Log:Murder-Gremlins A Go-Go!

Murder-Gremlins A Go-Go!

OOC Date: November 6, 2015 (Optional)
Location: Naboo
Participants: Mandl, Rhani Aeternum, Rheisa Dirleel, Qadira Suuryet, Vraag Rengh, Siya, Jonn Hardy, Adhar Gann

Shuttle Epsilon Tau Three, the last afternoon shuttle out of Theed City before the shift change drifts along in hyperspace, the pale white and blue streak of the rush of stars flashing by the various view ports on the state of the art shuttle providing a pleasant enough view for the passengers of this particular flight, even if it does nothing to make the time pass by faster. The pilot and co-pilot are hidden away behind closed doors, while the flight attendants make occasional passes up and down the aisle to deliver drinks and food. The sound of the ship intercom system contacting can be heard moments before the pilot's voice crackles, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Looks like we are due to drop out of hyperspace in about three minutes. As always, thank you for flying with Naboo Galactic Transports(tm) and we hope that you will consider us for all of your future transportation needs."

Mandl's lawyers' request for notarized copies of certain claims and patents was not unusual, given the Bith's third or fourth full-time occupation as a defendant in Hutt courts, so the Bith merely relaxes with a briefcase on his lap -- she does raise a finger for a gin fizz, when the cart comes by.

"I still think we should have taken the Heart," Kadi says, settled in not too far from Mandl. Within speaking distance at any rate. "Though it was nice to come to Naboo and visit the winery without them knowing I was arriving for a change." She has her datapad, as always, settled into her seat and relaxed as the trip seems almost over. "Three minutes? I guess I won't start another game of Crazy Candy."

Rheisa is lingering in a drowsy limbo between napping and wakefulness when the announcement is made. She doesn't start out of her seat - it's a sudden noise she's become familiar enough with these past two years. Eyes still closed, she smiles to self in thought of her two very special acquisitions that are now packaged carefully into her luggage. Neither one of them gave the impression of being 'evil', or harnessing a dark and vindictive energy, but they are both very old - probably much older than the mask 'khos'a ki tohg'ha unt sa'darrra' is looking for, but they'll add splendor to her gallery nevertheless. And there's the clatter and hum of that damn cart, just ahead in the aisle up by Kadi and Mandl. One eye pops open in study. She just HAD a water ten minutes ago, tyvm. It isn't pleasent, cramming one's self into the claustrophobic box designated as the pee zone. So she wishes they'd just quit pumping everyone full of fizz and booze. It's impolite to refuse, she feels, but squirms once in her seat just thinking about the repercussions. No. No, she does not want. This time. That eye snaps closed again and she feigns sleep.

Seated near Mandl and Kadi, Rhani has a pair of earbuds attached behind her ears. Her fingers sway and her feet tap-a-tap to the music only she can hear. When a flight attendant nears, she lifts a finger to hail the person. Trying not to speak too loudly even with the music, she orders two fingers of Corellian whiskey. Neat. She even adds a 'please' on the end there. Once the order has been placed, she goes back to whatever it is she is listening to.

A certain mountain of a Mandalorian is also present upon this cozy little shuttle ride from Naboo to Nar Shaddaa. The big half human, half kiffar is seated in a seat that is almost too small for the big man, his broad shoulders easily pressing outward to certainly make anyone seated on either side of him uncomfortable. His two swords are held between his legs, while his blaster and ammo pack are stowed in the overhead storage compartment. He is wearing his suit of Mandalorian Armor and his helmet is hung on the handles of his swords. He looks sideways to the unfortunate individual who has the luck to be crammed beside the big man, a certain Togruta artist, and grumps, "I wish they'd make these things bigger. For normal size people. I can't stretch my legs out here."

Somewhere around the back of the bus, where al the cool kids are, is Adhar. He's on...some sort of job, perhaps, swallowed primarily by a dark blue poncho of rainproof material. Doesn't hide the armored plates underneath, however. Eyes mostly closed, Adhar peers down the aisle. Mostly at Rhani, though on occasion he looks between others he knows, or at least recognizes.

Vraag gets a bit of attention, too. That armor! He's 'mirin'.

Siya lounges in her seat, sipping from some pink drink one of the stewardess was passing out. After finishing her swallow, she glances to Adhar, whom she had stalked and accompanied on this venture. "This was nice. I love being served drinks. I can't wait to get home and try some of the new recipes I learned." She glances to him, "You should let me experiment on you." She laughs softly, "If you like!"

The shuttle rocks gently as true to the pilot's words, the shuttle drops out of hyperspace and soon enough the engines can be felt engaging as the transport begins to slip along toward Nar Shaddaa out in the distance. "There she is, folks, Nar Shaddaa. We are beginning our final approach. Looks like our co-pilot's astrogation mapping was somewhat off kilter, but take it easy on him. It's his first day on the job. We'll be landing soon enough."

Mandl sips gin, careful not to position it over the briefcase in the certain eventuality of bumps or jiggles. It tells Kadi: "Shuttle-tickets are much easier to claim as 'business expense' than bulk-fuel purchases. The Ax may just be looking at last year's Wayward taxes."

"Can't be as bad as my flying," Kadi says wryly upon hearing the Captain's words. And then that wry grin goes to Mandl. "You know - I am actually glad we're married at times like this. I can just let Ax deal with things like taxes." Yup - totally her job to spend the money not count it. She glances over at Rhani, thoughtfully, and then looks to see if she can glance out the window. "Wonder how badly off kilter we are, at that. I mean - I'm not flying so it can't be that bad, right?"

"AM normal siiize," Rheisa complains right back at the hulk responsible for shrinking her assigned space. In space, where no one can hear you whine. If HE thinks it's so bad, he should try orienting his spatial awareness through a couple giant satellite dishes - aka montrals. She can't perceive where her self ends and his self begins! Her eyelids squeeze shut more tightly. According to their captain, after all, this landong was going to take a little longer than usual.

Rhani Aeternum accepts the whiskey from the stewardess with one hand while the other weaves back and forth through the melody of the music. Her feet still tap out the rhythm as it progresses. Taking a sip, she swallows and says, "Thanks," a bit too loudly. That is followed by a softer 'little boy blue and the man in the moon...' An old song all about cats who sleep in cradles and all manner of other absurdities. At least the melody is cheerful even if the underlying words of the song are decidedly not. This trip? It is the surface impressions that matter.

Vraag chuckles in his seat, and then lifts a hand to press against his armored abdomen with a pained grimace, the tail end of his laugh ending with a quiet groan. "Don't you worry, little thing. We'll land before long. I saw you get on the ship before me and hoped that I could talk ya into showing me where you saw them droids running to," Vraag explains with a gruff voice.

It's strange to be on a shuttle with so many friends or people you know, but not really talk to them - but on a bulk shuttle like this, that's often how it goes. "...yeah, it was a nice time," says Adhar, who is significantly less energetic than Siya (fairly exhausted might be the proper term.) "I'm glad you got to come with me; it's nice to have a good friend along. I'm sorry I had to work, of course, but it's been real lean lately. Bottom fell out of the Taanabian coolant market." A tragedy, to be sure. "And then there was the repairs for the Voidhome after that whole sea monster thing." He looks over at Siya and smiles, rapping on the plates beneath his poncho. "Good thing I didn't need this in the end, huh?

FAMOUS LAST WORDS, ADHAR. FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

Siya turns her attention to Mandl. "There is a Wayward tax?" She inquires of the Bith. "I wasn't made aware of this fact. How much is this tax?" Her arms fold across her chest and she scowls. "I was never informed of a tax when I signed up." She does a double-take at Adhar. "Wait.. what? You never told me about a sea monster thing!"

There is another crackle from the radio, but this time it would appear as though it were unintentional. "What the... What is that ship even doing?" can be heard from the pilot, his tone clearly bewildered and more than a little cautious. "I hate Hutt space, all of these smugglers and criminals that can't work an honest-- Hey! That bastard is firing on us!" The ship suddenly lurches to the starboard side, and soon enough the viewports on the port side of the ship reveal what appears to be three long missiles flying directly for the shuttle!

"Shit! Brace for impact!" the Captain yells out! Moments before the projectiles collide with the side of the ship, something odd happens, the missiles opening and launching out what appears to be six black balls, the metallic orbs colliding with the shuttle plating.

Mandl abandons the pretense of preciousness, and also the drink, shielding Mandlself with the briefcase!

Kadi is already trying to look out the window, and the panicked complaint from the captain puts butterflies in her stomach and sharpens her vision. Or at least it intensifies her desire to look. As she spies the black balls outside, her eyes widen. "Those look like buzz droids," she calls out. Loud enough to be heard throughout the cabin. "Let the captain know!" That to the stewardess who is with them in the cabin. "I hate to say it, but I have a bad feeling about this."

"I would be happy to do so," Rheisa mutters in response to Vraag, "now that you are in one pieces." Then the ship shakes and the voices overhead are freaking out, and the Togruta decides this is NOT normal and finally opens both eyes. "BAKA!" she yelps as dark, blurry things moving impossibly fast are /briefly/ in view around Vragg's bulk and one of them THUDS against the viewport, blacking it out.

Vraag's groan escalates into a pained groan as the ship suddenly lurches and puts pressure on his still sensitive abdomen. "Ahhh, dammit!" he grouses as his eyes follow Rheisa's to mark the black orbs that smack against the side of the freighter. "This doesn't sound good," he says as he lifts his helmet from where it hangs on the handles of his swords and quickly moves to slide the protective wear on and fasten it to the rest of his gear. "Buzz droids?" he calls out louder, his head turning toward where Kadi is. "Those things from the Clone Wars?" he says, his voice more than a little doubtful.

"Those are buzz droids, all right!" Adhar's on his feet, pulling his helmet over his head as the spheres hurtle toward the ship. "Everybody," he calls out to the crowd on the shuttle, voice magnified through the vocoder of his eerie helmet, "Sabotage droids are about to attach to the hull. Everyone try to stay calm, make sure that your emergency breather masks are on or are within very close reach, and prepare for sudden decompression. Fighting passengers, arm yourselves and prepare to repel boarders."

Siya blinks as the ship lurches and she lets out a sudden cry of surprise. Shelooses her drink and it splashes onto the floor, the glass rolling away to oblivion. "Buzz droid? What is a buzz droid?" Siya says towards Kadi, her eyes wide. She becomes even more apprehensive when the thunk sound of droid hitting hull can be heard inside. She falls quiet as the droids are being explained by Adhar. She reaches for her decompression mask, pulling it down and scrambling to prepare it. She is not a fighter.

"What in the world is going on?" Jonn asks, eyes blinking as he wakes up from his seat isolated from the rest of those nerds. His head swivels around and he sits up, saying, "This is what I get for leaving Nar Shaddaa."

The sound of six thunks can be heard as the buzz droids collide with the hull outside and then the faint but rapid tink, tink, tink of tiny metallic feet skittering across the reinforced plating as they seem to spread out in a creepy crawly way along the outside hull. "What the hell are those things?" the pilot yells, apparently leaning on the intercom button. "Attention, CoreStar tower, this is Shutt-.... FUCK! They killed the comms!" Silence fills the space for a matter of peaceful seconds that seem to be over far too quickly, as a high rate buzzing can be heard.

Mandl cranes its neck, failing to catch any clues as to the disturbance beyond Kadi's description. Knowing her armor isn't airtight, Mandl straps on an oxygen-mask and he begins herding civilians past the line of the nearest bulkhead, whether that's a door or an automated shield. "Let us all quickly, calmly head to the nearest emergency-approved area... we wish this story to be how everyone survives unharmed. Especially geologists."

"What Adhar said," Kadi answers tightly. "I don't think I even knew Adhar was on this shuttle, but well, there you go." She continues to scan out the windows, before she gives a bit of a panicked, "One of them is trying to get in the cockpit, that can't be good." Never mind the others trying to get into the rest of the shuttle freighter. "I'm not sure what to do," she adds, finally looking for the temporary decompression mask in case she needs it. "Rhani, Mandl, do you guys have your masks?" They're near enough at least for her to ask that. And then Kadi actually does draw her ion blaster. "I am sure they won't like this," she mutters. "But neither will the shuttle we're in. So, last ditch effort. Because if it gets bad enough I have to shoot, we're all in trouble anyway."

Terror reads easily enough in Rheisa's big eyes as she becomes one with her seat and just keeps staring sideways at the sliver of visible atmosphere whipping past the window past Vraag's shoulder. When the respirator drops from overhead, she nearly jumps out of her skin, but fumbles the mask around until it's out of lap and on her face. What to do when in doubt, fear, hunger, joy, or any other notable state of mind? Follow the pack! Rheisa doesn't need prompting to join the herd. It's first nature, to her, and she's following along with a small bag clutched to her chest. But what about her /luggage/!?!? PRECIOUS ART

Vraag does not follow the pack, at least not right away. He stands calmly from his seat and slips his swords into place at his waist before flipping the switch on the overhead storage compartment. He fumbles around for a moment, grabbing peoples' bags and suit cases and flinging them wildly across the room. "Damn tourists, always bringing all of this worthless junk! Where is my---- Ahh! There it is!" He grabs the barrel of his ammo dispensing pack and slings it over his shoulders, then pulls free the blaster rifle and cocks the weapon. His eyes turn toward Kadi as she makes mention of where the droid is trying to break through the hull and then says, "Anyone know the specs on this ship? Where is the nearest blast door to seal off the cockpit?"

From the armored smuggler's helmet, static and vocal thunder. "Kadi! Get on the nearest access panel and be ready to seal off compartments!" Adhar pulls from beneath his poncho a fairly massive hand-cannon, heading to the fore and the shuttle cockpit. "I'm going to see if I can help the pilots. They're probably going to try and disable ship's systems before they start in on us!"

Siya glances out the window and she narrows her eyes. "No. We are not going to do this.. I.." She tosses her mask to the side. "I got an idea.." Suddenly, she stands up and then darts towards the back of the ship, "Addy! That droid is trying to get -into- the cockpit! Warn the pilots!" She hollers as she runs to the back. There is a computer terminal there and she brings it up. Fingers begin to tap as she navigates the system.

"Oh dear," Jonn says, cold blue eyes staring out the window. "It would seem our new friends are trying to get into the cockpit," he says, echoing Siya. "Problematic." The detective stands up and grabs his coat from the chair next to him. He slides it on and smoothes down the lapel. "Not how I envisioned dying, but...I suppose one doesn't get to choose." A look to Vraag and he says, "Fight well, my boy."

With the layout of the passenger level of the freighter, the center aisle of the transport is a straight path toward the cockpit, while the opposite is a retreat toward the engine compartments, and an access ladder down into the cargo hold and maintenance bays. Adhar has a straight run directly for the door of the cockpit, directly past where Vraag stands, and a quick tap to the control panel left of the door will send the door itself sliding up to allow a view of a very startled pilot and co-pilot. Outside of the forward viewports the two men and anyone else looking in on the cockpit will see the Smuggler's Moon far ahead, and in midways between the two a large and very old heavy freighter. What appears to be a vulture droid zips by just outside the forward view port, and then hell seems to break loose. A large piece of hull is torn away and in dives a pair of buzz droids, one diving atop the pilot and the other atop the co-pilot, saw appendage leading and the heavy steel making short work of flesh and bone. Blood spurts out over the droids only to fall suck outward with the sudden vacuum. Adhar and Vraag feel themselves jerked forward, but Adhar is thankfully saved by the sudden slamming shut of the door, sealing the cockpit itself even as the smuggler smacks into the door.

Mandl works to secure the terrified passengers with seatbelts and oxygen-masks, making them ... if not 'comfortable,' at least more likely to survive.

Kadi looks at the armor head, and nods. "I can - " She looks around, gaze now off the window, but finding Siya. "I can help Siya!" she declares victoriously. And so she heads over to see if there is anything she can do there to help. "Siya, can I help?" She does get a look at the cockpit as the nasty buzz droids get in, and her eyes widen as she turns a hint green. "Ick," is her elegant comment. "We need to get a message out - Siya, can you send one?"

Rheisa does /not/ see the ugly deaths happening, as she is heading for the rear! She does, however, feel the sudden tug of vacuum happening. Two ways. Firstly, there's her skirt trying to vacate the premises and her talons sink into the nearest seat. Secondly, there's that excrutiating pressure change - brief as it is - that makes her montrals and skull feel as though they may explode. When gravity becomes a thing again, she's happy to not find her brains spattered about the cabin, but there is vomit. Whoops! Did she do that? Maybe..probably. Yes. Her pursuit of allegedly safer spaces 'back there' (as someone is yelling) is slow going now and she's got the grace of a drunkard. "Sss...bad coppilot..." she grumbles, attributing this mess to the dead man's newness on the job. Yup. Totally his fault. People are hollering about DROIDS but she doesn't SEE any and it sounds like there are animals scampering around outside, trying to get in. Today is a bad day.

Vraag gets an eye full of the gory demise of the pilot and co-pilot, just before the vacuum of space tries to lift his big ass to suck him through the hole made by the two droids. He notes Adhar being sucked forward ahead of him and he reaches out to snag a handful of the back of the smuggler's armor, intending on catching hold of the door frame as he is sucked into space and hurl the man backward as hard as he can to save him. The door slams shut however, and Vraag's elbow gives way. Instead of giving him an anchor to haul with, he collapses instead and his body weight slams into Adhar against the door. "Oooof!"

"Krif!" This is eloquence personified, as Adhar becomes the middle of a Vragg-hull sandwich. "Get...get back into the passenger compartment. They're *cough* coming through this way!"

Siya gets frustrated with the programing. "I can't fix it from here.." She says to Kadi as she gets closer. "The communications are down. I can't fix it from here. We have to go find the communications manually." She looks to Kadi, "I wanted to send out a signal to confuse the droids.. but, I just can't." She furrows her brows slightly, swaying just slightly. There is so much emotional turmoil and her hand reaches to her head to gently rub at it. It takes her a moment to refocus herself. "Would you know where we could go?"

"They're dead," Jonn says, pointing to the cockpit. "Are there perhaps escape pods?" Jonn asks, hands reaching into his pockets. WHOOSH. His hair and coat are both whipped into a frenzy as the cold void of space plays havoc with the interior of the shuttle. "Escape pods would be lovely."

The sound of buzzing can be heard incredibly loud on the blast door separating Vraag and Adhar from the cockpit, moments later the sound of the engines powering down key the passengers trapped upon the shuttle into the fact that the droids have likely destroyed the ship's engines.

Mandl sort of slumps, once the non-combatants are secure. "Ugh. What-- what now? What else to do?"

Comms down? Kadi registers that only as she hears Siya. her friend's words actually get her to nod her head. "It's a ship, so likely down the hatch into the maintenance bays below. I should be able to fix it, and then you can send a message, right?" She looks around, and calls out, "Guys, we need to fix the comms - I need to go down the maintenance hatch." She pauses, swallows and then says, "The comms are out - there might be something already down there - Crud! I'm heading down there now. Adhar, Mandl, someone, come with me!" She heads for the hatch, immediately working to open it and head down.

Uh oh. Rheisa is certainly not knowledgable when it comes to'kee och'sa maka'(starship) but even she can recognize the shudder and eerie stillness of quieted engines has happend way too prematurely to be a legit landing. They're still very, very high. For the moment, she halts in her scramble to stay afloat in the sea of however many have NOT put on their belts yet and seem torn between following protocol and trying to get aft. She stands there listening and sensing /something/ is amiss but unable to pinpoint the WHAT. Trying to figure what to do next. "Mandl!" A tremoring hand darts out to snag the Bith by the sleeve as it finishes ministering to those 'calmly' staying in seats. "What do?" Because Biths are smart.

It's a costly loitering in the aisle though, because one lummox of a Besalisk has decided he's had enough of this waiting around and is gonna nab himself an escape pod. Rheisa's in the way, but not for long! Still reeling from the unequalized head pressure, she just doesn't 'see' him coming from behind. Boom. Flat out, decked sideways with a single sweep of arm. *Clunk* into an overhead bin, then crumples into the laps of some passengers that Mandl had tucked in.

Looks like she gets her nap after all.

Vraag grunts as he squishes Adhar into the door. He pushes his way off of the smaller man with a hand in his back, before he pulls Adhar around and pushes him in front of him back toward the rear of the vessel and thusly in the direction Kadi is departing. "Get on down there with her, I'll stay up here and keep the Zeltron safe," he grunts.

"On it," says Adhar, who peels himself off the bulkhead and charges with a little difficulty after Qadira. Passing Rhani, he says: "Sunrise! Take care of yourself!" before charging into the lower decks with the technician and the Bith.

Siya nods to Kadi. She glances nervously back down the hall, then to Kadi. "Alright. Let me know when you have it working.. I will stay here and get the message prepared." The buzzing sound echoes through the ship and it is quite distracting. All the fear around her is really seeping into her psyche and she becomes more and more unnerved. Breathe.. breathe..

"I suppose I'll stay up here, as well. I'm no good in a fight," Jonn says, looking around. "Or with computers. Not much goot at anything, really."

The path to the maintenance bays is relatively easy going, for the most part. There are cables and pipes that must be climbed over, but the squad making their way to power up the secondary communications bank do eventually make it. Kadi is quick enough to find the panel she needs and is able to divert power to bring the system online. There is a gentle tick, ticking, however, and soon enough the form of one buzz droid looms through the dim lighting. Topside, the cockpit blastdoor gives way and allows a small hole through which the buzz droid's torch can be seen still cutting away.

Mandl lets fly, squeezing off a shot between rows of pipes and gouts of steam! Take that!

Rhani Aeternum watches the below-decks team head that way. She nods to Adhar's encouragement, "Be careful. All of you." The sound of the droids at the blast door calls her attention, "Right. We need to end those droids. No sense in fixing things if they just break them again." Whirling as she hears the sound of a hold being punched into the blast door, she brings her blaster to bear and fires.

Kadi does know her way around ships, and it helps in this situation. She isn't immune to the fear, but having something to do at least takes her attention off the squeamishness she's feeling. So she gets a little less green. She makes it to the right access panel, pulls it open and starts working on bringing the comm back online. "I think -" she says after a bit of tinkering, oblivious to any buzzing noise or nastiness just at the moment. Concentrating. "I think - that's done it."

Vraag is on the way back toward where Siya is working at the computer terminal, but the sound of the droid cutting through the blast door jerks the Mandalorian around. He aims at the hole that gives view to the droid behind and squeezes the trigger, sending four rapid blaster bolts streaking out at the droid.

Whilst Kadi works feverishly on the comms equipment, the sphere-shelled murder gremlin that is a buzz-bot emerges from behind a conduit; as one, Mandl and Adhar move to intercept it. Mandl's shot lands first, and Adhar follows with two shots of his own; among the flashes of light and the thick stench of ozone, the droid falls to the deck, blasted nearly in two.

"Back up," Adhar calls, stepping back toward the steps. "We're ready!"

Mandl and Adhar manage to make short work of the Buzz droid that comes out them, reducing it into a hunk of metal. The panel humms with power and the computer terminal Siya is at fires into life. She is able to get a distress call out to CoreStar, and soon enough a fleet of headhunters and other fighters lift off and race toward the ship's poisition. The massive old freighter seems to know something is coming, because soon it leaps into hyperdrive and disappears.

Mandl ushers the others forward, with the threat resolved, and up the ladder to the main deck! "We are triumphant!"

Kadi doesn't have to be told twice, taking Mandl's lead. She heads back up the maintenance hatch at top speed, pausing when she gets up there. "Did you get the message out?" she asks, since she isn't sure. She's just in time to realize there's combat up top as well, and her eyes go wide, as she promptly ducks behind the nearest cover. Whether she needs to or not.

Once the droid up here has been dispatched, Rhani hurries forward. Grabbing a tray from an attendant station, she uses it to block the hold in the forward blastdoor. Even if it does not lead to the certain death of space, it may give some of the passengers a sense of hope, false though that may end up being. "I think she must have. The other ship took off. Did anyone get a look at the registry for that ship?"

Adhar Gann emerges from below behind Mandl and Kadi, tracking with his blaster as he does so - but with no targets, relieved passengers, CorSec ships flying around outside and a hull breach sealed with a dinner tray, everything seems as though it is in order.

"Well," he says, looking around. "...that was horrible. Well done, everybody, well done."

Blam blam! Sizzle! All the sounds around Siya help distract her from the overwhelming feelings of fear that overload her senses. Though she does finally get the message sent out. "Thank the stars Kadi.." She glances up to the port and she smiles as the enemy zooms away and help arrives. "Yeah.." She says to Kadi. "I did.."

And so it was they all lived to see another day. Lucky them.