Survival With A Pyne

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"Star Destroyers." Cenric finished her sentence for her, lips thinning.

There wasn't really much he could do against those, and pretty much every question he'd had about the events on the station were cleared up. The haze must have been a Sith Agents, and those Sith Agents had meant to take him out. It was very likely that they thought him a full Jedi Knight, or even a Sith, and eliminating him had been a precursor to an invasion. He frowned for a moment, and then gently turned away from the viewport and touched Mariya's shoulder.

"Come on." He told her. "If we get you to your ship you can still make it out of here."

There were three Star Destroyers in total, a large fleet but not enough to blockade the entire planet. Likely the plan was for the Empire to conduct a 'peaceful' take over of Celanon. They would land some forces, send some Sith, but they didn't mean to exterminate the entire populace. They would use the threat of force rather than the force itself.

Killing him would just have made it so no one fought back at all.

With a gentle nudge he urged Mariya onward. "Not that I'm rescuing you or anything."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

It donned on her then...Were they after the Jedi? Would they really bring three star destroyers for him? Was he only part of the plan? Or...Did they by chance track her ship to this station as well after having stolen enough isotope to, well, to purchase her own small fleet of ships. She hadn't thought they would pick up on the missing cargo quite yet. Mariya had been fairly meticulous about falsifying the manifests, labeling the cargo as late arrival, and redirecting communications regarding the lost shipment due to poor signal in transit.

Perhaps her plan hadn't been quite as flawless as she hoped?

Or maybe they were really just after the Jedi and sent armadas to do the job. Who really knew for certain?

"We'll see whose rescuing who by the time this is all over."

Now still wasn't the time to mention her cargo...If they weren't here for her, Cenric didn't need to worry about what was on her ship.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric knew next to nothing about war, but he knew that those Star Destroyers would move quickly. The Dock Yards on Celanon weren't large enough for any of those Destroyers, but all three of those ships would have hundreds of shuttles and transport. If they wanted to the Sith could overrun this station within the hour. That wasn't even mentioning the Sith agents that already had to be here. He frowned for a brief moment, clutching his lightsaber a bit more tightly.

One question still remained, where were all the people?

The station had thousands of people on it before the explosion, and they'd seen no bodies in the hallways or run into anyone. Had the Sith somehow corralled them into a single area of the station? Cenric frowned, glancing at Mariya for just a moment as they came upon a small intersection. He hesitated for a moment, and then suddenly reached out to grab the smuggler and pushed her against the wall.

Before she could object Cenric placed a finger over his lips, silencing anything she might say.

Just beyond the intersection within the red flare of the emergency lights Cenric could see two moving shadows. Their forms were obscured as they passed into the opposite hallway, each of the figures being little more than a haze within the air rather than a person.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Before Mariya had a chance to continue her banter with Cenric she felt his hand grab hold of her and push her rather forcefully against the wall of the corridor. The surprise of the sudden shove caused her to twitch and shake, and while she had understood his gesture through the hazy darkness, illuminated by only the emergency lighting, her hand that had been on her blaster faltered, and the device got away from her grasp. Before it had even hit the ground the brunette cringed, knowing the loud echo it would make as it collided.

With quick effort she tried to dull the noise by extending out her foot to catch it, but given the darkness, and her inability to see where it had fallen due to Cenric's hold on her, the gun clanked loudly against the durasteel floor several times before ending in a ghastly silence.

Mariya felt her heart skip, and a twinge in her stomach as she looked frightfully at the Jedi. The hair on the back of her neck stood, and she felt a small wave of fear creep up her back.

She said nothing. Her eyes simply widened as she looked into his.

That was bad...Right?

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

The noise of the falling gun seemed to thunder through the empty hall. Without Alarm klaxons or the sound of blaster fire it seemed that the single blaster falling onto the durasteel deck was enough to awaken a sleeping titan. Cenric couldn’t help but cringe as Mariya looked him in the eye, both of them knowing what this would likely lead to.

Almost as if on cue with his thoughts the two figures that had been crossing the hall whirled around.

The Padawan barely managed to spot it, the odd haze that still clung to the figures made them difficult to see. His eyes were more perceptive than most, allowing him to spot the shifting forms as they turned. Dull amber traced the silhouette shadows against the wall, eyes falling along the humanoid shapes that twisted and extended into a pair of blaster rifles. Without a thought Cenric stepped forward and away from Mariya.

In an instant the loud snap-hiss of his lightsaber rung out within the hallway.

Bright cyan erupted from his hilt, the blade snapping into life just as three blaster bolts swept towards the two stragglers. Cenric batted the first two away onto the floor, the third one crashing against his saber and bouncing back towards the haze within the hallway.

He heard a slight yelp of pain, and then suddenly the cloaking field around the Sith Agent began to rupture. From within the odd haze appeared a suit of black, now scorched and burned. The figure within the suit crumpled slightly, falling onto the floor with a loud thump. The haze besides the first man seemed to stop for a second, seeming to glance at his now downed partner for just a brief moment. The Padawan didn’t hesitate, dashing forward and closing the gap between himself and the man.

His training saber swiped across the figures stomach, bringing forth another loud yelp as the man decloaked and crumpled onto the floor unconscious.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

While Cenric ran towards the creeps down the hall Mariya made a quick dash down towards the floor, reaching for and scooping up her small blaster pistol. By the time the brunette spun around to point the weapon in the direction the shooting had come from, they had already been neutralized. Still, she held the weapon trained towards them, just in case they managed to get up, or if more happened by upon hearing the blaster fire, shouting, and subsequent screaming.

It was likely now that they were on borrowed time. Chances were those two were sent on a patrol to find the Jedi. "When they don't check in we're gonna have problems." Mariya knelt down, picking up one of the blaster rifles that were dropped. It was certainly better than what she had on hand, though not nearly as concealable. Given the circumstances however, concealing the weapon was now the least of her worries. Tucking the sidearm back into its holster she checked the rifle and made sure that she could use it -- The last thing she needed was a fingerprint sensor or some other silly security measure getting in her way of firing.

She looked down at the two unconscious Sith. Without so much as a word she pointed the rifle at the first one, squeezing the trigger once, and then again upon the second. The brunette was already acutely aware of her sister's stance on killing, and presumed that was typical of Jedi, but Mariya knew better. Not doing the job came back to bite you in the butt. So as she knelt down to search the bodies quickly she spoke. "Before you lecture me I'm going to say they saw us. They know what we look like. If they woke up, or got help, or reported us, that's less time we have to get away, and I'm not trying to die here."

The two agents had nothing of importance on them, save for a broken cloaking device, and one functional one. Mariya ripped the device free from the man and tossed it to Cenric. "Take it and lets get out of here."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric stared at her with his mouth agape.

He had been half way to yelling at her when she had cut him off with her mini-lecture, his face flushing with a slight shade of angry red. Killing wasn't something Jedi did, not unless they had to anyway. There was a reason that he hasn't deflected the bolt back towards the man's vital organs, there was a reason that he carried a training saber that could only stun. Cenric didn't like killing, he wasn't ready for it and...he didn't believe that Mariya was either.

The Padawan fumbled slightly as the girl tossed him the cloaking device. His training saber deactivated just as he barely managed to extend his off hand and grab the small piece of tech. For a moment he glanced down at it, then up as Mariya as she swaggered away. His lips thinned, head shaking as he quickly fell into stride besides her.

”You shouldn't have done that.” Cenric said simply, though he didn't go on.

He knew that this was neither the time nor the place for a lecture. This was a war, he understood that, and sometimes things would have to be done that didn't sit right with him. He just wasn't sure if this had been one of those times. Briefly he glanced back towards the two corpses, then clipped the cloaking device to his belt before looking forward again.

He'd still get her off the station, even after that.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"No?" She asked as they continued their march down the corridor. "You'll thank me when they don't get up and come back after us with more in tow."

Just as she assumed, he wasn't pleased. She could feel his frustration in his words and see the look of anger in his expression when she looked at him. It didn't matter. It was done. She would have made the same decision even if he had objected before she pulled the trigger. He might be a Jedi, might be able to use the Force and use a lightsaber. But she couldn't. She was an eighteen year old smuggler with a ship full of stolen isotope. Her sister was Queen of Naboo and had no knowledge of this little operation of Mariya's. As if that weren't enough, there were not one, not two, but three massive star destroyers outside the station with enough firepower to turn this station into nothing more than a memory. Two Sith soldiers weren't going to weigh on her conscious or cause her any lack of sleep.

"In case you forgot we're quite outnumbered here. And you're not some Jedi Master. So let's not try and be the noble heroes here. Dying on Celanon Station isn't my choice for a memorial."

Once more they approached a set of doors. This time the rifle was raised and her finger was set on the trigger. "If they're in the way, they die." Her voice was unusually calm, and as she shouldered the weapon she kept her eyes forward, ignoring any distasteful glare Cenric might offer in response to her words.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric didn't say anything in response to her, he knew there wasn't much of a point in trying to argue. They were already fighting an uphill battle, and he couldn't run around trying to keep her from killing anyone. It would already be impossible enough facing whatever or whoever was left on the station. He just had to deal with it, though that didn't mean he was going to do the same as her.

At the very least he could keep to his own code.

”Let me go first.” Cenric told her, his voice notably more stern than it had been just a short while ago. He wasn't trying to play the hero, but he was the one with the lightsaber. That and in the back of his mind he still felt like this was all his fault somehow, and even after what she had done Mariya needed to be protected. It was an old, outdated way of thinking, but one that was more than expected from someone like him.

Without waiting for a response from the smuggler Cenric stepped forward and grabbed the doors latch.

There was quiet squeal and the metal parted from the wall, partially retracting as the Jedi stuck his head through to peer into the hallway beyond.

For a moment he remained their, Amber eyes scanning the opening. After a few seconds he pulled the door back fully and stepped onto the hall. The small space turned out to be an entryway onto a larger section of the station itself, and within just a few steps Mariya and Cenric would find themselves standing in the middle of the first of several dozen hangar bays on this side of the station. A ship rested in the middle of the Hangar, its cargo ramp sealed and several crates laying scattered all around.

The hangar itself was eerily quiet.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The girl peered out towards the ship. It wasn't hers. Wrong design. They could steal it, but that would be problematic for a whole slew of reasons. She looked towards the wall where a massive 63 was painted. She bit her lip looking up at it. Her voice echoed disappointment and carried in the quiet, expansive hangar. "We've got a ways to go..." About eleven, to be precise. "We need hangar 74, pad 12. That's where mine is." The exit to this particular bay was on the opposite side, leaving them quite exposed if anyone else happened to be within, or watching on the cameras that she was certain existed for security purposes.

"If they compromised the security center, they're going to see us crossing."

And by now they likely had.

They only had one cloaking device. It didn't matter if one got across unseen.

Even if they took out the camera feed, that would be suspicious enough to investigate. Perhaps they'd be lucky enough to cross without that feed being watched in that very moment. It was certainly a risky and long shot, but what exactly did they have for options? None that she could think of, that was for sure.

"Well? Make a run for it?"

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

For a moment he considered.

There were a few break points between the camera feeds, but it was unlikely they would be able to make it across without getting seen at least once. It wasn't a huge leap to assume that the Sith had taken over the stations security, especially considering that the entire place seemed to have empties of people. By now most folk on the station had likely been rounded up to one of the other Hangar bays or observation decks. He frowned for a moment, then reached down and grabbed the cloaking device.

"Here." He offered the small piece of tech to Mariya. "I can move faster than you in case we run into a surprise."

That wasn't putting down her abilities, just simple fact. As lousy as he was at using the force, he could still use it to boost his speed just a little bit. That plus his lightsaber meant he was the less likely of the two of them to get shot in case they were caught out.

"You go first, I'll time the cameras and come after." It was just about the best plan that he could think of.

He knew that the more time they wasted the closer those Star Destroyers would creep. There was no doubt in his mind that as soon as they were close enough those ships would deploy their shuttles, and once that happened it was only a matter of minutes before the entire station was crawling with Stormtroopers.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

She'd argue, but she had seen the Force in use a number of times. It did weird things, things she couldn't explain. Maybe he was forcing that male bravado upon her again, or maybe he was telling the truth. In this case she couldn't be sure, so she took his word for it and strapped the device to her waist. Having used one slightly similar a time or two in the past she was somewhat understanding of how they functioned. No super fast and sudden movements, No shooting. It was about blending in with the light surrounding the projection.

"Okay." She said. Her finger pressed down on the button and the projector activated, obscuring her body for the most part, leaving just an odd silhouette surrounding her. "Here we go."

Carefully she began to make her way across the expanse of the hangar bay. Her head turned towards the control station that overlooked the landing pads. There seemed to be nobody behind the large transparisteel windows. At least there was that. Mariya passed by the ship, looking towards the loading ramp, it looked like everything had been completely abandoned in the middle of loading. Locking down the ships and preventing anyone from leaving was like a priority for this plan, and now that the destroyers were within range, the threat of being shot to dust was probably enough of a deterrent for anyone else to try and flee.

At last she made it across, and tucked herself behind a large storage locker, nodding to Cenric who waited where she had started from.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He watched carefully. To his eye Mariya had become little more than that same odd haze that he had seen before, though now that he knew what he was looking for it was at least a bit easier to spot and follow. His lips thinned as she got closer to finishing her crossing, eyes darting towards the security booth above.

All the while he glanced at the cameras in the corner of the room. All of them moved every now and again, shifting and slowly panning across the hangar bay so that they caught it's entirety. The timing between them was subtle, slow...but if he moved fast enough. Cenric crouched for a moment, stretching just a little and clipping his lightsaber to his belt. A breath filled his lungs and his eyes shut. He tried to concentrate, tried to remember what his master had taught him.

He felt the force fill him. It was a trickle, the tiniest stream, but it was enough.

Slowly he rose, eyes opening as a look of determination crossed his features. He cast one last glance towards the cameras, and then burst into a sprint. The young Padawan didn't so much as run as he did jump, bounding from foot to foot and leaping forward in an attempt to reach the gaps between the cameras. His movements practically became a blur, but even that wasn't enough.

One of the turrets located at the top of the Hangar Bay, generally used to shoot at errant smugglers and pirates who were attempting to make an escape, activated. The turret whirred loudly, spun, and then suddenly began to open fire directly on the Jedi. Cenric felt the same pang of the force rush through his skull, head turning just in time to see the blasts. He leaped forward, jumping as far and as fast as he could as the lasers impacted on the ground just behind him.

The blast struck the ground, then the turret shifted and fired again.

Just as Cenric reached the far wall one of the blaster shots struck him, sending the young Jedi barreling forward and crashing into the durasteel with a loud thud.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The girl's eyes bulged as she heard the gun spin up. Every muscle in her body tightened and she sat glued to the floor, her back against the durasteel locker watching as Cenric ran across the gap. He'd nearly made it as the final shots ricocheted against the ground before one struck true and caught him, sending him careening just beside her and onto his side. "Starry Kark!" She shouted instinctively, ducking her head down in case any more firing came their direction.

Mariya pushed him over to check out the rather nasty wound he'd just earned himself. Teeth shown as lips pulled back in a grimace.

"That's not good." She said rather unnecessarily. There was a sizeable scorch through the brand new clothes she'd just bought him. More problematic than the clothing however was how much this was going to slow them down, as well as this now being entirely up to her to protect them both. "I have medical supplies on my ship, but we've got a few more of these to pass through..." How exactly they were going to accomplish that now was questionable. The girl took off her jacket, for now it was the best she could do for a bandage. Without asking for permission she began wrapping the length of one arm tightly around the wound and tying it off with the other sleeve to secure it. She then folded the rest of the jacket into itself and secured within itself.

She also removed the cloaking device and attached it to Cenric. "Can you walk? You're going to need this more than I am now, Jedi boy."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric grimaced, letting out a slight grunt when Mariya took the initiative and tied the length of her coat around his ribs. The blast had scorched his flesh pretty badly, though luckily hadn't managed to fry any of his organs. He shifted against the wall uncomfortably, half pressing himself up against the cold durasteel. A hiss escaped through his teeth as he tried to stand, his fingers tightening for just a brief moment as he half grabbed onto Mariya for support.

"Feth." He breathed, his chest rising sharply. "I'll be alright."

He felt her press the cloaking device to his belt, scowling slightly. The pain in his side was bad, but he wasn't an invalid. With another sharp breath he unfurled his arm from around his companion, pushing his back against the wall and slowly pulling himself up to a standing position. As soon as he was on his feet he half reached out for the girl's support, steadying himself on her with a gentle hand.

"Let's get going." Cenric told her, glancing towards the nearby doorway. They still had more than a few hangars left to pass through, and he wasn't entirely sure if he could make it. When it came down to it, he would send her on ahead and stay behind. It was his fault she was in this mess, and he wasn't about to let her go down with him.

Though he kept that to himself for now.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Mariya carefully strode towards the set of doors that led to the next hangar bay. With a weary look towards Cenric she pressed her finger against the button to release the doors. With an echoing clank and hiss the entryway opened, revealing another similarly empty bay. There were many more ships waiting to depart here, their cargo strewn about the grown haphazardly. To the contrary, it didn’t appear that they had been looted, but looked like the workers were forced away rather abruptly.

“Behind the ships, we’ll have to skip between them to avoid being spotted. Hopefully anyway.”

It was the only way she could maneuver herself so that she didn’t get blasted to bits. He needed to use her cloaking device now, and she wasn’t nearly as fast as he had initially been, so it was still quite dangerous. Not to mention he was now a lot slower, and they were likely on borrowed time if the SIth had seen or heard the shooting in the previous bay.

”Go.” She whispered quietly.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He grimaced, though didn't argue.

The cloaking device would work for him fine, the turrets weren't programmed to detect him, but he was worried about her. Maria wouldn't be half as fast as he had been, and just one wrong step would see her getting blasted to bits. For a second he considered giving her his lightsaber, but the weapon would be as useless in untrained hands as it would be in those of a baby. He frowned and flicked the cloaking device on, shimmering for a second before he disappeared completely. "Be careful."

His disembodied voice came as he began to slowly stumble past her.

The Padawan moved as quickly as he could, clutching the wound in his side as he walked from cargo pod to cargo pod. Progress was slow, Mariya had made the right call in giving him the cloaking device. Without it he was sure that he would have been spotted by the turrets by now. A few times he barely managed to catch himself on one of the pods, using them as a form of support until he finally managed to reach the other end of the hangar bay.

Tucking himself behind a pylon he deactivated the cloak, motioning to Mariya on the other end of the hall.

They had to find another way to do this, right now it was far too slow.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Once Cenric came into view on the opposite side of the bay Mariya checked to make sure the rifle she had picked up was secured to her back, as well as the sidearm within its holster. At this point there was hardly anything to do but make for the other side. Brown eyes searched for a safe path to take to cross. There were several crates, a few ships, and a dozen or so containers.

In a sprint she darted forward, taking quick cover behind one of the containers, then made a dash for the rear of a ship which offered a full six feet of cover. She hadn’t heard the rotating of the laser turret yet, which was a good sign. Of course the moment she dashed past the ship a volley of rounds fired past her, catching the floor, a container, and several crates. The noise rang out, impossible to miss, and echoed throughout the room. Mariya cringed as she held herself in the center of the room, behind a reinforced shipping crate. Her eyes had snapped shut and she held her hands over her head and ears until the firing stopped.

Like a mole she peeked her head up, taking stock of her surroundings. Her heart was pounding in her chest like a war drum. She swallowed the knot in her throat and broke forward once more, rushing towards where Cenric waited. Just as she made her last step towards safety the doors at the opposite end opened, and three apparent Sith stepped into the room, their fingers pointing towards Mariya and Cenric in a very unfriendly manner.

”We need to go, now!” She shouted, sliding the rifle off of her shoulder and aiming towards the garbed men. Without giving them a chance to make their way closer she squeezed the trigger several times, firing off a number of rounds that forced them to take cover while Cenric opened the doors to the next bay.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric practically fell into the next docking bay, almost leaping as he didn't even wait for the doors to open all the way.

Adrenaline surged through him, the pain in his side fading for a few seconds as the wound was forgotten about. His heart began to thunder within his chest, resounding in his ears as Mariya began to squeeze the trigger of her rifle. Briefly Cenric flashed back to the events on Janimere, Sith soldiers colliding with him, blaster shots flying everywhere, the chaos of that small communications outpost. His features tightened, but he whirled around and faced the opening of the doorway.

The odd figures at the other end of the hall poked their heads up from behind the crates, each one holding blaster rifles similar to the one that Mariya had managed to pull from the corpse. They fired back, bright red bolts darting towards the young woman.

A curse escape Cenric, and then he reached out without thinking. The force came to him almost instantly, flowing through him only as it rarely did when he was meditating. His fingers scrunched and invisible chains would wrap around Mariya, pulling her back and off her feet. At the same time his lightsaber ignited, flying into the nearby door control panel. Sparks went flying and the sound of creaking hydraulics could be heard as the blast doors quickly began to shut.

Cenric took a half step forward, moving to catch Mariya so she didn't hit the floor.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

None of her shots hit, though as much as she would have preferred them to, it had at least managed to force them back, delaying them from advancing. The Sith subsequently fired their own volley of shots towards her which forced her to tuck her head down, feeling several collide with the durasteel in front of her.

This was hardly a good position to be in. Now they were spotted, and had even less time.

Before she had the opportunity to raise the rifle and fire again she felt herself pulled off balance and lifted into the air. The girl had no control over it whatsoever, and suddenly was flung backwards by some invisible force. It wasn’t until she heard the lightsaber, saw the flash of electricity from the panel as it exploded, and landed in Cenric’s arms that she realized he had used some of that weird Force stuff that Jedi did.

“We have to keep going. There’s gotta be a lot more where those came from.”

Judging by the size of those ships out there, a lot more.

[member="Cenric Marus"]