Private Enemy Within

[Kahlil Noble]

A Force Sensitive?

Kahlil stepped forward as the Force ripped out, reaching his hands further up. Fingers curled into fists as he caught the cords that tied all things together and pulled. Even as he got thrown back he wasn't focused on saving his own landing. Instead, he was pulling on the very building itself to keep it from outright crumbling around them. He groaned as he hit the wall, but his grip didn't lessen.

Who knew who else was in the building.

"Get the girl, get out. I'll be behind you."

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

Although Marigold wielded Force like fire, she was still untrained, and despite how mighty an outburst might have seemed. Her conciousness was fading in and out. The combined abilities of two Jedi's keeping the whole building from collapsing on them, although as they tried to hold it, the more and more unstable it's foundation became.

Young girl stretched her hand out, attempting to pull herself towards the exit ever so closer, much of the sounds becoming muted and deaf to her. It didn't take long until the terrorist gave up, feeling her whole body go numb with pain and exhaustion. Defeated, not just at the hands of two heroic Jedi, but by her own vice and failures too.

"D-damn it, no..." Her voice, now fully broken, nothing more than a whisper that is drowned out by the sounds of a collapsing building. She was so close, and yet, so, so far from getting rid of those that caused her pain.

That hole, where her heart should be, was still empty. And the only result of her campaign was destruction, and mountains of corpses. However, it did mean that now Valery and Kahlil had caught her, as she was resisting no more! Now they just needed to get out of the building, before all three of them and whoever else is in there, are buried in this architectural catastrophy of a grave.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"Get the girl, get out. I'll be behind you."

He didn't have to tell her twice — Valery knew he'd be able to join her in an instant if he needed to, but she also trusted that he'd handle the building either way. So from that moment forward, her attention shifted to Marigold, who seemed to struggle a lot more after her outburst. The ripples through the Force had been powerful, so she was likely exhausted or perhaps just overwhelmed by the feelings it sparked.

But regardless of the cause, Valery wasn't going to just leave her behind.

"Hold on tight and don't let go," Valery said as she crouched down and picked the young woman up into her arms. It required Valery to use both her hands, but she didn't need them anyway. Her fiery gaze shifted to a broken window, and with just her sight alone, she shattered the shards that were still intact around the edges. Once they were removed, she ran up to the open frame and jumped out from whatever story she was on.

She wasn't exactly sure but it looked pretty high-

Without any effort, she landed on the ground while the Force cushioned her fall, and flashed a bit of a grin. But knowing that the building could still come down, she sprinted away until she was certain they were in the clear, and only then she finally set Marigold down for now.

<We're clear, love!>

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil redoubled his efforts. Runes flared around him as he felt the very base of the building start to give way. He wasn't going to keep it from crashing down, but he could buy the time they needed. The sequence spread across the walls, the floor, spreading down like webs as he forced the very crumbling walls to halt. Stasis, freeze. The older rune on his spine even flared to life so he could keep it still.

Then it was silence. Nothing else crumbled, nothing else fell. It was as if time had been removed.

<We're clear, love!>

Then time returned. Kahlil disappeared from where he was standing, half stumbling as he appeared beside Valery with a gasp of air. The building returned to it's destruction, crumbling down towards the ground. There wasn't anything he could do about that, but there was still much to do here now. Destruction on this scale was certain to get people involved.

"Good. .. Are we good?"

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

Marigold was swept up in Valery's arms, was she weightless like a feather for the Jedi to do it that easily? Not that she'd complain, now that she was up close to her, the presence of a Jedi Master brought her feelings of warmth, nostalgy almost. She felt safe, dedspite all the tribulations and strife yet to be ahead of her.

Though, as Valery started to head for the window, the young girl panicked. "H-hey, what are you doing? I-it's too high!-"

And so, Valery jumped several stories down, with Marigold clutching onto her with her eyes squinted shut. To her surprise however, neither of them felt the fall. And, the Jedi Master was able to sprint out of the danger zone. Once the cords of the Force weren't being pulled anymore, the building quickly crushed down with loud, jarring sounds of metal scraping against itself, as well as cracks of rubble and debris scattering everywhere.

Marigold was set down, she attempted to stand up on her own. But was quickly brought back down on her knees, her body still recovering from the use of Force. "Ah- hah... Guess um... We're done here? U-um- uh, I'm... H-hah, I'm good." She smiled from underneath her hood, weakly. At that point, she didn't know what was going to happen to her, and neither she could resist, too tired. She'd be ready to close her eyes at any moment, but the adrenaline coursing through her body kept her from slipping into unconciousness fully.

It'd be up to the two Jedi's to choose what to do with her.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"Showing off, hm?" She grinned at her husband after he appeared by her side, following a rather impressive display of the Force. Valery could tell that he was exhausted though, so with a gentle hand on his shoulder, she squeezed and offered a smile of gratitude. They hadn't just taken care of the woman owm by their feet, but also saved others who had been inside the building.

It had collapsed in the end, but it could at least be replaced. Lives lost never could.

"Sit down for now and don't stand up too fast. You put a lot of your energy into that burst earlier. If you're not used to it, that can really knock you out quick." She looked down at the woman a moment longer, but then noticed that people were starting to come out of other buildings to check out what happened.

Including the slavers she had been after, as well as other thugs and gangs. They, of course, immediately recognized the Sword and Shield, and began to whisper to each other. There was some movement and stirring in the crowd as well, and Valery could feel the tension rising.

"Love, I have a bad feeling about this."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Maybe."

He'd be more grins if he wasn't so tired. It wasn't easy to do what he'd been doing, especially on that scale. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, leaned against Valery to keep himself up. Though he didn't linger there long. Instead he opened his eyes to look around the crowd that had come into view. People they'd upset, likely. Though, they didn't look like they wanted to talk. "If she's awake, or not, we should get moving."

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

She sees the visages emerge from the broken ruins. And the exhaustion naturally, starts going away, well. Not that it disappears, she is still tired. Her body hurts, but through sheer spite and hatred does it bear the extensive pain and numbness. "It's them! I'll kill them!" She shouted. The Red Scar wasn't a myth, singlehandedly she ended many syndicates. And although a terrible force of nature in her own right for achieving such feats.

...yet, here she sat, defenseless, was it the appearence of the people who hurt her the most, just a twisted irony? Attempt to spite her? When she is at her weakest, life spits all of these thugs and other rodents at her. Every attempt and every energy she had left was spent towards trying to stand up, ignoring Valery's advice, of course, to be reminded of the consequences. She'd collapse to her knee again, and again, and again.

Over and over, she'd try to get up. It wasn't fair, here were the type of people that ruined her whole life, standing right in front of her. And yet, she couldn't do anything about it. At that point, the so-called mercenary, bounty hunter, terrorist, or whatever other titles or tags she might have been accursed by, started to break down into tears. "Please, they can't keep getting away with this!" Her tone was full of pain from both the outburst and the mental torture she's being put through, it sounded broken. She was in defeat, she lost, her body lost, it is the mind that was rejecting the fact she did.

Decision to get away had to be done now or never, as the tensions were about to escalate.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

Valery supported her husband for as long as she possibly could, but when people started pouring out of the various buildings along the street, they both knew it was time to go. She was about to turn to Marigold to help her back up, when the woman called out her request for the two Jedi Masters to kill them. Valery's eyes widened, not just because of what she said, but also because of the timing. Kahlil was tired, Marigold was unable to stand on her feet, and there were a lot of people.

People with guns and knives, and they clearly did not appreciate what the woman yelled in their direction. They hated the two Jedi they saw already, and some seemed to recognize the Red Scar too, but now they were angry.

"We've gotta move. Before it's-"

Too late.

One blaster bolt was fired at Marigold, and while Valery deflected it effortlessly, it was the start of this escalating further. Others pulled put weapons too and joined in the hunt for the two Jedi and the terrorist.

"Love! We have to get out of here!"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil reached up to touch his head, frowning a little as he did. He was tired. Really tired. The Red Scar wasn't wrong. They couldn't keep getting away with what they'd been doing, but the Jedi weren't killers. It wasn't their duty to say who lived and who died. The shot through the air cleared his mind rather quickly on that though. Valery deflected the shot, and Kahlil raised his hand again to pull on the Force without delay.

The whole group around them suddenly flattened to the ground under the immense weight he brought onto them.

"Let's go."

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"Fething hell, you got any grav pads under those robes or something?" She asked, her face although still obscured, was full of surprise as she saw waves after waves of slavers and gangsters being toppled to the ground. Not to mention the ice walls, or Valery jumping from at least five stories without any pain, it was surreal to her.

Well, about as weird as a swing of a hand accidentally collapsing an old half-built building. Take into account her general state of exhaustion, and, well. Marigold wouldn't be able to go very far, not that slavers would let her either once they got up. With what little strength she possessed in this state, the girl grabbed onto Valery, using her as a walking support, her grip being wobbly and weak.

Although this would be a no brainer for many, to flee instead of rushing towards their imminent death, it did take Marigold a great deal of hesitation. She was tired, she lost, and it was probably going to get only worse for her from there. Her tone numb. "They'll get what they deserve, one way or another." The vigilantee mumbled, for now. Content with being led by the duo.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"Love..."

While Marigold seemed amazed by their displays with the Force, Valery was showing some concern. He was exhausted after holding up the building on his own, and now he had tapped into the Force again to flatten the whole group. "You know, I could have handled them, too," she said with a careful and caring smile. "Get some energy back and feel free to lean on me a bit if you need it."

She knew that he'd be able to handle himself just fine if he needed to, but she was always the type to get worried about the people she loved. As annoying as that could be at times, it came from the heart.

"Right, let's go." With Marigold physically leaning on her, Valery began to move through the streets while she made sure nobody else pulled a gun on them. For a few blocks, it seemed they had actually left all trouble behind them, but it wouldn't be so easy. Word traveled around fast through the underworld, and a chance to kill the Sword, Shield and the troublesome red scar all at once? That was an opportunity Coruscant's underground could not allow to slip away from them.

Speeders were moving fast and closing in on them from all directions, others were gearing up and walking into the streets. It's as if the entire underworld mobilized itself to fight them.

"That's a problem..." Valery muttered before looking at the others. "We have two options. Either we try to fight our way up, or we could head to one of the SIA's safehouses in this area. We're not supposed to know about them, but I do from my time with them."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm good. .. Mostly." Kahlil glanced down to Valery, giving her a brief smile. It was better to cancel the current threat before they opened fired completely. Not that it seemed like they were any safer. The sound of speeders only made him grimace. He'd could handle them, probably. But it wouldn't be safely. Did that mean there was only one real option? He squinted, looking around. ".. Fine. SIA hideout, I guess."

Valery Noble

 

[Marigold]

"Doesn't look like we're in fighting shape. Let's wait til' the heat is over." Marigold didn't exactly think her opinion would count, her being the captive and all that, but all three of them were tired. And Marigold- unlike the two of them, didn't possess enough stamina to keep fighting, even if that's what she wanted, she devastated many crime syndicates. And usually, she'd just be able to keep going, but not in this instance.

Thoughts resurfaced about her sending a wave of invisible force shaking through the building. So many questions, and yet, so little answers.

"...what's uh, SIA?" She blinked, not exactly sure how Galactic Alliance structure worked. Well, in general she was mostly clueless about all the... Organizational stuff, or the power structure, or... Pretty much about anything.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

Mostly.

Kahlil smiled at her but Valery narrowed her eyes to make sure he knew that she'd be watching him. Better than anybody else, because of their bond and their marriage, Valery knew how strong he was and what he could handle. But in moments like this, she was careful not to let him push himself too far. Not while she had plenty of energy left to carry a lot of the weight on her shoulders.

But even Valery knew that fighting half the underworld here whilst dragging along Marigold was not a clever plan. So even though she was confident she could handle it with Kahlil, she decided not to take the risk.

"The Strategic Intelligence Agency. It's the Alliance's military intelligence," Valery explained while she began to already head in the right direction. The people that were coming out on foot, they'd be able to dodge, but the speeders were closing in fast and moving in circles around them.

"We'll have to take care of those before we can make it out."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"A bunch of assholes."

Kahlil grumbled in annoyance, but didn't press on that. He still didn't hold any trust for the group that had jettisoned them into space. But right now? There wasn't much of a choice. He turned his gaze as he heard the speeders before reaching down to unclip the blaster on his hip. Using the Force wasn't going to keep him up for much longer, so a blaster it was. And, well, he could still use the Force with it.

A couple well placed shots sent the first speeder scattering into the next.

"Let's move."

Marigold | Valery Noble

 

[Marigold]

"Bunch of assholes probably, bonus points if they were after me this whole time." Despite the situation being rather stressful, the terrorist cracked a joke while grabbing onto the rifle which was strapped and hidden beneath her cloak. They might have stolen her sidearm, but not her primary weapon, a sniper variant.

Unfortunately it was difficult to shoot, her hands were shaking, many of the shots went amiss, acting more as a suppressive fire rather than well-placed shots. "Damn it!" Marigold let out a sharp exhale. Feeling useless after that exchange, she spoke up rather defensively, as if trying to divert non-existant blame. "I-it was a w-warning shot." She spoke, with uncharacteristic lack of confidence. Deciding to follow along, still holding onto Valery, as observed. Without support she'd be constantly struggling to stay on her two feet. "Let's hope no one is in there."

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"You uh, might want to leave the shooting to us." Valery wasn't buying her excuse at all, but she had seen how Kahlil shot down two speeders by just targeting one of them. It made her realize that, even though she was improving her own skills with a blaster, that she still had a lot left to learn. Especially when it came to using the Force alongside the weapon.

Still, Valery pulled a blaster from her hoster too, and managed to shoot down a speeder's driver coming up on their flank. The hit sparked a smile and her gaze turned to Kahlil, hoping he had seen it before she turned back to focus.

"We're almost there. Nobody will be inside but the door is heavily reinforced and I don't have clearance codes anymore." Valery gestured to a small and simple cubic building up ahead and looked at Kahlil. She had her hands full carrying Marigold along, so perhaps he could break their way in?

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Breathe. The more unsettled you feel, the harder it will be to focus."

Using the Force as she had made it clear she'd be exhausted for a while. Emotion gave great strength, but the cost was just as high. Not that he was in a much better state. He frowned, turning his blaster to another speeder. He didn't even look as he pulled the trigger, clipping the driver right between the eyes and sending it head over heals once it lost control. Right over them, and safely.

This was getting too much.

It was good they made it to the door at least. He frowned, glancing to Valery. ".. Well. No big loss, mm?" A chance to destroy SIA property? He didn't hesitate. Or hide his grin for long behind his frown as if he wasn't going to enjoy it. His saber ignited in a flash of green, cleaving through to cut a hole for them to slip in.

"C'mon."

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"I'm not useless alright!? I could have shot them down if I wanted to, or hacked the door if I wanted to!" She spoke up, seemingly offended at Valery's comment, as if that fragile ego of her's was threatened to be shattered at moment's notice, she was good, she was experienced, she was good, she was experienced... She's not useless.

She. Is not. Useless.

Kahlil however does pull her out from the fit of panic and loss with a solid advice. "R-right, right." She took a few deep breaths. Watching as Kahlil sliced through the door, although not in the way she expected, what were those lightsaber things anyway? Her mind was drifting about enough to barely notice the fact she was being carried by Valery, at least that made her feel a little better, safer, even. "Let's hope they won't see this obviously cut out hole, huh?" She gave both Jedi a smug smile.

Valery Noble
Kahlil Noble