The Pit - Part 2

The Pit - Part 2
Date of Scene:	25 January 2024
Location:	Underworld - Coruscant
Synopsis:	Annelia and Volken free enslaved fighters from an illegal pit fighting ring.
Cast of Characters:	Cayde Alexis, Annelia Belask, Volken Mons

---

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Ann and Volken find themselves in an unexpected situation upon finding Padawan Alexis at an underworld bar with pit fights.

    Now...Volken stands to face the champion of the arena--a towering Dowutin who rivals him in size, while there are others who seem to have been forced into a fight they can't win.

    The crowd roars with impatience, as the next round seems to have been delayed, but with Volken finally stepping up, their anger seems to have been sated. The bouncers are shoved aside easily, to the relief of the desperate woman.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Taking a few moments to watch Volken head up to the arena floor, Ann exhales slowly and looks back at the young man she's just roused from his stupor.

    "Alright Padawan- I need you to explain to me where your mind was that lead you down here. This place is seeming even more illegal than I first thought- I assume you were lost in one of the fighters? Willing or no?"

Volken Mons has posed:
The gargantuan Mandalorian unhooks his equally gargantuan repeater cannons and carries them like massive suitcases as he approaches the entrance to the ring. He pauses to glance over the terrified woman he just intervened on behalf of and then turns towards Anne and Cayde.

Yelling at them further over the crowd won't really do but hopefully the meaningful look in Anne's direction reinforces her being ready to get Cayde out of there. Not that he himself has any intention of staying longer then he needs to himself.

WIth that, he enters the ring to face Validus, dropping his gigantic weaponry off to the side of the ring and stalking forward with heavy persistent steps. He rolls his shoulders and brings his massive arms up and then slams his fists together. The energized knuckle dusters spark to life on his fists as he lumbers forward towards his section of the ring and sizes the Dowutin up appraisingly.
"Heeey....not bad.." he muses aloud, "Not -quite- as scrawny as I assumed. Just a little bit." he taunts, deep voice languid and bored as he considers his opponent and then looks over the ring. "So what're the rules. Do I get to use my repeater cannons after all and put an end to this right quick? We go until someone yelps at a higher pitch then usual? DIdn't get a chance to get the particulars..."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods at Ann's question. Yes, it had to have been one of the fighters. But he frowns when she asks if they had been willing or not. [I...do not know] he signs. It was all so foggy.

    The woman Zara who had just narrowly avoided having to fight him herself stares impatiently at the two Jedi. "So...you gonna get us out of this, or what?" And by 'us' she really meant 'me'.

    The hulking Dowutin looks kind of excited to actually be getting to fight someone who might be a match for him. But his expression becomes infuriated when Volken starts taunting him, and he just charges toward the large Mandalorian, swinging a heavy mace at his head.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "One moment," says Ann tersely to the woman, looking around the room a moment. She looks down a moment and pulls a small comms and recording device from her outer robe, spinning it in her hand thoughtfully a moment.

    A small smile forms across her face, and she looks back at Cayde with a brow raised. "My, but would it not be terribly inconvenient for the owners of this place if evidence of these apparent debt-induced bloodsports were to get out to the CSF. Wouldn't you agree, Cayde? Just terribly awkward if some passer-by were to accidentally dial a contact in that organization while the people who were not here by choice happened to be discussing their predicament and any unsavoury and under-the-table means by which they were put in it."

Volken Mons has posed:
Well he wasn't expecting such a rapid response. It actually catches the mammoth Mandalorian off guard to the point that he actually keeps talking even as Validus begins rushing in.

"Best out of three? Arm wrestle? Wha--"

CLANG!

The mace slams right into the other giants head with force that would have flattened a lesser combatant instantly and likely broken their neck. Volken's got a neck to rival the Dowutin's and is wearing a beskar helmet. It still hurts.

He staggers back, wobbling off to the side from the sudden blow but then reflexively clenches a fist with a charging of energy building up and then he brings the arm around in a thundrous swing for the Dowutin's mid section and then follows that up with another swing towards the other giants head.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde watches as Ann takes out a recording device, nodding as she asks that question. He frowns though, vaguely aware of the battle going on between Volken and that Validus above. They couldn't just leave him here, either...

    However, Zara doesn't seem to be satisfied. She rolls her eyes. "Kriff, you don't get it, do you? This whole place is controlled by the Marksmen! The CSF would have to start a turf war to come down here and shut this place down and you know how governments are! They don't give a bantha's ass about us. As far as they're concerned we got ourselves into this pit and we're on our own to get out of it. Besides, by the time they'd even get here it'd probably be too late for me..."

    The massive Dowutin staggers when Volken retaliates with a charged punch to the mid section, and then to the head--although maybe not as much as the Mandalorian had hoped for. He growls and goes for Volken's legs next with a fierce kick, attempting to knock him off of his feet.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "I know governments better than you might think, I expect," returns Ann cooly, frowning a little. "And apparently insinuations."

    "If I'm found down here recording when the guards and bouncers inevitably regroup and catch up with the Obvious Jedi who forced her way down the lift, nevermind the interruption to their schedule, do you think there *might* be a chance of a scuffle breaking out during which an enterprising enough person might be able to slip by? Given I'm here in the first place to get someone out of here?

    She exhales slowly, shaking her head. "Padawan, go fail at an escape attempt, have someone drag you back down here to see what I'm up to. Organizers should be here soon- I will keep *them* busy while Volken keeps the *crowd* busy, and you make your way out. He and I should be fine to make a fighting exit, as I expect he has planned."

Volken Mons has posed:
"What's your hurry!?" Volken demands after his fist lands against the Dowutin's face. Validus weathers the assault but actually Volken isn't too surprised. In fact he'd have been disappointed if he had of gone down just from that.

"Let's make it a party!"

His taunts aside, the giant is also glancing over the cage as he attacks .. looking for weak points in the structure, getting an idea of how many guards are standing by the exits and entrances back to the staging area, trying to get a sense for how close the crowd is. Hopefully Anne is getting moving with Cayde and the others but he's already running scenarios through his head for adding to this chaos.

But the Dowutin is on him and as the sweep goes for his legs, Volken braces and stands his ground. The impact against his legs resonates against the beskar and the vast muscle beneath and though he grimaces he doesn't go down.

"Alright already!" he grunts out, "I guess you don't want to do to much talkin'.."

His massive arm tenses, bicep swelling like a bulky transport under his flesh before his charged fists come around again as he leans into the strike and attempts to plant the strike right into the Dowutin's torso once more with even greater force then before.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde looks uncertain, but he won't have to follow through as just then the lift arrives again and the guards from earlier arrive to check out what's going on down here. One of them, who appears to be in charge, glares at Ann. "Hey, you aren't supposed to be down here!" he exclaims, his hand going for a blaster at his side. Although when he notices the lightsaber, his expression falters a bit...

    Volken won't be able to ascertain too much more than what he already knows about exits and number of potential foes. There had been the front door, the lift into the staging area and balcony. Beyond that is an unknown. The number of bouncers is hard to determine in the short time he has, as they aren't really wearing any sort of uniform and it's quite crowded. Speaking of the crowd, it's fairly close to the arena, which means that it may be difficult to avoid collateral damage if he breaks out.

    The punch slams into the Dowutin's torso, but he doesn't even flinch. His teeth gritted, he reaches up and attempts to grab Volken's wrist. Should he succeed, he will twist hard outward, aiming to force the Mandalorian off-balance.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Quietly and calmly, Ann pulls said lightsaber from her hip- but does not ignite it as of yet. Less-than-subtly she clicks a button on the device in her other hand as she does so. She smiles faintly. "You're right, I'm not. Nor is the young man here- or several of the others, as I'm told. Sound right to you?"

    "I'd like to wrap this up peaceably, if we can. My friend upstairs is keeping people's attention if a fight breaks out down here, keep the noise from getting us swarmed, but... it doesn't have to come to fighting. Simply step out of the way, and call off those upstairs and let the two of us, and anyone else who was forced to be here, walk out. Sound alright to you?" Her tone is remarkably... nice, given the implications in her hands.

Volken Mons has posed:
It's not often that Volken punches something and it doesn't even flinch.

Normally he'd be all for that. In fact, there's indeed a rising well of energy in him that's urging him on to more chaos and to simply up the ante. "How embaressing!" he cheerfully emotes, seemingly not at all put off by the Dowutin tanking his strike. "I guess I need to.."

He's cut off by teh wrist grab. Validus strength surges and competes with his own, twisting his arm back slightly but Volken surges into retaliatory action swifter then Validus is perhaps prepared for as his wrist is grabbed but he's not forced downward,.

Instead he pulls, trying to drag Validus towards him in a directed contest as he moves to dislodge his wrist from the grip of the other giant and in the process attempts to slam his whole body fully into the Dowutin in a thunderous shoulder charge attempt. If he's lucky....or at least half as strong skilled as he claims to be, he'll push them both closer to the cage walls if not into it.

As to the crowd, he indeed takes note of that but sadly potential collateral damage is goign to have to take place potentially. They paid for their tickets after all.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The bouncers glance at each other as she brandishes that lightsaber, without really activating it. They know they're outmatched, really...but they actually don't have the authority to do what she's suggesting. And they know that the Jedi probably won't kill them. Or at least will try not to. The boss...that was a different story. However, the leader just tries to appear confident. "Ha, yeah -right-. Nice try." With that, they start shooting at her.

    While the wrist grab doesn't quite go as expected, the shoulder check doesn't, either. The hulking Dowutin doesn't even get pushed halfway over to the wall. Instead, even as Volken is trying to pull his opponent toward him, Validus lets go of the wrist and puts both hands on his mace, attempting a two-handed downward swing onto Volken's head.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Not so long ago, Annelia mentioned to Cayde that her focus as a jedi had always been on lightsaber prowess- she certainly has the build and grace for it, so it likely wasn't exactly unbelieveable.

    And it's certainly believable now.

    As they sight their blasters towards her, she steps smoothly forward to more fully block the path to Cayde and Zara, bright cyan lightsaber igniting even as she moves it to a guard before her. She's aggressive in her deflections, swinging almost more like she's batting the strikes aside than deflecting- though there are certainly subtleties to her angles and movements as blaster fire goes launching off into lockers and walls rather than her body. Depending on how far along he is understanding these things, Cayde may recognize quite a draw from Form V, and some influence from II as her primary methods. If he has a -very- good eye he might even pick up her preference for the Djem So variant of the former, despite the context.

    With a final flourish as the volley of blaster fire subsides, she sweeps her saber into a savvy deflection that launches the bolt back at one of the other shooters- and more specifically, knocks the blaster clear from his hand- with only mild to moderate burns to the hand itself, hopefully.

    "I repeat that we needn't do this. I faced more and better fighters than you have here today as staff before I made Knight."

Volken Mons has posed:
Is Validus just that much stronger? Or is it just bad luck?

"Huff! Well you're pretty portly after all!" excalims Volken upon being unable to shove the other giant backwards.

"Not bad!"

He's cheerful, despite it all. Maybe it is indeed just bad luck and timing and leverage on his part but the only issue is that 'bad luck' can easily mean the difference between life and death.

Case in point being that the mace comes swinging in towards the giant but this time Volken lifts his arm up and takes the blow straight against his massive limb. THe force of the impact ripples along his flesha nd beskar but he doesn't even move otherwise.

Then that sound. That unmistakable sound of a lghtsaber igniting in the background. Shouting. Blaster fire.

"Well looks like I have to stop playing with my food..."

He lunges in, both of his massive fists coming up in a two fisted punch for the Dowutin, trying to exert his full strength in earnest now as the mood subtly shifts from more jovial to more brutal in another push for the walls of the cage.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    "You don't get it! We just give up the boss'll kill us and if he doesn't the Marksmen will for sure!" One of the bouncers shouts. A blaster flies out of one of their hands, but he just gets out a vibroblade and lunges at her with it while the rest of his compatriots open fire again once their weapons have recharged.

    Meanwhile, since Ann seems to have that situation well in hand, Cayde quietly moves over to the door leading up to the arena, pressing a hand against it and closing his eyes...

    The tower of a Dowutin man really seems to be relentless. The two-fisted punch is met by the mace, and it breaks in half from the impact, falling to the floor. Validus quickly brings his arms up and catches Volken's fists before they can come all the way down, however he can't seem to actually make the large man budge--instead just straining hard as he can just to keep the fists from connecting.

    This goes on for a few seconds, however, the Dowutin suddenly seems to just...well, flop. Hard muscles unexpectedly turn to jelly and he topples, staggering back until he falls to the floor with a loud thud. Volken might notice then that the door he'd come through previous is just a crack open...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Okay, so, sure, Annelia has been on sizable battlefields against trained mercenaries... doesn't make fighting one against many all that much easier.

    She winces somewhat as the vibroblade manages to cut into her robe- and possibly her skin? Hard to tell under the jedi pyjamas.

    While she finally goes on an offensive, attempting to find an angle to disarm this melee attacker, she finds herself overly occupied by some surprisingly capable diversionary fire from the blasters.

Volken Mons has posed:
When Validus drops, Volken just sort of pauses and stares. He's seen this before of course. His expression can't be seen but his body language contorts between amusement and..mild seething. On teh one hand the interference is necessary if they're to do what they are here to do - correction what -Anne- is here to do..Volken just got kind of roped into it... On the other hand, he just ended a fight he wanted to win and deal with of his own accord even if it was a back and forth. So much for bragging rights.

"Fine, fine." he finally concedes. "I'm just busy wrackin' up uncollected 'you owe me' credits..." he grumbles.

He then reaches down for the prone Dowutin, intending to act before the crowd really gets a sense that something is wrong.

His muscles ripple and engorge, straining his beskar armor and the straps about his body as he braces and then heaves, lifting the brute overhead like some sort of monstrous pro-wrestling move. He holds Validus aloft, turning about so the crowd can see the tremendous feat...and then he lunges forward and attempts to use the Dowutin's body as a living boulder, trying to break the walls of the cage down by hurtling him against them full force. If he goes tumbling into the crowds well...front row seas!

If this works, hopefully it'll take some pressure off of Anne and Cayde!

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The blade falls and clatters to the floor as Ann disarms the man once again. He is forced to retreat but she will find herself still pinned down with the blaster fire from the rest of them.

    Cayde is still over by the door. He's opened it a crack, and is peering out at the fight. When Volken hefts the massive Dowutin in to the air and chucks him at the barrier between the arena and the crowd, he reaches out with the Force, giving it an extra push. The audience screams and scatters as Volken's opponent crashes through the cage. Then all hell breaks loose as the guards and anyone who is capable and willing to fight immediately open fire on Volken. The parts of the cage that weren't already destroyed soon will be...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    At the sound of the crashing from above, Annelia glances up for the briefest of moments, and calls behind her- "Alright, anybody who wants out, now's the time!"

    Shoving past the disarmed fighter, she knocks aside blaster fire on her way in closer- taking another graze along a leg as she advances. Once she's in close with fighters who haven't had a chance to draw blade, she's much more effective and efficient- cutting through blaster barrels and sights at each opportunity that presents itself as she maneuvers between the group of bouncers.

Volken Mons has posed:
As the cage begins going down, Volken is alreadyd on the move, seizing up his repeater cannons as the sparks fly and debris falls.

He expected to trigger some chaos, however he didn't think they would just immediately open fire on him and him alone. An opportuity like this could set the whole place into chaos given various grudges, gamblings, dealings and people just looking for an excuse but--he did just throw a Dowutin into the crowd so on quick reflection getting shot at makes sense.

The blaster fire lances near him and then against his shoulder, scorching off of the beskar and lancing a scorch mark across a boulder sized shoulder. He hauls up one of the repeater cannons and turns it towards the scattering crowds and then towards the security themselevs. He deliberately waits for the crowds to clear and then lifts the cannons up and unleashed a barrage of fire intended more to scatter the guards and send them fleeing and to do more damage to the building then to actually spray into people just trying to get away. He's got -some- morales and scruples. Just not many.

"Time to go!" he yells at Cayde. "Tell your den mother to get moving!"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Ann might note Zara nodding and rushing off up the stairs and into the chaos, along with some others, although it won't really be fully clear what happened to them all. Whether they escaped safely or got gunned down by someone. Maybe even Volken, as he starts full-auto firing at the scattering crowds and guards. Well, the patrons mostly got away...they're mainly concerned with themselves. Some of the security mercs feel they have something to prove, so some of them attempt to return fire with their comparatively meager weapons but end up getting mowed down.

    Eventually, Ann manages to knock out or disarm most of the bouncers who had confronted her. But now, Cayde seems to be nowhere in sight. The lift is malfunctioning, and appears to be jammed halfway between the first floor and basement. The stairs lead into the now empty pit, with the walls and cage that had been around it partially collapsed into it.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Exhaling slowly, Ann shakes her head as she loses track of Cayde- like trying to mind a herd of Shaak, keeping eyes on that boy. As she brings the downstairs-battle to a close, she makes for the stairs up to the arena.

    Cayde -better- not be on that broken elevator, in her mind.

    "Looks like we're wrapped up below, might want to get moving big guy," she shouts- thoroughly unsurprised by the chaos above, even as she guards herself with her saber here and there. Something about mandalorians, really- nevermind all that. Need to find the padawan. Shame her better sense won't be as much help in this cacophony of blaster fire and clattering tables and chairs.

Volken Mons has posed:
Well he wasn't trying to hit anyone in the crowd if it could be helped. Volken's not totally sadistic or a sociapath. Just...adjacent.

So some effort was made there. As to the guards stupid enough to stand against him and continue to open fire on a Mandalorian sporting a pair of weapons as big as they are? Well...

"Out here! We're leaving." he yells for Cayde and Anne while moving for the edge of the cage. Blaster fire explodes into his torso. It's even a question if it landed against his massive body or hit the beskar as he plows forward, unbowed or unmoved by the attacks and possibly adding to any potential terror given how unphased he is by the attacks. He steps onto the fallen walls, attempting to ascend upwards from the pit towards the clearing first floor and opening fire with his cannons again towards the guards still insisting on holding their ground against him.

"Alright! Yer getting my blood pumpin'!" he thunders, voice audible even over the sound of both repeator cannons as they unleash another volley of attacks.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The chaos persists for a bit longer, up until Volken leaps out of the pit and onto the first floor. Those who dared resist were flattened. The rest...well, they didn't get paid enough for this. Either the crazy Mando was going to kill them, or the boss was going to kill them, but at least now they perchance had an opportunity to get the kriff out of here. So they do, the remaining security dropping their weapons and high-tailing it out of there.

    What had just been a bar full of lively drinking, betting, and carousing about is now a desolate wreck with a few dead bodies. And some just...too injured to get up.

    Still, the young padawan is nowhere in sight. However, now that most of everyone else is gone, it may be much easier to find him.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A slow sigh from Ann, and she walks over to the broken lift as she de-activates and stows her saber. No sense talking, so she simply signals to check for people inside- perhaps a specific person inside. She knocks on the metal door sharply to make the sound echo down the shaft.

Volken Mons has posed:
"Huh. Great. I wanted to -actually- check this place out. These damned Jedi Sorcerers keep getting me wrapped up in poo-doo."

Volken is a cauldron of emotions and most of them are negative. He didn't get the thrill from the fight he wanted, now the place is jacked up and he's most likley got another bounty on his head.

Well that last part might be fun.

"Where ya at! Let's go!" he thunders one final time, trying to wait for Anne and Cayde.

He then just shrugs and reholsters one of his massive guns to free an arm up and heads towards the damaged lift.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The door is stuck partially open actually, and Ann can see into the shaft. The platform is a few feet above her head, but with the various skills and resources she has at her disposal, she probably won't have much trouble getting up there.

    From Volken's vantage point on the first floor, as he approaches the broken elevator he'll see that the doors are jammed open by some debris that has fallen into the shaft, perhaps from upstairs.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Knock back if you hear me, Cayde," Ann calls into the shaft. She shakes her head a little, exhaling again. "Better we be gone -before- the gangs than after."

    Rather than climb up, she goes around, up the stairs to the arena and out to meet up with Volken

Volken Mons has posed:
"Where the -hell- is that kid? Don't tell me we did all this and he just wandered off again!?"

You don't need the force or to see Volken's face through his helm to know that the huge man is fuming.

"I mean, chaos is fun. This was a party! But I like happy endings..."

He finally puts away both repeater cannons and tromps over towards a ramp that leads up higher towards the exits. He passes by a couple of fallen guards but doesn't pay them any mind though some may yet be alive.

"If he's gone again or not, don't stick around!" he cautions Anne. "Sometimes you gotta let folk learn things the hard way. Lock him in a room with a Rancor or something but let's go!"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Once Ann reaches the first floor, she and Volken will find that Cayde actually wasn't on the lift, but just trapped under a large piece of the collapsed arena fence. Thankfully, he seems to be all right, if a bit scraped up, and with the Mandalorian's vast strength or a quick use of the Force it shouldn't be too much trouble to get him free.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann stares at this situation a moment, and sighs. She's trained her telekinetics somewhat, but... she's still her. So instead, she leans down to take a page out of Volken's book and simply *lift*.

    "For what it's worth, Mandalorian," she calls to the retreating figure. "I do apologize for you getting mixed up in this. Was not how I expected my evening to go either."

Volken Mons has posed:
Upon seeing Anne take the effort to begin lifting the rubble, Volken looks and also sees Cayde. He gives a bullish snort an then returns towards her and leans down to place a single arm under the rubble to add to the effort so she more rapidly frees Cayde.

"Yeah, yeah, just get this kid disciplined so he stops ending up in the worst places he's not supposed to be."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    With the two of them lifting, they easily move the piece of debris off of Cayde. He hurries out from under it, looking around at the destruction caused. For what it's worth, he does seem remorseful.

    [...I am sorry] he signs.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A slow sigh from Ann. "The lad's Master is away on some form of business. These multiple tandem meetings are unusual. We've had discussions, however."

    She waves it off, nodding to the door as she guides the padawan along. "We will get this sorted... but I don't think the well-being of Coruscant will be exactly harmed by a place like this going under, in the meantime." She offers a faint smile with that.

Volken Mons has posed:
"My source of entertainment's been harmed!" explains Volken. "I was looking forward to some of those fights!"

He gives Cayde a long look, having seen him sign that apology..but he doesn't answer that right away and looks away, seemingly thinking.

"Anyway this place going under isn't the real issue..though I guess getting those folk out of here who were being forced to fight counts for something. But now, you've two almost certainly got some bounties on your head. Maybe they won't openly challenge your order but a place lke this is probably owned and run by folk with deep pockets and their fingers ina ll sorts of places that can make for ongoing trouble. So watch your backs..

With that he begins to make his way out, intending on going in a different direction then the one those two take.

"Not my business anymore!" Or so he thinks!

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde shakes his head. [Master Voss will not take a padawan] he tells Ann. Perhaps the other Jedi had changed her mind. That happened, sometimes.

    He nods when she mentions it probably wasn't the worst thing that this place was destroyed, watching Volken go. Still, some had been killed. But that wasn't on him, was it? He sighs, and starts for the exit as well.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Did she now? Hm. Sorry to hear," says Ann musingly as the trio exit- and Volken veers off. She crosses her hands inside her (now damaged) robe's sleeves, ponderous as she begins leading to a somewhat less direct and in the open route to transport elsewhere on the planet- just in case.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde stares at the ground, nodding. It didn't come as a surprise to him, honestly.

    [I know...I am difficult] he signs, sighing. Not just anyone would want him as a padawan. [Few would choose me]