A War close to Home

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Three days had passed since she fought with a random gang in the northern part of Jedha city. She had met Vash Tembra that day; an Echani Padawan who had accompanied her until all hell broke lose. He had called upon the Dark Side, unknowingly. He had killed, accidentally. While he saw the error of his ways, Sakadi had to consider what his actions meant for his future path. If he came this close to the Dark Side already, it wasn't entirely unlikely that he could fall. She didn't want that fate to befall her new friend, so she had summoned him here, to the small meditation room in the south-west corner of the Temple.

The entire south-west corner of the temple consisted out of small corridors, with even smaller meditation rooms. The thick stone walls of the rooms did not allow even a single sound to bother the Jedi within, which made in an ideal place to discuss what had happened. Because if no sound could get it, it also meant that no sound could escape. So there she was, sitting on the comfortable meditation chair, legs crossed and focusing on the Living Force around her. One day, she hoped to be able to focus on the Cosmic Force instead. But she had a long way to go before her senses and connection with the Force would be that refined.

She had intentionally picked a meditation room with two of the meditation chairs. Or were they more like round cushions? The shape of the meditation chairs was something that still bothered her, no matter how many times she used them. Slowly breathing in, Sakadi allowed her mind to reflect upon the events of three days ago once again. The Trandoshan had been trained, had she not shot him with a blaster pistol, which she still owns by the way, her chances of walking away unharmed would have plummeted. The Trandoshan was good and from what she saw, the Rodian had been no pushover either. Well, maybe a little bit. Of course, the main subject she wanted to discuss with Vash was his Dark Side, but she had also figured out a thing or two about the gang they had engaged. That's why, for the sake of making communication easier, she had brought a compact holopad with her. It would allow her to type messages instead of having to sustain a telepathic pathway. Since Vash didn't understand sign language, those two methods were here only options.

She opened her eyes as she felt a familliar presence approaching. It wouldn't be long now before he would step through that door. As they both were padawans, she had no right to judge him or interrogate him, but she'd try nevertheless. Had she been a knight, she could've scolded her fellow Jedi of his rash actions, but that was not the case. Not yet. She still had a long way to go before even getting remotely close to knighthood, but she was determined to achieve it.

Despite the Temple being her home, Sakadi stilled preferred to meditate in all her glory. Which meant lightsaber and recently obtained blaster pistol at her side, wearing her deep brown cloak and white Jedi robes. If she was ever going to jump in a fight like that again, where lives were at stake, she'd definitely come armored next time. She had been busy customizing Jedi armor over the last three days, but she still needed time to adjust to it. That's why she still kept it in her room, instead of wearing it in public.

Sakadi turned to welcome the Echani as the door slid open. She had given him the password, so she knew that only he would be able to enter. As she waited for him to start his usual banter, she grabbed her holopad, ready to get to bussiness immediately.

@Larry Kenobi

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash was a little surprised that Sakadi had summoned him. He knew he'd been a little distant since their little adventure on the streets of Jedha, and not just from her, but from most everyone else, too. The failure of that day still hurt him greatly. How he'd killed a criminal that would have been alive had Vash been more prepared, more competent as a Jedi, and how the Twi'lek might have been more psychologically sound if she hadn't experienced so much violence.

He knew he was supposed to get over it, to just have no feelings and carry on... but it was hard, really hard. He had no idea how Sakadi could be so casual about dismembering people. The tiny Sephi was a lot more detached than he had previously anticipated, and that was, frankly, both good and bad. Jedi were supposed to be detached... but her coldness was still unsettling.

Not that he'd let it show, though. Vash always took care not to let his own personal issues get in the way of things. No one liked a whiner, after all. So, after smiling broadly to one of the Knights going about her bussiness- a Twi'lek, of all races, who instantly made Vash remember his failure, he made his way to the south-west area of the temple. And this time, he wasn't alone: his brown and white hawk would accompany him. Vash had actually spent most of his time since the incident three days ago with his trusted pet, throwing little bites of meat in the air for the bird to catch.

They were bonded through the Force, and the Echani was able to make use of that to throw the meat in some really weird angles, while sending out his perception to his pet. Not once had the hawk missed his throws, and he, in contrast, could also feel what he felt. Raw meat was surprisingly tasty from the perspective of his feathery companion. And its vision was also something to behold... especially when Vash took him to the roof to fly, and observe the city through the eyes of his bird.

He certainly wished he was doing that right now, rather than going to meet with his fellow Padawan. But, at least, he'd have some company. His hawk was incredibly calm. It had been even before Vash bonded with him, and after, this trait only itensified, as Vash would often meditate with the bird on his shoulder. Having him now was soothing, more than he had thought it would be. And with that thought, he opened the door to the meditation room.

There was Sakadi, turning to face him with her usual attire and... was that a holopad? Ok, then...

"You could have picked something easy to remember, like 'Password 1', but nooo, let's make an intricate, actually effective password that'll make my friend have to check his message over and over again while everyone walks by him, thinking he's got really bad memory" He said that in a tone heavy with irony, then changed to a more cheery voice "Anyway, how have you been?! I brought Corin- sure you won't mind. Long time no see, last time we kind of... brutalized some people. That was fun," he said with a broad smile. Inside, though, it really hurt.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi glanced at the bird for a moment. Was that a hawk? She didn't know Jedi were allowed to have pets, so naturally, she was caught quite off-guard. That didn't stop her from typing her first message though. Sakadi lifted the holopad up, with the screen facing Vash.

Why do you have an hawk?

She was a tradtitional Jedi, living a life where very few things were in her possession. Only her primary needs needed to be satisfied, not much else. A lot went through her mind as she observed the posture of the Jedi in front of her. She could tell that he didn't want to be here, his banter would not stop her from noticing it. The one thing that did catch her attention, was how lightly he tried to talk about having "brutalized some people". He called it fun. Had it been fun for him? No, she remembered all too well how grief had temporarily taken over when he killed the Rodian. So why was he trying to cover it up by calling it 'fun'? It gave her an opening to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go.

Again she tapped on the holopad, faster than most people she had met were capable of. Her slender lavender fingers moved over the holopad with the experience of a professional pianist; she had become incredibly proficient at typing since the loss of her voice. She turned the holopad again, as she tilted her head slightly. She looked him in the eyes, with a serious expression.

Was that fun to you? Because I doubt it.

Sakadi didn't care much for individuals; it was the world on a cosmic scale she tried to protect. She served the light-side of the Force, not the people. She had the feeling that her fellow Padawan had another ideology which he tried to uphold. She had interrupted his conversation with the Twi'lek victim, almost trying to force him to return to the Jedi temple. That undoubtedly did not sit well with him. She couldn't imagine that he would let something like that go.

She wanted him to come clean first, since he was obviously lying in her face right now. Her childhood was one of isolation, but she had studied the behaviour of men and women alike. She could tell when someone lied to her with great accuracy.

 

[Vash Tembra]

He looked on, kind of amazed at her ability to type... obviously, it must have been one of the most prominent ways for his mute friend to communicate, which made sense: not everyone was comfortable with telepathy, and many, like himself, were not proficient in sign language.

"Never heard of Beast Control?", the Echani asked, petting his hawk. Then, he sent a small command for it to wait near the window, where it could observe the conversation. Vash didn't want the extra wheight on his shoulder right now. "It's a pretty neat trick," he added with a smile.

While he talked, her lightining fast fingers typed, and just as he finished his latest comment, a new message appeared... one that made him laugh. Did she seriously believe for a moment that he was speaking the truth? Sakadi can take things a little too literally. he thought with a smile.

"No, of course not. Brilliant deductive skills you got there," he added jokingly, while moving to take a seat on the round meditation poof in front of hers. He let out a sigh, and continued in a more serious tone. "That was my first kill, you know. Wasn't fun at all"

Vash laid down on the big poof, resting an elbow on it and placing his chin on his closed fist, while he looked her in the eyes for a few seconds in silence, analyzing the Sephi with his gaze. Since she had brought it up, he might as well ask about her own brutalizing. Sakadi's callous lack of compassion still stuck with him.

"And what about you, hmm? Was it fun for you? The amount of limbs you tore off made the whole thing almost cinematic. I know a filmmaker who loves making Jedi movies and chopping off limbs... made me think of him right away. Funny thing, though, I completely forgot his name"

He began rambling those last few comments with the intent to make his question sound lighter. He'd spoken in a casual, amiable tone, but this wasn't an easy subject, and the lighter Vash could make it, the better. Last thing he wanted was for this to turn into some kind of quarrell. He and Sakadi both had better things to do than waste time and energy fighting.

But still, he really wanted to know how she could do it. How anyone could be so detached when causing harm to others. In a way, it was admirable, to not be influnced by emotions. But Vash wasn't sure that this was some kind of ability he wanted to develop: the whole thing was downright creepy, to be honest.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Good. The Echani seemed more serious now. Despite claiming his remark to be a joke, she took this matter seriously. Violence was not something she considered a funny joke, but more of a necessary evil. Which of course, lead up to a question he had to ask. While he still didn't entirely drop his habit to make everything less serious, she could tell that he didn't do it to tease her. Sakadi tapped on the holopad again. He was entitled to an answer, that much she agreed on.

Why did she feel no remorse cutting off limbs? For two simple reasons. The moment they engaged the gang on the street, it became clear that they weren't planning on allowing the two padawans to walk away with their lives. Brask, the Trandoshan, had even said out loud that he killed a Jedi before. No, had she taken them lightly, the outcome would've been far different. Yes, Vash had scared them off, in her direction. After seeing what the padawan was capable of, they were still willing to attack her. Sure, she could've disarmed them and try to knock them out, but the Rodian had recovered quickly. So what if the others would recover within no time as well? No matter the odds, she wouldn't have gotten out alive if she didn't permanently remove her opponents from their fight. Besides, they had likely done a lot worse than simply fight people out on the street. The Twi'lek was traumatized before they had engaged, with good reason. In short, the injuries she inflicted were both the justice they deserved and the most efficient way to deal with the threat.

But still, it pained her to mutilate life. While she had little regret, the decision had not been an easy one. If given the chance though, she would do it all again. The Jedi Padawan was surprisingly cold and heartless when it came to battle. Because when a Jedi had to raise his lightsaber, they had lost already.

If I didn't, they would have overpowered us. Knocking them out or superficially wounding them didn't stop the Rodian. Or the Trandoshan, for that matter. They weren't going to let us get away with our lives. It was them or us, and I made the decision to survive.

Her message may have been a bit harsh, but it brought her points across. She was sorry, but Vash simply had to deal with it. More importantly though, she still had a few questions left to ask.

So how are you doing? Is the Rodian still on your mind?

First, she wanted to make sure the Echani padawan was alright. She wasn't planning to provoke him or anything, but they had matters to discuss. She didn't want him to be unstable when she was going to share the information she had gathered. It was no laughing matter when you got backstabbed by your allies for placing too much trust in them. Part of the reason why she had prepared armor for the next time she fought.

 

[Vash Tembra]

While Sakadi did have a point as far as cutting limbs was concerned, the whole thing still felt... wrong. Especially since she did, after all, take out a lightsaber just because a guy was looking at her funny. That had been the spark that fueled the flames of the whole conflict. But once the conflict had started, it had been necessary to handle the situation quickly and effectively. That much he could agree on.

Vash chose not to reply to her comment, however, especially since Sakadi apparently had more to say, the way her lightining fast fingers were working on that holopad of hers. This conversation was getting very boring. He'd rather be out doing something like training or even meditating.

The Echani didn't like talking about feelings, which, he realized as he looked towards his hawk, was pretty ironic, as he was quite adept at feeling the feelings of others, and even more so in influencing the weak willed to feel a certain way. It had sort of worked with the Zabrak. Sort of. Vash hadn't been shot right in the head when he had threatened the alien, rather, the Zabrak tried to be sneaky and shoot the Padawan in the back. A hollow victory, given the result had still been violence, but a victory all the same.

Then he read her next question, and his first instinct was to make a joke and leave the room. He really didn't want to talk about this. Especially not to her, he realized. Vash simply didn't feel like Sakadi would understand how deep his failure hurt. He knew that if he'd been more alert, more open to the unexpected, a life would have been spared. Sure, a pretty slimy life, but the Rodian had just as much right to live as anyone else.

Vash had often wondered if the alien had a family somewhere, that'd be waiting for him to come home. Would they even be notified of his passing? More likely than not, his identity was fake, and his loved ones might never know what had happened to him if the officers didn't know who to notify.... perhaps they'd even think the criminal up and left someday, abandoning them forever. Vash might have just made the Rodian's whole family hate him forever. If he even had a family that is.

And the alien was interesting, in his own way, to boot... he had a kind of sick sense of humor, was great with a blaster, and obviously had taken great care to make his weapon of choice as effective as possible, which was something that Vash, as an Echani, could respect, even if he remained detached of his own armaments: many of his species valued battle above all else, after all. Perhaps he and the Rodian could have even ended up as friends someday, if Vash had been competent enough to keep him alive long enough to try and convert him. People with his skills would have been valuable, after all.

But, he had little desire to tell any of that to his fellow Padawan, and even less inclination to spend time explaining his reasoning. It did no good to dwell on the past, and no one liked a whiner, after all.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said simply, calling his hawk through the Force to stand next to him on the poof, where he could pet it. His feathery friend always made him calmer. "What about you, though? That wasn't exactly an easy fight we went through. Hope you didn't get hurt or anything"

He meant more physical harm than mental one, but you never knew, one way or the other. For obvious reasons, Sakadi had been quiet after the fight: she was pretty spent mentally, and so was he, so communication had been difficult. Maybe she had some sort of pain, too, and he realized it'd been pretty selfish of him not to have asked about it during the last three days. Just another failure to add to the pile.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi narrowed her eyes as she heard the three word reply. This man was bad at talking when things became serious. What did she have to do? Fight him again to understand how he felt? She wasn't planning to spar for a while, her technique was good enough. Her telekinetic prowess however, yeah that could use some work. The question he asked in return had a simple answer. She didn't get hurt, neither emotionally nor physically, but the battle had scared her. To the point where she actually considered changing attire and learning more defensive tactics. It was the very reason why she still held on to the blaster, a backup weapon suddenly felt like a really nice option to have.

In response, she shook her head. She realized that it wasn't polite to talk with him in such a roundabout way, but she didn't want to create and sustain a telepathic link again, knowing that the other part of that link could unknowingly draw upon the dark side. She did trust him enough to share some information with him though. She did not sit still these last three days, trading her precious training hours for city-wide investigation. An easy task for the telepath. One of the places she had visited, was the local bureau which held the survivors of their fight, minus those who were hospitalized. She had talked with the officers, tried and failed to interrogate Brask, but nevertheless she had gotten a lead.

Based on the officers claims and weak minds she had read in the northern blocks of Jedha, the gang was a lot larger than they had anticipated. While they weren't a city wide threat yet, they had taken control of the criminal underground in the northern blocks. Rumored to be able to take on even the Jedi, this gang had taken over part of the spice trade and had even set up a small slave trade under the watchful eyes of the Jedi order. She hypothesized that the Twi'lek was to be sold in Jeffrics bistro, with the Zabrak being the one to deliver her.

The location of their base of operations was largely unknown. According to rumors, it was located hundreds of miles away from Jedha, somewhere in the hot desert of the planet, where the most potent members got special training from the leader. Training that had allowed the Rodian and the Trandoshan to keep up with the two padawans.

While their true base of operations was unknown, Sakadi had figured out something interesting though. A small lead, which crossed the mind of a minor gangster while she had probed it. A cantina in the northern blocks acted as their city headquarters, going completely unnoticed by those who didn't know. Both their spice and slaves were shipped to the cantina first, before being spread throughout the north and east of Jedha city. What they had stumbled upon three days ago, had likely been a patrol to protect the Cantina from unwanted attention, or simply to assure that selling the Twi'lek girl would go smoothly. Either way, the gangsters on the street had not been a coincidence.

All of that information was too much to type, even for her lightning fast fingers. Sakadi bit her lip as she opted whether or not she should tell him the full story. She eventually decided to tell him everything she had learned. If she couldn't trust Vash, she'd find out today.

Sakadi focused her attention on Vash, as she made eye contact. If he allowed her in, she'd send him all she had learned about the gang over the past three days. She made sure that no other unwanted memory joined her memory sharing, as her past was still something she'd like to keep private.

After bringing him up to speed, she typed a single message, with a slight smirk on her face.

I think it's time for a drink. Do you happen to know a good cantina?

Sakadi was not a servant of the people, but upholding the safety in this city was still something she'd consider part of her duties as a Jedi.

 

[Vash Tembra]

She was not happy at his reply, that was plain to see, but to be honest, he didn't care all that much. His feelings weren't something that he thought she'd understand, and besides, what was the point of dwelling on what had happened? They had more important things to take care of.

And now she'd finally thrown away the holopad... and for a moment, it seemed as though she didn't know what to do, the way her face contorted into almost a grimace, as if Sakadi was in pain.

"Uhh.. should I call a medic?", he asked jokingly, before starting to feel her prescence in his mind. It took Vash a while to let her in, though: he wanted to be properly prepared before he connected with her mind, making sure his thoughts and emotions were well in check. Last thing he needed was for himself or her to get distracted with random thoughts, after all.

And so he heard the tale of how she'd done the right thing, and acted as a proper Jedi, investigating the issue instead of moping about for the last three days with a hawk. It was kind of a wake up call. That if Vash just stood about and did nothing, the world would simply go on without him, and any chance he might have of making the galaxy a better place would simply pass him by.

And for Vash to act properly, he'd have to get over what had happened. Yeah, the Rodian was dead, but all the rest were alive, which was good. But something was really, really bad: there were others acting freely, and making more girls- and possibly boys- end up just like that poor Twi'lek he'd tried to save. He had to do something. Or all that trouble he'd stirred with Sakadi would have been for naught. All that suffering would have been hollow. Now he had a second chance, and a new purpose.

Getting up from his relaxed position on the poof- he'd laid down long enough, Vash smirked back at Sakadi offering her his hand to get the Sephi back up.

"Oh, I know a place alright," he said cheerfully, "It's dirty, mean... mighty unclean, you could say. And we're going to bring it down"

After a pause, he added, with a little smile: "Thank you. You're a better Jedi than I could ever hope to be. I'm glad I acted dumb when you tried to shoo me away that time"

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

His exclaimation would be answered by a shrug on her part. She was for from the Jedi she one day aspired to be. She still had a long way to go. But for now, she'd play the role most of the Jedi played nowadays. The bringer of justice. Sakadi took up the holopad once again.

Meet me in two hours near the main entrance of the temple.

She would don her armor for the first time. It was light, but the protection it would give her was better than having none at all. Trading a bit of her agility for survivability was a good choice, if they decided to crash a party together. Undoubtedly someone was going to get shot, and she wasn't planning to get injured just yet.

Sakadi was the first to leave the small meditation room, moving through the maze of corridors that was the Jedi Temple, until finally arriving in her quarters. The room was more of a mess than the last time she quickly stopped by to get some stuff. The last few days had been hectic, she had barely been in her room. Only to take a quick nap now and then, which was very much unlike her. She opened the small closet which contained her different robes, cloaks and yes, her armor. It didn't take her as long as she expected to get it on; the dresses she wore during her childhood had posed more of a challenge. She'd keep her equipment simple and varied. Her utility belt, with energy and food capsules. The chances they'd find emaciated slaves were low, but she would prepare for it anyway. The small binoculars were also a must, just like her lightsaber, the blaster pistol and her holo communicator. She was ready for quite the battle.

Gathering the necessary equipment, donning her armor and returning to the entrance took about an hour. She'd use the time she had left to meditate, channeling the Light side through her reserves and connecting with the living Force, just like she had done in the meditation chamber. During her last engagement with one of the gang members, she nearly lost due to exhaustion. While the sparring match with Vash had been partly responsible, she didn't really want to be out of breath again. So there she was, waiting for her ally to arrive. Her choice to share the memories of the last three days had been a wise one, since he now knew the location of the cantina as well.

Again hidden underneath a dark brown colored cloak with the hood pulled up over her ears, Sakadi greeted the Echani. She took her holo-communicator, a small holographic screen was displayed after she activated it. It allowed her to type messages again. While telepathy was easier, she had to save her energy for later.

Are you ready? They'll likely have patrols again, and they now know who we are. We've got to be careful.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash took a few moments to remain in the meditation room after Sakadi had left. First, he petted his hawk to distract himself for a bit, and put his mind in a calmer, more contemplative state. Then, he closed his eyes and began to focus. Vash had always been more sympathetic to the Living Force in his moments of contemplation. Looking around for awnsers in the future while neglecting the present felt, frankly, foolish. Though he had nothing but respect for those who wished to follow such a path. To each their own.

But, now, as he focused on the world around him, and felt, first his hawk, then the minds and feelings of other Jedi nearby going about their bussiness, or just meditating- many of which, he knew, could feel the Echani as well, and even interacted with him through the Force for a few moments- he couldn't help but feel that this was the best thing ever: the here and now, where things were happening, and you had the power to make change. Prophecies and destiny felt so... limited in comparison to the ability to dictacte your own future.

As he contemplated on this, Vash began extending his mind more and more, going further into a trance. Now that he was more deeply immersed, words and thoughts were no longer part of him. Instead, he just... felt. And that was enough.

He felt the minds of others in meditation almost merging with his own, this unified consciousness soaring ever higher in a wave of peace and serenity, that seemed to engulf the entire Temple, no, the entire planet. He was one with everything, and everything was one with him.

The Echani remained in that state for a good half an hour, the energies of Jedha, and of his fellow Jedi revigorating him, making him feel stronger, and even more certain of what he'd be doing today. He had people to save, so he went to his room to get his blaster. The lightsaber was already on his belt, and he was dressed in the traditional Jedi robes, which were more than enough to fight off the cold weather of Jedha. Besides, he'd be running around like a maniac soon enough, so there was no need to worry about being cold for too long.

He got into his room, which didn't have much save for a bed, a table, and a pretty nice view of the streets below. Vash suspected most rooms around the temple were like his. Well, they probably didn't have a bird cage, but that was their loss. Actually... I have an idea, he thought as he looked towards his pet. Might be a pretty stupid idea, but that had never stopped him before.

After grabbing his blaster, Vash hurried to meet with Sakadi, who was waiting for him in the entrance. Corin was on his shoulder, but it seemed his Sephi friend was also bringing some surprises: a suit of armor. Pretty barebones, but that wasn't unexpected. He knew his fellow Padawan liked to be mobile. Going too heavy would have been bad for her.

"Oh, now you're just trying to impress me," he said jokingly "I already complimented your fabulous brown cloak last time, you don't have to keep fishing for more compliments, you know. But fine, since you put on the effort, looks good," he added with a grin.

Vash then pointed to his hawk "Yes, I'm ready, and in case you missed my little friend here, I'm taking him along, for scouting. He knows to stay away when the fighting starts, don't worry," he added, as he petted Corin.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Evening fell quicker than Sakadi had anticipated. During the days, it was almost too hot. During the nights, it was freezing cold. Now was one of the few moments of the day when she could actually consider the temperature to be doable. Not too cold, not too hot. Perfect for their little endeavour. As usual by now, Sakadi did not respond to his teases. Sometimes it was better to ignore certain habits of people, and this was one of them. She moved silently through the erratic array of small alleyways that was Jedha. She deliberately avoided the large streets and entertainment centers. Their chances of stumbling upon a patrol or a scout that would notify the underground activity was too high to take the risk. So she played the game of the Sith assassins; a game of shadows and darkness. Moving through the shadows which grew in size as time went by, and striking where their enemy expected them least to be.

She noticed the first patrolling group of criminals deep in the northern part of the city. They cautiously observed the area while trying to act as normal as possible. From experience, she knew how stressful acting could be. Especially when the act was a cover up for something. That familliar stress was easily recognizable for the young Padawan. Sakadi stretched out her hand, gesturing Vash to stop in his tracks. If they just allowed to patrol to pass the small alley without noticing them, the two could continue onward without trouble.

She quickly scanned the small backwater alley they found themselves in. The alley was decorated by a few trashbins, filled to the top with what she presumed to be unrecycled junk. They'd just have to deal with foul scent, because there was no other place to hide behind. Sakadi took cover behind the trashbins, pulling Vash with her just before the patrol passed their small alley. A few bored looks was all the patrol had to offer, before they continued in their slentering formation. That was all the indication she needed to cross the street, trading one small alley for another. This time however, she wouldn't proceed on the ground. No, they had infiltrated far enough in the gang it's territory. The Cantina was just a few streets further. It meant that security would be tighter, but she had a plan for that.

Sakadi channeled the Force through her and the joints in her legs. First she lowered herself a bit, before launching up high in the air. Using the Force to cushion her fall, she landed on the roof of the building whose shadow she had used to hide in less than a second ago. From this position, she could actually see the street that lead to the Casino's entrance. And she did not like what she saw. She counted atleast seven thugs, likely armed. There might've been more, since hidden base obviously screamed hidden guards. Getting inside was going to be harder than she had initially thought it would be.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Hiding wasn't Vash's strong suit. He could fight reasonably well, and wasn't too shabby when it came to acting like he was someone else (save for when he had to conjure up an identity on the spot), but this little game of cat and mouse was boring, and kind of disgusting, too: they had to hide behind trash bins, for crying out loud!

Thankfully, he at least had help, in the form of Sakadi, who seemed to know what she was doing, and his hawk, casually flying overhead. He hadn't found a use for the bird yet, but worst case scenario, he'd just have Corin stay put someplace safe while he went along and fought alongside his fellow Padawan.

And speaking of the devil, she had just jumped a pretty incredible height, going over the building they'd just been using as cover a moment ago. Great. She won't respond my taunts, and now she jumps around. Vash could jump, but it wasn't something he was comfortable with. He much preferred to stand his ground, or look for other ways. Thankfully, at least, he wouldn't have to leap as high as his Sephi friend, and as such could save his energy for more useful endeavours.

He took a deep breath, feeling the Force flowing through his body, and focusing on his legs, lowering himself to make the leap. Instead of going all the way up, however, he went just as far as he needed to reach the ledge of the building, using his arms to pull himself up the rest of the way. The Echani was a lot more used to channelling strength to his arms than to his legs, after all.

Then, after summoning Corin to his shoulder, he saw what she saw: a large amount of thugs, with maybe more hiding around. Going in guns blazing was definitely out of the picture. They'd have to save their strength for what was inside. Vash smiled.

"Not to worry," he whispered, "Corin's got this. He'll find a nice spot and circle around it three times as a signal"

His tone was smug, but the reality was less inspiring. He could see what his pet saw, but he'd never tried doing so at very big distances. The connection got harder and harder as distance increased, and, though he had no trouble simply sending out commands to his feathery friend, seeing through his eyes would be more difficult if he was going to send it out to scout for a nice, empty route to the Casino. No, he'd have to be more creative if he was going to do this. Even if it were possible for him to share senses with Corin from such a distant place, Vash had no doubt the endeavour would leave him too strained to be of any use in a fight.

So he sat down on the roof in a meditative pose, having his hawk stand right before him. He knew Corin could follow simple commands, so he was going to take advantage of that. Looking into the bird's eyes, the Echani began to send out an instruction: first, he imprinted the image of the Casino itself, then, the area between where they were and the place he'd shown. The instruction was simple: to look below and circle around three times in the region where there were less people concentrated. Vash also wondered if he could get away with having the bird show him the entrances to the Casino, but he decided against potentially confusing the poor bird. Besides, he'd have to foucs.

The bird flew away a moment later, and Vash kept his link with Corin strong, reminding the hawk of its mission, again and again imprinting the images into its mind, and telling it to circle around three times. On and on the bird flew, and it seemed to be working. That, or Corin had found something really interesting on the floor, the way it kept looking down. It flew around a large area, and very high so as to be far away from the range of any blasters- Vash had added that command as well after some time, just in case- until it finally seemed to find the correct place to circle about three times: on the right side of the Casino, not too far from where he and his Sephi friend were standing.

As the bird came back to him, Vash petted it under its beak, and smiled at Sakadi.

"See? Useful. I admit, a Rancor would have been better, but they're not half as charming as my Corin." Vash let out a sigh "Of course, we don't know if there's an easy entrance that way, but I imagine that even if there isn't one nearby, we'll be close enough to the Casino to figure something out when we get there"

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

While she still disapproved of a Jedi having pet, she couldn't deny the fact that it had been useful for now. All they needed now was an actual backdoor and they would be good to go. Sakadi mustered the strenght of the Force once again, taking a run up before making her next jump. This time, her jump wasn't focused on getting her up somewhere high, but on getting her across the street. A common mistake living beings made, was that they never seemed to expect their enemy to be above them. One of the many reasons why the high ground was such a valuable position.

She barely made it to the building across the street, somersaulting the moment her feet touched the roof to absorp the shock of her landing. From her current location, she could observe the right side of the building. She stood silent as a statue, while looking down on a single backdoor. Three men were having a smoke right next to it, but that seemed to be all that stood between them and the entrance. She could understand why there were so little sentries here. The backdoor connected the cantina to a small square, which mainly acted as a loading zone. There was only one way to enter the square for a vehicle, which was blocked by a steel tubular gate. There was no way anyone would get in uninvited without ramming that gate, which would immediately alert the thugs.

Sakadi looked for security cameras first. She couldn't imagine such an important place like this to have no cameras at all. She spotted two. One focused on the tubular gate, the other right beneath her, focused on the backdoor. Sadly, she wasn't some tech wizard who could just hack the camera and keep her opponents unaware of her presence. Whether she'd like it or not, she had to disable it. But if she tried to do just that, the three gentlemen near the backdoor would certainly spot her. She could try to project an illusion over the camera, making the thugs shoot it themselves, but that would put too much strain on her. Especially since they still had a battle to fight. And they really had to win.

So instead, she opted to go with a far more efficient plan. She grabbed the small binoculars she had attached to her utility belt, but instead of looking through them, she walked to the edge. When she stood right above the camera, she dropped it, increasing it's speed and aiming it with the force. With the loud noise of metal hitting metal, the small binoculars destroyed the camera, both objects falling and hitting the ground with even more sound. But Sakadi was gone already, having taken cover the moment the binoculars had hit the camera.

"What was that?"

"I dunno, probably the wind or somethin'. "

"Ya think that's wind Diego? Go check it ya kriffin bantha!"

The sound of steps on the concrete could be heard echoing throughout the entire, nearly empty square.

"Tis' the kriffin' camera!"

That was all the encouragement she needed to execute the second phase of her plan. Sakadi bursted in motion, lightsaber in her hand and activated before anyone could say kriff again. She took her third force-enhanced jump on the edge of the roof, launching herself like a bullet towards the two gentlemen near the door. She counted on Vash to handle the other one.

The two men stood still for a moment, contemplating whether the lavender colored, human sized bullet coming their way was an illusion or not. Sadly for the man on the left, from her perspective, it wasn't an illusion. Sakadi braced herself, cushioning her collision with the man on the left with yet another call on the Light side. For the man however, their collision would be less pleasant. As she rammed into him, he hit the wall hard, knocking him out before he even hit the ground. Sakadi was shaken, but still in a state where she could recover quickly. The other man was quick on the draw, he had her at gunpoint before she got up from her act as living battering ram.

"Got ya now girl, ain't no way you'll escape this hole in yer head!"

The man was right. She wasn't fast enough to dodge this one. All she could do was hope that her backup plan had actually learned some mobility during their little sparring session..

 

[Vash Tembra]

If there was one thing that could be said about Sakadi, it was the the woman knew how to jump. Her first leap above the building had been effortless, but this was something else. She crossed an entire street just with the power of her legs. Even then, however, Vash could see she had barely made it to the other side. Yeah, if he tried to do the same, he'd just end up as pasty goo on the floor below. Vash needed an alternative plan, so he began to look around.

He could definitely get down, walk a bit, then leap over the other building: both the one he was standing on right now and his destination were pretty much the same size, so height wasn't so much a problem. What was a problem, however, was the fact that it'd cost him precious amounts of energy to go down, then get back up. That, and time.

Wish I could levitate, that'd make for a grand entrance, he thought, as he looked around. Then, he found it: the building right next to the one he was on was a bit taller. Easy to jump over, and it'd make for a nice platform to jump across the street. After this mission, I'm practicing Force Jump a whole lot more.

But for now, his powers were enough to quickly and efficiently leap over the neighbouring building, then run and jump across the street. It was a bit harrowing, the sight from up there as he felt the air flying past his face and messing with his hair. And yet, it was also very freeing. How many people could claim they saw such an amazing sight as he?

He was smiling when he landed in a much less gracious manner than his Sephi friend, bending his knees to transform his movement into a roll to absorb the impact of the fall. Meanwhile, she seemed to be throwing a binocular on the ground below. What an exccentric behaviour, he thought.

Then understood what had been the plan a second later, when he heard a thug suggesting the noise had been the wind. Probably using deathsticks or something. These criminals should really go home and rethink their lifes. If they survived. Vash had come to accept their death as a possibility now.

Sakadi's compulsion to jump around had gotten the better of her once more, it seemed, for the little Padawan was already going down to say hi to the criminals before Vash could even properly catch up to her. All he saw was her leaping down into one of them, while two others looked on. What was she thinking? That she'd overwhelm them all at once?

The first one went down without a hitch, having become target practice for the lavender colored girl as she landed but the second had had plenty of time to react to what was going on, and now had a gun pointed at Sakadi's face. Unfortunately for him, Vash had also had time to prepare.

He didn't bother leaping down. That'd have cost time and would have put himself into the line of danger as well. No, he was better off from up there, where he'd taken out his blaster to aid his fellow Padawan. As soon as the man holding a blaster to Sakadi's face started gloating, Vash pulled the trigger.

There was no time for hesitation. His friend's life was on the line, so this time, he shot to kill, the bolt passing straight to the man's head, who fell to the floor instantly, his smug smile still on his face. Least he died happy, the Echani thought, as he pulled the trigger two more times: one for each shoulder of the last man standing, putting him out of commission in a way that made sure he wouldn't bother anyone for a long time. Vash was done with half measures.

As he leapt down, blaster still in hand, he was feeling surprisingly calm. Yes, he'd taken a life, but it had been necessary. Not for some greater cosmic prophecy or anything of the sort, but because he had done so to save lifes: that of Sakadi, and of the many slaves who were no doubt in there. They were worth the sacrifice, both of the thug, and of his innocence.

"You know," he began, showing Sakadi the blaster "Might want to try one of these next time. I know jumping's kind of your thing, but that was pretty reckless... unless you were going for some damsel in distress vibes, then I guess it's fine"

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Having launched herself forward was a bad idea. She was still dazed by her collision with the other man, while a sharp, aching pain started to form in her shoulder. Yeah, her dumb idea would leave her bruised in the least. Right now however, that wasn't the worst of her concerns. She still had the hilt of her lightsaber in her hand, ready to ignite it and slash through the thug's weapon should the opportunity arise. All her fellow Padawan had to do, was distract him for a second. But instead, she found that he had a different idea. One much more lethal. One that wasn't the Jedi Way, not in this case.

She felt the sudden shift in the Force as her ally pulled the trigger. The sudden mood swing from calm and relaxed, to ready to claim a life. If she had a voice, she would've shouted at him to stop. But all she could do was watch, as a brightly colored bolt pierced through the man's head, killing him instantly. His presence was erased right in front of her. Just like last time. What was worse, was that this time, she was in his line of fire. One mistake and it would've been her head. And he had shot without hesitation.

Sakadi stood there, somewhat in disbelief of what just happened. The first time he killed a man, the Rodian, Vash had nearly broken down in front of her. And now he came walking toward her, calling her reckless. Her! It had admittedly not been her most safe move, but she had to prevent the two men from running inside at all costs. So did that mean the death of this man in front of her, had been her fault? Then what about the Rodian? She instigated the battle in the cantina. But hadn't Vash told her to follow the girl? Who was at fault here!? Sakadi gritted her teeth. Uncertainty had her in it's grasp for the moment being. Was she not better than these criminals? Wasn't she a Jedi?

Right now, the most plausible action she could take right now was drop her saber and walk away. Hadn't the order taught her that, the moment a Jedi had to draw his lightsaber, they had already lost? For her, it meant that a Jedi had to be ready to use lethal force, throw the Jedi principles out of the window for as long as the battle went on. But now she saw 'lethal force' in action, all she could do was remember the heist that had robbed her of her voice. And the kill count of her fellow Padawan...

His words completely passed by her. In fact, she didn't even hear him. That was how submerged she was in her thoughts. She was questioning her core beliefs now after all. This was exactly why she had a major dislike of the galactic alliance. Of being the keepers of 'peace and justice' in the galaxy. She needed the guidance of a wiser Jedi on this subject. She really did.

Sakadi snapped out of her thoughts. What did he say again? It didn't matter, likely some sort of tease or banter again. For now, she had made her mind. A little bit. She looked at her hand for a moment, the one holding her weapon. It was shaking uncontrollably, just enough for her to notice. She hoped that Vash wouldn't.

She hesitated to look at him right now. It confronted her with questions she didn't want to ask right now, such as who the real murderer was here. So instead, she turned her back to him and opened the door. It was unlocked. It gave acces to a small hallway, the sounds of plates being washed and stacked upon each other echoed through the hallway. If she expected any slaves to be in this building right now, then this would be the place where she'd hide them. Behind one of these doors, likely the one leading to the cellar. If she was correct, then she would truly have the mindset of a criminal.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Her silence was more pronounced than normal.

Sakadi couldn't speak, and she'd been taking to the nasty habit of ignoring him, so there weren't a lot of sounds coming from the Padawan, but Vash could at least feel her through the Force. This time, however, it seemed as if she was intentionally pushing him away even through that medium, as she avoided his gaze and simply walked inside the building.

He didn't understand. Hadn't she herself said that sacrifices had to be made in battle? If he had hesitated, if he had delayed, then the Sephi might well be dead now, and he sure as hell wouldn't be able to shut down this operation on his own. It was the only choice that'd ensure their success. He wouldn't have time to Force Stun the criminal before he shot Sakadi, and teleknesis might have failed as well. Yes, he could have pulled the blaster away from the man's hand, but what if he had pulled the trigger as a reflex? From that distance, his fellow Padawan would more likely than not received the full impact of the blast upon her face.

No, this was the only way to do things reliably. It wasn't a happy choice, it wasn't an easy choice, but death was a part of life, after all. And the sooner they accepted it, the better, no matter how terrible it felt. And despite Vash's calm and focus, a part of him, deep down, still felt pretty horrible. But he had priorities, and soul searching wasn't one of them at the moment.

Priorities like the two thugs who were just about to open one of the doors from the hallway and meet with the Padawans. Was Sakadi so distracted as to not have felt them coming? Vash didn't wait a moment, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her towards one of the unlocked doors to their left. He hadn't felt any life forms from there, so it should be safe. Right?

After quickly closing the door behind them- and just in time, apparently, for he could hear the thugs' voices clearly now- Vash looked around the tiny room to see where they'd ended up. A torture room. Lovely. No, really, for a torture room, it was kind of lovely: there were chains hanging from the wall, a table with places to cuff the victim's ankles and wrists, another table full of metallic objects of different shapes and sizes, some sharp, some blunt, but all with the obvious purpose of drawing out as much pain as possible, in as slow a manner as could be done.

Despite the terrible purpose of the place, however, the whole room was white, and very bright. Not a smear of dirt anywhere, and the metallic objects were all in pristine condition, shining as they reflected the light coming from the single white lamp of the room. Whoever had designed this place either really liked irony, or wanted a healthy work environment that promoted harmony between coworkers even as they did terrible things.

"Ugh," Vash whispered "this place is creepy... but I think the fellows are going away"

And indeed, their Force signature was fading. They were probably just making rounds and had no reason to go outside just yet, which meant no one had noticed one of the cameras had gone down. That was good, it gave them time to go to the cellar unnoticed. As he had opened himself to the Force, the Echani had felt not only the criminals, but also other Force signatures, these ones much less confident and much more afraid, a similar thing to what he'd felt when meeting the Twi'lek three days ago, so probably slaves. The people working around washing the dishes were probably also slaves, but they'd obviously be under supervision. And it wasn't time to draw lightsabers and alert the entire base just yet.

As the thugs finished their round and moved away again, Vash opened the door and left to the hallway. Thankfully, there was a door written "Cellar", which made the whole thing more convenient. He also didn't see any cameras. Probably to prevent the slaves from being recorded. That'd be proof of the gang's illegal actions should they ever have to face justice, after all.

As he opened the door to where the slaves were being kept, he was met with silence. Eerie silence, at that, a kind of stillness prey would make when trying to avoid a predator. The slaves were trying to be quiet, hoping against hope their prescence would go unnoticed. It was a very sad thought, that steeled his resolve to get them out of here as soon as possible.

He couldn't see too far ahead: it was dark, and directly after the stairs was just a wall, though to the left was more space. That was, no doubt, where the slaves would be... and it was the perfect place for an ambush. He went ahead, trusting Sakadi would have his back, and trusting that the Force would guide his actions.

One step after another he took as he went down the stairs, quietly. Through the Force, he could feel movement, and a lot of it: mostly of people recoiling, probably slaves, but one or two were actively moving towards him. Either very eager slaves, or guards, ready to kill the Padawan. Vash's money was on the latter. But he had no choice, he had to keep going if he was going to free these people. Then, out of the darkness, he heard a voice.

"Watch out!", screamed a child's voice, and Vash instantly ignited his lightsaber. The silver fire showed a scaly creature, unnarmed, and walking on four legs, not two. An Akk Dog, running directly towards him.

"Kriff," was all he could say, rolling to the side just before the massive creature could hit him. He managed to make his saber pass along one of its paws, but, as he knew, the creature's hide was resistant to lightsabers. Whoever owned this place clearly knew how to handle Jedi.

The creature turned around to face Vash again, who took a deep breath and bent his knees, ready to move out of the way again. The beast was focused on him, apparently not having noticed Sakadi yet. All he had to do was keep it busy while his friend did the rest. Hopefully.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She wasn't focused. She didn't hear the two men coming at all, but luckily Vash did. The fact that he pulled her in some random room however, brought her off guard. He was lucky that she couldn't yell out, because it scared the devil out of her. Her free hand was already hovering above her blaster pistol, only to realize that Vash had pulled the exact same move she did in the alleyway just a moment ago.

When she recovered from the shock, she finally observed her surroundings. A torture room? That was strange. When one had to sell slaves, the last thing you wanted to do was damage the merchandise. While Vash was focused on the two men for a moment, Sakadi moved further into the room, studying the objects. What in the name of the Force were these things for, if not to torture the slaves? Her hands slowly moved over the surface of one of the many evil machines. The metal felt cold, but that was not the only thing she felt. Screams of pain vibrated through the skeletal structure, forcing her to withdraw her hand. The room reeked of pain, tears and cruelty. That was all her psychometry could tell her. It just stated the obvious. And yet, it had given her a valuable hint. These torture machines were not made for the slaves. Yes, the pain she had felt originated from those who were afraid, but their sort of fear was different from that of the slaves. As Sakadi stood there, deducting why this room was in the cantina, Vash already moved on. He hadn't noticed that his companion was rather busy herself.

Another question popped up in her mind. Why did she not sense the Dark side present in this room earlier? The only logical explanation was that someone hid it from the Jedi senses. A Sith perhaps? No, the Sith shouldn't be able to hide in Jedha city itself. Was it someone from the Temple? It had to be. But she knew no one who would attempt to build a crime organization like this. Not that her social circle was large enough to help her discover the one responsible though.

She shook her head. No, focus on the question at hand. Who is being tortured? Her eyes widened as she figured it out. It was rather simple, really, but the Jedi padawan had ignored the fact that such a thing could be possible. How could a gang like this grow in size? Why had the patrol they encountered in the streets been so nervous? Why were the Rodian and the Trandoshan so hell-bent on defeating the two padawans? Because they were afraid. Because they would be punished if their leader found out they slacked off. This gang ruled through fear, and this room was how they exercised said fear. Just as she turned to Vash, ready to explain what she had just deduced, she realized that he was no longer there. Kriff...

She jolted out of the room, ears twitching as she heard a scream, desperately trying to find out where here ally went. Now there was no smoke without fire, so the scream pretty much gave her the answer. Sakadi ran towards the open door, just in time to see Vash ignite his saber. The dim light of the saber allowed her to see what he stumbled upon this time. An Akk dog, like it couldn't get any worse today. She had to think quickly. There were two ways of doing this. Killing the beast, an option she instantly removed from her 'possible actions' list and the Force, which automatically became her answer. The Akk Dog was aggressive though, so it wasn't going to be easy. Sakadi stretched out both of her hands, allowing the Force to build inside her, before she realized it in calming waves through her hands, as she slowly descended the stairs. The screams of the slaves were quite common or so she believed, because not a single person came to look what was wrong.

While a thousand things should be going through her mind, she had no time for them now. She was totally submerged in her task, knowing that when she failed, the Akk dog would just bite straight through her durasteel cuirass. It was up to Vash to get the slaves out of here, while she kept the beast at bay. Setting foot on the stone floor of the cellar, she now closed her eyes. The room was just dimly lit by Vash's lightsaber and she needed to concentrate. A task that often became easier when she kept her eyes closed. She only had attention for the Akk dog now, which started to bend to her will, as it calmly moved backwards while she advanced. If nobody made a sudden move, she could keep it at bay. Otherwise she was going to be in great trouble...

 

[Vash Tembra]

The Akk dog was quick. Before Vash could even properly catch his breath, it was honing in on the Padawan again, trying to sink its massive jaws into his leg. Most Jedi might have done something acrobatic here, but he was tired of jumping around, so he brought his saber down to bear heavily on the beast.

It was faster, however, and stopped dead on its tracks, before twisting its body to send its massive tail hurling towards Vash's stomach, who flew a couple of meters towards the wall, his lightsaber flying off to a corner somewhere.

Ouch, he thought, as he held his side for a moment, breathing heavily. The blow had taken the air out of his lungs, and now the creature was looking at him... but moving backwards. That's when Vash felt Sakadi standing behind the beast, keeping it calm through the Force. Very nice.

He got up slowly, careful not to make too much noise, and pulled his weapon to his hand with the Force. Now, it was a simple matter of releasing the slaves. Very calmly, very quietly. Thankfully, most were too afraid to make noise. He could only hope they'd be brave enough to move past the big dog in an orderly manner.

Switching on a nearby light, the Echani began to count the men, women and children in their cages: about thirty people were standing there, which wasn't ideal: they'd have to move all those people past the beast and the two thugs patrolling the area. Not to mention, someone could come to make use of the slaves for whatever reason... and the destruction of the camera wouldn't go unnoticed forever. Someone would notice things were off soon.

Vash scratched his shaven chin, pondering for a few moments, then decided to sense the slaves, for whoever was in a more sound, and focused mental state. Most of their minds were a haze of disturbed thoughts. They didn't know what was going on, and were really afraid. One, however, stood out: a female Zabrak, tall and muscular- probably going to be sold as a bodyguard- was looking at Vash right in the eye, and seemed eager to talk to him. He obliged, moving over to her.

"I'm here to free you all," he began whispering. "We need to move you people fast, think you can help organize everyone?"

The woman smirked and nodded "I can get these louts moving, aye. Hope ye got a plan for when we move out, though"

Now it was Vash's turn to smirk "Oh, you'll be a bit of a bait, not going to lie. We don't have time to do anything too elaborate, they'll figure out something's wrong soon"

He sensed the lock holding the woman's cage. It wasn't anything too complex, just a metallic structure to keep them in place. Made sense: they were there to be sold, not stay there long term. Why bother with expensive force fields and the like? Especially when a dog of death stayed there to keep them in line all the time. Escaping would be a death sentence.

It was a simple matter to teleknetically retract the pieces of metal keeping the cage locked, and as soon as he did so, he gave his blaster to the woman.

"Ok, I'm unlocking them all, you keep them safe, and quiet. Then, leave the cellar and after you leave, run like the wind"

The Zabrak nodded, and they set to work. Once he'd understood the mechanism, it was even easier to handle the rest of the five cages. As he did so, the woman made sure to keep them quiet and in line, getting the help of a few other slaves who also seemed more in control.

It was harder when they began the trek back up, passing by the Akk dog, but Vash stood right in front of it, the implication that if something went awry, the beast would attack him and not the slaves being clear. All went relatively well. Until one of the children, the last one in line, fell, making a loud noise.

Of course, he thought, noticing that the dog was feral again. But this time, he was prepared. Vash had been gathering energy for this from the moment the slaves started moving. He lifted the creature onto the air, and hurled it onto the cages with great speed, making the creature crash against the metal with great speed.

Upstairs, he heard the thugs begin to shout. They had finally figured out something was wrong.

"Run!", he told Sakadi, as he followed his own advice and moved to protect the slaves. The Akk dog had thankfully lost its balance as it trashed around on top of one of the cages.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Did he HAVE to switch the lights on? Sakadi felt strained as the lights made the akk dog uneasy; it forced her concentrations and raw power to it's upper limits. Luckily, Vash had taken the hint. She couldn't exactly see or feel what was happening, but she knew for a fact that people were walking past her. That was, until a single child had to fall. Not only did it disrupt her concentration, but it also agitated the akk dog. Before she could react however, Vash was on the move. He made quick work of the Akk dog, throwing him into one of the cages that had previously held the slaves.

Couldn't you have done that earlier.. Normally she would've directly inserted her comment in his mind, but she needed time to recover from that draining task. Plus, she still didn't fully trust him, not after the stunt he pulled outside. She heard some shouting in the distance, which instantly got Vash moving. If he could stand still for a moment, she could tell him what she had deduced from the torture chamber. Namely that they were fighting the wrong people. Well, they still had to fight off these thugs though, both to free the slaves and to find the base outside of the city.

With that, Sakadi followed her fellow Padawan's example, already out of breath after running up the stairs. She was sweating already, and had yet to engage the thugs inside of the cantina! With a quick press of a button, blue fire erupted from the small metal cylinder in her hand. She was not at all ready to face these people; they had to get out of here quickly, or casualties would fall on their side this time.

 

[Vash Tembra]

When he had finished getting up the stairs, the slaves were on the move already. The female Zabrak was holding on like a champ, firing over and over at the thugs coming from the hallway, giving cover for the unarmed slaves to escape. Thankfully, they were all well fed- had to be, if they were going to be sold, so that made the whole situation a lot easier. Vash also noticed that, while most ran for the exit, some were running into the rooms he'd heard dishes being washed just a moment ago, no doubt freeing the forced labour in the kitchen. That's very good, he thought, as he ran ahead.

The fighting of the Zabrak with the criminals was at an impasse, however: she had a good defensive position, hiding behind the wall that connected the hallway that led to the exit to the one from which the criminals were coming through. From the kitchens, at least for now, there was no resistance, so no need to worry about being overwhelmed from both sides. But as much as she could hold on, it was very hard for her to actually hit anything: popping her head out to aim would have been suicidal. But that's where the Padawan came in to tip the scales in her favor.

Having already gotten prepared earlier while the slaves snuck away had done Vash some good. He still had some extra energy left, and used it now to extend his hand and propel a wave of teleknetic energy towards the thugs firing at the Zabrak. All of them momentarily fell on the floor, but that wouldn't stop them forever. Moreover, the Echani knew more were coming. Didn't matter, though: most of the slaves were gone now, scattering to the wind as they ran outside. Hopefully, at least a few of them would notify the authorities.

They would be here soon either way, though, Vash knew, given the amount of noise they were making. And then all these fine fellows would be in a whole lot of trouble. This time, he wanted to observe the aftermath to make sure everything went according to plan. No more moping about with his bird when there was work to do.

"Go!", he told the Zabrak, who even now was still there, despite now being the best opportunity to make a run for it. But the stubborn fool merely shook her head, and kept firing. At the people who were on the ground, hitting an Aqualish on the leg.

Kriffing hell, the woman's going to get them killed!

Killing when necessary he was ok with, but this was too much. He lifted the weapon from her hand with the Force, and got a strong glare as a result. She wanted revenge from her captors. It was only natural, but it wasn't the Jedi way, so Vash glared right back at her, and spoke in a more authoritative tone.

"Go. Now. To freedom"

She grunted something under her breath, but without a blaster, there was precious little she could do, so the former slave begrundingly left, just as more criminals started showing up. As they did so, Vash took a defensive position, and started to reflect blaster fire.

He remembered how his Rodian friend had shot a barrage of fire to overwhelm the Padawan, and this was much the same thing. Vash almost decided to reflect the shots a little higher, than last time, so they'd hit the goons' legs and feet, but that was kind of risky, and unnecessary, to boot: this time Sakadi would be helping him, and all he'd have to do was hold on for a few seconds. He had no doubt some criminals would be smart enough to avoid arrest, but killing them all felt too...cruel.

No, he'd keep hanging on with his friend, directing the shots to the ground, then leg it. A win win for everyone involved. Well, maybe not the criminals, exactly, but they'd still have their lifes. And the faint hope of redemption. That was worth keeping them alive for, if Vash could help it.