Slipping through their fingers

[Radiwalker]

Jaina had barely returned from Manaan when she found a strange and unexpected message recorded on a datapad which fell out of a pocket of her robes. The message was from a man she had not met, but who claimed to be a friend of Maric and a jedi himself. He proceeded to describe how he and Maric had acquainted and how they had come upon a couple other jedi until finally finding themselves on Manaan, weaponless and directionless. They knew not what to do or where to go, all they knew was that they were being followed and watched by bounty hunters, thus they could not risk exposing themselves, or their lives would be forfeit and their skins exchanged for credits.

They had been planning an escape for quite some time, but hadn't had an opportunity to execute one, until Jaina made an appearance. They described a rather complicated plan involving quite a few maneuvers through the city's districts. With some help they ought to be able to lose the bounty hunters and leave Manaan. Jaina was, of course, more than ready to help. So, she quickly set up a team and prepared for departure. The message included dates, times and places for the first steps of the plan, that way Jaina and her companions would be able to easily meet up with the jedi in hiding. What jedi feared for a moment was that the bounty hunters might have tracked her as well, but then she remembered she was seen in the company of a sith on Manaan, something she had not anticipated, or hoped for, but had, nevertheless happened and thus, probably, saved her.

Of course, she had accounted for the fact that she might be recognized by the bounty hunters upon her return to Manaan, so, she had changed her clothing to get a more civilian look. She had dyed her whole hair red and had tied it in a ponytail, instead of letting it flow free as she usually did. Her clothing consisted of jeans, long sleeved shirt and a jacket - she felt like a smuggler, but thought that that was probably a good thing.

For the mission she would be accompanied by three other jedi. She had not had the pleasure of meeting them, yet, but they had been answered her call for aid, so she judged them to be compassionate and probably capable allies, which was all she needed. She had sent them messages explaining what the mission was about and also asking them to wear more civilian clothing, so that they, like her, wouldn't be conspicuous.

 

[silverwing510]

The boarding ramp of the shuttle opened and Chalos let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Space flight still made him unreasonably nervous and he began to wonder if it he would ever get over this fear of flying. He had tried reading up on the safety features and ratings of multiple craft in an effort to overcome his anxieties with logic. It hadn't worked. He would have to find a better way to cope with the constant travel of life as a Jedi.

He strode easily down the ramp, six legs clicking as he went. His mind began working again as he exited the ship. He found himself wondering what had possessed him to go along with such a dangerous plan. Sure, there were Jedi in danger, but why did he have to volunteer for it? No, actually, that was the answer. Despite himself he couldn't live with the thought of Jedi being captured by bounty hunters. He hated himself for it.

Two of the docking bay workers stopped their conversation to stare as he passed them. For this mission he had traded his Jedi robes for loose fitting civilian clothes, retaining his broad cloak to cover himself from prying eyes. Krevaaki tended to stand out wherever they went regardless of their clothing. He hoped that he wouldn't seem quite so out of place on the aquatic world of Manaan.

He recognized Jaina from the communication and walked briskly towards her. Extending a tentacle for a handshake he said, "it's a pleasure to meet you in person, Jaina. I assume we'll be getting underway shortly." He wasn't looking forward to being back on a ship, but wanted to get it over with.

 

[Fang.]

Fang had never been one to turn down a call for help, especially one for a fellow Jedi, so when the call went out, he was teh first to answer, even though he had never met this Jiana before. Fang also knew to look before leaping, he knew they were going to Manaan on some sort of rescue mission and likewise knew that dressing as a Jedi was not the smartest idea. So as he walked through the halls, he was not wearing his normal Jedi Apperal. He was wearing comfterble black pants and a black shirt, ontop of which he wore a smooth, black hooded trench coat.

Fang entered the hanger and walked up to a unmarked craft, the one they would be using for the journey, ever the busybody, Fang wanted to make sure the ship was ready to go. He walked up the boarding ramp and into the cock pit doing a full systems check. When that was complete he leaned back in the pilots chair and closed his eyes. Something told him this journey would not be a simple one, he sighed, hoping he was wrong, and waited for the other 3 Jedi to show up.

 

[Radiwalker]

Upon entering the hangar bay Jaina was approached by a sentient of a species she had never before seen, yet her counterpart was friendly and seemed to know her, so she quickly realized he was one of her to be companions. He was quite tall, but he was also slender. She grasped the tentacle in a friendly manner and smiled at her counterpart. "Indeed we shall." she waved her hand pointing the way to a shuttle waiting for them to board. She felt a presence aboard the shuttle and thought that one of the other jedi must have already boarded it.

The girl led the way towards the transport, while speaking back to her counterpart. "Would you be so kind as to tell me which of the three names I received belongs to you." she had not seen holograms of the people who volunteered for the mission - just their names, which allowed her to send them messages.

Upon boarding the shuttle she greeted the man sitting in the pilot seat, judging him one who was eager to get under way and perhaps even take control of the craft. "You can start up the engines." Jaina stated after the usual short introduction.

The trio waited for a while for the fourth jedi to arrive, but he wasn't showing up and as they were on a tight schedule Jaina gave an order to take off. Should the final person arrive late, he would have to arrange for his own transport, which could be a burden, but hopefully he would arrive on time for the essential part of the mission.

During the flight Jaina turned to her companions. "How much experience have you had in similar situations?" she quickly raised a second question before they could answer the first, so they would consider both before speaking aloud. "Do you have any questions about the plan, or the operation in general?"

(OOC: Sorry for the delay, but I was waiting for the other person to post. As that hasn't happened we'll just start off and they can join us later on, should they be willing to.)

 

[LupaTiz]

Juno wasn't to sure how he felt about this job about a week ago he had been approached about a job piloting for some bounty hunters going on there next hunter they had not said much about the job i thought i had heard something about Jedi if these bounty hunters were hunting Jedi he wasn't to sure how he felted about that but..the credits were just to much to pass up.

Juno was doing some last minute check on the ship, Oh and what a ship it was a YT-1760 Transport decked to the gills with legal mods he looked forward to flying her.
Just finishing his fight check he entered the main hold to sit and wait for the bounty hunters.

 

[silverwing510]

He followed Jaina onto the shuttle before she asked for his name. If it were possible, Chalos' face would've gotten more red. It wasn't like him to forget to introduce himself. Maybe it was the flight here that had gotten to him, or the prospect of getting on another ship so soon. "Of course, my name is Chalos, my apologies."

Chalos shuddered slightly as he entered the ship but continued anyway. He introduced himself to the man aboard and settled down to wait for their third. To pass the time he busied himself reading one of the datacards he had brought with him detailing the anatomy of the Selkath. He would've been content to keep waiting on the ground, but Jaina insisted that they leave right away. He held his breath as the hatch sealed and the ship rose into the atmosphere. Eventually his body betrayed him and he was forced to breath. He settled in for a long flight.

"How much experience have you had in similar situations?"

The question jolted him from the screen he had been studying. "I recently helped rescue some padawans on Arbra that were being terrorized by a Slivilith. We thought we were just supposed to be studying the creature, but I guess you never know what to expect outside the temples."

Naturally he had some questions of his own. "What do you know about the Jedi we're supposed to help? Do you know where in the city they're located? Do we have any idea who's hunting them? I can't say I'd recognize any bounty hunters, but we might be able to find something on the holonet about them."

 

[Fang.]

Shortley after introducing himself, Fang fired up the engines, but kept them on low power waiting for the other JEdi to show up, after some time, they decided to get a move on anyways, with that, Fang increased the power, retracted the landing gear and took off from the planet surface, after another couple minutes they were out of orbit and with the push of a lever, they jumped to hyperspace.

not a moment after, Jaina asked if either of them had experiance with this sort of thing before or any questions, After Chalos asked his question, Fang asked his own Im afraid I did not recieve much information as to waht the plan here was, would you care to go over it?

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina was glad her companions were asking questions. That meant they were fully engaged in the endeavor. What she didn't like was that she couldn't give them many answers. "I've known one of the jedi since I was a child and I trust him. The others I have not yet met," she replied to Chalos' first question. "We don't know where they are located, but we don't need to, once I explain the plan, you'll understand. As for the bounty hunters - I know nothing and I don't think the others do either. Their priority has been to hide, not to investigate. It's good enough that they've figured out they're being watched."

The girl stopped for a moment to see how her companions were going to take her words. There wasn't much to go on and the risks of the mission were big. But saving fellow jedi would always come at a great risk and sometimes at a great cost. Jaina just hoped this was going to be a case of the former rather than the latter. "As for the plan," she began explaining. "It is simple, really. The three of us are to create distractions in the market districts surrounding the spaceport. This should arise a big enough commotion to distract the bounty hunters and give the others time to get to our ship unnoticed and then set off. If everything goes according to that plan, the mission will be a walk through the park. If, however, the bounty hunters manage to follow us, we'll have to think of something else. Either way, getting those jedi off Manaan is our priority. After that we'll have the upper hand and can easily lead the bounty hunters into a trap. That's the general plan, but if you have any ideas I'd be happy to hear them, if not, I believe we are soon to exit hyperspace and approach the planet. Once we land we'll have to split up and each of us create their own distraction in a different part of the market district. Then we'll quickly return to the ship and hope that the others are there waiting for us."

 

[silverwing510]

So there was no information about what who they were supposed to help, no information about who was supposed to be searching for them and to top it all off the plan was to draw attention to themselves. Great, what sort of gundark nest have I stumbled into?

Nothing about the situation thrilled him, but Jaina was right, the safety of the other Jedi was most important. He was familiar enough with the maxims of the Jedi to know putting oneself at risk for the benefit of others was a fundamental part of being a Jedi. Time to put that into action, it seemed. "Alright, let's at least keep our comlinks handy in case anything goes wrong. And you two should cross your fingers that nothing does."

He displayed his own tentacle to demonstrate his lacking in that particular area and steeled himself for the landing of the ship, all the while trying to come up with an idea for a distraction that was just stupid enough to work.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina smiled at the comment she had received. The mission was dangerous and lives were at stake, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy a short laugh. She truly didn't know whether they'd succeed. The plan was a long shot, but at least the safety of her companions and hers wouldn't be easily compromised. She was more worried about Maric and the other jedi they were supposed to save, for a single mistake could lead to their deaths.

The ship came out of hyperspace and descended towards the planet's surface. Night had fallen upon the city as the shuttle approached. Jaina landed it safely in the docking bay and disengaged all systems. She fixed her ponytail and checked the inside of her jacket to make sure her lightsaber was there, even though she could feel it pressing against her stomach. "This is where we separate," she said as she turned to her companions. "You two will go together and I will go on my own. We will create distractions on both sides of the docking bay. Make sure the distraction gains the attention of the locals, then quickly proceed towards the shuttle, while avoiding being seen. With the darkness that has fallen upon the city it should be easy enough to move about unseen. We will use commlinks to communicate," she threw a commlink to each of her companions with those words. "May the Force be with you."

Having concluded her instructions the knight set off on her own, heading down the ramp and quickly proceeding towards one of the exits leading to one of the surrounding market districts. Once in the district she lingered for a moment. She had a good look around, thinking about what the best distraction would be. She would refrain from causing damage, or endangering innocents, but she worried that such a distraction might not be engaging enough to draw the attention of the bounty hunters.

That's when she realized she was in the market district. With a smile upon her face she used the Force to influence one of the merchants to begin a preaching, while she took some explosives from another merchant, also influencing him through the Force and used the few moments of disruption the speech was causing to set up the explosives on the other side of the district, which had been empty at that moment, with all people having moved towards the preacher to hear his preach, as such a thing didn't happen often on Manaan.

Once the explosives were set up, she returned to the exit of the district leading to the spaceport and hid on the side of it, so she could observe what would happen. She used the Force to make the preaching merchant stop and apologize for the preach, immediately after which she detonated the explosives. They were strong enough to cause a disruption, but not strong enough to injure anyone, or cause any serious damage, besides destroying the nearest crates and footlockers. She lingered in her spot for a few minutes, watching the crowd gather round the spot. Some were terrified, others were yelling orders. Chaos ensued, yet it was a rather small and controlled one.

She knew her job was done, so she quickly slid through the exit, or rather entrance to the spaceport and quickly headed down the hallway, making sure nobody was following her. . . "I'm done," she said into her commlink, as she was uncertain if the explosion would have been heard by her counterparts, or whether they would interpret it properly. "I'll meet you back at the ship."

 

[silverwing510]

Chalos nodded his agreement and responded with the traditional "and also with you." With that he followed Jaina out of the ship, heading towards another of the exits. Soon he found himself in a sprawling marketplace dominated by large electronics vendors. Still unsure of exactly how to create a diversion he debated with himself about what to do, whether to push deeper into the market and wait for inspiration at the risk of getting too far from the ship.

He was still searching and debating when his comlink beeped and he answered. "I'm done, I'll meet you back at the ship." "Uhh roger that we're almost finished here too." He hoped that his response wouldn't sound as unconvincing to someone else's ears.

With pressure mounting and time a factor he searched frantically for a suitable distraction. Finally he noticed a pair of cloaked figures lurking in the shadows watching the crowd. Bounty hunters, maybe, but just as easily any number of other alternatives. He only hoped they weren't really what he was going to accuse them of being.

He leaned in towards the nearest shopper and said, "My stars, I just saw that man there flash a lightsaber! They must be Jedi!" He put just a little panic in the Force, his fledgling abilities not enough to incite the crowd but enough to garner some echoed shouts of "you're right those two must be Jedi!" and "what in blazes are Jedi doing here?" If the bounty hunters were any good at their job they'd pick up on the excitement and come running.

With that he turned to Fang, wrapped his cloak more tightly about him and headed back to the ship at a brisk walk. Now to get off this planet, ideally with a full load of Jedi.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina thought she was the first to reach the ship but found herself mistaken as she climbed aboard. She was greeted by four blaster pistols pointed at her face. "Nice to see you, too, Maric," she said as she recognized the man. He gave a nod and all of them lowered their weapons. "I'm sorry, Jaina, but we're all a bit on edge, you have no idea what it's been like. . . all this time." He took a step towards her and embraced her. "I'm so happy to see you."

The girl was left speechless by the development of events but, nevertheless, responded to the hug. "I thought I had lost you," she whispered next to his ear, just before they were broken apart by a cough from one of the other three. Maric took a step back, letting go of his counterpart. "Right, we haven't much time but let me introduce my companions," he spoke as he lifted his hand towards to man standing the furthest to the left. "That's Jake, he has an astonishing control over the Force. Next to him," he moved his hand to the right. "Is his brother Tiver, he wields a double-bladed lightsaber like no other. And finally," his hand moved to the last person. "Grum, he is the one who contacted you and also a great pilot. He used to be a smuggler in training before joining the jedi but there will be enough time to share all stories later, now we must make haste. Grum, prepare the ship for take-off. Jaina, did you come alone?"

"No, I have some men that should join us shortly." She turned around hoping her companions wouldn't be long. She knew the distractions wouldn't hold the bounty hunters occupied for too long and they would soon realize some of their targets were gone. It was only a matter of time before they began a search and it would be best if the jedi had departed from Manaan when that moment came.

 

[silverwing510]

He brought the cloak back up over his head as the crowd worked itself into a frenzy. Quickly and calmly he made his way back to the docking bays of Manaan, his mission accomplished. As long as everything went smoothly they'd be off the deck in 10 minutes and safely back in hyperspace in 30.

When he arrived the hold was much more crowded than it had been on the trip in. He recognized the look of fellow Jedi as he entered, humbled to be in the presence of so many this far from the temples. He picked his way through the group to find Jaina and give his report. "We're clear to go, I don't think anyone followed us. I didn't see or sense anyone, anyway. I'm glad the mission was a success, it is an honor to be able to help so many." He bowed to show his humility. It was exhilarating to help someone like this, despite the risk. Even the hyperspace journey there and back felt worth it.

He closed the ramp and strapped in as they prepared to dust off and leave the bustling world behind them. He was glad there would be no more excitement on this trip.

 

[Radiwalker]

(OOC: Sorry for the great delay and thanks for sticking with the RP despite all my slack!)

"Don't be so quick to celebrate," Maric cut off before Jaina could respond to Chalos. "This is not over, yet. They might be tracking us. That's why we need to make a stop somewhere other than the jedi temple to make sure we are not being tracked and if we are - to switch transports." Jaina nodded while Grum moved to the cockpit and took the pilot's seat. He strapped himself in, fired up the engines and set in the desired coordinates. The rest of the crew took their seats in the back, where Chalos was already seated. Jake and Tiver exchanged gazes after which they introduced themselves to Chalos, requesting his name in return. Both were smiling, despite knowing the risks and dangers of the mission. It was easy to judge they were used to this kind of pressure and excitement.

Maric on the other hand, as Jaina noted, was much more serious. He had become much darker than she remembered him. His eyes, his face, even his voice. How could he have changed so much, she kept asking herself. Was it possible that he had always been like this but not shown it before, or had the war changed him so much that she felt queer in his presence. Whatever it was she didn't like it but she didn't let herself speak of it either. She was tired and it could be her who was imagining things rather than Maric acting unusual. Perhaps he was just stressed because of the risk he had asked others to take for his sake. She knew well enough that he preferred to care for himself rather than let others do it.

It wasn't long before they made the hyperspace jump and came out on the other side of the tunnel. The planet they approached was one all too familiar - Naboo. It was a place where one could easily get lost both in the wilderness and in the city. Jaina had a pilot with another shuttle waiting for them in one of the spaceports and, obviously enough, for the plan to work Grum landed the shuttle in a different spaceport. As soon as the shuttle descended Jaina got out of her seat but before she could speak Maric began giving out orders. "Grum, you will come with me and Jaina and we'll make our way to the other shuttle together. The rest of you will go as team two and you will use a different route. Be quick and keep a watch out for bounty hunters. It is more likely than not that they are still on our tail."

Jaina wasn't pleased with the way Maric acted but his plan was good enough and she wasn't one to feel shamed when someone else took the initiative, instead she welcomed it. Nevertheless, this small act added to the list of Maric's strange behavior. The teams quickly split up and each set off on its own path. She only hoped they'd meet on the other end in full numbers...

(OOC: it's up to you whether you are attacked or not. My group certainly will be. Also you have full control over the NPCs in your group as well as any bounty hunters that attack you.)

 

[silverwing510]

Despite the logic of the plan, dread still creeped into Chalos at the thought of making two hyperspace jumps instead of one. Not that there was anything to be done about it. Fortunately, Jake and Tiver made the journey more bearable. They seemed to be at ease with everything about the situation, from the constant threat of bounty hunters to the potential for lethal decompression in space. Even Chalos' reminders of the constant dangers didn't phase them, they merely looked at each other before laughing.

"We've had bigger problems than a few bounty hunters before. The life of a Jedi is full of danger, if you let your fear of danger win you will certainly lose your life." Tiver put in.

Before long they had landed on the verdant world of Naboo and split into two teams. Chalos sensed the uneasiness of many of the others as Maric spoke, including that of Jaina, and decided that it was nothing more than nerves before a dangerous journey. There was something about Maric that didn't seem quite right, but so long as Jaina trusted the man he decided that he would have to as well.

Tiver and Jake gave everyone a quick pat on the back, Jake adding, "See you on the other side," before slipping into the spaceport and breaking away from Jaina and her group. Chalos nodded to Jaina and followed, wrapping his cloak more tightly around himself despite the warmth of the Naboo afternoon.

Wondrous scents and sound assaulted their senses as the group made their way to the other side of the city. The residents, oblivious to the impending danger around them, we're busy baking, eating, drinking and whatever else their days required. Children played in the narrow streets and Chalos remembered doing the same not so long ago back on Coruscant. Everything was so tranquil and peaceful that it was difficult to believe bounty hunters might be lurking around any of the corners.

It was all the more surprising, then, when a large fruit cart wheeled it's way into the path of the Jedi. Tiver was the first to realize what was happening. "Get down!" His reactions dulled by surprise, Chalos watched the cart explode into a massive net launching itself towards the group. Instinct took over and he focused the Force around the group creating a dome above them. The net struck the barrier and crackled with electricity.

With their trap sprung a group emerged from the shadows wielding wicked looking weapons. The clear leader smiled viciously as they began unloading blaster bolts on the Jedi.