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Danik Kreldin |
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Having kidnapped Sandor Woden, Danik Kreldin lures Ai'kani Za'netra using Woden as bait in an attempt to capture her as a gift for his Sith master.
This office once housed Scaven Marx, esteemed Moff of Selene. It would later be occupied by Morrison van Sen, shortly before his transfer to the Army. Now, it's being occupied by Grand Admiral Danik Kreldin and Sandor Woden. One man is a stern Imperial loyalist, the other a defector. Danik is once again back in traditional black robes, rather than his familiar white Grand Admiral's uniform. Sandor has been changed into olive-drab prison clothes, but at least they're clean. Tugging his Corellian Rapier, tucked into his sheath, Danik looks over to Sandor, hand cuffed to a chair in the back room and offers the prisoner a nod and his familiar, warm smile. "How were the accomodations aboard the Malevolence? Far different than what you're used to, I'm sure," he says, pacing around the chair. "Ai'kani will be here soon, I believe. Do you think she's going to rescue you, Sandor? Do you think she really loves you? She's only coming here because she needs you; you're a tool to her, and the Jedi, and the Republic. It's really saddening. But, what can I do? I've tried to help you... gave you another chance to redeem yourself and open your eyes to the truth. But her Jedi treachery knows no bounds, and your eyes have been completely blindfolded by her sorcery. She'll pay, though. They'll all pay. You'll just have to watch and enjoy the show, my young friend, and wait your turn..."
Placing his hand on Sandor's right shoulder, Danik squeezes. "It'll be sad when you're gone... but I'll make do. I'll find another soldier to groom and take your place. I must be going, however. Don't want to keep our friends waiting too long..." Danik once again smiles before stepping away from Sandor, and walking towards the doors leading to the main room of the office.
The Voidstalker had landed only moments ago. With Luke and Rook safely tucked aboard and masked by her Master's abilities, Ai'kani exits the ship to find she is expected. Locking the ship, she follows the troupe of waiting soldiers. It's not long until she is being lead in willingly with soldiers on all sides of her, the woman quietly looks around. When they stops she does, as well, and she reaches outward through the Force to sense what is surrounding her. Instantly, she picks up on Sandor's presence, but visual contact seems unlikely. As well, she senses a heavy influence of the Dark Side. Her features tighten slightly and she starts to concentrate on her Force Harmony with Luke.
Several profanities come to Sandor's mind, yet none of them really seem to fit Danik, all being too soft, too regular for the soldier to consider them worth saying. No, he holds his tongue, and clenches his teeth, having had his suspicions confirmed. Indeed, every effort is being taken to keep him from being in a position where he can really warn Ai'kani of what is about to happen. And, not fully knowing what is planned himself, the traitor can only wait, and grumble inside the safety of his mind. If only to keep from being completely still, and admitting just how powerless he is, every few seconds Sandor makes a tug against the handcuffs, confirming that they are, in fact, there.
The welcoming committee, awaiting the arrival of Ai'kani, consisted of a squad of stormtroopers and a naval liason officer. The officer, a commander, bows his head in a mocking gesture as Ai'kani steps down from the ramp. "Welcome to the capital of the glorious Galactic Empire, Selene. The honorable Grand Admiral Danik Kreldin is awaiting your arrival. We shall escort you there. But first," he says, his hand reaching out towards the Jedi, "your Jedi weapon, if you will." He puts on a smile as he awaits the lightsaber.
Danik is surprised that Sandor didn't shoot back with some witty reply. He usually does. Well, perhaps he's learning his lesson and keeping his mouth shut. Shrugging, Danik presses a button and the doors slide open, giving him admittance to the main office. As he steps through, the doors close behind him and Danik is left alone in the lavish office. He takes a moment to fix his robes, wishing to look his best for the Jedi witch he's about to confront, and he walks his way over to the desk. With a relaxed sigh, he takes a seat and pulls his chair in closer to the desk, folding his hands on it and directing his eyes directly to the entrance. Now to wait.
Ai'kani grunts gently. Well, she never believed he would let her go in armed, afterall. With hesitation, Ai'kani hands the guard her saber and glares a wordless warning to him: do anything with it and she might forget her code. To their satisfaction, the guards lead her into the office where Danik awaits her. Looking between the shoulders of two guards, Ai'kani's eyes scan the room before locking on Danik. While remaining calm, her expression tightens. "I'm here," she tells him rather bluntly. "Where is Sandor?" He is still alive and closeby. She can sense that. Allowing her eyes to drift from the man for a moment more to look around, the Padawan looks back to Danik.
Danik watches as the doors slide open and allow the Jedi in. He felt her presence sometime before she arrived, however; somewhat similiar to Johanna's, if he can recall. Vastly different than the presence he feels around his Master. Her presence did not bother him as much as it did to see her in person. His built up rage seemingly explodes, flourishing into the room and covering it in darkness. His hatred of the Jedi, this Jedi in particular, knows no bounds, and if Ai'kani could not detect the Dark side before it's a piece of cake now. Tightening his grip on his arm rests, Danik forces his warm, fatherly smile. "Welcome, Ai'kani. Pleasure to see you again. Good to see you're well. It's been a while since our last meeting on the Guardian... oh, Sandor is around, I assure you. Good health, too. Old chap still has some fighting spirit left in him. He's quite an amazing man. It's why I took him under my wing and cared for him. It truly saddens me to see him chained to you and the Jedi. But come, Ai'kani..." he says, making an ushering motion with his hand, "take a seat. I believe we have much to talk about. A lot to catch up on."
Approaching slowly, Ai'kani moves around and gently sits down. The rage filling the room is almost amusing. It would be fully if Sandor's life not in danger. "Sandor's chose his own path. Neither you nor I can or should sway him." Sitting back against the chair, she tilts her head. "Why did you bring me here? You could have killed him and been done with it. Are you really so angry that someone found a free will under your tyranny that you just want to punish the world?" Maybe she is crazy from all the excessive training lately, but Ai'kani can swear that the Dark Side seems to be spiraling around the man in front of her. But... that was never there before.
Embracing the Darkness, Kreldin leans back in his chair and studies Ai'kani as she takes a seat. The very sight of her is revolting, enough to make him sick, but he manages to tolerate it for the time being. Soon she'll be dead, so it's worth it. No reason he can't have some fun with her before he takes her head off. "Sandor was on his own path; he was serving the Empire. Until he met you during one of your prison stays. Your Jedi sorcery corrupted his mind... and now... he's an empty shell of a man. It's pathetic. You Jedi are the worse. All the problems in the galaxy that could so easily be avoided if it were not for you and your pitiful band," he says, the temptation to kill Ai'kani now and get it over with growing within him. So he pushes the chair back from under the desk and stands up.
"Sandor is still alive because I want him to witness your execution with his eyes before I off with him," Danik says, reaching into his robe and pulling his Corellian Rapier out from within the sheath. "It'll be a fun show for him. Something worthwhile to take to the grave," he says, pressing his foot down on a lever on the floor. Behind him the door to the back room where Sandor is tied opens, allowing for a clear view of Danik and Ai'kani.
Ai'kani braces herself slightly. Behind her, she can sense the edginess of the guards with her hands on their rifles. If she made a move now, she would be wide open with nothing to defend with. Her brows knit together above burning golden-green eyes. "All the galaxies problems? Would that include mass genocide and exploding planets? Or does that only include oppression of millions and fleets lead by greed?" As Danik stands, her eyes follow his movements though she remains in her seat.
When the door opens, Ai'kani looks over to see Sandor. Aside from the visable signs of his stay with the Empire, he looks relatively fine. However, neither of them will be fine while they remain on this planet. Looking up to Danik as he approaches, she frowns deeply. "Even if you kill me, others will take my place." A classic good guy response!
With one final tug, Sandor succeeds in.. getting nowhere at all, as it turns out. The bindings are simply too strong, and the prisoner finally gives in, just as the door opens once more. Hearing the noise, Sandor looks up, half expecting to see Stormtroopers, or perhaps another ISB Agent, but is confronted by a far more worrisome sight. "No..", he whispers, in disbelief, at the sight of Ai'kani. As much as Sandor fears his own death, he'd come to terms with the fact that it may happen, reassuring himself by the belief that at least she would be able to live on. But, with Ai'kani present, jumping right into Danik's trap willingly, no longer can the traitor simply view Danik's predictions as mere lies, and empty boasts. Although futile, Sandor tugs at his cuffs once more, unable to sit still now.
The Corellian Rapier. Elegant, beautiful. And deadly, in the right hands. Well worth the 100,000 credits Kreldin put down for it. Allowing the Darkness to flow through him, as he has been practicing at for the past several weeks, allowing it to sustain him and give him power. The power he needs to kill Ai'kani. He uses his anger as the catalyst: his anger towards Ai'kani and all Jedi. "The Empire will do what it takes to maintain peace and stability in the galaxy, my dear. If it takes the deaths of millions of terrorists to achieve that goal, than so be it." Danik tightens his grip on his Rapier's handle, his teeth clenching as the rage continues to build up. He reaches out with his feelings, sensing Sandor and all his worries, Ai'kani and her love for the man, and the troopers outside, waiting to move in and assist Danik should he call for it. Finally, his rage becomes too much to bear, and his emotions shout at him to put an end to Ai'kani's life. He jumps onto the desk, knocking over some items as he raises his Rapier above his head. Then, with the next move, he leaps off the table, taking a swing at Ai'kani as he does so.
Sandor's concern call out to her loudly, but there is little Ai'kani can do for that. She had her reasons for showing up and they were all good ones. Her focus and concentration remains on Danik as his rage begins to peak. She shifts as his muscles begin to tighten and her body gets ready to move. When the anger overflows and Danik leaps into a flurry of movements, Ai'kani's entier body reacts. In a fluid motion, she rolls out of the chair as the rapier cuts into its upholstery. Continuing under his arms, she grabs for the other sword at his belt and draws it outward.
Her movement is completed with a roll away from him in order to get some distance and she rises to her feet with the sword held in front of her much like she was trained to hold her saber. Sadly, she is at a disadvantage as the sword is far heavier than any saber would be. Maintaining a strong stance, the woman glares at him. "Leave us now and let us return home," she tells him. "Do not force my hand."
The prisoner continues to struggle, and finally does succeed in one regard. While it's likely not noisy enough to alert the guards, he's making quite a bit of a racket, shifting his body around to try to find the best position, and testing the strength of the device that binds him. If only he had a lockpick, and could recall Cooper's techniques, perhaps he'd have a chance at getting free, but at the moment all of that is irrelevant. Although he doesn't give up, Sandor is clearly struggling less and less, as he's caused quite a bit of pain to his wrists already, and is transfixed upon the exchange between Danik and Ai'kani regardless.
She's fast. Danik's Rapier finds its mark on the chair, instead. Danik can barely follow Ai'kani with his eyes as she's rolling out of the way and grabbing onto his backup sword, tucked into his other sheath. As he rebounds from his leap and swipe at the chair, where Ai'kani should have been, Danik quickly turns around to face his now armed opponent. Well, that didn't go entirely according to plan. As long as she doesn't have her lightsaber... Danik is quite the duelist, after all. Should be fun. Worse comes to worse, he has backup... "Impressive, Ai'kani. But I'm afraid I can't let you leave. We'll have to fight." And you will die. Raising his Corellian Rapier up in a fighting stance, Danik prepares to take the next move. He moves toward Ai'kani slowly, his eyes glued to his opponent, prepared to counter whatever attack she decides to throw at him. Figuring it best to take the initiative, Kreldin feigns an attack to her right, and then brings the sword in for a swipe at her knees.
Gripping onto the sword with both hands, Ai'kani pushes away the influence of the Dark Side reverberating from Danik. "Sure you're not too old-fashioned, Danik? I figured you'd just put me in front of a firing squad." Not like most Imperials to give their opponents a chance to defend themselves. However, Ai'kani knows better. He's just playing with her. In her mind, she already has a scheme worked out... but it would require her to get her saber back. For now, that is impossible. Taking a quick step back, Ai'kani moves her sword to block with a short and abrupt twist of her wrists. What works well for the fighting stance of a saber is a lot harder to do with a heavier sword. She blocks the attack, but is thrown off balance by the unexpected weight shift.
Too old fashioned? Well, he is an older man... but dueling was one of Danik's many passions. "It's fun," Danik says, smiling as he looks at Ai'kani as their swords meet. He quickly retracts his Rapier, and takes a few steps back to avoid an immediate counter-attack. "Nothing like a duel. I'm sure that's why you Jedi use your Lightsabers rather than crude blasters," he says, bringing his rapier back up. "But I can tell you're not all that used to this... you Jedi are so helpless without your Lightsabers," he says, and with that lunges in for a stab at Ai'kani's chest as she is thrown off balance, hoping to catch her off guard and impale her.
"And you. Helpless without your precious guards and fleets!" Knowing she is in no stance to react to the man's attack, Ai'kani all but throws herself to the side to get away from this strike. Jerking her arm out, her sword swings to try to knock his rapier off its course. While it misses her chest, it slices through her robes and cuts across her upper left arm. Tucking into a roll, Ai'kani comes onto her feet and staggers back a moment. With her eyes lit up, she keeps her focus completely on Danik and, for now, ignores the pain with Reduce Injury; a tactic she had learned quickly when training with Faust. First blood marks on Ai'kani's arm; staining a success for him on her robes as the Padawan regains her stance and replants her feet onto the floor.
First blood. A minor victory for Kreldin. But, not what he wanted. That lunge was suppose to go cleanly through her chest and out the other side. But, the sight of blood on Ai'kani's upper left arm does bring warm feelings to his heart. Just a few more inches and it could have done some nice damage to her. He'll just have to settle with that for now... "Me? Helpless? Oh please. I'm faring quite well right now, I do believe!" he says, his eyes locked onto Ai'kani as she goes into a roll and onto her feet across from her. When she replants herself on her feet, Danik offers a quick look over to his side to see how Sandor was faring. This show was for Sandor's sake, after all; the entertainment before the grand finale. Satisfied, he turns his attention back to the Jedi and offers her a mock salute. Now to let her make the next move. He positions himself, raising his rapier into a blocking position as he awaits.
A moment of silence passes between them. A calm before the storm. Light Side and Dark Side is spiraling out control around them; one fighting the other for dominance. She is thinking about her options as it is clear that she cannot best him in a sword duel. Taking in a deep breath, she pushes off from her feet and moves quickly forward. Bringing the blade back in ready to swing in a downward diagonal, she stops half-way and instead frees up a hand from the hilt. With her body's momentum behind it, her arm stretches outwards to aim her hand palm-first for his chest. She isn't totally sure if he's wearing armour or not, but this maneuver-- hit or miss --should bring that to light.
Danik's heart is racing. Adrenaline is coursing through his veins. But, where he lacks in youth, he makes up for it in raw skill and experience. And he hasn't done a bad job of keeping himself in shape. Not to mention he's getting some help from the Force - he can feel it, washing over him and Ai'kani, over the entire room, the clash of light and darkness. Danik allows the darkness to flow through him, relaxing him and calming his nerves. His breathing slows down. Come on, Ai'kani... make your move. Finally, the Jedi witch erupts into motion, and Danik watches as she charges at him. He studies her attack, his brain processing the movements of the Jedi. A downward diagonal... so Danik moves in to block that attack. Unfortunately, old age comes with a few drawbacks: his reflexes simply aren't up to par with the Jedi's, even with the Force aiding him. And no, he's not wearing armor - however foolish that is. He takes the blow to his chest, and the wind is practically knocked out of the old man. He stumbles backwards, his left hand clutching at his chest. He bumps into the wall in his stumble back, sliding down it all the way to the floor. He refuses to let go of his Rapier, though, whatever pain he may be in... never lose your sword, that's the first rule. Unlike the Jedi, Danik has yet to master controlling pain. He has to get back on his feet the old fashioned way...
While now would be the opportune time to rush the man and bring down a real blow, Ai'kani had already made up her mind. She would kill no one unless absolutely necessary. Even though "absolutely necessary" seems to be fast upon her, the woman steps back and grabs her chair instead. "I won't let you stand!" She calls this out as loud she can and lifting the sliced chair, she glares at Danik. "Die, Imperial scum!"
The chair goes flying, but it's not at Danik. Instead, it goes towards the large doors leading outside of the office. It crashes with a loud clamour and falls upon the ground with an echoing crack. Getting back in her stance, she grins. That outta get the guards in.... and, most importantly, the main door open.
"Kill him!", Sandor screams, the first real input he's given to the duel. No longer is he struggling at all, having long since learned just how futile it is to test his strength and flesh against metal - even in smashing a cup and trying to stab Danik, it had only been a last resort. The man is scared, angry, frustrated, and indeed several more emotions at once, being taken for a roller coaster ride that he has absolutely no control over. Only, instead of a clear path to the end of the ride, the traitor is shown various pitfalls and detours to the side, many of which end in Ai'kani's death, and by nature of that, his own shortly thereafter.
Kill him? Who said that? Sandor? Danik's eyes gaze over from Ai'kani, aimed to kill him, to Sandor, still tied to the chair in the other room. Have the tables turned on the Imperial Grand Admiral? Still clutching his chest, trying to regain his energy, Danik struggles to stand back up and defend himself from the killing blow that is to come. "You won't... won't get me!" he manages. He can't die here... no. He won't allow it. As Ai'kani lifts up the chair, screaming his death, he braces himself for the impact - only to hear it crash, but not feel it impact against him. He opens his eyes to see Ai'kani - and the door, slammed against the exit. What.. is she trying to do? His rage is boiling over the breaking point now. Beaten? By this witch? It's incomprehensible. He won't allow it. He tightens his grip on his hilt, finding the energy to get back to his feet within the darkness, only he hesitates when he overhears some commotion coming from behind the door. That insant, the doors the slam open and in comes the Imperial naval commander - Ai'kani's lightsaber attached to his belt - followed by three Imperial armored stormtroopers, their weapons quickly raising and taking aim on the Jedi. "Freeze!" the commander shouts, pointing at the Jedi. "Protect the Grand Admiral!"
Her eyes are locked on Danik and his turmoil. Perhaps someday he will realize how lucky he is in this exact moment. To what she is wanting to happen, Ai'kani turns towards the guards. If they think she is an monster, she might as well play onto it. There is a tremor as Ai'kani starts to pull the Force towards her. Though it cannot be felt, it can be heard with the shaking of wine glasses against each other. Her hair seems to shift in an unfelt breeze and she takes off towards the guards. One in particular; the one holding her saber. She grips the hilt and prepares to defend against potential blaster bolts. /Attempt/ to defend against them.
Although he'd been sitting still like a good prisoner, the idea of reinforcements prompts Sandor into action once more, only this time he gets a little too excessive in his attempt to break free from the chair, and actually leans his entire body in the wrong direction. Only to realize that the chair isn't attatched to the floor at all - how stupid he'd been this whole time! Somehow managing to keep from falling, the prisoner stands and points his rear in the direction of Ai'kani and the Imperial reinforcements, leaning his head over his shoulder to see where he's going. With a bit of a yell, he begins to slowly move toward them, intent on turning himself into a human shield, if need be, and a battering ram, if not.
Perfect timing, as always, Danik muses, watching as his troopers barge into the room and take up aim against the Jedi. Still with his hand pressed against his chest, Danik uses the wall as a brace to stand himself up straight. "Lucky shot..." Danik says, breathing more heavily than before. "Commander, no games. Execute this prisoner immediately," he says, looking over to the naval officer who simply nods his head. The officer takes the lightsaber in his hand, holding the hilt and admiring it some, before locking gazes with Ai'kani. "Interesting weapon you have here," the commander says, grinning as he flicks the activation switch. The weapon is clumsy in his hand, though, completely unfamiliar with it... and he drops it. This naturally draws a sigh from Danik, who feels compelled to march over there and slice the officer's neck off. Instead, he simply shouts: "SHOOT HER" as he ducks out of the way. So far, Danik has yet to catch Sandor and his antics... for now.
Skidding to a stop half-way, the woman has only a few second of sheer panic when the officer ignites her saber. Were he able to use it properly, she and Sandor would be dead. She is relieved and disappointed at the same time as it is dropped on the ground. While she is glad it won't be used against her it will still take some fighting for her to get over to it.
Her moment to muse is cut off violently as the soldiers in front of her instantly obey Danik's shouted command. Red bolts are flying at her mercilessly and for a moment, she tries to block them with the sword. While the ability to do so is within her grasp, the sword is just too heavy and awkward. For every one blaster she blocks, to others are skimming or hitting her. Finally, Ai'kani throws down the sword and begins to run for her saber.
The air around her seems to thin as she rushes forward like water. Time slows down and the Padawan manages to dodge some of the more fatal blaster shots in exchange for hits to her arms, abdoment, and legs. The closer her saber becomes, the slower things seem to go for her until finally, she jumps forward in attempt to slide the rest of the way; hand outreached. It clasps onto the cold metal of her saber and she rolls onto her back; swinging upwards. The teal blade cuts off two of the soldier's hands at the wrists. "Sandor!" She calls over to him, though seems unable to get up off the floor.
Unarmed, there simply isn't a whole lot that Sandor can do, even considering that he's just invented ass-fu. Faced with the prospect of fighting Danik's entire crew, and that he might simply run Ai'kani through, the soldier settles on just what he must do. Into the melee he rushes once more, only this time it isn't fore, and out of the corner of his eye he spies Danik's flight. But with Ai'kani's plight, pursuing simply isn't Sandor's right. Ever onward he creeps, until the form of the foe he meets; blaster bolts fired two and fro, his rear, up it must go! And out from the hands of an Imperial soldier, a blaster goes flying, isn't that kosher!
The lightsaber. In Ai'kani's hands. It seems almost like a blur, but Danik watches as the hands from two of the three stormtroopers finds themselves on the floor. Time to go. As the naval officer pulls his comlink out in an attempt to call for backup, and as the remaining stormtrooper tries to find cover to keep fire on Ai'kani and the foolhardy Sandor, Danik tucks his Rapier into his sheath and turns the other way from the others. He bursts into a dash, through the door leading to the back room that once occupied Sandor, and towards the back exit that would take him to his personal shuttle. He's failed, and now a Jedi is loose on Selene: he'll just have to bite the bullet and await reinforcements. Not even Ai'kani with a lightsaber can hold off an entire legion. Now it's just a matter of time of assembling them. Sandor and her are not out of this yet... sure, it's cowardly to run away, but Danik isn't stupid enough to try to fight Ai'kani on his own now. Better to run away, live and fight another day...
Thankfully, Danik hadn't realized Ai'kani isn't remaining on the floor as a tactic. Her ability to continuously ignore her own pain is ebbing and bombardment of shots her body has taken has left her unable to move. Noticing Sandor's proximity, Ai'kani takes a laboured breath and slices upwards. This time, instead of hitting a guard, the woman cuts through Sandor's cuffs... and the chair. At the end of the swing, the saber deactivates and Ai'kani's hand falls to the floor.
Silly Sandor is no more, as his chains fall down to the floor! Whatever chance he might have to flee after Danik is immediately lost, however, as Sandor dives toward the blaster pistol he'd loosed from one of the Imperials, before then pulling up into a kneeling position and taking a shot at any who yet remain. Perhaps it's not as heroic as literally throwing his body into harm's way, but it's much more sensible, especially given how much training has been lavished upon the soldier to do just this. "Ai!", he exclaims, saying nothing more, as he knows that they still have to find a way out. Something that while difficult, seems so much more possible than it had an hour before.
The lone Stormtrooper takes aim on Sandor just as his cuffs are sliced off by Ai'kani and her teal saber. He fires a shot, but misses by a few centimeters - hopefully it at least burnt Woden. Instead, however, the stormtrooper finds himself blown back by a shot to the chest from the weapon Sandor collected. Leaving the naval officer all alone, cowering in a corner as he tries to hail Selene control for reinforcements. A code red. A Jedi is loose. For Danik, however, he's on his way to his shuttle still, using back doors built into the Moff's Office to make his way to the private landing pad. If only he can stay one step ahead of the Jedi and Woden... if they get him, well. His day won't get any better, that's for sure. His whole trap is already down the tubes. "Why me?"
It's not over. Already, Ai'kani can feel the pulse of reinforcements coming. "We have to get out," she tells him. "To the spaceport." There, the Voidstalker is waiting with Luke and Rook ready to take off. The pain is burning all over her body, but if they were going to make it out, it can't be with one of them dragging their feet. It takes all of Ai'kani's concentration to pull the pain away from her. While it does not heal her, it gives her enough to stand up. "Sandor. We have to go." Running forwards, she tries not to get too far ahead. While the woman is able to block and deflect bolts efficiently with her saber now, she does not know the way. Sandor, however... he might. "We have to hurry!"
Unfortunately, the only parts of Selene that Sandor knows are outdoors, and less fortunate still is just how ill-suited the irradiated wastelands outside of the city proper would be to their purposes, even given the traitor's almost expert knowledge of it at this point. "Right! This way!", Sandor shoots back in reply, headed toward what he hopes is the general direction of the main turbolift. It's definitely not the safest route, but it's one that tends to have very little variation between specific Imperial buildings. Silently, the soldier hopes with all his might that this building is not the exception.
Fortunately for the duo, the turbolift is not too far away. The turbolift is right down the hall, directly from the doors to the Moff's Office. As the two approach it, however, the turbolift doors open up and two stormtroopers exit, their blaster rifles already readied and firing at the two approaching rebels. And from behind them comes the same naval officer, who now has a blaster pistol in hand and shouting orders into his comlink still. Apparently something is holding up effective reinforcements - something about a disturbance in the wastelands. Nevertheless, the troops are on the way. But it doesn't stop the naval officer from continuing to shout while firing off a few random blasts at the two escaping prisoners.
Danik, on the other hand, is still fuming. His rage has boiled over and erupted. The darkness more or less consumes Kreldin as he boards the shuttle. Failure is not something he takes lightly - and the embarassment is even worse. Taken down by Ai'kani and Sandor. But, if nothing, Kreldin is incessant; he'll get those two. He'll tear Ai'kani limb from limb, slowly, after torturing Sandor for weeks upon weeks. Then he'll kill them both. He may be defeated now, but Kreldin never stays down for long. By the time he gets into his cockpit, he's already smiling, comfortable in the knowledge that he will come out on top eventually.
Stopping suddenly, Ai'kani raises her saber in a defensive position; preparing herself to clear the turbolift. "Sandor! Behind you!" She doesn't look back. Instead, her body's weight shifts forward in intense focus. As the bolts burn atmosphere towards her, she deflects them back towards their origins. A few more of their shots get through, but slowly, she weeds the troopers down until none remain standing. Jogging to the turbolift, she leans against it with heavy breathing; waiting for Sandor to join her.
Sandor cannot stop for every threat and still expect to make it out alive, so instead he takes a quick glance back, and pulls his arm back to fire a series of wild shots aimed at keeping the threat pinned down long enough for Ai'kani and himself to gain some distance. It isn't very far that he needs to go, however, and a few seconds after Ai'kani makes it to the turbolift, he's in as well, and attempting to use whatever cover he can get from the side of the turbolift just in case the Imperials continue their pursuit sooner than he'd like. "Lobby!"
The ride to the lobby would be an uneventful one for the duo. The naval officer is left upstairs, the only remaining survivor, still shouting orders to shut down the turbolift systems and to get attack teams and special foces units down at the skyscraper on the double. But it's too late. Sure, the Imperials have managed to muster some reinforcements down in the lobby, awaiting the arrival of the Jedi, but it isn't much. Ten stormtroopers set themselves up in the lobby, pointing their rifles at the turbolift shaft.
Up above, Kreldin has taken off in his personal shuttle. It angles towards the atmosphere and blasts off. Destination: the Malevolence. Whether wants to or not, he has to report his failure to his Master and accept the punishment. Hopefully the troopers on the planet can still manage to recapture the two before they escape.
Pulling herself into the turbolift, Ai'kani allows the door to close. In this moment of peace as the lift heads down, the woman takes in a deep breath and suddenly hits the second level. "They'll be waiting in the lobby," she replies to an unasked question. When they reach the second floor, things are relatively empty... for the moment. "Hurry." She rushes out though it is clear she is losing energy fast. Her robe is scorched all around and her shoulder is still bleeding. With a snap, her saber activates as they approach one of the floor to ceiling windows. Looking out, she notices a transport off to the right. With a quick flick of her wrist, a hole is cut in the the fiberglass and she leads the way by hopping outside and onto the transport. The thunk may alert any driver that may be inside, but Ai'kani can no longer go on. Her saber's blade retracts into the hilt and after land, Ai'kani's knees gives out and the woman collapses on top of the transport.
At least, now, Sandor doesn't feel so bad about stealing that poor man or woman's aging but well-cared for repulsorlift convertible, seeing Ai'kani doing essentially the same thing. Well, close enough in Sandor's mind at least, as there's a definite difference between stealing a tool of oppression and stealing someone's date magnet. Seeing Ai'kani jump, he has no choice but to follow, and lands with a thump seconds later - only in Sandor's case, the pistol does not fare so well, as it drops out of his hand and off into the unlucky hands of the next little kid who happens upon it, or adult who admits finding a pistol used to kill an Imperial stormtrooper.
Unfortunately, there isn't time for Sandor to do much of anything other than recover, pull Ai'kani off of the roof without bumping her around too badly, open the passenger side of the cockpit and place her inside, and then get around to the driver's side and get in himself. All as the man originally driving it gets out and runs in the direction of the lobby entrance, screaming at the top of his lungs that he's found them, he's found them. And it isn't long before the Stormtroopers respond - as the transport begins to move under the Marine's control, several actually take potshots at the vehicle, scoring harmless burn marks along the side, but too close to where Sandor envisions the engine to be for comfort.