Private The Division

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Imperials are likely to purge the radios on their troopers on death. We'd have to capture a live one," Jacen said. He shrugged as if this was inconsequential. This might have seemed foolish given the fact that he carried no weapons at all.

"Rebels are probably working off whatever they have. I guess I can use my name if I have to, if it means we get an audience with the rebels. Would say this Moff someone or other is a lot less likely to want to talk.

"It's a good plan though. If you want I can deal with finding a stormtroopers near the front line to borrow his gear."

 

[Kana Truden]

“Aheh…” A small chuckle spread her lips into an uneasy grin. “That’s splitting-up talk. We’re not splitting up, Voidstalker.”

“Now, getting to the rebels first is easier but doesn’t necessarily mean we should go there first. Imperials should have the technical advantage, should a drone see us enter that camp before we get in touch with them we’re going to be branded as resistance right away. No chances taken.”

“I say we both try to get ourselves over to a checkpoint, charm the least important person around and then get them to radio HQ for us.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"See, I go and try and give you a chance to keep from the danger and you point out that even this aspect of my plan is stupid.

"Though, getting to a checkpoint isn't a walk in the park right now. We're going to have to go through some hot ground. The whole front is rolling street battles. You up for that?" he asked.

Jacen switched from glib to entirely serious, slowly his walk and turning to face her. He remembered how anxious she had been about just holding a saber. That was years ago now. He was concerned, but this was her decision.

 

[Kana Truden]

“You met me in a medical convoy for a third-party organization that willingly goes into conflict zones to look for, and help, wounded people.” Kana said with a deadpan stare at Jacen. “What part of that says I stay out of danger these days?”

Kana, too, changed into serious business mode.

“Yeah, I am up for it. If we can get as many people out of the crossfire as possible then by all means we have to try. I just don’t want you or anyone else to get hurt in the process. So naturally, the best option for us here would be to have me tag along and for you to look pretty enough to butter up some real tough nuts.”

“I have my lightsaber, worst case we’ll have to convince them of our good intentions one way or the other.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Now now, out of the two of I have definitely not aged the best," he laughed. "I just wanted to be certain. There's a difference between staying in the marked medical centre and the battlefront."

He turned around on the spot, pulling a commercial datapad from his pocket. The Imperials had jammed holonet connections to try and disrupt rebel communications. He still had maps loaded onto the device and could tell which way north was. That would do.

He pointed East, down a road between twenty story towers. In that direction the coloured lights were still dancing across the clouds.

"Maybe we should take the high road?" he suggested, looking up the towers. Easy enough to leap between them with the Force. "And I don't think I'll need a saber for some low rent imperials anyway."

 

[Kana Truden]

That wasn’t the first time that Jacen brought age into it. Kana had not really considered the effects the force would have on age and the effects it would have on a person. Her first few strands of gray hairs had come out of her recovery from the dark, but at this point… Well, maybe she should have had a few more at this point.

“Ah, jumping.” Kana said and knocked on her lower leg to let the metallic limb be reminded of. “We are playing with chance if we leap. Might need to take the long road for this.”

“I find that simply having the lightsaber at hand has a way with people.”

Crossing a desolate street they would hear the sound of troops exchanging fire at random intervals around the city. It was a familiar experience with memories from her time with the Republic. Imperials seizing something by force, Kana wandering empty streets awaiting her evac.

How was it that she so just happened to be on every planet that was getting invaded, again?

“Feels weird to not be awaiting an evac, hearing all this.” She said out loud as they continued down the streets. “No Jedi Starfighters pulling back, or transports unloading an occupational force as you speed your way out of atmo.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Definitely," he replied. "It's a peculiar thing to be in a war zone without a strict set of orders to follow."

He cast a glance at Kana over his shoulder. No, she had aged very well indeed. He suddenly felt self-concious for looking as if he had been dragged in from the desert. Which was, admittedly, very close to what had happened.

Jacen tilted his head to one side. His expression went vacant as he stretched out with his senses.

"There is a an imperial force trying to take a building ahead...that one," he said, pointing towards a tower that was at least fifteen stories. He could hear the whine of a gunship and assumed they were taking it from above and below.

"Going to get nasty. Shall we look for a patrol a little way from there?"

 

[Kana Truden]

It was a pincer move. No escape on the roof, no escape on the ground. Unless the resistance in the building had a means to fly they were about to meet a very painful end at the the hands of their enemy. Kana would be lying if she denied the fact that she rooted for the resistance, but this battle was already lost and it was just a matter of finding them a suitable out.

“Yeah, sounds like a good ide-” Kana started.

“Halt!” The tinned voice of a stormtrooper called out behind them accompanied by at least three more sets of footsteps. “Identify yourselves.”

Kana turned slowly began to turn around with her hands held by her waist, hands and fingers spread out before her to signal that she wasn’t about to disobey. As her eyes set on them it was hard not to be a little surprised. Where one would expect a dirtied set of white armor, Kana would instead seem to find a similarly designed armor although painted black. Perhaps more interesting was the fact that no matter how hard she tried to understand why she hadn’t sensed their approach, there was simply no force signature to be found.

“Kana Truden.” Said Kana Truden. “I work with the doctors at Camp Aurek. Third-party doctors.”

She looked over at Jacen and motioned for him to tell them about himself as well.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Jacen Voidstalker, also from the camp," he said, holding his hands out to the sides. He hoped that his surname was not so well known among the stormtroopers who could well have fought against the Alliance at one point.

Making contact like this was not how he had imagined things. Then again, a plan rarely survived any contact with the enemy. Once again, he caught a military strand of thought and tried to head it off. He had always been a better soldier than a jedi in the strictest sense.

Jacen narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Kana. He should have sensed these soldiers coming.

 

[Kana Truden]

It was discomforting yet nothing new to have people invisible in the force. The Mandalorians had come up with a procedure at one point to, in a sense, kill themselves outright within the force to get an upper hand in the fight against people like Kana and Jacen. The thought that such a procedure could have leaked out into the open had never crossed her mind. At least not until now.

“State your business.” The commander said and extended a once-glossed gloved finger to motion at the soldiers to enricle the two Jedi. “We are authorized to shoot.”

“We want to speak with Moff Cardine about a potential cease fire.” Kana said, favoring a more forthright and honest approach.

“And you positively reek of Resistance.” Said the commander. “We already have the city in our hands, why would we agree to such a thing?”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The Force swirled around Jacen. If any of the soldiers had even been remotely force sensitive they might have felt the disturbance. He seemed remarkably calm on the surface for the power he was gathering around himself.

"Shooting non combatants would of course be considered a war crime by most of the civilised galaxy. Commit enough of those and I'm sure a serious power might take note of your little campaign here."

The blaster was lifted, putting the iron sights squarely between the trooper and Jacen's chest.

"You arrive with three star destroyers on their last legs and carve out a space for yourself. And I don't care. But you have thousands of civilians inside this city and the space they have left is growing smaller and smaller. I am here to negotiate a ceasefire so that you don't cause huge civilian casualties. It is in your best interests."

He eyed the leader, his face set in stubborn determination. There were several blasters pointed at him, but if they had known who he was they would have brought more.

 

[Kana Truden]

“He’s got a point.” Kana said and the blasters would subsequently move in her direction. “The Confederacy is especially keen on proving themselves to be the good guy. Pulling that trigger gives them the chance.”

Which was not to mention the fact that they most likely would in good time either way. Ragtag remnants like these didn’t last for all that long.

“We just want to see the people out safely.” Kana reiterated. “What happens after that is by all means up to you.”

The soldier remained still, his blaster pointed at her same as the others pointed at Jacen. A growl of disdain tore through his helmet as he lowered his rifle and motioned for the others to do the same.

“We will escort you to camp.” He said and his crew would fall back behind him. “Maybe one of the troops there can get you what you need.”

Besides that they would also have even more guns trained on the potential spies. Either way it served to benefit the fledgling hopeful empire.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Two of the troopers in black marched out ahead of them. Jacen could feel all the others marching behind them, blasters held at ease. It wouldn't take even a second from an order to those being trained on his back. Jacen knew that he wasn't as quick as he had once been.

The fighting in the distance raged on. It sounded as if the locals had sunk their claws into the building and weren't letting go easily.

"Fighting in a skyscraper like that is tricky business," he said out loud. It was mostly to Kana but he also wanted to gauge the reaction of the troopers.

"You lose all your situational awareness almost as soon as the fighting starts. All that duracrete interferes with life form scanners too.

"I wonder why they haven't brought any walkers this deep," he mused.

"Terrorists sabotaged the integrity of the roads," replied the officer at the front. They were listening, it seemed.

"Hope they're not just hoping for a random for us," Jacen said to Kana.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana’s head nodded in agreement. Although she understood what Jacen said, she was also more familiar with the concept that had the Sith blowing up the entire skyscraper to save time. She wasn’t quite sure what he was hoping to accomplish with his talk on the situation, but it seemed to get their captors talking.

“With luck we can pull any survivors, non-resistance members, out of situations like this.” She said and looked over at Jacen with a most serious stare. “We know better than to make any stupid decisions that would undoubtedly get us killed.”

Why was he talking strategy? Why was he making them ask who they might be?

“Brave to assume there will be any resistance left.” Said one of the troopers. “We’re nothing if not thorough.”

Kana nodded her head.

“Of course. It’s a shame we are in this situation, but at least we can try to make it better.” Kana frowned.

“You can certainly try.” Said the trooper.

Blaster fire continued to echo through the street from the skyscraper as they passed it by.

“Why do they resist?” Asked one trooper mostly to himself. “It’s pretty much over, they could just surrender.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"And what treatment would the soldiers who had made you pay for every block receive? I've been in an urban war, fought at Coruscant. Its painful working building by building, basement by basement. They want you to keep paying."

It was blunt, but honest. He saw no reason to shy away from the truth now. He turned towards the building, seeing the red and green lights reflecting off the windows on several floors. At his sides his hands balled into fists tight enough that his fingers left crescent marks in his palms.

You can't solve every problem, he told himself and he let the moment pass.

A small troop transport hovered towards them. Two of the black clad troopers waved it down.

"In the back," they were told. Jacen obliged. The door was shut behind them, leaving them inside the armoured vehicle in hazy red lighting.

"Are you alright?" he asked Kana softly.

 

[Kana Truden]

Alright was a very difficult thing to determine. Was she alright with how things were going? In a way. Was she alright with the fact that it was happening in the first place? Not really. It had been years since she last saw a live battlefield, and while she felt oddly at home in the field, she had never relished the thought of it.

“Suppose.” She said and let out a sigh. “We’re technically captives.”

Air burst through her nose.

“Feels familiar, to some extent. Not sure how I feel about that.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Ah. Yes."

Jacen grimaced and broke eye contact. Admittedly he had Kana locked in a cell submersed in several million tonnes of magma. The back of this infantry vehicle didn't even begin to compare to the oppressive atmosphere she had been placed in.

"Still, we could walk away from this one whenever we wanted."

The vehicle came to a halt. The door was opened. Still feeling confident Jacen stepped out into the light. He squinted to look up at two silhouettes standing over them.

"So...yoube got spare walkers you can't use then?" Jacen asked.

"They're protection."

 

[Kana Truden]

The magma cell was certainly a unique experience. Far less warmer than she had expected, yet just warm enough to have been a constant reminder of where she was. In this vehicle the only sweats she had were the ones she had worked up while getting this far on-foot. A significant difference to be sure. The doors opened and they all stepped out.

The soldiers led them towards a tent and Kana gave Jacen a nod to let him take charge of the situation. As they stepped in they were put before an officer in a worn uniform. Their black hair tied up into a firm knot beneath their officer’s cap. With a slow spin they turned towards Jacen to give him an assessing glare.

“And who is this?” A harsh, gravel-like voice seemed to subconsciously growl from their throat. “I was not informed about this interruption.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen looked at the officer and then let his gaze pan upwards to the walkers that loomed over them. With the sabotaged roads they seemed to have an abundance of them collected around the forward operating base.

It took a lot to bring down a pair of jedi masters, but a collection of imperial walkers had a good chance.

"Jedi master Jacen Voidstalker. I have come to negotiate on behalf of the citizens of the city for a ceasefire so they may evacuate."

"And you come with authority from whatever passes for leadership amongst the terrorists?"

"I am a concerned third party."

"And you are?" Kana was asked bluntly.

 

[Kana Truden]

“Jedi Master Kana Truden.” The blonde woman said and gave Jacen a look. “Also third party.”

They were surrounded. The glance that Kana had given Jacen quickly turned over her shoulder to look at the troops outside the tent. Even if they hadn’t been surrounded they were still outmanned and outgunned. She had been in this seat before, but never because she had willingly put herself in such a position where death was about as likely as success.

Or well, the Republic had shown that to be untrue, but given the peace of recent years…

“And why would two Jedi enter my camp asking for a cease fire?” The officer asked. “This all seems highly unlikely.”