Jedi Bait
Gavyn felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Tyro's excursion was going sour, he knew it. Gavyn's eyes drifted away from the patient in front of him, as the feeling became overwhelming. The boy was in danger. The last sense that Gavyn got felt almost like a warning, before the connection between them just turned into a dull throb.
Edgy, and defensive, Gavyn spun quickly to face movement he sensed behind him. His hand was on the hilt of his lightsaber before he realized that it was a couple of EMTs running in his direction, not more terrorists. He did not lower his guard a fraction, however.
"I trust you can take it from here." He told them quickly. It wasn't a question. "I need to find the boy."
Two of the EMTs looked at each other, surprised, but the quickest chimed in before Gavyn dashed off. "Some of those terrorists have him hostage at the clinic."
Gavyn nodded curtly, and began running in the direction of the clinic, but he didn't feel confident about it. Something inside him nagged at him, telling him that he was running the wrong way. Gavyn slowed down to a stop, brows furrowed in agitation. His instincts and his observation were conflicted, but a wrong choice could mean Tyro getting hurt - or worse. Taking a deep breath, Gavyn realized in a moment that he hadn't felt a connection like this through the Force in years. He had to follow his instincts.
Following Tyro through the Force was still not an easy task, he wasn't aware of where exactly Tyro was like the clone's holomaps. It felt like guesswork at times, as Gavyn came to winding intersections, and simply trusted himself to pick the right path. The one thing he was certain about, however, was that he was catching up. I'm on my way, Tyro.
Groggily, Tyro felt consciousness returning. He didn't open his eyes yet though, instead relying on his other senses and the force. His body was sore and very stiff, but he wasn't badly wounded and the stun was wearing off. Remembering what had happened, he resisted the urge in his muscles to move and stretch, that would have to wait until he could tell where he was. He felt a smooth, cold, duracrete floor beneath him, his cheek pressed against it. He was inside, and hearing no motorized hum, he felt a relief wash over him, his captors hadn't loaded him onto some ship. It smelled of oil, machinery, manufacture, though it was only an essence, nothing fresh, as though this was an old factory. The weight and chill of heavy metal pinned down his wrists, positioned uncomfortably behind him. That was right, the stun cuffs. He was suddenly very glad in his decision not to move. The first rule of stun cuffs was to not struggle in them, they had their name for a reason.
These were a good model. Top of the line, very advanced, likely military tech, but most importantly, computerized. And that there was where Tyro had them. Tyro probed into the machinery with the force. He usually didn't need it to work with tech, but it seemed to always make things more clear to him. Perhaps it was why understanding computers had always been so second nature to him. Opening them would be simple, at least for him, but he had to make sure of something first.
He could hear no one immediately nearby and cautiously he opened his eyes. Yep, large factory warehouse, he was right about that. What he hadn't been expecting were the battle droids. They lined the walls in rows, many droids deep. And not just the small kind either, these were the large B2s like the man had had in the market today. Suddenly it was no surprise where he had found the thing.
Footsteps echoed down the hall from a room to the side, faint voices. If he was going to get out of these cuffs he had better do it fast. In less than a second he heard the faint mechanical whir as the cuffs loosened around his wrists. It was not a moment too soon. Quickly Tyro closed his eyes again, leaving the cuffs where they lay around his wrists, loosely holding the edges of them in his fingers to ensure they did not slip off just yet.
"Sir, is it supposed to take this long? Perhaps it won't work with this one."
"Give it some more time." The voices were close now, Tyro could hear the footsteps only a few meters from his head. "Once he's awake we can try something else. Did you know when they're like this they can feel eachother's pain?"
No. Gavyn. Tyro suddenly remembered. It was something he would have never considered a problem before, but he had the sinking feeling that it would be now. Considering the few times he had found himself in a situation like this with his former master, he had managed on his own just fine, without this disadvantage. He wasn't even the Gavyn's Padawan, nor could he be, so why the force had chosen now to do this he could only fathom. He would be fine, he didn't need the man's help. He already had the binders off, he just needed a good opportunity to make a run for it.
Experimentally Tyro pushed in the direction of the force that he had felt Gavyn in earlier. Assurance and urgency met him in return, both distinctly Gavyn's. Crap. Tyro pulled back quickly, but the damage was done. He had no experience with this kind of thing and had no idea how to shut it out. Turning off his access to the force, any part of it, was something he had never even considered doing before. Desperately his mind started running through possible solutions, but he could not think what would work.
Suddenly a boot roughly connected with his side, kicking him roughly over onto his back. It took all of Tyro's discipline to stay still and not guard himself against the kick or cry out. It wasn't enough though to keep his body from flopping limply as he landed supine. "Stun's wearing off. Better get him where you want him now."
No, was all that ran through Tyro's head as someone roughly grabbed him by the hair, lifting him. No no no… Mercifully someone else picked up his legs. They walked only a short distance before he was dropped into the cold metal frame of a chair. The air sounded different here. A small room perhaps.
"Do what you have to, we only need the the one," The voice of the leader commanded. "Just don't kill him before we have the other one."
"Yessir. Understood, Commander." Footsteps. A heavy metal door slammed shut. "Looks like it's just us two then." Tyro could taste the breath of the man he was so close. "Just as soon as you wake up." Those final words strengthened his resolve to not flinch as he felt the tip of a vibroblade trace down the side of his face, drawing a thin line of pain. His only chance was to feign unconsciousness, but he was beginning to wonder how much longer that would last. Perhaps he wasn't going to be able to do this on his own after all.
After what felt like endless searching Gavyn finally pinpointed the old factory that the terrorists were keeping Tyro in. He had circled the block twice, to scout the area, and to be sure. There were a lot of similar factories in various degrees of disrepair lining this quarter. The planet seemed to have more or less abandoned manufacturing in lieu of distribution. Luckily, in his rounds, Gavyn only spotted one sentry outside. For people trying to start a war, they clearly were accustomed to the peaceful nature of the citizens.
Gavyn was not a stealthy man, but he did know a couple of things about tactics, and Tyro's presence in his mind continue to urge him to stay cautious. This was undoubtedly a trap. He kept an eye on the guard, as he ducked behind a stack of shipping crates. Using the Force to help him find footing, he climbed up to the top and peered over the edge. The guard was still leaning against the door.
Reaching out with the force, he opened the doors of the shipping crate on the bottom, screeching and groaning. Good. Gavyn thought, as the guard started walking in his direction, curious about the noise. As the guard peered into the crate, Gavyn sprung from his perch and landed a swift kick to the sentry's jaw. He was out cold before jedi landed on the ground.
Gavyn pulled the sentry into the shipping crate. There seemed to be several empty boxes of munitions and spare parts for battle droids, for which Gavyn breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing he had trusted his instincts and the Force after all. This was clearly the terrorist's base of operations.
When Gavyn emerged from the shipping crate, he was sporting the miscellaneous military gear that previously had belonged to the sentry. Ace would have been disappointed with such improper equipment, but Gavyn was thankful that the terrorist had torn sleeves off his flak jacket, because it hardly fit over his barrel chest already. Gavyn brushed his hair back and pulled the helmet over his head. It was stuffy, and the mask was filthy. Ace would also be disappointed, but he didn't need to worry about obscuring his face when he looked like millions of his brothers. Finally, Gavyn slung the rifle over his shoulder and strapped the guard's wrist comlink to his arm. Any enemy's communicator was one of the best weapons that one could have.
The actual best weapon one could have was a lightsaber, of course. Gavyn tucked his into a pocket on his leg.
The inside of the factory was huge. Massive machinery and belts strung from wall to wall. There were quite a few extremists here, polishing weapons or eating. None of them paid Gavyn any mind. Along the back wall there seemed to be offices and rooms overlooking the plant, and Gavyn followed his feeling to check there first.
He ducked inside a corridor. Whatever paint had been on the walls was almost indistinguishable past the chipping duracrete and faded color. There was one guard standing outside a thick metal door. That had to be it. Gavyn walked up confidently. "You're relieved, soldier."
"What?" He asked back. Gavyn grimaced under his mask. That was far too formal, he had been around professional soldiers for too long.
"I'm taking your post." He grunted. "You're on break." That seemed to light him up, and the guard walked off. Gavyn could feel Tyro clearly behind the door. He reached out. I'm here. You're going to get out. Slowly, Gavyn opened the door. He didn't say anything, instead, he stood soldier like, as though he were just assigned as some kind of bodygaurd. He quickly looked over Tyro. He didn't seem hurt, and he could sense that the boy was not unconscious as he appeared.
Tyro struggled to keep his breathing even, but he could feel the malintent rolling off the man in waves. The eagerness behind it was unsettling and while Tyro's mind was racing through ideas, he could figure no good way out of this. The man was too close, too armed, too ready to hurt, to kill. He just had to stay calm, to wait. Even that small task became more difficult by the second. The force would guide him, he just had to trust it.
No sooner had he reminded himself that than he felt a wave of reassurance; Gavyn's reassurance. Gavyn was here. Relief washed over him, then dread, then he let it all go and focused. He heard the door creak open, felt the man in front of him back away. "Close the door you idiot!" Now was his chance.
Tyro's eyes shot open, taking the room around him in in an instant. Small. Desk. Chair. Knives. Cabinets. Instantly he was on his feet, leaping backwards. In the same motion he flipped off the stun cuffs into one hand, ripping the vibroblade from the hand of the man that would have been his torturer. Taking advantage of the man's surprise Tyro instantly leapt forward, grabbing a current in the force, kicking him solidly to the ground before either he, nor who he was sure was Gavyn at the door, thought to move. Quickly Tyro slapped the stun cuffs around the man's wrists before jumping back, ready if man was to try anything again.
He held the vibroblade firmly in his hand just in case, but thankfully there was no need, the man was out cold. Tyro took a few more steps back, dropping the vibroblade before looking over to the helmeted figure of Gavyn at the door.
"No. Go. Get out of here. You can't be here. You need to go." Tyro stopped, breathing heavily, heart racing. He could no longer keep his calm facade. He backed further away from the man lying cuffed on the floor until his back was safely pressed against the wall. "Shit, man. He was gonna…" Tyro absently ran his hand down the cut on his cheek, staring at the blood now on his fingers. "Just...shit."
Gavyn bent down and picked up the vibroblade from the ground. He flipped it over and thrust the hilt into Tyro's hand. "There is still a chance of that if we don't get out of here." Gavyn warned. He was not going to leave without Tyro, even if his rescue was bait in a trap. Gavyn could not let this kid get hurt on his behalf, and the terrorists here did not scare him. After facing down armies of thousands, it became disturbing what stopped being scary.
Quickly checking the hallway first, Gavyn hurried down the corridor, beckoning Tyro to follow. He led the boy towards the edge of the factory complex before crossing the open manufacturing area, out of the way of most of the terrorists. But that was when the comlink activated.
The prisoner is gone! He took out the commander!
Voice chirped up all around the complex, as the extremists dropped their bread and picked up their blasters. "Find him!" "Split up!" "I'll fucking kill him!"
Gavyn's throat tightened, and he looked behind him to see how Tyro was holding up.
Tyro pressed himself against the wall, looking out as he heard the transmission over Gavyn's comlink. He couldn't bring himself to follow Gavyn onto the open factory floor where he had woken up only a bit earlier. Perhaps he was giving into his fears, but a sinking feeling kept him pinned here, right before the entrance against the wall. He swallowed, his mouth dry, turning the vibroblade over in his hand, getting a feel for it. It was a good blade, nicely weighted, and he wasn't bad with a knife, but it wasn't a lightsaber, it could never be. They would find a way out of this, he always did, and after the kinds of missions he ran with his former master, and even just being around the undercity of Coruscant enough, this kind of danger was not uncommon, but there was so much hatred in these men. So much senseless violence. He was used to dealing with more meticulous people, and even that subtle difference was enough to throw him off, to send tendrils of unease crawling through his blood.
"Activate the B2s!" Someone commanded over the comm. Tyro looked up sharply at the sound of machinery beginning to come to life. Quickly he found Gavyn. The Jedi was already out in the open room. He caught Gavyn's eye and motioned sharply, rolling back around the wall, out of sight of the droids. The only thing that separated them from them now was the wall he had his back to, and that was not going to last.
The hallway to his left seemed clear enough so he ran, hoping to put as much distance between him and those droids as possible.
"Target located in West Hallway," crackled over the comm. Keeping his pace, Tyro turned to look sharply back at Gavyn. They had been spotted. He turned sharply to the right, looking around, listening, sensing outwards with the force, but he could see no security cameras, feel no one nearby enough to see them.
"Target has moved to corridor H-5." How the hell? He rounded the corner again only to be met with a dead end. He didn't even stop to consider anything else, there was no time. Instantly he leapt towards the ceiling, tossing the grate in the vent above aside with the force. Catching the edge he crawled inside, pausing only long enough to ensure that the larger Jedi was still behind him, thankful that a factory like this necessitated such large ventilation tubing. The man fit, if only barely. He realized then he wasn't working with the man as he should be, running like this, but somewhere between desperation and instinct pushed him on.
They had only crawled a few meters before the comm sounded again. "Ventilation shaft B." At that Tyro stopped. He needed to think. "How in the hell do they…." he muttered under his breath. "Unless…" He closed his eyes, taking a deep calming breath, shutting out everything else. It had to be….
Quickly Tyro ripped off his jacket, feeling along the lining. In less than a second he located a small chip near the collar. So that was how they were tracking him. "Rotten little bugger," he cursed the device under his breath as he held it up so Gavyn could see. "Can't believe I didn't think of that first." He looked around, they didn't have much time.
Tyro looked up at a slight twinge in the force. Up ahead something scurried. There was definitely something more than just them up in these shafts. Moving swiftly he crawled towards it, trying his best not to scare what he could now make out as a rat-like creature, he clipped the tiny device to one of the spines along its back. It squeaked at him before scampering quickly away down the tubing.
"That should throw them off," Tyro muttered, sitting back, trying to catch his breath. "Where to now?"
"Out of here. As soon as possible." Gavyn answered gruffly. Not only would there be the entire complex swarming the ventilation any minute looking for that rat, Gavyn was getting claustrophobic in ventilation that his shoulders hardly cleared.
Gavyn still had a pretty good idea about where they were, and where the front of the factory was. "This way." He said, turning around in the vent and crawling as fast as he could without bumping his head on an I-beam. Finally, he cut through a ventilation grate, dropping into the hallway below - in view of the door. A disturbance in the Force rocked Gavyn, and he stopped before dashing through the door, and taking cover around the corner. He put out an arm to stop Tyro, and pulled him behind cover as well. In a moment, a number of extremists and droids ran by, but did not turn in their direction. Most of them ran right past, but one of the B2s lingered behind, examining the doorway.
Gavyn slowly reached into his pocket for his lightsaber. He charged through the door, swinging down the lightsaber towards the droid. The droid was fast however, spinning around to knock Gavyn's arm aside, then punching him hard in the chest. Flying back through the door he had just left, Gavyn landed on the ground in a heap.
Tyro winced as he felt Gavyn hit the floor, but held his ground. As much as he needed to help the man now before something worse happened, it would be beyond stupid to rush a super battle droid without a lightsaber. His mind raced through solutions as the droid wound up for its next attack. That thing had to be at least twice his size and heavily armored. Normally he'd try and hack it but he didn't have a data pad on him, and there was no way he would get close enough to get to its wiring.
There was one quick, clear solution. In the fraction of a moment it took Tyro to ration out his plan, the droid had focused its sights on the Jedi Master, charging up a blast. Immediately Tyro grabbed hold of the force, throwing around the leg of the droid like a lasso, ripping it out from under it. The droid landed with a loud clang, its shot misfiring down the hallway. It was sloppy, but it got the job done. "Gavyn!" Tyro called out in concern.
Gavyn pulled himself to his feet. Picking his lightsaber up from the ground and charging back towards the droid in one movement. He swung the blade down as he lept at the prone droid. It caught his arm in it's crushing, cold grasp before the lightsaber could cut through it's metal skull. They were shaking with the effort to maintain the stalemate, Gavyn grimacing against the pain as the droid's claws dug deeper into his flesh.
"Go! Quickly!" Gavyn called out to Tyro. He had the droid trapped in a grapple, it was Tyro's perfect opportunity get out and get the authorities.
Tyro wanted to protest, but with only the small knife he might as well been unarmed, and there were far more than just one droid in this factory. The solution he could feel Gavyn urging him towards was right. That still wasn't going to stop him from giving it another chance while he still could.
Peeking around the corner he judged the distance between his current location and the door once more. That was a long hallway, but the coast was clear. It was now or never. Tyro leapt from his spot, grabbing onto the arm of the giant droid with the force. He yanked it back, trying to get it to let go of the Jedi but its grip was strong, and it only pulled Gavyn back with it.
Immediately Tyro let go. He was going to have to trust the Jedi Master on this one. Swallowing his emotions, Tyro turned and ran down the hallway. Leaving Gavyn here was terrible, it was what they wanted, but this was the best way he could help him now. Perhaps he had to leave physically, but they still had the force. Tyro felt comforted in that for the first time since he had felt it. I'm not leaving you, he assured the master.
And then he was out the door and into the light of the late afternoon. It didn't take him long to realize, he had no idea where he was. Too late did he notice the three Super Battle Droids round the corner. Tyro charged, it was his only hope. If he could just make it past them in time…It was not to be. He dodged to the left, narrowly missing the swing from one giant fist as it sped towards him only to end up in the path of another. Cold hard metal threw him painfully into the air. Cushioning the blow as much as he could with the force, he landed, dazed, a few meters away. His mind was racing, pushing him to get up and run again, but his body was slow to obey. Before he could move again large hands reached out, pinning him to the ground. He struggled against the firm grip, but the more he moved, the tighter the droid held. Well, on the positive side, at least it didn't shoot me, Tyro thought with a bitter grimace.
Gavyn could feel Tyro's sentiment through the Force. I'll be right behind you, he assured. However, he couldn't hold the droid back much longer. Gavyn shifted his position, and gathered his strength to push back with all of his might. His blue blade sizzled slowly through the armor plating on the droid's head until it's movement sputtered to a stop. Even without the motors running, it was a weighty piece of equipment. Gavyn heaved it off of him, and pulled himself to his feet.
A sudden disturbance nearly sent Gavyn staggering. He bolted outside, in time to see a droid pin Tyro to the ground. Two more, stepping towards the boy, rounded their blasters at Gavyn instead. They fired a barrage at the Jedi, but he deftly reflected the bolts back at the droids as he charged forward. He punched his lightsaber under the arm of the final droid, hearing the whirring grind to a stop before he kicked the droid sideways off of Tyro.
He didn't have to ask if Tyro was okay… Gavyn already knew it. "Follow me." He urged Tyro, as Gavyn ran back towards town.
Tyro nodded, quickly picking himself up and ran after Gavyn, amazed at how the man had just taken out three...presumably four droids in less than a minute. The Jedi was surprisingly fast despite his bulk. "Er...is it okay to just leave? That was a lot of droids, what if they chase us into town or something?"
"We'll leave them to the local authorities." Gavyn answered honestly, without a shred of agenda or trying to slip from his duties. After all, it wasn't a Jedi's job to be a police force. If they regrouped then it would still fall on the locals to take care of the problem, and then they would only be left with less experience and information about the operation. "You're safe. We escaped. The next step is to report the incident." He advised as he slowed his pace, now that the old factory was out of sight beyond criss-crossing roads and buildings.
"This shouldn't be about me," Tyro said quietly after catching his breath. "Those guys...they're screwed up. On the train yesterday. How they could just kill... And today...they're going to do it again. How can we just leave and...trust someone else to do it instead?" There had to be something else they could or should do. He looked back hesitantly.
It was not difficult for Gavyn to remember the days that he thought a pair of heroic Jedi knights could accomplish anything. He had seen a lot since then, and realized that teams of trained professionals could accomplish a lot more- it was not a Jedi's role to enforce the law. "It is a Jedi's duty to mediate conflict, offer guidance, and to be a leader when necessary. The police force will be more than capable of arresting these extremists, and unlike us they will be able to try them in accordance to local laws." He raised an eyebrow at Tyro. "And I thought you were a farmer, anyway."
"I am," Tyro agreed quickly. "I just...It's our duty here to help where we can to rebuild, and...perhaps I was getting carried away with that. I'd best stick to the plants, or computers and machinery I suppose; don't remember the last time I touched a plant since they figured I was better at all that other stuff." Tyro trailed off as he followed behind Gavyn, noticing the market stalls in the distance.
Gavyn wondered if Tyro could hear himself. He did not talk like an Agricorps Jedi, he talked like a knight. A passing security officer, however, caught Gavyn's attention. "Hold on a moment." He told Tyro. He broke away to explain the situation to the officer. After a moment, he simply gave Gavyn his walkie-talkie, and Gavyn spoke directly to the station.
Relaying information about the setup, Gavyn did not leave a single detail unturned, recounting the misadventure with military precision. He was concerned about the sheer number of military-grade battle droids, so Gavyn recommended they clear the place out with some EMPs before advancing.
After offering to hand back the communicator, the officer declined, insisting that Gavyn should hold onto it before he hurried off. The sirens were already popping up all around town. The Jedi master turned back to Tyro.
"You ought to get back to Agricorps." He suggested.
Tyro nodded. Now the officials were on it, there really wasn't much more he could do. He was a bit embarrassed he had suggested going back earlier. The Jedi had just risked everything to get him out safely.
He looked away, noting the dimming light. It was now late in the day and he still hadn't done his errands, or as his churning stomach reminded him, eaten breakfast. Deciding that it would be nothing short of awkward to say goodbye for the third time in a day, Tyro simply nodded again.
