Private Double Trouble

[Ki'an Vizsla]

Suspicions had begun arising about the workings of the remote institute fuelled by rumours but they had enough traction to warrant an investigation. Oftentimes, those far enough removed from society can feel like they are not subject to law enforcement and no one paid attention to their movements but they were and they did. However, they could not operate on their own and needed to hire staff to keep the place running which consisted of a chef, cleaner and a handful of guards. It was the bare minimum but the place never claimed to be a luxury resort.

The newest guard, Ki'an Vizsla, had been tasked with determining if there was any truth behind the stories after being hired by authorities who presided over this region of the galaxy. His reputation as an intel gatherer had preceded him when his name was suggested for the job and his reputation as a Mandalorian preceded him as the institute was quick to hire him, it would've been ridiculous not to at that price. He had been there for two days and so far nothing noteworthy had happened. The staff weren't particularly compassionate with patients but they didn't cross the line into criminality - yet.

The lock clanked shut on the door as it shut the final patient in his cell after he had been escorted to a medical appointment. ::Mando, can you go and escort the Jedi from the hangar? I've got my hands full:: Came the call from another guard on the commlink attached at his belt. ::Copy that:: He replied before replacing the commlink and making his way towards the hangar.

They had been informed that there would be a Jedi presence over the following few days and Ki'an was grateful that he could find some support in the Jedi who was here with the same goal. Two pairs of eyes would be better than one but at two days in he was starting to wonder how they would find anything unusual. Still, maybe a Force user could prove to be beneficial. Perhaps there were things unseen and for the seen evidence the Mandalorian could record using his helmet if he witnessed anything that suggested something was afoot in this place, though with a Jedi presence he expected the staff the potential perpetrators to be good at hiding their tracks.

The benefit of being there for a couple of days meant that he had made a mental note where all the security cameras he had come across were so he knew where to avoid doing anything suspicious and where he could inform the Jedi of their similar goals. Once he reached the hangar, he walked over to the new ship to greet the newcomer.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

An institute for the criminally insane - Cas really knew how to pick 'em. The Jedi Knight'd be here for the same reason Ki'an was, rumors of unethical procedures had made its way into Concord space, alerting the Silver Jedi to the potential misdeeds. Cas would be the "lucky" one sent to investigate if these rumors were in fact correct, while the Kiffar was all for helping those in need and putting an end to criminal practices but... there was something about clinically insane people that creepd him out. Knowing they weren't all there and tended to not have any restraints was enough to make him cautious.

Cas had wanted to bring Yen along for this mission but unfortunately, she was still recovering from the trauma she went through under the imprisonment of Carnifex. So, the Padawan would need to sit this one out for the time being, it was a shame, something as relaxed as this would have been a good stepping off point for her to get out into the field.

Following his docking, the canopy slid open and Cas stepped out of it before dropping to the ground. Turning to look over his shoulder at his starfighter's astromech socket, BB-5 bounced out of the socket and landed semihard on the hangarbay ground, creating a basketball sound as he did. He snickered before waiting for the droid to roll to his side, the Kiffar then returned his gaze to the Mandalorian who was heading his way. Must've been the greeting party, the Mando appeared a bit shorter than Cas but more than made up for it in his build. However, what caught the Jedi Knight's intrigue was his presence within the Force - it was unlike anything he'd sensed in a Mandalorian. The usual Mandalorian was like a volatile, raging fire, itching for battle but this one... they were different. Instead of a raging fire, this one was a calm breeze that you'd feel caress your skin. Interesting.

The Kiffar waved at the armored warrior "Hey, I'm Cas... Tynen!" almost forgetting his surname, he extended his arm in the Mando's direction before continuing "You the welcoming wagon? What's a place like this got a Buckethead doing here?" he asked, glancing upward taking in his surroundings. Obviously, the Jedi Knight had no clue what the Mandalorian's true intentions were or that they shared the same goals despite the methods the both of them were using.

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

As the Mandalorian approached, he removed his helmet and held it at his side between his arm and hip. It was much friendlier to be greeted by a smile than a faceless helmet. He found it easy to get on with most Jedi since many of them shared a similar disposition to him, though part of him hoped he wasn't about to be greeted by one of the silent and brooding types. Thankfully, that proved not to be the case.

"Nice to meet you, Cas. I'm Ki'an Vizsla." He extended a hand to the Jedi and offered a friendly smile. "Yeah there aren't many staff. I think the head doctor wanted to greet you but he got caught up with a patient and the other guards have a tendency to ask me to do the jobs they don't want to." He informed Cas, clearly showing he wasn't one of the silent brooding types either and hinting towards his submissive nature.

Ki'an was aware he was facing a camera in the upper left corner of the hangar and while it didn't have any audio, his mouth would be clearly visible as he spoke to he gestured for Cas to follow him as they walked towards the corridor out of the hangar, knowing he had a few precious moments before they would be in sight of another camera. "I'm here for the same reason that you are. They just don't know it." He replied. "I was hired by law enforcement on a planet in the sector so it's no wonder the Jedi sent one of their own to check it out." He commented.

"I haven't found anything yet. It just seems to be a normal institute so if they're hiding something they're doing it well." He told Cas before jumping onto the next topic. "You're from Kiffu... right?" He asked though it was pretty obvious he was given the striking facial tattoo which he knew was common in their culture. It was something they both had in common. Both held allegiance to a clan, though the marking Ki'an bore of his clan was less... permanent. "Why did you join the Jedi? If that's not too personal of a question to ask." He asked as they walked through the corridor to the main compound.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Okay, this was really weird... a friendly Mandalorian? Was he having some fever dream or what? "Hey, Ki'an." Cas nodded and half-smiled. Ki'an gave him a brief overview of the proceedings in the facility - not only was he friendly but he was surprsingly talkative too, a nice change of pace compared to the people he usually worked with. With that, he followed the Mandalorian toward the facility and was surprised to hear what came next... surprised because he didn't expect it but also surprised at how quick Ki'an was to tell him.

"A bit of corporate espionage, huh? Nice." casting a sideways glance at Ki'an, smirking slightly "Gotta say, this subtle investigative stuff isn't my scene. So a little help isn't... not wanted." he shrugged. Ki'an confessed to not having found any information yet but the Jedi Knight countered "Eh, don't worry about it. Everyone's hiding something." it was a cynical outlook, but with the things he'd seen and experienced in his five years as a Jedi - nothing was out of the realm of possiblity to him.

Ki'an's next question brought out a chuckle from Cas as he briefly brushed over his qukuuf "Big blue face tat gave it away, yeah? Yeah, I'm from Kiffu. Where are you from, Beskarland?" his question regarding Ki'an's origins wasn't as obvious as one about his own, considering anyone could be a Mandalorian and all. 'The Friendly Mandalorian' was really going for it, just met and already asking him a philosphical question on his life choices. Rubbing the back of his head "Uh... I guess because I wanted to help people, and it felt like it called to me. It's a... Force thing. Can't forget the sweet lightsabers." the last part was a joke and he made sure to change the tone of his voice to display that "Lemme guess, you became a Mandalorian for the sweet armor and jetpack privelages right? I mean, I wouldn't blame you." he asked, making-wise.

Once inside the main compound Cas took note of the area, so much as to make a comment on its appearance "At least it's well-kempt." visibly shuddering, he glanced around "Facilities like these give me the creeps. Ugh. Feels like some B-holomovie monster's about to pounce at me." "Yes. It does seem to have that effect on our more... sane guests, Knight Tynen." a smug sounding Coruscanti voice called out. Turning to his right, Cas saw, what must have been the lead doctor exit a room as the door slid closed behind him. Wearing a labcoat and gloves, he extended his arm toward Cas "Does the feeling go away, or are you just not fully sane, Doctor...?" he quipped as he introduced himself, shaking the good doctor's hand.

"Doctor Malkolove. And to answer your question, Cassalius, everyone's a little bit crazy. Wouldn't you agree Ki'an?" Malkolove dryly jested leaving Cas a little uncomfortable "How did you--? Uh, it's just Cas, Doctor." the Jedi would correct the Doctor. "Of course, my apologies. Welcome to The Facility, I am currently dealing with a patient but thought I'd greet our new guest. Ki'an, if you could resume your duties. Pleasure meeting you Cas, we will be seeing each other again soon." Hopefully not the Kiffar thought to himself, catching a weird vibe off of the Doctor. With that the Doctor returned to the room he had exited earlier, turning to Ki'an his eyes widened "Weird. So this place's just called 'The Facility'? Ominous."

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

"Yeah, it's not what I usually do. I mean it's pretty hard to go undercover looking like this unless you take the armour off but then you're a lot more exposed to attacks. That and it would feel pretty weird. I've worn armour almost every day for the last twenty two years. It would feel so weird to go without it..." He rattled on before swiftly jumping back on-topic. "Yeah, it's nice to have someone else to rely on. It's felt a bit like being in a viper's nest up until now. If something were to go wrong then I would've been on my own. I mean I'm not a nervous person but something about this place puts me on edge." He replied, glancing over his shoulder as they passed a conjoining corridor, making sure nobody was eavesdropping or following.

"What face tat?" He joked in response with an amused smile before answering. "Yeah, yeah. Mandalore." He nodded. It wasn't as interesting a story as many foundlings had as it was rather mundane in comparison, though is was usually better that way since many foundlings had tragic backstories, his wife included. "Oh, right." He responded, seemingly interested at the 'Force thing'. Had they been in a more casual situation and had more time then he would've liked to delve into the topic of the Force more but now was not the time for a deep philosophical conversation. He simply wanted to get to know Cas for now. He chuckled once Cas finished and went on to explain his own origins.

"Yeah, exactly. Who doesn't love a jetpack?" He joked before answering properly. "I was just born into it. Nothing particularly exciting there. But my wife, well... That's a story for over a coffee." He told Cas. That is, if they ever got any time to relax together while stationed aboard the space station. Ki'an was particularly busy since he had been relegated to do the jobs of the other guards when they didn't want to upon them realising the Mandalorian was submissive.

He opened his mouth to answer Cas but an answer was given for him in the form of the doctor who approached the pair. Ki'an greeted the other with a small bow of the head and glanced towards the Jedi as he quipped with the doctor. He did not have a similar level of confidence to do such a thing nor would he want to risk irritating the doctor. Besides, he still had the potential to get kicked out whereas they would be unlikely to kick Cas out.

The Mandalorian smiled at the doctor when he addressed him. He tried to make it seem genuine but it was more of an awkward one. "I'm becoming more inclined to believe that." He played along and upon being told to return to his duties, he slid the helmet back on. "Yes, of course." He replied, watching the doctor as he walked away and left the pair again. "Yeah, they don't seem to be the creative types, these people. Every room could use a lick of paint. They should've budgeted in a decorator instead of a third guard." He stood with his hands on his hips, glancing around the drab room.

"In any case, I don't really see doctor Malkolove that often. I mostly see him in passing since I'm usually doing check-ups on the inmates... patients..?" He pondered for a moment, trying to find the right word. "-Residents. The residents' rooms. And believe me that is not a fun job at night." He shook his head. Indistinct radio chatter came from the commlink attached to his belt which seemingly reminded the Mandalorian of something as he suddenly exclaimed "Oh yeah!" and reached into his belt and produced two commlinks.

"This one is a staff one. I lost mine so they gave me another but then I found this one in my pocket." The absent-minded Mandalorian explained. "So yeah, don't speak into it. They don't know you have this." He warned the Jedi before handing him a second, older and more worn looking commlink. "This one connects to my own commlink." He tapped the side of his helmet.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas visibly shuddered once more and then continued to listen to Ki'an catch him up to speed. The Jedi glanced around the area as Ki'an did so until the Mandalorian struggled to think of a name for the patients, Cas watched him with a grin until finally Ki'an managed to settle on 'residents'. "No doubt. I've been in here all of five minutes and already feel myself going nuts... can't imagine how it must be to actually live here." he glanced at Ki'an, turning his body toward him and playfully knocking the knuckles of his fingers against the Mando's helmet "You're still all there though, yeah?" he chuckled.

The Kiffar watched as Ki'an pulled two commlinks out of his belt, accepting the slightly worn down one, Cas examined it as Ki'an spoke. "I've always wanted my own worn out commlink. How'd you know?" the Jedi Knight quipped before placing the object in his belt. Figuring it was best to get this investigation started, "So, you said everything's normal? How's the facility been treating the residents? Malkolve doesn't really sound like the honest type." and as if right on cue, Doctor Malkolve exited the room he was initially in. Acknowledging the Mandalorian and Jedi with a slight nod, he continued on his way down the corridor.

Lips curling into a mischevious grin, his eyes shifted sideways to meet the frame of Ki'an "You thinking what I'm thinking?" pausing in order to let anticipation build "Let's tail 'im." grin only broadening. Cas caught a... submissive vibe off of the Mandalorian, so, he determined it wouldn't take a lot of convincing to get him to come with. However, if Ki'an did indeed decide to stay Cas would have a less risky task for him "If you're too chicken, think you can get to wherever security is and trick the cameras into looping old footage?" he proposed "Y'know, just so people don't get suspicious."

With that and whatever decision Ki'an made, Cas began making his way down the corridor in covert pursuit of Malkolve. Remaining casual and inconspicuous as he possibly could, in order not to arouse suspicion from any doctors or guards he passed along the way. Keeping at a distance from Malkolve, Cas made sure not to let the eerie doctor our of his sight. Eventually, they'd reach an area with no other staff members present - with no one to blend in with, he kept an even further distance. Malkolve would round a corner forcing Cas to close the gap slightly and rush to the corner in order to peak over and get a better look at what Malolve was up to. Behind this corner was simply a dead-end with a large secured door, Cas watched as Malkolve pulled out a keycard and hovered it over a security panel to unlock the door.

After Malkolve stepped through it, Cas remained behind "What're you up to?" he said aloud while eyeing the now locked door curiously. He'd have to find another way in. In hindsight, when it came to investigations, what Cas was currently doing was on the list of things not to do when investigating a shady organisation. But hey, if the Concord had an issue with it they wouldn't have sent Cas... obviously.

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

"Yeah, it's definitely an experience..." He replied idly as his attention remained momentarily on the door the doctor had just entered, indicating a hint of nervousness towards the man. He was turning his head towards Cas when the sound of knocking on the side of his helmet briefly startled him as the visor didn't allow for much peripheral vision to see his the Jedi's hand coming towards him. "At the minute, yeah." He replied with a chuckle.

"Don't say I don't treat you." He replied to Cas' quip with an instinctive smile even though it was concealed by the helmet. As he was about to answer Cas' question, the doctor appeared so he returned the doctor's acknowledgement held his tongue until he was out of earshot before answering. "Well, there's definitely an air of secrecy. I'm not entirely sure what the treatment is that the patients' receive. One of my jobs is to transport the more difficult patients to rooms but then I don't stay for their treatments. At least, not yet. They usually have a way of restraining them. It's... difficult to say how they're treated. They're fed and clothed and have a bed. It's not luxury but they're not being neglected. But I haven't heard any of the patients say anything alarming yet so I think a Jedi task-force is off the cards for now." He summarised.

"What?" He asked, unsure where Cas was going with his proposition. "Oh." He stated once Cas' idea was revealed. The Mandalorian was hesitant to follow the doctor in case he got caught. He believed the risk to be greater to himself if suspicions were aroused at the true reason for his presence at the station. "I don't know..." He said hesitantly. Ki'an was not keen on the prospect of being called a chicken by the Jedi which alone would've spurred him to accompany the other but covering their tracks seemed essential too. "Hey, I'm not a chicken but I can make sure you don't get caught if I loop the feed." He replied. "See you in a bit." He concluded before the pair went their separate ways.

Thankfully, the security room was empty when he entered but he couldn't be sure how long for so he quickly got to work looping the feeds of all the camera in the facility until he came to the camera which showed Cas peering around a corner. He reached up to the side of his helmet to open his comms ::Have you tried the classic crawling through a vent?:: He asked the Jedi before looping the feed of that camera too and leaving to meet Cas a few moments later. "You're not very sneaky for a Jedi." He commented, jokingly.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

::Have you tried the classic crawling through a vent?::

Snickering, the Kiffar raised the beaten down comm to his lips and spoke into it ::Subtlety is overrated:: he whispered. Cas then made his way over to the high security, secret looking door before glancing to both sides of himself, making sure no one was coming his way. Examining the door for any alternate means of entry, Cas tapped on the metal door slightly - realising it was made of beskar following the unique twang it made. Radioing to Ki'an, he whispered ::The secret door's made of beskar. Sounds a little excessive, right?:: Now that cutting through it with a lightsaber was out of the question, he needed to think of other means.

Stepping back slightly, he closed his eyes and extended his arm. Opening himself to the Force's energy like a conduit, its energies flowed through him. His fingers curled as Cas entwined the Force with the door's metal, beginning to focus on tearing the door from its magnetic seal. Eventually, the effort would force the Jedi Knight to use both hands as his fingers formed into claws while he pulled his arms away from each other, and simeultenously the door's seal. Fighting against its seal with the raw strength of the Force. Concentrating exceptionally hard, the Jedi Knight threw his arms apart and the beskar door ripped open.

Whew, nearly made me break a sweat. he thought to himself. Stepping inside, a long corridor stretched toward another door - the walls were bright white, looking sanitised almost. ::This definitely wasn't in any of the brochures.:: the Kiffar whispered quietly. The door on the other side of the hallway possessed two small rectangular windows, viewing into... whatever it was Cas was about to see. Peeking through one of the thin windows, what lie behind the door was a large, open room with some kind of clear spherical tank positioned right in the middle and various computer console stations. Doctors in white labcoats were scattered everywhere as well as security. Luckily none had spotted him yet. ::Ki'an... this is nuts. Looks like, some sort of experimental lab. Doctors, I don't know what kind, are everywhere. And--::

Cas silenced himself once he saw two security guards dragging, what he assumed to be a patient, dressed in a jumpsuit over to the spherical tank. The patient was clearly resisting before being thrown into the tank, which was quickly filled up with a green-ish liquid shortly after being placed in there. Reacting, instinctively Cas ignited his lightsaber and plunged the amber blade in the middle of the door. It may be beskar, but beskar could melt after some time. Right now it was his only option as the situation was too urgent for him to concentrate on opening the door with the Force.

Meanwhile, security and the doctors caught wind of Cas and his lightsaber melting through the door. Quickly, they sounded the alarm and alerted the entire facility to Cas' presence. "Kriff!" he exclaimed, plunging his lightsaber deeper through the door. Glancing through the window, he saw the staff were still arrogant enough to continue their experiment, with Malkolve giving one of the doctors the clear to activate the machine in the centre of the room. The machine began making a noise that was so loud that Cas was able to hear it through the door. Glancing once more into the lab, he could see the patient/subject shaking violently as the chemicals in the green fluid were causing a reaction in his body. "Dammit! Gotta... get inside! Almost... there!" he grunted as his lightsaber continued to melt through the beskar.

The guards began closing in toward Cas, although the Jedi was seconds away from breaking down the door. Unfortunately for both, things would only grow worse. The sound of glass breaking followed by bloodcurdling screams, immediately caught both Cas and the guards' attention. Kicking the door down, Cas and the guards entered inside to witness a black creature slaughtering the scientists and security in the lab...

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

The Mandalorian scoffed before jokingly remarking. ::Everyone's got beskar nowadays. Everyone but the Mandalorians:: He replied, a twang of bitterness in his tone. The Sith had devastated Mandalore with their strip-mining and now there was hardly enough of their famous iron to go around their people but there was no shortage of it out in the galaxy if you knew where to look. ::What are they keeping in there?:: He asked but upon turning the corner he came face to face with one of the guards and immediately fell silent.

"Ki'an, I've been looking for you." The guard told him, causing the nerves to rise within the Mandalorian who wondered if his true intentions had been discovered. "Um... Yeah?" He replied, trying to conceal the nervousness in his tone. "Yeah, can you move the patient from 3C down to the West wing?" He asked, reading the information from a data pad in his hand. "Yeah, sure." He replied before walking past the man in order to retrieve the patient. Now alone again, he tuned into what Cas was saying.

::A lab? What?:: He replied, more surprised than confused. It would make sense if someone wanted to test illegal experiments on people for them to use those that society had forgotten, that it would not miss. The abrupt ending to his speaking was a cause for concern. ::Cas, are you okay?:: He asked with a tone indicating worry. Surely they could not harm a Jedi without repercussions from the Jedi Order, he thought.

The Mandalorian was stood outside the room of the patient he had been told to bring. It was not of importance to bring the patient to the West wing now but Ki'an wanted to see what kind of state the man was in to give him some indication as to what was going on. In his few days there, it wasn't as though there was an overwhelming sense of fear from all who lived there. Some were certainly frightened but there were some who were seemingly numb and listless or blissfully unaware.

Ki'an slid the covering from the glass and peered into the room to see the man cowering in the corner. The sound of the covering sliding startled the other man who looked up at the visor peering through his window. "P-please... Don't take me." He begged. It was distressing to see someone in such a state of fear so he slid the hatch shut and thought to himself for a moment, wondering what he could do to help these people, but before he got much of a chance the sound of the alarm alerted his attention to Cas.

He jumped into action and ran towards where he had last seen Cas and stopped near the doorway the moment he heard screams before hesitantly edging into the restricted area to witness the unfolding chaos. He watched through the cracked glass as some otherwordly monster devoured the scientists within, a look of sheer horror on his face. The Mandalorian rushed over to his Jedi counterpart and grabbed him roughly by the back of his clothes to yank him away from the creature and take his place as the more armoured of the two.

Jedi were capable of handling themselves but with such a high degree of protection offered from his armour, Ki'an's insinct was to protect those of a fleshier nature. He raised his arm and unleashed a blast of fire towards the creature to see what effect if had, hoping they could at least gage its weaknesses quickly enough to come up with a plan. "Know what that thing is by any chance?" He asked Cas as he tried to subdue the creature.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas felt something grab the back of his collar and pull him back, unsure of who this was, he was ready to spin around and attack whoever it was. Upon realising it was his Mandalorian ally, who had now jumped in front of him. "Oh, hey." Cas' attention turned to the guards who initially had come for him, now attacking the black creature. "No idea. I left my encyclopedia of science monstrosities back at home." he quipped, although he quickly gave Ki'an a serious answer "I think... that's the patient..." he surmised. The broken glass from the machine, coupled with the absence of the patient that was inside - it all made sense.

Ki'an's flamethrower seemed to harm the creature causing it to release a bloodcurdling shriek. Its black form shifted, collapsing its body into a slime like substance and slithered away from the flames before reforming into a humanoid form once again. "That's new..." placing a hand on Ki'an's shoulder, he pulled him back slightly and stepped in front of him. "I got this." Cas twirled his lightsaber and broke off into a run and leapt into the air with the hight of the jump being enhanced by the Force. Ready to strike at the creature as he landed, it caught him by surprise when it extended its arm in his direction and it elongated. Cas' brown eyes widened as he watched the arm come for him, smashing into his torso, he felt the cold black goo wrap around his body before pulling him and slamming him into the ground, creating a large crater. Knocking Cas out temporarily.

The black creature whipped its head in Ki'an's direction before collapsing into its inorganic form and slithering its way into the events. A few minutes would pass and a voice would be heard on Cas and Ki'an's comlinks "Some kind of Thing's in the security room!-- Gahhkkk..." a pained whimper would follow, implying the worst. Seconds after that, another voice would scream through their comms "S-something's happened! The patient's cells-- they've all been opened and they're-- no, wait!--" and then... static.

Things continued to get worse, an escaped dangerous experimental creature, a facility full of escaped insane criminals and guards dying like flies. Cas and Ki'an would have a lot in store for them going forward. Well, at least they'd have enough evidence to put this facility out for good. Assuming they make it out alive.

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

"That's the patient? How could anyone turn into this?" He asked over his shoulder while keeping the flamethrower trained on the creature. If it were true then he didn't particularly feel great about attacking the patient but it was necessary in self-defence. Whatever, whoever, that creature was formerly, it was no longer. He was an empathetic man but he had common sense and he wouldn't let his empathy kill him - at least not today.

The Mandalorian took a few steps back as he was guided to do so by Cas. If the Jedi was confident he could handle himself then he trusted the other's judgement and drew a blaster into his hand in support, though he was unsure what effect a blaster bolt would have one such an unpredictable being. If it didn't like flames, he was hoping it had a similar aversion to the heat of plasma.

While his weapon was trained on the creature, there was little he could do without risking hitting Cas so he could only standby and watch as Cas was violently thrown into the ground. Now with nothing between him and the creature, he looked up at its blank face, ready to fire but it dissolved onto the floor, perhaps recognising him as the person with the ability to flame it.

Once it was out of the room, he rushed to kneel beside Cas. He gently lifted the other's head to feel for any bleeding but couldn't find any so placed his hand on the Jedi's shoulder and gently shook him to see if he would wake up. "Cas?" He tried to rouse a response. The distress calls from the comms made him hesitate, wondering if he should go and help the other people, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Cas defenceless. "If you're trying to get a kiss, this is a really bad time to do so." He joked, despite their rather dire circumstances.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Everything was dark, encapulated in an infinite nothingness - a fraction of Cas' consciousness was slightly aware but the rest was simply merged with the black unknown. Then he heard the sound of alarms blaring, and voices, muffled and static, yelling in terror followed by... Ki'an's? That was his name right? That Mandalorian's voice. He'd been hit harder than he thought. Eyes shooting open, the Kiffar's mouth opened and he inhaled as much air as he could. He had been unconscious. It'd never been that bad before though.

Groaning, Cas held his forehead as his entire skull began to violently throb "Nnngh... that's a concussion..." he grumbled. Squinting, Cas tried to make out the bucket-headed warrior in front of him "You, uh, you... go on ahead. I'mma just... take five more minutes..." the Jedi Knight's head slowly fell back and gently hit the floor. Laying in the Cas-sized crater for a few seconds with his eyes closed, he sighed and opened his eyes before sitting back up. "If I can't get a kiss, can you at least kiss my head better. I'm seeing two of you right now... no, wait, four." Cas quipped, acknowledging Ki'an's joke from earlier.

Amidst the mind numbing alarm system, Cas could hear the faint sounds of screaming and blasters going off he realised they were beginning to draw closer. Casting a sideways glance at Ki'an briefly, his eyes then switched back to the sounds drawing near. Standing up, wobbling slightly, Cas regained his balance and extended his left arm to his side before summoning his displaced lightsaber into his hand. "Hey, where'd the black slimy thing go?" the Kiffar asked absent mindedly.

Whether Ki'an answered or not, Cas would lead the way and make his way to the giant lab's exit. Igniting his lightsaber as he treaded through the long hallway, the blasters and yelling became louder and more prominent. The currents of the Force flowed through the facility, he felt nothing but fear, hate, rage and... tranquility? Now stepping back into the main facility, his senses alerted him to an incoming attack which he quickly ducked. Barely. His concussion wasn't doing him any favours currently, the pain bothered him and it made his movements sluggish and his reaction time worse. Cas quickly stood back up and swung his lightsaber in a backhanded motion, cutting through the blunt object that had nearly clocked him out.

It was a mess. Now realising the gravitas of the situation - Cas would discover through the chaos that not only was there an experimental sentient weapon on the loose, but so were the patients. And boy were they mad. Not only that, Cas and Ki'an would come upon and even worse realisation. The Jedi watched as one of the patients, grabbed one of the guards and threw them several feet across the hall while another uppercut a guard into the ceiling. These patients were enhanced... there was no doubt that the doctors here were experimenting on these patients too...

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

Ki'an sat back on his legs to give Cas a little space as he came to. "Yeah, unfortunately you don't have time to have a concussion." He replied, though not without empathy. The rather dire situation meant it was all hands on deck. There wasn't much that could be done for Cas given the circumstances. He didn't have the opportunity to get the rest he would need but Ki'an suspected the Jedi were no strangers to hardship. "I'm not leaving you to get clouted by that thing again." He replied as he pushed himself back onto his feet.

"If we survive this, I'll consider it." He offered a hand to the Jedi. "Come on, let's go." He urged as he became increasingly aware that they were running out of time. His gaze quickly turned to the door as the sounds grew nearer. "Your guess is as good as mine." He replied, slipping a blaster into his hand and setting it to stun - he wasn't one for senseless death.

The Mandalorian followed his companion, trying to stay beside him should he need protection as the fleshier of the two. He was momentarily mesmerised at the sight of the lightsaber, an uncommon sight for him - a graceful weapon that he respected a great deal - but his focus was quickly snapped back to attention by an incoming attack that Cas swiftly dealt with.

Ki'an wore a look of concern in regard to Cas' state. He knew all too well how a concussion affected somebody but Cas didn't have the luxury of resting yet and based on what he had witnessed, he wasn't too confident of the Knight handling himself so he stuck close by.

"Cas, maybe we should-" He started but was cut off as he was slammed into the wall by a man who suddenly appeared from an open cell. The man held the Mandalorian by the throat with one hand and by the wrist holding the blaster with the other and with inhuman strength he lifted the armour-clad man from the floor. Ki'an used his free hand to try and pry the other man's fingers from his throat but it was useless.

With few other options, he used his free wrist to direct a short burst of his flamethrower towards the man but to his horror, when the flames ceased, no difference was made. He struggled to reach for the other blaster holstered at his thigh due to not being able to lean to reach it but he was quickly losing time so he resorted to another attempt to get released.

Taking advantage of his face being obscured meant there wasn't a whole lot of acting skills necessary so he allowed the blaster to slip from his hand and fell limp, prompting the man to toss him aside and once on the floor, Ki'an drew his second blaster and promptly discharged it on the man while trying to catch his breath. He pushed himself onto his feet. "-contact the Jedi." He concluded his earlier thought, regardless of whether or not Cas was listening.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas heard Ki'an's voice abruptly cut off, but was too busy to figure out why currently. The Jedi Knight was currently being rushed by two patients "Ugh! Not harming these guys... is really a chore!" Cas exclaimed, feeling his head throb induced from the concussion. Cas sluggishly evaded an incoming strike by backward dodging before hopping onto one of the patient's shoulders "Is a 'yee-haw' appropriate at this time?" the Jedi remained on top of the patient's shoulder as he flailed about trying to get Cas off. Garnering the attention of the other patient, Cas blew a raspberry at him and provoked the other patient into striking toward Cas. Hopping over the patient he was currently crouched upon, the patient missed and hit the other knocking him out clean with his super strength.

In the midst of all of that, Cas leapt over to behind the remaining patient before delivering a backhanded punch with his cybernetic arm, providing enough force to knock the last patient unconscious. Cas then backflipped off their shoulders as the unconscious patient fell to the floor, landing in a crouched position Cas staggered backward slightly as the room began to spin "Oh, man... probably shouldn't have done that." Cas groaned, clutching at his face. He heard Ki'an mention contacting the Jedi, both Ki'an's words and reeling from his concussion distracted Cas long enough for another patient to sneak up on him and kick the Jedi Knight with enough force to hurl the Kiffar into a wall. Cas impacted the wall hard enough to send a ripple of cracks across it before sliding down onto his front.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea..." Cas acknowledged Ki'an before quickly returning to his feet and dodging backward to evade a kick meant for him, denting the wall next to Cas. Cas quickly swung his lightsaber in a horizontal motion, applying just enough force to confer burn damage on the patient's arm before swinging downward, striking at their thigh and immobilising them. In the brief interlude between attacks, Cas raised his comlink toward his mouth and spoke into it "BB! Broadcast a distress signal to any members of the SJC in the area!" there was no response but static "BB?" the Jedi waited for a response before elbowing a patient trying to sneak behind him with his cybernetic elbow.

It all began to click and Cas threw his head back groaning "Transmission's been cut! Because of course it has!" the yelling of an oncoming patient charging towards Cas stupidly gave their position away, the Kiffar easily leapt into the air and transitioned into a backflip just before being tackled by the patient. "Ki'an, we gotta get transmissions back online... and find that thing!"

Ki'an Vizsla

 

[Ki'an Vizsla]

"It's like they've been hardwired to attack." He pondered before adding thoughtfully. "I'd be interested to know what happened to them to end up like this." He said as he observed the actions of the patients on a guard at the end of the corridor with interest and a lack of urgency before his attention was drawn to the immediate situation before him as he was approached rapidly by another patient but he quickly subdued the other with a stun bolt and moved to aid Cas as he was grabbed by one of the patients, though he was too late to provide any assistance.

The Jedi were their best bet now. They had much more interest in the situation than his own people would. His pursuit of information on the facility was driven by his own want and not that of his people. If he requested assistance, he might get a few stragglers if they were nearby come and help but there was hardly going to be a Mandalorian crusade launched against the facility and he doubted there would be many of them this far out anyway - if any.

"At least that's all that's been cut." He replied as he pressed a button on his vambrace which displayed a hologram of the map of the facility but moments after the corridor was plunged into darkness with the lights flickering a few times before remaining off. After a moment of silence, he spoke again "Nevermind." Still, he remained in relatively good spirits.

Cas took the brunt of the fighting for a moment while Ki'an located where the power was sourced. "You're going to love this. There's a basement." He told Cas, light-heartedly. With the information in tow, he activated the torch on the side of his helmet, more for Cas' benefit than his own since he had his HUD to assist in seeing in the dark but he didn't know if Cas brought a torch with him.

Ki'an turned around to see if anything had caught up with him while he had been occupied and came face to face with a disturbing creature that couldn't have possibly ever been human. "Osi'kyr!" He exclaimed instinctively before taking a few stumbling steps backwards as the creature reached out towards him with its claws and violently scratched at the Mandalorian, creating a painful noise as the claws scraped across the beskar. He drew his vibroblade while in close range of the creature and sliced towards its abdomen. It paused to look down at the gash but there was no blood and it continued attacking, unhindered.

Changing tactics, Ki'an opted to use the flamethrower but after a few seconds it spluttered and ceased, something he would've quipped about had he not been in such a panic after being spooked. He yelped in pain as the creature dug its claws into the unarmoured part of arm between his elbow and shoulder but quickly sliced upwards through the arm and kicked the creature in the abdomen, sending it on its back. He pulled the arm off of his and took a moment to inspect the claws to check for what he suspected and the presence of venom was confirmed by the blue coating on the fingertips but he said nothing.

He dropped the arm and sliced his blade through the other one, leaving the creature helplessly on the floor, struggling to get to its feet. In the distance, another creature appeared round the corner and began to slowly advance towards them with unnatural movements. "This way." He informed Cas, noticing his breathing to have become more taxing as he entered a quick walk in the opposite direction to the one they were being pursued in, leading towards the basement.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas rolled his eyes as Ki'an's nerdiness began to show - what kind of Mandalorian talked like he did? The guy was truly an interesting fellow. The patient that the Kiffar had initially evaded came back round to attack Cas once more, charging toward him again. Effortlessly, Cas sidestepped to his right and stuck his foot out which caused the patient to trip over and slam hard onto her face, sending her tumbling a few feet forward too. "Ouch. That looked painful. Sorry." Cas commented before his vision blurred and head pulsated once more. Cradling his head with his free arm, he began to groan at the vertigo he got "I've gotta do something about this concussion..."

Following the Mandalorian's pleasantful optimisism, the lights were suddenly cut off. Convenient. Sakadi'd trained him for a situation like this or if he were ever permanently blinded, Cas opened himself to the Force and allowed the mystical energy to penetrate his body and focused its energies on his senses. Granting him a sight beyond sight, Cas' instincts and four other senses created a picture for him. With that, Cas took on more oncoming patients - whom he believed to have some form of night vision as they attacked him with efficiency and precision. The Jedi continued to fight them off, non-fatally defeating them while Ki'an searched for alternatives. "A basement?" he asked, sending a few of the patients away with a mid-tier telekentic push.

Ki'an's spotlight was helpful, coupled with the hue of his own lightsaber - Cas no longer needed to use the Force to enhance his eyesight and senses. "Thanks for the light sour-- what the hell is that?!" Cas hollered as he saw the nightmarish sneak up on Ki'an, moving to help him he was halted by something grabbing his shoulder, harshly pulling him and throwing Cas away. Transitioning into a backflip, Cas landed on his feet, skidding backward slightly before raising his lightsaber to gaze upon whatever grabbed him. whatever it was was something he knew would stalk his dreams for a long while. Judging by its appearance, it was likely a Shistavanen in its past life...

Whatever it was, it was the humane thing to put it out of its misery. As the creature wound its arm back, ready to swat at Cas - the Jedi quickly charged at it before dropping to his knees and sliding under its arm mid-swipe, thrusting his lightsaber upward and severing its arm. Once his momentum slowed, he twisted his body and stood to his feet before transitioning into a low swing and cutting off its legs. It fell on its front allowing Cas to raise his lightsaber slightly before thrusting downard and plunging the blade of his saber into its skull, killing it. What disturbed him most was the fact it never made any noise during the entire altercation.

Cas quickly reunited with Ki'an only to see something else was coming there way. Quickly throwing his arm out, Cas showered the creature with a powerful telekinetic blast which hopefully halted its journey in the meantime before following behind the Mandalorian. "Looks like Mom was right about all the freaks, weirdos and monsters coming out when it's dark." he quipped in order to calm his nerves. This situation was entirely messed up, how did the doctors manage to hide literal test subjects here and get away with it?

The journey to the basement was relatively tame, luckily for them they didn't encounter anything except for the bodies of the doctors, security and patients. It was a damn blood bath. However, the relatively unproblematic jounrey raised Cas' suspicion levels to 9000. As they arrived at the elevator which led to the basement, Cas allowed Ki'an to enter first sensing no immediate danger nearby. After selecting the lowest floor on the elevator panel, their descent began. His vision blurred once more and the familiar pounding returned, staggering back and leaning against the wall Cas held his head "You haven't got anything to fix a concussion have you? Ngh."

Ki'an Vizsla