Joran raises an eyebrow. "If this kidnapping ends up being the spark that ignites a gang war, we might get chewed out regardless of whether or not the girl is safe."
"Speed is of the essence, I agree. We have lost too much time already".
Hugo allows Jal the liberty to decide how best to obtain a transport down here, the Sit... er Jedi is out of his element in this place.
My element it seems is combat and operations else I feel lost...
Hugo shakes off that thought and turns to Alaric whispering, "The Dark Side presence we felt was in another location, perhaps these two matters are not linked or this practitioner uses these thugs as proxies. Do we investigate that presence or stay with the main group?"
Joran looks at Jal and says, "We need something big enough for all of us - and lets try to avoid doing any damage to it."
"Give me five minutes." Jal reaches inside his coat for a few of his tools. "I'll find us something fast and maneuverable, just in case they decide to give us a chance."
"So," Callum comments in a conversational tone, albeit with a hint of disapproval, "we are stealing a vehicle. We are actually doing that. Or should I think of it as commandeering?"
"Commandeering. Especially since the vehicle will either be returned or the owner compensated. It isn't the first time I've done something like this."
"Does it matter? The effect is the same we get the transport we need to save a life, albeit the life of a very careless young person but a life nontheless".
With only some hesitation, the SOE team decides that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission, and Jal looks around the area for a speeder to boost. He finds a vehicle that will do the trick and doesn't have anyone immediately around, and within a few minutes he's back to the team and ready to go. The speeder isn't large or luxurious by any standards--finding something like that in this neighborhood is unlikely, considering most have already been stolen--but it fits the team and Tal Passik, and it fits into the Undercity well enough to not draw too much attention.
The trip to the warehouse is fairly uneventful, if a tad depressing for those unused to the dark and dirt of Coruscant's slums. Where there aren't glowing signs inviting people in to burn out their credits on vices, there's grime and dirt and hardship. The speeder passes more than one individual on a street corner who looks like they're soliciting clients, and one alley holds a group of grimy citizens squatted over a collection of odds and ends. As the speeder passes, a Jawa looks up and lets out a string of what are probably curses, judging by the raised fist it shakes--and behind its back, several items are pocketed by the others before they disperse down the alley.
Finally, the team pulls up about a block down from the warehouse where they suspect a meet may be planned. It doesn't look notably different from the other buildings around: all durasteel and duracrete, hulking and plain. There aren't even any windows built into the structure--not that they'd have let much light in to begin with. A couple of large doors are visible, the type that might be used for loading shipping speeders, but they're closed tight and likely locked--and in the Dacho District, any warehouse worth its contents has shipping doors nearly as strong as military blast doors.
The personnel entrances, on the other hand, are necessarily less secure, although they're usually locked and alarmed... at least when the building is in use and kept up. This one certainly looks abandoned, given the graffiti and dirt on its walls.
Jal climbs out of the speeder and absently wishes that he'd grabbed a drink back at the bar. "I'm going to go look for a way inside that's out of sight of the main street and make sure that it's not locked or rigged up with an alarm or some kind of trap. I'll comm if I find something useful."
"We could always just cut our way through the doors. Or the walls, I suppose." Alaric pulls his lightsaber from his belt and tosses it in one hand. "It might take a little while, but it shouldn't give me any trouble. Even these doors won't stand up to a lightsaber. With three of us, we'd be through it pretty quickly I'd wager. It's not fast and it's not quiet, but it'll work."
"Let's take a more stealthy approach for now. If they are in there, I'd rather not let them know we're coming."
Joran will work with Jal to find a similar entrance, doing his best to avoid notice and suspicion of anyone paying attention.
Trevan remains behind with Alaric, "Stealth first is sensible".
As he waits, he reaches out with the Force to ascertain what life forms dwell inside.
UTF -
"Fair point." Alaric keeps the lightsaber in hand but leaves it unignited, searching with the other two in hopes of finding a secluded entrance.
From their vantage point, the team hatches a plan and starts to enact it. Alaric, Jal, and Joran break off to sneak around the building, seeing if there isn't a back entrance they can use for a more subtle way in. Callum, Trevan, and Tal Passik hang back by the speeder; Trevan reaches out into the Force to try and detect anyone within the building, and Tal and Callum keep an eye out for potential trouble. Vintressa, meanwhile, says she's moving to an overwatch position, from which she can provide more information on the surroundings and lay down covering fire as needed.
Alaric, Jal, and Joran creep into an alley and approach the building as best they can, staying low and moving from cover to cover. At first it seems they may be out of luck, but near the other end of the building's rear, tucked into a dingy alley with barely any lighting--any fixtures that were once mounted are long gone or broken--is a plain durasteel door. It was probably a maintenance entrance, not even intended for regular personnel, but it's out of the way. The only question is whether it's secured.
Trevan opens his mind to the Force and probes at the warehouse, trying to see whether anyone is within. It takes some time, effort, and focus, but eventually he can sense beyond the thick walls of the building. There are four living beings inside: two standing, and two lying on the floor. Both of the standing figures have a vague sense of danger and darkness about them, but it's fleeting and weak--they aren't trained in the Force, and probably aren't even sensitive to its power. One of the lying people, however, has an aura of malevolence about them, a tinge of the Dark Side. It isn't powerful, not even as strong as a newly accepted Sith apprentice, but it is clear that this person is sensitive to the Force and full of dark emotions.
As far as potential trouble, none of the group notices anything out of the ordinary or dangerous. This district is run-down, but the rumbling of machinery is still present, and the occasional whine of a personal speeder is heard--usually from a street or two over, and none seem to approach the team's location.
Joran motions to Alaric to get Tal, Callum, and Trevan, then sets up to get the door open. While waiting for the group to rendezvous, he pops the cover off and gets to work opening the door.
Trevan opens his eyes, "Based on their positions, I believe our quarry is within. We outnumber the hostiles three to one".
Trevan gets on his commlink.
"Continue to enter the building by stealth. I shall join you at your position shortly".
Trevan approaches the building moving unseen, or so he thinks anyhow.
Stealth
Callum follows Hugo/Trevan closely, though his own attempt at stealth does leave something to be desired. Still, he does not stop. He just shrugs and carries on, sparing Tal a look of curiosity as if asking the bodyguard whether he will be following them or not before then turning to the former Sith.
"Did you sense anything through the Force? You did seem as if it took some effort. Anything or anyone in there we should be concerned about?"
Hugo nods to Callum, "Two hostiles and two kinnapees. One has a dark side taint of some kind. The question is, is that our target or her paramour?"
"Maybe you should let the professional lock breaker handle this chief." Jal pulls his tools from one of the hidden pockets inside his coat and gets to work on checking the door and releasing it if it seems to be viable.
Having found a doorway in, the scouting team sends for the others to meet them, and those who stayed behind with the speeder move along the same hidden route. Tal Passik eagerly comes along, his fingers clearly itching toward his weapons--spoiling for a fight. Joran begins working on the door, but the systems are old and many of the components are corroded; Jal steps in to help, and between the two of them, the locking mechanism is undone. The team pushes open the door as quietly as they can, and step inside as Vintressa confirms she's in position on a rooftop.
The interior of the building is dark and grimy, and the unmistakable scents of decay and disuse hit you like a wall. The door opens immediately onto a narrow corridor, almost certainly once used for maintenance. A few tiny creatures skitter away as you enter, dropping through the vents in the hatched floor or slipping into cracks in the walls. Old lighting systems struggle to come on as sensors notice your entrance, but most of them are broken, and the few that work flicker to dim life, barely illuminating anything beneath a coat of dust. It's unlikely that the lighting extends beyond this entrance, even if it's working, so it doesn't spoil your stealthy approach.
The corridor itself extends some twenty meters in each direction before turning inward toward the buliding's front. There are a pair of doors on either side of the corridor, all of them shut. Trevan can tell that the living beings he sensed wouldn't be in one of these rooms; they're in the main floor of the warehouse. Neither of the standing figures has moved.
"There we go. Let's stay quiet, alright? I'd like to have the element of surprise when we run into our kidnappers." Jal draws his blaster and creeps ahead, checking the doors carefully as he moves down the hall.
Alaric keeps the lightsaber in his hand, ready to flick the blades out at a moment's notice. He sticks to the corners opposite Jal and waves the others ahead, keeping out of the dim light as best as he's able.
Drawing out his blaster, Joran motions the Jedi ahead of him, since he knows they'll need to close with the targets to use their lightsabers. Bringing up the rear, he makes sure no one is coming up behind them.
Taking the lightsaber hilt in his hand, Callum, like Alaric, keeps it unignited and moves a little ahead of Joran as instructed, a nod of his head a sign of both understanding and agreement.
Hugo pads ahead, his lightsaber also in hand and unignited. He will lead the way as it was his own connection to the Force that identified the approximate location of the figures dwelling within.
Stealth .
Perception .