Private A Shadow's Rescue

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Mirial

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610 Ilwynog Cysgod

"Bee? Can you track the coordinates down to the surface? I'm getting some interference," Valery said from within the cockpit of her X-wing, moments after they came out of Hyperspace in Mirial's system. It had been a while since she visited the planet with her friend Amani, but today the reason was a lot more serious than shopping for a wedding dress. An old signal had managed to reach her on a frequency that she immediately understood to be Ilwynog Cysgod . She had met the rather mysterious Jedi Shadow about a decade ago when they decided to work together on a mission not long after she came out of stasis.

Now, Ilwynog was in trouble and that likely meant they had been compromised during a Shadow mission. The strange thing though, was that this signal seemed to be years old already. Would it be too late, or could they still find them?

"The signal might bring us somewhere... strange," Valery said. "They're a Jedi shadow, and missions that we were working on back all those years ago often revolved around the Sith Empire that was active in this region at the time. Taking down Sith Lords, neutralizing Sith experiments in their labs... this won't be a fun trip down into the capital city, I imagine."

Not that it was going to be a problem. Valery had been a Shadow herself and today she had one of the most reliable companions imaginable joining her. It had been a little while since Bee joined her on a mission, mostly because of how busy they both were with the family. Valery was very much looking forward to it again, and looked over her shoulder to where he'd be.

"Feeling good about this, buddy?"

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

Location: Unknown, Mirial
Equipment: None
Tags: Valery Noble | BB-610

"This is Ilwynog Cysgod. Whoever this reaches, I am working on Mirial on an operation for the Silver Jedi Order. Things went wrong, been compromised. Sith are now about to capture me. Please rescue me. This is Ilwynog..."

The signal was on repeat and had been sent away. Ilwynog had used secure lines and heavily encrypted the signal so only a Jedi Order would be able to crack it but it was their best shot. Hearing the soldiers working for the Sith barging at the door, they knew their time had run out, there was no where they could flee to now. No chance of talking their way out of the situation and praying that help would come soon.

As the door busted open, several shots were fired at Ilwynog who used their blue Lightsaber to deflect the shots back and took a defensive stance. Waiting for the Sith presences that they could feel coming towards them. As Ilwynog went to call out the Sith for being cowardly, several bolts of Lightning came towards them, blocking it with their Lightsaber. It was difficult to hold on the defence as the Sith's attack was astonishingly strong and the well of hatred emanating from them was deep.

The Sith then stepped into the room, continuing the Force Lightning, their lips curled into a smirk, "so, this is the Jedi that infiltrated my gang? How pathetic. I would have thought the Order would have sent better."

Before Ilwynog could react, a Force Wave sent them flying through several walls and even in the full armour, they could feel the cracked ribs, their head spinning. Staying conscious enough to hear they were being taken away for the experiments. Whatever they may be. After that, Ilwynog just saw darkness as they passed out.

---

It had been 10 years. 10 years of hell.

The initial years were simple torture, things that Ilwynog had been prepared for. Things that they knew were the standard Sith tactics in keeping a prisoner and attempting to turn them to the Dark Side. It was things that Ilwynog could spit at, laugh at and remain strong. They were a Jedi Master, the Light Side of the Force was all they needed to get through. It was also inevitable that a Jedi was coming, at least in the early years, Ilwynog had believed that. They had believed that any day soon they would hear the Jedi storming through the rooms to rescue them. No one would forget an agent in the field, especially not a Jedi.

Then around four to six years, Ilwynog started doubting that a rescue would come. That their signal must have been scrambled or incorrectly delivered so now they were trapped in this prison. The torture changed, less clear what they wanted but they started taking samples from Ilwynog. Claiming that since they were being so resilient then the Sith wanted to see if a humanoid Sithspawn could be created. How powerful would this Sith need to be to attempt to turn Ilwynog into a Sithspawn, that was the Sith's question. While the torture was not as life threatening, there were attempts to infiltrate Ilwynog's mind, to make them see monsters, rotten bodies of those they had cared about, whispering the destruction of the Jedi was already happening. That Ilwynog failed in saving the Jedi.

This all lasted until a year or so ago. Ilwynog had noticed the experimentation, the sample collection and the torture ceased. It was just keeping them prisoner, feeding them and hydrating them so they didn't die. Anything else was abandoned. Ilwynog attempted to listen out for what might be discussed from beyond the cell but since they woke in their cell ten years ago, there hadn't been connection felt through the Force. Initially, they believed a mixture of different Force negating or Force limiting tools were being used. It made sense that such things would be in place to prevent Ilwynog escaping. However, more recently, Ilwynog started wondering if they were ever connected to the Force. If it had all just been a made up story in their head.

Insanity was truly starting to kick in now. A brief laugh came from their lips as they dangled from the shackles.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Mirial System |
| SHIP: Noble X-wing |
| TAG: Valery Noble | Ilwynog Cysgod |


BB-610 had analysed every last word in the transmission they'd picked up, deciphering the scrambled message as thorough as he possibly could. It was a tough one to crack; somebody really didn't want this broadcasted - or perhaps it was a desperate attempt for the Jedi to conceal their pleas - , but with the aid of an internal signal enhancer and the astromech's top of the line decryption software, it was only inevitable. The frequency was tweaked, voice inversion undergoing myriads of programs that plucked at any detectable abnormalities, and soon the transmission was fully audible - and Ilwynog's complete coordinates were collected.

He turned to Valery from within the X-wing's astromech slot, chirping triumphantly as the coordinates were hastily fed to the starfighter's navicomputer. BB-610 cooed solemnly, chassis rumbling with welling anxiety as he told Valery that the message was sent from a guarded Sith facility, remote and neatly tucked away. The droid attempted to pry at further research of the facility, but his databanks came up empty, with only a few antique texts to hint towards it being a place of torture. What was most disturbing, however, was the date he'd picked up on after unscrambling the message.

Bweeping once more, he reluctantly informed Valery that the broadcast was dated ten years ago. Ten years of torture at the hand of the Sith. It was enough to get BB-610 on edge, enough to completely ignore her question. He most certainly didn't feel good about this. Not at all, not in the slightest. Would the Sith truly keep a Jedi alive for that long? What if this message was a trap, fabricated and looped to lure any allies into a trap they couldn't win?

Shaking his head, the astromech whimpered, asking Valery if she thought this was a good idea. He really wanted to help, he really did-- but he was not risking the kidnapping and torture of his family. Not again.

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Mirial

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610 Ilwynog Cysgod

"Great work, Bee. I don't know what I'd do without you," Valery said, and it wasn't exaggerated. She was terrible with technology and relied heavily on a slicing tool she was given by a friend to slice anything. A code as heavily encrypted as this one? She'd have no chance at deciphering it, no matter how hard she tried. But Valery had accepted that a long time ago, and being able to rely on a close friend or family member for help wasn't something she was ashamed about.

Bee was one of her favorite mission partners because of this, and as soon as he programmed the coordinates into the computer, she just trusted it blindly. He knew what he was doing, just as much as she knew what she was doing when focusing on her areas of expertise.

"I'll bring us down as close as possible without alerting anybody. We'll walk the rest of the way and find a way inside." A more cautious approach, but a necessary one. Jedi Shadows were not the types to just get captured by anybody. But in the deciphering of the code, Bee had learned a little more about its origins and confirmed that the signal was ten years old already. Valery frowned and for just a moment, she hesitated.

Would he even be alive after so much time had passed? It didn't matter.

"A good idea? I don't know, but we don't leave our own behind. Either we're bringing them back alive, or we're recovering a body for closure. That said, if it gets far too dangerous, I'll either call in back-up or... abandon the mission. We can't help anybody if we just get ourselves in trouble, after all." She knew Bee was worried about these types of missions. Not long ago, Valery herself had been captured and tortured, so it only made sense that this was uncomfortable to him. It was to her as well, but she wouldn't let that get in the way.

Soon after, the X-wing would settle down as close as she believed was possible, and the Jedi Master stepped out of her cockpit to take a look around.

"Scan for life signs if you can, Bee. The more we know going into this, the better."

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

​

Location: Unknown, Mirial
Equipment: None
Tags: Valery Noble | BB-610

While Ilwynog had no idea that there was anyone out there still looking for them, nor that they were so close and going to rescue them, the remaining security force that were operating the base were alerted to the presence of a ship getting too close. There wasn't much that they could do against a determined Jedi, but they were already preparing a complete wipe of the activities of the base and any records that would be obtained after their demise. They couldn't let the Jedi know what had happened to their prisoner, nor could they risk the results and information linked to their boss, wherever the Sith might be, reach the Jedi either. It was too important and risked too much.

The scrambling around and mobilising of the gang members was more movement and activity than Ilwynog had heard in the past two or three years, at least, that was approximately the time they last saw the Sith Lord. Since then it had just been daily reminders how long it had been tortured and how no Jedi was coming for them. A truth that stung at their heart, they knew it was because they failed to get the signal out clearly, there was no way a Jedi would abandon one of their own.

The guards at the entrance held onto their blasters, ready to take aim. Overwhelm and hope that the Jedi was a weaker one, that was all the skeleton crew could hope for. Their main aim was to stall, delay the rescue and allow the guys working the controls to delete all the data logs and scramble any information that could be ripped from the consoles. It was not something that could be quickly with ten years worth of data but they were working as fast as they could.

"Damn it, send the signal again to the boss. Let them know the test subject has been rescued and field testing will have to commence without proper testing." One of the leaders of the gang called out, the Duros that Ilwynog had worked with previously was furiously typing away and sending the short, encrypted file through the backdoor communications to the Sith boss.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Mirial |
| SHIP: Noble X-wing |
| TAG: Valery Noble | Ilwynog Cysgod |


There was no turning back now. BB-610 knew that far too well-- Valery never turns back when she's set her mind to something, and while their doubling down only furthered his anxieties, the droid knew that it was the right decision. The Jedi were bound together by something far greater than he was, and he would continue to fight for the people he'd learnt to trust, stranger or not. With an understanding nod, the astromech put all of his trust into his co-pilot; Valery knew what she was doing, and this was hardly their first rodeo together. Things would be fine. They had to be.

As the Jedi steered them closer, BB-610 focused all of his efforts on reconnaissance. Lifeform scanner emerging to kickstart its satellite, he relayed his findings to Valery with updates in quick binary: two people standing guard, with a handful of others housed within the facility. Whether one of them was their Jedi, he couldn't identify for certain. Optic narrowing in an attempt to peer through its walls, the droid's acts were interrupted by a signal, swiftly pinpointed inside the facility's chambers. Chirping frantically, he informed Valery that they were attempting to send what appeared to be data logs to an unknown user.

Signal enhancer working on overtime, BB-610 attempted to tap into the frequency for further details on the user in question, but the crew's scrambling had delayed the astromech's efforts. With a synthetic scoff, the droid then turned back to Valery, bweeping to say that he could intercept the transmission and retrieve the logs if they're fast enough - she just needed to get them inside and handle the guards.

…speaking of which.

Peering down, BB-610 whimpered a quiet uh oh..., wobbling with unease from inside the astromech slot as he blurted out to Valery that the guards had drawn their blasters -- they knew they were here, which meant Valery needed to act fast if she wanted to overpower them as well as reach the data port in time.

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Mirial

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610 Ilwynog Cysgod

"Thanks Bee," Valery said once he reported back about the lifesigns ahead of them. She gave him a quick pat on the head and started walking already. Her own senses were scanning the surroundings, hoping they could penetrate deeper into the facility and confirm if Ilwynog was still alive. If so, she'd surely be able to feel them eventually but if not... then she wouldn't find out until she was inside of the facility.

Either way, there was only one path forward.

"Keep your receivers open, and try to intercept as much as you can. Even if it's encrypted, I'm sure we can decipher it later." With we, she really meant just Bee, or someone else who was capable with technology. But right as she began to plan her next step, Bee informed her that the guards were on alert, and drawing their weapons. Had they spotted the X-wing earlier, or maybe they were aware that the emergency call had been intercepted?

Valery wasn't quite sure, but it meant they'd have a little more trouble to deal with.

"Stay here, and when they go down, rush up to me and I'll need you to open our way into the facility," Valery said and before he really had time to confirm the plan, she faded into her Force Cloak, leaving her invisible to the eye and any sensor that could possibly track her. They all, after all, relied on a form of light or sound. With quick steps, The former Jedi Shadow closed the distance, brought herself right behind and between the two guards, and stepped out of her cloak again.

"Hello boys," she said before she raised a hand into a fist, freezing them up, before bringing them down against the ground to knock them out. There was no reason to kill these guards, so she wasn't going to — a stark contrast to what she would have done back in her days as a Shadow.

"Come on, Bee! I need you to get me through this door!"

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Mirial |
| SHIP: Noble X-wing |
| TAG: Valery Noble | Ilwynog Cysgod |


What was perhaps an often overlooked part of being an astromech is just how perpetually busy his droidbrain was. On the outside, BB-610 looked no different, but internally, there existed a constant struggle of tug-o'-war as his servos locked and shifted, ones and zeroes pumped into code to combat the opposing signal, a fight that dictated the encryption or decryption of data. It took quite a lot of processing power to keep up such affairs while also navigating the X-wing as Valery dismissed herself as well as keeping a keen eye on her for both safety and cue purposes. One might wave away the struggles of a droid, chalking their skills up as a computer doing everything for them, but BB-610 wasn't just a computer. He stressed, he feared, he observed on the edge of his seat as the Jedi engaged with the guards. He knew she could handle things, but there always existed that tiny slither of worry.

As expected, the guards stood no chance. Blasters were raised, shots were fired at random in blind desperation, and screams were cut short as Valery made quick word of them; thudding to the floor, blasters clattering helplessly, BB-610 slowed the starfighter's engines to a purr as he followed his cue, disembarking from the astromech slot and swiftly sped towards the Jedi, motors whirring while he rolled to a stop before Valery and the facility's entrance. The droid's scomp link emerging, it's promptly inserted into the door's socket, twisting and turning for a few seconds before the entrance is slid open with the hiss of metal.

Rolling inside, BB-610's flashlight blinks to life, giving view to the dusky walls of the facility's corridors. Turning to Valery, the droid bweeped, telling her that the logs weren't able to be read thanks to their encryption, but that he'd be able to revert it if the upload is stopped. Lifeform scanner twirling, the droid's head snapped to the right, the array of advanced photoreceptors within the hull of his body peered through the walls, a multitude of scans refreshing his vision until the vague silhouettes of the remaining men he'd picked up on earlier had been detected.

Wobbling with high-pitched binary, the astromeched chirped 'this way, this way!' as he rolled forward, navigating the facility's halls and swerving past corners, guiding Valery down the corridor and speeding to the last of several doors, housing the figures in question.

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

​

Location: Unknown, Mirial
Equipment: None
Tags: Valery Noble | BB-610

The transmission needed only a few seconds longer for it to be sent. It was going to be impossible to locate the destination of the Sith Lord that would be receiving the message afterwards since it would be clear from the logs that the message was being transmitted from several planets, that then sent the message forward to other worlds. The guards at the entrance of the building were dispatched much too quickly for those inside, they were frustrated with how much work they were going to have to do. Lining themselves up against the walls, they fired towards Valery and the droid, hoping, wishing that things could be delayed in the time message to be sent and lost in the endless galaxy that it could be.

"Hurry up, this Jedi is not some Padawan, those boys stand no chance!" The gang boss growled to his underlings as they were furiously deleting files and destroying the records on ongoing plans that the Sith had for this operation. "Even if it is only the past 7 years that we wipe, those are the most important. Nothing about the experiments can be leaked." He grunted.

"We've sent the message, that has been sorted boss, it is taking longer with these logs. The system is struggling to keep up." The underling complained, they had too much to scrub through and had no plans for something like this.

Raising and pistol and pointing it at the computer, "well they can't get the full information if we just blast this chit." He started firing the blaster at the database, hoping to destroy the logs beyond full recovery.

Detecting the Force Signature of Ilwynog was complicated, there should be the aura of the Force flowing through them, they were alive and still connected to it. However, years of living in a room with a voidstone hindering the use and the use of Force Suppression which basically brainwashed Ilwynog into thinking he had been severed or never truly had a connection. The scans for lifeforms would show that there was a prisoner tied up and very weak, but it would not likely hint towards it being a Jedi Master.

They had been broken in ways that few Jedi would experience. Ilwynog could hear and feel the action that was happening behind the closed door. It was someone breaking in. Their mind couldn't understand who would be breaking in after all this time, it was impossible for it to be Jedi, they were gone. Dead. That was what the Sith had said, hadn't they?

 

[Valery Noble]

Mirial

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610 Ilwynog Cysgod

The guards inside the facility stood no chance either.

Valery placed all of her trust in Bee to guide her down the best possible hallways, but ultimately, they'd have to fight. The guards were blocking all ways to reach Ilwynog, and soon enough, the first blaster shots were fired. With her two lightsabers raised defensively, Valery began deflecting the incoming fire away from her at first, but then right back at them. One by one, they'd fall while she advanced, and she was moving quickly.

They had no time to waste.

"Bee, keep moving us towards him! My senses are... struggling." She wasn't sure why, but it was somehow difficult to find him in all of this chaos. Either his presence had been weakened over all those years here, or perhaps he was already gone. For now, she wasn't going to draw any conclusions and just put her trust in him. But she was going to need his help for more than just navigation — from around the corner of the hallway, two more guards appeared.

"Bee!" She called out, while she focused on others.

They had to be fast.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Mirial |
| TAG: Valery Noble | Ilwynog Cysgod |


As they sped towards the room, BB-610 swerved to avoid the guards, leaving them for Valery as he focused on the door. As expected, it was sealed shut from the inside, refusing to budge, but the astromech was persistent. Tool-bay disk opening, he selected his scomp link, inserted into the door's port as he began to manually override the entrance's system, twisting and turning as the sound of footsteps grew even louder. The approaching guards took aim, pointing their weapons to the Jedi, though no shot was ever fired; their attention instead fell to the droid, the much more defenseless target, and redirected their blasters.

The door wouldn't budge - there must have been someone on the other side directly combating his efforts, and the muffled sound of gunfire on the other side of the room elicited concern. BB-610 tried to speed things up, but the ensuing blasts to his direction knocked him off course, scorching the walls and floor with blistering shots until one finally hit its mark. The astromech let out a startled, synthetic screech as the side of his body was met with a fierce blow. His durable shell had thankfully tanked most of the damage, but the tool-bay disk present on the injured section had been shattered, rendering his tools useless.

Despite his defense system begging him to disengage, BB-610 refused, far too stubborn. He must have gotten that from Valery.

The scomp link, trembling now with inside damages, clicked and twirled, and finally the door was opened, sliding halfway before it was halted by one of the guards on the other side, trying desperately to reseal it. Soon enough, the opening was beginning to close, slowly sliding all the way back -- the astromech glanced to Valery, the bottom of his head tipped with scorch marks, knowing that she was only one that could now heave the door fully open with the Force.

Peering inside, BB-610 saw him: a Jedi strung up and caged, bound and defeated, both in state and looks. The droid had never seen such a lifeless, hopeless Jedi before, but they were still alive. This could still be a rescue mission. Bweeping hastily, the astromech repeated that they're here, they're here, wobbling in place while staring at the captive Jedi. There were still people inside, guarding their prisoner and well aware of the duo trying to break in. The central computer had been destroyed from what he could see, but perhaps there was a way yet for him to salvage it should Valery get them in on time.

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

​

Location: Unknown, Mirial
Equipment: None
Tags: Valery Noble | BB-610

The Jedi Master was carving her way through the defences of the building, there weren't many guards left, the base clearly working under a skeleton crew. Having been once, more of a fortress but now simply a former stomping ground. The guards were still refusing to surrender without a fight, clearly scare of something more than they were of Valery. A darkness that still slightly lingered in the building but long faded. Ilwynog was hearing the commotion and realised this was real. Someone was actually here but their voice, their words were unable to come out. It was trapped inside them and they were only able to weakly shift in the shackles.

When the droid opened the door to their prisoner, Ilwynog prayed it was connected to a Jedi, their mind too foggy and lost for them to concentrate enough to understand binary. Their whole body was barely able to focus enough to ensure that this was reality and not another hallucination brought on by the Sith Lord that had tortured them.

"H...He...Hel...Help..." Ilwynog coughed out weakly, their voice struggling to come out as they hung there in the air. Body scarred, mutilated from years of torture. Ilwynog was attempting to finishing their sentence with help me, but throat too dry, too raw for them to finish what they wanted to say.

The room opposite to Ilwynog housed the destroyed main computer, having been blasted away by the gang boss. The man was pleased with himself about doing the job and feeling a bit cocky, decided to continue firing at the droid, eager to take it out since he presumed it was better odds than firing at the Jedi. "Bye, bye droidy." The boss growled with his cocky attitude.