It's a Trap

It's a Trap
Date of Scene:	11 December 2023
Location:	Level 1313 - Lower City - Coruscant
Synopsis:	Navi and Cayde run into each other on 1313.
Cast of Characters:	Cayde Alexis, Navi

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Cayde Alexis has posed:
    There's the Lower City levels, and then there's the even lower city levels. And then there's Level 1313. The poorest of the poor, dirtiest of the dirty. The worst part of town. Nearly everyone here isn't here by choice. Except for, well, people who go looking for trouble. Like certain young Jedi who don't know what's good for them.

    Cayde is standing on a street corner with a distant expression on his face, and doesn't seem to be aware of a seedy-looking Balosar who looks to be attempting to sneak up behind him for likely sinister purposes...

Navi has posed:
Navi could fit the same mold, were she not here on the business of the Shining Brotherhood. In the process of rebuilding their chapterhouse on Coruscant, the leadership of the chapterhouse discovered that a former Brother was living in the lower parts of the Lower City. Navi and two other Novices were sent to find him.

Twenty minutes ago, Navi had received word by comlink that Novice Stradus had located the Brother in question. Now she is making her way back to the chapterhouse when she spots a sinister-looking Balosar sneaking up behind... a /Jedi/?!

Navi struggles with her conscience for a moment. She's no longer a Jedi, and it's none of her business. But in the end she can't help herself. She must help the Jedi.

"Hello, friend!" she says, hurrying up to the Balosar. "Can you direct me to the nearest tram stop?" She makes sure she talks loud enough that the young Jedi can't possible miss hearing it. And hopes the Balosar chooses to peace out rather than confront her...

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The Balosar startles, his attention suddenly diverted toward her. But this quickly turns into anger at having been foiled. "Eeeh, find it yourself!" he sneers. "And get outta my way."

    In spite of her loud and obvious tone, Cayde does not turn around, or even seem aware of the conversation at all. Now that she has come closer to him, she may recognize him. She'd likely heard from Imoen by now about how he'd actually been stabbed earlier and had hid the fact from them. So what the kark was he doing down here?

Navi has posed:
Navi sidesteps the angry criminal, conveniently putting herself between Cayde and the Balosar. "I'm out of your way, now... don't let me stop your leaving," she replies. Now that she's gotten this close, she realizes the young Jedi looks very familiar, but she can't quite place him.

Oh, well. She'll have time to make sure once she's dealt with the angry criminal. Her right hand surreptitiously moves to her slung retractable staff, ready to put the weapon to use...

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The Balosar glares at her, clearly livid. He tries to roughly shove Navi aside, but with her training, she likely steps out of the way just in time. This creates an opening for her to fairly easily subdue him...

Navi has posed:
Navi pivots on one foot, taking a step back with the other to clear the Balosar's shove. Catching his outstretched arm with both hands, she executes another pivot, locking the arm out at the elbow and turning him straight into a support pillar! Pressing his upper body against the pillar with the weight of her own body, she executes a quick but efficient choke-hold that renders him unconscious in moments.

She lets him fall a moment after he fully goes limp, then turns to Cayde. Yup, it's him all right. "Cayde? What are you doing down /here/?" she asks, instantly concerned.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    "Oof!" The would-be thief (or whatever it was he had planned), is quickly subdued, yelping slightly just before his body goes limp and he crumples into a heap on the ground at the base of the broken lamppost she'd knocked him against.

    Yes, once Navi's attention is fully turned on the Jedi, there's no mistaking that it's Cayde. However, he doesn't respond right away, as if he's in some kind of trance...

Navi has posed:
Navi cautiously moves closer to Cayde, eventually pausing right in front of him. "Cayde?" she asks softly, waving a hand in front of his face, to see if he responds. "Can you even hear me?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Finally, when Navi places herself right in front of him, he blinks and actually looks at her. He still looks a bit pale, although that probably doesn't come as a surprise...after all he was stabbed yesterday.

    But now he actually looks confused, as if he doesn't quite remember how or why he came down here. [Navi...] he signs her name though, so he seems to at least recognize her.

Navi has posed:
"You were acting like you were in a trance or something. What are you doing down here? This place is dangerous! That guy was trying to mug you. Or worse!" Navi explains, indicating the unconscious Balosar sleazebag(gano).

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde looks down at the Balosar where she is pointing, then back up at her. He doesn't seem surprised or fazed at this news at all. He frowns. [I do not know...] he tells her. [What about you]

Navi has posed:
"Business for my order. I was returning to the chapterhouse after finishing my part of that business," Navi replies. "Maybe the Force put me where I was needed?" She shrugs slightly. "Do you remember what you were doing before you found yourself down here?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, thinking. [I...was inside a club...searching...I think] he signs. It may become apparent to Navi that he's trying to convey something to her through the Force, but it is rather jumbled and different to interpret, as it is full of the saturated emotions of the people at this club. Still, she might be able to pick up that he'd been looking for an item, some kind of key.

    However, at some point he'd gotten lost, or confused, or somehow had forgotten what he'd been doing for some reason neither of them can discern...

Navi has posed:
"Oh, /wow/..." Navi murmurs, almost staggering as Cayde's thoughts hit her. "This is... way too much to take in..." she murmurs, a little dazed in the wake of the mental flood of information and emotions, many of which weren't even Cayde's.

"All I can really make sense of is that you were looking for some kind of key... and somehow you got lost, confused, or forgot what you were trying to do," she says, after a few thoughtful moments. "I'm sorry... I've never been trained in telepathy."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods. Well that was the gist of it, anyway. He sighs, suddenly looking apologetic when she nearly staggers back, instinctively reaching out briefly to steady her. [Sorry] he signs.

Navi has posed:
"It's okay... maybe if my Master had been able to train me in telepathy, this wouldn't be so overwhelming. Not your fault," Navi replies, though she doesn't refuse the hand that steadies her on her feet. "Thanks. Though I'm left wondering... why were you looking for a key? And what was the key for?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, then his eyes widen when he finally remembers why he'd been looking for it. Ah...but he struggles to find a way to explain everything to her, without using Force telepathy. He exhales audibly and gives it a shot anyway.

    [Lots of credits] he begins to sign. [But trapped...dangerous] He glances down the street toward where a wide tunnel leads down into the Works, looking worried.

Navi has posed:
"This is sounding more and more like a bad idea," Navi observes softly. "So this key, whatever it is, is down there... below one of the lowest levels of the city. It's worth a lot of credits, but there are traps and other dangers to get past."

She looks at the mouth of the tunnel down the street, failing to keep back a shiver. "You're going to need help," she says at last, "and I'm the only one here to help you. Lead on."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    But Cayde shakes his head, rubbing his face. No, no...

    He pauses, trying to think of how to rephrase everything. [Credits trapped] he signs, then points toward the tunnel into the Works. [Outlaws have the key...who opens it will die]

    But...what could he mean? Opens what? How could credits be trapped?

Navi has posed:
"So... outlaws trapped lots of credits... and they're going to release them with the key... and the credits will all die..?" Navi says, listing the items on her fingers. "No, no... that doesn't make any sense. That /can't/ be right! I'm sorry, but I'm completely lost here. I feel like my head's tied up in knots... maybe you'd better give me another telepathic whammy. I'll take the risk."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde sighs and shakes his head again, when she once again doesn't understand. Not that he blames her...really, it's his own fault. He needed to get better with...words.

    When she offers to try making sense of his projections again, he nods and holds out a hand, as if expecting her to take it.

Navi has posed:
Navi takes Cayde's offered hand, guessing that's what he's wanting. "Whenever you're ready," she says softly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, to calm her mind.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods and as soon as she touches him she will immediately be immersed in his memories. Yes, he'd been at a very loud and crowded club somewhere. The cacophony is almost unbearable, as the thoughts and emotions of everyone in the building are clanging around in his head...and some of them are high and/or drunk. Well this must have been the reason why he'd gotten confused and lost.

    At any rate, amongst all the clamor, a more distinct conversation can be heard, between two male humans. One of them she'll recognize is actually Kalregar, the man that teen spicerunner had mentioned the other day.
    "...stash is down in the Works, basement of that abandoned factory on 5th. You get to it, the creds are yours. Gotta be millions in there."
    "And no one else knows?"
    "Guaranteed no competition."
    "You've got yourself a deal, then."

    The other man walks away, but there is a...sinister aura about him. He knows the cache is booby trapped. Full of explosives that were rigged to explode as soon as the key was slotted.

    Cayde's thoughts are racing, knowing that a man like Kalregar wouldn't try to open it himself. No, he'd send one of his runners to do it...

Navi has posed:
Navi blinks slowly, eyes widening slightly as the torrent of thoughts race through her mind. "Wha... huh..?" she murmurs, her eyes crossing and her jaw going slack. Even her ears droop. "W.. wuh..?" She sways slowly back and forth, forward and backward, on her feet. And then her eyes roll back in her head, and with a weary, "... guuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." she sways back and falls bonelessly onto her back on the street.

Somehow she never loses her grip on his hand. Her eyes slowly shut and her breathing deepens, and her expression goes from dazed to the near-serenity of sleep.

Several minutes later, she sits up, blinking. "Kalregar... he... he's the lowest snake I've ever heard of. He's sent one of his own people to die, just so he can get that money!" she says, at first softly, then louder as her tone shifts to righteous indignation. "Where has that flunky gone? We've got to stop him, before he blows himself to paste!"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde shakes his head. [He does not know about the trap] he tells her. [But must find him...destroy the key]

    She may sense that he's afraid of going after the man himself. For some reason, back at that club, he'd almost lost it. And that was the last thing he wanted...

Navi has posed:
"Cayde, you lost your grip because you were surrounded by dozens of sentients who were drinking and taking recreational drugs... there shouldn't be any of that in an abandoned factory," Navi says, in what she hopes is a reassuring tone, as she tries to stand. "I'll be right there with you. But I need you to guide me to the man you saw. And then we /both/ have to get that key away from him."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    No...there was another reason why he was afraid that Kalregar might cause him to lose control of himself. But what exactly that might be isn't quite clear to Navi.

    [Scrap barge in Lower Uscru District tomorrow night] Cayde signs. [Find him there] He nods, apparently very assured of this.

Navi has posed:
"If that's what you believe... well, it's /your/ mind. You know it better than me," Navi observes softly, nodding firmly. "Come on... I'll walk you back to the Temple. The sooner we're out of this awful place, the better I'll feel."

She looks back, blinks, and lets go of his hand. "Wait... I forgot one thing." Crouching next to the unconscious Balosar, she searches through his clothing and gear, taking any weapons she finds and depositing them in her satchel.

"/That/ should put a nice crimp in his criminal career," she says, with some satisfaction, and returns to Cayde's side. "Let's go home. The sooner I have a cot under me and a blanket over me, the happier I'll be."