[SW-TOR] The delegation of Lhou'Drisol requests the honor of your presence...

[Mixxi]

Powder kegs are not known for their opulent dress code or exotic finger food. This one, though, had both in spades and upped the ante with a weapons scanner at the door. So many reasons to feel uncomfortable at this Senate reception.  At least the weapons check was sloppy. Several of Kitkala's  holdouts had gone undetected. No wonder her employer had contracted her to check out the security arrangements for the event.

She scanned the ornate rotunda, taking in the diplomats moving in their studied currents, the Jedi looking aloof and alert, the attendants moving among them with trays and hover dispensers, the military presence—both brass and working security—and the inevitable scattering of people who didn't seem to belong but had wrangled an invitation somehow. The Jedi, especially, seemed on edge, certainly of note for Jedi.

Kit could almost sympathize with their discomfort. The Lhou'Drisoli were no friends of the Jedi Order, and a reception held by their delegation would not usually have a place on the social calendar of most Force users. But the event tonight signaled the beginning of negotiations to open up their home planet to outside industry. And the caverns of Lhou'Drisol were legendary for the deposits of Force crystals they held.

A ripple went through the room as the doors at the far end were opened. The crowd began to drift through the doors, and Kit could catch glimpses of exquisite sculptures that collected and amplified the light. Kit allowed herself to be carried toward the doors. This would be good. A planet's ransom in exquisite works of art which also happened to be crafted from one of the most powerful materials in the galaxy.  Inspiration to one, blasphemy to another, and a huge opportunity to a certain resourceful element here on Coruscant.

[Jhared]

Jhared was unsure what he was doing here, the rest of the security personnel should be able to handle this just fine. There was no real need for a Special Forces agent to watch this reception. He suspected however that it was not as much a need for him to be here as an underhand political deal. It was one thing to make troopers show, a whole other to get Special Forces to waste time they could have used killing Sith. But if the offer was high enough the Caeyrn Corporation would supply just about anything.

So there he was standing up in the catwalks, neatly concealed by darkness and decorations. It was the perfect spot if you wanted to keep an eye on the whole thing, and that was what he was here for after all. Not that Jhared thought he would actually need to take action with all those jedi around though. He had set up several holocameras of his own anyway, so if he and everyone else did miss anything he could hunt down and kill anyone stupid enough to break the law here.

With a complete indifference Jhared scouted the guests, trying to pick out something suspicious in any of them. Yet with this much intrigue going between senators it was difficult to separate plots of politics from crime. He only recognized a few of the guests, but one in particular stood out to Jhared. A grey haired ice-queen exchanging false pleasantries with a few other senators. Mostly known for her jingoistic viewpoints, that was reflected in the Corporation which had managed put her in office, Adelia Caeyrn was probably here to ensure that the Empire was not going to have one single Force crystal from Lhou'Drisol, and to her the end always justified the means. Even with many of the extreme-right having left the Republic Adelia was not the only one having these views here. The latest years had been really gracious to them. Jhared was not sure if he liked them or not, but luckily he did not have to care. He was not even sure if he did anyway.

Turning his attention from Adelia he quietly tuned into the local guards' com channel and watched the rest of the guests while fully expecting this to be a long uneventful evening.

[Mixxi]

Kit had a tough time tearing her eyes away from the crystals showcased on their dramatically-lit pedestals. Such treasure would certainly have tempted the exquisite taste of her larcenous family back home on Corellia. But the being paying you credits always deserves your full attention, and her particular benefactor was nudging her elbow insistently.

She turned to a particularly dessicated-looking Jedi master, his face stoney and his mouth rigid with disapproval. Not for the first time, she considered the ravages that a life of celibacy must take on these poor Force users and thanked whatever powers there were in the universe that she had been born with absolutely no Force sensitivity at all.

"Awful aren't they?" he was clucking. "To so misuse the capability of these crystals..." he paused, his mouth continuing to move in a rather fish-like manner.

"I think they're beautiful. But then, they're of no use to me except to look at. Would you like my report on the security arrangements now, Master Mori?"

The Master regained his voice and glanced around. "Yes, but softly. I feel several centers of ... disturbance. The Lhou'Drisoli may not allow the Order to have these, but we do not want them falling into other hands."

Kit casually wandered with the Master into an alcove and leaned toward him. "Security's the usual Senate uneven mix. Crappy scanning on the entrances but lots of firepower for when things do go wrong." She glanced around at some rather awkward but heavily-muscled waiters and upward at suspicious shadows near the ceiling. "The displays themselves are covered by the usual sensors and shields. I suspect those came with the delegation from Lhou-Drisol."

She turned her attention to the guests. "Lots of people look like they want these things, but that's not surprising. Some of them are getting pretty chummy with the delegation, maybe trying to get a head start on negotiations. I've spotted two Black Sun operatives casing the place, the two over there in those horrible magenta formal robes. They've still got weapons, too. And that one fellow in the gray robe near the display by the door looks like he wants to eat the crystals."

She pointed her chin in the direction of the rather shabbily-dressed Jedi. Master Mori glanced over at the display she indicated and back to her. "Who?"

"Right there. Gray robe. Shaggy white hair. Taller than everyone around him."

The Master looked again and frowned. "I can't see anyone there."

((/ooc  Thanks for jumping in Sotof! As I mentioned to you, I kind of started this as a sandbox for any characters who might not be the type to fight in cantinas or back alleys but who are more involved in the political or senatorial side of things. I sort of tried to give it an art-heist-type vibe. As for the creepy guy that Master Mori can't see--anyone's welcome to use and explain him. If he remains a mystery, I have a few ideas.))

[Jhared]

(( Glad to do so. Bringing in an additional character for the fun of it. ))

Admiral Orlain sipped momentarily on his drink while eyeing the grey haired lady he was conversing with. His expression was hard, but compared to her he felt at a disadvantage, even with years of military training and experience he was not quite her match. Adelia Caeyrn unsettled him, he did not like her. It was not just that she was a politician, one of those people that Orlain felt always stood in the way for soldiers to do their job. Not the last name that carried so much infamy with it. No, it was more than that. Something else he could not quite put his finger on. She was dangerous, her smile might as well be a knife in the back or a shot to the head. And yet she was not the only viper in this congregation.

"Seeking to invest in these yourself, Admiral? I did not know you had such fortune." She spoke in a voice glittering with a mixture of amusement and curiosity, trained no doubt. Perhaps it was just that he hated politics, Orlain thought. Or steady ground beneath his feet. These excessive parties was not quite the same as being aboard his flagship the Harbinger. It was named as a mockery towards a Sith battlecruiser that had went missing when making an FTL jump. It always made him smile. Damn idiots.

"No." Orlain admitted gruffly to Adelia, turning his attention to her question again. To be fair he could not care less about these crystals, though Adelia obvious cared very much or at least cared enough to not let them get in the hands of the Sith. If a Caeyrn could care. Orlain had come to Coruscant to visit his daughter, a civilian, and the only way he could get an extra day of shore leave to spend with her was to attend to this party. He usually turned down invites like this, but for his daughter he would make an exception. Yet there was no reason to indulge someone like Adelia in that. "Merely here to pretend I care about these crystals. And what better way to scare the pants off those mercs, pirates and other lowlife-p**s-ants who made their way here. I don't get how they bloody do it, you'd figure shooting down a few hundred vessels would send a damn message to stay out of the Republic's affairs but the idiots just keep coming."

Perhaps there was something Orlain disliked more than Adelia or at least so he considered while puffing his pipe. It was not the mercenaries or pirates themselves who showed up, but their advocates or front companies who could not be touched due to galactic law. Could not be touched because, according to Orlain anyway, most politicians lacked a spine. Most with the exception of the woman in front of him that is. She gave him a formidable smile, that thirty years ago probably would have made most men lose their wits, which in turn made Orlain more certain that it was indeed trained. Adelia's chime of speech turned into one of pure mirth. "Well surely you can protect a defenceless woman such as myself from those dirty criminals."

Defenceless was not a word the admiral would put to Adelia, far from it. She probably knew more ways to kill men and women than a hutt knew ways to extort money. She wanted to come off as a fine woman, but it was effort wasted on a man like Orlain. Her last name betrayed her, made him expect the worst. Probably for the better he suspected. The conversation did not truly interest him, yet he kept it going only as a way to spend the night. "They'll die, don't you worry."

Even if the convention did not interest Admiral Orlain he had to admit the crystals were a rare splendour. Or like rotting corpses with the interested parties as crows, he thought.

[Mixxi]

((/ooc Many apologies, but work is keeping my brain set on "fried" this week. More from me this weekend.))

[Jhared]

(( RL > RP   I am fine with waiting, my week is pretty busy too. ))

[Jhared]

The art did not catch Jhared's interest even if he somewhere could appreciate its beauty, but he simply was not raised to understand it. Like with many other things that did not have to do with killing it was like a foreign language. Ethics was perhaps what he found the most difficult even if he did try to get it. A Caeyrn was raised with the single-minded thought that the end justifies the means, after all the end goal was to defend the Republic, so why let petty things like morals stand in your way? That was how he was raised anyway, luckily not how he was. Not entirely.

Jhared looked at the blue images spawned from a holoprojector in his hand, occasionally clicking a button to change what was shown. There was only so much he could see up here from the catwalks without needing the holocameras to show the rest. The party was quiet, or so it seemed. The projector had just shown a woman with an extravagantly large hat before giving up the pictures of a woman and a jedi talking in one of the alcoves. The woman in particular was glancing around strangely.

"The displays themselves are covered by the usual sensors and shields. I suspect those came with the delegation from Lhou-Drisol." Her voice spoke in Jhared's helmet. There was not much you could keep secret these days, even if you did try very hard. She obviously had if Jhared had only spotted her now. But there was not reason to be rash with action, she did after all talk to a jedi which could merely mean she was acting undercover.

"Lots of people look like they want these things, but that's not surprising. Some of them are getting pretty chummy with the delegation, maybe trying to get a head start on negotiations. I've spotted two Black Sun operatives casing the place, the two over there in those horrible magenta formal robes. They've still got weapons, too. And that one fellow in the gray robe near the display by the door looks like he wants to eat the crystals." The woman continued after shifting her attention to the guests. Jhared turned his head to see if he could spot the man she was talking about, but there was nothing but thin air. Maybe the woman had a mental condition? It was not unheard of, but it just did not coexist with her other observations, which were right.

"Who?" The holographic image of a jedi asked her as she indicated her finger towards the - supposedly - thin air.

"Right there. Gray robe. Shaggy white hair. Taller than everyone around him." The woman explained in response. The jedi just frowned. "I can't see anyone there."

It was peculiar that she was the only one who could actually see whoever she was talking about, but throughout his life Jhared had learned that checking twice sometimes yielded results. Clicking a button on the left arm on his armour the vision through his helmet zoomed in on the area the woman had indicated. At first he did not really spot anything out of the ordinary, not until he noticed the faint shimmer in the air. Either his helmet was broken or someone in here was using a stealth mechanism that made them seem like a highly sophisticated window. Jedi could do this using the Force, while normal people had to use technology.

Jhared quietly pondered what to do, no doubt this one was up to no good, but shooting him in the middle of a party filled with senators, profiling businessmen, generals and admirals was hardly a wise thing to do. Jhared had to wait for the person to expose himself before he could take a shot. In addition he could not just walk around down there in full armour and with rifle pointing, far too alarming for a potential criminal. He could prevent anyone fitting the description he had been given from leaving however, if that person was to leave while visible that was. With another few clicks on the panel located on his left arm he cut into the security guards' com channel. "Detain anyone with above average height, shaggy white hair and a grey robe if that person tries to leave the building. A potential security risk."

There was no effort in Jhared's voice to make it either threatening or maliciously sounding, but neither was there any effort to give a hint of compassion. It was simply cold as a glacier. An order and not to be questioned. It unsettled some people, but to Jhared that was just how Caeyrns spoke - with the exception of politicians, diplomats and other professions like them who were taught to feign warmth or interest in their voices and body language. Jhared had long since given up on trying to learn such, and it was probably for the better. He was a soldier, nothing more.

"Yes, sir." One of the ranking guards responded not soon after. With that solved Jhared noticed the shimmer move, and he soon lost track of it in the myriad of people. It was not easy to spot up close and definitely not up there. As he tried to find this mysterious ghost of a person Jhared wondered his other options. Maybe the woman that could seemingly see this fellow without any sort of trouble could be of help. Probably for the right price, he concluded. Anyone did have a price after all.

[Mixxi]

Kit sighed and turned from Master Mori back to the scruffy grey-robed man, only to find him gone. And nowhere nearby where she had last seen him either. There had been no time for him to have left the room. She set her jaw, growled softly, and started making her way through the guests toward the spot she had indicated to the jedi. Master Mori, trailing after her, continued to make baffled noises (thankfully soft ones).

Her progress was suddenly blocked by a pipe-smoking man with a military bearing and the alarmingly formidable woman he was speaking with. Neither of them moved aside politely, and Kit could tell that it would take an army of Jedi sages to relocate these two out of her way. Behind her, she could hear Master Mori's puzzled murmurs fading, as if he were retreating from the encounter.

Kit smoothly changed direction and made her way around the pair. Was it her imagination, or was the woman actually trying to block her progress? This new conundrum would have to wait, though, because at last Kit had arrived at the display she sought. Master Mori joined her, having made a wide detour around the grey-haired woman.

Her back to the sparkling crystal sculpture, Kit scanned the crowd, still unable to spot the man she had seen before. Shaking her head, she turned to the Jedi Master, only to find him staring at her. She started to speak, but he interrupted her in an urgent--and entirely too loud--whisper.

"These--" he pointed to the sculpture with a gnarled finger, "Are NOT force crystals."

Kit's hand automatically dropped to her holdout.  Bah. Somebody swapped one of these sparklies already?

[Jhared]

Olav Henderson was working for the Lhou'Drisoli and thus had been naturally busy when he was pulled aside by one of the guards in the kitchen. Usually he would have brushed the man off - it was not unusual for the politicians to use waiters to spy on their rivals, yet Olav disliked it and saw it as a mere proof of the corruption in the system. However this one in particular had a sense of urgency painted on his face, unlike the arrogant attitude those with two payrolls usually carried. Even then his tone could not help but give a snide venomous lash at the soldier. "What is it?"

"The Security Chief wants you to give this envelope to this woman. Do not draw suspicion." The blonde soldier said in a punctual voice, even then he seemed uneasy, but Olav doubted that it was because of him. A blue holographic image shone up of Kit as the guard pressed a button on a small projector; it was on just long enough for Olav to pick out her defining features. He pondered what the it that made the guard so tense, but obviously security did not want him to know what was going on, so he did not ask. It was probably for the best.

"I see." He said compliantly and the other man handed over the envelope. Immediately Olav recognized that it was too heavy for a letter, but it was still light.

"Remember, be discrete." The guard finished and let Olav walk off into the grand hall with all those fine people. With years of training to service it did not take him long to recognize the woman from the holographic image and he quietly made his way to her. He spoke in a light posh tone as he extended his hand holding the envelope towards her. "Excuse me, Madam, I was asked to give you this."

From above in the catwalks Jhared quietly watched the event unfold, following both Kit and the waiter around. Hopefully she would pick up the small audio device he had placed within the envelope. With that they might be able to figure something out; after all she could be useful.

[Mixxi]

Standing with her back to a fake piece of priceless art, her holdout needler half-drawn from its concealed waistband holster, the last thing Kit expected was to be handed a thick, cream-colored envelope by a flesh-and-blood version of a protocol droid. Momentarily nonplussed by this incongruity, Kit blinked at the impeccably-dressed man who had spoken to her. He stood politely, seeming not to notice that she was gaping like a Mon Calamari.

At last she reached out and took the proffered envelope, stammering out a thank-you. She didn't see the man go, since the Master Mori was plucking at her sleeve and hissing "Someone must have stolen it!" at entirely too sharp a pitch. Relinquishing her hold on the needler, she bought a moment of peace by bearing down with her heel on the Jedi's boot-toe.

The envelope held a blank flimplast, but a tiny ear mite piece nestled in one corner of the envelope. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she slipped the piece in place, curious about who wanted to talk to her. A quick scan around her revealed no one taking much interest in her actions, although Master Mori was starting to draw a few looks.

[Jhared]

"I have been watching you two for a little while now." Jhared said, his helmet transferring the message to Kit. He made no effort to sound welcoming or harsh, it was just a cold matter-of-factly voice. "You may tell the Jedi to calm down before he gains too much attention. It would not help either of us if he did."

He quietly watched the two through his holoprojector, however Adelia Caeyrn had now also come into the picture as she studied the fake artwork. Jhared simply continued talking, not taking much heed to it. "It appears we may have similar goals, or if not you have seen the most likely thief of this art piece. You will help me one way or another. I assure you the price will be worth your time if do it willingly."

The last bit was not a threat, more a promise or cold logic from his side. However, it was at that same moment that Adelia broke out in a tone that included both her own innocence and accusation towards the one she spoke to. "Are the Lhou'Drisoli trying to cheat us with cheap replicas?"

Her voice cut through the hall, leaving many people silent with gazes drawn between accuser and accused. It only took another sentence from her to ignite the political powder keg in a fiery show of anger from the guests. "These are not force crystals."

If Jhared had been any other soldier he would probably have cursed at the situation. With the chaos brought on by the rich and powerful the thief would surely escape. "It seems our situation just got more complicated. I will recommend the security chief to shut down all exits from the building, that leaves us with a few opportunities to catch the criminal. Meet me down by the reception. We will organize from there."

With that he began pacing towards the stairs that would lead him downwards while he momentarily switched to the security chief's channel. "Caeyrn here, I recommend you lock down the building immediately. We have a thief on the loose."

It was not really an order, as in truth he did not have the rank to boss this man around even if Jhared was Special Forces. The chief responded with confirmation not two seconds after however, agreeing with the recommendation. With that done he tuned back to Kit's channel, awaiting response.

[meatgrin]

Security post #3 was located at the one of the lesser side entrances into the Lhou'Drisol delegations soire.  Very few real people managed to walk through the entrance since it was primarily for droids to use sureptiously in their various duties and functions, but since it lead into parts of the delegations quarters it needed to be guarded for this "function."

Deydron Tahl sighed quietly to himself as he and two other troopers stood at their post with pretty much nothing to do but be bored.  His helmet covered his somewhat bored and frustrated expression and he wondered to himself if this was some sort of divine punishment for the debacle at Trevors Drift, okay probably not divine although some of the military brass did act like they were some sort of god most of the time.

For the past two hours they had stood at this post with all of about two protocol droids and some service and maintenance droids making their way past.  "Whats the problem Sarge,"  Tyhrel one of the troopers assigned to Deydron for this function asked.

"Nothing Tyrhrel...just wondering if these functions are designed to be as boring as they are expensive and time wasting," Deydron quipped.  Tyrhel and the other trooper...Marius was it?  chuckled through their commo gear built into their helmets.

"Well if you would like to take a quick turn around the perimeter to stretch your legs, Marius and I have this "highly strategic" entrance covered until you get back." Tyrhel remarked dryly. 

Deydron thought about it for a second and since nothing was really happening at the moment and no one was scheduled to be coming into or out of this entrance he decided it might be a good idea.  Nothing like complacency to dull ones senses right into death.

"Okay Corpral, you and Marius hold down the fort I am going to do a quick turn of our area and make sure everything is still battend down."  With that Deydron turned on his heel and began walking down the corridor with his heavy repeating blaster slung over his shoulder.

Taking slow steps down the corridor Deydron stopped periodically to inspect vent shafts and the locks on doors, occassionaly going into rooms to make sure that they were empty.  While checking the lock on a storage room the security comm frequencey broke in from Central reporting the possiblilty of a thief in the area and to be on the look out for a tall man in gray robes with shaggy white hair.

Deydron reciepted the message and relayed it back to his two men at Security Post #3, then turning his attention to the lock again he noticed that there was something unusual about it.  Grabbing the hand sensor from his armors belt he began to scan it for irregularities.  After a moment it emmited a quiet beep and came back that the lock itself had been forced.

Replacing the scanner to his belt and unslinging his repeater, he made a quick and instinctive check of his heavy repeater and opened the door.  The light from the corridor cut a sharp triangle of light into the rooms dark interior.  Impossible to see anything in this room without switching to vision enhancement in his helmet.  Keying up night vision he began to scan the cluttered store room from the doorway before taking a step inside and letting the door close ominously behind him and leaving him in darkness.

[Mixxi]

Kit blinked at the sound of the voice in her ear. Her days in CorSec came flooding back as she heard the tone of authority. Half of her instinctively wanted to follow the orders of the voice, but that other half that had gotten her drummed out of the service told her to ignore anything the voice said, just on principle.

"...I assure you the price will be worth your time..." the voice was saying. Now THAT was an authority Kit could willingly recognize. With a curious glance around to discover the location of the speaker, Kit moved to placate the agitated Jedi Master. He was beginning to seriously annoy her. Master of the Force or not, the man had the self-control of a Gungun on spice. A second later, the Master became the least of her worries as the woman who had blocked her earlier suddenly stated stridently, "These are not force crystals."

The crowd suddenly roiled around her, their anger, surprise, and confusion rising with their voices. Kit turned her back on Master Mori and headed for the reception entrance instantly. The situation was officially out of control. Hopefully, the voice in her ear would have some answers.

[Jhared]

(( Sorry about the late post, will try to churn out one today. Was sick yesterday.  ))

[Jhared]

(( Also welcome to the RP Meatgrin ))

With long swift steps Jhared quickly made his way to the stairs that would lead him to the reception. With the building locked down there was only a few possible escape routes for a thief, he knew as he had studied the plans of the building intensely before this job. He always did that and through training he had gotten fairly good at remembering key points on any given area. It was necessary for planning, all too many things could go wrong if you did not know where you were heading.

He knew the majority of the escape routes the thief could take was not truly viable, they would be guarded during an alarm. However some parts of the building that were not in use this evening only had a separate guard post and a few patrols about now and then, and the patrols would not stop someone who was - to all evidence - invisible. 'Security post 3' Jhared quietly noted to himself. Compared to the overwhelming presence of soldiers in the rest of the building getting through the emergency exit over there would be preferable for a thief. Everything was locked of course, but without guards... Anyone who was sufficiently skilled could get in and out.

As he had made his way down to the reception he spotted the woman he followed during the evening, he subtly waved her over with a hand - or as subtly as you could in a full suit of armour.

[Mixxi]

Kit rolled her eyes and considered turning around and walking away, but there was something in that voice in her ear that reminded her of her days on the inside of the armor back on Corellia. In spite of everything telling her that she had no business joining forces with the law, she approached the trooper and stood casually near him.

"Nice to see you dressed for the occasion. Is that your formal armor?" Without waiting for him to respond, she continued under her breath, knowing the earpiece would pick it up sub-vocally. "Look, you may think I'm venting plasma, but there are a couple of high-levels back in that room that may be up to no good. There's sweet old broad who looks like she'd shiv her own father if he got in her way, and Jedi Master Mori has either become instantly senile or he's hiding something. If I can see someone trying to blur himself, there's no way a Master could miss him. I'd confront Mori myself, but I've got about the same chance against him as a Tusken fart in a sandstorm."

She paused to take a breath.

[Jhared]

(( Apologies for delay still sick and got busy days on top of that. ))

Jhared stood quiet for a short moment as he deciphered what she had said. The comments were dismissed as he so often did with everything that did not really matter on his current mission, but the jedi was a whole other matter. Had he missed him completely? There was no time to get him to talk through proper interrogation or even torture as Caeyrn's often preferred. Intimidation however might be an option. If he could make the old jedi believe that Jhared and Mixxi could take him down as efficiently as Wookie could rip off your arms then there might be a chance to do it in time to stop the thief. They would need somewhere quiet though, the empty part of the building would work and they would be closer to the most likely escape route.

"This Master Mori, bring him to me. Together we can make him talk." The words came as coldly as they had before, a simple statement without any emotion at all. It was just how a Caeyrn spoke, the fact it did not unsettle the woman gave Jhared a little respect for her. Not that it would matter if she betrayed him though, he would still try to kill her - after all it was the most efficient manner to someone out of your way. Potential betrayal or not, she was useful for now. And was well dressed for the occasion, unlike Jhared. "You draw less suspicion alone than with a fully armed trooper at your side."

[meatgrin]

The door shut behind Deydron with a quiet yet ominous hiss.  The lights failed to activate when he entered the room and a quick look at the controls showed that whatever had forced the lock had also shorted out the light sensors for the room.  It wasn't much of a problem since his helmets night vision bathed the room in its sickly green light.

Deydron turned his head in a slow arc scanning the cluttered room of metal containers and furniture....so far nothing looked amiss other than the forced lock and burned out light sensors.  "Yeah other than those two little items...sure nothing was wrong with this picture," thought Deydron, as he began to pick his way through the clutter as quietly as he could.

Making a slow circuit of the storage room, his finger resting lightly on the firing stud of his heavy repeater,  finally brought him to one of the back corners where a ventilation shaft grill had been forced and set carefully aside.  The shaft was about 1.5 meters square so a somewhat tight fit for a large man in battle armor with a big gun. 

He sighed quietly to himself as he set aside his heavy repeater and drew his side arm and crouched to enter the shaft.  It was tight, but as long as he didn't try to stand up right he could crab walk down the shaft, according to his holo map it ran about 50 meters and came out in a room with air ventilation equipment.  So he began his somewhat awkward crawl through the rabbit warren of ventilation shafts.

After what seemed to be an eternity of crawling through this length of ventilation ducts and more twists and turns than a Corellian Python he came to the other end of the shaft.  The covering grill had been blown out with some force since Deydron could see it laying a couple of meters out in the middle of the floor.

Deydron paused for a moment listening to his blood throbbing in his ears.  He scanned what little of the room he could from his narrow vantage point, when a cold emotionless voice broke in over his helmets comm system, "Sit rep. Sergeant."

Deydron sighed quietly again to himself and thought, "why is it that officers feel the need to interrupt me when I am about to leap into a possibly dangerous situation?"  Then sighed again, "The hells if I know...some kind of divine providence or retribution I suppose."

He keyed his helmets comm system and spoke neutrally to the voice on the other end of the channel, "The lock to store room 441 has been forced and the grill to ventilation shaft 441-431/A has also been forced.  I am currently in the shaft and about to enter air circulation chamber 16-4...approximately 25 meters short of the main hall, I believe the theif has entered through the store room and subsequent shafts to gain entry into the main hall.  If I am reading my map correctly sir, another vent shaft should open out into the main hall in the South East corner of the hall."

The cold voice broke in again, "Understood Sergeant, keep me appraised of your status...and next time Sergeant, keep me and the rest of the security contingent appraised of the situation before leaping into the lions mouth, clear."

Just like that the converstation ended in the click of a static as the comm link was broken.  Deydron didn't know who that cold assed bastard was, but he was fairly sure he wouldn't want to meet him alone in a dark alley...well not without an entire platoon of Vanguards behind him, even then he wasn't sure who would walk out of that fight alive.

Deydron shook his head and began his slow crab walk to the vent opening and pressed his back to the side of the shaft as he peered through.  The room was large to accomadate the massive air circulation equipment and control panels.  He switched back to normal vision and scanned the dimly lit room briefly before finally crawling out of the shaft.

His thighs and calves were on fire from the long cramped crawl and he stretched them out a little as he turned a slow circuit still pivoting his head back and forth looking for any signs of life.  That is when Deydron became distinctly aware of someone else in the room with him.  He didn't see anyone, but he definitely had a sense that their was someone else here with him.

That was when a cool raspy voice said quietly, "Fools, always interferring in things you do not understand."  Deydron spun on his heels bringing his blaster to bear on the voice, his blaster pistol leveling out and finger starting to depress the firing stud, all in agonizing eternal slowness.  When he was suddenly jerked off his feet by an unseen force for an instant and then hurled through the air.

All Deydron could think was that man had to be incredibly strong to pick up a 113kg man in full battle armor and throw him like a rag doll.  That was the last thought Deydron had before he hit the wall with enough force to crack the back plate of his armor and he slumped into unconsciousness.

((sorry its such a long entry, I just had a lot to write today.     ))

[Mixxi]

((I like long entries!))

Kit had her doubts that any two non-Force users could make a Jedi Master give up information, but right now she was out of options and without any of her usual backup--or weapons for that matter. At least this fellow didn't come off as an over-excitable youngster looking to make a name for himself with his superiors. He seemed cool, and dangerous. Could be a good temporary ally, but she worried a bit about whether he might go beyond her own rather shifting boundaries of right and wrong.

"I'll go get the Master. Meet me..." she pulled up an image of the floorplan in her mind, "...in air circulation chamber 16-4. It's near here and there's no reason for any maintenance workers to be there this late." She spun on her heel and headed back toward the raised voices spilling out of the reception chamber, pondering the motives of Master Mori.

As she approached the doorway, she was surprised to see Master Mori slipping out of the room. She stepped into his path, speaking urgently. "Security may have found something. They want your opinion on what it may mean." Let him think he could control the situation.

Mori paused, clearly wanting to continue on whatever course of action she had interrupted. If he was involved, this might be a prime opportunity for him to throw security off the scent, and Kit was betting that he would rise to the bait. He didn't disappoint. "Of course. We must find the perpetrators of this crime!"

Kit stayed close, and the two of them made their way down the statue-lined hallway to a smaller, less opulent maintenance hallway. "Just through here. They're waiting in the chamber there at the end."

[Jhared]

(( Indeed, nothing wrong with long entries. ))

With only a short nod as an indication that he had heard Kit, Jhared made his way towards the air circulation chamber. The way to the room was, like most of the building, filled with decorations and a few statues placed so they seamlessly melded into the white marble floor tiles and walls. The maintenance hall leading to the his destination was less pompous, a good thing in Jhared's opinion. Well that or brainwash from the doctrine. Such things were a waste of space and money. Caeyrns only made statues of people they considered heroes, though them being such was a sentiment not often shared with the rest of the Republic.

When Jhared reached the door to the air circulation chamber it had been forced. Instantly alarmed Jhared switched his helmet to heat vision and drew his rifle. He made a swift turn around himself he scouted for potential hostiles, but saw nothing. Then he quietly slipped inside only to find someone collapsed on the floor. Putting his helmet back to normal visual settings he walked over to inspect what looked to be a fallen Republic soldier. The wall above him bended a little as if something had crashed into with tremendous force. Yet even if the trooper had suffered such a blow the armour would take most of the damage. Not everything though, he had experienced injury far too often to be unaware of that.Deciding to check for a pulse, just in case, Jhared noted the man was just knocked out.

While he was a very good killer, treating people had never really been Jhared's strong suit. Sure he could fix up a wound on the field if absolutely necessary, but diagnose a guy who had seemingly been thrown forcefully into a wall? Hardly. Rather than waste his time he turned to preparing the master jedi's inevitable entrance to the room. Or he would have if the man did not come storming through the door with Kit following him. Jhared turned to face the old man, still having his rifle up and ready to shoot if necessary.

"Master Mori. A pleasure. Jhared Caeyrn, Republic Special Forces." He introduced himself, though it was difficult to hear if he was sincere, and whether or not he actually cared that the jedi had shown up. "I have been watching you and your friend for a while. I believe you have something to tell me."