Cause and effect: The Grand Inquisitor (Imperials, those involved)

[Professor Mors]

“Well, for the sake of putting your mind at ease”, Doren addressed Xavius wryly, in little more than a whisper, “I have made some arrangements ahead of time. So far as anyone we engage with is concerned, I’m here to sell ‘appropriated’ durasteel alloys”. Shrugging his shoulders toward the two hooded men, Vassyl took a few steps toward the sprawling crowd, and concluded, “You two are my trusted business associates- feel free to make of the titles what you will”. Utilizing the density of R5’s frame as a sort of makeshift plow, the Captain then weaved his way past various inscrutable characters, before locking his gaze on the taller individual guarding the building the Hutt had only just entered.

It was a Nikto- male, and older than most, Doren thought, judging by the wear on their horns. Without speaking, the Imperial presented a calculated nod to the imposing figure, who glowered silently in turn for a time, before finally inclining his head to a lesser degree. Offering a friendly grin, Vassyl began to address the guard in the common tongue, coloring his speech with idioms and what little slang he knew to round out his obvious accent. When a pithy remark managed to procure a gruff chuckle from the otherwise stoic thug, Vassyl knew he was close. Performatively glancing over his shoulder, the Captain took a step forward, and stealthily placed a golden peggat into the Nikto’s palm without making eye contact. Another set of nods were exchanged, before Vassyl motioned for his companions to follow him inside.

[Lady Kota]

The hutt sat off in the left corner of the building, gamblers were having good times and bad. The guards keep the peace and security. They also made sure that anyone who was here to see the hutt was on legitimate business with her. Everyone was screened throughly.

A noticeable void would be felt by those who who could sense it. It was deep in the hall that the guards were guarding. Down the hall as one could see from the entrance different people were held behind bars. However far far down what appeared to be a different cell, but it wasn't clear from this distance.

[Xavius Bain]

The Shadow Lord felt the currents of the force flow through the various sentinets, their locations, their movements, and their speech patterns all created ripples for Xavius to interpret, and with a slight amount of focus, he could understand each tongue as if it were his own. He had little plans of doing most or any of the talking, but it was integral to his nature to have all of the information possible to ensure he was prepared to act when necessary. The imperial had a plan, which made sense. They were never lacking in their preparation.

The ripples ended in a void as they entered the building. Xavius took inventory of each cell, and knew their destination was likely down that route. It was possible there were Ysalimiri, which would be required to hold someone quite powerful…

No moves yet. Information was required.

The imperial seemed willing to do most of the talking. If things went awry, that’s when the Shadow Lord would shine. He kept his eye on the cell area that he couldn’t sense, and kept his focus to translate any tongues he didn’t recognize. For now he walked close to his ‘companions’, but his plan was to break off and figure out what was being held in that cell...

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis paused, his helmet turning to the strange phenomena behind the guarded door.

“Sir, I believe I found something, but the local guards will be an issue if I want to look into it. Permission to investigate?“

Prazutis kept his unmarked cape well over his shoulders and the imperial insignias on his torso. Along with his lightsaber hooked on his belt. His hood remained over his helmet for the moment, as he stared intently on the void in the force that he could almost relate to himself.

[Lady Kota]

Down the hallway one could see creatures of all sizes behind bars, as the end was reached a force cell came into view. Behind the cell a man sat, his hands bound by force cuffs. He eyed the group, another group of gockers, but something caught his eyes. He got up to move closer to the edge of the cell, to them. "Well we'll the pup still lives..and with an imperial... interesting. I have been lost in the galaxy." He said. He looked back. "Hey sweetheart we have guests." He said to the dark. A slight sound of someone rolling, a finger came into light, not a pleasant one. One could see whoever was also in force cuffs, he laughed. "Your pup is here and an imperial, you want to explain?" He said. One could hear the sound of moving. She came into view, Lady Kota. "Xavius? How the..no answer that later. Can you free us?" She asked.


Kota wasn't sure how they found her, but those answers needed to wait. What was important was that they got out of here. 'That hutt is going to pay.' She thought. She knew Fett would ensure that.

[Xavius Bain]

Xavius and Prazutis made their way to investigate the cell, and the Shadow Lord was greeted by words from a voice of a past life that tore into the air like a blade.

"Sweetheart."

Black onyx eyes glared into the dark cell. Even through all his prowess and in the force, his unparalleled raw skill with a blade, the Shadow Lord was treated as an animal, an attack dog that could be summoned to do Kota’s bidding. A lethal one for sure, at least he was afforded that detail of respect, but in truth the Shadow Lord was no dog. The stillness and precision of his movements were in full swing, and the serpent considered a strike.

For a quick moment, his eyes darted to Fett, eying up the man he knew so much about. Xavius Bain had fought many Sith legends of the past, but he had never crossed blades with this one. With him in force cuffs, he would hardly become a challenge, but that would prove nothing. The man would be easy prey for the snake, but Xavius was a warrior that respected the art of the blade. If they were to battle, it would be in a time where he could affirm his skill. This wasn’t the time, and he imagined Kota wouldn’t appreciate one of the two left without a head…

The Shadow Lord’s face remained static, analyzing the situation as best as he could. There were guards, but overall light security considering the prizes inside the cell.

Then, the voice that softened the blade came in through the darkness, penetrating the Shadow Lord’s composure for a split second, until he resumed his typical brooding persona. Somehow, despite all things that Xavius Bain understand, she could shatter his entire personality (or lack thereof) and turn the emotionless weapon into a man.

Without saying a word, Xavius Bain’s onyx eyes closed and he began a Falanassi technique, embracing the white current of the force. The ripples brushed across himself and Prazutis, and the two were immersed in the current. To the naked eye, the two could no longer be seen due to the Shadow Lord's powerful illusion. Xavius couldn’t move his physical body much to keep the illusion active, so it was up to Prazutis to free the two, but he could do it with ease under Xavius's meditation. While the Shadow could dispose of every guard present with ease, this avenue had the lowest chance of failure according to his quick deductive reasoning.

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis prepared to move on the guards before he felt a change within the force, something washing over himself and the man who had followed him over towards the cells. Looking over himself, he saw what Xavius had done, cloaking the both of them, and nodded as he looked to the cell. It looked similar to the usual imperial cell, but of course cosmetically different and larger. But, being as fragile as the imperial cells were on the Outside of the cell, Prazutis had an idea.

Looking over the ray shield over the cell, Prazutis looked above to the structure hanging from the ceiling that secured the barrier on the outside of the cell.

Reaching out and concentrating, Prazutis gripped the top of the cell, slowly spinning it and pushing it backwards.

The slight shake from the spinning of the top loosened it, and as Prazutis focused, strained his reach within he force, the groaning of metal and slight popping that was evident that something was wrong with the above structure.

Finally, Prazutis gave one good telekinetic push to the structure before it popped off its bolts, disrupting the barrier and dropping it.

Prazutis held the structure as long as those within the cell were below it, ready to drop it as soon as they got out. Once they were past the edge of the cell, Prazutis would turn his attention to the guards.

[Professor Mors]

Doren had barely blinked before his two more imposing associates vanished from view- literally. The Captain rubbed his eyes to confirm this fact, and would have given himself over to momentary despair were it not for the more mystical company he kept. Of course, it had taken all of his willpower now to leap for joy as soon as the Grand Inquisitor appeared before them. Now however, it seemed that a distraction would soon be necessary. Indeed, the shadowy pair were hardly working quietly. Looking about for a solution, Vassyl’s gaze alighted on a sizable table a modest distance from the main holding cells. Tugging off one of his gloves, the incognito Imperial offered an awkward whistle as an assortment of heads turned his way.

“H’chu apenkee My Friends! Gather round, one and all!”, the Captain started with all the bravado he could muster, his boot thunking down onto one of two benches as he propped an elbow onto his thigh, “Who here is feeling lucky? I have with me- a perfect fire ruby, mined by hand on Lothal”. Doren produced a small, but intensely luminous gem and propped it between two fingers, its red glow drawing an even larger crowd from further down the corridor, “The game is Hintaro- the first to three wins will leave here with this little number, and may good fortune follow them!”. Fishing out a collapsible holodisplay from his tunic, the Captain set about digitally rendering the playing field, before dropping a multitude of shimmering dice off to the side.

They were, of course, weighted, but to such a slight degree it would serve only those that knew where and how. Indistinct from his normal iris, the Jaeman had applied a clear lens over his right eye, which altered his ultraviolet feed just enough to discern the hidden markings scrawled onto the various dice. Of course, Doren was not a proponent of cheating, and he would happily hand off the crimson stone without much hesitation. It was, after all, artificially grown- not that anyone of this crowd would have the knowledge or sense to double check that fact. As a small circle of eager gamblers began to form around the disguised officer, he smirked wryly and floated an eye over to where his companions had disappeared. With any luck, the furor of the moment would mask their actions.

[Lady Kota]

Alarms broke out as the cell broke. "Fantastic, I assume you have the key for these (shows the cuffs) or our weapons." She said. There was a lot of explaining that needed to be done. She eyed Neive, she didn't know who the hell he was or why he was with the commander or why Xavius was here. His hate of the Empire ran deep, nothing made sense.

"You got an interesting rescue party, ill prepared, uninformed, and unique. Never pictured you for the one to take aid from an Imperial." Fett whispered to her. "You know you're getting their aid to by proxy." She whispered back. Both of them were still without the force with the cuffs on and had no weapons.

[Xavius Bain]

Maintaining the illusion took a great deal of concentration and focus, and the Shadow Lord monitored his companion through the white current. Definitely not the quietest method, but effective nonetheless. After the two were outside of the cell, the structure came down and Xavius dropped the illusion entirely.

The guard presence still seemed low, likely because of Dorren’s clever distraction, despite the crash of the pillar. There was however one guard who seemed to have watched the whole thing transpire. He stood, evidently dumbfounded at first while his own hazel eyes locked into the crippling black eyes of the Shadow lord the way a mouse would stare into the eyes of a snake. A matter of seconds seemed like an eternity for the guard, but his fingers twitched towards his comm, his desperate last act. The Shadow Lord’s saber leapt into the man’s throat, cleanly silencing the man and his hazel eyes rolled back into his head. The saber soldered the man’s windpipe with incredible precision as fast as the man took to reach for his comm. No blood, no noise except for the quick activation and deactivation of the saber that found itself back on Xavius’s belt, and the thud of the guard’s lifeless body as the only partially attatched head smacked the floor.

Despite this, alarms had been activated due to the current lack of structural integrity for the cell. There was no time to answer questions. They needed to leave as quickly as possible.

“Lets move.”