Private I Solemnly Swear, I'm Up To No Good

[Lily Rhodes]

Denon reminded her so much of Coruscant, to the point where she was seeing faces of old friends in people that most definitely weren't her friends. She hated it, but it was the best pit stop for refuelling and resupply. She wouldn't find much in the way of salvage to sell so close to the core, so old habits took over she picked the best looking marks, and lifted their all to heavy credit chits from them. It was, to no ones surprise, so much easier to pick good marks when you could hear their thoughts, that coupled with her new magic tattoo and she was the perfect wallflower that saw and took into everything. Especially that very expensive watch.

Into the folds of her jacket it disappeared. She felt something different, almost..warm, the sensation washed over her in the force and she couldn't help be drawn to it. Weaving between the people towards it she spotted the source. Long dark hair, flowed down her back, pinned up in a high ponytail, bright orange intense eyes, one framed by a large scar that ran down her face. Lily paused for the briefest of moments, utterly lost in the sensation, she was fairly certain if lily could see her in the force like she had Velok, she would have been glowing bright.

A Jedi?

Probably, she was close enough to the Deep Core for it to be plausible and this was GA territory. A ridiculous thought washed over her and she couldn't help but grin, bouncing on the balls of her feet before moving.

She'd always wanted to pick a Jedi's pocket.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

In just jeans and a simple shirt, Valery didn't really stand out within the crowd. Or, well, her rather striking appearance probably still did, but at least it wasn't obvious to others that she was a Jedi. On a planet like Denon, which tended to be full of crime and dangerous underworld characters, this was crucial for a Jedi like her. Valery's history with Denon was also an unpleasant one, and this time, she hoped to avoid trouble.

She wasn't here on official business, anyway.

A dear friend of her lived on the planet, and Valery had visited her. Now, she was on her way back to the spaceport to head home, and decided on a small detour. One that brought her across the busy market, so she could buy some food for dinner, and maybe she'd find something cute for the kids.

Perhaps even something for the unborn she was carrying at the moment.

But as she walked, Valery couldn't help but feel a strange tension in the Force. Almost like a warning that she couldn't quite explain. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to come here.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

There were a dozen way's Lily could have gone about this, but for some reason, every fibre of Lily's being wanted to go for maximum impact. After all, what was a Jedi going to do to her if she caught her? Give her a lecture? If she was unsuccessful, it was just another learning opportunity. Head down, she pulled the hood of her jacket up. She shifted with the crowd, blending with the Jedi's on coming traffic.

Picking up speed to mimic a person in a rush she collided head first with the Jedi, limbs angled briefly, Lily's finger found purchase on something and pulled. "Stars!" she exclaimed, looking up at her in bewilderment. "Sorry! My bad." She flashed her her best smile, sidestepped and melted into the crowd again. She tucked whatever she'd gained away in another inside pocket and held her breath, counting slowly to ten.

Tension coiled in her legs, if she made it to ten, she was in the clear. If she didn't she was ready to run.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

One moment, Valery's eyes were peaking through the window of a shop at some child's toys, and the next, she was almost knocked onto her ass. With an annoyed groan, she turned her fiery gaze towards the woman who had ran into her, and was just about to scold her, when she apologized. Though, as quickly as it happened, she also seemed to start running. Someone who was genuinely sorry would have stuck around a little longer.

That, and she knew Denon longer than today.

Valery's hands shifted to her pockets, and-

"Hey!" She yelled after the woman, "Come back here!" Valery was furious now, having lost her wallet. She didn't care at all about the credits in them, but she had some pictures she was fond of. Mostly of her with her husband, and intentionally none of her kids. Just in case this would happen. Those images, for their protection, were kept elsewhere.

With fire burning through her veins, Valery sprinted after the woman to catch up and apprehend her.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily got to three, counting in her head before the shout followed her.

"Chit..."

Lily broke into a full sprint, driven by adrenaline and just a little bit of fear. Tearing up the main street she darted off to the left between her favourite burger joint and a bar that was already bustling for its time of day. She vaulted over the rubbish, to avoid colliding with to local drunk. "Sorry, Hal!" she yelled behind her at his startled shout.

"What did you do this time?!" he called after her. She'd only been here a week but already the local degenerates had started to recognise her. She stumbled, her ankle rolling as she landed, a grunt and she pushed on "The usual!" she replied with a laugh. the other side of the alley brought her into a busy bazaar. lowering her hood, she stopped running, melting once more into the crowd.

A quick glance over her shoulder would have given her away, so instead she paused at a food stall, trying to catch her breath, and watched the exit to the alley in her peripherals as she picked up and pretended to inspect the fruit.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

She wasn't going to get away.

Valery knew she had to be careful, for any obvious Force trickery could expose her for who she was. But with a burning desire to get those priceless images back, she no longer truly cared. The Force screamed through her muscles and joints, augmenting her speed and agility, as she moved through the crowd and jumped over obstacles that should have slowed her down.

The thief stopped, but would hopefully be surprised to see her appearing so fast at the exit of the alley. The only issue was that she hadn't seen the woman all too well, but intent flowed through the Force.

She couldn't hide forever.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

"Chit..."

Lily swore, the Jedi was fast. Well of course she was fast, she was a freaking Jedi. But still, she had hoped for a little more time to catch her breath. Careful not to move too quickly, Lily turned away from the stall, scratching at the frangawl tattoo on the inside of her arm. Stealth was all well and good, but she couldn't be stealthy in plain sight.

Lily had other tricks though, closing her mind off, as Velok had taught her, she melted into the crowd once more. She'd always been a wallflower, no one of note, never stood out. Hell, she'd been living beneath the Jedi temple in Coruscant's undercity most of her life, and they'd never found her. So why would they find her now?

Because Lily, she thought to herself, beginning to chew her lip nervously, you weren't as open to the force then, remember? Thank you very much Nagai telepaths on Jaibrek.

She scanned the alleys on the other side of the wide bazaar, trying to remember which one cut through again.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

She was good.

For an underworld thug, anyway. Valery hadn't needed much to track the woman who stole her precious pictures. The image was still fresh on her mind — her physique, the way her hair looked and the way she felt in the Force. At least, until that presence had started to fade into the background.

A trained Force-sensitive?

"You're not getting away." Valery had once been a Jedi Shadow, so blending into a crowd was a necessary skill. It also meant that she was more likely to pick someone out who tried the same. Still, this was no easy job, so she moved quickly to cut off roads of escape. The woman hiding here knew she wouldn't be able to move fast, for it'd expose her, but Valery cared nothing about what people around her thought.

She was going to get those pictures back.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Glancing over her shoulder, Lily realised that she had lost sight of the Jedi. Unease tingled along her spine, she didn't for one second it was that easy. She began to chew her lower lip as nerves crept up, scanning the crowd as she went for a glimpse of her. She could reach out in the force and probably find her easy enough but she couldn't do that and stay hidden.

Recognition dawned as she found the store that marked the entrance to her escape exit. A smile began to spread until she caught a glimpse of the dark hair and yellow eyes. Lily's eyes locked with her and she froze. "Well, kark." A sheepish grin spread across her face, before she turned tail and bolted in the direction she had come from.

Maybe she could make it back to Hal's alley and try the route that would take her through the restaurant strip? Orr maybe she'd have to talk her way out of jail time.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

You're mine now.

Valery locked eyes with the woman, and recognition sparkled in her gaze. The thief, of course, tried to turn around and slip away once more, but Valery wasn't going to accept it this time. With just a gentle flick of her hand, the Jedi Master reached out with the Force, and looked for an invisible grip around the woman's ankle.

Just enough to yank on it, and throw her to the floor if she were succesful.

"I told you," Valery began as she marched towards her. "You're not going to get away."

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily's talents in the force were limited to hiding and listening, so when something caught her ankle, she went down hard the air slamming out of her lungs. She rolled onto her back with a groan.

"Ow." sitting up slowly she rubbed her side, before sliding her hand into her pocket to pull out the wallet and offer it up to the approaching Jedi in surrender.

It was the wrong wallet.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

Slap.

Valery smacked the wallet from her hands and stared straight into the woman's soul, "Don't try to mess with me, punk." She was angry, perhaps unusually so for an otherwise calm Jedi. But that wallet and the pictures inside were important to her, so she didn't appreciate what almost felt like a joke.

Really? Pulling out the wrong wallet?

"Give me my wallet back." At this point, people around them were starting to notice that something was happening. A circle formed and people were watching what would happen next.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

A flash of fear crossed Lily's face as the wallet went skittering into the crowd. There went tomorrows lunch money. Defiance flash across her face and she glared up at the jedi. "I thought jedi were supposed to be nice." she grumbled, shifting onto her knee she began rummaging through her many pockets, plucking the wallets out she stolen today and setting them on the floor one bny one, trying to find the one she'd last taken.

She could feel the impatience and anger bearing down on her, panic rising as she realised she had no idea which one it was. "Wait..." she said chewing her lip she got to her feet and dug into her trouser pocket. "was it this one?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

"This is me being nice." Valery squinted along with her warning and watched Lily dig through all of her pockets. Seeing so many wallets appear... Valery wondered how the kid was still alive at this point. Denon was a hive of criminal scum, so it was easy enough to pickpocket the wrong person and end up being hunted by people who showed far less mercy than Valery did.

"It's not the one," Valery said, her voice just a little softer all of a sudden.

Then a moment of silence.

"Why do you do this?" she gestured at all the wallets. "It's going to get you in trouble with the wrong people sooner, rather than later. I'm sure someone with your skills could do... better."

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily let out a bitter snort. Of course the Jedi who'd never had to worry about where her next meal had come from would ask such a question. "Yeah there's a whole list of jobs out there for someone like me." she replied sarcastically. She pulled out another wallet, opening this one to see if it had anything that might link it to the Jedi. A glimpse of a photo of the Jedi with a man, she snapped it shut, not wanting to pry...well, at least not in front of the owner of the wallet.

"I need to eat and my ship needs fuel and no one wants to hire a thief who doesn't like to shoot people."

Lile handed her the wallet and then bent to scoop up the others tucking them away back into her pockets.

"Not all of us had shiny Jedi privilege growing up."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

"I'm sure there's something better than getting yourself killed in a place like this," Valery replied with a perk of her brow. She then watched Lily grab a rather familiar looking wallet. She opened it, saw a picture and shut it. Not fast enough for Valery to squint at her, though. "Don't look at the pictures. Those belong to me." She grumbled a little and took back the wallet from the younger woman.

There wasn't anything weird about the pictures, but she wasn't about to have some random woman get a good look at her favorite pictures of her husband.

"That shiny Jedi privilege had me thrown into war zones before I was legally allowed to drive a speeder." Valery shrugged and pocketed her wallet again.

"Be the change you want to see. I doubt it's a good life, having to maneuver around the worst scum of this Galaxy to buy yourself food and fuel. You have skills that you can actually do good with and earn credits at the same time."

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily rolled her eyes.

"The undercity is a warzone, Jedi. Should stick your head down there next time you're on Coruscant, maybe you'll notice the chit going on a little closer to home."

She straightened the last of the wallets tucked back away in her many pockets.

"Don't do that," she said crossing her arms "don't make judgements on a snippet of someone's life. I'm not making judgement of you carrying pictures Khalil around with you."

Okay, so she was showing off just a little bit, but mostly she was pissed at the fact that this woman felt like she was in a position to make any judgement of her and her life. Lily had a good life, this was... just a blip?

She did her best not to smirk. Though she was sure she knew the name from somewhere...

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

"I have seen it, many times," Valery said without any venom to her voice. She could tell that she had struck a nerve, especially when Lily crossed her arms when Valery judged her life decisions a little too openly. Though, in that same breath, she also mentioned a name that didn't go unnoticed.

The Jedi Master squinted a little again.

"It's perfectly normal to have pictures of my husband in my wallet, thank you very much. That's why I wanted it back," she said with a sigh. "But you knowing his name suggests something interesting." She didn't seem like the type who kept up with Alliance news, where Valery and Kahlil both were seen frequently.

Otherwise, she would have long recognized Valery as well.

"I'm not your Mother or the police, and I don't plan to get authorities involved over... this. But I do urge you to be careful. It was in the streets of Denon, that people tried to kill me while I was 8 months pregnant. This isn't a good place to be."

 

[Lily Rhodes]

The name was bugging her, niggling at the back of her mind, it was something she should know, but for the life of her Lily couldn't place it. On top of that the woman's face, now she was really looking at it was gnawing at her also. A frown creased her brow.

"Listen lady, I've travelled to the Firefist galaxy and back, fought Toffs and trained with Nagai telepaths. I appreciate your misplaced concern, but I'm good. I can read people well enough to know who to av-ohfethIknowwhoyouare."

Khalil Noble...Valery Noble. The fething sword and shield of the Jedi. Lily had pickpocketed the Sword of the Jedi. Her defensive posture dropped and she took half a step back. She didn't know whether to be afraid or proud of the fact that she had successfully done so. Granted, she'd been caught in the end, but still... definitely something to remember.

Lily cleared her throat and looked down. "I...uh..." she began to chew her lip as nerves got the better of her. "Sorry." she mumbled.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

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Outfit: Casual | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Lily Rhodes

Read people well enough, hm?

"Is that so?" Valery asked right before Lily seemed to realize something. Valery blinked at the reaction, especially when she took a half-step back like she just encountered a dangerous predator. The Nobles were a widely recognized name, sure, but not for outright murdering anything that moved.

Even if they were staring down a thief.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to harm you," Valery said with a slight tilt of her head. "I just wanted the wallet back because some of these pictures are very dear to me." Perhaps that was silly to some people, since copies could easily be made, but these pictures were special to her.

"The firefist Galaxy, though? That's interesting." Valery had traveled to a satellite Galaxy herself once, but she was also curious how someone went through such a journey, only to end up a common thief on a planet like Denon. There had to be quite a story there, she imagined.