Under Justice's Blade [Character Test DoTR]

[Fen Vel]

Sometime sometime before the new TL, months?
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The wealth of the galaxy, a crimson star and the swirling gas planets that orbited it. The smallest, emerald green and spotted with swirling black clouds loomed large, vast compared to the cluster of ships that surrounded it. A polished, gleaming silver hull, a smoothness interrupted only by elaborate windows from stern to prow, almost a kilometer long it was also for ship, huge. Thousands of passengers would normally would walk its equally elaborate corridors, halls and dining rooms. Through casinos, pools and theaters, in was a place for the rich to mingle. A years wage for most wouldn't even buy a day on board, extravagant luxury was woven through every bulkhead and marble pillar. Today though, it fell silent. The guests having been evacuated after a large explosive device was uncovered in the secondary reactor core. A firefight breaking out with those assumed to be responsible that overwhelmed the security forces, forcing the guests and most of the crew to evacuate. They now held place nearby, waiting for rescue or resolution.

The ship was the Starlight Glow. Shaped like a two tiered arrowhead it had ten decks, every third for crew and ship function. The rest filled with guests and objects for their entertainment. The second tier hung back ever so slightly from the first, a huge silver figurehead of a young woman reaching forwards hanging from it. The hanger bay was at the bottom, to the rear, near the engines. A single shuttle approached, cutting a path through the escape pods and personal yachts that filled space. It was crewed by several Jedi, called off a training mission to aid in whatever way they could. They had made contact with the captain of the ship, on the bridge who had told them of three known devices along with several assailants onboard before his signal was cut off. The bridge was in the center of the ship, between the two huge arrowheads that made up most of the ship. There didn't seem to be any casualties among the guests, though so far not everyone had been accounted for.

The shuttle set down in the huge and now entirely empty hanger. It was cavernous and showed no sign of battle, whoever had attacked the ship seemed to have no trouble getting onboard, nor left behind a ship. The rest of the ship followed an obvious layout, towards the back of the two sections were the reactors, the primary was only two decks above them, the secondary on the 9th deck, the bridge in between. These two reactors and the coolant pumps on the 6th deck were the bombs that had been found, any one of them would do massive damage to the ship, all three would completely destroy it. Somewhere between all of that, were armed men on a now almost abandoned ship. No demands made, the Starlight Glow remaining in its orbit without movement.

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Fen was apprehensive, of the Jedi here she was by far the least experienced and least trained. That they had been pulled from their training, her very first time out of the temple since arriving, she hadn't been looking forward to arriving. Fighting, bombs, even ships were new to her, and the latter, made her uncomfortable. It wasn't bad enough that there was only a few inches of metal between space and herself on the shuttle. Now, they were on a ship that they knew had a high chance of exploding and making all of her fears reality. Not that she could really talk about how uncomfortable that made her.

Instead of talk she remained seated even after they landed. Half in hope that she would be ignored or at the very least told to remain with the shuttle. The girl had light red skin, small sloped blue-green eyes that drew attention due to the three red triangles tattooed under each one. Long purple hair, pinned up at the back and braded at the sides rattled slightly as the beads struck each other as they landed. The form she cut, did not seem one of a Jedi. A teal salwar, dotted with golden embroidery it left her arms completely bare, at her thighs snaked out a pair of brown working trousers that sank into shin length umber boots. The only thing about her that seemed to make any statement at all towards a more practical nature was a brown utility belt at her waist, though the lack of a lightsaber was obvious.

Hands in her lap, she waited. She'd been too busy not panicking about being in space to say anything to her comrades, let alone now the danger was much more obvious.

 

[amerininja]

Tyzark had only began his training a few months prior to the call for help. He did as he was told of course and awaited any instruction whatsoever. The Gran male blinked his three dark blue eyes as he scanned his surroundings. His pale gray skin had no luster like the metallic ship which they soared in. His brown padawan robes billowed out a bit as he started to pace. He quit observing the ship itself in order to look around at his fellow Jedi padawans and knights. He spotted a rather depressed red skinned girl sitting alone unarmed. Tyzark tilted his head before sitting five feet away from her. His Vibro-Blade on his back and his orange crystal necklace swaying he nodded to his fellow padawan.
"First day in space?" He quipped up. He himself wasn't frightened but not due to overconfidence. He just was much too curious about everything around him, especially their destination. He was also positive that after this he would actually get a lightsaber and be able to drop off his old scarred and chipped Vibro-Blade.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Saerina Avrikana was up in the cockpit with the pilot. She herself wasn't a great flyer, but she was competent enough to help with the controls. As they started to land, she closed her eyes and listened to the Force. Immediately, she could feel the tension aboard the cruiser, the disturbance, the sense of foreboding. It was strong enough that she was sure the Padawans would be feeling it as well. She didn't like this sensation one bit... it was dreary, harsh, cold. But once she felt it she couldn't ignore it. She told herself that by going there they would be improving the situation, helping people. This was one of her first missions as a Jedi Knight, with Padawans in tow, and she could feel the burden of it pressing down on her.

The ship landed, so she helped the pilot shut down the controls, and then went into the cabin to tell the others it was time to go. The petite young woman put a hand to her saberstaff hilt, partly out of habit, but mostly because it helped her feel the Force better. As she walked, her creamy off-white cloak trailed behind her. Beige and brown were the traditional Jedi robe colors, but she felt the ivory color suited her better. It was a color that represented peace, purity and neutrality- which were all Jedi ideals.

Once inside she spotted her Padawan, Tyzark, speaking with another young Padawan who looked quite upset. She could tell that he was simply curious, but hopefully he wouldn't offend her by mistake. Oh well... he would learn about this sort of thing one way or another, and he had good intentions. With a slight smile she said, "We've landed, everyone... I hope you are all ready. You may come with me and we'll board the cruiser."

 

[Fen Vel]

He was a Gran, Fen could remember when she first met one she was somewhat afraid. Those days were long gone, folded away into a chapter of her past. In this new one she had the experience of the last yet, this life felt as new as anything could be. Looking into his black eyes she couldn't help but wonder exactly how she looked to him, a being that could see so much colour even the bland to her must be vibrant and loud. Was the orange crystal around his neck, what she knew as orange and he might call it, a different colour to him entirely? Questions aside, for this was not the time to ask them she returned a pleasant, polite smile. Her voice one that attempted to appear friendly but came across as rather abrupt instead, "No. That was months ago, I just. Few things are as deadly as space and when we are spared from it but by a thin shell, depending on machines, I do not feel safe." Even after a few months the appearance of being friendly rather than formal or authoritative was still new to her, it didn't seem to fit right.

Turning her eyes to the sword at the young Gran's side she took some solace in the fact she was not the only one yet to be ready for a lightsaber. Forcing herself she showed a more relaxed face and tone, "I hope you won't need those." If this was a terrorist act, or meant to take the ship hostage, or even just to steal from the passengers, it should be possible to talk this situation down rather than kill anyone. That would also lessen the chance of the ship exploding while she was onboard. There were at least some experienced Jedi onboard as well, she hoped they would be able to defuse the situation in more ways than one.

Standing up she looked to the others for a moment, it was odd to be trusting so many other people with your life. It was by and large an extremely useful lesson for her as well, Fen could see that. This was what her life was now, ready or not she might be in a situation like this at any moment. How they reacted, she had to remember and keep what she had learnt so far in mind as well. If she was going to be a Jedi, it was important. Much as she might want to remain inside she would not learn anything by doing that, not that she'd learn anything by being dead mind.

The knight Avrikana, a human of an age with herself, appeared from the cockpit. Even shorter than herself she seemed far more mature right now, that seemed mildly annoying actually. Even when resigned to it not being so, Fen liked being top dog. Doing as was offered Fen took a step forwards but waited for the Gran to join her, or not before going further. When it really game down to it, want or not, it was better to be next to someone with a weapon than not.

 

[amerininja]

Tyzark chuckled a bit, a little different than the average hominid, as she explained herself. When his master arrived he stood up slowly trying to practice that one thing his mother always nagged him for, respect. "Of course Master." He still hadn't lost his grin as he uttered those words.

He touched the crystal as he began to walk close to Fen. "If you're worried, just laugh a little." He advised her before turning away and continuing down towards the ship they had boarded. To say he was excited was an understatement. He couldn't wait to feel the force at work. He had always seemed to know how to let his give him strength but to feel it flow from his master and the other Jedi was amazing.

 

[Aodán Sidal]

Aodán had seemed to be a source of calm amidst the spirited and worried emotions of his fellow padawans. For his part he didn't mind the chatter, some people needed to let of steam before going into danger. But for Aodán this first true mission was not something to dread but to celebrate. For the young man had been born into a warrior race, his very childhood was a crucible of combat in which beauty and art were taught with fist and blade. This, to him, was more akin to coming home than the early training he had received among the temple some two years ago. So it was that the young E hand male steadied himself back with the others. His silver white hair having been cut short and neat to not get in his eyes, with only the standard padawan braid hanging behind his left ear to give his hair any length. His dress, like most, held the prime beige coloring most Jedi were known to wear. But he added his own little flair in the lining with his family's colors from his home planet of Eshan. Unlike the other padawans though Aodán did in fact carry a lightsaber. The blade resting at his hip, an heirloom from his mother prior to his leaving to join the order.

"You need not worry..." The quiet young man finally spoke, his silvery gaze set upon his two companions. "If things get too rough stick behind our mentor or myself." He added then in his cool almost detached tone of voice. For Aodán it was not easy to express himself as well as some of the others, at least not with words. His tone was balanced and seemed almost disinterested in how he conveyed himself. But the look in his eyes salvaged what his message meant. That Aodán understood the fear, the worry, that he would do all he could to see them through to the end. It was a surity, a conviction that his voice didn't need to carry as his eyes told it all.

As the knight entered he knew it was time. With a curt nod he rose up to his feet, adjusting the shield band upon his arm to activate it and steeled his resolve to face the dangers that surely lay ahead.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

The landing ramp opened, and Saerina motioned for everyone to be quiet. "Alright everyone, listen up- I'm giving you the instructions for our mission. Our first priority right now is to locate the bombs and disable them- we are not to go looking for a fight with the suspects right now, understood?" She waited for the Padawans to respond before continuing. "For time's sake, we will split into two groups. Tyzark, you will come with me, and Fen and Aodán, you two will go together. We will split up and immediately begin our search for the bombs. Remember, the most important thing you can do is focus on the Force. It will guide you. If any trouble comes up, contact me over the comm." She smiled reassuringly and asked, "Does anyone have questions?"

It was quite perfect, she thought, that she could split up the group this way. Fen seemed quite nervous and unsure of herself- Saerina could relate to that feeling; it had plagued her quite a bit when she was younger. So she thought it was a good idea to pair her with Aodán, who had a natural aura of calmness about him. Hopefully Fen would catch some of that. Meanwhile, she also wanted every opportunity to mentor and shape her Padawan, Tyzark. He had certainly come a long ways since he first joined the Jedi Order, but he also had a lot to learn.

If anyone had questions, she would answer them before heading out with Tyzark. "Let's see how well you can feel the Force right now," she told him. "Close your eyes, shut out all the distractions and concentrate on the Force. Can you feel where it is leading us?" Given the time pressure of the mission, a more uptight person might have blown off the opportunity to give the Padawan a learning experience in favor of simply locating the bomb as fast as possible. But Saerina felt that it was worth the time to give Tyzark an opportunity to take charge- and besides, if he took a long time to tap into the Force she would let him keep trying, but she would lead the way to where she felt the Force was leading her.

 

[Fen Vel]

Given their number splitting up did seem sensible, as long as they were undetected. To be able to force back security on a ship like this, Fen had to guess there were a lot of them, or they were very well armed. It could even be both and even she could tell sooner or later they would have to deal with them, removing the bombs from the equation should make that easier but still. It did make her uneasy. The fact that she could now see space through the open landing ramp, did not make that any better. Now it was just a forcefield holding her back from being sucked into space, one circuit broken, one power failure and pop. It was distracting, even when she was trying to focus on what she was being told.

Given their objectives the question she had was a simple one, how do you disarm a bomb? She had a vague idea of what one might look like but, surely each one would be different? In the seconds she considered this she realised that it was not so simple and there was no easy answer. What they were being asked to do was not some simple task, if it was then they wouldn't need the help of Jedi. So rather than ask it she nodded her head, fitting into an expression that did not exude quite so much worry. It would do nothing but harm to seem anything less than capable right now, even if she wasn't. She doubted any of them were honestly but that was no reason not to try, there was no one else to do this.

Looking to Sidal Fen stepped down the ramp and onto the engraved metal of the hanger deck, she also overheard what Avrikana said. Though she did not feel a need to rely on the Force here. The bombs that had been found by scans were in the critical areas of the ship. The reactors would be in the core of engineering sections and if she deduced correctly, then there would be service elevators that would take them directly there from the hanger. If you needed to replace parts you wouldn't want to have to remove half of the decks or take them through the guest floors would you? It was just like moving from the slave quarters to the kitchens, you had a different way there than everyone else. Looking towards the back wall she could see a single large hatchway, big enough for a Starfighter to fit into. If she was to hazard a guess, that would be where.

Holding her hands in front of her she looked to Sidal again, "Do you think it is that way?" Assuming he was on the same line of thought as herself. Fen stood taller now, not striking confidence but not seeming overly worried either, at least in appearance. Of all of them she seemed dressed the least like a Jedi, easily passing for someone else without the robes and the weapons.

 

[amerininja]

Tyzark grinned as he stepped forward towards his teacher. Once she gave him his instruction to utilize the force in order to find the bombs. He closed his three eyes and tried to feel the force around him. The force was everywhere, he had been taught. It bound the galaxy together. He could feel it. He reached his mind out into the force before shaking his head. "I can't fee-" He began as he opened his eyes.

His three dark eye grew wide. "Blasters!" He squealed as he pointed to a door in the other ship. His eyes allowed his species to see into the infrared color range and he could clearly see the heat of charged blasters. He looked to his master and the other two padawans with worry as if his fearless curiosity faded at the sign of possible danger. Was he even ready for this?

 

[Aodán Sidal]

Aodán couldn't argue with the logic in splitting up at this point, if the intelligence was correct then the fact that explosives were involved meant those had to be their priority. The people on board could be saved, but it meant nothing to them if they blew up certain parts of the ship. So as far as he was concerned Saerina's plan was perfectly sound and he had no reason to argue it. As such the young Echani gave a brief nod of his head to indicate he understood. Then it came to the pairing off and already it seemed like things were going to be going just as he predicted. After all it seemed that Tyzark had some connection to Saerina. So it only made sense to the silver eyed young man that Fen then would be partnered with himself for the mission. With little else left to say and his own preparations ready Aodán took off with the others.

As they moved out into the landing ramp Aodán cast his gaze to the younger padawan still standing there looking into the dark abyss of space. It didn't take much to tell she was still nervous, though it seemed more to be with space travel as a whole then most. But that worry, that sense of unease still called to him and such a slip could prove problematic later on. With his silvery gaze falling for a moment he realized one of the few things he could do to try and help her before things got out of hand. Calmly the young man reached for his arm and deactivated his own personal shield. Pulling the armband down and free of his arm Aodán then glanced back up to the young woman calmly, "Fen, before we go I want you to put this on." The echani boy stated coolly as he held up his personal shield generator. "It will help protect you from blasters. Its charge capacity will only hold for a so many rounds but that can be life or death in the heat of the moment." He didn't explain how the shield had been the one he took with him when he left Eshan. Or how it had been given to him as a child by his father when he felt that Aodán was ready enough to hold one. The sentimentality of it didn't matter to Aodán at least not with what they were about to go and face together. What mattered was the fact that he had made a promise to her and if sacrificing a little of his own protection could help him keep his word to her then he would give up the tool. The shield generator itself was rather compact and of obvious echani design. Sure it might have seen better days with the occassional chip in the outward plating here and there, but ultimately it was still in excellent condition due to Aodán's care for it. The armband that it fit through was also of a similar design to that of the trimmings of Aodán's clothing. The teal and gold band was adjustable as it had one time fit upon his arm as a child and had stayed with him for so long. To the side of the generator was a simple button, a quick press to activate it and another to deactivate.

When she finally made her way down the young man could almost be seen with the briefest flash of a smile. Truly the first time he had done so since they had left on their original mission. Having seen the scans with the rest the young padawan had a certain feel for the ship. But his thoughts were not on the access elevators as it was simply something that never would have occured to him. Instead Aodán found himself looking to the hanger doors before Fen offered up her own advice.

"Do you think it is that way?"

Looking to where she pointed Aodán took pause in his own thoughts and glanced in the direction. Was she sensing something he was not? Or was there something else that made her think of going in that direction? It was a somewhat curious thought but he had no reason to doubt her. In fact she did by all accounts appear a little more confident in giving her suggestion. If anything this was something he wanted to cultivate as he didn't want her second guessing herself as they made their way through the ship. Then there was his upbringing to consider, and with all these thoughts and his own leanings Aodán gave a nod and spoke once more, "I think it would be worth it to check out, shall..."

"Blasters!"

The word cut through the air as Tyzark squealed out the sound in his sudden panic. For his part Aodán didn't even waist a moment as his body reacted before his mind could even think. Over a decade of training both on Eshan an with the Jedi had taught him to be panicked or slow could be your downfall. As such his hands shot down to his hip and with a sharp pull he freed his lightsaber from his belt and slid to the side in front of Fen. Drawing his dominant foot back to offer him a powerful starting position he immediately raised his arms up in a high guard position and activated his blade. The young jedi's weapon sprang to life from his hilt with the almost comforting low hum of the blade, and glowing in a silver hued light. Although he did not know where his Gand compatriot had seen the blasters Aodán's stance said that he was ready for danger. As he was sure the others could feel his very presence flowing out from him into the force to try to detect where the danger would come from.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

As Saerina herself closed her eyes and concentrated on the Force, she could feel not only the pull of it- leading her down the ship a certain way- but she could also feel Tyzark and his concentration. She noticed it seemed to flicker a little bit, as if he was allowing himself to be a bit distracted. Just as he opened his eyes and started to admit that he couldn't feel anything, the young Jedi Knight was about to suggest a simpler exercise for him when suddenly he exclaimed that there were blasters nearby. She had the feeling that this was more due to his advanced vision and not as much a sensation from the Force, but it was still a good, quick observation so she gave him an encouraging nod.

Saerina could not yet see their opponents, but by now she could sense them- their nervousness, their fierce determination that made them press on through their fear. She drew her lightsaber slowly, activated only one of the two blue blades and crept around the corner. "Remember," she whispered to the others, "our intent is not to kill, but to disarm and move on. We must get to those core reactors as soon as possible." She also glanced over and saw the new look of panic- his early confidence was gone by now. "You'll be fine," she reassured him. "Just listen to the Force. Concentrate." She understood that it could be hard sometimes- keeping her mind still had always been hard for her too- but some concepts were best learned in a hands-on situation.

Then, their enemies jumped out and revealed themselves, and the sound of blaster fire echoed throughout the vast, empty hallways. Saerina was not startled by them since she had sensed them, and immediately launched into her long-practiced Soresu technique. Eyes half closed, she allowed the Force to guide her blade and effortlessly swung with small movements to deflect the blasts, wasting no energy. Meanwhile she was gradually creeping, inch by inch, closer to the shooters.

 

[Fen Vel]

The door opened with a hiss and in that same moment, several blaster bolts fired into the hanger

"Ceasefire, ceasefire. Marco you dumb ass rookie!" A human with close cut, graying hair marched forwards, pistol in hand, eyes thinned at the children in front of him. He was dressed in a tight royal blue uniform, a deep battle scar running across his chin. Around him were several men and women, in the same uniform each armed and one that seemed no older than eighteen seemed extremely sheepish. There were six droids as well, also in uniform brining up the rear, golden eyes and golden planting armed with security blasters. Other than the one in charge none of them looked like soldiers, all the organics seemed rather afraid.

Once he was certain nothing else was going to happen the older man reached up to his chin with his freehand and rubbed at his scar, "I'm Major Trent, Head of Internal Security. Sorry about that welcome an all, we thought you were more of those thugs." He finally holstered his pistol, "You must be Jedi right?" It was clear he looked down on them due to their ages, "Well its better than nothing. These guys are armed to the teeth, most of them are outside the bridge right now trying to get through the blast door, it'll take them all day I bet. About thirty, forty of them. We killed some, I just haven't got enough men to take them head on. They also might set off those bombs." Swaying on his feet a little he wasn't really certain to go with all this. If it was a squad of marines then sure, he knew exactly what to do, but Jedi kids? The rest of the eight security officers stepped out from behind pillars and benches into full view, they were a clean cut, attractive group by most standards. Then they were the security face of an cruise ship, not even planetary militia, their jobs was mostly just giving directions.

"So you're the ones they sent to deal with this?" He finally spoke his mind, he needed to know what they were going to be doing. If he could give them orders or not, he certainly wanted to. It was also clear to him if he had any chance to retake the ship he would need their help.

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Fen was rather surprised at the item that had been put onto her wrist, she was not even aware that such a thing existed. It brought a little comfort though, even though she wasn't certain such a thing was real. She would not endeavor to test it, never the less. When the cry went up she tensed, yet only for a moment. She'd seen people shot a lot of times, she'd seen people hurt more than that. So she breathed deep and slunk behind one of the landing legs of their shuttle. A Jedi should use all recourse before resorting to violence, she hoped they would be able to talk their way out of this.

So when the bolts fired, she was safe enough. Then what happened next brought a smile to her face, most fortuitous. It did raise a few questions from her right away however, how did forty attackers get onto the ship in the first place? Why were these guards not trying to defuse the bombs and why did none of them appear to be hurt? If they had been fight, might one of them been at least grazed by a bolt?

 

[amerininja]

At the random blaster bolts Tyzark grimaced knowing full well his VibroBlade wasn't truly good enough against a blaster. His eyes opened as he heard Major Trent begin to speak. Tyzark laughed inwardly at his own mistake before cocking his head slightly, curious about the group of soldiers. He didn't dare voice his concern however as he stepped back behind Saerina in hopes for his master to do the talking. He reclaimed his full smile, however, and nodded to the group.

"Hello sir! We're here to help!" He blurted out. He hadn't felt the group with the force at all and it was only his natural abilities that had forewarned of their existence. Of course he simply chalked that up as a failure on his own part with the lack of his concentration in the force. He still hadn't grasped the knowledge of the force like his master had. Since his arrival the most he's done as far as the force went was steadying objects into the air and starting to fine tune his strength augmentation. None of which would have helped him identify these soldiers.

 

[Aodán Sidal]

Aodán found himself ready and waiting for just about anything in those few seconds just before the door suddenly opened and a flurry of blaster bolts came spilling out into the hanger. His defense was tightened in that moment though truly it didn't seem all that needed as the haphazard shots weren't close enough for him to worry. At least it was so in the first volley, but he had no means of knowing whether this would remain to be the case. Then he would hear it, the gruff sounds of the human male calling for the ceasefire from his own men. The tone alone was one he was familiar with in that some of his trainers back home held a similar one. It was a voice of experience and much like his class back on Eshan it was a voice to be obeyed by his men it seemed. The older man, soon to be identified as Major Trent stepped forward towards the group as those who followed him fanned out behind them. Aodán for his part did not lower his guard immediately but instead set his eyes to each one that filtered out behind him. None looked to be the soldier that the commander was, which served to explain the opening salvo in which blaster bolts were merely fired in their general direction without any real precision. The droids on the other hand might prove to be a more difficult matter if things really came down to it, but that was if his caution proved to be true. As the major continued though it became apparent that they weren't going to attack. It just didn't feel right to Aodán and so he shifted his blade down into a lower guard but never did he completely deactivate it until he was completely sure of their safety.

"Yes, we were sent to assist with this situation." The young echani padawan confirmed in his own curt manner of speaking. That idle guard he seemed to hold left him rather tense as the questions that Fen was pondering also seemed to play through his mind. Did the Major here really try to put up a fight or did he retreat with his men to leave the ship and the passengers to their fate? More to the point if he was worried about the bombs but had this many men why didn't he go for them. Yes, Aodán could tell most if not all were rather untrained but hiding out in the hanger was not worthy of a warrior in his eyes. "Can you and your men secure the hanger?" The young man eventually came to ask, "We will need a place to send passengers if we happen to find any hostages and it would be good if they weren't mistaken like we were." He added calmly while waiting to see how the Knight did in communicating with the man. After all he was hardly the most diplomatic person in their group and knowing his weakness he left the talking to the person with more authority among them. Should things prove well then and only then would Aodán deactivate his lightsaber as then they wouldn't be viewed as a threat and the group would have far more pressing matters to attend to than the security forces.

@AuroraRogersSkywalker

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Saerina initially felt a bit sheepish that she had not initially sensed these peoples' alignment- but then again, the most overpowering sensation had been their fear. It was hard to feel anything behind that. And besides, not only was she not a Jedi Master but she was very new at being a Jedi Knight- barely a Padawan herself. But still, she told herself to concentrate harder next time around.

She nodded in approval at Aodán's suggestion- it was tactful and wise, but she also gave him a little look to gently acknowledge that she was going to do the talking, being a little older than them and so on. It wasn't that she really wanted to- she always hated talking to strangers- but, she did want to assert her authority. Not because of pride but because she wanted to start developing habits of being a good leader.

Meanwhile, she could sense the older guard's obvious disdain for them. But she wasn't really offended.... She understood that she was very young, not even twenty yet- and on top of that she was barely five feet tall and looked even younger than nineteen. So she stepped up to the front of the group and smiled calmly. "Hello, I am Saerina Avrikana, a Jedi Knight. The Council regrets that they couldn't send a more experienced Jedi Master to accompany us, but we can assure you, they would never send people they deem incapable." Though, her biggest priority was not necessarily making sure that the security team respected them. So she went on, "As you surely know, we have little time to lose, and our intent was to get to the core reactors as quickly as possible. I wanted to know, are these accessible at this point, and do you already have people working to locate or defuse the bombs?"

She glanced briefly down at her Padawan, hoping he was paying close attention to all this. It was extremely important for Jedi to know how to tactfully handle a tense, sensitive situation. Not that she was an expert, but during her training she had learned a good deal about diplomacy.

 

[Fen Vel]

His worry wasn't that they weren't capable, it was that they weren't enough.

Letting his hand drop Major Trent looked somewhat coldly at the Echani, "Sure, we can secure the hanger, lock the blast doors and keep it safe." It was a safer bet than going back up to the bridge at least, it wasn't like he could deal with the bombs himself. Looking to the girl who seemed to be the most well spoken of the group he answered her in turn, "The critical areas of the ship are locked down during an alert, all the corridors leading to them are sealed. If we override them it could alert the terrorists and they set off the bombs anyway. When we tried to spike the computer from the security office they attacked us, they know what they are doing." Everyone seeming more relaxed now he motioned for his men to ender the hanger and spread out, "I guess you might be able to crawl through the emergency vents around the reactors if you took the access panels off, though if there was someone waiting for you, you wouldn't stand much chance." Build as he was, the man was unlikely to be crawling through anything and he didn't seem to have a great deal of confidence in his own men.

Feeling that this really was the only option he took out a holoprojector and placed it on the floor. "Here is the reactor access," Pointing along a tall corridor, "The doors are sealed here, one each side here and here are on the upper level, the big one here at the front, directly to the controls. There is access to the vents somewhere near here, then thirty meters on there is point you can use to come out into the reactor room." Moving his hand he pulling the image up several decks, "The secondary core is the same, just a little smaller." Finally he rolled the image back towards the middle, "As for the Coolant system, its all sealed other than that door, no other way in. Even if you get the other two, the ship won't make it to a harbour without coolant, we'll all be cooked." A huge ship like this generated a lot of heat just to move and in space, that heat had nowhere to go. Without it being pumped to the radiators, the core of the ship would become unliveable in hours.

----------------

Fen watched the others deal with the situation, distrust, honesty, joy. How did she feel, relived if only for a moment. It was heartening that they were not alone at this juncture, even if she was not so certain that she trusted these men with their only clear way off the ship should things go wrong. She could tell that the man where not telling them everything about the situation, but he also wasn't lying about it either. Sidal seemed the most aggressive of the three of her compatriots, the fastest to action. Saerina the wisest, thinking the most of the situation if not having much apparent reaction to the danger they were all in. Tyzark, well he certainly seemed in awe of all this, far more than she was. What Fen wanted was time to think, to make clear and something that right now, they didn't have.

Making the most of it she focused hard on the map, what Trent was saying and what it really meant. If the attackers knew that the sections would be locked down, did they know the only access would be the vents? Would they have trapped them, would there be guards on the bombs? It depended on what kind of attackers they were, what they wanted. They hadn't broadcast demands, so, that made it hard. Logically, that they were still here, wait.

Finally speaking up, "These attackers, do they have a ship?" Her voice was soft and paled compared to everyone else, striking when a moments silence came. They had not seen a ship waiting, docked to the cruise ship. Nor was there one here, in the hangerbay, certainly not one big enough for thirty people.

"No, we didn't detect anything." He frowned at her before looking away.

"Then how did they get aboard?" She didn't move as she spoke, just her lips. Eyes looking deep into his face, almost right through him.

"I don't know," He seemed extremely defensive, "They must have snuck aboard on the last supply shipment." Six hours ago there had been a shipment of foodstuffs and some livestock from a nearby planet, it did seem the mostly likely.

Fen fell silent, thinking back to the plan. It didn't make sense to risk going ahead without a way to defuse that third bomb, well maybe it did. If nothing else they could make sure the ship wouldn't explode right away, it would give them time. She waited for the others to confere, they might have far greater insight than her.

 

[Aodán Sidal]

In Aodán's mind his primary focus was set upon the mission first and that was getting the bombs disarmed. Nothing else truly mattered more in that moment to him, as one false move and they were dead in the proverbial water. The sense of urgency was also not lost upon him and was the main reason for his own desire to move onward. Still that desire though lingering was hardly expressed as Aodán was busy puzzling out other thoughts. Having already voiced a few the young Echani's silvery gaze found that of Saerina as she cast her nod. He was thankfully not so inept that he could not read what she meant by the nod and look. In fact the nonverbal communication spoke greater to the youth than any words she might have offered to him. As such Aodán's hands shifted in his grip and in that same moment deactivated his humming silver colored blade. Aodán then placed a hand over his chest he made a more formal bow in apology to the knight. Her status was one he should have considered in a careful situation such as this and in retrospect he knew that he should not have spoken out of turn. So for the time being he would let Saerina handle the diplomacy as she desired and he would focus his attention and mind upon the map and the plan being offered.

Now in this Aodán was much like Fen in that he didn't seem to trust the vents as a means of entering. In part this was due to the fact that he was not likely to fit as well and it meant that should there be guards inside they would be exposed. That simple fact alone was bothersome as he could only imagine what possible sounds they might make while moving through them and it didn't sit well with him. Then to a much smaller extent Aodán found the idea disdainful as it was not a warrior's way to crawl through the vents. This thought though came and went almost immediately as he understood that certain situations called for such actions. More to the point there were the bombs to consider as well as his partner's abilities, and once Aodán viewed it from that angle he dismissed his almost childish notion as being far too impractical. So it meant either the vents or a different form of subterfuge in getting passed these guards that have taken hold of the reactors. But any other form he could immediately think of required the usage of Fen as bait and it was not a risk he was in any way keen on taking. Ultimately this inevitably lead right back to the vents once more even if the idea was less than attractive. The rather passive face of the young echani seemed almost unreadable as these thoughts and a few others flew about his mind. Really the only way his discomfort with the situation and how it was turning out showed in a few nonverbal cues. Much like the tension that seemed to subtly build up in his shoulders over time. Or how the muscles around his eyes tightened and relaxed as his thoughts reached a particularly undesirable outcome. This cycle was broken though when Fen suddenly spoke up and drew both the echani's gaze as well as the major.

"These attackers, do they have a ship?"

"No, we didn't detect anything."

"Then how did they get aboard?"

"I don't know, they must have snuck aboard on the last supply shipment."

This revelation almost immediately brought Aodán's gaze to the hanger at large and yes there was certainly no other ship about that could have housed so many men. Had he been too preoccupied with the threat of the bombs to fail to notice something so crucial? The thought disturbed Aodán somewhat and yet it helped to elevate Fen in his eyes. She certainly had a sharp mind and sharper instincts to boot if she picked that up when both Saerina and him missed it. Still Aodán's appreciation was tempered by the defensiveness of the major; and while it was plausible that the boarders may have snuck aboard on a supply shipment. The fact remained that it was equally plausible then that they were dealing with a possible mutiny on board the ship at the moment. If that were true then they would likely know about the vents, and suddenly leaving yourself so exposed to infiltrate the reactors became far more dangerous. For now though he would keep his opinions to himself as he did not wish to disturb Saerina's dialogue with Major Trent as he had done before. He could wait to offer his counsel if it would even be needed and for now the young man remained committed to quiet observation.

@AuroraRogersSkywalker

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Saerina studied the map, frowning slightly. The details swirled in her head as she tried to make sense of them and develop a coherent plan. The terrorists had gotten aboard secretly by stowing away on cargo ships, most likely. They were locked out of the main entrances to the core reactors and had to crawl through the vents. It was extremely important to not lose the coolant reactor, even though the ship would not survive without any one of the three reactors. Those were the most important bits of information. Immediately she started to wonder about the activity of the terrorists. Surely they would soon come to realize that they couldn't get through the blast door- not without a lot of wasted time and effort, anyway. And then, what would they do? Change tactics and attack the security team? The major had just said that he didn't have enough men to take on the terrorists, so they could not win that fight. However, the ship was enormous, and the terrorists were far away. So perhaps it wouldn't be an issue after all.... but still, it was a concern.

"The way I see it," she mused, addressing no one in particular, "I don't think the terrorists will stay at that blast door forever. I understand it will take them a while to get to us, but our main goal is to move quickly so we reach the core reactors before they notice us." Everyone else probably knew this, but she wanted to say it anyway just so they would be on the same page. "I still think it would be a good idea to stay in our groups of two so we can be more efficient. Major Trent, here is the frequency of our comm channel so you can contact us if necessary." She told him a number.

She thought the Padawans were handling this very well. They had all produced intelligent questions and insightful observations, some of which she probably wouldn't have thought of herself. This was why they made a good team. "Before we head out, does anyone else have comments, questions or concerns?" she asked, sensing that some of them still had more they wanted to say.

 

[Fen Vel]

"Sure, though the terrorists have some kind of jammer, the closer you are to them the more breakup on the coms, we can't reach the bridge." Pausing for a moment he fished in his pocket, "Take these too, access codes to the computer and the doors if you get that far." If he was going to be staying with the only remaining way of getting of the ship, he wasn't going to need them if things went south.

-------------

So that was the plan, it hadn't changed. Fen took a deep breath, she did not feel ready for this, whatever life she might have lead would she have ever been a person of action? What was she saying? She'd become a person of a great many actions in the last few months. From shooting at people, sort of, to dealing personally with those that upset or harmed her. Before she would never have dared to take those actions, that person she was before wouldn't done this however that person wasn't her any more. Fen already knew that she was going to be doing this, even if she could only just comprehend what would be involved. Even though she didn't look it, she was ready, as she was going to get anyway.

Checking that her belt was still in place she tried to think of this as an operation that she was sending someone else on, what would they need? Nothing came to mind, other than a space suit might be nice, in case this didn't work. It wouldn't take long to use the service elevator, get to the right deck and move on from there to the vents. Given the map she expected it would take less than five minutes for both parties, depending how long the vents took. Then what though, maybe she was being overly optimistic but they had only come up with half a plan so far, "What do we do when we have dealt with the first two bombs? We'll have to deal with them directly sooner or later." It was almost impossible to plan anything in further detail but at least knowing where to meet up afterwards, or if things went wrong. Obviously if nothing worked they had to come back here to escape, however there were levels of how bad it could go to consider.

Once that was dealt with Fen turned back to Sidal and offered a rather fake smile once more. Still Fen was happier than she was before, she'd also be away from having the cold void of space in the corner of her eye shortly. As long as she didn't need to get involved with a fight personality, she'd be okay. If things went well then she'd be able to worry about everyone else involved that they were trying to save, that included the attackers.

 

[Aodán Sidal]

In Aodán's mind the plan was simple enough that there shouldn't have been any major problems with the ultimate enacting of their mission. That is assuming a couple of things to be sure but those seemed ultimately to be trivial in the grand scheme. After all they could already account for the fact that they were going to run into these terrorists sooner or later. The only real question was just how many they would face and that he could only account for up to a point. So long as luck and the force was on their side then it might simply be a small enough contingent that Aodán alone could deal with them. As much as he was counting on Fen as his partner for the opening phase of their plan Aodán felt that should fighting happen he would bear the brunt of it. Not that the young Echani minded much as he did promise Fen that he would protect her. It was just that one glaring issue of their numbers against the unknown forces arrayed against them.

These thoughts raged on in the young man's mind while his silver hued eyes scanned over the map one last time. Idly Aodán brought his arms up to cross one along his chest and lightly grip upon the opposite elbow. The other arm bending in those final moments of contemplation so as to bring his hand to rest against his chin. Just from a glance it almost seemed as if he were taking every precious second to commit the map to memory. Though with his stoic features it was hard to really glean the inner workings of the youth's mind and the thoughts raging on just beneath his placid exterior.

"Before we head out, does anyone else have comments, questions or concerns?" The knight asked of the trio and in doing so drew the echani from his thoughts. His calm silver gaze blinked only once and yet before he could voice his own opinions Fen beat him to it.

"What do we do when we have dealt with the first two bombs? We'll have to deal with them directly sooner or later."

It was a solid question, one that Aodán had been contemplating among some of his other thoughts. Casting a quick glance to his partner the young man gave a curt nod of his head. It was a quick moment to be sure and when it was over Aodán shifted his focus back towards Saerina to add, "She has a point. I am decent enough with shield generators but I don't know how to disarm a bomb." The echani offered calmly and then quickly spoke up once more as another thought came to mind. "We should establish a rendezvous point when we are successful with the first two bombs." The padawan refused to use the word if as he made his second query. Failure, in his mind, was not an option to even remotely consider as he believed harboring such doubts would only plant a seed best left alone. In this his will was resolute in the simple knowledge that they would do what they set out for. This surety lingered as he glanced back to Fen and saw her smile in turn. Honestly it eased a little of the concern he had for her that she was taking this all so well. Especially due to the nervousness that she was displaying back while they were on the shuttle. Who knows, maybe she was the type that would rise to the occasion the more adversity she faced. In the very least Aodán felt that her insights would help him catch things he might miss. That alone was worth more than anything to the padawan as he would otherwise be very much stuck in his ways.

"Well then, the longer we wait the more our plan begins to unravel. We should head off." He offered after those final concerns were dealt with by the others. As the longer they waited and discussed the more likely the insurgents at the blast door would head off somewhere else within the large ship. A factor that would merely add on to their already tenuous plan of attack.

@AuroraRogersSkywalker