Private Alone Isn't Always Better

[Kahlil Noble]

"<Come now, Jedi Master. You know you shouldn't have underestimated my resources.>"

Kahlil let out a heavy sigh as the same taunting voice of the Hutt spoke through the speakers. It'd been an opportunity, he thought. As he passed through Tatooine he caught wind of an artifact for sale, something dark and twisted by the reports. Something he could take, or at least destroy, before the wrong hands took it. It was supposed to have been easy. Get in under his normal guise, maybe buy it, but most certainly take it by the end of the auction.

Turned out his normal guise was long compromised. Cortosis had ruined his chances to use his lightsaber. Worse, the Force had been dampened. How, he wasn't too sure but as he ran through the halls, blaster in hand, firing shots out at the mercenaries chasing after him. Not that it was the most accurate. He had some skill with it, but without the Force to properly guide him he wasn't hitting shots he knew he could have.

It was stressful.

Hiding was a good idea. He could lay low, take it easy until he figured out where the suppression was coming from. He closed his eyes as he leaned back against the wall of the storeroom he'd hid in.

"Maybe I'm just getting old. It's not usually this difficult to handle things alone."

His eyes opened after a moment. Breathing. Calm. He stood back up, leveling his blaster in preparation. He was going to head back home, at least. His kids were still waiting for him at home after all, the last thing he was going to do was be late for dinner.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The shots in the hallway came without warning.

Kahlil would have heard the cracks of blaster fire echoing through the corridors, followed by shouting, screams, and the heavy thud of bodies hitting the floor. More shots followed, forcing the mercenaries outside his hiding place into a sudden scramble. Someone shouted for cover and another voice barely managed a curse before more bodies struck the durasteel floor.

Then the door was kicked wide open, hard enough to tear it from its hinges.

Valery stood in the doorway, one hand still holding her blaster pistol. Smoke curled from its barrel as she glanced down the corridor, checking for anyone else foolish enough to follow her. Finally satisfied, she leaned her hip against the frame and lifted the pistol toward her face. With a overly casual breath, she blew across the barrel before spinning the weapon neatly in her hand and sliding it into the holster at her side.

Her eyes then settled on him and for a long moment, she simply looked.

Then one brow lifted and the corners of her lips tugged into a familiar, teasing smirk, "Old?" Nah, I wouldn't say that. Rusty, maybe." She looked him over, taking in the blaster in his hand and the state of the corridor outside. "It's what happens when I'm not around to keep you on your toes, hm?"

Her grin widened, though the look in her eyes softened almost immediately. She had spent too long away from him to let the moment become anything but warm.

Valery closed the remaining distance and reached for him, one hand settling against his chest as she looked up at him.

"Besides, you survived." She ran her finger down his chest and smirked, "Or you really would have been in trouble." Then she looked up, meeting his gaze with a loving smile.

"I missed you."

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Stress at first. More blasterfire when he couldn't quite feel the Force well enough to properly understand the threat filled him with stress. He leveled his blaster, preparing for a fight just in case. The sudden kick of the door didn't have him flinch, rather instead narrow his eyes as he prepared just in case. Prepared to fight if there was a threat that came through. Relief came next.

Valery.

He couldn't hide the smile on his face as he watched her. It wasn't the normally restrained, calm smile he had but a goofy, joyful grin. There was no one in this galaxy or beyond that could get such a reaction from him. Amusement followed shortly after. "I've lived too much as just a leader back home. Rusty makes sense, especially when I don't have my best competition to, indeed, keep me on my toes."

That was about all he was going to say before both hands found her cheeks and pulled her into a kiss. Nothing too deep, but full of the love and affection he always felt for her. For all that he missed her.

".. If me being in trouble was all it took to get you back perhaps I should start doing this kind of work more often. I'm not the best shadow, but maybe I can get just skilled enough to avoid being in trouble despite getting into trouble, mm?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The kiss caught Valery by surprise, but only for a moment. She leaned into it almost immediately, one hand settling against his chest while she kissed him back with the same warmth he showed her. When they finally parted, she looked up at him with a fond smile before rolling her eyes at his suggestion.

"Mhmm, just don't get yourself into too much trouble." She then gave his chest a light poke with one finger, her expression turning playfully stern. "With me, that is." Her smile returned as her thoughts drifted toward home, and toward the little faces waiting there. The idea of seeing all of them again made something in her chest ache in the best possible way. She had missed them more than she could put into words.

"And more importantly, you can't miss dinner with the kids."

Valery finally turned her back toward the ruined doorway, looking out over the corridor and the aftermath of the fight. The humor faded just a little as she took in the bodies and scattered equipment. They weren't home yet and she could tell that a lot more trouble was waiting for them out there, despite the Force being weakened.

"We still got a bit to go," she admitted, sighing as she looked over the mess. Then she glanced back at him over her shoulder, a familiar grin returning as one hand dropped to the blaster resting at her hip. She gave the weapon a little pat before looking toward him again.

"It's a good thing you taught me how to shoot." Her grin widened into something dangerous for anyone who stood in her way of getting home.

"Let's do this."

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Just a little trouble."

Just a little. He'd never do anything that would obviously keep him from going home. Maybe. Mostly. He didn't seek it out, at least. Kahlil was back at looking to Valery though, his gaze lingering on her. He wasn't thinking of the trouble they were technically still in. He was just happy to have her back by his side. His smile at least stopped being as goofy as it had been.

".. Well, yeah, I suppose we should take care of this."

He chuckled softly, looking back down the hall. There was a simple nod of agreement. All those lessons seemed to work out well. "We'll have to get my lightsaber soon. And figure out whatever it is they're using to dampen the Force."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

"Lightsaber first," Valery agreed. Whatever was suppressing the Force bothered her, but standing around trying to understand it wasn't going to get them any closer to an answer. She checked the charge on her blaster and started down the corridor, taking the lead without needing to discuss it. Fighting beside Kahlil had always come naturally. Even without the Force connecting them the way it usually did, she knew how he moved and trusted him to know the same about her.

They hadn't made it far before two armed men rounded the corner ahead. Valery reacted immediately. Her blaster snapped up and a bolt struck the first thug squarely in the chest before he could properly raise his weapon. She didn't even look toward the second. Kahlil was right behind her, and that made him his problem.

"Still got it," she muttered with a smug little grin as she continued forward. The grin faded several steps later. Something heavy echoed through the corridor ahead. Valery slowed and looked over her shoulder at her husband. Another impact followed, then another, each one carrying enough weight to make the metal beneath her boots vibrate. Whatever was coming wasn't trying to hide its approach.

"Droids?" She glanced back at Kahlil, eyebrow raised.

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil remained close behind her, calm as ever. Whatever the worry he had was long gone, a distant memory of the stress this situation put on his shoulders. It wasn't just having her there, though. Their bond through the Force pulled it further from the fog. It was enough that he could find his center in the Force. Enough that he didn't have to look at the second guard for his blaster to fire a shot right between their eyes.

The thundering steps that came next had his brow raise. Droids? For a pair of Jedi? Not unheard of, actually. He just smirked a bit, leveling his blaster for the nearby doorway. "Could always be worse. I doubt they have anything too drastic prepared." He said, taunting fate.

"We'll handle whatever it is."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

"You really had to say that, didn't you?"

The answer came from around the corner. Heavy metal footsteps grew louder until the first battle droid emerged into view. It was enormous, covered from head to toe in thick armor plating with enough weaponry mounted across its frame to flatten most of the corridor. A second appeared behind it, then another. By the time all six had moved into view, Valery was looking at her husband with an expression that said everything.

"This is entirely your fault."

She barely finished speaking before targeting systems lit up across the group. Blaster cannons rotated into position, heavier weapons unfolded from armored housings, and the corridor erupted in a storm of red bolts. Valery threw herself sideways behind a reinforced support column as fire tore through the space she'd occupied a heartbeat earlier. Metal sparked and screamed beneath the barrage, forcing her to tuck herself further behind cover.

"Nothing too drastic, huh?" she called over the deafening blasterfire, unable to keep the amusement entirely from her voice.

Valery leaned out just far enough to fire several shots. The first splashed uselessly across armored plating. Her second struck near a joint and made one of the droids stagger, but it remained standing. Wonderful. Blasters alone weren't going to make this easy, and with the Force still suppressed, their options were considerably more limited than usual.

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It'd have been boring if I didn't."

Kahlil said with a smile as if it'd fix the sudden, very real threat they were facing. He was just as quick to get to cover, diving through a doorway to get out of the way of the sudden barrage. It felt like overkill. Maybe it was, but then again, the Hutt had already prepared other means to keep Jedi and other Force Users from being a threat.

He glanced out just in time to see her shots nailing their targets, only to be ineffective. Preparation was a sorcerer's strength was a term Kahlil fully believed in, but wasn't this a bit much for a crime lord? He let out a breath before he leaned back against the doorway. Each step was getting closer, so they'd be upon them soon enough.

If only the Force wasn't so deadened here.

There was a pause before his smile returned. Even if Valery hadn't shown up, why was he thinking the Force was gone? Hadn't Jasper Kai'el used the runes Kahlil had created to overcome the gap between the man and others with his limited connection to the Force? Kahlil's gaze turned to the door before he pulled out one of the chalk he kept to start drawing.

A complex rune, layers upon layers before he shot the door off it's hinges.

"Like I said, it'll be fine."

He tossed the door out, grinning just a bit. The door itself was promptly riddled with holes as the blasterfire erupted, but it had already triggered. Lightning surged out. No, not lightning. Ion. It ripped through the droids, uncaring of their armor or their blasters. Kahlil let out a breath before he stepped back into the hallway.

"So, Lightsaber first, right?"

Valery Noble