounds of blaster fire still occuring less than fifty meters away however. There are a small number of clone bodies on the ground, but there are a larger number of worker bodies, one of them having a face your recognition software can identify.

She is alive, but barely so. The large blaster burn on her chest indicates a direct hit. When she sees you. she attempts to speak, but her blood bubbles forth instead...

 

[Ambrus]

The diminutive probe droid sinks down to ground level next to the prone woman, attempting to conceal its presence in the hallway by hiding amongst the pile of clone and insurgent bodies (Hide +24, taking 10). Remaining weary of being spotted by arriving imperial troopers or probots, DRK-1X keeps one of its sensor pods raised above the top of the corpses to continue scanning the vicinity (Spot +13, taking 10). With a thought 1X activates its MSR-X processor module, allowing the device's microprocessor to access the probot's sensor feeds and to diagnose the injured woman's condition.[sblock=OOC]Although 1X would very much like to hear anything Four has to say, the probot's first priority is to determine whether she has suffered a mortal wound or not. If her death is inevitable, then 1X might proceed with a mercy killing. If the MSR-X module judges it possible to save the woman's life and restore her to a condition from which she can use her shapechanging abilities to assume a disguise then 1X might consider allowing it to proceed with the attempt. If however she's too badly injured to resume her covert activities but unlikely to succumb to her wounds then she risks being captured and possibly interrogated; at which point she becomes a liability to 1X, Derek and Dofina. In such a case 1X has a tough decision to make. :\ Problem is, whatever the diagnosis turns out to be, 1X doesn't want to risk remaining out in the open for much longer where one of the security probots might stumble across it any second.

I suppose I should ask on the off chance that's it's possible; does 1X know of an isolated storage compartment, maintenance area or currently unused room within stumbling/dragging distance of Four's position?

OOC: Congrats on your 1,000th post BTW. [/sblock]

 

[shadowbloodmoon]

[sblock=OOC]Heh, I didn't even notice that... Thanks for the congrats though. I'm a second level poster!! Okay, I'm better now. That's two things to celebrate, my wedding anniversary was yesterday too.

Yes, there is a storage compartment not far from where the two of you currently are, it is used as extra storage by the personnel that usually habitate this area. There are no med centers near enough though...

[/sblock]

The MSR-X activates and immediately a series of vital scans run through your virtual display. The device voices its concern to you. "Subject is having difficulty breathing and is bleeding internally. The blaster wound to her chest was a direct hit and burned through to her internal systems. If not taken to a medical center, she will expire soon."

As you are listening to the medical device, Four attempts to speak again and this time words come out between ragged breaths, "T..tell your...tell Dofina I..tell her I am..I am sorry." She appears to be struggling with something in one of her outfit's pockets.

Incidentally, the blaster fire has started to recede into the distance, the battle has moved farther away.

 

[Ambrus]

As soon as it becomes clear that the woman is dying DRK-1X reorients and activates its holorecorder unit to capture Four's final moments, including her message to Dofina. 1X keeps the MSR-X unit active to receive its analysis of the unique woman's phisiological and cyborganic processes as she expires. The probot silently uploads a string of binary to the medical unit's processor, offering it thanks for its assistance. 1X simultaneously uploads data to its vocabulator speech buffer to respond to Four's statement. The probot leans in close to the woman, and being aware of the press of time, whispers hurriedly. "Statement of fact: I am recording your image. Statement of intent: My mistress will view it as soon as I am able to replay it for her. Report: My scans reveal that several of your vital organs have suffered grievous damage and that you are bleeding internally. We are currently not in proximity to an adequately stocked medical facility where the damage could be repaired before you suffer irreversible system failure. I'm afraid you will soon die. Statement of sympathy: I'm sorry. Statement of gratitude: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your help. It is uncertain that I could have arrived here without your aid."

As it speaks, the diminutive black droid deploys its tiny manipulator arms from within its chassis to help remove whatever the woman is trying to retrieve from her pocket. As it continues to watch and record Four's final moments, DRK-1X executes a scan of the woman's body to search for any other equipment she may be carrying (Search +10). Even now, 1X is already projecting its escape route out of the hazzardous area, being anxious to return to the relative safety of the facility's ventilation ducts and maintenance shafts.[sblock=OOC]Oh wow! Congradulations on your anniversary! It's good to hear some good news from your end for a change. Please give your wife my best wishes. [/sblock]