Private Coldheart | Valeria

[Abel Denko]

FAIR MAIDEN - HYPERSPACE

Was this the afterlife?

If it was, the Knight was sorely disappointed. He had anticipated that death would be a release of some kind - and yet he could very much still feel pain. But his senses were severely dulled. There was agony, but it was muted. Aching. Beyond this, he could not move - and all he could see was white. As time moved ever forward, he realized that he could hear. And all that he could perceive was a constant ringing. More time. Steady breaths. Shapes began to form against the white. Gray amidst the white. Abel Denko had no idea how much time had passed, or how long he had been here - but he finally opened his eyes.

The white had been a glaring, overhead light that burned through his eyelids. The shapes were droids, buzzing and poking away. This certainly wasn't any afterlife that he was aware of. But, he was alive.

Luna. Illyria. Osenia. Fear settled into his stomach. The Knight attempted to sit up, but only found agony waiting. In light of his sudden struggle, one of the droids beeped in protest. As if to say you're barely in one piece, don't push it. Begrundgingly, Abel relented and allowed the automatons to do their work. Once more, the flow of time was his enemy - and he had no idea where he was. But, at the very least, those attending to his wounds were not monsters.

God above how weak he was.

He had gone down swinging to ensure that they escaped - as there was little more that he could do. "How...Where..." he croaked, finding that his throat was supremely dry.

"You are about the Fair Maiden, a transport owned by Lady de Vallee. This is an evacuation procedure."

Evacuation? So he was off world. De Vallee? He had heard that name before. Yes. She was an Obsidian Lord at one point. A noble as well. She had it all - the power of wealth, the power of the Force...she stood a greater chance than he when it came to staring down the beasts. All he could do was make an opening - she at least got people off the planet. "Is she here?" he asked. "Affirmative. On the Bridge."

"We need to talk."

Abel waited, patiently, as the droids patched him up to an acceptable condition. Painkillers and bacta now flooded through his being, enough so that he could comfortably walk. There was weakness everywhere - it'd take some doing to be back in full fighting shape. But at least he could stumble his way to the Bridge. When he did, the battle scarred man calmly and quietly approached the command throne. "Lady de Vallee?" he asked, clearing his throat in a vain attempt to combat his hoarse voice.

"My name is Abel Denko, Knight Obsidian. You pulled me from the fire on Naboo - I owe you."

He bowed his head in respect and awaited the cold one's response. And though ruled by silence, his thoughts and feelings were clear as day in the Force. He fretted over the wellbeing of Luna Evanstance , Illyria Le Fey , and Osenia Ee'everwest. But above all else, he lamented his own weakness. Anger. Pain.

Darkness.​

Valeria de la Vallée​

 

[Valeria de la Vallée]

Location: Raven’s Hymn
Equipment: Frozen Heart, Raven's Hymn - Nebula Class Star Destroyer
Tags: Abel Denko

Valeria had been requested to the planet Naboo to help with the evacuation, her fleet was already in combat however she had boarded a corvette, the Fair Maiden, to actually perform the ground evacuation. It provided speed and enough transport space for her marines all in a wonderfully small package that made it unlikely they would draw much fire.

Upon arrival the vessel made its way to low orbit and both Valeria and the marines deployed into one of the most intense combat zones against the monsters where people still needed to be evacuated. Valeria chose to do most of the fighting herself while her marines provided support, but more importantly began moving the civilians to the transport shuttles. One after another Valeria either cleaved or froze the monsters and after some time the marines had all the civilians on their way back to the ship and she gave the order to begin withdrawal. As she withdrew she noticed a man, a force user, who was fighting the monsters but he was rapidly losing ground against them, it seemed apparent that he was neither strong enough nor had enough combat experience to make up for his shortcomings in strength. As Valeria mulled this over in her head, that’s when she saw him catch a monster…hand? Or was it paw? Either way, he caught it to the face and it knocked him out and sent him a good 30 feet through the air.

“Well, guess I have to save him too. He’s technically in the evacuation area.”

Valeria decided time was of the essence as the creatures closed in on his body and used force teleport to appear in a wisp of frost next to him. From here she could see the last shuttle, grabbing a hold of the man, even though she couldn’t lift him as he was a good deal larger, and notably older, then herself and judged the distance. It was farther than she would’ve liked but it was manageable.Valeria concentrated her powers and as the creatures were getting within striking distance both herself and the man, she disappeared into another wisp of frost with the body, reappearing in the bay of the shuttle. She gave the order to depart immediately as her marines fired out of the loading ramp as it closed and the shuttle lifted off.

Some time later Valeria was on the bridge of the Fair Maiden, the ship was in hyperspace and on it’s way to rendezvous with her flagship, the Raven’s Hymn. The corvette would be abandoned during the rendezvous due to the damage it sustained and Valeria’s unwillingness to bother repairing it. This would cut her fleet down more than the significant losses she took at Naboo but herself and the rest of the Order and Government was on its way to the Shiraya Expanse to re-establish itself. The war had been lost.

As the ship came out of Hyperspace and the Raven’s Hymn came into view, a man entered the bridge and approached her. She recognized him as the force user she had saved on Naboo, he’d been in the medbay for a while now and while he was able to walk still seemed unsteady, the man introduced himself as Abel Denko and, while bold to simply approach her, was at least respectful stating he owed her. Valeria reached out in the force, making no particular effort to hide she was doing it and most force users would feel a ripple in the force within them, to see what he might want, after all he likely wanted something. His feelings were easy to read as were his desires, he was angry at himself, wanted to save or see if others were ok, and most significantly, sought power. This desire for power did begin to pool an interesting amount of darkness, more accurately the dark side of the force from what Valeria sensed, within him.

Valeria stood and faced Abel, Abel standing several inches taller, and began to speak with her cold aura and frosty breath accentuating her words:

“So you do….I must say that I haven’t seen such a pitiful display of combat from one so much older and larger than myself in some time.I suppose this is what happens to those who never refine their combat skills. In any case, as you have correctly deduced, I am Lady Valeria “Aurea” de la Valleé, also known within the Obsidian Order and among Sith circles as the Lady of Vanity. We will discuss you here in a moment, once we leave this vessel and board my flagship, the Raven’s Hymn.”

As Valeria finished her sentence she pointed out the bridge windows to the star destroyer that was now filling their view.


Raven’s Hymn - Captain’s Ready Room

Once aboard her ship and once it entered hyperspace, she led Abel to the captain’s ready room just off the bridge and sat down in her chair and, on the other side of her Aurum Inlaid desk, bid Abel to take a seat and poured a glass of Shashay Idlewil Liquor for herself. She took a sip, the glass frosting over nearly immediately, and placed the glass down, crossing her hands on the desk and then began to speak:

“So Abel, we’ve established that you most certainly owe me but I’m not sure how you’d ever repay me. Normally you’d become my servant but I’m sure there’s at least a few that would object to that and in light of recent events, I would rather not have the hassle.Perhaps you have an idea. First however, tell me Abel, what is it that you most desire?”

Valeria already knew the answer but she wanted to hear him say it, after all she had flexed both her wealth and power this entire time, primarily for this moment. She was playing chess and Abel, well he wasn’t playing anything at all.

 

[Abel Denko]

SPACE - EN ROUTE TO THE EXPANSE

Well...damn...

The Knight could not remember the last time he felt this small - especially by one he had a head's worth of height on. Yet, before him stood the personification of everything he lacked. Lady Valeria possessed wealth, assets, power, and mastery of the Force. She was able to affect change on Naboo and to save many lives - including his own. She was even able to overpower the meager defenses he kept raised about his mind, discerning who and what he was. Then...she dressed him down. But he could not disagree with a single word she uttered. Her frigid words cut, but they were accurate.

Naboo had been the sorriest display he had ever seen. There was no arguing that point. Thus, he humbly bowed his head once more as she spoke, until she indicated the ports of their current vessel. Looking, he watched as a Star Destroyer came closer into view. They were leaving - that much was certain. In short order, they had relocated, leaving one vessel behind for the other. The Knight was then ushered into the captain's quarters, where the Lady of Vanity seated herself.

A beverage was poured and immediately frosted over whilst Abel took his seat. The reality of his situation was laid extremely bare from thence. He had no means of repaying her for the rescue and the medical attention. At least, not financially. Glorified slavery would have previously been an option - a fact which caused a chill to race down the man's spine. But, thankfully, Valeria reconsidered. Instead, she posed a question. What is it that he desired most? That...was a loaded question. And were it presented before the cataclysm, his answer would have been quite different. He may have said something about having more hours in the day.

But now?

"I don't...have any ideas at present." he began, addressing his debt first before answering. "And what I want? I never want to feel this powerless again. I normally stand a chance. Doesn't matter what or where, I normally can fight or negotiate my way out of hell. But this? Naboo? I wasn't enough. That can't happen again."

He waited on baited breath for her thoughts.​

Valeria de la Vallée​

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