Private Echoes in the Deep

[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

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Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The shuttle rocked gently as it hovered above the vast, endless ocean. Below, the waters of Alluuvia churned in restless currents, deep and dark, as if they knew something unnatural had begun to stir beneath them. Valery stood near the viewport, her fiery gaze fixed on the surface below. Even with the shuttle's stabilizers keeping them steady, she could feel the power of the sea, its untamed vastness stretching far beyond the horizon. But it wasn't the ocean itself that had brought them here. It was what lurked beneath.

Reports had come in about strange activity and energy readings. The Alliance feared the Sith had found a way into one of the abandoned mining facilities buried deep in the depths, a place long since left to the crushing embrace of the ocean. If they were right — if the Sith had established a foothold here — it could be a prelude to something worse.

And after Woostri, they couldn't afford to let the Sith gain another inch.

Exhaling slowly, Valery turned from the window, her gaze shifting to the woman beside her. Ran Serys, her fellow Council Member, one of the few Jedi she trusted completely. They had fought together before, stood side by side through war, loss, and victory alike. And now, they were about to descend into something far more treacherous than the battlefield.

She smirked slightly. "I've fought in a lot of places," she mused, adjusting the rebreather clipped to her belt. "But this ocean feels... strange." The shuttle's pilot chimed in over comms.

"Approaching drop point now. Are you two ready?"

Valery rolled her shoulders, glancing at Ran. "Guess we're about to find out."

Then, with one last glance at the shifting waters below, she stepped toward the exit ramp.

And jumped.

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

While Valery jumped, Ran dived into the depths behind her. Like a knife into butter, Ran carved into the ocean with a skilled form. Her momentum carried her several meters into the water and her chemical yellow eyes glowed and dilated, adjusting their predatory gaze to the dark colored waters. Before she bobbed back up to the surface she stared into the distant underwater expanse. She could make out the faintest, almost indiscernible glow of run down facility lights.

Ran’s head popped out of the water with a splash as the wet slicked her usually voluminous and wavy hair down into a straight and sleek like ink slickback. She was only an arm’s length away from Valery but the roar of waves forced her to nearly yell. “The facility is still a ways away! These waves are relentless!” She said as one crashed over her head. The single wave's force was enough to push her several meters away from her friend and comrade. “When I was thinking of spending some time in the Ocean, this isn’t what I meant! What have you pulled me into this time, Valery?” Ran asked rhetorically and playfully.

“For as bad as the waves are, the currents are likely worse. Let’s do our best to stay together!” Ran said before equipping her rebreather. Rebreather in and clear speech blocked, Ran made a gesture that seemed to say “I’m following you.” and “I’m ready when you are.”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery surfaced with a sharp breath, flicking her head back as she emerged, sending a dramatic cascade of water arcing behind her. The dark strands of her usually wavy hair clung to her face for a brief moment before she slicked them back with one hand, her grin downright mischievous.

"Oh, come on, Ran," she called over the crashing waves, her fiery gaze fullf of excitement. "This is way more fun than sitting on some beach!"

The ocean swelled around them, the relentless pull of the currents tugging at their bodies. It was a fight to stay in place, even for them. But there was no turning back now. Valery adjusted her rebreather, eyes shifting downward into the abyss, where the ocean floor lay hidden in darkness. Somewhere below, past the swirling water and the weight of the deep, was the abandoned facility.

Her grin faded slightly as the Force stirred, whispering something distant yet unmistakable. A presence. A wrongness. She met Ran's gaze, then nodded once. Stay close.

With a final inhale, Valery kicked forward, cutting through the water like a missile. She descended fast, the pressure tightening around her, the light of the surface growing dimmer as the abyss swallowed them whole. And with every meter they dropped, the darkness below seemed to shift, to thrum, to breathe.

They weren't alone down here.

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

As Ran sped behind Valery she wished for a beach. On the beach she wouldn’t have to fight currents and descend into an eerie darkness. Still she pushed forward, compensating for the current's push and pull with her movements and the force, while her eyes constantly adjusted to the depths of the sea. The shadows under water were darker than the shadows of the surface. The deeper the duo went the more Ran relied on her Jedi senses, and the more she relied on her Jedi senses the more she felt as if they were being watched. Not watched– stalked.

In the darkness Ran couldn’t see Valery but she could feel her movements beside her. If that were to stop, she would panic. That was the thought that lingered in her mind until she felt something moving faster than either of them. Whatever it was moved so fast Ran swore she could hear a whoosh as the current was interrupted less than a meter behind them. There was no electronic hum, no energy signature she could feel. This was someone– something, an underwater beast most likely. Normally Ran was a more reserved character but the water, depth, and darkness made her feel uneasy. It was difficult with the rebreather, but she utilized a Jedi breathing technique to calm herself.

Through the force Ran touched Valery with an echo of a warning. Not about the creature, because she knew Valery most certainly sensed and deduced the presence of the creature, but about Ran’s own mental state. The duo were already moving as fast as they could to find the entrance of the facility, but Ran needed Valery to know the sooner the better.

A whoosh again. The current interrupted, and Ran instinctually kicked her feet just a little harder to escape whatever swam in their wake. Whatever this creature was was toying with them, maybe Ran specifically as she felt her mental defenses possibly weakening. Was her mind being probed or was this a regular cautious fear? The usually daring Ran couldn’t be sure, but she still questioned.

As she saw the faint blinking of a fading but flashing, ruddy light interrupting the darkness, Ran reached out to Valery and touched her gingerly. A signal they needed to alter their course just a bit but they’d found the entrance. They only needed to reach it.

Tags: Valery Noble
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery felt the subtle ripple through the Force — Ran reaching out, not just with warning, but with something deeper. Unease. Fear that wasn't entirely her own. The ocean did strange things to the mind, especially when something lurked just beyond sight, stalking, waiting. She wanted to reassure her, to send back a pulse of steady certainty. But it was too late.

The water exploded.

A monstrous shape surged from the abyss, a blur of armored scales and thrashing tentacles cutting through the deep. The Piscator moved with terrifying speed, a predator perfectly adapted to this world of darkness and pressure. Its eyes, black and depthless, locked onto them with an intelligence that sent ice through Valery's veins.

Move!

The warning surged through the Force, but the creature was already there. A massive tentacle lashed out, slicing through the water like a blade. Valery twisted mid-motion, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the force of it sent a shockwave through the ocean, knocking her off course. Bubbles exploded around her as the world tilted, her body thrown into the current.

She righted herself fast, eyes flashing toward Ran, toward the entrance just within reach. They had to get inside. Now.

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran spun and propelled herself out of the way of the creature’s massive armored limbs. She fought to keep out of the currents that pulled her in the wake of the large creature’s movements. She looked to Valery who wasn’t far off, and then back to the creature.

Small booms resounded in the depths as the Piscator gnashed its great, big, barnacle encrusted maw. Ran saw the inky black eyes of her hunter and felt better. The moment of mystery was over as the creature from the depths, an apex predator in its domain, went after the Jedi, but not before sowing what fear and panic it could. For Ran, the knowing was easier than the not knowing. The creature had lost its advantage against her– mostly.

The gnashing teeth grinded once again as its multiple tentacles trained on Ran and Valery like a firing line aimed their blasters. Ran pulled her lightsaber from the clip of her wet suit and ignited it. Its brilliant, blue glow was a surprise to the creature who was unaccustomed to anything more than the faint glow the stars cast upon the depths. The cephalopod reeled back, wanting to escape the harsh light but not lose its prey. In the piscator’s moment of worried surprise Ran extended a hand, palm open. The force pushed the piscator back as if it had been hit by a tidal wave.

Go! I’m right behind you!

Ran looked at Valery and pushed herself hard to the entrance. The creature resisted Ran’s force push as much as it could but was still left with a considerable distance to make up. It slapped all limbs into motion. The beast was hungry, surprised, and angry. As the entrance hatch opened, Ran and Valery were close enough to be sucked into it, along with gallons upon gallons of ocean water. Ran pushed the button for the hatch to close as the piscator reached its longest limb out, hoping to close the distance and rip one of the Jedi from the hatch. The door shut on the limb's fleshy tip and sliced it clean off. The severed tendril-like tip writhed and spasmed for a moment as the nerves were severed, and then it relaxed. Ran could hear the piscator slamming against the entrance and the rest of the facility’s outer shell.

She looked to Valery as the entry hatch drained itself of ocean water. “That was a close one.” She said un-seriously as she kicked off her flippers and the second, inner entrance door opened behind them.

Tags: Valery Noble
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[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The hatch slammed shut, and for a breathless moment, all Valery could hear was the furious pounding of the Piscator outside, the muffled roar of water shaking the structure around them. The severed tendril twitched on the metal floor, slick and glistening, before falling still.

Then — silence.

Valery exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through her soaked hair as the last of the ocean water drained away. "Close doesn't even begin to cover it," she muttered, her chest rising and falling as she steadied herself. Her bodysuit clung to her like a second skin, droplets trickling from the ends of her braid as she flicked her gaze toward Ran, a smirk already tugging at her lips.

Outside, the Piscator let out an enraged, warbling screech, its massive body slamming against the station's exterior. The vibrations rattled the floor beneath them, and Valery's fingers instinctively curled, her senses still locked onto the presence of the beast lurking beyond the walls. It wasn't giving up.

But for now, they were inside.

She took a step forward, rolling her shoulders as she shook off the lingering rush of adrenaline. "Alright," she breathed, refocusing, her amber eyes flickering toward the inner doors as they hissed open. "We made it in — now let's see if this place holds what we came for." A pause. Then her smirk returned, playful despite the danger still lingering in the depths outside. "And let's try not to give the local wildlife any more snacks, yeah?"

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

The silence of the facility began to settle in while Ran’s excitement fell. As soon as the women began to regain their composure and comment on what had just happened, the hammering of tendrils as strong as steel resounded against the underwater structure. The beast was not happy about losing its latest meal and one of several limbs.

The first slam to rock the structure gave Ran an uneasy feeling. In the feeling a presence tried to burrow in. The piscator attempted to psychically push and bolster itself with Ran’s fear but now that she knew the creature, knew its tricks, the creature’s tactic would be less effective.

Ran feigned annoyance with her friend. “Oh! Of course, Valery!” Ran agreed with a hint of sarcasm. “How I failed to notice the sign that read don't feed the enormous, monstrous cephalopod is beyond me.” The Knight continued with more than just a hint as she held a teasing smile and did her best to wring the water out her long raven colored hair.

The Mirialan bent down and fixed her flippers to the back of her wet suit as they continued onward into the facility. Once a sustainable mining operation, it eerily groaned and creaked in the way all other abandoned structures did. “What sort of mining facility was this?” Ran asked. She assumed it had been used to farm kolto or something similar but she didn’t see any of the common instruments that would be used. “What resource is so precious the Sith would’ve come to this long abandoned facility for?”

Tags: Valery Noble
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[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery chuckled, shaking her head as she wrung some of the excess water from her braid. "Hey, it's an easy mistake," she teased back. The playful smirk lingered for just a moment before she turned her attention to the facility around them. The eerie creaks and groans of metal under pressure filled the air, accompanied only by the distant, angry pounding of the Piscator outside. This place had been abandoned for a long time—at least, that's what the records had said.

But the Sith had come here. And they hadn't come for resources.

Valery ran a gloved hand along the rusted wall, her amber eyes flicking over the remnants of old mining equipment. "This was an ore facility," she answered, voice quieter now, more focused. "They mined metals and minerals — some rare, some valuable, but not the kind of thing the Sith would still care about after all this time."

She turned, looking at Ran now. "They didn't come for the resources. The mine itself is empty. They came here to set up a listening post." A place far out of the way. Hidden. A spot the Sith could use to monitor Alliance naval movements, secure transmissions, and deep-space activity — all without being noticed. And if they had gone through the trouble of setting it up here, beneath the waves, under the cover of an abandoned mine?

That meant it was important.

Valery's smirk returned, but this time, there was a sharper edge to it. "And now, we get to tear it down."

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

Valery had that look again. Ran had spent enough time around Valery to know it. It was a determined look somehow made of a honed mischief, or at least that was how Ran perceived it. Ran decided the look was undeniable, and that she could not refuse Valery the destruction of the listening post, or anything else, but she could question it.

Ran blinked her glowing yellow eyes and sighed a breath. “Tear it down?” She took a look around at steel girders and rigid watertight conduit and fittings, all manner of heavy duty, easy access construction. The underwater station was bare and simply designed, but well made. There was no telling how long the station would last, but that it was certainly built to stand the test of time. “Please tell me you don't mean that literally? We’re just here to dismantle any listening devices. Surely we’re not here to sink this mining facility anymore than it has already sunk. Right?” As she spoke Ran imagined that wasn’t right. “Right!?” She said not staring at Valery, but still imagining her sharp smirk.

Tags: Valery Noble
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[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's smirk only widened at Ran's reaction, the sharp edge of mischief glinting in her fiery eyes. She crossed her arms loosely, weight shifting onto one foot as she let the moment stretch, just to watch the way Ran's concern deepened. "I have no desire to be buried alive, I promise," she finally said, her tone far too casual to be reassuring. "So don't worry."

A beat.

"We're just gonna do a little damage."

The grin that followed was anything but innocent.

Without waiting for protest, Valery turned on her heel and started forward, moving deeper into the facility. The dull glow of emergency lights was all they had as they moved forward. Despite the facility's age, the deeper they went, the more it became clear — this place wasn't as abandoned as it seemed.

The Sith had been here recently.

Their boots were nearly silent against the old flooring as they moved past crates, machinery, and long-discarded mining equipment. But as they rounded a corner, Valery suddenly slowed, her senses sharpening. A presence. Several even, far away but easily detectable for a Jedi's senses. Her expression shifted, smirk fading into something more calculating.

She turned her head slightly, voice lowering. "We're not alone." Her amber gaze flicked to Ran, a silent question lingering in the air. She felt it too, right?

Ran Serys ​

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran's eyebrow raised at the mention of a little damage. The Mirialan hadn't desired to sink the station but a little damage sounded nice. There was nothing wrong with a few crippled systems, if it meant more trouble for the Sith. Yet still the look on Valery's face gave Ran the indication that their definitions of "a little damage" might've been quite different. As Valery turned her face Ran accepted that her friend could be quite the hedonist.

The pair continued down the corridor. When Valery slowed, Ran slowed. The Knight extended her awareness past halls and corridors, and levels. The detection of beings, evidence that the underwater station had not truly been abandoned, only rediscovered and repurposed, had solidified the validity of their information. "Indeed, we are not." Ran agreed as she felt intention through the force. "And they're coming this way." She added.

"So my question to you, Valery, is are we taking the stealthy approach or is it time for a little damage?" Ran asked, putting her hands out before her like a scale weighing both options. One hand was empty, the other held her lightsaber ready to do damage.

Tags: Valery Noble
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[Valery Noble]

Alluuvia

​

Outfit: underwater gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's eyes flicked to Ran with a shimmer that said everything before her lips even moved.

Stealth?

That moment had passed.

"A little damage it is," she said, her voice calm — too calm — as she reached for the hilt clipped to her belt. The familiar weight of her lightsaber settled into her hand, her fingers curling around the grip like it was second nature. Then came the sound of boots. Two shapes turned the corner ahead — Imperial guards. Clad in dark armor, rifles already half-raised, they froze only for a heartbeat as their eyes locked with the Jedi standing before them.

That was all the time she needed.

Snap-hiss.

The violet blade burst to life, casting the corridor in hues of purple and war. Valery didn't move right away — didn't need to. She stood tall, her expression carved into something fierce and unreadable, the glow of her saber dancing in her eyes. Then the blasters fired.

Bolts screamed through the air, and Valery was already in motion, her saber sweeping up to deflect one bolt, then another. The third she dodged entirely with a pivot and a flash of motion.

"Hope you weren't looking for quiet," she said to Ran, just loud enough to carry over the crack of blaster fire. Because now the station knew they were here. And that was exactly what she wanted.

Ran Serys ​