With this only being his second time on Nar Shaddaa, he didn't like he was in the position to comment on how strange it was to feel the vacuum of emptiness that hit them squarely between the eyes when they landed, but it was still a surreal feeling nonetheless, that feeling reinforced when they descended to the lower promenade. The "glitzy" gleam of commercialism was intact through the recurring advertisements proclaiming that sales would be in effect until two days ago, scantily clad female holograms beckoning potential patrons to various shady looking establishments and a constantly running banner of headline news scrolling across a screen that wrapped around the balcony that overlooked the spectacle of death they were entrenched in. Overkill was a massive understatement. This was borderline psychotic. 

He could feel Ari's concern tighten as they continued their patrol around the square, mirroring his own. Slicing through the stillness with his senses, he reached out, attempting to grasp any hint of what had occurred. There was some muttering behind a few of the locked shop doors, but after a few attempts at knocking and establishing themselves vocally as non-threats, it was gone. 
"You would think they'd be happy to see us." Zora muttered, vibranium daggers gripped firmly in hand as she walked away from yet another stonewalled attempt at coaxing civilians to exit their secured(so they thought) location. 
"Would you want to come out here?" Bex retorted, blaster rifle parallel to the ground as he examined an exit from the Promenade just north of where they stood. 
"All dark down that way." He commented as he rejoined the group, which was now rallied at the southern edge of an inactive and massive fountain that dominated the center of the square. 
"Right, so we're going to get nowhere down here." Elara bit her lower lip in thought, looking towards the northern edge of the upper promenade. 
"And I have a feeling that if we keep going down without any intel, we'd be walking straight into a trap." She thought for another moment before pointing to where she had focused her attention. 
"We ought to head to Alliance embassy located just over there. I'm sure we'd get a much warmer greeting." 
"Wait, Chief, why didn't we head there first?" Elara motioned for them to slink upstairs as she answered Abbeth's question:
"And ignore getting a first look ourselves? I wanted us to confirm my worst suspicions before attempting to get inside the embassy."
"Attempting to?"
"Alliance embassies aren't just your normal run of the mill shops. If security protocols were activated, we'll probably be dealing with ballistic droids programmed to shoot on sight. Not to mention circumventing the lock down by finding a working terminal and...well, you get the point." 

The group walked around the right hand side of the upper promenade, spotting two Alliance flags in tattered shreds flanking the entrance. Human and droid carcasses littered the entrance, but it was the pacing figures that brought Yerbol's saber to his hand. They were of the same mold the duo fought on Quensu: defined musculature, powerful frames, deathly blue skin color, jet black hair and a frenzied animosity that defined their every step. 
"Well, they look like murderers." Zora twirled her daggers as she bent her knees, ready to spring into action. 
"Give support to Yerbol and Aria as much as possible. Check your crosshairs for friendly fire and use cover." Elara ordered in hushed tones, which was a moot point considering that the two Xiis were now staring the squadron down with hungry grins. 

[i]Let's play decoy.[/i]

Another of their strategies to deal with powerful enemies was "decoying", which basically had Yerbol distract one or more enemies while the rest of the assigned squadron(usually including Aria) dealt with other forces. In this case, he would distract one of the Xiis while they fought the other. 

[i]Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just like an earthquake, right?[/i]

One of Renso's many pithy sayings echoed in his mind as they informed Elara of their strategy, the Xiis charging towards them not a fraction of a second later. Yerbol dashed towards them both, dual bladed saber slashing horizontally so that both Xiis dodged in opposite directions to not get slashed in half.
"One on the right!" The Champion gripped the saber hilt with both hands now, slashing vertically only to hit air, the Xiis rolling right and connecting with a blow to his sternum, Yerbol thankfully avoiding another blow that would have sent him flying over the safety railing to the lower promenade. He thrust a hand forward, blowing his fellow combatant back towards the entrance of the embassy, sprinting forward and slashing diagonally, managing to clip the alien on his left shoulder before he dodged and threw himself at Yerbol. The sudden action caught the Champion off guard, saber spilling from his hand as he hit the ground. Before he could get up, the Xiis had his foot on his chest, threatening to crush his ribcage in spite of Yerbol's strongest efforts to remove the appendage. 
"YOUR HEART WILL BE MY TROPHY!" His glistening teeth bared in a grin for a moment, but was replaced by a contorted look of pain as Yerbol slammed his eyes shut, concentrating on the strands of Force energy that the creatures emanated, tearing them away from his enemies body. 

[i]Sever the connection with the Force. Rip it to pieces. Make your enemy realize that his very essence is being torn away from him.[/i]

The Xiis stumbled backwards just long enough for Yerbol to rise, saber flying to his hand and activating for him to stab the Xiis through the gut, flinging his body off the promenade, crunching on the bloodied floor beneath. 
"And that was just one of them..."