((This was posted as an semi-closed RP in December 2008. It starred Nitwhit, Hellrage and myself. I am posting this again because it is needed to understand some of my story. I will say who wrote each post under each.))

This thread is dedicated to detailing the escape of a young woman Viala Sunrunner aka Val who is a high sought after starship weapons designer for the Sith.

Brief overview of what's happened so far:

Having originally worked for a private corporation money exchanged hands and the young woman soon found a tracking device slapped on her wrist and blasters continually aimed for her as she was forced to design various high caliber weapons for the Sith fleet. Haven been given 'vacation time' for good behavior the woman decided to pay the Red Star Cantina a visit until her droid escorts caught up with her and led her to a nearby hotel complex

Unknown to the woman at the time a man named Will followed her from the Cantina. Will disabled the droids and helped the woman escape. There was a slight altercation with a Verpine Republic agent before Will's friends were able to get the tracking device off around the same time that a Sith tracked them down. The Sith entered the hotel room they were hiding in in an attempt to capture Val but was met by more force than he was expecting causing him to retreat while the others escaped by jumping out of the window of the hotel room on the 330th floor.

The Sith summoned troops (300 to be precise) to help him find Val and Will but it appears that his men were met with more of a resistance than they expected while Will, Val, and Will's wookiee friend escaped via speeder in transit to the starport...

This is where this thread picks up.

This thread is semi-closed in that if you wish to participate please send NitWhit or Kalenath a PM giving one of us an idea of what your character will be doing, their personality and such, so we can make sure your character will fit into the RP. Any of you from the hotel are more than welcome to jump aboard.

And most importantly have fun.

Let the chaos begin.

((By Nitwhit))

He sighed. They would no doubt be trying to escape the planet. His current "master" demanded him to take this girl alive, but the task was getting a bit too difficult. He could only hope he could find something to do with the bounty on the girl....and as for the male. He appeared to be a Officer named Will, of the Coruscant SPF. He was wanted alive too...dead would be too easy. His bounty on his head was a whopping 150k...more than enough to find a new starship. His minions were growing cranky from having to sleep in military cots on his masters ship. He should reward their service after all...

He keyed his comm attacked to his arm and communicated with the Abyssin aboard the commanding ship. "Tell my "Lord" that the target is likely to be escaping and he will need to keep record of all the ships departing on this side of the planet. We need them alive, so make sure the captain doesn't blast a hole, as reckless as that worthless scum is." He keyed off his intercom.

He ordered the pilot to keep an eye on the building and told his troops to report when they try to leave. All he had to do was wait.

((Posted by Hellrage))

Will stared at his small scanner and grinned, then keyed his comlink.

"Thanks, now go." A hushed acknowledgment came and he nodded. "See you Kos." He turned off his comlink and turned to the girl, Val, he reminded himself. If he was disconcerted that they were still screaming down an elevator shaft into the depths of Coruscant's undercity, it was unapparent.

"Well, the Sith who tried to follow us just ran into a very hard wall of angry residents. Who know better than to stick around now. My 'friend' says that they lost about seventy five troops to the traps and mines, and their day isn't going to get better any time soon." Then he grimaced. "Kos and his people are running now, they should make it and..." he broke off and snarled. "Olana!"

The speeder came to a sudden halt in midair and then, with a peculiar twist, was outside the elevator shaft. A moment later air rushed by as something, an elevator car?, shot up the shaft. The Wookiee snarled and Will replied.

"Yeah, I thought it would take longer too, the maintenance droids must be working overtime..." Seeing Val's quizzical look, Will snorted.

"This shaft was offline for maintenance. We made sure of that, but... some repair tech must have been on the ball..." He looked around, then grinned. "Well, we still have always to go, and the Sith have to have dropped troops to surround the building, but we are not out of tricks, are we Olana?" A sound somewhere between a snort and a groan came from the Wookiee. He grinned.

"The Sith are going to be looking for a man, a woman and a wookiee. I know that Sithscum got a good look and me, and I'm... well, I'm known to them." His face took a hard cast. Then he grinned. "But I think I know a way to avoid them."

He sighed. What was taking them so long, the fools should of come out from their hiding place by now. He needed that money, so badly, his lightsaber was calling to him, and he was calling back. They were smart, he had to admit, and theres no wonder he has a bounty on his head. However, they appear to have underestimated his abilities, as to the fact they have no idea who he was. Than again, how many people would believe that Marka Ragnos had an apprentice? He smirked and turned to the pilot.

"Let me out, near the building they jumped to." Even though he didnt like he, he would have to try it. It would be worth it in the end. He just had to hope he wouldnt have to kill them before he could ask. He jumped out of the ship and infront of the building. Lightsaber activated, he went inside.

(Posted by Hellrage))

The Sith troops moved through the building, cautiously. Every so often something would explode, fall or otherwise cause serious harm to one or several of the troops. Finally the leading team, minus five of their number due to a floor plate that had been hinged over an elevator shaft, froze as their helmet lights illuminated an airspeeder, but there was no sign of anyone. The team leader, worried, called up the demolitions team. But nothing happened, and the demo team reported it clear. The team leader moved up to examine the speeder and a holo appeared. All of the Sith troopers froze, weapons ready, but nothing happened. The man in the holo smiled. The team leader nodded, it was their target.

"You will not get away." The man smiled wider.

"I already have." and then the team leader noticed something...the air was thick with...she screamed..er tried to, but her vision was blurring and she...

Will shook his head and deactivated his comlink, he couldn't watch it. He hated nerve gas. But it had its uses. And it was a non-persistent agent, so it would be safe for people to come back to in a few hours, until that though... The girl, Val, turned a head to him but he shook his head again and they continued on their way. Olana was long gone, laying surprises for the Sith troops and climbing for all he was worth. From the howls and roars in the distance, Will figured he was having fun.

Glad one of us is... This Sith armor smells like flarg

Will followed the Sith team leader's directions and the rest of the Sith patrol moved off slowly into the building away from where the speeder had been left, never realizing that two of its number had been steathily replaced with the fugitives they sought. Val followed in his footsteps as he had directed, silent. He bided his time, knowing it would come, eventually.

He sighed as he saw his troops dieng. Apparently he really didnt want to be caught. There was a wookie however, and that was good enough. He walked to where the Storm Commander was and asked him the situation.

"My lord, they appear to be holding back. We so far have only spotted a wookie, the other 2 are not to be found. We believe they escaped."

He growled and force choked the commander, and struck him with his lightsaber. Worthless....and he went inside the building to take care of this wookie himself.

((Posted by Hellrage))

Will froze as he saw the Sith who had challenged him before, luckily all of the other Sith, including Val, froze as well. But the guy with the lightsaber didn't slow, just ran into the building towards... Will snarled soundlessly and hit a quick command on his wrist keypad. Then he followed the team leader as he led off again, in another direction.

Soon, very soon...

Olana saw a warning on his keypad and finished off the last Sith of the patrol who he had ambushed. Honorable foes he would fight honorably, these scum? He scoffed, then saw the glow of a lightsaber in the distance. he made an obscene gesture in the Sith's general direction then darted into a hole he had helped make. As he did, he hit a switch. If the Sith followed him, he would get a most unpleasant surprise. The red icons of armed mines flickered to life behind the Wookiee as he jumped into a chute and slid for freedom. It was hard to tell what was more exhilarating, the ride or the satisfaction of knowing that the Sith would have a VERY bad day.

He grinned when he saw the mines flashing. He used the force to gather them and threw them at the wookie flying out of the hole. He turned and headed back as he heard a large explosion and felt joy like none he had felt in a long time. He quickly ran out to the commander to see what reports he had on casualties, and whether or not the tracker he had placed on the vespian had worked.

((Posted by Hellrage))

Olana got to his feet, shakily. Of all the contingencies they had planned for, having the Sith literally throw the mines down the chute hadn't been among them. He shook his head, he had outsped the blasts and all but a little of the shrapnel. But the Sith probably thought he was dead. He pulled a cloth sack to him that they had placed in the end room, just in case and smiled as he saw the medkit and the other items. Before he began treating his wounds, he spread a set of color crawlers on his fur and they began shifting his fur's coloration. Before he would be done cleaning and sealing his cuts, he would look very different from Olanagychew, the wanted Wookiee. He finished his ministrations, threw the used medkit into a corner, set the time delay on the demo pack that would destroy the safe room and walked out, just a common brindle furred Wookiee, on a planet with many of those.

Will heard the explosions and hoped Olana had gotten clear, but... it was time... They were far enough away and close to his second drop point. He sighed, then motioned to Val. She moved behind him and he drew his pistol. Not a blaster, but a slugthrower and a very special one, this one had a cylinder attached to the end. None of the Sith in the team realized what was happening. It wasn't a fight. None had a chance to fight back. When it was done, Will nodded to Val and they started off towards the edge of the building and a particular spot on it. When they reached it Val looked around and shuddered. Will did too. He hated this part. The cable that ran from this building to the next was invisible in the darkness of the Undercity. He put his bar on the cable and held out his arms to Val. She grabbed around him and held on tight. And off they went.

Twenty seconds later they were in another room, in another building. She shook her head, he grinned at her and they both started off. It was not a long way to the spaceport, only two more blocks, but... with the Sith on their tail, it might be a long ways indeed.

He smiled lightly. He was on a ship back to his master, and all would be well. He had killed a wookie, and while the others escaped, theres no way they could get past the defence. All was well. He rested his eyes as his heart beat to the shudder of the thrusters.

((Posted by Hellrage))

(OOC: ok I'm back I'll probably be on and off tonight so Kal feel free to keep dragging me along if needed)

Val was definately out of her element. Following the very people who were trying to capture her, all the death happening right before her eyes, flying from building to building... these were not things she was used to in any form or fashion. Right now she was just glad it seemed to be natural for Will. How did people live like this? How was she going to keep living like this?

She kept following Will. Whatever he said or motioned for her to do she would comply instantly, he had kept them alive and out of the clutches of the Sith so far and she had to trust him.

((Posted by Nitwhit))

Olanagychew reached the spaceport without problems, but snarled silently on seeing a large Sith presence in the area. If they tried to take off, they would be blasted out of the air. So... He grinned as he entered the ship, it was not a pretty grin. This was something they had planned for.

Will froze and motioned for Val to do the same. Nothing visible, nothing obviously wrong, but... He sighed and loosened his pistol in its holster.

"Squiggy, what did I tell you?"

The human from the hotel swaggered out into view. Four shadows detached from the walls and joined him. Will shook his head.

"We got no fight with you, we just want her." Squiggy almost danced in glee, but his goons, Will noticed, didn't move. Professionals then. He sighed again.

"She's with me." All four of the goons stiffened, and Squiggy froze. Then the human laughed.

"We will cut you in..." He flinched as Will shook his head. "..Come on man, its a lot of credits, just hand her over, since when do YOU do noble?"

"This isn't about noble Squiggy, this is about the Sith. That's who want's her. You know how I feel about them." All four of the goons looked scared now and Will nodded to them. "You all know what the price on my head is now?" They nodded. "Think you can take me?" They all, Squiggy included, looked at each other. Will sighed again.

"Tell you what... I never paid you for what you did in the hotel. Here." He tossed a credit chip to Squiggy. When the human caught it he goggled. Squiggy looked at him and Will sighed as a look of greed came over his face. He knew, before Squiggy moved what was going to happen. Squiggy drew and his bolt went wide as Will's took him center mass. The goons froze, and Will sighed deeper. He motioned to one and that one looked at him.

"There was 15k on that credchip. You are welcome to it." They stared at him. "You want temp employment with more money at the end?" They stared at him and as one they nodded. Only an idiot wouldn't facing his ready blaster. He picked up the chip from where it had fallen and threw it to one of the goons. "Half now, half when we reach the spaceport. Work?" They nodded, but then one looked behind him and he spun, Val was clutching her arm, pale,and as he watched, she fell over.

"Crap. Squiggy, if you weren't dead, I'd kill you again!" he quickly moved to Val, noting that three of the goons moved off to covering positions while the fourth grabbed a medkit. He nodded again, always nice to work with pros.

He finaly arrived at the spaceport and went into the Masters room. They had reported that many bounty hunters have been hired for these 2 highly-bountied people. He finaly arrived and opened the doors, to see his master standing there. Another Sith Lord, he respected him, but only in the since that he would kill him in honorable combat. Than again, what was honor to the dark side?

"My lord, the girl appears to be traveling with a male named Will, a SPF Coruscant member. He has a bounty on his head as well, however he appears to have hunter me before. However, I doubt they have noticed my trap yet, and we would do well to keep a track on their location."

The Sith lord spun around in his chair, showing his very handsome face and manly features. He had a scarr across one eye, and his duel lightsaber hung from his belt. "Very good, however, since you haven't taken the girl, you cannot be rewarded." He felt rage inside him bubbling up. It was so hard no to run him through and chop his smug little head off.

'They are going to leave the planet, are your officers identifying the ships properly?" The Sith lord nodded, and addressed Bane. "A few bounty hunters have spotted them, however they have failed to report in. As soon as they report, I will give you your orders." He sighed and left the room.

((Posted by Hellrage))

Val's head was spinning as her brown eyes eased open slowly. What happened? One second she was standing there next to Will and the next she felt a jolt of pain in her arm. She remembered feeling horrible, then opening her eyes to find herself on the ground. Was it a blaster shot? She didn't remember a blaster shot. Or was it something else?

Her head felt as if someone had taken the blunt end of a vibro axe to it but whether it was from the fall or whatever had happened prior to that she didn't know.

"What.. what happened?" It was rather clear that she wasn't completely there yet from the faintness of her voice and the glazed over look of her eyes. Her words were drawn out and quiet.

((Posed by Nitwhit))

Will eased Val into a sitting position. The merc with the medkit finished binding her wound and Will nodded his thanks. His estimate of these guys went up a notch.

"Easy, Val. You were shot. You will be ok." He turned to the merc medic. "We need to get to the spaceport, quietly." The merc looked at him.

"It'll cost." Will raised an eyebrow and the merc laughed. "Sorry. That was dumb."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Garbage." WIll grimaced, but then smiled and the mercs shared it. Will looked at them, their equipment was well maintained, but their attire and their general hygeine level spoke of hard times.

"You all stuck?" His voice was sympathetic, they stiffened, but then the medic nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah, our ride skipped on us, left us here with no way off, and well, the jobs here are..." Will nodded, he knew.

"Tell you what, you get us to the spaceport, and I'll get you where you want to go. It may not be the fastest of transits, but I will get you there." They stared at him. "I've been in your boots, left behind." They nodded. "Where to?"

Twenty minutes later, Will grinned as they rode right past the Sith blockade. No self respecting Sith would ever search through a garbage hauler, that was what sensors were for. Of course if someone could HIDE from sensors...

The hauler pulled up to his bay and he nodded. The medic took Val, who was still semiconcious, and eased her to the floor. Two of the others picked her up and carried her towards the ship. Will stopped them with a gesture. He hit a command on his wristcom and a muted bark came from the ship. They all froze as Olana appeared. WIll smiled seeing his friend.

"Glad you made it furrball. She's hurt, these are with us." Olana nodded. "Plan D" Olana nodded again and Will started towards teh ship. The merc medic, the apparent leader, walked with him.

"You know the moment we take off, they will shoot us down?" He asked as the two mercs carrying Val laid her gently in the ship's small medical station.

"Trust me." Will said and the merc laughed again.

"Not hardly pal." Will laughed with him, then headed for the cockpit as teh medic started checking the girl again.

Needless to say the woman's body wasn't dealing well with the pain. Pain wasn't a new thing to her but pain of this magnitude was. Vaila remained quiet and still as her body began to adjust, soon she would at least be at the point of being capable of making cohesive sentences again and processing her surroundings. Nothing between being shot and arriving on board had settled in her mind, it was all a blur or a blank spot.

Suddenly every thing came back into focus. Val jolted upright.

Wait... this, this was a Sith assault ship, transport class. That man, that man was not Will. Her mind settled on the worst case scenario... she had been reacquired. Her dark brown eyes glared at the man tending to her full of fear and utter loathing, adrenalin was pumping through her system. She had one option, only one that seemed plausible and that was to run.

Jumping up she felt her arm burning. Things started to blur again but she didn't care, she had to get off, she had to escape. Catching the medic off guard she planted one foot and rolled, juking him and tore off towards the exit her long brown hair streaming behind her. She wasn't going back to the Sith, she couldn't , she couldn't!

((Posted by Nitwhit))

((Whoa... A newcomer...))

In a lifetime defined by wandering from place to place, nothing was more notable of a downturn in the overall course of things than being unable to, well, travel.

He had been stuck in the lower-level spaceport for hours, and even as much as he believed that the Force always put him in the right place at the right time, he had to admit that he couldn't see the benefit of having arrived here so early - usually, he arrived in time for whatever he needed to do, did it, and left for his next destination. Sitting around without reason to was... well, there must be a point to it, or he wouldn't be doing it.

Breathing deeply the air of what he supposed was his home planet, he continued to walk around the same pathway he had been treading back and forth for hours, now, always careful to remain inconspicuous.

The Startrader was still refueling and resupplying, and his newfound friends were chatting with a Sith officer - apparently there was an order out for the arrest of Menkin and his accomplices (which was unsurprising, since the Sith seemed to love arresting people), so they were actually having an easier time of things, having brought him in. The Traveler did not envy Menkin, but he had made his own path in life and had followed it accordingly.

They had asked about the sheer number of Sith forces in the spaceport, but had been told that it was simply 'standard operating procedure'. The Traveler had never been to Coruscant, but he doubted there was anything standard about the situation, judging from the breakdown of units and how they moved about the place... It was as if they were searching for something, or someone. They made only casual efforts to detain anyone else in the port, and when Jamison had initially stopped a trooper to inquire about what might be done with Menkin, he was told none-too-kindly to find his own solution. It was only upon seeking out an officer that anyone had bothered to address their case, and even in the beginnings of that exchange, the officer had seemed preoccupied with some other pressing duty.

The Traveler was always mindful of being detained, by anyone, as he did not carry personally identifying papers or data on his person. It was as such that he found himself in front of the docking ramp to quite another ship. Normally, this would not have struck him as oddly, except that he had stopped in front of it; he rarely stopped unless something was amiss.

Eventually, it hit him - the Sith were circulating around this ship, but they were apparently ignoring it. This particular bay was the only one in which no Sith troopers openly walked. It was as if they were blocking it off from... whoever it was they were looking for. The Traveler paused once more in thought, still standing before the looming presence of the mystery ship. Here he was, finally home - even if it was a home he had never seen before - and he wished to enjoy the experience, despite the planet having fallen under Sith control. The Traveler shrugged his cloaked shoulders softly, and slowly turned to leave, not wanting to be accidentally confused for whoever owned the craft.

((Posted by The Traveler))

Olana stood by the hatch, working on the plan.

Plan D... of all the crazy, stupid, utterly insane...

His thoughts broke off as cursing started behind him and a small form barrelled into him from behind. Automatically, he grabbed the form, it was a reflex. It wasn't until she cried out in intense pain that he realized it was the girl, Val. And that he was holding her by her bandaged arm. She looked...out of it. He knew she didn't understand his language, but he tried anyway.

<Easy, Ma'am, easy. No one will hurt you. I'm sorry I grabbed your arm.> She obviously didn't understand him, but maybe his soft voice, for him, and tone got through.

He saw one of the mercs (and where the flarg had Will picked up THEM?) behind with a hand outstretched. He kept his arms around the girl, gentle, but restraining. The merc spoke, halting, but Olana nodded at the mercs attempt at Shirwook.

<She...not...awake...much. She...woke...think Sith...?> Olana looked at her, then at the merc.

<Translate?> The merc nodded. Olana wondered again, how in the heck Will always found the good ones. It was a knack. Olana barked softly and the merc came close, but not too close.

"Ma'am. This isn't a Sith ship. He says, he is sorry for grabbing your arm. You took him by surprise. He says, if you go outside, the Sith will find you. This is the last ship they would expect you to be on." Then the merc looked at her. "Ma'am my name is Dron. Let me look at your arm. Please?" His words were gentle, worried. Olana smelled fear and blood on the girl's scent and hoped she understood. He couldn't let her out.

Will froze from his preflight. He stared out of the viewport at a cloaked figure.

Aw man...so close...

He checked his equipment and quietly exited the ship via an emergency hatch. He moved in the shadows, all to aware that a force user would probably know exactly where he was. He moved to block the figure from leaving.

Someone was coming.

That was just his luck, wasn't it? Things never just went easily... He supposed it served him right, for having chosen this life. Regardless, the Traveler had to keep up appearances, and so he continued moving slowly away from the ship, backing toward the rear door to the docking bay. He could feel the man skirting around him to cut off his exit, but would simply pretend to be surprised and ignorant if caught. Maybe he just wanted to watch and make sure that the Traveler wasn't up to any acts of sabotage. Perhaps he would be allowed simply to wander away...

"Stop right there. Who are you? Why are you near this ship?"

He turned, and was actually genuinely surprised. The voice came, not from the one whose presence he was concentrating upon, but rather from that of a Sith trooper, aiming a blaster rifle at his chest. The Traveler had had quite enough of that... But he realized that the trooper was merely doing his job, and probably wasn't even that bad of a person, beneath his armor. His empty hands found their way out from under his cloak, though sufficient material remained to hide the rest of his body, and he raised them slowly to show the trooper that he was unarmed.

"My apologies... I seem to be rather lost. I'm trying to find my way back to bay twenty-seven, where the Startrader is docked. You see, there was an attempted hijacking on the way here, and-"

"Alright, you're going to slowly take your hood off. Then, I want you to see your identification papers. Don't try anything funny, and you won't get hurt."

He took his hood down for the second time today, hoping that he would not be recognized. Fortunately, the trooper showed nothing beyond run-of-the-mill suspicion. The Traveler could appreciate the man's kindness regarding not blasting him outright, but the fact of the matter was that he simply had no papers to present... And if he was arrested here, he'd no doubt come into contact with some of the only people he knew who lived on the planet. And unfortunately, all of them were the sort of people he would've preferred avoiding.

"I'm afraid I haven't any papers," he said, preferring simply to see where this would lead. Perhaps the trooper would let him go, after realizing that he was of no value to whatever investigation was going on. They had almost let Menkin go, after all... The Traveler frowned at the prospect of having to share a cell with the squash-nosed hijacker.

"No papers, huh?" The trooper considered for a moment, perhaps debating whether or not to just let him go. The Traveler hoped he would.

"I'm calling for back-up. Just stay right there with your hands where I can see them."

... Well, that was less-than-favorable. He nodded in compliance, but his mind was working out a way out of this situation, particularly before more troopers showed up. He just hoped the man in the shadows wasn't planning to do anything insane.

((Posted by The Traveler))

Will snarled silently to himself. Seeing teh black robed figure had been bad enough, but now, a Sith sentry had entered the bay

Of all the lousy timing...but... who is this guy? He's no Sith... No Sith would take orders so calmly from a mere trooper He COULD kill the sentry easily, but... That would bring the whole mess down on them and they were not ready yet. Then he remembered, he was still wearing the Sith armor, and he had the helmet...

A few minutes later, Will walked out of the shadows. His weapons were holstered and his armor was immaculate. Of course it also showed the rank of subcomander.

"Stand down, trooper. This man is vouched for, by Darth Vorran." He made the name up, no one could possibly know all of the Sith Lords and wanna-bes who took that title anyway. Right? He looked at the man in black, hoping he would play along. And hoping he wasn't making a serious mistake. "My lord? Is everything all right?" He asked in the tone of a subordinate.

The Traveler had been all over the galaxy, and although he had seen many things that had surprised him, it had taught him to always think on his feet, and to deal with situations as they arose. Even so, this was a shock. He didn't know who this man was, but he was fairly certain that actual Sith commanders didn't lurk in the shadows, spying on random sentries... Unless that was the new method of 'performance review' among the troops.

The 'Commander' had addressed him with a tone of superiority, and he couldn't contradict that while maintaining the credibility of the charade. Not only was this stranger risking his life to protect him, but he knew that if the ruse was found out, that both of them would be in serious trouble.

Still, the only Sith he knew he could make a suitable impression of was...

No. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't. Some things were too dangerous to attempt. He'd have to find some other way...

He laughed, neither changing his mannerism, nor tone of voice.

"It's quite all right, Commander. This trooper was merely doing his job, and I can respect that... though I am grateful he decided not to blast me. I can imagine that Master Vorran would not have been pleased to have to explain to my people how the son of their Chief Diplomat was gunned down by a Sith trooper on visit to Coruscant."

He turned to the trooper, bowing his head slightly.

"My apologies, but I was informed only to speak to a ranking officer if detained. I was hoping that you would summon your commander so that I might reveal my identity to him... I hope there are no hard feelings for the mild deception, good sir." Meanwhile, he reached out to the trooper in question, and merely suggested that his story was trustworthy. It was a subtle enough manipulation that if he failed, no one would notice - he had attracted more than enough 'interest' already.

The trooper stood, paralyzed, for a moment, then snapped into action...

Bringing his rifle up against his chest, he saluted them. "No trouble, sir. Sorry sir - sirs." He turned to leave, and the Traveler quickly flipped his hood back over his head, and did something he rarely allowed others to see... He breathed a sigh of immense relief.

Of course, that still left his new acquaintance... But the man had trusted him, so he couldn't be all that bad. Besides, he certainly didn't feel evil, only worried. "Thank you for that, 'Commander'. I think there may be more soldiers on their way to rendezvous with that one." Pausing a moment, he could not help but add, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

(Posted by The Traveler))

Will watched until he was sure the sentry was gone, then unlatched his helmet. The previous owner had left a distinctive smell. His right hand, of course stayed near his blaster. For all the good it would probably do him...

He looked the man up and down. Something about him said 'Force user'. But nothing about him said evil or Sith and Will had, a long time ago, stopped assuming that everyone was out to get him. It didn't help. He took precautions of course. Who wouldn't?

"Well, 'My Lord', that Sith trooper will be too worried about his sergeant finding out he almost blasted a dignitary to report it for a while. So we have some time. But, if I may be so bold... This bay is going to get very noisy soon. You might want to be elsewhere. You will want to be elsewhere."

Olana wasn't sure if Val heard him or not. But the decision was taken out of his paws. She collapsed. He swung her up easily and carried her back to the medical bunk. He set her down on it and froze as he heard a voice from the next compartment. The medic beside him did as well.

"...It's a Sith ship. I don't know what class. You better have my payment." The merc turned off his small comlink and turned. He froze as he saw the medic and Olana watching him. Then he went for his blaster. Olana's bolt was only a moment after Dron's. Dron spit on the corpse and looked at Olana. Olana nodded. Things just got urgent.

The hood turned toward his new acquaintance again, though this time he raised his head enough for his eyes to remain visible. It wasn't as though the fellow hadn't seen his face already... Still, keeping the hood on would shield him from any other prying eyes that decided to show up on the scene.

"I would say the surrounding area is already rather... 'busy'. The Sith do have a tendency of overdoing things when it comes to show of force, or at least threat of force." Frankly, he was still simply glad to have escaped without shots being fired.

"I'm sure this isn't a place to get acquainted, and I can see myself off if the best thing I can do is not get in your way... But you did just come to my aid without any real reason to do so, and I admire that rare quality in others. If I can do anything to assist... your escape, I'm guessing. Let me know."

((Posted by The Traveler))

Will grinned. This guy was quick.

"Yeah, we are going to..." he broke off as his comlink chirped he saw the code displayed and blanched. "Get out of here as fast as you can. We are going to have company shortly. And... thanks."

He nodded to the stranger and then ran for the ship. Olana was finishing up and growled an update to him as he clambered aboard. Will shook his head.

Bad fruit in any bunch, but lousy timing

He spun into the main hold and saw the three remaining mercs standing there, looking worried. He looked them over, two men and a woman, all human, all scared. He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not a Sith. I'm disappointed." They flinched, but then relaxed slightly. "Honesty time. If you are working for someone else, now is the time. You can leave with no problems or questions asked. You come with us, be warned, you will be under observation at all times. You step out of line and you die. Clear?" The mercs looked at each other, then nodded. None of them moved for the hatch. Will smiled thinly and extended his hand in a merc handshake.

"I'm Will." All three stared at him, then smiled. The medic extended his hand and clasped Will's.

"I'm Dron, these are Aleesa and Troc." The others nodded to their names. Will grinned a them.

"We are about to make a very big mess. Troc, Aleesa, I assume that you can handle dual sixes?" They nodded. He pointed towards the side gun blisters, they darted away. He pointed to Dron. "You stay with the girl. The furrball says she isn't tracking well... Keep her in that bunk if you have to sit on her. This is going to be hairy enough without civvies running around." Dron nodded and went to sit by Val's bunk. Will moved to the cockpit. Olana came in and nodded. They were ready.

The Traveler nodded in return to the man whose name he hadn't had time to ask. He had a feeling that it was not the last time they were destined to cross paths, however.

While he was mulling the last encounter over in his mind, he slipped out of the docking bay, and back into the common area. If what the man had said was true, he'd have an opportunity to escape this lock-down soon enough... and maybe even help them out in the process.

He passed the Starchaser's bay, and noted that it was still there, having been forbidden to take off. It seemed that all ships had been temporarily grounded while the Sith forces searched the spaceport for... people who were probably associated with the fellow he had just met, actually.

Sidling up to a set of equipment crates, he crouched and leaned casually against them as if resting, trying to appear like one of the many people who were simply waiting to be allowed to leave the port. However, this particular location afforded him an excellent view of the spaceport commons, as well as proximity to an exit door, albeit a heavily guarded one. Closing his eyes, he simply listened to the conversation of the nearby guards, and waited. All he could tell was that someone had identified the model of the ship, and that a Sith Lord had been despatched by some dark-and-unseen Master to bring in the 'rebels'. The Traveler didn't like the news, and idly wondered if he knew the particular Sith Lord. Probably not - there were a terrible lot of them these days. And what a terrible lot they all were.

Even as soon as he considered standing in opposition to the evil deeds of this unknown Sith lord, he had to admit that he was but one man, and thus couldn't protect everyone - also, that some people, such as the man he had met earlier, clearly had the power to protect themselves. It was The Traveler's place to help the helpless, to protect those that had no other choice than to rely upon his protection. His was a hand of personal intervention, not bold and sweeping acts. No Traveler had ever been hailed publicly as a hero, except by small communities in the further reaches of the galaxy. The lack of public awareness was what allowed him to live as he did. Certainly, destroying something like the Star Forge was a bold and heroic act, but it was the place of others to enact such mighty displays... At least, that was what he had been taught. He mused upon it further, and bided his time...

((Posted by The Traveler))