Private A Day Off

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Somewhere high up in one of Coruscant's many skyscrapers, Valery sat on the couch of her old apartment. Technically, she still owned it together with her husband, but they had recently moved to a new house on the Epicanthix Colony in GA space. But with how often they needed to be on Coruscant to visit the Jedi Temple, they had decided to keep the old apartment as well. It didn't really feel like home the way it once did anymore, but it was good enough for the few days they'd spend here on occassion.

The kids certainly didn't seem to mind.

The triplets were currently sleeping in the bedroom and Vera was sitting on her knees, drawing at the small table in front of the couch. Awfully peaceful for the Noble household, but Valery wasn't complaining. She had plans to grab coffee or tea with a friend, so the calmer the kids were, the easier it'd be on the babysitter. Kahlil was currently out and about with Aris, likely to offer him a bit of training with his dad. But she expected him to be home soon enough to relief the babysitter of their duties.

"Vera, be nice while I'm away, okay?" Valery asked with a chuckle.

"Mhmm! Who is coming again?" she asked, curious because usually it'd be Amani or Alicio coming over if she was meeting up with a friend.

"His name Gatz, a newer friend of mine who you haven't met yet," Valery replied.

"I'll open the door, then!"

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Five bounty hunters in eight days. Gatz had killed five bounty hunters in eight days. The fifth one had died less than an hour ago, and had come the closest to killing him.

And boy, did it show.

Gatz limped down the hall of a Coruscanti high-rise apartment complex, looking like someone out of a horror flick. A blackened eye had swelled up, restricting his ability to see anything to the left of him. His cheek had been marred by a vibroknife, freely bleeding down into a collar. A puncture wound on his right shoulder stained his red leather jacket a much darker red. But his worst injury was his upper left thigh: a direct shot from a blaster pistol had burned a hole through his pants, charred and cracked his skin, and left blood trailing down his pant leg.

If he hadn't been drawing deeply on the Force, he wouldn't have been able to even walk. Not with the pain.

He should have been in a hospital. But Gatz couldn't be sure the next bounty hunter wouldn't just ambush him there. Nowhere was safe from those on Kragan's payroll, not even Coruscant had been the safe haven he'd hoped for.

Of course, he might have been a little safer if the holster on his good thigh hadn't been empty.

But even without a blaster, there was one place in the galaxy that might be safe for a few moments. Just long enough for him to bandage his wounds so he wouldn't bleed out—and he was bleeding out. And even then, Gatz had debated not going. Valery had insisted upon getting coffee, after meeting up at her old residence on Coruscant. He could have been leading Kragan right to her doorstep. Her family.

But the fact that it was her old home, and not her current residence, was enough to reassure him that he wasn't doing her family any harm. This wasn't where her child(children?) rested their head(heads?) at night. It was just a temporary residence while she was on Coruscant for the Order, and since he still didn't know where she actually lived, the danger to her family was negligible.

That was the only reason he'd convinced himself to come. That… and he'd given Valery his word.

With a pained groan, Gatz limped the last step to her door, and rang the buzzer. He hoped she liked her coffee with a side of injured smuggler.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Vera wait-"

Too late. The young Noble had already reached the door and pulled it open, right as Valery felt that something was off. She felt his pain, and instantly understood that something had happened. But before she could get up and rush over to the door, her little girl already had, and stared up at Gatz for a moment. Multi-colored eyes blinked, as her gaze met his for a moment, but it didn't take long for Vera to notice that he was hurt.

"Mommy?!" Vera yelled, but she didn't sound frightened. "He's hurt!"

Valery rushed into the hallway and slid over the smooth floor on her socks, before coming to a full stop. Her hand settled on her daughter's shoulder to gently nudge her aside, before she leaned in closer to support Gatz, "The hell happened to you?" she asked, clearly worried. But deep down, she already knew — Kragan. He had been afraid that something could happen and she had tried to make him come here anyway.

Was this the price he had to pay for it?

"Come on, let's get you on the bed." In the living room, it was too easy for Vera or perhaps Aris to see him later, so she brought him over to her own bed and helped him down. "Vera, can you get me the medical kit?" She asked, and her little girl immediately ran off to grab it.

"Jacket off, I need to see how bad these wounds are," she asked, but she realized his leg was even worse off. "I'll have to call a doctor over for this."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

The door swung open, and Gatz was greeted by a child... by a mini Valery no less.

And his heart stopped. Fear consumed him, even more so than when he’d watched Valery get shot for him, and anyone with even the most stunted Force Sensitivity must have felt his terror. This was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid. Every nightmare he’d had over the last week—and he’d had one almost every night—started like this: him bringing Kragan to Valery’s family.

He’d killed one of Kragan’s bounty hunters not even forty-five minutes ago. Who was to say that was the only one on his tail today?

He had to leave. He had to leave now.

Gatz tried to turn to go, but Valery was already at the door, sliding across the floor. There was no way in hell she was going to let him just leave. No way in hell he could outrun her, even if he hadn’t taken a blaster to the thigh. He’d just have to— Too late. He’d taken too long thinking about how to get away from her, and she’d grabbed him. And much like how he couldn’t outrun her, there was no way he could outmuscle her.

He tried to resist anyhow, digging his heels in at the threshold to her home. His thigh exploded with pain.

“No… I—” his voice was hoarse, exhausted, “I can’t be here. Not while your family is here! I only came because I thought they wouldn’t be. If I'd known, I'd—”

He'd have stayed away, and bled out in the street.

Of course, resistance was futile. She dragged him into her home anyways—dragged a man with a bounty on his head into a place where her children should have been safe—and to her bed. Any other time, any other place, or any other situation, and Gatz would have made a very inappropriate joke about that.

But not now.

“No!” Gatz refused her, his voice so worn out it was no louder than a whisper, “I’m not staying! I want nothing to do with your family while—”

He turned to step away from her, in the middle of his objection, and the Force finally slipped from his grasp. No longer able to strengthen his body beyond normal measures, Gatz’s leg finally gave out, and he crashed to the ground with a wheeze of pain.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Too late," Valery told him sternly when he started to resist, and tried to argue that it wasn't a good idea with her family here. Perhaps he was right, in a way, but he was already here and there was no way she'd let him leave to just bleed out and die somewhere in the streets. No, she was going to take the risk and patch him up, no matter how much he wanted to try and get away. Right now, he simply didn't have a choice anymore.

He'd have to forgive her for that.

"Stop resisting, you're not... going to... win this," Valery said, her voice a little strained from having to put effort into dragging him along. But as she finally began to get closer to the bed, he lost his strength very abruptly and fell to the ground. As strong as she was, the suddenness of it made it impossible for her to catch him, so she watched him fall. Not for long though — Valery immediately crouched down, and lifted him up in her arms.

A very strange sight, and more than likely embarrassing to him, but she didn't care.

"There, and lay still or I'll tie you down if I have to," she told him with an almost exasperated sigh, after putting him down on the bed. Valery then brought over a chair, sat down and began to take off his jacket, so she could look at the puncture wound first. It looked nasty, but his leg.. she'd have to stop the bleeding there first.

"Gatz, we're going to have to take care of the leg first. I'm not letting you bleed out."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

No! She wasn’t listening! Why wasn’t she listening? Didn’t she realize that he was dooming her to be noticed by Kragan? He had to get out of here, but how? His leg was mangled, and without the Force there was no way he could walk out of here. It was times like this that Gatz wished he hadn’t thrown away his discipline and training. If he hadn’t, he might have been able to leave.

Discipline… and training. That was the Jedi approach to using the Force. But there were other ways to draw upon it. Easier ways. Raw emotion was a pool of untapped power even for those who lacked training entirely. Anger and fear… they might be able to fuel him long enough to get away from Valery’s home.

The Dark Side. And Gatz was very seriously considering drawing on it, in the presence of a Jedi Council member. In her home, even. That was a dangerous line to cross. Even Valery, with her vast patience and faith in him, wouldn’t be able to excuse that.

A last resort, Gatz decided, if she wouldn’t listen to reason.

She picked him up bridal style, and déjà vu did not escape him. He just wasn’t really in the mood to make a joke about it. And, really, he had more important things to talk about.

“Valery,” he put more effort into speaking, and his whisper turned into a rasp, “I’ve been tracked down by five hunters in the last week alone. I need you to consider: what happens to your children when they find me here? I have to leave.”

Valery, naturally, threatened to tie him to the bed. Another great opportunity for an inappropriate joke, and another one he had to ignore because she wasn’t listening to him. She started pulling his jacket off, but clearly realized his leg was the bigger problem. And still, she didn’t heed his words.

So he tried another angle.

“What is your husband going to think, when he realizes you’ve brought criminal scum like me into your home. Around your children. I have a price tag on my head, Valery! Let. Me. Leave.”

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Nothing will happen to my children, Gatz."

Valery's voice had shifted away from the warm, comforting tone it usually carried, and perhaps felt surprisingly cold. A threat to her children, to her family... it brought out a very different woman in her. "If they come here and threaten any of the kids or you, I will deal with them accordingly." She didn't stop and removed his jacket, before tossing it aside to focus on his leg next. The wounds covering his upper body were a problem she'd have to handle, but if the leg didn't stop bleeding, he'd be in trouble.

He had already lost a good bit of blood.

"What is your husband going to think, when he realizes you've brought criminal scum like me into your home. Around your children. I have a price tag on my head, Valery! Let. Me. Leave."

Valery stopped, just for a moment, and looked him in the eyes. Her fiery gaze was burning bright, betraying even a flash of anger in them. "Shut up," she told him sternly. "My husband trusts me, and you should too. If I don't help you now, you're going to die, Gatz. I don't care if you think that's for the best, but I'm not going to let you." She jabbed a finger into his chest as she leaned in closer to make her point very clear.

"You're staying right where you are, and you're going to be fine. So will my kids, and so will I."

While Valery was having a go at him, Vera peaked around the corner and looked into her mother's bedroom. She was carrying the medical kit already, but seemed hesitant to speak up until her mother stopped talking. Not because she feared her mother, but because of how tense it seemed. "Mommy?" she asked, her voice now betraying some fear for the first time. "I got the medical kit like you asked."

Valery looked over her shoulder, then briefly back at Gatz to glare at him as a warning, before getting up to walk over. "Thank you, sweetie. Can you go to your siblings and watch over them for me? Love you." She kissed atop her daughter's head and watched her run off.

"So, are we doing this the easy or the hard way, Gatz?"

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

“With me dead,” he rasped out, “Kragan has no reason to continue pursuing me. Or you.”

Gatz could feel the shift in Valery. Gone was the gentle, warm woman he knew. And why would she keep that facade up? He’d brought danger to her family. Unintentionally, sure. But he’d brought it all the same. He was undeserving of the compassion she had shown him up until now, and finally, it seemed like she knew that too.

Well, that bridge was burnt. It was nice having someone believe in him. But that wasn’t for men like him. That made what he was about to do next all that much easier.

He had plenty of fear. Facing Sith Knights, assaulting Sovereign Station, the idea of what Kragan would do to him, do to Valery’s family… Fear was all he seemed to feel most days. And anger? Valery nearly dying for him, seeing what Kragan did to those slaves, all the ways those bounty hunters had hurt him this past week…

He had more than enough anger.

Gatz let those emotions fill him, and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Valery wasn’t going to listen to him. So there was only one option left to him. And he had to do it, if he wanted to keep the Nobles safe. There was no choice—

Little Vera came in at that moment, quiet, timid, afraid. And Gatz’s anger and fear evaporated in an instant. What was he doing? What had he been about to do? Vera was no older than seven, still younger than he’d been when he left the Order, and he was about to give her a front row seat to a fall to the Dark Side?

Valery had come into his life and offered nothing but guidance and compassion. She had given him a reason to live beyond self desires. Everything he’d done in the past year, everything he’d achieved had been because of her. Because of the example she set for him. Because of the way she’d encouraged him and inspired him.

Was this how he was going to repay her for all she’d done for him?

“We always have a choice,” even in his own mind, he sounded tired, “wasn’t that the whole point of the last year? To choose to be better? Are you really going to throw that away?”

And Gatz knew he couldn’t do it. Shame filled him, replacing the fear and anger, and in a room with two empaths it couldn’t have gone unnoticed. He sagged into the bed, finally giving up on resisting Valery, and he waited as she addressed her daughter and guided her out of the room.

Only then did he speak, tears filling his eyes.

“I don’t want to do it the hard way. But, Valery,” he tried one last time, his voice quieter than she’d ever heard it, “it’s always someone else who pays for my mistakes. I don’t want that to be you and your family.”

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Valery's anger remained until the very moment Vera had shown up. To see her little girl with fear in her eyes, not because of some bounty hunter or thug, but because of her mother's anger... it was too much on Valery's heart. It made her calm down instantly, but it didn't change the way she viewed this situation. Nobody knew better what it was like to bring risk and danger to her family than she did herself. Just by being her kids, they were the target of so many.

But they'd all fail.

By the time she turned around to face Gatz again, she could feel a massive shift within him through the Force, but she didn't show it. Instead, she sat down by the side of the bed, placed one hand on his shoulder and took his hand in the other. She offered a comforting squeeze, and looked him in the eyes as he spoke. It didn't matter that tears filled his eyes or that he might feel embarrassed — he was a friend and she'd support him.

"Please, trust me here, Gatz," Valery pleaded, knowing that every second wasted here could matter for him. He was still losing blood, and she couldn't treat him without his cooperation. "My family has been threatened by far worse than Kragan's kind, and they're doing okay. I will always protect my family, and so will my husband."

"Please, let me help you."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

After seeing Vera's fear, Gatz had expected Valery to smack him around. But then, what child wouldn't be scared of a stranger bleeding out? Especially one that was arguing with her mother as she tried to save his life. So, naturally, he'd expected more anger from the Sword. Dismissal. Rejection. Hatred, even. All things he would have deserved.

But of course, because she was Valery, she just took his hand and reassured him. Practically begged him to let her help. Begged for his trust. Had he really just considered a jaunt to the Dark Side, just to get away from her? This was Valery! There was no one in the galaxy he trusted or cared for more than her.

What the fuck had he been thinking?

It was at that moment that Gatz considered his current condition: a severe loss of blood, only three hours of sleep in the past three nights, and adrenaline coursing through his body like a drug.

Yeah, his judgment was probably compromised.

"Okay," he sighed, eyes still watery, "I… I'm sorry. For everything. For always burdening you with my problems. For getting you shot. I never—I wouldn't have come if I'd known your children were here. I'd rather die. I'd have stayed away. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He was rambling now, but he couldn't stop. Couldn't think properly. He was just so… tired. His grip on Valery's hand weakened, and slipped from her grasp.

"I'm sorry I never got anything right. Never did anything good. I won't… bother you again after…"

He trailed off, vision going blurry, sounds suddenly muffled. The pain stopped too, but Gatz realized that was because he just couldn't feel his body.

Oh. So this is what dying was like. Shitty.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"I told you to shut up," Valery said, but with a smile this time, as he started apologizing for just about everything. She squeezed his hand again, looked him in the eyes and shook her head with a smile, "You need to rest and let me take care of everything for now. I'm going to patch you up the best I can and call in a doctor for-" She stopped when she felt his grip weakening all of a sudden. His skin turned pale, his eyes flickered and she felt him weakening.

She could feel that he was dying.

"Gatz, stay with me!" she told him, now quickly dropping his hand to shift over to his legs. There was no way she'd get the pants off without him cooperating, and he probably wouldn't appreciate that if he woke up either. So she pushed her fingers gently through the hole where he had been shot, and ripped open the trousers to fully expose the shot he had taken to the thigh. It looked... ugly, and it was still bleeding.

With the medical kit she had gotten from Vera, she immediately went to work to clean the wound first, before tightly wrapping it up to stop the bleeding.

"You're going to make it, but keep fighting," she said, her voice betraying concern. Valery then shifted over, and gently placed her hand over his heart, before forcing some of her own energy to bridge the gap between them. It wouldn't heal the injuries, but it'd make up for some of the blood loss. Then, much like with his pants, she ripped up his shirt around the injuries, and began to apply bacta spray and patches to fix him up as much as possible.

"Come on, come on, come on..." she muttered. "Wake up, Gatz."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Everything was white. And Gatz meant everything. There was no floor, no walls, no ceiling. He was just standing in a big white void. Wait… how was he standing? His leg was all sorts of screwed up. He cast his gaze down, almost afraid of what he would see, wondering if his leg would even be there. And… it was. It was perfectly fine too, no wounds, nothing. In fact, all of him was fine. It was like he’d never been shot or stabbed.

He was missing his jacket though, and that was weird.

“Oh, I get it,” the realization came to him, “I’m dead.”

“Not quite,” a voice all too familiar spoke behind him, “but you’re giving it a damn good try.”

Gatz turned around, already knowing who he’d see. Tall frame, maybe an inch taller than he was, blonde hair fading to gray. He carried the same cheekbones, the same blue eyes, and even the same swagger in his stance that Gatz often did. He was dressed in a simple tunic and pants, the same thing Gatz always remembered seeing him in.

“Dad…” his eyes watered, “so this is it, huh? This is the end.”

His father’s smile was as warm as he remembered it, “I don’t know about that. There’s a Jedi Master working very hard to keep you in the realm of the living.”

Guilt flooded through Gatz. Why was it that Valery always had to solve his problems for him? Why was it that he had to keep burdening her. He’d brought his feud with Kragan to her doorstep; to her family. How could she even bring herself to save his life, after he so carelessly endangered hers and her children’s?

“She should stop,” Gatz said simply, “she should just let me go. I can’t hurt anyone else that way.”

“Do you want her to stop?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know that I deserve her efforts. Or to live.”

Dad nodded, “because of the past few years. Because of the spice you’ve smuggled. The lives you’ve taken.”

“Yes,” his voice was barely a whisper.

“Have you ever considered,” his father spoke softly, “that maybe you’re the only one that feels that way?”

“I… I don’t know if—”

There was a beating in his chest, right where his heart ought to be. Energy… welled through him, invigorating him, and suddenly his white surroundings started to fade back into the room around him. Dad disappeared from in front of him, but before he left, he spoke once more.

“Just something to think about, kid. There’s still plenty of you worth saving. And I’d bet your friend agrees.”

“Wait, where are you—”

---

His eyes snapped awake, and he let out a pained cough. Everything hurt. Literally everything. But… he was alive? That was unexpected. He looked around, trying to focus as his vision blurred his surroundings. But he could see enough to know that Valery was working diligently on binding his wounds… and that his clothes, and her bedsheets, were utterly ruined.

“So I didn’t die,” his mouth was dry, words rough, “cool.”

He was still exhausted, but he didn’t feel as… panicked or as crazed as he had earlier.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Valery had no idea how much time really passed — she was way too focused on keeping him alive, and pouring a lot of her own energy into it as well. So much so, that she was starting to break a sweat just from patching him up. As a result, she took off her jacket, pulled her hair back into a tighter ponytail, and continued to share her energy with him. Whether that was really what made the difference or not, she didn't know, but... he moved.

A twitch of his eye, some movement of his legs and arms, and slowly but surely, she watched him wake up.

"Cool? Really?" She let out an exhausted chuckle and fell back into her chair, covered in sweat and his blood. But no matter how demanding it had been, she knew it was worth it. She had saved his life, the way he had saved hers after she got shot during their last mission.

Strange how it all happened so shortly after each other.

"How are you feeling? A little better?" Valery leaned in closer and placed a hand over his forehead to gauge his temperature. The last thing she wanted now was for him to also get sick, after all. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Gatz forced himself into a sitting position, groaning in exhaustion and pain. A lot of pain. Valery had clearly bound his wounds, but they were most certainly not healed. That was fine. Suffering was what he deserved for even thinking of coming to Valery’s home. It didn’t matter that she’d invited him, it didn’t matter that he assumed her children weren’t there.

The responsibility fell to him. And he’d already decided to stop running from it.

“I’m sorry,” Gatz couldn’t chuckle with her, there was no humor in him, “all I’ve tried to do since the day we met is be the good man you want to see in me. And I just keep failing you. And now I’ve failed your family too.”

How was it that, in spite of everything, she was still taking care of him? She placed a hand to his forehead, which was definitely a little feverish. She asked how he was feeling, if he needed anything. Hadn’t she already given him everything? How could he ask for more? Why did she keep offering more? Didn’t she realize that he wasn’t worth the effort?

“Have you ever considered that maybe you’re the only one that feels that way?”

“No, I’m fine,” Gatz tried to gently brush her hand away, “please. You’ve done more than I deserve.”

He tried to turn his body to place his feet on the ground, but his leg really didn’t want to listen. Looking down at it, and at Valery’s ruined bedsheets, Gatz realized that he seriously needed to spend some time in a bacta tank. Also he needed new… everything, but he had all that back on his ship. If he could just get his leg to work, so that he could leave, he could go and get a new change of clothes and save his dignity.

“I… thank you for saving my life. I’ll get out of your hair, just give me a second to get my leg moving…”

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"You don't get to decide if you failed me or my family," she told him dismissively of the idea, as he sat up and adjusted a little on the bed. His blood had, well, ruined it completely but she has spare sheets and couldn't really care less about it. Everything stained in blood could be easily replaces, but Gatz could never be replaced.

Still, Gatz was very serious about making it as hard as he could on her to help. He may have brushed aside her hand, but she already knew more than enough, and watching him shift around to try and stand up really made it obvious that he was severely weakened.

He wasn't going anywhere.

"No, no, no," she told him with narrowed eyes. "You're staying right here. If you want to get changed, I'll head to your ship and get some different clothes, but you are not moving." She glared at him with that look she had whenever she wasn't going to accept any arguing. Her kids knew it well.

"Just relax, please. You aren't causing any trouble just sitting here."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Valery didn't accept his apology. She dismissed it out of hand, rather quickly too. But she didn't deny that he'd failed her. Didn't deny that he'd failed her family. And that told Gatz all he needed to know. It may not have been an outright confirmation, but he didn't need her to say the words. Didn't think he'd be able to stand hearing them. He knew.

And he knew how he was going to avoid ever doing it again. He'd been foolish to think that he could keep Valery in his life, but not put her family in danger. So the answer was simple: he couldn't keep Valery in his life. At least, not while Kragan still lived. But at this point, Gatz was certain that he would die long before Kragan Garr.

Could he do that? Just... ghost Valery? After everything she'd done for him?

No. No he couldn't. Outside of Uncle Klein... she was all he had. And he was too selfish to let go of her. Damn him. He really wasn't a good man.

"Alright," Gatz had withered under her ire too much today, "I'll stay put, But you cannot leave, Valery. I don't know when or where Kragan's next hunter will strike. And the second I can put weight on my leg again, I'm gone. Will you grant me that, please."

Gatz was in no way comfortable with staying here, but what could he do about it? Valery had him wrapped around her finger, and after everything she'd done for him, he had to respect her wishes. He just hoped that she would agree to a compromise: he'd stay long enough to gather his strength, and make sure he wasn't going to keel over, and hopefully that would be enough to let him leave.

And if he had to beg to get her to compromise with him, so be it. He'd never been much of a proud man anyways.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"We'll see," Valery said while she sat back and relaxed a little in her chair. Now that she was no longer having to tap into the Force, her exhaustion faded and she pulled the jacket on around her tsnk top again to stay warm. But when she looked back at Gatz, she knew exactly what he was doing. He was looking to find a compromise that would get him out of here, just because he felt like he was bringing danger to her family.

In a way, he was, but it wasn't anything compared to the danger that was already there. So many wanted to target her and her family if they could, after all. Most were smart enough to not bother even trying.

"First, you are going to recover a bit. I'll make some food too and I'll ask my droid to pick up new clothes, so I don't have to leave. But you're also going to tell me exactly what happened between our last meeting and now," she said, her eyes narrowing again to make sure he wouldn't try to hide it.

He'd have to be a very good liar to fool her, and she had a feeling he couldn't manage that with her.

"I'm not going to allow this hunt for you to continue, Gatz. And don't even try to stop me," she warned him.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

That was the closest he was going to get to a "yes." It wasn't a satisfying answer, and it didn't allay his concerns one bit, but it was better than an outright rejection. At this point, after everything else had gone the way Valery decided it would go (he'd be dead if it hadn't), Gatz would just take what he could get. Maybe... maybe he could sneak out when she went to go make food.

Who was he kidding? Sneak? On his leg?

Gatz sighed, and sagged back against the headrest of the bed. If he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, he may as well stop being so wound up. The idea of another bounty hunter turning up terrified him, but... well, what bounty hunter was going to get past Valery Noble? That thought put him at ease, however slightly. As long as she was around, her family was safe.

He probably wasn't, considering she was likely considering strangling him after all of this, but you win some; you lose some.

Valery also wanted to know, in detail, what had happened this last week. The second the demand left her mouth, he winced a little, a clear sign she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Gatz considered lying, or only telling things from a certain point of view, but dismissed that idea immediately. She could see right through him. She'd know.

And, if nothing else, he owed her the truth.

"The first hunter showed up maybe thirty minutes after you left Naboo," Gatz said with a sigh, "that one should have killed me. I lost my blaster on Sovereign Station, and had no way to defend myself. Klein and I were on the way to a restaurant for dinner, and that's the only reason I'm alive: he shot the man dead. Second one showed up just after noon the next day, and the third one about eight in the morning the day after. Both tried to ambush me in space, I think you can guess how that went."

He groaned, dizzy, the effects of blood loss finally catching up to him once more. Still, Gatz decided to bear it. He'd take being lightheaded over being dead.

"Fourth one nearly got me at the spaceport on Denon. That was two days ago. I had to kick him down a flight of stairs and run to my ship. I don't even know if he's dead," Gatz paused, to let that sink in, and hoped he hadn't left a bounty hunter alive, "and then there's the guy from today: I was on my way over here when he caught up to me. If I'd had my blaster he wouldn't have touched me, but... well, obviously he did. I got lucky and managed to push him over a railing. He's probably still falling to his death."

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"So many..."

Valery had been able to tell that he was speaking the truth, but it was clearly a truth she didn't like at all. Obviously he had been hunted down today, but she had no clue that it was this bad. "Why didn't you reach out to me? I could have helped," Valery said with a sigh. She honestly already knew the answer to her question — he didn't seem to like making his problems hers, even if she told him it was okay.

"Look," she then continued after taking another breath, "This really can't be allowed to continue. These Bounty Hunters target you but indirectly bring a lot more people in danger. Kragan is also a slave trader who committed many crimes. By bringing this into Alliance Space, we have everything we need to apprehend him." Which... she knew would likely result in his death. He was the type who would fight until the bitter end, or at least she thought him to be.

Some crime bosses were cowards who hid behind their people, after all.

"I'd really like to join you and try to find out more. Info on Kragan and his whereabouts, on his organization and how much of it impacts the Alliance. Then we can stop him, and leave all this behind us."

"What do you say?"

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"Because I've asked enough of you. You keep giving to me, and I just keep taking. And I’ve given you nothing in return."

Valery had to know that she'd done more for him than he could ever repay, right? But, no… no she didn't think in that way. He understood that well enough. She saw someone in need and reached out a hand to help, everytime. She didn't expect anything in return; she wasn't looking for a fair trade. She helped because it needed to be done, and because it was right.

That was the Jedi way, after all. But it was also just her way.

That was what had inspired him in the first place. That gentle kindness. That ability to be selfless. He just didn't want to take advantage of that. And Gatz felt as though he had crossed that line today.

"Yeah, I tried "bringing him in." You got shot. For me. I lost my gun. And he's sent at least five hunters after me this week."

Well, actually Gatz just took him hostage so he wouldn't get shot on the way out, but… semantics. Point was: trying to take down Kragan directly hadn’t exactly gone their way last time. And the man had almost certainly beefed up his security after nearly dying.

Naturally, Valery wanted to track him down first. It was a sentiment that Gatz appreciated, but of course, he was hesitant to accept her help. This was his problem. He'd dragged her into enough of those. And, again, he'd nearly gotten her killed last time she helped him. He'd nearly taken a mother from her children.

But, unfortunately, Gatz was all too familiar with how this discussion was going to go.

“You’re not actually going to let me say “no,” are you?”

---

Tags: Valery Noble