A Situation

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He furrowed his brow, equipped with a concerned frown, as he tilted his head slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that Jacen, truly I am." He knew the woes of a spurned family member. His own father, his own mother, his own brother, and even his son Ijaat. Well, that last one was more or less earned. In his own way, he suspected the same eventual fate with Chevu. Gabriel wasn't destined for fortune or the easy route, he merely trudged on through the mud of his own life. But even more than all those ill feelings towards the past and the prospective future, Gabriel was concerned for the shrug and notion of quitting. Maybe, in the future, he could help this man recover the bonds with his son, as he tried to do the same with his.

Exhaling, seeing that the pistol had cooled, he pulled the weapon from the holster and cracked it open. Ammunition was good, fully loaded, and everything seemed to be ready to go. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out his firelance and performed the same cursory inspection. He had multiple grenades in the flack vest with ammunition already stowed. Satisfied, he gripped it by the stock and looked towards the display. Chewing on his thumb nail, he carefully inspected the schematics and nodded. "Well, looks like four floors. The maintenance shaft winds back and forth..." He indicated towards the display. "So we could take that route or take the duct ladder. It will cut out about 200 meters and we can avoid any scouts that might come down to check up on us." He pointed to a small square duct. Where the maintainance corridor went up 100 meters then banked back, another 100 meters, at a slight incline the whole way, the duct split the difference as the hypotenuse to the two legs. Straight up. "25 meters of ladder in a tight space, shouldn't be so bad."

He shrugged and nodded. "Either way is fine. But once we get up to the first floor, above ground, we'll likely enter into the engagement phase of the operation." He paused. "So do you know where they are keeping the hostages? Or are we flying blind?"

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

“I live with what it is,” Jacen replied. “Can’t make amends until I’m permitted to go to Coruscant. That isn’t happening until we take the world back or I retire.” There was a look of intense concentration as he studied the maps, consolidating its view with what he could sense through the Force. The Force was somewhat abstract, all sensation and emotion. Reconciling what he could sense with what he could see didn’t always come naturally.

“This is the bulk of the hostages,” Jacen said, pointing to a mass of dots in a wide, open hall. “The last attempt to storm the building went badly because they passed two hostages who turned out to be gunmen. These kind of situations you can’t aid the hostages until all the gunmen are down and out. So we’re going to have to pick up on any tricks. They know what they’re doing, they’re trained and they worked well in pairs to outmanoeuvre our men last time,” Jacen explained, then he paused as someone spoke into his comm.

“Snipers are ready to hit the scouts on the perimeter. They’ve pulled in some commandos from a training exercise and they’re getting ready. I’ve worked with some of those guys before, they know their work. They’re on standby to secure the roof and provide assistance should we need it.”

Jacen’s finger traced the duct ladder. “Guess we climb,” he agreed.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"It's settled then. One day, we'll go to Coruscant."

He smiled, the sincerity of the statement likely lost for the intensity of the situation. Gabriel wasn't one to leave a thing alone, though he knew when matters were sensitive. Jacen didn't like talking about his family, that was fine, but he wasn't intent on letting the festering wound fester. Maybe he'd help cut it out.

Pulling back the slide on the firelance, he looked at the display and shouldered the weapon. "Alright, so the panel is right here..." He tapped the wall, then tapped the panel. There was a distinct difference in sound. Approaching a locker, he pulled out an automatic driver and had the metal sheet removed in mere moments, sliding it against the wall. Cutting on the flashlight on at the end of the firelance, he poked his head in and looked up. The ladder was durasteel and rusted in parts, but was covered in a harsh textured grip on each rung. The sort that callouses were built from. The vibrations of the machines within were apparent as he pulled his head out, wincing as he rubbed his tragus. "Right, 25 meters. We'll hit the top and push in. Until we can differentiate between hostiles and civilians, I'll be putting anything down that moves."

Of course, he didn't mean killing anything. But the stun settings on the weapons were effective for a reason, without the threat of fatality. He'd prefer the hostages be mad at him, as opposed to being dead altogether. And with how the enemies were using relatively advanced and somewhat reckless tactics, it would require a particularly harsh tactic in return. Sliding the weapon on to its strap, he started scaling the ladder through the maintenance shaft. Steam vented through the interior, red ambient lights flashing to provide visuals. He did his best to ascend quickly, the sound within was deafening.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

It soon became apparent to Jacen that there was a life form near the exit of the shaft. Gabriel would likely sense it too easily enough, but the veteran reached up to tap him on the back of the ankle to get his attention. Every other rung of the ladder was fresh agony, but Jacen grimaced against it and swallowed it up.

The noise in the shaft was enough down here that he risked breaking verbal silence. “Can’t risk the noise of the stun gun,” he whispered. They’d be close to the others by that point, but every second would count. “If I open the hatch nice and quiet, can you bring him down silently?” Jacen asked. It would be easy enough for him to use the Force to clear the path ahead of Gabe. This way he could free up Gabe’s concentration to slip in after the scout, whilst he wouldn’t put the mission at risk trying to implement a silent take down with a damaged limb.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He leaned back against the shaft, cinching down the firelance before looking towards the Jedi Master. Giving a nod to the man, the door opened and Gabriel hunched down, stepping quietly into the hall. Finding the first individual, appearance resembling civilian clothing, he wrapped his right arm around the neck and locked onto the left bicep. The left arm tightened, pushing the head forward against the right arm. 6 seconds and a drag back into the shaft, the man was out.

Laying him face down, Gabriel cinched down straps on the wrists before wrapping the mouth with a gag strapped around the head. Looking up towards Jacen, he pulled the radio from the belt loop and tossed it to the man. Whispering now. "Kidnapper dressed as a civilian." As the man came to, Gabriel placed his knee against the back and pushed down to keep him from moving. Exhaling, he looked down at the man, who was currently trying to turn his head to get a view of the man who wore the face of the Wrath. Gabriel, frowning at the brevity of the unconsciousness, placed his palm against the mans neck and push down, keeping him from looking over. "Don't make a noise." There was no threat, he didn't need to. The man stopped struggling and rested his face against the grate.

Looking back up to Jacen, he tilted his head. "We can question this man if you'd like...hear anything on the radio?"

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

[SIZE=12pt]Jacen gave Gabriel a curt nod. He wrapped the piece around his lobe, pushing the bud into his ear. The radio itself was clipped to his belt. They were using off the shelf crypto modules in the radios themselves, but they hadn’t yet had the time to call in a specialist to break into their network. If necessary, the Alliance had the jamming power to lock them all out if necessary.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“No chatter at the moment,” he whispered as he dropped down onto his haunches in sight of the captive man. He stayed there, deathly still for a moment as he focussed. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“How many of you are there?” Jacen asked. The man’s brow furrowed in confusion as the gag was still in place. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Seventeen others. How many hidden among the hostages?” Jacen continued. There was another brief pause. The hostage looked shocked now, but he was untrained. Just asking the question brought the answers to the fore of his mind.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Three pairs, one sat with the main group. If you see a yellow triangle stuck to something, a cupboard or a radiator case, it’s because there are repeating pistols with folding stocks hidden inside. What do they look like?” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Jacen slowly nodded, getting back to his feet. “Got it,” he said. The blaster pistol came out of its holster. “Let’s move.”[/SIZE]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He pulled the firelance from his back, deft hands tracing across the adjuster. Full power stun, he exhaled and stepped out from the shaft into an ambient lit hallway. Transparisteel windows looked towards the streets below, law enforcement gathered around in an exclusion zone around the premises. Brown eyes darted down the corridor, force sense projected to discern inclement attacks or potential mishaps. He couldn't feel anything, not to say it wouldn't occur. He hadn't been long in this body. While he knew how to drive, he was still managing the different controls.

Spotting a lift to the next floor, Gabriel looked down the sights of his weapon as he moved forward, stepping around eggshells. Next to the elevator, an emergency set of stairs to the next floor. He placed his back against the wall, cracking his neck, as he looked towards the Jedi Master. He could hear the echoes of voices above, bouncing off the stone frame of the stairwell. At least four by the change in octaves, he smelled hints of smoke with a flare of his nostrils. Squinting towards Jacen, he nodded his head upwards.

"Four above us, at least. Seems like they may be taking a break..." He whispered and waited, making sure they weren't intent on moving down the well to check on the floor beneath. After all, Gabriel felt it odd that there was only one man on the bottom floor. Likely a good sign that there weren't any hostages on this level. He calmed himself, hearing his pulse in his ear, as he tightened his grip on the weapon. "On your mark..."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

Jaw clenched, Jacen slowly breathed out through his nose. For a moment his focus was internal. The right muscles had to be relaxed or tightened to make sure his shooting was assured. There was no margin for error. His left hand would take away from, rather than add to, stability. He kept it against his side like a target shooter. The pistol he had chosen was light, the stun rings gave no recoil. He could manage.

Then his focus turned to the outside world. Through the Force the world was an abstract place that took a great deal of concentration to visualise. The lifeforms ahead of them were so bright against the background noise of physical objects it took a moment to separate them into four distinct entities.

Drawing back from them, he turned his focus to Gabe. Words were slow. Intentions could be shared instantaneously if the other party was receptive. Sith were suspicious, selfish creatures who closely guarded their secrets. The Jedi were far more open to the notion of opening their minds to their peers and working together this closely. Jacen tried to impart the notion that he would deal with the two on the right.

Heel-toe, heel-toe, each stair was taken with great care. His centre of mass was gradually placed onto the next leg, before the trailing foot moved forwards to the next step. Double doors blocked their advance and line of sight, but that was of no concern. Jacen came to a halt, finding a comfortable posture. The Force guided his hand as he took aim at a particular spot on the door.

Once again his intention was signalled through the Force. Doors swung open, kicked by a telekinetic force. Jacen pulled the trigger twice as they shifted. Two bright blue rings took down the first Sullustan on the right before he even had the chance to look surprised.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Loud and clear, his nod and gesture indicated understanding. Precarious steps, careful to dull the sound, he followed behind with his eye aimed down the sight. Gun lifted upwards as they moved, aimed towards just ahead of Jacen's path. As they hit the door, Gabriel nodded once more, a flare of his nose as he clicked the safety free and rested his finger across the trigger. The door clacked open, time seemed to slow, as he aimed towards the two men on the right. Two quick squeezes, a variance formed by a strafe, yellow bolts sprung out and smacked against mid back and upper back. Both quietly gasped as they convulsed, beginning to fall. An expression of his speed, still gaining his own capability with the new body, Gabriel dropped the rifle to the slack of the shoulder strap and raced forward.

One hand grabbed the back collar of a kidnapper, the other lurched forward to cling to the front lapel of a jacket. Kneeling down, he lowered the men to the ground softly. He wasn't so much concerned for Jacens targets, they were further from the entrance to the next hallway. Pulling away from the threshold, Gabriel laid the two men over each other and exhaled. Eyes darted to the wall, 4 hostages gagged and cuffed. Two small children, a mother and a father by his summation, all scared and shaken. Walking slowly forward, he reached into their minds and pulled out what memories he could. With a hand against flesh, he implored his racial ability for psychometry, the likes of which followed with a smile. The father was a maintenance worker, family brought here for an office party. They were of meager means.

One by one, he pulled the gags from their mouths and undid their cuffs, gesturing for them to keep quiet with a finger held to his lips. Placing a warm hand against one of the children's head, he looked the father in the eye and imparted the notion of staying quiet, staying still. And with a stand, he gripped the stock of the firelance and looked towards Jacen. There were families here, people taken from their homes or prevent to from reaching it, and through cloths and stun cuffs, they demanded nothing but peace. And with everything they had, the two would bring that about. No one was dying in this place.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_mkNPvb5C4​

​

Jacen left Gabriel to calm down the hostages. His expression was fixed in grim determination now. His eyes darted back and forth, his jaw was set. In the old days he would have described this as living in the moment. That precarious balance of focus and awareness that got him through the day. Extraneous thoughts were cut off. There was only action and reaction. The Marshal wasn't 'living in the moment' any more. His perception extended beyond the physical, beyond the immediate in both space and time. Things would about to get difficult.

He barely met Gabriel's gaze before his eyes turned away. Another stairwell, the real battle begun at its end. His movements were assured, but there was less caution, more haste as they ascended. The mutual understanding they had very rapidly evolved kept the moving on, never pausing to communicate verbally.

This time they didn't pause before the doors. As Jacen approached, his left hand tapped the comm in his ear. There was a hushed whisper as the man on the other end acknowledge the command. The instant Jacen shoved open the doors with a telekinetic shove, a series of cracks rang out. In reality it had been four shots and the snipers dealt with the scouts within a heartbeat, but the sounds echoed around the building becoming an indistinguishable series of noises of varying volume and timbre depending on the path travelled.

Jacen broke right. This time there was one shot for each of his two targets. When they were down, he put one more shot in each to make sure. Risky, but necessary given how close the sights of their weapons were to hostages. On an impulse he turned and fired two shots into the chest of a hostage. There was screaming, but there was no time to explain that there was a viper in their midst. A flashbang was in his hands now and tossed into the next room. This time Jacen ran towards the next threshold, hoping Gabriel had dealt with his targets in a timely manner.

[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ReMXzbNAaA​

​

With the speed to match the Marshall, Gabriel moved up the stairs in tandem with a rifle lifted and sights set. He pushed out with his presence, projecting his visualization towards the situation that would soon be upon them. There was no pause for the door, no time to let the situation unravel. And as the doors flung open with the push, Jacen moved right, Gabriel moved left. Where the space was once open, there was a narrow entry leading into a small system of rooms and coves. Stepping forward, he leaned back as a punch missed.

Jamming his rifle into the mans chest, he fired two stun shots and grabbed the assaulting hand. With a fling out, the unconscious found himself spasming on the floor before fully passing out. Stepping into the room, he fire off a single shot. A man holding a rifle to a hostages head. Racing forward, nearly at the speed of the bolt, he pushed the gun away as tensed muscled fired slugs into the wall, kicking out duracrete. He looked towards the hostages and sniffed, grabbing the kidnapper by the arm and dragging him across the floor. Tossing him back down into the original room, landing on top of his friend, Gabriel took the last corridor, the left of the T, and took it with a run. Sliding across glass and debris, he shot upward where the man had tried to closeline him upon entrance into the last room.

The shots sprang out with a certain clarity, sending the man to his knees before convulsing to the ground. He looked towards two more hostages and nodded. Grabbing the man, he dragged him out and piled him up as well. They didn't have time to unshackle these people, pull their gags or cuffs. If the sense Gabe was getting was anything like what spurred Jacens urgency, then time was of the essence. As the flash bang hit, Gabriel was already near by, running in step. The next room would have the hornets nest properly kicked, he unhooked a cryo grenade and prepared for the action.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] ​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2-ijxjTs0​

An obvious target presented itself as Jacen rounded the corner. One of the Sullustan terrorists was stumbling away from the flashbang, desperately reaching out with one arm for something to steady himself on. His pistol swung about in one smooth motion and put two stun rings into his chest.

The world was utter confusion now to every single sense. All the panic sent thousands of tiny tremors through the Force that clouded his vision. The two Jedi were the order in the chaos, and yet Jacen was almost as blind as the hostages tied to each other on the ground.

He heard, rather than saw the gunman on the far side of the room. Clearly on the edge of the flashbang’s area of effect he already had his rifle to the back of a civilian’s head. Jacen kept his pistol off to one side, so as not to agitate his target. His lips pulled back into a grimace as he reached out through the Force instead.

In an instant every component in that rifle that was separable came apart. The sullustan was left with an engineer’s diagram of a rifle hovering in the air before him, just the grip still in his hand. The look of shock faded an instant later as he was lit up by blue stun bolts.

Then Jacen felt the hot kiss of a blaster to the back. No matter how many times he was shot it never alleviated the agony of a bolt scorching through flesh. He felt his own weapon clatter to the ground as it slipped from his grip. The ground started to rush up towards him, but he had the sense to go down to one knee and throw himself to one side as best he could. In all the confusion he’d missed a gunman stood just to the side of the door they’d entered.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Dropping the gun to the slack of the nylon strap, Gabriel pulled two CryoBan grenades from the vest. Not feeling the impact of the flash grenade, he palmed the explosives and pulled pins out via his thumbs. With a lift upward, rotating them, the levers flung loose and he rolled them into the next room. The beauty of the device was that it may cause a flash of pain and entrapment, but they weren't fatal. Good for situations where it was hard to tell the difference between friend and foe. The clatter of bolts, the zings and smacks against metal and duracrete, it turned a simple matter of force sight into a far more difficult notion. As if flying through an asteroid belt without instruments, or trying to hear a single blaster in the cacophony of a full engagement. Gabriel suddenly felt a reliance on his eye sight, a good thing he had two eyes now.

The grenades rolled and came to a stop, men distracted by the movement of the two Masters scurrying through the obstacles with the flux of the force for what aid it could provide. The ice and frost ignited in a circle from the epicenter of the grenade, entrapping multiple men in the blast. But it wasn't enough as blasters flung out from the remaining haze of the flash grenade.

It was then that he caught the flash of Jacen, struck by bolt across the back. Veering towards him, he fired two shots into the assailants, putting kidnapper down with a thud and crack of glass beneath crushing boots. Walking to Jacen, Gabriel lifted a shield around them as blasters rippled across it's surface. With one hand held out, gesticulating towards the barriers continued purpose, he dropped the rifle to the strap-fall once more and thumbed a grenade. This time, a smoke grenade. Flicking the grenade forward, the shield shimmer just long enough to allow it to pass, nictitating eyelid of force energy. As the smoke filled up the room, Gabriel force pushed the Jedi Master across the floor, sliding him into a small storage room.

He dropped the shield and strafed left, into an adjacent room, as he fired blaster shots into growing cloud of smoke. Pulling the slide back, he put another pack in and placed his back against the frame of the doorway. Prepared for another charge.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The world was nausea and pain. His head swam and all he could see was a slowly spinning view of the ground before his face. Feth. Did he just shove me into a cupboard? Jacen tried to get a grip on reality and replay the last few moments of time. All seemed a blur now. Gunfire, shouting, screaming and death.

He drifted out of consciousness. There was something pulling at his arm urgently. Was it Malik? He sensed fear. Jacen turned but his son was not there. His house apartment on Coruscant was empty. There was a pull on his hand again, more urgent this time. Again he turned to find the room empty.

Because you're not here.

His eyes blinked open. Something tugged at his consciousness. The Force was trying to talk to him, but he was too focused on trying to shore up his own wounds as an instinctive reaction. He gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to focus on the world around him. The stench of fear was almost overwhelming, but something was different. Understanding dawned on him. Gabriel had moved on, but they'd missed one.

Moving was, at this moment, a bad idea. He had no choice. “Up, up, up,” he grunted. One hand acquiesced and shakily planted itself. “You too,” he ordered to the other.



The gagged and bound hostages shook their heads and tried to cry out to no avail. The Sullustan ignored them as he continued dragging them into a tight group. His thumb found the ring at the end of the wire. A wire that ran through all seven thermal detonators on his belt. He nestled in amongst the group.

He suddenly turned his head at the tinkle of glass. A blaster pistol skipped across the ground through the broken shards before leaving up off the ground.

Jacen was in the doorway to the cupboard, on one knee and his left shoulder propped against he frame. The Sullustan tired to yank on the chord, but his hand was held fast. His other hand still had a pistol and he fired. There was a flash of blue light and he collapsed into the crowd of hostages.

“Alright, sleep now,” Jacen whispered. He looked down at the smouldering hole in the front of his vest. The stench of his own seared flesh reached his nose, but the Force told him he'd only singed the skin. The best had taken the brunt. He slipped back down to the ground, landing heavily on his already damaged left hand, and closed his eyes.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

The last room, going on without Jacen as he had agreed, it was the last hostage now. Pistol against the head, the large man pulled the hammer back, staring back towards the former prisoner. Well, he was still a prisoner, just on temporary leave. Gabriel, appreciating the circumstance, lifted the gun from his strap and slowly placed it on the ground.

"Let the hostage go...let her go, you can have me."
"Why the kriff would I do that?"
"A thirty million credit bounty for starters...on my head."

That was enough, the wide mouth expression from the kidnapper, as Gabe flung his hand out, launching a force push against the chest of the man. He smacked against the wall with a thud, flinging the weapon through an open window. Gabe rushed forward, pushing the hostage away as he pressed the man against the wall. He stepped back, trying to unholster his pistol, only to have it smacked away followed by a punch across the dome. Stepping to the side, Gabe pressed his hand against his temple and laughed, shaking off the stars. The next punch came in high, he responded with a duck and hard blow to the sternum. He felt the stomach give as the kidnapper flailed back. With a catch of wind, he attempted to tackle Gabe at the waist. Planting his feet against the floor, he slid back while locking his arms around the mans chest. With a twist, he flung the assailant into a glass door. Shards shattering to the ground, the beast wasn't done. With one last push, he vaulted towards Gabe with a high step, looking to stab him with an dagger. Stepping to his side, the Master grabbed the offending hand and spun. Assailants back landing against the open window sill, Gabe smacked his hand against the frame twice to disarm him before headbutting twice.

He saw the lights fade from the eyes with that, body sliding in a slump on the floor. Walking back over to the hostage, he checked vitals before running back through the facility. Stepping out with force sense, he knew the place was clean of aggressive entities. There was only Jacen now, and the hostages, and the Jedi Masters signature was weak at best. Finding him on the floor, Gabe knelt over and checked his pulse. Pulling the communications device from Jacen, he called over the radio.

::Building is clear. I repeat, building is clear. Send in medical evacuation units now!::

Turning the man over, well aware that the damage was spine based, he shook Jacen hard. Setting him back down, he smacked him across the face. "Jacen! Are you allergic to bacta?!" It was a rare condition. Question returned with a grunt and non responsive eyes. Pulling the only dose he had from his vest, he pulled the cap from the needle and pushed out some of the bacta. "Well, either this will help or they'll need some epi for you." Pushing the needle into the unaffected flesh near the wound, he injected the wound with bacta and grimaced.

::Now!::
::Sorry, we need authorization first!::
::Authority given by a Jedi Marshall and leader of the Hounds!::

They didn't know the credentials weren't his. With that, he heard the door crack open and the sound of footsteps getting closer.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​