Corellian Jones and the Golden Bight

"Ladies and Gentlemen if I could have your attention please!" the distinguished and flashily dressed presenter called to the crowd of equally ostentatious patrons. His voiced boomed through the gilded ball room, amplified by the speakers at every corner tied to the microphone implanted in the speakers left ear. The room was tall ceilinged, its decorated golden hexed vaults supported by ornate columns of shiny durasteel and clari-crystalline glass that reflected light in every direction, giving the room a feeling of being inside a golden hued diamond. The crowd itself flashed the brightness of wealth and power, with expensive and intricate dresses and suits adorning every patron as they milled about the ball room floor. Their eyes were now fixed on the presenter as he made his way to the center of the room to stand next to a covered piece on a center dais at the room's center.
"My name is Von Ore and I am your Master of Ceremonies tonight! We here at the Canto Casino do so appreciate your patronage tonight and we hope you've enjoyed tonight's entertainment!" as he gestured at the retreating forms of several dancers in peacock like suits. This eluded some mild applause and a few whistles from the crowd. "BUT, the night is young and we have only just begun! Canto Casino has promised you something special, something unique! And that something is here, ladies and gentleman. Without further ado..." he gestured an open hand behind him at the covered form while stepping back to the side. Two attendants, on cue, pulled the sheet that covered the form back dramatically to reveal a large, twelve foot tall statue composed of a dark black stone, accentuated by white marble. Its form was that of a hunter wielding a bow, riding atop a horse like creature as it galloped. The hunter was aiming down at his target, a Nexu that was in mid pounce toward him. There was several awes and a handful of half-hearted claps at its reveal. "Ladies and Gentleman this statue was expertly carved by a score of Naboo artists, but it is more than you may think!"
On cue, there was the distinct sound of a lightsaber ignition as the 'strings' and 'arrow' of the bow flashed to life in a brilliant golden yellow. The crowd let out a loud gasp and a round of applause as the presented continued "Yes! What you see here ladies and gentlemen is a powerful and rare crystal, a kyber crystal! But this isn't just any kyber crystal! This is from the hilt of a Jedi's lightsaber! It is worth more than the expert carving of the Naboo artists who made this exquisite statue, more than this room and even this very casino!" There was a thunderous applause as the presenter stepped aside and gestured the crowd forward for a better look, though kept at respectful distance by four large security guards clad in fine dress uniforms and armed with blasters in hand.
Amidst the applauding and aweing crowd, leaning against one of the rooms brilliant columns and puffing on a Chandrillian cigarra, stood a keen eyed, sharp jawed man in a wrinkled and worn suit. He looked altogether out-place, but only in that his rugged handsomeness and out of style, old suit did not fit the crowd around him. This would buy him a few looks of disgust here and there, followed by the not to uncommon swoon from the high society ladies that immediately forgave his fashion sense. He eyed the statue from across the room, his keen blue eyes studying the light bow and its revealed secret. As he took one last puff of his cigarra before putting it out in a passing waiter's tray of Bakuran bitters, he eyed the crowd around him for his contact, before settling his eyes on the alluring, red dressed form of a woman sitting alone at a small booth off to the side of the expansive ball room. He slowly made his way through the crowd, listening to some of the chatter. He saw several people he recognized, including a wealthy Alderaan aristocrat whose name he had forgotten, listening to a well dressed and animated Chandrillian wearing exotic linens no doubt gained on some 'adventure'. " -I say I thought I had seen him on one of the new holofilms they have out. Yes, yes! That's the one. Harris's son Ford is in it, good fellow that- "
 Unlike some of the ladies he passed on his way to her table, when he sat down across from her - without waiting for an invitation of course - she seemed entirely uninterested. He held a wry grin as she continued to read through her datapad, not acknowledging him. For a few moments he waited, before reaching into his jacket pocket for another cigarra. As he flicked open his lighter, she said without raising her head "Dr. Jones you know how much I dislike that habit of yours."
"I'd thought you were too busy to notice." He said, holding his grin. "Not too busy to notice your abhorrent taste in cigarras."
"What's wrong with my cigarras?" he said, dropping his grin. At this she raised her head with an annoyed look, "Eeveryone knows Chandrillian cigarras taste like Rhydonium." She looked back at her datapad. "And it makes you smell like a wookie."
Dr. Jones put away the cigarra, looking a little annoyed and like he'd just been stung. "Yeah, yeah. So what have you figured out?" Sana looked up from datapad, turning it off and putting it into her handbag. "Well that, of course." as she nodded toward the statue at the center of the room. "Well I figured that. But how are we supposed to get the crystal out of it? Its in the middle of the room and guarded. Not to mention getting out of here with it."
"Thats just it, Corell. The crystal isn't actually in there. Its in the vault." Corell leaned back in his seat, the pieces now forming together in his mind. "Alright, so we just need a way downstairs. I'm assuming you've got that planned out?" Sana flagged a passing waiter, who turned a little haphazardly as he tried to maintain balance with a giant tray of appetizers. The short, black haired Balosar looked quickly back and forth between Corell and Sana. Corell noted that his uniform, a simple black tuxedo affair, was ill fighting and he definitely didn't seem to act like any of the other highly trained and disciplined waiters for the event. "This is an acquittance of mine, Tar Tali'sar. I believe you know his boss, Ulag. Anyway, Ulag owed me a favor, so Tar here is our way in." Corell looked incredulously at the Balosar, barely older than a teenager. "What, this kid? How is he going to get us down there?" "Well he won't get us down there per say, but he will make us a distraction." Corell raised an eyebrow, as Tar butted in. "I do have a pretty good plan actually." "And what's that kid?"
Tar open the right flap of his jacket to reveal a belt of flash grenades, with a giant grin. Corell chuckled a bit looking back at Sana. "I assume you can get the door open?" "Of course."
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A series of loud, concussive bangs echoed through the ballroom as Tar pulled the pins and rolled several flash grenades around the room. The brilliant dazzling flashes of light bounced and cascaded off the polished, reflective surfaces of every wall and column, the sequence of patron's dresses creating disco ball like effects as it blinded and deafened the crowd. The guards at the center of the dais attempted to locate the source of the confusion but were quickly drowned out as more and more flash grenades went off. The ball room was sent into a panic as crowds ran for the doorways, bumping into each other, walls, and furniture in their blinded state. Far off down the hallway, Corellian Jones and Sana Starros rand down the now unguarded service corridor to find the security elevator. Sana began to quickly connect her datapad, attempting to override its pinpad while Corell reached into his satchel to produce an electrowhip. As he dropped his bag, a guard came jogging around the corner, spotting them as he tried to come to a stop and yell. "Hey what are yo- " his words were cut short as Corell's whip shot out, catching him across the temple and stunning him with a crack of electricity. He dropped to the floor as another came to a stop at the corner, seeing his unconscious colleague and raising his blaster towards the pair. He let loose a blaster bolt, as it seared into the wall inches from Corell's face, who swung his whip out at the new attacker.
"Sana would you hurry it up!" he called out, dodging blaster fire from a third guard. "I'm working on it! Its a little harder than just swinging a whip around!" she yelled back, a determined look on her face as the elevator doors gave a soft hiss, throwing themselves open. A pair of guards appeared at the end of the hallway as Corell swapped to a holdout blaster he had kept in his back waistband, backing into the elevator with Sana. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked, shoving a blaster pistol in her hand that he had pulled from one of the guards with his whip. Sana checked its power pack, recharging it with a fresh one from Corell's satchel expertly. "Guess you do." Corell remarked aloud.
The elevator rode down until it showed the word "vault" on its level display, the doors unlocking with a soft hiss and swinging open. As they left the doors, Sana turned and shot the door controls, locking the elevator in place. "We have a different way out." Sana said in response to Corells confused and angry look. She continued towards the vault, not waiting on him. He quickly followed as they rounded the corner to face a large, round vault door. There were two guards waiting for them, having been alerted to their presence. Both were armed with an energy shield and a large electrified baton, held at the ready for the two wound be burglars. Sana and Corell hesitated as they ran into the room, stopping to assess the new threats. One of the guards began to taunt them, beating his chest with the shielded arm and twirling his baton in a fancy display of skill, then sweeping his arms outward in a 'come and get it' show of force. A blaster shot rang out in the room, striking the taunting guard in the chest as he crumpled to the ground. Corell leveled his blaster at the second guard, who shifted his glance at the dead guard. "Come on." Corell called out with an exasperated look. The guard dropped his gear and shakily unlocked the vault door, before moving to the side as Corell and Sana walked past. Corell shot a stun blast into him, knocking him unconscious.
The giant vault door slowly unlocked, several metallic thuds and clangs as locks opened. It swung open slowly, revealing row after row of credit rolls and casino chips. At its very center was a simple pedestal, with a glass case covering a small, golden crystal on a pillow. As Corell went to step into the vault, eyes on the prize at its center, Sana pulled him back by the collar. "Hey whats the big idea!" Sana nodded down at the floor, where Corell spotted the thin and almost imperceptible line of a green laser. "Dr. Jones, I figured you'd be a professional at this by now." "What? Its just an alarm system, not like they don't know we're here already." He went to take another step in before Sana pulled him back again. She picked up the badge of the dead guard and tossed it in. It flew through the vault door before it contacted a laser, which shot out a single bright orange bolt, disintegrating it on contact. Corell rolled his head back, and let out a frustrated grown. "It just can't be easy can it."
Sana plugged her datapad into the vault's interface, and began working through disabling the defense system as Corell waited and eyed the crystal. One by one the lasers deactivated, but it took Sana several minutes for each one. "What is taking so long?" "They're all coded individually and the master code would take too long to break." Sana said, not looing away from her pad as she worked. Corell let out a sigh, reaching in his pocket for his cigarra. "If you light one of those in here I'll stun you." Corell rolled his eyes but decided against it. Sana had half the lasers deactivated so far, not too much longer he thought. He realized he hadn't heard the sounds of flash grenades in some time. "Sana, what was the other way out- " Corell asked aloud, before a score of guards bursted through the other door they had not entered. Corell pulled Sana into the vault, taking cover behind the vaults doorframe as several blaster bolts hit the spot she was standing. Corell began leaning out and taking pot shots at the guards, dropping one but receiving a storm of blaster fire in response. "So much for the distraction!" he called out angrily, firing out into the vault gallery. "He was supposed to come down here when he was done, he might of gotten lost!" Sana called out, now firing out into the gallery with Corell. They exchanged fire with the guards, taking a few down but still pinned inside the vault as they slowly advanced on them.
As Sana peered out to take another shot, she spotted the distinct round, shiny metal ball shape of a thermal detonator as it rolled into the center of the galley. "Corell!" she called out as she yanked him back into the vault, right as the thermal detonator exploded with a deafening boom. Dust fell from the walls and ceiling, and a distinct clinking of the credits in their rolls filled the vault. As the smoke cleared, the guards were all on the floor against the walls as Tar ran into the room, carrying a comically large cycler rifle and still wearing his ill fighting waiter uniform. "Tar, what the dank farrik!" Sana called out, slightly deaf. "Sorry!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. He ran into the vault, taking cover with them as he opened a pack and began shoving credits into it.
"Alright, screw this." Corell called out loud, before swinging his whip at the glass case protecting the crystal. It wrapped around several times, and he yanked it back towards. It passed through several lasers, disintegration hitting the whip, case, and pillow and turning them into ash. Corell caught the now lone crystal, before pocketing it. "You owe me a new whip!" he called out as he pulled her and Tar behind him and into the vault gallery. They turned left, sprinting down the doorway Tar had come from. "Where is our way out?" Corell yelled as he shoulder charged a lone guard, barreling him into a cart full of food. "Through the kitchen!" Tar called, steering them through a set of double doors and into an expansive, white tiled kitchen full of cooks and waiters preparing for the night's feast. At another door down the room, a set of guards ran into the room, scanning the crowd of workers before spotting the running trio. "Stop them!" they called out, raising their blasters but lacking a clear shot. Several of the staff turned to try and grab Corell, who charged his way through. He swung a left jab at a waiter who grabbed his collar, sending him back over a prep table before continuing to run. A larger line cook, a tall man who resembled a body builder more than a professional chef, stopped Corell in his tracks. He gripped Corell tightly, who swung a right hook at him. It landed with a dull thud on the powerful chef's face, Corell yanked his hand back in pain as it had little effect on the muscle bound brute. The chef laughed, gripping Corell harder. Tar, thinking quickly, grabbed a heavy iron pan off a burning cook top next to him, handing it to Sana. "Corell! Here!" she called out, tossing him the pan. He deftly grabbed the handle out of the air before swinging it into the chef's face, who yelled out in pain as the heavy, hot metal pan broke his nose and he released his grip on Corell. Corell kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him back into a different aisle of the kitchen before continuing to swing the pan in front of him to clear a path.
The trio stumbled out of the kitchen onto a loading dock, Tar and Sana sending blaster fire into the guards and kitchen staff giving chase. "Tar, this way!" a gruff sounding voice called out, as Corell turned to see the familiar face of the red Devronian ship captain waiting with a cycler rifle on a speeder. They dove into it, as Sana took the controls and they speed off into the night air, dodging blaster fire as Tar and Ulaq fired slugs back to cover their retreat. From his pocket, Corell produced the small, golden crystal, handing it to Sana as she flew the speeder. "It belongs in a museum!" he called out over the roar of the speeders engine. Sana smiled, yelling back, "I believe your right Dr. Jones."