The Failed Apprentice

[Vash Tembra]

It was well into the night on the streets of Jedha, the usual chill felt during this hour settling in, and in this particular night, only the lowest of the low stood on the city's North district, and they weren't just hanging out: oh, no, these particular fellows were on a full blown riot, shooting at officers of the law, gathering their (and other people's) valuables as they tried to escape justice, and overall doing all they could to avoid being caught by the authorities.

It wasn't working.

The main hub of criminal activity in the area had been hit just a couple of hours prior to the small riot that was happening now. Vash and his fellow Padawan, Sakadi, had apparently shaken the foundations that held the underworld of this area in place when they infiltrated the Casino that served as a front for illegal operations, freeing most, if not all of the slaves held there, causing chaos and disunity to form amongst the criminals now that they lacked a strong leadership figure.

Afterwards, Sakadi began to lead the now former slaves to the Jedi Temple, no doubt to give them proper clothes, as well as food and shelter, but they had been stopped by the authorities, who demanded the group accompany them to their district, to get to the bottom of what had gone on in that Casino. The request made sense, all things considered: who could blame the law enforcement if they wanted to keep potential witnesses close at hand?

And so it was that Vash and Sakadi, along with a large number of freed slaves, made their way to a building, on the Western side of the city, which was far better lit and well kept than the North area. That by itself was already a victory. Or so it seemed: due to the large number of men, women and children, they all had to wait in the courtyard so as to not disrupt the flow of people going about their bussiness inside the facility, and no matter how much Vash argued that it was cold outside and these people were scared, the officers would not be moved.

The former slaves were provided with blankets and food- soup, to keep them warm- but weren't allowed inside. The only exception to this rule were the two Padawans, who, in separate rooms, told each their version of the facts.

Now that Vash was a little more rested, he couldn't help but feel like something was off about the two officers who had interrogated him: their body language was stiff, for one, like they were skittish about something and trying to control their emotions and first reactions... not to mention the kinds of questions they had made were also a little off, asking things like if he was sure he'd had good cause to invade private property, why he and Sakadi hadn't notified the authorities before doing anything so rash, and so on.

The biggest red flag of them all, however, was their Force signature: they felt a bit... aggressive, but mostly very scared. Was something wrong here? Could they be corrupt and afraid to be punished by whoever was the ringleader of the Casino? Maybe he shouldn't jump to conclusions. It was being a long night for everyone, and it was entirely possible that the two men were simply concerned for their friends containing the riot, or even their families, if they lived in that area- Vash certainly feared for Jeffrig, for one, so anything was possible. It was too early to tell one way or another.

After the interrogation was done, the Padawan came back to the relatively comfortable couch he'd been provided, and took a bowl of soup that had been offered to him by a droid. Sakadi hadn't arrived yet, so for now all he could do was wait. And eat. He was feeling pretty spent after their latest adventure, and it seemed the night wasn't over yet.

Outside, in the courtyard, Vash noticed as he looked out the window, a few officers were talking to the former slaves, but it was hard to tell what the conversation was about. Maybe they were just trying to get some information. Or maybe they're trying to coerce the poor people into not being witnesses of the thugs' actions.

Either way, there was nothing he could do about it. While getting close to the officers was possible, it'd make them stop talking and possibly tip them off that something was wrong. No, Vash had to be patient and let them do their job. Then, once Sakadi had returned, the two of them could talk to the former slaves and learn from them what the officers wanted. For now, he could just enjoy his soup in peace, and that felt almost like a blessing.

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

The dim lit room seperated the graceful woman and the somewhat nervous officer from the rag tag bunch of former slaves outside. Vash had been brough to another room, which put her at ease. Sometimes, you simply didn't want your friends around you. For Sakadi, this was one of those days.

Despite the short stature of the lavender colored Sephi, her presence was absolutely daunting. Every move she made had a certain grace, the elegance and calmth of someone who had nothing to fear. But unlike Vash, Sakadi wasn't an open and friendly person. No, she was almost glaring at the officer, as she waited for him to start talking.

"So.. uhm... You are Sakadi Marathi Sinvala? Did I pronounce that right?"

He didn't, but Sakadi gave him a nod in approval.

"Did you.. uhm, have a warrant to enter the private territory belonging to the cantina..?"

She frowned. Why would he ask her if she had any rights to enter that building? In her opinion, the Jedi Order still stood above the law als neutral keepers of justice. Everyone on the streets acknowledged that the cantina held slaves after they had freed them. Even some of thugs she had come across were willing to confess. And now this man asked her whether their actions were legal? Sakadi stayed silent, now glaring at the now almost cowering officer. After a minute or so, she shook her head.

"So... you had no right to invade private property? If you had any suspicions, why did none of you notify the proper authorities?"

He was pushing the interrogation in a strange direction. What was his goal? Blame the two Jedi? Even if he could claim that their break in was illegal, there was no way it would benefit the cantina, or the criminals who had been inside. Moreover, was he.. sweating? Sakadi slightly tilted her head. Something was going on, but she couldn't tell what it was. She didn't want to intrude his privacy, so telepathy was the off the table. She was sure that the man was just doing his job, but it felt fishy. As if he needed an alternative to what happened.

A few gestures later, the officer allowed her to leave the dimly lit interrogation room. She stepped outside, retrieving her lightsaber near the exit. The officers had been clear: No weapons allowed inside the office, not even the lightsabers of the Jedi. Sakadi slowly descended the sandstone stairs leading to the courtyard. It was well-decorated, a few exotic plants she knew by name circled around the pillars upholding the courtyard it's walls, as if they were climbing in a desperate journey to find light. A journey she recognized, the Sephi Jedi and the plants had that in common.

She took note of the amount of blankets left, which were being provided to the freed slaves. Sadly, if her calculation was correct, the officers wouldn't have enough blankets. Not even if the victims had to share; they'd still be one short. So Sakadi took off her cloak, draping it around the closest slave-trade victim with a nod of recognition. She had respect for these people, they had been pulled away from their homes and yet they still felt so vibrantly alive.

Vash had helped himself already, he sat somewhere inside enjoying his soup. She was hungry, but her task was far from complete. Her tired limbs brought her back to the stairs, where she sat down. It would have been cold without a cloak, had the Force not sustained her. She had to get the pain out of her limbs after all. She moved her left arm slowly. An aching pain immediately followed and moved through her shoulder. Her job as battering ram had taken it's toll on her body, so for now it was best to keep her arm still. While the interrogation hadn't been pleasant, it had given her some time to recover and regain her focus.

In an attempt to heal her body, she crossed her legs. A meditative position was a good way to draw upon the Force. Sakadi closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She placed the tips of four of her fingers, all except her thumb, on her aching shoulder. While she was absolutely poor at telekinetic Force techniques, healing was up in her alley. Her four fingers started to glow. The glow had a pinkish hue and attracted the attention of some of the slave-trade victims. Not that she noticed though, for she was deep in her healing trance. Only the officers didn't seem to bother, continuing their whispers despite the presence of the padawan.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash let out a sigh of relief as he finished his soup. It wasn't the best meal ever from a technical standpoint- the meat and vegetables were fresh enough, but they were few and far betwen- but to him, at that moment, it felt like the most delicious food of his life.

He'd seen Sakadi moving to sit on the stairs as he ate, and had thought if maybe he should talk to her about what had happened, however, she started to close her eyes and start a healing trance, so the Echani decided against it. She needed some time to recuperate, and so did he, frankly.

So he got up from the couch and moved to the courtyard, sitting down next to his fellow Padawan without saying a word. While she recuperated from her wounds, he closed his eyes, and opened himself to the Force, just like he'd done just a few hours ago, in that meditation chamber. That felt almost like a lifetime ago. Back then, he'd been somewhat sad and mopy, but now he was ready, determined, and tired. A dangerous combination to be sure.

Vash began feeling life about him. His Sephi friend, deep in her healing trance, was the strongest and most notable Force presence in this area, but she wasn't the only one. The Echani felt a well of different emotions, but mostly they were fear, anxiety, and, here and there, anger. In normal circumstances, he might have tried to change the mood of those around him by imprinting new feelings upon them, very slowly and very discreetly. It was more a suggestion than a command, as if he said through the Force: "I know you're feeling this way, but how about feeling that way?" It generally worked, but this time, he would not do it. First, because he felt his and Sakadi's job wasn't finished... and second, and most importantly, Vash wasn't sure he could trust the officers. If they were corrupt, making them stop feeling anxiety and other distracting emotions would be bad. Last thing he wanted was more competent enemies.

So he just felt the Force around him, enjoying the feeling of Jedha, that even here, with so many anxious people, still permeated the ambiance with a soothing prescence, for those who could feel it. Vash would wait until Sakadi was ready to move out of their healing, then they would talk. Another stupid plan was beginning to form in the Echani's head. He was on a roll today.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

The pain lessened over time. The more subtle fields of the Force had always been her specialty; healing, trances, telepathy. Although she had to admit, thanks to the adventures of last days, her Force enhancement had improved a great deal too. Her stamina had never been on point, but she had quickly learned how to recover a lot of it, in small amounts of time. While she preferred training, she could see why the Jedi actively involved in Alliance matters often grew astoundingly stronger. Nothing was better practice that gritty reality.

She only noticed the Echani next to her the moment he opened himself up to the Force. She could sense that his mind was clouded, something was bothering him.

Sakadi moved her arm again. The pain in her shoulder had lessened to a more bearable level, a level that would do for now. She considered taking out her holo-communicator again to discuss the matter at hand with Vash, but decided against it. Instead, she'd finally reach out with her telepathy again.

I can sense that something is bothering you. What is it?

There was not much she could think of that could possibly bother him. He didn't regret his use of lethal violence, that much she could tell. It bothered her, since she considered herself guilty for the murders he comitted. It was not a subject she wanted to touch on now, however.

But what else could be bothering him? The only other possibility she could think of, was how the officers had treated her in the interrogation room. Had his experience been the same? They still didn't have the location of the gang's fortress outside of Jedha city, and the officers didn't look too keen on pursuing the gang right now. Which was odd, because authorities often acted quickly when there was fame to be earned.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash's mind was already open to the Force, so when the telepathic message came, it didn't have a lot of resistance from his mind. This was good, since it was a much clearer message than normal, even for Sakadi's standarts, but also bad, as Vash hadn't really had time to prepare the correct mental image he wanted to show his Sephi friend.

Praying she hadn't noticed the tiredness in his mind, the Echani kept his eyes closed, acting like he was still on a meditative trance. There was no need to tip anyone off to the fact he was communicating with his Sephi friend.

"There's something fishy here. First, their questions to me were very odd; second people here are more scared than determined- can you feel it? And third, those two officers haven't stopped talking to the ex slaves since before you arrived. And they're trying to be discreet about it"

Ahead of the pair, were two officers, one an Aqualish and the other a human. Both were females, the human one having a particularly nasty scar accross her cheek, and they seemed to have taken a special interest in the big Zabrak slave from earlier, who didn't appear all that happy with the special attention: it felt almost like she wanted to punch the two ladies, given the intensity of her body language as she spoke.

"Think you can distract the two women? Pretend like you want some girl talk or something, I don't know." That last sentence had been projected with a heavy dose of cheerful sarcasm in Vash's mental tone. This was a really serious matter, so he felt lightening things up a bit was important. "I hope I'm wrong about this, but I have to talk to the former slaves to be certain"

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Vash confirmed her suspicions, there was indeed something fishy going on. But did he have to mention 'girl talk'? Sakadi glared at her companion.

Girl talk. You expect the one mute woman in your life to talk? Great thinking, I really wonder why you aren't a knight already.

She was still a bit pissed off at the fact that he had employed lethal force twice now, especially because she had been the one to give him those options.

Sakadi sighed. Fine. I'll do my best.

She stood up, quickly thinking of something before she approached the two women. She tapped on the shoulder of the human female, who was somewhat surprised to see the Jedi standing behind her. Sakadi was going to employ the same trick she pulled on Vash when they first met. Erratic hand movements, barely resembling sign language. She made sure to end her 'story' by pointing to the office and grabbing the hand of the aqualish, who had also turned around to figure out what Sakadi meant. They were a little hesistant at first, but the seriousness with which Sakadi gestured made them follow her.

Now she got their attention, she actually had to find something worthy of their attention inside. She looked left and right for a moment. She decided to go right, followed by a now even more confused pair of officers. At the end of the hall, she saw a single door. All the other rooms were small offices, so no doubt the one at the end was an office as well. Hopefully the office of some police chief or something. Sakadi pointed towards the room, indicating that the two agents had to go in there. That would buy Vash a little time, or so she hoped.

Once the two officers entered the room at the end of the hallway, Sakadi returned to the courtyard as quickly as she could. She had bought Vash some time now, but it wasn't going to be enough if he decided to just chatter a bit, like he usually did.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash couldn't help but smirk in response to Sakadi's glare, and give her a little wink. Getting some sort of reaction out of the Sephi was always kind of funny. Besides, she could stand to lighten up a little. He knew she didn't approve of his actions with the blaster, when he shot down the man threatening her life, and had no doubt a reprimand would come sooner or later. His fellow Padawan could be a bit judgemental at times, but he didn't blame her. It was a big galaxy, and Vash could tell she'd been hurt by it. Well, about anyone with ears could have noticed that, given his friend's physical limitations. It made sense she'd want to choose her allies carefully. But that didn't mean he'd stop his playful banters. Had to keep her on her toes, after all.

"Maybe I have multiple mute women in my life, you can't know for sure!", he replied jokingly "But I assure you, whatever the case, you're my favorite,"

He chose to ignore her comment about him not being a Knight, and instead observed her going about to meet the officers. Vash wasn't sure what she had planned, but he was certain she'd think of something- Jedi often had to act quickly on their feet, after all.

Oooh, you sly little devil, he thought with a smile, as he watched her taking advantage of her disability to be incredibly confusing, exactly like she'd done when they had first met. The guards were really confused, and didn't notice the female Zabrak slipping away, loosing herself among the crowd of freed slaves. That one definitely knew something, so Vash immediately got up and started tailing her. As he was passing right beside Sakadi and the officers, he decided to bow his head and give them a broad smile.

"Hello, ladies! Lovely night for some girl talk, no?"

The officers looked at him confused, but he was already on the move, and since Sakadi was goading them on, they didn't pay him heed for long, heading on inside after the Padawan instead. It was kind of reckless to tip them off a bit, but he couldn't help it. Besides, the Zabrak was close by, and she seemed to have enjoyed the display.

He came towards her and bowed his head in greeting, sitting down in a meditative pose and gesturing for her to do the same. The Zabrak hesitated, but did as he said, looking him on the eye expectantly. Vash kept a broad, kind smile on his face, and took the woman's hand with two of his own. It'd look like he was giving her spiritual advice if anyone saw the scene.

"Something's wrong here... I think these officers are hiding something," he began in a low, soft tone. This would have been better if done in private, but it was too suspicious to just take the former slave to a private corner. "By the way, what did those lovely ladies want with you, hmm? Your number?"

She laughed at that "Them two wouldn't know how to handle a girl like me," she winked. "I had seen them before, though, in the cantina. Came in once in a while to get paid, like most everyone here. Scum, the lot of 'em." She spat on the ground in disgust "So they were trying to make sure we kept our mouth shut. Wasn't working"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he sighed, and looked her in the eye, patting her hand as if to calm her down after her spitting. "I need to get to where the ringleader is. He or she wasn't in the Casino, right?"

The Zabrak shook her head, and looked past his shoulder. He didn't have to look to tell the officers were coming back.

"Them two Wonder Women o'er there," she began, still keeping her eyes locked into the officers. "They'll know. Grab the info from 'em. I 'ave been to the complex sometimes, it's pretty big... I can tag along after ye have the coordinates, to guide ye"

Then the lovely ladies came within earshot, and it was too late to say anything else.

"Girl talk's over," the human said in an ice cold tone. Neither she nor the Aqualish seemed to be in the mood for joking around. "We need to talk to the witness, sir"

Vash let out a sigh, and squeezed the Zabrak's hand, giving her a warm smile. "Remember: only through suffering can we find enlightment," he said, before walking away.

That sounded deep enough to sound spiritual, right? It certainly seemed to ring true for him, but there wasn't time to stand on ceremony. The two were here, and they'd be here for a while. This was the perfect opportunity to fiddle around their office and find a clue as to the ringleader's location. They'd just have to sneak into a heavily guarded compound. Easy peasy.

Oh, Sakadi's going to be so happy when I deliver the news, he thought, moving over to where the Padawan was waiting to explain what needed to be done: either his plan of getting to the office and looking for clues, or talking it out with the two girls. They might be keen on taking a bribe, or just accept to cooperate if they saw there was no alternative.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi listened closely as Vash explained the situation. Corrupt officers.. She took a moment to let it sink in. Was there nobody she could trust? If enforcers of the law could be bribed, then what was the point of having laws to begin with? Was the Jedi Order truly the only organization fit to keep the peace? And they had even murdered two men while attempting to do so. She wasn't oblivious; she knew that the world wasn't fair. But did that mean that nobody should strive to make it fair? She had so many questions.

With a quick nod, she agreed with his plan. After the events of the last few days, she felt reluctant to rely on her lightsaber to get the information she was looking for. Normally, she would have done so without hesitation. But there seemed to be some dark secret around every corner, secrets she did not want to face. What she wanted, was to get this over with. Thus, she followed Vash inside, to the offices she had used as a distraction for the two agents.

I'll take the ones on the left, you take those on the right, her message echoed through his mind. There were approximately three offices per side, each housing two officers.

The first office she entered was tidy. Not much was out of place. There were some pictures of family members, a few documents on the corners of theirs desks and two turned off monitors. Not much too see here. Moving on to the second office. Again, nothing but pictures, documents and some slouzy coats hanging around the chairs. It was the third office which caught her attention. No pictures. No documents, but the office was far from neat and tidy. As if someone had quickly hidden the projects he or she was working on. Now that was odd.

Sitting down in one of the chairs, Sakadi studied the desk in front of her. the drawers were locked. But was the monitor? Sakadi activated the monitor, which immediately displayed a digital keyboard. It asked for a password.

Great.. she thought. She had a plan to get in, but it was a bit far stretched. Sakadi placed both her hands on the sides of the monitor, closed her eyes and concentrated. She allowed the Force to vibrate through the monitor, in hopes that it would give her something. Psychometry truly was an underestimated ability, and all she needed was a glimpse. Sadly, she was still a padawan, far from mastering this ability. She could only hope to get the information she was looking for. The user of this monitor had to type it everytime he or she wanted to get in. Considering the shady bussiness here, a password would likely be the most typed word on the monitor.

The Force returned to her, giving her a small glimpse of a female user. Aqualish. She tapped on the screen five times. Sakadi could see four out of five. The fifth, was one of three options. Since a password usually had three tries, she was good to go. On the second attempt, she got it right. If being a Jedi didn't end up working out for her, she could always apply for a vibrant carreer in Imperial Intelligence.

Sakadi browsed through the different programs, eventually coming across some sort of mail. If the Aqualish had contacts with the headquarters far away from Jedha city, this was going to be there way of finding it. Sakadi whistled, to attract Vash his attention from the otherside of the hallway. Did he even know she could whistle? Probably not. She rarely made a sound, so she expected it to come as a surprise. Nevertheless, it would get him over here, or so she thought.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash was really glad it was late at night, and the majority of the officers were away, leaving only a skeleton crew to guard the compound. Sure, he and Sakadi had permission to walk by the facility, but it'd have been very awkward opening doors seemingly at random and finding people inside. What would he even say? Hello, I'm here to find shady bussinessess wouldn't quite cut it, he thought with a little smile.

Thankfully, that was just an hypothetical "what if", since the only two investigators were outside, trying to coerce some slaves into not opening their mouths. It was kind of sickening, but the only way he'd be able to change that situation would be if he gathered evidence in... wherever the criminal's compound was. Apparently, it was a big place, which was worrying- just what kind of activities would they be doing in such a massive place?

Shunting those thoughts aside, the Echani opened the first door. There wasn't much, other than a nice view from the window. Vash wished he had some means of accessing the terminal, but alas, no such luck. He could look around, though, sorting through some less private documents that didn't require any passwords. Of course, though, if it didn't need a password, it was probably common knowledge.

The second room was much the same way, though the view wasn't as impressive. He had just left it, and was about to check the third office, when he heard a whistle. He looked behind him, half expecting the two officers to be behind him, but no, nothing. In fact, it was coming from where Sakadi was supposed to be. Could she whistle? Was someone in there with her? He had to check, fast.

As Vash arrived in the third room on the left, he saw no one, other than his Sephi friend, standing before a terminal.

"You can whistle?", he whispered, coming over to see what it was that she had found. Just numbers, and nothing else, from an unknown sender. "Oooh, coordinates," he grinned. This was working well.

And it was getting better: on the table was also a key. Not just any key, but the kind used in speeders. All other investigators were away, but the two partners had remained, so of course their vehicle was still there. Oh, that was delightful! He grabbed it, then looked at Sakadi, realizing she may not be so keen on the idea.

"We need to move fast. Taking their speeder's going to save a lot of time- besides, the goverment of Jedha gave it to this department with the intent to have them serve justice. Taking it would only mean upholding the ideals that it was meant to protect to begin with." Vash hesitated, feeling something in the Force. Two signatures, coming fast towards them. No doubt the two investigators. Great. Just great.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

His reactions was just as she expected it would be: surprised. Sakadi shrugged. You don't need vocal cords to whistle, so that's convenient for me. Come to think of it, I never told you why I can't speak, did I? For all she knew, Vash could also believe that she just chose to remain silent all the time, just because she felt like it. That was unlikely though, but it was still an option.

Vash was happy with what she had found. But what really caught his attention, was the ignition key of a speeder. Were they really going to steal a speeder? That couldn't possibly be his plan; they had already broken the law enough to land in jail for a couple of years thanks to these last few days. He tried to convince her, striking a nerve in the proces. Take it in the name of justice? Well, that was edgy, but he had a point. And they had little time to think about it, since she could hear people approaching. The two officers, most likely.

Sakadi considered their options. She had a reputation to uphold for being creative and quick-witted in combat, but could she also use that intelligence to prevent fighting altogether? The answer was yes. She tapped on his shoulder and pointed at the window. They were still on the ground floor, meaning that the window would be their most logical escape route. Sakadi walked around the desk and opened the window. The officers had no reason to lock it to begin with. Who was going to steal sensitive information when they were just handing it out anyway?

With the grace and flexibility of a cat, she jumped through the open window. It was getting dark outside, but she saw a single shilhouette in the distance. A horned, muscular one. Sakadi started to move the moment she heard the voices of the officers. The coordinates were somewhere northwest of Jedha city, which explained why a base of operations in the northern blocks was used. As she approached the Zabrak, she began to talk.

"Thought y'all weren't gonna leave through the main entrance. Let's go. Also, got ye cloak back girl." That, she was certainly grateful for.

The Zabrak moved silently, swiftly followed by Sakadi and Vash as they located the speeders. They were parked next to the building, just around the corner. All they had to do was find the right one, but she trusted Vash would find the corresponding number. Sadly, the 1GP Scout speeders only had place for two. Because she wasn't too keen on sitting on anyone's lap, she decided to grab the side of the passenger chair, placing her right foot on the metal rod attached to the side. Her cloak would protect her from the dust and cold, so she didn't mind her position. Besides, if anyone tried to follow them, she could deal with it.

As both women were waiting for Vash to start their vehicle, Sakadi realized that the zabrak woman was still unarmed. Sakadi reached for her blaster pistol and offered it to the Zabrak. The woman happily accepted it; where they were going, being unarmed meant death.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash flashed Sakadi a smile when she mentioned how she never told him how she'd lost her voice. He had some idea. Padawans talked, after all, and apparently she, or someone surprisingly similar to her, had been a singer at some point, then suddenly stopped. No one was quite sure why, and frankly, Vash didn't care to ask about it at the time- it felt incredibly intrusive to poke on other people's bussinessess without them allowing you to.

"You can tell me about it when we start celebrating our victory here," he whispered, in a kind tone, before trying to convince her to rob a speeder.

Surprisingly, it seemed to have worked, and they even managed to get out of the compound unnoticed. The window was such an obvious solution, that he didn't understand how he hadn't thought of it before. Guess I'm just naturally predisposed to avoid jumping around, he thought. Unlike his Sephi friend, who seemed to be quite good at this kind of exercise, jumping through the window with grace. He leapt after her in a much more stiff and less refined manner, but it worked all the same.

It wasn't long until they met with the Zabrak lady, and the trio made their way to the parking lot. Only a single droid stood patrolling, armed with a blaster rifle. Thankfully, it was only one, as most everyone had gone away to the North end of the city. Which, of course, also meant that was an area they'd have to avoid.

Taking out the metallic guard was almost anticlimatic: the Echani just walked up to it, said "hello there," and severed its head from its shoulders with a quick swipe of his lightsaber. He then carefully and gently put the guard on a secluded spot.

"Sorry, little buddy," he whispered, taking the rifle from its deactivated body and handing it to the Zabrak, who grinned. Now she had two guns. "You'll be back to kicking ass soon." It was a droid, after all, it could be repaired, and he was very careful to only cut at the joint, not damaging any serious components. Repairing it would be unexpensive.

Now they just had to find the speeder, which took less than ten seconds- the parking lot was mostly deserted. There were cameras, but he'd taken care to not be seen disabling the droid, and there was technically nothing wrong with taking a speeder. The droid watching might even think the two officers lent the vehicle for whatever reason, and would probably check with them before raising any alarms. Plent of time to ride away.

And ride away they did, passing trough the half empty streets in the dead of night. Vash figured the officers would sound an alarm soon, but that the trio would have time to get to the facility regardless. Or maybe they won't sound any alarms. Maybe Wonder Women will just get some trustworthy corrupt officers and try to keep a low profile. Involving the whole department would lead to questions, and questions might lead to an investigation... and an investigation would definitely lead to proof of their corruption.

The Echani sighed and looked back. One way or another, they were in trouble.

"Check behind! Three speeders, hot on our tail! I'll try to loose them"

Vash took a deep breath and focused on the avenue they were in. It was mostly deserted and had a lot of space. He'd have to bring the speeder to a more narrow street just to the right. That'd even the odds a little. He hoped.

"Now, this is pod racing!", Vash exclaimed as he accelerated the speeder towards the street.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She saw what he was doing. Getting the speeder in a narrow street, while she was hanging at it's side. She turned to look at the three speeders behind them, each of them had two officers, six in total. The three passengers had blasters and didn't hesitate to shoot. Sakadi pulled herself closer to the passenger seat, as she hesistantly ignited her lightsaber. She didn't want to, but they had no other choice right now.

Their zabrak guide turned in her chair, using it as a cover position to fire back at the now shooting officers. Vash made a sharp turn while he accelerated the speeder, aiming to get into the street as quickly as possible. The three speeders followed, one by one. The officers however, kept shooting. She deflected the bolts the best she could, but there was no way she'd be able to defend their entire vehicle. So, she had to do something rash again.

Get ready to pick me up in a second. She conveyed to Vash, before she made the jump. The Force invigorated her again, as she let go of the passenger's seat. There was only one way they were going to escape; by disabling the other three speeders.

May the Force be with me. Sakadi launched herself toward the first speeder. If she could destroy this one, the other two would collide with the first one.

She barely managed to bat aside another blaster bolt mid-air, before she landed on the transparisteel windscreen of the first scout speeder, if it could be considered a landing. She smacked against the window, pain aching through her arm again. It didn't matter though, because she was in the perfect position now. The officer in the passenger seat aimed at her with his gun, but she swiftly kicked it out of his hand. The driver tried to shake her off by making his speeder zig zag through the small alley, but it wasn't working. She held on with all her might, moving her lightsaber down beneath her, trying to do as much damage as possible. Eventually, she managed to cut through something of importance, she couldn't see what it was, but the speeder's engine started to stutter. It was enough indication for her to try and leave this ride. Now all she could do, was hope that Vash would slow down in time, allowing her to jump back on their speeder.

She heard blaster bolts passing her, but she was too focused on the jump she had to make. The driver now frantically tried to keep his speeder from crashing, but it was to no avail. The speeder suddenly stopped hovering; hitting the ground and coming to a sudden stop. That moment, that was what she had been waiting for. Sakadi placed her feet against the glass, allowed the Force to move through her legs and with a burst of energy, launched herself back to Vash and the Zabrak guide. If Vash didn't hit the brakes, she'd definitely hit the ground. If he did, she'd land on the cargobed, which was much better than hanging at the vehicle for the long ride that still had to come. Her upper arm now ached again, with a sharper pain than before. If she had officially broken it, than this was going to be a hellish assault.

 

[Vash Tembra]

She just had to do it, didn't she? Just had to jump on a moving speeder full of hostiles. Vash was about to yell for Sakadi to just use a blaster like a normal person, but off she was, before he could say anything. What was worse: even with the Sephi's facility for acrobatics, she still seemed to have gotten hurt pretty badly on the windshield.

"Oh, this is not podracing, this is torture," the Echani muttered under his breath. "Give her cover and hang on to something!", he instructed the Zabrak, who was already on the move, shooting with her rifle past the speeder Sakadi was currently brutalizing, towards the other two, to prevent them from overwhelming the lavender colored Padawan with blaster fire.

The other two speeders weren't shooting just at Sakadi, but also, sometimes, towards Vash's speeder, so he had to keep zigzaging in the narrow street as best he could; there wasn't even the option to take sharp turns: that'd risk losing the speeder that his friend was attacking. As a result, quite a few shots hit their mark, but thankfully, nothing important was struck, just some minor damage to the hull.

Gritting his teeth, Vash observed as Sakadi hit something important on the vehicle she was standing on, causing it to lose its hovering ability and propel itself forward as it crashed onto the ground. That was his cue to slow down and let her land on their speeder. It was a close deal, really close, with him having to adjust the speeder slightly to the right on the last second. This woman's going to be the death of me, he thought, glancing back to make sure she was alright. At least on the outside, everything seemed fine, and he didn't have the time to check with the Force right now. Her face showed signs of pain, however. That was not good at all.

"Next time, you use a blaster! Jumping around's impressive and all, but it's super risky!", he said in an annoyed tone, looking behind him through the rear mirror: the second speeder had crashed into the first, so that was two down, but the third had been smarter and stayed a little bit further back, and now was making a sharp turn to another nearby street. Probably trying to ambush us, Vash thought. He looked back at the Zabrak.

"Get ready to shoot, and don't let her jump anymore," he instructed, getting a cheeky grin in response. Yeah, that woman really liked to shoot at things, apparently. Out of a hunch, Vash turned on the communications of the speeder. There was something he had to check.

"Yeah, you hear that?", he asked the two, before turning it off again. "They're just talking on the radio about stuff going on in the North zone. No mention of us at all... these officers are acting on their own accord," he said with a grin. That meant they wouldn't have to worry about a whole department coming after them, just those few corrupt officials that had followed them.

Speaking of which, two were gone, yet one remained, and they probably knew where the trio was going. Which was kind of awkward, since Vash himself had no idea where he was going. All he had were coordinates, and the knowledge that their destination was a big compound. They definitely had the advantage when it came to terrain familiarity. Not much I can do, save for keeping my eyes open.

It was a worrying thought, but he kept his mind clear as he pushed forwards. His only leverage was the Force, and he was letting it flow through him now, to guide his movements and heighten his senses. As a result, he was able to hear the shots coming from far away, and turn his speeder around right on time to avoid the blaster fire.

The Aqualish and the human from earlier had been the aggressors, aiming their bolts at the speeder's behind, but thanks to Vash's 180 turn, it just flew harmlessly by it. The Echani didn't wait a second, and began accelerating right towards the two corrupt officers, having as backup an angry Zabrak (and possibly a Sephi) firing with a rifle at the hostile speeder. The first barrage hit their front window, blinding them and causing their retaliation to be largely inaccurate, with just one bolt glancing against the speeder as it safely hovered to the side, and turned around to circle the officers' vehicle. The second attack was more effective, and the pilot, the human, got a bolt to the shoulder for her troubles, causing her to lose control of the craft and slam it against a wall.

"Another not so happy landing," Vash commented with a grin watching the speeder go down, as he took their own speeder to their destination. The officers seemed fine, just stunned.

Now the only opposition they'd have to worry about were the criminals inside the compound, who were probably already alerted that they were coming. Easy peasy.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

After her rash action, Sakadi wasn't all that involved anymore in what happened around her. All she wanted, was to rest and recover. Her entire body was hurting; not only from her reckless jump, but also from their assault on the cantina. Sakadi simply sat back as Vash and their zabrak guide handled the remaining speeder. They still had a long way to go before they reached the coordinates, so her best course of action was to try and recover before they reached said coordinates.

The cargobed of their speeder was large enough for her to lie down, so that was exactly what she did. She'd try to catch some sleep before they arrived; if she had a right estimation of Jedha's coordinates and those of the compound, it would likely take a minimum of three hours before they got there.

She saw the lights of the city slowly dissappear in the distance, before she closed her eyes and drifted off. The plain desert wasn't going to be too special anyway. The only thing one could look at, were the stars. Besides, when they found the compound, either the Zabrak woman or Vash would likely wake her up.

Three and a half hours passed before someone woke her up. It was dark, as dark as it could be in the middle of the night, but the compound was still clearly visible, as it blocked the light of some of the starts. It was a large building, almost square if you asked her. She couldn't tell how large it was, but they were getting closer every minute. It wouldn't be long before they encountered the first sentries, or so she believed. The zabrak woman came to the same conclusion.

"It might be better to park ye vehicle here, and continue on foot." That, Sakadi agreed with. If there were any sentries out here, they'd have more trouble spotting three people in the middle of the night, than a speeder passing by. Sakadi pulled her hood up before she hopped off the speeder. Her arm still ached, but the pain had lessened a bit over time. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to use it for heavy two handed strikes, but those weren't her specialty to begin with. Besides, she hoped she wouldn't have to use her lightsaber at all. Because if she would, she feared that people were going to die again, just like their last two encounters with the thugs.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash rolled his shoulders when they arrived. It had been a long ride to get to the compound and, since the Zabrak- who he had learned was called Maris- didn't know how to drive, it fell upon him and him alone to take the trio there. Thankfully, after they'd gotten out of the city and into the desert, the Padawan didn't have to worry so much about avoiding obstacles and whatnot. It was just one big, empty place.

While Sakadi had understandably slept on the way here, he'd taken the time to talk to Maris. Apparently, she'd been snatched right on the streets of Jedha just a few months ago. In fact, most of the slaves were from the region, but a few had also been taken in some pirating expeditions the criminals performed in nearby space. Not only that, but the gang apparently had plans to expand their operations to other planets as well.

"Not that I'd know the details, mind ye," she said with a grimace. "Them slavers don't like sharing their plans with us lowly bums"

The details didn't matter, though: they were here now, and this would be over soon. All these plans would never become a reality anyway.

The Echani parked the speeder nearby, and began to follow Maris, who sneakily led them not to the front door of the complex, but rather, to a small gate on the eastern end of the building. Hiding behind a rock, Vash could only see two guards standing there, as opposed to the six in the front door. That was a start, but there was also a problem: a camera stood watch right above the entrance. There was no way to pass about unnoticed.

"Oh, not that way, laddie," the Zabrak suddenly called out with a chuckle, moving a few steps ahead, and revealing a small compartment just under some bushes. "This here's not a well known entrance, much better than a suicide charge right into 'em" she winked "Some bastards built this to smuggle some stuff they wanted to keep hidden from the boss- ye know, some extra spice 'n booze they didn't wanna share with the rest. It's tiny, and not very well used. They took me and a few others here a few times to carry their heavy stuff- sons of a Bantha said they'd cut my tongue out if I told anyone. Guess they should 'ave just killed me, 'cause I spilled the beans in the end" she said bitterly, then shrugged, as if to dispell the bad memories. "C'mon"

Maris jumped down, the hatch, landing with a soft thud on the ground. Vash followed after her, leaving Sakadi to close everything behind them.

The trio walked for a good fifteen minutes, until, finally, they reached what appeared to be a dead end, but Maris knew what she was doing, and pressed three bricks on the wall, which opened up to reveal a large, bright area, stocked to the brim with illegal substances. Vash didn't really understand much about such things, but he could see there were many different types and qualities of drugs in this place. And no one knew they'd come in, he noticed happily: no cameras around anywhere.

"Right, now here's when it gets tricky," the Zabrak said after a moment. "We need to go up two levels from 'ere if we wanna meet the leader of this joint. But, it'll be heavily guarded... we'll need to blast our way out, unless ye got any ideas?", she asked, looking at the two Jedi. Vash certainly had nothing, but it was entirely possible his Sephi friend would find a way to jump around this issue.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She followed closely behind her two allies. Even after the two years she spent training on Jedha, she still couldn't get used to the impressive amount of stars decorating the night's sky. She had always stayed in hotels, or large estates, most of them located in cities or on city-planets, such as Coruscant. Rarely had she seen the stars during her youth. Yes, of course she had seen them when she traveled from one planet to another, but that was different. She liked having soil beneath her feet, instead of a metal construct. And now, they were going below that very soil, because Maris knew about a secret entrance.

The hallway was small, made out of an almost orange kind of sandstone. Dust filled her lungs as she entered through the small entrance. While an hidden passage like this was easy to construct, having sandstone as material made it far from pleasant to walk through. From what she could gather, they'd be walking quite a while too. The passage was dimly lit and had little corners or turns. It made for quite a boring walk, but atleast she didn't have to fear hitting her head. The ceiling was low, but luckily she was small enough to experience little to no inconvenience. Maris and Vash however, well they weren't going to enjoy this.

Fifteen minutes passed, before they reached a wall. Maris pressed her hand against some bricks. At first nothing seemed to happen, which made her doubt that following the zabrak was a good idea. Then, the brick wall swung open like a door. The bright room the passage gave acces to, bewildered her. It was their storage; an extremely large chamber filled with spice, deathsticks and all kinds of drugs, ranging from harmless, almost legal ones, to death-inducing drugs. What they had stumbled upon, was a stock worth millions of credits. She had a hunch that this wasn't just for Jedha City. No, their trade had to be much larger than this planet alone.

Maris explained that they were not far from their target. It made Sakadi a little nervous. Her upper arm and shoulder still ached, albeit less than before. But that wasn't what made her nervous. Did they have to engage them with lightsabers in hand again? She didn't want to. She feared what the outcome might be if they did. Vash already had a kill count of two, something she was indirectly responsible for. And her reckless action earlier tonight, during their chase, well only the Force could possibly know if anyone died during that crash. It made her nervous, guilty and unsure of what to do. And yet, all eyes were on her. Vash couldn't think of any way to get up there and neither could Maris, or so it seemed like.

Sakadi folded her arms and started to walk around. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go back to her quarters, isolate herself from society and let the guilt wash over her. But sadly, that was not an option she had right now. She could always do that later. Instead, she found herself scanning the room for something that could get them up two levels.

Her creativity had never failed her before, and it wouldn't fail her today. There was no way the thugs had these amounts of drugs simply transported to their base. The Jedi would catch on eventually, so they wouldn't make a mistake like that. If her hypothesis was right, then... She walked straight past the large amounts of drugs, until she found the exit of the storage room. There was nobody here at this hour; they were likely still underground, while the guards stood just above ground. But she wasn't interested in going up yet. Instead, she waited until the lights illuminated the hall leading to the next level. But there was another door. Just as she expected.

Despite the compound being located far away from Jedha city, a building like this would not go unnoticed by authorities. So, they likely had a cover up story. The whole cellar had to be hidden, since the drugs were located here. So if a government inspection came, all drugs related matters would be hidden from their eyes. All drugs related matters. That included the production. And to produce stuff like death sticks, one needed protective clothing. Sakadi opened the door, stepping in the second large room, filled with barrels and containers. Just right of the door, a single closet with protective equipment could be found. White safety suit, safety glasses, mouth caps, everything was here. If Vash and Maris had followed her, by now they should understand what she was aiming for.

Sakadi pulled two white suits out of the closets, handing them to her allies. She took a smaller one for herself and dressed up as one of the chemists who worked here. Complete with safety glasses and mouth cap. The safety suit wasn't a perfect fit, but that was fine. She had to hide her armor anyway.

If anyone asks, her words resonated through both their heads, something went wrong down here and we're looking for the boss. With that said, she kicked hard against the nearest barrel, which fell over. A bright and colorful liquid spilled over the floor, leaving a sharp and strong scent behind. Let's go.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash grinned as he observed Sakadi go about her bussiness, looking for a way out of this. He had come to respect her creativity a while ago, when she threw an object into a camera to both destroy it and attract attention. Sure, she'd made a suicidal jump immidiately afterwards, but that was part of the charm.

And now the Sephi had found disguises. Very ingenious, he thought, grabbing the equipment. It was really late, so they'd have to have a really good excuse to be a trio of scientists bothering the boss at this time. Though, frankly, they didn't need to bother her (Maris had also revealed the fact that the leader of the operations here was a female, but knew nothing else about her), just get access to the central maiframe inside her room. The woman was apparently tech savy and paranoid, so she took care of the dirty details inside the confinements of her room, the workers who worked with tech only having partial access in their terminals to the features she allowed. Of course, they'd also need a password if they were going to leak the information stored there to the Jedi Temple first and the authorities second, but Vash was sure they'd think of something.

One step at a time, he thought, as he moved ahead of his two companions towards the stairs, where two guards with heavy eyesockets looked at the group suspiciously, aiming their rifles at them. They're tired, he thought. That was good, since the thugs would be less likely to check their story too deeply, and would likely just want to get on with their turn.

"Whatcha want 'ere, eh? And why the uniform, afraid to show ye ugly mugs?", one of the two guards asked, laughing. The other laughed along with him. The one who'd spoken was slightly overwheight, and the other tall and muscular. Both were human, and they seemed to be in the mood to taunt the trio. Kind of understandable: they must have been pretty bored before they arrived. However, that meant they wanted a distraction, and would probably hear what Vash had to say more attentively. That wasn't good, he had hoped otherwise.

Normally, Vash would simply wave his hand in front of his body and tell the brutes to let them pass... but this criminal leader, in her paranoia, knew and had taught others how to handle Jedi. If that training had extended to the resistance of simple mind tricks, this plan would put the whole operation in jeopardy. No, he'd have to do something a little more complex than that.

Instilling emotion in others was one of the areas Vash was best at- normally peaceful thoughts, but he could provoke uneaseness and paranoia, to some degree. Gotta be careful, though. Push too much and they might realize what I'm doing. It wasn't just that, though: he had to beware of the Dark Side. Vash remembered how much aggression he'd put forth just three- or was it now four?- days ago, in Jeffrig's little bistro. He had been taught that too much aggression could turn you into a monster, into the very thing you swore to destroy. But too little could cause others to get hurt as a result. And that, he couldn't allow, not when he had the power to do something about it.

So, when the Padawan stretched out with the Force, he did so while thinking about the fear the slaves had felt: their pain had left a strong impact in the Force, and now he was calling upon that, reverberating it towards the two guards, who in a bigger or smaller scale, had had an active hand in their suffering. It was cause and consequence, in a way: Vash wasn't actively creating aggression and fear out of his own personal feelings, like he had at the bistro, but simply reflecting what had been caused by others, and as a result, he felt much more centered, and at peace. This act was needed, to save the slaves, and even the lifes of the two guards, as the alternative of blasting their way through was much more lethal.

Now, the two men were still laughing, but he saw them shaking their hands and feet discreetly, as if to ward off a bad feeling. It was working, and it was time to up the ante. He got closer to the one who'd asked him the question.

"You need to stop laughing and take this seriously," he said in a tone of voice that was mixed with fear and authority. He had to convince the man that something was wrong, but that he knew how to fix it. And it seemed to be working, for both men had stopped and were now looking at him in silence. "We just came by to make some maintenance checks in the lab when we saw one of the barrels had spilled, one that had a very terrible, very deadly toxin. The lab is locked tight now, but that'll only delay the fumes. We need to evacuate the facility quick- do you understand me?", Vash asked, clasping the man's shoulders with his hands to emphasize how important this was.

The thug nodded, his eyes wide open in shock. Blood had left his face and he was pale as a sheet of paper. He was about to open his mouth to speak, but Vash interrupted him.

"No time to waste! I need to get the boss up to speed- take us to her!" After saying that, he turned to the muscular man "You! Evacuate the faciltity, get people out of here, there's no time to waste, we're all dead if we don't move fast!"

Vash spoke with urgency and a bit of despair in his voice, but inside, he was actually feeling pretty calm and centered. It wasn't an easy thing, to balance thoughts of fear with a sense of inner peace, and he'd definitely not push his luck in the future, only using this when necessary, but right now, it had saved the day: the big guy rushed down screaming at the top of his lungs to evacuate the facility, while the chubby fellow took them up to meet the boss.

"We'll have to be fast, this pandemonium won't last forever. Or maybe it will and the whole base will be evacuated, but it's us- things never go quite according to plan with us," he said cheerfully, to both his friends, through telepathy.

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

When the approached the two guards, she got nervous again. She wasn't ready to fight anyone just yet, so they really had to be convincing now. Luckily, Vash knew what he was doing. It was a bit over the top when he suggested to evacuate the entire building, but the guards bought in anyway. After all, they weren't the experts. Vash even got one of the guards to bring them directly to their boss. Yeah, this felt more like a plan done right.

The guard swiftly moved through the maze of corridors and stairs, followed by the three disguised intruders. Sakadi was certain that they had gone 5 levels up and walked a distance comparable to the main street of Jedha City, they finally reached a large, double metal door. The doors were decorated, unlike the other doors she had seen in the complex. It meant that behind this one, someone or something wealthy was hidden.

With a slight hesitation, the guard opened the door.

"Ma'am, these three have bad news for you"

With that, he turned tail and ran away as fast as he could, no doubt trying to save his own life from the 'disaster'. With the guard now no longer present, it was up to them. Sakadi was the first to enter, stepping through the entrance in the well-lit room. It truly was different from the compound in many ways; it was decorated with expensive art, both statues and paintings, expensive furniture and lavish looking seats, all turned toward a desk in the middle of the room.

Behind the desk sat a woman with a pale, almost bluish skin. She looked up from her work; her eyes colorless and almost lifeless. She wore a black, clearly expensive tunic. Sakadi could barely see the patterns on her tunic shift with her movement. It was obvious that she had some sort of armor underneath, but Sakadi couldn't tell what kind.

There was no longer a point in hiding now. In a single, graceful movement, Sakadi removed her disguise. The white safety suit would only be an obstacle for what was to come. The reveal of her attire and equipment made the Umbaran behind the desk smile. Her eyes shifted to the lightsaber attached to Sakadi's belt.

"Ah. Jedi. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her voice was like ice. Cold and sharp, with an underlying cruelty in her tone. "My, you three are fine specimen for my slave-trade. Is that perhaps what brought you here? Or are the drugs in my basement your reason for being here. What? You think I hadn't noticed?" The Umbaran slowly stood up. Sakadi could feel the darkside whirl around her, like a dense fog. She was force sensitive. And she was trained.

"Pardon me, where are my manners. My name is Risala, remember it Jedi. It is the name of the one who will take your lives."

 

[Vash Tembra]

Maris and Vash had already removed their outfits as well, and, as the woman spoke, the Echani felt a distinct Dark Side impression wash over him. He was certain Sakadi had, too. While the two Padawans merely noticed the Dark Side prescence, however, the Zabrak seemed to thrive on it: through the Force, Vash could feel her aggression increasing dramatically, and she immediately aimed her rifle at the woman.

The Echani held the weapon before she could fire, however, and shook his head in the negative for Maris to stop. Just like when he'd prevented her from shooting at the thugs who'd kept her prisioner, she glared at him in anger, but did what was told. Maris would need help coming to terms with her anger, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, the woman was grinning at his display, but said nothing yet. It was funny, but she seemed familiar.

"Name's Vash, and I know this is the cheapest line ever," he began, keeping his voice calm and relaxed. "But don't I know you from somewhere? Fancy girl like you, I shouldn't just forget about"

While he was grinning, his body was tensing and preparing for battle. If there was going to be one.

"By the way, you can surrender now, and we will spare you, and give you a fair trial," Vash added, focusing on sending Sakadi a message.

"Get to the terminal. I'll keep the big girl busy"

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi was both worried and relieved when Vash came with a plan.

What do you want me to do with the terminal?

She didn't get it, but if Vash had a plan, she'd just roll with it. The lady in front of them didn't seem to have noticed their telepathic conversation. Instead, she simply smiled.

"Surrender? I don't think you've caught on Vash." Sakadi felt the sudden shift in the Force as Risala called upon the dark side. A single object moved to her hand from the desk. Sakadi's eyes widened when she noticed what it was. Not that it needed much of an introduction though, the yellow blade spoke for itself. She had a lightsaber. Of course.

"I'm charmed that you remember me. I was once a Jedi, same as the two of you. But I chose to walk a different path. One with more credits involved. Now, if you would surrender your weapons to me please. I don't want to make a mess of my office."

Sakadi sensed the attack coming. The Umbaran named Risala was going to lunge at her, but Sakadi was already one step ahead. Did this woman not know how to hide her intentions from other Force users? She had felt the aggression of the woman turning toward her, and now she was more than ready to counter.

In a split second, Sakadi's saber was ignited, ready to riposte the incoming attack. The problem was, however, that Risala's office granted her very little space for her usual acrobatics. If she couldn't rely on her Ataru against this woman, well then she really had to rely on Vash to deal with Risala. She had no room to properly riposte the incoming attack, so instead she simply parried it, harmlessly directing the blade to her left. Vash and Maris were on her right, giving them the option to instantly go for a counterattack. But deep down, she knew that it wasn't going to be that easy.