Private Dark Clouds Come Rolling By

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

Valery was in briefing mode.

She was expecting Kahlil and Shan to enter the communications room any moment now, and she was certainly expecting a teasing comment about it. Or at least a look her way that made it clear what he was thinking. But given the new developments in the war — the loss of Tython, Empress Teta, and stability in the core — Valery wasn't too bothered about appearances. The Alliance had retreated and was working hard to regroup, but other immediate problems needed to be addressed as well.

She was right on top of it all.

Booting up the projector, Valery already displayed a map of the Core, now partially highlighted in red to mark down enemy territory. But even outside their controlled planets, there were other red dots just beyond those planets.

This plague was starting to spread

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan had taken a small isolation during recent events. There had been plenty of things that he had needed to wrap his head around properly. With all of the mania and chaos happening across the Galaxy, he had decided it had been best for him to recuperate and recover.

But now he was back! Better than ever! At least he thought as much. His energy levels were back up, his health was doing great and he had confidence in himself once more. Just because the war was kicking up didn't mean he'd get to hide away for much longer. And even if he didn't plan on being on the frontlines, there were going to be other planets that needed their help!

It was going to be nice to be heading out on another mission with Kahlil anyway. Shan hadn't really interacted with his master much since well...the last time he had properly saw his master was at Vera, Aris and Colette's birthday. Oh. Colette. Hopefully...That wasn't going to make things awkward for the mission. To be fair, she had been part of the reason he had isolated himself. To get a proper understanding of his feelings and to make sure they wouldn't get in the way of any missions like now.

It was time to get back out there and start healing the universe! One step at a time!

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm glad to see you feeling better."

Kahlil smiled wide to Shan as they approached the room together. He'd given his Padawan space, to let him find himself, his emotions, as best he could. All with the caveat that if Shan ever needed him, he would reach out. He wasn't too sure if that had ever come to pass, but right now he could keep himself from being both happy and excited to work side by side with his student again.

"You'll have to catch me up on what you've been up to, after the meeting. I imagine the travel will be long enough."

He looked ahead, opening the door so they could step in and stand before Valery. He gave her a simple nod, his smile dimming just a little to at least seem professional. But she kew just how happy and excited he was for this.

Shan Pavond | Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

When they entered the briefing room, Valery turned around and dipped her head to greet them, before she rose to offer them a smile. Even if they needed to be professional and focus on the mission, she was still looking at her husband. He also felt happy and excited to be with his Padawan again, so how could she possibly suppress her smile? This was her husband at his best when it concerned Jedi business.

Even if the situation and upcoming mission was rather grim.

"Glad you're both here," Valery said before she turned to Shan with an equally warm smile, "Very happy to see you back by his side. I hope you're doing well." They would have some time to talk on their way to their mission destination, so she hoped to be catching up then a little. At least, as much as Shan was wanting to talk about it all.

She would never pressure him.

"Please join me at the holo-table. We have quite a situation to discuss. Several planets in the core have fallen to this Dark Empire, but the situation doesn't stop there. With how densely populated Empress Teta is, a lot of people have made escape attempts, and Dark Empire forces have pursued some of them," Valery explained while she showed the red dots moving away from the worlds that were lost.

"If we want to drive them from the core, we will have to box them in. I'd like to take you both with me to secure some of the refugees and force the enemy to retreat."

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Feeling much better, thank you. I just needed some time to myself."

Shan broke out into a wide grin himself, giving Kahlil a short nod as they made their way into the communication room. The Mirialan didn't really have much information to catch Kahlil up honestly. Shan hadn't been doing much apart from meditating and practising which wasn't quite different to what he normally would do.

Giving Valery a short nod as they stepped in, Shan just turned himself towards paying as much attention to the briefing as he could. A small frown spreading at the mentioning of Empress Teta. He had visited there somewhat recently with Colette. It had been a nice place...Though it wouldn't do him any good to focus on that as he shook his head, turning his attention back towards the plan. Securing refugees were right up his alley!...Making people flee was right up Kahlil's alley at least!

"Have to try and save as many people as we can..." He muttered to himself, frowning at the same time. It was going to be easier said than done. The Dark Empire wasn't something Shan had dealt with yet...but hey. The best way to get experience was to jump head first, right?

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The Empire is ruled by the Sith, and has the remants of the Maw, but they're Imperial in nature. In that regard there at least won't be as many people in danger as with the burning conquest of the Maw."

A silver lining, at least. Kahlil looked over the map with a calm expression, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Their lives won't be easy, but they'll still be alive. We'll have to prioritize those in the most immediate danger to evacuate. Do we know the Empire's doctrine yet?"

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"I'm afraid we don't," Valery said to answer her husband's question. "The trickier part is that much like the Maw, they do have different subgroups. Some more violent than others." They had their New Sith Order, but unruly Dark Jedi as well. Imperials who followed a doctrine and had some code of conduct, but murderous clans at the same time. It was hard to tell who was after the refugees, but Valery feared the worst.

Or, at least, she was going to assume the worst.

"My idea was that we'd take the Bastion and make several runs." Valery pointed at the map, marking out those refugees who were closest to being caught. "We first go after those most likely to be caught, and we bring them to one of the fortress worlds around the enemy borders."

"With a few runs, we can help a lot of people and perhaps stop the enemy from even daring to try again."

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Prioritise the most at risk. It was like triage. Protect those most at risk, whilst assessing the situation at the same time. It was going to be best for them to assume the worst of the Dark Empire. Already it was apparently different in how Shan was seeing this situation compared to the Mandalorian threat in the past. Making several runs in the Bastion was a good idea, but it wouldn't be long before their actions would probably be noticed as he took a step closer towards the map, a frown still on his face as the Mirialan was trying to figure out what would be the best course of action to take.

"...How likely is it that the Dark Empire will start firing on us if they come across us?" It was incredibly likely in Shan's mind, but he thought getting a full answer would be for the best. He probably wouldn't be able to bring his interceptor with them and he just didn't like the idea of being a sitting duck. Any refugees trying to escape by ship would also become a target...Instead of normally standing by, and letting Kahlil and Valery come up with the ideas, whilst Shan would just try to learn from the pair, the Mirialan was trying to come up with his own ideas on what could be done. There were still plenty of unknowns but Shan was willing to work through those unknowns instead of waiting to get more information.

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"A certainty, I imagine."

The Bastion was his ship, after all. He frowned in thought as he glanced to Valery. "We'll have to take a different ship, if the plan is to ferry people. They'll know who I am with the Bastion almost immediately." That was the danger of using his own ship, and he certainly didn't want that danger to be passed onto the folks they were trying to rescue.

Even if he piloted the Bastion best.

"We'll have to use a different type of freighter."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"We can, as long as it's fast and reliable. Even if they don't recognize the ship immediately, they're going to be suspicious of any ships near the area where they're searching for people. A single scan will reveal plenty of life signs and we'll be a target, anyway. Then there's the chance we run into someone truly violent, and what ship we're in won't matter even a little." Quite frankly, Valery hardly saw any benefit to taking another ship beyond the very start of the mission, before they had picked up any of the refugees. Even the Dark Empire couldn't just go after every ship they saw on sensors — they'd likely go after bundles of life signs.

But even that small advantage was a welcomed one.

"Let's grab a shuttle with a civilian registry and we'll be on our way." With that said, Valery shut down the projector and turned towards the exit. From Coruscant, it was a quick jump to get to the area around Empress Teta, so the journey wouldn't be too long. Still, it gave them some time to talk to Shan about how he has been.

She was curious about it all.

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

There wasn't any freighters that Shan could think of that would let them take an interceptor with them...He'd have been willing to try and distract anyone that attacked them even though a part of him felt like Valery and Kahlil wouldn't like the idea of him putting himself at risk like that. There was a time when he wouldn't have even thought of doing something like that, but times were a changing for him. Hm...Dozens of ideas were running through his head as he nodded to Valery's statement about getting a shuttle with a civilian registry.

"Is there any way to block the scans? It'd probably be more trouble than it's worth but it could buy a few valuable moments." There wasn't any way Shan could think of. Mostly because whilst he knew how to pilot a ship, he didn't know the full mechanics of them all. Either way, they were going to need to get down to business.

Now it was going to be time to talk though. There was going to be a bit of time for him to chat with the two Jedi Masters. But what could he talk about? Colette? His archaeology trip? His erh...interaction with a Sith and adventure to rescue his mother?...Okay. The last one could wait until maybe after the mission. It would just be a distraction otherwise.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"We can, yes. Anything to buy a couple more seconds will be worth it, honestly. It's not just our lives, after all." He could handle a dogfight if it was required, but he certainly didn't want to put that on the shoulders of those they were there to save. He pulled out a datapad, putting in the request for a civilian freighter. "Let's get to the hangar. We can ask around, see if anyone has a jammer handy there."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"The ships themselves should have jammers, but they only work for so long." It'd also make them look suspicious after a while, so it was a temporary option. But they were right — every second was valuable during a mission like this. "Let's get one of the stealthier ones and we'll make the most of it." She offered the two a final smile and then turned away from the holo-table. The path towards the Hangar was a short one, and with Kahlil's reservation, one ship was ready for them to use.

It wasn't anything too special, but it was perfect for this mission.

"Love? Can you fly?" He was the better pilot when it concerned larger vessels, and this was too serious for her to challenge him or turn it into a competition. She'd happily take the co-pilot seat and help him out, though.

Once settled inside the ship, Valery began running checks to get them off the ground, and turned her eyes up to Shan after a moment, "So, what has kept you busy recently?" Valery asked with a warm smile.

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Making the most of it is all we can do." Shan broke out into his own little grin. Positivity was going to be key. Letting stress win at the end of the day wouldn't be good. Either way, he double-checked to make sure he had everything ready for them to head off to the hanger. Having a medical kit was going to be pretty useful, and even if it wasn't, it was better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Settling himself down inside of the ship, Shan went to work clearing space to make sure that they wouldn't need to worry too much about making room for any refugees that were going to be coming aboard. Though he was snapped out of his thoughts when Valery spoke up, glancing over towards her with his little smile.

"Studying I suppose. Working on learning more about medical skills. Been working on my lightsaber drills as well." That was something Shan wouldn't have ever thought he'd actually be putting time towards but...well, life had its way of surprising you. Speaking of surprises now that Shan thought about it. "Oh. I also...erh...may have gone on an adventure. With a Sith. To...break up a slave auction. They made me wear a suit. It was awful." The Mirialan gave a small fake shudder at that, mostly just trying to add some humour into the topic so that Valery and Kahlil wouldn't freak out over the incident. "They didn't seem like they were a member of any of the Sith groups out there."

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I.. Can. Yes."

Kahlil glanced briefly to Valery with almost a.. Pout? It was the closest to one that he'd ever gotten at least, as he made his lonely way to the pilot seat to get the ship up and flying. He could talk to Shan later, he figured. Even if he did want to talk to him now. Later, was what he'd have to remind himself as the ship pulled out of atmosphere and he set a course to their destination.

Later.

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"Actually, nevermind. I'm flying." Valery intercepted her husband and just briefly took his hand. She squeezed it gently and gave him a warm, knowing smile. She just couldn't let him be sad or pouty - it sparked a feeling inside her heart that she despised. A feeling that hurt more than anything else. The happiness of her family was more important to her than anything, and right now, her beloved needed a moment to focus on his Padawan.

<Love you.>

Valery let go off his hand and slipped into the pilot seat to start getting them ready for flight. But despite her focus on taking control of the ship, she did listen to what Shan told them, "A Sith? That seems... Odd." Valery blinked and looked at her instruments with a frown. The Jedi Shadow in her was already coming up with all sorts of doomsdsy scenarios.

"Are you sure they were actually Sith? Or that they weren't trying to manipulate you?"

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan didn't like the reaction Kahlil had given either. Stopping himself from clearing the ship carefully to hurry over towards his master and give Kahlil a quick hug. Kahlil was the closest thing to a good male role model in his life, so of course Shan was going to try and cheer him up. Not that Shan would ever admit that. That would just be embarrassing. Though he did quickly head back to work.

"I mean. I'm pretty sure they were Sith. They had Sithspawn. Used the Force to pull my lightsaber away so they could say what was awful about it. Also had the usual "The Jedi are to blame for the galaxy's problems. They make the weak think they can stay weak" blah blah blah." Shan just pretended to talk through his hand at that, just clapping his fingers together as he rolled his eyes.

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil let out a slightly relieved sigh. He wasn't actually upset or worried, just a little disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to focus on talking. Though the hug from Shan had him smile. Just for a moment. He did miss his Padawan a lot after all. He sat down, got comfortable as Valery took the controls instead. "That arrogance does sound a lot like a Sith, honestly. They didn't mark you in any way, right?"

Shan Pavond | Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

And he was back.

The moment Shan hugged him, Valery could feel his emotions through their bond and smiled. This was important to him, as it should be, and she didn't want to take that away from him. If that meant focusing on piloting and giving them some space, she wouldn't ever have any issues with it.

She'd do anything for her husband.

"I also hope this Sith isn't still trying to pull any strings." She didn't trust Sith and she made no exceptions on that front. Not until they showed a willingness to change or were already in the process of Redemption.

It made her worried to know that Shan had this encounter.

Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

"...About that." Shan gave a nervous chuckle at that, the colour draining from his face as he tugged at the collar of his robes. There was no way he'd ever lie about what happened, but there was a part of him that was worried about disappointing Valery and Kahlil. It was like disappointing your parents, and no-one ever wanted to do that.

"They put some kind of...tracking seal on me. They didn't try anything else, because it would cause some kind of feedback loop or whatever. If they tried to hurt me, it would loop back to hurt them." Shan didn't fully understand how Sith Magic and the like worked but he wasn't...overly worried about it. He just rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to avoid looking at the pair.

"...Apparently I'm too "self-sacrificing" for her though. I don't value my own safety enough to be a valuable "test subject" so she just got rid of it once we got a bunch of the slaves out...I did learn a new Force power though. So that's...good. Right?" The Mirialan put a pair of thumbs up at that, breaking out into a small grin even though it was a fake one. Just trying to keep things positive, so he wouldn't have to worry about Valery and Kahlil being disappointed in him.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble