Private Objects Are Not What They Seem

[Judah Dashiell]

"I think by the time we catalogued what staff remain trapped it will be too late to act. Possible these criminals could become emboldened to try to move to other areas of the station."

Judah looked to the security assembled.

"We will go with the second plan. Miss Tin'dara, myself, and a team of volunteers will move to intercept and diffuse the situation. At least two personnel who are not willing to volunteer will need to remain behind to guard the blast doors."

"Time is wasting, let's move."

 

[Azula Tindara]

She narrowed his eyes at him briefly. Stubborn bastard. She shook it away. A deeply frustrating man. He was also too observant to try and swipe the box from under his nose.

Another plan percolated away in the background. She had never learned how to heal with the Force, but she could pretend. Stay around holding a hand over the wounded with her eyes closed. Perhaps that way she could linger long enough to make a move on the treasure.

She wasn't exactly a dead woman if she walked out of here without it, but she was going to be in some serious jeapardy.

The door slid open and she darted forwards, lightsaber in hand. She knew that most of the raiders were in the outer salvage yards, just a few in their path.

As they turned around her corner she lit her blade and swung forwards to meet two blaster bolts from raiders guarding the corridor. The Togruta kept rushing forwards.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah was used to the narrowed eye looks ; women often were annoyed by his presence. It probably explained why he had remained single long after the divorce. Miss Tin'dara apparently had the same reactions to his general personality, not a surprise.

The Togruta rushed forward and he had to admit to being mildly impressed. Honestly he had not expected the woman to throw herself into the fray so quickly. He wasn't sure what he expecting.

Judah pressed himself to the wall as the blaster fire reached their direction. Miss Tin'dara had startled the first wave enough where himself and security were able to deliver a volley of fire at their intended targets, dropping a few.

There couldn't be that many more, right?

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula was weighing up the same thing. The box was worth a lot. It was hard to put a cold, hard value on its worth. It probably had another four years before advancements in tech made it obsolete and stopped it working.

If it was properly reported missing then it would be rendered useless.

It could keep one Hutt super freighter safe in Sith Empire space on maybe several hundred trips. It was beyond her concentration in the moment to put a number to it.

Many, many tens of thousands of credits. Enough to warrant a full gang making the raid on a well protected station. Enough to call in her debt too.

Azula lashed out, cutting off an arm at the elbow. She might have finished the job, put the man out of his misery, but that would not have seemed very 'jedi'.

"Seems to be the hangars ahead?" She called out for confirmation. They had blockaded the main entrance with some overturned repulsor carts and cargo boxes.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Yes, the unloading docks and hangar are right past those barricades."

The security team split apart and moved to flank either side of the barricaded entrance. They slipped along the walls,hoping for some element of surprise.

Judah crept along the front of one of the groups. He had an idea to be the first in line and slowly activate a few of the carts. His plan was to move a few, allowing narrow access. A guard on the other side would do the same.

It would trap them to a point but also slow down the gangsters if they decided to try to move past them and deeper into the station.

"Before we burst through someone reach out to central control and shut down any access for them to fly away."

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula let the security team lead, following Judah. When he looked back after calling for central control he would not see the serene visage of a jedi patiently waiting for the call to action.

There was a spring in her step, her fingers impatiently tapped out a rhythm on the hilt of her lightsaber. She was enjoying this.

She took a breath and established some outward calm.

"I'll go down the middle, make a distraction," she whispered as they waited for the all clear for Judah to advance.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Traffic is locked down. Let's proceed with Miss Tin'dara's plan. She will go down the middle, the rest of us will flank as best as possible."

Judah stepped back towards the middle, allowing for Tin'dara and the security team to take more of the charge.

The Jedi went first, springing into action. The lead security officer held his hand up, watching the scene as blaster fire rung out. Barely thirty seconds later the signal was given and the team fanned out through the small opening.

There wasn't much cover,they would have to be cautious.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula charged straight on. Her lightsaber was deactivated but she ran hard and fast, catching them by surprise.

She mentally stretched out, getting a handle on their numbers. The raiders had spread out around the salvage hangar, but they had already found the Hutt ship.

A first blast bolt lashed out towards Azula. She leapt up onto the skeleton of a freighter that had already been picked to the bones. Her lightsaber snapped out, catching a bolt and deflecting it.

She leapt again, the Force carrying her high. Up above was a series of cranes suspended from the ceiling that could move ships and cargo across the salvage floor. She landed on one, using the thick durasteel for cover as a flurry of blaster bolts went her way.

Hopefully that was enough of a distraction for now, but she had to work out where the damned box was.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah watched as Miss Tin'dara leapt high, landing on one of the crane systems high up in the ceiling. He wasn't sure if she was showing off or causing a distraction. It was working, fire directed towards the Jedi moreso than their group. Salvage was littering the floor, causing a bit of chaos. It could be an advantage or a hinderance, depending on where they needed to move and push towards.

Using Tin'dara as a distraction, Judah and the security group fanned out among the salvage. Blaster bolts whizzed by back and forth as both sides took pot shots from their hide outs. He was a bit worried about friendly fire if security found their way working along the sides of the processing area. It was a risk they were willing to take, the gangsters or pirates, whatever they called themselves, needed to be taken out swiftly.

Yet what happened next wasn't the way he wanted to end the firefight quickly. A stray blaster bolt hit a pressured container mixed among the salvage - something that would have been handled a much different way if there wasn't a fight going on. It didn't take much for the room to erupt into an explosion. Metal and scrap was tossed into the air along with every sentient being in the area.

As he was tossed, ringing began in his ears, deafening all other sound. He fell back hard on...something. It was difficult to tell.

Hopefully Tin'dara didn't get tossed down from the sky.

 

[Azula Tindara]

The Force warned her of what was about to happen. It was specific. Just a flare at the back of her mind.

Azula dropped to both knees. She thought to leave as little of herself visible to the raiders. They were a professional outfit, holding their foothold on the station with determination.

That action didn't help as the pressure erupted from the tank below. It lifted the entire arm of the crane. Heat washed over Azula as she felt herself falling.

She deactivated both sabers for her own safety and had enough sense to draw the Force around her. She'd lost all sense of orientation, but the Force turned a fatal fall into a painful one.

Azula opened her eyes to take in a different world. Fire surpression units were pumping a haze into the bay. Fire could burn through the oxygen on a station with terrifying speed. The doors had sealed again, leaving the spearhead of Dashiell's security forces in a precarious position.

In the chaos, it was the perfect time to sneak to the ship, grab the box and flee. She rolled to her feet, keeping her head down and she snuck towards cover.

Azula glanced over her shoulder. Raiders were emerging from the shadows, laying down surpressing fire and advancing on Dashiell. She couldn't even see the owner of the station in the mist and smoke.

"Feth it," she grumbled. She was a grifter, but she wasn't a heartless Togruta. She rolled her eyes at herself, but darted out into the open, both lightsabers lit. A piece of debris flew over her head, the wide sheet of scrap metal spinning through three of the raiders and scattering their attack.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Fire suppression systems immediately kicked in. Foam rained down from what was left of the pipes, alarms feebly blared in warning of the event.

Not that he could hear all too well, ringing was the predominant sound buzzing through his skull. Through the smoke blaster bolts flung his way, clearly advancing in his direction. Where the hell did his blaster go? Scattered away in the explosion most likely. So he did the next logical thing, hiding between twisted pieces of wreckage, trying to get back to the main security group.

Metal flew over head head and he instinctively ducked. Head went on a swivel, concerned a secondary smaller blaster had occurred without his noticing. However, out of the corner of his eye, a lightsaber. Right, Miss Tin'dara. It seemed she had just wiped out three of the pirates, leaving the group battling it out with security forces. Due to the fire, the doors were firmly shut until a manual fire override occurred. Either the pirates would pack up and leave or this would continue until one side was wiped out.

"Got a blaster?" He called out to Tin'dara, hoping she would understand over the noise.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula turned to see Judah taking cover in the wreckage. Once again she decided to do a good deed instead of covering herself. She had spent too much time amongst those silver jedi in hiding.

She didn't have a blaster. A wave of her left arm sent one skittering along the ground to within his reach.

She stepped closer, keeping her lightsaber held high to provide some cover whilst he grabbed the blaster.

"I could cut through to your reinforcements," she said. "But if they depressurise this bay it's going to affect more of your station."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah grabbed the blaster, crouching behind one of the large pieces of debris as Miss Tin'dara went through some,well one, of their options. He wasn't sure what direction they should be headed in. There was the total nuclear option of depressurizing their area, opening an air lock, and letting things come what may. It would have to be timed just right in order to protect the security forces.

"Its going to be our only option. Before we lose any more security to the firefight. Let's pull security forces back and at the last second we will trap the pirates and suck them out of the airlock. It will damage the station more but there's more than enough credits to do a repair. We can even start evacuation procedures now if there's a concern."

 

[Azula Tindara]

Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to take the extreme option. Clearly, he was not a man to take his time over a difficult decision. He also prioritised his staff over credits.

She made a small noise of surprise.

The problem for Azula was that the box could end up flushed into space. The pressure difference between the room and a vaccuum wasn't as extreme as people made out. The air would rush out in a very short space of time, but it wouldn't throw anyone but those closest to the doors out into the void of space. The rest would be left to die in a vacuum over a few minutes. At least they would lose consciousness quickly.

"Get to your people and pull them back," Azula said. "I'll keep them busy and make sure the ship they breached on isn't space worthy."

It sounded brave, but she was clinging to the slim chance of getting the box.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah gave pause to the entire plan. It sounded fine to him, made sense up until the point Tin'dara mentioned she would stay behind. In his years of being alive in the 'verse he had heard of Jedi doing odd things. Surviving a depressurization situation was not one of them - not that he was actually up on Jedi lore.

"What do you want me to say at your memorial service?"

Rhetorical of course. They didn't have time to hash out small details of the plan such as what Tin'dara would exactly be doing. Maybe she planned to take refuge in the vessel.

"Best of luck Miss Tin'dara."

Judah jogged off away from the woman, dodging between the debris to take over. Blaster bolts were still being flung in every direction. Perhaps Judah and the security team would create enough distraction in their retreat to allow Tin'dara to take some cover before they went to the completely nuclear option inside the docking bay.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula sprinted into the hangar bay. She slowed only to check the raiders she crossed. They were well organised and armed mercs. She didn't have time to search throughly, but none of the bodies she crossed seemed to have the box.

She swore under her breath repeatedly as she continued through the din. Disabling their breaching ships was to her benefit too. It kept the box on the station and within her reach.

The haze in the air coloured by the occasional blaster bolt. Judah and his security force would hear the hum of her lightsaber.

A dull thud rang out across the hangar. It could be felt through the floor. Azula raced on.

A few moments later and a message was passed down from the station to Judah. Azula had taken refuge in a shuttle that hadn't been salvaged and seemed to be airtight.

One breaching pod had already undocked and escaped. The first thud. The others were disabled.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

There was a bit of a scramble on their end to get to the safety of the blast doors. Two security forces got hit by blaster fire, the rest of the group all but dragging the two to safety. It wasn't a fatal blow but it had slowed down the group as a whole. Judah was not sure of the timing Miss Tin'dara may have had in her mind and hopefully she would adjust.

Word was given to the control room and the hanger began depressurizing. Most items near the doors were sucked out, large pieces of scrap getting stuck in the process. More importantly, oxygen was being pulled from the large space, rendering it incapable of life. As a bonus, it managed to put out some of the smoldering pieces of the explosion. Bit of a win-win in his opinion.

Satisfied, the doors were re-sealed and oxygen was re-introduced. Medical services were making their way down for all injured parties, along with an array of janitorial droids. There was a huge mess from the fire suppression system that would need to be cleaned before construction could begin on hangar and dock repairs.

Looks like the Station would be closed for scrap. If the structure was horrible, the Station itself would have to be evacuated down onto Tabaqui. Not an easy feat but one they could handle.

"Pressurization nearly complete."

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula watched from inside the shuttle. It was such a quiet, calm thing to see from her. Objects flung around, but then the air was gone.

She tapped on the console. The view through the screen gave nothing away. No way to tell between a deadly vacuum and breathable air.

She'd seen an airlock safety latch fail once. A man had been in there as the outer door opened. In seconds he had collapsed with bloodshot eyes. The door had closed again within thirty seconds and he had been back awake in minutes. Beyond blurred vision and headaches he had suffered no ill effects.

Azula wasn't cruel. She hoped those caught in the hangar had blacked out quickly and asphyxiated in their sleep.

The sensors weren't working. She had to stay inside and plot her explanation until she saw security guards walking outside.

She stepped out, feeling a flutter of nerves as the door opened.

"One of their pods got away," Azula called out to Judah, cursing her terrible luck.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Not really concerned with their getting away. Security will review holocam footage of the incident and we can let sector authority go from there. After the trouble they've had here, I doubt they will be back anytime soon."

Medical team was streaming in now that the threat had diminished. Ground crews stepped in for a bit of hot spot fire prevention. Chatter was going on between two groups on what to do with the bodies of the pirates until sector authority arrived.

"Miss Tin'dara you should be seen by medical. If not here, we do have a fully equipped facility several floors up from here."

 

[Azula Tindara]

This was a dilemma. Azula wanted to be on her way and after the group, but she could also barely walk in a straight line. The explosion and the fall had taken it's toll.

"I'll check in quickly," she agreed. To resist would have added more suspicion. There was already a good helping of that in play already.

She tried to think of the angles from his perspective. He didn't respect the Jedi and had rebuffed her request. He trusted his own staff and now the mercenaries were beyond his borders they were someone else's problem.

Azula studied his expression briefly. She could see why people followed him. That stern demeanour was frustrating, and in more way than one.

Park that thought.

In the heat of the action she had also allowed a lot of that mask to slip. It was going to require some explanation.

"Your people gave a good account of themselves," she offered. That some had died wasn't her fault. Azula was a grifter, but not a monster. At the same time, she would not be burdened by guilt that was not hers.