These Shattered Stars -- Logs

It is a little after Freyja has heard the startling news about Paladin Diana that she finds Zero in one of the rooms at the topmost floor. The Jedi Company has graciously loaned the three tunnel-delvers the bath to clean up in, since the next bus to Zero's village is several hours from departing, and it would probably be prudent to not impose the scent of the runoff system -- which while mild is still from a runoff system -- upon the populace they'll be sharing a speeder bus with.

Zero is sitting in the farthest corner of the bath; after all these years he still can't stand to sit with his back to a door. The little pyramidal projector is sitting on the ledge behind his head, and he's sunk most of the way into the water, just his eyes and nose above the line. He thinks, This is not the kind of civil service I intended to go into. Always some damn thing.

Freyja says, "Heiyo, Zero! Guess what we just learned?!" She happily divests herself of clothing, slides into the bath, and starts lathering up Vakkal's fur, since that holds the scent most strongly. As she does so, she makes room for Zero to help also if he wishes to, and cheerfully tells him about the discoveries concerning Paladin Diana. She concludes with, "So... fascinating info, eh? I told Master Roakkana too... um... what're you learning there? Anything interesting?"

Zero just raises himself enough out of the water to reach back and pick up the holoprojector. "See for yourself," he says, activating the device and setting it back down on the lip of the bath. Freyja watches with interest over Vakkal's shoulder, continuing to cheerfully run her fingers through soapy fur. The holoprojector hums to life, and shortly what must be the Arkanian Lord, Tavra Soon, appears above the small frustum.

She may be tall, or just very light-boned, but either way she appears somehow delicate; definitely against the grain of the typical Sith Lord. The red-blue tint the hologram gives doesn't tell much as far as colors, but if she were a typical Arkanian her eyes would be featureless white (though not blind), as would her hair. Her features are mildly lined, though from age or from a feature of her species it's hard to tell. She wears dark, possibly black, clothing -- trim jacket and breeches, and a broad-mantled cloak, which she almost seems lost in. Her tone is a mild contralto, and she speaks as if she is giving a lecture of some kind.

"...and the issues of bio-regeneration through the Force have continued to be a mystery to us, insofar as instilling our constructs with them. Thus, we rely upon alchemical means of infusing this ability within our creatures, though this is inherently suboptimal compared to in persona effected healing. I have managed to make some small headway in this but nothing of practical use. It is important that we discover this and use it to the best of the Empire's -- and the Oath's -- ability. We must rise up, for the shadows shall struggle against the light, and Fires of -- Karrac, blast it, the orbalisk is getting out again; could you come over here with the shock-prod...? Thanks. It's over there -" The holograph fizzles and goes out.

Freyja stifles a giggle. Zero sinks back into the water, "Yeah, it goes on like that a bit. It's mostly just a lecture."

Freyja grins, "Interesting. So she had... what, three projects running at once? Trying to breed larger orbalisks that are more poisonous to Lightsiders, handling the worms, and replicating the Jedi ability to heal folks." She splashes water over Vakkal, rinsing him with messy enthusiasm, "There you go! Better?" then grins at Zero, "You realize that might well be the tenth key there she said. 'We must rise up, for the shadows shall struggle against the light, and Fires of Darkness shall cleanse the stars.'" She grins, her eyes alight with excitement, "You think maybe?"

Vakkal bobs his head. "Much, thank you. My pelt seems to hold on to scents rather well."

Zero says, "It's certainly possible." He yawns and sinks down a bit more. "I'm losing my ability to distinguish between the pertinent and the drivel, with these Oath-takers."

Freyja smiles at Vakkal, "Fur's like that... don't feel bad." She starts lathering herself, adding interestedly, "She treated Karrac relatively nicely there -- she said thanks to him. She used the shock prod on the orbalisk though... so I'll guess she differentiates -- er, differentiated -- between sapients and animals. Well... and Jedi, I guess?" She adds cheerfully, "Well, drivel or not, I'm willing to give it a try with the worms!"

Vakkal offers to wash Freyja's back as well, and also provides, "Rhetoric and drivel has kept it alive for fifteen thousand years, actually. It does sound like the start of the tenth key, however." He shakes his head, "I really do not relish trying to learn all seventeen keys. I don't think we'll ever need to go that far, though, I hope."

Zero says, "Security through obscurity, they call it. It's also not very secure, since once you're found out it's not hard to navigate."

Freyja brightens and happily accepts Vakkal's offer, greatly enjoying the sensuality of the moment. "Mmm... I so love hot baths..." She nods lazily to the comments of the others, adding curiously, "Why would you have to learn all seventeen keys, Vakkal?"

"The secret society system of degrees and ranks seems to work well enough at compartmentalizing information. Of course, it falls down in that someone outside the system has no such restrictions in learning that information." He shakes his head to Freyja. "I merely said that I hope we don't. I don't see any reason why we would need to, but getting all of the keys would be a time-consuming process, especially since I'm sure that the ones over the tenth gate are surely held more securely than Lord Soon did."

Freyja nods thoughtfully. She's currently focusing more on lather, pleasant soap-scent, and steamy warmth, than age-old fanatics, truth be told. She muses idly, "Wonder what Paladin Diana was doing on Telti? ...and if there's a message for Jedi Diath from her, in the windsong sword?"

Zero says, "Seems like everyone's intent upon leaving baroque messages and hidden signs..."

Freyja grins lazily, leaning back into the scrubbing, "Mmm... well, if you want your group to last for millennia, I guess that's what's required." She yawns, then eeps startledly as Vakkal rinses her suddenly. A moment later she laughs, pushing her wet bangs out of her face, "Hey, can we get some nibbles before we head for the village? I'm starving!"

Zero says, "Sure. We'd better get moving if we want to get back to the house anytime soon. Last bus leaves in a few hours."

Vakkal makes a quiet sound. "That sounds like a good idea, actually...."

The three depart the Jedi building, and make their way through the bustling streets of Shenlong. Along one of the lesser-trod walks, a duoluo vendor is selling rolls with savory meat and some kind of spiced radish or potato slices, which makes for a nice meal while walking along the mildly bustling streets of Shenlong. At this time of the day the streets aren't quite empty; there's quite a few people in the warehouse district just winding down the day's deliveries and stowage from the shuttles landing at Qigong Palace.

The street the three are on isn't entirely deserted; it's a wide thoroughfare lined with warehouses for transshipment, holding, and storage. It is, however, not busy. Down about a quarter mile from where the group walks there is a bunch of teamsters and stevedores offloading a bunch of cargo speeders. The big cross-country repulsor-lift carriers sit idly in convenient parking spots along the road, the fusion engines pulled out of them for safe-keeping and to keep someone from accidentally summoning a worm.

Freyja is happily nibbling her roll and licking her fingers, humming occasionally (and muffledly) along with some music playing nearby. She enjoys Shenlong's ambiance. Zero munches quietly, just soaking up the atmosphere. He'd forgotten how comfortable it could be, home again. He mumbles a few of the words along under his breath, between bites, with his accent that he normally keeps heavily suppressed. It's relaxing. Stang, he thinks ruefully, there's something I ought to try doing more often. He raises his head suddenly, turning to one side to face a sound that comes in terribly faintly from a nearby warehouse. Jieba. Guess I'll have to work on that later. "Gunfire," he says, sidling closer to the building. "Wave guns."

Freyja blinks, still chewing as she turns her head to focus on Zero, "Uh?" She blinks again, swallowing, then stuffs the rest of the roll in her mouth. She mutters muffledly, "Wuf-feavverf..." then chews madly as she wipes her hands on her cloak and follows Zero.

Zero pops the last bite-and-a-half of his meat roll into his mouth and swallows, "Smugglers, maybe. Or a turf battle..." He reaches for his lightsaber. "Sah. Always something."

The building is like all the others, a two or three story warehouse with large doors for repulsor-lift carriers to sidle up to, and smaller doors along the edges. There are no windows. Freyja glances at Zero, then braces at the nearest place where she can cover the door while he kicks it open. Zero takes up one side of the door. "I'll open it. Cover me, Vakkal." Vakkal nods, has an apparent moment of indecision regarding lightsaber or blaster, and settles on the Rigg blaster, covering Zero with Freyja. Zero pushes the door open slowly.

The door opens. Right in front of the doorway is a pile of boxes; apparently this warehouse was already filled from the latest shipments. Muffled voices can be heard deeper inside. Freyja waits until the door's well open and they can see there's no ambush waiting. She glances at Zero and tilts her head inquiringly... is he going in first or is she? Zero mutters, "Glad I didn't kick it..." He sidles through the doorway, working his way slowly to one side, trying to peer between boxes as he goes.

Freyja follows, covering as best she can. Vakkal follows along behind, closing the door and making sure it's not locked behind them, and checking their rear.

The interior of the warehouse shuts out any sound from the outside. There are a few skylights that cast broad beams of light down upon the rows of crates. Once fully inside, the voices can be made out a little clearer. "For the last herding time, he had it coming -- now clean up this mess and keep opening crates!"

"Stang! If the City Guard heard that wave-gun-"

"Who in the Thousand Hells is walking along these streets actually knows what a wave-gun sounds like? If you keep your mouth shut we won't have to have them hear it again, understand?"

Freyja raises an eyebrow, and quietly flicks her blaster from stun to blast as she and Vakkal follow Zero. Zero wends his way forward, trying to pick his way quietly toward the source of the voices. He frowns, listening, thinking to himself, Thieves, not smugglers, if they're opening the crates... The voices grow a bit louder as they approach the source. Or rather, sources. "I found another one!"

"Heh, good, another ten thou creds!"

"Keep at it, there should be ten packages in this shipment total."

"You think they'll keep sending it?"

"So long as we keep a market open."

Freyja's foot catches on something, a piece of wood or something, that makes a slight scuffing noise. Vakkal half- stumbles as well as he reacts to the sound.

"Lisong... Lisong! Get back to opening those crates over there!"

The reply is closest of all. "Uh, yeah, sure... thought I heard something..."

Freyja looks exasperated at herself, but just waves Zero on to circle around the opposite way from her, so he won't meet anyone coming to check the noise. She settles herself to cover the closest side of the box she's facing -- the side she's guessing the heretofore-unknown Lisong will be peeking around soon. Zero nods once and vanishes into the maze of boxes. Freyja drops quietly to one knee so she's better braced, not where a snoop might expect her, and below Vakkal's line of fire.

"Fine, whatever. Just get those crates open in the next hour. There's nobody here but us."

"Sure, sure. Won't take long."

"Blasted paranoid nerfherder...."

"I heard that!"

"Oh, well, good for you, sensor-ears. HURRY THE HELL UP!"

Lisong doesn't really try to hide as he walks. Freyja can hear his footsteps weave through the corridors of boxes. A moment later he walks rather blithely into Freyja's and Vakkal's sights, looks around, sees nothing at first... then sees Freyja with a blaster pointed at him. He opens his mouth, then swallows and shuts it, looking like he doesn't quite know what to do.

Freyja shakes her head silently, then beckons the guy forward. If he keeps his mouth shut, she's willing to just knock him out. Lisong, a Sedraki youth of probably no greater age than Freyja, holds up his weaponless hands as he steps forward.

"He'd better hurry up, otherwise I'm gonna cut him out of his share."

"Got another one! Another ten-kay...."

"Yeah, well, we don't get paid unless we get ALL of them, so keep looking!"

Meanwhile, Zero has circled around to the side of the square building clockwise from their entry, and is about two rows from the center where all the voices seem to be coming from. He takes up a place one row up and around the corner, and waits. First one to get impatient gets a nasty surprise.

Freyja will carefully encourage the boy to move silently forward to her, knowing Vakkal's covering her. She keeps her blaster steady, though... if he yells she will (reluctantly) shoot him. Once he's close enough she'll smile as reassuringly as she can, step around him -- and do her best to knock him quietly out.

There is the sound of another crate falling. "Yenlowang take you, you idiot! Careful with that!"

"I'm trying, Caong -- relax!"

"I'll show you 'relax'!" There's an exasperated sigh, then, "Just hurry up...."

The anesthetic from Freyja's medkit doesn't quite knock the boy out, but it makes him groggy. He doesn't utter much more than a quiet 'urk?' Vakkal sets the woozy thug down, with a nice, polite smile -- though the number of sharp teeth probably detracts from 'politeness' and adds to 'threatening.' Lisong gets the idea.

Freyja will kneel next to the boy and quietly gag and tie him up, then nudge him gently out of sight behind a box, while Vakkal keeps watch. She hopes Zero's having better luck figuring out what this ever-so-valuable cargo is.

Lisong is too whacked out to really care at this point what's going on, though he struggles a little as the bonds start to snug up. Another look at the pretty lady with the blaster and her big-teethed friend, convinces him again to not make a sound. He just closes his eyes, apparently he's just glad he's going to be able to survive what comes next.

Zero, for his part, manages to get some view of the center without exposing himself too much. Unfortunately, this doesn't expose too much of them, either. He can see a number of Sedraki, most in the common, close- fitting, simple stevedore uniforms of the warehouse district; there are two that he can see. But a few are in the dark blue, open jackets and breeches favored by some of the 'tough' youth, particularly those trying to emulate -- or actually are -- torpedoes for the Tongs, the semi-organized 'crime families' or gangs that are now and then a problem for the various City Guards and attorneys general of Sedrak. It is these who are actually armed; one carries a squat, broad- muzzled wave-gun. The other torpedo Zero can see has a heavy concussion pistol. Judging by the sounds there are probably others, but it's not possible to tell if they're torpedoes or stevedores.

Zero refrains from making a spitting noise; although it's already on his tongue when he catches it. Parasites. Enna take 'em... where were you when the riders were tearing our houses down? He bends down and picks up a small bit of gravel, a chip from the concrete floor, and turns it in his hands a few times, before tossing it back up the row so that it clicks on the hard surface some yards behind him... then fades back into the shadows again to wait.

That sound gets the others' attention; they all freeze. There is the sound of a few weapons clearing leather. The stevedores start looking around nervously. "Maybe the nerfherder was right, Caong."

"Maybe. Lisong, get back here. Shiang, Bei, go check it out."

From where Zero is standing, the one named Shiang is the one with the wave-gun. Bei is one Zero hadn't seen before, moving behind Shiang as he affixes an ugly-looking weapon wrapped around his left wrist. Zero can't quite make it out from where he is.

Freyja shifts from where Lisong's been carefully tucked out of the line of sight (and hopefully fire), and settles into cover across the way from Vakkal, bracing.

Zero waits as the two gangsters pass him, then steps quietly out into the row behind them, igniting his lightsaber. The purple light fills the shadows between the crates with a soft glow that lights Zero's features from below, making his pleasant smile a little ghoulish. "Nihow, friends," he says softly and conversationally, "You're cut off. I think it'd be best if you surrendered now."

The lightsaber igniting can be heard through the warehouse. From where Freyja is, she can see the reactions of the daitu, or gangsters -- which are identical to the reactions of the two in front of Zero. There's almost a chorus in the warehouse: "Stang. Jedi!"

Zero repeats himself. "Surrender now, please. You've nowhere to go."

Freyja grins in quiet amusement to herself. She doesn't feel dreadful or fearsome. Still, she keeps her blaster aimed silently down the alley in the boxes, from her hidden position. It's a good bet at least some of the stevedores will try fleeing, and some of the other thugs will try circling this way to get behind Zero. Stevedores she'll let by, but thugs she'll knock down. Vakkal takes his cue from Freyja, holding his position.

Shiang, the one with the wave gun, backs up a few steps, not dropping the wave-gun just yet, though he looks unsure of himself and nervous. Bei, on the other hand (the one with Shiang), is probably young, and panics. He whips around the weapon on his left wrist, trying to get a flustered shot in on Zero. "Don't care if you are a Jedi, you die!" he shouts, firing. A small, greenish bolt leaps from the assembly atop the wrist.

Perhaps thankfully, on a lot of levels, the weapon isn't a lanvarok. The miniature bowcaster bolt misses Zero cleanly. Zero doesn't move as the bolt zips past his cheek. He frowns and takes a step in, inside Bei's extended weapon arm, and turns to drive his elbow at Bei's face. Bei *oofs* and staggers back, his nose bleeding. Zero says, "I won't tell you again. Surrender now. Don't- waste- your- life."

The leader -- Caong, apparently -- makes a spitting sound almost in mirror of Zero. "Son of Yenlowang... they must've gotten Lisong. Tukang, grab the spice we have -- we're cutting our losses...." Freyja continues to wait patiently, covering the back. She smiles faintly to herself... at least her aim's very steady now.

Shiang apparently doesn't believe he's wasting his life. He takes the chance to blast a shot from his weapon at Zero. The wave-gun gives a deep-throated roar-crack as the microwave pulse lashes out at Zero. It cooks a crate behind him, shattering it into splinters. Bei turns and starts to scramble away.

Zero takes a single smooth step back as the wave-gun shatters the crate, and lets the impetus carry him back another step, almost alongside Bei as he begins to flee, then sends his leg up behind him, leaning crazily out toward the ground in a long back-kick, driving the ball of his foot into the back of the fleeing daitu's head. His lightsaber, held to the side, traces a hazy purple arc in the dust of wood and spice.

Bei goes sprawling, yelping as Zero's kick takes him soundly in the back of the neck. Clutching his head, he scrambles away, continuing to run, his shoes squeaking on the floor -- right into the view of Freyja and Vakkal. Freyja smiles lazily at the panicked thug, then murmurs, "Knock him down, please, Vakkal?" She continues to cover. There'll probably be more, and more aggressive, coming soon.

Vakkal nods, his blaster flicking over to stun as he takes aim and fires a blast at the thug. The shot misses but does get Bei's attention. The bleeding daitu skids to a stop, blinking as he tries to keep his balance. "Staaaaang..." he whimpers.

From the activity area, the sound of the blaster shot makes the daitu jump a little. Caong says, "Dammit... out the other way -- come on come on come on! You too, guys, you're coming with us... or do you wanna be filleted by the Jedi?"

Freyja says softly, "Lay face down, hands behind your head." Her ice blue eyes are dispassionate over the blaster barrel she's sighting down. She adds quietly, "Vakkal, can you stop Caong and the other thugs? Let the stevedores go unless they get aggressive." Vakkal nods and moves up quickly through the rows. Freyja can hear the whine of his blaster as he takes cover at the side of the row.

Meanwhile Shiang scowls at Zero. "I'll do you for doing that to the kid!" he snarls, and fires his weapon at Zero again.

Zero jerks backward, almost falling as the wave-gun tags his side and knocks him back; for a long moment he seems about to go down. Then he straightens slowly until he's upright again, frowning, and smoking slightly where the beam's torn a hole. "That's not going to help you here."

Vakkal's blaster sounds again, this time eliciting shouts from the fleeing daitu. Bei winces, and slowly lowers his bleeding self to the ground, and complies with Freyja's order. Concussion blasts now join with the sound of Vakkal's blaster. "Stang!" someone shouts roughly.

Freyja frowns as Bei lays down -- too many folks shooting, her friends out of sight -- she wishes she could link with them. Her discomfort increases as she realizes she's feeling... something -- some faint tremor through the Force, even through the Force Suppression. She's not sure what that means, or where it's coming from... and that worries her. She says quietly to the boy, "Do yourself a favor -- stay down. My friends aren't as nice as me, and if you're here later I'll heal you back up." Vakkal's the soldier, and she has faith in that -- Zero she's worried about, though, especially since she's heard little from him. Also, to Freyja's eye the boy's not going anywhere anytime soon -- he's badly hurt. She'll be impressed if he can even stand up in the next half hour.

With that Freyja steps sideways to see how Zero's doing. Her eyes narrow as she notices Zero's side smoking... she calmly braces to shoots the man with the wave-gun.

Zero takes a step forward, swinging his lightsaber up in a reverse arc. Despite the blast in his side and his soldier's instinct to end this combat now and simply eliminate the enemy, he forces himself to pull his blow and aim for the blaster. I must be getting soft. He snarls, "It's going to take more than wave-guns to stop me. Give up!" His directive is punctuated by the sound of half of the wave-gun hitting the ground. Freyja nods quietly to herself -- looks like Zero has things well in hand here. She slips back quietly, going to check on Vakkal... and Bei, as she light-foots past him.

Shiang just blinks at the destroyed weapon in his hands, the edges of it only now starting to stop glowing from being ripped from the edges of the other half on the floor. He drops it mutely, apparently already composing the conversation he's going to have with the other daitu in prison. "Yeah, that Jedi, he took a point- blank wave-gun shot and kept coming!" "Damn impressive! And you lived?"

Bei is quietly lying on the ground, not moving. Vakkal is pinned down behind the corner of a large crate. From across the empty area of the loading bay Freyja can see the other daitu behind crates. The stevedores are trying to cower behind other crates. Freyja nods quietly to herself and starts aiming again, to free Vakkal up... and hopefully let the stevedores go. That tremor in the Force is worrying her... will worms be turning up soon? She hopes not... she's got injured here.

Freyja wonders what spice is or does. She takes a moment to consider, remembering it as a strictly regulated narcotic... mainly because it can affect a wide spectrum of species. A light-activated narcotic... or euphoric. It's a recreational drug that's regulated but not entirely illegal in the Republic, because repeated use is seriously debilitating.

From where Freyja is sitting it appears the large man in cover beside the leader, Caong, seems to be readying a longarm of some kind. She quickly recognizes it as an undecorated version of the same rifle she saw Linijast with, the night before. Freyja raises an interested eyebrow, even as she sights carefully -- she'd like to get that later, if she can. If they're going to go talk to the natives, perhaps native weapons will impress them. She makes sure she's braced and set... then squeezes off a careful shot at Caong, the leader.

Caong splutters a curse as Freyja's shot makes him duck behind the crates. "Aiya!" he snarls. "Tukang, take 'em out, dammit! And you!" he adds, apparently addressing the stevedores. "You guys stay right... there..."

Freyja wonders why the stevedores aren't fleeing out the doorway behind them. Maybe the thugs are the reason why...? Ah, appears so. Then she grins and decides to be a troublemaker. She calls out, "Hey, we just want the thugs -- you other guys can leave if you want, and stay out of trouble next time, hai? The spice isn't worth giving up your life!" At Caong's invective, Freyja laughs cheerfully, "Come and try, little man!" She waits for Vakkal to get a shot off at the shooter. She'll keep aiming for Caong, unless things change.

Vakkal's shot does manage to hit Tukang, the one with the rifle. But the man simply winces and shrugs off the stun shot, instead grimacing and bringing the long rifle about to take quick and hasty aim at Freyja. The rifle makes a tremendous crack! that is very, very loud in the warehouse. For Zero the sound is quite distinctive; he recognizes it immediately. Some of the stevedores yelp, not expecting the sound. The little piece of metal goes wheeeeeeeeee past Freyja's head, thunking loudly into a crate behind her.

Freyja's lighthearted laughter echoes oddly in the big storeroom. She can't do scary-creepy like Zero and Vakkal... so she'll do a different version of morale busting, if she can. She calls lightly, "You stevedores should flee while you can... he can't defend against me and shoot you, after all."

Zero raises his lightsaber, pointing the tip toward the disarmed gangster. Thankfully, the worst of the smoking has subsided a little, but the smell of burnt skin and cloth is still thick in the aisle. He demands simply, "More? Like Bei?"

Shiang closes his eyes. "Two more," he mutters. "The rest are stevedores the tong paid." He promptly finds himself subject to the application of an anesthetic from Zero's medkit, and while groggy does not seem to be heading anywhere soon.

Freyja grins, following up her cheerful commentary with another shot at the cranky leader. Caong gets blown off his feet with Freyja's particularly well-placed blaster shot, sent sprawling to the ground. Vakkal's shot, on the other hand, misses Tukang. The burly man grimaces as Caong is hit, and drops the rifle, ducking behind the piles of crates and out of view. Freyja calls quietly, "Give up now, Tukang... and let Caong get healed up by us. You don't want him bleeding to death."

If he heard Freyja -- and he most likely did -- Tukang does not reply. The stevedores suddenly seem to leap out from behind the piles of crates, falling all over each other for the doorway. Tukang doesn't seem to be among them. Freyja sighs softly. Idiot... why doesn't he surrender? She murmurs to Vakkal, "Bounding overwatch to find Tukang?"

Vakkal nods. "Right. Want me to go first, then you?

Freyja nods, returning her gaze to aiming, "Hai. I'm well braced currently, and if we're lucky Zero will turn up soon also."

Vakkal nods and moves out into the open area, his blaster aimed forward as he moves quickly back-and-forth, heading toward the other side to brace himself against the edge of the pile of crates. Freyja doesn't watch Vakkal -- she just keeps a wary eye and blaster muzzle on where she thinks Tukang might pop out. She's guessing he'll try to grab a crate and flee... but if he's still feeling aggressive she'll be ready.

Zero leaves Shiang where he lies, and sprints back to the north through the main aisle of crates, glancing as he passes down the first intersection to the open center of the room. Seeing how the fight is evolving, he pours it on as he enters the second intersection, bearing down on Tukang and the crowd of remaining stevedores with lit saber.

Freyja watches Vakkal settle into place... then watches Zero flash by, and grins. Tukang will be busy. She rises and trots quickly and smoothly across the room, heading for the farthest end of the line of crates. She figures she'll end up behind Tukang that way... and Zero will have Tukang's undivided attention at that point.

Tukang, crouching behind the crates with Vakkal probably exactly on the other side, spots the running Jedi with shock and alarm. That gives way to a scowl as he whips around the pair of conc-pistols, diving forward to meet Zero's charge, heedless of the stevedores behind him or of the lightsaber in Zero's hands. He fires as he dives, squeezing off a pair of shots from the conc-guns he wields. One shot cleanly misses Zero, who jerks himself out of the way of the other bolt without breaking pace, leaving it to shatter another crate. He grimaces as something pulls at the scorched hole in his side.

Freyja tilts her head, listening to the hiss, whine, and bark of the conc guns. Sounds like Zero's drawing fire quite well... and no yells or thumps, so he's probably still fine and not yet unconscious. She waves Vakkal to the far side of the corridor, and leans to aim around the corner and see what's up. Vakkal turns the corner as well, his blaster primed and aiming cautiously. The stevedores by now have rushed out of the warehouse completely.

Freyja smiles as she realizes Tukang has forgotten her in his focus on Zero, who's still smoking... she really worries about Zero sometimes. She shoots. Tukang grimaces and rolls out of the way of Freyja's aim, the blaster shot sailing too close to him for his comfort, even as he tries to remained focused on the Jedi right in front of him. Freyja says quietly, "You can still surrender, foolish man... but not for much longer, I fear." Vakkal holds his fire; from where Freyja stands his brow is furrowed and he is focused intensely on Tukang's back.

Zero comes in high and changes his grip on the lightsaber, coming to a stop inside Tukang's gun arms and sliding the lightsaber in overhand at the gangster's head. Tukang barely checks the follow-through from his dodge of Freyja's blast. He pulls himself back quickly, the lightsaber blade just narrowly missing his neckline. The motion lets him bring the conc-guns up again, as he fires both at Zero, yelling something incomprehensible about Yenlowang, the devil tormenting the dead in some obscure mythology, and Zero's parentage.

Zero swings his body back and around, twisting crazily with practiced agility, keeping just ahead of the gangster's aim but only just; even he has limits and it's obvious by the perspiration on his forehead that he's starting to get tired, keeping up this kind of pace without the Force to bolster him.

Freyja thinks, Hang on, Zero... just a little bit more... as she carefully shoots again. Tukang gives a loud grunt of exertion as he twists to have Freyja's blaster miss him -- and it's almost not enough. The blast burns a large, ugly hole through his jacket, missing him, but it's clear that he's been fully exerted, as he regains his balance, panting but still holding on to the concussion guns.

Vakkal seems to sense that the end is near, though he doesn't move from his position, not quite letting up on his aim. Zero lowers his stance, turning his saber again so he's holding it in both hands with the tip level with Tukang's eyes. Panting slightly, he rasps, "Last chance for a draw."

Tukang pants, staring at Zero. His gaze flickers to Freyja, then back to Zero. He closes his eyes, and the concussion guns clatter to the floor. Slowly and mutely he kneels down and puts his hands atop his head. Freyja sighs in relief, but keeps aiming, waiting for Zero to collect the weaponry. Zero nods then, panting, and extinguishes his lightsaber. "Good choice... we'll call it a draw." He bends down and picks up the guns, then leans back heavily against a crate, trying to catch his breath.

Freyja grins happily, pleased they didn't have to kill the guy. "Vakkal, can you stay here and keep an eye on Tukang while Zero catches his breath?" She darts around for several minutes, carefully not getting in anyone's line of fire as she first calls the other Jedi to come find the warehouse, then checks her sibling Padawan. She'll check the other wounded after him, and make sure everyone's patched up.

Zero starts to wave Freyja off, "No, no, see to the others, I can-" He raises a hand to his wound, then pauses, "Stang. No, I can't... well... do the others first, I'll live."

Freyja grins at Zero cheerfully, not bothering to stop what she's doing, "Quit showing off, cowboy."

Zero sighs, "This Force suppression nonsense is irritating."

Freyja nods a little worriedly, "Hai... there was a quiver earlier in the Force. I don't know where or what it was, though. I've not felt it since."

Zero says, "Quiver? Where?"

Freyja eyes Zero amusedly, "I don't know where it was. I was in here, if that's what you were asking?"

Zero says, "It had to have come from someplace... I wonder why I missed it." He sighs, "Sah. You're better at that than I am... and I was busy with the others. Where's the boy? I didn't hurt him too bad, did I?"

Freyja sighs quietly to herself... Zero's not all fixed up. Still, he's bandaged... "Stay still for a bit, hai, and let yourself heal? The boy's fine. I'll be right back when I'm done." She has no trouble stabilizing Caong or Bei.

Once that's all taken care of Freyja collects together all the bodies, spice boxes, and other weapons she can find, so they're all neatly organized. She might as well keep busy... and after that's done she wants to examine the curious slug- thrower rifle, while waiting for the Jedi. She'll let Zero do the questioning of Tukang... who seems far more resistant to that than, say, Karrac.

Tukang remains stringently silent; apparently he's waiting for his lawyer. The rifle, on the other hand... appears new, or at least relatively new -- and has no manufacturer's markings. Visually it looks almost identical to the slugthrower Linijast was carrying the previous night -- and to Zero it certainly sounded like the weapons used by the natives in the Ten Years' War.

Zero doesn't push it with Tukang; he offered the daitu a draw and he's honoring it. If Tukang wants to wait for the Guard, that's fine. Other than confirming that it's the same bore and action as a Ten Years War weapon, Zero keeps quiet and mostly still, not wanting to aggravate the wound further. Freyja grins cheerfully at Zero's confirmation, "Really? Fascinating! I wonder if the Jedi will let me keep it, to go talk to the natives!"

Shortly, sirens can be heard outside, and the main door is pried open by the City Guard. Diath and Dasin come in with a heavy squad of police. A couple of ambulances arrive as well. Outside, the City Guard can be seen rounding up some of the stevedores. The two Jedi come over to the three as the City Guard drags Tukang away. Diath frowns. "Padawan Zero... oh, hells... that looks really bad; are you all right?"

Freyja smiles ruefully, "Neh, he is not... but we can't just heal the regular way." She adds cheerfully, "May I keep this rifle for when I go try to talk to the natives again tonight? They might like it."

Zero grins crookedly, "I'm fine. I've had worse... but Freyja's right. It'll have to be looked at the old-fashioned way. Might have a need for the ambulance."

Dasin nods. "We'll get you into a bacta tank quick. You'll be good as new in a little while."

Diath blinks, frowning. "The... rifle? Why would they-" Then he blinks again. "That's of native design, isn't it? Or rather... the pattern that the nomads use."

Freyja nods interestedly, "Hai! I'm thinking whomever imports the spice was providing the rifles as well, perhaps?"

Zero coughs a bit. "Freyja, I'm going with Takk, all right? I'm going to need a few hours in the tank at least... I don't think I'm going to make the last bus out. Why don't I meet you in the morning?"

"Hey, we've got spice over here!" one of the City Guardsmen calls out. "Get the hazmat and vice teams in here, stat!"

Diath nods a bit dazedly. "Right... uh, the City might want it for evidence, but I'll see if we can't let you hold on to it for a little while."

Dasin nods. "I won't leave his side until they pull him out of the bacta."

Freyja looks a bit surprised, "Of course you're going with Jedi Takk. Why would I -- er... oh, shoot, that's right, I have to go try contacting the natives!" She looks unhappy... then somewhat mollified at Dasin's words. "Thank you, Jedi Takk. Take care of him, please?" She grins a little worriedly at Zero, then adds to the Nautolan, "He doesn't watch out for himself very well. Oh, and Jedi Diath, I thought I felt a tremor in the Force, earlier while we were fighting the guys here." She looks a little worried, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell where from or who."

Zero grunts a little and leans on Takk for support. "Okay, I admit it. This is really starting to hurt." He grimaces a little and tries to grin winsomely, "If you can convince the natives to wait a day, or at least until morning, I'll come with you."

Freyja smiles and reaches over to touch Zero's cheek lightly, "All right, you convinced me. We'll call your parents so they don't worry... and spend the night here. After all, someone has to make sure you don't come climbing out with a dagger in your teeth before you're all healed up!" She giggles quietly, helping Daisin with the wounded Human, as Zero hobbles away with them, muttering, "...never in my teeth..."

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Last modified: 2002-Jul-16 16:14:54

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