Private Brilliant Disguise

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"There are ways to sabotage a gun without them able to find it until it's too late," Valery explained, as she looked in the direction of their target with a thoughtful expression. There was no easy way to do it, but destroying the battery or any form of visible sabotage would be just as dangerous and expose the fact that they have enemies behind their lines.

Perhaps something more subtle was necessary.

"If you disrupt the targeting computer or software, they'll only find out when they start missing shots. A hidden bomb can work, but we'd need to place it somewhere they won't find it." Valery sighed and studied the massive battery from afar. It'd have been better to make their move closer to when the Alliance attacks.

But as soon as Alliance fleets would start to gather in preparation, it was likely that their security here got much stronger.

"This battery is currently an important threat. If we take it down, we create a gap in their defenses that allow our bombers to sweep in and neutralize other targets. So... we have to find a way."

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"I'm not a tech person." Colette stated the obvious as the duo hid from a passing patrol behind a large set of crates. "Disrupting software is not going to happen unless you know how."

The duo crept up on a corner and peeked at the movements beyond. There were a lot more people around these days. They were most likely getting closer to their targets now.

"So, how do we cause this… Invisible damage?" She asked and sighed before they moved into a new set of cover. "Clip wires?"

Wait, yes actually.

"Actually, yes." She muttered. "We clip some wires."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery snorted, "I barely know how the holo-tv works, so let's forget about software." She wasn't proud to admit that she needed to call Vera to help her turn on the tv for the little ones, but she just couldn't be bothered to learn how to use every piece of technology. She could fly ships, use datapads and holo-calls — that was about all she needed to be a Jedi.

Though it'd be nice if she didn't get bullied for being bad with tech all the time.

"Clip wires?" Valery blinked and looked at the battery ahead, "We can but clipping wires does meant we have to get inside. You ready to continue our little infiltration attempt?" Playing as Sith Lord and Apprentice was still an option, but they could also choose an alternative route.

"We should also clip the right ones. Something that doesn't immediately raise alarm."

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"And I was literally born under a rock." Colette joked with Valery as they darted between hiding spots through the base.

"I'm fine with it, but I'd prefer if you did the talking next time." She frowned. "That… Feeling of…" Power? Authority? Righteousness? "Ego. Was too much with everything around us. It took the reins far too easily, I don't— no."

They hid behind a set of crates and Colette looked at Valery.

"Clipping is our best option. We cut the red wire or whatever, and then we get out. Any idea where we find a good place to, uh, clip?"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Don't we make a lovely pair for an infiltration mission," Valery joked back, a grin spreading across her lips. Even during a serious assignment like this, she wanted to keep the atmosphere relaxed. Getting too tense would result in mistakes and they knew each other well enough to understand when it was time to get serious.

With an imminent infiltration attempt, that time was now.

This time, Colette asked her to lead the conversation. Knowing what happened last time, Valery dipped her head and looked over in the direction of the anti-air battery, "I'll lead and you'll be the quiet apprentice, observing their Master." It'd explain why she could remain quiet and nobody was going to dare question Valery if she played the Sith part.

"We'll find our target once we're inside. Let's request a little inspection tour." Valery placed a hand on Colette's shoulder, squeezed, and turned to start heading right for the entrance.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There was no denying that Colette felt a lot more at ease when Valery agreed to the plan. They could have gone with Colette taking the lead again, but in truth the fear of fear was far too great that she would fall back into it again and lose control again.

She let in a deep breath and pushed herself back on her feet on Valery's command.

"Oi!" A man's voice called out. "What are you skulkin' 'roun' for?"

He pulled at one finger of his glove to pull it off and did the same for his other pair before he wiped his hands on his coveralls. He spat the death stick from his lips and ground it out with the tip of his boot.

The man was built like a brick outhouse. Broad shoulders and muscles to match. It was a fair bet to assume he was a contractor brought in from outside to help speed up the continued occupation of the area.

He was about to confront the duo when he caught a glint of the sabers on Valery's hip. Determination turned into well-hidden fear as he began to make a break for backup before uttering a single word. He needed to get out, and fast.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Oi!"

As soon as Valery heard the voice, she turned to face the source and spotted the man. He was built like a freight train, his aura intimidating and his eyes betraying combat experience. But as soon as he spotted the lightsaber on her belt, his expression shifted instantly. He turned around to run, not even daring to speak or confront, but Valery wasn't going to let him leave. Perhaps he could be her ticket to get inside the anti-air battery.

With an outstretched arm, Valery forced his body to freeze with an uncomfortable pressure on each inch of his torso. A wrapping motion of her fingers drew him back, closer and closer until he hovered before them.

"This is the pathetic meat they hire to protect our assets?" Valery scoffed and looked him in the eyes, her fiery gaze burning like a bright fire.

She wanted to look as intimidating as she could.

"Let's get some answers." Valery waved her hand in front of his face, and the lights went out immediately. He hung in the air, motionless and fast asleep. "Colette, let's approach the anti-air battery." She gave her kid one last look before casually walking towards the security gate.

The man still suspended in the air and following along.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette felt her head twist ever so slightly to the side as Valery took over the role of Sith leader. All things considered the woman was genuinely frightening to behold. The man in her arms may have been built like a ton of bricks, but he also fell like it too.

"Yes, master." Colette mimicked, to the best of her limited ability, the sound of a haughty sith whelp.

Guns were pointed at the two yet again as they approached the AA-gun. This group was a little bigger. Five guards trained at the force user who had one of their contractors in the air. Colette looked at Valery and then the guards as they began to bark.

"Don't move!" The leader spat. He was putting on a brave face, but there was an overabundance of caution in his heart. "State your business."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Inspection," Valery said with an aggressive tone to strike fear into their hearts. The kind of voice a Sith would use to make it clear that he was willing to kill if he wasn't satisfied. To drive her point across, she waved her fingers and floated the unconscious contractor a little closer to them, "Is this what we're working with now? A coward who ran as soon as he saw me?" Valery scoffed and looked at the floating man like she could kill him right then and there.

"Who else operates this battery?" Valery demanded.

Once more, she looked each soldier in the eyes, hoping to prey on their fear a Sith Lord would. If it didn't work, she was going to have to take things further, and she really wished to avoid that.

"I'm going inside to inspect the men."

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The guard looked at the unconscious brickhouse and then back at Valery. He didn't seem very convinced by what she was putting forth. His rifle remained trained on the two and Colette felt her own heart sink just a little.

"Tycho was hand picked by the Inquisitors for his zeal…" The leader mumbled as his suspicions seemed to grow ever larger. "He was even brought here from off-world because of it."

"Who are you, exactly?" He asked and put his finger on the trigger of his gun. "You have three seconds to comply."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

In the blink of an eye, the barrel of his rifle folded over towards him, and the guard would experience a similar strain on his body. She lifted him off his feet, pressure on every inch of him except for his throat. She didn't want to kill him — she wanted him to be able to speak.

"Do not make demands with me, worm," Valery hissed.

"I'm Darth Seya, and I'll be inspecting this air-battery with you dead or alive. It matters nothing to me." She looked at the other guards, ready to force them in a similar position if they dared to cross her.

"Our enemy is preparing to attack and this vital installation hires weak, pathetic cowards to protect it."

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

No, Valery could be very, VERY scary when she wanted to be. Colette kept from shivering just a little herself as she grappled the man with a mere thought and made the rest practically grovel before her.

The guard struggled against the force but there was no use. He was as stuck as he could be.

"You should have said so!" He gasped. It wasn't the throat, it was the hurried breathing and panic that had him in a state. "Standing orders are to shoot on sight. You didn't look like any of the inquisitors."

"And what does an inquisitor look like?" Colette offered with a cold stare, far less menacing than the actual threat of Valery Noble's crushing grasp.

"P-pale. Dark leather. Yellow-red eyes!" And for the first time since the encounter, the guard got the chance to look Valery in the eyes. The terror in his eyes grew more and more evident by the second. "M- my lord, I didn't—"

"I didn't see. Please, let me go."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Realization struck after Colette further reinforced their disguise as Sith, but Valery remained quiet. Her fiery gaze seemed to burn brightly, and the tension on his body didn't fade. Was she going to kill him? She wanted them to believe she was considering it, but after he practically begged for his life, Valery finally dropped him down to his hands and knees.

Made to grovel.

"Do not make me ask a question twice again," Valery told him before turning to the others, "Open the entrance and remain here to continue your duties."

Once they did, Valery stepped inside and waited for Colette to follow. The two had a moment alone as they went from one hallway to another, and she decided to use the opportunity to look at her kid.

"You okay?"

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The guards groveled, the duo stepped inside and Colette merely looked at Valery, not sure what to think in that moment.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "Uh, yeah, sure - probably."

"You're scary. Not like, motherly scary, you're genuinely terrifying when you need to be."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Trust me, my motherly scary side is a lot more terrifying." Valery flashed a grin, hoping the joke would ease some of the tension she felt. Not that Colette suddenly looked at her differently — it was just an act — but she couldn't help but worry. She never actually wanted her kids to think of her as terrifying.

Valery looked at Colette, lips thinned into a line for a moment, but said nothing. She wasn't going to bother her daughter with her own insecurities or doubts.

It was fine.

As soon as the two Jedi stepped inside, every guard or crew member they encountered stood at attention. None dared cross a Sith Lord, so the way for them was clear.

"Now, which system do we want to target?" Valery asked once they had a moment of privacy again.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette felt a lopsided grin tug at the corner of her lips, but between what she had just done to the patrol and the planet in general it was hard for her to remain jovial. There was a lot of impressions in the air and a lot of feelings she had never really had to deal with before. At least not like this.

"It can't be too obvious." Colette said and put her hands on her hips as she began to walk around the room with a careful look at the… Tubes, and… Wires, and… Stuff.

"Targeting is crucial, so we can't cut that. If we cut the thing firing the gun and they run a test, well…"

Colette let out a small sigh.

"Did you say you brought a bomb before? Blowing it up might just be the best option."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery chuckled and shook her head, "Let's not blow anything up. I actually think the targeting computer might work. They can't test that unless we fly over and they need to recognize us as enemies." It was reasonable to assume that the battery had been tested when it was commissioned, but as long as no Alliance vessels moved within targeting range, they'd hopefully never find out that the computer was tampered with.

Then again, Valery wasn't exactly an expert...

"An alternative could be-"

Valery stopped, as a sudden explosion caused the walls and floors of the entire building to tremble. She blinked, looked around, and turned her eyes to the ceiling when a second explosion, albeit further away than the first, caused the lights to shut down. Immediately, red emergency lighting began to flash throughout the hallways, and imperial soldiers guarding the anti-air battery began to move.

"Resistance fighters!" one called out, as he summoned the rest of his squad.

Another noticed the two 'Sith Lords' standing in the hall and briefly stopped, "They're attacking the air defenses!"

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette froze in place. Another explosion? She looked at Valery, and she seemed to be just as surprised as Colette was. The kid listened at the sound of soldiers rushing past them only to be caught off-guard when one of them barged in on the duo just in time to not notice what the duo themselves were up to.

"We will catch up later." She said and waved her hand at the trooper. "You will go with the rest of your team and follow your superior."

The man nodded and rushed back out again. Colette forced the door shut.

"Didn't you tell the SIA or something that we are here?" She hissed a panicked whisper. "Why are they striking now?"

Unless they were local. Either way…

"It doesn't matter. We can get this sabotaged properly, and if they reach their target that will be two cannons down instead of just one."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"This is not the SIA," Valery said after she made sure the soldier was away, her eyes drifting around while her senses began to expand. She could feel the soldiers moving through the facility, but there were others. She felt the fighting — the death, the anger, the pain, and the confusion.

The clear signs of battle.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Valery said as she moved for the door, "They're not just attacking a different anti-air gun. This one is being targeted, too." Which was a problem. If they helped the imperials, they'd fight against the people they wanted to liberate. If they helped the attackers, they would expose themselves and they had no guarantee to make it out.

"Let's move before we're caught doing nothing."

As she began leading the way through the hallways, however, another explosion caused the ground to shake. This one was much closer, and within seconds of the blast dying down, she could hear voices.

"We've got a breach!"

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

It tore at Colette's fiber to experience that kind of death again, but she managed. Each death after the other made the feeling easier to deal with whether she wanted it to or not. Each little blip taking more and more of her own soul away if she'd let it.

The uprising had made it through the gates.

"Well alright then." Colette said and ignited her lightsaber to plunge it through the base of the control unit to the turret before swiping it out and to the side to break more than just a bit of the cables around the back.

"We can't let them die in vain."