Survival With A Pyne

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric endured the next ten minutes about as anyone like him could expect to. The man behind the counter dragged half a dozen outfits over towards him, more than once insisting that it was the "perfect" one. The Padawan tried to cycle through them as fast and as quickly as he possibly could, mostly just trying to find something that was comfortable. At one point he found himself wearing an odd sort of...leather get up, which he quickly found out was tight in places that he really didn't want it to be.

Eventually his annoyance grew, and before the salesman could come back with another half-dozen outfits Cenric grabbed him gently by the arm and pulled him closer. "Please, for force sakes just bring me something comfortable."

The man let out a joyous laugh, then went scuttling off.

A few moments later he returned with something that appeared to be relatively simplistic, a simple pair of pants, a shirt, and a much more expensive looking jacket than the one Cenric had given Mariya. The clothing wasn't too dissimilar to what he had walked in with, but everything was of higher quality, closer stitching, better material, and all with an added style. Cenric gratefully took the clothes, donning them and staring into the mirror after he finished.

The Padawan looked much less street tough now and more playboy going out on the town.

"And how will you be paying this afternoon?"​

Cenric paused slightly, glancing away from the mirror before slowly...and sheepishly glancing towards Mariya.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Mariya sat on the sil, looking over at Cenric as he was shuffled about in outfit after outfit. She could tell by his various glances towards her each time he stepped out that he was not overly enthused about these options, and that he was incredibly uncomfortable in the majority of articles provided to him.

He definitely wasn’t of nobility, or born of wealth. Not with those side eyes he was giving her.

After what seemed like trying everything in the boutique on he finally settled on something. The sheepish look towards her that was promptly followed by the assistant was her cue to get up. Presumably he had been asked to pay for the clothing and now needed Mariya to shell out the credits. With a smile she stood, collected the Jedi’s jacket and made her way towards both Cenric and the other man.

“You look nice.” She said very politely. “Here you are...” Mariya dug into her pocket and took out a credit chit, handing it off to the shop keep to run.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

The man gave Mariya his thanks, giving her a broad smile and a flourish before heading off to the counter. The clerk made no move to ask Cenric about whether or not he wanted to keep his old clothes, something that bothered the young man an immense amount. He hadn't been particularly attached to the articles but...it was just a little bit rude to assume.

”T-thanks.” Cenric said as he shifted slightly and scratched the back of his neck.

He still felt awkward about this whole thing. The last person that had bought him a set of clothes had been his mother, and even then it hadn't exactly been his choice. The fact that all of this was extremely expensive didn't really help either. He frowned for a second and walked over to where the young smuggler was standing, not wanting to shout at her from across the store.

Briefly he caught sight of an odd shape in the distance, a strange sort of...shift within the air.

He frowned but slowly began to speak.

”I'm not really good at taking hel-” The force suddenly screamed at him, a pressure inside of his skull that forced him to turn his head. Eyes bulges slightly as they saw the figure, that odd haze in the air almost forming into a person. ”LOOK OUT!”

Cenric screamed as he jumped forward and tackled Mariya to the ground, the concussive force of a grenade exploding outside the window at the same time.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

No sooner had she paid the clerk did she hear the booming shout of Cenric’s voice followed promptly by the sound of an explosion, breaking glass, intense vibrations, and an immediate ringing in her ears as she was thrown to the ground by the larger man’s body weight. She hit the floor, hands covering her face and head.

Frozen in place she held her eyes closed, unsure of what had just happened, though it seemed as if the station itself had collapsed around them. In the distance she could hear shouting, the panicked screams of people as they ran in a multitude of directions, yet everything was incredibly muffled, and dulled by the sound of the ringing that overpowered nearly everything else.

She knew Cenric was on top of her, she’d heard his voice for a split second before it had all happened. Everything had gone dark, the lights in the immediate area blown out, and dust had plumed into a cloudy mist within the boutique.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He felt debris and dust falling on top of him, his arms wrapped loosely around Mariya as shards of glass tumbled against the floor and shattered. All of them somehow managed to miss him, leaving both the padawan and the girl mostly unharmed. He breathed slowly, his lips thinned for just a second as focused himself.

Alarms blared, lights cut out, and the steady red glow of emergency beacons began to flare all around them.

”Are you alright?” Cenric asked as he pulled himself off the girl.

He was keenly aware of the figure that he'd seen right before the explosion. It had been little more than a small haze within the refraction of the glass, but it had been a person. That meant someone had done this, and worse someone had targeted them. We're they after him or the girl? He would guess himself, though in truth he didn't know enough about Mariya to say.

Slowly pulling himself into a crouch Cenric glanced up and out of the now ruined shop. Chaos reigned entirely. ”Come on, we need to get out of here.”

With all the confusion he forgot all about his training saber.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“I—“ Hands and feet moved fine, nothing notably hurt, the worst of it seemed to be the pinging in her head from the shock of the explosion. “I think I’m fine.” Her voice was a bit louder than normal, given her lack of ability to hear herself speak as well. Turning to look around the shop it seemed as though the man who had just taken her payment made off for his own life as well, leaving only Cenric and she inside the storefront.

She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, scorch marks had run up the walls. Why would somebody bomb the shop though? She pushed herself up into a sitting position with her hands and took another look around. The foggy haze surrounding them made the deep maroon coloring of the emergency lightings eerie to look through.

We need to get out of here... “Where?” She had no idea as to what just happened, whether somebody had just done this, if a fuel line within the station just burst and caused a collapse, or if it was in fact an attack how many were involved, and if it was random or targeted...There was so many questions which made thinking of a safe place to go rather difficult. As she stood up she reached over, swiftly slipping the man’s weapon from his coat into her back pocket. Mariya still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of him, so for now it was safer in her possession she figured.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric didn't reply for a few seconds, instead staying silent as he surveyed the inside of the shop.

The man that had helped him with his new clothes lay dead, shrapnel having caught him just above the chest. From What he could see no one else was inside of the store, though that didn't matter much with everything scattered all over the place. His gaze swept over the shattered windows where he saw dozens of people fleeing and running in every direction.

For a moment he was tempted to say that was where they needed to go, but then he remembered.

The figure, whatever it had been, had been outside of the shop. If they went into that crowd there was no telling who they would get caught by. No, better to go somewhere else. His gaze continued until he spotted a small door at the back of the shop. It had been covered by a clothes rack, though the piece of furniture had been dislodged by the force if the blast inside of the store. He frowned for a moment and then nodded to himself.

”There.” Cenric pointed to the door. ”Gotta be a maintenance tunnel, it'll get us out of here.”

Without running into whatever was out there.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“Okay.”

The brunette scrambled towards the rear of the shop where the door that Cenric had pointed out was. It seemed a better option than running out and into the crowd of people running in either direction. The ringing in her ears hadn’t yet gone away, so everything, including his voice sounded distant to her. The sole exception being the panicked cries of the people running from the events that had just unfolded.

The door pushed open as Mariya leaned against it, a long corridor leading in either direction with minimal illumination awaited them.

”Which way?” Not that she thought it mattered all that much, “Where are we going?”

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

The questions came quickly, and for a brief moment Cenric couldn't help but stand still like a Nerf caught in headlights. He realized that Mariya was looking to him for answers, something that he was entirely unused to. A short few weeks ago he had just been another kid at the Jedi Temple, all he'd done was learn, go to some classes, and do some sparing.

He wasn't a Jedi, not really...not yet anyway.

Yet she was still asking him, and in this situation he was the best that either of them were going to get. He frowned slightly, taking just a second more before he ultimately decided to answer. ”This way.”

He pointed to the right.

”There's a security station on the west side of the station.” He remembered seeing it when he was doing his initial scouting. ”You'll be safe there.”

While he found out what the feth was going on. He might not have been a full fledged Jedi yet, but he was the closest thing to it that this station was going to get. The least he could do was find out what was happening, and what that odd figure had been just before the explosion.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

I’ll be safe there?! Does he think I’m helpless? Her nose crinkled in response to the statement. She turned right, walking in the direction he directed. Their steps echoed in the narrow corridor, and within the dimly lit hallway she found the air to be stuffy and stale. Cenric’s lightsaber was still tucked safely away behind her in her back pocket. For now she'd keep that little secret to herself. With her right hand she reached inwards on her left side and checked to ensure the small blaster pistol was still secured within the jacket over her vest that she wore.

Thankful to feel the durasteel still in place after the explosion she continued onward.

"You think that was a random attack? If this was planned don't you think they would have known to attack the security station first?"

It didn't feel incredibly safe to walk towards if that was the case. "Might be walking towards a trap... Or more dead folk."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He frowned for a moment, considering her question. It was a good one without a doubt, and something he honestly hadn't thought about before he'd started walking. He had figured that the security station would be...secure. Celanon didn't have a standing military aside from a small police force, but...would they be able to fend off a dedicated attack? The Jedi padawan frowned for a few seconds, though he continued to walk as he puzzled out an answer.

"I..." Cenric trailed off before slowly looking at Mariya. "The first explosion was near us."

Not the security station. He frowned for a moment, that realization coming to him finally. They hadn't targeted the security station first, they had gone after him and Mariya, or the store clerk, though he doubted the latter. His lips thinned for a second, and then he took a breath. It couldn't have been her, she wasn't important, not that Cenric knew anyway. "I think they were trying to kill me."

He said quietly.

"I wasn't entirely honest with you when we first met." Might as well take responsibility now. If his theory was correct then whatever that figure had been was after him, not Mariya. She would be safe at the security station and he could sort this mess out. Maybe even draw things away from the station.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Immediately she knew why. It made sense now why they had been attacked. They were teetering dangerously close to the Sith Empire. He had a lightsaber. He was a Jedi, or at least something of the sort. Maybe he was a Sith? But the one she had met was a merciless killer without regard for humanity, and this boy seemed more like Jamie than he did of the Sith. Somebody must have known that somehow. And if that were the case, perhaps they thought she too was one, meaning that it was just as likely that she was no longer safe simply by association.

Feth.

"You're a Jedi." She said bluntly as they moved, with Mariya picking up the pace ever so slightly.

She turned, eyes casting focus on to Cenric. "Right? That's why they bombed the shop?"

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"Uhmmm." He started quietly. "Sort of."

Cenric saw no point in lying to her further. He didn't consider himself a Jedi, not yet anyway. His Master, Cedric, disagreed with that, but for him it was a matter of personal goals. He would consider himself a Jedi when he had a real lightsaber, when he faced his first Sith, and when it felt right. Before then he was just a padawan, a youngling, someone who didn't even know how much they hadn't been taught yet. His shoulders rolled slightly, not a shrug but a clear sign of his discomfort.

He had put Mariya in danger, there was no avoiding that fact. "Just a Padawan."

For a moment he frowned, realizing that she might not know what that actually was.

"Jedi in training if you will..." He thought for a moment. She might want more of an explanation for all of this, though really the only thing that he had to go on was vague ideas that he had formed since they'd entered the tunnel. "My Master had information that the Sith were going to try and invade the planet, he wanted me to watch for Agents and well..."

He could assume that the agents had found him first.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

A Pada-what?! Oh—He’s not actually a Jedi...Just a student.

So then what was she doing following him around and taking orders from him? He looked like he was about the same age as her! She presumed because he had a lightsaber that he was a Jedi! Apparently they give these things to anyone! She looked at him with a concerned expression, one that held the idea of a lack of confidence settling in.

“And instead they watched for you. I think you need more training.”

The words were said very plain and straight forward. Whatever he had done to hide himself as a Jedi, or Jedi student or whatever word it was he used to describe himself, it hadn’t worked. “Then it’s logical to assume they’re going to think I’m one of you too, then. Great.”

The brunette reached into her jacket that covered her vest and pulled free a small blaster pistol that she had concealed. “Neither of us are safe anywhere on this station then.” With her free hand she retrieved his lightsaber from her back pocket and extended her hand towards Cenric, offering it over to him. “Here, I picked this up off the ground after the explosion. I saw it in your jacket when you were trying on clothes.”

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"Ah." Cenric said as he scratched the back of his head, grabbing his training saber with the other and frowning for a moment. "Guess you knew already then."

One didn't have to be a Lorrdian to see that Mariya was pissed off, and in truth she had every right to be. Due to him her life was now in danger, though he still thought the Security Station would be the safest place for her. At least until he could figure out what was going on. He frowned for a moment, then began to talk again.

"I'll get you to your ship then." He decided that would be easier than trying to argue with her.

Cenric had already learned that Mariya was...spirited, and if there were Sith Agents crawling around the station it was probably to get her out of here all together anyway. He still had no idea how in the hell they'd managed to identify him. He had never taken part in a battle, he wasn't listed as a member of the New Jedi Order, and he'd been as discreet as could be. Was the Alliance compromised somehow? The idea seemed improbable to him, but it was concerning.

Of course he never thought about the fact that he had likely given himself away, just a simple flash of a lightsaber.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“I didn’t know if you were a Jedi or not. That’s why I didn’t give it back right away. I’ve seen a Sith before, and you aren’t like him.” Brown eyes glanced down at the weapon with a bit of curiosity. “Do you even know how to use that? If you’re only a student.” If there was Sith here, he’d better know how to use it. Mariya knew one small blaster wouldn’t likely be enough to save their tails if it came right down to it.

Up ahead was a single door that led somewhere, but without opening it she had no idea where it led to.

”My ship is in hangar 074, docking station 12.” She still hadn’t quite told Cenric that the ship’s cargo hold was loaded with isotope, and that she wasn’t exactly a transport ship for small companies. But well, information comes in waves. That wave hadn’t reached the shore yet, so why ride it early?

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He perked an eyebrow for a second, clearly annoyed at her accusation. Cenric may not have been a Jedi, but using a lightsaber was pretty much the only thing he could do. The force wasn't exactly something he displayed any talent in, but he could hold his own against most Knights when it came to melee combat. "I can use it just fine."

The Padawan assured her as he flipped the lightsaber in the air and caught it, giving Mariya the side eye for just a second after.

"Better than fine." He assured her. "Just don't ask me to throw things around with the force."

Cenric stepped in front of her just after speaking, his thumb slowly slipping over the activator on his saber. There was no telling what would be beyond the door, the force was telling him nothing, and there was no window. His fingers wrapped around the handle and slowly he pressed, the door slowly creaking open. A bright red flash of light erupted for just a minute before once again fading into darkness, Cenric poking his head out the door and seeing...nothing.

There was no rushing crowd, no Sith Agents, just an empty hallway with no lights save for the Emergency signals.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“Well excuse me for asking, but so far you haven’t exactly exuded the aura of a Jedi, you know? You’re way timid. And you didn’t seem overly prepared for an attack, which you said you were sort of here to watch for.” She shrugged, “And since you said you were a student, seems fitting that you don’t know how to use that lightsaber either.”

She held back, waiting for Cenric to open and check the hallway beyond the door before continuing to speak quietly as they entered the new corridor.

”You also kind of ran away from the attack.” The words were sharper than she had meant, but when her home had been attacked she had seen Jamie act decisively and immediately went after the Sith, even outnumbered, to protect Mariya. It was a bit strange to see Cenric run off into a hallway to escape the danger if he was a Jedi.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He blinked for a moment, turning back to stare at her.

"I was a farmer like a year ago." At first Cenric spoke quite loudly, though as soon as he heard himself he cut his volume in half. "My 'aura' of Jedi hasn't exactly kicked into gear yet."

He seemed rather annoyed, though she did have a point in a weird way. It was why Cenric himself didn't think that he was a Jedi yet, why he was still giving himself room to grow. He hardly claimed to be the equal of people like Mariya's sister. "Excuse me if my first instinct was to get you to safety."

The Padawan put a little bit more attitude into that one.

She was right in the fact that he had run away from the attack, but it wasn't like he'd done so out of fear. He had wanted to make sure Mariya wouldn't get hurt. His full intention had been, and was still to make sure she got off the station before he went to investigate exactly what had happened. Of course, as they began to step into the empty hallway just what the attack had been became more and more obvious. A viewport rested within the wall to their right, and within it were framed several large Imperial Star Destroyers.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

She stopped mid-stride at the sound of his near shout, holding up her hands in a defensive posture. “Okay, take it easy. It was just an observation, you don’t need to take offense.” Seemed like she hit a sore topic. Clearly he didn’t take kindly to having his competency brought into question.

“What exactly makes you think I need rescuing? Because I’m a girl and don’t carry around one of those fancy lightsabers?”

It was most certainly a cheap shot, but he had implied as much, when the explosion had first gone off, telling her that the security post would be the safest place for her, and she had held back then, but now that he had copped an attitude? She was going to fire right back.

”And also, if you’re a student, where’s your teac—“ She froze, eyes locking on the goliath starships just outside the viewport, surrounding the station. “Are those...” There was hardly any need to finish the sentence, the word didn’t saying. They were Sith. And things had just become much more complicated.

[member="Cenric Marus"]