WotH Chpt 54

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 54==
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===Falling through the air...===
Date: September 2nd, 3015/ 02.09.1954 CRCTower near Hapan Embassy, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, Galactic Republic
I let out a breath that I had been holding as I squeezed the trigger of my rifle, the harsh "Crack!" of the supersonic bullet extra loud indoors as a figure made its way out of the smoke, an armored droid pockmarked with holes stood with a lightsaber in hand before it was headcapped by a laser from Sienn, her laser carbine smoking as an eerie silence filled the air before more droids started flooding into the room.
 
I engaged the droids as they entered the room, my rifle rounds knocking them back as the blaster and laser fire from the other Marksmen erased what was left. "They're flooding the room with numbers!" Lieutenant Sturm barked. "These are IG models, tough as nails and hard to put down."
 
"What weaknesses do they have?" I asked, reloading as my magazine ran dry.
 
"Sustained fire!" Sturn replied as he ducked back into cover as a blaster bolt nearly sheered his head in half. "Or the lasers seem to be making short work of them."
 
"You heard the man!" I yelled. "Marksmen, tag team, I want this sorted!"
 
We rapidly picked up on a method, with the ballistics hitting first and knocking the droids back before a blaster or a laser finished the droid off. But then another smoke grenade was hurtled in, and we were blind aside from the flickering of enemy blasters cutting through to kill us.
 
"These guys are smart," Sienn got close to my ear. "They're gonna wait for us to run out of ammo. They likely have more- A red lightsaber carved the cover that Sienn and I were using as cover in half, a masked and cloaked figure growled angrily and snapped his hand out, throwing the Twi'lek spy across the room with the force while I grabbed at the lightsaber on my belt, snapping it up and igniting the violet blade as the angry red blade of the Dark Jedi carved my rifle in half.
 
Throwing the half in my hand at the Jedi's face, I pressed forward as he flinched, Dooku's training coming to the forefront as I pushed an advantage against an enemy that was better trained than me.
 
But I had one distinct advantage over my enemy. I had been trained by and fought against a master of Jedi dueling. But, I wasn't a duelist at heart. I, was a soldier, so I acted as a soldier would.
 
Rapidly exchanging blows, I read my opponent's movements from body language, eventually locking blades as my eyes darted back and forth searching for any form of weakness. "Siri!" I snatched my pistol off of my hip while holding enemy lightsaber in place, eventually sliding it off and into the floor while I swept my foot up and into his face, "I could use some help here!" I squeezed the trigger of my handgun while I held it at my hip, the slide rocking back and forth as I pulled the trigger as rapidly as it reset, the rounds bouncing off of some sort of body armor before one of the rounds found purchase and the enemy snarled, his hand darting in a slashing motion sending a large chunk of debris at me and launching me out of the already broken skyscraper window.
 
"Corellian nine hells!" Sturn swore, dumping a magazine into the back of the Dark Jedi now that the Colonel was clear, the heavy rounds carving a bloody swathe through his torso. "We've got a man out the window, he's going to need a rescue before he ends up as bloody paste all over the undercity!"
 
It took me a moment to regain my bearings as I fell through the Coruscanti sky, my hand still holding an ignited violet blade. Shaking my head, I thumbed the activation switch, fighting against the air around me to tuck the hilt of the lightsaber into my belt before spreading out into the position we'd all been trained on.
 
I knew that coms would be useless with the wind rushing through my mic so I focused on what I could do, and found that it wasn't all that much. Any attempt to arrest my momentum with a cable or anything would result in broken bones at the smallest, and with me dead at the worst.
 
I wanted to freak out, but I had entered into that weird state of calm that always seemed to happen after the worst accidents I'd ever been in, from totaled car wrecks, to broken bones, it wouldn't faze me until after the worst had passed by.
 
So, for what seemed like minutes, but was only a few seconds in reality, I took stock of what I had in my possession, pistol, check, lightsaber, check. Duster, check.
 
Duster, I could use that.
 
Shrugging the coat down, I grabbed on and allowed it to billow out, the air catching and slowing me down with a sharp jolt, my left arm groaning as a collarbone that was already sore protested at the torture I was putting it through.
 
Now slowed down, I looked up just as a slow moving open topped tour bus glided through the air, my legs catching on part of it and driving the wind out of me while I slid down into the seat at the back.
 
The occupants of the bus simply stared at me, my odd uniform and weapons marking me as different, and not to be messed with.
 
Holding up a hand, I indicated for them to wait as I held a hand to my chest and stood up, catching my breath for a second. "I need to speak to the driver."
 
"You can have whatever you want!" a man shielded his family. "Just leave my family out of this."
 
"I don't want any of your shit," I rolled my eyes as I limped to the front of the bus. "I've got to get back to my people."
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===Dealing with the authorities===
Date: September 2nd, 3015/ 02.09.1954 CRCSenate Building, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, Galactic Republic
"No!" Sturn and a giant of a man clad in Mithril grabbed Siri and pulled her back from the window. "We're not sending anyone back out there without a vehicle or an escort to recover the body."
 
"But he's still alive, I can sense it." Siri protested.
 
"Leave it," Cassius looked at the Jedi Knight. "These men know what they are doing."
 
"You think we don't want to go after him?" Sturn asked, his knuckles white around his rifle. "Of course we do, but we have a responsibility to those who are here and alive. And if we leave now, whose going to ensure that the Representative or Ms. Sienn here are kept alive?"
 
"We've got a team heading down to the likely landing point now," the giant unpolarized his faceplate. "Knight Tachi, I know that you were friends with the Colonel, but we need you to liaison with the Jedi on this. The last time something like this happened was on Naboo, and I'd hate for this to come back to haunt us or the Confederacy due to us not following proper protocol."
 
"Right," Siri closed her eyes, taking her emotions and releasing them into the force, allowing the peace and light to fill and calm her before she exhaled, driving the fear and worry out with the rest of the turmoil. "I'll need to contact the Order and Count Dooku right away."
 
"I'll get you access, the Mithril-clad man nodded. "I'm Captain Mathis, any authorization you need can go with my stamp of approval."
 
The man gestured for another person to come over, an antenna pointing over the woman's shoulder.
 
"Knight Tachi, Corporal Schmitt here will help you with whatever you need," Mathis locked eyes with the Jedi before his faceplate repolarized and he turned away and began barking orders, a couple of fireteams moving to block any police from entering while another group contacted the Katana and began requesting extra hands on deck to begin documenting the scene.
 
"No, you're not allowed to pass," Mathis glared at a Coruscanti police officer as he tried to enter.
 
"Look, I'm here to take Representative Clay and Colonel Hull into protective custody," the officer began to sweat. "I'm trying to make sure they're safe."
 
"We've got that well under control," Mathis stated coldly. "Now, you and your fellow officers can leave. Or we will remove you… By force if we must."
 
"I'll go ask my superiors what they want me to do," the officer walked away, not willing to turn his back on the soldier. "But I'm not sure they'll back down."
 
"Then it is up to you to convince them," Mathis's HMG shifted in his grip. "Or they can come speak in person, and I'll persuade them. But you will not cross this threshold."
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===Making it back to the troops===
"Thanks for the ride," I nodded at the family that owned the tour bus. "Sorry for the mess," I glanced at the blood I'd left behind. "I'll make sure that you're compensated for the loss of revenue."
 
 I then turned and looked at the tower.
 
"And I just bet the fuckin' elevator's broken," I muttered as I entered and looked up at how many flights of stairs I would have to climb if the elevator was indeed broken.
 
"Welcome, how may I help you today?" someone asked as I entered and headed for the elevator.
 
"Look," I glanced at the Zabrak. "I'm trying to get back to the top," I shook my head. "Or as close as I can get."
 
"Are you alright, sir?" He glanced at the bloodied uniform and the way I was cradling my left shoulder. "I can get you to a hospital."
 
"No," I shook my head. "I've got to get back to my people, and I can't trust anyone in the hospital."
 
"Well, the elevator is working, but it only goes up halfway," the Zabrak pointed out. "You'll have to take another elevator and quite a few flights of stairs to reach the hotel portion on the upper levels."
 
"Of course I do," I sighed, walking to the elevator and punching the button for the tallest floor. "Because what else was going to happen?"
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Chapter 54