Ask Meeting Gone Wrong

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius couldn't help but smirk at her comment after about Everett being just a body guard and loyal friend, She was cunning. Lukas wouldn't forget that as he stood near the balcony rail looking out over the city as he took all the sights in for a little. Lukas took a breath of the cool air as his adrenaline was up from dancing with her and he knew the code forbid a partner or a lover as he remembered it quietly. Closing his eyes to meditate as he tried to find himself again. Having a conversation in his head with himself. "Lukas the code." echoed through his mind as he meditated in his suit quietly standing up. "You are a Jedi with a purpose." continued echoing as he finally opened his eyes and sighed a little. His conflictions as she was definitely something unique but everything else around them had it going against them to pursue the curiosity. War, the Order and Empire and the fact Lukas only had met her once. He shouldn't have been this curious over her. He has met many people but this Sith was different.

After his meditating and cooled down from the dance, Lukas would turn and walk back into the party as Senator Constantine would approach him and give him a quick jab in the ribs. "So if it isn't the "I'm to cool to be fun, Jedi" What was that then?" She laughed at him as Lukas looked at her with a soft smile. "It was a dance, nosey ass." he quipped as she laughed even more. "Nosey!? You were in the middle of the dance floor you Bantha. Plus I see the way you two younglings stare at one another. I Smell passion in the air." she looked at him with a shit eating grin on her face. Lukas rolled his eyes a little as it really was his only defense. "Just trying to help with the diplomacy." he couldn't help but almost smirk at the end of the comment as he knew that was full of shit. The Senator would burst laughing as she shook her head. "Jedi Aurelius I swear through the dark caverns of your code and way of life you have a heart that can love.".

Lukas would follow the Senator to the group she was mingling around as she began to introduce him to them all. One by one as Lukas greeted them politely but looked over their shoulders across the dance floor for a moment to catch Celeste over by her bodyguard. His icy blue eyes watching her honey blonde hair and blue eyes laugh and socialize with others as he looked back to those by him and continued smiling shaking hands or kissing ass. "Tell us Master Jedi" quipped a older looking humanoid. "What made you get tangled up with Senator Constantine as her protection? She is rather a little hard to handle." he teased eyeing the Senator as she pretended to be shocked and offended. Lukas would smile softly. "My former Master, Master Tavius was assigned to her and after he passed and I finished my trials as a Knight, I offered to take up any protection missions she needs." he would smile politely. The sound of music booming around them as the strobe lights continued.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste had chosen not to follow him in order to give him some space and privacy, but she had to admit that it wasn't easy. The blonde senator was naturally curious and she could have spent the whole night with him, talking about literally everything, exchanging more interesting opinions and simply getting to know each other better. But no. This was (unfortunately) neither the place nor the time to do so. Even though she cared very little about the ongoing war and tensions between the factions, she was not foolish enough to think that this couldn't be made public. Would she be in trouble? Perhaps it wouldn't even matter. She had never felt extraordinarily convinced about their own code and there was nothing wrong with having fun. She would never antagonize or even assault a Jedi anyway and it was not explicitly forbidden to interact with them. Still, she knew lots of Sith that wouldn't waste any second to kill him. She was still playing with fire, no matter how much she tried to justify it...

On the other hand, she had collaborated with the Jedi before. More than once even and it had always gone well. They had even assisted her in diplomatic matters before and she had always tried to establish mutually beneficialsolutions. However, she had only worked with them on a professional level and there was never more to it...She had never been interested in a Jedi like that before. She was so intrigued that she could almost feel something like a magnetic force pulling her outside on the balcony and it became increasingly harder to resist. She was itching to give in and continue this interesting conversation, nit quite sure where it would lead them.

But why did she even think so far now? Sure, he was an attractive man, but he had sworn an oath anyway, hadn't he? . "Misstress?", Everett's voice was accompanied by a mischievous smirk, but he had definitely managed to interrupt her thoughts out of a sudden. "What have I told you about not calling me that?", she warned him with a hint of serious annoyance in her voice, a slightly threatening smile on her lips. "You seemed to be lost in thoughts. I had guessed it was better to check on you", he apologized himself with a respectful bow, but she could still see his amusement as her warning glare still lingered on him. "I wasn't" she lied convincingly, nodding towards a man right behind him. "Come. We should make some good impressions" she then instructed him with before she would already head towards the man in the greenish suit. He was a fellow politician and she had spoken to him before, but she had sworn to keep him updated on the progress on Rattatak, and so she did.

It didn't take and she could sense the returning Jedi Knight, but she tried her best not to look back. She was engaged in 'important' conversations anyway, but the longer and more complicated the subjects got, the more she simply wanted to get it over with. The event turned out to be less relaxing and fun that she had assumed and it was slightly starting to bug her. Everything was always about business and sometimes she was just looking for a night off, but this was not the night. The results of her conversations with other influential guests were admittedly positive, but she was starting to get tired off it. Still, she kept up her professional, polite fassade, not letting her inner annoyance shine through in any way. While she was fake laughing at the joke of one of the guests, she could see that Lukas was undergoing the same torment and even if she sympathized with him, it was also slightly amusing to see him like this. She was sure that if he had a saying in all of that, he would have probably chosen a different mission. And yet they were ironically both stuck here, obediently keeping up their appearances.

@Exhilian

 

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius would continue chatting with the pair as he couldn't help but glance over every so often, his mind almost slipping him as when he turned back to face the group it all happened so quick. A bright flash and bang came right after. It was almost like someone just turned out the lights and threw a blanket over his face. Lukas felt heat and suddenly wind push him as he flew backwards from the explosion. The debris pushing out in every direction as those standing around next to him also went flying in the air. The explosion was big enough to knock everyone flying and those who were closer to it were ripped apart from shrapnel. Lukas would feel weightless as he flew through the air with his eyes tightly shut. His body flying limp as he smashed into the glass across the bar and down behind it as he was cut up from the debris. A warm liquid began to tremble down his suit and face as his eyes were black from dust.

As he just lay there he stirred a little from pain as his breathing was quiet and heavy. An eerie silence rang afterwards as only the soft sounds of moaning from the wounded and crackling of a fire from the explosion filled the air. Foot steps could be heard as Lukas slowly opened his eyes. The world was almost spinning upside down as he dragged himself slowly and painfully to the edge of the bar on his stomach to look around to the front of the room. Armed members came parading in and stepped over the rubble and bodies as they began to look at faces and check for something. Someone they were looking for. As they eventually made their way across the room, Lukas faintly seen them step by Senator Constantine who seemed alive but injured as one guard barked. "Pick her up.".

Lukas tried to stretch his arm out and hand to her and attempt to use the force in a weak pass to stop them as a couple more guards came over seeing him. They would drive a foot across his face as the impact knocked him out cold. The last sight he seen was the Senator being carried off as total blackness came in after it. What seemed like a nightmare soon came to life as sometime after Lukas would awake with rope twined around his hands and he would be hanging in a small cell as it rattled softly from vibrations. His eyes slowly opened as some of the blood dried on his face and his body ached. His senses that were rattled slowly coming back to him as a light above his head swayed quietly. A tough looking Zabrak wearing gear would be standing back on from him as Lukas hung there quietly. His icy blue eyes mixed with debris and blood would flick over to see Celeste in a cell next to him as she looked banged up and bruised also hanging from the ceiling by rope.

"What in the kark.." Lukas moaned in pain a little.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

It felt like hours were passing by, but a glance over to the holoclock told her that it had hardly been another hour. The night was still rather young and Celeste had already been involved in countless conversations, at least that was how she felt. She had allowed herself another cocktail and she was slightly starting to feel its effects through a slight light-headedness. Everett hadn't drunk a single glass, but that was nothing unusual. That was definitely something he had in common with the Jedi.

After a while, an older man was kindly asking Celeste to join him on the dancefloor and as polite as she was, she agreed. Everett seemed visibly less pissed as he asked her to dance than with the Knight, which only amused Celeste, but before they've reached the dancefloor anyway, a very loud bang covered all the noise in the room. It was immediately followed by a shockwave that threw Celeste across the room and on the ground, she was immediately covered with debris. She instantaneously pushed herself back to her feet, immediately reaching out for her lightsaber which was supposed to be still on Everett, but until she spotted his silhouette in the dusty, suddenly dark room, she had more pressing matters to tend to as several armored figures were approaching.

There was no time to summon her lightsaber, but she knew she couldn't use the Force because this would immediately give her away as a dark sided Force user and that was something she still wanted to avoid. The Jedi Knight knew and so did Everett, but it had to stay that way to avoid troubles. Because of that she waited another moment until her saber finally reached her, but the first attackers were already closing in on her. She activated the crimson bladed lightsaber and tried to locate Senator Constantine, the Jedi Knight and her bodyguard, but she had no idea where either of them were. Either way, she was heavily outnumbered and before she started to swing at the first unknown adversary, she noticed the first stun bolt shooting in her direction. She managed to evade the bolt,meven though her thoughts were already spinning from the alcohol and the crash onto the ground both, but she just tried to ignore it. She was busy deflecting an actual blaster bolt a second later and that was when she spied the Jedi across the room. She was one of the very few people still standing, but before she could either react any further or defend herself against the three men closing in on her, a stun bolt hit her from behind and she immediately collapsed onto the ground. She could still hear them barking an order and she was convinced that they were speaking about her fellow senator, but she suddenly lost consciousness without any further warning.

It had all happened way too fast and she hadn't been prepared for anything. It all faded to black and the next thing she realized that she was being all tied up in a small prison cell. She was right awake the moment she opened her eyes, panic-striken because she had found herself in such a situation before. It didn't go unnoticed that there was some sort of guard positioned in front of her, but in this moment she couldn't have cared less. She immediately started moving wildly, hoping to free herself from the ropes, but even before the guard spun around to face her amusedly, she perceived a familiar voice. She immediately turned her head to notice that the Jedi was being held captive right next to her and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. What had they gotten themselves into? She quickly glanced at him sympathetically before she feistily faced the guard in front of her. "You are going to regret that" she snarled feistily, already preparing to focus on the darkness to unleash a heavy attack, but before she could even focus, electricity went through her whole body. She started shaking uncontrollably until she powerlessness collapsed back into the ropes. The guard would just laugh amusedly, seemingly enjoying the show, but as she was realizing this unpleasant, tight metal around her neck, she was starting to loose it. Not again, she thought bitterly, with all those dark memories flooding back in. Still slightly trembling, she slowly turned her head back at the Knight, realizing that he was seemingly hurt worse then herself. She could only feel a few bruises and minor wounds, but otherwise she seemed to be in pretty decent shape despite just having been shocked.


@Exhilian

 

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius would glance over as he felt the dried blood on his face crack a little as he looked at Celeste. She was injured as he was but something in her just seemed to let loose. Hearing her make the remark against the Zabrak as she tried to summon the force and got shocked painfully. His eyes would flicker down as he noticed he had the same collar on as she did. His lightsaber was taken off him and he just hung painfully on the ropes. Lights flickered across him as his eyes slowly shifted over to see they were in a ship currently. The rocking and jolting of the ship had to mean they must've been just leaving the planets atmosphere and heading towards space. Lukas remained silent for a moment as he looked around him to see if there was any leverage he could've used. His attention focusing back to Celeste as he noticed she was starting to tremble slightly as he spoke calmly and very low toned. "Celeste, breathe for me." he would say as it wasn't a question but more so a sign of confidence and soothing demeanor.

His icy blue eyes with blood and debris caked around his face as he looked at her. His face seemed calm but in pain. He was pushing past it as he almost stared right into her soul with his look. It was something majority of those around him never really seen as he spoke again. "Breathe." he would mention again as this time the Zabrak came over and slugged him in the ribs with his fist as the impact began to immediately bruise and become tender as Lukas bit his lip and let out a quick groan before saying it again. "Breathe." he said flatly as another fist came into his side again. "Shut it." the Zabrak barked as Lukas repeated it for a third time. "Breathe." as the Zabrak drew back to hit him again, Lukas would lift his knees up to his chest and plant his feet forward smashing into the Zabraks chest and sending him flying into the cage wall. The sudden impact made no hindrance around them as the ship jostled from moving.

Lukas would breathe heavily as he looked at the Zabrak and looked back over to see his lightsaber tucked in the Zabraks side as Lukas knew what had to be done. He would start to channel the force as electricity began shooting through him like a whirlwind. The pain over taking as he bit down on his lip and punctured it with his teeth as he could only move it on/off for minutes at a time as every time he tried to conjure enough of the force up to move it, the electricity would punish him immensely to where the pain was miserable. Biting through his lip, blood beginning to run down his chin and throat as after he moved it inch by inch. Every inch he moved it, he would bite down on his lip and scream quietly to himself as he would need minutes to recover in between. Out of everything he ever dealt with pain wise, this was by far the hardest test. As it was moved closer and closer to him, the ship would jostle and send the lightsaber tumbling towards Celeste instead.

Lukas would shakingly turn his head as it was almost impossible to keep his head up as he looked over at the lightsaber. Not wanting to look at Celeste as the look on his face was nothing but pure agony. His tooth causing a hole in his lip and blood running down endlessly on his chin. Lukas would close his blood shot eyes as he breathed heavily for a moment and as if he did a final push, would bite down again on his lip as he screamed violently using the force to launch the lightsaber up into Celestes hands as the electricity ran through him violently again and knocking him cold as his head let go and slung forward. If he was lucky enough the hilt of the lightsaber would've landed in her palms before his body went limp and passed out from the pain. Blood dripping quietly on the floor.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

How could this be true? Caught in such a horrible situation again . The blonde had never experienced an actual panic attack but she assumed that it must definitely feel similarly. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating, her breathing growing faster and yet faster while she desperately struggled against the restraints that were already cutting in her flesh. Not again. This couldn't happen all over again. Her lightsaber was nowhere to be seen right now and those shock collars were awakening unpleasant memories. She couldn't fight against that pain. All she could do was endure it until the pain was slightly starting to fade again. She could slowly feel herself starting to spiral, even though she tried to suppress the upcoming memories. This was bad, really bad and while her thoughts were spinning unrelentlessly, she couldn't come up with any clever, thoughtful ideas.

Shaking slightly, she was searching for the Jedi's eyes, but she couldn't believe what he was starting to do out of a sudden. While her breathing was still intensifying, he was suddenly starting to calm her which worked oddly well. He had interrupted her dark thoughts and he was almost radiating a confident calmness that soothed her. She focused on what he was saying, forcing herself to breathe in and out in a rather steady manner while simultaneously stopping her spiraling thoughts. The first few breaths were indeed calming, but when the Zabrak guard suddenly forced his fist into his ribs, she gasped. "Stop it you stupid bastard!" she immediately growled furiously, both her confidence and her fire back at once, that was why this impulsive, loud statement was uttered.

She couldn't believe her eyes and it was still too much to process, but she understood what he was doing. He was really fighting through the pain, not only to calm her, but also to summon the last remaining bits of concentration left to summon the Force. There was a whole hurricane of emotions boiling up inside her but the dominant emotion was gratitude. She was immediately realizing what he was sacrificing here and she could see through him. She just knew what he wanted to do and she know that she needed to help in order to make this work. Once again she tried to summon the Force herself, attempting to mess with the guards, but the electricity that shot through her body was immediately forcing her to stop. She had been taught to use emotions as strength, but this kind of pain was not helpful. In contrast, it was almost paralyzing. The memories that came back mad either impossible to think clearly and so she couldn't draw strength from that pain.

However, there was a spark of hope. And that was the Jedi. His pain was infectious too. She could see the agony in his face and the blood running from his lip and it made her feel terrible. She wanted to help him but she knew she needed to focus to accomplish that. As difficult as it was, his voice rang through to her. It was penetrating her own pain and she immediately started to breath, even though she was still shaking as the tension ran through her body. In and out . Again and again. She just had to keep pushing through the pain, just like he did. The rage was indeed helping as she could slowly feel the strength returning. And then the almost impossible happened. She closed her eyes, attempting to focus, but once she opened them, his very own lightsaber was suddenly in her hand.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the hilt and ignited the blue bladed weapon. In one swift motion she smoothly cut through the ropes, her focus fully back as she landed on one all fours. The guards' astonished faced were just stoking that flame that was reignited thanks to Knight Aurelius. She quickly caught a glance of his momentarily lifeless body and it was just another source of fuel for what she was about to do. "Told you" she hissed angrily but also half breathlessly while she was already pushing herself to her feet.

In their astonishment, they had not managed to send another wave of electricity towards the Senator and within less than a few seconds she had already brought the blade right through the first guard's chest. The Zabrak in Lukas' cell was immediately caught in a stasis as she was holding him with an outstretched hand while she quickly made her way towards the cell door. He stood there motionless, his face completely terror-striken, the color seemingly fading from his visage. She wasted no time in opening her own cell door and opening the next one right after.

The Zabrak had not even had the chance to attempt to stop her as he was still completely motionless, but she released him by letting her left hand sink while she was using the right to behead him with the lightsaber the Knight had send her. Her heart was still racing and her body shaking from both, the pain and the adrenaline and she couldn't think straight, but all she could feel was this deep gratitude towards the momentarily unconscious Knight.

She tried to ignore the collar around her neck while she cut him down, using the Force to help her letting the noticeable more muscular men down carefully. She softly laid him down, placing his head in her lap as she went down on her knees, hoping she could wake him somehow. They needed to get out of here fast, but unfortunately she was not able to Force heal him. She could still sense the pain he had just endured to help her and the hand she placed on his chest was still shaking vehemently. His heartbeat was slow, but steady and she had no idea how much time they would have. "We need to get out of here quickly. You might not be able to hear me, but I do hope you're back soon" she softly whispered, her eyes scanning across his whole body. He was badly injured, worse than herself and she was praying he would be able to heal himself once he was back. She quickly averted her gaze to observe the room, but there didn't seem to be any cameras present at first glance. She had no idea how much time they had left, but she wouldn't abandon him. The deactivated lightsaber was right next to her on the ground while she was hoping to spot any signs of his reappearing consciousness.

@Exhilian

 

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius lay still on Celeste's lap as his eyes were closed softly but the fresh blood on his chin and down his throat that was soon beginning to dry as quickly as it came. As Lukas lay there in his mind he felt like he was caught in the middle of a storm. The surge of electricity flashing through the sky and thunder booming as the rain let loose a down pour on around him. His past flashing through his eyes from his time on the mining ship to the upbringing of the Jedi order as it all circled his thoughts in this self created storm in his head as the sounds of his mother crying and dad yelling in pain echoed as he slowly came too after a bit of time. His blood shot eyes slowly revealed themselves as his eyelids fluttered slowly and his icy blue eyes in contrast with the bloodened veins looked into her face. His breathing was weak but manageable as he tried to sit himself up. He was weak but pushing through it as he slowly rose himself as he looked and felt like a bag of shit. Every breath he took felt like a knife in his ribs from the punches and explosion as his eyes stung.

Lukas would continue looking at her as he smiled softly with the blood in his mouth around his gums. "You're okay." he remarked with almost a sigh of relief as he though she was banged up she was breathing and looking at him. As he tried to hold himself up as he looked over and seen the small carnage that laid next to him as it seemed she dispatched any problems near by and with a certain anger. Lukas let his beaten hand brush against her face as he looked at her. "We are going to find your friend and the Senator..We are going to make it." He said sternly as his lips were almost near hers as he looked into her face. He let his hand drop to his side, not because he wanted to, but because the energy it took to keep it up was a lot. Lukas would then try to push himself on his feet as he took the lightsaber and slightly ignited it by the collar on its side as it was enough to nip it and cut it off without touching him.

Lukas would stare out at the vibrating ship as he would begin to force himself forward. Stepping over the Zabrak as the ship was rather large. Making his way to a little data terminal in the corner as his bloodshot eyes looked at it and checked to see where they were keeping them. As he seen they were held more towards the front of the ship as Lukas turned to Celeste as he spoke softly in pain. "They're closer to the front." he would push himself off the terminal as he held himself up against the wall as he started making his way down the hallway towards the front of the ship with his saber in his hand. "Kark.." he mumbled softly as he continued to push forward with every breath aching him. At the end of the hallway Lukas would spot another two guards who looked at him. His suit was torn in different spots, blood, cuts, bruises and blood shot eyes as he looked like some sort of madman with Celeste near him.

They both would look at him in disbelief as they moved forward to engage him. Lukas would flick the switch with his thumb as the blue glow ignited. The first guard would withdraw a blaster pistol and fire a bolt off as Lukas quickly raised his saber as it connected with the bolt and sent it back at him with speed. The impact would hit directly in the guards chest as Lukas stared at the other one next to him with his icy blue blood shot eyes as if Celeste never engaged him, somehow, some way, Lukas would scrounge up the fight in him again to lift his arm to kill this guard, come hell or highwater.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Even though her fire had taken over, there was still pain and panic hidden behind the momentarily ice cold fassade she had maintained during her counteroffensive against their unknown captors. Her mimic had softened as soon as she had let the Jedi down and she immediately regretted her ruthless approach, as she could have also stunned them or simply knocked them out, but on the other hand, they have almost seems to dangerous to be kept alive. After all, they had managed to secretively plot and assault the party and they had targeted a senator. This could have been a military coup, and it was upon them to stop it. Her lightsaber was still nowhere to be seen, but due to the captors' stupidity, they had his.

The Jedi Knight looked terrible, fresh and older cuts alike, same as extensive bruises graced his body. His suit was torn and she began to wonder whether he had resisted as he looked worse than her. It made her feel sick and angry, but she tried her best to swallow the wrath. The situation still triggered her vehemently, but his soft spoken words were echoing still inside her head. Just breath. He was right. She needed to keep her cool. As his eyes suddenly started to flicker, she immediately let out a sigh of relief before she helped him up slowly. " Take it easy. You're badly injured", she cautioned him softly. Her gaze was soft, but she was still worriedly frowning and when his hand carefully brushed against her cheek she was immediately flooded with an odd kind of warmth. "I'm okay and I've got to thank you for that. You've just literally taken the bullet...so thank you very much" she added, her voice still soft and grateful. What he had just done was truly heroic and selfless and she admired that strongly. The adrenaline had overshadowed her pain for now, but it was gradually returning now. Her head ached vehemltly and the cut skin burned, but it was all bearable.

"A Jedi and a Sith, both injured in cells but neither of them hurt the other" she remarked with a hint of artificial amusement, hoping to slightly lighten the mood as neither of them could allow oneself to get frustrated. The thought that he had endured pain to help her still tormented her slightly, but she tried to remain as optimistic as possible. "You're right. We are going to save them", she agreed rather confidently while she was getting up, but as soon as she saw him struggle in agony, it was starting to eat her from the inside again. She hated so see him suffer like that and she hated that she couldn't even help him. She hurried after him, trying to support him in any possible way, but even if she was helping him to stand, she could hardly lighten his pain which was frustrating.

To her surprise, he still managed to keep fighting through it and he even managed to use his quick Jedi reflexes against the next two guards they were just about to encounter. While Lukas deflected the bolt, shooting it right back at its causer, Celeste reached out with a hand a second later, summoning the dropped blaster pistol into her hand just to fire at the second guard. Even more surprising, he was the one having her own lightsaber clipped to his hip, but she hadn't given him the chance to even reach for the dark hilt before a blaster bolt already went right through his brain. " How convenient", she quickly remarked with a slight smile while she was moving forward to collect both, her lightsaber and a blaster. Once she had both in her possession, she immediately glanced back at him, her delicate features compassionate. "Can you Force heal yourself? You should take a moment to focus and do so, if you can. It doesn't seem like they are watching us, so go ahead and I'll keep guard", she suggested, still blocking out her own pain. She activated her own lightsaber to cut off her own collar and once it was off, she felt more than relieved. Her muscles were still tense and her mind on edge, but it was getting much better.

@Exhilian

 

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius would watch with a almost faint stare as the other guard was dispatched by Celeste. Conveniently enough he also had her lightsaber on him as his blood shot eyes would focus back over to her momentarily. Seeing her remove the collar around her throat and suggest stopping to force heal as Lukas briefly shook his head. "No time if we want to save .." he breathed in heavily from the pain for a moment. "our friends." he finished as he continued to hold the wall and move himself forward. Stepping over those in their way on the hallway floor as he knew time was of the essence and the Senator could be in much more pain than him. Pushing himself more and more as he went down the hallway and eventually towards a main door as he looked at it for a second. Letting the force flow through him as he spat out a bit of blood built up in his mouth. "They're in there." he said as he let his lightsaber snap to his hand and ignite it as he drove the glowing blue saber through the access pad on the door. The red and orange glow of the heat melting as the door hissed open and revealed another big room.

At the far end was the Senator and Everett tied up and hanging like the two force users were as they seemed as banged up as Celeste and Lukas. Lukas would snap his bloodshot eyes towards the Senator and than to the remaining guards who stood looking at them with a bewildered look. Lukas would keep his light saber ignited as he stepped forward and stumbled a bit but remaining on his feet as the guards looked at one another and laughed a bit. They would begin to fire a volley of shots towards Celeste and Lukas he managed to deflect majority of them with one skimming his hip and leaving a blaster burn mark. Grimacing as Lukas pushed forward and deflecting those he could manage as he let his free hand come up and force push two into a wall as he got closer and closer. Once he was close enough to where the blasters weren't doing justice the guards would begin to bring out Vibro swords.

Lukas would begin to engage the closest guard who swung at him as Lukas collapsed to one knee with his lightsaber high over his head as the sizzling of the two sabers connected as the guard continued to put pressure on top of the strike. Lukas being on one knee would grimace holding him off as the others would begin to try to rush Celeste with vibroswords. Lukas would suddenly use the force to push the guards feet out from under him as he collapsed and Lukas brought his saber down on top of him witht he advantage. Penetrating his back and going through him as it was a short but quick scream. Lukas's blade would collapse as he keeled over almost passing out as he sat there on his knees for a moment before once again pushing himself up on his feet and turning to check to see if Celeste needed his aid. If she never he would turn and get closer to the two friends in the cell as Lukas opened the doors and began to get them down almost falling over in the process.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She was everything but satisfied with his answer. How could he be so stubborn right now? He'd be better off healed and Celeste was not expecting the captors to kill or torture the senator. It was obvious that they have wanted them all alive. Maybe not unscathed but at least alive and they were taking them anywhere, so that's why Celeste was convinced that they would have some time to spare, but she was soon learning that Lukas was even more selfless than she had thought already. It was still extremely painful for her to watch him suffer but she kept her mouth shut for now. He was fighting on and on, slowly pressing forward while she felt completely helpless. She was getting really worried that he might not make it from this ship, but she was trying to hang on to more optimistic thoughts and right before he said something, she could feel their presence as well. Finding them was at least something...

She followed him while still frowning in a worried manner, still not quite sure whether she should be more worried about him or the others. She knew Everett was tough, but the Senator probably wasn't, so he was right about not wasting any time. She admired him strongly for holding on like he did, but his pain was also hurting her. Her lightsaber was still ignited when Lukas sliced through the access pad and she couldn't help but to let out a deep sigh while he was stumbling into the room and her fell upon the guards in front of them. Without thinking twice she quickly raised her lightsaber to deflect the incoming blasts, but as they were attacking simultaneously, one graced her left shoulder and one her side, so that she was left with an even more torn dress and more burn marks. She hissed in pain but blocked it out, quickly charging forward to bring the ignited crimson blade into the first guard's bowels. In the corner of her eye she saw that the Jedi went down on his knees and that made her spin around instantaneously. He seemed to be getting along, but before she could intervene to help him, she was forced to roll away to the side, as the second guard was already attempting to slash at her with his huge vibro-blade.

It was not this one guard who was trying to engage her but there was also another one flanking her, so that she was forced to block the attack of the first on with her own lightsaber while she reached out with the other hand to grab the second one by the throat. She was usually not Force Choking enemies to death, but she was forced to turn to more drastic measures as they were pressuring her right now. While the second one began to gasp for breath, the second one was pressing down his sword on her and she was lacking the strength to withstand the pressure any longer in her weakened state. Growling fiercely, she mobilized her last strength to push back one last time, supporting her physical push with the Force, so that the engaged opponent staggered just long enough for her to stab him right in the chest. The second one had already turned blue in the meantime and so she was doing him a favor by beheading him as soon as she had closed the last feet between them. A sighed in relief as she realized that the Jedi Knight was alright, same as the senator and her body guard. She caught her breath while she deactivated her lightsaber and rushed over to the Jedi to help him free the others, but she was now realizing that her own strength was fading. Just then, another realization hit her. The other senator had seen her use not only her red lightsaber, but also some dark sided powers, which was definitely not good. She swallowed hard, quickly wiping her face with the back of her hand to remove the fresh blood before she tried to keep it together. "Are you alright?", she asked all three of them worriedly, her voice soft but slightly shaky, trying to ignore both, her torn dress and her previous actions that had been rather revealing. So much for keeping he'd appearance as the diplomatic senator...

@Exhilian

 

[Lukas Aurelius]

Lukas Aurelius would watch as they were freed and got down on their feet. Rubbing their wrists almost in unison as Lukas would look at the Senator up and down quickly to assess any damage she may have got. Once Lukas seen she was fine and Everett looked alright he would turn to Celeste before falling over on his side again. The loud thud hitting the floor as he felt his energy depleted and couldn't hold himself up. The Jedi would lay there with his eyes closed as Senator Constantine quickly ran to him and knelt down as she looked bruised up but concerned. "He needs a bacta tank...or a pod. Right away." she said in a almost scared tone as Lukas lay there limp. The Senator would try to lift him herself as she ignored the fact of everything Celeste done for the moment to try to get ahold of Lukas and keep him alive. Her eyes would glance over to Everett as he was the bigger person here compared to the two females as she spoke.

"Can you lift him over your shoulders?" She looked dead in his face as she turned to Celeste and spoke rather quickly not knowing who else could be lurking around the ship. "I'm pretty sure there are escape pods, I vaguely remember seeing them when I got brought on board. We can use them." She stated flatly as head strong as she was, began to move over to one of the dead guards and retrieve the bodies blaster as she leveled it to her hip and began to move down the hallway in search of this escape pod section. She continued to move down the hallway as the ship was large but the Senator never gave up. She had to get them out of there and she never knew what would happen to them if they got brought to wherever the bandits were planning to take them. As she moved down the hallway she would shift her gaze over at Celeste for a moment.

"So you're a force user...And a Sith." her tone seemed not as friendly but more shocked as she continued walking down the hall. She poked jovially by saying. "A Senator and a Sith." she said as she shifted her eyes at her while saying quietly so no one could hear the group making their way down the hallway. "I have a gut feeling your intentions are right but don't harm Lukas, the way he looked at you, I haven't seen since I met him. You seem like a kind soul." she said flatly as finally she came upon a door with the pods stored there. The Senator would hit the button as the door hissed open and she would get inside with them as the door would hiss behind them. Her face seemed tired and had bags under her eyes as once they were seated and buckled the Senator would hit the eject as the latches disconnected from the pod and began to drift back towards the planet.

As the thrusters engaged sending them back to the planet as the ride was rocky on the way back in. Lukas would still be out cold from the pain and everything else as he looked like the walking dead. As once the escape pods made orbit the Senator would get on the net and call for an immediate help as before they knew it, Fighters came in as escorts who guided them down to the pad. Soldiers began to stand ready on the pad and wait as it jettisoned softly down and the legs extended out to land. As it landed the door hissed open, the Senator would step out and begin barking. "WE NEED A BACTA TANK NOW. MEDICAL!" she called as medical droids and soldiers came rushing out towards the pod and removed Lukas. Setting him on a stretcher as he was getting carted off limp. His arm dangling off the side as the Senator would be pushing the guards away from her. "i'm fine, I'm fine. They need medical as well, they're both hurt." the senator would point at Celeste and Everett. The last thing Celeste would see was the dangling arm of Lukas, bloody and covered in dirt as it eventually disappeared from view with the droids.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Now that they seemed to be in safety, Celeste could finally reflect on all that had happened. The last thing she remembered was the explosion in the hotel and the stun bolts that soon came flying, completely knocking her out instantaneously. Next thing she knew was that they were being tied up, the Jedi Knight deliberately hurt himself to get to his saber and now Senator Constantine had seen everything. This was not how Celeste usually handled business. Normally, it all worked out. She still had no idea why they had been assaulted in the first place, but maybe she would still get an answer to that. Both the Senator and Everett were rather fine, the Jedi was still the one with the worst injuries. While the senator seemed to be in rather good shape, Everett was all roughed up, but the tall man wouldn't even flinch at all.

Celeste, however, flinched vehemently as the Knight went down right next to her. She rushed to his side, but she was too slow to react in her own injured state, so that the 'thud' let a cold shiver ran down her spine. Feelings of guilt immediately flooded her while she threw Everett and almost pleading look. "She's right. We have to get to the escape pods immediately. I'll hold of the rest if necessary while you escort them to the pods" she instructed him clearly so that he wouldn't even get the chance to discuss, but to her surprise he immediately knelt next to the Jedi and scooped him up as careful as possible for his standards.

Once they were on their way, Celeste clipped his lightsaber to her hip for now, while she kept her own ignited. She glanced over to the senator with a rather exhausted impression, but she tried her best to keep her voice soft. "I was trained, yes, but I don't share those ideals. I've found my own path". His comment about the Jedi, however, almost made her completely lose her neutral fassade in the end, as it almost made her blush, but she could still control her mimic well enough. So Lukas was his name. She coukdbt help but to worriedly observe the Jedi's lifeless corpse as he dangled across Everetts arms. "Thank you, Senator. I would never hurt him. I would never even hurt anyone if it's not completely necessary as some sort of self-defense, like in the case of those horrible people. I hope they didn't hurt you", she elaborated softly and hastily at the same time while she was attentively observing the corridors. Luckily, they didn't encounter any more troubles on their way to the pods and they soon found themselves enroute to the surface.

All of them seemed to be under shock, but who could blame them? Celeste had been confronted with her past which had probably been the worst part of their little trip into space, but now she couldn't think of anything but Lukas' critical condition. She had always wanted to learn how to do Force Healing, but she had never found a teacher. If she had been able to wield this light sided power, she could have possibly saved him right away, but now she was left with this terrible feeling of guilt mixed with a huge portion of worry. Their journey down was unfortunately now the longest, but once they had finally reached safety, the droids were immediately taking away the Jedi. The uncertainty of his fate was already driving her crazy but they wouldn't let her follow since they insisted on healing hee as well, but she kept declining their offers. "I thank you kindly, but we need to get going. I can treat to our wounds on my ship. It is more important that we follow the ship that had tried to capture the Senator. We need commence with the investigations immediately as they might get away otherwise" she told all of the bystanders, the worried politicians and the medical crew alike. She wouldn't rest now. Not until she would find out who was behind all that. "It was still a pleasure meeting you, Senator. I'm glad we could agree on our terms. Please keep me updated on the Jedi's wellbeing. Without him, we wouldn't have made it out...". She directly addressed Constantine with those last, painful words before she would turn around and left to gather all her belongings. She would stay in contact with her, one way or another, but for now she had someone to hunt down...

@Exhilian