Private Darkness Beyond the Border

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

Mom and Dad were away on assignment together, and both Eryx and the triplets were being taken care of by Colette. This left Vera with plenty of spare time to focus on her studies. It was necessary, because unlike Aris, she was struggling just a little. Practical tests and manipulating the Force were extremely easy for her to grasp, but sitting down to study from a book or datapad? Vera felt asleep thinking about it.

Why did she need to read about people long gone again?

With a bored huff, Vera plopped down onto the ground in the center of her room. She was done for the day, but some quiet meditation to clear her mind would be good. After that, she could go for a walk with Fuzzy or maybe watch some shows. With fun thoughts in mind, Vera settled down and smiled to herself. Her mind began to wander, and as so often happened, the Force answered.

"...Aris..." Vera squeaked weakly.

Something was wrong.

 

[Aris Noble]

It was by chance he'd happened by her room at that moment, but he hadn't expected to hear his name called. It was quiet, more or less a whisper, but he could still hear it. Vera. He didn't hesitate to swing open her door and glance around to figure out what was going on.

A vision. He'd seen her like this a couple of times over. There was never anything he could truly do to help, but he still went right to her side to set a hand on her shoulder. Let her know she wasn't alone. If she was deep in the vision, she wouldn't be able to hear him anyway. He'd stay there, waiting for the vision to end. They'd talk about what she saw once she was aware enough to.

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

As soon as the door flung open, Fuzzy appeared behind Aris and jumped on his shoulder. His little eyes squinted and looked around the room as well, almost as if searching for an intruder of some kind. He'd always be there to protect his best friend. Instead, all they found was Vera sitting on the floor in trance. It wasn't an unusual thing for her, given her visions, but even Fuzzy could tell that something was up.

As Aris walked over to place a hand on her shoulder, Fuzzy jumped down and nudged his snout up against her side. He couldn't wake her from this dream, but he could let her know that everything was okay.

Vera's vision seemed to be intense. Her breaths were short and erratic, her eyes were twitching even though they were closed, and she was mumbling something incoherent.

Until her eyes snapped open.

She gasped for air and snapped around once she registered a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, straight into Aris' eyes, and she seemed frightened. Only once she realized who was with her, Vera began to calm down.

"Aris," she said with a soft smile, and Fuzzy took her speech as a signal to cuddle up against her side. Vera chuckled and reached down to pat him, but she was clearly still shook. "I saw trouble, Aris. A lot of trouble."

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris nodded slowly, only removing his hand from her shoulder once it seemed like she was calm enough. Trouble was never good, but how much was a lot really? "What sort of trouble are we looking at? Sith? Those unblessed folk? .. And are you alright?" There was some level of normalcy with this now, but it didn't stop him from worrying about his sister, especially after something seemed to upset her.

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

Vera pulled Fuzzy into her lap and kept him close for comfort while she looked up at her brother. The hand on her shoulder helped, but most of all, his presence did. "It's not the Unblessed," Vera said with a sigh. "I first saw you and Mom on Onderon, but there was more. Things that haven't happened yet." She frowned and pulled Fuzzy just a little tighter against her chest.

"Mom was fighting a Sith in one part of the vision. Dad was with her in another. You were fighting." She looked at him and she was clearly worried.

"The Sith that Mom and Dad have been fighting aren't the only ones out there, Aris. I could see them... they're planning something. Something terrible."

 

[Aris Noble]

Onderon with mom? Him fighting? Everything else sounded pretty normal as sad as that was. The Sith Order was very active, and very much making trouble throughout the Unknown Region and the Tingle Arm, but he didn't think there'd be a vision of him fighting. Was it a bad thing? Maybe. But what really stook out was the fact she mentioned different Sith entirely.

"You saw a different group? How do you know it was different? Did you see what they were planning?"

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"They felt different and I saw none of the things that we've seen with the Sith Order," Vera tried to explain. "No undead or armies of beasts and these people weren't just Sith. I saw all kinds of people with them, fighting together." Vera stood up with Fuzzy in her arms and gently held him against her chest while she considered their options. The most logical was perhaps to tell Mom and Dad about it.

They were leaders of the Order, especially when it came to the Sith threat. But they weren't here and they couldn't exactly be everywhere either, right?

"We should go look. If something is out there, I want to gather evidence and give it to Mom and Dad."

 

[Aris Noble]

That wasn't a lot to go off of. The Sith weren't jut the type to use undead or beasts. The Sith Order had started to make use of them, but their armies were much more vast than that. But he also didn't disbelieve what Vera was saying. A frown had formed on his face regardless, though. Them going to look into things? Sith, no less? "We can't just go investigate on our own, Vera. We can't even fly by ourselves."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"Yeah, we can," Vera said and to prove her point, she already grabbed her backpack and started putting a few things in. Naturally, Fuzzy was waiting to climb into it as well, but she wasn't planning on bringing him along this time around. This was a serious mission, so she needed rations and other useful supplies.

...and Eddie, the teddy bear she had gotten from Mom and Dad when she was just born.

"I can fly on my own already, you know. I flew Dad to Ossus," Vera said rather smugly. "Didn't Mom teach you how to fly yet? You can't learn that from a book, you know."

Heh.

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris squinted at her this time.

"I learned how to pilot a speeder. Dad hasn't taught me how to fly a freighter yet, but that's because I haven't tried to learn that one yet. There's a lot for us to focus on, and flying will come eventually." He wasn't jealous, not at all. But watching her pack had his frown still on his face. They were Padawan's now, but was it really alright for them to go off without telling anyone?

"Master Sal-Soren hasn't given us permission for this you know."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"Master Sal-Soren hasn't given us permission for this you know," Vera imitated with a purposefully annoying little squeaky voice. She looked at her brother, a grin all across her lips, and put on her backpack. She had what she needed and felt ready to go. Only Fuzzy seemed to be sad that he wasn't let into the backpack.

He wanted to come with.

"Look, Mom and Dad are busy and we aren't stupid. I can fly and even show you a few things, and we'll just take a look. It's not like I'm taking us straight to the Dark Lord of the Sith to challenge him." She paused and smirked.

"Not that it wouldn't be fun."

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris just squinted, but didn't respond. She was determined. That was bad. She'd go without him, even if he told on her. And they weren't about to tattle on one another. "We go in quick, then we leave. Just to look. Okay?"

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"Just to look," Vera said with a little grin. "I never thought you'd be the one so worried, though. How come you are now?" Vera asked while she crouched down to pat Fuzzy. She then tossed him snackies and stood up to head for the door. Their little Racyon friend couldn't come along this time, so she at least wanted to give him a proper goodbye for now.

Then, she headed for the shuttle.

As she walked up the ramp and made her way into the cockpit, Vera looked over her shoulder and smiled at her brother, "Mom and Dad might get difficult, but they shouldn't treat us like we're little children anymore. We're not going into battle or anything, so why can't we do what Jedi should do within our skill sets?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"Because we're Padawan learners. And we're supposed to be focused on learning from our Master." Aris was still following her out to the ship though, even with a frown on his face. He didn't like the idea of going behind so many people's backs. But he did agree that they needed to know what was going on. And that it was important for them to actually help.

"Where are we going to start?"

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"We should learn from more than just our Master," Vera said, knowing he wouldn't try to stop her or rat her out at the very least. He just wasn't like that and she wasn't either. No matter how much crap she gave him, she loved her little brother, and it gave her strength and comfort to have him along. There wasn't anybody she trusted more than him.

She needed him with her.

"We're going to start above Onderon. I think it might spark more visions. Just... they will be hard on me." Vera looked at him with a little smile, but it was obvious she needed him.

"I can't do it without you."

 

[Aris Noble]

"I know."

Was his answer to everything she'd said. He understood it all. That they should learn from others, that she needed his help. He still didn't agree that they were going, but Onderon was still Alliance territory. There would be no reason for them to be in any danger there. That alone had him let out a sigh of relief as he nodded his truest support for this mission now.

They had a goal he could agree with.

"Let's go before I change my mind."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"You won't change your mind because you wouldn't let me go alone. And you know you can't stop me." She looked at him with a shit-eating grin and settled into the pilot seat. Without any hesitation or delays, Vera went through all the flight checks and got the engines fired up. She had been practicing, both with Mom and Dad, and even alone in simulators. Those were the best lessons because she actually did something.

Reading books and listening to people talking for too long sucked.

"Do you want to help fly?" She could transfer controls to him without an issue. "Dad can teach you, but why not learn from me? All we need to do is take off, get to space, and make the jump to Onderon. I'll handle the landing."

 

[Aris Noble]

"I could just knock you out if I thought you needed to be stopped."

He rolled his eyes a little, but her point still stood. If he was going to stop her, he would've by now. He took a seat beside her before glancing to the controls. And shook his head. He liked piloting vehicles.

That went across the ground, not through the air. Once he added the third angle of control it got too much for him to want to control.

"No, I think you've got this."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

Niv Hani
​

Tag: Aris Noble

"You'd fail," Vera said with a huff while she got them ready for take-off, "And you never would." If he wanted to act tough, she'd call him out on his heart. There was no way Aris would ever attack her like that, right? She looked over at him and smiled a little. Even Aris could get like this, huh?

Once settled in, Vera turned to her brother and raised an eyebrow.

"What if you're on a mission with Master Sal-Soren and something happens so she can't fly anymore? Or Mom or Dad?" Vera asked not to poke fun, but actually to spark conversation. "Or me..." They weren't going to look for trouble, but there was always a chance that either her visions or unforeseen problems rendered her unable to fly them back.

"Even if you dislike it, you should at least learn to fly for emergencies." For now, though, Vera took the controls and got them up and at least into space to start clearing away from the gravitational field of the planet.

 

[Aris Noble]

"I know I should. I just.. There's too many variables with flying. It's easy to calculate where a vehicle is going on a flat plane. There's far more math needed to accurately fly a ship."

Especially for him. Flying was easier for Vera because she had the Force, where he didn't. He had to handle all of it himself, guiding the ship, knowing what was around them and the dangers there. He wouldn't be able to fly like they could.

But maybe the basics wouldn't be too bad.

"How long until we arrive?"

Vera Noble