Gladiator Games and Aggressive Negotiations

[Celiana]

Leaning down towards the wolf I looked into his eyes and towards the rancor that'd emerged. Sliding my leg over his back I said "we'll need to move low and fast." He growled and said "I want a blanket and handmade saddle when we leave I'll permit it this time." Nodding I said "Of course, though I'm curious what I should call you." Huffing he said "Ares." Suddenly he lifted up and began racing towards the Rancor. I took a right strike at the rancor's right leg with a quick back stroke to the left leg. Using The Force as I raced under its legs I felt the rancors' presence in The Force and jerked hard on its head. A resounding thud as it fell and I felt Ares spin around moving back towards the Rancor. Coming to a stop in front of it he said "Kill it and do so quickly." Moving I simply launched my saber through its eye aided by The Force I made sure it went through the rancors' skull. For good measure I climbed on top of the fallen foe and as my saber returned to my hand I brought the aqua blade down through its neck.

If it wasn't dead before it would be now.... A gong sounded and the beast gates slammed back closed. "The great Hutt bids you come to the elevator being lowered now. You may keep or kill the beast you used he cares not. There will be a shower for you if you wish it." Ares looked at me and I said "I wouldn't dream of harming you Ares. Come now we'd best go collect our reward I'll see to it you get a big bantha steak." As he padded along I scratched behind his ears and we boarded the elevator. I'd save the shower for after this festering slime hole besides maybe Joshua would care to join me...

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It was a shame that the beast had to die. Despite it's monstrous structure, it was as much a captive as the children were. Odds were it had either been kidnapped and brought here, or had been raised in these conditions for the sake of bloodletting. But he understood the necessity, there really wasn't a way out of this in the way there was with the kids. Though somehow he doubted Celiana would look for one even if there was. But with that, it was over. Celiana had won the competition and Josh had won the bet. A small fortune of credits was his. Won fair and square in Sabaak, even if the ending seemed a bit crooked he did know he was already winning at that point after looking at the cards. All he really did was thwart an attempt to cheat. Though honestly, the whole thing had been a glorified scam by the man to cheat many people out of their credits. Josh considered for a moment returning the bets taken by the men, paying them back their money using his winnings. It was just Josh's general way of thinking. It was a very Josh thing to do. But the dejected betters had already left the arena, slinking off now that they had no reason to be here anymore with their bets already gone. There really wasn't anything that the Jedi Master could do.

Swapping the betting tokens for his winnings, Josh would quickly transfer the credits to his account. They'd help with ship repairs, Jason's birthday proceedings, maybe he could grab a few things for the treehouse on Kashyyyk that he was setting up after he'd been gifted it by Valae... There was quite a bit of credits here, though he wanted to be wise with it, use it for what was needed. He'd consider the financial implications later, he supposed.

As he watched Celiana and this wolf of hers be taken away, Josh would watch as another man would approach him.

"The boss wishes to see you, sir. Regarding your bets" He spoke. Josh would shrug. Whether he was to be accused of cheating, or just being congratulated, it seemed that he was heading to where he could exact his goal for this mission. Which had been clear since the moment they wheeled out the kids.

They each would be brought to a large office, where all around were people gambling and talking over drinks. At the end of the room was a large chair, and sitting there was a hutt. A stinky, ugly, wretched Hutt. From different entrances, Josh and Celiana would be brought in. When the two would unite, Josh would lean in to whisper into her ear.

"Do nothing until my signal. You'll know it when you see it."

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

I smelled like death. How could he even lean in to whisper in my ear? I tried fighting without too much bloodshed, but it seemed no matter what I'd be an outcast within The Order. I lost reason when it came to defending younglings I cared not who died. Though I showed the dead respect anyways. Nodding at Josh's instruction I used The Force to communicate "I'm sorry Joshua for the deaths, I feel like no matter what I disappoint The Order. It might not make a difference but for those dead in the arena I closed their eyes so they might find peace in the afterlife..." I stood there smelly, covered in gore and feeling judged. Maybe it was better I hadn't had a Master least that way I couldn't disappoint them...

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"You decapitated them. Closing the eyes of severed heads means nothing" He lectured her telepathically, shooting her a look. The two of them would be having a talk after this. And as much as he hated to say it, he would have to have a word with Grandmaster [member="Jyoti Nooran"] about how she had conducted herself on the field. As a friend, he didn't want to. But both as a Jedi Master, a member of the Assembly, and in a way, as Celiana's friend... He knew that this would help her in the long run. Jyoti would likely not punish her harshly, or anything of the sort. The Silver Jedi existed to help people both in and out of their ranks. Jyoti would know how to help Celiana become the leader of the Shadows she needed to be.

Upon entry into the office, the two would be greeted by a large Hutt at the end of the hall, who would raise their arms toward them. Their big, slimy arms.

"Ho ho! Welcome to my party. One of you has proven your worth in the fight pits, while the other has quite the gambling hand... Thus, I am happy to see you have accepted my invitation to my little parlour. So please, take a seat, enjoy yourselves! Take in our games, our dancers, our entertainment! Enjoy it all, and then we can talk business... I have plenty of ideas on how we can... Further our working relationship."

Josh would step forward. The guards would stop him, but he would raise his hands to indicate he meant no harm. He would hold out his hand to shake with the Hutt. Taken by surprise, the Hutt would laugh and reach out to shake the man's man. "Ho ho! A bold one, nobody shakes the hand of a Hutt."

Josh wished he hadn't.

"So! What do you think of our little pit? You look capable yourself, you considered being a full time fighter on top of our friend here? I can see it now, partnering you two up for blood and gore and glory! Doesn't that sound interesting? Though do try not to free the children next time... It's not as easy to find children. Not too many parents are keen to sell them off, but we do offer a price that many can't resist..."

Josh wanted to kill him. That was that. He wanted to draw his lightsabers and run through him, then and there. Quick and clean, then arrest the rest of this party and go home. Every inch of sheer hatred for this monster was being pressed down and pressed down hard. As a father himself, the words he was hearing disgusted him to his very core. They angered him, and even Celiana would be able to feel that anger radiating as hot as the sun.

But he couldn't do what he wanted to do. It wasn't the Jedi way.

"I have a son at home" Josh suddenly spoke up, looking the Hutt dead in the eye as he would tighten his grip on his hand. The Hutt's eyes widened, the music would stop and every patron, guard and person in the room would stop to look at them. The tension could be cut with a knife, as Josh's eyes pierced through the Hutt... And then he began to laugh. His expression was replaced by a more jolly one, as he became warmer again.

"Oh, I'm kidding! Ah, I got you! I had to do it, I'm sorry!"

After a pause, the Hutt began to laugh, though a bit nervously.

"Ohohoho! I like you, boy! You're good! I'll let that one go, since I'm in such a good mood! You put quite the scare in me!"

"Hahaha! You're good, I was kidding!" He reassured.

The Hutt, Josh and the room would laugh for a few moments... And then Josh's expression changed. And it was far more upset than before.

"No, I'm not."

A thermal detonator would slip from Josh's sleeve into the hand that still had not released the Hutt. He turned then to face the crowd.

"LISTEN UP!" The Jedi would growl. The act had begun. "YOU WILL LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND KNEEL DOWN UNTIL THE AUTHORITIES ARRIVE! IF ANYONE TRIES ANYTHING, I'LL BLOW YOU, AND YOUR BOSS, TO HIGH HELL!"

Of course, the thermal detonator wasn't armed.

"Wait!" The Hutt would cry out as he tried to tug his hand away. But the Jedi's grip was tight. "Won't you die as well? You wouldn't throw your life away over a few kids, would you?"

Josh looked back toward the Hutt, and his expression caused them to recoil. Josh's emotions were bubbling up, but he didn't let them impact his actions. He was going to stick to the plan, even if he wanted to run him through here and now.

"You think a pair of Jedi won't survive that?"

He was bluffing, of course. Odds were they wouldn't survive a thermal detonator from close range. He was counting on them believing him.

Josh would contact Celiana telepathically then.

"Contact the authorities. If anyone tries to run or attack, take them down immediately. Non-lethally, unless it becomes necessary."

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

I'd dosed the drink platters as we'd been ushered towards the Hutt. If anyone tried drawing they'd be very, very lucky if they could even draw weapons. I emotionally winced under the weight of Joshua's words.... "You lecture me Master and I can feel your desire to kill him and everyone else in this room that helped him. It drips off of you...at least I'm honest and don't hide that..." I was hurt more than that I was hurt that he was lecturing me when I could feel how much he wanted the room to be bathed in the blood of these awful gangsters. Unfortunately I heard several drawing weapons and I simply crushed the barrels of the blasters rendering them useless. Then for good measure I pulled bladed weapons from sheathes and flung them into the walls with The Force. Not likely there'd be any who could pull them free either... My saber leapt to my hand and I ignited it with a snap-hiss... I was still suffering from the drugs though. As I'd ignited the blade two blaster bolts hit me. One by my hip and one into my shoulder.... The third I deflected back and simply threw up The Force as a shield absorbing multiple blaster bolts. I remembered this power being talked about in a lecture...Tutaminis if I recalled correctly. My mind was fuzzy from the drugs I'd suffered from in the arena, my reaction times were slower too. I doubted I'd be able to withstand much of anything more. Least I hadn't killed anyone....I might not make it but I wouldn't let these slimeballs Take Joshua from his son. At least that I could sacrifice myself for if I did get killed at least I wouldn't have killed them and I would end by protecting someone... My vision was fading as I batted back more blaster bolts and I could feel the impact through my fading Force shield. "Least if I go down I won't have drawn blood Joshua...." My voice even through The Force probably was starting to sound slurred...Hopefully he'd fight for me if I passed out...I dropped to a knee as I couldn't stay standing and be steady. Least this way I wouldn't prove to him I was simply an animalistic killer...

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"To feel something and to do something are completely different things if you learn to control yourself" Sounded in her head in response. Josh was sympathetic to her plight, but hoped to teach her that just because one felt something, did not mean they had to act on it through the first way that comes to mind. There were always alternatives. She needed to find those alternatives. "Remember that a Jedi Shadow is not a savage. They are a calm and collected, cool and calculated figure that knows when to act and how. You need to be subtle and clean, and leave as little trace of your presence as you can. You left your traces all over the battlefield."

Unfortunately, Celiana completely mistook the wording of his statements and held back heavily in a high pressure situation, getting riddled with blaster bolts in the process. Josh let out a sigh. "Not even remotely what I meant!" He growled aloud as he would bring up his arm and slam his elbow into the neck of the Hutt, knocking them cold. Thinking quickly, he would pull out the pin that was keeping the detonator from actually going off and toss it toward the wall. The other gang members would dive out of the way as the thermal detonator would explode, blowing a hole in the wall. Josh knew that'd alert law enforcement to a scuffle and they would arrive soon. But for now, he needed to quickly subdue their opposition before Celiana bled out. Now that his quarry was out cold, Josh would activate Force Speed and launch himself forward. As Celiana had done much of the fighting up to this point, Josh was completely fresh and able to spring into action without any sort of lag. Stopping in front of one of the thugs, Josh would kick the blaster out of their hand before spinning on his palm and using the momentum to slam the side of his foot into their jaw, knocking them cold. Several more began to open fire on the Jedi Master, who would activate Tutaminis himself to replace Force Speed as he began to walk forward, absorbing the bolts as he went.

Holding out a hand, he would begin to drain the heat from the blasters, causing their inner machinations to freeze up and become useless. They would realize that their blasters had malfunctioned too late, as Josh would hit the button on his wrist and the grappling hook attached to his wrist would shoot out and wrap around two of them while Josh manipulated the hook's trajectory with the Force. Once it had wrapped around, Josh would pull hard and the two thugs' heads would slam together, knocking them down and out as well. Withdrawing the hook back, Josh would hold his hands toward the ceiling as the thugs swapped to their backup weapons. As they opened fire, Josh would fire both hooks on his wrists toward the rafters and found himself being pulled up. Retracting them at the right moment, he flipped through the air and would grab the rails on the rafters, before having to quickly begin moving across when they began firing upwards. Launching a fireball downward, it would explode nearby the thugs and create a smokescreen that gave Josh a bit of breathing room. Leaping downward and using his senses to locate his opponents, Josh would take advantage of the smokescreen to draw his lightsabers and with a few quick swings would disable their backup weapons. Josh would then finish with several quick slashes to the sides, rendering his opponents down for the time being.

As law enforcement would arrive, Josh would motion them toward the thugs. "Fight pit" Josh spoke as he would move to begin healing Celiana. "Was also a front for gambling fraud, and they were using children as shields in the pits. Proof is all downstairs."

With that, he would quickly get to using Force Heal, working on Celiana for a little bit while he at least got her stabilized. Once she was stable, the Jedi would sweep her up and begin to carry her out of the building and toward the ship.

"Let's get you to a bacta tank, aye? Your wolf can come too, I suppose. There should be food for it on the ship."

[member="Celiana"]