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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2031783" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 150: The PlungeIntroductions were short, and the trip back to the nice room only slightly longer. By then, Akan and Shadow were back to their Alraxian bodies. The situation had been explained, and currently the discussion had turned to one that had Akan at its center.    “Why in the hell did you walk right in there?!” surprisingly, that was Jen yelling at him. He would have expected it from Titus, but currently he was standing back silent as Jen did the yelling.    “You wanted us to just sit around without even a general idea of what that place is like?” Akan asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he motioned to the building not far off...the blue Halpak logo glowing brightly in the night’s darkness.    Jen gave him a long, slow look then sighed, “Even I know it wasn’t a smart move.”    “It was the only move,” he replied slowly, looking over to Shadow a moment, “Even she knows that, whether she likes it or not.”    Shadow opened her mouth to say something, but Akan’s other voice interrupted her. [Not now. We’ve already had this argument and I’m not in any mood to fight the both of you. If you’d like to step in and stop this, however, you’re welcome.]    Jen was starting to respond, already having gotten out the first couple of syllables before there was another surprise. It was not Shadow who stepped in, but it was Titus, speaking loudly to quiet them but calmly, “Enough. What’s done is done. There’s no point bickering about the past,” he paused a moment, stepping over to the window to motion to the top level of Halpak’s building...which had lights on, “I’d wager this Halpak is right up there. Now, if I were him right now, and I knew that we were here and were coming to get him, then I’d expect a simple attack. We land on the top of his building, take it from there. Would he really expect us to come in through the very entrance that we scouted earlier when its obvious that he knows we know about it?”    They all went silent a moment to think on it. It made sense...mostly, at least. But despite this, Shadow was shaking her head, “Ket will expect anything. It would be safer to go the direct route. He enjoys playing...games with his prey.”    “But we don’t know how defended that roof top is,” Titus pointed out, idly looking up towards it though he couldn’t see if there was anything on top, “Would he really expect us to move in so soon after you two checked it out?”    “Like I said, he’d expect anything,” Shadow commented dryly, though she shrugged and looked to both Akan and Jen a moment before saying, “But I think we should go ahead and move now. This waiting around is pointless and the more time he has to prepare the worse off we’ll be.”    Little else was said. There were no possessions to gather up, as they had been left in the two ships. The weapons they needed, they carried. Silently, the four of them made the trek across the balconies and walkways that crisscrossed most of the Smuggler’s Moon. Though it took some time to reach the building’s entrance, Nal Hutta’s lone star was still hidden away to leave the moon of Nar Shaddaa still in night. Not that it mattered. Or at least, hopefully it wouldn’t matter.    Carefully and slowly, they approached the building. The entrance was black, no lights on and looked to be closed. That was odd. Barely an hour earlier it was bright and open. This change was not lost on either of the two Alraxians who had taken the lead. After a careful few moments of looking around, Akan tried the simple thing and stepped close to the door. It slid open. Unlocked. But dark. Empty, too. So far, not good. They moved in farther, looking around the dark lobby they had seen before. The Voorts also stepped in, only able to see by virtue of the few lights from outside that were illuminating the building softly.    “The turbolift’s dead,” Akan said over his shoulder, grumbling more than anything. This was such a wonderful start.    “There’s a hallway back this way,” Jen said, then added after looking more carefully, “...I think...”    “I see it,” Shadow said with a nod, stepping over the desk and to the hallway off to the left. There was actually a soft light that direction, faint but still enough to be easily seen in the general black of the hallway leading to it. Seeing no where else to go, and all collectively hoping for another turbolift somewhere at the end of it. It was a long hallway, ending in a t-shaped junction. To the left was a closed door, and to the right...stairs. Actual stairs.    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Akan exhaled, nearly whimpering at the sight of the stairs and how steep they were before turning again. There was light, at least, but that didn’t bother him as much as the idea of walking up the entire way to get to the top. Turbolifts were invented to avoid such things, as when buildings became this height, it was nearly an impossible walk.    Titus turned and hit the switch to open the door. A storage closet. An empty storage closet. He sighed, having actually expected that. Shadow took a few steps forward, bringing herself into the lead before saying quietly, “Its just like him. Tire us out. I told you, he likes games.”    “Walking right into a trap,” Jen whispered, more to herself than anyone.    Shadow had nodded to that, “Multiple traps, knowing Ket. But there isn’t any other choice.”    So they walked. The stairs went up, turned right, and then up again. After that, they opened up to a large corridor, which had a very distinct appearance of being maze-like. Without speaking, they just went forward...following Shadow and at least a bit of the Force. Around one corner not too far off, was another set of stairs going up. After glancing back to the others, she led the way up them. They went up four flights instead of just two, leading them to a ver similar looking set of corridors and hallways.    As they walked forward, looking down the other corridors to find the next set of stairs(or even a turbolift if they were very lucky), Jen asked the question they were all thinking at one level or another, “Are we going to have to do this the entire way up?”    “Probably,” Shadow answered flatly, not liking it either but finding that she was focusing more. Ket Halpak was up there and nothing was going to get in the way of that. He was the one who’d been behind all of this insanity with Sadrak in some way...and that she needed to know. That and whatever it was he was up to. He had to be up to something. Otherwise, he’d still be sitting quietly without drawing attention to himself.    Four levels later, the tedious walk through nearly identical hallways was getting to them. If only the stairwells had been in the exact spot each time, but no...no, they had to search for it. They found no other doorways or any indications that this was anything beyond a maze. But as they searched that sixth level for the next stairwell, they head a noise. It was easy to notice in the emptiness that they’d gotten used to, but that did not comfort them. The sounds were not quiet, and it was easy to recognize them as metal on metal. Walking. Getting louder.    The four of them stood back, watching the corner ahead of them in that tense moment to see what it was coming around it. Waiting. Always waiting. But they didn’t have to wait long. Stepping around the corner was a droid. It was nearly two and a half meters tall, clad in perfectly polished metal. The general shape was vaguely Alraxian, almost like Shadow in her metal body but not quite. The eyes were set back deep, and had a soft green glow to them. Soft and piercing. The droid looked powerful. And as it continued to walk forward, they noticed that both arms had very long, very sharp, and above all, very metal blades extending out from the wrists. The hands flexed oddly as it raised its left arm, and though it had no face and made no noise, it almost seemed like the droid was challenging them.    And as two more identical droids stepped around the corner behind the first, the four of them noticed an odd shimmering from the metal of the droids’ bodies. It shimmered slightly. But not in the way light could do...in a way that hinted at actual movement. They exchanged careful glances for a moment. There was something else here...something much more. And then, without warning, the slow and powerful plodding of the droids ended. Without any warning at all, the slow walk became a charge. An extremely fast charge that didn’t seem at all possible from the powerful and large droids. But they charged anyway, despite all reason. They charged down the cramped hallway straight for the two Alraxians, and Akan couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t taken the lead. ((Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. Was exhausted and passed out earlier than usual. But now we've reached the point I've been iching for! Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this stuff as much as we did playing it!))</blockquote>

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