A Ship Divided

Aimlessly drifting through the space, the converted BC-714 transport ship, Gloom was living up to its name as its captain had recently jettisoned from his ship, leaving his crew and the prisoners of war he was transporting alone and stranded while the Empire hunted their ship down. The ship was currently located in the middle of space in the Hapes Cluster and had just enough fuel in its dwindling supply for one more jump into hyperspace. Where that destination might be would be up to the crew, many of whom could be found in the cockpit, desperately trying to scan for available space lanes and possible planets nearby. Some were also situated in the common area which served as the ship's meeting room, breakroom, and dining room. The former Republic prisoners of war, of course, were nestled in the cell block area - which had been converted from its former use as a luxury room into a grueling, single-cell holding bay for prisoners. Nine maroon-colored security battle droids could be seen at various parts of the ships walking the halls, still doing their programmed rounds, despite the lack of a war or command structure.

However, as bad as things looked, a small blip appeared on the ship's radar in the cockpit, indicating that another ship was rapidly approaching, a fact which the blue-painted pilot droid relayed via the loudspeakers to the rest of the crew and the prisoners of war. The make and model of the ship was unknown but it would be upo them within half an hour so deciding whether they were friend or foe and finding the next course of action would be prudent.

"You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance" - Domingo Montoya Help save the rainforest for free simply by going to Ecosia.org.

It did not take Slant long to make a decision, now that the captain was gone.

Slant, a super tactical droid (if one a bit lower on the performance spectrum), had performed his task of assisting and advising the captain as dutifully as possible. But, along the way, he found himself experiencing a strange... feeling. He found himself thinking that if he couldn't have his old command, he should at least have this one. He coveted the captain's rank, but his sense of duty stopped him there. Never, not even in the direst of straits, had Slant considered using underhanded schemes to take the position. No, Slant was an example to others onboard, a paragon of duty, patience, and Separatist justice.

But now, the captain was gone.

Fact - the captain is gone. This means no one is left to command the ship. Fact - Slant was advisor to the captain. Fact - Slant is, most definitely, the most advanced tactical model droid on the ship.

Therefore, it stood that Slant should take command.

Slant strode onto the 'bridge' of the ship with a sense of authority, clearly believing that his command would be taken in stride.

"I am assuming command of this vessel," Slant declared. "The transition of command shall go smoothly, with little difficulty. Continue rounds in the prison block. The prisoners must not know that the command has changed for now. Hail the approaching ship and ask for identity. Do not identify this vessel as Separatist. And, in future instances, we will not announce any details of this ship through the loudspeakers unless I have allowed it." 

He turned to one of the pilot droids. "I believe the closest Separatist-aligned system is Togoria. If possible, prepare for jump." He turned back to looking out the cockpit. "And visual data of the incoming vessel would be useful. Perhaps my databanks can identify it."

Savron laid on his cot in the cell, tapping the back of his hand against the wall. It had been quite a while spent in this cell, and while things had gotten exciting not to long ago after the ship was in a fight, things have been rather dull since then. This strange ship that got talked about over the shipwide intercom was certainly the most interesting thing to have happened in a while. Shame, they didn't give that many details.

His eyes darted to a particular panel in the cell that he had mentally marked as a good weakspot to break out from. The CIS hadn't done the best of jobs converting the luxury transport into a prison ship, and it hadn't taken him long before he had figured out multiple ways to break out of his cell. Really the only thing keeping him in was his fear of getting shot to death during an escape attempt.

Having nothing else to do at the moment he kept rapping on the wall with his hand. Not really caring if he was annoying anyone else or not.

Click Click Boom Boom

Holding Cell

Sal sat in his cell, growling to himself as he was wont to do. So the captain had jumped ship. Good for him. Still didn't change that he was locked up in a cage. And a cramped one, too, considering that the milk-skins seemed to design all their ships for human occupants - even the brig - which left him as a five-gallon Wookiee in a three-gallon bucket.

As such, he continued to growl, sharpening and filing his claws on a piece of metal to keep them clean and sharp. It would not do to let them get dull from being unused and untended, or he would not easily be able to climb the wroshyrs when he returned to his world. And return he would, as he had to believe he would. Being able to one day gaze upon the wilds of Kashyyyk, from all the treetops between Mount Arayakyak and Kachirho, was the only thing that could keep one motivated. Otherwise he would have been killed long ago. Someone with nothing to live for has everything to die for, and what he would die for is seeing what sort of dent he could make in the Separatist crew by dismembering them before getting shot to shreds by a bevy of blasters - and considering how easy it was to rip a puny droid or human's limbs off, it would be a considerable dent.

Instead, he glared at the occupant of the cell across from him and growled in annoyance.

His eye looked down at his claws again, satisfied that he had kept them groomed sufficiently, then retracted them and extended the ones on his other hand instead.

Space

Slant was correct in surmising that Togoria would be a nearby system that held former Separatist leanings as they were in the Taldot sector. Besides Togoria, the crew could also try their luck on Balamark, Charros IV, Stronghold, or Thanos.

"Uh...sir...the Separatist Alliance has been disbanded, remember? Togoria might be occupied by the Empire right now. But we'll fly there if you want." one of the two pilot droids told Slant, not objecting at all to the droid asserting himself as leader. Truthfully, the pilot droid was just relieved to have someone giving the orders again.

Slant would indeed be able to recognize the ship that was approaching but he needn't have concerned himself with searching his databanks. By using his visual processors, he and, indeed, anybody aboard the ship would be able to identify the ship as a Venator class Star Destroyer. And it was continuing to close fast. Numerous blue dots suddenly appeared on the monitor screen as squads of fighters were suddenly deployed. The fighters were too far away to do any damage yet but the Star Destroyer, seeing such a promising target that was easily identifiable as Separatist opened fire. While the crew had no way of knowing, the ship's former commander had been captured after jumping ship and he had given up the Gloom's position in exchange for a lighter sentence for his war crimes.

The Empire obliged and had executed him quickly.

Totally overkill for one measly transport vessel, the Star Destroyer lived up to its name as its blasts from its many cannons rocked the ship about. The two pilot droids were doing their best to avoid the blasts but they were hardly what one would describe as ace pilots. The ships rocked the Gloom and the ship's shields, having been operating at fifty percent to conserve fuel - were now at twenty. Down in the cells, the prisoners were being rocked back and forth as the ship struck the Gloom

"Quiet Wookiee scu-UUUAHAH!" one of the battle droids tried to shut Sal up but the ship's rocking made him careen into Savron's cell door and make his threat much less intimidating.

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"The Separatist Alliance will never be disbanded as long as I stand," Slant replied to the pilot in a rather severe tone. "But you are not incorrect." His tone softened as much as a droid's could. "This... 'Empire' will expect us at Togoria. Perhaps.... Charros IV. Still Separatist-aligned, but a less obvious choice. Prepare for jump." He continued talking, as if he needed to justify himself. "If my databanks serve correctly, Charros IV should still hold Mark 1 Vulture droids. Perhaps, whether they have shut down or not, they could prove useful..."

But, ahh, complications. He didn't need his databanks to identify a Venator class Star Destroyer. Nor did he need the pilots to tell him what the blips on the monitor were.

"Distressing," Slant mused calmly. "Divert all power to shields and engines. Life support can stay, but we don't need to operate it at full capacity. I will not lose these prisoners unless I have to. I want lights off, all nonessentials powered down, oxygen recycling to the minimum needed, everything. The Separatist Alliance may depend on us."

Slant had not been on the bridge when the Holo Net had informed the captain of the Separatists' defeat, though he had picked up the news eventually. However, he did not know the specifics of the defeat. "Are any of our leaders alive? General Grievous? Nute Gunray? Wat Tambor? San Hill? Poggle the Lesser? Generals Lok Durd, Whorm, Kalani? Admiral Trench? Or are we left without any true leaders among us?" While a part of him mused that if the leadership was dead, perhaps he could establish a new Council of tactical droids, most of him wished that the Council members were safe and that they remained in hiding from this 'Empire'. After all, while Slant was a leader, he was designed to be subordinate to his organic masters.

Another question formed. "What is the extensiveness of our defeat? Do any remnants survive? But I suppose the Holo Net will not tell us this information, would it. We will have to assume we are all that's left. We will have to continue, for the sake of the survival of the Separatist Alliance. Prepare for jump to Charros IV."

"Well... that's not good."

Savron stopped his rapping at the wall as the ship began to shake from the bombardment. He jumped off his cot and made his way to the cell door with haste.

"Hey guard, there are still escape pods right? Because I'm fine not contesting my custody and all, but I'd really really rather not get blown up."

His thoughts drifted back to breaking out of his cell if they didn't evacuate the prisoners, but he'd hold off on that.

"Failing that, could you guys just like surrender to whoever is attacking us, so that we don't all horribly die? This is a luxury transport not a warship. It's not gonna handle a fight for long. And yes I know you don't have that authority but maybe relay that to whoever is in charge."

Click Click Boom Boom

Cell Block

Sal let out a growling, nearly-hooting laugh at the droid getting smashed into a different cell. He stood up and leaned up against the barrier.

"It looks like I'm not the only one who has his eyes on your lives, weak-joint droid," he roared, lightly smacking the wall with the back of a fist to make a rattling sound for extra emphasis. "Now it is your turn to be attacked and taken prisoner, I can only hope that your stay is as pleasant as mine."

Space - Cockpit of the Gloom

"All that's left? Sir, there's only eleven of us on board." the noisier of the pilot droids said in response to Slant's more-accurate-than-he-knew insinuation that this ship might very well be the last of the Separatists. Nevertheless, the droid faithfully did as Slant ordered and diverted all power to the shields and engines.

"Well, we do have those two droidekas in storage somewhere, don't we?" the pilot droid who hadn't yet spoken up asked.

"Yeah, we do, don't we? Ten seconds to jump, sir." the noisier pilot droid informed Slant. While the robot had no eyes or mouth to have expressions on its face, if any organic were here, they would automatically assume that the thing was quite nervous, given how much it was looking from the monitor back to Slant. It was clear that the poor droid didn't honestly know if the ship would last for all of ten seconds. The Gloom was taking more and more damage as the Star Destroyer and now, some of the fighters, were closing in. With the continued barrage, the shields were down and some of the bolts were starting to impact across the ship, scorching the hull, turning lights off across the ship, rendering some nonessential systems destroyed, and knocking the ship's intercom system offline. Unfortunately, most of the ship's modifications were focused on making space for prisoner accomodations and increased storage so the ship still had no armaments. However, it did have some extra armor plating which was doing its damndest to keep the ship alive. If the Gloom could hold for another four seconds, they'd be out of this mess.

Yet, even after the jump, Slant's worries might not entirely go away. He might be aware of this if he looked at the monitor. The lights in the common area and the intercom system of the ship weren't the only things knocked offline by the barrage. The cell door locking systems had been fried during the attack...

Space- Holding Cells of the Gloom

All of the single cells in the holding area, of course, slid open and the poor security droid was still trying to get to its feet when that happened, after having been knocked around like everybody else from all of the turbolaser blasts. As such, he hadn't quite noticed the doors sliding open yet but once he righted himself, he surely would. He carried an E-5 blaster but wasn't currently pointing it at anything, given his struggles to get to his feet.

"You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance" - Domingo Montoya Help save the rainforest for free simply by going to Ecosia.org.

Slant let out a sigh, or at least a long "hmmmmmm," which basically amounted to the same thing. He gazed silently out the cockpit, his hands folded behind his back. They only needed a few more seconds and they would be in Charros IV. But would they even last that long? There was only one way to find out, and only one course of action he could take. After all, they had no weapons on this ship or anything else similar.

"If we do not make it, I want you all to know it was an honor to serve the Separatist Alliance alongside you." He paused a second. "To a given degree." He was pretty sure the other droids would only hear the first part of what he said, so hopefully at least morale would be up a bit before they died. Or, alternatively, they could make it to Charros IV. But the odds were not in their favor.

The security droid was the only one being knocked about by the heavy impacts from the turbolaser blasts. Savron almost smashed his head against his cot, when he was knocked off his feet as well. The cell doors soon sliding open though now that was a concern. Not because he disliked the idea of being free, but because that meant the ship was definitely taking damage.

"Well, that can't be good."

He got back to his feet somewhat faster then the battle droid but didn't actually make a move, because he was pretty sure the angry wookie in the cell over would do something first. That and he didn't particularly want to be shot if he screwed up.

Click Click Boom Boom

Cells

In the middle of cleaning his claws, Sal looked at the disappearing cell door, then down to his hands. He retracted his claws - no matter how desperate the situation would ever become, he would never stoop so low as to become a madclaw - and cracked the knuckles as he formed a fist.

"GRAAAARGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG" he shouted in Shriiwook, something not capable of being repeated in any proper social setting, and leapt at the droid. Straddling it since the damned thing was on the ground thanks to the ship tumbling around, he reached out with with both of his hands to each of its arms to try and rip them out of their sockets.

edited 21st Mar '18 11:47:36 AM by nman

See Nab was currently patrolling the hallway. Feeling a jolt, he realized that the ship was damaged. He normally wouldn't mind the dark, as it reminded him of home. But with the power damaged, the life support systems could fail. He instantly grasped the railing, hoping to avoid any injury. He did hope that the Tactical Droid could find a way out of this situation. That's what they were designed to do, anyway. He decided to check the prisoner cellblock to make sure that nobody would take advantage of the situation. The ship had enough problems right now, they didn't need a prisoner mutiny.

The Umbaran looked at the situation when he finally arrived. The shields preventing the prisoners from escaping were gone. Well, there was only one thing to do now. Grabbing his pistol, he said. "Stand down. If you leave the cells, I will be forced to execute you. I don't want to do that, but I must".

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Cockpit

The ship made the jump, just barely. Slant would no doubt be relieved to see the V-Wing fighters and the looming Star Destroyer disappear in blinding streaks of white and blue light as the Gloom shot off into hyperspace. They would arrive on Charros IV soon, which was a good thing because after the damage the ship had just taken, it wasn't likely that it would survive for long out here. Finding a good mechanic - hell, a great mechanic - would probably be quite prudent. The two pilot droids did not talk to Slant anymore as they busied themselves with running diagnostics and calculating the trajectory of their approach.

A small holodisplay of Charros IV was up but the image was shaky and staticy due to all the damage the ship had recently taken. However, Slant would be able to read information about the planet if he so desired. The small description of the planet underneath the hologram would inform him that it was an arid world, full of rolling hills, high plateaus, and lots of mountains. It would also inform him that the natives were a proud, technologically advanced species who had been loyal to the CIS and had recently begun dealing with a refugee crisis due to the Clone Wars. No information on possible Imperial occupation was there but, given that these were Separatist databanks and, therefore not updated since before the fall of the Republic, this was to be expected.

Slant now had some time to kill. Whether he wanted to see to some of the numerous repairs that the ship needed, see to the prisoners, try to get an estimate on how much supplies and manpower he had at his disposal, or something else entirely was up to him.

Holding Area It took a lot of force but Wookiee strength eventually won out as the droid's arms were ripped from their sockets, shooting a colorful display of sparks as they did so. The poor droid let out a pitiful, electronic moan of agony. If Sal wanted to use the blaster, he'd have to pry it out of the droid's hands for it was still attached to it, the metallic fingers still tightly clutched around the handle and trigger.

Apart from a few empty crates, a hamper of clean prison uniforms for new arrivals, and the crippled husk of the security droid, there wasn't much else to be used for weaponry around. Of course, all of the Republic POW's weapons were in those line of storage lockers within eyesight. Unfortunately for Sal, See Nab was currently standing in between him and the lockers. Speaking of See Nab, the Umbaran would soon hear the clanking pitter patter of what could only be more security droids.

"You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance" - Domingo Montoya Help save the rainforest for free simply by going to Ecosia.org.

Cells

"It... was like that when I found it," Sal said to See Nab, slowly holding up both his hands and nodding at the broken droid.

He might have forgotten to let go of the arms in his hands.

Oops.

edited 21st Mar '18 5:11:06 PM by nman

See Nab is not pleased. He looks at the remains of the droid. It’s beyond repair, clearly. See Nab made sure he was a good distance away from the Wookiee. He was no slouch in close combat, but he knew a Wookie would overpower him given a chance.“Tell me why I shouldn’t execute you right here”, he said, pointing his rifle. He fired a blast right above the Wookie’s head, as a warning shot.

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Suddenly, like a ghost, Slant appeared behind See Nab. "There will be no execution of our prisoners today unless absolutely necessary."

He had decided to come down to check on the prisoners after leaving orders to the pilots - "Bring us in slow, and when we land prepare the security droids for possible Empire occupation. Power up the droidekas, too."

Now he stood behind See Nab, taller than the Umbaran by a fair amount and with an E-5 blaster rifle drawn just in case.

Like a prophet of doom, he spoke. "The Separatists are scattered, destroyed, except for us and a few other remnants." At least, he liked to think there were other remnants. "The Republic has turned into the very thing it despised. An Empire. This war is at an end, and it is my belief that, though I will never give up the Separatist name, the war has been lost. Our ship is hunted by this Empire, who has no use for Republic patriots." A small fib - Slant didn't know that for certain. "Our only hope - and I believe there is an us now - is to run and gather up our resources until we can combat this Empire." Though, truly what Slant was doing was attempting to recruit them into his small Separatist Alliance. They might have lost the last war, but, with time and patience, the next war could be won, with a careful mix of subterfuge, guerilla warfare, and deception.

He spoke again. "We are in need of an engineer. The ship has sustained damage. Any former Republic engineers will be allowed to work on the ship, supervised. Any Republic members who can be put to use, will be. Weapons will not be handed out unless in case of an emergency. I will move the weapons to a secure area. Any prisoners who accept will accompany me to freedom. All those who do not, may return to your cells."

Savron poked his head out of his cell to look at the new boss droid. He of course made sure to keep the rest of himself inside the cell. Just because the bot in charge said no executions didn't mean the other droids might not have itchy trigger fingers.

"So, that's a great story and all, but I'd certainly like proof of it. Well, either way I'll still help patch up the ship if you won't just let us go, because I'd rather not die in a fiery explosion due to sub-par repairs."

Click Click Boom Boom

See Nab put away his blaster. He wasn't sure about the trustworthiness of the Republic loyalists, but he didn't want to upset the boss.

"May I accompany him? If he tries something...rash, my Millicreep droid will be quite useful." He smirked.

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Gloom Holding Cell

"Are you alright, sirs?" the two security droids had arrived and looked at See Nab and Slant inquisitively, raising their blasters slightly at the Wookiee and Human prisoner of war they saw out of their cells. There was also another human out of his cell and he stood defiantly before Slant. He was out uniform and he had a shaved head and a m'onnok tattoo on his neck but he was quite recognizable to everybody as a clone trooper major.

"Like hell I'll take that deal, clanker. You're clearly lying to us and these cell doors don't even close anymore!" the major said, sticking out his chest. The two droids pointed their guns away from Sal to the clone.

"You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance" - Domingo Montoya Help save the rainforest for free simply by going to Ecosia.org.

"Oh, a clone trooper.", See Nab says. "You can either take that deal, or you can experience the joys of being thrown out the airlock." He paused. "The Republic and The CIS are both dead. There's no real reason to fight us anymore. I mean, my entire planet switched sides, so why don't you?"

He trained his gun on the trooper. Clone troopers could be a handful. He recalled that they managed to subdue his planet, and defeat a rogue jedi.

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Slant would've frowned if he had a mouth. "Yes, we are alright," he said to the security droids. Then he pulled out his holotransmitter and pulled up the news.

"As you see, the Empire has been broadcasting details of the Separatist defeat and the appointment of Chancellor Palpatine as the new Emperor. I cannot provide any more proof at this moment, except to tell you that the captain would not have abandoned ship for no reason." He turned to See Nab. "You may escort the engineer. I believe the shield generator took minor damage. Consider it priority." He turned back to the clone trooper. "Perhaps we can make a deal. An.... Alliance of sorts. We can negotiate for more freedom on your part in exchange for your cooperation." He paused. "I would hate to put any droids under your command, but seeing as you seem to be the leader of these prisoners, I would be willing to give you two of my security droids for you to personally command. The rest of the prisoners will be used according to their profession." He pointedly did not address the fact the cell doors were not working. Apparently he bargained on negotiating with the clone or everyone cooperating right off the bat.

Cells

"This would not be the first time the Confederacy has interfered with the Holonet," Sal growled at the droid. "Why should we believe you? You just want to trick us into attacking the Troopers as soon as they board the ship, because the cells are broken and that is the only way prisoners can have value for you now."

"This sounds like an uphill battle", Nab sighed.

"Okay, you can leave if you want. But given that we're going to a Separatist planet, you know what they'll do if they find out you're a republic loyalist."

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Space

"You give me my blaster back and then we'll see about a deal. Unless you have a hell of a lot of proof that the Republic has just happened to fall without me knowing it, I'm just going to stay here in my cell." the clone trooper defiantly spat. Evidently, the man cloned and bred to be loyal to the Republic still maintained his allegiance, though that faction was no longer in existence. True to his word, the major went to the cell whose door was still wide open and sat defiantly in his cot.

The Gloom trudged along, damaged but working in hyperspace. It would reach its destination soon enough without repairs but while everybody was arguing, minimal repairs were being done - the Separatist astromech on board was working diligently on the damaged shields and they would likely be up and functioning before hitting Charros IV. However, none of the security droids or the deactivated droidekas were programmed for repair. It might be prudent for the crew to come to an understanding on who was working with whom and who was staying where before going off to a world with an unknown military status. Also, as everyone with even a moderately military background would know, the Star Destroyer would have likely tracked their route so coming up with a plan before reaching planentside might be a good idea. They also could maybe explore the ship and work on repairs, find out its capabilities, or find out what items were onnboard.

edited 28th Mar '18 6:24:22 AM by FantasyLiver

"You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance" - Domingo Montoya Help save the rainforest for free simply by going to Ecosia.org.