Private Inheritance (p. 2)

[Darius Mereel]

As the meeting with his fathers' lover had concluded, Darius left the planet perhaps more conflicted than ever. Taking a small bit of weaponry from the deceased Mandalorians' armory, he went in search of a series of bunkers, safehouse and the like his father had built over decades of being a bounty hunter and Underground operative. Most were vacant, poorly supplied, or a few outright destroyed. He picked up a derelict but functional freighter in one, some food and a tidy sum of various currencies in another, and on the progress went.

Eventually he reached Adumar, where his mother was from. The mausoleum was the goal, hosting a hidden underground chamber that supposedly was known to none but Ijaat and contained the foundations of his knowledge and abilities. Entering the tomb, he paused a moment to observe the lovingly inlaid and carved marble, wondering if his father had done the work, master craftsman that he was. Dust lay thick on the walls and mummified leaves crunched as he entered, and walked to the back. According to the ledger he possessed, his mother Aerin rested in truth on Mandalore, and this tomb was merely a front.

Sliding the lid of the sarcophagus to the side, he spied a knotwork symbol of a mythosaur skull and pressed it, watching the bottom of the tomb retreat. And down the stairs he went adroitly, walking carefully with the elec-torch held high. Pressing a light-plate, illumination fitfully flickered into being and out, giving the chamber an eerie and surreal yet stark quality due to the inconstant light. Stepping in further, he had a momentary relief. Here were strongboxes marked with symbols of currency, weapons and armor, and what was marked in Aurabesh as an exit to a hangar.

With this, the hooded and jacketed man could start a life free from working for the slavers who still would tug at his leash. And even take them down in bloody vengeance.

Spying an odd box laced in what he was unaware was void stone, marked in a tongue he would come to know as Ancient Sith, he walked to it, musing on the future, his back to the entry.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

Slowly and carefully, Valery's X-wing had settled down on Adumar's surface. It was deep within Empire territory, so she had taken her modified Stealth-X to pass by sensors and monitoring stations without being noticed. But even though she was certain that nobody had tracked her down, she couldn't help but feel tense about coming here. Her last two trips into Empire territory had sparked very difficult times for her, and the last thing she wanted was to get in trouble again.

She knew he'd feel it, and she knew he'd come to help her again. But it couldn't happen again.

Setting aside the more depressing thoughts, Valery opened the canopy and hopped outside with her usual calm exterior. She took off her helmet, fixed up her hair, and turned her eyes to the entrance. Somewhere deep inside was an artifact she was looking for. Valery could almost feel its presence there, faintly reaching out to whoever was nearby. Its origins were dark, and that's exactly why she had come to retrieve it.

A former Jedi Shadow and now the Sword — it was her duty to handle these things.

But as she began her path down into the underground chambers, she couldn't help but feel as if she wasn't alone. The artifact clouded her senses somewhat, so she struggled to pinpoint who was up ahead, but slowly she began to draw closer.

She had to complete this assignment, and no matter who was up ahead, she wasn't going to let herself be stopped.

 

[Darius Mereel]

Whirling, the Shacklebolt came to his shoulder and he tucked it neatly, sighting almost instinctively. Even against a Jedi, the round would prove difficult to defeat, traveling as it was made of an ore designed to slag whenever it impacted a heat source like a lightsaber blade with a speed enough even Force perceptions or deflections would prove difficult. The deadly custom rifle whirred as servos came on line to stabilize it. His ears would protest firing in a box like this without protection - his mistake - but it would still do the job best.

"Identify yourself, this is sacred ground of my family"

Well, technically it was.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

After hearing the roaring servo motors up ahead that were soon followed by a voice, Valery stopped and focused her senses on the source. With her mission involving the retrieval of something that belonged to dangerous Sith once, there was always the possibility that other Sith would be here to find it as well. But whoever was waiting for her had no corrupted connection to the Force, so Valery decided to step forward.

"I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble," she began to introduce herself. Valery then stepped into sight but refrained from drawing her own weapon, hoping that it would send the right message.

"Apologies for intruding but I'm here to retrieve a very dangerous object. If you allow me to explain, I'm sure you'll understand."

 

[Darius Mereel]

"Anything in here belongs to the Cearns, specifically my mother. And her husband. So you're both trespassing and a thief. Turn around, and leave. Now. Or I will make it easier for you to breathe."

Click

The microcomputers clicked onto the Jedi as the Force-cloaked man thumbed a switch and waited, and he narrowed his eyes as time stretched on. The long hair he sported was obviously unkempt and mostly unwashed, his hygiene overall spoke of one not acquainted with a 'fresher in a while. Not smelly, but hard ran and hard pressed. Grit under his fingernails and a stone cold look in his eyes that spoke of readiness to violence just as any Force sense would have.

He would take no pleasure in killing anyone, let alone a Jedi. But he had long ago let go of life, and he would be cowed by no one.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

Valery had to resist the urge to roll her eyes — of course, this couldn't just be an easy conversation. She understood that the intrusion on private property was likely frustrating, but he completely ignored what she was trying to tell him at the same time. "Does it really matter who it belongs to when it can potentially drive you insane just by being close to you?" Valery asked with a sigh.

"The artifact stored in here was once owned by a prominent Sith Lord, and considering the measures you're taking to defend yourself against Force-sensitives..." she said, hinting at the fact that he was using something to keep himself concealed. "... you must understand how dangerous that can be for anybody."

She let out a soft sigh and decided to take an additional angle. "If you still are opposed to me making sure it can't harm anybody, at least allow me to give you nullification resin. It won't damage the item, but it'll keep the Dark Side suppressed."

 

[Darius Mereel]

With a grunt, Darius turned and almost unerringly walked to the holocron, pointing the barrel at Valery Noble the whole time. His stride had a slight limp to the left side, and as the coat swayed it became apparent he had a binder of bandage of sometime under his shirt from the bulk there. Broken ribs? Blaster wound? Who knew. But he sat the gun down on the mess of the table that held it, and rolled the jacket off his shoulders, tossing it over the item in question as he did, and abruptly Valery could no longer feel it in the Force.

But pain, loss, sorrow, rage and desperation roiled off the tall man in front of her in waves. He was on edge and not nearly as confident or capable as his stance advertised. Hell, he hadn't eaten in days when the ships rations ran out.

"Yeah... Dad warned me about that thing. Said the coat would shut her up if she started talking. Lucky, that thing. She warned me your sort were likely to show up, but I've little use for your Order and their struggles. I'm more a man of the people instead of grand ideals. If it's so important you take it, what can you offer in return?"

Gaunt eyes regard her with suspicion, but now that he knew what she was after, he was less edgy. That thing bothered him, and the voice in his head from it seemed entirely too friendly, and seemed fair but felt foul and wrong somehow.

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

Even though he kept her at gunpoint, Valery didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. She had been on this side of a barrel many times before, and the Force always warned her if the trigger was about to be pulled. But something told her that it wasn't going to happen, even if she couldn't sense anything directly from him.

So as calm as ever, she followed him to the holocron and studied it for just a second or two. Until he tossed his jacket over it, thereby revealing that something inside of it kept the Force suppressed. It wasn't the first time she had seen and felt something like this before. What was far more surprising, though, was what she could now sense from him.

His pain, anger, and desperation.

"Well..." Valery began, her eyes briefly shiting away from him to look at the holocron hidden underneath the jacket. "I'm not after it because of grand ideals. I want to cleanse and store it safely, so it can't hurt anybody." But he wanted something in return, and she wasn't quite sure what to offer. At least, not right away.

"What would you want for it? Credits? Food?" A bath... but she didn't say that out loud.

"I can also sense that you're injured. I have some bacta patches in a medkit if you want some help with it?" Valery wasn't exactly a healer, but she'd be able to help patch him up if he trusted her enough.

 

[Darius Mereel]

"I'm a doctor... Sadly, the wound will just take time. Teretatek venom is painful to those with even a touch of Force sensitivity though, and so my father passed and I barely lived."

Slowly, he looked around. Several artifacts hummed with the Force, and in the very corner sat a display case of burnished armor that fairly shone with an inner light, Mandalorian in pattern. The offer of food almost offended him, but he doubted it was meant in snark. And besides, he was marking starving.

"This place won't be safe for long, and I need time to look over my inheritance. Help me get these things to such a place, and give me time to study. I'll earn my way patching you or whoever you say up. And if anything is too dangerous, it's yours for safekeeping, just not destruction."

He let out a ragged breath.

"My father was a man famed for playing with artifacts, so having you around wouldn't hurt as I look through the Mereel legacy."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

"Oh..." she smiled sheepishly when he said he was a doctor, but it faded when he explained the nature of the injury. Not long ago, Valery had killed at Terentatek with the assistance of her Padawan, so she knew just how dangerous they were. "Well, I'm glad to hear that, then. I'm absolutely not a doctor or healer."

Beyond basic first aid, she was useless.

Her eyes then shifted around the room while he looked around, and finally, she felt the atmosphere getting lighter somehow. Either he was opening up to her a little, or it was just the tension created by the artifacts fading. Whatever it was, she felt a little relieved because of it.

"That seems reasonable to me," Valery then said in response to his offer. It was honestly much better than she had expected. Not only would she be able to secure the holocron, but any other dangerous artifacts too. And helping him out in the process seemed like a very Jedi thing to do as well.

"I'm glad I can help a little. Just... point me in the right direction," she said, her eyes shifting down to his torso once more. She could still feel his pain. "Are you sure you don't at least want some bacta patches? You don't have to let me apply them if you can comfortably do it yourself."

 

[Darius Mereel]

He smiled as the offer for patches was extended, and shook his head.

"It hurts, but it was earned in the death of my buir. I should honor the sacrifice, the pain reminds me of the cost of my standing here even. It will drive the lesson home. It's nothing serious. Just a few cracked ribs and a shallow laceration. Already healing. But... Thank you... Truly..."

Not used to others caring for his well-being beyond his usefulness, he smiled.

"The armor... Would you know why it is glowing? Why a few of the tools are? It looks like beskar but..."

He indicated the stand where a very obviously bespoke suit of bes'manda armor, clearly not meant for Ijaat but masterfully done all the same.

"It feels... Calm. Almost alive...."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Adumar

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Darius Mereel

Valery met his smile with one of her own and dipped her head in understanding. She knew what it was like to lose loved ones, so anything he wanted to do to honor their passing, she would respect. Of course, she would also keep an eye on him, and be ready to offer aid should he end up needing it.

"Of course, and I'm sorry for your loss," she said, her voice soft and sincere.

Her eyes then shifted to the armor and items he gestured at. Valery had seen Beskar many times before, both in battle and worn by people she now considered friends, and this looked similar... yet also different. No, it didn't just look different — it felt different to her as well.

"My guess is that it's imbued with the Force, perhaps reliant on it." She gave it some more thought and let out a soft sigh. "I can feel the energy inside of it, just waiting to be released."

 

[Darius Mereel]

"Odd for a Mandalorian to be so familiar with Jedi and Sith artifacts, I would have thought..."

Here he picked up a positively battered hilt and thumbed the activation of the ancient lightsaber. He watched the pneumbratic purple-black blade buzz into life in a low drone, staring at it consideringly, lost in thoughts other than the weapon in his hand and the odd shape of the blade. To him, it was a lightsaber, but in his hands, it felt positively light and effortless like he thought it should. He shut off the blade with a click and, almost without thought, clipped it to the utility hook on his belt. That sort of thing was always deadly and valuable.

"Can you point out anything else perhaps worthy of being wary of? I know my father collected relics. Sometimes without care for their danger..."

Valery Noble