Private In the Shadows of Theed

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Blaster Pistol
Tag: Bastila Sal-Soren

There was a rich girl missing in Theed, and somehow, Gatz had been roped into finding her.

No, worse, he had all but jumped to volunteer. If someone had asked him, even a few short months ago, if he'd even so much as lift a finger to help the aristocracy, Gatz would have laughed until he suffocated. To hell with the nobles of Naboo! What had they ever done for people like him? What had they done for the families that struggled to survive, while they sat in their manors with their wardrobes that cost more than his childhood home?

Not enough. Not nearly enough.

Unfortunately, Gatz had very quickly learned that he was simply incapable of saying 'no' to Briana Sal-Soren . For any reason, really, but especially when she needed help. And he was coming to conclude that it had nothing to do with the way the lattice of his mind was tangled with hers. No, he simply liked the Duchess, and had from the moment he'd met her.

So now that her younger sister had gone missing—quite literally disappearing between the spaceport and Briana's home—they had hit the streets like a pack of bloodhounds. Or a duo. Whatever. The area in which Bastila had disappeared was only a few miles in diameter, and so Briana had given him one half to search, while she sleuthed through the other.

They both wanted to believe that Bastila had simply gotten sidetracked, and that by the time they regrouped at Briana's, she'd be there getting a long lecture from SID-10S. They both wanted to believe that maybe she'd gotten held up at the spaceport, and that R4-A1 would find her as he canvased the entrance.

And they both knew things wouldn't be that simple.

Bastila was missing, and someone had her.

 

[Errix Feh'room]

Attire: Personal Attire
Weapons: Service Dagger, Modular Blaster, Concealed Blaster, Combat Knife
Vessel: The Decline
Tags: Gatz Derrevar Bastila Sal-Soren

The large frigate was hidden out of system for the time being. Discretion the manner of operation thus far as Errix scouted the areas surrounding the known Trade League borders.

A few minor engagements with the organization prompting a departure from the typical style of taking what was wanted in lieu of gaining information. Alongside the Alliance on their burgeoning two front conflict, tensions between the Core and the far flung Rimward planets brought with it increased paranoia and tensions. The crew milling about on systems checks while Errix had affixed himself as a stony statue aboard the bridge.

Fingers toying with the Holocaster as the shipboard artificial intelligence filtered the relevant messages from the incoming thugs that had been hired for a task.

The image of their prize displayed on the little device.

Sal-Soren was a name tied to the Kainate betrayer by degrees. The wife of the betrayer another measure of degree, and the former student of that wife the sister of the one that had been snatched. A handsome sum of credits for the successful snatch and grab awaited the inbound crew. A warning fed to them about failures seeming to be worthless as they sent a burst transmission to ensure the validity of The Decline's most recent place of rest.

The asteroids they had put between themselves and any passerby hopefully enough to dissuade most. Save for the truly voracious Spacer with a penchant for stripping old vessels for parts at least.

One such instance having already occurred and promptly dealt with by means of playing dead. Shielding their power signatures long enough for the tiny Scouting vessel to succumb to the Repulsor Tractor Beams at least. It had brought a break in the growing tension aboard The Decline as they waited for their third party to arrive. The stale bite of the air not aiding the unease the crew had felt about their commanders slow treks about the vessel.

Errix feeling the sharpening claws of hunger about him as his eyed drifted among the crew.

The slight scout they had captured a poor definition to the measure of a satisfying meal. Eyes akin to a frozen lake staring at the image of Bastila that drifted in slow circles in the palm of his hand.

"A wonderous prize." Errix crooned, fingers tightening around the little device as the round disk groaned and creaked before his hand relaxed.

The explanation for her disappearance would be an easy matter. Blamed in its entirety on the recent rash and violent actions of this, New Way group that had made a debacle of a most likely heartfelt memorial for the cataclysm that had rocked Naboo. The recording he had been privy to highlighting the events as a prompt for his hiring the sleezy beings.

Nobles tended to have a favorable taste to them, and opportunity for such an event rarely presented itself so flagrantly.

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Theed Marketplace
Tag: Errix Feh'room | Gatz Derrevar

"How much is this...?" She looked down at the various fruit from the northern regions of the planet.

The vendor, a scruffy looking human, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"For you m'dear, 10 credits..." He said confidently.

Bastila nodded sagely, picking up a couple pieces of fruit and placing them into her bag. "So..." She counted the fruit twice, looking up at the sky briefly as she added together the total. "80..." A soft laugh escaped her as she reached into her satchel and pulled free a few credit chits, handing them over to the vendor.

He took the credits quickly, examining the amount before looking back up to Bastila and then back down to the credits. "M'lady, this is 200..."

Bastila chuckled softly and shrugged. "It's ok! It's from my brothers credit stash anyways, he won't know it's gone." She smiled brightly before moving away from the fruit vendor, her hands securing her bag and satchel to prevent any pick pockets from taking any of the goods. Her focus shifted to the marketplace and it's variety of vendors, and the unique smells and sounds that filled the air. She would take a moment to explore, asking each vendor questions or pointing at different objects that tickled her fancy. She would enjoy the moment, taking a break from the rigors of training and pursuing a life of a Jedi for a simple one. As she came upon the last row of vendors, she felt something - a soft tug on her satchel. She turned quickly, catching a young Nubian boy pulling free some credit chits from her bag and swiftly turning to run away.

"Hey!" Bastila shouted, clutching her bag in surprise as she pursued the young thief back the way she came.

He would dodge and weave through the vendor booths, knocking a few things over in his path. Vendors and items would scattered out of the scurrying path of the thief as he attempted to lose Bastila who was in hot pursuit. He zipped down an alley, taking a left, then a right. Bastila yelled again. "Hey, stop!"

She came around a corner, sliding into the opening with her arms out stretched if he tried to backtrack...only to come face to face with a blaster pistol.
The Weequay would sneered with crooked teeth as he shoved the pistol against the flesh of her cheek, leaning in briefly. Bastila kept her eyes focused elsewhere, ignoring the stench of his breath. Her gaze would fall upon the thief who was behind the thug - counting credits he had acquired from luring her here as well as the ones he stole. 'You dirty rat...' She thought to herself. She spoke up, voice a bit broken and showing signs of fear. "Look, I can give you credits..."

"We aren't interested in your credits..." The voice of a Rodian popped up behind her. "Our employer has ensured we're going to be rich for bringing you in..."

"Ey! Shaddup Will ya?!" The Weequay spat, sending driblets of saliva through the air - splattering against Bastila's face. With a disgusted groan, she moved a hand down to wipe her face, only to be hit from behind with the blunt edge of a weapon. Like an omelet, she folded up and collapsed to the ground in a heap of clothing and flesh, groaning softly as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"eY! He ain't gunna pay us if she's damaged you idiot!" The Weequay shouted, holstering the pistol before producing a set of stun cuffs and placing her wrists within their confines. The Rodian would shrug, also producing a set of stun cuffs, binding her ankles together as well. The Weequay made a face at the Rodian, one of displeasure before taking her lightsaber and satchel off her limp body. He tossed the hilt into the bag and slung it over his shoulder. "They said nothing about her being a Jedi..."

With a shrug, the Rodian spoke up, getting more nervous by the second. "Let's just get out of here, we don't know who saw us." he said quickly. Both thugs would lift the unconscious Sal-Soren, hauling her off into the darkness - to a discreet location set forth by their employer.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Blaster Pistol
Tag: Errix Feh'room Bastila Sal-Soren

Canvasing the roads had failed.

It was unsurprising that he was failing, but frustrating. An entire Sal-Soren was missing, and somehow, he couldn't spot even a glimpse of her. With each passing minute his worry increased, and his irritation compounded. The longer he was out here, the more he was beginning to suspect that the worst had come to pass, and that someone had snatched her up. The worst part was, it was entirely plausible that someone had kidnapped her.

The Sal-Sorens weren't exactly liked, at the moment.

Someone had to have seen something. That was all Gatz needed: a lead. Something to point him in the right direction; something to clue him in as to what had happened to Bastila. She couldn't have vanished out of thin air. Her ship had touched down. There was bound to be a trace of her somewhere, and he had to find it. If he didn't, Briana might lose her sister.

Gatz had failed everyone in his life. His parents, his uncle, and he'd failed Valery more times than he could count. He didn't want to fail Briana. Not Briana. He hated that he felt this way, but... Briana's approval mattered to him. With the way they were joined, her opinion of him mattered more than anyone's. She knew what kind of man he was, better than anyone now, and still offered him only kindness.

He couldn't repay her with failure.

Focus, Gatz chided himself, you'll never find Bastila if you stand here agonizing all day.

Spaceport officials knew nothing. RSF officers on patrol beats hadn't seen anything. Tour guides had missed her. Who else hung around the city all day, that could have seen her? The vendor booths? They were technically in Briana's half of the search area, but Bastila couldn't have missed them if she'd been on her way to Briana's.

Gatz practically sprinted to Theed's bazaar.

He spent nearly half an hour there, running from vendor to vendor, gathering details. One man had told him that someone had gotten robbed. Another had spun a tale of a chase through the bazaar, with booths getting knocked over. An aged fruit vendor described a woman who must have been Bastila. Finally, a shopper had seen a woman chasing a little boy into an alley.

A street rat, like Gatz himself had been, once.

When Gatz found himself at the entrance to the alley in question, nostalgia hit him like a brick. He hadn't grown up homeless, or orphaned, but he knew these alleys all the same. They'd been his playground. He'd gotten into his first fight here, stolen his first credits here, purchased his first blaster here...

The kinds of people who spent their time down these dark passageways were split into two groups: the unfortunate who had nowhere else to go, and the malicious sort who wanted to take advantage of them. Gatz loathed to admit it, but he had been both, once. And both would be willing to prey on someone like Bastila.

That's what he was so afraid of.

Drawing in a deep breath, Gatz stepped into the shadowed halls that had once been like a second home to him.

 

[Errix Feh'room]

Attire: Personal Attire
Weapons: Service Dagger, Modular Blaster, Concealed Blaster, Combat Knife
Vessel: The Decline
Tags: Gatz Derrevar Bastila Sal-Soren

The ship drifted in slow orbit, the slight hum of passive scanners bringing back information the only disturbance to an otherwise quiet bridge. What began as a sidelong glance towards the viewport ended with the Holocaster being set aside, and the stars being examined with first scrutiny followed quickly by a sense of awe.

"Do you shine so brightly for everyone?" The rasping whisper bringing a question for those glittering orbs that always seemed to be forever in the distance.

____________________​

The winding paths of the back alleys and side streets provided ample cover as the Weequay and Rodian traded barbs back and forth.

More than once a hand patting the satchel to make sure the jedi's weapon was still there when a solitary figure passed them by. They weren't as well oriented with the alleys and winding paths, but they knew where they had been and where they were going. Staring beyond the faces that dotted their path as holes formed in the walkways to let them pass. Only a few sparing a glance to the two carrying someone through.

Their Volpai pilot angrily rocking back and forth in their seat, grunting at the hurry up and wait of the job. The Freighter prepped and ready for a speedy exit as the occasional pop and hiss of steam and other systems on the ugly ship hummed. They were already behind by a full cycle, and there had been more pressure on the leaning questions of their employer. The coordinates for their rendezvous location punched into the computers as he watched anxiously for the duo to appear.

The two thugs left little behind in their wake save for the few that dared to chatter amongst themselves at the site.

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Theed Marketplace? Dingy Hanger?
Tag: Errix Feh'room | Gatz Derrevar

Voices.

She heard a multitude of voices - or maybe it was just from being whacked from behind.

Her eyes would flutter, and she'd groan audibly as she was carried over the shoulder of one of the thugs. They knew by now that the local security forces had been alerted, but they were unaware that some of their actions were caught on holocorder. The news would start to spread like wildfire within the city of Theed. They would find their way to the hanger, with little issue - an occassional glance but no one did anything to stop them from continuing on with their quarry. As time progressed and the thugs made their way to the hanger, Bastila would begin to stir and come to, the audible grunts and groans were evident to her regaining consciousness. She would try to move, only to be zapped gently. The stun-cuffs applying minimal voltage as her movements weren't enough to bring upon a full jolt of electrical charge zipping through her nervous system. As dreams became reality, she would feel the cold metal upon her wrists and hands, the vice like grip keeping her in line - for now.

She tried to look up, but the movement of the Weequay kept her gaze down. She was unable to tell where she was, given that Theed as a huge city and there were a couple different ports of entry. She could make out the voices now, of both the Rodian and the Weequay who carried her - and then the voice of a third, no doubt someone else involved in their little scheme to take her for some ransom.

The Volpai pilot shouted at them as they set her down upon the freighter ramp, throwing his hands up. "You didn't bother to cover her eyes!?"

Bastila looked around, her vision still a bit blurry from the blow. "What difference does it make now?" The Rodian replied. "To most humans, we all look the same..."

But the Weequay begged to differ, pulling a cloth from his pocket, bending down to cover her eyes and tie it tightly behind her head. Bastila tried to struggle, not only against the bindings but the attempts to touch her person - as well as the overwhelming stench that emenated from the stained cloth. Bastila couldn't help but gag a little, protesting her discomfort but to no avail.

Surely by now, someone had to be hot on their trail...? Or was she just going to become lost, like countless others. The galaxy was large and this wasn't an uncommon thing - kidnapping and selling on the black markets. Her skin crawled at the notion, and her mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of the situation.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Blaster Pistol
Tag: Bastila Sal-Soren Errix Feh'room

The dark alleys of Theed had been his friend, once. In a rare moment of good fortune, it turned out they still were. One urchin, bribed with credits, had seen the commotion: Bastila grabbed by a Rodian and a Weequay man. A drunk bum pointed out the way they'd left. A woman on the trail had gotten a holorecording of the two thugs hauling a young woman over their shoulder.

For all their tragedies, the Sal-Sorens must have had better luck than the Derrevars, because Gatz had miraculously been led right to the small port Bastila's captors had parked their freighter at. A quick check-in at the customs desk, and a liberal applying of the Sal-Soren name, and Gatz had even been given a hangar number.

Thugs were so stupid, sometimes. It was like they thought they went unseen. Gatz let a small smile creep onto his face, but it fell away as he realized just how close Bastila's captors must have been to departing. As much as Gatz wanted to wait for Briana—who was surely aware of his success and on her way—he simply didn't have the time.

"Arfour," Gatz pulled his commlink out of his jacket pocket, and radioed his droid, who was still at Theed's bigger spaceport, "I know where she's at. Get to the ship, and get it prepped for take off. I might need you for a quick exit."

He stowed the commlink without waiting for a response. R4 was a moronic, erratic droid, but he always listened. Just not always well.

The door to the hangar was locked, naturally. But... well, a locked door had never kept Gatz out of anything. A brief minute with a vibroknife, wire cutters, and a screwdriver later, and the door quietly slid open. Gatz stepped inside, reaching out with the Force for any disturbances, or blaster bolts aimed in his direction. Instead, all he got was a small freighter, a Rodian, a Weequay, and a... was that a Volpai?

It didn't matter. Gatz saw three men standing on the ramp to a freighter, one of them tying a blindfold around a woman's face. She was too far away for him to actually get a good look at her, but he would have bet The Red Night that she was Bastila.

And even if she wasn't, Gatz wasn't about to let three men abduct a young woman. So, with no other course of action available to him, Gatz made his presence known to her abductors.

"Gentlemen! I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you. Or, rather, someone."

 

[Errix Feh'room]

Attire: Personal Attire
Weapons: Service Dagger, Modular Blaster, Concealed Blaster, Combat Knife
Vessel: The Decline
Tags: Gatz Derrevar Bastila Sal-Soren

"This is why we are behind! Cannot get anyting done with you two!" The Volpai hollered, the Weequay grunting as the Rodian jabbed a finger towards the Volpai.

"Shut up and-" Cut off by the sound of a voice from behind them. All three dumbfounded by the disturbance as they stared at the approaching human.

"Not yours! Not yours either! Belongs to-"

"QUIT BUZZING!" A single arm of the Volpai walloping the Rodian while another hand dropped to a Blaster without hesitation. Shot let loose towards their interruption before the words had finished echoing in the hangar. "Get her inside! We go now!"

The Weequay had already begun moving inside as they pulled against the struggling girl. The Rodian cowering before producing their own Blaster and shakily taking aim to help their pilot.

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Theed Marketplace? Dingy Hanger?
Tag: Errix Feh'room | Gatz Derrevar

She continued to struggle as best she could against the tightened grip of the stun-cuffs as well as those of the would be kidnappers. She opened herself to the Force, expanding her presence as best she could - hoping it would attract someone who would feel her distress through the Force. She pressed and pushed and screamed through the Force for help, her sudden burst in powers being fueled by the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She could feel things beyond feeling, touch things beyond the boundaries of her mind and sense things she never thought she could sense before. It was an intoxicating sensation, one that threatened to overwhelm her and cause her to exhaust herself quickly. And it would do just that but not before she felt the presence of another and the sounds of commotion.

As she collapsed in an exhaustive heap of flesh and bones - she felt a glimmer of hope as the sounds of blaster fire and shouting filled her ears. But it would be only brief, as the deafening ringing of silence and disconnect from her conscious state encompassed her form. She would essentially deadweight, creating a burden for the kidnappers as she pulled, pushed and tried to shove the unconscious form of Bastila into the ship.

Their struggle would be brief, as they just left her at the top of the ramp, the pilot scrambling over her form - fumbling towards the cockpit in an attempt to escape with the precious cargo. The two others would start to exchange fire with the knight in space leather - hoping to score hits despite not taking the moment to aim.

They would not make it easy for this rescuer, not by a long shot. They knew it wouldn't be long before Planetary Forces would arrive and they would lose alot more than credits.

​