Private Way Over Her Head

[Dagon Kaze]

Life of crime never pays off. Hela Corde learned that the hard way. Locked up a dozen and more times for petty crimes. Sure the Terrix wasn't an A-list paygrade job but it was some form of stability - puts bread on the table consistently. And that's exactly why she was wary of answering questions regarding the murder of Castyl Tara. The guy was a notorious thug ringleader; drug peddling, trafficking and even headhunts. Hela just...did not want to lose the Terrix.

She finally conceded to the Zeltron detective with a sigh and grumbled, "Follow me."

"Cadet, huh?" Dagon scoffed at Kori as the two followed the bartender to the crime scene. Through the club's dancefloor, tables and lounges, through a backdoor leading into a corridor lined up with tinted glass doors leading to private rooms. Paid pleasure, a concept not really comprehended by the Jedi.

"Right here." Hela stopped to a halt beside room 12, disgust evident on her face and with reason. The door was open and within the pink walls of the pleasure room lied a Mirialan face down, his head detached from its body cleanly. Just like the thirty-three corpses from Teta. Dagon's face turned pale as he slipped inside, glanced around and crouched down next to the corpse.

"Clean cut." he stated bluntly, his voice growing cold and his hands reluctantly turning Castyl's head around for Kori to see before quickly putting it back down. "The same symbol cut on his forehead." Dagon took out the coin to confirm its semblance then shuffled through the man's belongings to find another identical coin. This one he passed on to Nykoria to see and keep for the time being.

The Jedi stood up and turned to the bartender flashing the coin in his possession, "You ever seen this symbol before?"

Corde shook her head, "Not really, no." he caught no lies but even if she did, Dagon's exhaustion would've probably not caught it.

He drew out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes. The coffee from earlier and the growing complexity of the case helping him none.

"We're actually investigating the disappearance of Lissa Vikal." Dagon gestured at the corpse, "his girlfriend."

"Lissa?" concern in her voice. "I haven't seen her for a while." she paused, then added with a lowered voice, "Between you and me - they had their problems. You know with him here and that." Corde did not seem to sorry for Castyl's current state. Something in her past.

"Anything odd happen recently...with him or her?"

"Hmm." she mused over it for a moment, then, "Last I heard she started hanging out with some tough off-worlders, suits and all."

"You know where?"

"Errmm, one of those posh, invite-only barge casinos in orbit. The Excelsior, I think it's called. She got a job there, management or something." she said and added, "Look, I've said enough - I don't want this crap to end up coming back and biting me in the ass."

Dagon nodded, "Don't worry about it." he assured her, then glanced at Kori if she had something more to add or do.

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Well, nobody could blame Kori for being useless now. She had managed to secure the cooperation of a reluctant witness; something even the Jedi couldn't do. So when Dagon approached her with a scoff and his "Cadet, huh?"—what'd he even mean by that?—the Zeltron could only offer a faint weary smile and a shrug in return. She followed their guide and the Jedi in silence, taking in the feel of the place.

Paid or not, pleasure still remained. Normally, a Zeltron wouldn't be able to sense it, with all the people gone and the establishment closed. But Kori was a special case. Her senses for such things had always been more keen: strong and consistent emotions always left a mark on a place. The Terrix had both strong and consistent going for it. Yet the emotions weren't pure—there was something off about them, like a faint gas odor. And the closer the duo were approaching to their destination, the worse it was getting. Something else was also adding to the mix. Something darker and scarier, completely opposite to the rest of the emotions ingrained in the Terrix.

The other Zeltron's disgust was almost palpable as well. She knew what she'd find inside, and she hated the idea of looking at it. "Noted." And then the door opened. At first, Kori didn't notice the catch. A Mirialan, lying face down. Disgust emanating from the other Zeltron. And the overwhelming sense of terror that dominated the room, having pushed away the usual sweet-and-sour Terrix feel.

Only when Dagon turned the victim's head in a way that it wasn't meant to turn did Nykoria realize that the Mirialan had been decapitated. She did accept the coin, but did it rather instinctively. While Dagon was busy questioning the witness, Nykoria kept peering at the corpse, unable to avert her gaze. Her hand clenched the coin unwittingly; the purple cheeks grew pale, making the Zeltron look almost human.

The coin and the corpse had a story to tell. Kori could almost hear the muffled scream of the Mirialan in the distance. Something was drawing her to touch the body; it promised the knowledge that the Jedi and the witness lacked. But the fear of what she might sense paralyzed the former Cadet. "No way. I'm not touching that... him..."

Dagon would find Nykoria leaning against the wall for support, pale, and looking away from the scene. It was as if all the doughnuts she had eaten before were considering whether they should pack up and leave the way they came from. The sight of the scene only amplified by what the Zeltron sensed unwittingly through the Force. "Sorry, I..." she tried to breathe as her eyes shifted briefly from the wall towards Dagon. "I might need some fresh air outside."

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Obsessed by the case and exhausted by the sleepless night, Dagon was completely oblivious to Kori's intensely radiating uneasiness. Only until the Force tugged him; it wasn't his own touch to the ethereal but hers that took him aback. She looked pallid, barely standing, then shuffled away for a breath of fresh air.

"Kori." Dagon called at her departing form.

"What're you waiting for?" the barwoman asked judgingly, jerking her head in the direction of the cadet. The Jedi looked back at the crime scene, clenched his fists, then, "Damn it." he darted after her.

He followed her trail to the backdoors of the establishment and rushed out; the cool air mixed in with tibanna fumes greeted him. Dagon looked both ways before noticing Kori leaning on the wall of the Terrix. The Force faintly shimmering around her figure.

"Hey..." his voice was low laced with tones of concern as he stepped before her. He softly put his hand on her shoulder. "...you okay?"

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Walking through the Terrix felt like a blur. But something did change about the place. The emotions radiating from it were more sour than sweet now. Or it could be the aftertaste of the crime scene still messing with the Zeltron's perception. Regardless, the polluted air outside was somehow easier to breathe in than what was inside the Terrix.

Kori only paid attention when the Jedi approached, and his hand rested on her shoulder. The purple-skinned woman turned her head towards Dagon, an exhausted expression on her face. "Yeah," the reply came quick, without much thought. Only after a while longer did she add: "I think I will. Just never seen something like... that... before." Her hand tilted briefly in the direction where they had come from.

"Sorry, I never melted down like that," she added a half-truth after a brief pause. Her gaze would shift to Dagon's hand, should he not remove it until then. "Hope I didn't mess it up."

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"Don't worry, it's all good." Dagon assured her, then his eyes drifted for a long stare at the backdoor to the Terrix. He was nearly certain the tug at the Force he felt earlier came from her. Nearly. Force sensitivity was..., well it changed lives upside down, that was for sure. If his assumptions were correct, he could just let it be; never prod her over it, never bring up a revelation that might shift the foundations of her whole life. Maybe that was for the best.

But the Code dictated otherwise.

He finally dropped his hand down and looked back at her. His expression was serious but there was a serene and calming sensation emanating from his eyes.

"Back there..." Dagon began but his words trailed off unable to find the right words for the topic at hand. He sighed. Here? Now? Of all places and times? The backyard of a brothel during an exhausting investigation and a long night. Feth.

"You ever been tested for Force sensitivity?"

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Dagon said it was "all good". There weren't any changes for the worse in his attitude either. Yet it was clear he had something on his mind. Something that gnawed at him, even if only for a few moments. When his blue eyes met Kori's again, the Zeltron sensed another shift. It felt like that moment back in the police speeder: the backyard of the Terrix almost faded away, leaving only Kori, her vis-a-vis, and the question yet unasked.

Despite the uncanny calm of the scene—especially considering where and when they were—Dagon seemed like he wasn't sure about the question he was about to ask. But when he did, opposite emotions instantly clashed. Kori averted her dark blue eyes for a moment, as if to process the "sudden" question. Figuring out why the Jedi asked that was as easy as adding 2 and 2. And it would explain a lot.

"Even if I was, I don't remember it," she replied with the same calm that the young man was radiating around him. "Must've been in early childhood." A wry smirk crept up her lips, along with a playfully-relaxed glitter in her eyes: "What, you think they missed a Jedi?"

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Dagon chortled at her sarcastic question. Tension released in the huff of air; humor sometimes did do wonders. Diffuse a solemn situation, soften a critical blow but inherently it was still just a patch over a bullet wound. He rubbed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, a small smile still coloring his face.

"Yeah, our very own cadet Grandmaster." he retorted light-heartedly, then bit his lower lip, "I thin- I'm pretty sure you have a connection to the Force. I...felt it." the Jedi glanced around as if looking for what exactly to say next. This wasn't really a padawan-level responsibility. And with his recent...streak in the war; probably would've been better if he'd ignored the revelation.

But he just couldn't help it. An insane obsession to protect, to preside over, to be a warden. Even if it all ended in flames in the end.

"It's a big responsibility to have that...'blessing'." Dagon suddenly started explaining. "A blessing that without the proper training to control it will lead
to-- bad things." I'm one to talk about control. "In any case, you should come with me to the Temple. Get actually tested."

The timing of all of this was just 'excellent'.

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Action begot reaction. Or, in the Zeltron's case, emotion begot emotion. Dagon's smile only solidified that response. It was as if Kori had lost some weight off her shoulders. Her gaze wandered aside when the man brought up the rank again, only to return in a moment, with the smirk going wider. A part of her wanted to make some sort of pun, but she didn't make it in time. A thought for later, perhaps?

In fact, the revelation was a true relief. For years, Kori hadn't been sure if she was ok at all. Unexpected insights, strange accidents, and occasional headaches occurred regularly, but each of them wasn't big enough to warrant too much concern or a medical check-up. And when they did, it was already too late. The new-found knowledge eliminated the uncertainty, and Kori would be exhilarated... If it weren't for Dagon's sudden hesitation.

"It's not much different of a responsibility from wielding a weapon, I guess..." the woman replied hesitantly, before quickly adding to make sure: "Right?" The news of bad things weren't encouraging either. "And are you saying I can die if I don't get a hold of that Force sensitivity?" Like many people in the Galaxy, Nykoria was oblivious to how the Force actually worked; so her re-emerging concern was genuine.

"I don't mind coming with you and being tested," she shrugged, her tone still uncertain. "But do you mean 'right now'? And if so, what about the investigation? And Detective Brenau at the precinct?" Some things would need to be figured out before Nykoria could dive into the rabbit hole.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

He saw her features contort in concern, it was expected given Dagon's unusually grim depiction of Force sensitivity. He couldn't help it, but a tiny hint of regret still lingered in the depths of his conscious - what if he hadn't become a Jedi? How many costly mistakes and failures would he had evaded then? With these great powers came great responsibilities and expectations; expectations Dagon wasn't too certain he always lived up to.

"No, no. Not die, but-- not exactly, at least." he shook his head. "It's nothing like wielding a weapon, no." Dagon added solemnly. The idea of 'weaponizing' the Force went against all the Code stood for and what the Jedi strived to adhere to. Not that they were infallible given recent events but they all were taught to see the Force as anything but a weapon.

The raven-haired Jedi pinched the bridge of his nose, then rubbed his tired eyes. The night had taken a sharp turn and its toll was already evident. Going after a missing girl with a detective-cadet, only to find out the latter was attuned to the Force was not the way Dagon had ever expected this investigation to go. A part of him hesitated, wondering if he had taken the right decision to divulge to Kory her sensitivity. She was what? His age? Not that there were barriers to age entry into the New Jedi but Dagon knew the risks. He, himself, was taken under the Jedi's wing when he was around twelve years of age. And look how well that's going. Yet, another part of him was that of responsibility, or even need, to protect, to save, to help. That obsession to help others when he couldn't help really help himself.

"The investigation comes first, we'll have to see where this lead takes us to while it's still hot." he explained, then a smirk curved the corner of his lips, "Your sensitivity isn't going anywhere."

"C'mon, let's see what the Excelsior's got to offer to cops."

Spoiler: CUTSCENE

And off they went. This time up. No donuts on the way, appetite was lacking. Less gritty alleys and dubious neon signs, more gleaming streets and reputable marquees with each level they ascended until there was just the starry night of space. Words exchanged between the duo were limited to small talk, Dagon carefully weaving around the topic of the Force mostly due to the growing exhaustion over his shoulders than anything else. There was nothing more he wanted now than a hot shower and a warm bed.

Whoever says nothing compares in glitz and glamor to Uscru District has never been on the fancy, luxurious casino barges in orbit. And rightfully so; they don't let every other gremlin 'n' goblin up there to play. High rollers only. Whether it's a mad retiree nuking his retirement fund, spoiled rich kid on spring break from Coruscant University, nasty crime lords, hat-and-shades wearing politicians and suspicious lords and ladies to everything in between, the barge casinos didn't care as long as their credit chits came with a lot of zeroes behind.

Excelsior was one such barge casino and even more - it was invite-only. One of the fanciest of the fanciest and one of the iffiest of the iffiest. Owned by Emmanuel Bounet, a hustler from the gutters, now he's here type of man. The clear poor man's complex is evident in Bounet's exaggerated efforts in dressing this place as the highborn's heaven. Crystal chandeliers illuminating vivid lights twelve grand apiece, and that's with discount, polished floors which revealed the galaxy better than the most state-of-the-art 'scope could. Bottles of champagne popping every minute with the sound of a grand materializing in Bounet's pocket and exotic culinary you'd probably see only in another galaxy.

Safe to say, two roughened up detectives Dagon Kaze and Nykoria Tallis didn't really fit. Leather jackets, spacer boots, and cop badges - they reeked of trouble.

After a few loud grumbles by the security guards, they were allowed into the world of big money and depraved dreams only thanks to their credentials. Dagon couldn't help but scan the glamorous gaming hall they passed through on their way to the so-called 'Centrum' - where the restaurant, bar, club and games converged at. The heart of Excelsior. The heart of sinners.

"Seen anything like this before?" Dagon asked, slightly lost in wonder and captivated by the scene. Even a Jedi could be surprised every now and then. He wondered how many families on Coruscant's underbelly could one of those dozens upon dozens of crystal chandeliers lighting up the indigo walls and floors feed. He wasn't sure if he could count high enough. "You've got to wonder how someone dating a scumbag from the gutters ends up in management here."

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Kori lowered her gaze again, processing everything that Dagon had just told her. The explanation didn't make things completely clear, but at least relieved the Zeltron of some concerns. "Alright. Trail and evidence first, victorious return to the precinct second, sensitive matters third," the (ex-)cadet joked with a calm smile, following the Jedi's lead.

The Zeltron appeared to be rather enthusiastic now; more so than at the precinct. Still, she respected Dagon's inclination to be left alone while the vehicle was taking them onward and upward, towards their destination. As the barge approached in all its glory, Kori couldn't but wonder how the job was getting more and more "above her paygrade". The Zeltron's only regret was that she wasn't wearing something more appropriate for the occasion.

...​

The regret for not picking a dress only amplified when Nykoria saw the luxury that the Excelsior had to offer. Kori felt out of place. The only thing that matched the environment were her indigo hair. the brown leather jacket—stylish at the precinct—was a symbol of "poverty from down below". It didn't help that the security guards were reluctant to let them in.

"Actually, I see places like this all the time," the Zeltron replied casually, unable to escape the grandeur and the atmosphere of the place. "Just on holovids though," she added after a while, with a tilted head and a teasing smirk. "A shame we can't stay for too long."

Alas, Dagon's next question brought her back to business though; the purple-skinned woman replied with a shrug: "Opposites attract, I guess." She smirked at her own observation as they passed through by the Centrum lounge and its enticing dance floor towards the wide staircase. For the moment, Nykoria was leading the way and going with the flow. And the flow seemed to be leading her to the head honcho's office.

That's when another security guard stepped in their way. A well-built pale-yellow Zabrak. One head above Dagon. Black open tuxedo. No visible weapons. An stony and polite expression, yet literally screaming "end of the line". "Mister Bounet isn't seeing anyone," he replied sternly, and yet it wasn't a threat—he was just stating it as a fact.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

A stupid smirk lit up briefly on his face at Kori's observation on Lissa's dubious relationship with the crime lord from 'down below'. She seemed to be glowing, a spark of enthusiasm had lit up a fire after her Force revelation earlier, and Dagon couldn't help but inadvertently bask in it; it alleviated the weight of exhaustion on his shoulders. Whether her energy spread because of her racially gifted abilities as a Zeltron, her aura through the Force or just her general disposition - the Jedi was still tired enough to not be able to discern.

Dagon followed her lead passing through laughing faces, inebriated eyes, and lustful whispers; the glittering gold of the casino casting a shadow of depravity. Beneath the million-credit suits and dresses lied a world not too different like the one the two detectives had just arrived from. In fact, the Jedi felt even more disconnected here than below. The slums of Coruscant were his training ground, when his master wasn't teaching him the intricacies of the Force, Dagon was crossing rooftops and crawling through gutters to get to the bad guys.

Kori's lead took them up on the second floor where the sounds of music, chatter, and a good time were muffled. Nothing ahead heralded a good time for anyone. A hulk of a Zabrak suddenly stepped in their way like a wall. Even compared to Dagon's envious physique, the guard looked intimidating. Instead of the common thuggish behavior, the Jedi had come to expect in the underbelly, this one's disposition was polite but non-negotiable.

This time it was his turn to be convincing. Even if it meant cheating.

"Mister Bounet is expecting us..." he waved his hand before the Zabrak's eyes, "...and you need to go for a cigarette."

"Mister Bounet is expecting you..." the guard repeated mechanically.

Dagon blinked twice in surprise that it worked, but then a wide smirk shone on his face and he jabbed Kori, "See? I could pull it off, too. And no Zeltron wiles neede--"

"...and I need to inform him." the enthrallment backfired.

The Jedi's eyes widened as the guard reached for his commlink. Instinct, irrational as it was, kicked in and his hand snapped forward sending a powerful Force push. The behemoth was lifted off his feet and crashed hard through an opaque window behind. Within it, men stirred up from their seats, a meeting of some sorts, and a crowd of security guards appeared from thin air blasters ready. Before they could raise them, Dagon was already pulling Kori away behind cover.

Blaster fire exploded above their heads and Dagon made himself smaller, yanking Kori even closer. A durasteel platform for a statue was hardly a great cover from the plasma bolts.

"Uh.. got a plan B?"

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

The words that Dagon said to the guard were simple, but there was strength in them. Something about how he waved his hand, almost dismissively, made the guard yield. Nykoria almost believed herself that Bounet was expecting them.

And, strangely enough, the Zeltron wondered what smoking a cigarette felt like—even though she had never smoked or wanted to in her entire life. But those thoughts were washed away when the Jedi turned to hear with a victorious smirk. Kori responded with a smile of her own, but that was about all she managed to do.

What happened next was hard to keep up with. A surge of fear in Kori's companion, a guard flying through the window, hostile intent overwhelming the lazy lust... And the "cadet" being pulled away before she could say a thing. Kori only came to and realized what she had gotten into when Dagon addressed her. A good thing, because it put "the Jedi getting handsy" far towards the end of the list of Kori's concerns.

"Whatever it was, you blew it through the window with that Zabrak!" she replied with eyes wide open, full of a mixture of fear and anger. Still, her hand reached under the jacket for the Defender-5 blaster. With trembling hands, she set the weapon to stun—Kori would already have A LOT to explain back at the precinct, and she didn't want to add murdered guards to that list. Trying to keep her profile as low as possible, she only peeked from behind cover with one eye. Then she pointed the blaster from behind cover, returning fire blindly.

"Aren't you the one with all those inhuman reflexes and a laser sword?" she interjected inbetween the sounds of blaster barrage, when a bolt went too close to her hand for comfort and forced the Zeltron to flatten herself against the cover.

In the meantime, the fire intensity had subsided, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing. Kori could feel the deadly intent spreading around. The guards capitalized on their numbers and firepower: while a couple continued to suppress Kori, a few others started spreading around to flank the duo. Kori's return fire had forced them to take it slow. But it was only a matter of time until the Jedi and his unlikely aide were surrounded.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"Fair point." Dagon was, in fact, the one with the Force and the lightsaber. The hilt materialized in his hand from the inside of his jacket and with the all too familiar snap-hiss, the blade blue came to life; revealing his identity would cost him down the line, but they hardly had a choice. It was that or their lives. Not like telekinetically slinging a man into a wall hadn't already done that, anyway.

The Jedi burst out in the open, the saber dancing in front of him guided by the ethereal. Every flick of his wrist sent the lightsaber in the way of the hail of blaster bolts and provided a mobile cover the duo needed.

"Get up! That way!" he yelled out through the cacophony, while jerking his head to the left into another corridor. As they retreated with Dagon providing cover, they would hurry through a maze of turns before something caught their eye - the door to the control room. Locked, at least to normal means.

Nothing was normal about the Force.

With a blast of the empyrean, the door exploded forward opening the way into the empty room. A plethora of computer terminals and surveillance monitors greeted them. Dagon peaked from the door back at the hallway through which they had last come from, "We don't have much time. See if you can find any other way out. There's gotta be a layout of the place on the computers."

Should she access the mainframe, she would also find a detailed cargo manifest regarding deliveries of chemicals. Not something really suited for a casino barge.

Oh and did I say the log-in screen had the same symbol they found on Lissa Vikal's coin? Conspiracies amok.

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Nykoria had never met a Jedi before. Or at least she had never seen first-hand their signature weapon. So when Dagon sprang into action, illuminated by the blue blade and weathering the storm of blaster bolts, the Zeltron didn't follow instantly. Only a couple of seconds later, when she saw that no stray bolt went through the Jedi's guard, did she cower behind him, blaster still at the ready.

It was a strange feeling: seeing all the blaster bolts heading for you, as if in slow motion, only to meet the blade that somehow ended up exactly at the right place and at the right time. All the ex-cadet could offer is a couple of potshots from her blaster set to stun. One of those shots might've even hit the target; the Zeltron didn't really care, as long as she got out of there in one piece.

After that, seeing the door blasted open after a glorified handwave was... Normal? Of course, the Zeltron's mouth remained half-open for a few moment. But the waye of negative emotions chasing them encouraged Kori to hurry into the control room. To her surprise, the computers and camera feeds weren't password-locked—perhaps the local security were too reliant on the locked door.

"There's a lot more than that," the Zeltron replied after going through everything that the terminal had to offer. The video feeds from all around the barge (including the hall that the duo had just left), recordings, cargo manifests... Why the kriff were there chemicals? The problem was that Nykoria didn't have the time to go over everything. Security could get catch up with them any second, so the Zeltron did the only thing she came up with—send everything she could find down the planet surface, back to the precinct. A choice that could bite Kori in the rear in the long run, but the only one she had.

"The escape pods!" she pointed at the barge's layout that now dominated the screen and hid the progress bar for sending massive amounts of data. "It's either them, or our police car..." Suddenly, a thought crossed the Zeltron's mind as she noticed something else. Something that could buy them some time. Without asking Dagon, she hit a red button.

Suddenly, sirens blazed and roared throughout the entire barge. A cheerful female voice declared an emergency evacuation and urged everyone to proceed to the nearest escape pod. The effect of the announcement manifested immediately on the camera feeds. The previous shootout made it all the more believable. Laziness at the casino gone, replaced with anxiety and the desire to save one's own skin. Despite the announcer's suggestion to remain calm, the crowds were anything but. For better or worse, the areas around the escape pods would soon get very crowded.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"The escape pods, I thin--" before he could finish his sentence sirens began to blare across the whole barge and emergency red lights flashed to light. A smirk grew wide on his face, "--read my mind, huh?"

Just as they hurried out of the control room, the goons chasing them turned the corner and opened fire. Dagon's blade met and returned back the incoming salvo of blaster fire as he retreated after Kori who led the way. His free hand clenched the air and waved it at the direction of their assailants. Durasteel plates of the hanging ceiling groaned under the strain, gave in, and were flung at the thugs before he paced to catch up with the Zeltron 'cadet'.

They were running till they couldn't breathe and then even more until they could mingle straight into the tsunami of panicked guests fleeing for their lives to the escape pods. Pretty damn smart, Kori, pretty damn smart.

"What'd you find?" Dagon asked with a hushed voice, enough for her to hear but not enough for others in the chaos to discern.

"...and did you actually get the stuff?" the Jedi slightly frowned recalling he hadn't really seen her plug anything in the system.

Nykoria Tallis

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Even when running for her dear life and trying to figure out an escape plan, the Zeltron couldn't but mimic Dagon's smirk. In truth, emulating someone else's emotions in the heat of the moment was easier for Kori than having her own. "Follow Dagon" would have also been easier; except that the Jedi was busy doing his thing and made sure that the duo weren't riddled with blaster bolts on their way out. On the bright side, the bunch of pursuing guards ensured that Kori didn't dwell too much on the path she was taking. As long as it was away from the angry guards and towards the agitated crowd.

Too busy running, Kori didn't even pay attention to the creaking metal behind her. She just kept at it until the crowd concealed her and Dagon, who had somehow caught up with her. A familiar voice was like an anchor in the ocean of the crowd's anxiety. "A lot of stuff I couln't make sense of," the Zeltron replied in a similarly-hushed and exhausted tone, and with a drop of genuine confusion mixed into it. "I think I did. Had to send it to the precinct's server. As long as they don't notice it..." the woman shifted her gaze towards Dagon and tilted had in the direction they had come from. "That's all I could do!"

Meanwhile, it looked like the crowd itself was dragging the duo to the escape pods. Security hadn't made way to the place en-masse. And at least part of it must have been diverted to keep watch on the police speeder that the Jedi and his accomplice had arrived in. The crowd's anxiety spread to Kori, who worried less about the false alarm she had set off, and more about how she'd be explaining her involvement and a missing vehicle. A conversation at the precinct that she was not looking forward to.

But that moment was coming closer: with every step into the escape pod; with the metallic creak of the safety harness secured around her body after she sat down; with the door getting sealed behind her, and the pod being shot off from the barge and towards the giant city below. What have I gotten myself into?

Dagon Kaze