Private Of Starships and Sunsets

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Fondor Shipyard

Aurelion couldn't help but wish his old astromech companion was with him as he swept his sky-blue eye over the docked vessels. The myriads of curves and sharp edges, billows of released air pressure, and light chirps from passing mechanic droids created a wholly foreign atmosphere to what Aurelion had experienced lately in his life. The dark, ominous chanting and ancient, hallowed temples of the Sith were a far cry away from the industrial powerhouse of something like Fondor. He would almost say otherwordly but, well, that was maybe too accurate in this case.

The darkness within him was unusually quiet, not the barest hiss or unnatural chill, as if even it were aware that the choice Aurelion made was for the potential benefit of both their survival and thus did not interject to risk disturbing his thoughts. Though this did not stop him from pausing mid-stride, eye narrowing, before a familiar light in the Force brought forth a hateful hiss from the darkness within. A hiss that Aurelion quickly suppressed and would ball his fists for a brief moment, unable to completely fight the surge of dark-filled hate that coursed through him. Even as Valery Noble no doubt felt his presence in return, Aurelion made no action to move, barely even to breathe. Their misadventure on Dxun had seen them at least work together but he had no idea how she may react to him now. Especially if she revealed him as a hostile Sith. He didn't know how the Confederacy's security may react.

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[Valery Noble]

Of Starships and Sunsets​

---

Location: Fondor
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Aurelion Nova

Valery was finally adjusted to this new Galaxy she had woken up in. So much so, that she began to explore and travel a lot more as well - she had to still fill in a lot of gaps in her memory, and familiarize herself with the exact details about ongoing events. This, unfortunately, meant she had to make stops along the way for maintenance as well. The best part of it to her was that it gave her a moment to stretch her legs.

This time, her stop would be at the Fondor Space Station, which was located just within the borders of Confederacy space. It was a faction she knew very little about, but at least they weren't hostile towards her.

After making her landing, the canopy of her X-wing opened up and Valery would step outside. She took off the black helmet that she typically wore inside, and shook out her long hair. Looking around at the busy spaceport, she sighed. The woman wasn't one to get overwhelmed by busy locations like this, but she preferred peaceful, quiet places a lot more.

But as her senses adjusted to the new environment, she felt a familiar presence through the Force. One she hadn't felt since her crash-landing on Dxun, several months ago. There was no doubt about it, this was Aurelion Nova but she had no idea what brought him all the way out here.

With her weapon strapped to her belt, she decided to head away from the landing area, and she began to walk through the spaceport now, her eyes scanning the area. If a bad confrontation were to occur, she'd have her weapon but she feared security wouldn't respond to it very well.

So for now, she kept her eyes open for him while her X-wing would hopefully get the necessary maintenance done to it.

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Aurelion was not quite sure what to do in this situation. He felt like a fish out of water, like he was meeting a bird underground, and something he realized most never considered was exactly what those they once considered enemies did when not on the battlefield. As if their lives simply began and ended at the other end of a weapon. Thinking about it now it was obvious that a wandering Jedi Master would need repairs for her ship as the Force could not do everything. He himself was here for a similar purpose after all, and lived a life separate from their interactions. Even so he could still feel the slightest echoes of their initial meeting as she drew closer and that inner darkness's response in kind. Still hungering to devour her, all light, but now it was much easier to suppress without his constant exposure to the Dark Side among the Sith.

Releasing the breathe he was not even aware he had been holding Aurelion decided to spite the darkness within him, and wandering away from where Valery Noble was he made his way into the attached civilian district of the shipyards. Where one could find lodging, food, entertainment while their vessel was being tended to. With a small, shining ember of defiance to his darkness Aurelion purchased some Atrisian teriyaki noodles, two orders, and some sugar-covered round donuts with sweet-cream filling. Nodding a small thanks and murmuring a quiet "Thank you...." Aurelion would take the food to where he had felt Valery land and seat himself. his gaze wandering over the impressive X-Wing that seemed to belong to her before fidgeting in place.

In hindsight he hadn't exactly thought of how awkward it was to simply sit and wait with some food for her to return but.... well.... this was the only place he knew she was likely to be at some point and was, in his mind, less threatening to wait here openly than follow her around the shipyard. Though even just the thought of that made him grimace and be even more confident he had made the right choice. He was done playing at being an infiltrator, an assassin or anything of the sort. Instead he was just going to be Aurelion and, hopefully, Aurelion and Valery could get do more than not fight one another over some nice food.





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[Valery Noble]

Of Starships and Sunsets​

---

Location: Fondor
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Aurelion Nova

After taking care of all the necessary paperwork for her ship, Valery decided to walk around for a bit. She still sensed Aurelion's familiar presence and for a moment, it was almost as if they had passed each other. He seemed close at first, but now his presence in t he Force had shifted into a different direction.

She let out a soft sigh and decided to put it in the back of her mind for now. There were some other items she needed for her travels as well, such as tools and small parts for on the go repairs. It was only once she took care of all these little things, that she began her return to the Hangar where her X-wing was being worked on.

It would likely take some time, so she wondered if she should get something to eat while she was here..

But as she returned to the Hangar, she felt it again - he was close and each step she took towards her ship only made the feeling more intense. His inner darkness, but also his conflict - she could sense it again. Valery then finally stepped into the Hangar, and looked over at her ship, but her gaze quickly shifted to Aurelion, who was sitting nearby with some food.

She tilted her head and felt her body grow a little more tense. The first time they met, there was a brief clash between them. The second time, their situation had forced them to work together, and he had even taken on an injury for her. But despite this, putting too much trust into him wasn't something she could do. Some Sith were so focused on their own survival that in the toughest moments, they seemed reliable - it masked their true deceptive nature.

Valery didn't know enough about Aurelion to draw a conclusion. Right now, she still felt his darkness as well, and as long as it was a part of him, she'd have to be careful. It could lash out, even against his own will.

"What brings you here?"​

the woman asked as she approached him and gestured for the hangar with her ship in it. She decided being direct and somewhat confrontational was likely the better option. She was also quite curious about his intentions, and what all had changed during her months away on meditative retreat.

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

"The Sith would tell you kindness is a lie wrapped in an illusion of harmlessness. But what greater weapon is there than to turn someone from an enemy to a friend?"


As the various background noises of the shipyard at work surrounded Aurelion, creating an almost blanket of incoherent clangs, mumblings and sparking noises it became oddly easier for him to center his thoughts. To focus on the tasks of maintaining what control over himself that he could while his inner darkness forcefully dragged his attention into the separate task of sensing Valery Noble 's every move while also wrestling it for control of his senses. A twitch of a finger here, a sudden spike of his heartbeat there, it continued even now to hunger. Even now to lull him with murmurs of peace and acceptance. A temptation that he could not even bring himself to be angry at, simply exhausted by the act of refusing. Like an exhausted man knowing he had work to do and not going to bed in the waning hours of the night.

Feeling her somehow familiar presence approach he drew in a halting, fortifying breathe and slowly swallowed down a simultaneous effort of control and would busy his hands with twirling a pair of chopsticks between his fingers as he lifted his blindfolded gaze up to watch the Jedi Battlemaster approach. Compared to their past meetings his perspective on her felt more... raw. The first time they had met he had felt far from lucid, almost dream-like due to the echoes in the Force that even now seemed to resonate between them. While the second.... had been a bit too inconvenient for him to do all too much thinking.

Now? Now he noted the way in which she carried herself, reminding him of the Masters he had known before. Josh Dragovalor most of all but even just the slightest of the way in which Darth Prazutis carried himself. Though far from the domineering, imperial weight that seemed to both draw and smother the eye of those who gazed upon him. Instead she conveyed confidence, while also seeming calm, with long hair framing her shoulders and body perfectly he could only imagine how much more.... odd he looked. Garbed all in black and.... wait had she said something?

Shaking his head briefly Aurelion hardly realized he had been, beneath his blindfold, staring quite earnestly. A faint flush to his cheeks only lessened by the thought that at least with the blindfold it wasn't COMPLETELY obvious. Shifting in his seat a bit he would slowly use a hand to slide one of the containers of noodles in Valery's direction. Taking a moment to clear his throat, open his mouth to speak, before wincing slightly as his inner darkness made a very pronounced thrash against his self control. An act which made him wince and, turning his head away slightly, took a few silent moments to gather himself before setting the chopsticks he had been fidgeting with down for her as well. His voice a slow, tentatively more level thing as he murmured "I just.... came here to find a ship." Taking a moment to tense his jaw he added "And well..... I wanted to make amends o-or at least umm...." His hands flexed and closed nervously before he retracted them, his own gaze dropping to the offered container he offered her as his voice softened as if he was speaking more to himself than to her ".... show someone I'm not a monster. Just that I have one....."


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[Valery Noble]

Of Starships and Sunsets​

---

Location: Fondor
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Aurelion Nova

The brunette's head tilted as her question was initially met with silence, and what seemed like a blank stare. But with a shake of his head, she watched him snap back to reality, although with some discomfort about what just happened. Her hand then shifted to the small container that was pushed her way, and she felt the warmth of the food inside. She blinked and seemed somewhat surprised, but made no comment about it yet. Her eyes shifted back to him.

Standing this close, Valery was better able to feel the darkness within him. It had the tendency to respond to her presence rather aggressively, and this third meeting seemed to be no different. The more surprising thing was how he seemed to want to control it around her, rather than allow it to strike. Aurelion wasn't like any of the Sith or Dark-siders she had met since her awakening - but he was still caught in the grip of the Dark Side.

"I just.... came here to find a ship."

The brunette's eyes narrowed and she gestured for the hangar he was in, "I hope you weren't planning to take mine." she said in response to his first few words. But she immediately recognized that it was rather harsh, and her expression softened as a result. For a while now, she had resumed her duties and much of that involved striking against Dark-Siders and their creations - it had made her far less tolerant of those tainted by it. She still wondered why that brought him to her hangar specifically though, but that question was quickly answered as well.

She watched his gaze shift down towards the container with noodles and his nerves echoed through the Force. Even without her skills with Force Empathy, she'd likely be able to notice it purely through body language.

"I can sense it," she said after a moment of silence, following his remark about the monster within him. Valery hadn't only sensed it, she had seen it before as well, during their first clash and even on Dxun. The relationship between it and Aurelion seemed strained at best, but yet he seemed to not be able to separate himself from it.

"If you want to show that you're not a monster, you must be willing to face your inner darkness." she then added. As a Jedi, facing one's inner darkness was part of the path to becoming a Jedi Knight - the Trial of Spirit, they called it. But for Aurelion, it had a more literal meaning as well.

"To sit by idly and allow your monster to terrorize others is no way to live. I've seen you stop it before, but that's only a first step. You can't allow it to control your life." she said before she opened the box of noodles.

"How do you plan to overcome your monster?"

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Location: Fondor
Tag: Valery Noble



The stinging comment about taking her ship only made Aurelion wince, physically withdrawing a bit from Valery, though he did notice her expression soften afterwards. He understood her reaction, given their past, while his darkness hissed for vengeance. He nearly hung his head in shame, wanting to withdraw from her, and thinking that perhaps his choice to approach her was a mistake. The only thing that stopped him was her confirmation of sensing the darkness and, oddly enough, that she called it well.... 'it'. A small ember of hope alighting in his chest as she recognized it as something different than himself, something separate, and he would tentatively raise his blindfolded gaze to her as she confirmed what he had feared since being taken by the Sith. That he would have to face it himself.

Despite the pang of fear that rocked him, his breathe catching in his throat, her next words filled him with a crushing sense of.... guilt? Remorse? Disappointment in himself? The idea of his inability to face his own problems hurting others immediately made his gut twist in revulsion. Only heightened by the thought of it hurting Taozi Fuyuan or Tabitha. Strangely enough the fact that Valery even accepted the food he had brought made him feel some measure of peace or, perhaps, it was relief? She at least seemed willing enough to believe him to eat. 'Not something someone would do around a monster.' He thought to himself.

Valery's final question hit him like an electric bolt, and he was not at all sure how to feel about it. He had spent so long, gone through so much, just to work up the courage to even forge ahead through the darkness he had found himself in. To even try to be something other than at it's mercy. Resistance was all he had thought about, but overcoming it? Never.

His throat seized in consternation and uncertainty, his hands idly setting to picking at his own food as he lowered his gaze from Valery. Strangely he found his thoughts clear, but it was a cold, frigid clarity and he simply knew the darkness within him was as curious as Valery was. Eating without even realizing it, and glancing back up at Valery; the pillar of light and confidence that made him grimace at the comparison, he would sigh and weakly shrug his shoulders. Slumping slightly as he decided to, at the very least, be honest with him. "I-.... I don't know. I don't know much about the Force. Only what I can feel from it and others a-and...." His lips would purse together uncertainly. "And several Masters." Going silent for a moment Aurelion's gaze would grow distant as he stared through Valery, thinking back to his assignment to Juno, learning what he could at the Silver Rest, before the forced apprenticeship under Darth Prazutis and could only reach one conclusion.

"I'm.... a horrible Padawan." He would choke out softly, setting the food down in front of him and beneath his blindfold his gaze would refocus on Valery as if she held the answers to his next question. "What kind of Jedi, e-even, what kind of Sith.... can learn from Masters and Dark Lords and be.... a-and be....." He would look down at himself, where the Dark Side tendrils now began to form about him, coiling around him as that comforting cold began to settle over his mind as he whispered out in a harsh, small voice. ".... Me?"


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[Valery Noble]

Of Starships and Sunsets​

---

Location: Fondor
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Aurelion Nova

Valery looked at Aurelion after she asked her question but didn't touch her food. Not because she wasn't hungry or disliked accepting food from others, but simply because she felt this conversation had taken a more serious turn. She wanted to pay attention and make sure she was able to offer sound advice. So as he spoke, he'd know that he had her undivided attention.

"Whether someone is an experienced Jedi Master or powerful Sith Lord does not matter - their titles or achievements don't make them better teachers." she began.

"A good teacher can motivate their student to handle important tasks they dislike and encourage them to pursue their interests and those things they can do well. But above all else, they understand the person they train and adjust their methods to accommodate the students. All that is required from you, a student, is the willingness to learn and grow." she explained with a softer tone to match the atmosphere of the conversation. His voice had grown softer and he seemed more vulnerable than before, so she remained calm and tried to explain things in a way that would hopefully reach him better.

"I do not know who trained you before, but they clearly didn't understand you, and what you want and need. They have used methods such as fear to control you - their intentions were never to have you grow into a capable individual. Instead, the chains they put on you have become the very thing you consider the monster within you."

Her eyes shifted to the dark tendrils she felt - they were his chains. Not the power that could give him the salvation the Sith had likely promised him.

"If you want to rid yourself of it, you must reject the apparent comfort it offers. It may promise you safety or whatever else you desire, but it slowly eats away at you. If you're willing to reject it and fight against it, all you need is the right guidance to remove it permanently. In the end, it must be you who stops this monster, but you can be guided along the way."

Valery now looked down and opened her box of noodles. She hadn't eaten yet, so the smell of the fresh food was quite pleasing to her. But before taking a bite, she'd look up and into his eyes.

"What is it that you want?"

The question seemed simple but hopefully would be the start of a different path for him. It was a choice between whatever the darkness offered him, and rejecting it to conquer the monster within.

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Location: Fondor Shipyard

Tag: Valery Noble


The advice and comfort Valery gave was beyond what Aurelion had expected, and he silently lifted his covered eye to meet her gaze more directly, something he wasn't in the habit of doing. Especially with women considering his past. But her words were exactly what Aurelion, when he was in his right mind, told himself, and then some. He had never been the best with words and now as the beautiful and, frankly, terrifying woman before him softened her tone and looked upon him he felt his throat constrict and his hands clench involuntarily. He couldn't think of anything to say, her question was both simple and incredibly personal, It became quickly apparent to himself that Aurelion couldn't think of anything to say so, instead, he sat down the cup of noodles he had not even realized he had finished and faced his palm toward the ceiling, looked into Valery's eyes through his blindfold, and showed rather than told.

Remembering the lesson Okkeus Dainlei had taught him what felt like a lifetime ago Aurelion attempted to charge his body, calling upon the Force to accelerate him and fill him with energy for speed, precision and haste. Softly, almost hesitantly, would crackling arcs of light purple energy begin to flow up Aurelion's arm and as he moved it side-to-side he could feel tat his arm moved much faster than the simple muscle movements should have carried it. his slightly curled fingers acting as a pseudo- nexus for the energy to spring from. A focal point that he focused on intently, brow knit in concentration before inevitably, he lost control.

Despite his best efforts in the span of a few moments the energy within Aurelion's palms would begin to crackle and hiss, spilling over slightly beyond his fingers as it's hue shifted from purple to red, lightly singeing and in some places burning away his gloves. Only for it to then shift again, his control teetering, and becoming an almost green/blue that caused not physical harm, but for his arm to spasm and tense up. The Force itself seemed to... reject interaction with him. Both Light and Dark twisting and swirling about his soul in a harmful and collateral feud that eventually forced Aurelion to drop his hand to the table. Small wisps of smoke rising from the burnt skin as he stared at it for a moment, then looked up at Valery, knowing what he wished to say. "I.... I want to be accepted. Somehow, somewhere, someway."

His voice growing louder and more certain, he would continue. "I've heard of Jedi who reject and hide their sensitivity. Do their best to leave it behind and try to be someone else. But..... But I-..." His voice would falter as he gently, slowly, lifted his blindfold to gaze up at Valery with his single, bright blue eye. "I've never heard or f-felt the Force itself reject someone who could call on it. Whenever I reach for it, whenever I TRY it just.... hurts. Like I am caught between two walls that are both trying to crush me and pull me apart at the same time." A pause, as he caught his breathe. "I remember being at the Silver Rest on Kashyyyk, a place all the Jedi I have ever spoken to find peaceful, and I do... kinda. But there's also this... loudness to it. Like there's TOO MUCH light or noise or.... something." Aurelio would lower his gaze, sigh, and look back up at Valery. His voice quieter as he murmured "That... is why the dark is so... t-tempting. it's quiet, it's...." His bright blue eye would slowly, but surely, begin to bleed a soft amber red from his iris as he mumbled "... easier." Taking a moment to close his eye and collect himself, when he opened it a moment later it was back to it's usual bright blue and he was silent......





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[Valery Noble]

Of Starships and Sunsets​

---

Location: Fondor
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Aurelion Nova

Valery remained quiet and watched what he showed her with a more serious expression.

"Nothing worth it in life is ever easy to obtain," she finally said as she watched his eye shift back to its natural, blue color. She knew this all too well herself - as far as she had come in life, none of it had come easily. Her face still carried the marks of her mistakes, she had lost dear friends and even the stasis came with obstacles she had to overcome. But she never gave up, and fought through it all to become the woman and Jedi she was today. "The Dark... this monster, might offer you easy comfort, but it clearly has its cost." she added.

Valery then paused for a moment and looked at the damage his earlier display had done - the burns and damaged glove. To some extent, it reminded her of the conflict within herself that she had learned to control and accept, but this was far more fundamental.

"If you want to be accepted, you must first learn to accept yourself and who you truly are." she now gestured for his hands, "I don't think this is what you are. As much as it feels easy, you've tried to suppress this monster, as you call it, every time we've met. You don't want it to hurt other people, yet you understand it will if you were to let it take control."

Valery paused again to take a small breath, and continued with a calm voice, "Perhaps this is why the Force rejects you when you call on it. The Dark monster within conflicts with the person it's tied to. Two sides of the Force always at war within you. Which brings you to an important decision. You either accept and surrender yourself to this Monster, which is easy and gives you an illusion of strength. But you lose yourself and your values. Or at least, that's what I believe will happen."

"Or the more difficult decision - you try to change your path and pursue your own values. You create your own confidence, strength, comfort, and accept who you are. Then you will find that being accepted by others is a far easier and more natural thing. Because they accept who you really are."

She then paused and the softer tone she had shifted to a more serious one.

"Unless I've been mistaken about who you really are deep down. But I don't think that's the case."

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Location: Fondor Shipyard

With: Valery Noble


Valery's advice began to ring true to Aurelion as he gazed up at her, at least her advice about having to accept himself before he could expect others to do so. He followed her gesture, gazing at his injured hands, and pursed his lips slightly in thought. Valery's words began to wash over him like a whirlpool, making his mind light ablaze with both confusion and conviction at the choices she set before him, and he would slowly close his hands and lay them upon the table. Her final statement, about who he truly was, sitting in the pit of his stomach like a stone. The truth he could not, would not, tell her was that Aurelion was unsure himself who he truly was. But perhaps Valery could guess that herself. After all, it was what the whole conversation was about.

Taking the time to look around the hangar, Aurelion's gaze would fall upon Valery's ship, strangely familiar to him in an entire galaxy of vessels. He would glance over it for a long moment, and even with his limited knowledge in engineering it was obvious Valery had put part of herself into the ship. Aurelion would, after a moment, take a deep breathe and turn back to Valery. His jaw tensing ever so slightly as he mad a decision. Perhaps not the smartest decision, but a decision nonetheless. "I.... I think I want to choose my own path. A-At least, to try." His mind now returned to what he had said before about Kashyyyk, and he remembered the darkness that had called to him there, how it had resonated with him. His next words to Valery came unbidden, his face downcast as he stepped forward, approaching the beautiful Jedi with trepidation after he realized he had been unintentionally staring. "I want.... I want to master the darkness inside me. Not by using it but.... to make sure it can't hurt anyone."

Aurelion would take a long pause to steel himself before raising his singular blue eye to gaze back into Valery's admittedly mesmerizing amber eyes and, feeling his cheeks tingle with a soft blush at the action, would look back down at her feet as he struggled to say what he knew he needed to "Valery.... umm... Master Noble. On Kashyyyk I felt a darkness amongst all the light, something that stood out among all the life and peace offered by the nature there, and it spoke to me. Gave me a direction, but seemed to..... sense something in me. Maybe.... Maybe it could tell me something. At least, again, give me a direction. But it's down in the Shadowlands and it's incredibly dangerous and...." Aurelion would trail off, catch his breathe, and finally murmur softly "Would you help me?" A weak shrug would slightly lift his shoulders ass a bit of that fledgling determination would sag from them "I don't... think I can do it on my own...."


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