Renji was in the room when Lucky's call came through. He knew her from his squad and she was also a close friend of his so he knew that he had to go help her. As soon as the message ended he started heading for his apartment.

As he entered he noted the battle droid that was holding a pistol to his face. He quickly ordered it to stand down. He went over to his weapons locker and opened it up. He took out his armor and a large bag for his weapons. He grabbed his E-11 blaster rifle and his E-11 heavy blaster rifle. he also gabbed his DC-15 blaster rifle and pistol. He threw a few grenades in along with his vibroblade. He scanned his locker quickly to see if there was any thing else he needed. Satisfied he closed the locker and headed off to the hanger.

He waited as his Toscan 8-Q Starfighter warmed up. As soon as it did he left the hanger and punched in the co-ordinates to Lucky's position. He waited until he was a safe distance away then activated hyperdrive. Hold on Lucky, he thought to himself. Reinforcements are on the way.

Standing in the toilet, adjusting his black bow Alan still couldn't believe it.  He remembered back to when it was announced that there was going to be an Imperial Ball.  He remembered at how annoyed he had been when he failed to get an invite and then it happened.  He remembered Lucky arriving at his apartment, finding out that she had been invited and then her asking him if he wanted to go with her to the ball.  Alan looked in the mirror, straightening his bow out.  "Perfect" he muttered as he gazed upon his rented tuxedo.  He walked out of the toilet and headed back to the ball. 

He stood at the entrance of the ballroom and breathed deeply.  It had been some time since he had danced and he was slightly nervous.  Remembering to how beautiful Lucky looked in the dress did not make him any less nervous.

"Well here goes nothing" said Alan as he pushed open the doors and prepared himself for his dance with Lucky.  What he saw was not what he had expected to see.  Bodies littered the dance floor.  "What the hell" he muttered as he rushed over to one of the officers.  He checked his pulse and was relieved to find that he was alive.  He scanned the room but couldn't find Lucky.  I hope she got out thought Alan as he opened up his jacket and un-holstered his weapon.

The doors at the far end opened and in marched several armed people.  They looked surprised when they saw Alan standing, with weapon in hand.  They immediately opened fire on him.

Oh hell thought Alan as he fired back and dived for cover behind a table.  More people entered the room and Alan knew he was outgunned.  "Time to make a hasty retreat" he muttered.  He tried to think of a way out.  He gazed upwards in hope of some divine inspiration and then he got it.  He fired upwards repeatedly.  The men slowly started to advance on Alan, firing continuously when they suddenly stopped and dived for cover as a glittering ball that had been dangling from the ceiling came crashing down right in their midst.  When they had recovered they noticed the doors to the ballroom swinging.

"Find him!" yelled one of the men and several others ran out of the room in search of Alan.

Alan raced out of the room the moment the ball had come crashing down, now the only thing on his mind was where was Lucky?

Jelly turned off his comm after receiving Lucky's distress call.

"Me to the rescue again I see." He said laughing quietly as he retrieved his Riot Suppression Rifle, a couple grenades, a blaster, and his favorite vibroblade. He decided to wear light tactical gear so that he could be more stealthy.

Jelly made his way to the location of the ball stopping outside to find two armed guards. They didn't wear standard VE uniforms and they didn't seem to be doing anything about the shooting going on inside.

"What are you two doing shouldn't you be aiding those inside?" Jelly asked politely.

"No we where told to make sure nobody went to aide them." The first guard scoffed stopping when he saw the look on the second Guards face.

The both turned back to Jelly as he opened fire on them with his rifle killing the first guard and wounding the second. Jelly walked and stood over the second drawing his vibroblade and quickly decapitating him.

Jelly entered the main hall in time to hear a large explosion. 

A voice came over the comm headset.

"This is Private First Class Alater, assigned to security squad for the Imperial Ball, and we have a breach here. There seems to be a number of mercenaries hired to take out political targets, but so far have only been able to kill one person. Requesting immediate backup and a medic squad. All trooper personnel within the building please respond."

Jelly called in to Alater.

"Alater it's Jelly whats you situation I'm in the main hall." Jelly then called in again.

"Lucky you there please respond I am in the main hall what is your situation."

Alan cursed himself for not bringing along a portable comm with himself.  He wished he knew if Lucky was alright but then he remembered just how seasoned an officer she was and he suddenly felt sorry for anyone who crossed her path.  Still, he wanted to find her but he wondered where she might be.  Then an idea struck him.  Perfect he thought as he bounded up the stairs.

Walking softly down the corridor he stopped at a door and raised his weapon, ready for the imminent strike.  He pushed open the doors that said security control room and was met by three armed intruders gazing at the monitors.  The men were startled but soon recovered and whirled round to defend themselves.  Alan did not give them the opportunity as three well placed shots downed them before they even had a chance to fire off a single shot.

Alan got on a nearby comm and called Lucky.

"Alan, glad to hear you're alright, where are you?" came Lucky's reply.

"I'm in the security control room, where are you?" replied Alan

"I'm in a storage room on level two" said Lucky

"One sec" said Alan as he guided the security monitors to locate Lucky.  True enough he found the storage room open.  He zoomed in and there was Lucky, still looking beautiful in her ball dress.  "See you're still looking hot as ever" commented Alan.

"Stop that" replied Lucky, "we have to find the person responsible for this".

"Right" replied Alan, and then he noticed something "wait a sec".

"What is it?" queried Lucky.

Alan noted that there were three armed attackers approaching Lucky's position and with the door open they would see her soon.

"You've got three bogies moving in on you Lucky, need a hand?" said Alan.

"Nah" replied Lucky as she stood up brandishing her E-11 rifle, "I've got it covered".

Alan sat back to watch, he felt sorry for the three men, but only for a second.

"Affirmitave I'm coming Lucky."Jelly said moving towards the stairs. The moved down the stairs quickly checking the map when he reached the bottom. Lucky's location was about four rooms out from his current location. He slammed a fresh clip into his Rifle and loaded a sonic grenade into the launcher.

Jelly opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and came face to face with two guards He quickly fired the grenade at their fight closing the door and facing away. The grenade went off and the intense sonic waves at that range shattered the bones in their legs. Jelly came back through the door and finished them off with the Rifle. Headed towards the door at the far end it burst open and three guys headed in the first two being shot down but the third managed to get to cover. The cover wasn't much of a Godsend though once Jelly fired a frag grenade over and right next to the guy. It exploded and made him a smear on the landscape.

The next room was clear so Jelly made across to the next room. In which he found two men picking  the lock to come in after Lucky. Jelly shot them in the back and busted down the door and came face to face with Lucky. Her guy was at his face and vice versa. Jelly backed up pulling down the mask showing her who he was.

"Long time no see glad to know your happy to see me." Jelly said sarcastically.

"Wow Lucky look beautiful is that how you dress for missions now?" Jelly contiued with a slight laugh.

Lucky began to speak  when the door on the other side and Alan came in bearing a Rifle pointing it at Jelly.

"Wooo Cowboy it's me." Jelly said saluting Alan.

"Good to see you to Jelly." Alana said lowering his rifle.

"So do we have any sort of plan?" Jelly asked looking to Lucky.

A shot that flew past Lucky's head caused Jelly to pull her down quickly. Alan reacted just as fast dropping to the ground and taking aim at one of the five men coming into the west door from which Alan had come. The trio returned fire just to have a shot from behind hiss into the ground by Jelly's feet who turned to see three men coming in behind them.

The group concentrated their fire on the men coming from the east door mowing them down quickly.

Jelly handed Lucky and Alan some grenades and some other heavier weapons he had secured consisting of heavy Rifles and a vibroblade. Jelly nodded to Lucky who pulled the pin on a frag as Jelly did the same while Alan gave them covering fire. The two stood simultaneously and threw the frags at the men at the west door. They exploded killing two of them.

"Lets get the rest of these guys." Jelly yelled laughing as he contiued firing at the enemy.

"What a moron doesn't he realize we know where the control room is." Jelly said laughing to himself.

"Where is it?" Lucky asked reloading her gun.

"It's gonna be two floors up over the main hall area ,but we should disable the power" Jelly said thinking of a plan he continued when he had figured something out.
"Ok we should disable the Power and reach the control room about the same time Alan you go and disable the power I send Alater to aide you Lucky and I will head towards the control room and apprehend this guy."  He finished and Looked to Lucky nodding towards the door.

"Ohh yeah the Power room is one floor below take that door and its the stair case on the left it's in the basement and isn't hard to miss it's marked power room Good Luck." Jelly said pointing to the door opposite of them.

"Ok let's go Lucky." Jelly said looking to Lucky.

As they made their way across Jelly moved the corpses into a nearby closet so no other guards might be alerted. They moved to the stair way and moved quickly towards the second floor , but the enemy had other plans. Halfway up a couple frags bounced down the stairs and landed at their feet.

Jelly kicked them hard sending them back up the stairs then pulled Lucky down blocking her from the blast. They both recovered kind of dazed as Jelly pulled shrapnel out of the back of his vest. The Vest had hard plating on the back so the shrapnel only dug in partially ,but not enough to harm him.

"Lucky you ok?" Jelly asked helping her up.

"Yeah I'm fine are you?" She asked somewhat concerned

"Yeah just fine." Jelly said showing her the scratched up plating.
"Shall we?" he asked slapping a new clip into his rifle.

The enemy didn't much wait for them as the fired down the hall at Jelly and Lucky's position. Jelly quickly turned to a private frequency and sent a Message to Alater.

"Alater I need you to go help Alan reach the power room and shut it down." He said not waiting for an answer as he pulled Lucky out of the way of one of those nasty Disruptors shooting and killing the guy in the process.

"Please be careful I wouldn't want you to get killed or worse." Jelly said firing at another stupid guard that figured he could rush them which ended with a blast to the face with Lucky' own rifle.

"This is gonna be fun killing people with one of my best friends spending quality time" Jelly said laughing as they advanced up the stairs.

Jelly smiled while aiming his rifle at two men that where looking down at them from the top of the stairs. He fired at them killing them and causing them to fall down bouncing off the stairs as the fell.

"Ok after you M'lady." Jelly said politely proffering the stairs to her.

They made their way up the stairs with less and less resistance as most where falling back to the room they where headed to. Lucky fired another shot taking out the last guy that was retreating.

"Well hopefully we'll have more fun when we get up to the room up there." Jelly remarked as the inched closer and closer to their destination.

Upon reaching the door they where greeted with blaster fire. Jelly swung to the other side of the door covering that area.

"You got a plan Lucky?" Jelly asked firing a couple well placed shots into the room.

Jelly looked over at Alan and said “Alan you go and disable the power, I’ll send Alater to aide you”.  Before Alan could even say a word, Lucky and Jelly had dashed off in search of the control room.  Who the hell does he think he is thought Alan, fuming that a Corporal had stepped over his rank and told a superior officer what to do.

Still raging, Alan headed off to the power room.  A couple of heavily armed men turned a corner and was confronted by Alan.  They raised their weapons but never got a chance to fire as Alan fired repeatedly into their bodies.  They flew back, their bodies convulsing as Alan fired several more shots into them.  Now where the hell is the power room and where the hell is Alater thought Alan.

He soon found signs directing him to where the power room was located.  Arriving at the room he still had not come across Alater.  “Well I’m not waiting around for him” said Alan as he got out four grenades.  That should do it he thought as he opened the door a little and threw them in.  He closed the door and blasted the lock so no-one could escape.  He walked slowly around the corner.  Mere seconds after he rounded the corner a massive explosion went off, throwing the door wildly off its hinges.  The very instant the explosion happened the lights flickered and died.

“Well, power’s off” said Alan, “now where the hell is the control room?”

"We'll find him.  Right now, we have a few things to take care of. Like fidn out what he wanted with us, why he took those actions. I think we should search the databases of the establishment. And most important fo all we have a ball to attend to. Which is where I get back into my dress to take my roll as an innocent guess. The only thing that will blow my cover is carrying a Rifle, but no matter."

She disabled their communications with a single shot to the main power source of the Board. 'There, now we're the only ones who can communicate amongst each other."

She moved out of the room , turned around and said 'i'm gonna go change in the room next door. Could you please guard the entrance?"

Jelly nodded , and she moved out into the hallway, and into the other room. She shut the door, waited until she heard jelly's footsteps come to rest beyond the door and quickly changed out oof the guard's garments and put her dress and shoes back on.

When she opened the door jelly looked at her with a mixture of facial expressions. She looked staggering in her sparkling red dress, and  golden necklace and bracelets frankly she had a great body even though she was quite muscular. Her musculature was part of what gave her the beauty that she had.

"Shall we?" She asked her friend as she started moving toward the stairs, a Rifle in one hand.

She stopped in the middle fo the stairs. "What?" Queried Jelly. "We forgot about Alan. alan, you there?" She called into her comm.

"Yes, Lucky I'm here." relief washed over her. She had not like the idea of leaving Alan with Alater.

"I got changed back into my dress. Now, all we have left to do, just to be safe is to download any information using the databanks and find out where this man's hiding. Then we put everything back together, that is make sure only vE guards are left , and then my man, we dance. Host or no host."

OOC:

Thanks Jelly. I think all will enjoy your post.

She walked on the dance floor. Music started playing , and a disco ball started spinning, hooked up as it was to the ceiling. There was no host in the end, but no one took much notice to this.

She looekd around for Alan, she didn't know where she was. She used her portable comm to ask Jelly if he'd seen Alan. She would not dance without him. She would wait until he showed up, no matter what happened.

She hoped he was allright. She sat on one of the chairs and waited , hoping that Alan was allright , and that neither man's feelings were hurt.

Alan decided not to press the issue with Jelly as he had apologised for his error.  Leaving Jelly to his weapon, he walked into the main hall.  Inside, the music was playing and there were several people already on the dance floor, swaying to the music.  Alan looked around and there she was.  She was as stunning as when he had first laid eyes on her.  Her ball dress flowed around her elegant figure.  She smiled as she seen him approach.

“I was getting worried that you were going to stand me up” said Lucky, smiling as she said it.

Alan looked at her with a fake look of shock “me my dear Lucky, never”.

“Shall we?” asked Lucky as she held out her hand to him.

“I thought you’d never ask” said Alan as he gently took her hand and led her onto the dance hall.  He slipped his arm around her waist looking deeply into her eyes and they danced slowly around the dance floor.  Alan wondered whether he had died when he had blown up the power room and was now in heaven, he decided to check later, right now he was just going to enjoy himself.

Alater followed with a slight gimp, and despite his size and disability he managed to remain a shadow behind them. His wounds were healing well, and it had been almost two months since that faitful day. Alater winced as he thought of that vibroblade shredding through his scales like they were nothing, and his vibroclaws failing on him. All of it the worst Hunt he had ever been on.

As they reached the bar the two love birds found a seat and had a drink, Jelly accompanied them and Alater stayed at the bar, downing a drink or two to help forget the pain, but he was afraid his pay wasn't sufficient to buy enough booze to drink himself that happy.

He rolled the events over and over in his head. His short mission with Dark Dragoons squad, his transfer to Eclipse cut short by his summons home, and then his stay at the Hospital. Now this. One would think somebody out there had some kind of sick sense of humor and didn't like Barabels very much.

Alater turned back to his drink and ordered another.