Private The Dark Allure

[Shan Pavond]

It had been a while since Shan had went out onto the streets of Courscant to try and help the less fortunate on the planet. After everything that had went on, it was a good idea in his mind to go back to the basics. Why he wanted to wanted to be a Jedi and why he was fighting things. Perhaps he should plan on visiting his home as well? For now however his focus was on the streets, taking in the now familiar sounds of the people moving back and forth. Arguments, fights and just overall city life. After all of the battles and warzones he had seen, it was nice to just be somewhere that felt normal. Though whilst the streets of Courscant were familiar to him, not everything was like it normally was. Whilst he'd normally go out to help without his lightsaber, the young Padawan kept the tool attached to his belt from now on, alongside making sure it was securely attached. Couldn't risk letting it getting stolen.

Either way the Mirialan went to work, looking for people who needed some aid. Handing out bottles of water and small snacks where he could, or if they needed something warm, he'd give them some hot tea to warm themselves up. Now that he had more experience with Courscant, he was more willing to explore down streets he'd never have normally went down to help more people. That didn't mean he let his guard down however, as Shan's eyes darted between the various alleyways.

He walked around the Courscant streets for around a hour before Shan decided to take a small break, finding a bench to sit down on before stretching his arms out. The Padawan brushed his robes down to make sure there weren't any excess dust or dirt stuck to them before pulling out his datapad to read through some of his own notes. He was taking any excuse to go over what he had already learned. Every so often he'd raise his eyes over the datapad to see if there was anything that might need his attention before looking back down. It was time for him to sit back and relax!

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

Just as the Padawan had grown comfortable within knowing the area, so to did his hunter. Spending the time to sniff out lone souls who could perhaps be used or manipulated to benefit herself, this lone Padawan had been easily tracked for such reasons.

The vampiress never once let down her mask during her time right here on the capital of the enemy, her force always seeming to appear like that of a normal person... Small and insignificant, nothing noteworthy just as she liked.

It was easy to pick up on patterns, and one such pattern she saw was the handing out of food or water to the less fortunate down here in a less reputable section of the city. Such a kindness instantly gave his silent tracker an idea, perhaps a way to slink into his mind.

And so she took a seat next to him, instigating conversation.

"I saw what you did back there, it was very kind of you to help them like that."

Just like so many others her soft voice would grace his ears, her tone seeming gentle in nature.

"Do you often help people like that?"

A simple enough question, but she was hopeful for it to wedge open the door for her.

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan had no clue that he was being tracked, or hunted. Why would he? The Mirialan still only associated hunting with animals, which weren't as abundant on Coruscant. To him, threats were those with weapons, blasters, and blades. The idea of someone using their words as a weapon wasn't something that would ever cross his mind. He took most people at the word, unless he had an obvious and clear reason to distrust them which for Shan...Well, he rarely had an actual reason to distrust people.

An eyebrow raised at the sound of a voice, as Shan lowered his datapad to listen to the stranger, giving her a small smile as he slipped the datapad back into his bag. Manners cost nothing so he might as well give her his full attention. He cleared his throat slightly, getting ready to respond to her. Taking a moment to go over his thoughts. He had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth when he spoke, so Shan wanted to make sure he actually knew what he was going to talk about before he let it out.

"I suppose it's kind. It's just a habit of mine. Had it since I was young and on Nar Shaddaa. Honestly, it's less dangerous doing here as opposed to Nar Shaddaa"

He let out a small chuckle at that, leaning back into the bench. Considering the stranger didn't give off any sense of being Force Sensitive, Shan didn't see any point going into detail about how he liked to think it caused ripples in the Force. It might go over most people's heads and he didn't want to seem like some kind of arrogant Jedi. He had heard plenty of stories about that.

"I do often help the people around here. They're worse off than me, and they deserve some form of help. The average person is just going to walk past, without even batting an eye. I'm not like that."

He was not like that at all. Shan was someone who always put others first. It's what he thought a Jedi should do...which is why he had felt conflicted about the Jedi recently. He had seen some experiences that made him think otherwise about the Jedi. Not all of them seemed to be the peacekeepers he had thought they were to be...but he shook his head, trying not to focus on that as he turned his head back toward the stranger, holding his hand out toward her

"Shan Pavond. A pleasure to meet you."

A wide grin spread across his face as he decided he should introduce himself to her. Little did he know, he had opened the door for her to sneak her way in, as Shan seemingly didn't have a care in the world right now. He felt relaxed, just talking away to people.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

She shakes his hand gently before glancing down at the saber he kept on his belt.

"I have seen that type of weapon before, a lightsaber. You are a Jedi then? If you are then I know something you can do to help many people in need... Far beyond food and water, I know a location where a ring of slavery is happening... People are getting beaten almost to death, starved... I know what I saw because I grew up on Nal Hutta! Chances are these people in need are going to be shipped off soon."

Adeline takes a deep breath, making it seem like this whole ordeal was really getting to her mentally even though it was all just an act. While it was true that she did indeed sniff out a slaver ring here on this level, her mind was far more focused on something else.

"I-I know it is a lot to ask you, but if we try to get the authorities involved it won't help.. Either they flee before the cops even get there, or the Hutts pay off people to get their slave masters out. Jedi are defenders of the innocent right? I can even help you, we can both go save lives!"

A rather heavy handed approach, but Adeline had a feeling she was already well in the door.

"Adeline by the way, sorry I- I am just stressed thanks to this, they might have someone I know."

Crocodile tears start to form as she decides to go all out with the act, being just so sad and worried that she was resorting to this, and only he could help!

 

[Shan Pavond]

And almost instantly, Shan's relaxation was pulled out from straight under him. A slave ring? Was he even ready to deal with something like that? Shan wasn't much of a fighter. He'd be able to protect them, maybe but the idea of lashing out to try and kill the slavers...Even if they were wrong, it wouldn't be something Shan enjoyed. But maybe that was good. He shouldn't want to kill people, so protecting people was fine.

"I'll do my hardest to try and help. I'm only a Jedi Padawan so I'm no...expert at fighting. I'm also more of a pacifist than an actual fighter. Don't worry though. I'm going to do my hardest to help save the prisoners. The Force will help guide me. If you're sure you want to help, then I'd be thankful for it. We can rescue them together. Just...relax. No need to cry, I promise you."

Shan pulled out a cloth from his pocket, holding it out towards Adeline to let her wipe her tears away, taking her at her word and having no clue that they were fake tears. He wouldn't even be able to wrap his head around the idea of someone faking their own tears. It just went with how he viewed the world, with more of an...innocent view of everything. But if people were in danger, he couldn't afford to stand around, pushing himself up to his feet once more before looking back towards Adeline.

"We should get going then. Once we're there, stay behind me. I can't risk you getting hurt by being in front of me. You just focus on rescuing the slaves, whilst I'll keep the slavers' attention on me."

The Mirialan's hand went to his saber for a moment, taking in a deep breath. He felt more uncomfortable with this than he was willing to admit. His heart was racing from the nerves, and the idea of having to take a life. There were a few ways for him to deal with the slavers nonlethally, but it would put them at risk. Either way, Shan couldn't just let a crying woman be in distress. He had to commit himself to his goal of helping, no matter the cost. He couldn't say the ends justified the means because they didn't always justify actions. Shan just nodded at Adeline, ready to be taken off to the slave ring.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

She nods her head, quickly tugging on the sleeve of his attire before slithering her way through a crowd in a hasteful manner. It wouldn't be long till the woman had lead the two down a bit deeper in the city, she stops, hiding behind a wall while pulling him semi gently next to her.

"Ahead... How do you want to take this on? You have the magic powers after all, just blow them up or something?"

The woman shrugs before pulling out a heavy looking blaster, the thing had to be made of scraps... It just looked awful, adorned with a crude paintjob of black and red you could see a name painted in white "Jackal".

"You are my last hope Jedi... Show these scum no mercy, they can't hurt innocents anymore then."

Adeline nods to him, taking cover as she waited for the Jedi to do something.

The target was a slums house that looked to have been taken over by this gang, nothing too odd looking on the outside besides two guards who seemed to be having a chit chat about something.

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan had to fight the urge to give an awkward chuckle when Adeline suggested the idea of using the Force to blow up the guards. He didn't have those kind of skills. Most of his skills were towards the defensive option but he had to figure out a way to step into action without being too harsh. He could understand why Adeline wanted them to be shown no mercy, considering what she had told him about her past, though he didn't know he was being played like a fiddle. He was far too gullible and believed in people to think it was a lie.

"I...erh...can't exactly blow anyone up. I'll do my best to deal with them...but we should talk about this once we've managed to rescue the slaves."

Even if the anger and hatred was justified, it wasn't a good thing to carry on your shoulders...or at least that's how Shan saw it. But that shouldn't matter. He had to stay focused on the task at hand. He had to figure out a way to deal with the guards so that they could get to the victims inside of the building. How would Kahlil or Valery do this?...Kahlil would probably have some kind of fancy runes, whilst Valery was a shadow so she'd probably have snuck up on them, but Shan had none of those skills...

So instead the Padawan relied on what he did know. Reaching out to feel the flow of the Force around him, trying to grab onto the connection to the two guards, before using the Force to try and crack their heads together. Even if the sudden shock of having their heads smacked together didn't knock them out, it was at least a good enough distraction for Shan to try and rush them, igniting his lightsaber to try and deflect any blaster bolts sent his way and potentially disarm the guards if they pulled out weapons on him. Some people might consider it more cruel to disarm people than to kill them, but Shan saw it otherwise! They still got to live at the end of the day.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

Being that one of the guards was a devaronian while the other was human, the human was indeed knocked out by the much larger thonk to the head.

"Jedai! Killya him!"

The large daveronian called out, quickly raising his blaster before sending rounds at the Padawan, meanwhile the Jedi's companion would sneak around somewhere... Had he been abandoned? Tricked maybe?

"E chu ta Bukee!"

He laughs before tossing his blaster, pulling out a vibro blade and approaching the young man.

With a heavy swing he would try to slam the blade right into the mid section of the Padawan, going on a gut feeling this small welp wasn't the best at fighting... A heroic wannabe you could say.

 

[Shan Pavond]

Even if Shan had been tricked, this was something he had been training for as the green blade of his saber deflected the bolts off in random directions away from himself and where he had last see Adeline. He didn't want to risk her getting hit by a stray shot, as the Padawan rushed forward to try and close the distance between him and the devaronian.

His eyes did go towards the blaster getting thrown away...Causing him to smirk slightly. That would be helpful for when he actually got into the building. A Jedi with a blaster would probably be something they weren't expecting. Well to be fair, he assumed most of them wouldn't be expecting a Jedi in the first place. Shan just flicked his hand out to pull the blaster to his hand. He had to turn his focus on the Devaronian though, as the guard lashed out with the vibroblade.

The Guard felt like he was moving in slow motion, compared to the Sith that Shan had fought. With the big heavy swing the guard was doing, Shan went to take a step to the side, trying to perform a Cho Mai on the guard, alongside trusting in the Force to guide his aim as he went to shoot the guard in the knee. He was still focused on dealing with the guards as non lethally as he could. Plus since Adeline wasn't watching him from the looks of it, he didn't feel too bad about not fighting to kill. He just had to disarm the Devaronian and then figure out a way to knock it out.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

It was easy, within a moment's notice the man was disarmed. He screamed in pain as he collapsed onto the ground, holding the cauterized wound that once connected his hand.

The front door to the place would make a clicking sound as the lock was sent into a small burst of sparks. Adeline would adjust her coat as she came around the corner... Wasn't she just behind him not long ago?

Her calm expression turned into one of slight shock as her ears heard the screams of pain... DID HE WANT TO ALERT EVERYTHING?!

Quickly she would rush over, pulling out a dagger that was promptly planted right into the screaming man's head. Adeline letting out a huff as she yanked the blade out, flicking blood off soon after.

"Do you wish to get shot? His screams could alert the rest, and then this will be much harder..."

The woman grumbles, soon kneeling at the one who did get knocked out swiftly.

"What about this one? Is he dead as well? Your face was seen by these two idiots, can't have anyone come back to get revenge."

She waits for his answer, testing the boy.

 

[Shan Pavond]

The screams. By the Force, Shan would never get used to the screams of pain. He turned off his saber and prepared to knock out the screaming guard, when he heard the lock to the door clicking alongside the sparks, catching him off guard as Shan prepared the blaster he had picked up...before it turned out just to be Adeline. Wait. How did she get there? The Padawan glanced back the way they had came from in confusion, shaking his head afterwards.

He opened his mouth, getting ready to ask if Adeline was alright, though in the blink of an eye, she had planted a dagger into the guard's head, and Shan froze in pure shock and horror. The colour from his face draining, as he felt like his heart skipped a few beats. What in the Force had she done?! There was no need for that. If she wanted to shut him up, they could just smack his head against a wall or something. The Mirialan was too shocked to wrap his head around what had happened, before shaking his head to try and regain focus, glancing over towards Adeline with a frown.

"I thought it was safe to assume the building is somewhat insulated from letting sound in or out. It wouldn't exactly be good for them, if people out on the streets could heard the captives screaming." That was his excuse at the end of the day however. Plus sooner or later, they'd probably get caught out by the slavers. He just crouched down next to the dead guard, and started checking over the body. There might be something they could use in the building that would help them get through, or some kind of access card to get into any security devices. Once Shan had checked over the body, he then dragged it off to the side, trying to make sure that it wasn't going to be in view of anyone who might walk out, or arrive at the entrance.

Though he then turned his attention over towards Adeline again, as she was crouched down to the guard he had managed to knock out. He knew if he told the truth, Adeline would more than likely kill the man...but if he lied about it, he was pretty sure Adeline would be able to figure it out either way. No matter what he said, the guard was more than likely dead. Shan just sighed to himself, running a hand down his face. "Plenty of criminals already know my face back on Nar Shaddaa. An extra one won't hurt me. Leaving corpses isn't always the way to solve things. I can understand your anger towards these slavers...but death isn't always the answer." Shan clipped his saber back onto his belt alongside keeping the blaster in his off hand. He wasn't sure how well it was going to go in the actual building, and there was a small part of him that was getting suspicious of Adeline...but he wouldn't be able to do anything by himself in here.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Shan Pavond

She lets out a worn breath, putting away her blade instead of killing the unconscious slaver guard. Doing Shan a favour this time... But it might not happen again.

"Listen, I understand that you don't enjoy killing... But do you think people enjoy being a slave? Of course not... I would know."

An actual truth, the memories of abuse as a little girl did in fact still sting. She really wanted to end this man, but at the same time she did need to keep an act and not be super unhinged.

"Sorry, I got the door open... I took a peek inside and everyone else seems to be down in a basement, I figure you could use that saber of yours to cut open the lock?

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan was surprised that Adeline actually seemed to respect his wishes. Sighing to himself, as there was a part of him that felt wrong, not letting the woman get her revenge on the slavers but it was just wrong to Shan. You don't kill someone who can't hurt you anymore. Either way, the Mirialan actually used his medical supplies to try and tie up the unconscious slaver, wrapping the bandages around their wrists before stuffing the man's mouth with a dirty rag from the streets. That would stop him from yelling out for help if he woke up whilst they were in there. Though he also patted the guard down, to see if there was any sign of a key

"I'm the one who should be sorry Adeline. I could use my saber if we need to, but the sound and light might give us away. Depending on how the layout of the basement is, it might be a case that I'll have to break the locks and everyone will need to run outside. There's not much else I can do, apart from trying to give someone a barrier."

The Mirialan just gave Adeline a short nod, keeping a tight grip on his saber and the spare blaster for now. He'd probably have to dump the blaster when he wanted to use the Force but for now? It was going to make a good tool to use in case they get confronted.

Adeline Noctua