Private Behind Enemy Bars

[Charlie Nooran]

Clang.
Clang.
Clang.

A shadow moved along the row of cells and ran the hilt of the vibroblade against the durasteel bars. Several types of aliens groaned from inside the cages protesting against the loud noises while they were sleeping or just being depressed about their situations. At the end of the row of dark cells, sat a small girl drawing circles into the dusty stone flooring. The wicked scruffy man looked in and tilted his head. He fully expected the girl to be crying and screaming, yet she sat there with boredom written all over her face. ​

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"Ey, what are you doing?" Charlie didn't look up and just shrugged. "Playing in the dirt, what does it look like?" Sass dripped from the girl's voice as she continued to draw circles. The tall man who was probably a lovely blend of Mandalorian and Epicanthix. "You're first." Charlie shrugged as she sighed and then rotated to turn her back towards the man who shook the bars.​

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"I'm going to grind your bones into dust, Jedi!" Charlie shrugged and waved her hand, dismissing the man. He cursed and wandered out of prison. He continued to his office, where he pulled out an ornate dagger and twisted it around admiring it. It would be such a pity if someone would take it before he could slit the little munchkin's throat. ​

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Charlie frowned as she groaned, she had gotten caught while trying to infiltrate the fortress prison. There had been rumors of the warden executing Jedi, but unfortunately, Charlie didn't find any Jedi. She had only come across pirates and other criminals. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to figure out how she was going to get out of this place without her lightsaber, and it seemed the Force didn't work too well against the cell bars. ​

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The girl buried her head into her knees as she sighed. This was turning into a pretty bad day. ​

Lucien Dooku

 

[Lucien Dooku]

I L L S E E Y O U I N 4 0 ~ Charlie Nooran ​

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<"Commander, If I may speak freely-- This is batshit, even for you."> ​

Luc chuckled, donning that playful smirk which seemed to do nothing but infuriate the veteran warrior who styled himself as Luc's bodyguard, and third-in-command of his Legion. It wasn't odd for Luc to disappear from the familiar safety net which was New Imperial Space. He'd done so all the time prior to his ascension to Warlord, and the title he now held did little to change that aspect of him whenever the fighting had temporarily been brought to a hold. In one of those moments of relative peace, the Warlord of NIrauan sat aside his armor and duties for the iconic look of his spacer clothes; a far-cry from his formal wear and battle gear, but quintessentially Luc in a nutshell.

What wass supposed to be a 'vacation' would begin with a trip to edge of Silver space, where Luc would start off by settling a score on behalf of the Hutt he'd long been associated to. It could've been tasked to someone far beneath his status; Luc still had considerable influence with the Hutt's kajidic, after all, but a personal favor to his friend had always paid off for him in the end. And besides, he didn't mind getting his hands dirty, nor did he mind the change of pace from the formalities that came with fighting a conventional war against an Empire. Luc was spacer trash at heart, and no amount of influence had been enough to temper the desire to live among the stars which dwelt within him. Throw in a dash of excitement, and it was hard for him to turn down a good time.

When the task in question involved travelling to an unremarkable world, Luc still couldn't help but gaze up at the stars and take in the feeling of being somewhere new. It reminded him of just how small he was in the grand scheme of the galaxy at large. The fighting against the Zambrano Empire had enveloped his life as of recent, and from his corner of the Unknown Regions, the rest of the galaxy felt like a distant thing. That was a new feeling to him, as the past several years before that, Luc had traveled the stars without a care in the world. Well-- a major one, at least. Having to worry about the odd scoundrel coming after your life was nothing compared to dodging artillery shells and battling it out with Sith.

Even the insane assignment on behalf of some Hutt felt as if it carried less weight to it when lined up against the months of constant war and campaigns that had taken over his life. As insane as it was at first value, it was still a damn good breath of fresh air, and that was something he was craving the most.

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Having left behind his Strike Group and Legion on Nirauan, Luc had ventured off into Silver Space with nothing but Midnight and his trusty Astromech to watch his back. The droid had been excited to see him- a first for Luc, since the droid had always carried an attitude with him, but time apart from one's only friend did wonders for changing up a dynamic. R4 would keep his usual sarcasm and quips to a minimum, giving Luc the chance to have a peaceful trip through space until the pair had reached their destination. Friends in high places had its perks, as a few greased palms and some illegal credentials would keep the local authorities off his back, allowing him to bring his starfighter close to the target location, where Luc would simply drop to the ground while R4 hovered on silent, staying nearby for when all was said and done.

Luc would approach the modest prison compound on foot, a mixture of the force and the ambience of the night keeping his presence unnoticed by the various guards that patrolled the outside of the compound. A quick sweep of the perimeter confirmed more than a handful of guards, patrolling the compound, and it was safe to say that at least that many were inside the compound as well. Luc was heavily outnumbered, but those odds weren't too far out of his favor. He'd fought in worse situations, and even without the gear he'd accumulated over the years, somehow he'd managed to come through alive and mostly uninjured.. That was luckily not an option he had to take, this time around. His third-in-command had accurately assumed that undertaking the mission alone would've been crazy, but technically Luc wasn't alone.

Luc reached into the pocket mid-ways down his leg, retrieving from it a small, obsidian object covered in a series of runes that would've made a Jedi call heresy on sight. Thankfully he wasn't a Jedi, and his disdain for the dark side wasn't so ingrained that he didn't see the use for benign tools of the force. Smoke billowed out of it after he applied the force from within him into the item itself,, the mist-like plumes coalescing within the air next to him. Coming together into a vaguely humanoid form, the creature stared at Luc, communicating with him through thought alone in a quest to receive its orders. All it knew was how to receive and carry out orders; it didn't matter if that was assassinating someone across the galaxy, either.

Those nefarious acts weren't necessary though, not in his hands, and instead he'd chosen to use the item sparingly. This was one of those rare times that the force hound inside had managed to get out, and a quick nod in the direction of the prison would shift its attention away from Luc for the first time. "Immobilize the guards-- all of them, inside and outside. But no killing-- not a single soul." Luc commanded, shoving his hands into his pockets whilst the force hound lingered its way around the compound, removing the guards one-by-one until not a single soul was left standing. It would transmit to him that the outside guards were unconscious, and Luc paused it in its tracks until he'd reached the front doors, confirming that the unlucky pair of aliens outside were indeed not dead, but unconscious.

With a wink and a smile towards the fallen men, all it took was a stolen keycard to gain him access through the Prison's front doors."Proceed." Luc transmitted to the force hound, the creature making its way into the building from behind him. A handful of screams echoed through the hall as the denizens of the building caught sight of the creature, who in turn seemed completely disinterested in them. Around the building it went, locating men not behind cells and bending their minds with its abilities, immobilizing them into severe states of fear that eventually brought them to unconscious. All it took was a few minutes for the creature to clear the building of hostile intent, which left at least a dozen prisoners trapped behind cell doors on their own. With the prison now devoid of people that could shoot him, Luc strolled further into the prison, eventually coming to the warden's office and stumbling upon a man who pissed himself before succumbing to fear a few moments later.

"That was easy enough." Luc commented to himself, a hand exiting out of his pocket and refocusing on the obsidian device, recalling the force hound back where it came from. The quick press of a button on the desk-mounted control panel would finish the job in earnest, the cell doors sliding open in unison for the first time in a long time. Another finger trailed over the control panel, the old intercom system activating as Luc leaned over to speak into the microphone.

<"Jinnosha sends his regards. I recommend you relieve the guards of their weapons and head about five miles north-- that's straight out the front door, by the way. If all goes well, a ride back to Keldooine will be there waiting.">

Releasing the button, he shoved his hands back into his pockets, exiting the warden's office to a chorus of cheers picking up from all across the halls. Prisoners were funneling out of the building now that assistance from their employing Kajidic had arrived, many of them stealing the guard's weapons and valuables before setting off in the direction of their ride home. Luc was keen on leaving himself until he spotted something odd out of the corner of his eye. Out of all the cells that had been released, a single one remained unopened, prompting him to backpedal in its direction out of curiosity of what, or who was in it. Once his eyes had settled into the cell, Luc was pretty surprised to see a lone girl there, who undoubtedly would've been left alone had he decided on being careless.

A hand gravitated beneath his jacket anyway as he retrieved the black hilt of his weapon and lined it up against the bars of the jail cell. With the flick of a switch, an aqua-blue blade erupted from the top of the hilt, cutting a square into the bars that was big enough for the woman to step out of on her own. "What did you do to end up in the only manually-locked cell in this shoddy prison? You're definitely not one of Jinnosha's people." He inferred the last part by the lack of a visible tattoo of some sort, but he definitely could've been wrong. "...You must've effed up pretty bad to get special treatment from these poor bastards." A foot kicked at an unconscious guard near his foot. " And no worries-- they won't be getting back up for a while." He'd nonchalantly ask, flashing a smile in the woman's direction as he deactivated his weapon, sliding it back into the holster beneath his jacket. Stepping away from his handiwork, Luc would lean his back against the wall, once more crossing his arms over his shoulders while he waited for the woman to step out.

 

[Charlie Nooran]

There was an odd sense of understanding that had washed over the padawan. The thought of dying didn't frighten her, she was always prepared for it, and she had lived a pretty good life. One of her only regrets was she wouldn't be able to have another brownie sundae or her mother's sponge cake. Also, she would never experience love or even infatuation. That was okay, though, she had seen others hurt by those emotions. The girl was content. ​

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She felt something shift in the Force, raising an eyebrow she wondered what had created the disturbance. Instantly, her instincts took over, and she did her best to hide within the comfort of the mystical energy. Whatever it was, it was causing some havoc for the ones in charge of this place. Maybe she would escape, the thought was played with as she finished drawing the little layout of the prison that she could muster from memory. Avoiding would prove to be the best outcome for her, meaning she'd get more snacks. ​

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Her stomach growled as she thought about her mother's cooking. Time passed, and she had suddenly lost all hopes for the daring escape. From the corner of her eye, she saw the cells open, and the captives ran out towards their freedom. Alas, she was still stuck. Her heart sunk deeper as she realized that she was probably for sure going to die now. Whatever had caused the disturbance was more than likely going to head down here and want to gut her like a fish. ​

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Jedi were worth a good penny nowadays, dead or alive didn't matter. It was easier to handle Charlie if she was killed, the moment the girl got her hands on a weapon or even able to grab something with the Force, she was a terror. Closing her eyes, she did her best to find a calming center in her heart, she needed to be okay with dying. She couldn't go out like a chump, crying and begging for her life. Charlie Nooran was a Jedi, not a baby. ​

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Her ears perked up at the sound of a voice, the little tuner in her ear adjusted, picking up his volume better. Logging his voice in the device, she found it to be pleasant. Turning her head, she stood and shrugged. "Guess they thought I was dangerous or something. Jedi catch a fair price on the black market." She paused and then moved towards the bars that he had so expertly had cut a hole in. "I didn't mess up; I was perfectly camouflaged. Not my fault. They had some shutta that could see through the Force and picked me out of a crowd." A frustrated puff of her cheeks accentuated the blush that crossed her pale cheeks. Turning her head away, she wandered towards the other end of the hallway to a locked chest. Using the frustration she harbored, she crushed the lock with a kick and began to dig for her weapons. A pair of hammers and a sword that looked like it weighed more than her. ​

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She pulled her upper body out of the broad chest, dragged out a black scarf, and wrapped it around her neck, bundling herself up quite nicely. She looked towards her rescuer and blinked. "Honestly, if I tell you the truth about why I was captured and thrown into the special cell, you're going to laugh." She paused and then sighed, "I was hungry, and it was dinner. So I stole the shutta's bantha steak, his potatoes, his loaf of bread, his fruit salad, his wine, and his cake." As she listed the things off, she counted them on her fingers. "Just ate it all up, and then they found me, and tossed me in there." She pointed back towards the cell. ​

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"SO can we get out of here? Are you with the Alliance?" Questions that she should have probably asked before putting any trust in him. Manners spoke to her, giving her his name, but that could wait - she wanted to know who this man fought for. ​

Lucien Dooku​

 

[Lucien Dooku]

I L L S E E Y O U I N 4 0 ~ Charlie Nooran ​

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<"Commander, If I may speak freely-- This is batshit, even for you."> ​

A Jedi? That made sense, kinda. Jinnosha never said anything about a Jedi being held captive, but then again, it wasn't likely that he was going to mention that to a Jedi if he were aware of it in the first place. Considering she wasn't part of the crew he was sent to rescue, Luc was going to assume her appearance was just one of those coincidences that would tend to occur every-so-often. It wasn't the first time that an extra variable was thrown into the loop when he dealt with that conniving Hutt from Keldooine, but this time Luc wasn't mad that it happened. The group he'd been sent to rescue were captured by a rough collection of scoundrels and slavers. These were the type of men who had no qualms with selling one Hutt's henchmen to their immediate rival if the profit margin was right.

Assuming this woman was actually a Jedi, then Luc was pretty sure she was in for a potentially rough time. Still posted against the wall, arms crossed over his chest whilst his eyes casually followed as she walked and talked, Luc gave a simple "Uh huh." as she began to go into how she was captured. It was technically believable, but something about it didn't click right in his head once he put together his information along with what was given. He could've been wrong, but the hunch he was going off of seemed strong enough for him to resolve in assuming it was a half-truth at best. He wouldn't question her on it, though. In fact he didn't even have to, as the woman continued talking as she wandered down the hallway to retrieve her items.

A powerful kick crushed the lock on the lone chest that sat at the end of the hall. It was impressive to see, but the sight simply gave him more reason to not fully believe that these people had snatched her out from the crowd. She carried a set of hammers and a sword that seemed a bit too big to properly wield too, and with the sight of these weapons came a chuckle from his lips, an amused grin sneaking its way onto his face by the time she turned to head back his way.

The story would eventually continue, and soon the truth of what happened had come out into the open. As amused as he was, Luc didn't chuckle this time once the story reached its conclusion. It wasn't the smartest move for a Jedi to pull, but it was't as if he'd never been caught with his pants down either-- figuratively, that is. For many in the galaxy, hunger was the motivation for them to do alot of things that were simply not smart or out of their comfort zone. He assumed she fell into the former, with the outcome of her actions being a potential life of slavery at best, and death at worse. Had Jinnosha not sent him to retrieve his men, her fate could've been a lot worse than what she'd been through already.

Kicking off the wall finally with his foot, Luc locked his fingers together behind his head as he shifted towards the entrance with a step. "No." He intentionally paused, if only to tease her a bit before continuing with his response. "I'm not from the Alliance. But we definitely can get out of here, if you don't mind a cramped ride." Luc peered across his shoulder towards the woman, smirking playfully before returning his gaze forwards and pacing slowly towards the front entrance.

"...Or you can hang around 'till these guys wake up if you want, I guess. Maybe find another ride from elsewhere on this dusty backwater world." A shrug followed the end of the sentence. He could definitely find her another ride if it came down to it, but a little company never hurt anyone. Besides, it wasn't as if either of them had much to do from his point of view. His job was finished, and she had just escaped captivity with her life. Glancing back once more, Luc would interject before she had the chance to respond to his previous question in full.

"You hungry?"