In the darker, run-down streets of Nar Shaddaa, an Imperial operation had just concluded. A small Republic SIS operations team with a Jedi attachment were to be hunted down and destroyed, and destroyed they had been. None of them saw it coming, though they gave the Sith and Imperial Intelligence operators a warm welcome. Until Lord Aotisa arrived with his forces, they might have had a small chance of escape... But the reality was that the majority were killed, and any who were going to be captured killed themselves rather than let Republic secrets fall into the hands of the Empire. The Fixers came to grab what they could from the tech left behind, though most of it was fried or the contents purged moments prior to the short battles end.

One thing was amiss, though. A Jedi. One had been killed in the fighting, no doubt about it. Aria Draconis, one that'd been a thorn in the side of many an Imperial leader. She was the 'problematic' one. Lord Arkanos lost his hand during the conflict, but his sister made sure to take advantage of such an opening to finish the battle quickly - rather than save her brother the injury, of course... Still, there was a Jedi unaccounted for. Allegedly, one of the attacking soldiers had seen a figure crawling through a vent just as the battle started - someone who looked more civilian than soldier. The Sith that followed the troops in noted the presence of a second Jedi fading, too. The search was still on, but this seemed very much a victory.

"You did your duty, sister... If it cost me my blade hand, so be it. But know this: the next time you find yourself in peril, I'll wait for the enemy's back to be turned, too. You might lose something, unfortunately," Arkanos muttered in the same deadpan tone he'd always used. A cybernetic hand was being fitted by a medical droid and a probe assistant, and the Sith Lord hadn't bothered with sedatives. The pain was for him to memorize, so he might draw on it later. Rage at being injured, and hate for his sister. He couldn't feel the Force flow through his hand anymore, ...he'd find a way to get back at her eventually. The med center was empty, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Lord Arkana meanwhile was already on the hunt for the missing Jedi, along with Lord Aotisa and his forces. The Chiss was very adept in his uses of the Force, and not only in the dark side's combative and manipulative abilities - he was good enough to track the Force presence that seemed to flee early on in the battle, and so he would lead the hunt. They'd entered a district full of neon lights, nightclubs and cantinas, gambling parlors and the like. That presence was somewhere here, among the bustling crowds. They minded the Sith and their Imperial followers, but nobody outright stood aside and stopped the flow of activity for them.

----------

With a black cloak tied around her whole body, concealing all but her white boots, Lunaris was trying to keep ahead of the Sith searching for her. All she needed was to find a waiting speeder, and then she could hit any spaceport she wanted, and get the hell off this moon. She was certain she could find a smuggler crazy enough to get her out before the Imperials put a lockdown in effect. They were holding the command for some reason... Perhaps it was just the sheer amount of traffic to and from Nar Shaddaa making it difficult to time, or perhaps it was because they didn't want anyone to think they'd messed up and lost an enemy in the streets.

[I]'Just keep walking... There is no emotion, there is peace...'[/I] Lunaris thought to herself, remaining calm as she could as she made her way through the sector. In addition to her own lightsaber, she felt the unfamiliar one bouncing against her hip as she increased her pace. The lightsaber belonged to the fallen Jedi's. Aria Draconis had fought the Sith off, despite being wounded severely by the female Pureblood. Before she succumbed to her injury, she tossed the inactive hilt into the vent behind the Chiss Padawan, knowing it'd become the Siths' trophy otherwise. Besides, she had a mission for the young Lunaris - a Jedi named Cronic Crystalis had to know she fell in battle, and she intended to honour the promise to inform Aria's comrades.

Being the only survivor, having run away by herself to leave everyone else to their fates, it was painful... If her eyes weren't entirely red, she'd look quite sad. But to any who passed, she just looked like she was staring straight ahead, focused on whatever her own business was.
[I]'There is no chaos, there is harmony... There is no death, there is the Force... You have to keep going,'[/I] she reminded herself.