The security personnel aboard the vessel were trained to deal with small scale threats. They had spent the majority of their careers fighting pirates and smugglers, and had seen no serious action against militarily trained targets. No one had expected anyone to target a civilian vessel.
Once again, the Sith Empire and its allies had been underestimated.
The ship's security scrambled to try and slow the imperial advance, only to be ripped apart in a hail of gunfire. Men and women that had signed on for a job that paid just enough to put food on the table were being asked to lay down their lives for strangers, and it soon became clear that not all of the security force was keen on doing so. The brave souls that chose to stand against the invaders bought precious seconds for civilians to scramble into what they hoped to be secure private rooms, but many of simply ran themselves. The imperials cut through the remnants of their force like a knife through butter.
The sudden and numerous nature of their deaths echoed out in the force. They confirmed Darius's feeling of danger, replacing it with a true and palpable dread.
"The Sith are here," he said to no one save for his own surprise. Were they truly so dogged in their desire to see the remnants of democracy wiped from the face of the galaxy?
Yes. That's a stupid question to ask. The Sith are relentless.
A decision posed itself to the exile. He knew well that if the Sith were here, he was likely on their list of targets. His stand at the Black Library had marked him as a hated enemy of the Sith Empire, and they would not hesitate to put him down if they found him. He had the skills required to run - he might even make it off the ship before they found him.
But what would happen to everyone else?
The burgeoning hope of escape was quickly squashed by guilt. Despite all that had happened, Darius could not bring himself to abandon these people to their fates. "They aren't far either, and judging by the sounds of gunfire I'd say we only have a few minutes before they've made their way to this section of the ship." He spoke to the room at large, a cool confidence to his voice that did anything but reflect how Darius truly felt.
He was terrified.
"Hardline I've opened communications on my helmet. You can patch in - see if you can't find out far away they might be." He paused, turning to meet the gaze of each individual in the cantina. "They're going to be looking for Jedi before anything else. That means me, and anyone else with a lightsaber here. I'm going to try and slow them down. You can either join me, or find your way to one of the cabins, though odds are the imps will just destroy this ship and act as if it never existed."
A brief expression of telekinetic power open the primary doors to the cantina. As the doors lifted, the sounds of violence came rushing to meet the cantina's occupants like a swift gust of wind. "My name is Darius. You can either come with me and try to distract the imps away from the civilians, or hide - it's your call. There's no disrespect in deciding this isn't your fight."
The snap-hiss of Darius's lightsaber momentarily overwhelmed the sounds of violence. He held the emerald blade ready as he slowly marched out into the gloom. The primary lights had gone out to save power while the emergency systems were active, leaving the long durasteel halls to be cast in a dull red glow courtesy of the auxiliary lights.
The sounds of security dying and civilians fleeing for cover roared just down a leftward corridor at the end of the hallway. Darius had little doubt that the imperials would be upon him shortly. He waited for them, lightsaber held in both hands, his heart thundering in his chest as he prepared for what very likely might prove to be his death.
Better to die a Jedi than live as a coward.
[member="Eustachya"], [member="Kana Mikasa "], [member="Redmond Geller"], [member="Seo Linn"], [member="H.A.R.D.L.I.N.E"],
