[i]With [@Heat][/i]

As the Sith assassin watched the Republic supreme commander ascend closer towards him. A smirk danced across his lips at the sight of it, and all of the commotion he had apparently caused. He had drawn eyes away from the infiltration of the temple. The day before he laid his trap he had spent a day around Coruscant, part of it he’d paid a visit to the smouldering ruins of the Jedi Order’s former home. It sent chills down his spine, the sight of it. Even from a distance as it was blocked off by the Republic. It must have been glorious watching it burn on that day of reckoning for the Jedi. Such a stuffy, ignorant group deserved no less. 

He did indeed intend to not have to face this fool down, Zes would have preferred if Malcolm had gone up in flames inside of his apartment. Left as a cooked corpse, a proper death for a constant pain in the side to the Empire. Still, he had the advantage here. His identity was still well hidden, he had no need to call upon the Force. No reason to bare his lightsabers, his superiors had told him exactly [i]not[/i] to do that. The planet wide city gave a multitude of escape avenues. Plenty of alleyways to disappear down, places where the security did not care to look deep enough. As always, Zes was confident.

He gave a brief glance at Malcolm, then ran to the side where a dark blue speeder awaited him. He climbed into the driver’s side, locked his fingers around the controls and slammed his foot into the ignition pedal. The undercover Sith zoomed away from his position, intending to escape the supreme commander and any of the man’s lackies. 

[i]This is a stupid plan.[/i]

To say the thought crossed Jace’s mind would perhaps exaggerate the amount Jace Malcom actually ‘thought’ at times like these. He was a man of action by nature, one that could analyse a hell of a lot more data than most while in such a state, but it didn’t change who he was.

Armoured boots clanked against the building’s surface as he burst into a run, already, jets that had already burned through their fuel reserves sputtered to a semblance of life as the advanced armour anticipated the advancing drop. He had a moment, the blaster wouldn’t do it, the speeder could take the shot, nor could he guarantee a killing shot in the window of opportunity he had.

[i]This is a really stupid plan.[/i]

With a sudden inhale and exhale of breath, the Supreme Commander of the Republic military jumped. What had been solid ground gave way to a sheer drop to the cityscape below, so far one would struggle to even see the top layer of Coruscant's many separate levels of habitation. Traffic blurred beneath him. Jace took in none of this, all he saw was the target and the speeder they were on. Gravity began to take hold of him just a moment too soon.

The impact of what could generously be considered a large man in full combat armour was enough to push the civilian speeder into a momentary downward spiral. Jace got one hand, then two hands, to the metallic surface, losing his blaster in the process, but his suit soon magnetised him to the craft. A good thing too, even with a strong grip the prospect of hanging on to a speeder about to hit its acceleration as it careened downwards wasn’t one even a hero of the Great Galactic War would be likely to consider. For now, before the assailant could gain control of the vehicle, it was all Jace could do to simply hold on.

Zes’ eyes went wide as the armored man clasped onto the front of the speeder, an incredibly bold move. But not one that was entirely unexpected considering the commander’s history of risk in the battlefield during the war.The Sith forcefully lifted the controls up to regain control, breathing heavy as the spiral downwards into speeding traffic sent a chill through his spine. With a frantic yank he managed to level the vessel, avoiding catastrophe. The panic in his veins ceased as he was in full control. A terrible prospect for his target who clung to the hood practically at Zes’ mercy. He slammed on the ignition, as the speeder powered forward into the busy traffic. 

He rapidly shifted left and right, doing his damndest to fling Malcom off the hood. If he couldn’t send the man flying off then he’d scrape him against a building. With a quick glance, an affirmation that he had buckled in he shifted the speeder. He watched as the sides floated around him, then smiled as the rapidly moving vessel was now upside down. The Falleen was still in control as he whizzed through traffic. The force guided him, cautioning him of any imminent dangers he could not see. Horns honked and brakes slammed around him as he dodged other speeders, making as many near collisions as he could. 

Jace was immediately very thankful he was wearing his helmet. The world spun and lurched around him, but the stabilisation sensors within his armour and helm shielded him from the worst of the discombobulation. Still, it was a disconcerting experience to remain hanging from the wildly turning vehicle in the middle of heavy traffic by only the magnetic force of his armour. His initial instinct was to reach for his sidearm, now magged to his thigh, but the forces throwing him about reduced his ability to aim successfully to practically nothing. Perhaps he had prevented the Assassin from an easy escape, but it seemed beyond him to finish the job himself. The thought brought a growl of frustration to Malcom’s lips.

There was one final parting gift he could leave, however, momentarily bracing both hands on the vehicle, another gesture within his helm activated a secondary module within the armour, a small tracking device slipping from his palm to attach to the speeder. He highly doubted an accomplished agent would fail to notice it for long, but it might give the Republic forces a chance to catch up, at the worst, it was simply another pain for the attacker to deal with, and Jace was petty enough to take some joy from that. Once the tracker was set, he exhaled slowly, calming himself despite the chaos around him. Meditation was a Jedi trick, but, well, it had its uses.

In the next moment, the Supreme Commander threw himself from the speeder, pushing off against it, the magnetic lock of his armour disabling with the motion, and for the third time in one evening Jace Malcom found himself suspended in nothing. This time, however, it was remarkably short lived. The armoured form of the ex-trooper immediately struck a large freighter among the bustling traffic of Coruscant, the force jarring through him, and he half span-away due to the impact. He flailed out with one hand, just about catching the rim of the vehicle to arrest his descent, once again the enhanced grip of his armour keeping him from the plummeting drop below. While he was rather glad to have survived, even with the advanced systems of his armour, the sight of the would-be-assassin was soon lost to him in the blur of the skyline.