Private Lost in the Lower Levels

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

Lily smiled warmly to Shan and shook her head, "don't need to apologise. I was never offended by your words, and I hope that I did not cause you offence with my own. I just think we are two people, with very different views on the matter at the current time in our lives. Who knows how it might be later down the line." She hoped that would ease the tension and help Shan feel more comfortable being around her, he seemed like someone would be a good friend.

Nodding her head at Shan's mention of them potentially being suspect, Lily wasn't sure how best to approach the manner. Knowing that she needed to get something in order to note it in her report since she doubted that her Master would appreciate a vague report of a group being potentially suspect and weird because they were quietly whispering. No, Lily needed solid proof. She needed to listen to what they were saying.

Shifting to the shadows, Lily used some of her skills from Echani training to move gracefully and quietly towards the group, not drawing too much attention to herself as she moved. Her ears were pricked as she attempted to listen in on the conversation. She needed to be cautious as to not draw attention to herself.

"...and boss man said that the shipment last week was not good enough!" A gruff voice called out. "Flogging this stuff ain't easy work, Jedi are trying to crack down here on these levels. Needs to be higher quality spice if we want repeat customers."

Ah! Spice! That was perfect, and all she needed, taking a few steps away, her back turned to the gang as she noted the conversation and some key distinguishing features to help track this group down.

Unfortunately for Lily, as she walked back to Shan, she kicked a can and drew attention to herself. Panicked, she just kept walking in the hopes that the gang wouldn't pay her much attention.

"Oi! You! Get back here!" The same gruff voice called out to her, which instantly had Lily running to Shan.

"Shan! Help! They spotted me!" Lily called out, too panicked and stressed to realise she could likely take on a gang of NFUs on her own.

 

[Shan]

Shan just raised an eyebrow as Lily headed off to investigate the group but made no effort to stop her. Instead he just kept himself quiet, focusing on looking around casually to see if there was anything he could use to distract himself. It wasn't exactly his mission, and he wasn't the greatest at being stealthy. This way he could work on being casual, without getting Lily caught and in trouble.

His eyes scanned across the trash and rubbish strewn across the floor, seeing various cans and bottles laying all over the place. Shan was going to need to figure out something in case he had to help Lily. He wasn't exactly a fan of trying to fight if it came to it, so he would need to figure out how he was going to distract them...

There was a chance he could try to push them away with the Force but he wasn't sure if he'd be strong enough to do an entire group. Maybe he could kick a bottle or a can at one of them to act as a distraction but there was a small group of them...Though he wasn't going to have long to think however, as Shan heard a can being kicked, snapping him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see a can trailing away from where Lily had kicked it, and he tilted his head to the side, wondering why she was trying to get attention to herself...before he realised it was an accident.

Then the group was calling out towards Lily and Shan knew this wasn't going to end well...though before he knew it, Lily was asking him to help which caught him off guard. There wasn't much he could do combat wise to deal with them but he could try to disorientate them to give Lily a minute to calm herself down as Shan took a firm step forward, and kicked a can towards one of the gang members though that wasn't the only aspect of it. Most of his Force practice had been against dummies so he wasn't sure how this was going to go against an actual group of people but...Shan focused on building up the Force in his hands as Lily ran in his direction, trying to make sure he wouldn't catch her in his push, as he exhaled before pushing the Force he had built up in front of him, trying to push the Gang onto their rears

"Lily! Just calm down and breathe! You've got this!" Shan huffed to himself, wiping his forehead as his eyes darted over towards the other Padawan. He didn't fancy the idea of actually having to fight the Gang...but if Lily didn't calm down, he wasn't exactly going to have a choice. There was no point running either, since Lily could get lost in the alleyways.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

Shan snapped the panic out of Lily, letting her breathing calm down and make her realise that this wasn't a dangerous situation, that she had the skills to handle this situation. She wasn't just a Jedi, she was an Echani as well, she had trained to handle a fight with multiple people. In fact, she knew exactly how she could handle this fight. If anything, this should be simple, no random person off the street should be able to keep up with Lily when she concentrated on her training and didn't surrender to the fear. The Force Push had only worked for a moment, the gang members were quickly rising to their feet. Lily nodded her head to Shan, "Thanks for the reality check."

It was all she said before she turned around to face the gang. Breathing in deeply, she ignited her training saber. It wouldn't kill any of them but it was enough to prevent them from harming anyone and detain them long enough for the Coruscant police to arrest them. "Contact the police, tell them that we have a group attempting to harm a Jedi." Lily stated, her mind focusing on the combat as she was already assessing the individuals and calculating which ones would pose the most threat to her.

As she was assessing, the first member ran at her, Lily shifted her weight backwards and avoided the first punch. Instead she assisted his momentum to continue past her and sent him stumbling past her. Stepping forward, whereas the gang thought they had an advantage against her in terms of numbers, there was a more nervous energy seeing her skills and knowing she was a Jedi. "Leave now." Lily stated firmly, hoping they would all leave, however it seemed that they were determined to stay and try and prove their strength.

Lily watched as several came at her all at the same time, she ducked, weaved and danced around them. Not harming them with any aggressive or emotional based movements. Instead, she held the grace of a trained dancer as well as stunning the gang members, aiming to knock them onto the ground and leave them there. Focused solely on the fight, she hadn't been able to track what Shan was doing or how he was coping, her attention was focused to draw all the members to fight her and focus on her as the main threat.

 

[Shan]

Shan didn't need to be told twice. Once Lily had managed to snap out of her daze, he was off running down the streets, making sure to dart between the alleyways in case any of the gang members were following him. Grabbing onto various pipes to swing himself around corners, or throwing himself up and over various obstacles to clear distance. He was going to need to find an Officer as fast as he could, huffing and puffing as his eyes darted around the streets, trying to figure out the best direction to head, whilst also trying to recall the way back. He couldn't spare a thought on how Lily was dealing, but he was sure she'd be fine right now.

It was harder than he'd want to admit to find an officer on these levels, as he dashed around. He might not have been much of a fighter, but he was pretty good at running around from being on Nar Shaddaa. He had to stay calm and think through this. There was no need for him to panic, especially when Lily was the one dealing with all of the gang members. Just focus Shan. His eyes kept darting around before he thought he found one of the officers, running over and taking in a deep breath.

"We need help! There's a group of gang members attacking a Jedi! I'm sure she can handle herself, but having an official officer to arrest them would help!" With that, Shan got ready to bring the officer back to where Lily had been fighting, but he realised he wouldn't be able to go sprinting off, since the Officer might not be able to keep up. So against his own wishes, he slowed himself down to take the officer over towards where he had came from. Though he didn't bother hoping that Lily was okay. He knew she'd be okay! There was no way the gang would be able to bother her.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

Lily focused on her fighting, graceful in her movements she was also precise and delivering strong, hard attacks. The only issue she was having was the fact that there were so many of them that she was more of the defensive side than the offensive, which meant that she couldn't take them out as quickly or as efficiently as she would like. Strikes that should be stunning blows from her training saber were only put them down temporarily since they were grazing strikes in order for her to defend the oncoming attack from another person. It was frustrating her endlessly since she should not be struggling this much against a bunch of nobodies that held no real skill in combat.

So she made the executive decision to switch from her Lightsaber combat to hand to hand. Something more traditionally Echani and a lot more effective in the close quarters setting they were in. It should be a lot better in her mind since she could direct them into fighting each other accidently. Using their momentum and movements to collide into one another, it was much more effective than blocking and striking with the training saber. Lily breathed out as she relaxed even more, the decision to switch to hand to hand was working, her strikes were hitting harder, she was able to block better and parry attacks efficiently which was key in this fight. She needed to keep her endurance up.

Knocking out several gang members, the fight was easily becoming one sided with her skills on full display now. She was dancing around them and ensuring each member was knocked out or down for the count. It was her first real fight but Lily felt no fear or dark emotions, she was being effective and decisive, her body language was calm, collected and eager to move into the next strike. If any of these gang members had a small amount of Echani training, they would have realised she was holding back in her words and being very basic, that she was treating them like children and not the full grown adults that they were.

Because they fought like children in her mind.

With the last one down, Lily stood to her full height and huffed, it was a good workout and she couldn't believe she panicked like she had. She was too use to Echani and the Jedi being much more skilled fighters than these people. It was something to keep in mind. She waited for Shan to return, hoping he wasn't going to be much longer, she wasn't sure how much longer these guys would stay down. She bruised their egos pretty badly and they might get irrational and attempt something stupid.

 

[Shan]

"Come on! Hurry up!" Shan knew he was being impatient with the Officer as he kept leading the officer down various alleyways and twists. Part of him was surprised that the Officer was listening to him, but he suppose he just had one of those reliable faces. It was strange to see how the Officer didn't seem to be as mobile as Shan was but Shan had grown up in streets like this, running from people himself so it made sense that he might have been a bit more experienced than someone who just might be patrolling the area. He was trying to let his mind wander so he didn't start worrying about how Lily was dealing with the gang members.

Slowly but surely they were getting closer as Shan was able to recognise some of the alleyways they were going down. There was a part of him that felt awful about leaving Lily but he would have only been a hinderance in a fight. It was something that he would need to change in time...but that time wasn't right now. It would have to be some time before he could work on being useful in a fight but he had his own uses, like right now with leading people through the lower levels, eventually getting closer to where Lily had been.

And within a few more minutes, Shan and the Officer finally arrived for them both to see the pile of people all over the floor. He just leaned against his legs, trying to catch his breath whilst letting the Officer go and do his business with the criminals. Shan just lifted his head up to look over towards Lily, giving her a small smile alongside a thumbs up. "I knew you were going to be alright. There was no point in me worrying about you...No random gang member could beat you." There was still a large part of him that felt bad for leaving her behind but she had been te one who told him to run, so run he had done.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

Shan seemed out of breath, he had clearly rushed the best he could to get back to her. Something that Lily appreciated, she wasn't worried about handling the criminals but she didn't want to risk letting any of them getting away. "Glad you could get back so swiftly Shan!" Lily gave a warm smile to him as she looked over to him before she turned her attention to the officer, her hands slipped behind her as she wandered over to the officer to explain the situation as it pertained to her.

"I was conducting a patrol that was going to be reported to my Jedi Master, Jedi Knight Briana Sal-Soren. While conducting the patrol, I observed this group behaving in a suspicious manner. In order to provide informative and useful information, I attempted to sneak up on them and overhear their conversation to see if they were conducting illegal activities or if they were a normal group of friends wishing to not be overheard." Lily stated in a cool tone, "I overheard them discussing a spice ring that they were taking part in, making note of this for further observations and future arrests, I attempted to discreetly return to my associate and continue our patrol."

Lily then coughed, slightly embarrassed with her failed attempt to be stealthy. "I unfortunately was noticed and the gang gave chase. Fortunately my colleague was able to get to you and I took defensive measures, knocking them out to be detained for attempting to attack a Jedi." Lily finished her report and then stepped aside to let the officer to continue his duties with the gang members.

Looking over to Shan, "I think its probably best to call this the end of my patrol, do you want to join me on the walk back to a speeder to the temple?" Lily extended the offer to him.

 

[Shan]

Shan returned the smile towards Lily, giving her a short nod. "I'd have been back faster...but I needed to slow down to make sure the Officer knew exactly where to go." A small chuckle came out of his mouth afterwards as he let Lily report everything to the Officer and Shan just crouched himself down to get a good look at some of the gang members, a frown spreading across his face as he thought about this situation and the potential ripples it could cause in the lower levels.

It was going to be harder for him to do his usual routine of handing out supplies to people in the lower levels, now that he had probably been seen by a few of them running to get an Officer, alongside causing issues for them with getting the gang members arrested, but at the end of the day that his job. Helping with this is more important than giving out the supplies in his eyes. The gang members would have been causing more lasting damage than what Shan could have healed. At least now there was a chance that things would calm down here...but there was also a chance that another threat would just arise but he shook his head, not wanting to think on that as Lily asked if he wanted to join her on the walk back to the speeder.

"Sounds good to me. I need to stretch my legs some more anyway." A grin spread across his face once more. Even if his legs were a bit sore, he wasn't the kind of person to say no to a walk. It let him see more of the world he was on, and get more familiar with it. Plus it helped that he wouldn't be walking alone.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

She was glad that Shan decided to join her on the walk. It was a good chance to talk some more and get to know one another but also meant that she didn't have to worry about getting lost or turned around again. That was a massive plus for her. She kept her hands behind her as she walked, looking around at the lower levels decoration and the dark stylings of the place. It did seem a completely different world to what she had seen of Coruscant before today, she was curious what else was out there in the galaxy but also if the further down a person went if there were even more areas to explore and discover, and how they might differ to this. Her steps were slow but practiced, she was not rushing back to the temple but nor was she attempting to stall. She was taking her time as she wandered.

"So, Shan. Thanks for the help today, I might never have been able to start my patrol without you and I might never have been able to cope with those goons if you hadn't snapped me out of the panic." She smiled warmly, grateful for the help that he had provided her today, "sorry that we got off on the wrong foot about the fighting and such, perhaps I can show you a few things at the temple, give a personal demonstration of what Echani fighting looks like?" She offered with a smile.

 

[Shan]

"You don't need to thank me Lily, it's the least I could do. You were the one who did the hard work." Shan kept a grin on his face as they walked, as he took in the sight of the streets they walked past, letting out a content sigh. It reminded him of home, except this time he wasn't as scared or as small as he used to be. Though he did glance over towards Lily as she offered to give a demonstration of what Echani was, and the Mirialan tilted his head, clearly giving the idea some thought. He was already less opposed to the idea of fighting, but that didn't mean he was going to jump at the offer...though he did end up giving Lily a short nod.

"I think that would be...helpful to opening up my eyes, yes. Perhaps I'll see if there's any other opportunities around the temple for me to broaden my knowledge and see how fighting can be used positively." And that was the truth. Whilst he wasn't going to end up focusing on becoming the next battlemaster or mastering an offensive form like Makashi, Shan was more willing to learn about combat and fighting, just so that he'd be able to use those skills if he was forced to.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Coruscant, Lower Levels
Outfit: Jedi Gear
Tag: Shan

She nodded her head, just taking the compliment that he offered and did not fight to ensure that he allowed her to succeed. It seemed that he was too modest to realise the important roles he played in the events today. Perhaps something that could change in the future. It was hard to be humble but also accept compliments, it was a fine line that Lily had to learn as a noble. People expecting great things of her for being nobility but she also couldn't be too eager or egotistical about it since then people would judge her and accuse her of being spoilt. Instead, she had to appear humble and modest, while also striving to achieve great things.

It was not easy. "There are some more defensive, disarming focused Lightsaber techniques, perhaps those will suit your personality more?" Lily suggested to Shan. "The archives and library has some good holocrons on different techniques, just be careful to avoid the very dry lecture-y ones. They can definitely cause you to fall asleep instead of studying." Lily giggled to herself, thinking about the times she nodded off while she was listening to a particularly boring holocron and snapped awake to find several hours had passed.

Wandering through the streets, "hopefully we can do more missions together in the future as well, be fun to keep in touch." She offered him a warm smile.

 

[Shan]

Shan nodded at Lily's comment about defensive lightsaber forms. IT had been something he had been thinking of, but he still never had the confidence or motivation to go into fighting with a lightsaber. The results of today were likely to change that but Shan wasn't ready to admit that to anyone just yet. He kept a smile on his face however, taking in the lights of the lower levels, tilting his head afterwards in thought before turning his attention back to Lily when she mentioned to avoid the dry lecture-y holocrons, causing Shan to let out a small chuckle.

It was just amusing to him, considering he spent most of his time going over the holocrons for different things. "I mean, even the dry lecture-y ones are valuable to me. Knowledge is important, no matter how boring it might be. Though I suppose holocrons that go into the more practical aspects of lightsaber techniques would be more vital to me..." He rubbed his chin in thought like usual. He could rely on holocrons for the knowledge or he could try and see if he could get actual living people to teach him...Either one seemed like a decent choice to him.

Though he was surprised at the statement from Lily that she hoped they could do more missions together. He didn't think he had helped that much. "It would be fun to stay in touch, I agree. I'm sure we'll see each other around every now and then."