Private Hey! Give that Back!

[Jasper Kai'el]

Hey! Give that Back!
Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Hollis Orenn ​

It was drawing into the evening hour. Jasper was on the trail of some stolen kyber, having a legitimate lead to a group of criminals that had managed to get hold of some of what had been looted in the aftermath of Ilum. It had been a while since Jasper had gone after kyber. Last time around, he had gotten himself properly messed up on multiple occasions, losing an arm and all. His rash decision making had been reckless then. Now, he was tackling the problem from a more constructed angle, and with help. After receiving permission to peruse the the criminals from the Jedi Council, Jasper had managed to recruit a fellow padawan to accompany him: Hollis Orenn. He had interacted with her a few times, but wasn't well acquainted. She was less skilled in the combat department, but some recent training was bringing her up to speed with the others. A mission like this was a good way to start learning how things went down in the field. The two were perched on a rooftop overlooking an alleyway, where a Rodian stood guard of a doorway just below them. From beneath a slightly ajar blast door, a bluish-green gas could be seen.

"Thank's for coming on such short notice," Jasper said to Hollis. "I admittedly didn't plan this one out as much as I should..."

There was no use in lamenting over that now. Jasper quickly procured two masks, which resembled that of the temple guard, handing one to the other padawan.

"You'll want this," he informed her. "The mask has a rebreather in it. This here is a small group called the Cloud Dwellers, a band of Rodian smugglers. They aren't particularly notorious, but they are starting to make a name for themselves by burning Clouzon-36 to shroud their operations. That's the green gassy stuff under the door." Jasper gestured down as he gave this information. "It's toxic to most people, but Rodians can breathe it just fine. They figure it'll keep people like us out of their business."

Jasper pulled out a datapad, flipping through some notes he had taken in preparation for the raid. Things like the known number of members, recorded activity, and other details of the such were written down.

"There are only about five to seven members at a time," Jasper continued, "and they're only armed with standard vibro swords and blaster pistols. They also recently lost a turf war with a rival group, so they're soft at the moment. I figure we slip into their hideout through the ventilation, take out whoever they have guarding the kyber, and slip out before they even notice we were here. Any questions?"

 

[Hollis Orenn]

Jasper Kai'el
​

Hollis peered over the edge of the building. It was still so odd to think of so many levels that existed beneath the Jedi Temple – and Coruscant as a whole! She glanced at Jasper as he spoke. "Sure, thanks for letting me tag along," she said with a nod as he thanked her for coming to help. And it was a bonus that she got to work with someone she'd seen around a lot, but hadn't yet gotten to know.

When it came to training, she was grasping the basics now. Her master encouraged her to get out and do as much as she could. And Hollis had a rather eager nature as it was. She took the mask that Jasper handed to her and listened as he explained the situation.

It sounded like something they could handle. Right?

Hollis was a bit more confident now with her training saber, but she found a pang of nerves in the pit of her stomach when he mentioned how many they might be up against. Only five to seven. She guessed that maybe Jasper had experience fighting even more than that. She let out a breath.

"That sounds like a plan," Hollis said, smiling. Even though he said he hadn't prepared much ahead of time, it seemed like he'd thought it through. Her eyes shifted towards a large ventilation shaft that protruded from the roof. "So, I guess that's where we're going?"

She gave a nod to signal that she was ready. In and out before they even notice... Hollis hoped so.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Hollis Orenn ​

Her eyes shifted towards a large ventilation shaft that protruded from the roof. "So, I guess that's where we're going?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Jasper nodded, slipping the mask onto his face. "If schematics of the building are to be believed anyways. Every now and then you get someone who feels like making modifications. I don't think that's the case here. The Cloud Dwellers haven't been here for long."

Jasper made his way over to the ventilation, prying the grate off the front. It seemed to be tight, given his height, but the duelist had crawled through smaller spaces before. He wasted no time slipping in, raising his hand up to signal for Hollis to follow. From there, Jasper procured his companion Pyf from his hood, letting the spherical droid go ahead of him.

"Lead the way," he told the droid.

"On it."

As the pair began to make their way through the vents, Jasper tilted his head to his right shoulder. They were going to be here a while. He might as well make some small talk.

"You seemed pretty tense about this when you signed up," the padawan began over his shoulder. "Go on missions like these often?"

 

[Hollis Orenn]

Jasper Kai'el
​

As Jasper worked to pry the grate off the vent, Hollis donned her mask and adjusted it. She'd never worn something like this before, and it would take a bit of getting used to. But it was much better than breathing in something harmful.

He went in first, and Hollis was soon crawling into the vent behind him. It was a small space for sure, one not meant for traveling through, but Hollis didn't find herself too cramped. But looking ahead, the sides of the vent seemed to close in around her fellow padawan. He made it work though!

"Oh, did I?" she asked, blinking behind her mask. "I've only just started going out on missions." That would probably explain the nerves. "I guess I'm a bit nervous. I just... don't want to let my Master down, you know?" Not to mention, she'd had Justice with her on her first real mission. He wasn't here this time. But she knew it was important to do things for herself. Her master was right, she couldn't rely on him all the time.

"I feel like I still have a lot of catching up to do." Hollis admitted. "Have you been on a lot of missions? Been with the Order for a long time?"

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Hollis Orenn ​

"That's a... complicated story," Jasper began, chuckling. "Admittedly, it's kinda ridiculous. It's a bit confusing, so I'll spare you the details. I was left with the order when I wasn't even a year old... but I left for a few years to do some 'self discovery' or whatever. Missions are sort of new. My thing was... bystander involvement."

That was putting it kind of lightly. What he had really been doing was more akin to vigilantism than anything, given that he wasn't under the direct orders of the NJO at the time. Though, given his experiences on Denon, it didn't seem to be that unique. Jasper's only quirk was not hiding his face.

"Pretty familiar with the lay of the land down here though," the duelist continued, shifting to the right as he continued to follow Pyf. "I used to sneak out of the temple and explore down here as a kid. I was scared to death to talk to others, but it didn't even once cross my child mind that it was dangerous down here."

Jasper was getting better at talking to people these days. It certainly helped that he was more comfortable with himself. That combined with all the people he had met over these past months and he had really begun to work through his awkward tendencies, though they would occasionally flare up again. That aside, he began to take note of the air in the vents. It was becoming greener, thicker then when they had first entered. They were now well within the confines of the structure.

"Well, we're definitely in now," he reasoned. "Keep an eye out for openings. We'll need to poke our heads out to see where they're hiding the kyber. Just remember to keep the noise down. They probably have a few members patrolling the halls."

 

[Hollis Orenn]

Jasper Kai'el
​

"Ah, gotcha," Hollis said after Jasper explained. She liked hearing about how others found the Order. So far, stories were quite varied. And some, like Jasper's made her own feel very… ordinary. "Really? You used to sneak out?" Hollis couldn't help but chuckle softly at the thought of a small child leaving the temple. But this place was dangerous… even for adults. "Goodness."

As Hollis thought back, she did remember seeing Jasper at a party. He'd tried to slip out of the room as soon as he'd walked in. She was glad that she was getting the opportunity to get to know him better now.

Things were definitely getting serious here. Hollis had noticed the change in the air, too. Keep the noise down. It was like an omen… because, at that moment Hollis' knee must have hit a weak joint in the vent – and her leg fell through. "Ah!" Hollis stifled yell, so it came out as a quieter gasping sort of noise.

The ventilation shaft near her lower body seemed to be at risk of breaking entirely now.

"Oh gosh... sorry!" Hollis said in a harsh whisper.

Now, she had to either slip out of the vent or clamber further inside and hope that no one had heard the brief commotion.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Hollis Orenn ​

"Really? You used to sneak out?" Hollis couldn't help but chuckle softly at the thought of a small child leaving the temple. But this place was dangerous… even for adults. "Goodness."

"Yeah, probably not the smartest choice I made as a kid," Jasper shrugged, "But I ended up finding some cool stuff down here, so I think it was worth it."

Suddenly, there was a very violent creaking sound. Jasper turned back just in time to see Hollis's leg fall through the vents. It seemed to be unstable. Given that the vents were supporting the weight of two people, it was easy to understand why. Most buildings in the undercity were rarely up to code, after all.

"Alright, just try to relax," Jasper told her, remaining relatively calm. "All we need to do is improvise a little."

Slowly and cautiously, Jasper contorted himself in a manner to turn his body to face Hollis and fully assess the situation.

"Okay, I have an idea," he continued after a brief moment of contemplation. "I'm gonna see if I can pry the gap open enough for us both to slip through. We'll need to move quickly. It's probably smart for us to continue to avoid confrontation while we can."

Jasper lifted his mechanical arm, using the hydraulics within to puncture the top of the ventilation. He quickly found a support beam to grab onto for leverage. From there, the padawan began to pry away the metal with his free organic arm, widening the gap.

 

[Hollis Orenn]

Jasper Kai'el
​

Hollis nodded, trying her best to keep still and not make her precarious situation any worse. She was slowly learning that things did not always go to plan when it came to Jedi business. Missions were definitely unpredictable.

"Okay," she said as Jasper said he had a plan.

As the gap got wider, Hollis let herself fall through – to the floor below, landing as softly as she could. Hollis crouched, her eyes wide and wary. The room she was in now seemed to be used for storage. There didn't look to be anything like Kyber crystals, though.

Indeed, there were muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. Jasper was right, they'd need to be careful. Glancing up, she noted that Jasper was on his way through the gap now, and she moved to the side to allow him some space.

Once he was down on solid ground too, Hollis flashed him another sheepish smile and nodded. "I'll be careful…" she whispered. And motioned that she was ready to follow him.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Hollis Orenn ​

Jasper slipped through the gap, landing as quietly as he could. There was muttering beyond a nearby blast door. The odds of it being all five to seven members was low, but he didn't want to take the chance of revealing themselves too soon. The room they were in was storage, but there were no crystals present at all. Instead, there were only containers of various smuggled items. Arms, spice...

"Wait a minute..." Jasper murmured below his breath.

"I'll be careful…" she whispered. And motioned that she was ready to follow him.

"Great, cause I have a new plan," he informed her.

Jasper pried off the lids on one of the containers, revealing the copious amounts of spice within it. Then, he gestured to a grate in the top corner of the room.

"That thing up there is an air purifier," Jasper explained. "It's supposed to blow out clean air, but I can tweak it to make it do the inverse. Stealth isn't gonna last us very long, but if there's something else in the air, we could take the Cloud Dwellers a bit easier. The rebreathes will filter out the spice. If they like hanging out in clouds, I say we use their methods against them. Still, it'll take some time. I'll need you to keep an eye on the door for me."

 

[Hollis Orenn]

Jasper Kai'el​

Hollis stopped and glanced over her shoulder when Jasper said he had a new plan.

She blinked as she watched him pull the lid off a container. The padawan took a few quiet steps toward him and looked inside – there was a powdery substance inside, spice. Her eyes followed his hand towards the grate above.

"That is quite the plan," she said, nodding. "I'll keep watch."

Though she really didn't need to, she crouched slightly when she made her way over towards the door. Hollis placed the side of her foot against it just in case someone tried to open it from the other side. With her hand hovering near the hilt of her saber, she waited. And listened.

So far, there sound of voices had grown quiet, distant.

She flashed Jasper a quick thumbs-up.