Private In the Presence of my Enemies

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

Using the trailing debris field of the broken planet for cover, a single vessel pierced the darkness of the void. The yorik-vec tumbled slowly through the expanse of frozen rock; any far-off observer, especially those unfamiliar with Yuuzhan Vong vessels, would merely assume her to be one of the many pieces of cracked planetary matter that trailed behind Sernpidal in orbit. That was exactly the way that Athsheva wanted it. It was only when she began to approach the planet's surface, the heat of the ragged atmosphere licking at the ship's exterior, that the Yuuzhan Vong stirred underneath her cognition hood.

The ship responded to her movements immediately, no more than an extension of her own nervous system at this point. Dovin basals thrummed to life, and the tumbling ship leveled out for its descent to the planet below.

To the infidels, Sernpidal was simply a point on the map, used for reference and nothing more. Even before the calamity that had struck it, the planet had been a backwater, tucked away between the Braxant Run and the Tingel Arm. But to her, this place was something greater. Something more.

It was a mecca.

The yorik-vec grumbled as it finally set down upon the planet's cracked surface. Athsheva wasted no time in pulling the tall-yor from her scalp; the pain was exquisite, but short-lived. There was no time for dallying; she had things to do. Crawling out from the ship's umbilical, she took a moment to stop and breathe the planet's air.

Yes... Even now, she could taste the lingering tint of biots upon the cold wind. Ahead of her, buried within the massive gouges and canyons left behind by the moon's impact, was what she was looking for. The shipwomb. She had no doubts, of course, that everything there was long dead. But holy knowledge still resided here, nonetheless. She would be a fool to pass it up.

And so, gathering the wavering cilia of her oozhith around her, Athsheva trudged onwards towards the canyon.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

While the Alliance prepared itself for an inevitable conflict with both the Sith and Mandalorians, Valery finally found herself with some time away from the front. But she wasn't the type to use all of it for leisure. So after spending a few days with her family, she left them behind at home and decided to pursue a strange signal that was reported to the Jedi. It happened all the time, and usually, it meant nothing, but this was coming from Sernpidal.

A planet that was supposed to be quiet.

Sith activity in the Outer Rim had increased in the last few months, so her initial guess was that they had been in the area, but there was only one way to be certain. This sparked Valery to board her modified X-wing, and make the jump to the planet alone. As a former Jedi Shadow, it was how she often preferred to operate when the mission details weren't quite clear yet. She could easily remain undetected for as long as was necessary, scout ahead, and plan her approach.

Assistance would only slow her down.

Soon enough, her fighter dropped from Hyperspace within the Sernpidal system, after which she immediately began a scan of her surroundings. Initial results offered nothing of interest, but she had a feeling that something or someone was out there. So, where others might have turned back around, Valery continued her approach.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

The walls of the canyon were steep and jagged; at times, it narrowed to thin points, and as Athsheva Rin made her way down, she found herself having to squeeze through them carefully. The cuts and abrasions on her exposed skin were of little concern. In fact, they were pleasant reminders that she found herself in a consecrated place. Sernpidal was an eternal testament to the power that her people had once wielded: the power to scar planets and to wipe them clean of unholy influences. To start over. To begin again.

She smiled to herself... but the smile was short-lived, eventually morphing into a frown. It was also a reminder of how far they had fallen. They had nearly conquered the galaxy once... and now, to most infidels, they were no more than a historical footnote.

Hopefully, that would change. Soon.

Finally, Athsheva arrived at her desired location: the shipwomb. Skeletal support struts curled up into the night sky, curling overhead like the clutching hand of a buried god. She stared up at them for a moment, awed by the sheer scale of the fossilized landscape that laid before her. In its heyday, a place like this could have spawned countless miid ro'ik... maybe even a koros-strohna, given enough time. Hopefully, the secrets to their construction still remained here, buried deep in the rubble and decay.

Shrewd eyes widened at the sight of a change in the night sky. Barely perceptible, impossible far away... but, yes, it was there. A star where there hadn't been one before, and it was now moving across the heavens in a bizarre, curving line.

No. Not a star. A ship. An infidel ship!

Athsheva cursed her misfortune. Had she been tailed? It was impossible to say. Nor could she speculate on what kind of infidel ship was overhead, except that it seemed to be traveling quickly. Urgently. There was no time. She needed to move now, to grab something for study, anything, and make her way back to her ship. The Yuuzhan Vong sprang into action, sprinting across the ragged floor of the shipwomb at a breakneck pace. Ahead of her, a massive expanse of membranous material stretched from one side of the ragged organic platform to the next. She wasn't entirely sure what it was. It didn't matter. She reached for it, the clawing digits of her shaper hand setting to work on cutting a large area of it, making sure to keep the veins intact.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..." Athsheva whispered to herself. No time. No time!

Finally, with a dry rip, the ancient membrane broke free. She wasted no time in wrapping the fabric around her arm, then spun on her heel to sprint in the opposite direction. Getting down into the canyon had been hard enough; now she had to scale the wall to get out, one arm slightly immobilized. But it was a better idea than allowing the fabric to freely billow behind her.

Close. So close. Not far from her ship now...

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

Valery's eyes fell upon the remains of the Yuuzhan Vong shipwomb, and a frown settled on her face. She had spent a lot of time reading up on Jaina Solo in particular, the first Sword of the Jedi, so she had naturally become familiar with her efforts against the Yuuzhan Vong as well. It had started as just research into a woman who held the same title in the past, but it later grew into a fascination with this historic war.

To avoid making the same mistakes leaders in the past had made, it was crucial for to be aware of what had happened. So whether it was reading into old wars against the Sith or the Yuuzhan Vong, Valery tried her best to become familiar with as much of that history as she could.

Today would be another opportunity to learn, though a strange feeling overshadowed her curiosity. She couldn't feel anybody down there, yet she had this strange shiver telling her that she wasn't alone. One of the most discussed aspects of the Yuuzhan Vong in old Jedi texts was their lack of a presence in the Force, so she did consider the idea of them somehow still being down there. Or perhaps just their remains.

But as far as she knew, they shouldn't be there anymore.

With a new, compelling urge to find out for herself, Valery brought her X-wing down much faster than she normally would. The canopy of the cockpit opened quickly, and Valery practically jumped out of her fighter to start running along the surface of the Vong remains.

"Something is out there. I can feel it," she muttered to herself.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

The Yuuzhan Vong pulled herself out of the cliff just as the infidel vehicle screeched overhead. She vaguely recognized the outline-- the actual name of the fighter was beyond her, but the X-shaped profile was not entirely uncommon, even if the coloration was unique. Ships of these kinds usually only carried one occupant, maybe two. To Athsheva, her relief was only momentary.

Whoever had come here had likely done so on their own. That either meant that they didn't expect to find anything-- or that they were confident that they were strong enough to handle the issue alone. Worse still, the fighter had landed between her and her ship. It seemed that the gods were not giving her any blessings today. Unfortunate.

The Shaper considered her options... then, carefully, wedged herself into the joint between two outcroppings of yorik coral, just out of sight. The infidel would have to pass this way if they were heading towards the shipwomb. Her amphistaff slithered out to encircle her free arm, rubbing its scaled head against her palm as the two of them laid in wait. She could hear the intruder's footsteps getting closer; the boots sounded strange, as if made from an exotic material.

Athsheva waited. The footfalls grew closer.

The Yuuzhan Vong waited until the last possible moment before leaning out from her hiding spot. Lifting her hand, the amphistaff slithered into place; it hissed loudly as she squeezed it, sending a stream of caustic venom towards her opponent's eyes.

She knew better than to wait to confirm an impact, however. She barely even saw what her opponent looked like, save for the vibrant orange color of her eyes. The moment that the venom was arcing through the air, Athsheva leapt from her hiding place. The Yuuzhan Vong hit the ground running as she moved in an open sprint towards the safety of the canyon. She threw herself down the sloping walls, using the pointed end of her amphistaff to steady her descent. She had every intention of losing her opponent in the splintered, fractured pathways of the canyon.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

She still couldn't sense a thing.

Was it what happened here that clouded her senses so much? The fact that so many people here had lost their lives. Such voids in the Force often impaired one's ability to tap in to the Force. But for some reason, Valery felt this was different. She could still connect to the Force and felt familiar presences far away in the Galaxy. Her husband, her children — she wouldn't have been able to sense them if this place was truly so... empty.

Slowly and carefully, Valery continued to follow her senses, not to anything in particular, but she simply trusted in the Force. It had guided her for years, and even now, it was warning her that something was off about this place. The hilt of her lightsaber quietly slipped into her hand, and her thumb already brushed over the ignition switch. She was ready for any unwanted surprises, and as tension reached its climax, Valery moved.

From the corners of her eyes, she spotted a figure suddenly appearing, and a strange liquid came right for her face. She turned away and ducked low, but some of the venom splashed against her cheekbone, forcing her left eye shut. She yelped, but the surpise and pain didn't last very long.

"You can't run!" Valery yelled after the moving figure, who she still hadn't gotten to take a good look at. But deep down, she already knew what she was dealing with — Yuuzhan Vong. The Force exploded through Valery's body and with superhuman speed, she ran after the woman and jumped from one obstacle to another in her path. Nothing was going to stop her now, and the ignition of her violet blade was meant to show just that.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

"You can't run!"

Oh, but she could, and run she would.

After two years in the barren, dangerous wilderness of the homeworld, Athsheva had become more than adept at sprinting under, over and around obstacles of all sorts. The box canyons of Sernpidal were no different. Even still, her opponent was just as swift, if not moreso-- a superhuman speed that, coupled with a distant electric buzzing that grew ever louder, could only mean one thing.

Jeedai.

The ancient enemy of her people. Perhaps their ancestors had met on a similar battlefield, long ago. Still, this was no time for idle daydreaming. Athsheva knew by the rate of the Jeedai's footsteps that her opponent would catch up eventually. The angry, insect-like buzzing of her laser sword was getting louder, filling the walls of the canyon with its constant, reverberating sound.

And that gave her an idea...

Athsheva ducked and wove through the many splintering pathways of the canyon. Left, right, another right, then left again-- at every fork, a new decision with no hesitation, and a new prayer to the gods. To her left, the entrance to a cave loomed, perhaps one that had been here since before the cataclysm that wreaked such havoc on Sernpidal. Athsheva wasted no time in slipping into the darkness, away from the dim starlight that illuminated the floor of the canyon.

"... I can see you, Jeedai," Athsheva called out. The canyon carried her voice, the ragged slopes of the rock walls dissipating the echoes and making it harder to pinpoint her location. Or so she hoped, anyway. "Can you see me?"

A lie, of course, but hopefully one that would fool the Jeedai, at least temporarily.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

This really was a Yuuzhan Vong warrior.

It didn't matter how experienced she was, or how much she had honed her senses over the many years of being a Jedi — she felt nothing. It forced the Jedi Master to focus on her other senses instead. The sound of her enemy's movements, the flashes of her silhouette whenever she changed direction. But even now, the Force would be her ally too. Because where it failed to notify her of the Vong's presence, she could still feel danger.

Valery slowed down as soon as she lost sight of the other warrior, and drew her lightsaber up into a guarding position. She closed her eyes, and allowed the Force to guide her through the void. If the other warrior were to attack, she wouldn't feel her presence, but she could feel the imminent risk that followed.

"I don't need to see you," Valery replied. "You have no place to go, and I'm getting closer. You know it, or else you wouldn't be hiding again." She smirked just faintly and slowly walked through the canyon.

She'd have to show herself at some point.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

"I don't need to see you," Valery replied. "You have no place to go, and I'm getting closer. You know it, or else you wouldn't be hiding again."

Hiding.

She grimaced at the thought. Her people, the lingering, pathetic remnants of once proud crusaders... They had been hiding, under the ground, in the dark. Athsheva was not like them. Not in the slightest. However, she was also not a fool. A desperate, head-on attack, provoked by emotion, was exactly what the Jeedai hoped to elicit from her. To give in so simply would be to play directly into her hand. She needed to be smarter than that, and to utilize the one advantage that she did have.

As the Jeedai stepped into the clearing, just beyond the mouth of the cave, Athsheva tensed. Dark eyes glared at the purple-clad woman, trying to ascertain more details about her opponent. Her poise, posture and general confidence suggested that she was no mere novice. This sorcerer was an experienced one. She would have to be careful.

Athsheva glanced down at the veined membrane, still wrapped around her arm. She glanced back to the Jeedai, watching her dark hair blowing in the wind. It was only a matter of time before she thought to investigate the cave.

The wind picked up again, carried towards her enemy. Athsheva rushed forward, swinging her arm to rapidly unravel the membrane around her arm and throw it into the wind. Whether it hit the Jeedai or not, the momentary distraction was all she needed. She raised her other hand, amphistaff arcing backwards like an extended whip-- before snapping towards the Jeedai, mouth open and fangs brought to bear.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

No response.

Valery knew her target had to be close, she could just feel it. But it wasn't until she stepped into the clearing and spotted a cave that she had an idea about where the woman might be in hiding. If she were to move, Valery would hear her or pick up on her somehow. But within those darker caves, she was far less easy to detect. Though what the Yuuzhan Vong likely didn't know, was that Valery's species had an advantage in the dark.

She can see a wider spectrum of light, including body heat in the Infrared Spectrum.

A flash of danger, followed by the sudden appearance of a figure caught Valery's attention, and instantly she pulsed the Force through her body. Leaning back and off to her left side, she evaded whatever it was the warrior threw her way, and rotated back with her lightsaber drawn into a guard. The violet blade clashed with her amphistaff, a weapon Valery had only read about, and finally she saw her opponent for the first time.

"You're a little far away from home," she told the woman while their weapons were locked, before pushing back to create space. Valery didn't waste any time, and aimed several quicker slashes at the Vong's body, hoping to target limbs or joints in an attempt to cripple her.

She didn't want to kill this warrior if she could help it.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

Athsheva had no such qualms against killing the Jeedai. If an opportunity came, she would take it. Unfortunately, no such opportunity was presenting itself.

The Yuuzhan Vong quickly found herself on the backfoot as her striking amphistaff clashed with the brilliant violet blade of the lightsaber. The light and heat of the godsdamned thing made her snarl and hiss as she stepped backwards, countering the Jeedai's carefully-aimed strikes... mostly. While Athsheva was as fit as any Yuuzhan Vong, the sorcerer's ungodly magic gave her an advantage that she was struggling to counter. Her opponent's last strike was parried, but clumsily; the blade slid down the scaled back of her amphistaff, its pointed tip suddenly digging into the scarred skin of Athsheva's upper arm.

The pain was brief, a flash of exquisite agony unlike anything she had ever encountered. It almost made her want to thank the Jeedai for the pleasure of it. A split-second later, and the pain was gone, replaced by a numbness as her nerve endings burnt out. The Yuuzhan Vong ducked and rolled to the side, scrambling to her feet. It had been a relatively light touch, and her arm was still usable... for now. But the numbness was slowly beginning to spread. She was running out of time.

"I could say the same for you, Jeedai..." Athsheva spat, treating the title like it was a curse. "This is holy ground. You desecrate it with your filthy footsteps."

Suddenly, she rushed forward again-- but this time, with a change in tactics. Rather than bringing her amphistaff down in a swinging strike, she sharply jabbed it forward, towards her opponent's center of mass. If the Jeedai attempted to parry the strike with her lightsaber, she might be surprised to find the living serpent wrapping around the blade in an attempt to wrench it sideways and out of her grasp.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

Feeling the contact between her blade and the woman's scarred skin was hardly worth celebrating. History texts had dedicated more than enough attention to the Yuuzhan Vong, their perspective on pain, and how far they were capable of pushing themselves. No, she remained incredibly focused and kept her blade up in a guard, even as her enemy ducked low and rolled away. The distance it created allowed a short reset in their combative patterns, and Valery took that time to assess the damage her attacks had caused. The arm was still usable, but perhaps a weak spot now.

"Your people desecrated this place when you got here, and I will not allow you to do so again."

A tremor of danger in the Force alerted her to the woman's imminent attack, and her grip tightened on her hilt. The Vong lashed out with what almost felt like a telegraphed attack to her, but Valery could not sense her true intent. With her blade vertical, and a sideways sweep, she parried the incoming attack aside, only for the amphistaff to suddenly move.

She hissed in pain, as the serpent left a razor thin cut along her arm, and yanked the lightsaber from her hand by snaking its way around the hilt. The blade disengaged as soon as it hit the ground, but Valery wasn't going to wait and jumped aside to dodge a follow-up attack, before summoning her second lightsaber into her hand.

Blood was running down her arm now, but she paid it no attention and charged forward with heavier strikes. Controlled and precise, yet driven by Force-augmented strength. Eventually, as she hoped to draw out the woman's guard, Valery's presence shifted into the Force, and right as their weapons were about to make contact, the former Jedi Shadow phased through the Vong warrior to end up behind her.

Her blade flourished, Valery spun with incredible speed, and she aimed her cut all across the warrior's back.

 

[Athsheva Rin]

Tagging: Valery Noble

The sight of crimson blood against the Jeedai's bare skin was sweeter than any fruit the galaxy could bear. It was a blessing from the gods, and Athsheva let out a delighted, raspy laugh as the hilt of the sorcerer's blade clattered to the ground. She made sure to kick the weapon aside as her opponent rolled to avoid her, but it seemed that the Jeedai still had more tricks in store for her. Once again, the brilliant amethyst light of yet another laser sword threatened to blind her, and Athsheva snarled as she stepped back to make some distance between them.

Once again, blade met serpent, the solid block of photons clashing against her amphistaff's scales over and over in flashes of cascading sparks. The Jeedai's strikes were powerful, but utterly predictable, so blatantly choreographed that only the most foolish of opponents could have missed their intent. With each block and parry, sharp pain shot through her injured arm, and Athsheva relished in it.

Until the Jeedai was gone.

No! Not gone! The Yuuzhan Vong's ear twitched; the sound of the buzzing laser sword was now behind her. Athsheva spun on her heel, preventing the burning edge of the lightsaber from slicing into her spinal cord... but unable to stop it from drawing a long, horizontal gash across the side of her ribcage.

The momentum of the attack, coupled with the excruciating pain, sent her sprawling to the ground with a furious cry. One hand clutched her amphistaff while the other attempted to cover the deep, ragged burn at her side; on her hands and knees, she quickly scrambled away, rising to her feet once more.

Athsheva's breathing was heavy, stilted, every inhalation sending another terrible reminder of the humiliation that the Jeedai had inflicted on her. Her fist clenched tightly against her ribcage... and as she watched her opponent, she began to slam her fist against her wound.

Eight times. Once for each god. Every strike was a reminder. With every hit, the pain grew, and so, too, did her anger and her bloodlust. Hurt and hate mingled together in her dark eyes as she waited for the Jeedai's next move.

"You... will not allow?" Athsheva seethed. "Arrogant Jeedai. Stupid. When you and your kind fall, it will be hard."

 

[Valery Noble]

Sernpidal

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Athsheva Rin

Valery raised her hand and summoned the hilt the Vong warrior had kicked away back to her hand. The violet blade of plasma ignited, and now the Jedi Master stood with both her weapons drawn. Her fiery gaze focused on the other woman, but her expression turned into a frown when she started slamming her own wound.

It was only going to cripple her further, so why do it now? She knew about the Vong's perspective on pain, but this seemed like the wrong time to punish herself for the hit she took.

"Not the first time we heard that, but this time you seem to be alone," Valery said whilst taking an almost threatening step forward. But the Jedi Master knew that killing the Yuuzhan Vong wouldn't actually help much. What if she knew of other Vong out there? Or worse, an entire army or fleet being ready to invade once more?

But capturing a Vong warrior alive was no easy thing to accomplish.

"I suggest you put down your weapon and surrender while you still can." With an even more intensity, Valery stared her down and tightened the grip on her weapons.

"Because you won't be getting through me."