Private 40:1

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne

"ETA 5 minutes!"

The voice echoed through the ship to alert the two Jedi and Alliance soldiers to get ready. They were part of a small task force sent into enemy territory for a quick strike against an Imperial facility that is believed to have contributed parts for the prototype superweapon unleashed against Ilum. It was too deep within Empire space for Alliance fleets to reach it safely, and dedicating too much manpower wasn't quite possible with the war on multiple fronts. This had to be done quickly, and efficiently and thus only the most capable soldiers were sent to work alongside the Jedi.

Due to the high stakes of the mission, Valery had pulled the assignment to herself and decided to bring along a young Jedi Knight who was struggling with internal matters but could always be trusted when it came to these types of operations. She also believed that showing trust in him would help, and she could certainly use another strong combatant to have her back.

"Once we touch down, we get out first and provide a defensive screen against enemy fire to cover the troops," Valery instructed Rakaan, who was sitting beside her in the cramped compartment full of soldiers. "Once we have their firepower backing us up, we advance fast," Valery added, now with a smirk slipping through the serious demeanor.

"Try to keep up," she teased with a wink.

​

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble

​

His mission in the heart of Imperial space had ensured Rakaan understood more than most about their functions, maybe more than anyone not an Imperial themselves. It was odd, to return to their territories, a familiar sense probed at his mind with all their dull coloured and mechanised machines; the white plastoid foot soldier all too common place in his eyes. The Jedi had deigned this mission as his own, as was the case with all missions that concerned the Empire that Rakaan could somehow weasel in some sort of involvement, and the chance to halt further development of that monstrous superweapon was impossible to pass on.

Yet for all his knowledge of the Empire, Rakaan wondered if Master Noble simply preferred his company as of late.

"I think that should be something that I say to you, Master Noble." He replied jokingly with a smirk, "I'm not a Padawan anymore."

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne

"Calling me old again?" Valery feigned shock and surprise, but quickly turned her eyes away while a smirk lingered on her lips. Currently, a red light hung above the ramp they'd soon use to get out of the troop transport, signaling that all on board had to remain seated. When it turned green, it would be their signal to go into battle.

For most here, it was almost a routine mission — a quick strike to neutralize a target before getting out again. But with the high stakes surrounding this target, Valery felt a little more tense than usual. It hardly showed in her exterior, but she was putting herself in a much deeper state of focus to ready herself.

"We're almost there," Valery said after a moment, and Rakaan could likely feel it too. The imminent battle was drawing closer, so the Force was beginning to warn them of what lay ahead. But what started as a faint whisper echoing along its currents very abruptly changed, worsening to an extent that forced Valery's posture to straighten. She looked in the direction of the cockpit, and it was in that moment a loud explosion outside the ship caused the entire shuttle to heavily vibrate.

"Sit tight! We've been detected!" The pilot's voice came through, but nothing could truly prepare the group for what followed. The shuttle was starting to take more hits, and fear began to kick in for some. But Valery remained calm and turned her eyes to Rakaan. "This might become a hard land-"

Her voice was interrupted by another explosion, one powerful enough to send the shuttle into a steep descent towards the surface. It was enough to almost make those inside feel weightless, but it only lasted for a few seconds, before everything turned black and the shuttle crashed against the surface.

​

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble

​

Before the Jedi had come to realise in full that the freefall had taken hold of the entire vessel, the void seemed to have consumed Rakaan. In no more than a flash, a sudden crack across his forehead had stolen his vision from him; the clean interior full of life had been traded out for the opposite, with the sound of a hail of blaster fire that accompanied the crackles of fire and the creak of ruined metal, turned into more of a weapon than much else with all the sharp and shattered edges it had taken on from the crash. His sleeve found his inner-crimson once it returned from his forehead, and in turn was met with a befuddled expression as blue eyes searched for life.

He slumped forwards out of his seat once the harness that contained him had been lifted, onto all fours for all of a second before the often wilful Jedi forced himself onto his own feet and brandished the hilt of his saber, the blue beam thrummed to life and into the chaos of what followed - the sun peered in, as if a source of light made to blind as several soldiers lay dead at his feet, with some so fresh and ventilated that Rakaan had been certain those unfortunate few had survived the initial crash. For those that remained alive, their armoured bodies remained concealed behind the wreckage that seemed to have housed them all as red bolts of tibanna blasted towards them, both on the carcass of their craft and into it.

"Master?" Rakaan called out over the din of the skirmish, rife with concern as two hands moved his saber in a practised almost effortless manner to deflect the bolts that soared from the white armoured stormtroopers of the Empire. He stood in the mouth of the torn open ship, a shield for those that remained behind him. "Valery?" He called once more, unable to avert eyes behind him while the waves of Imperials appeared endless.

The familiar sound of large and mechanised movements had not been too far behind the initial waves of infantry. They could not stay here, of that much Rakaan was certain.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne

Blurred and reddened by blood dripping down her face, Valery's gaze shifted around in the aftermath of the crash, finding nothing but death and pain all around her. Without the strength to release herself, Valery remained completely dazed in her seat, while others shared a very similar faith or worse. Those who had gotten out somehow either died bleeding out on the ground or were now being targeted by the first wave of Stormtroopers. Others were still locked into their own seats, dead or alive.

"Rakaa..." she couldn't even finish muttering his name, as she felt consciousness slip away again, forcing her to fight against it by turning to the Force. In dire moments like this, it allowed her to push herself through injury and pain, even if they could potentially be lethal. So with the faint bit of strength she mustered, Valery clipped herself out of the seat and fell down to hands and knees on the ground. Blood was running down her arms, her face, and her entire body felt like it had been hit by a train.

She couldn't even remember the last time she had been in a situation this bad, and so she was certain Kahlil Noble would be alarmed by it as well. His words from the opening of the Coruscant Temple echoed through her mind again.

"I know. War's on the horizon. Not just with the Maw anymore. .. Just be safe, okay? I won't hesitate to come rescue you if I have to."

"Valery?"

Finally, Rakaan's words reached Valery and actually registered — it helped her snap out of the trance she was in, and focused her mind on the here and now. "Here!" she called out with a strained voice, as her pain tremored in the Force. Whether it was stubbornness or strength would be hard to determine, but within a second or two she pushed herself up to her feet and drew the hilt of her lightsaber into her bloodied hands. "We need to...." she deflected a few bolts and bit through the pain. "...get the others out."

Even now, there were still some soldiers trapped in their seats, and if they weren't helped, flames or stormtroopers would soon consume them all.

​

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble

​

He continued to swat aside the blaster bolts fast on the move, a determined focus had overcome the Jedi as no response came from the Jedi Master that remained in the mishapen shard of metal that once carried them all. Even in the Force, there was little to be found as narrowed blue eyes shifted back and forth across the lines of Imperial stormtroopers. Until a wave of relief overcame the younger of the two, the familiar voice able to act as a beacon in their more than troubled time. But more than a voice and relief was needed to see them out of this, there was no denying that.

In quiet acknowledgement of the Jedi Master, Rakaan made an effort to slink back across the flaming wreckage with a momentary set of glances afforded to the Alliance soldiers that remained crouched beside him. He turned around in full once inside, only to be confronted with the bloodied mess that was Master Noble. His saber sliced through the controls of one locked seat harness in an upwards swing and another on the downwards that followed, though concern was strewn across his features throughout it all. Hardly for the soldiers, however.

"You need to stay with them," an outstretched hand settled onto her shoulder as the all too obvious concern consumed both voice and face, gentle pressure applied as if to lower her into one of the seats behind her. She was in a worse state than him, what with all that blood. Far be it from him to command the Sword of the Jedi, though Rakaan felt compelled to in the heat of the moment. That same hand wafted over a trooper that still breathed life into his lungs even so close to the flames, pulled aside and into the clear. For now. "Search the cockpit," he tried to tell her, "See about accessing comms."

His own movements were sluggish in his attempted return to what amounted to the exit of the craft, desperate to defend the lives of those inside once more.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne

"I'm here. I'm alri-" she frowned and stopped herself from saying more. As much as she wanted to pretend that she was alright and ignore just how badly injured she was, there was just no denying it. If she downplayed it or made him believe she could somehow fight the way she usually could, she'd only endanger him as well. So when he insisted on her sitting down after freeing a few soldiers with quick strikes, Valery reluctantly agreed and lowered herself.

Her hands were trembling already from the pain, adrenaline, and Force augmentation all kicking in at the same time, and the longer she sat still, the worse it got. With a series of coughs, blood spilled from her lips and onto the floor, suggesting she had sustained some kind of internal damage as well.

It was bad.

"Search the cockpit," he tried to tell her, "See about accessing comms."

She looked up and nodded before quickly shifting off the seat to scramble her way into the cockpit... or what was left of it. Looking around, she didn't even need to try accessing the comms — there was nothing left of the control panels, and she had neither the skill, tools, or components to fix it. "No comms..." Valery said with clear difficulty as she stepped back into the main compartment.

"But he knows... my husband," Valery said as she joined Rakaan by his side, but still behind the cover of the ship's hull so she couldn't be targeted. "He'll come, but it's going to take time." Looking back over her shoulder, she realized that it was time they sadly didn't have. Until help arrived, they had to move and survive. "I can push myself through my... condition long enough with the Force."

"We can't stay here."

​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Daddy? I think mommy's in trouble."

Multi colored eyes stared up at the silver haired man. Together, in the cockpit of The Bastion, they watched the blue of hyperspace. Kahlil and his daughter. She'd seen it. The same thing he'd seen. Danger. Valery's life was in danger. And she knew. His hold around her tightened just a little as he pulled his daughter onto his lap. Booped her nose with a smile. "Mommies not in any trouble she can't handle."

"That's not true. That's why you save her."

For a moment his smile almost broke. Then he booped her nose again, chuckling. ".. Yes. Yes little star." The ship dropped from Hyperspace, revealing the city world of Coruscant below. Vera's gaze shifted immediately as her bubbly laugh escaped and her smile widened.

"Auntie Yula!"

"You really can see a lot, can't you?"

"Mmhmm! I've been parktazing!"

A lighthearted and full laugh escaped the man this time as he ruffled her hair. "Practicing is good. Never stop practicing. Never stop growing. I will always be proud of you." Her smile dimmed for a moment as she blinked. Looked back up towards her father. Worry, fear. Kahlil forced a grin as he again patted the top of her head just as the ship started to land.

"I'll be okay."

"But-"

"Trust me little star." Perhaps it was the grin on Kahlil's face, or the subtle influence he used in the Force to keep her calm, but Vera nodded. She was too young to understand. The shuttle touched down in the temple hangar.

"Let's get you to Yula, okay?"

"Okay."

Valery Noble | Yula Perl | Rakaan Horne

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula didn't make it a habit to be on Coruscant, but lately she'd been no stranger to the Alliance capital. With Nida captured by the imperial war machine, she wanted to stay close in case of any news, and to grapple with whoever she could to get a rescue effort underway.

Now Kahlil and Vera were approaching the temple, prompting Yula to rise from her seated perch on the steps.

"Heya, kiddo!" She crouched down to Vera's height and ruffled her hair with a toothy grin. In the face of her own turmoil, the cheerful toddler was a welcome sight. "Woof, you've grown since the last time I saw you! Gonna be as tall as your mama soon."

Her blinding smile fell in wattage as she rose to greet Kahlil. The energy around him was much more solemn, more so than the typical calm she was used to feeling from him. "Good to see you again, Kahlil. Everything okay?”

Kahlil Noble | Valery Noble | Rakaan Horne

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Ah, that'd be a sight to see. Who would Vera take after in height? Him? Valery? Somewhere in between? An all too sad smile slipped through the cracks before he put his smile back on. He nodded his head once to Yula as the little one glanced between the two. She picked it up. Kahlil just reached down to pat her head. Soothe her worry. This was already hard enough. Make it easy.

For both of them.

"Everything will be okay. Keep her safe for me, yeah?" He flashed Yula the best smile he could manage before crouching down in front of his still smiling daughter. It wasn't fair. None of this is fair. Without a word he just hugged her, as tight as he could without hurting her.

"I love you, little star."

"I love you too." She reached up then. Touched his cheek. Smiled. "It'll be okay."

Kahlil just laughed, ever so faintly. A sad sort of laugh as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. Then stood. Turned his gaze to Yula and nodded once.

"Valery will be back soon. .. I hope you find Nida. Tell her I'm sorry." Then he left. He had to, or he wouldn't ever.

Yula Perl | Valery Noble | Rakaan Horne

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

​

Master Korvan often warned of such attachments, to be cautious about connections of that much importance, almost afraid in some sense of the word of how it tied someone to another. He seemed, no was, far more traditional than most other Jedi that resided within the temple on Coruscant; dated beliefs and views, even more strict than that of his own master. But for all the potential threats that loomed overhead of said ties, Rakaan could consider himself thankful for them in the heat of the moment - the bond between husband and wife, their dyad, may become their tool for survival in this near fatal encounter.

The Jedi afforded somewhat of a nod in response as his blue blade danced with the crimson bolts, able to see them deflect into the scorched and torn soil as much as the white armoured men and women of the Imperial stormtrooper corps. Beside the industrial plant rumoured to have been involved in the creation of the newly uncovered superweapon, the terrain was uneven, as if situated in a ravine. His outstretched hand waved over scattered rocks and sent them down the slope on a collision course for the stormtroopers, even as some bounced and cracked and shattered on the move down there. Some found themselves crushed as others made an effort to move out of the path; in any case, a distraction was forged for all but a moment.

"Quickly," Rakaan shouted over the blaster fire that increased with each recovered foe. "Help Master Noble and the wounded!"

Rakaan motioned forwards with tattered, burned and bloodied Jedi robes. He lost an entire sleeve in the crash, small trails of blood fell down the arm from a cut. The Jedi continued to deflect the crimson bolts as the allied soldiers aided their wounded out from behind him and the shield that Rakaan had made himself into. It was an offer extended to the Jedi Master. His blue blade cleaved into a duo of stormtroopers that ventured too close, entire limbs dissected with a simple slash of the beam as Rakaan shifted on the backfoot in an effort to follow them.

It was not so impenetrable, however. His teeth clenched as the Force warned him of an immediate, sharp stab of pain. Not in himself, rather the soldiers in the midst of their retreat. One, two, three bolts seared the skin of the nearest man and he crumbled to the ashen earth with the wounded man he carried left to shatter across it with a scream. Another moved to his aid, only to suffer an identical fate with one final shot to silence the screams. Filled with pity and pain, there was nothing Rakaan could do for either of them.

He continued in his efforts to defend them from the rear, left to the direction-based decisions of Master Noble.

"Keep going!" The Jedi Knight called in blind encouragement.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

"Help Master Noble and the wounded!"

"I can manage," Valery said as she dismissively raised a hand in response to a soldier offering her assistance to move, "Help the others," she added with a soft smile and while a little hesitant about just leaving her, they reluctantly agreed and shifted their attention to the other soldiers. Valery instead continued to tap into the Force, and used it to push herself beyond any physical pain or injury, allowing her to move quite freely, but at the risk of her situation getting worse. It also wasn't going to last forever, so time was still of the essence.

"Come on, keep moving!" Valery then echoed, as the intensity of blaster fire increased. The stormtroopers were not only getting closer, but they were positioning themselves behind debris for cover and were making the attempt to slowly encircle the compartment the Jedi and Alliance troops had been defending from. It resulted in several soldiers falling under pressure, which further reinforced the idea that they had to move fast.

"Rakaan!" Valery called out as he defended the rear and she led the front, "We move for uneven terrain!" She couldn't explain the decision over the incredibly noisy battlefield, but it was likely simple enough to understand — she feared the Imperials were going to bring heavier weaponry, so the terrain would deny them that. For as long as they could, they needed to force the enemy in just sending foot soldiers after them.

Slowly but surely, the group managed to get away from the crash site and into what looked like a small ravine. It helped funnel the Empire's soldiers a little, which Valery hoped would give Rakaan some relief. "We're moving too slowly to retreat across open ground," Valery commented as she joined Rakaan at the rear, blade drawn and ready to defend. "We might have to hold out here, for as long as we can." She offered a sidelong glance, her expression somewhat grim.

"If they threaten to overrun us, lead them away and I'll buy you as much time as I can. But until then, let's show them what we got, hm?"

​

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

​

It all turned so far south so fast.

The younger of the two Jedi turned to Valery with a weary and misplaced smile, the sweat from his brow trailed across his flesh and offered the corner of his mouth the taste of salt as much as it had iron; the crimson since fallen to the wayside, abandoned across the rocks that had met with the corpses of Alliance soldiers. "I won't leave you," Rakaan informed with conviction.

Stubborn to a fault, brazenly passionate and devoted. Only a few characteristics that made Rakaan into the Jedi that he became, the same few that had sometimes proven a headache to the Jedi Master that oversaw his training; admirable, Korvan often conceded, albeit difficult to manage. In an ever-changing Galaxy and commonly for the worse, it were those that adopted the role of the hero that suffered the most.

"Come on," the Jedi Knight interrupted whatever insistence of his potential and eventual departure was bound to come with a movement somewhere between a shrug and a wave, aimed towards the edges of the multi-layered ravine and uneven rocky walls. "We can surprise them from here."

His saber vanished into the hilt as he pointed towards a ledge on Valery's side before making use of the Force to bound onto his own platform of sorts.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

"I won't leave you,"

Valery's head turned to shoot him a glare, but when she saw the conviction in his eyes, her expression softened and she simply nodded. It reminded her of herself in a lot of ways — a stubbornness not because of self-interest, but an unbreakable desire to complete any task for the benefit of others. This was all part of the life of a Jedi, one filled with self-sacrifice and one that demanded perseverance even when all odds were stacked against you.

"As long as you know I'll add this to my report," she joked, but that also required her to actually make it out alive. An outcome that was becoming increasingly less likely to happen. And if she died here today, she'd not only leave behind the Jedi in difficult times of war, but her Padawans would lose their Master as well, and most importantly to her, Kahlil would have to raise Vera without her. The thought was painful, but they had both chosen this path and committed to it. No matter what, she was going to keep going, for them.

"We can surprise them from here."

Valery glanced up to where he was waving and dipped her head. The violet blade disengaged and with a quick jump, she made it to the top of the opposite rock wall. There, she waited while the Alliance soldiers remained in cover. The Imperials were closing in and after they had moved far enough through the rocky ravine, Valery was the first to drop down. On contact with the ground, a powerful wave of Force energy expanded out from her, blasting some hard enough into the rocks to take them out, while others were simply thrown off their feet. It gave Rakaan the chance to move in fast and keep them down, which she knew was no problem. The Alliance soldiers capitalized on it as well and moved out of cover to open fire.

But even with this ambush, they were too heavily outnumbered, and over the course of an hour or two, one by one, the Alliance soldiers fell until it was just the two Jedi remaining.

"Let's slowly retreat through the ravine and keep pressuring them!" Valery called out, but she was getting tired from the constant fighting, and especially the loss of blood and injuries were starting to slow her down.

​

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

​

By the first hour, the sound of the dead and dying had become an oddly dull noise. The Jedi had seen countless of dismembered limbs and cauterised wounds, even as those that suffered them rolled about on the harsh terrain before their systems entered shock and claimed their lives from them. He bore witness to the deaths of those final few soldiers sent on this hapless mission with the Sword of the Jedi and her chosen peer. Even as the rain inclined in volume until it found a torrential state, able to threaten a flood inside the ravine turned graveyard for too many lives.

In their desperate bid to remain alive and with all that was done, Rakaan could almost taste the darkness that swirled in the air.

By the second, the mechanised machines of the Imperial war machine had been sent to answer the two Jedi that remained. The cold bite of the rain vanished from each flame-filled blast that stemmed from a destroyed walker, an obliterated tank. Their metal corpses littered the enclosed space, all beside one crashed and crumpled tie. He was not without his sustained wounds, with cuts and abrasions that riddled his frame as much as the minimal burns that found no aid from the touch of the rain. The Jedi robes reduced to little more than a tattered vest.

He scrambled over rocks, up mounds of dirt, all with the sizzle of his beamed blade as the rain fell into it. Rakaan turned and made an effort to muster the Force, the very same that amplified all his attributes amid the skirmish, and with two extended arms block a thinner portion with the flaming ruins of an Imperial walker that creaked and groaned with every movement.

The Jedi allowed his saber to hide away once more and let hands meet his knees. "Come on," Rakaan said between exhausted breaths, "It can buy us a little headstart." He turned with tired features that portrayed such concern as blue eyes fell over Valery, unable to do little else than examine her condition.

Rakaan could not help but note the chance to take up on her earlier offer had come. The Jedi Knight may have abandoned the Jedi Master with the soldiers, but as he could not leave her then Rakaan would neither leave her now. It was with a hand placed on her bare arm that he looked a little deeper. "Are you alright?"

He certainly was not, though when had Rakaan ever been honest on that topic?

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

Time was an interesting thing.

Some days or in some situations, an hour could feel like an eternity, while other times all perception of its passing was lost completely. The latter was the case today, as both Valery and Rakaan fought the seemingly endless horde of Imperial soldiers with everything they had just to stay alive. During the battle, the darkness of night had fallen around them while clouds further obscured the sky and showered them with cold rain, but even that hardly registered with Valery.

She just kept fighting, kept thinking about making it through this to get back home.

"Come on," Rakaan said between exhausted breaths, "It can buy us a little headstart."

After Rakaan telekinetically shifted the burning debris to block the enemy's path, Valery disengaged her weapon so she could let her arms fall beside her body for a moment of rest. They felt much heavier than usual, and the pain of the fighting and injuries was finally starting to feel almost crippling. "Yeah... good thinking..." she said between her own heavy breaths, her intense fiery eyes still focused on the burning debris. She almost seemed to be in a trance-like state, her mind so focused on the battle and what had happened that she didn't even notice Rakaan approaching her.

So his hand settling on her bare arm sparked a startled reaction, and when her widened eyes met his, she needed a second to adjust before speaking. "I'm-" she paused and frowned, "No, I'm not, but we have no choice but to keep going," she admitted, clearly with some difficulty. "Come on, before they break through," she smiled weakly and stepped passed him to head away from the barrier they had created. The strength she usually radiated was almost entirely gone at this point, and it showed even in the way she walked and climbed her way over rocks and piles of dirt and mud. She wasn't going to keep up fighting much longer, not in her current condition.

But luckily, the two Jedi were allowed just a little rest as the Imperials were forced to adjust.


"Hey, Rakaan? Do you feel tha-" she stopped as the warning she faintly felt turned into a nightmare — a sniper on the side of the rocky wall had leveled his weapon and fired a bolt that struck her left calf. With a loud yelp of pain, Valery went down and due to how wet and slippery the rocky terrain was, she slid off the rock she had climbed on and hit the mud below. Other snipers were quick to target Rakaan as well, and if his senses allowed it, he'd feel danger from up ahead as well.

The enemy was no longer on their tails — they had circled around with a group as well to trap the Jedi in the ravine.

​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

The Jedi Temple of Coruscant.

Kahlil wandered through the halls. Not truly wandering, of course. He had a destination. But to think he'd be here. Freely walking these halls. It was like a dream for him. Ever since he ran from the Sith, fled from his father. Joined the Jedi. He wanted to get here. Not for some party like the last time, but to reach the council room. To be part of the Order in a way more than just who his wife was.

The Force just had a different will.

Deeper down in, the meditation chamber, is where he stopped. Closed the door behind him. Without a word he went towards the center to sit. Close his eyes. He knew what had to happen now. There was no fear, no regret. Since the day he ran he'd always been prepared to die. He was ready for this, wasn't he?

The world around him, the meditation chamber he sat in, faded. Black, eternal nothingness was all that was left. That, and a white masked figure standing in front of him. A mask of calmness.

"Are you ready, child of the Zambrano?"

Kahlil opened his silver eyes as he rose to his feet. Turned his gaze around towards the darkness. Not darkness, memories. Dark and light. Of the Sith Empire and Bastion, where he first met Kelsie Sylvan . Where he was given a chance to truly flee his fate. Of Veiere Arenais, the Jedi who gave him a chance to do more than run. Friends, more than he could count. A comforting group of memories to remind him what brought him to this point.

"Are you ready, Jedi Master Kahlil?"

He nodded once, letting his gaze drift back to the Priestess.

"Then, let us begin."

Valery Noble | Yula Perl | Rakaan Horne

 

[Rakaan Horne]

CLASSIFIED - Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

​

Rain fell hard onto stone, dirt, flesh, metal; a blaster bolt cracked into the air, the whiz of it drowned those few out for all of a second.

It was all Rakaan had been able to hear, the Jedi could see even less.

His senses, honed over the years, cried out to Rakaan. It made mention of yet another burn, another sharp pain, a stab in his side - the hairs on his neck rose while desperate eyes befell the fallen Jedi Master in another moment of fearful concern. In a flash, Rakaan turned with fhres life breathed into the blade that bathed him in blue, able to swat aside one more blaster bolt. It was with the heavy rise and fall of his chest, that Rakaan had seen it all then. Mounted on an uneven rock, the thin red beams attached to a near countless number of blaster rifles centred on his torso.

Rakaan shifted in his stance with slow movements, one booted foot slid out and widened it as the blade found both hands in his direct centre. His eyes closed with a breath, and all sound seemed to leave him then. Just this focus, this determination. There was the Force, only the Force, and even still that familiar taste of dread entered the still air around him; the Force warned Rakaan of another threat, one the Jedi did not heed. He closed himself off, fueled by those fires that burned within.

For what was seconds turned to minutes, inhuman speeds had seen a constant shift akin to that of a blur move back and forth across the centred rock. It only exhausted him further, the last of his reserves cast into one ditch effort. Instinct drove him forwards, almost primal. His face turned to thunder as the once blockaded stormtroopers mounted the obstacle and rushed towards them as the blaster fire increased tenfold. He could feel himself slip, each movement a touch slower than the last, all until Rakaan bellowed out in a black rage that blinded him.

Blinded him from his focus. It only took one streak of crimson tibanna to strike his shoulder. It ended his efforts abruptly, sent scattering down the rocks and mud with a scorching wound that burned away at his flesh.

This was it.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Classified
Tag | Rakaan Horne Kahlil Noble Yula Perl

With a groan of pain, Valery rolled over onto her stomach in the mud and pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She was bloodied, cold, badly hurt, and felt her arms trembling while she stared down at the ground, her face covered on each side by the long hair that had fallen around it. Not far away from her, she could feel Rakaan, his presence in the Force strong as always but fading as well, as he used what was left of his energy to keep their position from being overrun completely. If it hadn't been for the crash injuring them, things could have been different.

If she had never dragged him along for this mission, everything would have been different.

A moment passed and finally, the Jedi Knight's guard was broken under heavy pressure by a blaster bolt piercing through the deflective barrier of his lightsaber. Rakaan was sent stumbling off the rock as a result and landed in the mud not too far away from her. It forced Valery to bite herself through pain and hopelessness once more, allowing her to rise to her feet and join him by his side. "If this is it, let's go out standing together until the end," she said as she extended a hand to pull him up to his feet, so they could be back-to-back against the incoming swarm of enemies.

But deep down, she knew she wasn't alone with him — she could feel that Kahlil Noble was coming for her. He always did when she needed it most, and even now, the strength of their loving bond, their dyad, allowed her to feel it.

Please love, I need you.

She steeled her focus and drew her blade up once more, the violet light illuminating her intense features in the dark. More crimson bolts came but were deflected, more soldiers fell trying to take down the two Jedi, but Valery and Rakaan both understood that even though they had dealt incredible damage to the enemy forces, there was no way out without help. No way to survive unless the Force itself interfered.

​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Please love, I need you.

"I know."

The black around him gave way to the scene. Of fire and pain. One he'd seen already. The Force, it's visions. The reality that had been seen, come to pass. He said nothing more as he raised his hand just as another shot came for Valery's head. It had always been weird, being in two places at once. Their dyad had let them do so many things that normally shouldn't have been possible.

Kahlil stepped forward into the scene before him. Into the moment, into reality. The blaster fire that had filled the air, the screams of command, the movement of troops. It all came to a standstill. The Jedi master took a calm breath as even the burning rays of green hovered where they'd been stopped. Crackling with energy, but unmoving. Unable to continue their trajectory.

"Rakaan, take her and run. Find a shuttle, get off world." He kept his back to them, hiding the strain on his face. He raised his other hand as the very air around them trembled. "Now."

Valery Noble | Rakaan Horne