Ask [Ruusan] Consider it a Customs Tax...

[Oren Zapan]

​

The disaster on Ajan Kloss was still fresh in the heart of all Jedi, the sacrifices and tragic loss had torn a hole in the force, one that many felt could never be repaired. The Jedi Master knew that was not true, that all death was certain, and in time the Jedi would slowly move on--they needed to. Even with so many injured, the Order still had business to attend, students to be trained, and the galaxy to care for.

Aboard Oren's Stargale Light Courier, were two younglings who were on track of becoming padawans, the last part of their training would be to find Kyber Crystals for their sabers--a sacred duty that all Jedi had to partake in, a tradition that Oren would carry on. Along for the ride was a knight Oren had not met before, a young man named Elias. With everything that had happened, Oren had not had the time to properly brief himself on the Jedi and his history. In time, I'm sure things will go well.

Sitting in the Captain's seat, the Jedi Master would slowly throttle the thrusters on the ship as the jumped out of lightspeed and towards the unfamiliar planet of Ruusan. "Know anything about this planet?" The Master would turn to peer to the knight, "If the data saved from the Jedi Archives is correct, there is a valley full of Kyber Crystals." Slowly, the ship would begin to break the atmosphere of the planet, but something seemed off--perhaps this was going to be a bigger ordeal than the Jedi had expected. There's no such thing as coincidence..

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Elias sat in one of the seats, his right leg on top of the other with his arms crossed over each other as two fingers continually tapped his bicep. Ajan Kloss still recently plagued his mind as he could feel the pain of those who had perished during the attack and how it had completely unsettled the light. He kicked himself for not having been there but he had been only recently been promoted to a Knight and he doubted he could have done much as a padawan. Still, he wished he could have done anything but they would just have to avenge their fallen brothers and sisters and not let their deaths be in vain. There couldn't be such a ruthless attack without consequences.

He was asked to come along with Councilor Zapan and Elias couldn't help but agree. He needed to do something to take his mind off the Sith attack and to help the Order rebuild and this would be a perfect bridge for it. With Councilor Zapan as one of the remaining councilors for their Order, he didn't mind acting as a little security as well to make sure nothing awry happened on this little field trip. With the Kyber crystals there, Ruusan would be a perfect target for them. There were two padawans with them as well but they were busy keeping themselves entertained, letting him and the councilor speak.

The planet finally came into view for the group and when asked about it, Elias simply smirked, "Beside that, it's a hosting ground for many ancient battles, especially during the Republic era." He then gave a slight shrug, "The specifics for me are a little fuzzy though. The school wasn't my best aptitude." Elias usually found himself in the training area, either wielding the force or practicing with his saber, as if preparing for something in the distant future even at his young age. "Should we have really brought the padawans?" While he didn't mind their presence, they could still be a liability to the two as they were traveling to the unknown and would have to watch over them.

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

Oren slowly broke through the atmosphere and into the clouds of Ruusan. The honing beacon on his ship beeped as the communication's array began to buzz with the local feed. With a subtle flick of his fingers, Oren would begin transmitting their ship frequency to the local government--unknowing of what it was about to pull them into.

"Your thoughts dwell on Ajan Kloss," Oren would say in a quiet tone, as he shifted his gaze to Elias. "This is no easy time in our order, things seem grim. But, together we can find hope in this galaxy. It's important that you see that," a faint smile would form across his mangled lips as he began to bring the ship down towards the docking station. "It's important that they see it as well."

"Ship ID -- 24321 -- The Clear Sky -- Redirect to docking station 21224." The ship's onboard communicators blared to the Jedi, and the tone didn't seem friendly.

Oren said nothing as he shifted the ship's trajectory to the right, bringing it down in a central docking station. The Viewport displayed a parade of armed guards and a few officials making their way into the docking room--whatever this was, it wasn't looking good.

"It seems something about our ship spooked them, Elias head to the ramps, and greet our welcoming party." The Jedi Master would give the young knight a firm nod -- there was nothing but trust in his words.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

It seemed the Councilor was able to sense his uneasiness and specifically what for. He was right it wasn't an easy time for the Order but it was the type of answer he didn't like. Elias wanted a plan and a result, not leave everything up to hope in their galaxy. Hope didn't save the padawans and younglings who died in the attack, nothing did. He just gave the Jedi a nod and didn't add anything else, not wanting to freak out the padawans with his views on what has transpired for the Order.

A voice came through the comms and told them to dock at a specific station. Elias didn't really like the sound of this as he expected they would have just gotten the clearance to land wherever they wanted. The dock came into view and their landing spot as they drew closer and nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. But that's when he spotted the armed guards and officials that were specifically walking down their dock. Elias exhaled softly, "Well, this should be good." It was one of the first times he had been possibly held up somewhere because of his nature and he wondered what this would entail.

Oren told him to go greet the welcoming party and he gave a nod before turning to depart from the ship. The padawans scooted to let him through before taking refuge by the Councilor to wait and see what was happening. Elias pressed a button and the ramp slowly descended with a hiss before he stepped off and onto solid ground. Immediately, he was greeted with the presence of two officials and a small group of armed soldiers behind them. "Greetings, my name is Knight Ryn. I'm here with Councilor Zapan and we are here to have correspondence with your government." Elias thought it would be better to leave the two padawans out of it until they figured out what the situation really was.

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

As Elias made his way to the ship's exit, Oren would turn to the two Padawans who sat snug in their seats. A soft smile formed across the man's face as he bent down to look at the two of them, "Master Ryn and I will be handling the welcoming party, I need you to stay together, and to stay behind me. Listen to Ryn and take in what he says. A Jedi is more than a lightsaber, it'll be important that you remember that."

With that, the three would make their way through the ships corridors and to the ramp where Elias stood, surrounded by what seemed to be five to six troopers and a custom officer. Oren would motion for the padawan to stop, as he himself did not fully approach, instead he stood back, studying the situation and the knight.

The Customs officer was a tall and thin man, his uniform sagged along his thin shoulders and scant arms, while his eyes seemed to sink into the sockets. He didn't seem friendly, Oren summaized, but it could be worse. At least they're not firing on us..Yet. Oren shook the thoughts away as he pushed a smile to his face. Now...now.. I handled far worse with Agent Trys.

"Customs Officer Zellius Thrall," the man would say with a curt nod, "You and your friends are from that sorcerer cult and ancient religion. My records show that there was no meeting scheduled, can you confirm this? Or are you here to take and ravage, like you did Coruscant and Corellia?"

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Zelius Thrall. A real charming name. The officer described the Jedi as a sorcerer's cult and ancient religion. Elias thought he would be slightly annoyed at the description but he couldn't blame the officer. He had thought the exact same thing before he actually became one of them and discovered the truth. When he commented that no meeting was scheduled, he slowly turned to give Oren a look before bringing his attention back to the officer, "If there was no meeting scheduled, then our apologies on that front. Next time, we'll be sure to notify you of our arrival."

Elias gestured to Oren behind him, "This is Jedi Councilor, Oren Zapan. My name is Elias Ryn and I am a Jedi Knight. I can happily tell you that we are here to not ravage Coruscant and Corellia. Those actually weren't done by our hand, we tried to prevent those atrocities from happening." Everyone in the galaxy seemed to think both the Jedi and the Sith were one and it was causing them much more damage than he thought. If every planet was like this, he wondered just how much of a bad name they had garnered over the past few months. "And hopefully from ever happening here as well."

The Knight thought this was usually supposed to be the Councilor's point to take over here but Oren seemed content on the ship and just watching. "If you'll permit it, Officer Thrall, we wish to speak to the governor and see if we can try and establish a correspondence between our two people." Those sounded like the right words to use. This was the first time Elias was taking part in a sort of diplomatic mission and he was a little rough around the edges. Hopefully, his words disarmed the officer enough that he would let the two through.

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

Oren leaned against the railing that supported the ramp, his eyes narrowed as he focused in on the conversation between the custom's officer and Elias. Something wasn't adding up, Oren had made sure to check the transmissions before they left--the message had been sent and accepted by the administration of the planet.

"There must have been some sort of mistake," Oren would say as he walked down the ramp and towards Zelius. "Our ship had made the proper transmissions, and the Council would not show up unattended."

The scant officer would grumble under his breath as he looked towards the two of them, "Perhaps it got lost at one of the relay stations." Thrall's lips smirked to reveal a set of slimy yellow teeth, "I'm afraid the governor cannot afford to meet with you at this time, with the danger in the galaxy we have taken to isolating ourselves from diplomats of any sort -- your wizarding kind included."

The Officer would begin to walk towards the entrance of the hangar, the troopers standing to the side began to quickly follow, their stance and posture seemed off. Brace yourself, I have a bad feeling about this. Oren would let the thoughts flow from the force, hoping that Elias would catch on.

As the group made their way towards the giant blast door entrance of the hangar, Thrall would turn back to them and sigh, "I'm afraid these world alliances and the Jedi are bad for business," he'd say with a wink as the metal doors shifted open, revealing a score of gangsters holding blasters at the ready would come storming in.

"Round them up and put them with the other prisoners," Thrall would say with a huff before departing from the hangar.

Oren would turn to Elias, giving him a playful smirk. "Now this reminds me of my days as a knight," he'd say before turning back to the group, placing his hands in the air. "Play along..."

"Shut it Kark!" A Large Trandoshan would grumble as he attempted to reach for Oren. Well it's time to see what sort of character this Elias is.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Well, his words did the exact opposite or the officer just didn't have the slightest care. Their message got conveniently lost at one of the relay stations so they said and Elias could tell where this was going. The rejection of meeting the governor came afterward and the explanation for it being isolation. Thrall quickly turned away and the guards followed him, Oren's words drifting through his head as the knight had shared those same exact feelings the moment he saw the officer. He glanced over to the Councilor and then the hangar, assuming that this was an indication for them to leave.

But the hangar doors opened and goons spilled out and straight towards them, their weaponry already aimed and at the ready. Oren just gave him a smirk before telling him to play along like this was all part of the plan. "Wha-?" Elias started to say but when the Councilor put his hands up, he reluctantly followed suit and raised his. "This is an idiotic plan." He mumbled out annoyed as they got surrounded.

The Trandoshan that was reaching for Oren snapped his attention toward Elias instead when he heard him speak. "Quiet!" The butt of his rifle was slammed into the knight's stomach and he had to hunch over a few seconds as a set of coughs went through him. When he stood back up, his dirty blonde hair hovered over one of his eyes and he cast the Trandoshan a look and then stared ahead. Two of the gangsters lined themselves directly behind the Jedi and pushed them forward.

Oren and Elias would walk side by side as they stepped through the hangar and into the building. He spoke through the force so the two wouldn't be caught,

You do realize weren't about to be thrown in prison right?

 

[Oren Zapan]

Oren felt the large hands of the trandoshan push them forward through the blast doors and into the terminal station of hangars. There the full extent of the ordeal would be laid before them. What little security managed this Spaceport had been taken out, and a small platoon of outdated droids and roguish characters seemed to jot down the long halls between the spaceport.

"I want to know how that ship got through," Thrall could be seen off in the distance yelling at one of their men, "And Jedi of all people.. You said that you and your men would handle any hiccups to this operation." His skeleton like fingers pushed into the armored chest of a half man, half cyborg.

"It will be handled," his voice hissed through his electronic communicator, his eyes glaring towards the scrawny Thrall.

Oren quickly pulled his attention away from the man and lowered his head as he walked beside Elias, keeping his best to continue playing along. Of course, but I saw no need to act right that moment... Look around, it appears to be some sort of hostage situation. The Jedi Master's eyes raised back up as he took a deep breath at the sight before them.

The two Jedi had been lead towards the lobby of the spaceport, where approximately a dozen hostages had been placed, mostly women and children. It seemed lucky for them, these gangsters didn't bother to check them for their sabers as they were pushed into the group -- a mistake they would most likely regret in the future.

Sadness could be felt among the people, fear and worry. Hushed voices escaped from the lips of the hostages, many of them panicked beyond their wildest fears. But, one voice would attempt to calm the group, the sound of a young teen boy broke through the whimpers.

"Have faith, I know my father's government will save us, they just need time."

Oren looked to Elias, giving him a subtle smile. It seems we may have our meeting after all, any ideas on how to break this situation and save these people?

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

The pair were pushed forward and they had no choice but to accept. Elias kept his hands in the air along with Oren as they navigated through the station. It was completely run by pirates or at least a weird mix of mercenaries or something else. It was a hostage situation and a big one at that with at least twelve people all tied up. The Jedi Master's words rang true to wait and the knight made a note of that the next time he found himself in a similar situation.

The pirates didn't check them for weapons or just simply forgot they were Jedi but he was thankful for it. It meant they weren't actual professionals in charge of this. Just some hired guns. The two were pushed in with the hostages before both of their hands were tied together tightly. They could still conduct the force but it surely restricted their movement.

The fear that emanated from the hostages was palpable to Elias and he felt sorry for them. They were just regular people and every day more civilians just had to suffer at the hands of those who just wanted quick gains. A young boy spoke up to try and calm the group and Elias at least smiled at the boy's heart but at the possibility that he could be right as well. Oren asked how they should get out of this predicament and he examined the situation around him. The hostages certainly made things tricky.

There were gangsters everywhere, around eight to ten total. When he glanced to his left, he saw a sliding blast door that appeared to be unlocked. Elias spoke back to him through the force, Door to our left. We need to get the hostages out before we start anything. We can push them to our left and try and take the gangsters here. The knight then glanced toward the boy, If he speaks the truth, we may not have to wait long. I'm sure there is a silent alarm already triggered.

Elias then straightened his gaze so that it wouldn't draw suspicion, Or we can wait and see if they want to move us. Let it develop a little more. Your choice, Councilor.

 

[Oren Zapan]

I'm afraid we might not have that chance, it seems they're returning. Oren would say through the force as he shifted his attention to a pair of mercenary droids making their way towards the group. Across the port's loudspeakers a message would be played, it seemed some sort of negotiation was at play.

"The Vasarri Mining Guild has taken control of this space port, out of defiance for the Russan government and Governor Harsan who continue to defy the people's needs. We have brought stability to a planet long forgotten by the galaxy. While your governor continues to defy and beg for the FWA's recognition, we have brought jobs and wealth to our people. The matters are simple, lay down your weapons and abdicate the governor's position and we will let the hostages live and with it we will bring Russan into a prosperous age."

Same song and beat everywhere it seems. But, this isn't looking good, keep on guard, our job at this point is to protect the hostages, the guild can be dealt with later. Fall to the back of the line, and be ready--you'll feel the time to act. Oren would say as he fell into the middle of the line which had been packed shoulder to shoulder.

The group would be pushed along the hallways and towards the center entrance, where the situation was revealed to them. Five guards stood ready with blasters drawn, Thrall stood behind a center barricade in which he broadcasted his message to what appeared to be the planet's milita who stood armed and ready.

Slowly they would be pushed into position and forced to look out before the government, "For every hour that your governor does not act and relinquish his title, one hostage shall die."

A droid would step forward, grabbing a young mother from the front of the line and pushing towards the center of the door. "Starting with this fine young Russan citizen." Thrall would prepare his blaster pistol and would aim it towards the back of the mother's head.

Oren looked to the members that made up his portion of the line and would radiate a soft warm glow. "Do not worry, all will be well shortly." He'd say as he took a deep breath. Now... His words rang through the force and as Thrall would prepare his blaster, Oren would leap into the air, his hands were still bound, but they would work for what he was trying to do.

Midway through the air he would extend his fingers out toward three of the guards who were standing towards his side and with a gentle tug of his hand would attempt to yank the blasters out of their hands. Hopefully Elias could stop the attack on the mother, if not -- Oren would land several feet away, and would try to kick towards the man's hand as he tried to pull the trigger.

Even if they stopped this attack, there would be two other guards with blasters, and ten mercenaries coming from inside the spaceport. Things were about to get interesting.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

The two of them wouldn't have long to form up a plan. The two droids began to approach the group as Oren finished speaking. Without much resistance, they forced the group of hostages to line up with Elias going to the back. Apparently, he would feel when the right time was to act. He didn't disagree with the Councilor but he wondered exactly when that would be. Oren had much more experience than Elias regarding these situations and he made sure to stay close to the civilians for when the signal would come. They were pushed forward and he began walking.

They were pushed next to Thrall as he began to make his speech with all the hostages lined up behind him. Elias glanced at where each mercenary was and then to Oren, giving him a look that would signal the Knight was ready to begin whenever he was. When Thrall listed his demands and the conditions, he turned to pick out one of the hostages, specifically a mother. The sight of it being a mom made the Jedi Knight's jaw clench as it brought back to the surface the memories of his own mother. It took every fiber of his being to wait there while Thrall had his hand on the woman.

But when Thrall pulled out his blaster, Oren gave the signal and Elias moved as fast as lightning. He immediately lept out from the group and in between the woman and the officer. Elias immediately whipped the blaster to the side with the force, Thrall accidentally shooting one of his own men right in the chest. The Knight surged forward and charged his shoulder right into the man's chest and knocked him on the ground as he lost control of his blaster.

Elias flipped around and faced the oncoming mercenaries as he forced the woman to duck on the ground. One of the droids pulled out a vibrosword and closed the distance, committing strike after strike. His hands were still bound but instead of dodging, he used his cuffs as his shield and raised his arm each time to block an attack. "Come on, come on." After about the fifth one, Elias raised his hands one more time to receive the blow. When they connected, it was enough as he could hear cracking and he immediately yanked his arms apart afterward as his cuffs broke into too. Elias looked up at the droid and gave him a little salute with two fingers, "Thank you."

He shot his palm forward and the droid was picked up with the force before slammed into the wall right behind it. Elias then drew out his lightsaber and activated it as he illuminated himself in dark blue. The other mercenaries reacted, some either gasping and thinking about running or raising their blasters still to fight.

 

[Oren Zapan]

It seemed that Elias' reactions were just in time, he moved with a sense of speed and precision that the Jedi Master himself lacked. It was clear to Oren that man had promise in his skills. But, there was no time to worry about that now, his hands were still bound, and there was still the three remaining unarmed guards, as well as the sound of men storming towards the door.

No time to worry about my cuffs for now, he thought through the force. He looked to the citizens and then to the entrance, "Quickly, hurry towards the door." Oren would call out as Elias force pushed one of the droids into the wall. The Jedi master would begin to urge the hostages towards the doorway, as the three remaining guards scrambled to get their guns and the sound of the remaining guards and mercenary boss came rushing closer.

As the last few hostages ran from the door, Oren would raise his hand towards Elias, "A little help here." They would need to buy the Militia time to make their way up towards the door and to secure the port, and then hopefully answers could be had. "I hope you're prepared, if my math is correct we'll have thirteen of them total. Three of them being here already," his eyes shifted towards the three who had managed to grab their blasters.

If his cuffs had been broken, Oren would quickly flick the lightsaber from inside his vest and would ignite the white hued blade and taking up a defensive stance.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

As he dealt with the droid, Oren was already on the move with the hostages. The other three guards saw all this happen and ran towards their weapons. Elias whipped out his hand and the force picked up each one before throwing them a considerable distance away. With their weapons gone, they had no means to fight except for their fists and they quickly dispersed and back into the building for replacements.

That meant there was one guard left and he tried to aim a blaster at one of the hostages but the blaster was quickly kicked out of his hand by the Jedi. Elias swiped with his blade at a low angle as he sliced the guard's calf. He dropped to the floor immediately in pain as he held it but the Jedi quickly kicked him in the face to knock him out and shut him up. That just left Oren who still needed help with the cuffs.

Elias simply twirled his blade and it cut through the restraints easily to let the other Jedi free. "Well, thirteen all together after they ran back." He glanced toward the door and then back to Oren, his lightsaber at the ready as well but his gaze remaining on the Jedi. "We need to move the hostages to a secure location. They'll easily be able to flood us if we have to worry about them as well." Once they were secure, the two could fully go to work and dispose of the mercenaries that had taken over the base.

"If you can direct the hostages, I'll give you cover from the mercs." It wasn't a perfect plan but it was a plan. They were more likely to injure themselves if the hostages had to be in their peripheral at all times. Elias directed his palm to the doorway as he secured it with the force and kept it in place to keep the guards out. "Are you ready to move with them?"

 

[Oren Zapan]

Oren looked back towards the front entrance of the spaceport, the last of the hostages had made it out of the building safely, but they weren't out of the woods yet. The militia would still require some time to make it up to the space port, leaving the gangsters and that large cyborg freak with enough time to cause some real damage.

The Jedi Master would slowly back up towards the stairs, the sound of the enemy could be heard storming their way towards them, there would only be a few moments before all hell broke loose in the tight corner. "Don't do anything foolish," Oren would say with a slight smile, "The militia should be here shortly, they will aide in securing this."

The first few blaster shots would begin to ring out, causing Oren to turn and begin ushering the hostages down the stairs. What faced Elias would be difficult, several shots from many of the men began to pour out into the small little buffer room, it would require a clear focus and becoming one with his blade.

In truth it would be no different from his days training as a padawan, blast shield covering his face and all. As the shots rang out, it was clear many were wild and off the target, instead it began to generate small clouds of smoke in the room, causing Elias' vision to lower. Through the smoke, the sound of the cyborg could be heard.

"A lightsaber would make me more intimidating...do me a favor and hand it over." The voice of the cyborg mercenary pierced through the air as he came slashing through the smoke with a vibrosword -- hoping to take down Ryn with one slash towards the waist.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

They were on the move and they needed to be. Elias removed his support of the force from the door and it would only take a few moments before guards started to break in. Everyone made their way to the stairs, the Jedi Knight in the back of the group as he witnessed the door kicked open before people flooded through. "Me? Foolish? Never." Elias called out to Oren but that would be the only thing he spoke.

Blaster bolts started being shot down the stairs and his blade moved like a blur, deflecting the ones that neared him or the hostages. He didn't even glance back to look where he stepped and just trusted himself as one foot went back behind the other. Was lightsaber was practically a blur, Elias not able to think as it would just take too long and instead went off his instinct. Because of the constant fire, smoke constantly filled the room but as he kept moving, he kept a small distance so he wouldn't be swallowed by it.

A robotic voice cut through the smoke, teasing him before the cyborg from before launched itself at Elias. The Jedi raised his blade and set it to his left to block the vibro-sword. It was successful but the cyborg kept coming and collided into him as he slammed the Jedi into the wall. With all the metal, it added much more weight than the Jedi had and gave the man practically double the strength.

The cyborg gripped his throat and lifted him against the wall before he snapped his head toward the hostages. He pulled out a blaster and aimed for the one in the front but Elias wouldn't let it be that easy. Using his legs, he kicked them against the wall before pushing off with his opponent and toward the railing. Both of them would fall over it as the blaster bolt would land a few feet above the head of the first hostage. They would fall about ten feet before landing roughly on both their backs in front of the hostages as they rolled down the stairs slightly.

Elias rolled onto his stomach with a groan, pain spreading throughout his body while he shook his head. The cyborg experienced the same thing and took a minute to get up. The Jedi glanced back and realized they were only a few feet from the hostages and once again without thinking, Elias tackled the cyborg once more as they fell and rolled down the stairs further from the group.

 

[Oren Zapan]

The Hostages had made it down the stairs with little time to spare. Oren would push them along with a heavy sigh, "Keep going! Run to the Militia!" He'd say as he helped push them away from the spaceport completely. He needed to focus on the fight that was continuing to occur between Ryn and the Cyborg and his men.

Their fight had sprawled out onto the stairs of the front entrance, and the fight seemed to ebb and flow with no particular winner in sight. Oren would have helped him, but there was time in that now. The other criminals had begun to step through the smoke with their blasters drawn. Oren would quickly raise both of his hands and would pull forward through the force -- drawing upon his deep connection in the force to cause the troops feet to slide forward and their guns to slip from their hands.

As their momentum would shift forward and their balance was lost, Oren would push forward with his hands, causing the men to go flying back and into the walls, knocking them to the ground with a heavy force that a Jedi Master could achieve. He would turn towards the fight, drawing his blade and igniting it once more.

The two were still struggling, but they had the upper hand now. "Surrender, your fight is over." He'd say to the Mercenary.

tag: @Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

The two went down the stairs, roughly flipping over each other as each step slammed into their side or their back. When they finally landed, it was a small platform built into the stairs and they separated once they hit it. Elias would slide back and hit his back into the wall once again as the cyborg just slammed into the ground. The tumbling wasn't enjoyable in the slightest and he was pretty sure that his entire body would be covered in bruises after all of this.

Elias got to his knees and was punched right in the gut and lifted up as he felt cybernetic fingers dig and grab onto one of his organs as he was lifted from the ground. Pain blossomed throughout his whole body and he couldn't help but let out a painful scream as he began to become drenched in sweat. The Cyborg laughed as he just squeezed even harder, "Yes, scream." Elias could barely see through the pain as his vision became blurrier with each passing second. But, when the mercenaries above entered and he heard the hostages scream in terror, his eyes snapped open. He was here to rescue them and his resolve strengthened as the pain wasn't going to be the reason he let innocent people perish.

Instantly, one of his legs came up and struck the cyborg right in his privates. It was bar fighting and a type of style that Elias was familiar with and didn't shy away from. The grip on his organs went lax and that was the signal as even the merc couldn't handle his body's natural reflexes to such a strike. Elias brought his arm up and slammed down right on the wrist of the cyborg afterward, releasing his grip as he was dropped to the ground and gasped from the air that rushed into his lungs. The merc whipped his gaze to him once he recovered and brought his metal foot to slam it down but the Jedi simply rolled away and it struck the stone instead, cracks forming from the impact.

Elias spun on the ground as his leg stuck out and kicked the cyborgs out from under him as he came down to his level. The Jedi got on top of him next and pressed the initiator on his hilt right into the neck of the merc. But, as he did that, he could also feel a prick on his own neck and glanced to the left, a vibroblade right near his jugular as the two remained there. Oren's voice could be heard by both as he came down to check on them with his lightsaber activated and see the two tangled.

Both the Jedi and the Cyborg slowly glanced towards Oren and then back at each other. Even in the position, he was in, Elias couldn't help but chuckle, "You got me... but you don't got him." He was tired, covered in sweat, and beaten but there was conviction in his eyes that he didn't care if he died today if it meant the others got out. The Cyborg offered one more glance to Oren before finally letting go of the blade.

 

[Oren Zapan]

Oren deactivated his white blade with a heavy breath, as the Mercenary went down. Elias was worn, and bleeding from the side of his neck. His condition wasn't great, but he would survive. Stepping forward and wasting little time, Oren would help his friend off of the giant cyborg freak.

Closing his eyes, he would place his flesh hand against the side of his neck. After a few deep breaths, Oren's hands would begin to warm and a tingling sensation would be felt against the Knight's neck. "You did well," he'd say with a deep breath as he pulled away. "These citizens are saved because of your quick work with a blade."

He would look back to the citizens who had been huddled into a safe spot by the militia who moved in to secure the spaceport. Oren would offer a hand to Elias to help him up from his position on the stairs. Slowly, the two of them would make their way towards the group.

There was some fear in their eyes, but many offered thanks. The distrust for the Jedi or force users was still strong, but it was moments like these that would offer the galaxy the truth about the Order. Looking to them all, Oren would offer a slight smile as well as healing for those who needed it.

The boy from earlier would approach them, "You guys are those space wizards we heard about. The ones the galaxy are all up in arms about?" He'd say as he looked to the two of them, "I'm sure my father would love to meet with you after what you did. Can you?"

Oren would look to Elias, "Still up for it?"

 

[Elias Ryn]

Once the Cyborg dropped the blade, Elias slowly pulled the hilt of his lightsaber back, partaking in the silent agreement between them to disarm and defuse the situation. Oren helped him up as one of his shoulders was covered in his own blood but then he felt the warm sensation that blossomed through his neck, the small wound stitching itself together after a few seconds. "Thanks." He hadn't really figured out healing yet and would have just wrapped a bandage around his neck but there was no longer a need for it.

Oren would compliment him for his blade work and saving the hostages but Elias would just shake his head as he took the Councilor's hand to help himself up. "It wasn't just me who deserves the credit. Don't cut yourself short, we did it together." While he had been busy for the cyborg, the other mercs could have easily killed the hostages if Oren hadn't been there and been able to dispose of them as he did. Elias went up the stairs with the other Jedi, one of his freehands placed along the railing for support the entire way. They reached the group and fully pressed his back against the wall as he gave a nod to the hostages, "You guys alright?" They checked themselves and besides some cuts and bruises, they were fine.

A boy stepped out and informed them that he wanted them to meet his father. Oren asked if he was still up for it and Elias just simply gave a nod as he pushed off the wall and had one of his arms pressed fully across his stomach. After the question was asked, a series of alarms tripped off and with the mercs gone, he figured it was the reinforcements they no longer needed and the kid's father. "Well, right on time if I do say so myself."

Elias gestured with his hand for the civilians to head up the stairs as he would slowly follow behind them to meet the boy's father with Oren.