An Exchange Gone Wrong

[Cedric Grayson]

It was said that the Force would deliver all the answers one might seek. That was true in a sense, but sometimes the Force was just a bit too slow when it came to relaying crucial information. It was for that very reason that Darius had come to the bowels of Carida's undercity. The planet, once capital of the New Republic, was well developed and relatively safe. Despite this and the city's reputation for hosting military champions, the undercity still had an inherent criminal element. The recent near-collapse of the government had allowed that element to flourish somewhat uncontrollably.

Darius navigated the dark corridors of the lower levels with a deft eye. He was careful to stand a bit taller than he normally would, giving off an expression of confidence to deter would-be muggers. He really did not want to have to cut off someone's arm just because they thought he would make for an easy target. This day had been a rarely peaceful one thus far.

Another rounding corner led the exile into a warehouse. The building was dark and damp, and whatever it had once contained was replaced with piles of detritus and refuse. He drew himself up to stand in the center of the main room, arms folded about his chest as he awaited the man that would bring him the information he so craved.

It was only a matter of time now.

 

[Anders]

Four rotations of meticulous cyberespionage resulted in a seemingly nondescript cylinder codex loaded with sensitive Imperial troop movements. Sleepless nights were preoccupied with tracking the transmissions of several Imperial agents on the Republic capital, apparently elaborating on a clandestine operation to insert sleeper cells on the planet. Slicing into their sophisticated network certainly wasn’t easy, as it required the bribery and assassination of two of their contacts in the underworld.

What stirred his anxiety is that it seemed the Imperials had detected his counterfeit messages relayed by his droid. Their networks tightened along with implementation of more complicated security codes made further slicing virtually impossible - at least in the range of his relatively intermediate hacking skills. However, despite their efforts he still completed his mission in discovering recent troop movements advancing for outlier systems in the Republic’s border regions, suspiciously marshaling for strategic attacks.

It was unnervingly likely that they were now tracking Anders. The Imperials aren’t stupid, he’ll grant them that, sooner or later they’d pick up on the anonymous codes listening in on their transmissions. And if they succeed in disclosing his identity, it would surely make getting off world far more difficult.

At any rate, however, Anders accomplished his assignment. He was contacted by an unidentified client, demanding the immediate acquisition of these most precious Imperial secrets. It certainly appeared to be of an impertinent matter. His client was explicitly clear on the severity of this mission and how crucial it was to acquire this dangerous piece of information. Indeed, he understood how something like this could be of such great importance. A growing Sith Empire threatened toppling an increasingly impotent Republic that’d been rendered woefully inept in countering this rapacious foe. So to be frank, this mission was more than just a routine job for extra cash - to Anders it meant the preservation of a fragile Republic.

Sure, he technically operated outside the legality sanctioned by the Republic, but at the very least he enjoyed their democratic nature of governance as opposed to the Sith’s ruthless egomaniacal rule. So yes, this was most certainly important to Anders.

Exiting a tight corridor, he made his way inside an abandoned warehouse. Rounding about a putrefied pile of rubbish, he approached a man standing in the middle of the room.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius was no seer.

The empyrean rarely imparted him with visions of the future. He was concerned with the now, and it seemed the Force was keen on leaving him there. Now, however, was different. He felt a shifting in the Great Ocean - as if the very tides that caused it to swirl as a living thing had changed course entirely. It was not a feeling of danger, but rather the beginnings of caution. There was something amiss here, but it was not so obvious as to have Darius draw his lightsaber just yet. He supposed there was a possibility the informant had elected to betray the Republic, but that seemed unlikely. Bounty hunters employed by the Republic were particularly well vetted.

A pregnant, uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Darius waited for the informant. That feeling of caution grew more prevalent, almost as if Darius was being watched. Under most other circumstances, he would have taken his leave right then and there. As things were, he could not afford to retreat. There was a possibility that nothing had gone amiss, and the informant was just running a little behind. Or perhaps he'd arrived to early. It didn't matter.

A wave of relief washed over him as a young man came walking up to him. Darius recognized him immediately for what he was, "Glad to see we were right to rely on you," he said as a greeting, a credit chip held out in one hand. "You get everything we needed?"

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

He reached for a pouch on his utility belt, revealing a small scintillating cube.

“Everything,” he said, handing him the cube and taking the credit chip. “It’s decrypted but you’ll probably need a droid to translate it. Dozens of battle groups are advancing for the Republic’s most vulnerable worlds. Seems like they’re amassing for long-term campaigns with the amount of troops, personnel, rations, and other supplies being ferried on their shi—“

His neck snapped behind his shoulder at the sudden loud footsteps outside the warehouse, warbling incoherently in some odd foreign language.

“Look,” he said, lowering his voice. “It isn’t safe here. I’m sure the Imperials are following me. They know what I took and they’re not gonna give it up without a fight. So that’s why I need a favor —“ he stopped, feeling as though he overstepped his boundaries. This man was a client, nothing more, Anders should expect nothing less than a professional exchange so they can go about their business and never see each other again. But the urgency of these circumstances dispensed with such commonalities - the Imperials were closing in fast and hard.

“I need you to take me off-world.”

 

[Cedric Grayson]

They had been lucky with this one. Darius sensed nothing but genuine urgency flowing off the informant in waves of emotion. The words he spoke were true, or at the very least he believed them to be. The exile did not respond immediately, his expression utterly hidden by the cowl and mask that covered his visage.

The sound of rapid footsteps nearby drew his attention. He tilted his head toward the source of the noise, nodded, then turned back to the informant. "My name is Darius. You'll need to stay close. If we get separated, it's unlikely we'll be able to find one another again." He stated matter-of-factly. That was the hunter's answer.

"The Republic appreciates your service, and we don't abandon our own." The snap-hiss of his lightsaber momentarily gave the intruders pause. For a few moment of tension, there was no noise in the warehouse save for the dull hum of the exile's emerald blade.

The volley of blaster shots came a moment later. Darius knew their intended arcs before they had even been fired, his mind dipping entirely into a state of tranquility as his body twisted in measured pirouettes to bat the bolts back to their source. A man yelled in pain, and it was only then that the attackers stepped out from the gloom.

They were massive men clad in jet black armor, trimmed with the crimson colors of the Sith Empire. Darius recognized them immediately: The Odacai, the Sith Empire's inquisition, the emperor's personal executioners.

They all focused on him, Jedi being their highest priority targets whenever they come across one. The exile could only hope that he could maintain the defense long enough for his unlikely ally to make a move that might give them an opening.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

He flinched instinctively upon the sleek hiss of Darius' lightsaber, the emerald blade casting much needed light in the shadowy warehouse. Anders was rather surprised his client turned out to be Jedi, this would make him the third one he's ever met.

With the thunderous approach of footsteps getting closer, he reached for his pistol and ducked behind a storage crate. Without any notice, a deafening barrage of crimson laser fire rained down from the oblique entrance. The ceaseless volley of fire made it difficult to land a hit, as he began shuffling through his coat for a thermal detonator. Damn, he thought. He was forced to leave behind most of his weapons before vetting at Carida's stringent customs facility. Though he did manage to steal a fragmentation grenade from one his previous victims. An idea sparked in his mind.

Replying with several shots of his pistol, he popped the cap and hurled the device several meters away, disorienting the marauding Imperials. He sprung to his boots and landed a single shot at the bolt of a dilapidated catwalk, causing the framework to collapse and with it all of the junk that barred the troopers' advance.

"Come on!" He motioned to a fractured opening in the battered building, leading into a narrow residential corridor.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Good, you're not an idiot.

Darius had fallen entirely into his combat trance. It was a technique that was once a staple among Jedi, but as the order had fallen to history, so too had many of its teachings. The trance allowed him to view his situation from a detached point of view. He felt himself batting aside bolts of laser fire, smelled the burning ozone in the air around him, but he was not there. It was this clarity of mind that allowed him to immediately pick up on his ally's choice of action, and respond accordingly.

The concussive blast from the grenade made Darius stumble, but not long enough for the imperials to land a shot. He called upon the powers of the empyrean, and felt its energies coalesce around his cybernetic hand. With an exaggerated thrust of his forearm, the well of energy exploded into a telekinetic blast of pure energy. It crashed into the fallen framework, and sent metal and detritus shrieking forward from where it had fallen straight into the death squad.

Darius did not wait to watch the results, instead spinning on his heal as he took off after the informant. His lightsaber winked out as they eased their way through the fracture, and came to find themselves in the residential corridor. Whatever beings might have been milling about were now running in every direction after having been thrown into a panic by the blaster fire. Darius's mind ran a thousand miles at once.

"That was good thinking, certainly saved our shebs," he remarked approvingly, "I don't know what's safe and what isn't, so I'd say our best bet is the ship I came in on. It's parked at a private starport a few blocks from here." Darius gestured down the main road, and keyed his comm to speak to the pilot whom had accompanied him here. The woman went by the name of [member="Beth Cadera"], and had come under recommendation of several of Darius's newfound peers. Hopefully she was listening now. "Hey, this is Darius Sedaire. The imperials found us - our exit is going to be a little hot, we're on our way to you now."

"Are you ready?" He asked, turning back to the informant.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders squirmed out of the jagged aperture, snagging his coat in the process. The corridor was a compact passageway with tiny shops flanking its edges below several partitioned rows of decrepit apartment complexes. They sauntered down the corridor, Anders still on edge, as he looked frantically around him. Darius' question snapped him back into reality.

"Yes," he blurted out, clearing his throat afterward. "Yes, we should leave now."

Much of Anders' hacking equipment was left in an abandoned office building. It was expensive stuff, too, and for a moment he felt himself running off to retrieve it. He huffed, it wasn't exactly possible considering the circumstances. It's gonna take a fortune to buy all that stuff again...

"Who were those guys anyway?" He asked. "Never seen stormtroopers wear that kinda armor."

 

[Cedric Grayson]

A brief expression of telepathic will allowed Darius to plant a mild suggestion in the minds of those that were too stupid or too brave to flee the sounds of combat. He simply planted the thought that perhaps it might be better to abscond from the place than to stick around and watch. It was a simple technique utilized by the Jedi Shadows for millennia to disperse crowds, and right now it was likely saving quite a few lives.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Darius replied almost amused as he jogged down the corridor. He felt the malevolent presence of their pursuers back in the warehouse - one or two had disappeared from the assault, whether by death or simple injury Darius did not know. Either way, he was thankful for the opportunity to flee.

"Those were imperial death squads sent by the Sith Empire, though so far as I know the coreward imperials are part of the program too. They called themselves the Odacai, and they're trained to kill Jedi, along with anyone else that might be a threat to imperial power," Darius explained matter-of-factly as they rounded a corner into what looked to be an abandoned street. The road was covered in detritus, and the buildings that lined it were boarded up with wooden planks. "I expect they're coming after us because you did your job particularly well. I'd wager there's a bit of hazard pay to be negotiated. I-"

Darius's words were cut off by the sound of a nearby explosion. Dust and shrapnel soared into the sky as one of the building exploded outward in a blast of fire and pressurized air. A quick glance revealed the culprit - one of the black armored imperials stood on the roof of one of the buildings, a grenade launcher in his hands. He'd narrowly missed the duo.

"Time to go!" Darius broke into a sprint down the road, his senses extended far to prepare for any other surprises. He focused particularly on the man with the grenade launcher - if he ended up getting lucky, this trip was going to be cut short pretty quickly.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

[SIZE=11pt]Instinctively, Anders sunk to the ground and covered his head as the sudden explosion sent jagged shrapnel into the air. Looking up, a gaping hole was revealed in a building as fiery black smoke funneled out, choking the air with debris particles. A raven black stormtrooper, the same one that ambushed them in the warehouse, appeared from the rooftop. The shadowy soldier, armed with a gargantuan grenade launcher, peered down with that menacingly inscrutable helmet. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]He pulled out his pistol and shot at the trooper before following close behind Darius. “I think I’m starting to regret taking this contract,” he said running beside the Jedi. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The duo rounded about into a massie square with a grand statue in the center, the area neon-lit and ablaze with massive holograms of advertisements and events and scrambling text in Aurebesh. They coalesced into the crowd, pluralistic and clad in foreign and ostentatious finery worn by a myriad of species. Anders forgot how cosmopolitan and multicultural Carida was, symbolizing the Republic’s centuries-long embrace of galactic unity. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]That, of course, will be coming to a very swift and decisive end if the Sith Empire gets its way. And yeah… that’s pretty scary. Anders has certainly never been a fan of the New Republic, or any of the other regional bureaucracies. But a galaxy dominated under the ruthless autocracy of the Sith is a galaxy condemned to spiritual death.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“So,” he began as they sauntered through the crowd. “You got a ship, right?”[/SIZE]

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius found himself impressed with the informant's hardiness. Most of the men and women tied to the exile's information network were spineless creatures. They did not work for the sake of ideals, but rather in search of a paycheck, and would not hesitate to turn upon their employers should the situation suit them. They were honorless beings, and as such Darius had grown to expect that all who did such deeds were similarly honorless.

Not this one, it seemed.

"I can't blame you, but what you're doing is vital for the Republic. What's happening here is happening across dozens of worlds, and it's only going to get worse if we don't take action soon," Darius intoned as they managed to scramble away from the soldiers. The exile wasn't sure if the informant had actually managed to hit the soldiers that had felt the need to lob grenades at them, but then he didn't much care one way or the other.

"That I do," Darius gestured toward one of the larger buildings on the promenade. Unlike the buildings surrounding it, this one was barren of ostentation. It was a simple slab of a durasteel marked with a handful of windows as its only distinguishing features. "Ship's waiting for us in there. I-"

One of the black armored figures jumped out from a nearby alley, a buzzing vibrosword swinging in his hands toward the exile's chest. Darius moved in one swift motion, his lightsaber twisting in both hands to crash into the vibrosword beneath its overhand swing, making the weapon and the soldier's arms fly up high from the force of the blow. The Jedi wasted little time, his weightless weapon twisting to remove the soldier's exposed head from his shoulders.

The people were definitely scrambling now.

"They're relentless," Darius muttered as he broke into a dead sprint for the building, a hand waving for the informant to follow.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders ducked and rolled when the soldier clad in black leaped from seemingly out of no where.

You have got to be kidding me!

Just before he could deliver a headshot, Darius disarmed the soldier and quickly dispatched him, the soldier's head tumbling over into a pile of rubbish.
"Heh," he muttered. It's a damn good thing this Jedi was on his side.

They ran into the anemic building free of grandeur, revealing a spacious yard full of ships, speeders, droids, and sentients. He turned to his Jedi ally.

"So which one is it?"

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth sat on the cockpit of the small transport ship. She fiddled with her thumbs as she watched the clock tick ahead. They should be back soon - hopefully sooner than later. The sirens wailing in the background only created a pit in her stomach. And she had ran out of her favorite snack, unfortunate considering how intense her cravings where.

She peered watchfully through the glass. She had prepared the ship to be ready to go at any moment - mostly an intuitive feeling she had gotten as she waited. Or perhaps simply just caution. With the Republic collapsing, so many refugees fleeing, and the impending invasion of the Imperials... Really, the galaxy had last its last bastion of democracy.

She perked a brow, one long ear turning slightly as she noticed two figures near the entrance. Ah, that must be [member="Darius Sedaire"] and [member="Anders O'Tor"]. Good - although they looked like things might not have been going to plan. Just like everything else in her life, or the galaxy's honestly. Unless you count the Sith. Ughhh.

She opened the landing bay. Hopefully, it'd only be them who managed to get onto the ship.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"That'll be the little ugly one," Darius gestured toward the ship in question. It was indeed an ugly thing to look at. It looked to have once been a standard imperial transport, but had since long been mutated into a nearly unrecognizable monstrosity. Its proportions were uneven, one wing far larger than another, an engine twice the size of its junior. Even the weapons that jutted out from its undercarriage were of an eclectic sort - mundane slug-throwers intermingled with what looked to be a heavily modified, miniature turbolaser.

"She's supposed to look like that. Keeps her from getting stopped, and keeps any curious thieves from paying her any mind," Darius explained as he jogged toward the ship. He watched as the gangplank hissed open, and the scent of gun oil filled his nostrils shortly thereafter. It seemed like they were in the clear.

That was when the rotary cannon started shooting. Darius spun on his heel, his eyes going wide as he watched the massive soldier heft the assault cannon. He had only a second or so before the cannon tore a bloody hole through him and his compatriot, and likely the ship too.

"Get aboard and tell Beth to get the ship's shields active, now!" Darius shouted just as the cannon began spitting a seemingly endless volley of green laser fire at the duo. The exile batted several of the bolts back toward his aggressor before the assault of the weapon forced him to dodge. It was fortunate that the Odacai soldier chose to target him exclusively - for the moment, Anders and the ship were safe.

A string of curses fell from the exile's lips as he desperately called upon the empyrean's energies, his body soaring through the air as he performed a series of acrobatics to evade the gunfire. It was only a matter of time before his luck ran out.

[member="Beth Cadera"], [member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

He looked to the direction where Darius motioned, setting his eyes on a decrepit transport resembling one of the old bulk cruisers that passed through the smuggler’s moon. However this ghastly contraption lacked the modest sophistication of the cruisers he was accustomed to. Anders noted the ship’s asymmetrical segments with weapon modules jutting out, woefully lacking in true artistic touch. Perhaps the most obvious, and potentially damning, feature was the irregular size proportions of the thrusters. How the hell was this thing even working?

[SIZE=11pt]What a piece of junk...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Though Darius’ explanation was more than reasonable. Though Anders preferred a starship more aesthetically pleasing, his rationale made sense. If anything Anders could take that in mind for the future considering all the speeders and transports he’s had stolen from him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Out of nowhere the screeching of a repeating canon bounced off the walls as red lasers cut the air. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Are you kriffing serious? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Damn, how important is that data cube? The troop movements were amassing on the Republic’s border regions, relatively far from its most powerful planets. There must be something else going on if they’re taking it this kriffing seriously... [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]At this point, he was probably a wanted man on the Sith Empire’s hit list.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]He ran up the boarding ramp and into the cockpit where a woman with sandy blonde hair was seated. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Get the shields up!” He roared, dispensing with any proper introductions and hopping into the second seat and firing up the transport’s thrusters and activating the defense systems, waiting for Darius to enter the ship.[/SIZE]

[member="Darius Sedaire"] | [member="Beth Cadera"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

(OOC: I'm so sorry! I completely missed this one!)

Beth bit her lip as she waited. The sensors began activating as she took a careful look at the cameras. Yeah, the ship was a piece of junk but it blended in well and no one even thought to question it. It was a great ship, in truth. Maybe not the best if it got shot by anything more powerful than a blaster. She only hoped her piloting skills hadn't gotten rusty over time.

Beth perked a brow at [member="Anders O'Tor"] - the one that [member="Darius Sedaire"] mentioned would be apart of the mission. She gave a nod, smashing down on a button which filtered the ships shields on as she prepared the shuttle to begin flight and far, far away. From the noise outside, it wasn't looking like there was a lot of time left to make a safe getaway either.

Luckily, Anders helped with the button pushing as the defense systems came online and began to aim towards those who were shooting at the group.

Come on, Darius, get on so we could get the kark out of here.