Parties & Pleasantries

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela moved passed the dance floor, eyes flicking back and forth. She was searching for someone, something...that would mark a difference. Her lips thinned slightly as she continued to find nothing. What were they planning? There had to be something.

"Aela."

She heard Ian's voice over her comm.

"Look up."

Her head immediately flicked upwards, eyes locking onto the ceiling. Her lips thinned immediately as she searched, and then she saw it. There was a stream of...something, coming through the ornate ceiling. At first it appeared like a thing red line, but then she realized what it was, a lightsaber. Her eyes immediately popped open and her hand twisted. With a sudden jerk she pulled three people on the dance floor away from beneath the portion of the ceiling that quickly collapsed.

Heavy decorated marble went crashing to the floor, a cloud of smoke and debris reaching up into the air, obscuring the five figures that dropped down into the grand hall. The lights inside immediately cut off, screams rose, and chaos began to reign.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

One final twirl and it became apparent in that very moment why he continued to throw her about. Why he wanted to dance. To separate her and prevent her from interjecting when the ceiling came down, as well as to gauge where her weapons had been. With only a small handful of places to hide such a thing as a blaster, his hands and body had already brushed against most of hers well enough to tell she had no pistol on her. Just before the commotion he brought her in, chocolate brown eyes darting up to see the red as it melted through the ceiling, his hand running down her thigh before eyes fell on hers.

His hand squeezed, wrapping fingers around the hilt of her blade.

Jamie and Aiden were far enough away from where the debris fell that she hadn't been aware of what happened until the marble crashed down to the floor, eliciting screams from just about everyone in the room as guests began to flee from the ballroom. They wouldn't get far though, as the grand doors were sealed shut, locking the senator's guests within their darkened prison complete with an untold number of assassins.

The man quickly ducked his hand under her dress, removing the weapon from the small holster tucked beneath it. "Aren't you just full of surprises, Miss Pyne. A royal delegate and a Jedi?" A rather heavy arm wrapped around her neck, notably less delicate than earlier. The lightsaber snapped to life as he pressed the activator, yellow light illuminating through the dark in contrast to the red.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Her heart raced.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN."

The voice boomed out from the dust cloud, the loud whir of two lightsabers ringing out. Her gaze flicked towards Jamie, her own yellow lightsaber illuminating her and her captor. She frowned slightly, then glanced back towards the cloud of debris. The figure holding the red lightsaber shifted and moved, clearly the one that was doing the talking. Murmurs rushed across the crowd, another woman screamed, but as the infiltrators began to file through the room the guests quickly quieted down.

Aela stayed back, practically hiding behind a woman with the poofiest dress she'd ever seen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please remain calm. We're not here for you, we're only here for one man and one man alone."

The figure stepped out into the open, allowing Aela to get a better look at him. He wore drab robes of gray and black, a long scar ran across his face and his left eye seemed to be cybernetic. He was human from what she could tell, though oddly enough there was no hint of darkside corruption on his skin. Her lips thinned slightly, eyes glancing up to the balcony where Ian was standing. His fingers were gripping the balcony tightly. She tried to wave him off, making sure he didn't do anything foolish.

The Senator, being the man that he was, slowly stepped forward out of the crowd. He stood tall, his back straight, his eyes set on the assailants. There were fourteen of them in total, including the man that was holding Jamie. Aela glanced towards her padawan, trying to send a sense of calm.

They had to wait to see how this unfolded, if they struck now the other Twelve Infiltrators could very easily start killing Civilians.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie caught sight of the man as Aiden maintained his rather forceful hold on her, shifting her as he needed to from behind. Even still, he made no attempt to directly harm her, but she got the feeling that it was more out of necessity than compassion. One more hostage was hardly a bad thing, especially one that could bring quite a payday as both a Naboo royal and Jedi in one package. Oddly enough he paid no mind to Aela, perhaps he didn't know who she was after all, or what she was. At least there was that.

The senator stepped forward, Jamie recognized him even though there was minimal light remaining in the room. The chatter of whispers could be heard in the ambient undertones. Confusion and fear spread like wildfire in the small space that they were now confined to. "It's a funny thing, really. To ask that people remain calm when you make such an entrance, rather than use my front doors. Wouldn't you say?" The senator spoke directly to the man with the crimson lightsaber a few feet away, though shifted an odd look over towards Jamie and Aiden. "Come now. You needn't harm the young lady. You have more than enough men and weapons to maintain order, do you not?" His hand gestured to the little over a dozen armed assailants in the room.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Perhaps that would have been true a few moments ago, but Senator, she's a Jedi. We can't just let her go running amok can we?"

Aela frowned. Were they stalling? Why talk to the Senator at all? They had him out in the open, they had the placed secured, why bother with talking? If they really wanted they could have just killed the man and ended it all in an instant. She frowned for a moment and glanced towards Jamie again. There was no way of freeing her padawan, there was also no way of stopping the man with the lightsaber without giving herself away. What could she do?

The infiltrators slowly wandered through the room, their weapons pointing not at the civilians but instead towards the ground. Professionals, not amateurs. Aela glanced away for a few seconds and refocused her gaze on the Sith...or whatever the hell he was.

"Everyone who is not the Senator or our lovely new Jedi Guest, move to the end of the room."

There was a pause.

"NOW!"

The man's voice boomed out, and finally people began to move. In the rush Aela nearly found herself falling over but a kind man caught her by the arm. Slowly everyone headed towards the end of the grand hall, gathering like cattle to be slaughtered.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie flinched at the sound of his barked order. "Don't worry, doll." Aiden whispered into her ear. The warmth of his breath falling against her brought out a cringe. "Just enjoy the show." Jamie did her best to ignore him and avoid eye contact with Aela. She didn't want to give her away as well, especially if the others didn't know of her quite yet. It was all rather pointless to try to struggle free given that he had her in a tight spot between his arm and her lightsaber just in front of her body. Instead she remained still as Aiden pulled her a ways back from the senator as the others were slowly backed against the wall of the ball room.

"How exactly do you plan to get away with murdering the senator and a Jedi in front of all of these people?" She asked, if nothing else than to stall long enough to figure out another plan. There were so many of them. Aiden had her lightsaber, and Aela was only one person. Without Jamie being safe she knew Aela likely wouldn't do anything too drastic, unless it was obvious that one of them were about to be killed.

Quickly Aiden tightened his grip around her neck and whispered once more. "Do not speak unless asked or he'll ensure you regret it."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela gathered with everyone else at the back of the room.

The crowd was, of course, incredibly uncomfortable and somewhat squished together, but that was a necessity. Somehow she had managed to snag a place within the second 'row' of people, standing just behind a man who seemed as though he were about to wet himself. The infiltrators gathered in front of the crowd, weapons still pointed down. The light cast off from the lightsabers allowed Aela to get a better look at them, her eyes quickly scrutinizing their uniforms.

She frowned slightly, not recognizing their armor or any symbols that they wore. Just who were these people? Mercenaries? The Jedi Marshall stared past them and towards Jamie, wondering exactly what their next move should be. The man with the crimson Lightsaber signaled to Aiden.

"Quit fondling the poor girl and tie her up. Keep her lightsaber."

Aela perked an eyebrow. At least the man would get away from Jamie, that would give them a little bit of wiggle room. She shifted slightly, closing her eyes. The force flowed through her, a small trickle at first, giving her just enough strength. She listened, trying her best to block out the scared whispers of those around her. Her ears perked slightly as she managed to just barely hear the comm of one of the soldiers standing nearby.

[ETA is 6 minutes]

Her eyes snapped open, they had a ship coming. This wasn't an assassination, it was a kidnapping.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Aiden half chuckled at the man. Pulling her towards one of the chairs at a now empty table, forcing her down. "Sit." He ordered. Jamie obliged, dropping into the seat, though her head craned around to address the one clearly in charge. "You still didn't answer my question, Sith!" She hoped that the word would elicit some kind of response from him. That way she and Aela could both understand if he was affiliated with any kind of order, or if this was simply an untrained Force sensitive that got his grubby hands on a lightsaber to play with somehow.

The man in charge of overseeing her slapped her in the face before continuing to restrain her. "I said be quiet doll. Now look what you made me do."

It hurt. But not terribly so. Though there was enough force behind the hit to knock the idle strands of hair along the sides of her cheek away. Her face turned, looking away for a moment, before she returned her gaze, and a damning glare to Aiden. When I get up, boy, are you going to regret that. She seethed with anger for this man. By all accounts he was a sorry excuse for a person.

He knelt down beside her, tightening the restraints. "Not another word."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

The man with the saber laughed, it was a hearty throaty laugh that one might have expected from a normal person hearing a good joke. Aela frowned slightly, watching him as he half turned to Jamie. There was a certain smugness to his expression.

"No no, Dear. Not a Sith."

Well that was at least something. They had sparingly little information about who these people actually were, and to make it worse Jamie wasn't able to tell Aela that they were mercenaries in the first place. She frowned slightly, glancing past the man and towards the Window. She had been counting the minutes in her head, four of them had passed so far. She could see the soldiers in front of her tense, for a second, her eyes drifting from person to person.

Suddenly something swooped in front of the window at the other end of the hall.

Spotlights immediately burst into life, instantly illuminating the room and blinding the crowd. Aela stuck her hands up, shielding her eyes. Then there was a loud clatter and explosion of glass, the massive central window instantly punched out by something. Sharp shards splashed to the ground, breaking apart and falling to bits. Aela shook her head, eyes opening to look through the spotlight. She saw the Sith...the lightsaber wielder grab the Senator and Drag him back.

She watched as the soldiers slowly backed up, the man that had been tying Jamie up finishing with his restraints and slowly standing, heading back towards the gunship that was hovering just outside of the now shattered window.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Maybe if there hadn't been such a high number of them she could have done something. Maybe if she'd simply avoided Aiden the rest of the evening he wouldn't have discovered that she was a Jedi, and the two would have had better luck taking down the mercenaries. The only reason Jamie could think that they were taking the senator was to publicly assassinate him in a grander method, with far more witnesses than just the guests at the ballroom.

All Jamie knew was that she wasn't going to let that happen. Not to mention those karks took her lightsaber!

Not okay!

Being restrained didn't leave the Padawan with a whole lot of options though. Her eyes flickered back to Aela for guidance. Words were impossible to pass back and forth due to the noise of the gunship outside. Jamie passed the image of the bounty hunter's guild to Aela through their bonded bracelets, hoping getting the message across that these were mercenaries of some type, though what the man with the lightsaber was still was a mystery.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She let out a curse.

Half the soldiers were now onboard the gunship, the other half had taken position up surrounding the window while the man with the lightsaber loaded the Senator. She had to do something. She had t- Aela stopped for a moment as an image flashed through her mind. It was a simple symbol, the Bounty Hunter's Guild Emblem. She frowned for a second and then glanced over to Jamie, lips thinning. They were Bounty Hunters? No, the Senator had no...mercenaries.

They were mercenaries.

"Poodoo." Aela said quietly and then slowly reached down. She pulled up her dress for half a second, the boy behind her opening his eyes wider than he'd ever thought possible as he caught sight of the bottom of her rear. The Marshall paid him no mind, instead drawing her sabers.

She stepped forward beyond the crowd and ignited the blades.

They sprang to life with a loud snap-hiss, instantly lighting the space around her. She hear Aiden let out a curse, but Aela was already dashing forward towards Jamie. She moved quickly, blaster bolts flying directly at her.

"NOT AT HER YOU IDIOTS! THE CROWD"

The man with the lightsaber screamed having boarded the Gunship along with the Senator, but by the time he directed his men Aela had already reached Jamie. With pinpoint precision she cut her Padawan free, slicing through the restraints and deactivating her older lightsaber. She tossed it to Jamie, rushing forward on her path towards the Gunship.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

For half a second the men looked confused at the order to kill the civilians, though they did as instructed and turned their weapons on the guests just as Jamie had been freed. Dozens of blaster bolts tore through the air, hitting several people as they struggled to take cover behind anything and everything possible. Tables, chairs, pillars, the bar itself. Everything was better cover than standing against the wall to be cut down. There was simply too many for either Jedi to protect everyone from.

Jamie ignited Aela's weapon and as she raced towards the gunship did her best to deflect the incoming barrage of blaster fire. Screams echoed throughout the hall, even over the roar of the gunships engines. The man in charge clearly knew that if he stuck around any longer that he wouldn't escape with the senator. Abandoning his men was a worthy cause if it meant he finished the job. Turning his head he motioned for the pilot to lift off, leaving three behind as the ship began to pull away from the shattered and blown out window.

In that moment Jamie had forgotten that the lightsaber she wielded did not function the same as Daylight, meaning that as she slashed forward to stun one of the mercenaries instead she completely severed the mans hands from the wrists as she passed by. The ear piercing scream served to remind her that she was holding a fully powered weapon in her hands. That reminder made her cringe with disgust as she leaped up onto the edge of the sill, just as the ship began to drift away.

Without even a second of hesitation she followed the momentum of her charge and jumped, deactivating Aela's blade and stashing it between her teeth to use her hands, wrapping fingers around a small piece of durasteel on the outer hull of the ship.

BAD IDEA. But she wanted that lightsaber back just as much as she wanted to stop them from killing this man.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"JAMIE!" Aela screamed after her padawan as the flat of her palm pressed out and sent the last of the soldiers flying to the floor. Their weapons clattered as they were sent to the ground, falling with a heavy thud into unconsciousness.

She let out a curse as Ian ran up behind her, the Gunship quickly swooping forward down towards the depths of Coruscant.

"IAN!" Aela turned, finding a bewildered looking Marine staring at her with one of the stolen rifles. "Get me a ship. I need to follow her."

Jamie had moved faster than Aela could have, mostly because she'd been so drilled in on stopping the Soldiers from actually harming any of the civilians. She had managed to bring down most of them before they'd had a chance to fire too many times, and from the looks of it no had had been killed, though a few were injured. She let out another curse, her eyes flicking towards the top of the balcony. "Quickly!"

Ian nodded and then touched the comm on his ear.

Rescue services would arrive quickly, and the 5th Legion would bring Aela a ship, but for a few minutes at least Jamie would be on her own.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy.

Coruscant was a big city world. Big in every sense of the term, including vertically. From where they were in the sky Jamie couldn't see the ground. Falling would certainly mean death. Fortunately Jamie weighed next to nothing, and the sudden added weight on the gunship was indistinguishable from the shifting of the ship as the pilot directed them towards their destination, likely the under city. That was where most of the nefarious types liked to huddle together after all. As it pulled away the girl turned her head back once, watching Aela's form slowly drift away from the window.

With their connection Jamie felt the wave of panic briefly pass between the two. Jamie knew Aela well enough to know that she would find a way to get to her. At least this way they had no chance of getting away, so long as Jamie could remain hidden and follow. Aiden had her lightsaber. The other mysterious man had the senator. There were still about ten or so soldiers on board the gunship. There wouldn't be much she could do to stop them on her own, but she could help Aela get to them, along with backup.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Aela, we can't get clearance to fly a gunship through Coruscant."

The Jedi Marshall let out a curse, already stalking towards the landing pad. They had of course called Alliance command in order to get reinforcements, but apparently there were some local troubles that meant flying a gunship of their own was simply impossible. CoreSec was already on route and they had firepower, but it would take them a few minutes to catch up, not to mention that they would have no idea where they would be going. "Fine. We're taking something from the garage."

Ian looked like he was about to say something, but he quickly closed his mouth as Aela stalked forward. She looked at all the vessels for a moment then pointed to one.

"That one." It was a luxury speeder, sleek, beautiful, but most importantly fast. "Hotwire it."

"I don-"

"I know why you were pressed into service for the Sith, Ian. Hotwire it." The Marine scratched the back of his head and then nodded, rushing towards the speeder with Aela following after him. A few seconds later they rocketed off the platform, following in the direction that Jamie had disappeared in.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The gunship tore through the sky as it made its' way quickly towards wherever it was they were going. Jamie was unfamiliar with Coruscant, especially from the underside of a gunship soaring through sky traffic at untold speeds. Those in other travel lanes likely had some questions as to why someone was dangling from the bottom of a military looking ship, but most hardly recognized anything. Coruscant was such a busy place that unless something wound up in their lap, travel was just another boring, uninteresting moment in life, much as breathing was.

Her heart was racing, holding onto the metal. She worried more about falling and not catching these mercenaries than she did of being caught and tortured by them. As the gunship passed by a massive tower filled with advertisements for ATC Jamie would send her recollection of that to Aela, a means of some sort to follow. The next image would be of a building that was currently on fire, where workers were on the scene to stifle the massive blaze. Fortunately it appeared that those on board were none the wiser to her presence. If only she could hold on just a bit longer. It looked like they were beginning to descend.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Hurry Ian." The Marine was already pressing the speeder as fast as it could go, sending both of them hurtling down the skyways faster than was probably safe. They dodged and weaved through traffic, a few people cursing at them as they went by.

She saw the images flash through her mind, her eyes quickly searching for what Jamie sent her.

"Left." She called out. "Then straight."

The Marine didn't even hesitate, taking Aela's directions as though they were the word of law. He was an impressive pilot admittedly, although much better in a speeder than a ship. Aela clenched the side of the vessel, her fingers practically breaking the small handle bar as they rushed faster and faster forward. Then she saw it in the distance, heading down into the underworld. "There!"

She pointed to the vessel just as it disappeared into a tunnel.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Down the ship went, through a darkened tunnel and into the slums of Coruscant. Right where she assumed these types of people dwell.

Perfect.

As the ship came to a landing pad Jamie sent one final image to Aela. A dingy, disgusting looking warehouse with a single pad on it. Dozens of crates were throw about and it looked like it hadn't been used in decades. Perfect place for scum to hide themselves away.

The blonde let go of the ship, falling a few feet and rolling behind a crate before the ship landed. It didn't look like she was spotted, which certainly helped. The soldiers stepped out first, followed by the senator, then Aiden as he twirled about Jamie's lightsaber like it were some kind of sick souvenir. She gritted her teeth watching him play with something that meant quite a bit to her. Then came the boss man, barking orders and directing them all inside.

One of the guards swiped a badge, opening the doors. Slowly they creaked open and the group proceeded in. Thankfully the doors were incredibly slow and loud, allowing Jamie just enough time to creep her way inside just behind them, tucking herself away in the shadows behind a support beam and a dozen weapons crates.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela's arrival was not exactly a subtle one. The speeder that they had chosen was fast, but it was also a bit more flashy than...well anything else in the slums of Coruscant. Thus as they caught up to the Gunship they couldn't help the prying eyes that followed after them, Aela letting out a curse a she spotted the vessel. "Bring us down a bit away."

She would run the rest of the way.

Ian nodded and brought the speeder low towards the ground a few dozen meters away from the landing pad where the Gunship sat. She couldn't see Jamie or any of the soldiers meaning they had likely already gone inside. She frowned slightly and turned, glancing towards Ian for a moment before casting her gaze back towards the door. They couldn't wait out here, not with Jamie inside that building with whoever those Mercenaries were.

"Wait here." She told Ian. "Call for back-up and surround the building."

The Marshall tapped her ear comm. "Same frequency."

With that she turned and sprinted towards the landing pad.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"You. Get the holoprojector. Set it up there." The man said, pointing to the far side of the open floor. Quickly one of the mercs rushed off out of view of Jamie. "Aiden, quite fumbling with that damn lightsaber before you cut your stupid hands off and get our friend here comfortable in the last seat he'll ever sit in." Aiden sneered, stuffing Jamie's weapon into his back pocket as he set about getting the senator situated for his televised execution. Clearly whomever paid for this wanted absolute proof of his demise. That was the only explanation she had for why they would bother with such an elaborate scheme.

She scrunched her nose, considering what to do. Jamie had no real idea as to where Aela was, but hoped that what she'd given the Jedi was enough to find her before they executed the man. Suddenly she felt something, something that couldn't come at a more inopportune time, and something she desperately tried to hold back, but sometimes involuntary actions happened all the same.

Achoo!

She sneezed.

They heard.

[member="Aela Talith"]