The woman shook her head in amazement as she snaked her way through the crowd. She knew Dalroth to be a backwater town whose ‘respectable’ residents would be the first to throw their hands up in horror if they ever saw a strange-looking alien or caught sight of restricted weaponry, but give them a fire-fight in the middle of the day and the thrill of some danger and excitement and they would crowd around like a pack of kath hounds smelling a fresh kill.

“Oi! Where do you think you’re off to?” a voice suddenly yelled from behind her, as a meaty hand grabbed hold of the long trench coat she was wearing and rudely pulled it back. It only served, however, to expose the muzzle of the blaster carbine and the thick durasteel mesh of the body armour she was clad in, and had concealed beneath the long, grey garment.

“I go where I please,” she replied, turning behind her, until her grey eyes met the brown of a large Tanaabian dock-worker in an icy duel.

“Umm…sorry,” the man mouthed soon after as he quickly released his hold upon her and allowed the woman to push her way to the front of the crowd and capture a detailed look at what held the crowd so enraptured.

It was a Jedi, moving with the florid grace of a character in a holovid, as he dodged and weaved under a hail of blaster fire. She had never seen a Jedi at close quarters and had always thought the archaic weapons they carried were only good for pomp and ceremony, but in this Jedi’s hands the weapon looked beautiful.

It was his other companions, however, that soon drew her attention. For the Jedi was aided by what appeared to be a TDF officer, but everything from the way he had sought cover, to the gripped his weapon and controlled his fire, suggested that he had had training beyond what most TDF grunts had.

Further she saw more of the party, stuggling with a wounded member on board a speeder, and yet another figure – a Twi’lek – push his way into the crowd as if he were fleeing.

‘Or seeking cover,’ she suddenly thought.

Reaching for the steel, black comfort of her helm, she quickly fastened it in place.

‘Time to get busy.’

OOC: On which side though?

Mercury and Lana manage to pull the critically wounded Jeena - as well as Jaal - into the speeder, and the young fringer throws the vehicle into drive and slams it into a path that will allow the rest of the party to jump in.

Which one of them does. Inexplicably, the blind jedi (was he blind to danger, as well?) moved to charge at the remaining attackers, rather than to take the safety of the speeder... and worse, Dime and Damanil seemed intent on staying around to provide support!

Mercury swings the speeder as close as he dares, and earns a blaster bolt into the left rear quarterpanel of the speeder for his trouble. The vehicle yaws dangerously, but the young man is able to regain control - luckily, it appears that the damage is cosmetic. For the briefest moment, he meets Caise's sightless gaze, and the jedi gives an almost imperceptible nod. Grimly, Mercury grits his teeth, grabs the wheel, and accelerates off toward safety.

The three are armed and old enough to make their own choices. For now, Mercury has the responsibility of getting the injured to safety.

Meanwhile, Caise busies himself with the business of ensuring the speeder's escape. His senses tingle once more, and this time, the padawan correctly interprets the signal as indicating another rocket firing. The jedi in training gathers the force around him and covers the ground between himself and the assailant in a remarkably short time. The man has no real chance to react as Caise's humming lightsaber neatly intersects the rocket launcher's barrel - as well as the active round within it.

There is a dull thud as the round explodes, throwing lethal shrapnel from the launch tube deep into the head and torso of the attacker. Later, his badly charred body will be discovered, but it is this molten shrapnel, not the burns, that kill the man. Caise is thrown back by the blast, peppered by the same shrapnel, and his head connects with a permacrete barrier at an awkward angle. The jedi's mind notes, in a disconnected manner, that everything sounds as if he is under water.... and then, he notices nothing at all.

Elsewhere, the fight takes another bad turn. Damanil's blaster rifle speaks and throws a burst of lethal energy directly into the chest of another attacker, who crumples to the ground. However, the sniper has regained his position, and only blind luck - or the will of the force - nudges the incoming shot to the side enough to avoid lethality. Even so, Damanil is spun to the ground by the blast, and it takes all of his effort to regain his feet.

Dime has problems of his own. Somewhat wounded himself, the twi'lek knows that to try to run across open ground in an effort to assist either of his fallen comrades would be suicide, considering the sniper on the roof and the regular blaster fire still coming from two different spots across the street. All thoughts of cover fire are gone, now - to survive, Dime will have to use lethal force. He does score a glancing shot on one attacker, but all three enemies still remain.

Suddenly, a loudspeaker bellows out in Galactic Basic, "This is the TDF! All armed parties will drop their weapons immediately or face deadly force!" A Dalian-class hovertank has moved into the street, and several armed soldiers in TDF uniforms and full battle armor move from cover to cover.

The sniper on the roof apparently thinks he has a shot, but is proven wrong as he is hit by two seperate blasts. He staggers for a moment, then tumbles several stories to the street below. The remaining two attackers drop their weapons and raise their hands, and the hatch of the hovertank opens. A lean, wiry officer - one Damanil does not recognize - steps out and surveys the street as the troopers move to surround the area. He keys his commlink. "We have casualties onsite - medteam requested ASAP."

Dime can feel the rifles poitned at him. "All right, sentient," the officer speaks clamly. "This fight is over. Drop your weapon now, or have it removed from your cold, dead fingers. Your choice."



***********************

Meanwhile, Mercury drives as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. When it becomes apparent that there is neither pursuit nor further immediate threat, he pulls the speeder into a parking area to think. The fringer glances back to the back seat, but Lana shakes her head, her lips pursed tight. Jeena is quite clearly dead.

Jaal's expression says he has realized this some time ago - the grime on his face is streaked by tears. He closes his eyes for a moment, then shifts his beloved's head from his lap to the seat so that he can move to the front. He then keys the comm panel on the dash of the speeder, and moments later, Gerald Darand's voice is heard.

"Father," Jaal breathes, "there has been an attack. We... father, Jeena is dead!" The young man's composure breaks, and the last word comes out almost as a wail. It is a heartbreaking scene, to say the least.

The voice on the other end sounds stiff, unbelieving. "What do you mean, Jaal? An attack, where? When?"

"Outside of Brod's, father. I'm not sure if they were after us or the jedi, but he stayed behind to give us time to escape..." Jaal cannot continue.

"WHAT?" comes an anguished scream. "They knew that transportation was supposed to be clear!" The last is followed by moments of deathly silence. "What I mean, son, is...."

But Jaal cuts him off. "You had something to do with this?" he cries. "Why would you do such a thing, father? Why?"

Gerald has grown very angry, and his voice shows it. "I told you to stay away from Jedi, boy! They bring nothing but trouble! If not for them, your mother..."

But again, Jaal cuts his father off. "If not for you, you bitter old bastard, Jeena would be alive! Hell is too good for you." Furious, the young man punches the comm panel, breaking it (and possibly his own hand). He then collapses into sobs.

The armour-clad woman peered at the broken body of the young Jedi. He had been thrown by the blast from the rocket to not far from where she had been standing in the crowd, and she had found herself drawn to the young man’s side.

But she did not know why. The Jedi’s neck hung at an awkward angle, ugly pieces of charred metal protruded from his abdomen, and there was little she could do to help without something to cauterize the man’s wounds. Yet even still she found herself lingering over him, saddened that the Jedi, who had mesmerized her moments before with his grace and skill, now lay moments from death at her feet.

“I guess…even Jedi are mortal,” she murmured quietly, although any emotion in her voice was stripped away by the vox-box in her helmet, and translated into a metallic monotone.


[ ooc. Just a quick treat injury check, to see if she can deduce how near death the silly Jedi is]


“This is the TDF!” a loud-speaker suddenly announced from behind her. “All armed parties will drop their weapons immediately or face deadly force!”

She turned her head, and the view-screen immediately zoomed to focus upon the large troopers and larger hovertank that had closed off the street.

‘Just what I need…a brush with Tanaab’s finest’, she thought sarcastically. There were no doubt some on Tanaab who regarded the TDF as the defenders of all that is just, but the woman’s own dealings with them had been far from pleasant. ‘But then I suppose I shouldn’t expect much given my line of work.’
Walking to where the Twi’lek she had seen earlier still stood, the woman unstrapped her carbine and placed it slowly on the ground, before raising her hands in the air.

“I’d drop the weapon if I were you,” she whispered to the Twi’lek as she noted the TDF’s weaponry swing in his direction. “These jokers have no love for off-worlders.”

Her eyes narrowed, as the officer leading the TDF detachment imperiously stepped out of the hovertank and gazed in her direction.

“The name’s 13,” she offered, “and I had no part in any of this. If you don’t believe me, you can check the power pack in my carbine, and you’ll see that the weapon hasn’t been fired.”

“But…uh…I expect this will look pretty good for you, what with you coming to the aid of a fallen comrade,” 13 added, and gestured to the man she had seen fight with the Jedi with a flick of her head. “Who knows, you may even make the holonews and get one of those shiny medals. ‘Course you may want to make sure you arrest the right people first. It won’t look too good if your superiors are the first to realize that the Twi’lek and Jedi fought to help your TDF guy after he came under fire. And it really won’t look too hot if you arrest them…and innocent bystanders like me.”

‘Sometimes’, 13 decided, ‘a good lie can go a long way.’
[ooc. Bluff check ]

Mercury turns his head for a moment when Jaal smashed the comm. "Okay! What in the name of Hoth is going on?"

Jaal snaps. "Jeena is dead, what do you think is going on?"

Mercury didn't reply but looked quickly behind him and in the rear view to make sure they weren't being followed. He was about to draw his blaster and ask again, more nicely when farmer-boy recovered his emotions, 'I'm sorry. My father hates the Jedi order. He blames them for our mom's death so many years ago. I think…no, I know he done something. I think he tipped off an anti-jedi group about your jedi friend. I bet he thought Jenna and me; we'd be long gone before shooting started. I'm sorry but your friends are in serious trouble."

Mercury slams on the brakes and swerved the speeder into a controlled spin. "What! What is going on here? Is this the universe against me day? Myrock on a stick!" Mercury turns to look at Ziv and Lans in the back, "Okay people? What are we doing? I'm thinking rescue time."

Jaal pipes up, "The plantation ain't poor. I can likely lay my hands on some decent credits."

"Great," Mercury drawled sarcastically, "I could use a Thangarian Mark 4 right now."

Ziv hung on for dear life as Mercury sent the speeder zooming off down the street away from the battle, but he kept his eyes on the three they were leaving behind. He hated leaving any of them behind, he had started to think of them as comrades, sort of decent folks, and it just didn’t set right watching the scene fade into the distance.

The last he saw of another explosion near the Jedi, obscuring him from sight. He thought he saw another fall from a blaster bolt, but it was too distant to tell who it was, Damanil or Dime.

His gaze looked past the conflict and could just see a hover tank move into the area, no doubt the TDF Riot team. He knew now that the three they left behind would surely be captured.

Ziv suddenly realizes that Jaal is talking on the speeders comm and having lost sight of the battle turns his head slightly to listen while keeping an eye out for pursuit. He cant help but feel for Jaal, Jeena seemed to be a good girl and to have died needlessly like that made Ziv’s blood boil with anger.

Hearing him blame his father for the attack, and to hear the reply which didn’t deny it, Ziv shook his head and sighed. He sensed that the old man had a problem with Jedis but he didn’t know that he would jeopardize his son’s life to attack someone he didn’t really know.

He hangs on again as Mercury jams on the brakes and starts to rant, “Easy Merc, We will have to come up with a plan but we shouldn’t do it out here in the middle of nowhere.”

He glances back the way they came, “I saw a TDF force arrive just before I lost sight of them, and Caise looked like he might have got caught in an explosion so more than likely they are all in custody now.”

Ziv turns to Jaal, “Credits are good, we will need them and maybe some help if we want a chance at getting our friends out of TDF custody.”

“I think we should find a safe place to hold up and discuss our next step,” he said looking at the remainder of their shrinking group.

"All right, sentient, this fight is over. Drop your weapon now, or have it removed from your cold, dead fingers. Your choice."

Oh really? I'm sorry friend, but this fight has just begun...
His eyes narrowed a bit before releasing his heavy pistol. As it hit the floor, he caught a glance towards the one named 13, who was trying to talk out of the current mess. He then turned his attention back towards the authorities

"You win, though you will soon see things are not as they seem. Make sure you bring along my belongings in the suitcase behind me - my employer would not appreciate it being lost."

As Jaal’s ancient Soro-Subb 45 jumped to life and the sound of the repulsorlift and drive engines thrummed in the air, Caise was certain that those aboard would be well on their way to safety and his attentions could be turned to the matter of putting a stop to this assault. He had almost succumb to distraction and uncertainty when Mercury fish-tailed the vehicle into the street and caught a blaster bolt to the speeder’s tail end but, following a quick look in the speeder’s direction and being met with a confused and possibly incredulous glare from the young fringer, Caise quickly reset his focus on the attackers when the Soro-Subb made a run for the outskirts of Dalroth.

Even as the young Jedi’s sightless gaze drifted away from the retreating landspeeder, his senses buzzed with another warning, this time close enough for him to target. Summoning the Force to his aid, Caise maneuvered almost too quickly through the chaos and, whirling around as his senses screamed that the target was at hand, brought the emerald blade of his lightsaber to bear, cleaving through the weapon before its lethal projectile could clear the barrel.

>>>WHUMP!!!<<<
Shock.

Panic

Agony.

Nothingness.
For the briefest of instants, Caise was aware of excruciating pain… first, that of the man who had been wielding the rocket launcher…then, his own… as if thousands of Alpheridian burrow beetles had found a new home in his flesh…

Suddenly he was flying… his sight gone for the moment…pain once again… singular and more brutal than the bug bites… So heavy, he thought, feeling himself being dragged down as he wondered where all of the water had come from, can’t hear anything clearly in this pool… am I breathing water?
There was a glimpse, then, of sleek, dark, and cold before he sank into the depths…

Yali stares down the TDF officer and makes her point, even as Dime cooperates with the request to stand down. Two armored troopers move as quickly as possible to Damanil's side, and begin administering first aid to the wounded "soldier".

The wiry commander regards Yali cooly. "Interesting observations, all. I wonder, though, what business is it of a bounty hunter like yourself?" He pauses for a moment, then gestures at a solider. "Check his weapon, see if he's telling the truth."

GM's note: assuming Yali complies...
The soldeir gives the thumbs up, and the weapon is returned to the bounty hunter. The commander speaks to Yali once more before tending to the rest of the situation. "Were we not on riot duty, bounty hunter, I'd fine you the hundred credits myself for carrying military grade arms without the proper permit. But since you appear to be uninvolved in this incident, I will ignore it this time." He then turns to assess the situation across the street.

"Get these bodies out of here!" he orders. "Take the last one into custody, I want to know what is going on, here." The commander glances back at the party members. "Relieve them of their weapons, see to their wounds, and transport them back to HQ for questioning. Debrief the trooper, get his take on the matter, as well."

The unconscious form of Caise is carried via litter to a waiting personnel carrier, to which Damanil is already being escorted. Another trooper revcovers Dime's blaster and prompts him toward the same carrier.

"Um... if you will come this way, please?" a trooper asks Yali with a somewhat unsure tone. Notoriety has its perks, apparently.

A med tech hops in theback and begins to work on Caise, and the doors are slammed shut - and locked. Momentarily, the carrier hovers up and off towards TDF HQ.

"You seem to enjoy combat a bit too much, my young padawan..."

"Enjoy it, Master?"

"Yes. That smile on your face when you attack, is that not enjoyment?"

"Enjoyment of the way the energies flow, perhaps Master but not... not of the harm I could cause... I..."

"Like diplomacy, my pupil, combat is no place for emotion, in any circumstance. Let go of your emotions before you enter into either; let the Force guide you, unfettered from your feelings… do not base your actions on what you think or how you are feeling. Instead, feel the Force and heed its direction. Action guided by emotion in either circumstance, Caise, whether the emotion be joy, anger, or otherwise, risks setting you quickly on the path to the Dark side.”

“The Dark side, Master? How can that be? Our attackers were clearly in the wrong and I did only what was necessary to prevent their advance.”

“But at what cost, padawan,” Trask asked him, then. The elder Jedi gestured to the three lifeless remotes that had served as the ‘enemy’ in this training scenario; “You have dispatched the enemy, yes,” then, sweeping a hand towards the other side of the room, indicated the holographic representations of those that Caise had been tasked to protect, “but your eagerness for a quick and, dare I say, rash resolution to this particular conflict has had dire consequences.”

Of the three sentients in his charge, only one showed any signs of life and that one – a human girl of no more than three standard years in age; daughter of the two, now dead politicians seeking asylum in the Republic – was grievously wounded. Caise’s heart sank and he deactivated his saber as he skulked dejectedly towards his fallen charges. The lesson that Master Trask was trying to impart become shockingly clear now… he was saddened by the consequences of his actions… angered by them… he felt an urge to lash out in an attempt to assuage that feeling… then shame at having become the catalyst for the death of these people…

“I see your smile has faded,” Trask’s voice was comforting, as was the reassuring hand that the Alderaanian Jedi had rested on his shoulder, but the lesson that had been taught was still a painful one.

Caise nodded. “Yes, Master,” he replied, “Suddenly, I feel no excitement at the prospect of combat. No enjoyment of the dance the energies create. Instead, I feel…”
~*~*~*~*~*~

…pain.

A great variety of pain filled the Miraluka’s senses as the memory disintegrated around him and returned him to a dazed consciousness. He was aware of his own pain, of course, and could feel the medics working at the wounds he had incurred, and for a moment, he wondered if his rash actions had caused any of his compatriots to suffer worse than he had. As he struggled to find his way through the haze this border between awareness and trauma-induced stupor, the young Jedi also found himself sensing the physical pains of others nearby and, as he found the thread of the Force that provided him with sight, he forced himself to seek them out.

An aura that he recognized as Damanil Shadoran was the first he noted, and the most tortured, it seemed. Caise’s grip on his Force Sight was tenuous at best, and he was skeptical of trusting the perceptions it provided but, from appearances, the red-headed soldier hadn’t faired much better than Caise himself had… “Still alive,” he muttered weakly, unaware that he had said the words aloud as his blind gaze swept past the unrecognizable auras of the TDF medics and troopers that shared the space to find the other familiar life form.

A slow shake of his heavy head indicated his surprise that the Twi’lek was here – mildly injured, judging from the foggy representation of his energies. “Should have gone…” he tried to chastise Dime but only manage to vocalize that part – the ‘with the others,’ remainder of the thought failed to make the trip from mind to mouth – but the sluggish attempt at a smile belied his happiness that Dime was still with him.

Caise felt exhaustion – and, perhaps, medication induced fog – beginning to cloud his awareness again and he couldn’t resist the pull of sleep for much longer. His sight had started to flicker away, then, even though he tried to stay focused long enough to determine the nature of the others that seemed to be all around him – the auras were all similar, it seemed… The TDF riot team, perhaps?… armed and armored, disciplined and focused for the most part… nondescript… except for one. His head lolled as he struggled to bring this one into focus. There was something vaguely familiar about the aura of the one female presence he found… Black armor… where have I… what?… None of it seemed to make sense… he couldn’t recall having encountered her anywhere else before now but this armored woman’s aura glowed as brightly in his sights, now, as Dime, Damanil, Mercury, Lana, and Ziv’s had aboard the Kul Kura not that long ago. As unconsciousness was claiming him again, Caise weakly reached a hand out towards the woman… “…with us for a time,” he managed to mumble before he slipped back into the abyss of sleep.

“…Interesting observations. I wonder, though, what business it is of a bounty hunter like yourself? Check his weapons, see if he’s telling the truth.”

‘His weapon,’ Yali thought to herself in an echo of what the TDF Commander had said to her. In an instant her mind’s eye was flooded with the image of a young girl prising a blaster carbine from the cold, lifeless hands of an armoured corpse. She was scared, and she clutched at the weapon as a way to end that fear, as a way to right the wrongs that had been committed against her. And yet…

“And yet I haven’t.”

“Sorry sir?”

Yali let out a nervous cough beneath her helmet as she realised she had spoken the thought aloud, and was only gladdened by the fact that durasteel mesh she wore hid her embarrassment.

“Forget it,” Yali murmured to the trooper in front of her, as he made to give the bounty hunter her weapon back.

“Were we not on riot duty, bounty hunter, I'd fine you the hundred credits myself for carrying military grade arms without the proper permit. But since you appear to be uninvolved in this incident, I will ignore it this time,” the TDF Commander added, in the haughty tone so beloved by the TDF.

“Yeah, and I’m really grateful,” Yali replied, with only a hint of sarcasm in her voice, as she slung her carbine over her shoulder. Around her she could see the medical teams rushing to the aid of the stricken Jedi and the wounded TDF man she had seen, and the troopers quickly round up those involved for ‘questioning’.

“Um... if you will come this way, please?”

Yali returned her gaze to the trooper in front of her, nodded imperceptibly and pushed her way past the nervous grunt and towards the personnel carrier that was waiting for her.

‘Well I suppose this could work to my advantage.’
-----

She groaned slightly from her seat in the hover carrier, as she ran her eye over her blaster carbine. The trooper that had checked whether she had fired her carbine in the battle had jammed her power pack back in at the wrong angle, and it would take a while for her to wrench it back out again.

“Should have gone…with us for a time,” a voice sounded weakly from her right. Turning her head, Yali saw that it was the Jedi mumbling to himself, and reaching out his hand as if to touch a phantom that only he could see.

“You should probably give him something to sedate him. It sounds as if he’s delusional,” Yali commented to the medic attending the Jedi as she braced her carbine between her legs and attempted to pull the jammed power pack out.

“Ugh…” she sounded after a few seconds of furious tugging. “I don’t suppose you happen to carry a hydrospanner do you?” Yali added to the Twi’lek sharing the transport with her.

Ziv hangs on again as Mercury jams on the brakes, “Easy Merc, We will have to come up with a plan but we shouldn’t do it out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Plan?” Mercury asks surprised, “We don’t have time for plans. We’ll make it up as we go. I mean, how tough can they be?”

“I think we should find a safe place to hold up and discuss our next step,” Ziv said looking at the remainder of their shrinking group.

Mercury shifted the speeder back into gear, “Okay, someone give me directions or an idea please!” he says loudly, “Cause people could be dying here while we hide out and make plans” he adds dramatically. “We need a diversion, and then we grab our guys and go. What do we got that explodes? Could jury rig the fuel tanks...”

Shadoran had a bad feeling about the fight. He knew it was against every rule in every bounty hunter rulebook, but he had stayed behind to help another. He was helping a jedi, who to the best of knowledge, had nothing to do with his current assignment. I'm getting old., Damanil thought as he took aim at one of the attackers. And the TDF was on its way too. All of a sudden the sweet taste of freedom and being alive was gone and replaced by acrid smell of death.

Squeezing the trigger, the redhead bounty hunter knew his shot would be bad news for the ambusher. He allowed himself a quick grin before he swung his rifle towards the sniper... Or tried to... There was another loud explosion... too loud, too near. Despite all his of experience and training, Damanil couldn't help the glance at Caise. The nearly fatal glance.

Apparently the one with the bantha of a gun considered him to be a bigger threat than the jedi - or an easier target. But as his green eyes witnessed the slow motion animation of the jedi's fate, the bantha kicked him in the side. Maybe that look saved his life. Maybe all of his luck hadn't run out after all, but the sniper's shot managed to miss at least the most important organs in Damanil's body... He hoped.

Through the haze of pain... Damanil had been hurt before, but never shot this bad. And he'd always wondered about the "haze of pain", but apparently such a thing was for real... The TDF hunter, bounty soldier, him - whatever he was, heard the arrival of his "fellow" troops. Yay... "Hnghh!" The pain was making his eyes water, but with sheer determination he pushed himself up. Gotta think of something...
The plan was to claim the jedi had been attacked and he'd happened to arrive at the scene on his free day just in time to help the poor blind man against the attackers. That's all he could come up in the few seconds he had. But the plan - great as it seemed to Damanil - was washed away by a stranger. "The name's 13, and I had no part in any of this. If you don’t believe me, you can check the power pack in my carbine, and you’ll see that the weapon hasn’t been fired."

Damanil gazed at the man? The armor and the carbine, the self-confident demeanor. There was no mistaking about him. Another bounty hunter. Despite the pain and the sudden need of closing his eyes, Damanil could easily recognize one of his own kind at such a short distance.

The the two heavily armored TDF goons were upon him. Blasters pointed at his head and barking orders to drop his weapon. "The hell I will. I'm one of you, you maggot faced bastards. Go pester someone else and get me a medic." The show Damanil put on might have proved to be useful or not. He would never find out. Before the "fellow" soldiers had a chance to respond, the redheaded bounty hunter's sharp eyes flipped to white and he dropped on the ground, unconscious.

The blackout didn't last long, but long enough for Damanil to find himself dragged/carried by the two TDF inside the troop carrier. Then the darkness overtook him once more.

---

No time to double check for errors, so bear with me.

Ziv hangs on again as Mercury jams on the brakes, “Easy Merc, We will have to come up with a plan but we shouldn’t do it out here in the middle of nowhere.”

Plan?” Mercury asks surprised, “We don’t have time for plans. We’ll make it up as we go. I mean, how tough can they be?”
“I think we should find a safe place to hold up and discuss our next step,” Ziv said looking at the remainder of their shrinking group.

Mercury shifted the speeder back into gear, “Okay, someone give me directions or an idea please!” he says loudly, “Cause people could be dying here while we hide out and make plans” he adds dramatically. “We need a diversion, and then we grab our guys and go. What do we got that explodes? Could jury rig the fuel tanks...”
Ziv stared at Mercury and gestured to those in the speeder, “In case you havent noticed Merc, there is only you, Lana, Me and Jaal and he is in no condition to fight after…” He didn’t want to mention Jeena’s lifeless body laying in the speeder.

“That leaves three of us to take on a TDF riot squad in an armor vehicle from a speeder,” he said looking at his weapons, “I don’t know about you but all I have is a blaster and a couple power packs so I don’t know about us taking them back.”

Ziv sighed, he wasn’t much of a fighter and definitely not a leader in battle. He settled down and racked his brain trying to think of a plan.

“I don’t know if crashed a rigged speeder into the armored transport is going to help and besides we don’t know how many TDF troops were in that carrier,” he said shaking his head, “I know getting ourselves captured of killed is not going to help the others.”

“What we need is some help.” He said looking around wondering then turned to Jaal, “Do you know anyone that can help us?”

Jaal fixes Ziv with a stare. "Somebody that can help? Maybe so. Hmmm..."

Lana interrupts. "Listen, boys, I know you all are just itching to play hero, to shoot up the TDF base and swoop out with your friends in tow, but have you thought about what you'd do then? We gotta get off this rock sometime, and if you go cracking open a TDF holding cell, you better have a ride lined up."

Jaal looks at Lana, then back at Ziv and Mercury. "Maybe she has a point?"

**********************

The med tech injects Caise with a powerful healing serum, and then begins dissolving the various pieces of shrapnel with a med laser. At the same time, another tech tends Damanil's wounds. Other than that, the ride to TDF quarters is a quiet one.

Fifteen minutes or so later, Caise regains consciousness. The jedi realizes that the injuries are still quite serious - but that he will live. Likewise, Damanil also looks much better; whatever substance these TDF are using must be a potent healing agent, indeed.

Suddenly, the personnel carrier lurches to a halt. The dirver's voice comes in over the intercom. "There is some sort of disturbance ahead. Everyone remain calm and seated."

The med tech tending Caise goes pale. She looks confused, torn, then... resolute. She reaches for a hypo, then asks her colleague to hand down an instrument from a storage bin above. When he turns to do so, she jams the needle into his neck, whereupon he instantly crumples to the ground.

Panic in her eyes, the young woman faces the group. "Move quickly," she hisses. "The driver is in on it - they will be here any moment!" She fixes her gaze on Dime, and speaks an odd phrase. "The stars of the core shine even here."

She opens the rear hatch, and blaster fire can be heard from the not too far distance. "You are being set up, but I will not stomach the TDF murdering a member of the jedi order. Know that there are still supporters of the Republic on this system. Go now - they intended to use the confusion of this attack to ensure your deaths. Instead use it to cover your escape!"

Jaal fixes Ziv with a stare. "Somebody that can help? Maybe so. Hmmm..."

Lana interrupts. "Listen, boys, I know you all are just itching to play hero, to shoot up the TDF base and swoop out with your friends in tow, but have you thought about what you'd do then? We gotta get off this rock sometime, and if you go cracking open a TDF holding cell, you better have a ride lined up."

Jaal looks at Lana, then back at Ziv and Mercury. "Maybe she has a point?"

Mercury adjusted his steering and pushed the engines to top speed. “Yeah! Great point! Why don’t you guys get on that while I drive us back and rescue our friends! I mean, how tough can they be?”

It suddenly hit Mercury that in all the confusion and pointless discussion of plans that he still had his commlink. At first Mercury pondered if he could rig the thing as an explosive device to serve as a diversion. He dismissed that idea and moved on to setting up audio feedback to incapacitate the soldiers. After he realized he had no idea how to do that it occurred to him to actually use the device.

“Yo! Blind guy.” Mercury called into the commlink. The TDF could be listening so he decided he better use a code or something, “This is Mercury rising. We’re coming in hot and ... all your calls are going to be early. Can you give me a … a … whereabouts of the …um …lost …um …red …um …soldierboy ... yeah. Come in please!”