The Sixth
The team exited hyperspace a few hours later, coming upon a habitable moon where the Empire had established a factory for the refinement of Cortosis ore. The team got ready as Wasabi flew them in. Going inside was Hiro, Gogo, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Fred smiled as he held and rubbed his flamethrower in anticipation.
Wasabi turned on the ship's signal scrambler as they got closer and closer. "Alright guys, drop zone coming up," Wasabi called back. The team nodded as they went to the ship's ramp. They waited as it opened, giving them a view of the factory below.
"Alright guys. Lets go," Gogo said before leaping out. Hiro followed suit. Next was Honey Lemon and then Fred. The team fell through the air, aiming for the roof of the factory. The wind whipped at their faces and clothes as they fell. And as they drew nearer Gogo flipped in the air before using the Force to cushion her fall, landing lightly on the roof. Hiro copied her, landing a few feet away. Honey Lemon threw down a chem orb which exploded into a soft gelatinous foam material which absorbed the impact on her fall, allowing her to land without a scratch. Fred activated his rocket boots to break his fall before landing. When all were safely on the roof they gave Gogo a thumbs up.
She nodded before crouching down and skimming across the rooftop. As they went Hiro pulled up a holographic scan of the factory they'd been given by Frost. He directed them to where the refined ore was stored. But as they went he noticed something...odd.
Soon they were standing over the spot where the refined ore was stored.
"Alright, so I just throw down an acid orb and then we get Wasabi to lower the cables and we're done right? Too easy," Honey Lemon said with a smile.
Gogo remained silent, staring down at the floor. "Yeah. Way too easy," she said suspiciously.
"You sense it too Gogo?" Hiro asked. She looked at him and nodded.
"Sense what?" Fred asked.
Gogo and Hiro looked to him. "Nothing," Gogo answered. She looked back down to the floor. "No life. No people. Nothing. Even if the factory is automated there should still be some maintenance workers or something. But I'm not sensing anybody in there. And it's weird."
"So what do you want to do?" Honey Lemon asked.
"We need to check this out. This is starting to feel like a trap. You two, wait here. Hiro, with me," Gogo ordered. Hiro nodded and fell into step behind her as they began looking for a way into the factory. They found a vent grate to squeeze into and they made their way into the ventilation system before dropping inside a corridor of the factory.
Gogo furrowed her brows. She still sensed nothing. Where were the guards? The maintenance workers? Anybody?
"What the heck is going on?" Hiro asked her.
"Don't know yet. C'mon," she said as she motioned for him to follow. They started heading to the center of the factory where the ore was refined. They entered the large and hot room full of conveyor belts and vats full of melted ore. And as they peered in they took notice of figures dressed in black.
"Ok. So I see people. But I still can't sense people," Hiro said in confusion. Gogo nodded in agreement before the figures turned, allowing them to see their faces.
Or more accurately, their masked faces.
Gogo and Hiro silently gasped as they recognized the familiar masks belonging to what they guessed were droids that worked for Yokai.
"What the heck would that guy want with this stuff?" Hiro asked.
Gogo pursed her lips before backing away. She pulled Hiro along as they headed for the refined ore storage room. "The Yokai seems to have a preference for using droids. If he were to make them using Cortosis they'd be damn near indestructible," she guessed. Hiro thought it over, and it made some sense.
Soon they reached the large room housing the refined metal. They both whistled at the sight of the many large coiled sheets of Cortosis.
"Intel was right," Gogo said with a smile.
"How are we going to fit all these in the ship?" Hiro asked. Gogo looked around until she found a large shipping crate, big enough to store all the ore.
"That," she said as she pointed it out. "Hiro give me a hand." Hiro assisted Gogo into opening the shipping container. As they were about to start loading it up Gogo suddenly stopped, making Hiro nearly bump into her from behind.
"Gogo? Whats up?"
Gogo remained silent as she looked around. Something was wrong. She looked into the shadows of the dark room, trying to find whatever could be lurking in them.
"Move!" she suddenly turned and shoved Hiro back. Hiro yelped and fell on his backside before looking up to see some kind of droid standing where he had just been.
The droid was humanoid in shape but had a long cylinder shaped head with many red photoreceptors. In both of its hands were blasters, which were aimed at both Gogo and Hiro himself. Hiro sprang onto his feet before he started running around the room as the droid began to open fire. Gogo did the same, flipping, leaping, and rolling to avoid the laser bolts coming at her with deadly accuracy.
Hiro jumped behind a large roll of the Cortosis ore. And the energy resistant metal made for excellent cover and gave him a momentary reprieve.
But it wasn't too long before the droid leapt over the roll as well to land right in front of him. It aimed it blaster right at his face. On reflex Hiro thrust his left hand out, sending it flying into the wall with the Force. It collided with the wall with a loud clang before it leapt back up. It began opening fire on him, prompting Hiro to draw his vibroblade and begin blocking and redirecting the bolts back at it.
The droid took a couple of hits before it determined its attacks were pointless. It holstered one of its blaster before charging him. It engaged him in close quarters, proving to be a dangerous opponent up close. Hiro barely managed to dodge its metallic fists and had to reel back to avoid getting a point blank shot to the face.
As it cocked back its arm to strike it was suddenly lifted off the ground. It beeped in confusion before being thrown back against the wall. It was pinned there. It struggled against the force pinning it to the wall as it began to try and aim its blaster at Hiro.
Something suddenly whizzed over his head before piercing the the droid's head. It went still as the light of its photoreceptors went dark. Hiro recognized the weapon and turned to see Gogo crouched on the roll of metal with her arm extended. WIth a subtle finger gesture one of her disc flew from the droid's head and back to her wrist.
Hiro released a breath in relief as Gogo slid off the roll and gave him a once over.
"What kind of droid was that?" Hiro asked in bewilderment.
"Assassin droid. Highly dangerous, highly adaptable, very bad news," Gogo answered. With that Gogo pressed down on her wrist comm to inform the other of what they'd discovered.
Meanwhile in the control center of the factory and monitoring the refinement of the ore was a Super tactical droid. The droid was dressed in black and wearing a mask like his master and his comrades. Taking the factory had been relatively simple. They used the element of surprise, sending in the commando and assassin droids to infiltrate and eliminate the guard and factory workers. Now they were in total control and refining the last bits of ore before transporting it to their master.
"Commander."
The Tactical droid turned around and was met with a commando droid. "What is it?"
"We are picking up a transmission coming from within the facility. It does not appear to be one of ours."
The Tactical droid was surprised to hear this. But overcoming his surprise he surmised it was likely a survivor they had missed. "All units, report," the Tactical droid commanded over the communication's frequency. All of his comrades reported in except on.
"Unit IG-86A, report in," the Tactical droid commanded. "Unit IG-86A, are you there?" When he got no response he knew something was wrong. "Go check the storage room. We appear to have intruders," he commanded the commando droid.
"Roger, roger," it replied obediently.
"All units, sweep the facility for intruders," the Tactical droid ordered. With his orders issued he ran some calculations and surmised that the last of the ore would be ready in an hour. Then they could leave and return to their master and start the production of newer, stronger droids for his cause.
"That maniac is here?" Wasabi asked in shock over their communication's line.
"I don't think so. I still don't sense anything alive in here. I'm thinking he just sent his droids. We have no idea how many there are. And they're likely the stealth models," Gogo explained.
"Aw man my flamethrower is useless here," Fred whined.
"Should we abort?" Honey Lemon asked.
"No, but we definitely need to do this quickly." She paused to looked up, and she noticed how it's looked as if the ceiling could split apart, likely to allow an Imperial transport to fly in and just pick up their cargo. She looked around, but saw no controls to open it and assumed there must be a control room.
"Hiro and I will try to open the ceiling. Then Wasabi can fly in and grab the container in one foul swoop. Everyone stay on guard and be ready," she ordered.
"Right," came the collective response from the team.
Suddenly Hiro and Gogo heard something approaching. They exchanged a glance before looking around the room and finding a vent grate on one of the walls. They ran to it before opening it and sliding inside. They replaced the grate and waited. Sure enough a small squad of droids came in. They were clothed in black and heavily armed as they did a sweep of the room, eventually coming upon their destroyed comrade.
"Commander. IG-86A has been destroyed," a commando droid relayed to their leader. "Understood," it said with a nod. It turned to look at its comrades. "Spread out and search for any survivors. Go up to the roof and check there too," it commanded.
"Roger, roger," the other droids said in unison before splitting up.
"Honey Lemon, Fred, heads up. You got a search party coming your way."
Soon Gogo and Hiro began crawling through the vents. Gogo had her lips pursed in thought. They hadn't been expecting droid enemies here. So it was definitely throwing them for a loop. And the commando and assassin units were tough to beat. She didn't want to get drawn into a fight with them if she didn't have to.
"Hey Gogo," Hiro suddenly whispered behind her. She glanced back. "I have an idea," he said with a smirk. "They're looking for survivors. Troopers right?" he asked. She arched a brow but nodded. "I bet they wouldn't be looking for droids."
"You want me to what?" Wasabi asked in shock.
"Send in Baymax. I bet they'll be less likely to suspect him of anything. I brought him along, alongside that armor I made," Hiro said over the comm line.
"How is he supposed to find you?"
"Don't worry about it. His scanner can track anyone of us now that he's taken a scan. Trust me."
"Do it Wasabi," Gogo said in agreement.
The large man palmed his face but obeyed. He set the ship on autopilot before finding Baymax's stand. He activated him, inflating the droid who blinked at him. "Hello Wasabi. Are you in need of medical assistance?" Baymax inquired.
"Nah Baymax I'm ok. But Hiro could use your help. He's in a bit of trouble. Might get seriously hurt or worse if you don't help him. You in?" Wasabi asked.
Baymax assessed his programming. Hiro's health was his number one priority. So he would do nearly anything to keep the youth in peak health.
"Yes. I am in," Baymax said with a nod. Wasabi smiled as he found Baymax's armor and began fitting it over his body.
Gogo and Hiro continued crawling through the vents as they neared the control room. As they drew closer they could hear automated voices of their droid enemies. Finally the reached the vent grate and peered into the room. They saw four droids speaking to each other.
"Have the intruders been found?" one of them asked.
"No commander. We are still sweeping the factory."
"Find the intruders and kill them! The last of the ore is almost ready. Soon we will be moving out." Suddenly the commander got a transmission from one of its comrades. "What is it?"
"There appears to be a strange droid. How should we proceed?"
The commander was slightly confused as it thought it had found and accounted for all the droids in the factory. "I am on my way. Keep the droid in your sight. You, wait here, you two come with me," it commanded.
"Roger, roger."
Three of the droids left the room, leaving one to look over and work the controls. Gogo and Hiro exchanged a glance and smiled. So far so good. Gogo gently removed the vent grate with the Force. She made it hover in midair as she dropped down onto the floor. She tried sneaking up on it, but it heard her and whirled around, drawing the vibroblade on its back as it slashed at her.
Gogo ducked the first swipe before blocking the overhand swing with one of her disc. She kicked it in the chest, making it fall back against the controls. As it prepared to attack once again she dropped and swept it legs out from under it. It fell to the ground with a clatter. And as it was down Hiro leapt out of the vent and stabbed his vibroblade through its head.
It gave a metallic screech as it went offline from the damage. Hiro pulled his vibroblade out and smiled. Gogo brushed by him to glance at the controls. She hummed as she looked for what button or lever could open the roof hatch to the storage room.
"Let's try...this one," Gogo said as she pulled a lever.
On the roof of the factory Honey Lemon and Fred were taking cover and hiding behind some spires. They peeked around their cover to observe the clothed droids searching for any signs of them. The droids were armed with blaster as they swept their heads back and forth.
But their search was interrupted by the whirring of gears. The droids looked down in surprise as the roof began to split open.
One of them immediately began to call the commander.
The Tactical droid stared blankly at the strangest droid he'd ever seen. Covered in armor but with a fat, round, and balloon like body.
"Hello, I am Baymax," the strange droid said with a wave.
The other droids stared before looking to the Tactical droid for orders.
The Tactical droid contemplated what to do with the strange droid when he received a transmission. "What is it?"
"Commander, the hatch to the ore storage room has been opened."
"What!" the Tactical droid cried in surprise.
"Baymax! Hammer Fist!"
Before the Tactical droid could issue an order Baymax reacted. He raised his arm up and brought it down on the Tactical droid's head.
"Knife Hand!" With a powerful side chop Baymax knocked its head clean off. The commando droids took aim at Baymax when one suddenly began to float off the ground. As it was flailing about it suddenly went flying through the air before landing in a vat of the smelted ore.
"Ahhhhh! I'm melting! I'm melting! What a world!" it screamed as it sank beneath the superheated liquid metal.
As the last one took aim it was hit in the side of the head by a flying projectile. It was spun, its neck was bent at an awkward angle before it fixed itself and turned to see Gogo and Hiro.
"All units, I need backup immediately," the droid said over its communications line.
The droids on the roof heard their comrades call. They were about to make their way to assist when they suddenly spotted the intruders. A thin blonde woman with blonde hair and man with another carrying a flamethrower. They all raised their weapons to take aim when the blonde woman threw a red ball at them. While still in midair the man released a lick of flames. The flames engulfed the ball and in a red flash it exploded, catching the droids in the blast and sending them all flying away. Before they could get up they suddenly found themselves stuck to the ceiling with some kind of foam like substance.
They struggled and strained to get up but it was no use as their movements were effectively cut off.
Honey Lemon and Fred exchanged a glance before high fiving and calling Wasabi.
Baymax smashed the commando droid with a powerful hammerfist, stunnign it and allowing Hiro to stab it in the head. The team took a small bretah before the heard the sounds of what they assumed were more droids.
Droids from all over the factory were converging on the refinery room. Commandos, Magnum, and even more assassin droids.
"We better go," Gogo said hurriedly as they began running back to the storage room. Hiro nodded as he fell into step behind her. But he stopped when he noticed they were missing a person. He turned to see Baymax slowly shuffling along after them.
"Baymax come on!"
"I am not fast," Baymax said matter of factly.
"Yeah, no kidding!" Hiro cried as he ran to Baymax, grabbed his arm, and began to quickly pull him along. As they ran through the corridors with the droids in pursuit they were fired upon. Baymax's armor held as he was blasted in the back, but Hiro knew if he got shot too many times his droid fiend would be in serious trouble.
As they were running Gogo suddenly stopped, spun on her heel, and sent one of her discs flying at the droids. It bounced off the walls, zigzagging and gaining speed before slicing through one's neck. The droid dropped and it's comrades leapt over it.
Gogo's disc flew back to her wrist with a little manipulation of the Force. She stayed just behind Hiro and Baymax, using her discs as shields as she blocked coming fire.
Eventually the reached the storage room. They rushed inside before shutting the doors and destroying the panel to effecitvley seal themselves in. They were pleased to see the ship slowly lowering itself down so they could get their shipment.
"Baymax I need you," Hiro said as he rushed to the large shipping container. He directed Baymax to move the container right under the ship so they could grab it with the ship's magnetic seal.
Meanwhile the droids began cutting through the doors. Gogo stood guard, fingers twitching anxiously.
"All right Wasabi, crates right under you. Grab it!" Hiro said into his comm.
"Roger that kid," Wasabi said back. With that Wasabi activated the magnetic seal, securing the container to the ship. The rear hatch opened to reveal Honey Lemon and Fred waving for the other to come on. Hiro easily leapt up and onto the ramp. But he looked down as Baymax looked up, blinking and cokcing his head to the side.
Hiro groaned and slapped his forehead. He closed his eyes and focused on the Force as he began to lift Baymax off the ground. Slowly but surely the droid's body began to lift off the ground and up to the ship. Gogo glanced over her shoulder to see their progress. She noticed they were going a bit too slow. She turned and extended her hand out, using the Force to lift Baymax up faster and throw him onto the ramp.
Right as Baymax set foot on the ship the droids cut through and burst in. A commando droid leapt at Gogo with its vibroblade cocked back. Gogo leapt over a low slash and backflipped away. The droids pursued and shot at her as she backflipped and landed onto the ramp of the ship.
The droids kept shooting at the ship as the ramp began to close. But one bold assassin droid charged ahead. It leapt onto one of its comrade's shoulders and then toward the ship, sailing through the air and to the crew's amazement just fitting through the opening of the nearly closed hatch.
The crew was immediately on alert with an assassin droid staring them down with its weapon drawn. The assassin droid, stood there, assessing the situation with its quick thinking and powerful mind.
Before it could do anything Gogo thrust her palm forward to slam it against a wall. As it slumped to the ground it leapt up and began shooting. Everyone ducked behind whatever cover they could find. Gogo crouched down before leaping into the air and at it. It looked up and shot at her. She twisted and turned her body to avoid the laser bolts as she bared down on it with one of her discs spinning like a hacksaw. Thew threw her arm down diagonally, hoping to cut through it. But the droid foresaw her attack and jerked to the side to avoid her attack.
Undaunted Gogo rose up and spun on her heel to deliver a kick across it face, making it stagger to the side. As she threw another kick it caught her leg by the ankle. With a swing it it slammed her into a wall with enough force to daze her. It pointed its blaster at her in preparation to kill her when its blaster arm was suddenly removed. It looked to see its arm severed and ducked and jerked out of the way as Hiro attacked it with his vibroblade.
The adaptive robot struck back with kicks and punches, ignoring its severed arm.
"Baymax, back kick!"
The assassin droid's head spun around to be met with Baymax, who spun on his heel to deliver a powerful kick to the back that made it stumble forward, allowing Hiro to run it through with his blade.
The droid struggled to remain active and even made a grab at Hiro. But before it could reach out and touch him it went offline and ceased to function.
With a breath Hiro pulled his weapon out and let it fall to the ground. The others stood up and approached. Gogo among them who rubbed her shoulder with a grimace.
"Gogo, you're shoulder appears to have been dislocated. Shall I reset it for you?" Baymax asked.
Gogo sighed and turned to look at Hiro. She gave him a smile. "Glad you brought Baymax along. He's going to have to come along more often."
Hiro smiled and nodded in agreement as they made their way up to the flight deck. As they entered Wasabi was setting the coordinates for their return trip back home.
Everyone sat down and looked as Baymax rotated Gogo's shoulder. She took breaths in preparation before with a loud crack Baymax popped her shoulder back into place. She let out a breath as Baymax released her arm. She rotated it, trying to work out the soreness.
"I recommend icing the shoulder for a few days and avoiding any strenuous work," Baymax suggested.
"Yeah Baymax, I'll do that," Gogo said dismissively.
It was silent despite the team's success. Yokai was becoming more dangerous, more a threat than they anticipated. Who knew what other droids he had at his disposal? The team knew they were going to have to watch out in the future. But at the back of their minds they couldn't help but wonder...how did he know about the ore?
Know one said anything as Wasabi pressed the lever and sent them into hyperspace and back to Lothal.
A week later the team had passed some of the ore off to the rebels, sold some for credits, and after hours of begging, pleading, and whining, they'd allowed Hiro to keep some. Hiro had been thrilled and been working on some kind of secret project all week.
And finally one day he was ready to show everyone.
"Guys, let me introduce the new and improved Baymax 2.0," Hiro said proudly as he gestured to his newly upgraded droid.
The team stared in awe and shock at the giant form that was Baymax. He had new armor made from the Cortosis, making it stronger, more resilient, and energy resistant. The armor was red and purple and made Baymax look more imposing and powerful than they'd thought possible.
"And, he does this," Hiro added. He looked to Baymax in excitement. "Do the fist thing!"
Baymax raised his hand up with a closed fist and pointed it to the side. "Balalala," Baymax said as he performed he and Hiro's fist bump gesture.
Hiro slapped his forehead. "No, the other thing." Baymax understood as he pointed his fist at a wall. In the next instant his fist shot toward it like a rocket and smashed a hole in the factory wall. The team gasped in amazement as the fist then flew back to Baymax and reattached itself.
Hiro crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "I know we're going to be facing some dangerous stuff. And I think with Baymax we'll be stronger than ever."
The team exchanged a glance before smiling at Hiro in total agreement.
"Oohhh! Photo!" Honey Lemon cried. Soon she grabbed everyone and huddled them together with their newest addition to the team. She took a photo to commemorate the moment and smiled giddily at it.
"Alright Hiro. I'm glad we let you keep the Cortosis now," Gogo said with a nod. She rubbed Baymax's armor, marveling at the sleek finish. "Good job kid."
Hiro's chest swelled with pride. He was glad he could put his brain to use and now the Imperials and this Yokai character better watch out for them.
"Now fix that hole!" Gogo said sternly as she pointed to the wall which Baymax had blasted a hole into.
Hiro stared at it before looking back to Gogo. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Gogo shook her head and snorted, leaving Hiro to groan as he and Baymax started to repair the damage.
And baymax finally joins the team!
Next chap will see the intro of a certain pirate from the main star wars story