Private Mirror of the Past

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

He had insisted that he'd help her with something after their most recent trip to Nar Shaddaa to hunt down the criminals who were after him, so... she decided to let him. After many years, Valery had finally received intel about the clone who managed to escape her on Onderon, and finally it was time to go after the woman. Whether it meant capture, redemption or worse, she didn't know just yet — they'd have to confront her and go from there. But she was glad to have a friend with her who she could trust, and she hoped he was ready for it.

She was, after all, asking him to go after another Force-sensitive with her.

This one a dark side clone of a Jedi she once knew, so there was a lot of inherent danger again. But during Valery's last encounter with the woman, she had also noticed that she wasn't quite as strong anymore. While that was years ago, she believed it to be connected to the cloning process. Maybe she just wasn't that powerful anymore, or something had gone wrong in the process.

Whatever it was, she felt confident she could handle her with Gatz.

<I've arrived at the spaceport. Once you're there, we'll head out.> Valery told Gatz over comms. They were taking his ship for the journey, so he could fly and handle that part of it. So Valery was waiting with two bags of equipment she needed, and looked up at the sky, hoping to see him appear soon enough.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"I need—"

That was it. That was all Gatz Derrevar needed to hear, before he'd changed course from Corellia to Naboo, to Corellia to Coruscant. Any chance to finally help Valery with something, instead of dragging her along to deal with his issues, wasn't something he was willing to pass up. He'd been so set on helping that Gatz hadn't even given her time to actually explain what she needed help with.

It didn't matter to him. After everything Valery had done for him, he just wanted to be able to give something back. And, finally, he had that chance.

<I've arrived at the spaceport. Once you're there, we'll head out.>

<Waiting on me with bated breath, I see. Give me thirty seconds.>

The Red Night came into view in a flash, her distinctly colored hull easy to spot against the blue skies of Coruscant. Valery had chosen one of the spaceport's open landing pads, as opposed to a proper hanger, which Gatz appreciated. That made landing much easier and quicker, not that he needed the handicap. With a bit of a flourished rotation, Gatz circled the landing pad, before putting his ship down on it. The gear touched the metal deck gently, tiptoed, almost entirely eliminating any sort of shudder that would be caused by such a heavy ship touching down.

A soft landing, and done in twenty seconds instead of thirty? He was showing off, obviously. But considering flying was the only thing of value he had to offer, who could blame him?

A few seconds later, the front loading ramp descended, and Gatz walked down it. He moved a lot easier than he had on Nar Shaddaa, no longer with a slight limp. and lacking any obvious pain in his thigh.

"Need help with your bags?"

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

<Waiting on me with bated breath, I see. Give me thirty seconds.>

<You have 20,> Valery said with a roll of her eyes, while she looked up at the sky and... he actually managed it in 20. His landing wasn't simple and stiff either — he even rotated his ship around and tried to make it look fancy. "Show off..." she muttered to herself before the ramp lowered, and Gatz made his way outside. She greeted him with a kind smile, and walked over with the two heavy bags in her hands.

"Nah, I've got these. Not walking on heels this time, so it's easy enough." She held up the two bags, looked at them for a brief moment, and then lowered them down by her side again.

"You look a lot better too. Fully recovered from all those injuries?" she asked before a grin tugged at her lips. "And without me having to kick you into a bacta tank too, I'm impressed." She was clearly feeling in the mood to mess with him a bit, though she expected that to change very soon. Last time she saw the clone, it wasn't easy because it meant a confrontation with someone who looked and felt like someone she once cared about.

A dear friend.

"You ready to go? I'll brief you more once we're inside. I first want to drop these bags off somewhere."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Oh, Valery. She actually thought he wouldn't be able to do in twenty. He sure showed her.

She held two bags, but insisted that she could carry them just fine. Which suited Gatz just fine: she was far stronger than he was anyhow. To her, those bags were probably as light as a pillow. But, far be it from him to not at least try to be a gentleman. That was one of those things that good men did, and though he still struggled with his own self-doubt sometimes, Gatz had finally come to the conclusion that he could be a good man one day.

"Well, I figured if I didn't get better, you'd just dunk me into a bacta tank yourself," and she most certainly would, he knew, "so I figured I'd save us both the trouble, and the argument, and actually take care of myself. Just this once though."

Gatz expected narrowed eyes at that, but that was fine. Driving each other up a wall while also having the utmost faith in each other was sort of how their friendship worked. And their friendship was the brightest light in his life, something Gatz wouldn't trade for the world. That was why he was here: the chance to help Valery, or her husband, or her children was the only way he'd ever be able to repay her for altering his fate.

Funny, how one random mission to the Unknown Regions had changed his whole future. And he still didn't know why she'd chosen him out of all the pilots available to her, including her own husband. Maybe he'd ask one of these days.

"You know which room is yours," Gatz had begun dubbing the cabin across from his as "Valery's Cabin," on account of how often they worked together, "take care of your things. When you're ready, you know where to find me."

In the cockpit, in the pilot's seat, the one place in the galaxy where he truly belonged. Plus... someone had to actually fly them off of Coruscant.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Just this once?" Her voice sounded almost threatening, while she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You better take good care of yourself, or me kicking you into a bacta tank will be the least of you worries." She glared at him a moment longer, before she decided to move on from the topic and stepped inside the ship with her two bags. It mostly had winter gear inside, ranging from a thick coat to climbing equipment.

The planet they were going to was quite unforgiving, after all.

"I'll find the way," she then said with a chuckle before she walked down the hallway, found the room she had been given last time, and stepped inside to just drop off her stuff. Most of it was packed up nicely inside the bags, so she didn't bother moving any of it out and just left it there.

Soon enough, she stepped into the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot seat with a grin, "Well, I think you're going to love where we're going this time. No hutts, no slavers or other really nasty people. Just... it's a little cold."

"We're going to Hoth."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"Hard to take care of myself, when you consider the kinds of bullshit we deal with. Slavers, crime lords, Sith Knights: this kind of work isn't nearly as easy for me as it is for you," Gatz shook his head, "It's a miracle I'm even still alive—oh. Oh, I see where you're going with this."

Clearly Valery had strong feelings about the condition he was usually left in after one of their adventures. Considering that one time she'd jumped in front of a blaster for him, another time he'd damn near bled out on her guest bed, and yet another time he'd gotten knifed by a man he thought he could trust... Well, maybe she had a point. Maybe he ought to take more interest in his own wellbeing.

"It's hard to seek medical treatment when you can't stay in one place for too long," Gatz changed his argument, "once we deal with Kragan, and my bounty, I promise I'll take better care of myself. Until then, though, I'll just have grit my teeth and bear the pain when I get hurt."

While Valery went to put her things away, Gatz returned to his chair, plopping himself down in it. He didn't know where they were headed this time around, but he could still get them into orbit before she returned to tell him. With Coruscant's cityscape being built so high into the atmosphere, escaping the gravity well of the planet was child's play, and it was done swiftly.

Swift enough that by the time Valery returned, they were floating in orbit, and Gatz had his feet kicked up on the console.

He resumed a normal sitting position almost immediately after Valery told him their destination.

"What in all the galaxy could you possibly want with Hoth?"

Dammit. He was going to end up freezing to death for this woman. But oh well.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"I'll hold you to that," Valery said when he told her he'd take better care of himself after Kragan was handled. She understood that he was in a tougher spot now, considering he was being hunted down and constantly thrown into dangerous situations. But that wasn't going to last forever, she was sure of it. So without saying anything further on that, Valery retreated to her room and dropped off all of her stuff.

...only to find him with his feet on the console when she entered the cockpit.

She shot him an appropriate glare for it, even though he lowered them quickly and even though it was his ship. Valery then sat down herself, leaned back and dropped the bomb. They were going to Hoth, arguably one of the most inhospitable planets in the entire Galaxy. Even in full winter gear, a proper storm there could easily end up killing you, and that was ignoring the dangerous wildlife, such as Wampas.

None of that bothered Valery though, who was perhaps going to be too stubborn to wear a coat agian.

"Simple, Hoth is close to the Sith Order and I've learned about some abandoned listening posts there, dating back to perhaps even the old Rebel days. I want to see if one can still become functional, so the Alliance can bring assets there to spy on the Sith."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

She was such a mom friend. But Gatz figured she'd take that joke as him poking fun at her age, and kept his mouth shut. There were times when he liked Valery glaring at him, and annoying her with his stubborn streak. "Old" jokes were not that time. Ever. Besides, it was improper to kick his feet up on the console, even if it was his ship.

He was still going to do it, of course. Just not right now.

"Ah, you're finally funneling me toward being part of the war effort," Gatz tutted, "you know, I am a neutral party in all this, being a natural born citizen of Naboo and all. Just, uh, ignore my Alliance citizenship. I didn't get to choose that, I was forced to become naturalized when I was snagged by the Order."

All smarm aside, Gatz did get The Red Night started on calculating the jump to hyperspace. He kicked the ship into gear, maneuvering it to the far side of the planet—he couldn't jump them to hyperspace with a planetary body in the way. Not unless they wanted to be the newest splat against Coruscant's surface.

"In all seriousness though... I get why you asked me to take you," Gatz frowned, "that's awfully close to Sith Space. I should be able to get us in and out silently, provided there isn't a Sith fleet waiting for us."

Gatz did not like Sith Space. Sith were extremely aggressive in how they dealt with the criminal element, smugglers included.

"Hell," Gatz sighed, "maybe it's close enough to keep Kragan's bounty hunters away. These days I can't stay in a system for more than four hours at time, without someone trying to ambush me."

He was so tired.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Better late than never," Valery said with a smirk about his comment over joining the war effort. "You can still choose to remain neutral, but you're right, I needed a good pilot and you came to mind first." It was the reason they had even met in the first place. She had needed a pilot and managed to get in contact with him for a job.

But she also needed someone she could trust for this one, and that mattered a lot with how sensitive the mission goal was. A lot of lives could depend on it.

"There won't be a Sith fleet, and I don't think you'll have to worry about bounty hunters either. If the Sith threat doesn't keep them away, I'm confident that the cold will." The way she said it made it clear she hated the cold too, but at least she could keep herself warm easily enough. Either with Tapas, or just by literally creating fire.

"At least we should have some shelter in those listening posts. We might be there for a while, and if we get caught in a storm after leaving the ship, it will be hard to get back to it."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

“Well, at least I know I’m good for something.”

He still hadn’t gotten around to asking Valery why she’d chosen him, nearly a year ago now. Gatz still desperately wanted an answer to that question, but he couldn’t find it in himself to voice it. He was too distracted by the idea of going to Hoth, and putting a bee in the Sith’s bonnet. He would do this for Valery, of course. He’d do just about anything she asked of him.

But he couldn’t help but feel a sense of trepidation.

“I left the Order for a reason, you know,” Gatz’s voice was soft; a mournful whisper, “because I saw firsthand what the obsession with eradicating the Sith and the Dark Side could do to a Jedi.”

That old fear beat in his heart, erratically. Flashes of a dark, masked figure. A yellow lightsaber. A glowing red holocron. And bodies scored by fresh plasma burns. The whispers of death in the Force. The unspoken promise that all these things are what would become of him, if he ever toed the line, took a step off the path.

Cruelty. Cold. Shadows. Things that didn’t line up with the Jedi Code.

Why was he remembering this now? They’d dealt with Sith artifacts together before. Fought a Sith Knight together for the sake of children’s lives. He’d worked with other Jedi after Valery, even. Yet, he started recalling those tortured memories now?

Because now you know that Valery was a Shadow, once.

A sharp inhale later, and Gatz was sitting in the pilot’s seat once more, staring at his hands as they trembled around the yoke. He shook his head, and cleared his throat. And he reminded himself that he wasn’t a failed youngling, doing the Council’s bidding, terrified of one of those Jedi visiting him if he didn’t fall in line. He was a friend, fulfilling a request for someone he owed everything to, and if he screwed up she’d just smack him upside the head.

“But, since you’re the one asking, I’ll lend the Jedi a hand.”

Another deep breath, and finally, Gatz managed to still his hands.

“I hold you responsible for making sure I don't freeze though,” Gatz winked, “in whatever form that takes.”

Gatz threw the lever, and jumped the vessel into hyperspace.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"This isn't about eradicating the Sith. This is about stopping them from eradicating others," Valery said with a perked brow. She knew about his dislike for Jedi Shadows, and she wasn't going to get into what she had done as one. But this wasn't even close to how she had handled the Sith or users of the Dark Side in the past. "I was there when the Sith Order attacked the Aing-Tii, and if we can warn people ahead of time with monitoring stations, we'll save countless lives."

Valery watched him for a moment then, noting the internal struggle he had about all of this. She wasn't going to call it out or try to get him to open up, but she did want to be careful. He was willing to do a lot to help her, but pushing him into a situation that was deeply uncomfortable to him wouldn't really benefit anybody.

"So if it helps, don't do this for me or the Jedi. Do it for the people on worlds around their territory. They've never stopped expanding, so it's only a matter of time until more people lose their homes."

A deep breath followed, and it seemed he was composing himself again. He even made a joke that got Valery to roll her eyes, but as always, with an amused smirk. "Bring your winter clothes, and we'll likely be just fine. I can start a fire very easily if I have to, but we have to get fairly unlucky if we end up needing that."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Right. Valery was right. This wasn't some assassination mission they had planned. They were just going to some ice ball planet to flip a few switches, so that they could do a little sleuthing. The Sith invaded whole worlds in their thirst for conquest, so why wouldn't the Alliance and the Order want a heads up about that? This wasn't Shadow work, this was about making sure entire worlds didn't get plundered.

So why did he still feel so uneasy about it?

A deep breath, another of his trademark dumb jokes... they'd only calmed the tempest inside him for a moment. Yet the conflict in him still brewed, logic and emotion strangling one another, but neither could win and all he was left with was his fear. Almost overwhelming, but he'd lived with it his whole life, so Gatz managed. Just barely.

"Doing it for you is what helps," Gatz was trying to convince himself as much as he was her, "but you're right. This could save a lot of people. That's a hell of a lot more important than my neutrality or my issues with..."

He ended that with a sigh, and a shake of his head. He tried not to think about the Order most of the time, or the reasons he'd left, or why he still found so much resentment in him for the organization even fifteen years later. And, frankly, it didn't matter. The Sith were an issue far larger than him and his own problems, and even if they hadn't been, he'd still be here because Valery asked it of him.

Then Valery mentioned luck, or rather, that they wouldn't freeze unless they were particularly lacking in it.

"Valery, you brought me along. What about my life has ever seemed like good luck to you?" Gatz scoffed, trying and failing to inject any humor in his words. "It's gonna be a long jump. Best go get some rest. I'll... stay up here for a bit, make sure nothing goes wrong."

A partial lie. He needed to go over his finances with R4, wherever the astromech was hiding. Gatz just didn't particularly want Valery catching wind of how close to destitution he was.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"You can do things for me because we're friends, and I'd do a lot for you as well. But don't forget why I'm doing this. I don't want you to just blindly do something because I asked." Because if something would ever compromise the way she acted or the way she made decisions, she wouldn't want Gatz to follow along with it. Not that she thought he would, but it was important to her that he viewed this mission as important, and more than just a favor to a friend.

A lot of lives were at stake here.

Valery then watched him for a moment after his sigh, and she realized that he had a lot more to think about than she thought. Her hopes for this mission had been to work together on something a little less dangerous and demanding. A goal they could both get behind and work towards without any friction or severe problems.

But it seemed his past as a Jedi brought up a lot more than she had anticipated.

"...Alright, I'll go get a bit sleep, then," she said after he scoffed again. He didn't really seem to be in the mood to talk much more, and she didn't want to argue again. "I'll see you in the morning."

She offered him a smile and retreated to her room.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"Don't worry," despite his anxiety, Gatz did his best to reassure Valery, "you haven't indoctrinated me yet. I'm helping you because I want to, and because what you're trying to do is good, not because it's my prime directive. And I feel like we've had enough arguments to prove that I don't just do things because you ask them of me."

For two friends who cared a great deal for each other, they sure did come close to strangling one another a lot. In a way, though, Gatz appreciated that. Sometimes he needed a good ole fashioned smack upside the noggin. And sometimes Valery needed to be yanked off her high horse.

A Jedi Master who lacked compassion for the less fortunate and the choices they were forced to make to survive, and a scoundrel who could only defend them despite how horrid their actions might be. Nar Shaddaa had taught him a lot about their conflicting world view. Valery had a very rigid, white and black style of morality, and everyone had to fall into it. She only accepted seeing greys when it came to people she cared deeply about. But Gatz only ever saw shades of grey, and was far more accepting of people's moral faults. Too accepting.

She saw no value in criminals, had no compassion for them. But he saw too much value, and showed too much compassion. No wonder they bickered so much. Neither one of them was willing to bend, headstrong as they both were. But maybe that was a good thing: they balanced one another out when they worked together. Even if they drove each other up the wall. Which they did. Often.

"See you in the morning," Gatz decided not to enlighten Valery of those thoughts bouncing through his head.

As Valery left the cockpit, and entered the hall, a green trash can of a droid rolled toward her. It stopped, seemingly stunned, and chimed nothing for a few moments. Its head rotated, pointing its large eye at the cockpit, then back to Valery, then to her cabin door. It repeated this motion two or three times.

<Snoop around in his fridge.>

And then R4-Z3 rolled past her as if he had said nothing.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

After leaving the cockpit, Valery decided it was best to rid herself of her thoughts. She didn't feel like arguing anymore, and she didn't want to get too deep into his character or her own again. On Nar Shaddaa, it had gone unpunished but it was a huge risk to go through all of that on a mission.

She couldn't afford anything to go wrong here because of disagreements or demons of the past. They both had to stay focused, so to make sure she was, Valery planned to go meditate in her room before falling asleep.

At least, until his droid intercepted her and told her to look in his fridge. That alone was odd, to say the least, but the way he kept looking between her and the cockpit suggested that it was something Gatz didn't want her to find out. It made her hesitant for just a moment, but after his droid left, she decided to go take a look.

What she found, or rather what she didn't find, was extremely worrying.

"Are you in trouble with food supplies, Gatz?" She asked directly after stepping back into the cockpit. "What's going on and why didn't you tell me?"

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

He was broke. More broke than his family had been when Mom first got sick.

Gatz sighed, sagging back into his chair: the passenger seat behind the pilot seat. R4 sat in front of him, projecting a holographic display of his bank account. The droid was reminding Gatz of how much money he'd spent, how much he had left, and his projected costs for the next two weeks. Those costs were far, far more than he could afford. Just another thing to weigh on his mind, along with the constant bounty hunters, freezing to death on Hoth, a potential Sith presence on the planet...

And coming to terms with the fact that the person he admired most in the world had once been the thing he'd feared the most.

Naturally, that was when Valery stepped back into the cockpit, clearly having seen the state of his fridge: containing a single tube of nutrient paste, and a bottle of water.

"Just haven't had time to go shopping," Gatz was quick to lie, too quick, "busy and all that. I'm fine."

Gatz waved his hand, trying to dismiss the clear hologram of his ruined finances. R4 just rolled out of his reach, letting the projection go undisturbed, on full display for the Jedi Master. That alone should have informed him of what would happen next.

<He's lying. He hasn't had a full meal in weeks, because he can't afford food and the sheer amount of fuel he needs to be constantly making jumps to hyperspace in order to avoid bounty hunters.>

"That's enough, Arfour. And technically I had a full meal at Valery's."

Two weeks ago. Also known as the day he'd brought danger to her doorstep, and her children.

<He can't make money by hauling freight while being pursued, so he sold his tiny home on Naboo in order to afford fuel and food, but then he spent most of that money on bribes to get you two that invitation into Jekerro's party.>

"Thank you for revealing my finances like that."

Gatz pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated with his droid, but lacking the anger and vitriol to raise his voice at the damn astromech. As humiliating as this situation was, he understood what the green trash can was trying to do. This was everything that Gatz hadn't wanted, but a droid looked out for its master, if it was a good one.

<So now he's back to square one. He has to somehow survive two more weeks until Kragan's big debut, and he'll be out of credits for food and fuel in two to three days.>

"I hate you, you stupid tin can."

<Even if you stopped Kragan today, he'd still be broke, starving, and homeless. And his ship would still be doomed to become a paperweight floating in space. Because no fuel.>

Gatz just let out a long sigh, and stared at the metal deck between his feet, too ashamed to even look in Valery's direction.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Valery didn't even speak.

She could have pointed out that his meal at her place was 2 weeks ago, or simply join his droid in talking to him about his terrible situation. But none of that would really make a difference. He'd still have no food, very little water and he'd be running on fumes within days from now. It'd mean he'd have to sell his ship or something far worse than some untrained bounty hunters coming after him would follow.

A heavy sigh followed, and she hoped to catch his gaze again, despite it falling to the floor beneath his feet.

"Gatz... I'm not your mom and won't tell you what to do or how you have to live your life, but why didn't you tell me? You used all your credits for a mission we both were on, so I could have at least shared half of the cost." In reality, she'd easily pay for his meals and water, but she figured that he didn't want her to help him with everything. So an argument about fairly splitting costs might work better.

"The fuel costs are to fly me around a lot as well. I'd have been more than happy to help cover for things, and I certainly won't let a friend starve." She paused and looked at his droid. "Can you find a nearby place where we can just pick up some food? Hoth can wait the extra hour."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Gatz had expected fury from Valery. Or overwhelming concern. Annoyance, even. He'd been on the receiving end of all three of those before, and while he didn't particularly like any of them, he could deal with them. The fury he could match, even if he didn't want to. The concern he could brush off, even if he secretly appreciated it. And the annoyance he could accept, even if it made him feel agitated.

Her sigh, though... that was disappointment. It felt so impersonal, too. Suddenly, Gatz no longer felt like a valued friend, but like one of those criminals at Jekerro's party that she'd hated so much. And Gatz couldn't handle that; feared that, almost more than he did Kragan Garr and Jedi Shadows. If it were possible to feel any more ashamed than he already did, then he most certainly did.

And he still didn't look up at Valery.

"There were plenty of reasons not to tell you," his voice was barely a whisper, "I didn't want to worry you. Didn't want to anger you. Didn't want to burden you, especially since that's all I ever seem to do. And... I was ashamed. I survived six years working for the worst kinds of people, never needing any help aside from what Roche taught me. I was independent, I was confident, but most importantly, I was competent. And then I go straight, and suddenly I can't do anything without you holding my hand, or I manage to fuck it all up. Including, it would seem, taking care of myself."

Hell, he couldn't even protect himself half the time. This whole last year was one long experience with failure and humility. And he hated it. He was as unhappy as he'd ever been.

<We've barely been in hyperspace for a couple of minutes.> R4 chimed in, almost happy, <Coruscant is still closer than anything. I could perform an emergency deacceleration, and turn us back around.>

Gatz grumbled at that, but didn't offer any actual resistance.

---

Tags: Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Spaceport

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Have you considered that maybe by not telling me, you're only worrying me a lot more? How do you think I feel finding you here, practically slow-starving yourself to death because you didn't want to tell me you were out of credits?" She frowned and looked at him, even though he wasn't looking up to meet her gaze. It wasn't often that she felt disappointed, but this was certainly one of those times. If his droid hadn't said anything, would he have just never told her a thing and died one day?

That worried her more than anything.

"You've gone through a lot of change, and if that means you need a bit of help to stay up on your feet, there's no shame in asking that of a friend. What is pride or wanting to avoid worrying me worth when you run out of food and die? I'd find out and learn that you died over something that I could have easily prevented without any real effort." The guilt she'd feel for not having picked up on it sooner would have angered her.

Valery then glanced at his droid and dipped her head, "Bring us back around, we're getting enough supplies to last a while. Perhaps extra because of where we're going - we need rations in case of emergencies."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"I had considered it," Gatz sighed, "and I knew you'd be distressed by it. That's why you weren't supposed to find out at all. You have a Jedi Order, a Galactic Alliance, and a family to look out for. You shouldn't have to look out for me. But I suspect Arfour tipped you off, despite my wishes."

The droid had mentioned asking Valery for help, after all. Gatz had immediately declined the idea, twice, but it seemed like the green trash can had taken matters into its own hands. As frustrated as that made Gatz, he also appreciated it in a way. The pilot knew he'd never have been able to tell Valery himself, not with the way his pride and ego had gotten in his way. R4 was looking out for him, even if it meant that he had to deal with the shame and embarrassment of this whole situation.

"I've asked enough of you, Valery," he knew she was probably tired of hearing that every time they got together, "this all started because I strong-armed you into helping me on Sovereign Station. I got you shot. I showed up bleeding out on your doorstep, and put your children in danger. I made you face a Hutt of all things for me. And I've yet to ever do anything for you in return."

With a long sigh, Gatz finally found the courage to look Valery in the eye. The concern he found there only made him feel more guilty.

"I've been using you like a crutch. I've... regressed to someone who can't do anything for himself, and I don't want to be that. Eventually, I have to start solving my problems on my own."

The ship shuddered, warning alarms chiming as R4 made an emergency deceleration from hyperspace. They came to a stop in the space between stars, before the droid used its manipulator arm to socket into the ship's computer. The Red Night slowly made a half rotation, before the astromech jumped them back into hyperspace, in the direction of Coruscant once more.

<Coruscant bound again. Shouldn't be more than five minutes.> With that said, the droid rolled out of the cockpit.

---

Tags: Valery Noble