Ask Second Set of Books

[Janus Rook]

Raxus

Mission Statement:
A prominent politician on Raxus Secundus has a large estate in the grasslands of the planet with lavish gardens tended to by a veritable army of 'servants' that intelligence believes to actually be slaves. Slavery is technically illegal on Raxus Secundus and has been for centuries at this point - and Zygerrian-sold slaves come will a bill of sale that contains the codes for their collars and other such restraints. Sneak into the estate and secure the bill of sale that will prove the politician is a slave owner, ruining his career and causing the political elite of the planet to scramble to condemn any and all slavers, including their Zygerrian neighbours.
​

I landed the ship quiet a distance away, this mission wasn't suppose to be violent. Just needed the documentation to prove the man a criminal and then leave to ensure the local authorities could take care of the rest. My partner should be arriving soon, together we would have to figure out how to get into the estate and make sure no one got hurt while we figured out where the bill of sales is. Most likely we probably would need to try to sneak in since going in guns blazing will no doubt get some of the victims hurt or even killed. But I was partnered with a Jedi so maybe they will be able to use some of their sorcery to solve this problem.

But if they couldn't I changed out my gear to work better for this assignment. Got a grapple line installed to replace the Jetpack and dart launchers to replace the whipcord thrower, this set up gave me more options for this task and were better suited for a quiet mission.

"So think your Jedi magics can pinpoint the bill of sales?" Looking to my ally I knew that answer was probably no, but didn't hurt to joke about it.

What little I knew of the Jedi was told to me by whispers of other Sector Rangers and my clan saying that they were mystics and sorcerers. Not the most reliable thing in the galaxy, many people claimed such powers over the galaxy through unseen means usually just meant good slight of hand skills, but apparently the Jedi were the real deal when it came to powers beyond explaining. At least I get to see that up close now.

All of these thoughts about everything but the people with collars on their necks helped kept me calm, my own experiences in being a slave once would make me do something stupid. But if I wanted to save these people I needed to remain focused, calm and not acting like a Mandalorian. I'm sure this wouldn't have sat well with my clan knowing I was sneaking around with a Jedi but it was what I had to do.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

The last time Izel had worked with Sector Rangers the experience had been something of a mixed bag. They weren't the friendliest of people, and one of them had made no hesitations in voicing his blatant contempt for her Order. But they had gotten their job done nonetheless, and she respected them for their abilities and mission to protect others. Still, she wished the Council had told her the ranger she would be working with was Mandalorian. The Vratix had read much about the intertwined histories of the Mandalorians and Jedi. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of histories. Of course that was all in the past, and if this ranger was anywhere near as skilled as the Mandalorian reputation suggested he would be a valuable ally. So as the young Jedi Knight joined him on the hill overlooking the estate she tried to approach the mission with an open mind.

"Not how the Force works unfortunately..." She responded seriously to the ranger's joking question as she raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes to inspect the estate. It may as well have been a fortress from her assessment. Several large and elegant buildings surrounded by a high duracrete wall, the top of which was being patrolled by what looked like sentry droids. Well, at least they wouldn't be at risk of having to kill sentients should things go south and they were caught. The Vratix lowered her binoculars and glanced at the Mandalorian. "I do have another trick that might help though..." She took a moment to lower her head and reach out with her Force sense, antennae twitching idly as she did so. The politician and alleged slave owner who owned the estate, their target, was a man named Langley Evarnas. Izel had arrived on the planet the day before to do some investigating of her own, and to try and get close enough to get an impression of the man through the Force. She had spotted him at a public event and managed to identify his 'signature' as it was. Now she searched through the collection of life moving about within the estate, trying to identify him again. When she finally pinpointed the man's location her head perked up and she pointed to one of the larger buildings in the center of the estate grounds.

"He's there." She informed Janus. "Which means his office is likely there as well. That's where we'll find the documents we're looking for I'd wager." It wasn't much, but at least it narrowed their search down a bit. And with night falling they'd have the advantage of most people being asleep. They would still have to find a way to get past the security though. Ideally without violence. Subterfuge wasn't Izel's strongest suit, so she looked to the Mandalorian to take the lead. "Shall we begin then Ranger Rook?" She asked expectantly.

@Richie B.

 

[Janus Rook]

So far the mystic Jedi seemed more person then the legends would lead one to believe. People able to summon magic to their fingertips and read the mind of others from across a room. I didn't know what to make of these rumors now that I was next to a Jedi now but at least I will get to finally see how real these rumors were. Though she does seem to be doing something, when she lowered her head I felt a soft sensation. It was weird I had never seen magic done before but being next to this Jedi definitely made it feel like I was watching it happen.

When she finally explained she knew the politician was here despite having no way of actually knowing I didn't try to argue. Probably just her Jedi magic. So I wasn't going to fight that, though when she spoke my clan name as if it was my surname I bite my tongue a bit. At least the Jedi weren't all knowing or this would have been just unfair.

"Yes, but you can call me Janus." I began to walk towards the estate, that was basically a fortress.

The high walls of the building made it difficult to get up but with my grappling line from the suit I could make it up. But I wanted to pull a droid down to see if I couldn't hack into it. Once close enough to make it possible I shot the grappling line into the droids head and with a quick pull I got it off the wall before another droid could notice what had happened. The whole droid came crashing down about 10 meters and once it landed I rushed to the droid.

Finding a port to connect I plug in the suits computer spike and began the sort process to break into the memory banks. I needed time which would allow me to get a layout of the place and any other information that I could get from the droid. Which seemed to have two concussion grenades on it that I pocketed. I guess the sentry droids were both used to keep people out as well as keep people in. An from my own time as a slave knew that a mob was hard to control but concussion grenades were always good to disperse people and make them easier to take down.

"Watch the wall, I need some time before I can get something from the droid." My focus and energy was into the hack and I needed the Jedi to make sure I didn't get shot at from above or got noticed.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel nodded respectfully to the ranger. "Alright then Janus." She wasn't used to speaking to people she barely knew on a first name basis, that kind of informality was something she tried to avoid. But she didn't want to offend the Mandalorian either, so she obliged his request.

Together the they approached the wall, Izel following Janus' lead and just trying to remain quiet. The Mandalorian showed skill and efficiency in bringing down the sentry droid, and wasted no time in beginning to hack into the machine. A wise move, as doing so could potentially give them access to the estate's entire layout and the guard schedule if successful. Again the Vratix nodded in compliance as her partner ordered her to watch the wall. Unfortunately from the angle they were at she couldn't see much. It was too high, and they were right at the base of the structure now rather than at a distance where it would be easier to see the top. Not to mention droids could be harder to sense than people. Izel looked up for a few moments, clicking thoughtfully before turning her attention back to Janus.

"I'm going to try and get a better view." She informed him quietly before starting to climb the wall. Fortunately her insectoid anatomy eliminated the need for any kind of grappling equipment, as she could simply crawl right up the vertical surface as easily as she might across the ground. Unfortunately the moment she peeked her head over the top of the wall she found herself looking right at another sentry droid. The Jedi gasped and reflexively reached for her lightsaber. The droid was quicker on the draw though, and raised it's weapon to shoot her in the shoulder.

The Jedi cried out in pain and tumbled back down the wall, just barely able to slow her fall from being a fatal one by igniting her lightsaber pike and jamming it into the wall. She still hit the ground beside the ranger fairly hard, and a blaring alarm was raised before she could even return to her senses. "Well... that complicates things..." She muttered as she shook her head, feeling a sense of humiliation as well as the burning pain from the blaster wound. She wasn't exactly making the best first impression on her companion, and now the entire compound would be on high alert.

@Richie B.

 

[Janus Rook]

The work was done by when my partner fell down, landing next to me I nearly jumped pulling out my pistol and almost blasting the alien Jedi. I cursed quietly fearing that now this was going to be a problem. At least I had the information of the layout and everything else the droid had, of course I wouldn't be able to pull it up until they could find a place to get cover and shift through it. But that would require we somehow got rid of the droids now above use beginning to gather and fire down on us.

I didn't have any medical equipment for Izel, so she would have to hold out for a bit while we dealt with the droids. With the pistol I fired a few blasts to keep them behind the wall before their processors would tell them they had enough to just overwhelm us. These droids think in numbers and generally from what I knew they would gather together and focused their fire onto the enemy defeating them with overwhelming numbers.

Shooting the grappling line to the wall, I began to climb up aware of the droids now gathering. I didn't show myself yet and simply had my pistol out and began firing over the wall blind. After hearing a droid or two drop, I then lean forward so my upper high was visible and shooting down the last droid. Getting over the wall, I could see the estate going crazy. Droids around the walls were beginning to come to our location.

"Jedi if you need help getting up let me know." I had reset the grappling line so I could sent it down to help the Jedi get up.

It might take some time but they needed to get moving. The longer they stayed in one spot the sooner they will be overwhelmed and taken down.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel knew things were bad. She was injured and the alarm was up. Their task would be much harder now, and harder still because she had no time to heal herself. She would need to just cope for the time being. It would be very difficult to use her lightsaber pike effectively with one of her arms essentially unusable for the time being, but thankfully she still had the Force to rely on. Not to mention Janus seemed to be taking the unexpected turn of events in stride.

The Mandalorian wasted no time in launching his grappling hook and scaling the wall, fending off the sentry droids that were first on the scene with relative ease. He had bought her some time, but Izel still had to move quickly. strapping her pike to her pack she grabbed the line Janus offered with one arm and used it to help her scale the wall once more. Again, the line wasn't vital for her to climb, but it did help quicken the process. Still not quick enough though.

Izel's wound pained her horribly, and every bit of exertion exacerbated the pain. She cringed and her antennae twitched constantly, but she pushed through it and continued to climb, reciting the Jedi Code over and over in her head to distract herself. She made it to the top, but unfortunately just as she was climbing over the edge to join Janus a spotlight fell upon them. More droids began running in their direction, and stray blaster shots whizzed past them. Taking a moment to reach out with her Force sense Izel located the nearest building with the least number of occupants. Surely it would be easiest for them to hide and regroup there.

"That way!" She shouted to the Mandalorian, pointing towards one of the buildings by the wall and tugging on his arm before beginning a mad dash towards it, blaster bolts continuing to fly by overhead. Fortunately these sentry droids weren't too accurate at a distance.

@Richie B.

 

[Janus Rook]

It was good she took my aid the faster we went the better, right now the sentry droids will be coming at us and now that the spot light was on them they needed to get inside the walls now. There was for sure some way for them to get in or at the very least get down to the other side. Once she was up I began to follow her to the location she pointed out to, there wasn't much for me to do but put away my pistol and take out my rifle. Taking pop shots at any of the droids that were nearby.

While it was only caused a few droids to keep there heads down it provided just enough for them to get right to the building. It seemed the building had a window that they could jump through. Not the best course of actions but it would have to do, shooting at the window it opened up into a hallway into the building. Now there could be easily a dozen droids or so inside this building and that floor but out in the open like this was the worst thing right now.

Once close enough I looked to the Jedi hoping she knew what I was going to do and I jumped. Getting through the window wasn't the hard part it was the landing. And only thanks to my armor did I not get cut up into pieces by the edges of the glasses. Once inside I hoped the Jedi could make it through if not I would run to the window and shoot out the grappling line again for her to use to get in. I rather hope it was unnecessary as the line inside wasn't meant for too many uses before it broke.

But once they were inside I made a quick swipe there were a few doors into rooms but they all looked to be locked on their side. Whatever was inside them might be important but right now they needed to breath. As they had to rush pretty fast to even get to this point, so after catching my breath again I turned to my Jedi ally.

"You going to be good with that wound or should we try to find a medical station in this maze?" If she needed help there was nothing wrong with that, such a wound would put me in a hospital bed for sure, it was a testament to her will power to be still running around.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

The burning sensation in her shoulder was excruciating, but Izel still managed to keep up with Janus. She watched as the Mandalorian shot open a window on the building and then leapt inside. She wasted no time in following suit. Even if she weren't a Jedi, the distance between the wall and the window would be a trivial distance for a member of her species to cross. Using her powerful legs she jumped through the busted window into the building, using a gentle Force push to brush aside the broken glass as she hit the ground and rolled.

As she came up into a crouch she hissed again in pain, clutching her injured limb. This simply wouldn't do, she had to try and heal herself before going any further or she'd be nothing but a burden to the Ranger. Stealing a glance through the window she could see no sentries nearby, and they seemed alone inside for the time being. Now was her best chance. Janus offered to look for a medical station but Izel knew that would eat up time they didn't have.

"I think I can handle it," She said painfully as she pulled open her robes and pressed her good palm against the injured area. "Just give me a moment..." She tried to concentrate and use the Force to heal herself, but it just wasn't working. She tried harder, exerting herself more than she should have. Despite taking a minute to try and focus herself she didn't seem to have an effect on the wound at all. In fact, all she had succeeded in was giving herself Force fatigue. It would likely be some time before she was able to use her powers again. All the Vratix could do was let out an exasperated sigh as she removed her hand and adjusted her robes back into place.

"Dammit..." She cursed in a low voice before looking back to Janus. "I'm sorry... I'm usually much better at this..." She might have made a joke about 'performance issues' but now really didn't seem like the proper time. Fortunately the sentries still weren't on them yet. They had some time left to get moving and hopefully regain the element of surprise.

@Richie B.

 

[Janus Rook]

It looks like a Jedi despite their injuries were still a capable sort, when she jumped in with me I was pleasantly surprise she was focusing on thinking ahead. While of course no one can say we had a bunch of time to waste, it was better to not worry about a wound that could become a serious hindrance when we get deeper. So I had to check the floor to see if I couldn't find something, knocking down two doors and finding nothing I knew the longer I took doing this the more likely we would become pinned but I rather have a Jedi who wasn't dealing with a serious injury and could focus more then just keeping herself alive at my side.

Finally by the third door kicking it open I found what probably was a miracle, a closet of supplies for a medbay. I wasn't going to look for one because so far I hadn't found one and it was possible that it wasn't on this floor. So looking to Izel I tried to signal her into this room.

"Get in here." Looking for anything that could help, I found some pills for painkillers, and a bacta patch that would fit the size of the wound on Izel.

Grabbing it quickly and rushing to the Jedi's side I looked at her hoping she wouldn't stop me from putting the patch on. Once it was on, I would grab the pill bottle and hand it to her, wasn't any reason to actually feed it to her. Plus it would be up to her if she actually needed to take one.

"Okay now we go." I understood now the enemy had more time to prepare some sort of attack on us while in this building but it was worth it.

After going though a few more doors finding nothing, till I got to the last one which was a stairwell I waited for the Jedi to follow me, with my rifle out I started to head downstairs, with my rifle trained in front of me to make sure that anything that did jump at us would regret it.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel felt no small amount of humiliation at everything that had happened thus far. She was a Jedi Knight, a few droids should have been easy pickings for someone with her training. But here she was needing to rely on a non-Force sensitive just to get through the outer defenses alive. Admittedly though Janus was quickly changing her initial opinion of Mandalorians. He had been nothing but friendly and professional in their interactions so far, nothing like the bloodthirsty brutes she had read about in history books.

Even so she had to avert her eyes as he offered to help dress her wound. She didn't refuse of course, she knew she needed it. But she was still unspeakably embarrassed that she had allowed herself to fall into this situation at all. "Thank you..." She replied in a small voice as he handed her the painkillers, though she slipped them into her bag without taking one while he wasn't looking. That would be a little more than she could bare. The wound still burned, but she could stand it. She'd had worse.

She followed the Ranger down the stairs, allowing the Mandalorian to take the lead. As ever he remained calm and in control, even given the less than ideal circumstances. For her part Izel kept her pike at the ready. She wouldn't be able to fight as effectively as normal, but she would still be a considerable help in battle. Even though her senses were dulled by the Force fatigue the Jedi could still feel danger approaching the lower they got. The impression she was getting was quite clear. There was an ambush waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. The building they were in must have had few exits and they had been seen entering it.

As they continued to make their way downwards Izel looked for any alternative path that could avoid the danger. She found it as they passed a window in the stairwell. Outside there was a small drop to the roof of a neighboring building, a long, thin structure that wrapped around half the interior of the estate. It also had a number of skylights that they could easily break through. If they could get to the building undetected they could easily get much closer to their goal. Finalizing her plan the Vratix nodded to herself before reaching out to tap Janus's shoulder.

"There's more sentries waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs, I can feel it." She warned him before pointing to the window. "If we go this way we should be safe. We just need to be careful not to get spotted again." She peered out the window and could see a partial view of an assembled squad of sentry droids and human guards. Some of them had lights, but they were all focused on the front of the building. They should be fine so long as they didn't draw attention to themselves. After waiting for Janus's approval Izel would quietly open the window and crawl out, climbing down the vertical surface outside to the roof of the neighboring building. Fortunately she didn't alert anyone to her presence this time, and was able to take up a safe position crouching low on the roof. She then turned to the window and gestured for the Ranger to follow.

@Richie B.

 

[Janus Rook]

I continue down the stairs, with my Jedi companion. Even if she was hurt I knew it was important to focus on the mission, she was just going to have to deal with it for now. Walking down near the first floor, I felt Izel tap my shoulder. I turned to her, listening looking to the window and the nearby building. It was a smart idea and considering the Jedi did have some mystical power I figured it was probably true that there were sentries waiting for us in the first floor. Though I wasn't surprised they didn't get in the building quietly.

"Lets go." With a quick nod I waited for her to get to the other building before getting onto the window frame and jumping to the other building.

Rolling onto the roof, I felt my foot twist cause of the force and awkward landing, thanks to my armor. Getting up and looking at Izel, I knew my left foot had been twisted and definitely going to hurt now for a bit. It definitely suck considering we will be walking all around the place to find the bill of sales.

"My ankle will be fine." I could hope she didn't make a big deal of the matter, it wasn't the same kind of injury that she took so I didn't have any real excuse to slow down now.

Walking towards the other side of the roof to make sure the area was clear, thankfully it looked clear thanks to the fact they still thought we were in the other building. But soon enough they are going to expand the perimeter and we will be back to square one. I could probably get down still thanks to the grapple line, but the pain going up my leg kept me from moving to fast.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel cringed a bit as she watched Janus' awkward landing on the roof. Thankfully he didn't injure himself too badly, and the sentries still hadn't discovered them, so they were alright. "Next time I'll try to catch you." The Vratix joked as they moved across the roof. Meanwhile sentries had busted into the neighboring building they had come from and were sweeping through it. It wouldn't be long before they expanded their search elsewhere.

Through the skylights Izel got a good view of the building's interior. They shown moonlight down on dark, empty hallways. Only the occasional lone sentry droid walked up or down the area on patrol. This area should be more manageable for the time being, but the still needed to find the documents quickly and get out. When they came to an area where Izel could sense no immediate presence she slowly opened the window to one of the skylights and peeked inside. It was empty, and the drop wasn't that far. Once she was confident the coast was clear she turned back to her companion.

"You go first." She suggested. "I can come in afterwards and close the window behind me. That way they won't be able to tell we were here." She knew the sentries searching the other building would eventually put two and two together and realize they jumped to the next building. This way they could cover their tracks, at least to a certain degree. At this point they really couldn't risk drawing any more attention to themselves.

@Richie B.

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Stealth missions were totally... not his usual fare.

Max might be able to be stealthy but it was never really his first choice. His first choice usually revolved around him speaking to people and getting them to see things his way. And then his second choice usually turned to some non-lethal violence. The second part was kind of useful in stealth missions but the first part seldom was.

Plan B it would be going forward then.

Thankfully he could tell where his allies were by virture of being familiar with Izel's presence in the Force so he knew they were still outside or, at least, she was. She wasn't covering her mind with the Force so it was easier to find her now that he was looking with the Force. Taking a chance, Max didn't so much make a leap to the roof as he climbed up from the side of the building instead.

Using the Force was always an option but it was an option that only went unnoticed by the Force blind. Droids and cameras and some of the denser humanoids, in his experience, but banking on there being no Force Sensitives around. Making it to the roof, he spoke softly but loud enough for his voice to carry a short distance.

"Izel."

He waved once as he approached.

"I was in the area - figured I'd lend you a hand. What's the situation so far?"

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel's Force sense was still somewhat dulled, that paired with her focusing on what was in front of her caused her to react with surprise when she heard her name called. She ignited her pike and swung around, only to stop just short of stabbing Max in the chest as she recognized the Jedi Master.

"Oh it's you..." She blurted out a bit louder than she should have, and immediately extinguished her lightsaber. A look of embarrassment quickly overcame her. "Sorry..." Max seemed to take it in stride though as he asked for a status report. Izel quickly put on a more formal demeanor. "I've identified the target's location, we're operating on the assumption that's where his office is as well. Or at least close by." She explained. "The compound is on alert, and I seem to have been separated from Ranger Rook. I've been injured but it's minor, I can carry on Master." She turned and looked through the window again, it was still clear inside.

"We can enter through here." She said as she looked back to Max. "The office shouldn't be that far." She paused again. Things really hadn't been going her way tonight, but it seemed she might finally have run into some luck. "I'm really glad you're here Master." She said gratefully, her tone clearly relieved. With that she would enter through the open window and crawl down to the floor below. The room was dark and empty. Faintly she could sense the sentries moving about the compound, but none were close enough to be a threat.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max grinned a little bit and ignored the pike, not even beginning to move out of the way because he had supreme confidence in Izel managing to control herself well enough to not stab him. She didn't really have enough reason to 'accidentally' stab him after all - fragging a Jedi Master probably needed more of a motive than being snuck up on. He shrugged a little bit sheepishly but didn't apologize.

The status was... less than ideal but nothing too bad.

"Nothing we can't handle then." he assured her, even as he placed a hand on her shoulder and began to weave healing light into her using the Force, "Ranger Rook appears to have had to fall back but that's alright. We can accomplish this together and be out before they really get a clue as to why we're here."

It might have only been a minor wound but he could help her so he did.

He smiled at her encouragingly.

"Lets get this done, Izel." he nodded, "After you!"

Letting his fellow Jedi make her way down first, Max checked to make sure the coast was clear before dropping down himself. Using the Force he made sure the window closed to, not locking but closed enough to appear closed from a distance. At the same time he made sure to lessen the impact on the ground to muffle his landing. He nodded to Izel, hand resting on his stun baton as he prepared to have to use non-lethal methods of infiltration.

Spoiler: Dice

Rolling to heal - unlikely to use dice for the rest of the thread

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel nodded back to Max as he entered the building behind her. Hopefully they could finish this mission without any more mistakes. Keeping her pike at the ready she led the way through the darkened hallways of the compound, using her Force sense to avoid running into any of the patrolling sentries. Eventually she paused, antennae twitching as something changed. Evarnas was moving, likely being relocated to a saferoom. Now she would need to try and pinpoint through memory where he had been, and through fainter tremors in the Force. That would waste time they didn't have.

She let out an annoyed huff but kept moving. Eventually they came to the hall where she believed the office was. Unfortunately there were several doors on each side and she wasn't exactly certain which one they wanted. Any one of them could have led to the empty office or a room filled with guards or staff. Sensing another patrol starting to make their way towards their position she turned back to Max.

"His office should be in one of these rooms." She explained quietly. "You check one side of the hall and I'll check the other. Be quick but careful, there's more guards coming this way and they'll be here in another minute or two." With that she went to the first door on the left side of the hall. Putting her hand on the console she first tried to sense anyone in the room before opening it. Feeling it was empty she stepped inside. An office, but it didn't look like Evarnas'. It appeared more the type for interns or standard workers than a politician. Still she took a quick look at the desk inside just to see if there were any documents that might be useful. Nothing. She moved onto the second room only to find yet another office. Wonderful, all these rooms looked exactly the same.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Well losing the man wasn’t the worst outcome imaginable since they would, ideally, not actually have to deal with the man. All they needed was what was in the safe within his office and that didn’t require the man himself, though having access to the codes would have made the whole thing a heck of a lot easier. Splitting up was the best option in this kind of situation, even if usually splitting up was a terrible idea.

He simply nodded to Izel with a reassuring smile.

This wasn’t ideal but it was the will of the Force and they would see it through without issue. They were the Jedi and the Force was with them. He moved over to the door she suggested he check first and he took a moment to feel through the Force… before opening the door and surging through quickly, pinning the surprised person to the wall with a hand over their mouth.

It was a servant… a slave.

Still, Max carefully closed the door behind him as he maintained eye contact with the slave and kept his hand over their mouth. With his other hand he raised a finger to his lips to shush the panicking sentient in his hand.

“My name is Max – I’m a Jedi Master and I’m here to make sure you get to enjoy being free once again.”

There it was.

The blossoming of hope inside the sentient’s soul… it was what made being a Jedi worth it. The moments when he could honestly say he had improved someone’s lot in the Galaxy for the better. Well it would be once he was done.

“Do you know where the safe is?”

A hesitant nod as Max removed his hand. He smiled and listened to the slave before letting them leave the room to head to his quarters. Reaching out with the Force, he connected to Izel.

“We’re looking for a marble statue – modern art. It has an almost invisible seam at the middle, push that and the safe is the bottom half of the art.”

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

"On it." Izel replied simply to Max's message. She didn't know how he had discovered the locations of the bill of sale, but it didn't matter. They just needed to get it and get out of here before anything else went wrong. She moved more quickly now as she searched each room, only taking a first glance to see if there were any statues. If there weren't, she moved on. Finally she found something promising. A more lavishly decorated office with all kinds of strange and in some cases meaningless looking pieces of art. Izel moved inside, running her hands over each of them before she found an imperfection, right in the spot Max had indicated.

Pressing the seam she heard the faint sounds of a mechanism activating. Slowly the upper half of the statue lifted up, revealing the small safe door within. Success! "I've found it!" Izel communicated to Max triumphantly before starting to inspect the safe. She still didn't have the code to it. She figured she could cut through it with her lightsaber but that could potentially damage the contents. Instead she lowered her head and reached out with the Force, antennae twitching as she did so. She called to mind Evarnas' imprint and tried to track his movements. It was somewhat difficult as they overlapped, what with him spending so much time in this room. Eventually she fine tuned her sense, picking out which numbers on the safe's panel he had pressed. Slowly, she punched in the numbers. There was a beeping and the safe popped open slightly.

Izel chittered victoriously as she grasped the safe door and opened it. As promised, the documents they were looking for were inside. A quick once over confirmed it, the bill of sale for over two hundred sentient beings. Despicable, but it would be used to ruin Evarnas. There was just one problem.

"Don't move!" Izel slowly turned her head to see a man standing in the doorway. Not a sentry droid but a young man with a blaster trained on her head. With her hands holding the documents she wouldn't be able to grab her pike before he could pull the trigger.

"What you're doing here is illegal." She explained calmly. "Not to mention reprehensible. Why try to stop me?"

"You Jedi are always sticking your noses in other people's business." He replied, weapon shaking in his hand. "Why do you get to decide what's right and wrong?"

"You think what you're doing is right then?" She asked curiously, turning to face him. The man stepped back frightfully, still keeping his weapon trained on her.

"Most of these slaves are from the Outer Rim," He said in a wavering voice. "Or Hutt Space. You've seen this place. And you've seen what it's like out on the fringes of civilization. They've got it much better here than out there."

"You don't actually believe that do you?" Izel asked, taking a step forward. The man didn't back away this time. "If it's so obviously better for them here why aren't you giving them a choice in the matter?" The man was silent, thinking. Slowly he started to lower his weapon. He was about to speak again when he suddenly looked down the hall. Another patrol of sentry droids had just rounded the corner and were coming their way. With the man distracted Izel reached out and used Force pull. The man gasped as he slid forwards, right into the Vratix's arm as she clotheslined him. "Think it over." She told him as he lay sprawled out on the floor before rushing out of the room. Upon spotting her the sentries raised the alarm and started firing. Time to go.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max made sure to keep an eye on the servant he had released through the Force, both to make sure they reached their quarters alright and to see if they met with any guards along the way. It would serve as early warning to him and Izel if the servant ran into someone along the way so they'd know where the guards were. Half the trouble with stealth missions, to his mind, was that the other guys were being stealthy as well.

He'd much rather he knew where they all were and they were still in the dark about him but, he supposed, this was why he wasn't a stealth specialist in the Order.

Found it?

That worked.

Of course nothing like that was ever going to come without a cost and already he could tell from the rising sense of alarm in a nearby sentient that things were not going as well as they could be. In all likelihood, things were probably about to get very loud all of a sudden and Max would be lying if he said he didn't find that kind of thing more in line with his experiences as a Jedi and as a cop. Cloak and dagger had it's place but it wasn't something he was going to be focusing on.

And there it was - the sweet, terrible, sound of blaster fire and droid sentry joints straining. Taking a deep breath, Max placed his hand against the door to the room he was currently in and closed his eyes. As the sentries were making their way down the corridor toward Izel he knocked hard on the door when they were close. The sentries reacted to the noise, stopping in place to turn with a spin toward the door. Before they could open fire however, he lashed out with the Force, slamming the door through the thin wall to smash into the small group of sentries, smashing two to pieces entirely and sending others reeling.

He stepped out into the corridor, using the Force to slam one of the more aware droids into the heap on the ground.

"I do believe we have outstayed our welcome." he declared to Izel as he gestured in the other direction, "Avoid using your saber if you can; I want to minimize the chances that people will believe them if they claim they were targeted by Jedi."

Lightsaber work was distinctive.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

"Well they started it!" Izel replied as she caught up to Max. Their way out wasn't too far but with the compound on high alert and sentries closing in on their position things were about to get a lot more difficult. Not being allowed to use her lightsaber would only make things that much more challenging. Not to mention there was likely security footage of them already. But if that's what Master Tionson wanted then she would comply, inconvenient as it was.

As they rounded a corner they found themselves face to face with another droid patrol. Thankfully her pike was still useful to her as a weapon even when not ignited. Augmented by the Force she lashed out much quicker than any droid could react, swinging her staff and knocking the blaster from one droid's arms, then turning and driving the metal shaft straight through the head of another. With the one remaining she raised her front legs and kicked it hard, sending the machine tumbling down the hall.

"Honestly how many droids does one man need?" The Vratix asked as she tried to catch her breath. "There's got to be at least a hundred of them in this estate!" There was still a ways to go to their exit, and she could sense a large mass of droids converging on them from that direction. She looked to the Jedi Master for direction.

@Nefieslab