The Price of Peace

[Atrina]

The mission was simple in objective, which always meant it had a high chance of going ass-up in somewhere along the way. Atrina looked over the dossier aboard the Glass Rose, doing what she could to minimize the chances of being seen, or worse, caught. There was an unknown in the midst as well, on her own side.

[member="Tschov Bolyn"], a member new to the Dominion like Atrina, was to accompany her. Atrina hadn't had a chance to test the girl, and found her presence in the force somewhat mystifying. She was good, but there was certainly a darkness that seemed to move around her.

"Tschov," Atrina said rather suddenly, motioning the girl over. "I think I've got us a way in. There are three levels, and I'm fairly sure we'll find our target on the second. There's a maintenance access vent guarded by some older model battle droids. Once we're in, it should be easy enough to get to our man and extract him."

Atrina looked at Tschov, with that strange darkness. "And remember, we only kill if we must. If he has information, we want it."

 

[Tschov Bolyn]

Tschov remained off to the side and out of the way as [member="Atrina"] dealt with the technicalities of navigation, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. Getting in and out of somewhere was something she was no stranger to. Having someone else to work with, however, that was something new.

She came when called, obedient to the promise of information, taking mental notes. The mission did indeed sound simple enough. At the mention of killing, or rather avoiding it, she rose a brow.

"If there's information to be found, it'll happen. One way or another." Tschov had no qualms with killing. It was, of course, almost directly related to her own survival. Truly, they'd have little trouble in extracting information, especially if she could make a meal out of it. If not, however, well, it'd certainly be a practice in self control.

 

[Atrina]

"We'll be moving in just before dawn. Nines is our way out on this, and our backup if the mission starts to go... poorly." Atrina studied the map one last time. They would be boarding a shuttle and heading down to the surface in just a few moments. Coruscant left a particular distaste in her mouth ever since her last visit, and the options for escape were limited. Force users were not looked upon well on this planet since the last several wars, and this particular area of the slums were more likely to outright attack a Jedi than ignore them.

"And if things do end up going south, just follow me. The last thing we need is cops or criminals knowing we're here." Atrina closed the hollow maps and walked up the ramp to the shuttle. She looked at the refurbished droids sitting in the pilot and co-pilot seats. A mere image of what they once were, now all but enslaved to the astromech the Jedi shadow called Nines. She had trusted them before, and she trusted them now. But now, she needed to trust in her partner.

"Ready?"

 

[Tschov Bolyn]

"In what ways are you expecting this to go wrong?" Tschov questioned. In her years as an assassin, she'd developed a bit of a reputation of sorts. Granted, assassination was a comparably simple task to their current mission. Coruscant wasn't an overly familiar world, not one the Anzat had spent much time on nor had bothered to learn more about. To that extent, she could understand the peril the mission presented, but beyond that she couldn't see much to be concerned of.

"I assure you, remaining hidden won't be a problem." Had Tschov been of a more firey disposition, she would've taken offense in her partner's apparent lack of faith. At present, she couldn't be bothered with such notions, wanting to get to the mission at hand. As the shuttle dropped just above cloud cover, a brief twinge of excitement coarsed through her being, hidden proboscises almost twitching with the excitement the hunt presented, regardless of what type of hunt it was.

"Whenever you are."

 

[Atrina]

"Alright then. Let's go." Atrina turned to her astromech droid, watching as the shuttle lifted out of the hangar and left him behind.

"Nines, lay off the guns until we absolutely can't go without. I don't need a repeat of the last time we were on Coruscant."

The shuttled punched out of the hangar bay with some force, accelerating down to the planet below, determination fueling its thrusters. Atrina calmed her mind during the descent, letting emotions flow through her before pushing them out. She found there was no science to it, just a quiet ebb and flow as she recognized each of her emotions one by one, and then pushed them away in the same regard. Her mind was clear.

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The shuttle barreled through the atmosphere before easing its way into traffic and gently slowing to a stop behind a floating billboard. Their target was just on the other side, with two guard droids at the access port; Atrina could barely see them.

"So, here's where I get to trust that you are trustworthy." Atrina released the landing ramp, opening up to a brisk but slow wind, and the howling of repulsors from every direction.

"I can almost make out the droids here. I can only see things the Force touches; its like throwing darts from ten yards in the moonlight."

Atrina held onto the hydraulic ramp arm, pointing past the billboard. "I can see the terrain well enough because it doesn't move. But you're up for those guards, so have at it."

The shadow smiled. Her arm descended as she turned to Tschov, gesturing a polite 'after you,' as if holding the door.