Feshr Spaceport, Shedu Maad; 44 ABY
The plan had been organized quickly and with the thoroughness that one could expect from Jedi Masters. Jedi had been arrayed around the port to give the impression they were in a general search, but those were the apprentices. The Knights and Masters were deployed into the multi-level docking compound. Corran Horn, with his CorSec training, had selected the most obvious target vessels and a Knight had been stationed nearby each.
As Corran was frustrated to discover, the main private docks at Feshr were actually run by a private company, not of Hapan origin. As such, it had taken them far too much time to be granted access to the hanger, as they had been initially refused. It was only after the facility's director, a particularly intractable Nautolan, had gotten a personal call from the Queen Mother's palace, and a not-so-subtle threat of pulling their licensing, that the Jedi were given free reign.
Once inside, the situation had only gotten worse. Deep in Hapan territory, Shedu Maad often catered to the wealthy, and more often than not, those same people didn't know the first thing about securing a ship. Glancing around the cordoned off slots, Corran could count a dozen ships, all luxury liners, that were just begging to be stolen. Ordering his group of knights to fan out, Corran started running through the list of ships, giving them a ranking of how likely they were to catch Ben or Vestara's attention.
The obvious problem with this came down to Ben. Corran knew the kid had served in the GAG, and that meant he had similar training, though lacked the older Jedi's experience. Ben's training, and the knowledge that the Jedi knew him, would inevitably affect his decisions. Not only that, but if Ben were determined to avoid being tracked, he could use a few of the in-system yachts, like that scarred Jemlaat in the corner to hop over to a different planet, one where the Jedi presence was practically nil to steal yet another ship to escape on. The Sith girl no doubt knew ship models, but Ben's knowledge of the Jedi and law enforcement would dictate the ship they'd target.
There were a few Baudo-class yachts scattered among the haulers and more elite ships. They were common out here, and that level of anonymity would be attractive. There really wasn't any reason why they wouldn't be well-suited for an escape, they did have good atmosphere speeds. After thinking about the practicality, Corran assigned a couple Knights to watch the four ships in shifts. Ben most likely would know how obvious the choice would be and therefore expect the Jedi to anticipate him
The next down the line was an antique 1550-LEX, and Corran immediately placed it high on the list. It had one of the better hyperdrives on the floor, and would mean a quick getaway. At just over thirty meters in length, it was also small, a plus for a run. He decided that this would be his station. Ben may expect it, but the usefulness of a ship like this may outweigh his caution.
So on and so forth, the Jedi Master noted the model of the ship and decided if it was worth guarding. It had all been finished in less than an hour. Taking his place beside the 1550-LEX, there was only one more thing to do: wait. And hope his experience could trump whatever Ben and the girl tried.
Getting Ben a mask of his own was simple enough, and they now looked even more alike in their matching face coverings. By then, night had fallen on the tiny port and they came up against an unexpected problem. The commercial transports were requiring more strenuous identification checks than they would normally, a good sign the Jedi were on to them. Neither of them had anything they could use to get by the checks. Ben certainly couldn't use his own, Vestara didn't even have one, and they wouldn't be able to get forgeries fast enough to pass the confirmation check. It seemed Vestara's contingency would be their only hope to get off the planet before the Jedi could bring in the Hapan military to ground everything. At that point, it would take far too long to get anywhere, Abeloth could have done any number of things in that extra time.
So, with larceny on their minds, they snuck into the private docking bay of Feshr, and immediately knew something was wrong. Vestara could feel them, tiny lights in the Force, scattered in and amongst the ships, waiting for them. There were other pilots and mechanics, but they were dull bulbs next to neon signs of intent. "Ben," she whispered, "What are we going to do?"
Ben pressed his lips together in thought. It wasn't good. He was still wounded and there was at least one Master out there along with a dozen Jedi Knights, Vestara couldn't take them all down alone. At least not, if they were to do as he wanted, and avoid killing anyone. "We need a plan," he said at last. "Let's pick a ship first and then see what we need to do to get it."
They, much in the same way Corran Horn had done, went through the basic properties of all the ships they could see from their perch near the hanger ceiling rails. "What about that one?" Vestara asked, pointing at a Personal Luxury Yacht 3000.
"A good ship, but my Mom flew one a long time ago, they might think I'd pick one of those for sentimental reasons. Just be happy there isn't one like the Jade Shadow in here, that one would be crawling with Jedi." Ben stopped after he said that, it had just donned on him that he was now talking about the Jedi as if they were some other, not as one of their own. When did that happen?
"Coruscant to Ben, you there?"
"What did you say?"
"I just asked if you were serious about the Shadow thing, is something wrong?"
Shaking out his thought train, Ben waved it off. "It's nothing." But I'll need to come back to that once this is all over, he added silently. As they were both hiding themselves from the Jedi, Vestara didn't pick up on the words or sentiment, which was probably best.
"Then what about that one?" Vestara pointed to a Luxury 5000 in the back. One of the larger ships in the bay, it wasn't practical for a couple of reasons, size being one of them, as they were only two. It did, however, have some draws, it wouldn't be one the Jedi would consider, Ben wouldn't have himself if Vestara had not pointed it out, he had been looking at the 1550-LEX near the hanger exit.
"Nice taste," Ben mumbled.
"I've got standards, you know."
"Don't I know it. Come on, we have work to do."
Waiting, Corran knew, was the hardest part of a chase. It didn't matter if they were criminals, convicts, or escapees, having to sit around and do nothing, hoping that the targets came to you, was the pinnacle of good police work. He and his Jedi team had been in place for a solid three hours, with no end in sight. There was every possibility that those two had decided to take the safe route and make for another spaceport, but Corran trusted Cilghal's intuition here. She and Master Skywalker had spent the most time with Ben and the girl once they'd woken, so would know what their mindset was.
"Hey! What the haja are you doing on my ship? Someone get me security!"
Corran instantly looked over in the direction the yell had come from. It was over where some of the larger, more expensive yachts were berthed. Ben had apparently decided that early stealth was worth more than speed on the escape. He pulled out his comlink and called out to the other Jedi. "We have them, converge on the west side of the hanger."
They moved quickly and quietly, shadows over the grease-stained floor and arrived at the H-type Nubian in seconds. Corran looked on, confused, as he took in the scene. A younger man, presumably the owner, was standing on the ramp and pointing at a group of fuzzy tree sloths, commonly found in the forests in this region. The events clicked and Corran wished he could slam his head against a hard surface. He'd been so stupid, it was a diversion! "Fan out, they're here somewhere and wanted us here. Look for any ship powering up and stop it at all costs."
The Jedi Master unclipped his saber and made his way to the upper levels. He needed to be able to move fast when they struck. They obviously knew the Jedi were here, so revealing himself was a calculated risk. He needed to trust the Jedi Knights below to sound the alarm when they found the pair.
As plans went, it was simple and effective. No one could really hope for any better than that. Once all the Jedi had converged, Ben and Vestara observed from their ceiling view and counted how many they would need to go up against to get out. All were good Jedi Knights, but none of them would be a match for either he or Ves. The problem was the Master. Corran Horn was going to be a tough opponent, and perfectly suited to the mission.
Vestara nudged Ben's shoulder and pointed to a lone figure climbing to an observation point a few meters below them, it was Corran Horn. No doubt deciding to play reinforcement for the Knights, this offered a unique chance to take out the real threat before any of the other Jedi could come in and tip the scales out of their favor. "How do you propose we do this?" Ben asked.
Vestara considered it. "I'll distract him, you need get in and power up the ship so we can get out as fast as we can."
Seeing the logic, he was, after all, still injured, Ben gave a confirmation gesture and started to make his way down. Before he left the platform, he turned back and placed a hand on her arm. She would be alone in this, he wouldn't be there to curb her like he had with Seha. "Don't kill him, Ves, you're better than that."
She looked away and nodded. "Fine, but I can't promise he won't get hurt."
Ben had his fair share of experience sneaking around places. The GAG and time as a Jedi gave him enough stealth training to get by very well. Getting to the Luxury 5000 yacht, apparently named Rook, had been a piece of cake. The hard part was the timing.
Vestara needed to distract everyone for a few seconds, just long enough so that no one would see or hear the ship start to power up. Once that was done, an elite ship like this was ready to go. He'd already checked everything he could without powering it up. When he was ready to begin, he'd briefly reached out to Ves and she started.
She struck with precise speed and accuracy. Corran had barely felt a flicker before seeing the flash of green and bringing his silver saber up to block. He'd not expected an attack, but a Jedi was never unprepared. He caught the strike and spun out a roundhouse kick. He'd heard from Octa Ramis how powerful Ben and Vestara had become and took no chances. Flicking his saber to its second phase, the blade shot out and burned purple. The Sith girl hadn't known about the properties of his lightsaber. It lanced at her shoulder, and only a fast combination of turning and ducking spared her a severed arm and decapitated head.
Her shades and mask had been removed beforehand, though the Jedi Master couldn't have known that. He did wonder how they had gotten so far without drawing more attention. Such thoughts didn't affect his technique, so he pushed the offensive. Vestara stumbled back, unused to dealing with an opponent who had such a range. She decided to use her own range attack and conjured an electric wave of lightning. Corran, having an affinity for energy manipulation turned the Sith's attack to a wave of heat to ripple the grate flooring, something he couldn't do without an infusion of power, lacking in basic telekinetic abilities.
The Jedi Knights were coming now, though the battle had lasted only seconds up until this point. They sped through the ships to aid the Jedi Master. Corran suspected he knew what the reason for this attack was, but had no way of telling the other Jedi without leaving himself open.
Upon seeing the Jedi Master not only negate her attack with ease, but use it to power one of his own, Vestara knew she needed to switch tactics. He had better range, was even a better swordsman, though she would never admit that out loud, but she had raw power on her side. Conversion was well and good, but it required a medium to change it. She flicked her tentacle like a whip and hit the Jedi with a telekinetic blast.
The girl was smart. She'd adapted quickly to his abilities and somehow guessed his weakness. Having no way to defend himself from such a powerful kinetic barrage, he went with it and flipped over the railing and slid down to a lower level. He looked up in time to see Vestara launch herself out into the main hanger bay and knew he was right. Corran pulled out his comlink. "It's another distraction, she's headed to their ship!"
Jumping down to the next level, though Corran had to do that without the kind of buffering most Jedi would employ, he knew he wouldn't make it in time. If she was making a break for it, they were ready to go. He could have gotten out there in time for any of the ships being powered up, but the distraction of the attack drew all their focus. Everything was now on the Knights out there.
Vestara sailed over a small hauler and landed atop one of the smaller yachts they'd decided against. She bounded from hull to hull, making her way to the ship they'd selected. The Jedi Knights were closing in, so she needed to clear the way. As she went along, she started drawing massive amounts of kinetic energy to her and did something she would never have been able to manage before the Font: she started toppling ships.
They all had landing struts, but with enough forces, those bent and buckled and the ships fell. Chaos ensured. The Jedi Knights were forced to choose between protecting the people from being injured or killed by the falling ships and going after Vestara. It really wasn't a fair choice, there really wasn't a right answer, she knew, and that was why it was so effective. Some Jedi stayed on her, but most went for the civilians.
She saw the yacht take off, boarding ramp still lowered for her and put some more speed into her run. Just before the last chasm, Vestara sent another blast of energy at the Jedi still after her, knocking them back in mid-run. Her feet touched the hard plasteel ramp and sent a mental ping to Ben in the pilot seat. Go.
Corran watched as the ship shot out of the bay, already dialing in the Temple's code. "I need a StealthX patrol here now. Ben and Vestara just escaped in a Luxury 5000 starship."
"Acknowledged, Master Horn, squadron is on its way."
Author's Note: I've got to be honest, I'm always worried I write some scenes without enough thought into the actions of each side. I've read quite a few stories out there that could be summed up by one word: contrived. I never want to fall into that category. I am genuinely curious as to how you think I did here. I tried to have both sides try to think about and plan for what the other is going to do.
On a side note, all the ship classes I mentioned do actually exist. If you are interested in seeing a picture of the kind of ship they ended up stealing, head over to Wookieepedia and search for 'Luxury 5000.' You'll notice I was actually pretty nice on the amenities.
