Event Galaxy in Crisis!

Dathomir​

Climbing was never his favorite activity but he wasn't bad at it, especially with the aid of the Force. Getting closer to the peak of the mountain was the goal but it also featured something else and that was the added weight that seemed to be surrounding them.

It was Dark but not Just Dark, as though it was a palpable anger at both the Light and the Dark. Honestly it was unique as far as he knew and it would be something he was intrigued to study in the future.

Once it stopped trying to lure them in and, probably, try to kill them.

Reaching the ledge, he pulled himself up and stood up quickly. His saberstaff in his hand, he stood across from a Sith with some kind of dental problem. Or was it a jaw problem? Either way, the dude had a jawline that could cut through glass because it was made entirely of freaking metal.

He drew the Light to him defensively, preparing to answer violence with violence should the Sith decide to turn down his offer. It was a reasonable offer to his mind but Sith were, in his experience, kind of irrational people.

Way too emotional.

"We're all climbing in the same direction and no one wants to fall off the cliff. Whatever is up there seemed pissed off with Light and Dark - wanna team up to shank it until it's dead? Again?"

A totally reasonable offer.

@Killa Ree
@GABA @Six
@The Forgotten

Nar Shaddaa​

For a moment, Nara felt triumphant. The Gammoreans had turned away from her direction, looking for the datapad that she'd thrown across. It squawked loudly with a horrid alarm, the slime-encrusted screen flashing bright colours through the sewers. She had no idea what to do next but she'd distracted them. If only she could...

She had little time to think as first, she saw the Mandolorian fly in, jetpack blazing. Second, she heard the sharp hiss of lightsaber slicing through the gate. She stood, open-mouthed, staring as she watched the sabers cut through the thick metal, oozing molten slag into the filth.

"Oh COME ON!" she yelled in frustration, finally igniting her saber. So much for keeping it sneaky. "We've got SEVEN Gammorean freaks coming for us!" she shouted to the others in warning. Taking a defensive stance, she waited and watched them charge towards her. Waiting as she tried to focus, tried to breathe...

As they came as close as she dared let them, Nara ducked and twisted aside, slashing her saber towards where it's legs were slamming down. Hoping to cut right through those piggy legs or feet, attempting to try and cause a sudden blockage to stop, or at least slow, the charge of the others.

@Flood @Reyn @Isen @Minuteman75

Hearing Nara’s warning followed by the familiar Gamorran war cries Minvera readied herself. Normally she would prefer to use a grenade to soften them up but the Jedi being up in front complicates matters. Just my luck. Through her helemt’s night vision she quickly noted the overgrown pigs were armed only with melee weapons.

Immediately a plan came to her. While Nara distracted the zombies Minerva launches into the air via jetpack. She flew over the Jedi and the undead swine, firing three shot bursts at several targets, specifically targeting the upper body areas of those in the back ranks while Nara dealt with those in front. Even though she won’t hit every time their numbers would hopefully thin out somewhat.

Minerva descended behind the lone Gamorreans before quickly rolling up. Subsequently she continued to shoot but now toward the rearguard. Either the zombie Gamorrans will have to split up in two groups and deal with the second threat behind them or ignore it and keep attacking Nara while being hit from both sides. “Eat laser piggies!” The Mandaloria shouted in a taunt.

@Reyn @Isen @Charndley @Flood

Salek stepped carefully forward, dipping his toes into the stinking water before sinking the rest of his foot in. He had no idea if he was visible or not, but he was painfully aware of the sound of his breathing, of the clothes rustling against his skin. The infected didn't seem to notice, though. The young Jedi stopped ten meters away and knelt down to think.

If you let a killer run free, you are responsible for any deaths beyond that point, Master Lentus's voice repeated in his mind. During their first months together, Salek hadn't learned much about the Force at all. Lentus had instead pushed him through a rigorous and thorough crash course in moral philosophy and ethics. The ex-commando firmly believed that the 'why' always superseded the 'what,' and he made sure that Salek meditated on the difficult questions of life and found satisfactory answers within himself. The taciturn Jedi Master saw no difference between defeating someone in a lightsaber duel on the field of honor and poisoning them in their sleep. "Dead is dead, and you've taken their life either way. One just lets you lie to yourself about how noble you are in killing them."

Salek still disagreed with a lot of his Master's viewpoints, but some of it had sunk home. He knew that leaving these infected free wasn't an option, because they would be almost guaranteed to take more innocent life. Perhaps there was another way, though. He cast his mind out, feeling with just the gentlest brush at their minds. Was there a thinking being trapped within there, suppressed or unconscious while the beast took over?



He snapped his mind back quickly and swallowed down a dry heave. There was nothing left in those creatures; it was as if their entire personalities had been erased, overwritten by pure unbridled violence. Whoever these men once were, was dead. Their corpses had been co-opted and used as weapons, but there was nobody left to save. In a way, that simplified things, and Salek felt clear resolution well up within him. He couldn't face a mob of these things unless there was hot plasma flying over his shoulders from a master marksman. But two? He could handle two. He HAD to handle them. They were stronger and faster than any human, freakishly so. But he had Jedi precognition and a weapon that could cut through anything. Teeth and claws couldn't do a lot of arguing with a lightsaber.

Salek kept his lightsaber disengaged but held it ready, and he slowly shifted his stance, putting one foot in front of the other for a better take-off into a sprint. But he didn't move yet. Instead, he reached out once again with his mind. This time, instead of trying to read them, he wrote. He touched upon the red-hot flame of the creatures' rage and stoked it, made it white-hot. They were mindless, unwitting, and already predisposed to the feeling; there was no way they could protect themselves from that touch. At the same time, Salek made a tiny adjustment to their perception, pushing them to see one another as prey.

If they fought, Salek would wait a few seconds, until one became dominant in the battle. Then he would use Force Speed to rush forward and bring his saber down like a guillotine through them both, bisecting the monsters through their torsos.

@Flood

Darro cursed as Birsk sat and did nothing. The hunter was on his own it seemed. He'd downed one of the beasts going after the girl and the Bothan, but as he looked back the other way, he could see the first 2 were almost on top of him, and looked even...he guessed hungrier was the best word for it. He aimed his left pistol and went for head shots and let loose another 3 bolts. 3 hits, but only one went down as a bolt blasted through the creature's skull. The other was hit in the shoulder and abdomen but it didn't slow this time, it jumped for Darro, mouth open, teeth ready to pierce his flesh. The creature stopped suddenly in midair as Darro's boot caught it in the face mid flight. Darro had stepped forward, putting his weight behind the kick and the creature buckled backward under it's own weight since it fully committed to the leap.


The Kiffar had no time to check and confirm the kill as he heard a high pitched scream from behind. He gritted his teeth, he knew it could only be the girl. That was when the thought struck him; just fly away... leave them. Every survival instinct in his gut screamed at him to simply activate his boots and fly to his ship. The risk outweighed the consequences at this point. Leave them...they....are....DEAD! His hand went to his bracer and his finger found the button to activate the jets. He pressed it, but he didn't fly up or forward. "What the actual hell am I doing!" The jets activated and Darro made the only move he could make in time to save the girl. He leaned back and boosted backward, over Birsk and slammed into the lower body of the creature that had the girl.

The jolt of the impact loosened the grip the monster had on the girl and she fell away still screaming. The impact unfortunately also knocked the blaster out of Darro's left hand and he and creature landed in heap about 2 feet away from the Bothan and girl. He instantly felt the creature begin to claw at his armor and he managed to get his left hand to his vibroknife and raise it in time to catch the creature by the jaw. It felt no pain however and it struggled and clawed at the hunter biting around his knife as he held the creature back. He couldn't get his blaster up as the creature was on his right arm, so he pushed back, the creature spattering his helmet with saliva as it inched closer and closer to Darro's more exposed neck.

A blaster shot rang out of nowhere and the creature fell away, it's head exploded by hot plasma. Darro pushed the creature off of him and sat up to see the little girl, the one he was about to abandon, holding his dropped blaster. The barrel smoked as she shook and looked at Darro. Maybe...just maybe his instincts had been wrong this time.

@Flood @Darth Bonaparte

Altina was so focused on her meditation that a touch on her shoulder made her jump. With a squeak of surprise, she clenched her still ignited lightsaber in both hands as she whipped around to find another lightsaber wielding figure behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was another Jedi, judging from the clothes he wore. Before she could say anything, the two were interrupted by a ghostly figure.

The feeling she felt from this person was like the feeling that Altina felt beckon her to this tunnel. Surely this was the person who had brought her here, and possibly the other as well. But she was not wholly convinced that the 'ghost' was actually talking to her, opposed to some other apparition that would have been standing roughly where she is now.

"Do you know who she is?" Altina asked her counterpart. "And are there other people out there with you?"

Maybe she could finally get help to this planet, to look for the survivors of the bus crash. Maybe the Council would get her off the planet, depending on how dangerous it is. Considering what she has experienced so far, this was nowhere close to a walk through the jungles of Ajan Kloss.

@christhebarker

Working together Izel and Isen were able to cut their way through the grate in no time at all. Isen tried to thank Izel for waiting for him, but she really didn't have the time to make any response, as she could sense the incoming danger. The Vratix simply nodded to her apprentice in acknowledgement of his words before scrambling thought the newly made hole. "Don't worry Nara!" She shouted as she rushed forward to aid her fellow Jedi. "We're here to-"

"We've got SEVEN Gammorean freaks coming for us!" The human cut her off, igniting her own lightsaber and turning around to face the charging enemy. "Oh..." The Vratix murmured with a slight tinge of embarrassment. It wasn't difficult to realize they had just dropped in and bungled Nara's attempts at stealth. Still, they had to deal with the monsters bearing down on them. Izel for her part would use the Force to lift the cut out metal grate and hurl it like a disc at the charging Gammoreans. The glowing hot edge of the circle would hopefully slice through the rotting corpses like butter.

After making her initial attack she would step up beside Nara and drop into a practiced Soresu stance to deal with any more approaching targets. "Padawan, form a line, don't let them get behind us!" She shouted to Isen. fortunately in the close quarters of the sewer they would be able to at least somewhat nullify the numerical advantage of their enemies. The Gammoreans would crash into a solid defensive line on the Jedi's part, but that might have the unintended effect of pushing them back in Minerva's direction.

@Charndley @Isen @Minuteman75 @Flood

Falynn gave a quick shake of her head in response to Elara’s decision. “No objections here. Upstairs it is.” Perhaps she should have protested at her partner’s offer to go first, but decided against it because that was Elara’s own decision to make. Carefully trailing behind, the two made their way into the stairwell. The sound of blaster fire travelled down from above, a reminder of what she would likely find upstairs. Falynn removed her blaster, which was set to stun by default, gripping it firmly as she moved upwards. Fortunately, the stairwell was still accessible from many of the upper floors, though evacuating people would be more than difficult. Approaching the second floor, she could more clearly hear what was going on upstairs. In short, it sounded equivalent to a battlefield. Besides the varying flow of blaster fire, she could make out at least two different people and the unmistakable sounds of a droid. Falynn remembered that she hadn't asked Elara how good of a shot she was, which may have made a difference in who went first. It was too late now.

Arriving at the action, Falynn ducked behind a pillar to observe the area. From her vantage point, she could see the droid partially covered, searching from side to side for its next target. A man wielding a red blade was standing close by. It was impossible to tell if there were still people trapped on this floor, and Falynn didn't exactly have free rein of the entire area to search. There wasn't a lot she would be able to do before the threats were either eliminated, or distracted enough that she could make her way past them. As much as she tried to avoid conflict if possible, this situation called for it.

Making eye contact with her partner nearby, Falynn nodded towards the droid and the Sith, bringing her blaster up. Once both were occupied she would fire three stun rounds, two at the droid and one at the man, aiming for their centers. It wasn't yet clear if her presence had been noted, but nonetheless it soon would be. So, as soon she fired, Falynn would dash behind another opposing doorway and crouch there, eyes scanning for an opportunity to make her next move.

@Frannykins87 @The Eclipse

Met with the devastating explosion of the two bombs that went off less than a meter away from him the white haired Jedi was barely able to cover his face with the same hand he used to telekinetically drag the soldier towards the shooter droid. His grip on the man loosening as a result and the soldier falling far less than where Weiss aimed his body at. The detonation of the two grenades had sent the Jedi that was now covering his face with his arm back, sliding across the floor and stopping only when his back hit a wall as he was still laying sideways. Perhaps only his instinctive response to shield himself with the Force allowing Weiss to survive the two blasts even though it was a clumsy attempt at best considering the circumstances. His hearing was still off, only hearing a distant buzz and his vision was beyond blurred. The young man reached to his thigh pocket, taking out two med packs and stabbed both of them into his leg.

As the chemicals started boosting his body's healing properties and pumping adrenalin into the young man's organism he reached out for a third med pack as he got into a sitting position, his back leaning against the wall and stabbed it into his arm. His vision was slowly getting clearer and he could feel the pain subsiding a bit, though not deciding to simply wait for the effects of the drugs to kick in Weiss fully relied on the Force to replace his now almost shut down senses. Sending his awareness farther into the Force around him from the moment he collided with the wall to try and predict any incoming threats towards his direction.

It seemed most of the battle was going on in the center of the room and both sides were occupied with each other, the soldier Weiss had previously engaged seemingly decomisioned as the man's consciousness faded. What do they do to these Sith soldiers ? - a thought passed his head reflective of the man's dedication and eagerness to face the Jedi. He extended his right arm towards the position he was previously in, before the bombs went off, the area now clouded by dust and smoke even further than before. The young Jedi pulled lightly with the Force affecting the general area which resulted in many pebbles and small pieces of nearby concrete structures rolling and floating towards him before finally the slightly-larger-than-average hilt of his lightsaber came to view

. The weapon's hilt flew up and landed in Weiss's extended palm but he did not ignite it. Due to the current situation his enemies were not just occupied and fighting but they had every right to believe he was out of the fight due to the brave kamikaze maneuver of the soldier from before and on top of that the area he was in now was clouded by a puff of smoke and dust in front of it from the previous detonation. Igniting his lightsaber could only reveal his location to the enemies on the other side. However, eager as he was to get back into the fight Weiss remained in the seated position, vigilant of his flanks and front for a possible threat but still needed some time to recuparate before going back into the fray.

@Killa Ree @MasterTyvokka @Nefieslab @The Eclipse

Elikar was lucky to make it behind cover alive. His vibrosword, not so much. To his dismay the vibrosword's sheath had a decent chunk missing. Of course, as Elikar confirmed, the tip of his vibrosword was also missing. He thumbed it on and although it still worked it emitted an odd sound and vibration. Elikar would have to worry about that later.

Elikar took his first shot and was in the process of pulling the trigger for his second when he felt it. The sense of imminent danger. Without thinking and with speed only the Force could provide him he brought the vibrosword up and just barely managed to block the blaster bolt. However, due to the earlier damage the blade of his vibrosword shattered, the hilt separating from the cross guard as an acrid smoke rose from the vibration cell. The pieces clattered to the ground.

An unusual object rolled to Elikar's feet from the remains of his vibrosword. As Elikar picked it up he couldn't believe his eyes. It was a lightsaber. It couldn't have... but no, its must have... come from within the broken hilt of the vibrosword. So many emotions rolled through Elikar in a matter of milliseconds, fear, anger, and frustration mixed with joy, wonderment, and excitement. There was far more to his father than Elikar had ever thought. Was he a Jedi, something else?

The explosions from the grenades shocked Elikar out of his thoughts and back to the battle at hand. Elikar holstered the blaster and thumbed the lightsaber on. It felt slightly different than he was used to but he had learned with so many different weapons that he could get used to it quickly.

The dust from the explosions was clearing and Elikar could see the dazed Jedi on the far side of the room in front of him. The Jedi was definitely out of the fight for the moment. The woman who was steeped in the dark side of the force charged the Sith, the droid also tracking her. Another had taken shots at the Sith from a corridor further across the room. Lastly, two new combatants appeared, one taking further shots at the droid. Then there was the rumble that caused the room to shake slightly, destabilizing things further. Elikar hopped that wasn't another explosion.

Elikar used the distractions aimed at his opponents to make his move. He used his mix of good emotions along with his passion for melee combat to fuel the Force. He broke from cover at a run toward the droid, his newly discovered weapon's emerald blade held in a center-body guard position ready to block any shots that might head his way, just as he would do if he had his vibrosword. Elikar was careful not to get in the way of other's shots at the enemy.

The IG unit was using a column for partial cover and Elikar could tell by the way the column was leaning as a result of the further destabilization (caused by the removal of the floor below by the Jedi in the basement) that it wouldn't take much to topple it. Elikar gave it that push with the Force. Because the column was so weak, it took Elikar very little concentration and only a fraction of a second to topple the column.

Hopefully the column would come down on the droid crushing it. If so, Elikar would continue on toward the Sith, aiming for the side where Elikar could see an arm apparently hanging limp. Upon reaching the Sith Elikar feinted to the right and then side stepped to the left so that when he brought his lightsaber from his right to his left to cut the Sith in two from his unprotected left side. Elikar made his strike such that only a small portion of his blade would cut through the Sith. This would allow Elikar to bring his blade quickly into a guard position should the Sith prove quick enough to mount a counter strike before being cut in two.

If Elikar was unlucky the IG-89 unit would not be destroyed and still a threat. Elikar would make for the combat droid and with a second quick pull of the Force Elikar would seek to grab the droid by its ankles and toppled it before he was upon it. He would seek to slash from left to right to decapitate the falling droid while cutting off its arms should they still be raised in a firing position.

If Elikar was really lucky, the IG unit would not be completely destroyed by the column but only trapped such that it thought it might be captured. This would cause the droid to activate its manufacturer demanded self destruct protocol. Elikar would hear the tell tail beeping and activation announcement along with a faint red glow through the rubble. Instead of continuing on, Elikar would dash down the corridor the woman and other man were taking cover in. The blast hopefully incinerating not only the droid but also the Sith.

The whole time Elikar was ready for whatever the droid or Sith might attempt to thwart him.

@The Eclipse @Six @Nefieslab @FireSong @Catbert @Killa Ree

Isen was prepared to take the swine-like zombies head-on as he followed through the hole they created in the gate. His adrenaline started to flow freely when it became evident that the Gammoreans were now headed for them and with purpose. The young Kiffar watched as Master Thral used the force to toss the gate like a frisbee in the direction of the zombie-like swinemen, figured that was the green light to mow these pigs down. He had already leaned forward to start his sprint. He was stopped short, however, when he heard his Master give instructions.

"Padawan, form a line, don't let them get behind us!"

Isen was going to have to show restraint. He didn't understand it. Three Jedi and a fully armed Mando versus seven plodding zombie pigs. They had to have the upper hand, right? But, Isen knew one of his biggest flaws was to react without contemplation for all the consequences of all the potential decisions that could be made. He didn't respond verbally, because this wasn't the time to showcase manners as evidence by Master Thral not responding to his gratefulness for the patience. He simply obeyed, and got in line. Still, while the prudent thing to do would be to take a defensive fighting stance as they were taking a defensive position, Isen assumed a more aggressive, offensive stance. Adept at both Makashi and Djem So and utilizing a strong-style philosophy, Isen felt much more comfortable being prepared to launch than to lay back in wait. With a cobalt blade in each hand, he waited on the beasts to take their chances against the Jedi and the Mando prepared to cut them down.

@Reyn @Charndley @Minuteman75 @Flood

The shrewd, old @Vera Coulter seemed to have wisely deduced that the old Nemoidian Sith was in the records room for the records. Also, she had a grenade. The Nemoidian's crimson and gold eyes swept briefly over the small device, grimaced slightly, and stepped back and left into the hall. Meanwhile the frag grenade went off near the records access console, shrapnel piercing and tearing apart the controls. Well, it could be said the ranger had thoroughly disrupted at least part of their plans, but she had also in a way expedited the remaining and most important parts.

In damaging the access terminal beyond the point the Sith could reasonably repair on a tight schedule, she had moved forward the next step; Destroying the records. The Nemoidian gathered the Dark Side to him into the palm of his left hand. It obeyed him well, forming a concentrated ball of orange flame that quickly grew in both size and density. He stepped back into the doorway, saber before him in guard, and launched the ball into the center of the room before stepping back aside. A half second later the ball would detonate into a violent conflagration that practically filled the records room, the sudden force and heat scorching all within, the hungry flame's licking fingers biting into anything it could. Before they could move on, the nuisance within had to be dealt with, and the Nemoidian had neither the time nor the patience to tolerate the Ranger's continued insistence on breathing.

Down in the basement hallway, @Corran Velt and @Trini Halrixien were still trying their best to stave off death at the hands of a knife-happy Sith. After her initial throw the woman drew a second vibroknife, She was growing tired of the Ranger's resistance, although she had to appreciate his tenacity. Especially considering the venom that coated each of the Sith's knives. A vile and extremely cruel concoction derived from a gelatinous marine creature and altered by alchemical means, it didn't actually possess the ability to kill a person, it only made them wish for death. It caused a steadily spreading and intensifying burning pain throughout the victim's body as it attacked their nerves. In a matter of minutes, even a gentle breeze or the simple act of breathing would be interpreted by the body as mind-numbingly agonizing. A few seconds after the knife struck Corran's face he would begin to feel the pain begin to build and spread. The Sith was looking forward to seeing the look on his handsome face.

Unfortunately there was also the little rat in the vents to deal with. While the Sith continued to deflect Corran's annoyingly persistent blaster fire with her two weapons, @Trini Halrixien was preparing a sneak attack of her own. The Sith's own attunement to danger and the echoing whine of a blaster in a confined metal space drew the woman's attention and with a burst of speed she leapt backwards and slightly to her left in an alarming display of both power and balance. While her long knife continued to parry Corran's shots her lightsaber streaked upwards towards the vent. Trini's first shot meet the crimson edge as it moved to cut through the blaster and Trini both on its way past, the base of the blade kept centered to guard from further shots should the strike fail. The Sith would end up with her back to to the wall of the hallway that led into another corridor to resume her defense and, for now, decided to wait for the next opportunity. Avoiding and intercepting two sources of stun shots with a tight guard was hardly difficult in a straight hallway.

Back on the second floor of the building things were starting to look dicey for the Sith and his IG-89. More enemies had shown up, there was quite a lot of incoming fire, and most of the backup was downstairs. Oh, and the taxi crasher had a lightsaber now. So that was a thing. Under the combined assault of @Lorcan , @Falynn Tikarsis , @Elikar Bridhec , and parting shots from @Dr Ilana Morata there didn't seem to be a whole lot that could be done. But there was still something.

As Ilana's Force attack gripped the Sith's arm he dropped his lightsaber- which promptly detonated as the kill switch within triggered, an amplified kyber explosion that would annihilate the Sith and anyone standing too close. Acolytes were disposable tools, in the end. The IG-89 was entirely unaffected by the various stun shots but was also solidly impacted by Lorcan's heavy blaster fire, the bolts leaving glowing holes in its chassis plating. Upon taking such damage, and noting the death if its designated charge, it immediately activated its self destruct charges along with the linked thermal explosives placed in the downed soldier's helmet. A trio of detonations in the room, while not terribly powerful, would certainly cause grievous harm to any nearby and further damage the half-crumbling floor. Regardless, all threats on the second floor would be quite dead and gone so far as anyone could tell.

Off in the corner, @Weiss Zano had taken a pair of surprise grenades to the face. While his instinctual defense and guarding arm had doubtless saved him from a gruesome fate, he would find the arm that he'd placed in front of his face was riddled and torn to shreds by frag shrapnel. Other pieces had embedded themselves elsewhere in his body, but his arm had received the worst of it, blood coating it and the ground beneath. Even with stim packs , he and his arm would need serious medical attention.

Back in the basement, @Preef Callo and @Marissa Hesse would find themselves entirely unmolested by the old Sith as they collected their spoils and made their way out. A wealth of ill-gotten goods and stolen items had been gathered, and now they only had to escape the besieged Ranger station without being caught on the way out. The old Sith would wave in a grandfatherly sort of way as they left, his burning gaze watching them every step of the way out of the evidence lockup. He would not forget their faces any time soon.

@Nykoria Tallis and @Darmus Onn were beset upon by Sirius and his reinforced checkpoint. The Sith's grin widened in response to Kori's initial words confirming both her presence and her sense of determination. This was good. Unbeknownst to Sirius however was the Jedi's plan to drop the hall on him as oppose to actually try and fight. He waited in place as Kori announced her "plan" in a stage whisper to the Ranger hiding in cover, gathering the Dark Side to himself, and then raised an eyebrow a moment later as no assault came. Boring! Well, if the Jedi didn't feel like playing the game properly then Sirius would just have to volunteer someone else. The Ranger would do.

Sirius' left arm rose up to grasp the Ranger's weapon, and weapon arm, in an iron telekinetic grip in order to drag it and the man himself bodily into the hallway several seconds after Kori had begun burning through the ceiling. Unless mitigated in some way, this would both prevent Darmus from firing his weapon anywhere but into a wall and also open him up to a full volley from the destroyer droid, which would in fact begin to fire should the Ranger make it at least partly into the hallway. If the Jedi was anything like Sirius expected, the Ranger being put into quite mortal danger would draw her from whatever it was she was up to. If Kori didn't render aid to her companion he would likely be taken out long before she had even gone through the duracrete ceiling, after which Sirius could deal with the Jedi unhindered. Sirius also began to walk forward toward the ranger, lightsaber up in a steady guard.

Of course she could always continue on with her lengthy plan, hoping the Sith wouldn't catch on, and leave the Ranger to be cut down mercilessly by blaster fire. She could take the chance of using Darmus as a pawn, a distraction to be discarded, and that his horrible death would give her the several minutes she'd need to collapse the hallway from above. But that wouldn't be very Jedi like, now would it? But if Kori did maintain her course and intend to drop the ceiling, her vanished presence and the sound of cracking duracrete would alert Sirius that something was amiss. He would then aggressively and at speed leave the hallway, through or around Darmus if still necessary. He would move forward in a guarded rush under such circumstances into the safety of the adjoining hallway, leaving the droid and the soldier to be crushed soon afterwards by the weight of falling stone.

Outside the building, Overwatch reported the loss of the second floor team over comms and sent out an encrypted signal. In the distance, the rumbling sound of engines approached, blending in with the noise of the city. The police blockade would need to be dealt with, or at least distracted, before the Eclipse could make their escape. It was truly amazing the kinds of military surplus one could find just laying around waiting to be sold. The Corsec perimeter would not be prepared for what was coming.

@Catbert @TerranSteel @AutoFox @Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Nightfall @Killa Ree @Frannykins87 @FireSong @Six @MasterTyvokka

Kel didn't like the idea of splitting up. He knew all too well that if Preef and his associate—who proved to be a rather notable honcho in the Syndicates as well—were left to their own devices, they could just run off with the speeder and the cargo. After all, why share with the pilot or anyone else when you can keep all the cargo to yourself?

Only two things stopped Kel from taking precaution: like having Preef take the bike why he'd drive the car with Marissa and the loot. Firstly, it was the understanding that Preef would need a ship off world, and the Black Swift was the best there was. Secondly (and much more importantly), Kel didn't have much to lose apart from the time he had invested into the job. On the other hand, he would've risked A LOT MORE by showing his mistrust or outright questioning the Rodian's intentions. That's why the human let the events unfold as they did.

All things considered, the change of plans didn't surprise the man too much. Kel had expected something along those lines, but done to himself. Things like that happened on Nar Shaddaa all the time, so the human took them for granted. A simple "You got it", and it was settled—the escape plan was altered.

Of course, it wouldn't be over with picking up the gang and leaving. There were still some reasons for concern. Like, what if Callo decides he likes the Black Swift too much to leave it... in my hands? Especially since he had an associate now. Luckily, that was already accounted for. The Rodian was a notorious gunslinger, but Kel was no slouch himself. As for Marissa... Well, the Swift had its own crew, which would keep the odds even. Deterrents and counterweights.

As uneasy as cooperation between the Syndicate operatives could be, it could lead to riches and fame... If the co-conspirators didn't shoot each other.

@Nightfall, @Ecclessey

// EXIT THREAD