Private Jack in the Box

[Saahar]

The girl's palm flexed against the thin hilt of a saber, circling the ignition like a tiger pacing its cage. This had to be the most morally bankrupt yet mentally under-stimulating assignment one could receive. A weird stir that left Saahar feeling as uneasy as she did offended. Sure she wasn't exactly begging for a promotion, but this was still just grunt work at its finest. A simple arms trade meant to ensure a crate got from point A to point B without hiccup.

Their contact was late, an offense most Sith regarded as a mortal sin and treated accordingly. Saahar however wasn't able to muster up that kind of contempt. It didn't exactly come flowing from her like it did her counterparts, two much older, much more established acolytes already busy exchanging hushed whispers to her right. For the most part she ignored them and vice versa. Solitude was easy among Sith, expected almost, just not particularly fun.

Just then a Twi'lek man, flushed in the face, stumbled through a side entrance to the decommissioned warehouse they stood in. Behind him an armada of crate pushing minions loyally followed with the promised goods in hand.

"See, and here you probably thought I stood you up." The man forced a laugh, brow crinkled in a way that practically spelled out anxiety.

She regarded the man blankly, blurring a twinge of sympathy as to not break the fixture of stoic brawn she was meant to be. Nobody expected her to be any sort of mouthpiece. Her job was quite literally to sit still and be imposing.

Hardly paying attention to whatever her counterparts hissed back in response, Saahar's eyes dropped to the crates; all plated and sealed with some unpronounceable mineral. She knew nothing of their contents, only that she'd need to kill, miam, or otherwise incapacitate anyone who got close enough to learn of them.

Easy dubs.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

Valery watched from the Shadows.

Deals like these were hardly new to the former Jedi Shadow, but rarely were simple arms trades overseen by Sith. The woman within the warehouse was no experienced Sith Lord, but still, Valery could only wonder why this was the case. Her intelligence hadn't mentioned her presence either, and that was quite alarming. So. rather than her usual straightforward approach to handle these people, she opted for a more cautious plan.

Once the people making the delivery were gone, she'd make her move, and hunt down the delivery side of this operation later via trackers attached to their ships.

It was an elaborate plan, but careful planning had never failed her before.

Soon enough, when the time was right, Valery finally jumped into action. She had positioned herself on a small walkway on the second floor of the warehouse, and jumped down without revealing herself, and without making any sound. Her hand came up, and the Force finally swirled around her, likely enough to warn the Sith not far away from her. The doors of the warehouse, whether small or large, all closed rapidly and were locked by a simple wave of the hand.

Then, finally, Valery stepped out of her cloak to reveal herself.

"I suggest you put down your weapon, so nobody has to get hurt today," Valery told Saahar , while her hand slipped down to the hilt of her lightsaber.

 

[Saahar]

It seemed, if only for a moment, things would end with relatively little bloodshed. The crates were dumped, the minions scattered, and the togrutan Sith heading their assignment didn't even choke out the Twi'lek middleman. An act of mercy that Saahar chalked up to time constraints rather than any sudden repentance on his part. Whatever was in the boxes clearly couldn't be sidelined and made to wait. The Sith suffered no tardiness.

Of course when a Jedi dropped from the sky, lightsaber in hand, tardiness probably dropped a few tiers in relevance.

Instinct had Saahar's lightsaber burning red before she could even process the woman. She'd heard of Jedi, studied them; but now she couldn't help but feel like she had some untamed beast sharpening their teeth in front of her. One that couldn't be trusted no matter the words that came out of her mouth.

Saahar hated how that made her feel.

"Jedi." One of the other Sith spat, voice dripping with murderous intrigue as he brandished his weapon. Valery's words didn't seem to register in his mind, a mind clearly preoccupied with carding through every mean to dispose of her.

"So noble of you, offering us mercy." Like a predator sizing up his prey he begun to circle, pupils dilating. "We'll have to respectfully decline."

With that he lunged towards Valery, a jet of plasma careening down on her head. Saahar froze a moment at the sight, knowing full well that if she didn't act in accordance she'd find her head on the proverbial chopping block. Insubordination was punished. Severely. So while her superior went for a frontal attack, Saahar slipped behind looking to disrupt Valery's balance with a well timed blow.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"Jedi."

Valery didn't really need to hear much more — she could tell by the tone, and the intent in the Sith's eyes that he had no desire for a resolution without death. So, as fast as she had made her appearance, the violet blade of her lightsaber ignited and her fiery gaze narrowed at the three Sith. She wasn't worried about fighting these Acolytes, not if they had been on their own. But with several together, she had to be a little more cautious.

She had to take away their advantage before they could exploit it.

The leading Sith of the group was the first one to make a move, and Valery quickly pivoted on her feet to meet his crimson blade in a fierce clash. But right as their blades locked, she sensed a warning through the Force. Another made her approach from behind, hoping to trap the Jedi Master between two opponents. But in what should have been a troublesome position, Valery saw her opportunity.

Saahar swept her blade at Valery from behind, and right as it was about to make contact, the blade would sweep through nothing but air. Valery had tapped into her other skill as a former Shadow, and phased through the Acolyte's blade, resulting in her attack now being directed at the Togruta. At the same time, Valery had dashed forward, right through the Sith who was now having to defend himself against the Acolyte, and spun around to direct a lethal thrust to the Togruta's back.

Perhaps the less experienced Sith would be more open to dialogue if the true source of evil among them was removed.

 

[Saahar]

Deep violet burned through her counterpart’s chest cavity with a sickening hiss, his blade rolling out from a clenched hand to the steel ground with a rattle that all but confirmed he would never pick it up again. Saahar took a reflexive step back, her eyes widening at the ease and suddenity of his death. It would be a lie to say his murder roused any deep emotion other than shock, but still she should've been able to prevent it and yet…

Her gaze met Valery’s; the girl’s expression not unlike a wild animal backed into a corner.

“You killed him.” The words were simple and leveled, more trying to rationalize through the shit she’d just gotten herself into than target Valery. After all she couldn’t really diss an act of self-defense, especially when Saahar fully knew her counterpart had every intention of killing the Jedi where she stood.

Saahar’s foot slid back in a defensive stance, blade at the ready. The adrenaline flushing her system made it hard to focus on anything or anyone but Valery. To her it was act or be left to die just like her togrutan buddy. The Sith didn’t operate with an understanding of “mercy.”

With the third member of her party off doing who knows what, Saahar kept her blade an inch from the ground, eyes narrowed and distrustful. “You’re still outnumbered.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, they felt empty. Shit-talking had clearly never been her strong suit. Still, that didn’t stop her from trying.

“Lay a hand on any of these crates and I’ll cut it off.”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"I defended myself," Valery said with with a similar calmness to her voice. "I didn't want to, but you know what would have happened if I hadn't." Even if the woman chose to deny it, Valery felt certain that she understood deep down. Sith, as brutal and oppressive as they were, also looked at the Galaxy and themselves fairly realistically.

Whether that would change anything now, remained to be seen.

Valery then took a step closer, though with her blade dipped down towards the ground. She watched the woman shift into a more defensive stance, and hoped there was something she could see or feel that would suggest an alternative. Saahar looked far too young for such a dark path, and it would hurt Valery to harm her.

And for what? Some weapons that hardly make a dent in the war effort?

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way. Look at what you're fighting for — what the people here with you are willing to die for. What do you think these weapons are going to be used for? Self-defense?" Valery asked, and her tone alone made it clear how insane that thought was.

"Please, put down your weapon and you won't be harmed. I'm here to make sure these weapons cause no more harm."

 

[Saahar]

What was she fighting for? Her life obviously. These weapons would be used to ensure she stayed breathing another day.

Indoctrinated as she was, Saahar didn’t exactly recite Sith scripture every night before bed. She was born into this life, without much of an option but to live it. If she listened to every tiny appeal to her morality, if she so much questioned the philosophies she’d been raised on, the orphan would have been dead ages ago. She didn’t care so much about the “eternal glory” of the order as much as she did breathing.

"Please, put down your weapon and you won't be harmed. I'm here to make sure these weapons cause no more harm."

Her gaze fell to her slumped counterpart dead on the floor. “Huh. Well keep up the good work.” Voice dripping with sarcasm the girl buried a flash of hesitation behind a cold stare. No amount of reasoning was about to get her to toss over the contraband.

“They're better off in our hands than yours.”

Again, Saahar had zero clue what exactly was in their hands to begin with. The other two acolytes had pointedly kept that from her. For all she knew, she was likely staking her life on a couple crates of mufflers. Still, as brutalist as she knew the Sith to be, she didn’t honestly believe the Jedi could claim any moral superiority. They just seemed to have a complex about their own militarism. Maybe that made them even more dangerous.

“You're just a hypocrite.”

Saahar didn’t exactly know what she was doing egging the Jedi on. Well, other than delaying the inevitable. She just hoped Valery couldn’t sense her growing desperation through the force.

Where the hell was her backup?

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"In your hands, innocent people will suffer," Valery said with narrowed eyes. "The Sith invaded its ancients worlds to scatter the new settlers there, they invaded the Aing-Tii and left them behind as refugees in the Galaxy. Before the current Order, it was the Sith who destroyed Csilla - an entire planet with innocent men, women and children." Valery shook her head in disbelief but she honestly shouldn't have been so surprised.

The Sith had either submitted to the corruption of the Dark Side, or were forced into it when they were too young to make any choice for themselves. It wasn't something she could personally blame the Acolyte for, but it still didn't mean she could let her get away with this either.

She wasn't leaving with those weapons.

"A Hypocrite? I don't target civilians when they voice disagreement with me. I'm not secretly shipping around weapons that will be used against any moving target." Valery let out a soft sigh and stepped closer again.

"We're not the same, but change is still possible. It starts with surrendering these weapons."

 

[Saahar]

As Valery took a step forward Saahar took one back, her heart skipping like a rabbit for just a moment. She did everything to keep her nerves steady; meeting Valery’s words with a mouth drawn in a thin line of indifference. The Jedi was only trying to unsteady her, to burrow into her head and plant thoughts that shouldn’t be there. Either that or she genuinely believed Saahar would take her nudge for redemption. As if the orphan could simply trade in her lightsaber and walk away from the Sith like it was a day job.

Laughable.

It was then something stirred the very edge of her awareness, agitating her very minimal force sensitivity enough to get her eyes off of Valery and onto the rafters above. From the ceiling her surviving counterpart stood perched like a raven, staring down at the two with malice in her beady eyes.

Then everything exploded.

Pain slugged through the entirety of Saahar’s body, her weight subsequently thrown to the ground along with her lightsaber. From above massive steel beams loosened from their place bolted to the walls, bringing a downpour of hot metal and concrete onto Valery and Saahar alike. It took several moments for the room to stop its lopsided spin, for any semblance of clarity to be returned. When it did, slowly and painfully, Saahar was met only by the cold hard ground. Her chest stung of betrayal, lungfuls of asbestos only intensifying the fact. Forcing the fog from her mind, the girl sputtered out a cough and attempted to scramble to feet.

Only she couldn’t.

To her slow, horrified realization, one of the building's many support pillars, or at least a sizable chunk, had her leg entirely pinned. Not a particular desirable position to be in when there was a Jedi on the loose.

Or a spreading fire for that matter…

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"Watch out!"

Valery had felt the danger approaching them all of a sudden, but her warning came too late. A deafening explosion sent the entire building to collapse in on itself, and if it wasn't for her experience with the Force, she would have died. A huge metal beam levitated right above her head, while she kept her hands up and her jaw clenched. Molten pieces of metal and other debris was still raining down on them, but the Force deflected it away from her.

But not from the Acolyte, who had been slammed against the ground.

Smoke immediately filled the room, as fires started to spread, threatening to take away their breath long before the heat could burn them alive. Valery sucked in one last breath, and allowed the Force to sustain her, before she set aside the heavy beam. Fiery eyes searched through the room, hoping to find the other woman, but the explosion and fires had disoriented her enough to no longer understand where she was within the building.

"Where are you?!" Valery called out, before coughing as smoke filled her lungs. She started to move around, her eyes glowing while she manipulated the flames to stay clear.

"Call out to me, and I'll help you! You have to trust me!" Valery exclaimed.

If Saahar remained quiet now, then she would die.

 

[Saahar]

With her lungs unable to fill with anything other than smoke, Saahar pinned her cloak over her mouth for whatever meager filtration it would offer. She could practically feel the edges of her awareness soften with every inhale, desperately trying to buck off the slab of concrete with her free leg. She needed a fighting chance. Against what? The smoke- the fire- the jedi- her supposed ally up in the rafters? She couldn’t rightfully tell anymore.

She also couldn’t tell if Valery’s pleas were a figment of her imagination or not.

Initially she ignored them. The Jedi was just looking to finish her off, it was as simple as that. But then- She’d tried to warn her hadn’t she? Saahar sucked in a breath, still futilely struggling. She doubted her other counterpart was planning any sort of extraction, if she was even still in the building for that matter. Loyalty didn’t exactly run deep among Siths.

“Over here.” The girl coughed, her voice nearly muted by the effort it took to speak, “I’m here.”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

As soon as Valery heard the voice, she turned on her heels towards the source and let her senses guide her from there. As clouded as they were post-explosion, Saahar's proximity made it easy enough to locate her, and luckily she wasn't trying to hide her presence in the Force either. But with her senses now locked on, Valery could also tell that she was in trouble. Perhaps she was injured or trapped within the rubble, but she could tell the Acolyte wasn't moving. All whilst fire and smoke were slowly gaining ground towards her.

Time was running out.

Valery moved quickly around and over the debris, and raised her hand to split the flames apart, allowing her a passage through the inferno. Glowing, fiery eyes searched and found the woman's body, pinned underneath building materials that were slowly heating up to dangerous temperatures. "Stay extremely still, and don't move until I say so!" Valery told her without room for argument, before she lifted her hand and summoned the Force once more.

The metal and concrete screamed, but slowly started to move. Inch by inch, she raised the beam that had pinned Saahar down up from the ground, until it was safe enough, and Valery felt certain there would be no further collapse. "Get up and get out of here!" She yelled again, hoping her raised voice would cut through any panic or hesitancy.

Valery would only get out after she did.

 

[Saahar]

Was this real?

Saahar's eyes narrowed into slits against the smoke screen. Even with the oxygen deprivation she still had the sense to feel embarrassed. She needed to be rescued by a Jedi of all people? Her? Unbelievable.

The inferno licking at her face was parted a moment later, the Jedi emerging from it with uncanny determination. Dazed, the kid could only stare up incredulously for a moment, like she couldn't make out exactly what she was seeing. It was then she felt a weight lifted, the scolding heat that had been pressing against her skin suddenly registering and forcing her to grit her teeth.

She certainly wouldn't be walking out of here scotch free. Maybe more like limping.

Nevertheless the girl struggled to her feet, conflicted eyes meeting Valery's for a moment as a bloodied hand clutched her abdomen. She needed to move.

And so she did, her injured leg scraping behind like a dead weight as she pushed towards the compound's sheet metal walls. She did everything in her power to block out the Jedi, desperate not to trip on the unraveled threads of her worldview as she hobbled for an exit. Breathing in lungfuls of toxins, the girl stared daggers into the wall, raising a shaky hand to wrap tendrils of the force around the softened metal. With one sweeping movement she ripped the barriers from their place, her body thrown to the ground from overexertion all while smoke funneled out the opening.

From her position on the floor her chest heaved in a jagged rise and fall, eyes straining to see the outside.

"There's an opening over here." Her words were barely audible, hoarse and ugly from the smoke. Still something compelled her to speak them, even if they never reached the Jedi, "Quickly."


Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

Even with her Keshian eyes being able to see through smoke, Saahar soon disappeared behind intense heat, smoke and debris. Her presence in the Force was still there, though weakened by injury and perhaps her own attempts at hiding it. Right now, it hardly mattered though — Valery just wanted her to get out, so not another life was lost tonight. Whether it'd change Saahar's views on the Jedi or her own life, she didn't know, but she hoped it at least offered a more genuine image.

Still, Valery knew it to be a risk as well. If Saahar grew in strength and killed someone tomorrow, Valery would have been the one to let her go and allow it to happen. But that was a risk the Jedi Master had to take.

She couldn't just give up on someone and let them die.

"There's an opening over here."

While quiet, Valery heard the voice after sprinting after the younger woman, and soon located her, down on the ground. Valery was still high on adrenaline, so despite the exhaustion she felt in her muscles, she crouched down and supported Saahar until she was back up to her feet.

"Come on, we're getting out of here," Valery said quietly, as they left through the wall panel she had torn open. Together, they'd step into the fresh air, and finally, Valery allowed herself a sigh of relief before turning to Saahar.

"You're going to need some medical aid. Where are you hurt?"

 

[Saahar]

Saahar almost cringed back from Valery's offer of support, wary and distrustful like any cornered animal would be. But ultimately she had little choice in the matter. It was stay or die. Even she could learn to swallow her pride from time to time.

As they crossed the threshold, Saahar broke into a coughing fit as her lungs protested the change. Every tendon in her body felt about ready to snap like violin strings. As soon as she was able, Saahar separated herself from Valery, leaning against a rocky outcrop as replacement.

It was then she offered medical assistance, drawing Saahar to realize the extent of her injuries. With one leg badly burned and no doubt fractured, the acolyte couldn't exactly hide the fact she was helpless.

"Just leave me." She gambled, not certain how the woman (who she very much owed her life to) was going to react. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

The words, while cold, weren't exactly hostile in nature.Valery had saved her after all. Why? She could only endlessly theorize.

"You won. Whatever shipments we had are gone. Don't pretend you give a shit about anything else." about me. The girl eyed the Jedi skeptically, trying to snuff out a lingering feeling of doubt.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"Those shipments were gone the moment the roof started coming down," Valery said rather flatly and with a raised eyebrow. "I could have left you there to die, to burn to death or perhaps suffocate before that. The outcome would have been the same, though without you here, and with far less risk for my own life." She only put it this way to drive it home that nothing about what she had done was to just take out the shipments.

Valery's gaze then shifted down to the younger woman's leg — it was burned and exposed after being subjected to some intense heat. But she could tell that being pinned down by that metal beam had also caused some injury.

It was going to get painful soon, when the adrenaline wears off.

"Your body is still suppressing the pain now, but if anything is broken, you're going to be in a lot of pain soon. Those burns are going to hurt, and trust me, you're not going to want to feel that," Valery said, and once more, she took a step closer. "I'm no healer, but if you trust me just a little longer, I can get you medical help."

 

[Saahar]

At Valery's prompting Saahar spared a glance down at her leg, partly out of a need to assess the damage herself and partly due to the fact she found it increasingly difficult to meet Valery's gaze. She was right. Undeniably right. And that realization didn't sit comfortably with the young Sith. What Valery did was selfless, and entirely counterintuitive to rhetoric Saahar had been fed her entire life. She couldn't even begin to rationalize why a person- a jedi no less would have so much lifted a finger to help her.

The girl's mouth twitched in debate. Her "ally" wasn't coming for her, that much was for certain.

"Fine." Voice still damaged and faint, Saahar looked up at the Jedi, a tiny crack of fear seeping through the mask she tried so desperately to keep unshakeable. If it ever got back to the order that she accepted help from a Jedi of all people...The girl shook her head like she was fighting some unseen battle. It wouldn't do any good to fret over what manner of punishment awaited her. Hopefully the Jedi had nicer cells.

"But I'm keeping my lightsaber." Mustering more conviction, her hand subconsciously grazed the thin hilt still magnetized to her waist. From what she'd seen, Valery could cut her down like it was nothing, she was under no illusion otherwise. But still, she didn't want to be entirely at the Jedi's mercy. Whatever tiny reassurance it gave her felt worth fighting for. "And you're not going to stop me from walking away once I'm able to."

Not that she could exactly control that, but it was in Saahar's nature to levy threats she couldn't exactly back up.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

That inner conflict was still very much there, and Valery knew better than to prod at it. But the seed of doubt in her path had been planted, so all she needed now was some time to consider her options. Perhaps the hatred in her heart would be too strong, and the call of the Dark Side would pull her back in. But after what happened today, maybe she could find it within herself to look at her future and decide on a better path.

That was no decision that could be forced, so Valery decided to take her chances and put some trust in her.

"You can keep the lightsaber, and I was never planning to stop you," Valery assured her, before she gestured in a seemingly random direction with her hand. "If you trust me enough to come with me for aid, I'll trust you not to draw your weapon." If she did, the result would likely be disappointing to Saahar anyway.

But a feeling of safety and security might open her up more to listening.

"Come on, my ship is close."

 

[Saahar]

Saahar was convinced this was going to end horribly for all parties involved. Nevertheless, she shifted her weight off the rock and back onto her side, clearly favoring one leg over the other. She kept a wide berth from the Jedi, side eyeing her like someone who'd been stabbed in the back one too many times before.

"Come on, my ship is close."

"It better be." Saahar grumbled, easing through a new bolt of pain whenever she took a step forward. The awkward gait she now had was more inconvenient than painful... Well for the time being at least. She'd yet to wear off all that adrenaline.

"How'd you find us anyway?" The girl suddenly asked, this time meeting Valery's gaze while she let herself be led to the ship. "What tipped you off?" The question that Saahar failed to ask was whether or not it was somehow her fault. She was still holding onto hope that she could skirt any severe punishment if she somehow groveled at the Order's feet with a hardshell case. The Jedi had dispatched the most senior acolyte on her team afterall, how exactly was Saahar expected to beat that?

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Warehouse

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Saahar

"An intercepted transmission," Valery said with the shrug of her shoulders. "Deals like this happen all the time, so every now and then we pick up on one, and respond to it. This time, though..." she paused for a moment, and turned her gaze to the younger woman. "It felt different, so I decided to go myself." Perhaps it had been the sheer number of Sith that drew her to it, or maybe the Force had wished for them to meet.

Whatever it was, her mission was completed and hopefully there was something better ahead for Saahar. Even if she didn't seem to quite accept that possibility herself just yet.

Not much later, the two would finally spot her ship — The Bastion, it was called. A fairly simple light-freighter from the outside, but it had become almost a second home to Valery. "Alright, follow me to the medical room." It wasn't anything too fancy, but she had anticeptin-D to clean the wound, and plenty of bacta patches to heal her up enough for proper treatment by a doctor or Jedi Healer.

"Sit down and brace yourself. I'm going to clean the wound, and it's going to hurt, alright?"