Ask Not So Humble Beginnings

[Seela]

Oh, Seela had caught herself a comedian, it would seem! Maker's sake...
At least the man was somewhat cute, and wasn't rude!
Seela put on a delighted smile, and even let out a chuckle, grazing the top of the hand that wasn't playing with the credit chip with her fingers, acting charmed.

"Oh dear... of course you would probably enjoy any of these options, just to a different degree! Afterall, we are civilized people, are we not? Are you really gonna make me say it crudely? Would you even dare?"

Seela shot him a slight challenging look, somewhat amused by the little game they were playing. Of course, she had no qualms about saying the words, and could probably make the man flustered to the point of fainting if she felt like it, but she was having a bit of fun pretending to have dignity!
She leaned back a bit, looking like a loth that ate the porg, then raised her hand in a quick signal to the nikto watching over her. The spiky horned (and not horny) handler quickly made his way to them and collected the fee, then after another serie of hand signals between them, returned to his post in the corner.

Seela stood up, offering her hand to the man.

"You don't want to get lost! I'm not a tour guide, but that's what they do, right? Keeping you from getting lost? Anyway, there's not much to see really, beside this room! Now, please keep your belongings with you, don't get separated from the tour guide, don't touch the exhibits, and no feeding the animals! Onwards!"

Surprising even herself, Seela managed to deliver this ridiculous, overly dramatic parody without breaking character, in a display that might be very confusing to onlookers!

@Where @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Grace Zann]

Zerath seemed to be getting caught up with one of the dancers, the source of that interesting power seemed to be coming from her. She was chosen by the force, just as Zerath and herself were. This would be something to address at a later time, as for now, there was still that pesky control room to find.

Some distance away, across a sea of customers and pole dancers, Grace would finally spot a door that might just be the one. Lowing her security cap for better coverage of her face, she would begin a patrol-like walk towards the room. On the way there however, she would be greeted by another set of security staff. "Eh, who are you! I don't recognize ya from the meeting this morning."

"Uhhhhh...." She had not expected this encounter. "I-I'm new! I just got the job a couple hours ago, the big boss told me I would be doing some on the job training." The pair of security guards would look at each other confused for a moment, but the large of the two would let out a grown, "Ugh... They didn't brief us on this. Fine. Follow us rookie, we'll give ya a tour of the digs."

The three of them would walk back towards a door labled "Security staff only". The larger of the two male guards would produce a keycard and swipe it open. The room before her was padded to keep out the sound, and filled with various monitors and computer systems. The place was a proper security guard's set up. "Take a seat in the chair new girl. We'll explain what all the buttons do..."

[5 minutes later]

"...And that small green one over there arms and disarms the obedience chips. If the dancers start some kind of funny business, press it two times." The other guard would interject, "But NEVER flip that switch right next to it! Flipping that disarms all the devices." Grace would give a smug grin as the man mention that, casually remarking "Gee, thanks for all the info fellas! You two sure know how to make a newbie feel welcome."

@Ahryia @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Another place, another time, or another life, Zerath might've played along as Seela danced around the subject of an intimate encounter... but the Jedi Knight was unable to keep his true feelings from peeking through in response to her coy question. "I won't make you do anything that you don't want to" he said, internally forcing himself to not jump out of his seat and attack her handler as the Nitko came over to collect the credits and seemingly communicate with Seela. There is emotion, yet peace he reminded himself again... but there was also temptation.


Oddly enough, it was Seela who managed to derail his thoughts of vengeance with an over-the-top tour guide act and a tug on one of his hands. His face flushing in response at the scene, Zerath allowed himself to be led by the Twi'lek out of the main room and into the more private area of the establishment. The Jedi Knight politely listened to his "tour guide" while keeping his senses peeled for for the control room.

The Force was with him, and Zerath managed to catch a glimpse of was that Grace?! in a security uniform disappearing into a room marked "Security Staff Only". Grace had apparently grown even more adept at infiltration since he'd last seen her. The room almost directly across the hall from it seemed vacant, prompting Zerath to squeeze gently on Seela's hand before indicating his choice. "How about that one?"

@Ahryia @Where

 

[Seela]

"won't make you do anything...won't make you... you don't want to... you don't want..."

Seela's body was continuing on with the act purely from muscle memory, while her mind spun in circles, the sentence reverberating in her head while she tried to process the information. It wasn't really the first time a client told her that kind of things! In those cases she was supposed to convince them she wanted to do what they asked.
Guilt and shame were quite powerful turn-offs for pretty much anyone, after all!
However, this was really the first time she felt the person saying it actually meant it, and believed it seriously. It wasn't something he said to get rid of the guilt so he could enjoy himself better, and that thouroughly stumped Seela.

She was mindlessly still leading the customer to the rooms, and for some reason she got a weird feeling when passing the forbidden room. She, however, was too busy choosing how to react, to investigate further.
Seela was brought back to reality when the man grabbed her attention again, motioning to the room across from the forbiden room.
Mentally shaking herself, Seela straightened her posture, subtly took a breath in, then resigned herself to the fact that ready or not, there was no more time to think, and that she would have to play by ear for now. She'd just treat him like the other customers when they said those things, and hopefully convince him she would happily enact whatever wish the man had!

Scanning her hand on the scanner by the door, Seela tilted her head slightly, while doing a little shrug.

"As you wish, so it shall be! Now come, let's make the better of those 30 short minutes together, shall we?"

Seela put a little bounce in her step as she skipped in the room, lightly tugging the humanoid behind her, while giggling a little.

 

[Grace Zann]

The larger of the two guards would continue speaking, "Alright new girl, we're gonna go on lunch now. You can keep monitoring the club from here. Keep an eye out for any strange characters." The other guard would chime in, "Yeah, like that blind dude in the robes!" The two men would both let out hardy laughs as they exited the 'employee only' control room and headed toward the break room across the club...

Grace was left to her own devices, and Zerath was walking by right in time. The woman would walk out of the security room and approach her old friend with the Twi'lek. It didn't take a genius to tell the alien was a slave, being underfed by her masters no doubt. "Hrmm, you two look to be very suspicious characters! I need both of you to follow me right now!" She would put an arm around both Zerath and the woman with some bravado. Then, she would begin pushing them towards the security room. In a hushed tone she would speak to the woman, "Follow my lead and you'll never be hungry again."

The woman would only hope that the pair understood her plan. If the pair successfully followed her lead, she would close the control room door behind them and take off her hat and sunglasses. "I know what the controls do, we can have everyone freed in a tic if they're ready. And you my friend." She would point to Seela, "We will have to speak more after this."

@Ahryia @Where

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Seela seemed distracted as she led Zerath towards the more private areas of the club, and Zerath couldn't help but worry if he'd blown his cover. How many of her clients treat her as anything more than an object? he wondered. It was all he could do not to stare down the two guards that exited the security room; they were just as complicit in this as Seela's customers and handler(s) were.

At least by the time that they reached the room Zerath had indicated, Seela appeared to recover some of her moxie. That was good; the more comfortable she was around him, the easier she might be able to handle the other, bigger swerve that was coming her way. But before Zerath could close the door and gently break the news that he wasn't about to follow through on what he'd paid for, Grace strolled out of the security room and casually "apprehended" them.

"At least pretend we're in trouble and not friends of yours" he hissed to Grace, internally facepalming at her optimistic ploy; he had to imagine that Grace, standing between them with an arm around each, looked far more comfortable with them than a security guard should. His fault, Zerath supposed, for not coming up with a more solid plan before they'd entered. Zerath also let go of his loose grip on Seela's hand- Grace coming between them made it awkward to hold on- but not before he felt the Twi'lek tense at the surprise contact. He also didn't miss Grace's whispered offer of food in exchange for Seela's cooperation; a bribe, in Zerath's opinion. Grace! Not helping! he thought, then made a snap decision to resist his "detainment."

"Hey, I paid for some time with her!" he said, trying to shrug off Grace's arm. "You can ask that Nikto over there. If there's still a problem, well, you know where to find us; just knock before you enter" he said, moving towards the room he'd just selected.

If Grace insisted on following through, Zerath would reluctantly let himself be pulled into the security room. "Good work, but we'll need to inform the other dancers and plan an exit."

If she let them go, he would lead Seela into his chosen room and close the door behind them, immediately giving Seela some personal space.

Regardless of which room they ended up in, his address to Seela would be the same. "Sorry about that. You must have questions?"


((OOC: Request that @Where post first to clear up where (haha) our characters are))
@Ahryia

 

[Grace Zann]

Of course Zerath wasn't going to play along here, he didn't realize what she had found... Switching her position from arms around both of them, to a pushing hand on their shoulders, the woman's voice would change to a muffled angry tone "I think you two really need to follow me and see something!"

Then, Zerath would shout across the club toward the man he paid time with the twi'lek for. Not that, was going to be a challenge... The large nikto would stroll up to their little group before asking the disguised Grace, "Uh, what seems to be the problem here? You don't look like security staff!"

Without even thinking, the woman would briefly take her hand off of Seela and wave it in front of the handlers face, "This is no concern of your's, and you really need to use the restroom." The man's face would suddenly look bewildered, but he would then repeat, "This is no concern of mine, I need to find a restroom..." Before walking off toward the nearest place to relieve himself.

She would then return to pushing the pair into the control room, and wipe a roll of sweat from her brow as they finally got inside. "Now then. I know what the controls do, we can have everyone freed in a tic if they're ready. And you my friend." She would point to Seela, "We will have to speak more after this."

@Ahryia @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Seela]

While she was leading her client to the door, Seela felt someone approach, but was too distracted to pay it much mind. Normally, the small dancer would have easily dodged such a move, but her mind was still reeling from earlier, which might explain how she found herself with an arm around her shoulder.
Now, normally, Seela didn't have much of an issue with being touched, usually being able to sense people in advance. However, an unexpected touch, with no warning, and being manhandled at the same time? This was a big NOPE!
And so, Seela plainly just... froze.
There was a faint ringing in her ears, and the sound felt muffled, like coming from underwater. Seela could somewhat hear that someone was talking, but she couldn't make out words. For some reason, she felt hazy, her surrounding getting blurry, but she wasn't scared. No, she was numb... like watching a movie from her eye sockets.
She remembered someone touched her, and it was bad... but why... Seela's toughts were like wisps of smoke, escaping her as she tried to catch them...
distracted... bad touch... didn't pay...
She was doing something just now, right?
Seela was floating in her mind, a distant voice being alarmed, saying things about bad things happening... half-silenced...
All the sound seemed to be coming from outside of her... Wasn't she making sounds?
Could she make sounds?
A fleeting tought about not having a mouth stirred her somewhat more awake, and she realized she was still being moved, but she couldn't be bothered by that! She needed to make sure her mouth was still in her face!

From an outside perspective, Seela sluggishly raised a hand, fumbling to touch her mouth, eyes empty.

Right, the mouth is still there! Remember, you were rewarded with a pretty new lip color earlier! You talked to the man...


Being directed in the forbidden room, Seela robotically shrugged off the foreign touch, then stumbled slowly to the corner nearest to the door, and slid to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest, hugging them with her arms, feeling... disconnected.

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Before he could accurately assess whether or not Grace would let him and Seela go, the trio managed to catch the attention of the Nikto handler... or maybe Zerath's voice just carried well; once again, he had to remind himself not to let his emotions get the better of him, but that was hard to do with Seela looking like she was about to faint.

At least Grace made quick work of the Nikto with a devious Mind Trick that left the handler rushing for a different door, leaving the three alone and en route to the security room; one problem down, many more to sort out. Zerath listened as Grace listed off her discoveries; she'd done well to find and infiltrate the control room, but she'd put the cart before the bantha. "Good work finding out how to disarm the devices, but it's a little early to spring people right now. Nobody even knows what we're planning yet; I was hoping Seela could help spread the word." The Jedi Knight checked his chrono; 25 minutes remained of his time with Seela.

Seela, however, was curled up in a ball in the corner as if she was trying to protect herself from the room and everything in it. Poor girl. Zerath breathed deeply, extending his presence out through the Force as a bastion of light for Seela to hold onto amidst whatever she was going through. He projected feelings of calmness, security, and comfort for the Twi'lek to inspect if she wished, and gently knelt down near the Twi'lek, hoping to reassure her on multiple levels. In addition, he started a quick grounding technique he had been taught. "Seela, please tell me five things that you can see right now."

@Where @Ahryia

 

[Grace Zann]

Thankfully, their group was safe and unnoticed within the confines of the security room. To Grace's surprise however the slave dancer had gone into shock, likely from past traumatic events. This left the woman feeling disheartened, she didn't mean to cause that, but it may have been necessary for the completion of the mission.

Zerath seemed to have the right idea, using the force to help relieve the dancer of her anxieties. She too would join in, attempting to amplify Zerath's power with her own. Using the force, Grace would attempt to project feelings of security, confidence, and comfort. Hopefully the light side's touch would be enough to pull her out of whatever kind of funk she was in. They would need this twi'lek's help for their plan to succeed.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean you harm...."

 

[Seela]

Suddenly, it was like Seela was sitting beside the brightest star, it's light ecclipsing anything else in Seela's mindspace.
Thankfully, it didn't burn. Which didnt really make sense... but the light was... soft?
Like those special fluffy blankets Master sometimes lent to the girls as a special reward!
Seela loved those blankets! And so, in her mind's eye, she reached for it, tentatively closing her fingers on the light (which didn't make sense either, but what else is new?) and gave a soft tug on it.
Seela was very pleased the fuzzy fluffy light wasn't ripped from her grasp!
It is at that moment, feeling the warm softness embrace her, that Seela realized she had been cold.
Seela's awareness came back in focus, and she could feel the ground under her, and the wall behind her ant to the side. A corner! Seela was sitting in a corner!

Like waking up after a very long sleep, Seela blinked and the blur of shapes and colors started to morph into things she could understand.
The grey metal floor, the walls she could never name the color of, screens, buttons... people...?

Reality came rushing back, the latest events coming up to now, and Ballsonabanthashaggingtoydarian!!! Things that shouldn't be happening were going on, oh fuck ohfuckohfuck!!!

STOP!!!

Breath...

When in doubt, fall back on the rules you know.

There were lots of things that were wrong, but the most prominent to her in this instant was...

"We can't be here. This room is off-limits. We need to get out."

Seela stood up, and looked at the two other people in the room with her, focused as a deathstar beam.

"I don't know who you are, I don't really care to know either. All I know, is that We. Can't. Stay. Here! So! I'll peek in the hall, and we will all go in the room across this one. Once there, you have... 18 minutes to explain yourselves. Are we clear?"

@Where
@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Zerath exhaled slowly as Seela began to calm down and come back to her senses, looking a little more like the Twi'lek he'd met back in the lobby. The Jedi Knight hadn't expected Grace to lend her aid through the Force; there was hope for her, too. Perhaps, going forward, she will remember the suffering that organized crime inflicts on its victims, and make better choices with her life.

That was a conversation for a later time, however, as the source of Seela's disconnect became clear; breaking the rules by being in this room was very distressing to her, enough that Zerath feared that she might not be able to leave even if given the choice. For the hundredth time since entering the place, Zerath mentally cursed the owners and profiteers that ran the place; exploiting and abusing people like Seela, nod doubt through a carefully-implemented psychological regimen intended to promote complete compliance. Recognizing that they had to pick their battles against this brainwashing lest Seela run out of mental reserves to fight it, Zerath immediately acquiesced to her suggestion.

"Of course" he responded, straightening up and moving towards the doorway. "And I apologize for putting you in distress; that was not our intent." Grace had also apologized, and he wasn't about to throw her under the bus. "The hallway is clear" he added, almost as an afterthought, before Seela had a chance to peek out the door. There were some advantages to being a Jedi, especially without other trained Force users around.

He'd follow after Seela into the next room, curious if Grace would follow or if she'd rather stay in the control room. If he hadn't been so concerned about Seela, he'd have been over at the control panels doing his level best to mess with the place by opening some doors, locking others, changing the height of guests' chairs, and other harmless pranks directed at the patrons and upper-level management.

He checked his chrono; 17 minutes left with Seela. Hopefully it would be enough.


@Ahryia @Where

 

[Grace Zann]

It seemed that the woman had in fact, jumped the blaster on this occasion. She figured the slaves around here would be quick to rebel, but this obviously wasn't the case. They had been conditioned for the life of slaves, but rather than be appalled by this fact, Grace was simply irritated that their plans had been spoiled. Sure, she felt sympathetic on some levels, and had no plans on dealing in slaves herself, but it was a business she would be exposed to in the criminal underworld.

The young crime lord would show no opposition to Zerath heading toward the back room with Seela. In fact, Grace would put back on her security disguise and follow them. Thankfully, the busy environment of the establishment allowed the three of them to move around mostly unnoticed by the rest of the security crew. The woman couldn't help but wonder whether the Twi'lek was trained in the force or not. She didn't seem to be especially adept, but looks could always be deceiving.

There was no doubt that Zerath felt her struggle as well, the pull of the force. Though he would probably have her join the jedi, serve the galaxy as a whole rather than herself. Grace had her own philosophy. The force was a power of independence, it was the ability to be free, and chose your own path.

"Alright, I don't think anyone saw us. Now, we need to take some time to think..."

@Ahryia @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Seela]

Once Seela had everyone in the room, the door closed automaticaly, and, with a hiss, she knew the soundproofing mechanism had engaged. Satisfied by the fact that for the next 15 minutes, they would be undisturbed and relatively safe, the short dancer let out her breath.

"Ok, so by now it is pretty obvious that you both aren't here to use the services offered, nor to see a show. I don't really care what you do here, but for some reason, I seem to be somehow part of that plan. Am I correct? Now, you have a little less than 15 minutes to think and come up with a plan that will not get us all killed. And please, if you plan to make trouble, don't! You might get away scot free, but it will be taken out on us girls afterwards."

Seela then walked to the bed in the center of the room, and sat on a corner, watching the to randos carefully. She really wasn't looking forward to whatever happened next!

@Where
@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Fortunately for Zerath and Grace, Seela seemed to regain much of her confidence when they left the security room and crossed the hallway, and the corner of the Mirulakan's mouth tugged upwards as she addressed them boldly; Seela had a spirit in her that reminded him a little of Grace. Although the Twi'lek seemed less than keen about being involved in any capacity, Zerath had to admit that her fears weren't unfounded; here, the "masters" ruled by fear. Another reason to burn this place to the ground when we're finished Zerath thought.

"No one will lay a hand on you, Seela" Zerath promised, deciding to put his cards on the table. "My friend and I plan to release anyone here who wants to leave, so that you can live a life of your choosing and not one in servitude to others." Good thing she was sitting down; given how she handled being in the wrong room, Zerath wasn't sure how she'd react to such a bombshell statement. "I was hoping you could help by spreading the word to your fellow dancers, since it'd be quite expensive and time-consuming for me to tell them myself." His attempt at levity wouldn't undercut the determination in his voice.

"You don't have to be involved if you don't want to, Seela- the choice is yours- but you can help yourself and your fellow dancers by helping us. What do you think?"


@Ahryia @Where

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"It's fine." Kyosuke Yamato muttered to the gamorrean bouncer at the entrance to the "Broken Bothan" as he casually gave a wave to the pig-man. The swine mumbled the same thing back with a series of squeals and grunts that grated against the young man's eardrums. Kyo winced as the obnoxious form of communication intensified his already pounding headache, quickly slipping inside the entrance to get away from the thing before it even had a chance to finish repeating the phrase of the mental manipulation. 'Ugh.' The raven-haired Jedi rolled his bright blue eyes and began to make his way to the bar, ignoring as much of the crowd as he could while he effortlessly weaved through them in his large black cloak and hood.

"Keep your head down." He discreetly spoke over his shoulder to the tiny scout droid that was clinging to his back between his shirt and cloak -- effectively hidden away like a small backpack. Gremlin hooted obediently and gently nodded his little metal head against the base of Kyo's neck.

"Ice." The clearly annoyed and agitated young man coldly addressed the bartender while he leaned against the counter, rested his left arm on it, and pinched the inner corners of his eyes. The bartender looked confused, like he misheard or misunderstood what was being ordered. Kyo paused for a moment, met the worker's gaze with his own, and repeated himself with a slight hint of impatience. "Yeah -- ice. You got some of that here, right?" The bartender seemed slightly offended by the bit of attitude. "Just..." He let out a wince and a heavy sigh as his body gave off a few pulses of pain from the various bruises and cuts he'd gotten in the fight with a bounty he had just failed to capture a few minutes ago.

"Just fill a cup with some ice, will ya?" He swore the bartender snarled back at him with his own touch of attitude, then looked away and released a shaky exhale as he began to let his gaze wander the rest of the scenery. He could feel he was unbalanced, his chest trickled with anxiety as he sat among a crowd of strangers and dwelled upon his recent defeat. All he wanted was to sit in a dark corner with a cup of ice against his head.

A moment later a full cup of ice was in front of him. Kyosuke glared up at the bartender, who glared back at him. "Uhh... Yeah. Thanks." Kyo murmured and set a spare credit onto the counter. The raven-haired young man then pulled away as he began to look for one of the slave girls that would be his key to getting into a private room in the back -- so he could hopefully chill and get some peace while he let his fresh wounds settle.


@Where @SlagathorTheUnknown @Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela could feel her mind wanting to disconnect, just like it did earlier, and she really wanted to tune the world out to go to her happy place, but she knew now was NOT the time. She was also having a hard time dealing with what the man was spouting, and knew it would keep being distracting, so Seela needed to put an end to it!

"Ok, now listen here, all those offers of safety and such are very interesting, but they aren't helping right now! We need to be practical, so that hopefully there can the possibility to be emotional later. I'm sorry to say, but you're a bit naive, if you think you can just... disable the slave implants of a bunch of girls, and let them out in the world, and call that giving them freedom! Do you really not know who's assets you are dealing with? Master has reach, connections, contacts, credits, and most of all, he's probably the most paranoid Hutt crime lord to ever live!"

Seela stopped herself, as she realised she was getting a little bit too emotional. She could freak out as much as she wanted later, but for now, she needed to keep her head straight, so that there would be a later.
Seela rose from the bed, shaking off the nerves, and started to pace, needing an outlet for the panicky energy.

"If you really want the girls to have a chance to escape slavery, you will have to give them a chance to STAY free. Disabling the implants is a good start, but if you want it to work long term, the implants need to be removed. Then, releasing a bunch of people that have been slaves for years in the streets is just begging for them to be captured again. For most of us, the outside is something we haven't even seen in years! We don't own ANYTHING! So you might want to think of settling us somewhere safe, so that we have a chance to learn how to function in society again. The other girls should be fine given some time, as they might still have people out there, or friends and families, so as long as they can get in contact with them, things should be fine. They all have lived as free folks at least once in their life, and I know they will want to be free again, so you shouldn't have much of a problem there... "

Seela was pacing faster, trying to outrun the nerves, but at the same time, for probably the first time in her life, she WANTED something. She liked this feeling very much, and planned to make sure she would achieve what she wanted. The twilek took deeper breaths, trying to center herself, get her mind as clear as she could. From every single cell of her body, she could FEEL that this was a crucial moment for her. A life-changing event was about to happen, and Seela planned to make sure it would go in her favour. Something was telling her : NOW is your time to shine!

"I can have the girls all together and ready to go, and I have an idea for a distraction. I really hope you can take care of the implants, and an escape route! So, now, I will go out there, and talk to the others, have them ready for the escape part of the plan, then I will start the distraction. All the girls should arrive here, ready to go free. Give me a few minutes to get everything ready, you'll know when things start!"

Now, it was the moment to put HAREM in action! Seela felt almost giddy, full of some energy she never felt before. She felt like she could take on the world, she was high on adrenalin.

Seela took a deep breath, and strutted in the main room of the club, silently spreading the plan, trying to analyse what might be the worst threats to her success.

@Where
@SlagathorTheUnknown
@AdventCore

 

[Grace Zann]

Seela had brought up a very good point, the hutt who owned this club was probably a very powerful man. Very powerful men had very powerful connections. It it wasn't for Zerath being right in front of her, Grace would simply suggest they assassinate the hutt and be done with it. Of course, there were other concerns risen as well. They women they freed would have no place to go, and no sort of financial support. Thankfully, Grace just so happened to own a business.

"Seela. I know how upsetting this whole thing must be, but I may be able to help you. If you and your friends want a chance at a life free from servitude, then I can offer them all jobs, far away from this planet. It wouldn't be incredibly glamorous work, but it wouldn't be back breaking labor either, and I pay my people well."

It made her a little happy that the other dancers should want to escape at the very least. Deciding it was time to get into position as Seela stated her intentions, Grace would leave the room and explain to Zerath "I'm going to get to the control room, I'll be ready to turn off all the implants and alarms."

As she exited the room however, she would feel something strange. It was as if another force sensitive was around, perhaps even a friendly one. She would gaze over to the guy at the bar having to explain what an order of ice was. Did they even train bartenders anymore? Before she could think on it too long however, she would let herself back in to the security room. They now had ten minutes... Just wonderful.

@Ahryia @SlagathorTheUnknown @AdventCore

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Zerath listened as Seela raised several important points- the Twi'lek had a shrewd mind, and had clearly considered this before. "The Temple will be able to assist; both with removing the implants, and with your reintroduction to the galaxy. We can talk about specifics later, but I will do everything in my power to make that transition as easy as possible."

At least one of his missions had a good chance of success; the more time Zerath spent around Grace, the less it sounded like the former Padawan had any desire to walk the path of a Jedi again. A slight frown creased Zerath's face as she offered Seela and the other dancers "jobs"; what exactly that would translate to was anyone's guess, but at least Grace didn't seem the type to keep a harem around. Reluctantly, Zerath had to admit that Grace appeared to have made her decision, and nothing he could say or do would change her mind.

Instead, Zerath focused back on the one whom he thought he might still be able to reach. The more Seela spoke, the more Zerath could see her personality coming alive. Once again, he cursed the powers that had tried to erode her spirit, while also giving thanks that they had failed to fully break the Twi'lek. "There is passion, yet serenity" he said, as much for himself as Seela. "And" he continued, lest he come off as too serious, "Seela, I am proud of you. It takes courage to stand up to one's oppressors. The Force will be with you, and so will I."

Their plan started falling into place- remarkable how that worked!- and Zerath found himself agreeing with the plan. "Once you've shut off the trackers, destroy the console so that they can't be activated again" he said to Grace. "I'll lead the girls to the bus that's parked out back, and from there to my transport." He'd seen the party bus arrive just before they'd entered; with luck, it would be fueled and cleaned by the time they got to it. A Kom’rk-class Transport was fueled and ready just a few miles away; depending on how many were to be rescued it might be a cozy trip back to Yavin, but the Knight was confident that he could safely transport Seela and the other rescued slaves.

Deciding that it would be suspicious to let Seela be seen by the Nikto without him, Zerath followed after the Twi'lek as she returned to the main area, slipping back into character and blowing a kiss in Seela's direction. The Jedi Knight then scanned the area for threats; the Nikto was still watching, and a bruised human that appeared to be close to an argument with the bartender were the most obvious threats. His Force vision keeping a watchful eye on Seela lest she run into any trouble, Zerath returned to his earlier seat and waited for the show to start.


@Where @Ahryia @AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Excuse me, I-I'd like a room..." Kyosuke shyly and politely poked his head at an attractive Twi'lek slave girl whom he figured could help him out after he watched her go between the other girls to pass on some kind of information - or perhaps to check on them - he wasn't really sure.

The cup of ice he held against the left side of his forehead jingled ever so softly as a couple pieces shifted in the cup. His right hand was slightly up the bottom front side of his shirt, exposing half of his lithe athletically-framed abs and a dagger-length laceration along the edge of his right side that he gently pressed a single cube of ice against. From the back it might've just appeared that his hand was in his pocket, but to the slave girl in front of him it would be clear that the young man was in pain and trying to get some kind of assistance.

The Force felt as though it choked around him with tension and anticipation. It would be a moment before he could bring his ethereal senses to bear and realized that the sensation seemed to be coming from a very small handful of individuals nearby. Unable to steady his nerves enough to focus his limited sense in on the sources, the wounded Jedi instead chose to ignore it and continued.

"I-I'll pay if need be..." His slightly shaky voice revealed his caution and trepidation. It was obvious he didn't frequent these kinds of establishments, especially since he was trying to be so courteous to the girl despite his current condition and the way he had treated the bartender. He would then move the cup back down, and rest his hand from the cut on his side ever so slightly to lower the bottom of his black shirt just above the right side of his slender hips, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention from anyone else in the club.


@Ahryia @Where @SlagathorTheUnknown