[SW-TOR] Indirect Service of the Republic [Finished]

[Catri]

Shandra's skill with Force sense made her particularly adept at empathy and telepathy. She avoided reading thoughts without permission, but Azel and his "friends" wore their thoughts on their sleeve. She knew how unsettling her abilities could be for others, and she saw an opportunity to use that to her advantage in the conversation with Azel. The extra bit of intimidation had worked as well as she hoped. Unfortunately, she sensed that he was telling the truth when he said he did not know any more about the smuggling ring than she and Val already knew.

Throughout the interrogation Shandra had been monitoring the shipyard through the Force to see if she felt any cause for concern. Two Twi'leks and a Rodian, Azel's gambling opponents, were searching the shipyard for him, but they did not seem to pose much of a threat. As far as she could tell security seemed fairly quiet.

Suddenly, Shandra gasped and dropped her lightsaber. She fell to her knees clutching her head. She felt as if the ripples she had sensed in the Force earlier had become a violent current rushing in to drown her. Someone...or something...was approaching. She tried to sense what was happening, but the world around her seemed to be submerged in a raging flood. In the middle of the confusion Shandra sensed a vision of the hanger bay and the shipyard consumed by flames. She could hear a voice in the background say, "We were too late. I'm afraid this is only the beginning."

"Val, the event I sensed earlier, it's coming." Shandra said "I'm not sure what it is, but it's coming.

[Eshen]

(Sorry, I recently started work and I didn't have time till now to reply to the post.)

Eshen moved out from behind the crates to intersect the path that the newcomers were moving along, one hand also touching his head. A grimace stained his features as what was affecting Shandra also affected him. "Looks like I didn't need to interrogate him after all. He brought his friends to me." His lightsabers flew into his hands as he turned to face the three who then heralded a fourth. "Darth Avariss." Eshen turned his head slightly to the right to direct his words to the other two, "Run or stay, smuggler. Make your choice now. Shandra, this Sith is particularly skilled with creating illusions and manipulating your mind. Keep your defenses up and don't underestimate her skill with her twin-bladed saber. Deception and cunning are her weapons."

Eshen took in a deep breath and those Force sensitive could feel him compressing a significant amount of Force into his body right before he took on the first stance of Ataru: his balance focused on one leg, the other foot on his knee and turned defensively to the side, his back arm extended vertically with the yellow lightsaber turned towards the enemies, and the front arm bent in front of him with the second lightsaber also pointed to the oncoming foes.

[Gith]

"Deception and cunning are my weapons too..." Val thought, having cloaked and moved off to the side of the door before anyone entered the room; he would leave the up front fighting to the Jedi that looked to better at that sort of thing than he was. As they group of three entered, and then the fourth, Val took up a position behind and to the right of the group from the perspective of Shandra and the other Jedi.

The Darth walked in, ominously slowly as melodramatic Sith often did. Val watched, focusing on keeping his physical self and aura covered with all his attention, at least until she passed him and was focused on the two Jedi in front of her.

"Hello Eshen. I have been looking for you. And you found yourself a friend." She stood there, as if thinking for a moment. "Perhaps even a few new friends. Someone around here is very slippery." She looked around, feeling the presence of another but unaware of Val's actual location. She didn't look concerned. "Why must we always meet in such places? Can't we just sit and have a civil discussion like respectable members of society?" She smiled pleasantly, with her mouth at least. Her eyes were a different story entirely, belying wickedness and intent.

While Avariss was talking, Val moved behind something and dropped his cloak, needing to focus on other things. Using his wrist comm he relayed instructions to his astromech droid aboard his starship to get the ship moving and be prepared for a flyby pickup. Jak was used to such maneuvers with Val as it simply involved dropping low with a side access hatch open and Val using a Force assisted jump to reach the craft. It never hurt to be prepared. Also, Val unslung his pack and took out a flash bang grenade. He could take down the three non-Force sensitives easily enough, which would take the pressure off of Shandra and the other Jedi to deal with this newly appeared Darth, something he could help with once the other three were incapacitated. His one blaster still set to knock out not kill, Val waited for his opportunity to strike, remaining hidden as best he could.


[OOC: I am not sure how you want to tie in this Darth with my smuggling plot line, so I am leaving the next development up to you Kael]

[Catri]

Shandra felt a wave of dizziness hit her as she struggled to clear her head. She began to meditate clearing her mind of every thought and emotion. As the Force flowed through her she was able to push the Sith's influence out of her mind. Shandra sprang to her feet and stretched out her right hand toward the floor where her light saber fell. As soon as the hilt hit her palm she ignited the two blue blades and shifted her stance to prepare for combat if necessary.

[Eshen]

"T7, we need as much attention in the hangar as you can get and get yourself out," Eshen whispered into the comm in his ear before he launched high into the air towards the group. Considered a suicidal move by most, this was something Eshen was particularly skilled with as he deflected the multiple blaster shots and fended off the hissing crackles of Force electricity with one lightsaber as he descended like an asteroid into their midst. His landing also mirrored an asteroid impact as he sent out a gust of Force right as he landed which sent all but the Sith flying back. The Darth had anticipated such a move and leaped backwards. "A conversation with you is like submitting myself to a lobotomy. I'd rather let my lightsabers do the talking."

At that moment, the thrusters of Azel's ship fired up, pushing out massive gusts and forcing Eshen to move away. As baffling as it seemed, the ship ascended in the tiny hangar and attempted to turn around, toppling multiple containers, scratching a neighbouring vehicle, and tracing its white hot jets across the walls. The alarms began to sound too, sounding out a breach in the hangar. Darth Avariss sent out a wave of Force electricity to the cockpit to no avail then leaped towards it, managing only a scratch along the side of the hull just as the ship maneuvered its way out. Eshen paid attention to Avariss' attempts to stop the ship while looking for a weakness to exploit.

[Catri]

Shandra Force leaped out of the way as Azel's ship powered up landing in front of the Rodian. She deflected his blaster bolts with her lightsaber and cut the end of the blaster off with one of the blades. Then she turned off the blades and knocked him unconscious with the hilt of her lightsaber.

Shandra reached out in the Force and propelled a small shipping crate across the room toward the Sith.

[Gith]

Watching the fun start without him, Val moved and tossed a flash bang at the remaining two non-Force sensitives. It blew, leaving them disoriented, which allowed Val to level his blaster at them one at a time, firing a stunning shot, dropping them both to the ground.

"Jak, be ready to intercept a ship departing from landing pad G18." Val said into his wrist-comm. He did not intend to let Azel get away but it never hurt to be prepared. How Azel snuck aboard without him noticing was beyond Val; he must have been focusing all his attention on hiding himself and forgot to pay attention to the "little things".

Val ducked as the ship pivoted in place, getting ready to leave the hangar. Getting cornered behind some crates, he leapt over them and got clear of the white hot engine exhaust. While he was doing this the Darth was attempting to stop Azel from taking off by blasting the ship with Force lightning, which was having no effect. "Jak, the ship is going to try to make a jump as soon as it is out of orbit. Get a lock on its coordinates before it jumps and let it go, we will follow." Val knew if he instructed Jak to fire on Azel's ship it would probably end up with Jak getting shot out of the sky as well given the situation surrounding Ord Mantell presently.

Val had more pressing matters to deal with. While Val had gone rogue from the Jedi Order he still held true to his duties and the preservation of life was his first priority. Holstering his blaster, knowing it to be mostly useless in this situation, Val reached underneath his coat and withdrew one of his curved hilt sabers. "Three on one Darth, I would suggest surrender." Val shouted over the engine noise. Azel's starship was in position now and it moved to leave the hangar. Val stood there, lightsaber inactive in his hand, knowing his ability to help this fight was elsewhere. Focusing all his mental powers and aggression into a palpable mental object, Val thrust the mind shard at the Darth's mind, hoping to catch her off guard as this was--strictly speaking--not a light side power or one often used by a Jedi, but it was something Val was good at. Most focused such a power with hate but Val simply used unfocused aggression to fuel this talent which was neither light nor dark but neutral.

[Eshen]

Darth Avariss directed the crate tossed at her towards Azel's ship, causing a dent to its starboard panel but not slowing it down. She gave Shandra a look of annoyance then smirked when Val pulled out a lightsaber. "Little insects and their toys. Your allies do little to bolster your attempt to capture me, Eshen. Today, however, is not a good time for me to play." She took a step back and grasped her head when Val tried to penetrate her mind with the mind shard. The pain on her features was visible but then she turned the mind shard back on Val which slammed through his mental defenses like a knife through cloth, "Do not mingle with aspects of the dark side you do not understand, Jedi."

Darkness swallowed the whole room without warning and a wave of fear and panic pushed upon both Eshen's and Shandra's mind. It would not take long for them to recover but by the time they did, Avariss would have made her escape. Azel's ship also made its escape and broke atmosphere. Sounds of rushed footsteps could be heard. The soldiers in the facility finally gathered enough of itself to investigate. Eshen looked to the other two, "Normally, I would stay to explain the situation but I doubt they would see our participation as anything but the cause of this debacle." He started towards the exit where his astromech droid met up with him.

[Gith]

Val reeled from the assault his mind just took. "That was stupid.." Val thought to himself in reprimand. As the room went dark--for two reasons--he knew that the Darth would be gone and so would Azel. Hopefully Jak would be on top of things and get a reading of Azel's coordinates before he made his hyperspace jump.

Vision came back to Val and he saw that the room was now missing a dark sider and a spaceship. Through the dimming haze in his mind he realized security was on its way in. Even through the fading pain in his mind Val had all confidence that he could escape undetected but the same could not be said for Shandra.

Val quickly addressed the other two Jedi. "My droid is flying my ship and should have a scan of Azel's hyperspace coordinates. We can follow him and see where this leads." Val looked up as the dome above the landing area began to close. "Quickly!" And with that Val Force leapt straight up, arcing at the end of his jump to come to rest on the edge of the closing dome some 10m above. He had faith that the other Jedi could make the jump but was unsure of Shandra's capabilities. If needed they could aid her.

[Catri]

Shandra had sensed Val's pain and she felt the waves in the Force that indicated a mental attack. She rushed to his side.

"Are you alri...Ahh!" Just then she stumbled forward and leaned against the side of a shipping crate. She could not detect light; so the darkness the other two experienced meant nothing to her. Instead her senses flooded with a vision... a memory...from her worst nightmares. She was back on Coruscant right after she had returned from accompanying Master Kraylo to the "peace talks" standing in the rubble filled graveyard that had been the Jedi Temple. Just like that day she felt anger, grief, and guilt, but mostly she felt intense, crushing fear.

When her mind cleared Shandra sensed that Azel and Darth Avariss were nowhere to be found. She also sensed that several guards were on their way into the area and Eshen was on his way out the door. Shandra was considering attempting to talk to the guards when she heard Val say, "My droid is flying my ship and should have a scan of Azel's hyperspace coordinates. We can follow him and see where this leads..Quickly!"

Moments later he stood on the ledge overhead motioning for her to follow. Shandra was fairly good at accomplishing a simple, horizontal Force leap, but she had never been as skilled at the graceful acrobatics used by some of  her friends who chose to become Knights. Nonetheless, she saw few other options. Shandra leaped a short distance into the air onto a large shipping crate then jumped upward and grabbed the dome cover for a few seconds. A moving target was not easy to hold onto, and she screamed as her hands slipped from the edge.

[Eshen]

Eshen nodded to Val's plan and followed him upwards. He attempted to grab at Shandra but missed her by inches. T7 followed with its own boosters and caught Shandra with a cable that wrapped around her waist. It lagged a little bit and compensated with an extra push from its thrusters. Eshen helped pull Shandra up while also trying to hold the dome from closing before she was up with them. The effort physically straining his mind and body. From below, orders were being given to re-open the dome to capture the fleeing individuals.

[Gith]

"Why is the wrong side always hunting me?" Val muttered with a shake of his head. Pulling Shandra up as the dome closed, he looked at the two Jedi. "My droid Jak probably has Azel's coordinates so we can follow him. I don't know why you, " Val looked at Eshen, "are after him but I would assume it is for good reason." He looked to Shandra. "I need you to take this evidence to the good General and make sure he cleans house starting with with Lieutenant Hunt and then the smuggler ring." Val handed her the datapad with the money evidence and contact information for Azel and the illegal landing codes he had cooked up. "That should be enough to get the ball rolling there."

Val looked around. They were standing on top of a landing area dome, the sky above them and a lot of building roof around them. Escape would be easy from here--escape usually was for Val.

If the other two were apprehended they would simply pull rank as Jedi and they would be fine. Val, on the other hand, had no such authority or rank anymore. Getting caught would mean a lot of questions and the Order trying to claw him back into its ranks. Val could not afford the delay as he needed to be after Azel. However, with the newly appeared Darth in the mix, Val was out of his normal league and into something entirely different. Val was good enough to slip past most people completely unnoticed and even good enough with his sabers to take on several droids or apprentice/padawan level Force adepts but beyond that he was destined to lose and encounter than was a straight up fight. If this corruption spread far enough for the Sith Empire to be taking direct notice of it through one of its Darths, Val was going to need some backup beyond his ship and his astromech droid Jak.

It was getting on in the day and the local star was waning in the sky. "Meet back up at my ship tomorrow morning at sunrise. Dock Delta landing pad B14. If you want to pursue this further I will be leaving the planet then. See ya." He winked and disappeared, knowing there would be pursuit shortly from building security. He bound off toward his ship to confer with his droid and see where his next port of call would be as well as to purchase some supplies he might need for this newly dangerous mission. He still had some cash left from the last criminal organization he took down and had liberated funds from. He had spent the majority of it on the blasters he carried but not all of it. Might as well pick up a few more supplies from the smugglers before they were busted.

Val laughed at the irony of the situation to himself as the ran off.

[Catri]

 As Val left Shandra noticed the time. It was getting late in the day and she would just barely have enough time to go back to the base and change before the evening's diplomatic proceedings began. She would have preferred to start earlier in the day, but one of the local bureaucrats thought it would be a wonderful idea to begin the negotiations over dinner

"Thank you for your assistance, Eshen. It was lovely seeing you again, but I am afraid I must take my leave. Shandra said "Perhaps we will meet again in the morning."

Shandra found a maintenance ladder leading off of the roof. Just as she was about to climb down she saw two guards walk underneath the ladder. She reached out in the Force across the shipyard and knocked over a toolbox sitting outside of a nearby hanger. The guards ran over to see what had happened, and she slipped off the roof. She sensed another set of guards searching the area around the corner from the aisle where she was standing. She walked over to a stack of a few small, empty crates a good distance away from the dome where Eshen was hiding  and used the Force to pull them toward her knocking her to the ground. Sure enough, the guards ran over to investigate the noise. When they saw Shandra on the ground they rushed over to move the shipping crates.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" one of the guards asked as he reached down to pull Shandra to her feet.

"Why yes, yes, I'm alright. I was fortunate those crates were empty. I was on my way back from retrieving something that I forgot on my ship when three suspicious looking individuals ran through and knocked me into these crates. She said. There was no Force behind Shandra's deception this time. It was just a straight forward lie, and she dearly hoped that the guards would believe her, or at least that she could distract them long enough for Eshen and Val to escape.

"Did you see which way they went?"

"Well, it all happened so fast, but I do believe they were running that way." Shandra pointed in the opposite direction of Val's ship. The guard spoke into his commlink. A moment later the rest of the guards came out of the building and headed in the direction that Shandra had indicated. The guard who had helped her offered to escort her to the Republic base. Shandra felt something strange about this man, but she worried that refusing a safety precaution might raise his suspicions.

The guard stopped at an old, abandoned  warehouse near the Republic base and knocked on the door in a strange rhythm. Almost immediately a teenage boy answered the door.

"Is this the Jedi?" He asked tiliting his head toward Shandra. She could feel three other lifeforms inside the warehouse.

"Please come inside, Consular Ivari." the guard said. Before Shandra had time to react he grabbed her arms and pulled her into the warehouse.

"What is going on here? How do you know my name?" Shandra asked. A male Duros, a human man, and a female Twi'lek walked over to the door.

" We mean you no harm, Consular Ivari. We just want to talk. We have been looking for an opportunity to talk to you all day. We represent the Sepratist group." the Duros said.

"So you decided to kidnap me? instead of speaking with me at the negotiations?"

"Please hear us out. This was the only way we could tell you the truth before the corrupt, bureaucratic scum had the chance to lie to you. I know you represent the Republic's interests on this planet, but please hear us out. Not all is as it seems." The Duros handed Shandra a datapad. "We have evidence here of some of the 'executive decisions' our dear government has made 'for the good of the people. Please, just read it, that's all we ask."

Shandra nodded and left the warehouse without a word. She skimmed the datapad as she walked to the base. She was shocked at the contents. There were reports of rampant corruption at every level of the Ord Mantell government. She began to see that loyalty to the Republic was merely a convenience that would allow the politicians to maintain the status quo.

When Shandra reached the base she felt for General Thorn in the Force. She sensed that he was out on the shooting range. She did not want to disturb him while he had a blaster in his hand; so she decided to leave Val's evidence on his desk after copying it into her own datapad. Then she sent a droid to tell the General that she had left him a message. She had reached her guest quarters long before he returned. After changing for dinner Shandra sent copies of the Sepratists' report and Val's evidence to Eshen, Val, and Master Avin Naa on Tython.

Dinner was somewhat less than successful. The food was pleasant enough, but most of the guests were too busy shouting at each other to enjoy it. Shandra attempted to be the voice of reason, but noone seemed to feel like being reasonable. After what seemed like an eternity of chaos and confusion a protocol droid approached the table and told Shandra that she had an urgent call from Tyhton. She walked to her quarters and activated the holonet screen. The image of a male Togruta in a Jedi Knight's robes flickered onto the viewscreen.

"By order of the Jedi Council, you are to withdraw from the diplomatic proceedings on Ord Mantell and return to Tython immediately."

"Master Naa, what is wrong?" Shandra asked "Has there been an emergency on Tython?"

"Shandra, what the blazes did you think you were doing? You were sent to Ord Mantell to convince the Sepratists to maintain ties with the Republic, not to interfere with local law enforcement."

"But Master Naa, the Sepratists have some strong reasons for their actions. There is a great deal of corruption here, and we cannot achieve peace until it is rooted out."

"The purpose is not to achieve peace. It is to maintain balance. The Republic cannot afford to lose any more planets, and the Order cannot afford to lose what little favor we have left." Master Naa said, obviously straining to maintain his composure."I suppose I ought to have expected this of Wiln's Padawan. Your master had the same misguided ideals."

"My master was your friend" Shandra hissed.

He was a fool. I have already sent a message informing the government representatives that you will not be returning to the negotiations. I expect you to leave the planet first thing in the morning."

The screen went blank. Shandra got up and dragged her bag from underneath the bed. She threw in he hairbrush, a spare mask, and three sets of robes. She would be leaving first thing in the morning, but she would not be returning to Tython.

Shandra left the base and headed toward the shipyard. She wanted to meet Val early to talk with him about the information she had received from the Sepratists. Suddenly she sensed seven men approaching her. General Thorn, Lieutenant Hunt, the doorkeeper who thought she was an eyeless freak, and four others  surrounded her.

"I told you we don't like Jedi poking their noses into our business." Thorn growled

Shandra ignited the blades of her lightsaber in time to deflect the first wave of blaster bolts. She cut apart the blasters held by the two men to her left. Then she Force pushed the doorkeeper into a nearby alley.

Shandra  swung her saber staff in rapid arcs around her deflecting the attacks, but she did not often fight so many opponents alone. She had trouble keeping up with all of them. She didn't notice General Thorn's stun bolt until she felt a tingling pain in her head and her senses dimmed.

[Eshen]

Eshen made use of the distraction that Shandra provided and slid off the far side of the hangar. He snuck away successfully and made his way back to his ship with T7 which he hid in a valley in the distance. The Corellian Corvette could not hide itself discreetly but it recognized only his presence and T7's codes which made it difficult to infiltrate. That and its automatic targeting lasers should warn off any potential intruders. He made his way up the hangar and proceeded to the communications room while T7 went to repair itself. He sent out a cloaked signal to Coruscant where Master Horkin was awaiting his report, "Master Horkin, do you read me? Master Horkin?"

"Eshen? Are you alright? How was your meeting with the pirate?"

"There was no meeting, Master, but being there accomplished our goal."

"Yes, I felt the disturbance. Were you successful in capturing Darth Avariss?"

"No, master. It seems that she was also after Azel. I had help in fending her off, however. Consular Shandra Ivari was present as was another individual who was particularly strong with the force. He dressed like a smuggler but he possessed a lightsaber and was proficient with it. Darth Avariss escaped and I assume in pursuit of Azel. I will meet with the smuggler again tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. I was told she was there on diplomatic matters. Is she safe?"

"I believe so. She seems capable of handling herself."

"Request her help if you need it and pursue Darth Avariss as soon as you have enough aid. The information she possesses is crucial in averting a war."

"I understand, master. I will find her and subdue her." Eshen turned off the communications array and went to meditate on the day's events and perhaps receive some wisdom from the Force. Later into the evening as he performed some research, he felt danger in the vicinity of a Force user. Was it Shandra or the other? Or perhaps a newcomer? Not wanting to wait, he left the ship and traveled by STAP. He searched to Force for both Shandra and the smuggler as he got closer.

[Gith]

"Beeeep booopp bippitey blip"

"Huh? What did Shandra send me?" Val was unloading some crates of supplies he had stocked up on since he didn't know when he would next be able to take on supplies. Jak, his astromech droid, rolled over and displayed something for Val to see. Val sat down on some crates and began reading. "Oh, well. Looks like the separatists are spinning their own stories of corruption. I am hard pressed to disbelieve what they have in this report given my own discoveries. Says here it goes all the way up to the top. I bet the good General isn't going to like that when he hears about it." Val chuckled.

The chuckle died in his throat as he thought through what he had just said. "And the Republic base rife with corruption is exactly where Shandra is right now ..." Val shook his head, debating his next course of action.

"Whoooop beep bip bim blooop"

"You can do that? Oh .." Val shrugged his shoulders. "Cool. Where is she now?"

Val looked at a holographic map displayed by Jak indicating his own position aboard his ship and Shandra's last known location from Jak hacking her comm and pinging it. "Patch me through please Jak." Val waited for a response but as Jak opened the comm link all Val got was some static and loud noises that sounded suspiciously like blasters ...

"Gone and got herself in trouble again I see." Val ran to a weapon's cabinet and withdrew a long barrelled rifle with a large and expensive scope on it. "Spot me would ya Jak?" Val pulled out a cord that connected Jak's sensor array to the scope of his rifle and ran out of his ship, looking for a good vantage spot to snipe from. "Help me out here Jak. Can't kill em, just gotta take out their weapons or their ability to use them." Jak beeped obediently.

Finding a good vantage point Val Force leapt up and Jak followed on his thrusters. Clicking out the two supporting arms on his rifle Val kneeled and braced the rifle on the ledge in front of him. He ran the wire into one of Jak's ports and the droid took up a position beside him. Gauging the distance, elevation, and all other pertinent information for Val, all he had to do was aim true. Val looked down his scope and saw Shandra as she fended off a group of men. "7 on 1. Not nice odds for the lady..."

Val took aim on the General's shooting arm. He was taking aim on Shandra and was holding his arm outstretched and pretty still. Val couldn't get a bead on his fast enough to stop his shot but he got his own shot off shortly after.

The soft whoosh of plasma burning its way through the air to its target was heard as the General's firing hand was taken off at the wrist...

"Nice ..." Val muttered to himself as he took aim again.

[Catri]

Shandra crumpled to the ground unconscious. The General shouted as a blaster bolt severed his wrist. The other men in the group looked around trying to find the origin of the blaster fire. They began shooting in the direction it seemed to have come from. In midst of the confusion Lieutenant Hunt picked Shandra up and slung her over his shoulder.

"You stay here and help the General. I'll take this one and proceed with our plan." Hunt shouted. He tried to slip away from the fight.

[Eshen]

Eshen caught Shandra's presence as he got closer as well as seven other individuals of which he recognized only the general's. He hopped off the STAP as he got closer but did not rush into the midst as he sensed the hostile emotions. Things then cascaded in a wave of events. Shandra's consciousness faded, the general yelled in pain, and he heard the person attempting to run off with Shandra. He waited around the corner of the alley with one inactive lightsaber in his hand then as soon as Hunt passed him by Eshen tripped him with the Force and making him faceplant. He ensured Hunt stayed down with a firm boot to the face. He pulled Shandra up and laid her against the wall, patting her cheek, "Shandra, wake up. Can't have you knocked out while your enemies are just around the corner." He kept his ears and Force awareness open while trying to rouse her, hoping whatever caught their attention held it there for a little while longer.

[Gith]

Val saw Shandra go down and attempted a shot on Hunt before he rounded a corner with her unconscious body, missing by a bit.

The General went down crying in pain at his severed hand. The other 5 minus Lieutenant Hunt continued to fire sporadically as they tried to zero in on where the first shot came from. Val fired a few bursts into the group sending them scattering to get behind cover. He continued to fire just above their heads sporadically to keep them pinned down.

"Someone has to have noticed an open fire fight by now..." Val thought, hoping some loyal Republic troopers would be by in a while to clean things up. "Jak, activate comms to Shandra would you?" Jak bleeped obediently and opened up a channel.

"Shandra, you ok?" came out of Shandra's wrist comm. Val listened over a few random shots for a reply or a clue as to her current situation. Val had to duck down behind his ledge as he got lazy with his suppressing fire and the 5 men got more courageous and began to organize some counter-fire.

[Catri]

Shandra struggled against the hazy disorientation to regain consciousness. Someone was standing in front of her holding her against a wall. She screamed and struggled against him for a moment until her senses cleared enough to focus.

"Eshen, it's you! General Thorn, Lieutenant Hunt, and others attacked me on my way out of the base. What happened?"

Shandra regained more of her focus and sensed a swirl of chaos and confusion. General Thorn was reeling in pain. Lieutenant Hunt lay at her feet, and the other soldiers were trying to fire at an unseen enemy. Shandra smiled, and extended her reach a little farther. Sure enough, Val, the "unseen enemy" was positioned on a nearby roof with a rifle and a droid. Just then Shandra heard Val's voice coming from her wrist comm.

"Shandra, you ok?"

"Yes, Val, I'm alright. Eshen is here with me. It appears that he stopped Lieutenant Hunt from absconding with me after I was knocked unconscious."

Shandra slowly slipped out of the alley. Most of the soldiers were too distracted by the blaster fight with Val to notice her. Unfortunately, that might not last very long. She had dropped her lightsaber right in the middle of the area where they were standing. Shandra gently reached out in the Force and tried to ease her saber hilt toward her, sliding it along the ground around the soldiers' feet. She hoped they would be too distracted by the fight to notice.

[Gith]

[[OOC: Just a note, plasma/laser technology does not cause bleeding. It auto-cauterizes the wound.]]

Val heard a reply on his comm from Shandra. Appeared as if she was doing ok. "Good enough for me," he thought.

He knew that he couldn't keep them pinned down for much longer since they were organizing and returning fire. Instead, Val just slipped back from his perch and leapt off of the back of the building, Jak following on his thrusters.

Val felt as if he needed to alert the authorities to this mess but given who was involved that seemed like a bad option. Taking prisoners seemed like the best idea for now. He slung his rifle and headed toward the group and where Shandra was located to help disarm and calm the situation so that they could take the General and Lieutenant into custody and turn them over to the Jedi since the Republic officials in the area could obviously not be trusted.

Val pulled out his second and last flash bang grenade as he moved, priming it and throwing it into the midst of the 5 that were now turning to their injured general without the suppressing fire from Val. As everyone staggered from the grenade Val ran in and grabbed the General, laying a hand on his forehead and knocking him out cold with a hard nudge to his mind. Val dragged him away before anyone recovered but not far enough to not be easily caught. Basically curling up with the unconscious General against a wall, Val dropped his Force cloak around himself and the General and waited for the troops to hopefully panic without their leader and leave the scene.