“…Nothing is what it seems. Carried by the tide, in darkness and in stillness, one is unaware of motion…”

The words of his master faded away as Caise found himself drawn back into consciousness and, for a moment, the young Jedi found himself wondering to which of the overlapping realities those words applied most. Had he simply been dreaming – recalling a lesson long past – or had the Force carried the message to him for some more immediate but, as yet, unknown purpose? As his waking mind pondered this, Caise remained still and slowly allowed his senses to broaden their scope… first, an aura he was unfamiliar with but sensed had been nearby for sometime; …female..a medic…then, beyond the woman, Damanil’s now familiar matrix of energies. Better than last I saw him, the padawan thought. Caise’s fingers moved then, as if reminded by Shadoran’s still healing aura that he, too, had been injured and an exploration of his own injuries might be appropriate. Even as his senses spiraled out further and took in the other TDF medic, his hand moved, almost hesitantly towards his abdomen, finding ragged holes in his tunic and still tender flesh underneath.

Foolish, he chastised himself in the absence of Trask’s voice, you very well should be dead and it could have only been a fool’s luck that kept you alive!
As his senses found Dime, Caise moved to sit up, wincing a bit at the lingering sting of his injuries, and turned his veiled eyes in the Twi’lek’s direction. “You should have gone,” he said with a slight smile as he adjusted his robes, then turned to regard Damanil; “Both of you.”

…nothing is what it seems…
His sightless eyes regarded the medic who had attended him, then, and he offered her a nod of thanks before turning his gaze to the armored woman who sat nearby. There were vague, fleeting recollections of this particular aura and, Caise thought, as he studied her, something more to it than what those with physical sight might notice… a secret that she kept from most everyone she’d ever known… there was a violet sheen of energy surrounding her that belied that in his sight, though… this woman didn’t want anyone to know who she truly was and, as securely in place as that taciturn shroud of force was, she had been successful at it for some time.

“Leave in concealment what has long been concealed, yes?” he muttered, smiling faintly to the woman encased in armor and helmet, “I suspect that I owe you a debt of thanks as much as I do these others….” The transport suddenly lurched to a stop and Caise’s attentions were snatched away from the ebon-armored woman by a sudden flux of emotion emanating from the female med tech.

The announcement from the driver and the events that followed happened almost too quickly, it seemed. In a matter of moments, the tech who had been attending him had rendered her partner unconscious and explained (in a manner of speaking) that they still had not managed to completely escape this increasingly complex trap that someone had laid for them.

“Move quickly,” the medic hissed as she moved towards the hatch, “The driver is in on it - they will be here any moment! The stars of the core shine even here.”

Caise was on his feet and moving for a bin where he sensed the energies of the adegan crystal in his weapon’s hilt. The soreness in his body as he traversed the transport’s deck, though, told him that as much as he preferred the weapon of his order, if combat became a necessity any time soon, something with better range would be a wiser choice. “Our gear is in that locker, Mr Shadoran,” Caise nodded towards the bin as he stooped and relieved the unconscious medic of the antiquated hold-out blaster he carried.

((Assuming gear is gathered from the bin and distributed…))

Caise buckled his belt around the his waist, quickly assuring that all his gear was where it should be and, most importantly that Rool’s datachip was still in the pouch where he’d secured it earlier and strode for the hatch as it opened.

“You are being set up,” the med tech advised, “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!”

“May the Force be with you,” Caise replied, once more nodding his thanks to the woman, “Tell your superiors whatever you must to cover your involvement.”

Without another word, the padawan stepped through the hatch, the recently procured blaster ready in his grip… “Yo! Blind guy.” Mercury’s voice sounded over his commlink, “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!”

He was happy to hear the fringer’s voice. As his gaze panned across the landscape, Caise retrieved his commlink and lifted it to his lips to reply. “I read you,” he said, “Lost red soldier-boy on Dalroth outskirts, moving for secure location. Hot seems to be the word of the week, Mercury rising… Stand by…”

He released the transmit stud and turned to the others. “We don’t want them exposed,” he noted as his gaze fixed on 13, “You’re the most familiar with this area, I imagine… Any suggestions?”

((OOC: Well, that got longer than I had planned… lots going on though… I say we beat feet away from the transport, of course, as quickly and ‘low-profile’ as possible and rendezvous with Merc and company at a safer spot… edits, backposts, and all that, as necessary))

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?"
Ziv had to admit that they did need some type of ship, he looked at Merc to see what he thought.

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!”
Ziv hung on as Merc pushed the throttle to the stops, “Are you insane? You plan to rush in there and get us all killed?”

Seeing him pull out his commlink and try to contact the Jedi he almost laughed thinking at first that surely the TDF had confiscated their commlinks along with their weapons. But he didn’t laugh, he waited hoping that somehow the Jedi and rest had escaped and were waiting for them to come get them. A far-fetched hope no doubt but who knew. Since he didn’t have another plan he would wait a minute to see what happened next.

>He was happy to hear the fringer’s voice. As his gaze panned across the landscape, Caise retrieved his commlink and lifted it to his lips to reply. “I read you,” he said, “Lost red soldier-boy on Dalroth outskirts, moving for secure location. Hot seems to be the word of the week, Mercury rising… Stand by…”

He was happy to hear the fringer’s voice. As his gaze panned across the landscape, Caise retrieved his commlink and lifted it to his lips to reply. “I read you,” he said, “Lost red soldier-boy on Dalroth outskirts, moving for secure location. Hot seems to be the word of the week, Mercury rising… Stand by…”
Ziv stared at the commlink in Merc’s hand, “Well look at that! Man I must say that Jedi is amazing!” Ziv was astonished and reached up and clapped Merc on the shoulder, “I guess you were right. No plan is the best plan.” He chuckled and shook his head. He checked his blaster to make sure it was ready, from the sound of the Jedi’s transmission they might not be out of the woods just yet.

There were times in 13’s life when she had severely misjudged her quarry. She still bore the scar given her by an otherwise cowardly Sullustan shopkeeper who had been pushed around one too many times, and still remembered her fear at the Gamorrean who had staggered on in spite of the killing blow he had received, too obtuse to realize he was dead.

Yet as she finally managed to work out the damaged power pack from her carbine, witnessed the transport she was in suddenly shudder to a halt, and saw one of the med tech’s declare herself a friend and an agent of the Republic, 13 realized she had never before misjudged anyone to this extent.

The people she had been tracking were patriots.

'Crap', she thought simply.

“You’re the most familiar with this area, I imagine,” the Jedi asked her after he and his companions had gathered their gear. “Any suggestions?”

13 slowly rose her berth and finished reloading her rifle.

“If we’re near the outskirts of Dalroth we should head to Sector 6. It’s the rough end of town, where the TDF aren’t welcome. There are people there who can help…for a price.”

13 pushed past the Jedi and slowly began to frisk the comatose body of the med tech that had earlier treated the Jedi.

“But know this,” she added as she finished her search and swivelled her helmeted head back towards the Jedi. “My help ain’t cheap, and there’s certain things I want in return.”

The bounty hunter strode towards the door of the transport, and readied her weapon in her hand.

“But we can talk about that later.”


[OOC: 13 will frisk the fallen med tech and pocket any credits, ID cards, TDF pass cards etc that she may find.]

Dime's plans were foiled. So much for playing super spy and talking his way out of this one. Sometimes the Republic can be too good. He knew that there were other agents on this mission, and he should have guessed he would meet one sooner or later, but little did he suspect one would be rescuing him.

"Our influence is not so easily snuffed. You have my thanks and my assurance your deeds will not be wasted."

Knowing that completing the mission would be enough thanks for a fellow agent, as it would be for him were the roles reversed, Dime nodded to the medic and grabbed his all important briefcase in one hand and his heavy blaster in the other. He checked with his companions and then set out behind them.

"I never thought one of the Order was proficient with our 'clumsy' weaponry, heh."

He couldn't resist the comment. Lighten the mood a bit.

Things were moving too fast for Damanil to fully comprehend... And the pain in his side clouding his mind didn't help much either. First there was an ambush. Well armed professionals had tried to make him and his companions one with the stars. Why? Who had they been after? Me? With the amazing powers of the jedi they'd been able to survive until the TDF task force had arrived on the scene and "saved" them.

Now the bounty hunter was lying on his back on a stretcher inside a personnel carrier being after having been tended by a TDF medic. So at least the soldier boys aren't trying to delete me. Another rush of pain before the meds bit in. The agony was replaced by a wave of euforia and at first the redhead Coruscantan thought it was the healing agent that was making him see things when the carrier lurched into a halt. For to him it seemed as if one of the Meds, the female one, stabbed the other in the neck making the man crumble on the floor. Why?
After a blink of eyes, and another, and a wipe of his face later, the man was still on the floor in what looked like a very uncomfortable position and the woman was speaking things that at first didn't make too much sense: 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."

But made sense to Damanil was the all too familiar sound of blasters, which reached his ears as the Medtech opened the rear hatch. "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!"

With a solemn nod (or what he meant to be a solemn nod), Damanil quickly grapped his gear and leaped out. Or again, meant to leap, but his legs were still a bit wobbly due to the after effects of the med he'd been given and the weakness caused by the assassin's shot. He didn't need to be told twice. If there was a chance to get out of this mess, no matter how slight, he'd take it without another thought. Besides - right now - thinking hurt.

Ziv stared at the commlink in Merc’s hand, “Well look at that! Man I must say that Jedi is amazing!” Ziv clapped Merc on the shoulder, “I guess you were right. No plan is the best plan.”

“Right.” Mercury responded distantly, “I knew he’d be fine. He had to be fine. Everything is gonna be fine. Fine?”

He keyed the comm. button again, “Mercury rising standing by. Give us a location or beacon or something.”

OOC: Posting more to see if we are still playing?