[center][h3]~| Cells to Compound to Cells - 3 days ATC, 9th-10th hour |~
[sup]~| Talon, Xid and Nyiss |~[/sup][/h3][/center]

The young vixen's feet slowly scraped on the floor as Talon readjusted from on the makeshift bed on the floor. Her yellow eyes scanning a room as if looking for a single trace of a lost lover that still lingered in the air. She knew these types of people well. Security of the highest quality in every single room. Hidden within the environment so they would feel safe and sound. Only those new to this game would feel a false sense of safety. Adding the rules in place, everything was about controlling them. Making the prisoners submit to the higher powers.

The teenager jerked her figure upwards causing every joint to crack and pop. “Mmmm… Don't they ever shut up with their words? My ears are ringing from their useless threats.” She groaned with a sigh. 

The female moved towards the second room, claws still within her paws, as if to sneak around the semi-silent room before noticing the one called Xid messing with something. Most likely cutting himself on a sharpened object. Good attempt for a human, but worst way to go about it. Seems like the kid is back to semi-good health. The fox shifted towards him and leaned against the wall in order to face him directly.

 “A little advantage, we foxes have is paws. What's attached to them makes these tasks much easier than your small, fat fingers. Here take a look at how I'm able to grasp that object on the floor.” Talon said bending down, letting the male see her tools of choice. “Want to play the escapist, huh? First, you need to learn to be stealthy like a thief, Xid. During a heist, expect to be paired up with someone. Count on nothing going your way. Lastly, leave no evidence of a crime. For example, leaving blood on the bolt tells them where we are going. Now we must use one of the other ones.” 

Xid mumbled, his mouth muffled with his thumb, before pulling it out. 

“It would much easier if I had the right tools and both arms. However, Navi is likely still back at Coruscant or worse…” A slight regretful tone sliced into his words, followed by a wistful desire to see the little droid once more. Giving his thumb side one last lick, he turned to Talon and frowned. 

“This is one of the few entrances not heavily watched by the hidden cameras. I’ve checked twice. If we aim to get out of here undetected, this is the best door we can use. Unless you want me to sabotage one. The only bad thing is the Sith might interrupt me,” Xid stated, his figure stepped back to allow Talon through to the panel. 

“Really now? Mind telling me where the other ones are my lovely kit.” She said with twitching whiskers and a flickering tail.

Xid’s figure leaned back at Talon’s reaction, her words sounded like oil in water to him. Seeing little harm in his actions, his eyes looked up and his hand gestured for her to remain put. Xid placed a casual palm against the prison’s wall then focused on the interior structure of the prison. Several minutes passed before he located the first then about three more cameras causing him to pull back his hand. It took him such a short time because he started early in the morning, he had examined it for nearly three hours. The second attempt was only a refresher over the cameras’ locations. 

As he walked left back toward his cell then jerked his head upward to where each camera lurked in the wall. If Talon looked close enough, she could easily see each of its lenses rotate and zoom back out while their eye followed him. 

Talon slowly slid down towards the wall’s edge. Her eyes following every single moment the male's finger did. [I] “Interesting. I'm going to enjoy training this child's skills. Perhaps he'll make a wonderful thief like me. Even if he refuses I could always-,”[/I] The vixen thought before shaking her head clear of such disgusting thoughts. The fox’s claw scrapped across the ground in a number sequence. 12, 11, 10, 9, and 8. Each number represented a section near a cell. From rough estimate on her assumption, there were twelve cells meaning each one had a camera. All in unique positions over the area. “Damn kid. I have a feeling this is a start to a great business trade.”

There was a total of four hidden cameras outside of the individual cells, proving the main area of the prison was lightly watched. A perfect meeting area away from prying Sith eyes in just the right spots. When Xid finished nodding to each one, he walked back to Talon with a confident smirk on his lips. 

“See, this is the best one. It’s one of the few doors in a decent blind spot.” 

Talon nodded. “Shall we play a game of nexu and nerf?”

“What?” Xid asked, confused.

“A game of nexu and nerf. Never mind. We should get started with the escape correct?” She asked as her figure worked its way back towards the bolt. The vixen smirked as she found where the gaps were for her claws and unscrewed the object. Each one fell to the ground, silently catching each one when they fell to the ground. 

Xid idly watched, easily impressed, as he patiently waited for her to finish up. It was the worse spell of silence for him. 

Talon grasped the object within her hand and placed it inside her pocket. Her paws started working with the wiring inside. A small movement to the left. Another towards the right making it look a bit too easy. At least until a small hissing sound formed with a smell of burnt fur, Talon jerked back and cursed. “Well fuck me.”

Xid stepped forward, his eyes narrowed in concern, “You alright? What happened?” 

“I can break inside a house through vents, crawl through the tightest spaces, and play my other tricks any day. But when it comes to things like this my head goes way over it. To answer your question I've had much worse. Trust me Xid. Can you do this?"

“Yeah, I can. It’s simple splicing, let me show you how. I need your help in cutting them.” 

With that, Xid stepped forward and hunched down to the panel’s level. His hands move with purpose, less with thought and more with an instinctive knowledge. He pointed to the red wire for her to cut it, her claw sliced easily through it. He then moved it to another where he indicated she slice another one. He twisted the severed ends together causing it to hiss, resisting the command, before finally giving in. The red indicator turned green for open. 

“There. Thanks,” Xid praised Talon. 

“Well, I have you to thank for the lesson. If you need something sliced I'm your girl.” She said with a smirk before inhaling a different scent. The fur on the back of the vixen's neck stood upright. “We should move now. Troops are coming this way.”

Carefully and quickly, both Jedi rushed across the ramparts toward the only available direction to them: the compound. They vanished quickly into the opening then turned right just before the troopers spotted them. Xid’s breath was held in his chest, his back settled against the wall and listened for their approaching boots. Their steps came then left. He exhaled in relief. 

They decided to continue along their given path deeper into the compound. Knowing they had little time, Xid stepped toward the nearest door and pressed the panel. Again, it came open without a hitch. 

He turned to Talon then said, “Want to lead the way?” 

[hr]

From far above, Nyiss was looking out over the compound and the forest beyond. Something wasn’t quite right, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Normally this planet brimmed with Dark Side energies, but it was out of balance, and not quite in the manner she expected it to be thanks to the presence of the prisoners. It was annoying, but for now there was little to be done about it. She was just about to turn and back into the depths of the facility when an unexpected movement caught her eye below.

There was always movement in the facility, but it was usually with a purpose. Troopers marching, Sith striding towards their goals… But never scurrying in fear. Looking down, she saw two figures in decidedly non-standard garb running across one of the causeways towards the facility. An escape then.

Rather than raise the alarm though, she calmly turned and descended into the facility to investigate in person. Now that she knew they were there, it would be easy to track them through the Force - tiny motes of light amidst the overwhelming darkness.

This would be an interesting experience to be sure.

[hr]

“Leading isn't my strength. With this being said I'll gladly lead us into danger.” Talon said in a smartass tone. Her right paw from its original position from the prison area and into the corridor. Quick flickers of her eyes, different scents filling the vixen's nose, spoke a story inside her mind. There were actually fewer guards than first thought on the move. A skeleton crew of about perhaps 10. Granted that this was just a rough estimate on a time crunch.

At the moment the corridor seemed clear except for the footsteps coming towards them. This made everything much easier to sneak around yet something seemed to gnaw at the animal's brain. As if something was watching them closely. Studying them as if they were some sort of experiment. The fox allowed her other paw to move to the front, ears flickering in each direction as if to tell her comrade something was amiss. “We should go down the left corridor since the sounds of the heavy boot are coming from the right. On a side note, we also need to scatter when this other creature comes into view.”

“Or we can move through the door fast and hid there. I can seal it if needed.” Xid quickly suggested when his feet began to move into the direction the vixen indicated. He couldn’t fight in his condition and he didn’t like the idea of being trapped by troopers with blasters. 

The human padawan flipped about, waiting for Talon to follow before he quickly hit the panel to seal the doors. With a hyper focus on his Force into its inner workings, he was ready to cause it to malfunction should the footsteps come to this direction. 

“It’s nice to see the Republic and Empire has some similarities in their security systems. They still fall short of mine though.” Xid commented off-handedly, feeling a bit guilty.   

“I’ve heard you were really good with technology. Honestly, I thought that was a bit of a stretch.”

“It’s something I had since I was young. Tolun Fi, a Jedi Knight, in the temple found it useful. My master… I think she tolerated it. Especially after I had already created Navi and he helped bail us out of a few situations,” Xid admitted, finding his talent more of a normal for him than amazing. 

He inhaled, then twisted on his right heel to see if there was another door. They seemed to be in a sealed room, much to his dislike. 

“This should be fun.” She said looking around for a vent. “Mind going on the other side for a bit?”

“Ummm, sure… but what are you going to be able to do?” 

The vixen just smirked as he asked. Her eyes flickering towards the vent with a glint of mischief. “Ohhh. Nothing much.” She stated with a calm tone. The female's figure shifted a few steps forward, placing a scratched x on the floor, before continuing towards her hiding hole. The mark was simply for the person in the back. A marker to allow his leg to step on for the perfect position. After all one couldn't completely be aware of their surroundings during a quick event.

“Don't open the door until I speak your name.”

Xid frowned. He wasn’t liking where this was leading, feeling like bait on a hook, “I’m guessing you’re wanting me to lure them in here?” 

There was a hint of wariness which was overwhelmed by annoyance at being possibly right. 

“Why do people always assume I'm using them?” She asked in a monotone voice.

“Cause moment I open this, they will see me. There’s nowhere to hide in here for too long.” 

“It's an old strategy I used to use a thief. X means where you want your target to step. Those footsteps don't sound light in weight. Meaning some of the men will be getting winded really quick. Those are the ones you want to steal from. No one can truly focus on their surroundings during a quick timed event. Stealing objects off of a single person is this sort of event. The opportunist needs to have quick reflexes along with a light touch.” The vixen explained as she shifted her tail around herself.

Xid’s eyes just narrowed, not fully seeing the logic in that. He sighed then decided to go along with as he then asked, “So… what do I do exactly? Aside from opening the door?” 

The girl sighed and glanced around the room. “Don't get hit.”

“Easier said than done,” Xid mumbled, recalling the last time he tangled with troopers with blasters. His shoulder was still hurting because of it. 

“FINE. Once the door is opened stay in a corner. I'll take care of everything because I don't need this to go wrong.” The vixen stated with a growl. “Open the door and I'll force blast them.”

“Fine,” Xid was done arguing. Escaping alone, he might’ve actually gotten farther rather than trapped in a room with a fox that obviously didn’t see the whole picture, “Ready?” 

“Might want to take a few steps back from the door after opening it. One, two, three, four, and punch it.” She said with her teeth exposed.

“Alright,” Xid commented then stepped back, still focused on it, as he then opened it with a force push. 

The doors hissed open causing both troopers to snap their heads toward the Jedi’s direction. Thankfully, Xid had been smart enough to step out of the line of sight and the door appeared to have opened by itself. 

The vixen closed her yellow eyes, listening while stepping with the padawan's footsteps. Team player was beyond her ways since the betrayal. Hell, it was always easier to play by her own rules anyway. Granted this was one of the many things the Jedi seemed to have a problem with. What did they think would happen? Would the teenager suddenly change her ways of life for their moronic ideals? Taking a deep breath she allowed the frustrations to leave her mind. Worries weren't going to help at this moment. Honestly, they were just going to become a huge bother, making the set skills duller than normal.

The footsteps seemed to echo off the wall as the two guards investigated the distraction. One seeming to land directly where they were supposed to hit. Talon smirked as her eyes opened, not allowing a single motion to take place, causing the guard on the mark to smack into the wall with a force push. Since the second one was more aware of something inside the room things would become rather tricky. The fox’s figure moves swiftly without a sound revealing where the attacker was. A small step forward and a grasp of the weapon made all attention shift towards the gun. [I]”Well fuck me. Guess I'm more out of practice than I thought.”[/I] She thought smacking the person’s helmet hard with the blaster stock.

“That could’ve gone better…” Xid began then looked out the door, noticing the coast was clear. 

“Sorry for being out of practice unlike you. I just have to remember how he taught me how to use this.” The vixen said nearly hitting the trigger.

Xid bolted forward. His hand reached for the muzzle then pulled it clear of her foot, the blast narrowly missed hitting it. “Not that way! Don’t pull the trigger unless you’re aiming it at something you want to blast.” 

Talon nodded with a grumble. She picked up the second one and handed it to Xid. Her finger shifted away from the trigger button. “These things should have a safety lock or something. In order to prevent someone going blaster happy on people.” The fox said as they walked out of the room. They cautiously checked the area again, as if they were nothing more than small animals on the run, before taking the other path. Moments of silence passed between them making a rather uncomfortable atmosphere as they moved deeper into the complex.

“They don’t so be careful,” Xid said noting the other being handed to him, though he wasn’t keen on using it. Personally, he preferred a lightsaber, but he doubted they would ever find theirs or be able to rebuild new ones. He followed Talon deeper into the Sith’s lair. 
[hr

Nyiss could feel the desperation in the Force as she drew near. These young Jedi had no plan, they merely wandered the halls of her fortress. It was a delight to hunt such prey again, even if it would prove only a short distraction.

She rounded a corner and finally spotted them down the hallway from her. The handsome young blonde one and the Amarran.

“And what do you think you’re doing outside your cells?” She said, projecting her voice without shouting. She began to walk towards them, fully expecting them to run at the sight of her.

Xid had settled himself down in front of their latest obstacle. While his hands examined the panel, he could hear the sounds of snarls, growls and more related to wild beasts. He had just gotten past the panel when the sith’s voice caused his head to whip about, spotting her casually making her way to them.  

Panic shot through his veins as his fingers spliced into the wiring, forcing the door open. He could tell she was strong with the force purely from the darkness radiating off her at this distance. Talon and he wouldn’t last very long in a fight. If he didn’t do something, their mission to find a way out was going to get cut short. 

“Time to leave,” Xid stated to Talon as the doors hissed open, revealing the multiple beasts trapped within their cages inside. 

He didn’t wait for Amarran to go first, his figure already stepped inside and ready to seal it shut. 

"Well, you know. We thought your mother was lonely and decided to drop in." Talon said with a taunting tail wiggle as her figure dived through the door.

Nyiss continued to pursue at a brisk pace, ignoring the childish insult. Far worse things had been said about her in her early days, and she had said far worse about her mother as well.

She held up a hand, gripping the doors to the room with the Force to ensure they would remain open. Now that she knew of the technopathic abilities this human had, she would not be fooled again. 

“Oh no,” Xid tried not to whimper.

He noticed the doors hadn’t closed, their gears grounded endlessly and got nowhere causing his heart to sink deeper into his chest. They failed to resist the force applied to it by the Darth. He had to improvise. His figure leaned down, the boy’s hand gripped Talon's shoulder then jerked her to follow him. Xid’s blue eyes scanned the specs of the room before noting the local ventilation entrance.

“Get those bolts off and get in there. Now. Don’t argue with me, I’m going to buy you some time.” 

Without wasting more time than he already had, Xid’s head darted from specimen to specimen. His knowledge didn’t extend to the animals in the same fashion as it did with technology. He narrowed his attention on a vicious, reddish colored Nexu. Its four eyes glared at him when its claws flexed, eager to rip him into pieces. Xid felt a shiver rush along his spine at seeing the intelligence behind the primal eyes. Already his hand began to undo the panel, using the knowledge that Talon shared, then began to rip out key wires. 

The young woman nodded and went to work on the bolts off as quick as possible. Her tail flickered back and forth due to the hidden pressure which Xid placed on her. [I]”Take your time with this job. One bolt gone. Now focus. The left top right is gone as for the other three focus on the right.”[/I] She thought to herself while in screwing the top right now. A few more seconds of releasing the vent top, allowing entrance into the cuppy area below, as her figure disappeared inside.

The Nexu hissed, smashing itself against the cage as Nyiss stepped into the room. She smiled as she realised that it was about to break free. The console sparked as the wires controlling all but the last of the locks on the Nexu’s cage were torn free. The creature howled and slammed itself against the cage again, this time breaking loose.

It rushed straight for Nyiss, but before it could leap at her, she raised a hand and pointed at it. A single arc of lightning extended from her finger, striking its head dead center. It whimpered and slowed its approach, bowing its head and stopping just in front of her.

She looked up at Xid and spoke then. “A valiant effort. But for all your machine knowledge, you know nothing of my pets.” She smiled then, a vicious smile that spoke of the depths of her sadism. 

“Well, organics were always difficult to understand. Torture eventually breaks down even the most vicious creature’s programming and makes them submit to the whims of the programmer,” Xid commented and hoped Talon was gone by now, “I was hoping for better results truthfully.” 

While he disliked the aftermath, he shouldn’t have been surprised. These beasts had been likely tortured, trained and brutalized in horrible fashions since they were first captured. He didn’t know exactly what the extent of their programming was.  

“Now the next question is… what now?” His attention was already shifting toward a way out, but his options were heavily limited. 

“Now, little Jedi, I walk you back to your prison,” Nyiss stated. “Or, I incapacitate you and have you dragged back. Your choice.” She stepped past the Nexu and began to raise her hand, expecting him to be difficult.

“How polite of you,” Xid couldn’t help his words being laced with sarcasm. 

His figure relaxed a bit and appeared like all the fight within him was lost. He took a deep breath then lowered his eyes, noting that Talon had abruptly vanished into the vents. Hopefully beyond Nyiss’ reach for now. 

“I think I’ll take the advice of a Kaminoan Knight, and cooperate. I’m not in the condition to fight as you can see,” Xid replied than gestured to his still mending arm hung close to his side. 

“Good. A smart choice. We will catch your little friend later.” She said, now beckoning with her raised hand instead. “I trust you must know the way back by now?” She said with some degree of sarcasm.

“If you count wandering around for what seemed like ages as ‘knowing the way’, then yes. I do,” Xid replied, his figure stepped cautiously toward the Darth’s direction and right past her.  

He wasn’t about to reveal how much he knew about the compound’s mapping to Sith. It would just complicate future escape plans and make things much harder. 

“Come along then.” She said, slightly impatiently. This had been fun for a little while, and she had learned a great deal about this particular Jedi’s capabilities and mentality. She would exploit that information to the fullest later.

“And don't even think about using Mechu Deru to escape me.” As she spoke, she tapped a few buttons on one of the intact control panels in the beast pens and called a team in to put the Nexu back in its cage and make repairs.

“Just because a Jedi has a high knowledge about machines doesn’t automatically give them that ability,” Xid commented but didn’t deny he was able to do it. 

Since she was aware of it, he assumed it was a bad idea to prove her suspicions correct and use it. His pace only slightly picked up at her words while he approached the door then stepped through it. 

 “You’ll not fool me child. I have seen the Force wielded in ways you cannot even imagine. Now move. I have more important things to do than shephard escaped Jedi.” She was properly impatient now, and considering putting an ignited lightsaber behind his neck to quicken his pace as they moved through the halls of her fortress.

“My words aren't meant to fool you, it’s a fact,” Xid pointed out. 

His feet finally picked up the pace properly, sensing the irritation his words caused and decided not to test his limits too far. 

“It seems you didn’t because you didn’t simply raise the alarm. It’s too much of a coincidence that you simply showed up and chased us down so I can only assume you’ve been watching us.”  

“Chance, that I happened to be admiring the view when you ran across the catwalks in such a clearly desperate and fugitive manner. Act like a Sith if you don't want to be noticed.” She said with a smirk.

“I’m going to avoid going down that path at all costs. Nothing good will come from it,” Xid stated bluntly, fighting a shiver down his spine.

His eyes glanced down at his attire then added, “I will make a note that you’re able to see the prison and make efforts to try a bit harder not to be seen.”  

He didn’t like her smirk as he turned his head, avoiding her face and continued walking. 

“So confident.” Nyiss said, mockingly. “We shall see whether you still believe that soon enough. I think you know much that you aren’t telling me. But we can discuss this later, at a time more convenient to me.” She said as they approached the catwalks that would lead them to the prison. The wind was howling and the dark sky looked as if it would rain at any moment.

“If your fellow Sith hasn’t killed me by then,” Xid countered, ignoring her mocking words. 

Though he didn’t like the fact she would be talking with him later as he reached the catwalk. His eyes snapped up to spy the wild weather collecting down upon them, seemed to reflect some wild creature looming over them all. Something crossed his mind before he shook it away. He let their conversation slip into silence for the moment.  

It did not take long for them to arrive at the Cellblock, where Nyiss handed Xid over to the guards to be put back where he belonged.