Private Brilliant Disguise

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Good call," Valery said after watching Colette cut her way through the battery's control unit. If all the explosions and blaster fire hadn't already caused some serious damage, that certainly did. It was just less subtle than what she would have liked, so if the Alliance took too long before they came to liberate the planet, there would be a chance that the Empire rebuilt it all.

Perhaps doing even more damage would be helpful at this point.

"We've got nothing left to lose, so let's head out and see if we can cause some structural damage." She kept her lightsaber hilt at her hip as she moved, choosing not to ignite a weapon that could reveal her to be a Jedi. The longer these people believed her to be on their side, the better.

But they were going to have to make some choices sooner, rather than later.

As Valery charged outside with Colette right behind her, she spotted several stormtroopers behind cover, opening fire at a group of local rebels with a huge variety of blasters and weapons.

There was perhaps a chance to slip away, until one of them noticed the pair.

"Sith!" A rebel called out, and shots immediately were coming their way.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The whole situation got out of hand real fast. From the Imperials who thought that the duo was part of their team, to the Rebels who thought just the same when in reality it was the other way around. Colette's grip paled around her saber and her teeth gritted as they opened fire on her and Valery.

The blue blade ignited yet again to deflect the bolts away from herself and into the floor and ceiling if she could help it. The imperials seemed none the wiser, at least not for the moment. They were, after all, too busy fighting off the real perceived threat.

"Any ideas, Val?" She asked and dodged in behind cover on the other side of the hallway where the exit was. "Lightsabers won't cut through a building like that."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

A tremor of confusion echoed through the Force when Colette ignited her lightsaber to deflect the incoming shots. Even in the middle of battle, the rebels could tell that the blue color of her blade was off — they had expected crimson, and they had certainly expected some of those bolts to come right back for them.

The Imperial soldiers, with their backs turned to the Jedi, hadn't seen the blade and continued to engage the rebels, but the attackers now stopped firing at the Jedi beyond the occasional stray bolt reaching them.

"I'll break us into the building, then we'll have to get out on the other side." Valery looked up from behind cover, waiting for a decent move to move. When it came, she jumped to her feet and rushed for the wall, her hand quickly reaching out to touch the metal surface. In an instant, cracks began to form, until one segment shattered into little pieces.

"There are still Imperials inside, but let's move!"

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Sure, just casually crack a metal wall like it's nothing. Colette looked at Valery and then the hole. Between the phasing and this she supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised by now but she was.

"Got it!" Colette barked and dodged through the hole and into the building. There was panic here too. Soldiers rushed towards the entrance, a few in the opposite direction as if to go get something.

The emotions were pushing against her very limits. The fear, the panic…

"So much is happening." She hissed and grabbed at her head. "Make it stop."

She wasn't built for these ops yet it would seem, not yet.

"The imperials are afraid, but not as afraid as the rebels. Every second is like another snuffed candle."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"We have to keep moving," Valery said when she caught up with Colette and noticed her struggling. A gentle hand reached out to squeeze the girl's shoulder, hoping it would comfort her, but Valery knew they didn't have much time for it. Every second wasted could cause their fall, so she tried her best to get the girl to move.

Even if she needed to shield Colette until the end.

"We have to-"

"You there!" an imperial soldier called out, as he appeared in the doorway, his blaster leveled on the two women. Valery's gaze turned to him, and after a slight pause and some tension in the Force, he pulled the trigger. A crimson bolt flew towards the Jedi Master, but Valery was quick enough to draw her blade and deflect the shot back.

Straight through his chest.

"More are coming, we have to go."

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Push through it. Lives end all the time, you're just not used to the feeling.

Colette's hand rested against the wall. She curled her fingers into the palm of her hands and slammed the fist against the metal to give herself something more physical, something more present to focus on.

"We get out, we move fast, we get home." She grunted and sent a wave of energy to push an incoming Imperial force to the ground. "We… Practice how to block this out."

"And then, we try again." There was no mistaking the anger in Colette's voice. She was upset at herself and the way she was messing all of this up.

"It's like each death is a candle being snuffed. A cold shiver under my skin from warmth I didn't know was there until it was gone."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery could feel Colette's struggle, the emotional weight pressing down on her as she tried to push through the storm of emotions. Valery stepped closer, placing a firm yet comforting hand on Colette's shoulder. "Colette," she said gently, her voice steady and soothing amidst the chaos. "What you're feeling... it's overwhelming, I know. But it's because you care so deeply, and that's not something to ever be ashamed of."

She paused, allowing her words to sink in, before continuing. "But right now, we need to focus. Each death is like a candle being snuffed out, yes, but we can't let that darkness consume us. Focus on me if it helps. One step at a time, one breath at a time."

Valery guided Colette forward after another group of Imperials was forced aside, her presence a steady anchor as they moved through the facility. She led the way, her senses alert to the danger, but her focus was just as much on Colette. As they made their way towards the exit, Valery kept her tone calm, offering quiet words of encouragement.

"We're almost there. Just a little further."

They'd be out of there soon enough, and once they were back home, Valery would do anything to help her be ready for missions like this. After first taking some time off to rest and recover, of course.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

It didn't help. A streak of warmth poured down Colette's cheeks as she pushed through the chaos. She was no stranger to tears, but these were particularly painful and her cheeks were flush with the burning hot color of shame. Her teeth gritted with each push meant to protect herself from plunging her deeper and deeper into the anger that boiled beneath her skin.

Colette's resentment of her weakness flooded into the force and the world around her with ease, and as they approached the gate it seemed that it only amplified. She raised a shaky hand towards the guards that stood between her and the final stretch before they made it back home again, and with a wave of her hand she unleashed a storm far greater than what she had expected to.

The guards flew out of the checkpoint as each booth on each side of the road seemed to explode like a shaped charge going outwards from where Colette stood. She screamed, or so she would assume. It was hard to hear with the ringing in her ears, but the burn in her throat would tell her that she was in fact not as quiet as she might have hoped.

The two panicked guards were dead at her hands but for the first time since they'd got here she couldn't feel that. The sound of her own heart and the pain it brought with each solitary beat was drowning out every other sensation that she could comprehend.