Rescue at Coruscant II: Re-Oriented Express

[Serena Laran]

RESCUE AT CORUSCANT


PART II
RE-ORIENTED EXPRESS

It is a dark time the REBEL ALLIANCE and the JEDI ORDER.
Having fled from Cloud City and the might of the GALACTIC EMPIRE,
a Jedi Master named SERENA LARAN, crucial to the survival of galactic freedom,
has been taken prisoner by sinister dark agents known as the INQUISITORIUS.
Without Serena's leadership, hope may soon fade for victory.

Plotting a desperate mission to CORUSCANT, capital of the Empire,
a band of Jedi and Rebels, guided by the maverick Captain,
SANIS PRENT, prepare to take the fight to the Empire where they least expect it.

Facing odds stacked greatly against them,
the passengers of the freighter LAYLA prepare to descended to the city planet
in a gambit to restore hope to a galaxy without it.

Half of their number continues on in the shuttle
BLACK CAT towards the UNDER CITY
where an ominous mag-lev train is leaving the CITADEL and heading
towards a private INQUISITORATE port, their prisoner on board...





Serena was aware of very little, other than painful movement as her body was strapped to a stretcher and rolled out of her cell. Grand Inquisitor Valten called it her room, but it was a prison cell despite what other names they might give it. Someone had come in the middle of the night and administered a drug via intravenous drip that had quickly spun her into a series of half-lucid nightmares. Another side effect of the drug was that the Force abandoned her, a feeling that she was becoming used to during her stay in the Citadel.

Her eyelids fluttered as the stretcher was rolled into a turbolift, the drugs carted along on a separate wheeled stand. There was something... something very important... The Jedi moaned, but was ignored by those around her until she slipped under and into a very dark place.

"Sssserena..." The hands of long dead Jedi reached up to grab her robes, and she fell into the abyss, screaming....

The Inquisitors accompanying her lifted one of her eyelids to check the dilation response, and then shrugged. They loaded her onto the mag-lev train, locked the stretcher into position in a guarded chamber, and left her to her nightmares.

"I'll be happy when she's gone," one of them said quietly. "Jedi give me the creeps." The other one rolled his eyes, and went to get settled in for the trip. Just a routine prisoner transfer through the Under City. Nothing to get excited about.

[Sanis Prent]

The Shuttle Black Cat

We'd launched from Layla in the upper atmo (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21194), catching one of the main traffic thoroughfares to the outskirts leading into Imperial District. The ride was a bit bumpier than the one coming in with Layla which was also rather bumpy.

Since our departure from the mother freighter, I hadn't said much. What was there to be said? I was cruising down to the Under City with a cargo of Jedi Knights. At any moment, I half expected to catch a few squadrons of TIEs above us to end our trip real quick, but it seemed like smooth sailing down to the lower levels, aside from the bumps.

The traffic had eased up a bit now that we were out of the major skylanes. It was still there, but down here it was mainly trams and the occasional private transit. I found a fitting alcove in a manufacturing zone and tucked the shuttle aside from the main drag, the repulsors kicking up as the craft eased its tripod landing struts down to touch pavement. The running lights came on, and I quickly killed them. With my hands dancing over the console to run the power-down procedure, I turned in my seat to see the arranged procession. Maybe it was the dim red lighting inside the shuttle. Maybe it was their serious faces. Maybe it's just because I had a sizeable chunk of the last Jedi Knights in the galaxy in my responsibility. Whatever it was, the occasion seemed auspicious. I felt like I had to say something.

"I'm sure the force is with you and everything, but luck's saved my ass more times than not, and if it'll help in a pinch, may luck be with you too."

Cliché or no, it seemed like it needed to be said. I stood up, and hit the switch to the gangplank, and let it hiss to the ground.

"I'll leave the light on for you."

[Lowrook]

Lowrook could feel the planet's oppressive nature as the doors began to open. It was almost like the evil that oppressed the entire planet. Rain was coming down, but it was probably 75% lubricant and dirt at this time... nothing refreshing about it.

Lowrook shifted the mount attachments on his arms. He had rigged them so that the repeating blasters he had plugged into the powerpack on his back could hang by his paws, but not interfere with getting to his lightsaber. Over it all he had donned a hooded overcloak. He was about the sized of a baby rancor.

Lowrook nodded toward Senis. "Be safe and may the Force protect you." Then he stepped through the small opening out into the greasy, oily, dank, underworld of Coruscant.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira rose in tandem with Tionne, sharing a glance at each other before heading for the exit. Anbira looked back to Sanis, giving him an understanding nod as he again stepped forth to leave the craft.

Assembled under the awning with Lowrook and Tionne, Anbira took a look at the under-belly of Imperial Center. Far from the ritz and style of the upper levels, here it was a place most people wished to forget. It suited Anbira well enough, he'd seen all sorts of places nastier than this. This too shall pass.

"We can't stay here. We need to be on the move."

[Rev Solomon]

This deep in the Undercity, there was no night/day cycle - just electric dusk followed by smog-covered dawn. Stratoscrapers obliterated every horizon, and above the duracrete pad where the Black Cat had settled down, the sky was a tangle of skybridges and broken traffic against the ubiquitous yellow haze of city light. Even in a city of trillions, there was little life to speak of in the abandoned industrial sectors the Inquisitorius had chosen as the route for Serena's prison train. That would work to the Jedi's advantage as well.

Solomon paused and lifted his head, as if he was hearing something beyond the distant roar of repulsor traffic. "She's near," he said. "I can sense her presence."

He turned and met the eyes of his comrades. "She's already on the move. We don't have a lot of time."

[Daria Nytherciria]

On guard, Daria drew up her hood as she scanned the immediate surroundings of their landing point. The Miraluka saw beyond and through the ruinous buildings that penned them in on all sides, above and below, and glimpsed flickers of life. The Under City was not without its inhabitants but these were strange creatures that could survive in no other place but the dankest, darkest depths of the city and with whom no civilised beings would choose to exist.

“Let's go,” Daria agreed, glancing for a moment at Navaria as they took their momentous first steps away from the Black Cat. They had been unable to set down directly alongside the maglev tracks, but with the Force as their ally the Jedi would surely make swift work of the journey. Their footfalls echoed in the quiet gloom as they stalked, sprinted and sprung from cat-walk to cat-walk, picking their way through the jumble of half-ruined buildings and collapsed walk-ways.

[Naomi Lang]

“Easy there.”

Naomi, ex-Inquisitorial Agent and completely out of place amongst the Jedi, grabbed a hold of the Miraluka’s shoulder.

Where the others in the motley crew seemed to hold a reservation for the dank rot of the undercity, Lang was immediately at home. She wore a skin-tight body glove (the only part of her gear the alliance let her take) fitted with light composite plates that almost flawlessly blended in with the shadows and ruins.

“Don't let the place fool you, we've hit Inquisitoriate territory. They will have eyes and ears every.”

She had lost nearly all sarcasm. Completely serious with eyes panning over every nook and cranny. She may not get along with the group all that much, but this was a mission and this was her team.

But they definitely weren’t anywhere near the level of the Project Nightmare.

“Synch your cronos to mine and keep watch your spacing. I have lead. Stay off the cats, watch the noise, and stay out of direct view of the tracks and upper levels if you can.”

Naomi gestured at Anbira. At least he was familiar with black-ops training.

"Soldier-boy has point."

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason followed Lowrook's party out, allowing for a mock two fingered salute at Sanis as he sealed on his Mandalorian helmet and strode out into the dank atmosphere of . He cracked his neck as the helmet pressurised and icons appeared for all the various tricks he had hidden away in the armour. Following Lang, he moved swiftly with the others, armour allowing for movement easily. This he could do. He'd been living in alleyways for much of his life since anarchy didn't have much in the way of a stable income. And that was only before Ka. After that, these places became some of the safer places a lone Jedi Knight could be, presuming he could defend himself from the odd mugger and scare off anyone more dangerous than that. He'd seen far too many illegal organ harvesting operations going on in places like this.

Jason wanted to move quickly, he could sense that Serena's train was under way and they'd have to catch it to have even the slightest chance of retrieving her. HE didn't want to use the jetpack now, it would immediately draw attention to their position. They needed speed now, and that would have to come from foot. Following the others, Jason joined the middle of the column and hoped they would hurry up. At the moment the Imperium had distraction in the form of the two other teams of Jedi. Seizing the opportunity to inject some dry humour, if not gallows wit, into the moment, he spoke up. "Come on Red. We're Jedi, does running in screaming with glowing swords get us no black ops brownie points?" The tone in his voice was clearly sarcastic and he made no attempt to hide it, although he wasn't trying to poke fun at her specifically rather than the idea of doing just that.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria looked at and through Naomi Lang. “I need no lessons in discretion. I have spent years successfully avoiding detection by your predecessors.”

She shrugged away the hand on her shoulder. At that moment, another of the party – an armoured figure with whom Daria was not familiar – spoke. She arched an eyebrow at his words, but kept moving. The Force was her ally and as always, it would guide her and guard her so long as she trusted in it.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"With respect,"

Anbira dipped his head barely towards Naomi.

"Master Lowrook has seniority. But I have no trouble greeting any blaster bolts with a smile."

He glanced to the large Wookiee, Naomi, and Solomon, who had formed up into a group. He cast his eyes briefly to meet Tionne's, who in turn met his, and they both turned away.

"Right. I believe we have a train to catch, gentlemen."

Tapping on his hologauntlet embedded in his armor, Anbira brought up the schematic of the Under City maglev platform that lay ahead.

"If I read this right, we've got just over four minutes to make it to the track before the train crosses our position."

He tossed back a smile, and jumped off the platform, dropping down a half dozen stories to land in a crouch on a utility platform that would carry them farther.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon watched as Anbira dropped to the moving utility platform with a flutter of his cape. He stepped away from the edge to give a look to his comrades.

"You'll have to give me some time to warm up before I try that. I see some stairs over there."

Lowrook and Solomon hurried down the stairs with Naomi securely ensconced between them.

By the time they reached the level of the mag-lev tracks, Anbira already had the utility platform secured. "If I didn't know better," Solomon said to Anbira as he embarked, "I'd think you were showing off."

[Lowrook]

Lowrook waited as they got their bearing. He looked around; taking in the layout of the area they had landed. If worse came to worse, there might be a running light fight through these dark streets and alleys. Lowrook couldn’t feel the presence of Serena, but having never met her, he knew that unfamiliarity was the reason.

He did sense evil nearby and new that their window was closing. He had the gift of shatterpoint, much like Mace Windu had. He could sense when and where to strike through the Force to break the plans of the enemy… and that window was rapidly closing.

“We must move. Inactivity kills more missions than activity.”

As Anbira jumped down to the lower levels, Solomon led Naomi down the stairs with Lowrook bringing up the rear of the formation. They made it down to the platform. Though he couldn’t see the train, he could feel the rumbling of it barreling towards them and felt the dark cloud concentrating around the train.

“The Shatterpoint is closing in”, Lowrook said, almost to himself.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Thanewulf had spent the entire trip in complete silence, with mind afloat upon the potent conduits of the Force. Strange new emotions has to be chased away, encapsulated within her being and not let to resurface to avoid distraction. Anbira's closeness did little to help such an endeavour; an occasional glance sent a wave of pleasantness down her spine. Yet all of it remained shelled in the very same cocoon Tionne encased her Force signature, an impermeable barrier to anybody trying to sense their way though layers of the redhead's persona.

In the true vein of a skilled Ataruist, the Knight landed a few meters from Hicchoru in an almost same manner, albeit more profound and elegant. The thud of her soft boots against the durasteel plating was barely heard; rising from the crouch, she readjusted the utility belt that kept her black, sleeveless overall in place. Slate eyes narrowed whilst peering into the relative darkness of the Coruscanti Underworld, a place where inspiration for children's bedtime stories was of found.

"Showing off?" the redhead commented idly, sporting an amused grin - "Oh, there will be plenty of time to show off. The train's full of... them."
Her smile faded away, replaced by a look of determination when her eyes searched Solomon's for some form of approval.
"Let me go first. They won't be able to sense me."

[Naomi Lang]

A noticeable change overcame Naomi as she descended into the darkness alongside the Jedi. The facetious attitude and aloof posture melted away as something stirred inside. A familiar rumbling that found a home amongst the shadows. After months of slumber, the predator was slowly waking.

Lang moved like a ghost across rubble strewn steps, completely unhindered by the treacherous footing and floated across gaping holes without a sound.

Eyesight grew more focused in the black and her hearing heightened. She could make out the fine webs of night-spiders hidden in the debris and picked up the sounds of scurrying rodents far above. Adrenaline flooded through her, giving rise to an unnatural energy.

Where the Jedi felt foreboding and evil, she only felt a hunter’s instinct.

It was a ‘gift’ from the Inquisition. Naomi and her squadmates were much more than human. Nightmare wasn’t nearly an adequate enough term.

"Let me go first. They won't be able to sense me."

Naomi’s eyes tracked from one dark nook to another. She knew the Inquisition. How they thought, how they acted, what they were capable of.

“You make too many assumptions.”

She settled on the wookie and the redhead. A strange grin crept over her face.

“It’s not the ones on the train I’d worry about. I don’t like being in the open.”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira had a smile at Solomon's observation of his tactics.

"In our delicate situation, I would think speed would be a virtue."

He glanced back to Lowrook's mentioning of the approaching shatterpoint.

"Master Lowrook seems to agree, the time to move is now."

He did, however, heed the former Project Nightmare soldier. The train platform afforded them little in the way of cover or concealment, they were effectively out in the open if the Empire's agents sought a conflict.

"The building that houses the switching controls is on that platform adjacent to the track. It looks like four stormtroopers standing watch."

He glanced to Tionne and Naomi.

"Since Solomon believes subtlety to be lost on me, perhaps you ladies can show us how it's done together? I'll inform Master Tarkin her welcome wagon's coming."

Slinking back alongside Lowrook and Sol, Anbira keyed up his audo comm. There were no need for names or particulars. They both knew what the topic of discussion was.

"We're here. Our friends should be arriving shortly. Are you in position?"

[Serena Laran]

The Inquisitorate soldiers that were layered throughout the train were professionals. Although they were traveling through the heart of Imperial Center and chances of something going wrong were in the hundredths of a percent, the guards posted to Serena Laran's compartment were alert.

They didn't even look at her, strapped to a gurney and locked into place inside a small room with no outside walls. Two soldiers, clad in nightmarish black armor, traveled inside the room with her. There were more beyond the walls, all resolute and determined.

Everything was going smoothly.

Serena strained against her bonds, her face streaked with tears that had already dried. "Why didn't you come with us?" A'na cried, ghostly pale hands pulling at her, pulling her down... down... "We miss you..."

"I miss you," he said, tugging her in another direction. Sol turned towards her, eyes boiled egg white in the darkness. "I have a present for you." He pulled her close and she sank into his arms gratefully, yearning for protection from the other ghosts that were tormenting her.

Pain blossomed in her chest and she looked down to see a knife buried in her heart. "Something to show you," Sol said, smiling that smile she remembered so well, while his eyes stared balefully out of the darkness.

She screamed.

[Rev Solomon]

There was a tremor in the Force. Solomon swayed where he stood as if weathering a sudden lance of pain, but it passed as quickly as it had come. A quick look around to his compatriots told him he was the only one who had felt it.

This wouldn't do. He didn't need one of his fellow warriors to tell him that. Knowing that Serena was in pain would not help them find her any faster and could only distract him from his purpose. Much as he hated to cut himself off from her now that he'd found her again, he steeled himself and shut out his long-dormant connection with Serena.

"Master Lowrook, do you think you could assist me in getting one of those service cars up and running?"

He'd pointed to a row of open-roofed cars, roughly the size of a hoverbus, laid up on a split section of track level with the maintenance platforms where the Jedi currently stood. They were significantly narrower than the maglev tracks themselves and had far more maneuverability than a full-sized train car. They would make an ideal platform from which to chase down the train after it had passed so they could board it from the rear.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Five." the redhead corrected upon gazing sideways, her senses browsing through the building they were getting ready to invade. Or what was once a building, giving the current state it was in. It would be a miracle if the walls would not crumble once they smashed the doors open.

"Two on the ground floor, guarding the entrance. Three in the control room." she added, eyes narrowing as she grappled onto the Force to discern signatures in the blurriness of the Coruscanti underground. Her attention shifted to the auburn-haired agent, a bow of head and court nod given in sign of respect. The Jedi needed her help, the Knight was aware of it.

"I suggest I create a diversion and draw those three stormtroopers downstairs. You can use a liquid cable launcher (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grappling_spike_launcher)to get to the top floor." Tionne suggested, then turned to stand on the edge of the raft they stood on.
"Ready when you are, agent Lang."

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria, Daria and Jason had kept to the shadows, using the Force to quiet their approach the trio of Jedi climbed the fire escape and on top of the nearest building. It was one of many burnt out apartment complexes that permeated this part of the Coruscant Underworld. Spice addicts and worse users of harder substances used these complexes to feed every need. It was an oppressive taint of human nature that hung in the back of Navaria's senses while they waited.

She remained crouched at the edge of the roof, senses alert and extending outwards, eyes fixated on the direction their target would be coming.

"We're here. Our friends should be arriving shortly. Are you in position?"

The comm was set to the lowest setting that she could hear and Navaria thumbed the switch to answer. "We are," she whispered, keeping the conversation to a minimum.

[Sarah Lymia]

A svelte figure, clad in black and crimson, leaned against the armored bulkhead of the containment cell housing the Jedi prisoner. Her eyes closed and head tipped back allowing a shock of white as snow hair to sway to the motions of the train.

She could smell the fear and panic, taste the pain and suffering emanating from Serena through the force. It was fascinating, really. The Jedi had her eyes wide open and her mouth silently screamed in terror despite being completely unconscious. Dead Man’s Dream man of the Inquisitoriate called the drug. Stimulated the nervous system, but rendered the body useless. Brain could receive impulses, but not send any of it’s own. The mind suffered from severe delusions and affected adepts far more keenly than others.

The white-haired woman’s chest slowly rose and fell as she breathed deeply, almost ritualistically drawing the storm of emotions deep inside of her. Tiny glimpses of the horrors and nightmares Serena experienced briefly flickered into focus.

She herself had been subject to the same drug, all Inquisitors had. The experience was something she had completely ripped from her own mind with the force leaving only hazy memories. But feeling someone else’s mind as the drug tortured and seduced them……..

…..it was like a window into their soul.

[Naomi Lang]

“Huh, usually I’m the one running the distractions.”

Memories briefly flashed through her mind.

A floating heads up display, suit diagnostics scrolling by, mission timer in a corner. Sub-display should the view display from another Nightmare. The timer hit 0 and Naomi simply though a single word…”Execute”…her neural implant conveyed the command directly to the demolitions package kilometers away. The building in the sub-display rose in a plume of fire and the mission-time began climbing.

Naomi glanced down at the liquid cable launcher. A smile appeared on her face and she laughed.

“Won’t need it. Save the gear for when we’re actually in trouble. Lead the way, adept.”

[Lowrook]

Lowrook nodded to Solomon. “Consider it done.”

Lowrook lept over to the first car and began to work with the controls on the service vehicle. It activated upon ignition and gained a few meters of air as the repulsorlifts kicked in. Then he went to the next four cars and activated them. A plan came to his mind and he quickly rerouted the command functions of three of the cars to the first car. He would send three of the cars down the tunnel first ahead of the train. The last two cars were the ones that the Jedi would use to chase down the train. Once they were able to detour the train, Lowrook would use the three service vehicles to smash into the armored hull of the first compartment, bringing the train to a halt.

As he finished the commands and hit execute, three of the cars rose and took off down the railway waiting for future commands.

“We’re a go.”

The Shatterpoint was only moments away, but it felt like ages. Time slowed down for Lowrook as the ebb and flow of the force surrounded him. He picked up his weapons and set up to attack. The train itself had to be highly modified and armored, but the force would show him the weak points… the stress points that held the vehicle together. With the Force as his ally, he would be able to hit those points.

“It is time”, called out Lowrook. The rumbling of the train grew louder and the vibrations could be felt through the ground.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

With the aid of the Force, Thanewulf leapt over the tracks to the other side; as soon as her boots touched ground, the electrum hilt was repositioned at her back, instead of being clipped at its usual position on her left side. She walked to the side of the building, possible scenarios running through her mind. One could not risk a direct assault, not so early in the mission. Subtlety was the key. Trusting Naomi to be just on her tail, Tionne turned around the corner and approached a pair of Stormtroopers.

"What are you doing here? This is a restricted area!" one of them shouted through the helmet, while the other already pointed a blaster at the Knight. A hand was raised only to be slid across the air before their helmets.

"You want to skip work today." the redhead chanted, employing the renowned technique of Jedi mind trick. These two schmucks were so brainwashed it was all too easy.
"I want to skip work today." the soldiers repeated unanimously.
"You want to go to the corner pub and have a brewski." she asserted, waving her hand once again.
"I want to go to a corner pub and have a brewski." they replicated and simply walked away in whatever direction the designated pub was.
Tionne glanced over her shoulder to where she supposed agent Lang would be.
"Two down, three to go."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Keeping his eyes tentatively on the action at the platform, Anbira slipped into the background to accompany Lowrook on the commandeered cars. The Jedi Master's plan seemed quite sound, and Anbira was quick to join him and Solomon on the rear set of cars. Anbira could sense the train approaching in some degree of vicarious sense from his Wookiee superior.

"How much longer?"

Even as he boarded the car, his eyes were on Tionne and Naomi. They had to act fast. Timing from this point on was critical. He spoke into his comm for Navaria, Daria, and the rest of the second group to hear.

"We're sending some cars ahead to lead our friends, and will follow behind. Stay alert."

[Naomi Lang]

Naomi had little trouble keeping up with the red haired adept despite the force advantage. She’d had years of experience navigating the chaos of Imperial Center and dozens of other hell holes. Just this time she didn’t have the augmentations of the Nightmare gear.

It did make the task of scaling the building a much more difficult. The enhanced strength would have been nice for an extra few meters of boost.

When Tionne turned to glance at her, Naomi was already half way up the building. Hands and feet pushing off power conduits, support frames, water mains, broken sections of wall. Strained her muscles like a bitch, too much time trapped with those rebel goodie-goodies.

“Way ahead of you.”

The Nightmare paused on a ledge and glanced down. These Jedi were going to get themselves all killed if they kept relying on the force like that. These clowns at the station probably hadn’t even been through the Labyrinth.

“I thought you said something about a distraction?”

[Tionne Thanewulf]

The sound of the approaching train alerted Tionne of how little time there was at their disposal. The ground underneath them shook, the screeching of rails echoing through the maze of tunnels comprising the Coruscanti Underworld.
"There's not time for that." said the Knight and darted into the building and up a flight of stairs. With a snap-hiss, the brilliant golden blade emerged from the electrum hilt, lighting the way to the door of the control room. A boot was rammed into the thin metallic hull with substantial momentum, instantly slamming the door open.

"Identify yourself!" one soldier proclaimed, while the other already opened fire, immediately recognizing the weapon that Tionne's hand beheld. Bolts were deflected as the Jedi dashed forward, quickly covering distance between them to deliver a fatal blow and silence one Stormtrooper. The other attempted a physical assault upon finding his weapon inefficient, only to meet the sizzling heat of Tionne's blade.

"Command, we have a security breach in sector..." the last one alive spoke into the comm, determined to at least notify his superiors of this sudden attack, if nothing else.
"No..."

Tionne's saber was flung across to the far corner of the room, utilizing the technique of Saber Throw. The comm fell to the floor when last breath left the unfortunate soldier, trailing into static noise.
Her attention immediately turned to the motherboard where the designated controls were located.
"The code's encrypted, agent!" said the redhead, stepping back to let Lang breach the station's security protocols. Fast, if possible.

[Karl Valten]

Please Delete

[Naomi Lang]

Well………so much for subtley

Naomi broke through the window of the ledge she was perched on and slipped inside. Not much remained of the building….the control center itself seemed to be housed in a usually undercity dilapidated building. In fact, Naomi was able just to drop down through a hole in the floor to the command center below.

Something felt fishy here. This was not the Inquisitoriate’s style.
“Out of the way, skippy.”

The Imperial Agent shoved past Tionne, completely ignoring the command console. Instead she moved to the data access port and removed the data spike used to connect datapads to the system.

“God I hate this part……”

She looked up at the Jedi and grinned at the utterly confused look she was getting.

“Here goes nothing.”

And with that Naomi brush the her draped across the back of her neck aside and jammed the data spike into the base of her skull. Pain shot through her entire body and a second later her mind plugged directly into the entire Mag-lev computer system.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira felt the change in the former Nightmare; a shift in her awareness as equally profound to him as the swift violence Tionne inflicted inside the control center.

Moments later, a heavy ker-klank sounded in the structure of the mag-lev rail down the line, signalling that the pair had achieved their objective. Not a moment too soon, as the cars that Lowrook had primed were sent ahead with a whooooosh. Ten seconds later, the rumbling farther back in the line came to a crescendo, as the prison train itself hurtled around the bend and into view.

"Get down!"

Anbira pulled both Lowrook and Solomon beneath the window line as the prison train blew past with a rush of displaced air that buffeted their car ever-so-gently.

"That's the Inquisitorius prison train. Master Lowrook, we should pursue with haste."

Raising back to full height, he could see movement in the control bunker. No doubt Tionne and Naomi had also seen the train pass, and knew they had to kick it into high gear to board the pursuing car as Lowrook prepared it to accelerate down the maintenance shunt and to a merge in the main line.

[Rev Solomon]

It was the work of moments to get the service car moving. While Lowrook operated the vehicle from the enclosed passenger cabin, Solomon stood on the open flatbed that occupied the rear half of the car, his long, nerfhide coat billowing in the breeze. As they passed underneath the control center, he caught Tionne's eye in one of the windows above him. One swing of a lightsaber disintegrated the window, and Tionne and Naomi dropped from the control deck onto the service car.

"Well done, both of you," Solomon said. "It looks like our friends down the line have gotten the message."

A rough half-kilometer down the track, the mag rails had changed direction and would send the prison train down a disused track into an even more desolate section of the Undercity - an industrial quagmire with a canopy of cranes, support struts, and conduits that would keep the train from calling in aerial support. The Jedi needed to take control of the train before it breached the far side; otherwise they would be up to their necks in Imperial troop carriers, or whatever else the Inquisitorius saw fit to dispatch.

Looking down the electrified metal canyon that was the main trunk of the maglev line, Solomon could see the tail end of the prison train. He had stood guard with his master on such a train once, just before the Clone Wars, ferrying a Force-adept assassin to his execution. It was massive, as broad as a two-lane highway, cars as long as an AT-AT and sturdy enough to carry one. As it had blurred past, he had seen several skyward-pointing quad laser turrets that would make short work of any aerial assault. They could only guess what defenses their enemy had mustered against boarders. If the Inquisitorius didn't already know their train was under attack, they would as soon as they were forcibly shunted off-course.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Save your praise for later, Reverend. This is where the real fun starts." remarked the red-haired Knight upon climbing over the cockpit of the car to stand on its snub snout. Positioned in a low crouch, Tionne took grip of the hull, investing maximal efforts not to fall off as the speeder accelerated, soon catching up with the train.

"Take me as close as possible, Master Lowrook!" she shouted through the window-glass, ready to jump off when the time was right. A moment later, Thanewulf leaped forward and landed on the back pad, immediately activating magnetic clippings to attach the speeder to the back of the train and provide safe boarding for inept in acrobatics. It was then that the lack of external control board caught her attention; the door could only be opened from the inside. How was one to pick a lock if there wasn't a lock there in the first place? Clever, Tionne mused. The matter called for sheer brutality.

"I guess we do this the old fashioned way, then." the Knight murmured to herself, palm sliding across cold metal, identifying the alloy.
"Blast doors." the redhead concluded internally, ginger brow furrowing - ''It's worth a shot."
Brilliant blade rammed into the door, sliding in like knife into butter. Once she twisted it and started cutting, the material began to resist.
"Hicchoru, a little help here..." she called, motioning Anbira to begin cutting on the other side to hasten the process. Two lightsabers were better than one.

[Sarah Lymia]

A lurch went through the huge train as it shunted off it’s normal course and ducked farther down into the wastes. Pristine white hair tossed about in the transition and the Inquisitor opened her eyes. She felt new emotions appear where there had been none.

“Well that’s interesting.”

Comm-chatter poured through the small device resting in her ear. She sifted the radio traffic through her neural implant faster than any communications operator could hope to achieve. Reports from several sections of the train spelled out the situation quite clearly.

Control has gone dark…….Train diving deeper into the underhive……aerial support limited in thirty seconds……bulkheads sealed and secured…security visuals picking up unauthorized vehicle joined to train………………

A grin crossed the Inquisitor’s face as she hauled herself to her feet.

“That bastard, Karl, was right!”

She turned around to peer at the other bodies accompanying her in the compartment with a laugh. A half dozen Crimson Guard (http://www.reelcollectibles.co.nz/images/halo/halo-3-mcfarlane-series-1-eva-spartan-soldier-figure.jpg) stood to their feet as well. Veteran Inquisitorial soldiers, ones who had survived in the harshest combat environments and put through training more akin to torture than anything else. Each of them had their talents, each was covered from head to foot in powered and carried disruptors and other illegal weaponry……and each of them were versed in the force.

”Ma’am rear car armor is being breaches, looks like sabers!”

Inquisitor Lymia plugged her mind into the neural network linking all the squad leaders together.

These weren’t stormtroopers or army regular, the soldiers aboard were highly skilled operatives and they knew how to handle adepts if that indeed what these uninvited guests were.

“Alright boys and girls, nobody do anything stupid or try any heroics. Set the trains defenses and structure your ambushes. The Crusader Doctrine is now in effect, I expect you all to follow it to the letter. Fall back from the rear car, we’ll throw something at them to slow them down.”

[Naomi Lang]

“You mind picking up the pace?”

Naomi strolled back and forth and fidgeted with the carbine in her fingers. Her eyes tracked the ruins all around them as the car careened up and down, left and right, and the gods knew which other directions. This place was too open and subtlety had gone out the window the second the train shifted tracks.

Not good, not good at all, should have had a team on the train well before that. The fact that the Inquisition had made a move yet was disconcerting as well. Lightsabers might be deadly, but it would still take a long time to cut through military-grade armored blast doors.

Gods she wanted her suit.

A flash of movement caught her eye and she had her weapon up before the Jedi so much as twitched. Even without the Nightmare gear her augmented reflexes made just about everything seem like it was moving through syrup.

And still the monstrosity crawling [I]along the side[I] of the train put her to shame as it danced out of the way of the energy blast.

The thing looked human….except for the razor sharp blades where fingers should have been…and was covered entirely in a skin-tight bodysuit with a solid hood over its head. Moving faster than anything naturally should and all fours across the hull of the train.

“Frack! Inquisitorial Seekers!”

Moving faster than anything naturally should on all fours, the Seeker let out a hissing-shriek that was answered in kind by several more tortured voices.

[Serena Laran]

The combined efforts of Tionne and Anbira made short work of the metal skin of the train, and the section they were cutting fell inside. The Jedi began entering the train when Lang called out her warning.

The maglev train was well inside the covered section of the new track when the power failed. The train slowed, and would coast to a stop well before it came out into the open again.

Team One had done its job, exactly on time.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon was bringing up the rear with Lowrook when Naomi Lang shouted. The shrieking of the Seekers chilled his blood, but he quickly settled into the mind of the cool-headed warrior.

"Get inside!" he said. "Lowrook and I can hold them off!"

Solomon stepped to the edge of the railing and reached out in the Force to seize one of the Seekers. It hissed and scratched madly at the side of the train, scoring the metal deeply with its unnatural claws, but Solomon's grip was absolute. The reverend swung the creature like a wrecking ball, knocking three of its brethren off the side of the train and sending them tumbling over the side of the tracks and into the abyss below.

Then there was a screech from above, and he snapped his attention up to the roof, where another Seeker was poised to pounce on him and reduce him to bloody ribbons. He stepped back as it fell, thumbing the power on his lightsaber and cleaving upward. The creature fell in neatly in half, and Solomon's nerfhide coat was sprayed with a mist of blood.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Just as Anbira prepared to storm the entry, a pair of silhouettes caught his attention from above, dropping down on the train from on high. Master Tarkin and Knight Nytherceria had arrived to even the odds.

"Just in time! Let's go!"

Anbira was two strides into the train before a saber pike swung in an angry arc in front of him, intending to decapitate the invading Jedi. Driving his own saber down onto the pike to keep it rooted to the ground, Anbira shoulder-checked a crimson guardsman backwards, then recovered to send him further back with a thunderous push from the Force. The push caught three other guardsmen behind him off balance, throwing them down the length of the car, but the one before him was ready for the strike, kneeling against the force of it to negate its repulsing effects.

Anbira fanned right as Tionne fanned left, the Felucian hermit's weapon drawing into a high guard Djem So form. The Force was his ally, and he would not be deterred.

[Jason Na'moda]

(OOC: Sorry for the wait. Holiday then school, you all know how it is)

Jason followed the others close behind, igniting his lightsaber as he leapt up, flipping once, twice, three times before landing on the train with the others. He turned to look back once as the others boarded from the service cart. Quickly he turned to see Tionne, though he didn't know her name, slicing her way through the blast doors. He would have stepped up to help but in no time they were through and Jason took a moment to admire the swift and professional manner in which she did things, if tempered with what he supposed served as a sense of humour.

That was when he heard the shriek, and saw the Seekers, moving along the outside of the train. Jason let the others go in first, drawing his E11 without hesitation (sheathing his saber as he did so) and placed a volley of red bolts into the body of the first seeker. He could see now that his armour's gadgets were going to be very useful. He'd only heard about the Seekers in stories from other pilots, and now that he saw them in person, he resolutely refused to be afraid of them. It was a conscious decision and he was stubbornly not allowing the terror they should inspire to conquer his well trained reflexes.

Activating his Jet pack, he leapt off the platform, jetting along beside the train as he activated the gauntlet mounted flamethrower and remorselessly hosed one of the things with raging orange flames. Soloman made the point that he and Lowrook could hold them off and Jason didn't doubt them for a second. They needed more people inside dealing with the Inquisitors around Serena. Jason landed on the service car again and nodded to Soloman as he entered through the hole in the blast doors. "Fight well. May the force be with you. We'll be back in a second." He didn't envy the job Soloman and Lowrook shouldered, but rather than think about it, he ignited his lightsaber again for close quarters combat. Deciding upon using Unorthodox Makashi, given the nature of his opponents, and the confined space. In other situations he might have decided upon Djem So, or Ataru which he was most proficient with, but at the moment, speed was of the essence. A lunge from a Saber Pike which he deflected and allowed to slide past him as he stepped in. Grabbing the quarter staff handle, Jason held it in place long enough to make a sweeping strike which carved through the guard from the left side of his neck down to the bottom of his ribcage. Pulling the staff from his lifeless grip, Jason launched it down the corridor at another guard, barely stopping for a second to do so. He took up position on Anbira's left shoulder, a step behind him and Tionne, ready to clean up and work in coordination with the other two. Pulling a westar from its holster, Jason took aim at any target he could see. Time to advance and get Master Laran.

[Lowrook]

(OOC - Shortened post without all the details that I had put into the original :grumble )

As the maintenance car attached to the train, Lowrook came out of the cabin. He felt something prick him in the force… something very unreal. A warning the front drew his attention. Imperial Seekers! They were crawling on the skin of the train back at them. Solomon grabbed one through the force and used it as a bludgeon on some of the others. Lowrook snapped up his own lightsaber and ignited it. Reaching out with the force, he grabbed a Seeker by the neck and snapped it, killing him. As one fell, two more took its place. Grabbing his repeating blasters, he fired blast after blast down the side of the train. While there was room to move in the tunnels, Lowrook was using the force to guide the shots. The first couple of Seekers were ripped to pieces by the laser blasts and others scurried to get out of the way. Lowrook’s fire followed them around but the train was blocking the line of fire. The blaster fire tore into the side of the train.

A sound from above alerted Lowrook to an enemy. As he swung his barrel upward, the Seeker pounced, but Solomon severed it into two parts.

“Thank you.” Lowrook said. By now the guns were useless so Lowrook dropped them on the car and took up his own lightsaber and that of his padawan. His lightsaber glowed gold as he held it in his left paw. The white blade of padawan was in his offhand in an inverted grip. The brought them up in a defensive manner as another Seeker lunged from the train at him. He skewered it with his saber, drilling a whole clean through the head of the being. As it convulsed in its death-throws, Lowrook used the other saber to sever the torso from the rest of the body. Blood sprayed every as the corpse fell to the ground.

While they were dealing with the Seekers that they faced, Lowrook knew that they were exposed out here. Soon they would be overwhelmed.

“We should move onto the train so that their numbers work against them.”

[Serena Laran]

Daria and Navaria ducked into the train while Solomon and Lowrook fought against the cybernetic monstrosities that were called Seekers (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13729&highlight=seekers). Their armor was efficient against blaster bolts, as all the Nightmare projects were, and they coordinated effectively as a group, nearly a hive mind.

Lightsabers weren't weapons they faced regularly, however, and a few were dispatched by the Jedi before the Seekers rethought their tactics. A few rushed at the Jedi on the maintenance car to distract them while others released small orbs that fell between the two Jedi and the cut opening into the slowing train, spheres that sprouted legs and scuttled towards Solomon's legs, spider mines intent on clinging to him and destroying him.

Inside the train Serena screamed, her body arcing up against the straps that held her to the table as in her mind she was flayed by dark eyed Inquisitors, her flesh coming off in strips as they questioned her relentlessly. The guards in the room with her barely even moved, not distracted as they listened to the progress of the intruders as reported by the Crimson Guard who were moving to intercept them as the rear car was now empty except for the Jedi who were advancing.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon and Lowrook were fighting a delaying action, but that couldn't last - if the Jedi took too long reaching Serena, the Inquisitors would track down the missing train and simply overwhelm them. They needed to drive onward, rendezvous with Layla, and leave, or else they'd have handed the Inquisitors seven more Jedi to dispose of as they pleased.

The briefing with Naomi was enough to warn Solomon about the spider mines, and he knew he couldn't risk them coming close enough to use his lightsaber. The preacher doused his blade and sent out a wave of the Force like a ring all around him - a clumsy attack, but enough to overcome the little mechanoids' traction and send them tumbling away, giving him some breathing room.


“We should move onto the train so that their numbers work against them.”

"My thoughts exactly, Master Lowrook," Solomon replied. More Seekers were advancing, and he didn't want to wait to see what other engines of destruction they carried. The human and the wookiee leapt onto the train's rear balcony and bolted through the hole cut into the blast doors. Then, with their combined telekinesis, Solomon and Lowrook lifted the still-glowing mass of the fallen blast door and jammed it roughly back into place. The partially molten metal began to seal all around like a rough weld.

And not a moment too soon. One of the spider mines had jumped onto the door fragment and exploded, puckering the reinforced durasteel, but the blast had twisted the door solidly into place. Now they were sealed in with the Inquisitors - at least, until they fought their way to the front of the train and back out into daylight.

[Rossos Atrapes]

They are doing much better against the seekers than one would have imagined, the Inquisitor reported internally. I count five Jedi, accompanied by another who seems familiar, but I cannot be sure as to the identity.

Indeed. Intercept personally.

Atrapes nodded slightly at the command and observed the action from his vantage point on the top of a building to the side of the tracks. He handed the portable scanner to the black armoured Scout leader next to him, and straddled the speeder-bike that was sitting beside him. His actions were mirrored by two more Inquisitors and the squad of Inquisitorial Scouts which accompanied them.

In a mechanical chorus, they started the speeders and accelerated to catch up with the action, which took them little time. Atrapes and his two companions stopped and leapt onto the train, coming up on the breached car only to see the spider-mine explode and seal the Jedi inside.

"Go and relay the position of the train. We'll attempt to hold the Jedi, but I am not confident of our chances against so many of them at once."

The Scout leader nodded and gestured to the rest of the squad, and they took off, quickly vanishing from sight to find a position to contact their superiors and cut off the Jedi from their escape. Atrapes and the others ran forward, attempting to enter the next car before the Jedi could enter it. As they ran, Atrapes felt a familiar presence, one he had not felt since...

She's here, he thought to himself with satisfaction.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

In all the commotion created by the forceful advancement of a handful of Jedi, Tionne's senses sharpened immensely, palpating beyond the durasteel walls of the wagon. For a moment, time seemed to stop, with the Coruscanti Knight caught in that single fraction of a second where the realization of another familiar presence hit her. Slate orbs dilated upon a heavy, long-winded exhale, the iridescent blade momentarily frozen in the opening stance of Soresu, humming idly above Tionne's head. Her gaze then shifted to the Felucian hermit who stood leftwards, covering her side.

"We are not alone. Three others on the roof..." the redhead messaged through the Force, swinging the saber to deflect a few incoming bolts - "Take them forwards. I will hold them off."
Thanewulf could read reluctance in Hicchoru's wild eyes.
"Go." she commanded silently, then spun on her heel to disappear down the narrow hallway and around the corner. Making use of a ventilation shaft, Tionne ascended onto the roof. Once she erected herself fully, a gust of wind blew ginger locks away from her freckled face. It was then that her eyes set on the man who stood before her, mere meters away.

"What took you so long?" the Jedi quizzed with enthralling smile, her left hand equipped with a disignited saber hilt.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

By now, Sol and Lowrook had joined Navaria and Daria, as the two other Jedi slipped in during the fight, before the entryway was resealed.

Pushing the Crimson guardsman's force pike high with his own blade, Anbira worked leverage into his favor and delivered a precise cho sun, severing the guard's hand at mid-forearm. Parted from his weapon, the guardsman was hurled into the nearest bulkhead with the force, as the other Jedi quickly advanced through the guards, reaching the door to the next car.

Anbira looked back to find Tionne, hoping she hadn't gone, but she acted on her feelings. He could feel her presence, now above him, and knew that she was meeting the enemy. A moment of conflict gripped him. His initial instict was to pursue her, but he had to swallow it down for the sake of the mission. Turning his eyes away from the roof, he charged onwards, following the rest.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Atrapes' own lightsabre hung on his belt, slightly hidden by his cape. He made no move for it, however. The two Inquisitors flanked him and stood silently, their eyes locked on the Jedi inscrutably. Inquisitor Atrapes gestured to them.

"I was to be only an observer, Jedi Thanewulf," he said, injecting as much soothing tones and calming influences into his voice via the Force. The result was an amazingly subtle application of his potential that was his forté. "However, I cannot allow your companions to regain our captive so easily. We can continue our conversation perhaps afterwards?"

As he spoke, he and his escorts stalked forward toward the ventilation shaft that Thanewulf had used to exit the sealed compartment, and that she stood in front of. While Atrapes still made no move for his lightsabre, the two Inquisitors' own flew from their belts to their hands, though they remained unlit, shadowed, like the Inquisitors themselves, whose faces were covered by balaclavas, and bodies in black uniforms without capes or adornments. Only Atrapes' face was uncovered, his eyes fixed intently on the woman in front of him.

"I must ask you to stand aside, and let us keep your companions from prolonging this chaotic conflict."

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason faced the guards with the others, sensing more than hearing the movement over their heads. But like a well oiled machine, someone was already on it. He felt a slight tug as he sensed Tionne disappear into the ventilation system. Like Anbira he had a moment of wanting to follow her, and help her, but instead he followed the Jedi's movements and worked in tandem with him. While Hicchoru made sure that one of the guards parted company with his weapon, Jason sidestepped onto his left and sucked in his stomach to dodge a lunge from the force pike, allowing a horizontal slash from his saber to take the man's head and send it soaring. Without pause, he curled himself into a fast forward roll, coming up beneath the guard of one of the Imperials and driving his saber into his gut. Wrenching it sideways, he cut the man next to his foe in half, before completing 360 degrees of rotation and completing the half cut through his original target, allowing both of them to fall in half.

Without pause he lunged forward, spinning his saber at the guard's head, but the man blocked before countering quickly. Jason batted the lunge from the pike aside, making a ripost to his leg, forcing him to give ground. The responding attack went towards Jason's legs, but the Jedi reacted quickly, trapping the pike beneath his boot and driving his saber through the man's shoulder into his trunk. He collapsed. "Hicchoru, how far are we from Master Laran's cage?" His voice crackled across the comms channel from his helmet.

[Serena Laran]

The guards inside with Serena were arranging themselves tactically to guard the door, but none of them were standing against the walls of the small compartment. The Jedi might decide to cut their way in, after all. They conversed silently with hand signals and body language, their prize laying on her gurney drenched with sweat and eyelids fluttering.

"You seem different these days. Something on your mind?" A'na Eldhil plaited Serena's long red hair carefully, separating the thick strands into several sections and braiding each one separately.

Serena sat quietly on the floor in front of the seated Jedi, leaning her head against the other's knee until A'na straightened her out with a firm hand. "Different? I have been preoccupied with the trials. And the war. Master Dremmel has kept me very busy, you know that."

She could hear the smile in A'na's voice, "That isn't it. I have caught you staring out the window at the skylanes at least three times. Daydreaming. You. Daydreaming.

"If you're so busy, you should not be so distracted." A'na finished off one plait and handed it around for Serena to hold onto before starting on another section. "If I didn't know better..."

Serena kept her face from blushing, but she wanted to tell her, wanted so badly. But no. They had decided and it was a secret she could not tell alone. "It is nothing to be worried about, I assure you. I just... have a lot on my mind and sometimes I don't have time to get my meditation in to clear my head."

"No matter," A'na said, almost flippantly, and Serena frowned as she tugged at her hair. Memory failed and she tried to turn around to scold A'na for pulling, but her head was held fast as if by straps, and still her hair was being pulled as though A'na would tear it out by the roots.

"Hold still," the other Jedi continued, as though nothing was amiss. "You will be so pretty. This is the height of Alderaanian fashion right now." A'na's voice deepened and changed as she spoke, and Serena grew terrified, sure that the Jedi had turned into some awful monstrosity - a cracked and oozing creature covered in darkness.

"The time is coming, Serena. You will join me soon."

Her braids wrapped around her body, holding her tightly in place, and strangled her around her throat as she gasped and tried to scream, everything going... hazy...


dark

ness

[Lowrook]

Lowrook hesitated just a second, intent on running off after Tionne to help her. But he knew the mission was a rescue, not a slaughter of all things Imperial. He continued down the hallway at a speed that while fast, was not reckless. He could feel forces being brought against them. The Force was telling them that time was short.

Lowrook stopped for a second, expanding his senses in the Force. He reached out to encompass the train. He could feel the determination of the Jedi, the apprehension of the defenders... the terror of Serena... and something else.

Something that felt not alive, but not dead. Something unreal and unnatural. Belatedly, he realized that they must be the Seekers. They were tainted and demonic creatures. The fact that they existed angered Lowrook. To have denied death to those that were passing went against the nature of the Galaxy. They were rips in the fabric of the Force. Lowrook made it his goal to see that they were released to the afterlife, but first they had a duty to complete.

As they neared the next compartment, the turmoil from the captured Jedi got stronger. Closing his eyes, Lowrook sensed the beings in the next car. He found there to be at least 7 occupants and he was pretty sure that one of them was Serena. He made his way to the front of the group. Holding up his hand, he stopped the group for just a second.

"I have the ability of Phase (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Phase). Before you break through the door, let me go in and begin the attack. At the very least, I can be there to start deflecting bolts as you enter. Otherwise it is a bottlenecked killing ground."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"I sense Serena should be in the car directly ahead."

Anbira looked back to Jason, deferring to the Wookiee Jedi Master who stepped forward to become the vanguard.

"Master, be careful. These next moments are critical not only for yourself, but Serena also."

He stepped back, keeping his blade close to him.

"You can count on us to follow your lead."

He looked to the others.

"Jason, Sol. Lightsabers at ready. We're going in."

Navaria and Daria stood ready to follow up the attack. The Force willing, they would be successful.

"After you, Master Lowrook."

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason moved with the others as they approached Serena's car. It was now or never, every motion in the plan led to this moment and the subsequent escape. With that in mind, Jason reminded himself that this was not the end of the road, they still had to get topside and off-world. There wasn't much room for error.

Jason brought his saber up towards the door. It would take time to cut through the door, and his self-confidence bordered on arrogance as he reasoned that four Jedi could hold their own. However, he stopped as soon as Lowrook made the call. He would wreak havoc and allow the others cover to get in. That prompted the strategy which came to Jason's mind. Looking up, a large transparisteel skylight allowed light in from the outside, and somewhere above and behind them, Tionne was holding her own against the group. An idea came to mind. "Masters, you follow Master Lowrook after he's gone. I'll try to cut my way through the roof. And drop down. I can gather up Master Laran, or at least protect her while you deal with the Inquisition." He gathered the force around him, allowed it to flow freely through his body, and raised a hand to the roof. A single strong telekinetic motion blasted the pane into pieces, making it erupt in a shower of shards, some of which caught the guards facing Tionne. Launching himself upwards, Jason jumped upwards, and flipped onto the opposite side of the roof to Tionne. Counting on Tionne to keep the majority of them busy, he leapt the gap to the next car and slid to a stop roughly in the middle. Igniting both lightsabers in his position, he batted a few errant shots back at their sources and plunged them through the thick metal as he felt Lowrook engage the others. Drawing semi-circles with each, he stepped back and caught the heavy metal before it fell with the force. Lifting, he flung it back towards Tionne's group, sending a sharp mental message as he did so. Jump! As he did so he hopped through the hole to join the action, looking around instantly for the location of Laran.