suitably_heroic | Peragus Mining Facility, Some Time After Last

Atton	It took Meetra a while, getting through the dormitory section. Figuring out what had happened to the miners. Atton didn't have much besides standing vigil by the console, waiting for some indication that she might need his help - but it never came. Instead, a short while later, he heard footsteps, and looked up to find Meetra running towards him - along with an old woman dressed in familiar robes. As they said in some parts of the multiverse: oh, for fuck's sake. "What in space is going on here? Who's this, another Jedi? What, did you guys suddenly start breeding when I wasn't looking?"
Meetra	"It'll take too long to explain," Meetra said, looking wild-eyed. "We have to leave. Now."
Atton	Atton blinked. "Uh," he said. "All right. I'm... guessing that Republic ship that just docked isn't carrying friends of yours."
Kreia	The old woman scowled at him from underneath her heavy hood. "I hope your talent for understatement is offset by your skill with a blaster," she said. "If not, I fear our time together will be short indeed."
Atton	Who'd jammed a vibroblade up her exhaust vents? "Yeah, and I'm also good at running and drinking, your majesty," Atton snapped. He looked back towards Meetra. "And even if you two aren't big friends of the Republic, that warship's the only way off this station." He began to move. "Good thing we've got a clear run to the--"
HK-50	"Threat:" a mechanical voice boomed, interrupting him. "Master, perhaps I did not enunciate clearly the last time we spoke. I suggested that you should shut down, stay put, and wait for rescue." The tall droid stepped further into the room. It looked like a protocol droid - except its weapons were clearly drawn.
Meetra	Meetra spun around. "No, you were clear," she said, reaching for her blade. "I just don't listen to assassin droids."
HK-50	"Clarification: 'Assassin' is such a crude term, Master," the droid replied. "Reserved for durasteel drones uploaded only with the most archaic kill-programs." Just what they needed, Atton thought. A snooty assassin droid. "The function I perform has been referred to as 'wanton slaughter'," the droid continued. "I prefer to see it as a means of facilitating communication, resulting in the termination of hostilities."
Meetra	If you asked Meetra, murder was murder, no matter what you called it - but that wasn't the most relevant matter to take issue with. "Are you the one who killed all the miners?"
HK-50	The droid scoffed. (Scoffed, Atton thought. Space.) "Indignant Answer: Master, the miners intended to put you in jeopardy. I could not allow that to happen, so I was forced to negotiate a termination of hostilities." "After reprogramming the mining droids to 'mine' any organics they perceived, they began to kill the miners one by one. Then a series of flawlessly-timed explosions drove the miners into their dormitories - where I was able to gas them all at once without wasting time hunting them through the mining tunnels." GLaDOS would be proud of this one. "I then administered a large dose of sedatives to the remaining miners in the med bay, enough to kill them but ensure you slept peacefully." With an audible sigh in its voice, the droid concluded, "Of course, against my calculations, you awakened from your tank prematurely. I am ashamed by the inconvenience that caused for both of us."
Meetra	So the droid had been after Meetra specifically. She ignored the face Atton was making beside her. "Why did you want to capture me?" she asked.
HK-50	Master was full of questions, wasn't she. "Answer: It is beyond the scope of my programming to probe the motivations of my clients." It just did the job. Simple, wasn't it? "Suffice to say I am being well-compensated for my services. You have been a difficult target to find." It was contemplating asking for even more compensation to make up for this. "You have been wandering the galaxy since the end of the Mandalorian Wars, leaving little record of your passage. It is as if you did not wish to be found... by hunters such as myself, or more likely, the Jedi Order."
Meetra	Correct. All of the above. But Meetra had no interest in recounting her own history. "Who is this client of yours?"
HK-50	"Chiding Answer: My programming renders me incapable of revealing the identity of my client, Master." A pause. "However, I am free to say that my client is wealthy, and very interested in possessing the last of the Jedi."
Meetra	In other words, it wouldn't be revealing anything of any importance to her. Fine. Meetra raised her vibroblade. "I'm tired of listening to you," she said flatly, "Get ready to get scrapped."
HK-50	The droid blew out a sigh it absolutely had no need to actually release. "Resignation: Very well, Master. If inflicting pain is the only means to resolve this matter, then you leave me no choice." Several small droids decloaked around it.
Atton	And here Atton had been hoping to get out of this without singeing anything. He fired several bolts into two of the HK-unit's friends. Beside him, Meetra dashed forward, slashing at the droid itself - and to Atton's surprise, the old woman followed. She was surprisingly nimble.
Meetra	The droid might have been a state-of-the-art assassin model, but it didn't hold up long against the onslaught of three experienced warriors. It crashed to the floor, riddled with holes. Meetra paced up to it and knelt down, rooting around for anything that might be of some use to them. She found the droid's voice-modulator intact and pocketed it - then took the droid's mining laser and tossed it to Atton. "C'mon," she called, taking off into the now-unblocked arm leading off towards the Republic ship. It was very quiet.
Kreia	"Something is wrong," Kreia said softly. She took one step into the ship itself. "I sense no one aboard."
Atton	"'You sense no one aboard?'" Atton asked irritably, sticking a patch of kolto on his arm. He glanced at the hallway that laid before them. "Sense any assassin droids creeping up behind us like last time?" Damn Jedi. This was why he didn't like to be around them.
Kreia	The reply he got was equally irritated. Good. He was glad he was irritating her. "Everyone here has been slain, yet there are few signs of battle, no carbon scoring, no blaster fire. This place has been hit by assassins of a different sort."
Atton	Great! Assassins even more dangerous and mysterious than a Hunter-Killer droid! Fantastic! "Then what are we doing on this ship?!" Atton snapped. "We were better off in the facility!" He threw up his hands. "You two are supposed to be Jedi?" he asked. "You're the worst Jedi I've ever met!" And he'd met a lot of them! Even Anakin Skywalker was better than this!
Meetra	Meetra rubbed at her forehead. This was giving her a headache already. "Atton's right," she said, after giving it a moment's thought. "We need to get off this ship." It seemed like less of a safe bet by the minute.
Kreia	"Oh?" Kreia asked dryly. "And go where?" She tilted her head. "If the assassin machine was correct, then we cannot reach the hangar. Be quiet. I need to think."
Meetra	"I saw this vessel dock," Meetra said thoughtfully. "When it did, a fuel pipe entered the fuel depot, behind the force field."
Atton	"Look, I don't mean to cast another shadow on this," because space knew, it was already pitch black, "But even if you could reach the ship you came in on, it wouldn't matter. You'll need the orbital drift charts to clear the Peragus asteroid field, unless you want to have the shortest flight out of Peragus ever recorded."
Meetra	Meetra shook her head. "Then how did this ship dock here?" she asked. It couldn't have just cleared the field with its own bulk.
Atton	"Well, of course they'd have the asteroid drift charts in their navicomputer," Atton pointed out, and suddenly he could sense where this was going. "They'd have to." ... sigh.
Meetra	"So let's get their codes, then," Meetra said - predictably. "Then we can worry about getting to the Ebon Hawk."
Atton	He could argue, but what were his options? "Well, we'd have to get to the bridge," Atton said. "That's the biggest problem I can see." Since there were still quiet killers roaming around deck. You know. That small matter.
Kreia	"That is a sound plan," Kreia said. "For the moment. Let us go." When the group didn't move at once, she let out an irritated sigh. "Our enemies gather while we wait here."
Meetra	"Sorry," Meetra said. "Just collecting my thoughts." This was the first moment of genuine quiet she'd had in a while. "You're right. Atton's plan was a good one - let's head to the bridge and get the drift charts."
Atton	At least someone appreciated him. Didn't mean Atton was any happier about this, but it was better than listening to the old lady rip into him for another hour. "All right. But this won't end well, trust me."