A Situation

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[SIZE=14.6667px]There was a sharp intake of breath as he caught his elbow on the corner of the table. His left arm was healing well, but when the muscle sacks had burst and the bone been fractured in five places by the crushing grip of an architect droid even bacta and the Force had their limits. With some difficulty he carried a tray of simple food back to his chair. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.6667px]The holoscreen flicked into life on what should have been a light entertainment channel. Jacen took a relatively relaxed view on personal possessions and the Jedi Code. Still the set was technically owned by the Alliance so as far as he was concerned it didn't matter. Besides, he'd spent the afternoon quietly meditating with [member="Adele Adonai"] after all. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Whilst he'd come to terms with many of his personal frustrations during his probation it took some time to suppress the frustration at being away from the front lines. Nearly the entire New Jedi Order was out at the pointy end. The Alliance fleet was constantly moving from Fondor across the space vacated by the Republic. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The screen flickered to life with images he had not expected. It took two mouthfuls of food for him to realise what was happening. A hostage situation had unfolded in the capital city and the first attempt to bring it to an end through violent means had ended badly. Numbers rolled across the bottom of the screen. Seven law enforcement officers, seventeen hostages dead, seventy nine still being held by at least fifteen sullustans. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The large bowl of steaming broth sat alone on the table, the door closing slowly behind Jacen's rapidly moving form. [/SIZE]




[SIZE=14.6667px]There was no one here. Everyone was at the front lines with the exception of healers, the elderly and the young padawans. Not everyone, Jacen reflected, as he rushed towards the military base that resided on one side of the temple. As he approached the quartermaster’s he looked down at the bandage on his arm with an expression of chagrin. Coming to a halt, he took a step to the side and leant against the wall. He opened and closed the fingers of that hand a few times. Each motion sent an even more excruciating bolt of pain up his arm. When each bolt reached his neck it was accompanied by a surge of nausea. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]Thirty two children.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]His right hand started tugging at the knots, before he lifted the arm and urgently attacked them with his teeth. Jacen unravelled the bandages and tested out his left arm. It wasn't good, not at all. The idea that had planted in his head grew even more as he moved through the storehouse collecting gear. Jacen unequivocally believed that the man was telling the truth - from his perspective. Then again, if the Wrath had far reaching designs for Gabriel, he doubted they would be set into motion dealing with a domestic hostage situation. He couldn’t do this alone.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“These all for you?” the quartermaster asked, handing over the paperwork for the weapons and armour to be signed out. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Yes,” Jacen lied. [/SIZE]




[SIZE=14.6667px]He found him sat in quiet contemplation. The collar was on his neck once more, but he was free to explore the grounds. Jacen knew from experience how preferable that was to a cell a hundred metres below the surface, suspended in a chamber of magma. All that energy around you, constantly shifting and convalescing as the tectonic shifts induced new tides. To a sensitive Jedi it had been akin to sleeping next to a roaring railway track. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Jacen threw a black duffle bag down on the ground. It clattered with the sound of heavy metal items colliding. Voidstalker pulled out a long precision stun rifle. Within the bag were several pieces of urban climbing equipment, flashbangs, cryogen grenades, several sidearms and a spare lightsaber. With any luck they wouldn’t need any of those things.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Gabriel,” he called as he turned the rifle over in his hands for a perfunctory check. “We're going to need that collar off, you're coming with me.” The weight of the rifle was too much for his off hand in its current state. “There's the Hound LAAT inbound, I'll explain on the way. They're expecting us on site soon.” Jacen thumbed slid the power pack into place and a quiet beep affirmed the weapon was live. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Rever....Reva....Reeve....come on play nice... [member="Revenant"][/SIZE]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

There was a freeing sense to the walks he was allowed in the temple and sanctuary. Gave him the opportunity to explore, be acquainted with his new home. Relegated to minimal guard presence, he had the peace of mind to feel the slightest sense of independence. For his time spent here outside his prison cell, he enjoyed the gardens the most. They were peaceful, natural, and largely a bubble of tranquility in an otherwise chaotic and changing world. But not today. Today something felt off, a sense of foreboding that washed over the garden like a calm stagnate wind. The sort that preceded the deluge.

Honey brown eyes lifted from a downward look. He had been watching insects running across their forest of dew covered grass, infighting of tiny tribes spread mere meters apart. He appreciated that clarity and juxtaposition and wondered what it might be like, if much larger beings looked down upon the universe and measured the importance of all this squabbling. He wondered if they would find it as interesting as he once found these insects. But his attention shifted to the tone of the Jedi approaching him, the one who had taken the time to speak with him in his cell. Provide him reading material. He owed the man more than most others in this place.

But as he looked upon the expression of intensity, purpose heightened to pure gesticulation and body language, the tone moved beyond owing someone. It was a matter of what needed to be done. He wasn't sure what it was but Gabriel felt that sense of certainty creep back in. Like knowing a book was worth the read before ever having lifted it up. He also got the impression that he didn't have choice. But if he did, the result would have been all the same.

Walking to the duffle bag, he lifted the whole weight and stared quietly towards the Jedi. Looking down the path towards the landing pad, a place he had only been a few times, he looked back to Jacen. "Well, lets get going then." Holding the bag in his hand, knowing the clank of metal for the tools that lied within, he felt an odd recalling of his days as a mercenary in a different body. He would assess his gear needs in transit.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The wind whistled as it whipped through the open-door LAAT. The matte black air speeder used near-silent repulsors; its usual duty was to drop commandos onto enemy buildings at night. Jacen was testing the weight of a sporting blaster pistol in his right arm. His eyes occasionally turned to the walls of the narrow, circular tunnel they were speeding down as they rushed past. The underground network of tunnels that connected sullustan settlements was vast in scale and this thin passage had been cleared ahead of them.

Voidstalker cursed under his breath as a powerpack slid from the fingers of his left hand as he tried to test reloading. "I am hoping," he said as he turned to Gabriel, "that we can end this all peacefully with words. We've done this work a few times now and once we send a Jedi in it's been fifty fifty on whether they can talk them down. Fifteen spread out across the building though, that's a lot of minds to try and calm all at once.

"I don't know much on your background," Jacen admitted. "If it goes south you might be better off with a stun rifle. If it goes that way our main job is to quickly assess where the major threats to the civilians are and put them down quickly. Hopefully we can get a read on the itchy fingers before we even start trying to talk them down. Been in an urban firefight before? They like us around because when its all smoke and noise and confusion in a tight maze, we can keep our heads."

[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He used time to seize what weapons he needed. A DY-225 Heavy blaster pistol, nylon holster, strapped to his right leg. A GLX Firelance, shoulder strapped with shortened stock. He watched the Jedi Master fumble with his weapon and reloading plasma packs, inspecting his own weaponry. Barrel was clean enough, he thought, as he set the rifle down on the bench next to him. Flack vest, quickly pulled from a locker, he wore a gray long sleeve shirt beneath. For the most part, his tattoos and scars remained hidden from a view. As he thought about it, he stocked pouches on his belt with a few flash grenades and two cryo grenades.

Scratching his beard, he looked through the vehicle before turning his attention to Jacen. "Former life and all. I was part of a Mercenary group. Name's not really important." He grabbed the rifle and pulled the slide back, loading a pack in seamlessly and stocking his vest with two additional clips. Inhaling. "My background is...not what you are looking for." He stated quietly. "But yes, I have been in numerous urban fire fights. We'll subdue the enemies, minimize casualties. We'll get them out." He said with certainty, turning back to the Jedi Master.

"But if this is going to work...you're gonna have to hide that wound a bit better. I still has the smell of bandages..." He blinked. He leaned over and grabbed the lightsaber, placing it at his side. "You lead the way for the talks. But if it turns to something else, we'll smoke them out. Save the civilians and force the police forces to pick up what's left. And no matter what, we'll stick together." He flared his nostrils, the bridge of his nose wrinkling. "It'll be tempting to split up, suppress the enemy from two sides. But that's not the way, not for our current circumstances." Circumstances being one and a half men.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Republic officer school then Vianne Security, private military contractors. Armoured infantry for fourteen years. Mostly served under the Republic, but sometimes when we were out of full operational readiness in the cycle we had to do some civilian work like this," he explained. He repeated the motion once again, a grim look of determination set on his features. This time he slid the power pack in successfully, before holstering the weapon. Working for a PMC had been more stressful than the Republic military. With profit margins to monitor their operational readiness cycles had been much more strenuous, with far more time in the field and far less on individual training.

There was a quick shake of the head as he sat back down. "Most part agree, but if you need to go off ahead do so. Can't be slowing you down if it hits the fan. Now there's no sign of explosives anywhere, but they dealt with the first ingress attempt in pretty short order. It didn't help that one of the news channels kept broadcasting as one of the SF guys started to climb. They've got an inner defensive position that no one can get eyes on from the outside, with just four patrolling in sight of the snipers."

The curvature of the tunnel wall vanished suddenly, to be replaced by a vista of a wide, green expanse. The LAAT banked to one side and descended towards the base of the chasm as it accelerated towards the capital city. Ten minutes at most to destination now.

[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"A match made in heaven, then..." He said jokingly. He chewed on the prospect of going in with Jacen and leaving him behind if need be. Seemed like something Reverance might do. Seemed cold and emotionally removed. But just because Reverance might do something, it didn't mean it was inherently wrong. And Gabriel struggled with that idea, tossing it over and investigating what was beneath. The Sith and the Jedi weren't so different in numerous ways, he concluded. For the civilians and for the good of the mission, it felt like the mercenary operations all over again.

Nodding shallowly, he placed the rifle across his lap and rested his hands across the braids of his black and grey hair. Pushing his fingers between, the pulled it taut and stretched his neck. "Agreed." A statement born in blind compliance, absent any intent to leave Jacen in that place should he go down. Gabriel might care about the well being of civilians, but he might care about Jacen as well. Maybe it's its own molested form of stockholm syndrome, a kind guard or a kind offering blown out of proportion. Or maybe Gabriel was capable of forming bonds no matter where they occurred.

"So first things first. We should put out an embargo on news recordings, for the time being" He thumbed the safety on the gun, activating the powerful stun setting. "We'll need an executive order to drop televising the current incursion. Can't be fighting these kidnappers and our people at the same time." He wasn't interested in going in on this situation with such a hindrance. Might as well tie a hand behind their backs.

Five minutes now. Not long. Time to put his game face on.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

A wry smile crossed Jacen's face as the resonant thrum of the repulsors started to fade. “Now that one we've got covered. They were given the order before, but the fethers chose to ignore it. Civilians streaming video to the ‘net are a problem as well. They're risking the public’s wrath by cutting off the signals. Fortunately we haven't got any satellite links this deep under rock so apparently it's a bit easier,” he explained. “Obviously they're doing it bit by bit now, not as we go in.”

Jacen’s saber sat in his hand for a fraction of a second before he nodded to himself and clipped it to his belt. One-handed work wasn't his style, but he knew instinctively at first touch that he'd manage just fine if it came to it. However, the situation demanded split second decisions and action. Crossing a floorplate would likely be too slow. Dismembering the hostage takers was hardly going to be conducive to the recovery of the prisoners either.

Jacen looked down as they approached the situation, his eyes quickly spotting the command vehicle. Technically these were civil matters, but everyone knew military special forces took action in these situations.

There was a brief grimace as he mentally wrestled with a decision. Already he'd broken some rules just to bring Gabriel out here, it seemed he was going to be that faith to the test even more.

“I'm going to work with the negotiators for a while, see if I can influence proceedings at all. At the very least I should be able to sooth some tempers. Can you go with one of the men around the perimeter, see what your senses can give us?”

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Sure, I'll give the perimeter a walk. See what I see." He said with a nod as the vehicle landed in the exclusion interface for the current, and seemingly hostile, predicament. Pulling the rifle over his shoulder, he jumped out of the tranport with a smack of boot soles against duracrete. Rubbing his beard thoughtfully, he approached one of the local police officers and took him aside with a nod.

"Walk me around the perimeter. I need to see what we're working with."
"What's your name?"
"I'm with the Galactic Alliance." Was he? He didn't feel truly a part of it. Yet.

The officer gave a nod and with data pad in hand, he walked with the man, circling the multi storied building with a large frame. "Have you all cut power to the facility?" The officer shook his head. "Why not?"

"Well, the underground turbines are powered by goethermal venting. Can't really turn that off." The officer handed him the datapad. Gabriel took it in hand, finger scrolling through the schematics of the building. It provided the layout for the facility as well as the surrounding infrastructure. "Is this as-built or original?" "Original." Gabriel inhaled and nodded. "So it wont have any modifications made to the building. But structurally, this should be pretty accurate."

Zooming out from the map, he immediately noted the presence of ducts from the building through the streets below. "Are these geothermal ducts for turbine access?" He looked over. He had done some work on Sarapin, working with the restoration of the geothermal energy outputs. He was aware of how the systems worked.

"Yes. But before you go down that road..."
"It probably gets pretty hot in there, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's fine." He stated confidently. Pinpointing a location down the way, 0.2 kms, he double tapped the location and aimed it towards the Officer. "Where is that?"
"That?" He squinted and started to point his hand down the road. Gabriel stopped him. "Yes, that." Catching on, the guard nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Down the road a ways. Manhole, much larger than the sewers, should allow access. But again..."
"Geothermal vents do exactly that. They vent." Gabriel stated as he inspected the image again. "It's all about timing. Can I keep this for now?" The officer nodded. "Thank you..."

That was their way in, the adhoc assistant decided. The cameras were a problem but so far from the point of the issue, they should be able to enter without problems. And due to the danger, the ducts would be the last place the kidnappers would expect ingress. He'd need to find Jacen, tell him the bad news. Things might get a bit sultry.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]
Jacen settled down in the offered chair. He reached down and took an earpiece. In the command centre several trained negotiators were already in discussion with the hostage takers. For a few moments Jacen simply listened in. They were demanded secession from the Alliance. Several times they claimed their world was being used by fundamentalist Jedi to fight a war on the Sith the that the people didn't want.

That was a big ask. It was hard work for them to try and talk down from such big demands to try and buy more time. Looking up, he saw the negotiator started to sweat. Jacen closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force. Only a few hundred metres away someone was at the other end of that line. The world was still visible to his mind's eyes, but now it was painted in a very different palette. The physical was greys and subdued hues. But life was ever so bright. Each mind it's own nexus in the flow of the Force. It took just a few moments to find the one he was looking for.

It was full of white hot rage. He could tell it wouldn't be long before that was satiated through taking action again. He was frustrated at the lack of progress, ready to kill some more hostages to make his point. In the physical world Jacen exhaled slowly. In the Force he started to wrap a blanket around that anger. He just needed to take the edge off, slow things down. A few subtle gestures could make him more amenable to suggestion.

Something reacted.

It was akin to disturbing a slumbering serpent. The dark thing slowly uncoiled and reacted to his influence. Jacen tried to hold his ground, to keep up that calming influence. Instead there was a hot flash as he felt something lash out and the connection was brutally severed.

His hands shot out to grasp the desk beside him and the colour blanched from his face. A few slow breaths and he left the command centre, quickly finding Gabriel.

“This is bad,” he explained quickly. “I'm not expert on the mind but when I tried to exert an influence, I sensed someone had already been there. They're being manipulated and I can't do anything about that.” Jacen's expression was grim. He had genuinely expected that they could get them to stand down and bring the situation to an end without further bloodshed. Now he knew that notion was never going to come to fruition.

“What did you find?”

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Hmm..." He shifted his flack jacket collar, loosening it a bit as he chewed on the intelligence. Jaw flexing with a clench of his teeth, he moved to stand at the Jedi Master's side. "Well, I'm not sure this is good news. But I might have our route sorted out."

Opening a picture of schematics of the building, he wide angled the tablet for Jacen to see and began his explanation. "I suspect they chose this building for energetic autonomy. 300 meters beneath the foundation, steam turbines supply 100% of the energy requirements for functioning of the facility." Gabriel frowned thoughtfully as he zoomed in, the ducts prevalent. "Beneath, large ducts connect across the infrastructure. Here..." He zoomed into to an access point a bit down the road. "About 0.2 kms separates the entrance point from the facility."

He stopped and handed the device over to Jacen. "Now, I've done restoration of facilities on Sarapin. The drop down through the entrance is the same 300 meters. We can rappel down or, if there is a lift, we can take that down. However..." He pointed to the duct structure. "If it's anything like Sarapin, the geothermal causeway will vent every 1 - 3 minutes. Give or take general planetary characteristics." He motioned towards along the length. "We make it through the 0.2 km, we need to make it up the turbine shaft. There might be a lift, if not there will be a ladder." He was happy to be making use of this almost unusable intelligence, gained from the dominion of Sarapin during the netherworld. "There will be an interface between the turbine and access points above, likely for maintenance and pressure release. Heat shields will act as flapper valves, releasing unneeded steam on interval. We'll have to make it through there."

He paused. "And we'll want to do that before it's vented. Otherwise, things might get a bit...uncomfortable. But once we do, we can work our way up through the structure unmolested."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]
Manipulating the display with one hand, Jacen slowly nodded. He chewed the corner of one lip, clearly thinking through the plan. “Alright the descent down can be done in short order. Looks like enough room to stand so two hundred metres at even a jog doesn't eat into our time. If we're exposed for much of a climb however,” he said. His eyes flicked to his left arm. Using the Force he could perhaps leap twenty metres up. That left a lot of climbing to do.

“I didn't bring much rope,” he explained. “Just enough for assaulting a building. You'd best see what they have. I'm going to bag up any metal I have in case we get caught out.” Jacen proceeded to start to upholster his weapons and slide them back into the black bag. Once it was done he started to pry the dallorian alloy plates from his Vanguard armour. They wouldn't have time to reattach them later, so he'd have to make do with the asherean armorweave underlay. The human body could take a lot of dry heat. Humid air and steam was a lot more problematic. But hot metal on skin, that was bad news.

 

[Raziel]

​

"Perfect," he sighed to himself as his returned his focus to his immediate surroundings. It wasn't often that the Spymaster spoke to himself, but sometimes it was preferable to letting his thoughts roam around in his head. There were so many tangled threads through his conciousness. Errant thoughts and emotions from all those minds he had touched over the years entwined with his own. It was easy to get lost in there. Forming the words kept him anchored in the present, in the physical.

Raziel rolled his shoulders turned his head from side to side, stretching out his stiff muscles. He had expected the Alliance Jedi to show much sooner than they had. In the end it didn't matter, the act was complete and the seeds sown. There were so many dark sects on their borders that they would suspect the Sith were now attacking them on their own soil through nefarious means.

This New Jedi Order was comprised of fundamentalists. Like all fanatics they needed a crusade. What they didn't need was to look too closely towards the South Systems and the Techno Union on their border. Best they head towards the core and leave the corporate machine in peace in Raziel's opinion. Perhaps his lashing out at the Jedi who had fumbled around in the gunman's mind had been a little too obvious. The wily assassin preferred to take the subtle touch, permitting the concept to blossom within the target's mind of its own accord. Too late to worry about that now.

"Thank you for being such kind guests," Raziel said as he left the small room. The family who owned the property were sat around the dining table, vacant expressions plastered across their faces.

"You're welcome," the father mumbled slowly under his breath. Raziel grabbed a bottle of water from the table and headed out into the streets just a few hundred metres away from the unfolding catastrophe. He had a shuttle to catch.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Yeah, I had noticed that." He said, rolling his jaw as it clicked in thought towards the rope and ascent issue. He looked down to the bag and back to the Jedi Master. "I'll talk to the officer, I have an idea. Meet me at the entrance to the ducts, I'll be but a moment."

~~~​

​

Approaching the entrance, time slowing it as it passed, Gabriel held a long extent of raveled rope around his shoulder. In each arm, a repulsor pack hung from shoulder straps. He heaved, the weight of the devices was enough to question their use. But he had recalled their utilization in the ducts on Sarapin, ease for horizontal and vertical movement. Looking towards Jacen, Gabriel depressed the activator switch that opened the entrance to the chambers beneath. Metal paneling across the ground slid beneath smoothed duracrete, blackened like the glass surface of the planet. Leaning over, he stepped back as the ducts vented, blasting steam upwards 10 meters. He instinctively covered his face and backed away, the hot mist spraying into the air and condensing in the cooler temperature. "Right..." He said as he back stepped towards Jacen, looking at a time piece on his wrist. "I'll want about three bursts before we head in. Getting a feeling for the deviation and an idea for how much time we have. Now..."

He lifted a pack onto himself, cinching down the straps over his vest and buckling the cross straps. Lifting Jacen's for him, he tilted his head invitingly. "Technicians use these with specialized hazardous heat suits. Allows them to perform maintenance in the shafts without worrying about maneuverability. More effective than jet packs, they come standard with horizontal and vertical boosts. On top of that, the back plate has a radiating cooling unit..." He said as he blinked. "If we get in a tight spot, these can help with the final ascent." He inhaled and smiled, reassuringly. "Trust me."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

"That," Jacen said as he took the offered device, "is significantly more useful that what I was expecting we would have to work with. Good shout," he said with a appreciative nod. Jacen was shown where the controls were as the ropes were secured. He allowed his senses to stretch out as he awaited the next burst of steam. Water that hot carried a great deal of energy and as the next burst came he familiarised himself with the sensation of the suddenly approaching gout. Getting caught in that, he reflected, was going to be bad business regardless of any aids they took with them. Dry heat the body could deal with, steam would roast him alive in short order.

The variation in the three following bursts was small, but also quite a small sample size. With a balaclava pulled tight around his head and a set of goggles across his eyes, Jacen nodded to Gabriel as the last jet petered out. His heart pounded as time seemed to stretch out and they readied themselves. One last exhalation and they went in.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He pulled his own cowl over his face and nodded to the man. Holding out his arm, stopping Jacen from going forward, he paused. There was no rush. "It's dark down there and you've got lights on the bottom of the pack." He watched the vent with anticipation. "I don't intend to use ropes. The venting is shorter than Sarapin, we'll need every second we can get."

He approached the edge, hand waving back and forth to the timing. "300 meters. 8 seconds. Power on your pack and count to six, power the thrusters and cut hard towards the building." He clicked on the lights on the bottom of his pack, showering the ground beneath him with a brilliant white light. "If we both survive this, remind me later that this was a bad idea." He said with a smile, hidden behind his cowl. Just then, the vent flared again, rocketing steam upwards. "NOW!" Stepping forward, he fell in.

1...2...3. He kept his head down, the lights not revealing anything but the fast moving duracrete at each side, the spray of condensation reducing to the point of absence. He looked up and back down.

4...5...6. He hit the upward throttle hard, slinging down before touching down on the ground. With a reroute of the power, he cut into the horizontal corridor and used the burst of the Repulsor pack to speed his movement. 8 seconds gone, 200 meters to go and then 300 meters back up. He counted the seconds in the back of his mind while looking over his shoulder, hoping that Jacen had made it.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]
The walls of the tunnel flashed by in what seemed like a fraction of a second. His already queasy stomach once again wrapped itself up in knots. The Force found the ground for him, not his eyesight. As they reached the lower passage the dim torchlight revealed little more than the lingering vapour that billowed in his wake. The pack whined as the repulsors kicked into life. First they had to arrest his downwards momentum before he could apply an orthogonal force to send him towards the complex. Otherwise the pack would just be dragging his pancaked remains along.

As he raced along the horizontal corridor, he started to induce a touch of sideways velocity. Unfortunately he over compensated and the impulse sent it careening into the opposite wall, dragging his injured left hand against the duracrete.

Zero-G training had never been one of his strengths. The repulsor left him floating and scrambling, like a novice on an ice rink. Instead of forcing himself back into a semblance of control he took the easy option. The power was cut and he came down on his feet, stumbling before he legs started to pump hard.

Jacen sprinted the last fifty metres, using his arms to stop himself against a ladder on the far wall. He hit the controls hard and his feet left the ground. He kept his right hand on the outside of the ladder to stabilise himself as he accelerated upwards. How long had they left? He looked down at the counter on his wrist but the glass was opaque from condensation. At the back of his mind he sensed the rushing approach of energy. The steam was closing on them.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He might have laughed at the display of controls, if he had the time and the frame of mind. He would have recalled his first times using these packs on Sarapin, how they seemed to move of their own accord. Tell it to go right, it spins you around and flings you upward. It was a delicate process, learning these vehicles, and they simply didn't have the time for it. As he hit the ladder, he saw the Jedi Master running the last dash. "Come on!" He screamed, the rushing push of venting sent vibrations through the shaft. He looked up, the venting shield a bright shiny luster of non conductive metal, he looked back down towards Jacen and frowned.

"Our time is up!" He pressed his hand against the time piece, rubbing away the dirt and debris. Apparently the packs were attuned to the venting as well, once in chasm, as there was a distinct and very irritating ringing alarm chiming across the back panel. He instinctively turned and tried to reach over his back, cutting it off, but he couldn't reach with his awkward stretch. As the Jedi Master approached, going from horizontal movement to vertical, Gabriel followed in his stead. The slight purr was turning into a rumble as he watched upward, the venting shield opening and then closing.

He kicked on the power to full thruster in the ascent, hoping that Jacen would hear the rumble and follow with the push. The timing of the shield was set, like a nictitating membrane on interval. He twisted, watching the geothermal turbine spinning above them with residual inertia. "Push it Jacen!" 30 meters, vent closed but a second from opening. One last time before it seals off against the venting of the heat. Beneath, even over the sound of repulsor packs, one could hear the energetic smack of heat against duracrete. Like water hitting against stone, bending against it's will, the geothermal energy surged upwards towards the generator and the incursion. Gabriel didn't look down, but he was prepared to hit the metal shield with a force push to ply it open. Being boiled alive wasn't on his top list of things to do in this life.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Kark. He wasn't going to make it. What an ignominious death for the veteran soldier. A life time of close scrapes in the field and a short, sharp painful death boiled alive in his own skin.

Like the lid of an eye, the vent started to open. They weren't going fat enough. The roar of the approaching steam drowned out all other sounds. Suddenly, he felt the uplift of air speeding him on. The cooler air around them being forced up by the oncoming steam below. The eye started to close. He felt the heat close in.

He had to stifle the scream and he slipped through the vent, pack clipping the side as he went. A hot rush of steam followed between it sealed closed. Jacen rolled across the floor, his hands clawing at the backpack to remove the metal buckle that was suddenly burning him through his armour.

[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

The heatwave pushed them up, as they threaded the eyelet, jettisoning up into the maintenance shaft. The heat shield slammed behind them just in the nick of time, rattling against the vibrating heat as the turbine thundered in applause with violent revolutions. Gabriel hit the floor as he cut the power from his pack, his eyes looking over towards the Jedi Master. The heat rising from his flack jacket and gray shirt, sweat dripped down his forehead as he clenched his teeth. Pressing down on the buckle with his palms, he un-clipped the pack as it dropped to the metal floor beneath him, steaming. With a wave of his hand, he assisted the Jedi Master with his fiery pack buckle as he activated the cooling pad on the back.

Falling against the wall, he exhaled and breathed heavily. His hand drifted to the weapon on his thigh and he heard the sizzle before he pulled his hand away, baring his teeth to the pain. Blinking, he sucked air before looking over to Jacen. The man was wounded, his clash with the wall likely provided him no reprieve from his damaged arm. It might be nearing the point of re-injury, if it wasn't already.

Searching the ceiling, they needed to take a break before moving forward. "Do you have any family Jacen? Anyone to go home to? Or are you completely committed to the traditional Jedi lifestyle?" He avoided the subject about how stupid that plan was. It worked, but recklessness wasn't something to reward.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Jacen slid the bag of weapons off his shoulder onto the floor. “Well, that was stupid,” he reflected. He'd bagged all his weapons to keep the metal out if the steam. Unfortunately it hadn't occurred to him that the zip was metal. He slid off his balaclava and wrapped it around his hand to slide the zip down quietly. Even that quiet rattle sounded excruciatingly loud as the thrum of the turbine petered out. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Family, yes,” he said quickly as he pulled open the bag to let the arsenal cool off. It had taken him some deep contemplation recently to finally come to terms with some of the more difficult periods of his past. A mix of medication and throwing himself into his military career had dragged him through the dark times in the past. However, letting such insecurities fester was a sure way to leave oneself open to the dark side. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“I have a son. He’s fifteen and I haven’t seen him since the One Sith took the world. Though as it happens that’s because he doesn’t want to see me, not because of the Sith occupation,” he added with a small shrug. Coming to terms with the mistakes that led to this point didn’t quite take the full string out of repeating the situation out loud. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.6667px]Jacen unstrapped a cover from a holoscreen on his right forearm, which gave him a three dimensional view of the building and the known locations of hostages and gunmen. They were continuously using life form scanners outside the building and broadcasting the information. Even though Jacen’s was running on silent mode in case they had enough technology to detect a transmitter, he could read an up to date tactical display. Some commanders used visors with augmented reality displays, but time and again the research had shown that to the regular private on the ground it was just a distraction and eyes needed to be on the surroundings and the enemy. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]His lighsaber found his belt, a pair of velcro straps keeping it in place rather than allowing it to swing free. His blaster pistol slid into its holster with a reassuring [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]thwuck.[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] Each flashbang was slid into the bandolier with great care. Holding up the three-dimensional display once more, Jacen traced his finger through a suggested route. [/SIZE]