Writing on the Wall (Open)

[The Lost Jedi]

So where's the writing on the wall...
Who's gonna save us?
Who's gonna provide us, who's gonna divide us....
Who's gonna save us?

--

Lunch time. The mall was filled with beings of all descriptions, shops fliied with mechandice from all over the Galaxy. Sounds and smells, various aliens and humans swarmed thought the levels, not suspecting that today was anything out of the ordinary. Who would? The Galaxy was generally at peace and with the Republic on Coruscant, all was well for these well to doers.

The lone cloaked being glanced upwards, the anger from the last few days incidents barely contained. He needed to hit out, to take out the frustrations and problems that had been so unexpectantly been placed in front of him. Today was going to be an up yours, a signal, a declaration. It wasn't Xazor who was wrong, it was the council. They sat on their fat chairs and let this happen. This travesty. For the first time, he was disgusted that he was a Jedi.

The Jedi had it wrong. Badly wrong. They were condemned to rot. There wasn't any left that he could be proud of. How could they do that?

The anger overflowed and he pointed. a burst of current exploded from his figertips - the wall arced and burst, shattering and crackling as the lightning played out. He moved his hand, drawing somethign out - a circle, a sword, a stroke. The rock glowed as it cooled as the lightning stopped, the smoke obsuring the symbol left behind. He snarled as he turned away, leaving behind him for the first time the Mark of The Lost.

He was coming. He was the Arch Angel of war. The first to feel the power he contained was this mall and he was now declaring his war on evil open.

--

The mall's owners was a crim gang, operation a legit business to cover their nefarnoius activites. King Pin sat in his control chair, with lackeys all around when the first hint of trouble came through.

"Control, we have what appears to be a human causing a minor disturbance in the food mall. Description dark brown cloak and hood, about 6 foot, possibly male. Detain and escort out"

--

"Please come with me sir?"

The cloaked being took the pipe out of his mouth, calmly tapped the ashes out of the bowl so the pipe coudl be put in a pocket. "No, I dont think so. KIngpin is the one who leaves". The guard took a step back from the chilly and deadly meanace of that voice.

"Ummm..... I'm sorry sir, I have orders"

Just liek Tondry had his frelling orders????? "Make me"

The guard tried, he honestly did. But in a blink of an eye, his nose was broken from an incredibly fast right hook that flattened him. Another guard tried to leap on the claked being, but he feel back, coughing after a palm heel strike to the chest. The cloaked being whipped a food tray off a table and whirled around, bashing another guard senseless. About him, people began to draw back, uncertain what was going on.

The next bit no one really could accuratly describe, but some of the better witnesses swore they saw the cloaked being take out a small grenade and lob it into a potted plant. Whatever happened, an explosion roared out and the small plantation blew into a spray of dirt and leaves. In the sudden confusion, the Lost Jedi leaped high over the crowd, landing several meters away. He pointed and plate glass windows on store front began to explode. The crowd began to panic as table spun upwards, flying into an over head display that blew out in a shower of sparks.

--

Kingpin looked at the sudden carnage in the security camera.

"STOP HIM KILL HIM!"

--

Behind the cloaked figure, a large window exploded liek it was hit with a shockwave, blasting glass around the figure, who stood upright and smoehow seemed unscaved by the deadly shower.

He had only just begun to rip this place apart.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Padawn Learner Quay'Na Rakai had just stepped out of one of the shops when she heard the explosions and whatnot, she quickly tucked her bought item into her robe and went to investiagate. While wondering if this was truly a good idea or not.

When she arrived, she saw...a Jedi? Blasting windows and tossing grenades? "What the..." The window behind her suddenly shattered as she ducked low to try and protect herself from the show of debris.

This Jedi was mad! As the debris settled and she stood up again. "Hey!" She yelled as she began to go towards him. Oh, this was a really bad idea, but she went anyway. Someone had to try and bring some sense to him and the security was having no luck!!

[Dasquian Belargic]

How anyone could miss what had just happened was beyond Dasquian, but some people still seemed to be able to walk by oblivious to the miniature maelstrom There were shouts and screams as people panicked – they had seen security approach a man and the man had turned them away with laughable ease. Someone even swore he had been the cause of the shattering glass that speckled the ground like a shimmering shoal of silver fish.

The Jedi Knight palmed his saber hilt into his hand and headed for the shopping center. He shielded his eyes with his free hand, his forearm across his brow as he strode forward. The presence of a figure with a lightsaber did not go unnoticed, and some people began to make their getaway – knowing that explosions and lightsabers made a most unsavory cocktail, and as innocent bystanders they would be first on the hit list.

He stepped over a splintered bench and cast a long glance around the area, his gaze halting on a cloaked figure in the distance. He hadn't noticed her before, but now he spotted Quay'Na approaching the very same being he was looking at. Krasst, don't do that Quay.

"Padawan Rakai, please take cover elsewhere."

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na continued her brisk walk towards the man. Dodging more debris as she went, not hearing or noticing Dasquian somewhere behind her. Even though a sabre hung at her belt, she made no attempts to get it. If so, it would only prompt him into attacking her and that was the last thing she wanted.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Outright panic broke out as the cloaked figure balled up a leather encolsed fist, then opened and unleashed a volley of energy into a table. The fake rock surface caught fire furiously under the assault, then another burst blasted it apart.

"IT'S A SITH!!!! RUN!!!"

The responding security service were caught in the stampede away, exactly as he intended. Now he had soem fighting room, although the fight was nto against the security for now, but against what he could smash and grind.

"HEY!"

The call caught his attention, the hood his face was under turned so that it was obvious he heard. Abrupty, he turned on his heel and ran right at the red haired woman, grabbing her around the torso.

"My pain isn't directed at you... please leave before it's too late..." she possibly heard - a voice filled with sadness and pain in the instant before a high pressure water pipe detonated. thousands of litres of water burst out with savage force - but she was protected from the initial maelstorm by the same arm around her. In the blinding spray, the arm slipped away and he sprang upwards, over and out of the spray to a higher level. His feet moved, he ran. There was much more to do.

"Come on KingPin, bring em out. I'm waiting!"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian watched with frustration as Quay went on, heedless of his words, and was seized by the figure. He moved to sprint from a static start but saw that the cloaked man had sprung away and left the Padawan unharmed. Never the less, his attempt at destroying all around him continued and the Knight was not about to allow that to continue.

He broke into a run and used an upturned bench as his spring-board, vaulting him into the air and onto a raised platform on which he gained a better vantage of the scene. On his perch he was not at all far from the faceless troublemaker and could hear his cries.

“Stand down,” he called out in return. It didn’t seem likely that he could negotiate a retreat from the man, but he at least had to try.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na was totally taken off guard as the figure came at her and grabbed her around the waist. She heard the pain in his voice, but before she could as much utter a response the water pipe broke apart and he protected her from it. He was gone as quickly as he had grabbed her...yelling to someone else.

She was totally confused at this point.

[imported_Natia Telcontar]

*Natia was standing back, out of sight of most ppl in the mall, wondering who was causing this havoc, this destruction. She had only gotten out of bed shortly before coming to the mall and had decided to heave her walking stick at home since she has no intention of being out long enough to need it.

"IT'S A SITH!!!! RUN!!!" she heard somebody yell. No, not somebody. A person who she knows, but their voice is pained from something.

She takes a deep breath, pulling the hood of her cloak up over her head, hiding her face from sight, she starts to move forward, going against the flow of the crowd who is trying to get out. Today she isn't wearing her normal blue dress, instead, she's wearing a tight bodysuit which is a dark blue, almost a black. Slowly she's making her way towards the cloaked figure.

A person grabbed her arm and tried to drag her in the direction that he's going. Bad move. She spins on him and goes to smash his face in with her fist, not liking the fact that a male touched her without her consent.

After that person had let her arm go, she continues to move towards the cloaked figure, wondering what has prompted him to this. He is a person who she can not use her kinetic communication on effectively.

Upon getting close to him, she puts herself in his path and looks right at him*

Is there anything I can do to help??

*Natia questions loudly enough for him to hear. And she's willing to help in almost any way she can, not really caring about consequences*

[Sasseeri Reeouurra]

"What?!" Sasseeri Reeouurra sat up sharply. "The Watch jis mobjiljizjing?"

"Y-yes... Heading towards the shopping center on the edge of the Coco District." The blue skinned female looked a little sweaty around the edges.

"What the hell jis gojing on overrr therrre?" Sasseeri slammed a fist down on the desk. "The jidjiot who calls hjimself 'Kjingpjin' jisn't supposed to be taken down untjil next week."

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na shook herself from her confusion a second later, still not noticing Dasquian.

Leave? There was no way that the Padawan could just turn her back and detour herself from the growing dangerous situation that lay all around her.

People were scattering in a frenzy trying to escape the flying debris in the man's angered onslaught.

Someone was going to get seriously hurt or killed even. No, he wasn't getting rid of her that easily, not when innocent public was involved!
Still not drawing her sabre, due to her lack of ability beyond deflecting blaster fire, she drew on one of her strengths.

Her gymnasic ability. With a quick rush into the Force, she sprang forward.
Leaping, springing, dodging and somersaulting the Padawan followed the cloaked figure through the mayhem.

Quay'Na was close now, knowing she was far from being able to stop him, but could hopefully slow him down.

With one last leap, she somersaulted, came down in a roll, then collided with a body slid right into his legs.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Something tripped him up but in a blink he was rolling away and up on his feet again. Another cloaked being got into his path but he turned and abruptly dived over the bannister, landing squarely on a meal tray. With the floor awash with water, the tray shot away with him on it. If he wasn't so argry and wanting to damage stuff, he would have quite enjoyed it. The colak he had on whipped in the wake of his passage, revealing he had a sword.

Must be insane. Who used swords?

Another leap had him grabbing hold of a decoration streamer. It turned his course for a second, enough to redirect him to land on a portable cooker display. With portable gas cylinders. He grinned. a guard tried to attack, but he was hit with an elbow strike. The Lost Jedi took the guards gun, giving the guard a hefty push away so he tripped and fell into a shallow pit / display. Enough to protect him from what the Lost now did.

He fired the blaster at the gas cylinder. He disappeared as the flames of the detonation expanded and overtook the spot he was standing on.

[Commander Zemil Vymes]

Got the call around midday. Armed assault.

Great.

It was vague. Anything from a pocketknife loose in an argument to an idiot high off his mind on Ryll, and sporting a Mandalorian arsenal. Vague indeed. Midday, too. That erred me on the side of caution. Only the truly crazy start fights like this at high noon. The kind of people who suck coffee out of hip flasks and distilled liquor out of coffee mugs. The kind of people who nick themselves shaving in the morning just to make sure they're awake. The kind of people who can somehow manage to stare you down and look just past you, at the same time. These people have nothing to lose, and don't behave like sentient beings. Their hands are cold to the touch, and their blood is ice water.

The worst twenty percent of perps in Coco are violent offenders. Of those, about 30 percent know what they're doing. And once in a blue moon, you find that one blank-faced goon that hates the entire galaxy, right down to the shadow under his feet. The kind of guy who wants revenge at everyone for being born.

These are the people you find on armed assault in broad daylight. They're beyond nothing to lose. They want the world around them to bleed in atonement for their own existence.

So when I got the call, I swerved my patrol car as close to the scene as I could get, donned the set of combat armor I kept in the trunk, and reached for the autoblaster. To contrast, I clenched the dingiest cigar I could find between my teeth, and lit its charred and bedraggled end.

As I approached the scene of the crime, I called in backup. It was going to be one of those days...

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

It wasn’t long before other Watchmen, who hadn’t even been in the station when Vymes had sent for aide, were arriving. It was impossible to miss the plume of smoke billowing out of the mall. One car had been prowling the streets, with only a single officer in it. Sergeant Burckharf disliked simply sitting and waiting for crime to happen, so made it her job to skulk about just waiting for someone to do something stupid.

“Just what we need,” she stated, pulling a bulletproof vest over her head and kitted herself out in basic raid gear, which included a vast transparent shield which she slipped over her left arm.

One woman light-tank, she strode forward towards where she could see the Commander. As she walked she could feel the press of pistols against her hips, compressed against her body under the tight armor. That was the only draw back of wearing the stuff (which she disliked) – you had a hard time getting out of it or for that matter getting into it to get anything from underneath. It looked like she would just have to make do with the stun baton.

“Another Force user, sir?” she asked as she leveled with Vymes then continued walking. It seemed the Force was an aphrodisiac when it came to wanton destruction. It made Dirka sick (literally).

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Damn! Her idea, had barely even fazed him, but Quay'Na was on her feet in an instant and watched as he slid away on a meal tray.

Frowning, she shook her head and was just about to follow when she noticed Dasquian and took her attention towards him for a brief moment...a very brief moment.

The Force suddenly screamed at her to hit the ground, which she dove and slid across the floor as the gas cylinder blew up.

[Billy Stone]

Meanwhile...

Ellum Stone watched the scene from across the street, a grim smile on his face. To an intergalactic terrorist, this was entertainment. True, it was a danger showing his face in the daylight. But it was one time that Ellum didn't care about getting caught.

With a grin he looked down at his daughter.

"What do you think Billy?"

The girl looked up with wide eyes and then shrugged thoughtfully.

"Too public. Whoever did it should've waited until late afternoon when crowds aren't so big and security ain't so tight."

Ellum chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Good girl. But this way, there's more casualties."

Billy shook her head, blonde hair swinging.

"Yeah but the crowd makes 'scapin' harder."

"True."

Ellum looked down, quizically.

"What would you do next?"

Billy shrugged again.

"Run I guess."

"What if there was no place to run? No way out?"

The child was quiet for a long time.

"Shoot myself."

Ellum smiled widely.

"You learn fast kiddo."

With a look of concern, his daughter tugged on his jacket.

"C'mon Daddy, they might see you."

He shook his head.

"No baby. It's not me they're looking for right now. Enjoy the scenery."

[Xazor Elessar]

A figure clad in black robes seemed to wait in the shadows along the inner perimeter of the mall. The being's hood was drawn up over her head, shielding her identity from everyone -- save for the man who was now on a rampage. Marcus Elessar, her father by adoption, shared a life bond with Xazor. They knew each other's thoughts, feelings, emotions, and even actions. They could see through each other's eyes. He knew she was there, but she was doing her best to hide her purpose.

The scene angered her as it unfolded before her face. "We're The Lost Jedi -- not animals!" She thought to herself as people were wiped out and taken down by Marcus.

From her back, the young woman grabbed something many others did not usually choose to weild -- a sword, the weapon of choice by Marcus. Hers was long with a nice double edged blade. The silver it was composed of glimmered in the light and the word "Chase" which was engraved upon it, reflected that light into the eyes of those who stared at it. She bolted forth, keeping her identity hidden from all around, save for the one she wished to speak with -- Marcus. With a free hand, the Jedi Knight jumped off a balcony and grabbed onto a light which broke away from the ceiling and began to fall toward the ground. Thank goodness for short cords, else the Garou would have been hurting, badly.

The cord stopped Xazor short of her collision with the Warlord, but close enough to the ground that she could jump down without injury. Upon doing so, Marcus stopped sliding across the ground as he hit a dry patch -- giving way for Xazor to do what she needed. With swift feet, the young woman came to stand before him and she raised her sword up in defense. "ENOUGH!" The Garou yelled in a powerful and echoing voice. A hush fell across the gathered crowds as the woman's cyan blue eyes pierced Marcus's heart from beneath the hood of her robes. "Enough of this." She calmed a bit but held her sword in place. "We are still Jedi! Even a Sith can control his anger better than you have! You are the one who taught me about restraint, Marcus!" She pleaded in his mind, pain evident upon her telepathic voice. "This will end here and now by you leaving -- else you'll have to go through me." She stated boldly, knowing that his actions were wrong, at least in her mind -- and she would not bring TLJ down by partaking in his activities. "I don't think you came here to kill your daughter -- let's go home before something aweful happens -- before they discover who I am!"

[Marcus Telcontar]

The flames cleared leaving the Lost Jedi standing there, undamaged - a mental barrier protected him, leaving the heat to wash over him of course, but the flames and balst to be channelled around him. He had an affinity with fire, it was his play thing.

But the suddenness of Xazor's appearence threw him. He hadn't expected that. She should have been on the run.

"Dont you understand... they betrayed you.. they betrayed us all! They're more interested in petty politics and personality plays than dealing with the evil like runs this place!"

I'm not leaving whithout showing that at least one Jedi still believes in justice

His antics so far were done to scare people away, so that the crim gang and he would have the place to themselves and bystanders wouldn't be hurt. with non uniformed goons runnign to the disturbance, it was nearly time for the real show to start.

And if the Jedi wont act, who will?

With an almighty leap, he fired himself nearly 20 meters into the air, bacflipping and grabbing hold of a cable strung across a few banisters. A twsit of his wrists saw him falling away, to land neatly on a walkway not too far below. The appearence of Xazor had at least taken the edge of his anger, but still, he only desired to break the filty face of Kingpin.

[Billy Stone]

With her father's encouragement, Billy had reluctantly moved closer. It was easy for the small child to slip past the barricade being set up outside and into the building. She was too tiny to be noticed, a mere fly on the wall.

But inside, she just stood, pushing herself into a corner and looking about with wide eyes. She hated it when her father made her scout things out for him. But it wasn't as if there was much choice. He couldn't make an appearence.

It was absolute pandemonium. Nothing Billy was a stranger too. She'd seen her father blow up plenty of buildings with explosives. Still, it didn't make any difference. It wasn't something she grew accustomed to, just as Ellum's lessons in terrorism always surprised her, despite their daily occurences.

Now that she thought about it, Billy was mad. She didn't want to be in here. It was stupid. Scowling from her discreet position, the child began to stew.

"If I die, I'll kill 'im."

[Pierce Tondry]

"It's good to know what kind of galactic rep we Jedi have," a male voice responded to Dirka's statement.

It was Pierce Tondry, dressed in a simple set of black fatigues. His only visible armament consisted of a blaster pistol strapped into a side holster and a lightsaber hooked to his belt. He was walking quickly but silently over to the pair of cops from an alleyway.

"I heard the call, happened to be nearby," Pierce continued, speaking more to Vymes than his female companion. "This isn't my jurisdiction, but I'll help in any way I can."

[Commander Zemil Vymes]

"Guess so."

I didn't look at Dirka, but kept my eyes on the fast-moving Jedi as he flipped and flailed about, followed by a blonde woman.

Sound to my right caught my attention. My head snapped in the man's direction, and I restrained myself from letting my weapon follow.

"I'm not your PR man, Jedi. This is your crap-heap, and I'm just the janitor."

I scowled at his offer of assistance. As much as it raised my hackles to let a Jedi play copper, I wasn't about to refuse the help. I might not like Jedi, but I wasn't stupid regarding what they were capable of.

"Alright, you're in."

I swapped the cigar to the other side of my mouth, and slung a flechette gun over my shoulder, as we all began to walk toward the two Lost Jedi