The Wheel of Fortune (SSC Dominion of The Wheel Hex)

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]
(1)
Location: Bal'demnic
Objective: Hijack the dom to raid stuff.
Allies: [member="Maelion Liates"]


So the Coalition of the Willing had to more or less peacefull annex cortosis-rich, lizared-populated Bal'demnic into its ostensibly benevolent empire. The young acolyte could imagine the Jedi leaders making a sales pitch to the local dignitaries, speechifying about how the Silver Coalition would safeguard their natural resources, protect them against Sith tyranny and not meddle in their internal affairs.


Or claim a monopoly over their primary resource, cortosis. The metal was the main reason anyone would take an interest in this planet, but spilling blood for cortosis did not look good on the PR front. Of course, though xenophobic, the Kon'me were not fools, so it would not have escaped them that at this moment a Coalition fleet was doing battle at nearby Centares. It was not gunboat diplomacy, but the fact that the Coalition was capable of muscular power projection would play a role in their calculations.


Nor could it escape their attention that the Coalition harboured a criminal, Dark Jedi enterprise called Firemane Industries, which had carved out its own rankid little empire in their space. Intel had confirmed that the war criminal Siobhan Kerrigan was not on the planet, or even in the oversector. No, she was busy lording it over the natives of Tygara and forcing them to accept her rule under the pretense of 'bringing progress' because it was the Force-users' burden to uplift them.


Enyo Typhos might be a wee bit biased. She was far away from the pristine halls of the Bal'demnic senate that might soon be stained with blood. Officially Archangel was not on the planet and hopefully it would stay that way as far as the Jedi and their allies were concerned. Today was her first real mission, for she had been given leave fro her gruelling training on Gehenna.


Talsir was a stern taskmistress. Pain and frustration had been Enyo's constant companion under her tutelage, but the clone had learned to appreciate this. Every trial was a lesson that made her stronger. She would need every weapon in her arsenal if she wanted to tear Kerrigan from her throne and down into the abyss. Revenge would be sweet.


She put these thoughts from her mind while she observed the comings and goings at the entrance of the cortosis mine through the scope of her sniper rifle. She was dressed in camo armour and had sought cover behind some rocks and sand. A bandana was pulled tightly across her forehead to shield her from the grit and strong heat. The mine in question was well-guarded. Turrets, security droids, and some lizard guards. Unsurprisingly, the natives took protecting their precious metals very seriously and were no stranger to raids.


It would not avail them though. She had been spending a good while observing the guards' movements and passed on the information to her mechanical handlers. Soon everything would be in position to hit the mine. Go in, grab anything they could, get out. The girl tried to clamp down on her nerves. She was less than a year old and inexperienced in combat, unused to violence. She pushed the doubts out of the metaphorical airlock. She had a duty to her sister, Phaedra Amaryllis, and those whose lives had been ruined by Kerrigan. Nor would she disappoint Archangel.

 

[Rayliav'enci]

Location: The Wheel
Post:3

The deep blue of her skin matched her icy glare as she stared down the scumbag in the booth. She paid no mind to the toughs who were making their way towards the table. She and Kurayami could hold up their end of a fight if need be, but it was most likely a scare tactic as well. Street cred could be bought just as much as earned and hiring some mean looking people to follow you around tended to help the image that you were important. It just didn't add up though.

"I've got plans for him, right after we find out who and why someone is setting us up."

Protestations began to sputter forth from his lips, his eyes flashing angry at them but Raylia reached out with a brush of the Force and stopped the closest thug from moving at all with a firm grip. One-Eye's lips pursed to a thin line.

"You lied, we lied. Talk now. Who are you working for?"

The hard edge to her voice was in such violent contrast to who she normally was, that Raylia could scarcely believe it was her own voice coming out of her mouth. Watching all those action flicks with Kurayami on date night was starting to wear off on her.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

T H E W H E E L
Post 3 of 38
Objective: Be Guardians of Peace and Justice

The boy's mouth hung open.

His head craned back, his head-tails dangling down along his shoulder blades as the youngling stared up into the behemoth station around him. It was an incredible sight to behold. More expansive than the interior sections of the Roche Asteroids that he'd seen, creating an artificial sense of an open environment that was odd to encounter in space.

Someone was saying something.

Turning his head, the child rotated around in a slide that was almost a dance in itself. As he pivoted, the boy rocked his shoulders and seemed to perform a wave that passed from one arm to the next. Master E'ron was talking about stuff. Educational something or other. Zak, as per the usual, could not be assed to pay attention.

Seriously, there were a thousand million interesting things to look at here! Did anyone honestly expect his attention span to include listening to Jedi peoples? Jedi peoples talked a LOT. And rarely about interesting stuff.

...except [member="Matsu Ike"]. But she wasn't a Jedi peoples. She was Matsu Ike. And what she said was interesting because she was usually talking about ways to turn a paperclip and piece of gum into a Force imbued superweapon.

Thankfully there seemed no need to acknowledge what his master had said, because she was suddenly walking off toward another store window. Though, what had she been talking about? He'd just seen a lot of toys that looked fun. Why was she talking about educational, non-fun stuff? Making his way back to the window, the Nautolan again pushed up close to the glass. This time, however, it was a reflection that caught his attention.

Gasping, the boy's head-tails whipped through the air as he sharply turned his head.

There, on the other side of the mall, was an Intergalactic Cookie Factory. And a chocolate chip that was almost as big as Zak was.

Sprinting toward the Black Orchid, the boy called for his master's attention. "Master! Master!" Gently tugging on the hem of her robes, he said again, "Master!" Because, you know, kids were never sure that you heard them the first or second time.

Could they get a cookie? Could they get two cookies? Could they get that big cookie? He could take that back to Voss and share it with his entire youngling clan!

Then the boy's two second attention span kicked in. Tilting his head to one side, the boy looked back the woman as he realized just what she was looking at.

Underwear? Seriously?

And how could that possibly be comfortable?

"What's the secret supposed to be?" the child asked innocently, in reference to the name of the clothier.

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]​

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Location:The Wheel
Post:3

Kurayami wasn't sure he had seen that look on Raylia's features before, but he did know that he hoped to not see it directed towards him at any point in time. She held one thug in place as she stared down One-Eye. Kurayami was not as kind with the other help that were playing guard to the low-life. It took but a thought for each of them, Rend was powerful and the blasters that had been level moments before now pointed at the ground limply, if they even managed to hold onto them. All it took was a quick tearing of the extensor muscles, a small target and not much power needed to finish the job. The screaming was a bit annoying though. A quick grip and throw into the nearby wall brought silence to that. Kurayami figured the disruptor was unneeded right now and reholstered the weapon before he stood, bringing Jenni's old saber into his left hand with a quick pull, though it remained unignited for now.

"Well One-Eye you heard the lady. I have to say the situation is a grim one for you. It is clear now that this was a setup but by whom and for what reason? Who gave you these holocrons to sell? Who checked them for authenticity? These are the answers we want most. Whatever your fate, it rests solely in her hands now. If she decides to let you live then I will not kill you, if she says you die, then that makes today even worse for you then it started. Yea we lied. Well she did at least, she's a Jedi...me? I trained with bother Jedi Masters and Sith Lords. Codes are nothing to me and I have much less of a reservation than she about killing."

The man was clearly seeing where he had made a few mistakes. Namely the threat, that was a really bad idea it turned out. He shook his head and put his hands in the air, palms facing out.

"Listen all I know is it was some merc, was working with the Sith. He had done some slicing work in the past for me and mentioned you as '13.' From there he went more in depth and found your associate here. He was able to trace her education based on her records as a student and found she had access to the Jedi Archives. He handed me those things saying that she had done papers about the possibility of their existence years ago. Thesis work or something over my head. He wouldn't give me a name, well not a real one at least, 'Ripper' or something was what he told me to call him. Said he knew you and that you could get the stuff to people who would pay in the millions for these things.

Look I didn't know they were fakes, I am just the middle man. If he knew you two were Jedi maybe he tried to set you up in a place where few care for your kind to start with. I mean he was wearing that old commando armor like the Republic used to use, but you can buy that stuff of the black market so I didn't pay much attention to anything like that. If he is here though then you might only have a short time left before he makes his move. I hope you know what you are doing. I swear I don't know anything else."

As soon as One-Eye had finished talking three blaster bolts ripped through the soundproof bubble and struck the incapacitated guards, leaving the one Raylia was holding standing limply in her grip. Though others outside the area may not have heard the discussion that didn't mean that someone hadn't bugged the place before hand. It was a seedy enough bar that Kurayami was sure it could have been easily done only a few hours before. He could feel a pinprick of danger, it quickly began to become more and more obvious. Left side, across the room. Again he made no move that would let anyone outside know that he had felt anything, but this time when the bolts flew, the viridian blade sprang to life and sent the first two bolts into the ground nearby and sent the third back towards its point of origin.

"Now, I'm going to take a guess and say that was likely 'Ripper' so you want to point out his table for us? I was more interested in blocking those shots aimed at her and I."

The intonation to Raylia's voice was less than comforting, yet it still brought a smile from Kurayami as he heard her threaten the man.

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Post 4 of 38​

THE PLANET
B A L' D E M N I C

The wind and salt air blasted the youngling in the face.

He'd walked. And walked. And he'd kept walking, until he'd gone past the shoreline and been standing ankle-deep in water, staring off into a dark horizon that called to him. Now, his hands twisted around the controls of the white enameled swoop bike -- the last 'gift' that Darth Scorpius had ever bought for the little pickpocket.

So that he could enter the boy in swoop races.

A test of your reflexes, he said. Develop your intuition, he said. Then whenever Boo didn't win, he'd choked the life out of the boy in retribution. Because it was a sport. Because the Sith were born to win.

The ocean and horizon seemed to move on their own, as the small bike was like a leaf on the wind. He journeyed without a destination. And, yet, he seemed to have some idea just where he was going.

Not far. Not far, now...

A presence in the Force pulled the boy back from the edge of the yawning black abyss. It was warm. Familiar. Inviting. "[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]," the Pantoran uttered aloud, even before he'd realized it.

Théo was here.

One trait that the two shared in common of late was that they were each comparable to cats. Venturing out when they liked. Returning when they liked. The fact that Théo would have arrived here brought to mind any number of questions. Where had he been? Was he going anywhere? What had he seen?

A calling.

Turning his head back toward the horizon, the boy realized he'd physically twisted around in the seat so that he was facing back toward where he sensed the conclave of light-embued beings cloistered together through the Force. Looking ahead, he saw only darkness.

Darkness there, and nothing more.

...he should regret that it was a void infinitely more comforting to him than the light.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Location: Senate Rooms
Objective: Negotiate with Terrorists

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Shmi Labooda"] | [member="Valiens Nantaris"] | [member="Boo Chiyo"] | @Théo

(8)


"A good thing you have advisors, clearly you are not the smartest Nerf in the herd, your majesty", the leader of the terrorist shot back at the King. Naturally, the detonator can be activated remotely and their presence in the room is not required. The leader kept a good eye on the Jedi, they are a tricky lot and will be up to something, he was sure of that. A quick wave of his arm ordered one of his men to stand guard over them and he lowered the disk on which they stood to the ground. "If one of them so much as twitches, shoot them". Once the disk on which Coci, Thurion and Shmi had touched the floor the guard moved into position. "Removed your lightsaber and place them on the desk".

"Comply to my demands and no one will get hurt", he added to Shmi, there was no political agenda here, this was purely profit based attempt from the thugs. "A credit account has been entered into your database, I suggest you arrange for the credits to be transfer or I shall give you an incentive to do so". The leader walked toward one of the closer representatives and held the barrel of his blaster to the temple of the Kon'me.

The situation was tense Coci could feel the rising anxiety within the room from the Kon'me, they needed to keep calm or someone would die, these terrorist meant business. Through the force she calmed the room, using the force to enter their minds and place a state of quiet over them. She handed over her lightsaber just as Shmi already had done, besides Jedi posses more then one weapon which is far greater even then their lightsabers. The force of course.

"You do not need all the senate for your purpose, there are elders here which are of no use to you. Release them and the representatives and hold us and the King for your demands". Keep them talking and hope that someone will come to assist.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Location: Out side the government building
Objective: Get into the government building

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Shmi Labooda"] | [member="Boo Chiyo"] | @Mother | [member="Valiens Nantaris"]

(9)

"A group has taken the senate and the Jedi hostage, we are securing the area.. now go!", the officer quickly informed Théo, and he was further encouraged to leave as the barrels of the rifle nodded for him to start walking.

"Alright alright", he said backing away before turning to walked back down the street. As soon as Théo reached the first street running of the main one, he ducked down it and took off his bag to retrieve his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. There had to be another way into the building and Théo was determine to do it, not only are there hostages in danger but his parents as well, what a welcome home meeting this turned out to be. Once prepared, he began to walk back up the smaller street away from the building, and he would find a way in around the back.

His face changed, pulling his brow together he could sense someone very familiar to him here on Bal'demnic. Distant as it was, it was Boo. But where was he, it was hard for Théo to pin point his exact location but his presence gave Théo some hope. Unable to send a telepathic message at this point, Théo searched reaching out to him through the force, giving his the essence of danger and the situation that surrounded the Jedi and the Kon'me. Théo was calling Boo for help.

But he would not wait however, time was of great importance and he had to get into the building. Finally, Théo made his way to the back, naturally there was the presence of more officers securing the area, they had formed a line of defense and patrol the area. There was only one main door into the building from this point which was heavily guarded. However, there did not appear to be much more movement then this, but Théo assumed someone had contacted the terrorist and began negotiations.

He would never be able to simply walk up to the door, he would be stopped once more, but he had an idea. Two security officers patrolling the parameter were coming toward his location, Théo pulled back into the street and waited for them. As they neared and came into view Théo raised his arms and 'pulled' them into the small street. They did not have time to react, or think for that matter as it all happened very fast and before they could do anything their bodies hit the walls and they collapsed unconscious to the ground. Dragging the men further into the street, Théo quickly undressed one of them that looked to be about his size. He swapped clothes, climbed into the uniform and armed himself with the rifle and secured the cap to his head. It was a good thing not all the guards working around the senate building were Kon'me.

As bold as you like, Théo proceeded to the door. "Where is your partner?", one of the guards asked. "Gone to the refresher". Théo took up guard position by the door and waited his opportunity to slip inside.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Location: The Wheel
Objective: Investigate and keep up with Zak

[member="Zak Dymo"]

(10)

She spun around quickly, just as Zak darted off once more across the street. "Watch out! .. for traffic", she signed as the boy only just made it across before a ground speeder crossed their path. "I got to get this kid out more", she said to herself, yet a stranger walking passed gave her a look. Although she could not help but smile at his excitement over a cookie.

Before she knew it, Zak was by her side once more, taking an interest in what she had been browsing, "If I tell you the secret, it would not be a secret anymore. It is in the mystery". Hopefully that would confuse the young man into not asking more questions on the subject. One day he will find out for himself. One day! Zak must be low in zinc or something that has stifled his growth.

"We can come back later if you like, and buy some of those cookies, but we had better get on with this investigation. According to the information and co-ordinates there is suppose to be a hide out in the entertainment quarter". The directive from the Assembly was not to engage but to confirm reports, and report back for them to send back up and deal with the situation. However, when does anything ever go to plan?

"Come on, we are looking for this", she showed Zak the datapad. The place was called the 'Low flying Duck', some sort of bar with sims for gaming pleasure, it was a front of course, or at least according to the intel.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Location: Bal'demnic
Objective: Cortosis
Post: 9

To be fair, that was true. And he'd specifically asked what would convince them to let him get the rest of what he needed to boot. So it really was his fault that they were naming such a ridiculously high price. Not that he would admit that to anyone but himself. Plus, these people probably expected him to negotiate. As he took a quick moment to consider his bid though, a thought occurred to him.

"How do I know you actually own the land? How do I know you're not just shaking me down?"

Oh, that got their attention. Many of them stiffened up and after some quiet murmurs, likely translation, the rest of them did too. The two young ones that he'd pegged as the most likely to use their weapons actually pointed them at him and had so much anger bubbling around that he surreptitiously reached tendrils of the Force out and switched the safeties on their blasters. It was an understandable reaction. If they were legitimately the owners, or their clan or tribe or whatever they called it was, then he'd insulted them. Yet if they were actually trying to fleece him, he'd just outed them for it, which was likely more dangerous. When it came right down to it though, neither prospect was good for long-term relations.

Then the spokesperson grinned. It was not a nice grin.

"We'll be taking that money. Now."

Game, set. No match though, not yet. He had that they were marauders, he could tell who was openly armed - and assumed the rest were too - and knew what they wanted. He needed to continue the game to win though.

"You think I have that kind of money on me?"

"No, but I think you have assets worth that. Your ship, for instance."

"I already told you, you're not going on board my ship."

"Well it seems we have a problem then."

 

[Taiden Keth]

#The Scrolls of Taiden Keth Entry 214 #Artificial life to save biological identity, a kinder twist than usually told.

New Holstice Construction
Location: By [member="Matsu Ike"]
Post 13

Taiden interrupted at this juncture to return with the latest work report, well he didn’t interrupt as much as stand there waiting for Fyor and Matsu to finish patiently, which was as close as Taiden got to insisting on anything, seeing more of Aiden Keth’s quieter patience in him as he aged, and studying his ancestor’s writings had helped to balance his natural curiosity. Their use of droids to save a species was inspiring, and much kinder than the usual tales of man vs machine in his mind, it almost warranted a smile from his usual stoic look, almost, to see the Jedi engaging them for the benefit of life.

When she engaged him, “Eldar, the latest work reports.” So he bowed his head, happy to be here in his role within the movement which made this construction possible. There was a lot of activity around them increasing in density as the day wore on, he found himself able to organize large groups effectively more as he aged, a biproduct of Matsu's many large works they had undertaken together.

“There is more requirement for heavier metals than we had anticipated, and there will be a delay unless more ships are assigned.” Not thinking to go assign the ships himself, which was what a more forward thinking man or Jedi might do, Taiden waited for her to give the order, but presented her with the communicator if she needed it. A lack of free thinking or independent creative thought still present in the padawan when the pressure mounted, rigid in his training to seek out a superior, much like [member="Kylath Connar Amadis"] might have done before he was trained otherwise, his opposite but similar in many ways.

 

[Rayliav'enci]

Location: The Wheel
Post: 4

Ray ducked, the silver hilt of her saber sliding into her hand from the pocket it had been stashed in. The weight of it was comforting in her grip and she opened herself to the emotions of those stirring in the room. She wasn't looking for thoughts, or reading minds but she could feel the turmoil in the room. Fear and adrenaline, and there in the corner, malice.

Before any more shots could find their way towards One-Eye, Raylia reached up and grabbed the man's shirt, jerking him handily down to the floor and shoving him backwards under the booth.

"Stay here."

There was a wink of her emerald green eyes, and she pivoted to gesture to Kurayami.

"It came from that table over there but I think our guy is running already. Do we have backup to watch One-Eye or are we leaving him alone while we go charging off after this Ripper creep?"

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Post 19:

The captain approached guardedly. “You have my attention, now tell me what you’re doing on my ship.”

Sorel locked eyes with her. "I apologise for the theatrics of my appearance, but I did not want to risk meeting you in public. I have some things to resolve before I risk spilling my blood wandering about in plain view. And your’s too if you were seen with me.”

"Speaking of blood, you're leaking some."

"The result of an unfortunate accident. But thank you for noticing."

"We have a medical droid. I'll have it take a look at your injury."

"That's very kind of you, Captain."

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Location:The Wheel
Post:4

Raylia's actions were quick and decisive, he knew that she was working on something just by the look on her face. The look on the faces of other patrons was a mixture. Many showed fear or caution since Jedi were now known to be here, others seemed either very intrigued or completely disinterested, and then there were those who you could tell were not happy just by their body language. Fortunately for many, Kurayami wasn't worried about shutting down any deals that were happening, just wanted to get rid of the guy wh owas trying to murder him and Raylia for...well who knows why? Probably someone Kurayami pissed off a long time ago, or some old contact from the CDF who was unhappy with the way that things went down one time. His checkered past left a lot of room for people to want him dead.

Then came the question about back up. Damn it all, he knew he had forgotten some minor detail in the planning phase of this. All he could do was shake his head in response.

"Yea about that...no. I wasn't able to get in contact with anyone, plus pretty sure it told us to come alone and I figured we could handle pretty much anything that came up. So we have two options. One we both go and chase this guy down leaving the supposedly innocent middleman scam artist alone. Or one of us goes after the merc and the other stays with One-Eye. But if Ripper is running we need to decide quickly. Make the call and I'll go with it."

One thing that had impressed some about Kurayami in the past was that he was adaptable. He would be willing to do whichever task he just needed to know which way she wanted to take this thing. He had no issue chasing a merc down, or staying here with a peddler of stolen fake goods. Plus he was more used to being given orders than giving them himself, even if he had done so before.

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Rayliav'enci]

Location: The Wheel
Post: 5

"I've got him, you get Ripper."

She didn't wait to see Kurayami acknowledge her before she dug One-Eye out from under the table, her strength a mixture of the Force and adrenaline. The would be middle man looked unsure of himself as she smoothly made it to her feet, hoisting him up by the elbow and grabbing a pair of cuffs from another pocket on her dusty cargo pants. There were wet splotches on her knees and calves from spilled drinks on the floor, but right now that was the least of her worries.

"You need new friends, One-Eye. Let's go."

His hands secured, she plastered a nasty look back on her face and kept the hilt of her saber in her hand, her thumb on the ignition switch and her attention on high alert. She pushed him through the crowd as people started to mill around the fallen goons, and a mean looking guy stomped out from behind the bar yelling about messes and dead guys. Raylia was about reply with something witty about joining the dead men on the floor when the prickly tingles of foresight swept over her and she knocked One-Eye to the ground just as a blaster bolt took out the screaming bartender.

Chaos erupted for good this time and patrons began to flee the room screaming as Raylia shoved One-Eye back under a booth. He was muttering something about sparing him and she shook her head.

"No one is getting to you unless they go through me first. I'm not so easy to kill."

Her eyes swept over the pandemonium, looking for the gunman when a green bolt sang from the far side of the room.

"Got 'em," she breathed as she reached out with the force and slammed the shooter backwards with a Force push. The shattering clamor of broken glass added to the mayhem as the Dressellian tumbled backwards out on the promenade of the space station.

::Look out, babe, there's more than one out there.::

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Post 20:

“The spaceport has passenger flights," the captain said. "You couldn't wait, or you're out of credits?"

"To be honest, I wished to avoid the crowds.”

The crew traded dubious looks. "Are you a fugitive?" the captain asked. "Wanted?"

Sorel shook her head. "I do, however, value my privacy.”

"Well you might," the captain said. "But you have to admit..." She motioned to the cargo bay, "…this undermines your credibility some."

"What brought you to Bal'demnic?" the captain asked before Sorel could speak.

"I'm not at liberty to divulge the nature of my activities."

“Smuggler,” the Klatooinian said with a sneer. "Or assassin. That's what I think, Captain."

The Captain appraised Sorel. "Is he right?"

The Jedi shrugged. "Not all who value privacy are on the wrong side of the law.”

"Be better for you if you were an assassin,” the Klatooinin said, "to avoid being jettisoned from our ship."

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Location: The Wheel
Post:5

"Roger that. I'll be back shortly."

Kurayami was focused enough on the objective that he didn't even think about deactivating his lightsaber before starting off after this 'Ripper,' whoever he may be. Once he realized that his saber was still on he quickly deactivated the blade and sprinted out of the door. Or rather he was going to until all hell broke loose. While people weren't really trying to crowd him they were trying to get out of the door. He took it that RIpper likely had brought a friend even if only to create a distraction. That would complicate things. As he was trying to work towards the door he heard the blaster shot that dropped the bartender. Then came a comm from Raylia. The message was short and sweet, making him laugh slightly.

::Yea...it would seem so. Also looks like I will have to widen the door a bit...I guess that means insurance will have to cover it.::

After sending the message back to her, he raised his voice a bit above the din of people scurrying for the exit as he began to pull the Force into himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have nothing to fear, if you would calmly step to either side of the doorway and remain there for a moment we can all get out much easier, thank you."

While the scrambling was less than orderly, he figured most would at least be out of the range of his little door widening trick. Another few seconds passed before he sent a Force Destruction blast at the doorframe, blowing out a large portion of wall as well. Without waiting he sprinted out of the newly widened opening and into the Wheel proper. It was time to hunt and this time he would have to rely only on his senses and the Force itself to find the target.

It was surprising how large exactly the Wheel was, he felt almost as though he were in a planetside city, not some space station. He reached out through the Force to try and locate Ripper, though this would soon prove unneeded. A blaster bolt was fired at a passing speeder sending it careening out of control from the far side of the road. Kurayami did what he could to slow the speeder before it impacted either him or another civilian airspeeder. It took a good deal of energy and quite possibly the least threatening Force Grip ever to bring it to a halt. Fortunately it was just control surfaces that were damaged, not repulsors. It made one thing clear though, this man was determined to kill with no worry about the lives of others. That always seemed so theatrical to Kurayami. Like a B-level holofilm villain. No honor, just kill the person no matter the cost.

This time though Kurayami had caught the direction the bolt came from and started towards the direction, if he wasn't mistaken they were on one of the arms that lead to the center. Now he knew why he had heard of the Wheel before. Gladiatorial matches to the death were supposedly fought in the lower levels of the central hub. He couldn't let this guy get that far, while he was good against more than one person he was sure that they would swarm him the moment he was shown to be a Force user. In fact Ripper may have had contacts there for just such a reason.

More blaster bolts came flying. Multiple directions. Kurayami stopped and focused on boosting his perception and reflexes. Force speed was helpful in cases like this. The first one barely missed him, second grazed his upper arm, third the outside of his right leg, just above the knee. after thoat he was able to deflect the other shots away or back towards whoever had fired them. Apparently they hadn't counted on such as he felt a few life forces fading after sending the bolts back towards their origin. Behind. Closing fast.

Kurayami dropped low and spun to his right, bringing his saber up in a reverse grip along his left arm. He turned to face the man who stood there. His eyes narrowed to slits as he spoke.

"Ripper. Where is he?"

All the Corellian got in response was a laugh, as the man, holding an old DL-44 in his righ had spread his arms out to either side.

"You got me Jedi. What now? I've got a blaster and you have your weapon. Death is natural, it finds us all. The goddess of war has blessed you '13.'"

The words were familiar, another had said such about him once. This was someone who had known Erich? Kurayami spun the saber quikly placing the blade right at the other mans throat.

"So you knew Erich? Interesting, but you are talking to the wrong person about that. Can't say he was wrong. I'll let you decide your fate. Call off any other mercs in the area, and have them surrender their weapons or die slowly."

"Alright you got me...let me just send a comms message to the others to drop their weapons here..."

A pinprick of danger, widening quickly. Action now. Kurayami brought his saber forward with a flick of his wrist, the wound was not lethal but it gave Ripper pause before a hail of blaster fire came from behind him. Kurayami dropped his use of Force speed and concentrated solely on deflecting the incoming blaster fire. The viridian blade arced gracefully through the air sending blaster bolts flying in many directions, and slowly back at their sources when possible. The man known as RIpper was on the ground but still breathing, a beeping sound came through the din of the dwindling amount of fire. Thermal detonators were bad.

Kuraymi dropped and rolled backwards, not far enough to completely escape the blast, but enough that the worst he got was some lacerations from shrapnel and thrown back against a nearby tree. Nothing broken, no dislocations, but a nap sounded good. He sent a single worded comm to Raylia.

::Oops...::

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Location: Bal'demnic
Objective: Diplomatic Mission - Resolve Hostage Situation
Post: 4

The sudden appearance of a group of armed men interrupted the ongoing diplomacy, yet Thurion remained stood where he was without seeming fazed by the leader's threats. While he did not doubt the man's word regarding the explosives, there was no sense of urgency in Thurion's actions or words. Joining the others in relinquishing his Jedi weapon, Thurion disobeyed what had been said and slowly took a few steps forward, eyes fixed on those of the leader, before eventually taking a seat on the floor. He crossed his legs and assumed a meditative stance, then closed his eyes.

"W-what are you doing?" the leader asked bewildered by the Jedi's actions. "I said don't move!" The men all aimed their blasters in his direction, not really knowing what to do. "I am not moving, am I?" Thurion calmly replied, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly while his eyes remained closed. "Yeah, well... Try that again and you'll catch one between the eyes! Weird-ass Jedi..."

Unbeknownst to the terrorists, Thurion tapped into the Force while Shmi and Coci attempted to talk them down, or at least negotiate on behalf of the Kon'me leaders. He was scanning his surroundings, looking for something that would cause a distraction. "Keep them talking," he whispered into his wife's mind while turning his head to the side to "look" back at her.

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Shmi Labooda"]​

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Everybody had secrets.

Gorti Luto picked his nose. He tried to hide it, but Zak had caught him a few times. Ursa Freija had broken the aquarium in the classroom, but the teachers never found out who did it. Those were the kind of everyday sort of secrets that everyone who was anyone picked up along the way. Then, there was the whole 'white lie' phenomenon, like when the teacher asked if you were enjoying a learning activity and you just grit your teeth, smiled, and faked it until you made it.

And Zak? Zak had lots of secrets. His secret was that he liked to watch My Little Del-Ya: Friendship is Astral. And that time he'd spilled a Fizzyglug on his sheets? Yeah, he'd wet the bed and hadn't wanted anybody to know about it.

But adults? Adults had secrets... about their underwear.

This little revelation was not encouraging the young Nautolan to grow up anytime soon.

Cradling the datapad in both hands, the youngling glanced over the information that Abaigeal handed down to him. Not really reading it. Just the larger text stuff. The Low-flying Duck place... thing... bad guy... whatever.

Beginning to take a step forward, the boy instead crossed his right leg over his left and smoothly pivoted around so that he was, once again, facing in the direction of the Intergalactic Cookie Factory. "I'll just go look... over there," the boy opined aloud, as he started to shuffle back toward the chocolate chips.

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Location: Out side Bal'demic government building
Objective: Get in the door

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Shmi Labooda"] | [member="Boo Chiyo"] | [member="Valiens Nantaris"]

(11)

"Never seen you before", the officer came closer and Théo lowered his gaze to the ground trying to hide his face under the peak of the cap. "You need a hair cut... what's your name?". This was time wasting and Théo needed to get rid of him.

"Roger, Roger Knightly", Théo said as one hand moved away from the rifle and raised as if to scratch the side of his nose. "You are hungry and will go to eat lunch".

"I am hungry and will go and eat lunch". The officer replied, oddly enough.

"And you will not come back for one hour". Another scratches of the nose.

"And I will not come back for one hour". It is odd how the eyes glaze over and the officer began to turn to walk away.

"And you will give me the key to the back door".

"And I will give you the key to the back door". He repeated half turning and handed over the key before walking off to find his lunch.

Once Théo was clear, he swiped the keycard in the slot and quickly opened the door enough for him to get through and unnoticed. Not a soul in sight for the moment, as he quickly made his way down a long corridor. Reaching out through the force, he located as many life forms in the buildings as possible, including that of his parents. They are located in a large room situated in the center of the building and getting there would prove tricky. This is no warehouse and cutting a direct route through the walls was possible but would take forever, not to mention .. noticeable.

He had to find a map or something to this place and work away toward the room. Turning right, he came to a junction and poked his head around the corner, still no signs of anyone, the place was clear for the most part, as once the hostages had been taken the building had been evacuated. It seemed the terrorists are in the room with hostages and Théo had free reign of the place .. for now.

Théo could sense his father, stronger by application of the force through meditation, he was like a beckon of light and with a smile, Théo answered his 'call'. Théo's presences would be felt. "Are you taking a nap father?".

 

[Audren Sykes]

Location: Bal'demnic
Objective: Cortosis
Post: 10

By now the two brash ones had their weapons pointed directly at the Sephi. In like fashion, weapons had appeared among most of the others, by and large aimed in his general direction. Not surprising, though disappointing. With a sigh, he slowly yet very visibly moved his hand to the cylinder hanging from the right of his belt, unclipped it, and held it out.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. You know what this is?"

The spokesperson - spokeslizard maybe? - gave the cylinder a cursory glance only before returning his gaze back towards Audren.

"A lightsaber hilt. You can find one at almost any antiques shop if you ask right."

"Fewer than you might think, considering the rumors of how easily their users are killed. But how many of those actually work?"

To illustrate his point, the Knight activated the one he held, letting the orange blade come to life with the characteristic snap-hiss. The others had started feeling anxious when the spokesperson had named it a lightsaber. Once the blade was active though they started muttering and shifting anxiously. For his part, the spokesperson started to feel a touch of fear, but he concealed it well from expression and voice.

"You can find them here or there. You offering that instead of money?"

Abruptly, Audren's voice became as cold as ice. He backed it up with a twirl of the lightsaber, exceedingly brief but showing his comfort with the weapon. It was no longer a discussion, right now things could go two ways: violence or separation.

"I'm offering a chance to leave."

The two troublemakers squeezed their triggers, but were mildly surprised to find their guns didn't shoot. Safeties. When they lowered their weapons to take a look though, the others present took that and started lowering their own. In cyclical turn, the two glanced at the other weapons lowering and didn't bring theirs back up. Not quite his plan, but if it worked? Seeing the lowering of weapons, the spokesperson gave a grin. He probably meant it to be confident, but there was a sickly edge to it that belied the true sentiments.

"Very generous of you. Maybe we'll meet again some time."

"Maybe. For now though, goodbye."

He waited until the natives were out of sight, then turned to the droid and ordered the digging to begin. Only then did he allow the lightsaber to extinguish. Maybe now he could actually gather some of the ore he'd come here for.