Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 41 to 57 of 57

Thread: Shadows of the Republic: The Underground

  1. #41
    Serena
    Guest
    She had a hand on his shoulder, assisting her as their surroundings got even darker in the shadow of the building. The Force helped, but she found it a little comforting to have a bit of human contact here in the darkness. He hadn't shrugged her off yet, so she kept her touch light.

    He saw the drainage duct at the same time she did, and she nodded as he motioned towards it. "Okay," she said, avoiding sibilants that might carry in the still air. Sol moved sideways against the wall until he reached the duct, and she followed closely behind.

    As he crouched down, she squeezed his shoulder a bit. "Watch out for them," meaning the womp rats, "We don't want to come up on them quickly." Sol nodded, ducking inside, and Serena followed, her hands squishing into who knows what as she crawled in after him.

  2. #42
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    As if the wastewater lake wasn't bad enough, now they were mucking through a warehouse drainpipe - though what it might once have drained, Sol couldn't begin to guess. This warehouse probably hadn't been used in a commercial capacity for many centuries; life and its residue had merely filled in the gaps. The buildings at these levels were more landscape than infrastructure.

    They pressed on for ten meters - twenty - around a bend, and then into a reservoir with a rusted grating overhead. Sol squeezed his legs around in front of him and dropped them into the mud below so he could look up through the grating.

    They were in a corner of the warehouse - the floor probably had strategically placed channels to direct waste flow into the grate and into the drainage system. But more importantly, this corner of the warehouse was isolated from the rest - Sol could sense the mass of several piles of crates forming walls above him. If he could shift the grate, they could shimmy up undetected.

    He caught Serena's eyes and pointed upward. Then he reached up and braced his hands against the grate to see if it would lift free of the floor --

    clack clack clack CLUNK CLUNK!

    A B1 battle droid on patrol had just marched over top of them and stopped with both feet on the grate. The droid paused there to inspect its weapon.

    "RX231, is your blaster getting gunked up, too?"

    "My blaster? Just look at my servos! Any chance of an oil bath when we get back?"

    "Quit complaining, you two. You should thank the maker you're not in Alpha Base dealing with Jedi right now."


    Sol slowly pulled his hands away from the grate and reached for his lightsaber.
    Last edited by Sol Iman; Dec 28th, 2008 at 05:00:07 PM.

  3. #43
    Serena
    Guest
    She lifted weepy eyes towards the light, but the Force showed her more clearly what was going on. Sol reached for his lightsaber, but she could see that cutting their way in and through these droids was going to be noisy. He'd disable the first one that was just above them, and the second would have time to use the comm or begin to use the comm before he could get to it.

    Alpha Base. Serena filed away that nugget, and reached out with the Force, above her in the hallway. As Sol poised himself for igniting his saber and beginning their 'infiltration,' she found something. A mouse droid. She shoved it with the Force, picking it up and pinging it off a wall, out of line of sight from the two B1's.

    "What was that?"

    "What was what?"

    "Better check it out."
    The droid on the grate clunked forward and the second one reluctantly followed until they were both around the corner.

  4. #44
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    Sol waited for a moment and listened, with more than just his ears. The droids were well out of sight, and he sensed no danger immediately overhead.

    He nodded gratefully toward Serena and lifted the grate out of its housing. It slid with surprising ease, considering all the detritus coating every surface - it was wet enough that it was actually acting as a lubricant.

    Once he'd worked it free, his telekinesis took over, and the grate hovered over the floor off to the side and settled with a barely audible scrape. Then Sol grabbed the upper rim of the drain hole and pulled himself up - slowly, so as not to splash. The Padawan scraped the excess mud off his boots before sliding up to a seat on the floor. Then he reached an arm down to swing Serena up without dipping her into the muddy reservoir.

    They were in, but they couldn't conceal their presence for long. Sol had left a large black smear of mud over the rim of the drain, and he couldn't walk anywhere without leaving footprints; Serena was better off. Sol couldn't help thinking he could use a good brawl to knock some of the muck off, but they needed to find out what they were dealing with first.

  5. #45
    Serena
    Guest
    After a few moments of tip-toeing through the first floor, they had not run into any more droids... or anything else, for that matter. Serena leaned close to Sol, whispering, "I do not sense our masters."

    Leaf on the river. Fear leads to anger. Fear leads to the dark side. Was Master Dremmel dead? They were just padawans. But the lives of hundreds of thousands of Republic clones and commanders and Jedi were in danger. She found herself breathing through an open mouth, her tongue dry. "What... what are we looking for?"
    Last edited by Lilaena De'Ville; Jan 12th, 2009 at 02:00:38 AM. Reason: ttt

  6. #46
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    Sol could feel Serena's tension growing behind him. In fact, the air itself seemed to vibrate with danger. He couldn't tell how many battle droids were here - as long as they didn't encounter groups of more than five or so at a time, it probably didn't matter. The real peril was allowing them to signal the main garrison in the tower.

    "We're looking for a way to the roof," he whispered back. "We need to neutralize those spider droids..."

    He pursed his lips and paused as he heard metallic footsteps on the other side of several rows of crates.

    "Serena," he said, almost inaudibly, "we're going to be fighting soon. I can sense it. Are you ready?"

  7. #47
    Serena
    Guest
    Am I ready? She nodded, once, her hand tightening on the pommel of her lightsaber. The metallic steps nearby reassured her that they would not be facing the rolling droidekas with their shields. At least, not at first.

    Sol tensed, and she could feel him preparing himself for the coming battle. And then he burst forward running quietly along the crates as the footsteps drew nearer. Serena followed after him just as silently, and then they were face to face with a squad of battle droids.

    She sucked in her breath and ignited her saber, deflecting blaster bolts as the droids opened fire on them without bothering to ask questions.

  8. #48
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    The confines were tight between the rows of crates. As Serena intercepted the first volley of blaster bolts, Sol darted past her and thrust out his open palm. A Force blast sent the four battle droids tumbling in a heap of metal limbs.

    Sol closed the distance quickly with his long strides, thumbed his saber to life, and executed a lightning-fast pirouette of his blade that cut through vital servos and left scorchmarks on the crates to either side.

    Now he was out in the open, a stretch of corroded concrete the size of a smashball court, and he saw a rickety durasteel staircase leading up to the roof access. But he'd also just been spotted by a dozen more assorted B1s and - uh-oh. Super Battle Droids.

    "HALT."

    The heavily armored B2s fanned out and leveled their autofiring wrist blasters at him. There was more plasma in the air than he could deflect on his own, and he had to leap back into the cover of the crates.

  9. #49
    Serena
    Guest
    Serena pressed her lips together firmly and followed behind Sol as he cleared the rows of crates. Then he was going backwards, shoving both of them back into cover as the B2s opened fire. She ducked down, covering her head with her arms as the crating material splintered and sprayed the padawans.

    "This isn't going to work for long!" Serena shouted at Sol over the racket of blaster fire.

    He nodded, face serious and hand on his lightsaber. She caught his intent, and forced herself not to think, just react. Their masters, and the Republic, were depending on the instincts and skills of two padawans. Serena nodded as well, and there was an instant of ear popping silence as the Super Battle Droids ceased firing and walked in concert to close the distance between them and their human prey.

    Serena leapt up, thrusting her hands out and sending the crates between her and the B2s tumbling towards the droids at high speed. The Supers withstood the blast, merely tottering on their heavy feet, but the B1s went flying, metal bodies tumbling to the ground in confusion. It only took a moment for the B2s to open fire once more, but she and Sol were ready, lightsabers flashing in unison as they deflected the bolts and determinedly walked towards them.

  10. #50
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    Employing what little Soressu he'd mastered, Sol managed to throw a few blaster bolts back at their aggressors, but that only left rapidly cooling hotspots on the B2s' armored carapaces. It was more or less a stand-off of firepower and defense until one of the Supers leaned forward to bring to bring its shoulder-mounted grenade launcher to bear.

    "Cover!" Sol shouted, and the two Padawans dove in opposite directions as the B2 fired a glowing blue orb. It lodged in the wall where they'd been standing and detonated in a shower of shrapnel and masonry.

    The Super pivoted to track Sol's escape and fired another grenade. The blast brought down a monstrous stack of metal crates, spilling tons of rusted scrap across the warehouse floor. The droid lost track of its target but loaded another grenade as it scanned the wreckage.

    And then, of its own accord, the grenade's firing pin jostled loose, and the charge began to glow blue in the chamber.

    "UH-OH."

    The launcher exploded, taking most of the B2's body with it and knocking the remaining three Supers off-balance. The two Padawans charged out from their cover with their lightsabers burning in righteous vengeance.

  11. #51
    Serena
    Guest
    Leaping out from cover Serena darted forward, covering the ground between her and the B2's before they recovered their equilibrium. Lightsaber blade flashing, she sliced through one of the droids' weapon arms, spinning and decapitating it before the two arms clattered to the ground.

    Sparks erupted from the B2's 'neck' as she ducked down and chopped the second droid's legs out from under it. Sol turned from the Super he had taken out and stabbed his lightsaber into the fallen B2's chestplate, destroying its power cell. Serena exhaled loudly, sucking in another breath as she slowly got back to her feet, the leaf on the stream forgotten as the heat of the battle faded.

    Master Dremmel... where are you?
    She followed after Sol as he took the staircase three steps at a time, racing up towards the roof. Serena wanted to call out to him, tell him to take it slowly. They didn't know exactly what was on the roof, but OG-9 spider droids were trouble enough.

    Sol burst onto the roof, and Serena had no choice but to follow, her hand clammy on her lightsaber hilt. Fear left a tinny taste in her mouth, and her heart thudded loudly in her ears as she left the relative security of the stairwell.

  12. #52
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    Sol's saber cleaved through the darkness of the underground like chain lightning, and behind him fell the wreckage of battle droids - heads, arms, the barrel of a dwarf spider's blaster cannon, a raised communication aerial - until the rooftop was littered with sparking and molten metal. He was halfway across the roof before it occurred to him to wonder why his enemies weren't firing a single shot.

    He ducked behind the cover of a corrugated chimney stack and pressed his back against the warm, shuddering metal. Serena was still hanging back by the stairwell exit wearing a look of shock, and she opened her mouth to say something, but he planted his finger on his lips urgently to cut her off. Then he waved over to a nearby wall, then signaled over his head - Outflank them, and get ready to cover me.

    Sol took a fortifying breath, felt the Force surge through him, and leapt high over the chimney stack to fall on the enemy from above -

    And found himself staring straight into the laser cannon of a hulking OG-9 spider walker with Master Tau sitting nonchalantly on its head.

    Sol tried to redirect himself in midair and tumbled to the concrete rooftop, dousing his saber so he didn't cut off any of his own limbs, and he came to rest at the feet of a deactivated B2 Super Battle Droid.

    Master Tau dropped from his perch and stooped to give his Padawan a hand. "Are you finished?" he asked.

    Master Dremmel strolled out from behind one of the walker's massive feet a moment later.

  13. #53
    Serena
    Guest
    She tried to alert Sol to the presence of their masters, but he was concentrating deeply and was practically oblivious to anything but the horrible Separatist droids. Serena edged out from the stairwell, keeping her back to the worn duracrete as Sol leapt up from behind a chimney.

    As he fell to the rooftop in surprise, Master Dremmel walked out from underneath one of the large spider droids, beckoning her over to them. As Tau dropped down, a smile on his face, she hurried over, lightsaber held firmly in her hand still.

    "I told you - we have resourceful padawans," her master said, and Master Tau nodded, clapping Sol on the shoulder. Dremmel continued, "We destroyed their long range communications equipment, but we must hurry." He gathered up his slightly singed robes and walked off quickly, back towards the stairwell.

    "It's a good thing we destroyed the control hub. I wager it made things easier for you." Master Tau winked at Serena as he walked alongside her.

    Sol exchanged a look with her, and interjected, "Um... Master, we were fighting through droids on the way up."

    "Active droids?"

    "Active enough to launch concussion grenades."

    "Oh. Well. Frack."

    Dremmel paused at the doorway looking down at the rickety stairs, and looked back at his friend. "That complicates things a great deal. Another control hub means another stronghold somewhere. And active droids..."

    "We have no time to waste," said Master Tau, and the foursome was soon running down the stairs back into the dilapidated building. "The data storage must be on one of the lower floors, we didn't explore those completely."

    "Master!" Serena shouted, her lightsaber in her hand and active before she was totally aware of why. Blaster fire strafed the landing as a squad of B1s stormed towards the stairs.

  14. #54
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    "Sol!" Master Tau barked. "Form a rearguard!"

    The Kiffar knight and his Padawan turned to face the onslaught from above, weaving an impenetrable shield between Tau's green saber and Sol's blue. A handful of droids rained blaster fire from the landing two stories above them while their compatriots advanced down the stairs after the Jedi, metal feet tramping in unison. Sol angled a blaster bolt back at one of the B1s on the landing; it shuddered, then overbalanced, toppling over the rail and plummeting down the center shaft of the stairwell into the darkness of the basement levels below.

    Tau grunted in approval and shot a quick glance toward Master Dremmel. "Well, at least we can withstand this as long as they don't have--"

    P-CHUNK CHUNK Hsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

    Two metal canisters tumbled from the landing above, bounced over the stairs, and came to rest a few levels down, vomiting thick clouds of a noxious, yellow vapor that billowed back up toward the Jedi.

    "Swamp gas!" Sol exclaimed, beating back a surge of horror. He'd heard the nightmare tales of Separatist gas weapons - corrosive fumes that melted flesh and left mechanical components unharmed. They had wiped out whole regiments of clone soldiers in the field.

    "We'll have to drop through it to the basement levels," Tau said. "Keep your eyes and mouth closed, your feelings open. Sol and Serena, you first. Go!"

    Sol hated the idea of abandoning their masters once again, but this time he knew they'd be right behind their Padawans. Master Dremmel sent a blast of Force-guided air down through the expanding gas cloud to create a tunnel of safety, and Sol took Serena's hand, stepped onto the metal railing, and plummeted down into the damp blackness of the Coruscant sub-basements.

  15. #55
    Serena
    Guest
    Serena's heart jumped about in her chest at the proclamation of swamp gas, but before she could think too hard about it Sol grabbed her hand and they were falling through the air. She squeezed her sore eyes shut, holding her breath and exhaling slowly through her nose to keep any stray gas from entering.

    Through the Force she could feel their masters following them, and then she had to concentrate on Sol. The padawans cleared the gases, and continued falling, drawing on the Force to slow themselves before they hit the ground. Serena landed a little harder than Sol, collapsing into a crouch. He yanked on her arm, pulling her out of the way as Dremmel and Tau arrived in the subbasement.

    Master Dremmel turned around slowly, his blue lightsaber illuminating the gloom around him. Serena got to her feet, coughing, mostly because of mental suggestion, not because she actually needed to. Sol had pushed her into a puddle of something, but it didn't appear to be corrosive, and her clothes were already ruined from the dip in the wastewater lake.

    "This way," Dremmel said, and Tau nodded. They headed into the darkness, senses aware of every little change in their surroundings. It was preternaturally quiet, the sounds of the droids in the stairwell far above fading as the quartet of Jedi made their way deeper into the sub-basement.
    Last edited by Serena; Feb 17th, 2010 at 07:33:07 PM. Reason: ttt so I can find it

  16. #56
    TheHolo.Net Poster
    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Sol Iman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    AKA
    Andrew
    Location
    Coruscant
    Posts
    104
    The darkness pressed in all around them from just beyond the halo of pale, blue light cast by Dremmel's light saber. There were many different sorts of darkness - the empty darkness of space, the patient darkness of the subterranean caves of Korriban, the watchful darkness of the wilderness on Kalee at night. This was different. It was the lonely darkness of a forgotten place, thick, smoky, viscous, crushed and condensed under the weight of the stratoscrapers above. Sol felt as if he were light years away from the Temple and the balance and calm it exuded.

    "Master," he whispered, "what is our plan? Do we return to the surface to make our report, or do we search for remaining Separatists?"

    "Honestly?" Master Tau replied. "I think both are secondary to finding a way out of here that is not full of toxic gas."

    "But now that they know they've been infiltrated," Sol insisted, "what if they transmit the stolen data?"

    "Patience, Padawan," Dremmel cautioned him. "We've already destroyed their communication equipment. If there is another Separatist base down here, it has a different purpose than the one we just demolished."

    Sol shot an uncertain look toward Serena. "But... if there's no datastream to track... how are we going to find the base?"

    "I sense the answer to that is closer than you think," Tau said. "Thalios, if you wouldn't mind?"

    Master Dremmel extinguished his lightsaber, and the darkness poured in like a flood. Completely blind, Sol stumbled to a stop, then felt Serena bump into him and reached to steady her. He was about to ask the two masters what they were looking for when his eyes began to adjust, and he saw a thin, pale glow on the corridor wall stretching in front and behind in a straight, unbroken line. Here and there, the glow clustered into disc-shaped nodes with an infinitesimally brighter glow.

    Sol squinted at the meager light - it was not enough to illuminate anything but itself, but it marked a clear path down the corridor before them, then twisted and ran across the ceiling, up over a bend, and out of sight. "What...?"

    "Electrovore bacteria," Tau said. "They're drawn to any active power source. Now, who do you suppose would be using the power grid all the way down here?"

  17. #57
    Serena
    Guest
    They were plunged into complete darkness as Master Dremmel flicked off his lightsaber, and Serena slowed her steps so she wouldn't bump into anyone. Her eyes watered as they tried to focus, and she still nudged Sol despite her best efforts. As he and his master talked she was able to see the glow of the electrovore bacteria.

    Dremmel touched her arm, and she gasped a bit in surprise. He chuckled lightly. "Steady yourself, padawan. Trust the Force."

    "Yes, I am sorry Master." Serena took a deep, calming breath, and blew it out slowly.

    The quartet moved quickly along the deep passages, following the glowing trail. By Serena's reckoning they were leaving the original building behind and moving further into the - Oh!

    "Sol - the warehouses. There were people in some of them. I think we're headed towards them."
    Last edited by Serena; Jul 18th, 2010 at 04:12:33 PM. Reason: ttt

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •