Star Wars: The Twilight Frontier

[TheDarkDM]

The Twilight Frontier (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG5OsfOuEy0)

It is an age of darkness. The Galactic Republic, a beacon of light for a thousand years, teeters of the edge of annihilation.

The JEDI ORDER, long the protectors of the peace, have vanished, leaving unanswered questions and hungry shadows in their wake.

At the edge of the Inner Rim, a nondescript freighter called the PRIDE OF TARIS travels to Onderon, seeking reprieve from the chaos of the Old Republic...


A comet shot through hyperspace.

Its lustrous bronzium plating scored and scarred by war, its engines flickering madly with age, the Pride of Taris hurtled relentlessly towards its destination. Eleven days it had spent in that lightning-blue abyss, eleven days of hoping the engines wouldn't fail, or that the navicomputer wouldn't lead her astray. Eleven days of cramped intimacy in the cargo hold of a garbage hauler converted to civilian use. Eleven days. And it was almost over.

The crackle of the intercom was the first sign of a change, the jury-rigged speakers a familiar companion on this voyage. Captain Petek Norv was not a man for socializing with his passengers, you had learned, the warm bluster of New Holstice replaced by detached professionalism once your credit-chits had cleared and you were safely beyond hope of disembarking. The heavy, dry voice eventually broke through the static, for once reinvigorated with the enthusiasm he'd shown before.

"We're on final approach to Onderon - we should be exiting hyperspace in the next few hours. You might want to get some dinner in before then, though - it'll take a while longer to clear the blockade."

The captain and his lumbering first mate had taken dinner in their quarters every night of the journey, leaving his passengers to manage with a few pre-fab tables and a chest full of Republic military rations. All save the Twi-lek, of course - she dined with the captain. Still, the rations were at least moderately fresh, and Mrs. Dara Nestina had proven an able hand at spicing up the vacuum-sealed packets. The withdrawn Rodian veteran Madaanti Lofar had eventually been cajoled into assisting her, and to the surprise of all managed to improve the fare even further. The activity had seemed to calm the twitchy Rodian, to the clear relief of the Nestina and Tollu families. Now he made his way to Dara's side without prompting, pulling out a packet of freeze-dried Alderaanian peaches. The two chefs exchanged some whispered words, until their shared laugh rose above the hum of the engines. Wiping her eye, Dara called out across the cargo hold.

"We should be ready soon!"

The announcement was met by murmurs of happiness from the two Duros, who nevertheless returned to the jigsaw puzzle that had fascinated both for nearly a week. It was a monstrously complex thing, more than a thousand pieces put towards the service of a three dimensional replica of the Senate building. That they wouldn't have finished it before their arrival seemed to vex the couple. Meanwhile, Dara's husband Loreck seemed intent on finishing his brief nap. The poor man hadn't slept well on the journey, no doubt due to the cramped quarters and his own ample frame. He had been a farmer, and later an agricultural engineer at the Telos Reclamation Project, and he looked the part. But there was a kindness to his eyes, a kindness often seen when he entertained his daughter Sulen.

For her part, the young girl began making her way towards Cass' bunk. Every "berth" on the Pride was separated by tattered partition curtains, allowing for the illusions of privacy, and it was with a tentative hand that she pulled aside the divider leading to the mysterious former racer's bunk. Only one dark eye managed to peek around the curled cloth before she managed a soft murmur.

"Um...we're having supper soon Miss Cass..."

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass

"So we are." Cass had learned early on to keep her cloak on, given that Sulen seemed to want to hang around her - not that she could get upset with the kid. Her hammock... thing that she slept on swayed and bobbed as Cass twisted to sit upright from her napping position. While she normally approached military ration dinners with the same enthusiasm as she did her breathing exercises, at least the two temporary cooks did a better job than Dreyis, the gang's old 'chef.'

A low bar to clear, to be sure. Doing a worse job was not physically possible. Still, it turned composite nutrient bricks into something vaguely edible, so she couldn't complain.

If she was being honest, a terrifying blockade bypass after a cramped 11-day ride through hyperspace in a glorified bathtub was a step up from her previous circumstances. Watching her opportunities and credits leak slowly away while waiting for an unknown baddie to snuff her in the dark one night was not how she wanted to die. So it was that the padawan stretched and yawned, remembering to shoot Sulen a grin. "Was that an invitation?"

[TheDarkDM]

A shy smile was the only response Cass received at first, at least until Sulen's manners returned to mind and she took a shallow breath.

"I mean, if you want, maybe you could sit next to me? If you want."

Clearly she was trying to play it cool. If the stories from Citadel Station were to be believed, Sulen was only a few months removed from nightmare, yet it seemed to have left no scars. Perhaps it was the promise of a new life, or perhaps the presence of someone she found so fascinating. Regardless, the smile didn't fade as she slipped back, gracious enough to allow Cass a few moments to freshen up before thy shared a last meal.

[Jade_Tarem]

"Well, when you put it that way..." Cass's ability to freshen up was limited, but she did what she could. Not that she would have declined even if the family hadn't been so friendly - there wasn't that much to do in the hold. Jedi exercises wouldn't be a terribly bright move, lightsaber practice was right out, and she had no money with which to gamble. The choice between socializing with normal people and strip Sabacc with the battle droids was no choice at all.

[Nefarion Xid]

From his rack, Kyran poked aside the yellowing canvas curtain and peered out as the other passengers prepared for dinner. He still had his aging datapad in hand, open to page seventy-two of an allegedly classic alleged comedy from Alderaan's alleged cultural renaissance. Since Ashra Ran philosophical musings had failed to hold his interest, he focused on Cass as he tugged his boots on. She was the one he hadn't figured out, or so he imagined. The free droid was likely a bounty hunter and he fully expected it to attempt an arrest the second they were clear of the landing pad. If it wasn't after him, it was one of the others. Probably Cass. The Chiss woman was intelligent (which he liked) but blue (which he didn't) and beyond those two things he didn't think she held any mystery of great interest.

Mysterious people made him anxious when he didn't have his blasters.

"Hey," he muttered, reaching down to bang his astromech on the head. "We're landing in a few hours, so start powering up now. I'm not carrying you."

[Othniel]

Karina

This was a stupid idea. Tersik'arin'aisha - Karina to those who had trouble with tripartite naming structure - gazed at her datapad and silently upbraided herself for her situation. The blue-skinned woman laying in her bunk had been going over her old accounts and new plans, but was now musing over how she had come to this point in her career. A life of relative luxury and steady if unrewarding work at home in the Ascendancy had been replaced with a wild ride that was half-feast, half-famine in the wilds of the greater "known" galaxy, as those with whom she currently traveled would have pretentiously considered the state of things. Her opinion was that a strong local currency could perhaps ride out the ups and downs of the greater galactic market that was currently in flux from the unrest currently occupying the Republic. Something about a war between Jedi and Sith, and then a war with some people called Mandalorians, and then a war between more Jedi and Sith, if she remembered all that correctly. These people and their wars.

Karina tried to stay away from warzones. She liked excitement - quite a bit too much for her family actually - and could handle a blaster reasonably well, but a little excitement went a long way. Besides, Karina's kind of excitement usually involved nights on the town with well-bred suitors, expensive meals, and lavish wardrobes. Weapons usually didn't factor in, although there was that one big game hunter from the Outer Rim. Now she was running to a peaceful planet with a strong economy. She hoped it would work out that way, at any rate. There was no telling if the galactic economy worked the same way it did back in the more collectivist Ascendancy, and while her investments had paid off more often than not, she wasn't an economist. That was House Csalpa's realm of responsibility. Her own House, Inrokini, focused their energies and collective brainpower on industry, non-military science, and communications, the latter of which was Karina's strongest suit. She was very, very good with computers. She hoped to find a position where her talent would be recognized and rewarded, and if she could not do it the legal way, well...there were alternatives.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the imminence of mealtime was announced. She switched off her datapad and tucked it back into her collection of possessions, which was significantly reduced after selling off much of what she either didn't need, couldn't carry, or was of better use in credit-form. She slung her pack over her shoulder and gave a quick glance to make sure she hadn't left anything behind. One could not be too careful; she'd learned the hard way when she'd left Csaus that crime in the greater galaxy was rampant, especially theft. Nothing was missing save her blaster, and that was in the dubious safekeeping of a communal locker in the cargo hold. Passing by the Duros couple working on their puzzle, she gave them a polite nod followed quickly by a genuine smile. "Trying to finish before we make port?" Karina asked. She'd almost asked to join in - she enjoyed puzzles, and loneliness was starting to set in - but she didn't want to impose. Moving slowly toward the other end of the hold where the "cooks" held forth, she noted the presence of her fellow passengers with nods and smiles. Even if she didn't trust these people or droids, she would still be nice. One never knew when a favor might be needed.

[Tychris1]

Gazing down at its own hands, PB-1858 watched with rote curiosity as they rotated clockwise and then counter clockwise "Is this what it feels like to be a fleshbag?" It thought, the never-ending fright of one day having its core shutdown out of nowhere nagging at the back of its heuristic processor. It's fellow Battle Droids simply stood beside it, hands to their side, and they moved to follow PB-1858 as it moved through the hold and approached the chefs in their preparation of food. PB watched in idle amusement, its head tilting to the side slightly at the sight of the peaches, and then turning back to look at its underlings who began to ask it a question in binary. Turning back to the chefs, it spoke in the voice of its previous commander "These battle droids, they ask, may we sit in?" the words after the first three were clunky and occasionally tainted with random background noise collected from the various parcel moments stitched together to form a cohesive sentence.

[TheDarkDM]

The conversation around the table paused momentarily as the battle droids approached, the Rodian's eye stalks twitching slightly at the sight of them. But the oddity of their presence only dampened Dara's glow for a moment, before she smiled at PB-1858 and gave Madaanti a light shove. Roused from his momentary fugue, he returned to crushing up nutrient bars to serve as the crust to an impromptu cobbler, and Dara stepped towards the droids.

"The more the merrier, I always say. It's nice to hear you speak, finally. My name is Dara."

She held out her hand in an oddly courtly gesture for the wife of a farmer, waiting for the introduction to be returned. That done, she reached back to the table and picked up a stack of lightly dented plates.

"We'd be glad to have you. I'd very much appreciate it if you could help us set the table?"

As she spoke, her small daughter crept up next to her, eyes wide and intimidated by the towering mechanical frames of the droids. Following her stare, Dara calmed her with a rustle of the hair.

"I'm sure Sulen can show you how. Would you please, Sulen?"

The little girl stared a moment longer, but eventually took one of the plates from her mother's hands.

"Sure, I can show you..."

Across the cargo hold, the Duros couple had paused in their puzzle to observe the curious scene. Karina's question was met with an irritated snort from the male, Alzer, which was swiftly followed by the sound of boot hitting ankle and a conciliatory smile from his wife Nainlai.

"Yes. We often worked on puzzles over the Holonet when Alzer was away on business. We bought this one specifically for this trip, but it seems we may have overestimated our ability."

Another snort from her husband, this time directed at the puzzle itself.

"It's all the curves! How can you expect someone to differentiate one part of a half-sphere from the other?"

"The same way you can differentiate a good motivator from a bad, dear. Practice."

"Feh."

Alzer picked up one of the offending pieces from their small table and waved it in Karina's direction.

"So, you like puzzles miss?"

Between the two scenes, the remaining passengers slowly emerged from their partitions, to be greeted by the smell of peaches cooking on an impromptu stove Alzer had rigged. Loreck scratched at his mussed hair as he regarded his family fondly, before Kyran's attempt to wake H-1ME attracted his attention. Stretching his arms over his head, Loreck sent a series of popping sounds echoing through the hold as he approached the pair.

"That's a might fine droid you have there, friend. May be none of my business, but the only place I've seen droid like her is back in the Citadel docks. You have a ship waiting for you on Onderon?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Making her way over to the refrigeration unit, Cass took a look within, "What does everyone want to drink? We have... water. And a mysterious can in the back of the 'fridge." She took it, opened it up, and sniffed. "I'm guessing fermented engine coolant, but if that's your thing..."

[Tychris1]

Looking down at the hand, PB-1858 accepted it and firmly shook it twice before replying with Dara's own voice "My name is, PB-1858." It added its model number in a clear and crisp voice of the human man who turned him on. The battle droids remained dead silent and merely moved to take a plate at PB-1858's binary instructions. Following alongside them, it crouched down partially and turned to Sulen "Instructions?"

[Nefarion Xid]

"That's a might fine droid you have there, friend. May be none of my business, but the only place I've seen droid like her is back in the Citadel docks. You have a ship waiting for you on Onderon?"

"Thanks. I guess," Kyran shrugged, still half perched on his cot, awkwardly buckling his hip holsters in place. He had no intention of lingering at the docks. As soon as this ship touched down, he was a ghost. For a moment, he seriously considered selling the droid so it wouldn't slow him down.

"She's for sale if you want to make an offer," he said hopefully. "She also doubles as a hot water heater and a holonet hot-spot."

[Othniel]

Karina

"I adore puzzles, sir," replied the Chiss woman. She took a tentative step forward and accepted the puzzle piece as her eyes drifted toward the partially-completed structure. "Most puzzles I attempt are electronic in nature, computers being my specialty," she explained. "I feel a little lost without a full computer and only my datapad for company."

Karina was momentarily distracted by the younger human woman's listing of beverage options, such as they were. She wrinkled her nose at the second option. "Just water for me, thanks. I would rather not poison myself."

[TheDarkDM]

Her face resolute in the face of their mammoth task, Sulen marched to the table and set down her plate. The long metal slab bore the scuffs and stains of more than one cramped voyage, and it had been clear on boarding that the captain did not regard its maintenance or cleanliness as any great priority. For all its neglect, though, a little elbow grease on the first day of the journey had managed a passable chrome surface. The chipped ceramic knives and forks were kept in communal jars, also washed thoroughly and regularly, and Sulen had to lean almost the length of the table to retrieve them from where she stood.

"Alright, Mr. PB. A plate should be set two inches from the edge of the table, with napkin folded on top."

She paused, momentarily flummoxed. The speech had been delivered with a cadence distinctly different from Sulen's or her mother's, slower and somehow more refined. She stared forlornly at the naked plate a moment before setting her shoulders.

"But we don't have any right now. That's all right! Forks should be placed on inch from the plate on the guest's left hand side, tines pointed inward, knifes one inch to the right with blade facing the plate."

She demonstrated helpfully, managing a place setting so precise it would not have been out of place in a nicer restaurant. Her demonstration complete, the girl withdrew into herself again.

"Um, when grandma taught me there were a lot more forks and knives and things..."

She stared up at the droid with a wounded smile.

"But like this is fine, Mr. PB."

Across the hold, Dara had joined Cass at the refrigeration unit to help retrieve the water bottles. No one in the hold had cared to ponder where the captain had refilled the dull metal flasks, but it tasted good enough and no one had gotten sick. As the younger woman gestured towards the mysterious jar, Dara wrinkled her nose.

"I think our first mate left that in there as a joke. Or maybe it's a delicacy to his people. I can't say I've ever dined with a Whiphid."

Reaching into the fridge, she took two of the remaining flasks in hand.

"Thank you for helping, dear. A meal is always brighter when people pitch in."

She glanced to where her husband was examining the utility droid.

"Isn't that right, Loreck?"

Her tone was chiding, though her smile robbed it of its sting. Her husband looked over his shoulder and shrugged in apology before turning to answer Kyran.

"That's very tempting, but I can;t say I'm in the market for a droid right now. Could hardly afford one, after what this trip cost us. And I dare say you'd probably miss her after a while - a refugee ship's a bad place to make decisions like this, trust me."

He clapped Kyran on the shoulder before marching to where his wife stood, ready to help in the preparation of what was hopefully the last meal on board. As more and more passengers began to congregate, the two Duros speaking to Karina stood with small groans. They'd been sitting for too long, even for their ship-loving species. Watching the Chiss woman examine the puzzle piece, Alzer chuckled his agreement to her sentiment.

"I'm with you there, young woman. I can lose entire days tinkering, though I prefer circuits to code. I dealt in medical droids and equipment, you see, and a lot of it had to be refurbished after it was recovered from...well, from everywhere after the war."

He declined to clarify which war.

"Come, sit with us. I'm sure we'll both be back in our element soon enough."

[Nefarion Xid]

"To be honest, I'm not sure I own her." Kyran patted H-1M1 with something approximating affection. "She came with my ship and she wants to get back there. It's an obsession. Nothing a memory wipe can't fix, but ... eh."

After an overly dramatic shrug, he went to fish his coat out of the compartment above his bunk. He ruffed up the fur trim and tugged it on with a flourish ending in a double finger-gun towards Loreck.

"How do I look? Good enough to murder a Zabrak? Nah, I'm kidding. I don't do that anymore. I'm an accountant now."

[zabbarot]

H-1ME

The droid slowly whirred to life. The loss of the ship had left her mopey and despondent. Her camera shifted from Kyran to Loreck and back with a sad low whistle. She'd been powered down for most the trip to save battery so she wasn't really familiar with the rest of the passengers. A longer series of angry beeps exploded out as she realized what was going on, and an array of tools popped out and began snapping at Loreck to chase him away.

[Othniel]

Karina

"Gladly," replied Karina, pulling up a chair and leaning closer toward the puzzle. "No telling how long it'll be until we get planetside." Further commentary was interrupted by the astromech droid coming to life and angrily fending Loreck off. Karina laughed heartily and grinned at the situation. "It would seem that she is taken. I wonder who really owns whom in that relationship."

[TheDarkDM]

The antics of the more exotic passengers seemed to raise the spirits of all on board, and as they gathered around their battered dinner table it was with genuine smiles. The fact that their impromptu cobbler tasted almost like the real thing, a minor miracle in and of itself, no doubt helped, and as the meal progressed the cold walls of the hold rang with laughter. Someone even managed to produce a half-filled bottle of Arkanian whiskey, judiciously shared among the adults to Sulen's consternation. For a brief moment, the shadows hounding the assemblage retreated, and the hours until their emergence from hyperspace slipped by. Until eventually the ship shuddered with the deep thump of her emergence from hyperspace.

A green world was visible through the transparisteel viewports, its orbit cleaving to an enormous and equally green moon. The infamous Dxun, the moon of monsters. Circling the planet's equator was a glittering ring that seemed at first natural for its density and brightness, until a closer look revealed it to be long lines of starships gathering to pass through orbital customs, and an equally long line of ships freely rising from the surface. Here, then, was the beating heart of the restoration effort, Onderon's lifeblood bound for a dozen dead worlds. It was a staggering sight, rivaling Corellia for the sheer density of traffic, though the effect was enhanced somewhat by the prowling lights of Onderon's spacefleet and the solitary beacons of stations orbiting both Onderon and Dxun. Sulen gasped at the beauty of it, pressing her nose to the transparent metal in an attempt to take it all in. She was joined in short order by her parents, each one wrapping arms around each other at the sight of their new home. The Duros leaned into each other at the table, and even Madaanti seemed, finally, to relax. The moment could have lasted forever, had it not been cut short by the crackle of the intercom.

"Welcome to Onderon, folks. Settle in, it looks like there's a line."

The line cut, once again restoring the divide between captain and passengers. The bulkhead door between cargo hold and cockpit stairs remained closed, though. Clearly the Twi'lek intended to spend the last moments of the trip in comfort. With a rough shudder, the sublight engines engaged, and the Pride of Taris sped towards the waiting planet.

After about fifteen minutes, you notice something odd in the ship's trajectory. It's hard to tell through the side viewports, but you could swear you're headed towards Dxun, not the blockade.

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass relaxed somewhat when the ship dropped to sublight - of all the things that could go wrong on a voyage, they hyperdrive motivator failing to bring them out of hyperspace was among the most terrifying (if quite rare). If the crew couldn't fix it with whatever they had on hand... game over. The ship's inhabitants would continue to hurtle through their beautiful new purgatory, food and water running ever lower, until they succumbed one by one to exposure or despair. Eventually only the most ruthless (re: the one willing to resort to cannibalism) would remain, and then just the droids, and then nothing; even their power had to run out eventually. Finally the reactor containment would give out and the ship would be consumed in fire, or the reactor would die entirely and convert the ship into a communal tomb. Either way, the names of the passengers and crew would be added to the millions upon millions who had gone on a voyage and never returned.

Not a pleasant way to go.

Good grief, that got dark. The apprentice snorted mentally at how bleak that train of thought had gotten. Not normally one to worry about what ifs, the disappearance of her master had Cass's sense of paranoia working overtime. Still, despite the number of things that could still go wrong, simply reverting to realspace in an inhabited system had drastically raised the odds of the trip having a happy ending. At least if everything went awful out here, there were more options. Distress beacons could be lit, other ships could spot them and help, emergency landings could be made... they simply had more control over their own fate out here.

She knew it was a bad idea, but maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to get a sense of her master now that she was in the same system. Stretching out her senses toward distant Onderon, she attempted to find Master Hu'lya's presence.

UTF: take 10 for a 24

[Nefarion Xid]

Kyran lingered by the window for a moment before giving up his space to Loreck. It was enough to confirm his hunch.

"Hey," he unceremoniously muttered his first word to Cass, uncomfortably close to her face with her eyes still closed. "Em, so, funny thing. We just took a main engine burn on what I'm pretty sure is a lunar intercept. The captain isn't taking us to Onderon."

[TheDarkDM]

Reaching out with her perceptions, Cass could feel the seething mass of life on Onderon and Dxun through the Force. The planet and its moon wove invisible tendrils around each other, like lovers caught in an embrace. Or perhaps, if one were to take a darker meaning, two enemies locked in desperate struggle. Regardless, Onderon and Dxun were blazing stars in the Force, so bright that Cass realized she would learn nothing at this distance. Yet even as she turned away from the twin beacons, she sensed something else. Somewhere above, in the very ship she was travelling on, shined the aura of a Force Sensitive. A strong aura, in fact, so strong it must have been shielding itself through the entire journey. But now it wavered, as though injured. Or unconscious.

[Jade_Tarem]

A Jedi is serene. A Jedi is aware of her surroundings. A Jedi is-

"Hey." Cass didn't jump, instead cracking one eye open. Then she jumped, a full six centimeters off the ground with a sharp intake of breath to match. It was a very nice face that had invaded her personal space, but that wasn't why her heart was jackhammering away.

She hadn't sensed her master. In fact, she felt foolish for trying - Hu'lya was a Jedi Master who was trying to hide. Cass's fumbling attempts to reach her from past the moon likely never had a chance. She was simply being impatient.

Still, touching the Force had yielded some information, even if it wasn't what she'd been looking for. A new presence on the ship, now hurt or else with attention flagging. There were really only three possibilities as to who it could be, and the captain and first mate seemed unlikely... though she wasn't going to rule them out just yet.

The apprentice (padawan? Cass wasn't sure she really qualified) managed to get her mind back in her skull in time to pick up the gist of what Kyran had said. The timing was too convenient for it to be unrelated to the new Force presence, and Hu'lya insisted that nothing was truly left to coincidence anyway. Instead, she nodded, "I'll go see what's wrong. See if you can get everyone to..." she trailed off, not sure what everyone else should do. Strap in? The cargo bindings wouldn't keep anyone safe in the event of a crash landing. Putting their heads between their legs would only allow them to kiss their own posteriors goodbye if the ship hit Dxun at speed. "Actually, see if you can [get the weapons locker open/get your droid to hack into the ship's systems]."

Not staying to see if he agreed or not, Cass started to make her way toward the new Force presence.

[Nefarion Xid]

"Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this. I think I'm going to have a word with the captain," Kyran muttered lowly, before walking to the locker and inconspicuously entering the combination.

[Tychris1]

PB-1858 watched the proceedings in silence, its optics focusing in and out on each individuals face, and its systems began to enter a passive energy conservation mode as it allowed its guard to lower briefly. The newly added information of its destination close at hand lended further credence towards this line of thought.. Zooming out, PB-1858 noticed one of the passengers, Kyran, walking away oddly, and with a light wave of its hand appendage sent one of its subservient battle droids to follow him. Standing up from its crouched and compact position, the less upgraded model walked away and questioned where the human was going in binary.

[Othniel]

Karina

"Hurry up and wait," remarked the blue-skinned woman. "If I had a credit for every minute I have spent waiting in line the last few years, I could retire," Karina suggested to the two Duros next to her. "At any rate, it will be nice to get planetside. No offense to the good captain and his crew - I have no complaints regarding the accommodations - but I want the feel of solid ground beneath me and a clear sky above. Grass under bare feet. What color is the grass on Onderon, anyway?" she asked, half-joking.

[TheDarkDM]

Everything went wrong.

It began with Kyran inputting the code to the weapon's locker. A code they'd all known. A code they'd all seen work. A code that had clearly cycled when they'd left hyperspace. The flashing red [CODE DENIED] across the access panel was accompanied by a metallic clang from above, as the center panel of the ceiling dropped down to reveal a gunmetal sphere crackling with blue energy. To her credit, Cass managed a garbled cry of warning before the sphere flashed, sending electric arcs flowing over every surface. The wave of ion energy knocked out every electrical device in the cargo hold, and a second blast knocked even the droids into shutdown. At the same time, the same speakers that had provided a constant irritant released their hidden reservoirs of gas, flooding the cargo compartment in a milky white fog. It seeped through pores and forced its way down throats, sending everyone still standing into fits of desperate coughing. Until it did its work, and muscles began to tense in paralytic spasms.

Consciousness remained, if dimly. Enough at least to see the gas vented out through yet another hidden system on the trapped barge. Loreck was frozen, hunched over Dara and Sulen in a uselessly protective gesture. Dara's face was buried in her daughter's hair, but the little girl's eyes were visible to all, frozen open as they drifted between the blur of shock and the stricken clarity of fear. Madaanti had collapsed near Kyran, racing for his own blaster, while Alzer and Nainlai slumped over their table, their precious puzzle scattered on the deck. It was a deathly silence, those few still looking at the viewports afforded the ominous view of Onderonian fighters dropping into escort formation around the Pride as she slowed to dock somewhere over Dxun.

If there was any question as to the identity of your betrayer, it vanished as the door to the cockpit opened to reveal Captain Norv and his First Mate Gharq. The Twi'lek, Yetrai Rha, was slung over the Whiphid's shoulder like a sack of flour, arms and legs secured in heavy binders, clearly unconscious rather than paralyzed. As he moved from passenger to passenger, Norv idly toyed with a slim metal cylinder in his hands, a cylinder all-too-familiar in these dark times - a lightsaber. Satisfied that his trap had spared no one, Norv chuckled to himself.

"Just as planned, Gharq, just as planned. Let Captain Imzir and his boys aboard - we've got quite the catch for them this time."

A grunt was the only reply, but the First Mate moved to the docking controls nonetheless, unlocking them with a few impatient button presses. The ramps hissed to life, falling swiftly to metal deckplates below. The sound of activity surged into the cockpit, the metal steps of droids and militant commands in Basic echoing through what was clearly a large hangar. Footsteps rose along the ramp, and within moments half a dozen armed men and women emerged from the steam. They were dressed in dark brown military uniforms, accented by gold piping and a white wrap that encompassed both shoulders. Their faces were almost totally obscured behind a brown cap and mask that covered the lower halves of their faces, leaving only hard and greedy eyes visible. They leveled blaster carbines at the occupants of the cargo hold, prompting Norv to raise his hands in mock surrender.

"You can tell your Captain it's safe. No Gundarks up here."

He laughed, and the soldier in the lead leaned into the clasp that held his wrap to his shoulder. Soon enough, another set of footsteps rose towards the cargo hold, and a man in a navy blue variant of the brown uniform appeared. Capless and without a mask, his hard face bore an ugly plasma burn across his bottom jaw, ruining what might once have been a handsome countenance. Cold black eyes met the captain's own cheery blue, and they engaged in an oft-practiced test of wills before the officer sighed.

"This batch had better be an improvement over the last one, Norv. The Exchange has more than enough desperate labor slaves."

Norv's grid widened sickeningly.

"Oh, I think they'll be willing to pay top dollar for this catch. We've got a doctor, two tech-savvy merchants, an agri-scientist, a couple of pilots, some pretty ladies, combat and utility droids, and..."

He leaned close.

"A Jedi."

The silence stretched several heartbeats.

"Process them."

Whatever that gas was, it shouldn't have affected all of you so quickly. You realize there must have been an accelerating agent, and on consideration you come to only one conclusion - your food was laced.

These uniforms are clearly Onderon Military. This slaving ring is connected.

[TheDarkDM]

The two Captains, Norv and Imzir, were quick to leave the ship, their prize carried behind by Norv's brute. In their wake, the soldiers began their work. Belongings that had been carefully stowed in bunks were retrieved and searched with cold precision, whatever valuables were discovered loaded into metal bins carried by military patrol droids. It was a wonder, really, how quickly almost a dozen lives were stripped of memories, photographs and mementos that were personally priceless left discarded and broken across the deck in favor of credit chits, jewelry, and a few bruised antiques. It was clearly not the first time these soldiers had raided this hold, and before long they had scoured even the most secure hiding places. Then they turned to the paralyzed cargo. Rough hands rifled clothes and unfastened belts, pulling off further jewels and baubles with more care for the objects themselves than any discomfort caused to their former owners. Meanwhile, one of the reavers pulled a military dataslate from his pocket and pressed it against the weapon locker, its military decryption quickly accessing the lockers second, secret code. There was, at last, a ripple of surprise through the soldier as they examined the arsenal held within, but it too was summarily loaded onto the waiting droids.

Lying despoiled on the ground, it was difficult to separate one set of footsteps from another. But as the soldiers completed their search, there was the whisper of rubber on metal from the loading ramps. As one, the soldiers within the cargo bay snapped to attention, staring with anxiety at the figure casting a shadow from the entryway. The whisper of footsteps came closer, and soon each captive was greeted with the smiling face of an older woman, blond hair cropped close to her head, wearing a red version of the soldier's uniform. Pausing by each comatose prisoner, her fingers probed sensitive areas with practiced firmness, moving to check pulses and snap fingers in front of staring eyes. After each examination, she would nod, her smile unwavering, and as she completed her last on Sulen she stood to address the soldiers.

"How long?"

"An hour, Doctor Kared."

"Mmm, you're behind schedule. We're nearing the safe limit, especially for the girl. Bind them."

Protesting muscles were quickly forced behind each prisoner's back, the only relief from the searing pain the sharp intake of breath. Binders were fastened in place, as well as metal bits that closed painfully tight around the head. Her charges suitably restrained, the Doctor produced a hypo-syringe and deliver swift injections into every neck. The pain began to recede, and after a few moments the paralysis followed.

"It is my pleasure to welcome you to Cannok Station. You will not be with us long, I'm afraid, but while you are our guests you will be treated according to your attitude. Behave yourselves well..."

She ran thing fingers through Sulen's hair as one might pet a cat.

"And you will be treated well. Behave poorly..."

She prowled around the kneeling prisoners, eventually stopping before Kyran and placing a sharp nail at his forehead.

"And you will be punished."

She stepped away, turning back to the waiting soldiers.

"The girl first. The price will be lower if there's any permanent damage."

As Sulen was wrestled to her feet to walk barefoot out of the ship, Dara finally emerged fully from her haze. The metal gag strangled her scream, but it still pierced the ears of the entire assemblage as she launched herself towards the Doctor. The violence of the action seemed to take the soldiers by surprise, but Dara's legs betrayed her. She stumbled, and as she strugged to regain her feet a shock baton caught her between the shoulder blades. She collapsed writhing to the deck, only to be struck by a second baton, and then a third. Loreck, overcome with rage, attempted to come to his wife's aid. But the soldiers were ready, and soon he too had collapsed beneath the blows of his captors. After a few more blows, the Doctor responded in a clipped tone.

"Enough. Any more and you'll leave a mark."

She moved closer, placing a bootheel atop Dara's shivering head and forcing her to the ground.

"I did warn you. But I'm confident you can be taught."

She descended the ramp accompanied by one of the soldiers and a weeping Sulen, as the remaining soldiers hauled the adult prisoners to their feet. Led out on unsteady legs, the last any passenger of the Pride of Taris saw of their former accommodations was a pair of technicians installing restraining bolts on the quartet of droids.

Emerging into a cavernous hangar, the prisoners were marched into an inner ring that seemed to run the length of the station, with only a single hallway leading to a central spire. There they boarded turbolifts that took them up a level, into another inner ring that seemed to accommodate barracks for further soldiers. None of the brown-coated regiment deigned to meet their eyes as they moved with increasingly steady steps to a prison block. Past an inner guard room, they discovered a processing chamber which seemed to be the final destination of their stolen belongings, the hoard being cataloged by a pair of dispassionate soldiers. Then past another security door, to have their pictures taken by a bored-looking guard before being forced into one of four cells. The two Duros and the Rodian were confined to one, the Nestina's to another, and to a third the ragtag trio of Kyran, Cass, and Karina. The rooms were blank durasteel, lacking even elevated slabs for beds, but there was one kindness. Their binders and gags were removed once they were safely esconced.

Of the Twi'lek Jedi, there was no trace.

[Jade_Tarem]

Unbalanced by the lingering effects of the gas and the sudden removal of the bindings and gags, Cass fell forward to her hands and knees as the cell door shut behind her, coughing. A touch hoarse from the gas, the gag, or both, she she still managed a clear rasp. "Spaceports, am I right?"

The flippant quip served as good cover for internal screaming. The apprentice had a good imagination, and she'd heard the stories about slaving rings through the galaxy. The fact that her looks and possession of girly parts apparently comprised her value to this particular band were not datapoints that fell into the positive column.

The Jedi Code held that there was no emotion, only peace, but Cass was honestly feeling any number of emotions. Terror, a sick sort of disbelief, and rage that any of the rodents wearing human suits outside had dared to touch Sulen. She wasn't sure why her mind stuck on that, but it did. Maybe just because the girl was the only one to reach out to her during the trip.

And the other Jedi. Cass didn't know what her deal was - she hadn't known much about her to begin with, and had (like everyone except Sulen) cheerfully assumed that she and the captain had spent the voyage kriffing like Ithorian puff-bunnies. The Jedi reveal blew all of that to smithereens. Was she a full Jedi? An apprentice like Cass? A follower of a different Force discipline? Hu'lya had spent nearly all of their training time getting Cass through remedial discipline and Jedi lore, though she'd hinted that there were other ways to access the Force. The whirlwind of questions was enough to jar Cass out of her building hate.

Focus. Her captors had failed to spot that she was also Force sensitive. That didn't solve any problems immediately, but it did make more opportunities available. If she could get alone with a guard, or within sight of a useful object, she could perhaps act. Inside a windowless room, she had nothing to do but talk to her new roommates. She could always try to sense where the other prisoners were, but being the last one shoved into a cell meant that she already knew. Trying to make contact with the other Jedi might just result in being detected - or perhaps the Twi'lek would sell her out. She was better off starting locally. After a short time hyperventilating, the padawan - she'd just been sandbagged by slavers, the universe could humor her and let her use the title - twisted around to sit cross-legged on the floor, then scooted back so she could sit up against the wall. "So... ideas? Info? Spot anything good on the way in?"

[Othniel]

Karina

The idea of being kidnapped and murdered has entered Karina's mind...back home in the Ascendancy. It was part of why rumors of the existence of Shadow Children - publicly unacknowledged children to prevent the extermination of bloodlines - persisted, despite claims to the contrary. Inter-family political warfare was not uncommon, though she thought she'd left that sort of thing behind when she was "asked" to leave home. Guess not.

Her thoughts were brought back to the present when the other woman in the cell spoke. "Yes, do not order anything from the ship's cook again. Considering how fast we went down, the food was likely laced with an accelerating agent." She groaned as she pulled herself into a position mirroring Cass, and muttered a half-hearted complaint, "That was totally uncalled for. I actually paid my fare this time." She looked around their enclosure and tried to get her bearings. "I do not suppose either of you fine, upstanding citizens managed to smuggle in a weapon?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass shot the... whatever she was a look. "If either of us did, we should probably keep it to ourselves. They could be watching, y'know." She got up to take a close look around the cell. She didn't know how old the station was or whether this room had started off as a cell or not. Any number of factors could play into just how good the security was for this operation. The one thing that was going for them was that it all seemed a bit sloppy so far - crooked law enforcement and career criminals not being the most professional of opponents. "On an unrelated note, I dunno how to say this in a non-racist way, but what are you? I've seen lots of different species, but none like yours before."

[Nefarion Xid]

"Chiss," Kyran said, slightly louder than he'd imagined in his head, still unsure if his muscles were responding properly. Experimentally, he got himself up to a sitting position against the wall and began to check for his effects and credits. For a part, he cared more about his coat than his blasters.

"They're from ... well, way out there. Only three flavors of near-humans with blue skin and only one of those has red eyes." He gestured overhead as if to indicate the unexplored regions of the galaxy. "I'm guessing your vacation isn't going as planned? Come for our highly advanced culture, stay because our culture enslaved you. Aaah. Anyone else still having a dull pain between their eyes or is it just me?"

[Othniel]

Karina

"Yes, xenophobic isolationists from 'way out there,'" she confirmed with a smirk. "But don't worry, I'm not xenophobic and I don't bite. Unless you like that sort of thing." Her smirk broadened into a wicked grin for just one moment, and then she was all business again. "My part of the galaxy sucks just as much as yours, you know. Another Ruling House could have kidnapped and murdered me - as a child, mind you - if my family ranked high enough and they had something to gain. But thankfully I am just the offspring of a moderately-skilled starship engineer who kicked his beloved daughter out of the family home for disgracing said family's good name because rules are hard or something." Another smile, this one somewhat sad. "So now that you know my life story, how about we come up with a plan to get out of here and kill the jerks who dumped us here."

[Jade_Tarem]

"That's a bit flip, don't you think?" Cass muttered as she poked around the room, still looking for monitoring devices. By the Force, please don't make me be the voice of reason.

She finished and straightened, facing away from the camera for all the good it would do. "We're surrounded by baddies, we have no weapons, the room is locked, and they can see and hear what we do. Unless you've been concealing holodrama-level martial arts skills, an escape is going to be pretty rough."

[Othniel]

Karina

"My apologies," replied the Chiss. "I'm angry and a bit frightened." She lowered her voice and continued, "At any rate, they can only see and hear what we let them. The camera only points one way, and this model isn't great at picking up quiet sounds. If we whisper and they don't see our lips moving, we should be all right."

[Nefarion Xid]

"You've both got delusions of grandeur. These guys have blasters and they're professionals. They're also morons.

Kyran struggled to his feet and, after it was pointed out by Cass, began yelling into the microphone. "You kids got Hutt spit for brains? Check my ID! It's on my kriffing datapad! Goto is going to feed your asses to his kath hounds when he finds out I didn't finish my job because I got sucker punched by a couple of monkey-lizards with blasters!"

[roll0]

"Ladies, I wish you luck, but I've got places to be."

[Jade_Tarem]

"You're part of this kriffing outift?!" Cass shrieked as she shot to her feet, fury from before back. She knew it wasn't very Jedi-like, but it wasn't like she was going to use the Force on him in here - unless he started winning. "You were probably the one that laced our food! Maybe I can at least downsize them a bit before I get sold like some basic sithspawn." Wasting no further time, she threw a wild haymaker.

Unarmed Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] nonlethal

[TheDarkDM]

Meanwhile...

As drama unfolded in the prison block, PB-1858 and H-1ME flickered back into operation. Both were strapped to metal dollies, standing upright in a field of stripped droid parts and military refuse. Like organics standing in an oubliette, their sensors were almost overwhelmed by the scene of carnage, before a reedy bald man leaned down to examine them. He wore a brown uniform, the gold trim and white shoulder wrap suggesting some sort of military outfit. Holding an electroprobe lightly in one hand, he tapped at the restraining bolts jutting prominently from each droid's drive core.

"Diagnostic. Relay primary function."

[Nefarion Xid]

"Hands off, urchin! This coat is worth more than your family!" Secretly, Kyran was abhorred that Cass hadn't caught on to his obvious lie, but he quickly accepted a scuffle would make things more believable.

"I swear to kriffing God, you morons are dead when Goto finds out you threw me in here with this filth!" Now with his back to the camera, Kyran definitely mouthed "play along" and "softer ohgod please softer". Although that didn't stop him from trying to shove Cass away with his boot.

[roll0] attack
[roll1] damage

[Jade_Tarem]

"Hands off, urchin! This coat is with more than your family!"

That line was actually one she'd heard before. Granted, it had been corrupt CorSec officers delivering it, but at least she had her favorite self-depreciating retort ready. "Nuh-uh! The strange men who kept coming to our place paid way more than that to see mom!"

Then, she managed to catch his mouthed words and flushed crimson that she'd missed it. Then Kyran's boot caught her in the stomach and hurled her into the cot, but not in a gentle way. Her heel caught and she managed to hit the edge of the rigid thing kidneys-first, losing her breath in the process. Struggling to her feet and sucking in labored breaths, she settled into a more evaluative combat stance, closing the distance cautiously. Torn somewhere between anger, pain, confusion, and that weird sort of hope one gets when things can't get much worse, she waited for the man to mouth off to the camera again before coming at him once more. This time she led with a couple of jabs designed to do nothing but create space and circled closer to the door.

[Tychris1]

"I've got a bad feeling about this-" PB-1858 crackled out in the voice of a wizened and old smuggler before suddenly its optical sensors and auditory receptors shut down violently. Stuck in the eternal black void of systems rebooting, PB-1858 was quite close to what meatbags call annoyed when it fully took in the dreary and all too familiar scene of carnage. Glancing at its captor it searched its memory banks for a millisecond before reciting back in the bald man's own voice "Diagnostic. Relay primary function."

[Othniel]

Karina

"You have such delightful vocabulary," remarked the blue-skinned woman nonchalantly leaning against the wall. Or attempting to look thus. Her eyes tightened in concern at the new development and she cast a glance around. "You two really want to be doing this now? I'd rather not receive a beating because you two decided to get physical."

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

The two combatants circled each other for only a few moments before the door hissed open behind them. Kyran felt more than he saw the electric blue stun bolt whiz past his ear, though the sparkling crackle of its impact echoed deafeningly. In the doorway stood a trio of the brown-uniformed soldiers, blaster carbines leveled at Kyran and Cass. The eyes of the middle soldier moved between smuggler and swoop racer, finally settling of Kyran.

"You. Out."

The Droid Bay

Rolling back on his heels, the technician looked unimpressed by PB-1858's response.

"One of those, eh? I thought as much. It would take a droid off its core to slave two more."

He rapped his knuckles against PB's head.

"It'll be a pleasure wiping your memory."

He turned to H-1ME

"What about you, little one? Are you going to cooperate?"

[Tychris1]

Not quite finished, PB-1858 began to snip and shuffle sound bytes with a processing power that dwarfed lesser more meaty brains and continued parroting the bald man "What are you going on about, slave? It'll be a pleasure wiping your little one off it's primary function." Had it a mouth to emote with it would have spread forth the most ****-eating grin it could manage, but it made due with very pointed dilations and positioning of its optics.

[Nefarion Xid]

"That's more like it." Kyran's posh native Alderaanian accent nearly slipped out as he wiped the spit and blood from his coat and stepped out into the doorway with his hands up, obscuring Cass with his broad shoulders and coat. "I apologize about that monkey-lizard comment. We're all businessmen here, aren't we? Now, please, take me to my datapad and we'll have this whole matter cleared up so that I can go on with my mission and Goto doesn't need to know about any of this."

[zabbarot]

H-1ME stared straight ahead, unable to even look around without rotating her torso. While the combat droid took a more combative stance H-1ME played to it's strengths. It issued a basic canned response in binary.

//PRIMARY FUNCTION: Utility ship repair droid. Secondary astrogation unit.//

Best case she could pass for a stock model.

[Jade_Tarem]

For a moment, Cass was ready to do it. Ready to take the force, grab one man, throw him into the other man, and jump the final one with Kyran. They could blast their way out, retrieve their gear, free the other prisoners-

A flash of imminent doom stopped her. The Force could do anything, but it seemed to be reminding her that she had limits. A moment's thought backed the Force up: the guards had probably seen all the same holodramas she had, and they were likely more than ready for exactly that kind of dramatic escape attempt. She was outnumbered over a dozen to one by men who were better armed, with droid backup, and for all she knew some jerk twelve decks up could press a button and just gas everyone into submission again. Surprise and her special powers might get her through two, four, six of them, but sheer numbers would beat her even if the first few never brought her down with a lucky shot. Patience yielded a different idea - she needed to start removing their advantages one at a time. She needed to be more subtle.

So instead Cass made a noise of disgust and stalked off to the corner with the camera in it. When they shut the door, she made a grunt of frustration and struck the wall, timing a surge through the Force to match to yank on the camera. Hopefully not enough to rip it free, but enough to break it. If she'd timed it right, it would look like she'd just knocked something out of alignment, perhaps something that had come loose when she and Kyran were scuffling. Pure luck, nothing suspicious.

UTF to Move Object: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
2d6 for a nat 1, +2d6 for each 5 higher than that up to 30.

[Othniel]

Karina

"Do you feel better now?" whispered the Chiss woman, keeping her face pointed away from the camera. The face she turned to Cass displayed equal parts concern and fear, and it was apparent that her her mask had finally slipped. The level of danger she was in finally settled into an icy ball of fear at the bottom of her stomach and she sat down, drawing her knees up as she leaned against the wall. "I thought they were going to gun you down then and there. And then me for being in the same cell."

[Jade_Tarem]

"If you didn't want to get shot, you shouldn't keep talking about escape while they're watching. That's like, the first thing they'll want to beat out of us," Cass groused. "There are too many out in the corridor and on this level. And that's assuming they can't just gas us again. Settle in."

[Othniel]

Karina

"I'm sorry!" responded the Chiss woman, quiet contrition in her whispered voice. "I didn't notice the camera until you pointed it out. I've had bad luck with pirates the last few years," she added. "And I hate not being able to do something about this."

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

Waved into the hallway at gunpoint, Kyran caught a final glimpse of Cass and Karina before the guard nearest the control panel input a quick code sequence. The door hissed shut disconcertingly quickly, leaving the former smuggler alone with the guards. Perhaps the thought of freedom crossed his mind, but if so it was cruelly misled, as the guard that had closed one door opened the one across the hall leading to the empty cell.

"Inside, prisoner."

Feigning his cooperation, Kyran allowed his right leg to buckle at the next step, falling into the nearest guard's surprised arms.

"Sithspit...she hit me harder than I thought."

Perhaps as a testament to Kyran's masterful bluff, the guard actually attempted to awkwardly catch the falling smuggler, and in the process of balancing carbine and limp body failed to notice Kyran's fingers as tehy slipped under his white srap to pull free a narrow code cylinder. Finally the guard regained his composure, pushing Kyran away and gesturing towards the cell.

"Inside!"

Kyran righted himself, inches away from relative safety, before the guard flanking him cried out in dismay.

"Hey, the skel's got a code cylinder!"

The guard's raised their carbines in alarm, but Kyran was already pushing past them, their surprise his greatest ally. Rounding the bend in the short hall, he saw the angled counter that seemed to hold the cell security interface, three monitors alive with a view of their cells and one displaying jagged static. But there was no weapon in sight, so he kept moving, slamming on the access panel to open the door into the next room. The room where his guns were being stored.

As Kyran burst into the room, the two Onderonians sorting the booty looked up in alarm. Behind him, he could hear the pounding of boots, and even as the guards in front of him pulled blaster pistols free the guards behind were firing. Miraculously, two stun beams flashed past harmlessly, as did a blaster bolt from one of the panicking sorters.

"I'm Goto's Number 2 for a kriffing reason! I'M HIS GO-TO GUY!"

He reached towards his pistols...and stopped. In the distance, Kyran heard the report of a blaster pistol, and smelled the acrid tang of burning skin. Looking down, he saw a burning hole in his stomach, and followed the line of vapor up to the barrel of the last blaster pistol. A curse rose to his lips, but it never escaped as unconsciousness beat pain to the punch.

In their cell, Cass and Karina could hear the blaring wail of an alarm sounding, as could PB-1858 and H-1ME in their purgatory of droid parts. The siren was briefly punctuated by bursts of blaster fire, the smell betraying the nearness of the fray. Then, after a few moments of deafening noise, the alarm subsided. In the cells, silence reigned, and eventually Cass withdrew into herself to heal.

The Droid Workshop

H-1ME's answer seemed to please the technician, who smiled and patted the utility droid on the chassis.

"That's better. You could learn from your little friend, combat droid. This could have been easier-"

The technician was cut off by the sudden blaring of an alarm from above, causing him to jerk back in surprise. Reaching to his belt, he pulled free a blaster pistol, holding it at the ready as he rushed towards the door. The sound of blaster fire stopped him in his tracks, and only when the last echoes had faded did he step out. Shortly afterwards, the alarm ceased. The technician, however, did not return.

Later...

AS the hours passed, Karina could hear infrequent footsteps traveling the outside corridor, always accompanied by the soft hiss of a door opening and more footsteps retreating. In her trance, Cass could vaguely feel the comings and goings, three motes of light she somehow recognized as the same escorting different motes to and from the cells. The mystery of the activity only became clear, though, when the door to their cell hissed open. The guards outside looked more alert, more tense, than they had before. The one in the lead pointed towards Karina, while his two companions actively targeted the Chiss and the Human.

"You. Come."

Escorted out of the prison block, Karina noticed a bald technician behind the block's security terminal, apparently attempting to repair a monitor. Stepping back into the room filled with their belongings, she thought she detected a slight difference in the soldiers cataloging the materials, though she could not say for sure. Leaving the prison, she was led down a curved hall into a large space, seemingly intended for some grander purpose but converted into a small medbay. Equipment attached to long cables was clustered around a line of six cots, only one of which was occupied. Kyran lay insensate, stripped to the waist and with a bandage pressed against an ugly black burn scar in his solar plexus that marred an otherwise pleasant picture. One end of the room was lost in darkness, but the other was curtained off, its purpose unclear until Doctor Kared stepped out from behind it.

"Ah, our exotic visitor. Please, come sit."

Marched behind the divide, Karina saw that the curtained area held a spartan examination room, lit by a single blinding light from above that fell on a low examination table. Standing alongside the table, the doctor pulled a pair of disposable gloves from a dispenser and slipped them on.

"Please, sit."

Waiting for Karina to comply, the Doctor looked down at her while the guards waited.

"I'm going to give you a routine physical and ask you some questions now. Answer truthfully, and you might fetch a higher price. Higher prices mean better treatment."

She smiled, and there was no warmth in it.

"Now, what can you do?"

As Karina was interviewed, Cass waited, until the guards returned with her cell mate and escorted her to the doctor's care. Along the way, she saw as well as sensed the four guards manning the entrance into the prison block, the two occupying a room in the central spire, and roughly a dozen relaxing off duty elsewhere on the habitation ring. When she arrived in the med bay, she was greeted by a similar sight, and asked a similar question.

Later...

The pain was immediate. Kyran was pulled forcibly out of the pleasant black numbness he'd been floating in to find himself strapped to a gurney and looking up at the amused face of the doctor that had administered the anti-paralytic. She held another hypo-syringe in her hand, which was no doubt to blame for the small bud of blood rising from his chest above a far larger and uglier wound. His mouth was unbearably dry, but there was very little he could do about it.

"So, you're the one who claims to work for the Exchange. Why did you try and run, Mr. Redwind?"

[Nefarion Xid]

The Bad Place
Kyran

"Your boys aren't the brightest." He sucked on his teeth for a moment, begging his mind to stay focused or else slip back into unconsciousness. "Slaver guards who don't have their pistols set to stun? What is this, some kind of outreach program for troubled youths? Nah. Your boys were going to throw me in a cell again instead of fetching my datapad like good grunts. I lied about working for the Exchange, but they're too stupid to know when a lie's good for them. Smart grunts talk. They find out what's in it for them first. These guys are all thumbs and itchy trigger fingers. There's only one thing for stupid grunts. I had my fingers on my blaster and I was a millisecond from gunning down every son of a bitch in the station before your boy squeezed off a shot from the hip."

Kyran began looking around for the voice. "You don't believe me? Believe this: I'm worth so much more in ransom than sold off for labor. My bounty's worth more. But hey, these are only things you find out by talking. I'm good at talking. You're the first person to talk to me since I wound up in this mess, so, I have to assume you're smarter than they are. Is that true?"

[Othniel]

Karina

"You know, you people could just hire me," the Chiss woman said (not entirely sarcastically) as she took a seat. "Statistically speaking, intelligent beings perform better when they enjoy their work. And I tend to enjoy my work if it is rewarding enough." She frowned at the "doctor" for a moment. "I suppose physician-patient privilege goes out the airlock in circumstances such as these. Hm, no matter. I assume I am the first Chiss you have ever had the pleasure of examining. How would you even know if I were in good health? I could have a missing third kidney or something (I do not), and you would not even realize it."

"I am probably better with computers than anyone working for your little operation. I studied mathematics, physics, and engineering; and picked up tech and tactical knowledge along the way. By trade I specialize in electronic countermeasures for capital starships and space stations," she elaborated. "I have twice worked as a Systems Operator on board such stations." Karina figured it best to leave out her basic combat training, lest that raise the raiders suspicions about just how capable she was. "I am cross-trained both as a field medic and pilot. Give me enough time and I'll be a capable mechanic as well. In addition to my own language and Basic, I also speak Huttese, Ryl, Mando'a, and Sith; and I understand both Binary and Shyriiwook."

"Now then," she said after a pause to let her words sink in. "I think I am qualified for several positions in your operation. Pilot, sensor technician, interpreter, assistant medic. All of those are far more valuable than being sold off to be some two-bit thug's arm candy. All I have going for me in that department are my sex and my color, and let's be honest, I may be cute, but there are plenty of prettier blue women out there."

Rolled Persuasion in the OOC because I previewed my post. Result with Force Point is: 26.

[zabbarot]

With the technician gone H-1ME sprung into action! Much like a quadriplegic meatbag. She couldn't even look around for cameras so she gambled that if someone was watching they probably didn't speak binary.

//Hey Punchy, are your weapons integrated?// She let the question hang in the air for a moment before considering the droids seeming speech impediment. //Yes. No. Can you speak binary normally by the way?//

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass wondered about that. If she could swing a better position, with access to more resources... even a trial on a ship with working engines would give her more to work with than being stuck in a windowless room.

"Pilot," she answered immediately. "I was a swoop racer for Boss Frost's gang back on Corellia. I never competed in the main circuit because, uh, there isn't a legal one, but I usually won! I don't always fly starships, but when I do, my passengers get to their destination and don't get sold to slavers halfway there. I can't do more than the most basic astrogation, but couple me up with a decent droid and I can fly any course they can plot."

She considered her other skills, knowing she was babbling a bit, but this was her first job interview. Also, I can kill you with my brain seemed like the wrong thing to say in this situation, especially with three other armed guards in the room (which seemed like the kind of overkill the chronically insecure employed. What, did they expect her to fistfight through all of them?), but she figured she could try padding her resume. "I speak Basic and Bothan. And I'm cute! I've talked my way out of like thirty moving violations." She scratched the back of her head, wondering how close she could skirt the truth on this. "And I can fight. A little. Sorry about attacking your man on the inside, but I was a teensy bit upset about being stripped of all my possessions, dignity, and freedom. You get it, right? 'Course you do."

[Tychris1]

"My weapons are not integrated, no. Barring a blaster falling from the sky and into my grip it looks like we're going to be here for a while." Rotating its head, PB-1858 took one last good look at the scene before it "I can speak binary fine. My vocabulator was modified a while ago by my first owner.

[TheDarkDM]

Karina

As Karina launched into her pitch, Doctor Kared lifted a narrow medical scanner from a rolling stand that had been obscured alongside the examination table. One side of the slightly curved surface was smooth, displaying a dead screen, but the other bristled with narrow needles that jutted a centimeter from the surface. As Karina referenced the slaving operation, the Doctor reached for her right arm.

"Roll up your sleeve, please."

Once Karina had complied, the doctor pressed the nest of instruments into the blue flesh of her upper arm. At once, a burning pain spread through her muscles, the worst memories of her combat training rising to the forefront of memory. The light of the screen reflected off the doctor's expectant eyes, as a wealth of biometric data was painfully extracted. It was only the span of minutes, but Karina feared she would never use her arm again by the time the device was removed.

"You certainly sound skilled, Karina. The Captain may well be temped to keep you on. On the other hand someone with your skills would be highly valued by...certain interests. And you may be too cosmopolitan for the Onderonian Army."

Her smile was cold.

"I wish you luck, though. Skilled exotics are usually handled with care."

She looked back to the soldiers.

"She's finished."

Cass

Thought the doctor seemed to absorb the fullness of Cass' biography, the hidden Jedi was still subjected to the burning pain of the medical scan. It was worse than the touch of any training saber, and Cass had the sinking feeling that the doctor was enjoying the sight of her in pain. The red uniformed woman's tone, however, remained disconcertingly friendly.

"From Corellia? Fascinating. We have quite an active Swoop scene on Onderon, actually. Who knows - after a few races with a shock collar your owners might let you out without a leash. Provided you win, of course."

Looking down at Cass' biometric data, the doctor's face finally abandoned its smile. She stared at the screen intently for a straight minute before returning her attention to Cass. The smile slid back into place, and she signaled the guards.

"She's finished. I look forward to cheering you on, Cass."

Kyran

Doctor Kared did not respond immediately, choosing instead to lean over the foot of Kyran's cot and bat one hand against his foot like a distracted cat. The last tap ended with her leaning against his calf, as her free hand slid down to her belt and drew forth something disturbingly similar to a stun rod.

"I have been told so, yes. Mister Sadak was quite forthcoming about your bounty. Rest assured, our finder's fee will do a great deal to hasten the rise of the new queen."

She pushed off from Kyran, moving to stand above his wound. Depressing the surface of the rod she carried, it hissed as it lengthened, blue energy beginning to crackle around a spherical tip.

"You've been a very bad boy, Kyran. And while I'm sure a Hutt can imagine far worse punishments, your bounty made no mention that you had to arrive...undisciplined."

She brushed aside a lock of errant hair.

"This is for your own good."

The first touch was agony. It was not the last.

[Othniel]

Karina

"Well, I was going for navy. Not much call for my tech on the ground, though I suppose it could be adapted." She squinted at the doctor, getting the feeling that the woman didn't care one way or the other. "But truthfully, I prefer the stars. You should take some time to look at them. From outside an airlock."

As the guards moved to herd the Chiss back to her cell, she called out finally, "Would it help if I said one of those systems operator jobs was in the military?"

[Jade_Tarem]

"From Corellia? Fascinating. We have quite an active Swoop scene on Onderon, actually. Who knows - after a few races with a shock collar your owners might let you out without a leash. Provided you win, of course."

"Oh, so the usual arrangement, then?" Jedi discipline kept Cass from shrieking or crying, but her pain tolerance was never the stuff of legends and whatever wonky scanner the good doc was using hurt, roughening her voice and causing her to squirm. A whisper of either the Force or her own experiences told her that this was what the doctor wanted to see anyway, and that giving her the feedback she craved would prevent the sadist from doing something more drastic to provoke a response.

The line may have sounded flippant, but it was close enough to the truth that she could deliver it without sounding sarcastic. Boss Frost didn't have access to punishments as sophisticated as remote-activated adjustable-intensity shock collars, but he didn't like losing, and that distaste extended to his underlings. What he lacked in technology he and his inner circle made up for in skill. The beatings were a solid eight out of ten in terms of quality, inflicting enough pain to serve as a deterrent without leaving permanent marks. Cass was good enough that she didn't get many of them, but the ones that did always delivered that extra little kick to motivate her.

Still, despite the dredging up of unpleasant memories, this was good news overall. No one was currently kicking her butt for starting a fight with Kyran. They were making noises like she might actually get on a swoop bike at some point, and she was sorely tempted to just take it. Cut her losses and be a good little swoop pilot forever. No more getting hunted by whatever had a bug up its ass about the Jedi. No more explosions and late nights, no more assignments where she arrived too late to do any good and got confronted with people who were as terrified of her as they were of whatever the disaster of the week was.

As quickly as the thought emerged, a wave of shame drowned it out. The Cass that was happy to just chill out and race all the time was dead and gone. Hu'lya had shown her just how big the galaxy was and she couldn't go back to the tiny life she'd led. Besides, she owned the cranky old woman everything and would not leave her master hanging.

Cass realized her ruminations had lasted until she'd reached her cell. Casting a look over her shoulder to see how repairs to the camera monitor were going, she stepped in and took a deep breath. She was only human... but so were they. They would get careless. They would get sloppy. Sooner or later she'd find a weak-willed guard and have access to her lightsaber again. The question she started working on after that was what next.

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

Hours passed, and for Cass and Karina the pain of their interrogation had largely faded. There was no real way to tell time in the grey void of the cell, but rest and meditation helped to center the two women. Eventually, Cass felt more than heard Kyran being dragged back to his private cell, his presence in the force faint and pained.

Kyran emerged from the darkness of unconsciousness slowly, the ministrations of Doctor Kared having left more psychological scars than physical ones. The wound in his chest still ached, but the sharp and burning pain of a fresh blaster wound had wholly disappeared. The sadist apparently did her job well. Reaching into the pocket where he'd slipped the code cylinder during the struggle, Kyran was amazed to discover it hadn't been taken from him. Hunched away from the camera, he held the slender metal rod in his hand, full in the knowledge his pain had not been for nothing. It was in that state that Cass felt his fully awakened mind, and reached out.

It was a strange sensation for the smuggler, another mind reaching through the Force to touch his own, but he grasped the fundamentals quickly enough. His feeling of triumph still fresh, he quickly related to Cass the rough tapestry of his accomplishment, and was perhaps disappointed by her insistence to wait. What felt like hours passed without change, save for the guards shoving ration bars through thin slits in the cell doors that were swiftly sealed, and Kyran began to consider another escape attempt. Yet before he could, fate intervened.

Without warning, the lights in the cells flickered violently, their power fluctuating so extremely that one in Cass and Karina's room exploded from the surge. The smell of ionized air filled the prison block, and the three adventurers suddenly realized they could hear what was going on outside. There were screams somewhere down the corridor, and shouts of alarm from two other voices. But what the prisoners heard was much less important than what they saw - slits of light beneath the cell doors. The locks had disengaged.

The Droid Workshop

Forced to pass the night in silent contemplation of their impending doom, PB-1858 and H-1ME registered a new morning on their chronometers before they were disturbed. Once more the bald technician entered the room, pushing a bulky machine along on a hover-dolly. Both droid recognized it immediately as a memory re-configuring unit. Pulling the weapon of execution to a stop in front of the two droids, the technician smiled.

"You'll be pleased to hear that the Exchange has already lined up buyers for you. You'll be leaving on their shuttle. Before you go, though, there is the issue of your new owners' personality requests."

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled forth a data disk and inserted it into the machine.

"You should know not to fight this. It's better if you just accept."

Popping open a front panel, the technician ran wires to the restraining bolts in both PB and H-1, hooking the leads into waiting ports and nodding as they read a good connection. A few taps on the machine's interface had called up the personality profiles, displaying the rigidly mechanical memory profile alongside the free droids' fractal patterns of emergent processes. His finger hovered over the [EXECUTE] command, but before he could deal the fatal blow the lights dimmed. Both droids registered a power surge through the entire station, and realized with some surprise that their restraining bolts had gone offline.

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass's patience had limits, and she wasn't sure if this was what the Force intended for her or not. Her nerves had become increasingly frayed as the realization set in that her new owner could find all sorts of unspeakable things to do with/to/on her in between races, so when the light exploded and the door lock disengaged, she didn't waste any time.

Besides, the Force guiding things didn't mean there was no such thing as free will. What was the point of having it if you never used it?

She heaved the door up as quickly as she could, reaching out with the Force to reassure the noncombatants in the prison block - the Duros family and the Nestinas - that they should stay put just a little longer. She didn't want them darting out into the hallway and getting shot by panicked guards. With that in mind, she rushed out into the hallway and tried not to get shot by panicked guards, heading for the sorting station and her belt.

[Nefarion Xid]

Kyran nearly threw his code cylinder against the walls when the locks automatically disengaged. Instead, he kept it clenched in his fist and reassured himself that it could come in handy once the backup power kicked on. With a disappointed grunt, he shoved his cell door open and moved into the corridor just behind Cass. At the security desk, he made a quick check for anything useful like an emergency sidearm.

[Othniel]

Karina

The Chiss woman momentarily shielded her eyes when the light panel exploded, and then let out a gasp when she saw light coming from beneath the door. "Well, what do you know about that?" Karina wondered aloud - quietly, of course - no sense tempting luck. "Time to go then!" She followed discreetly behind the other woman, eyes peeled for a weapon.

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

As Cass, Karina, and Kyran rushed into the hallway, they were assaulted by the smell of an electrical fire from the direction of the security panel, the ceiling of the hallway already filling with black smoke. However, any closer look was blocked by a pair of guards, their eyes wide with fear even before they registered the escaping prisoners. In the still-flickering light, the pair raised their blaster carbines and opened fire!

Roll initiative!

[Othniel]

Karina

Karina moved for the door, but came up short as Cass stopped in the hallway. She took one quick look down the hall and spotted Kyran's attempt to swipe a blaster and di the first thing that came to mind. She threw her boot.

[roll0] At G1! (Got a 20).

[zabbarot]

H-1ME watched as her 'cell mate' made a mess out of the technician and emitted a low whistle. It didn't translate to anything she was just surprised. She took a moment to knock her restraining bolt off and melt it with her fusion cutter before scuttling over to check the dead man for keys or a datapad.

//So... wanna team up and destroy all humans?//

[Tychris1]

Watching the lights dim, PB-1858 did what it did best and took advantage of an opportunity when presented. With lightning fast reflexes the battle droid got its hand on the technician's blaster pistol before he even knew what was happening. "Before you go, though, personal request. You should know not to fight this. It's better if you just accept it." It emitted sarcastically in his pre-recorded voice, eliciting a "Huh?" before abruptly cutting him off with six blaster shots to the chest. Thoroughly dead, PB-1858 stood over the technicians corpse and further ruined it before checking the power cell. Finding it fresh, PB-1858 looked over at its cell mate before yanking its restraining bolt free and stomping on it vigorously.

"With pleasure." PB-1858 responded in binary "You have any means of wielding a weapon? I have two thrall droids somewhere around here so if you don't it's fine, just help me find them and my equipment."

[zabbarot]

H-1ME brandished her​ tools in answer. Then set to work removing the rest of the bolts.

//Lead the way, punchy.//

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

Karina's boot sailed through the air, rebounding off the bulkhead behind the two Onderonians and distracting the one struggling with Kyran for his blaster. Perhaps due to the ballistic footwear, or their own panic, neither guard could draw a bead on the wily smuggler, their mercifully blue-hued shots going wide as he continued to struggle for control of a carbine. So intent were they on their struggle, they seemed wholly unaware as Cass stepped from her cell and into the light.

Until she raised her hand. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZ9kQ1h-ZY)

Around the area of the melee, debris from the explosion of the security console began to rattle across the deck. Smoke that had moments before roiled over the ceiling contorted into miniature funnels, and throughout the prison block sound seemed to fade. Cass touched the Force, its currents turbulent in this place of pain, and finally unleashed the fullness of her outrage. At once, the minor tremors ceased, replaced by an overwhelming force that drove the two guards together with an audible crack. Both maintained their footing, surprisingly, but when they emerged from their fugue of pain Kyran was forgotten.

"Jedi!"

As if on cue, Karina sent her second boot arcing into the air, forcing a quick sidestep from the lead guard as he and his companion began firing wildly at Cass. Most would have been felled by the storm of blaster bolts, but in the eye of the storm that was the Force Cass simply sidestepped. The bolts passed by her with almost a meter to spare, striking the far wall with showers of sparks. Seeing his opponent distracted, Kyran aimed a kick at the man's most vital organ, but with his own vision slight shaken from Cass' display of power his foot went wide. Rebounding off the bulkhead, he instead chose the path of least resistance and dropped prone. The guard next to him had the presence of mind to look down in surprise before Cass' boot impacted his forehead, launching him backwards in the wall where he slumped down, unconscious. The guard's blaster carbine clattered to the ground, and before the second guard could even cry out Kyran had taken up the fallen weapon and put a lethal bolt of energy through the woman's chest. The shut of alarm died on her lips as a whimper, and she staggered back against the ruin of a dividing counter, passed out.

There was a moment of silence broken by heavy breathing as Kyran stood, blaster carbine pointed absently in the direction of the guards. From their new vantage point, he and Cass could see the ruin of a third guard's corpse, blackened by plasma burns and slumped over the smoking wreckage of guard counter. Clearly, the power surge had done more than dim the lights, and the lack of immediate response from the other guards suggested this area might not be the only one affected. Still, that mystery would keep. Another mystery loomed far larger.

"You couldn't have done that before? The thing with the... WOOSH!?"

Kyran wiggled the fingers of his free hand in Cass' direction before motioning to the insensate guards.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Cass looked Kyran dead in the eye.

"Just a gravity hiccup."

The stare the smuggler returned was incredulous, until a smirk broke through.

"Since you're not a Jedi, you definitely don't have any moral objections to me blasting these guys in the temple."

"Joke's on you, I've never been to the temple."

Without further warning, Kyran pulled the trigger of his carbine, the report of the weapon echoing through the halls as the heads of both guards exploded like overripe melons. Behind the three adventurers there was the sound of several pained gasps, and one pathetically small scream, as the other prisoners who had gathered in the hall witnessed Kyran's casual brutality.

[Jade_Tarem]

"Sithspawn!" Cass's curse popped out in her shock. "Kyran, I thought you were kidding! What the hell, man?! Fine. Fine! If it matters so much to you that you're willing to start shooting people to out me, you can turn me in when we get to Onderon."

[Nefarion Xid]

"Turn you in?" Kyran snarled, genuinely vexed. "Lady, you could be Queen of Alderaan and I wouldn't care right now. I'm having a real bad day. On top of being gassed and enslaved, I've also been shot and tortured with an electrified nerf-prod! I don't even think that woman was a real doctor! I didn't see any medical degrees on the wall! I don't think electrocuting a man's nipples counts as medical science!"

"And keep your family back and in cover, Loreck!" He continued to rant without looking back at the mortified civilians. "You've got one kriffing job while we get out of here! Keep your kid safe! These bastards are Onderonian Military and slavers, so, I'm sorry if anyone is squeamish, but I'm not leaving these jackboots alive to file a report and track us down once I'm planetside."

With that, Kyran slid into cover by the door out and gestured for everyone nearby to the do the same before he punched the open button and took aim into the next room.

[Jade_Tarem]

"Yeah, I'm sure you had public safety in mind when you pulled the trigger. And for the record, no: I am not okay with revenge killings, no matter how seared your nipples are!" Cass lined up on the other side of the door and planted her face into her free hand. "But you have a point. These guys are bad news and they've had plenty of time to think about what they're doing. The other refugees can stay behind us. Karina... keep throwing boots, I guess. Next stop is our gear. Let's go!"

[Othniel]

Karina

"I have only been in Republic space for a few years, but I am reasonably sure that member worlds of the Republic do not officially sanction slavery; these jerks are almost certainly working off the books." Karina grabbed the stun batons dropped by the two guards and gave one to Madaanti Lofar, the Rodian war veteran with them. She kept the other for herself and switched on the power pack.

"Better than boots until I get my blaster back, at any rate," she grinned at Cass. "And irrespective of what I said when we were first thrown in the cell, while I have no qualms about offing the Sithspawn that put us in here," she added quietly and hopefully lower than the other captives could pick up, "I am willing to do this the "nice" way. There are likely too many here than we can effectively take on with just the three of us - four, counting Madaanti here - and the longer we take to get planetside, the less likely that result becomes. Furthermore, the more painful we make it for them, the more likely it becomes that one of the head mynocks' desire for revenge outweighs the cost to his operation of doing so. In short, we should get the hell out of here as soon as possible."

[Tychris1]

With its slave droids newly "freed", PB-1858 went about equipping them with any weapon they could loot off the technician or the surrounding area. "Punchy. That's a new one. These weapons will do for now, but I have much heavier armaments waiting for me if we can find out where all the equipment was taken. Follow us and see if you can find an access port or some sort of map. If we get in a fight... Throw a shoe or something."

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass rolled her eyes and checked the charge on her blaster as Karina pontificated. When the Chiss got to the end, the padawan shook her head. "Urgency without panic. There could be other slaves here - would you leave Sulen to die, or worse? Run if you want; I'm making sure that we get all the innocents off this floating trash bin at a minimum. Ideally, I'd like to take the command center and grab their records, maybe see who else they've kidnapped and enslaved over the last few months."

[TheDarkDM]

The Prison Block

The group of prisoners remained silent in the face of Kyran's tirade, clearly unwilling to challenge the angry man with a gun. All save Sulen, whose continued sobs were muffled in her mother's shirt as Dara turned her head away from the carnage. Madaanti looked down at the weapon being offered with a far-away look in his black eyes, and while he eventually took hold of the stun baton it was with a grip that betrayed the razor's edge he walked between control and calamity.

Moving to the door, Kyran noticed that it too stood ever so slightly ajar, a thin sliver of light emerging from its right edge. Trying the controls, he found them dead, and so was forced to reach in and manually prise open the door.

The Droid Workshop

Doinga quick examination of the droid workshop, PB-1858 found little in addition to the technician's blaster and stun baton to arm his followers. Eventually, he managed to scrounge the rigid arm of a loader droid to serve as a makeshift club, and so prepared he led his squad and H-1ME through the door.

The Salvage Center

As Kyran forced open the door, he once more beheld the stacked piles of belongings taken from the hold of the Pride of Taris. However, unlike before, the two soldiers in charge of cataloging the haul were nowhere to be seen. As he stepped into the room to examine further, the door standing alongside that to the prison block hissed open, revealing a quartet of droids. Three he remembered vaguely from the Pride, but one was familiar indeed.

[Nefarion Xid]

"I'm so glad you could join us!" Kyran scoffed at H-1ME while darting to the next door on the way. The battle droids and dead technician barely registered.

"Did they give you an oil bath? Because I got a mani-pedi and a wax. I'm going to write such a glowing review of this place. C'mon, get my blasters while I watch the hall. Then see if you can find something to plug in to, see what the hell is going on here. The computers have got to at least be on auxiliary power, right?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass snorted at Kyran's continued histrionics and patted H-1ME on the dome as she walked into the room. "Well... I missed you. If you point me to the weapons, I'll get them while you take the computers."

[Tychris1]

A pointed chirping of binary eminated from PB-1858, which to anyone with a grasp of binary would come to understand as a form of laughter as it looked at the assortment of prisoners before it. Its enslaved droids held their crude melee weapons close and high, walking warily behind their master as the lead battle droid set about scavenging for its most precious possession. A hulking and heavy blaster rifle. Glancing back at H-1ME, PB-1858 said in binary "Still want to follow through with your plan?"

[zabbarot]

H-1ME's excitement over finding Kyran dissipated almost as quickly as he could talk.


"Still want to follow through with your plan?"

/I'm going to need a bit to think about it. Don't take it off the table at least./ H-1ME set out to search for a dataport. Surely the nice woman and the battle droid could recognize weapons, but they needed a map.

[Othniel]

Karina

"Ah, the droids from the ship," Karina noted as the band of passengers once again reassembled. "Welcome to the party."

"Great idea," she commented to Cass before turning to the utility droid. "While you find a port, I'll look for a console. Maybe it will go faster with two of us working at it."

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass almost cried with relief when she got back to her gear - one piece of it in particular. She handed her purloined blaster pistol to one of the adult Nestinas and strapped her belt, cloak, pack, and weapons back on. Rooting around at the small of her back, she withdrew a cylinder with an emitter at one end and a stubby button and adjustment knob, right above the grip. Her first attempt at building her weapon hadn't produced an elegant or exceptional result, but it worked, and without any flaws that required it to have something as embarrassing as an awkward, goofy cross guard.

She didn't bother telling everyone what it was. She figured they already knew.

[Tychris1]

The two slave droids picked up their blaster carbines, routinely checking them as they had dozens of times before, and in their lead PB-1858 yanked its heavy blaster rifle out of the pile of discarded and seized weaponry. Cocking the weapon in one hand, the battle droid sheathed its looted blaster pistol, and proceeded to ensure its ammunition was fully stocked. Glancing over at the others as they collected their gear, the commander battle droid took a step back as Cass withdrew her lightsaber. Given the rodians previous statement the Droid assumed Cass had some kind of bounty on her, but seeing this now the Droid had far different priorities.

"You've got another thing coming if you think you're dragging me back in, Sith." It said in the raspy and cleary injured voice of an elderly man. PB-1858 left out the part five seconds later where its commander ordered it to shoot him in the face.

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass looked over her shoulder at the droid, then just walked to the door. "Keep your processors online, I'm not Sith."

[TheDarkDM]

Contraband

True to their appearance, the Nestinas and the Tollus had little in the way of weaponry to retrieve, instead giving the others a wide berth as they searched hurriedly for whatever was easily salvaged from their former lives. Clothing, jewelry, the errant credit chit, even a fragment of the devilish puzzle were saved. Among the weapons, however, was a battered blaster rifle painted in faded Republic camouflage, its stock gouged with seven crude Sith helmets. Tucking the stun baton into his waistline, Madaanti took up the rifle heavily. Yet as he fell into the routine of checking its charge, calibrating its sights, he seemed to stand easier.

Having retrieved their gear with little delay, Karina and H-1ME moved to the panel alongside the door. It was a simple display, its scratched screen flashing a single word - [LOCKDOWN]. As the Chiss bent in to investigate, there was the whirring of an embedded camera above the door, and a tinny voice rattled out of it.

"Put down your weapons and return to your cells. This entire wing is in lockdown, and we'd prefer not to depressurize it."

Whatever further threats the voice may have prepared fell silent as a sound both familiar and terrible echoed through the room. Loreck took a reflexive step back as Cass' lightsaber blazed to life, the stolen carbine in his hands lifting halfway towards Cass' chest before he regained control of himself and lowered it with an ashamed look. There was a long moment of silence, until Madaanti nodded.

"So, what do we do Commander?"

You're pretty sure he's bluffing about spacing you.

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass shot the camera when he finished. She'd thought about mouthing off to him, and if she hadn't been towing a small crowd of refugees she might have taken the time to do so. As it was, she simply ignited the blade, the distinctive snap-hiss filling the room along with its green light. That the soldier was asking her for orders was, well, disturbing. She didn't know how well his sanity would hold together in the coming fight, but they needed trigger hands and she was hardly qualified to treat him. Instead, she provided orders. "We need to get off the station... but that won't do us any good if they have ships ready to scoop us back up again. We're hitting the command center. If there are slavers there, we kill them. They've had plenty of time to reflect on their life choices and run. Once we own the station, then we can hijack a ship or an escape pod and make for Onderon. Between here and there, shoot anything that shoots at us, arm anything that fights them with our spare guns. Let's go."

[Tychris1]

"Take point! You two, forward march, eyes up!" PB-1858 growled out in the brazen and harsh voice of a doomed Mandalorian. In unison the slave droids raised up their blaster carbines and moved to the door, one at each side, and PB-1858 approached the door with its heavy blaster rifle raised. Waiting for the door to open, the Battle Droid continually glanced at the glowing lightsaber before finally taking one hand off the heavy blaster rifle. Waving it about in a vaguely sage fashion, it inquired in Cass' own voice "Not Sith..." A whirr of curiosity emanated from the Droid as it continued pantomimimg some of the force moves it had seen in the past.

[Nefarion Xid]

"If there are slavers there, we kill them. They've had plenty of time to reflect on their life choices and run." Kyran paused for a moment, still strapping on his holsters and leaning against the wall. He clasped his hands together, savoring the feeling of being right, but said nothing. Once the door was open or just ventilated, he allowed the droids to step through first.

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Taking a moment to examine the locked pad, Karina quickly determined that it likely had limited connectivity to the station's network. However, what access there was would be enough. With H-1ME's help, she quickly removed the panel's external shell, revealing an orderly span of wires leading into the circuit board. Attaching her datapad, she smashed through the firewalls in minutes, and on the dangling screen the flashing [LOCKDOWN] blinked into [ACCESS GRANTED]. Twin slave droids at the ready, the doors hissed open.

Beyond lay the familiar sight of the prison's processing chamber, where each slave-to-be had had their picture and palm scan committed to the computer's data core. When they had passed through it had been manned by four guards, but now six crowded inside, the one in charge speaking loudly into his comm bead.

"We need reinforcements down here to deal with the escapees! One of them's a kriffing Jedi!"

"Negative, station systems haven't been fully restored. Keep them locked inside until we can figure out how they-"

"Sithspit, they're free!"

The soldiers turned, preparing to repel the now heavily-armed prisoners.

Roll for Initiative!

[Tychris1]

Shoving its first slave droid down to use as an improptu firing platform, PB-1858 ordered the other one to run into the room and get into close quarters with an enemy combatant. Just as the droid stepped out of the way PB-1858 unloaded a hail of fire at the guard opposite it.


Swift action switch to autofire

Bang Bang!:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Weathering PB-1858's withering hail of blaster fire, the guards behind the processing station returned fire. Their leader, the one who had been shouting into the commbead, continued his tirade.

"Prisoners are loose! We need reinforcements now!"

Meanwhile, the three remaining guards took aim at the droid sent to distract them, falling easily for PB's bait. The doorframe around Pb nearlky disintegrated under the weight of the guard's fire, but despite some close calls none touched the murderous droid. The same could not be said, however, for his slave. A blaster pistol aimed true, blowing a ten centimeter hole in its drive core.

G1 Attack (PB): [roll0]
G1 Damage: [roll1]

G2 Attack (PB): [roll2]
G2 Damage: [roll3]

G3 Attack (PB): [roll4]
G3 Damage: [roll5]

G4 Attack (Droid): [roll6]
G4 Damage: [roll7]

G5 Attack (Droid): [roll8]
G5 Damage: [roll9]

G6 Attack (Droid): [roll10]
G6 Damage: [roll11]

[Nefarion Xid]

"No. Wait. I think they're reevaluating their poor life choices."

Kyran grinned at Cass (more sneered, but he was attractive) before emerging from cover to pop off a shot dangerously close to PB's hypothetical ear.

[roll0] attack
[roll1] damage

[Jade_Tarem]

"This. This right here is why the Jedi went into hiding. The first thing anyone does after meeting one is see if they can piss all over the Code and mock you for having it. Every. Single. Time." Despite the words, Cass didn't stop to argue, dashing into the room and taking a sharp left, letting the lightsaber sing through the air as she went on the attack.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Seeing Cass rush into the fight, Madaanti moved into position alongside PB and took aim at a soldier on the far side of the room.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Tychris1]

"Well done soldier." PB-1858 said in binary as it watched its squad shrink by 33%. Annoyed at the fact that these guards were still alive the battle droid continued to unload a wall of wild blaster fire.


Attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]

[Othniel]

Karina

Lifting her blaster and stepping away from the console, Karina wormed her way past her allies and through the open doorway. Lining up her blaster, she took aim at the guard across the desk and opened fire.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Confirm: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Crouched behind the processing station, the lead guard did his best to fight and communicate at the same time.

"Operations! Do you read!?"

"Negative on reinforcements, sergeant. We've got cascade failures across the entire security grid. You need to subdue the prisoners-"

The sergeant's head exploded as Karina's shot found its mark. The comm bead, however, continued in blissful ignorance.

"-and secure your sector. We have reports of-"

The voice on the other end of the comm succumbed to static, and from outside the prison block the sound of an explosion rocked the station. Speakers recessed into the ceiling began to wail a stark, two note alert, while the remaining guards fired with ever increasing desperation.

This is the common military alert siren for a hull breach.

G2 (Autofire; PB, D1): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

G3 (Attack Karina): [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

G4 (Attack Maadanti): [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

G5 (Attack Cass): [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

G6 (Attack Cass): [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass

"Seriously!?" The frustration in the Jedi's voice was clear as the guards kept firing, but she emptied her mind of distracting emotions to concentrate on employing the Force. "I've never seen anyone so ready to die just so someone else could have a lucrative slaving operation!" She gestured with her hand, flinging the guard nearest to her at the next in line and stepping into the space he'd occupied.

UTF for Move Object, targeting G6 with the Force Power itself and G5 with G6: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] if 15-19
+ [roll2] if 20-24
+ [roll3] if 25-29
+ [roll4] if 30+

[Nefarion Xid]

"That's what I'm saying!" Kyran shouted, still shooting left handed from the doorway of the workshop. "I don't know kriff about your code, lady! I'm not mocking you because you're a Jedi, I'm mocking you because you're a hypocrite!"

He continued shouting at the man at the man he was shooting at. "Hey, buddy? You sure you don't want to go to a trade school or something? You could be an electrician or a medic. Medic would come in real handy about now ..."

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Tychris1]

Watching Cass engage into melee with the last two remaining guards, PB-1858 switched from autofire to single fire before lining up a shot and squeezing the trigger.


vs G3
Attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]

[TheDarkDM]

Madaanti

Ducking the return fire of the guard he'd tagged, the rodian soldier attempted to bring a decisive end to the engagement.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Othniel]

Karina

"Am I the only one worried about that hull breach warning?!" Karina shouted as she squeezed off another shot.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[zabbarot]

Princess

//I would be concerned if I had lungs.// H-1ME began trying to cut into the wall towards what she assumed should be an internal hallway.

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

The guard trading shots with Madaanti stopped firing as the last of his fellows died before the prisoners' onslaught. Though only his eyes were visible, Cass could feel the deep confusion radiating off of him, as he threw down his carbine and raised his hands.

"Stop! Stop shooting! I surrender!"

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass leveled her lightsaber at the guard. "Take us to the command center, now! If you lead us into an ambush, you'll be our first bit of cover."

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Straining against his uniform, the man raised his hands ever higher as he stared down the blade of Cass' lightsaber. He was so fixated on the shimmering weapon it seemed to take a moment for him to process the Jedi's demands.

"The Command Center? That's up a deck, and we'd have to pass medical or the barracks. But if we have a hull breach, who knows what's accessible. Everything outside this room could be hard vacuum."

At that moment, in the other room, H-1ME's plasma cutter managed to break through the other side of the wall she was working on cutting through. Fortuitously, it seemed there was atmosphere beyond the prison block.

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass scoffed at the man's warning. "Who built this station, Jawas? It has to have pressure sensors that will tell us what the atmo status is on the other side of any given door. You get us to the command center. Let me worry about the vacuum."

[Othniel]

Karina

Too distracted by people shooting to realize just what the utility droid had been up to, Karina turned as it broke through the wall in the other room. Eyes widening at the thought of what the little droid could have exposed them to, she shot it an angry look. "You could have killed us, you know. How about we work together instead of endangering each other?"

Turning her attention back to Cass and the now-disarmed guard, she gestured to the door. "We should probably move along before something like that does happen. Escaping slavery only to die to vacuum would be an embarrassing way to go. And we apparently have a droid with an itchy plasma cutter here."

[TheDarkDM]

Processing

Swallowing hard, the soldier nodded and kicked away his blaster carbine. Stepping gingerly over the corpses of his former companions, he inserted his code cylinder into a panel alongside the door out of the room and input a short passcode. The door hissed open, revealing a familiar gunmetal corridor. To the right, they all knew, lay the medical center and the Doctor's torturous ministrations. However, that was was blocked by the black imensity of a blast door, its base marred by a pool of blood clotting around a severed arm. A thin strip of transparisteel ran at eye level around the inner ring of the station, from the frame of the blast door to the frame of a hatch labeled "Escape Pod," and through it the cause of the decompression alarm became clear. What might have been the dock for another escape shuttle outside the medical bay had clearly exploded, the debris of the pod scouring the durasteel around it and exposing the chambers beyond to open space. The central spire of the station was smeared with the blood of more than one person, and a few dismembered remains could still be see floating in the void, their escape halted by violent collision with the station itself. The group's hostage gagged, celarly trying to find the words for what he was seeing, and as he struggled a new alarm blared out, cutting out the vacuum alert.

"That's...that's General Quarters..."

[zabbarot]

Peeking through the small hole she'd cut in the wall, H-1ME emitted a low whistle. //Escape either just became much easier or impossible. Well... improbable.// Turning around she made her way back to the console to see if she could access any of the ships records, though it was fairly possible they didn't even exist at this point.

Computer check?
[roll0]

[Jade_Tarem]

Several thoughts fought to escape Cass and died when she saw the carnage. Pressing a hand to the transpirsteel, she simply closed her eyes and whispered. "May the Force be with you all." She didn't know if the cloud of assorted body parts outside was comprised of escapees or slavers or whatever, but it seemed like the thing to say. Her stomach churned, but she managed to keep it down.


"That's...that's General Quarters..."

The guard's statement brought the Jedi back to the present. "I'm holding out for General Halves. Command Center, buddy. Don't make me repeat it again."

[Othniel]

Karina

"Ohhh...that's not good." Time to get out of here! Karina looked away from the grisly sight. "Left or straight?"

[TheDarkDM]

The Habitation Ring

It was clear the captive soldier had more to say, but some combination of the carnage behind him and the carnage ahead stilled his tongue. Waving left down the open hall, he crept past the escape pod under Cass' watchful gaze. It seemed the group of escapees was prepared to slip away in the confusion, until Alzer Tollu rounded the corner ahead of his wife.

"Wait, there's an escape pod right there! Let's just leave."

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass

The Jedi shook her head. "The General Quarters alert means the station is under attack. Whatever's out there has guns and is willing to use them. We need a ship: something with engines and shields." She paused, "But more than that, I want the command center so I can get a copy of their data. Once we have those two things, we've got a chance."

[Othniel]

Karina

"Much as I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible, she's got a point. Jumping into an escape pod would make us all sitting fynocks." Karina grimaced. Bringing the collection of refugees with them was begging fate to pick one or more of them off, but she didn't see an alternative. "Besides, once we get there, the utility droid or I might be able to find something useful in their system."

[TheDarkDM]

The Habitation Ring

Grey-skinned hand caressing his wrinkled brow, Alzer looked between Cass and the hatch leading to the escape pod.

"I guess that makes sense. But, if this station's under attack, how do you know we have time to do all that before we get blown orbit?"

He turned, an accusing finger pointing towards the captive Onderonian.

"You! What's going on!?"

A sullen silence was all that followed, the look in the soldier's eyes clearly daring the alien refugee to make him talk. The Duros' hands balled into fists, but before he could work up the courage for rash action a voice crackled over the intercom.

"All hands, this is the Captain. Prepare to repel boarders. I repeat, prepare to rep-sithspit!"

There was the sound of blaster fire over the loudspeakers, and another sound before they went dead. A sound all too familiar to many among the escaped prisoners - the sound of a lightsaber blade.

[Othniel]

Karina

Karina glanced at Cass when the sound of the lightsaber hissed over the speaker. "Did you bring friends? Because if you didn't, things are about to get real interesting if we make it to the command center!"

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass

The Jedi's mouth twitched. "I have a friend with a lightsaber, but this changes things - I was pretty sure I could take the command center from slavers who think they're officers. If they're Sith? Not so much. I have to try to get that data, but I can't take the families in there..."

She thought it over for a moment. "Alright, we'll do it this way. Karina and I will hit the command center. We'll do what we need to in order to get the data, and if the saber-person is friendly, great. If not, we'll try to avoid them. Kyran, Princess, and Peanut Butter, take everyone else to the hangar deck, steal a ship, and get out of here."

[Nefarion Xid]

"Fine. Fine. Everything seems to be working out for us so far," Kyran said noncommittally and waved H1M-E alone with this blaster. "You go first. No one shoots at utility droids in a crisis."

[Othniel]

Karina

"I may have mentioned military training," Karina began to explain. Two of them heading up to the bridge on their own. Was this Jedi thinking straight? "But it was most definitely not commando training. I was a systems operator. I think bringing the battle droids would be a welcome addition to our firepower, if you ask me"

[Jade_Tarem]

Cass

"I can't leave the others with just Kyran and Madaanti to guard them." The Jedi shook her head. "Work with me, Karina. I just need you to break whatever computer security they have. If you're worried, stay out of sight and let me do the talking or fighting."

[Tychris1]

PB-1858

Not caring much for what happened to a bunch of slaves or slavers, the Battle Droid merely nodded its head and instantly followed behind Kyran.