Private Outlaws in the Outer Rim

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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After rescuing Iris Arani from a group of slavers on the planet Sump, Valery took the young girl to the Praxeum on Ossus to ensure her safety. But while their training would slowly begin there, the slaver problem in those outer rim regions still existed. Normally, she understood that not every small group of slavers could be taken down - there were far too many of them. But she was originally after them for other reason, and now they had shown to be bold enough to capture a Jedi as well. For this reason, she decided it was best to hire some help to begin taking their operations down.​

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Following some thorough research, Valery had learned about a particular info broker who she intended to hire for the job. With a potential meeting location in mind, she transmitted an encrypted message, addressing the woman by her known alias. ​

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To: Effigy​

From: Valery Noble​

Subject: Job offer​

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Effigy,​

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I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble, and I'm contacting you to express interest in discussing a potential job offer. ​

While I'll leave details for a formal meeting, the job requires your skills at acquiring information in less than hospitable places.​

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Should you be interested, I propose the Jadelight beacon as our meeting location, since I can guarantee safety there.​

Alternatively, you may propose a meeting location as well.​

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Hope to meet you soon.​

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After transmitting the message, Valery boarded her ship and decided to fly for the mobile space station already. Even if Amea preferred to meet elsewhere for her own safety or whatever other reason, it was a good location to travel from. One that was relatively close to where the target of this job was hiding.​

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[Amea Virou]

Valery Noble

To: Valery Noble
From: Effigy
Subject: RE: Job Offer

Noble,

Given the nature of first contact and establishing a relationship of trust, I believe you understand why I wouldn't be keen on entering a Jedi-controlled space station.

I instead propose Yiu's noodle shop on the corner of fifth and main, Theed — Naboo.

Should the information requested prove to be too sensitive, I can provide a good secondary place to hold our meeting after introductions have been made.

Do note that as of receiving this message I have authorized a full sweep of any and all information I can gather about you. As such I am reserving the right to cancel and/or leave at any point without further explanation should something feel 'off' about our dealings.

I will either see you there in five days at noon or not at all.

P.S. You should do yourself a favor and try the Nuna Noodles. Extra spice, if asked.

The message was sent and Amea leaned back in her chair. It had been a while now since she had acquired a new customer. Not that she complained, they always came back, but to have someone suggest a Jedi-aligned space station of all places told her enough to allow the mind to wander. She was a Jedi for sure, which meant this was either a self-righteous juicehead, or a misguided do-gooder. One of them she could deal with, the other… Not so much.

And when the results of the search came in she was not left entirely unconvinced. Mostly because the results barely said much at all. All activity could be retraced to fairly recent events which either meant this woman was a Shadow, or she had somehow — miraculously — managed to avoid having a digital footprint.

With her back against the wall, opposite from the noodle stand that she had pointed Valery towards she observed as someone that looked neither out of place, and yet not entirely in place either, stride up. The eyes were hard to miss, even in what little imagery Amea had found — and her sources ran deep.

Amea gave her man on the rooftops a quick nod. They were on, it seemed.

"Nuna Noodle." She said as she approached the shop.

"Extra spice." Yiu added.

"Mhm."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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Valery received the message and smirked to herself - it wasn't entirely unexpected that the meeting location was going to be changed, so it hardly bothered her at all. The background sweep wasn't something to be concerned about either, as there was awfully little to find about her, considering her age and supposed experience. Part of that was due to her time in stasis, but her service as a Jedi Shadow also meant much of her work wasn't documented in a way that allowed the outside world access to it.​

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Amea was surely going to understand and draw her conclusions about the lack of available information - that much was certain. But it wasn't likely going to stop their cooperation, so once Valery had everything ready, she boarded her ship again at the Jadelight Beacon and began the journey to Naboo, a planet she hadn't been to many times before. But one she had heard much about. ​

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Valery had little reason to believe that she needed to keep an extremely low profile on Naboo, so she simply traveled to the spaceport closest to their meeting location. With her lightsabers on her belt and no cloak or robes around her that could obscure who she was, the orange-eyed brunette walked towards the noodle shop.​

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She had a certain confidence in her steps and while she walked towards the meeting spot, she didn't shy away from taking a good look around. Both at the environment and the people who lived there.​

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"Nuna noodles, please," Valery said as she stepped into the ship.​

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"Extra spice?"​

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Valery simply nodded and looked around, her eyes quickly finding Amea. After accepting the noodles, she made her way over and dipped her head lightly in greeting.​

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"Effigy." is all she said to begin their conversation.​

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[Amea Virou]

Valery Noble

She had that air about her. It was hard to deny that part of it was because of her good looks, but this 'Valery Noble' was definitely something else. She had seen things, the scars said that much. The twin sabers said just as much, she was a skilled fighter. Not enough to be of any risk to Amea — naturally — but enough to pose a challenge if this didn't go their way.

"Jedi Master Valery Noble." Amea responded with a short nod. "A bit taller than I expected, but perhaps that in itself was to be expected."

"Now, I assume you didn't seek me out just to gossip." She said and looked at Yiu only to give him a nod and he quietly backed off into the kitchen. "I value discretion, naturally, but I also prefer to know the motivations of my clients."

"What is this about? Revenge? Injured pride? … Cold-blooded murder?"

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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As Valery approached, she was better able to take a look at the woman she planned to hire for the job. Much like herself, there wasn't an abundance of information available about Amea, but her demeanor said much about the type of woman she was. It brought a brief smirk to Valery's face, who greeted the woman with a nod in return.​

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While she was here to hire her for an information-gathering job, the rather tall woman looked like she could hold her own in a fight too. Not that she believed that was going to become a problem but it could be useful, given the territory they were going to be operating in.​

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"You seem to have quite an interesting perception on Jedi," Valery said with a tilt of her head and an arched brow when Amea listed a few possible reasons for Valery to hire her. To her, those would never be motivations to do anything, "But no, I'd say concern is a more accurate motivation." she added.​

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"Recently, I've looked into a criminal group active in the Outer Rim. They drew my attention after bringing a set of dangerous artifacts onto the black market, the risks of which they likely do not understand," she explained as she briefly set the noodles down, having not eaten any yet.​

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"When I tracked them down, I learned they were in the possession of slaves as well, a Jedi they captured included. So whoever these criminals or slavers are, they are willing to take dangerous risks. Not just for others, but even for themselves by going after Dark Side artifacts."​

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She paused for a moment and looked at Amea.​

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"I've... got rid of that particular encampment they had on Sump, but they are still out there. I would like to hire you to learn more about them, and especially their whereabouts." Valery said before tapping one of her lightsabers. "I can handle the rest."​

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[Amea Virou]

Valery Noble

Interesting was how one had to keep it when the variables were too… Varying. Amea raised her brow with a shrug before she took a bite out of the food. The salty broth burned against her tongue as the chili pepper slowly began to unravel against the back of her mouth and throat before it slid down her throat with a slow, steady gulp. As the burn began to spread across her entire body she let her attention set on the counter before the two women.

"Slavers." She muttered with a mounting frown. "So it's vengeance you want then."

"Nah, nuh-uh, nope." Amea said and raised her hand before Valery got the chance to interject. "Don't lie to me, and more than that don't lie to yourself. You don't need to apologize or explain yourself. You caught someone doing something you didn't like, and now you want them all to pay a price. That sounds a lot like vengeance to me, and I respect it."

"Sure, you phrase it as this whole…" Amea raised her hands before her like a shrieking housekeeper, the pitch in her voice shifted up in clear mockery of the idea. "Oh, I am such a good person, I just want to save them from themselves." Amea said and lowered her hands, voice back to normal. "But we both know that is not how this works."

"Would you have given a damn about this if you had never found out about the slaver presence?" Amea asked and raised her eyebrow to question Valery again. "Because given the size of this galaxy, I very much doubt that you would."

In the end, how would this 'Valery Noble' react to being prodded like this? What made her brain play the figurative tick and tock? Amea never did deals unless she knew just exactly who it was that she was dealing with, or had enough of a grasp on it to form an opinion.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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Valery turned to her noodles and decided to take a bite while her attention remained focused on Amea. But as she felt the spicy pepper burn her throat, the woman began to mock her. She tilted her head in response, arched a brow, and set the noodles back down. Not in a way that showed she was about to throw hands, but she clearly felt a need to clear something up.​

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"Oh no," Valery said before she raised a hand in front of her lips while she swallowed a bite of her food.​

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"Perhaps I wasn't clear, but this is not about saving them from themselves," she said. "Far from it. Nor is this about taking down a group of slavers because I'm such a good person." Valery said while she tried to mimic the woman's tone, gestures, and facial expressions.​

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Then with a more serious voice, she continued.​

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"I went after them because of the artifacts - I want to destroy them. Not because of hatred or vengeance, but because that's my job. I destroy Dark Side artifacts." among other things, but those details didn't matter right now. "The fact they are slavers makes it a mission worth more perhaps, but I would have been here eating these way too salty noodles even if there were no slaves involved. I want to hire you so I can do my job." she set down her noodles and pursed her lips forward just a bit, her eyes slightly more narrowed at the woman.​

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Whether Amea believed her or not didn't matter too much. Her reason for this mission was rooted deeply into her path as a Jedi Shadow, and it was something not always understood properly. But at the very least, Amea likely got a better impression of who was attempting to hire her.​

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[Amea Virou]

Valery Noble

The display had one word: principles.

"Well, as far as reasons go, I can appreciate that one too." Amea said and slowly turned around to lean back against the counter and look at the people passing them by. She gave a nod at her gunman to give him the all clear signal and let him leave before she took another bite of her food. "And you didn't argue back or get all defensive about it either, so that's a plus in my book."

She slurped up another piece before she glanced back at Valery.

"You can generally tell if people are good for it when questioning and pushing their beliefs and ideals. I find that being too rigid, or not firm enough, leads to poor customers." She said and weighed the soup bowl in her hand. "Given your footprint, I was already fairly certain of your job as a Shadow. And sure, I may not be as appreciative of the fact that you are going to destroy one of the more valuable commodities available on the market, but hey, as long as the cause is good I don't really care."

Hopefully, Valery was quick enough to pick up on the fact that Amea had carefully chosen the word 'cause' and not 'money'. In the end they both had their principles and Amea hardly needed the credits to get by anymore. Death and loss mixed with inheritance and investments had seen to that.

"If what you need is traces on some slavers running out of this... 'Sump', then I can provide you with that." Amea said and let her chopsticks pinch at a piece of nuna meat in the soup. "Might even throw in a lower price," She added as she leaned in to bite at the piece. Her hand wiped away the broth that ran down the corner of her mouth before she swallowed and continued. "Both as a welcoming gift, and because you are culling the horde of slavers out there in the Rims."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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Valery listened to the woman and offered a soft smile in response. As much as the challenging of one's beliefs and ideals could be seen as unnecessarily confrontational or even bitchy with the way Amea went about it, she did so for a reason Valery could appreciate. ​

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She then turned to lean back against the counter herself and turned her head to look at Amea.​

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"It is for a good cause," Valery said, having picked up on the choice of words. "While these artifacts are profitable..." she rolled her eyes briefly, "...they tend to land in the hands of people with less than acceptable intentions. So putting a stop to that is quite important to me." ​

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Especially with her recent confrontations in former Sith Empire Space, the last thing she wanted was for more of these types of artifacts to become available for them. ​

"If what you need is traces on some slavers running out of this... 'Sump', then I can provide you with that." Amea said and let her chopsticks pinch at a piece of nuna meat in the soup. "Might even throw in a lower price," She added as she leaned in to bite at the piece. Her hand wiped away the broth that ran down the corner of her mouth before she swallowed and continued. "Both as a welcoming gift, and because you are culling the horde of slavers out there in the Rims."

"I appreciate that," Valery said with a chuckle before she reached for something stored on her belt, and offered it to Amea. "This chip has all the data I collected on Sump. The planet is covered in toxic marches, so the navigational data makes it easier to get to the camp I took out if you plan to pay a visit," she smirked and turned her head to briefly look at the noodles again, but she decided against eating the rest.​

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"If I can help you in any other way, or if you need anything else, please do let me know."​

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[Amea Virou]

Valery Noble

A look of surprise fell over Amea, she even recoiled for a second as she grabbed the chip.

"Well that certainly makes things easier." She said and waved it in thanks before she pocketed it. "My agents will put this to good use later."

"Well, as that saying goes — scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. For the moment I have nothing that would warrant the attention of a Jedi Shadow, but there is bound to be something if we give it some time."

"In the meantime while you wait, I could keep feeding you a steady flow of information regarding the movement of Sith artifacts and the likes — for a price, of course. Nothing major, just the ears-to-the-ground rumors that I pick up."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Jadelight beacon​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Link!​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Amea Virou ​

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Valery blinked, "I don't think I've heard that saying-" she blinked again and shook her head to drop that particular topic. Instead, she smiled, clearly content with how this little business meeting went "I hope your agents can make good use of the info, and I look forward to hearing from you."​

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"As for information regarding Sith artifacts, I'm more than willing to offer you credits for that in return. I appreciate it," she smirked and took her noodles from the counter. ​

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"Until next time, then."​

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