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Light in the Dark
Topic Started: Jun 6 2009, 01:24 AM (868 Views)
Cul
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Original Poster: Calin Riegal

Calin was utterly confused. Here they were, in a dark alleyway outside a Coruscant nightclub, having just survived a fray with one of the most elite units left in the Galaxy, and now he was rambling on about jaunting calmly through the Undercity and getting offworld! He knew he was right, that they would be wanted, but still the sheer detachment of the way he spoke of all this. This was not a light matter, leaving everything behind. Calin had a team of over twenty people to be concerned about, albeit there was those capable of leading them, in the meantime that was.

He was even more shocked when Imogen stormed at him after ranting at Cul, only to rip the datapad off of his belt and force it into Cul's chest. The girl could be fiery when she was wound up. It was only when she was ripping the datapad from his belt that he noticed her shoulder. She was bleeding, but it didn't look like a blaster wound. Must have been one of those Kroot savages. Regardless, Calin needed answers. He was not leaving everything here on Coruscant for no reason at all. He deserved answers, they all did. Before he pressed this, he pulled small object off of his belt. He handed it to Imogen.

"Here, a medpack. For your shoulder, it should help." He said calmly, before turning to address Ra.

"Ok Cul, answer time. We all risk our lives against the Mando's, making us wanted on this planet, our planet, for that datapad. I took you at your word that it was important, and it had better be damned important. You're asking me to leave behind everything I've worked for. A team that I have built from the ground up to help the people of this planet. If you want me to do all that, for all of us to do all that, we deserve some answers."
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Original Poster: Adam Vren

Surprise was the best way to sum up what Adam felt at the moment. One minute he had been leading his friends on a trading expedition and the next he had been fighting for his life against some very well trained enemies. Once he finally thought he was safe three people, one of them wounded, appeared down the alley behind him. It seemed like they came from a different branch of the same fight and the tension between them was high because of this event.

Adam quietly listened to the conversation of the others, which involved some yelling, once there was an opening he added his words.

"I agree with that guy," Adam points at Calin, "I also want to know what is happening here. The first time I come to this place and I have to fight for my life against some tough SOBs. Also who are you people, it would be nice to know who I'm talking to even if I just get a nickname. My name is Adam but I'm not sure if it is a pleasure to meet you guys."
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Original Poster: Ra Cul

Inside the club.....

Barrick slashed, twin sabers whirling like lightning, cutting down those few Kroot and patrons not yet dead or fled. Under his mask, his face was contorted with anger. Jesera was escaping. Ra Cul had shown himself, and far earlier than Barrick's Master had assumed, which boded ill for many a plan. And to make matters worse, the dancing girl had stolen his data pad. A dancer!

"All fire teams, report in. I want casualty reports. First ten teams to report ready, move out to secure the outside of the club. Next four teams are with me, down that blasted hatch. And somebody trip the tracking beacon on my data pad. And comm to the ship, get me fighter support, and watch for ships making for orbit. Contact all friendlies in system, and set up a blockade! I want these bastards found, and brought in. Take Cul and the dancer both alive if you can, the rest....kill them...as painfully as possible!"

Barrick spun his sabers one last time, dropping the last target in his path, then shut both down, replacing them on his belt. He raised his hand, allowing the Dark Side to flow through him, feeding on his rage, then he closed his fist, and pulled his hand back. A section of the bar crumpled, and ripped away, clearing his path to the hatch. There will be no escape back to your precious Jedi, Jesera. You are mine. And when I'm done with you....I'll give you to him.

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

Jesera released the bubble of Force she'd been holding, to obscure her presense. Her eyes wandered slowly from one to the next, of the odd company she'd found herself in. Of Ra Cul, she'd heard, though apart from his lineage, she knew precious little about the man. The rest were enigmas...unknowns.

What she did realize, was Cul had made a valid point. Barrick would be coming, and fast. Time was definitely against them. "Might I suggest we save introductions and explanations for someplace and time a bit safer than here? Barrick Leone's reputation is well deserved, and we've all earned his ire. I suggest we move out, while we're still able to do so."
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Original Poster: Ra Cul

Ra grinned as he rubbed his chin. His fiery eyes danced in the dim light of the alley. "Ok...I suppose I did deserve that one. Then again, before we hit the dance floor, I did tell you pretty much exactly what I was planning to do. The best is yet to come, though, my dear, we still have that down time in hyperspace to look forward to." He winked, still grinning, and still radiating the same emotions he had been since she forst sat down with him.

He checked the datapad. Undamaged. Quickly tucking it into his robes, he did a quick headcount. The Chiss pilot was missing, as were the Jedi and the Kroot. He sighed. Well, you do want old Barrick to give chase for a while anyway, so no harm just yet in leaving an obvious trail. Ever wonder what life would have been like as a farmer? The last thought brought a rueful smile to his face.

Shaking his head, Ra whipped out both sabers, igniting them, as he stepped past the small crowd, slashing through a nearby storm drain. The results were as obvious as they were effective. "Alright, lads and lasses, down we go, to intrigue, adventure...and some of the most despicable criminal desperate types alive in the galaxy today....politicians not withstanding."

Extinguishing his sabers, and placing them back, one hidden, and one hanging free from his belt, Ra lept down, some ten feet, splashing into knee deep sludge. "Soft landing down here....but kinda smelly. Take a deep breath of what passes for fresh air on Coruscant, before coming on down to the brighter side!" He called up cheerfully.
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Original Poster: Sirk'ruk

Clinging to the alley wall like a spider Sirk'ruk observed the straightback wizard and his gathering of followers. Though the words the humans exchanged were meaningless to the alien warrior, and the scents even less helpful, their mannerisms brought some small answers. All looked to Cul with undivided attention, leaving no question as to who the immediate leader was, but that opened up a new problem. Why? The straightbacks had wandered into the gathering place with no apparent interest in the hunt, why side with the wizard and place ones life in his hands? Perhaps he had them bewitched by some spell? The possibilities were endless in this strange land.

As the group moved Sirk'ruk followed, watching from the shadows as the wizard cut through what was once apparently solid metal with his magic blade, revealing a small tunnel. The hunter didn't even bother questioning the witchcraft, instead concidering how he might follow the group through the tunnel without being noticed or losing sight of his quarry. Sirk'ruk slowly crept down towards the street, hoping to remain unnoticed.
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Original Poster: Imogen Starcry

Imogen let her eyes roll back into her head as if she might have a siezure at any given moment. She of course, wasn't going to have a fit, but she was growing increasingly frustrated with this whole situation and with all these people.

She took the offered medpack with a bit of a grumble of a thank you and addressed her shoulder for a moment as Ra spoke to their small group and opened up a path to the sewers for them to make their exit.

"The sewer system. Brilliant." Even as she spoke her sarcastic comment however, the sound of irritation was starting to wane from her voice as she was still feeding off his transfer of emotions. She was one of the first to follow, knowing she didn't want to be left alone surface side should Barrick decide to hunt them down and she certainly didn't want to be alone. After all, she'd stolen his datapad, and whatever was on it...

She hopped down into the hole with practiced ease and only squirmed slightly at the feel of the cold sludge before she moved to the side of the tunnel and kept to the wall. The ground was usually higher there and less slick. She'd grown up on the streets of Coruscant and had spent a few weeks of her life as a sewer rat herself. She could easily find her way around the city down below as she could above. "Well, we better get a move on then...I don't particularly want to be caught by those people and killed because of you." She directed her comment to Ra, but it was almost playful now instead of venomous. Clearly her emotions were easily swayed by his. "So, what's the genius plan to get out of here alive?"
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Original Poster: Ar'alani

Ar'alani raced down the tunnel after closing the hatch behind her. It was dark, the only lighting and ventilation provided by holes in manhole covers on the roof of the tunnel. Her footsteps made a slapping sound on the damp floor. The Chiss slid to a halt as she found an opening, distinctly made by a lightsaber. A hideous odor wafted from the hole, but Ar immediately dove through. She landed on her feet with a squelching noise as whatever she landed on gave way. Great, there goes the shine on my boots, Ar thought as she looked around to see where the others had went. She thought it would be no use, until a flash of Ra's robe peeked around the corner to her left. As Ar walked up to the rest of the group, she warned that they were still slightly visible from directly beneath the entrance into the sewer they created.
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Original Poster: Adam Vren

Adam reluctantly followed Imogen into the sewers. The floor of the sewer was covered in some form of sludge but Adam wasn't bothered by the filth, getting dirty was just a part of life.

As he crawled forward with the rest of the group Adam couldn't help but think how one small decision was going to impact his life and the lives of those around him. When he opted to stay back and make sure his friends could escape safetly he didn't anticipate what was happening now. All those he cared about were going to think he had been killed.

When he saw the smoke he went to investigate and ended up inside the fire. Now his fate was not his own but in the hands of a cocky young man who seemed not to care about the peril of the situation they were in.
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Original Poster: Ra Cul

Barrick reached the trap door, and held his hand over it. Again, he felt the Dark Side well up within him, responding to his will. He clenched his hand into a fist, and the reinforced trapdoor shuddered, groaned....and crumpled. Barrick smiled, opening his fist, and letting the ball of twisted steel drop down below with a heavy clang. "First two fire teams, down the hole." He barked, not waiting for them, as he himself went down first.

Outside, several teams of two were making their way around, and found the alley, immedietely reporting in to their commander.

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

Jesera felt Barrick. She knew he was coming, and doing so fast. Then she saw the soldiers enter the alley. "I suggest you follow us quickly, and wait for your answers." She told Calin pointedly. She motioned to the makeshift escape route Ra had made for them. "Go, go quickly."

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

"Plan? Oh...that." Ra shrugged, looking around for a moment. He could feel Barrick. No need to leave an obvious trail....but also no time to cover a trail either.

"I was thinking...we'd run down this way a bit, till we hit the shute that will slide us through the muck right down to the undercity. Hopefully, Barrick and his men will hesitate before joining us down there, at least long enough for me to contact a friend, who I'm hoping managed to not get dead back there in your bar." Ra smiled, and started a decent run down the sewerway. He turned his head, to glance at the dancer with an impish grin.

"You know....that really is a lovely outfit you've got on. Shame we didn't get to explore the other options that normally come with such outfits." He sighed, still at a run. He could feel the Kroot now, following somewhere in the shadows. Good. Hope no one else notices just yet. We're gonna need him, and if we spook him..... He left the thought unfinished, not wanting to tempt Murphy. He took another glance at Imogen and winked. "Well....we still have that hyperspace trip...and hopefully our ship has sonic showers...."

Ra turned his head back forward, just in time to see the edge.....and the long, sharply slanted sludge slide in front of him. He shrugged, and hollared out, "Look out beloooooooooooooow!" As he stepped off the edge.....and began a very rapid decent down the long slide....
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Original Poster: Calin Riegal

Calin knew that they had no choice, they couldn't stand here and do a question and answer session while there was a rather large group of murderously angry Mandolorians on the plowl, rather close even. But he would get his answers, he would not leave everything behind without knowing why, without knowing what purpose he was serving. That was too much to agree to in ignorance, so he needed answers, and he could sense that he was not the only one who desired that. He nodded to Jesera, who was pointing to the hatch that everyone had just descended into.

"Aye, you're right. Now is not the time."

Calin jumped down into the sewer system, not even flinching as his feet descended into the liquid below. The sewers had become known to Calin's team as one of the only means of safe passage through the world, so they used them frequently. Calin began to follow the rest through the sewer system. Bolting through the underground piping, Calin rolled his eyes at Ra's almost shameless addressing of the young girl. Was this man really the grand figure that he had believed him to be? It wasn't quite what he expected in the next of the Cul line.

Calin reached the sludgy slide, hearing Ra making his swift descent to the undercity. This was the much safer way of reaching down there, as there was innumerable thugs in between the upper, lower and finally the under cities. Calin jumped onto the slide without a moments hesitation, following Ra down its slick surface. He sped down the slide, towards the undercity, and towards the next stage in their escapade.
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Original Poster: Imogen Starcry

"My work uniform, or getting it off for that fact, should be the last of your concerns at the moment, Fire eyes." She glowered at Ra's words about her clothing, but they had other things going on. Like the approaching waterfall of sludge. She'd always hated this part. Bracing, she followed right after Calin down the slide of muck. Feeling it clinging to her skin and, with the small skirt and top that she wore, meant that the slime got everywhere.

Once they hit the bottom, she allowed Calin to break her fall, though not by any real decision. He just happened to by there. As he would make to stand again, she would slam into his back, pressing him into the waste as she sat astride his back a moment. Grimacing at what she'd just done, she moved off him quickly and helped him up by the arm apologetically.

"Well...atleast I'm not the only one covered." She teased lightly, trying to rub some of the muck off of her arms with a groan of disgust. "It smells like a wookies' asshole down here." She said to herself before she turned to Ra once more, waiting on the others. "You don't seem too sure if your ride is going to be at the pick up point." She observed, giving him a hard glance before she trudge ahead, heels slipping a bit in the thick slime here.
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Original Poster: Ar'alani

As the rest of the team one-by-one went down the sludge slide, Ar'alani took strap-on cleats out of her bag and put them on her shoes. Using the two inch spikes of the cleats to add drag and give a bit more traction, Ar'alani began to make her way down the slope. An eighth of the way down, however, she dislodged some slime, and lost her footing, sending the Chiss pilot tumbling and sliding the rest of the way down. As she stood up, covered in who-knows-what and not pleased at all, she noticed that the slime was deeper at the bottom, having her entire foot sink down into the muck. "Well, what are we gonna do now?" she asked Ra, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.
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Original Poster: Adam Vren

While the others slid down the grimy pipe with less than enthusiam Adam flung himself headfirst down the makeshift waterslide. Realizing this was a bad idea he tried to turn himself on the way down. Having failed to do this he landed hard on his face and got a large mouthful of unidentifiable sludge. Adam slowly lifted himself to his feet holding his neck. He spat out the sludge then puked all over the side of the sewer.

Smart move Adam, he thought to himself as he wiped the remains of the bile and slime from his face. Once he had fully recovered he took a step forward. He took one last glance back up the pipe before looking to Ra, waiting to find out what the next step in their impromptu journey would be.
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Original Poster: Ra Cul

Jesera snorted, as she watched the others plunge down the slide. She almost grinned, when she saw Adam slide down head first. Almost. Jedi, or course, did not grin. At least, such was the impression the stoic Jedi present would have one believe...

She gauged the distance to the bottom. Way too far to simply jump, even with the Force to slow her decent. She took a quick look around, and caught sight of a pipe, running down the length of the shute. Now, alone at the top (save a hidden Kroot), Jesera did grin.

She launched herself out, whipping her sash around the pipe, and began a somewhat rapid, though controlled descent to the bottom, where she touched down with the smallest splash of the lot of them.

Her grin had vanished before she landed.

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

Barrick, followed unenthusiastically, by his men, dropped down into the sewers. He'd ordered some of his team to remain and watch the bar. Another group, he'd sent around a longer way, to attempt to head Jesera and her new friends off. And the remaining troops went with him.

"There! That shute. That's where they went! Move out, and watch for ambush. Some of them are Force users, and some are soldiers! I want Jesera, the dancer, and Ra Cul alive if possible. The rest, make them hurt before they die if you can!"

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

Ra was about to speak, a grin already on his face, when Jesera landed. He snorted, turning his head. "Show off..." He muttered. He glanced around, lookinmg for all the world like he was hopelessly lost.

He put a finger up over his head, after having licked it. There was no wind at all. This, however, did not seem to deter Ra Cul one bit.

With a satisfied smile, Ra turned back to the group, and pointed to one of the several passageways out of the large chamber at the bottom of the shute. "We go.....that way!" He declared, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
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Original Poster: Imogen Starcry

As Jesera landed all prim and proper, Imogen would let her eyes roll again in utter annoyance. Force Users. They thought they were so gifted. Silently, she envied the woman for what she was and what she could do, but Imogen had her own problems with out worrying about why she wasn't blessed herself with such gifts. She supposed it was just her lot in life.

With a soft sigh, she would make to follow Ra once more into the tunnels without question. Perhaps coaxed by his drawing energy, or perhaps just because she had nothing else she could do. What, stay behind and get caught by that scary bastard she'd stolen the datapad from? No, thank you.

He really did have something magnetic about him...whether it was his personality itself or the so called Force that he used. She didn't know for sure. But somehow, she realized, he's managed to drag them all into this. And he still had really told them nothing about all this, yet...so what were they all doing following him like lost children?

Shaking her head at the thoughts, she pressed forward through the muck and grime, making sure to be steady on her heels as she walked. She'd definitely need a change of clothing after this...damn if she was going to hop on a craft or the like and blast off in a dancers outfit and crap from every species of life form on Coruscant.

As the group made their way on through the tunnel, she continued thinking to herself quietly. She knew, without having any connection herself with the Force, that whatever was going on was bigger than all of them...

Sighing finally, she moved to walk next to Jesera, hoping she might more openly share what was happening as they trudged the darkness. Her eyes going to Ra before she kicked a splatter of slime at his back. "Are we there yet, oh great and wise leader?" Sarcasm still dripped from her words.
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