Private Down in the Depths

[Valery Noble]

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

"Are you ready?" Valery turned her gaze to Brennus Faran before looking back down a ruined portal into the lower levels. The huge shaft had once been used to allow even freighters to transport goods into the lower levels, and now she wanted to use it to get down herself. A lot of smaller shafts were heavily damaged or destroyed during the attack, and they needed to make their way down before more lives were lost. The Empire's attack had caused many enemy survivors to retreat into the underworld, hoping to find a way off-world. But beasts, Sithspawn, and other monsters had been allowed to roam the world as well.

They were going on the hunt.

"Down on level 1846, reports were made of enemy survivors hiding. I'm not sure if it's Sith, soldiers, or something else, but we're going to investigate." After the Maw had attacked Coruscant, Valery and many more had spent months going down to clean up surviving Sithspawn and other beasts. This time, she was hoping to catch them before they were able to hide deep within the shadows

"There's no easy way down. We'll have to make our own route."

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

Was he ready?

Bren almost scoffed at the question. Some thought he should be meditating, another master had already had him slated for some trivial duty on Pabu, but not a would've said yes to this, had he bothered asking. His saber rested on his hip, but now Thoril's rested beside it. Longer, more elegant with a wood finish carved with runes Bren had never tried to understand, the new weight was awkward, but a comfort all the same. He should've let it go, but he should've done a lot of things.

"Yes," The Padawan answered tersely, forgetting himself in the sea of emotion roiling beneath the surface for but a moment before embarrassment yanked him back above the waves. "Y-yes, Master Noble."

Any other time he'd have been starstruck, Valery Noble was the hero of half the stories he'd listened to as a youngling, a crush nursed by most of his peers at least once in their lives. Never him of course, not that he'd acknowledge now anyway. She was a legend, like Lesan, like San Tekka, even like Skywalker depending on who was telling the tale, and now she was taking him with her on a mission.

It should've been the biggest moment in his career to date, but in the wake of his loss the Jedi Master he stood beside was just another face. She was his way forward, to doing what needed to be done.

"Won't be a problem, I can keep up. You lead, and I'll follow."

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

"Very good." Valery looked away from the shaft and let her gaze linger on him for a moment. She knew what had happened here, on Coruscant. She knew who that second lightsaber on his belt belonged to, and she knew what it felt like to lose your Master. She wasn't a Padawan anymore when her former Master was killed, but the pain had been the same and that's why she had asked him to join her for this mission.

She wasn't planning to pressure him into opening up, but perhaps their collaboration would make him feel comfortable enough around her to accept some help.

Even the wisest Jedi Masters needed that, sometimes.

"This way." Valery stepped closer to the edge of the portal and jumped down atop a container that was still in hover mode. It wasn't the most simple way of getting down, but it sure was quick. After making her landing, Valery waited for Brennus to join her, before she hopped down to the next, and to the next.

"Have you been down there before? In the lower levels?" Valery asked. It wasn't standard routine for Knights or Masters to bring Padawans there, and his fight could have been closer to the surface. Either way, she wanted him to be prepared for what they'd find down there.

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

Bren tailed Valery closely, eyes darting to shadows as they moved, waiting for something to emerge from them so he could cut it down. Nothing ever did, the streets were hauntingly empty, with only a few pedestrians here and there moving through the site of the recent battles. A starweird might've seemed less alien to Brennus in that moment than Coruscant with empty streets. It didn't make sense, it was wrong in the sort of way that broke the mind and rattled the soul.

He ignored it, and focused on the mission and the questions.

"Yeah." Bren answered softly, leaping down from one platform to the next, keeping pace as he'd said he would. He knew the underworld, he'd been down in the midLevels plenty of times chasing outlaws, or rescuing kidnapped kids. When he was with Thoril, he'd felt like a hero down in the dark of the undercity. Now he just felt like a ghost.

"Been as far as the 800s, lots of times." He added, trying to sound formidable, knowing he'd failed before the words even left his lips.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

Valery jumped down again, this time towards the wall to slide down along the surface. She passed by another hovering platform, but its engines were flickering and she wasn't going to test her luck. Once she went underneath it, she pushed herself off from the wall and landed on the platform underneath the malfunctioning one.

At a slow pace, the journey like that wasn't too dangerous, but one mistake would still be their last.

"That's good," Valery said. "The lower levels haven't been affected as much as the surface, but the lack of contact between them means it's an even more dangerous place. We fear that criminals might try to take control over districts, or that enemy survivors hide among them." That was more than likely happening already, so the longer they'd wait, the more these dangerous people would be ingrained in society.

This was their only chance to stop them.

"We also have reasons to believe some dangerous Sithspawn are hiding down here. Have you encountered those before?"

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

Though his drop into a slide was less gracefully done than the Jedi Master’s, Bren managed to follow in her footsteps well enough. The force was his guide, even now, and it showed him the path to follow. Running along the wall Brennus dropped down next to Valery, taking half a heartbeat more to recover than the Jedi Master.

“The wicked exploiting the plight of the innocent, and wolves disguising themselves as sheep.” He said, disgust creeping into his voice. Bren knew he should’ve known better than to hold out hope that maybe the criminal element might’ve had some decency in the aftermath of such a tragedy, but their failure stung all the same. The Imperials though, that was no surprise. Cowards.

He’d never faced their monsters though, or at least he’d only ever faced the ones shaped like men.

“No, but I’ve passed all my courses on them, including practical application of techniques.” Bren knew it wasn’t the same, and that nothing could ever really prepare him for facing one of the monsters born of the Dark Side’s manipulation. Valery must’ve killed the things by the hundreds, and meanwhile he’d never seen one outside a holo. It begged the question of why she’d even brought him along, but begging or no it wasn’t a question he planned to ask.

He’d prove this was where he deserved to be.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

Valery dipped her head in response, her gaze focused on their way down. Too many objects obscured the path into the lower levels, so after each jump, she needed to assess the safest way down again. It was a careful puzzle, but she was confident they'd be down there soon. Ready to take down those wolves.

"The lessons will help," Valery said, as she turned back to him, "But be ready to be surprised. Sithspawn aren't always mindless beasts. Some are rather clever and that's what makes them dangerous." The classes covered little facts like that as well, but the real thing was always different from what one learned in class.

He'd have to stay sharp.

Having spotted a route down, Valery picked up the pace and traveled through the portal with a series of quick jumps. Soon enough, they were able to look across much of the 1848th level, and just the view from above already spelled trouble. Several intense fires illuminated entire districts that were without light, and the sound of blaster fire and conflict echoed through open terrain.

But perhaps worse than that, there was a sinister darkness that lingered in the Force.

"A few more jumps to get down. Then I'd say we head for one of the fires. See what those are about?"

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

Bren nodded, recalling the instructions of old, wrinkled masters who must’ve been quite formidable in their times long past. He wondered if her assurances were genuine, or condescension. There was no reason for it to be the latter, but just as he looked to the shadows for enemies, so to did he think on every word said to him. Bren wondered if this was all a test, and what would happen if he failed.

“I’ll stay alert.” Bren affirmed, his mind sifting through the memories of his old lessons, trying to conjure up what sort of Sithspawn might writhe in the planet’s depths. Sithspawn rarely followed any particular sort of template, each abomination could be entirely different from the last, or exactly the same, it all depended on the hand that molded them. It made classifying them hard, but attempts had been made. Whatever was still on Coruscant was small enough to evade detection until now, but dangerous enough to warrant Jedi intervention.

That ruled out the big ones at least, hopefully.

“Sounds like a plan Master Noble.” Bren nodded, looking over the flickering flames, softly cracking the knuckles on each hand out of instinct. Some might’ve thought it a display of bravado, but it wasn’t. He was nervous, and beneath the anxiety lurked anger, waiting for a target to be loosed upon.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

The streets were empty. The city around them was filled with life, hidden away in the shadows or the hopeful safety of what remained of people's homes. There was despair that echoed from each bundle of life — fear of what had happened and dread for what had yet to come. The Alliance had defeated the Empire, but the true battle on Coruscant was far from over. Until every last enemy survivor was removed from the Ecumenopolis, the people would continue to suffer.

They needed the Alliance to take back control.

"I sense something up ahead," Valery said after a few minutes of walking towards one of the fires. It was spreading, growing in size as more buildings were consumed, but Valery didn't quicken their pace. She knew they needed to approach slowly, or they'd be caught off-guard before ever reaching the flames.

"It's people, but also-"

"HELP!" a terrified scream echoed through the empty streets, followed by more and more people screaming in terror. Some voices were silenced, others grew louder as people began to run.

"We have to move!" Valery began to sprint, crossing from one street into another to reach the street where she felt the source of all that pain. After bursting out from an alley, she finally saw their target up ahead — a devourer, tearing apart the lifeless body of a man while others tried to get away.

Its head slowly turned towards the two Jedi.

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

Down in the darkness, Brennus almost mistook the beast for an apparition - some trick played on him by a grieving, worried mind. Surely nothing like that could actually be on Coruscant, surely it wasn’t real?

His fear morphed into something hotter, angrier, as a saber flew into his hand. The grip was too smooth, too heavy, too long - not of his making. Yet it was the one he had called without thinking, and Bren did not afford himself the time to question the decision. The Padawan surged forward, the force amplifying his speed as his master's brilliant golden blade snapped to life in his grasp with a hiss.

He did not look at the gore or the fear scrawled across the faces of those trying to flee; Bren forced himself to lock eyes with the devourer and hold the stare as he brought the blade down with both hands in a heavy strike at the monster's jagged green face. Action was the only way forward, delay was death.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

A devourer. Valery recognized the beast instantly and drew the hilt of her weapon into her hand. Only two of these had once been enough to kill and eat a Mand'alor — they were dangerous and there was no way to avoid a fight. It would hunt them down until its dying breath.

"Whatever you do, don't-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Valery heard the snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber. She turned her gaze to Brennus, and watched him charge the beast, "Wait!" She yelled, but it was already too late. The beast bent through its legs and waited for the Padawan to get into striking range. His blade of perfect gold came crashing down, but before it could cut into thick skin, the Devourer jumped.

With a single leap, it jumped from the street up against the building's facade. Powerful nails dug into the concrete, allowing it to keep itself attached, but the beast didn't linger long. As quickly as it had moved away, it jumped back towards Brennus in an attempt to knock him over with the sheer weight of his body.

At the same time, Valery ignited the two blades of her double-bladed weapon and began to move.

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

It was fast, faster than anything of its size had any right to be. He could tell himself that he’d rushed in to distract it from taking another victim, but then he’d have been lying. Bren had been coddled and spoken softly to, treated gently by those who knew his loss, but that was not what he knew he needed. He needed this - a chance to hit back,

Narrowing his eyes, he followed the devourer’s movement, rooting himself to the ground as it lurched up then shot back down, aiming to reduce him to a bloody mess beneath its immense weight. It was fast, but he was still faster,

The instant before collision, Bren pivoted, swinging away from the impact as the monster cracked the duracrete beneath, spraying a plume of dust up into the air. He kept his footing and came around hard, both hands on the saber, guiding in a long arc aimed at the devourer’s side.

There were only going to be a few seconds before Valery was in the fray, which gave the Sithspawn abomination roughly that long to live. With any luck, Bren might make that time even shorter.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

Concrete tiles split apart at the beast's impact, sending fragments flying through the air. But despite its speed and enormous strength, Brennus had managed to evade a deadly collision. He pivoted on his feet, brought his lightsaber around, and lashed out at the beast's side. The tip of his blade pierced into the skin and left a nasty cut along the beast's torso. Its skin was resistant and thick, but it could not stop a lightsaber.

A shriek of pain echoed through the entire street but what should have easily brought down a creature of its size still wasn't enough. The Devourer turned and swung its massive claws at the Padawan, intent to tear him wide open and devour him just the way it had killed his earlier victim.

But before his claws could reach Brennus, they froze.

With an outstretched hand, Valery extended a telekinetic grip and held the beast in place. It could not move and it could not lash out, and it infuriated the creature.

"Now!" Valery called out.

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

The creature was a mass of muscle, claw, and skin as thick as the armor on a main battle tank. Fortunately, even that wasn’t enough to stop a lightsaber. Hide sizzled and melted as his master’s golden blade carved a long gouge across its arm, and a rush of adrenaline flooded Bren’s body as the creature howled.

It should’ve made him sharper, but instead it only made him blind to the claw rushing up to disembowel him over the cracked cement. Bren’s eyes saw the claw coming, but his body was not fast enough, he’d over played his hand.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

He was going to die and-, its claw stopped short, frozen in the air as something stronger than even it arrested its motion all at once. Bren didn’t even here Valery’s call, to be still was to die, and he was not the one about to meet death.

Slipping inside the devourer’s guard, Bren brought the saber across its belly in a furious slash, dropped into a roll, then slashed at the back of the beast’s hind leg as he rose back up and turned to face it.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

With the beast frozen mid-attack, it was left wide open for Brennus. The Padawan was quick to move and slashed along its belly, tearing it open and causing some of its insides to spill out. A second strike at the back of its legs made sure it wouldn't ever be able to get up again.

Valery dropped the beast and watched it shriek in agony.

"Even with Sithspawn, let's not make them suffer." Valery stepped closer and ended its life instantly with a sharp cut along its neck to sever the head. She looked down at the beast for a moment, her focus intense as she began to wonder. If it had been out here since the battle, how many people had suffered an unfortunate fate?

With a shake of her head, she forced herself to look away and turned back to Bren, "Are you alright?"

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

For a moment, as the now headless creature crumpled into a lifeless heap on the ground, Bren felt himself consumed by a cold, cruel kind of anger. What even is suffering to creatures like these? Does it even count?

The thoughts were unwelcome and wholly unlike him; the fact they had even arisen in his stream of consciousness was enough to send a wave of self-loathing through the Padawan. Still, he nodded performatively for the Grand master, indicating his understanding. It was not the Jedi way to cause harm for the sake of pain, such behavior was antithetical to their entire way of life. Wasn't it?

"I'm fine," The saber deactivates in his hand, and the golden glow that had painted his pale features vanishes into darkness as Bren looks from the master to the monster. Adrenaline is pumping still, and his mind has yet to process the instant of fear that had struck him when the beast almost gutted him. "Dangerous, but not dangerous enough to be deployed alone." He noted, giving the Devourer's corpse a half-hearted kick with the tip of his boot.

"There's more of them, isn't there?"

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

Valery paused.

His question lingered but rather than answer it already, she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You did well, but I can tell something's troubling you. Everything alright?" she asked to be sure. Of course, Valery knew he had been through a lot, so this was a chance to talk about more than just their encounter with the Devourer. Not that she expected him to open up in the lower levels of Coruscant, but she was trying to build a bridge.

She was hoping he'd feel comfortable enough to eventually talk to her.

"But to answer your question, there might be a lot more of them. Devourers are most dangerous in pairs or groups." If they could split your attention, it was a lot harder to deal with them.

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

For a heartbeat Brennus wanted to scream in frustration and tear himself away from the Grandmaster’s hand. He’d just disemboweled a monster meant to slay warriors by the dozen, and more of its rotten kin likely still lingered. What did it matter if he was okay? He wasn’t the only masterless Padawan in the wake of the battle, was he? At that moment, Bren did not want pity; he wanted only more things to strike with his fallen master's sword.

"I'm okay. They're just bigger in person." He answered with a nod, not wanting to seem weak, or worse, broken. "Never faced anything that could take a saber hit like that before." Bren was no coward, he'd killed before and doubtlessly would have to again. His first had been an accident, a deflection gone astray, killing rather than disarming. Thoril had consoled him, talked him through it. He supposed that might've been what Valery was trying to do now, but he couldn't, not yet.

"We should get going then, right? We might be able to handle them, but these people," His eyes drifted to the red ruin that had once been a man before the Devourer turned him into bloody mulch. There was no further explanation needed, they had to keep moving. Didn't they?

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

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

He wasn't okay.

Valery could tell what lingered underneath his facade, but she knew this wasn't the time nor place to pry. Still, she looked at him with a somewhat pained expression. It was hard to open up and be honest with someone, especially if you didn't know them too well. But he had lost the one person he could trust with anything.

He'd need to learn to trust others as well.

"Alright, we'll keep going." Her voice was soft, gentle, and inviting. She hoped that if he wasn't ready to talk now, that he'd find it in himself to be open later. They were going to be stuck here for a while, so she felt certain that the right opportunity would present itself.

"Let's continue towards the fire." They were already drawing closer to it. So close, that they could feel the temperature of the air around them rising. It was uncomfortable, but not nearly as threatening as the smoke that soon filled the street. Valery had long learned how to filter her breath, but it also obscured vision and made it harder to detect the beasts that lurked in the streets.

"Stay close, we're going in."

Brennus Faran ​

 

[Brennus Faran]

She knew he was holding back, Bren could tell. It made him feel guilty, like a child who’d been caught with a hand in the sweets jar and when given the chance to come clean, doubled down instead. Was the grandmaster disappointed in him? Did his apprehension mark him as a poor Jedi?

Self-doubt nearly overcame him, but when he was on the precipice of confession, Valery moved away. Innocent people were dying, his own grief could wait until...some other time. Maybe never, he'd considered that it might simply be something he carried with him forever. The pain wouldn't fade, he would just grow stronger.

"Right behind you." The Padawan affirmed, following close behind Valery as they moved towards the crackle of flames and the screams of the living.

Valery Noble ​