Juvenile delinquency (Open)

[Kale]

After spending a little over a month at the Jedi Temple with one mission and a modicum of training under his very slender belt, Kale had come to one inescapable conclusion about the lot of a Jedi.

Except for when people are trying to kill you, it can be darned boring.

The young ex-streeter had kept his nose clean this long. He'd never wanted to risk getting in trouble and losing the privileges of free room and board at the Order's expense, but--frell, didn't anybody do anything fun around here? Kale hadn't met anybody close to his age of fifteen, and everyone else was so high-and-mighty and stuck on the Force it seemed impossible to relate to them unless meditating and floating rocks around was your idea of a hot time. Master Oriadin was all right, but it had been a while since Kale had seen him.

The teen had been prowling around the temple grounds the past few days looking for anything he could do to pass time without putting his brain on ice. Now he was skulking through the hallways of the archives. He had the librarian's eyeglasses in his pocket; she'd been leaning back in her chair snoring, and he'd lifted them lightly off her face. Kale could hear her fussing behind him as she rooted around her cluttered desktop after the spectacles. He'd learned after only a little investigation that she was as blind as a bat without them. With a self-indulging smirk, he left the glasses perched crookedly on the nose of Obi-Wan Kenobi's bronze bust down the hall.

Kale had been busy in the archives lately. About a dozen Jedi who'd come there to study found small personal effects disappearing while they weren't looking--pens, datapads, loose jewelry, pocketbooks. Many of them turned up in some unlikely place, but a few items, particularly those of monetary value, were seemingly nowhere to be found.

But the satisfaction won from those minor pranks wore off quickly. Kale needed to find something juicier to satisfy his appetite for thievery, like stealing the old lightsaber in the display case in the next gallery.

He didn't know who it had once belonged to, and he didn't much care. Kale wasn't as interested in historical matters as the Jedi archivists, but he could tell a valuable commodity when he saw it. The saber looked like it had been built in a time when beauty was just as important as utility; the high-polish silvery metal was inlaid with gold leaf in elegant floral patterns, and the pommel was set with a stunning yellow gemstone. Whether or not the saber still worked, it was likely worth more than twice the money Kale had ever possessed at one time.

Kale hovered over the glass case, searching it for some method of entry. There was a lock in the corner of the front panel. It was ten to one the lock was computer-controlled, but he couldn't resist trying to slip the blade of his pen knife in through the keyhole to see if he could jiggle it free. He shielded the knife with his other hand so if anyone saw him, he could say he was just... uh... buffing the glass. That worked.

[Camdyn Fields]

Camdyn had been wandering the archives for what seemed like hours. Several loooooooooooong borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring hours. >_<

She finally wandered into some gallery, full of glasses cases with...metal tubey things? What were they called again? Sabers or something. Whatever. She was *kinda* lost, and trying to find her way out of there, when she noticed him. A kid, doing something to one of the cases.

"Uh, hi?" o_O

[Kale]

Kale was startled, more than he should've been. He jerked his gaze toward Camdyn, then deftly closed his pocketknife and stowed it away. He'd started to take a step back from the display case when he remembered the importance of verisimilitude, and he gave the glass one perfunctory swipe with the back of his sleeve.

"Hi, I was..." He trailed off stupidly, realizing she hadn't even asked him anything about the case.

Kale defensively shoved both hands in his pockets and said, "Were you lookin' for something?"

[Camdyn Fields]

"Yes. A way out of this place before I *die* of boredom!" :lol

She stuffed her own hands inside the pockets of her hip-hugging jeans and gave the boy a once-over glance. He was a bit younger than her, kinda badly dressed and umkempt. He had to be a Jedi though, probably a student like she was. Camdyn had caught him stuffing the ..thing... into his pocket, whatever it was. She shot him a big smile, having that special tingle in the back of her brain. Her "danger sense". This kid was up to something, and she could tell...

Moving towards the case Kale stood in front of, she ran her finger across the glass, to the lock, before glancing back over at him.
"You know...it'd be awesome to have one of these saber-things. We should just take one, just for fun." :mischief

[Kale]

Kale was stunned--it was almost as if she'd read his mind, which, in a place like the Jedi temple, was the sort of thing you had to watch out for. But there was something definitely familiar in the look on the Camdyn's face that belied her rich-girl appearance.

He took a furtive glance around the room and stepped closer to her. "I already have one," he said in a low voice. "Well, a training saber, anyway. I found it left in a locker in the sparring rooms."

Kale looked admiringly down at the saber in the case. "But it don't hold a candle to this baby. Frell..."

He stared at the mirror finish on the saber grip and debated the risk of his next question. "You, uh... serious about takin' one of these? It'd probably get us in a lot of trouble."

Kale gave her a look of challenge to let her know he was game if she was.

[Camdyn Fields]

"PFFT." :p

"What's the point of NOT getting into trouble? You have to fun sometimes; and it seems too many Jedis are not having *enough* fun." :D 'It's not like they'll miss it, they have tons of sabers!"

She shrugged. "No-ones around who'll catch us. I can feel it, when something is going to happen, so, the coast is clear. Let's do it!"

[Kale]

Kale grinned. He didn't know who this girl was, but she was speaking his language. "You're right about that. I've seen livelier morgues. You keep watchin' my back; I'll take a look at this lock."

He'd been more pickpocket than burglar on the streets of Coruscant, but he'd paid enough attention to pick up a few tricks of the trade from some of his flatmates back home. Kale cracked his knuckles and leaned in close to the glass. "I don't see any wires, so it ain't hooked to a central lock. Could be tied in to a computer key, though. If it's just mechanical, I might be able to pop it with my pen knife."

He pulled the knife back out and flipped it open again. "Oh, name's Kale, by the way. Where'd you come from? I ain't seen you around the Order before."

[Camdyn Fields]

"K, I'm Camdyn. Jedi student. Or something. I've been here for a while, but I'm usually out with friends...having fun."

She gave him a little wink, before turning her attention to the entrances to the gallery, keeping her senses tuned for anyone coming.

[Kale]

Kale cautiously slipped the point of the pen knife blade into the key hole and worked it inside. "Havin' fun, huh? Doin' things like this?"

[Camdyn Fields]

"Sometimes. Usually we break into stores at night, stealing bigger things. I don't do the stealing though. I'm the look-out. It's what I'm good at."

[Kale]

"Glad to hear it," Kale quipped wryly. His nerves were throbbing with anticipation--of getting caught, getting off free, of having to swipe and run--that was all part of the thrill. He hadn't pulled off a significant heist since he joined the Order. No wonder he'd felt like he was in withdrawal.

It wasn't often that he had an accomplice. When it came to pickpocketing, he was better off working alone. Stealing for fun, though--that was different. There was nothing like improving a good time by sharing it, and he couldn't wait to see the looks on the Jedi councilors' faces when they found out the pièce de résistance of their saber collection was missing.

Assuming he could get it out of the stupid box, of course.

His knife poked about vainly inside the key slot. There were no pins inside, so it was probably an electronic lock. All it took to get through one of those was a good optic decoder small enough to push through the keyhole. Too bad he didn't have one.

Kale withdrew his blade, folded it up, and stepped back to give the case another once-over.

"It's a computer lock," he said. "So, if you can't get through the lock, you look for the hinges. Bingo, right there on the outside corner. This won't take long."

He knealt by the corner of the glass and worked his knife blade into the gap between the bottom hinge pin and the coupling. The darn thing was pretty well stuck, and he had to put some muscle into the job.

"Where are these friends o' yours from?" he asked as he sawed into the gap. "Don't tell me they're with the Order, too."

[Camdyn Fields]

"Ew, no. They're way too cool to be here." :x

She made a face, rocking back on the heels of her trainers. It was true, her friends all lived in the city. Most were college students, who'd get up to the usually mischief ever now and again.

"Sometimes I wonder why I joined; I guess I want to do something good, you know? Which..is weird, because having *fun* is not *good*" :\

[Kale]

"There's free room and board," Kale said. "That's why I joined."

His thoughts turned toward Oriadin, and what he'd sait to his master about turning over a new leaf, and he felt a little pang of conscience--but it was just a little one, thank the stars. He wasn't one to get all philosophical, and he didn't want to argue the point with Camdyn, or with himself.

"Believe me, girl, you been down the road I've lived on, an' you ain't choosy about where your help comes from. Er... you mind holdin' on to the glass here? I don't want it to drop when I pull this hinge pin out. Just don't leave any prints, capeesh?"

[Camdyn Fields]

She nodded, slipping off her hooded sweatshirt and using it to cover her hands as she placed them under the glass, waiting for him to pull out the pin.

[Kale]

It was touchy work; the hingepin was tiny, and Kale's knife blade had only a very little room to grip the flattened headpiece. He found himself wishing for an eyedropper and some mechanical lubricant, but it was a little late to be thinking about that now.

With Camdyn holding the glass steady, he could put both hands to good use. He retracted his left hand into his ample tunic sleeve and gripped the pin head through the fabric. Now that it had a little wiggle room, it should slide right out.

Tink!

"That's one," Kale whispered triumphantly. "Move over a bit, and I'll get the other one...."

The second pin was more stubborn. The once-brassy finish was gummed up with green tarnish and glass cleaner residue, and Kale had to cut through that gunk just to get into the joint between the head and the hinge. His brow crinkled up with mounting frustration as he put more muscle on the pin and the pin still refused to move.

CLANK! P-chunk!

The whole hinge popped loose from the screws that held it onto the case, and the glass panel popped out into Camdyn's face as the hinge clattered to the floor. Kale jumped as if he'd been hit with a taser and flattened back against the bookshelf just inside the gallery entrance.

[Camdyn Fields]

*SMASH!!!!*

:eek

The glass had slipped, falling out of her hands, barely missing her, and landing with a crash to the floor.

"Oopsy....^_^;"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian stopped in his tracks. He had been suspicious of something going on in the archives but dismissed it as paranoia, but now with that smashing of glass there was no way it could be put down to his own mind playing tricks on him. Heading off in the direction, he'd heard the noise come from, he called out:

"Hello? The Archives are closed right now."

[Kale]

Kale cringed painfully at the crash. If there was anybody left in the archives, they'd have to be deaf not to hear it. With luck, the last few stragglers would have found their way out of the library by now.

He waited, frozen against the bookshelf, for any sounds of pursuit, but the place was silent. The young padawan had just vented a monumental sigh of relief when he heard Dasquian's voice call out.

"Hello? The Archives are closed right now."

Kale froze again and shot a desperate look toward Camdyn. Now came the moment of decision--did they grab the goods and run, or just run? Dasquian was close enough for Kale to faintly hear his boots slapping the floor. It was going to be a narrow escape either way.

He needed to act fast. He closed his eyes and stretched out a hand toward the case, trying against all odds to calm down his tingling nerves. The lightsaber wobbled on its display stand for an indecisive moment, then floated through the air into Kale's grip. He had no time to congratulate himself on his first Force-assisted theft; he waved Camdyn toward the back exit of the gallery and bolted there himself.

[Camdyn Fields]

Camdyn quickly followed, hoping who-ever was coming would be slow.

[Dasquian Belargic]

There was a pang of fear in the Force somewhere in the depths of the archives, then the sound of running footsteps. Dasquian added his own to these as he set off at a run for where he could feel the panic.

[Kale]

Kale and Camdyn stumbled out into a broad, high corridor on the outer edge of the archives. There were several stories of bookshelves on one side, and a row of several-story-high cathedral windows on the other. Kale hesitated--he wasn't sure whether left or right would be a quicker escape, and he wasn't sure whether it'd be better or worse for him and Camdyn to split up. But there was an old thief's maxim that he'd learned: Being clever's better than being fast, but it's not worth being slow.

"Left," he said arbitrarily. "If we need to, we can split up. If he chases me, I'll be fine. Get back to your quarters. If he chases you, uh... tough luck, huh?"

So far, their pursuer hadn't called in security, but the moment he saw the broken glass and the empty display case, he probably would, unless he was the type who preferred to handle things himself.

Either way, Kale had two ideas in mind--find a staircase to the upper level and cross over the archives back to the main entrance, or find an emergency exit on this wall and slip down the fire escape. The second of those options sounded more appealing. If neither route was open, he hoped Camdyn had a trick or two hiding up her sleeve, because he was running out of tricks.

[Camdyn Fields]

"Fine, I'm going right...if I get caught, I won't squeal" ;)

With that, she quickly made her way around one of the towering bookshelves and disappeared, her trainers making soft noises on the floor as she went.

[Kale]

Kale cast a brief glance at Camdyn's retreating back. Maybe sticking together would've been better, but there was no time to start second-guessing himself now. After all, he already had the goods.

He turned down the corridor the other way, treading as lightly as he could on his beaten, old sneakers, and he kept his eyes peeled for any glowing red "exit" signs. He'd have a lot better chance losing a pursuer on the street than in a library.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Slowing somewhat as he passed by some display cases, Dasquian saw one had had its contents removed. Someone had taken one of the lightsabers – artifacts, and precious ones at that. Quickly starting on after the thief again, Dasquian moved almost silently, listening for the footsteps of the one he was pursuing.

“You’d do better off not running you know,” he called out, his voice echoing through the halls.

“It’ll only make things worse in the end.”

[Kale]

Kale heard Dasquian's warning, and there was a part of him that knew he was right--that he had to go back to his quarters, and he'd be found out sooner or later--but old habits died hard. He was working on instincts now, and they told him to keep the loot and run. After all, if he ran, there was a chance he'd make it out free. If he gave up, he knew he was canned.

Exit sign! Paydirt! The door was nestled anachronistically between two huge, gothic arches.

He ignored the sign by the door--Emergency exit, alarm will sound if opened. The only Jedi he was concerned about was already alarmed. Kale lifted the safety bar and threw himself against the door, popping it open and setting off an ear-piercing fire Klaxon. He leapt out onto the metal fire escape and slammed the door shut behind him.

Kale clattered partway down the first staircase, then vaulted over the side rail onto the next landing ten feet down. It was a jarring impact, but it cut out the rest of the stairs. He kicked out the safety latch on the retractible ladder, let the bottom fall to the alley below, and slid nimbly down without setting foot on the rungs.

Once his shoes hit the pavement, he took off running again down the alley for the dumpsters in the back of the GJO grounds.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The sound of the alarm going off gave Dasquian a direct location of whoever he was chasing – from both the fact that the alarm had been set off in the first place, and from the sudden panic at the sound given off by the miscreant. He ran to the open door and skidded to a halt against the railings, looking out below. A quick scan of the area and nothing could be seen, but the Force told him otherwise. As with when he had chased the altered beasts through Coruscant, it was time to let his sixth sense do the guiding.

He cleared the railing, robes making a whoosh with the displacement of air, dropping down onto the ground below with a soft thud – the Force cushioning his fall. He had no way of increasing his speed, but was a fairly good sprinter, so figured he was in with a good chance of catching the fading shadow.

[Kale]

Kale had enough practice running away that he was a good sprinter, too, but Dasquian had at least eight inches on him, and he didn't have the stamina for a long chase. When the Jedi knight performed his spectacular leap from the fire escape, Kale didn't see it, but his danger sense sparked a fresh surge of adrenalin into his blood, and he sped up his pace.

He turned a sharp corner and found, to his dismay, a cul-de-sac lined with industrial-sized dumpsters. He glanced up at the walls and saw no way of scaling them, at least not in the time he had before Dasquian rounded the corner, too. The dumpsters were closed and latched--no help there. He was trapped.

Kale fought down the mounting panic and fingered the lightsaber cannister sitting in his inner robe pocket. Maybe if he threw it into the alley and hid well enough, the knight would take it and leave. But he didn't want to give it up. He was feeling too bold for that.

The teenaged Padawan squeezed back into the gap between two mammoth dumpsters all the way against the wall. It wasn't too difficult for somebody as narrow as he was, but it didn't leave him much room to maneuver. He hoped he wouldn't have to.

Leaning back against the cool mass of the wall, Kale closed his eyes and willfully slowed down his harried breathing. Still struggling to quell his panic, he called out to the Force, but it was being elusive. Desperately, he kept trying. Finally, in a burst of terrified anger, he demanded its help more strongly than he ever had before.

It came, and Kale shuddered--there was a cold, hard edge to it this time. His awareness expanded as before, but now the world looked grim and menacing to his senses. He could sense Dasquian ripping around the corner to find him, and he feared the Jedi Knight even more. So he held up his connection to the Force, not caring what kind of connection he had just made. He just hoped it would keep him hidden. His Force signature dwindled nearly to nothing, and it would take a skilled observer to find it through the haze of the Dark Side.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian’s footfalls slowed to a walk as he turned into a dead end. By now his breathing had quickened, and he took a moment to catch his breath before striding confidently into the shadows ahead. Eyes narrowing as he took in what was around him, he deduced that aside from the alley through which he had just entered, there were no other exits.

The walls were flat, with no juts or outcrops that could be used to scale the surface. The most obvious means of hiding were the large waste troughs, but upon closer inspection of one he found it was securely locked. Wherever the thief had gone, they had certainly done it quickly. One might almost think they’d disappeared into thin air. Of course, that was nonsense – there were perhaps two or three species which did this, and neither was humanoid in appearance, as Dasquian was sure his quarry had been.

He reached down to his belt and activated his saber, bathing the area around him in a crisp orange glow. The whrum of the blades movements was the only sound to break the silence as he strode forward, keeping a sharp eye out for any movement. The Force was telling him something was here, but he could not yet tell where. A minute passed and nothing became apparent, until suddenly a little flutter could be felt in the back of his mind.

Two of the large dumpsters had a space between them. Approaching, Dasquian was sure that what he was searching for was inside. As he grew closer and closer he could feel the fear of something inside, no doubt amplified by the sight of the lightsaber. Finally upon the opening, he reached out a hand into the darkness and seized-

squeak!

-nothing. A rat darted out from the crevice, skittering away into the night. Dasquian heaved an exasperated sigh and shut the saber beam off, turning back to the empty nook. Perhaps he’d taken a wrong turn earlier on? Shaking his head, he paced back out of the mouth of the blind alley.

[Kale]

Kale held his breath as Dasquian searched the cul-de-sac. He nearly flinched when the knight ignited his orange saber, but his grip on the Force--or its grip on him; at this point, he couldn't tell--was so strong it overrode his natural nerve impulses. His fear closed in on him like a noose, and as he sunk deeper into his Force-induced oblivion, his fear only amplified itself. The hum of Dasquian's saber roared in his ears as it drew closer.

And then Dasquian left. Kale stayed motionless for several minutes, gradually rising up out of the trance he'd thrown himself into. The sky brightened again, his senses retracted, and he found himself between the dumpsters, untouched and scott free, with a pilfered lightsaber still hanging close to his tunic.

Slowly, Kale ventured out of his hiding place into the center of the cul-de-sac. Aside from the typically raucous bustle of upper-level Coruscant, it was silent. A great wave of relief passed over Kale, and he chuckled to himself.

Then he remembered the terror of that trance he'd just escaped. He didn't know what it was, but it had worked. He just hoped he didn't have to use it again.

He'd been planning to go right back through the Temple entrance and stow the saber somewhere in his room, but now he thought that would be too risky. He needed to hide his prize somewhere more familiar to him in a place he knew it would be safe. Straightening out his robe, he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed out to the Coruscant streets.

(OOC: This storyline is continued in Stolen Lightsaber (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31456) in the Roleplaying forum)