Private Pound of Flesh

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

"...You can do that?"

Valery didn't say anything — she just nodded and offered a smirk that really said it all. She was more than capable of getting them both up there, but she did need the woman to agree to it. As easy as it was to lift her up there against her will, breaking her trust like that wouldn't benefit the mission whatsoever.

So only when Kasady grabbed her sniper and readied herself, Valery began to prepare, "I'll be honest, I'm not sure if we can get through this fight without them taking casualties." Unlike before, when Valery had been adamant about non-lethal approaches, she now seemed to feel different about it, "There are a lot of them, and it's an added risk. I'll do my best not to take lives unnecessarily, but I will be ready for it if I need to defend myself or the people they have in captivity."

Her eyes then shifted up and with an explosive jump, she suddenly made her way up the several stories high containers. It was mostly to show Kasady how effortless it was, hoping it would help ease her mind. But finally, she lifted a hand and extended an invisible grip through the Force to slowly and carefully levitate Kasady up beside her.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, hm?" she smirked and gestured down with her head. As expected, the slavers were set up with over a dozen men to guard the two entrance points. Others were busy unloading their new shipment and some were simply chatting with each other. But none bothered to look up. "Alright, take the first shot and then I'll jump down to keep them pressured below."

Valery paused a moment and looked at Kasady again, "Try not to hit me," she grinned and readied herself to jump.

 

[Kasady]

Valery's admission to the risks of this fight earned another skeptical look. Kasady wasn't exactly going to complain, but for the master to be so adamant about her views, only to seemingly backpedal on them now, had the opposite effect when it came to inspiring trust.

Jedi weren't perfect. And neither was their mission.

As far as it affected their current status though, it merely gave her a sense of clarity. Stories were just stories. Heightened fiction to present a broad face that didn't encapsulate the entire, often morally gray, truth.

But Kasady made no further expression of that, beyond her initial look. The only time her demeanor wavered was when Valery raised her into the air, changing into something that resembled surprise; First fearful, but then simply awestruck. Jedi may not be invincible, but they sure had a lot of other tricks up their sleeve. Upon landing she even managed to crack… a smile? Not a snarky smirk, or a sinister grin. A smile. Faint, and subtle, but recognizable.

Quickly, though, business took precedence. Kasady laid prone and set up her rifle, already scanning the area. Her smile took on that more mischievous nature. "I won't." She assured, full of confidence in her own precision. Partway through her survey, one of the guards caught the glint of her scope. "Time to move," He only managed a frown before Kasady fired a shot, hitting the man's hand, which was no longer present after the bolt passed through. He cried out and fell to the ground, "Slaver scum." She felt no sympathy for his loss.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

She had noticed Kasady's smile after the brief moment of flight but made no comment on it. Valery was already in the zone and crouched down beside the woman while she set up her weapon and looked for her first target. When she spotted one and fired, the entire area turned chaotic, as they tried to figure out where the bolt came from, and what exactly they were dealing with.

Valery immediately capitalized on it and jumped all the way down to land in the middle of the docks. This drew attention from all directions, and she hoped they'd believe that there weren't any other attacks. Two violet blades then sprung to life from each lightsaber, and with lightning speed, she began to dash from one target to another.

The lightsabers were used primarily to disarm or deflect blaster fire while she did her best to take them out with unarmed strikes. But it was unavoidable that some were getting injured here, either by a grazing strike of the weapon crippling them, or a kick knocking them against the wooden ground a little too hard. Or, well, from the high-powered sniper rifle cutting them down while they tried their best to overwhelm Valery with superior numbers.

She just made sure to position herself so Kasady's shots were easy to pull off without risking friendly fire, and kept up her momentum until the last one was down on the ground.

 

[Kasady]

Valery leapt down, and Kasady went straight to covering fire. Anyone who looked like they were getting a little too close to the Jedi, or tried to take advantage of their numbers, was quickly taken down with a single shot. She missed on a few occasions through gritted teeth; This is what happens when she has to aim from the extremities rather than the torso or head. But all the same, each hit served its purpose. Losing a limb will put even the most stubborn of pirates out of the fight in an instant.

It was a relatively quick battle; A single explosive assault that capitalized on the moment before anyone could truly get the sense to form a proper counter. When the last of them went down, Kasady stood up and vented the exhaust ports on her sniper. Intense heat radiated off of the weapon with a loud hiss, having come close to risking an overheat at the rate she had been firing.

Confident in their victory, she leapt down to join Valery, her eyes already scanning the scattered pirates, “Is he here?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

"Is he here?"

The question remained unanswered for a few seconds while Valery stood still and controlled her breathing again. Fighting up close against so many without taking lives was far more demanding than it looked, and the pain she felt from them always resonated within her mind. But after she straightened her posture and lowered her lightsabers down by her sides, she finally nodded.

"He's here, but just hiding like the coward he is," Valery said before she disengaged her lightsabers.

Her eyes then shifted to a large container close to where the ship was docked, "There, but he's armed," she said, having felt the danger from within the container. With careful steps, she then made her way over and stepped around the corner. She was instantly met with a blaster bolt, but a hand came up to deflect it away again.

"I think it's best I take that," Valery commented before she pulled the pistol from his grip and looked at Kasady, "Do you want to handle our new friend here?"

 

[Kasady]

Kasady followed cautiously, putting away her long-range sniper in exchange for a pistol as she reached equal ground. The Jedi could sense his presence, and after the bolt went off she ran in behind, only to find that their target had been subdued.

Kasady studied the man with a hint of curiosity. A curiosity that transitioned into shock, fear, and anger, all in the flash of a few seconds, "I know your face…" A step forward. Her hands quaked, "Why do I know your face?!"

A time before replayed in her eyes. A young Kasady, hair dark and short, watched as her master traded the girl and her family to Lord Duras. He moved them to a new mine, one he controlled. It wasn't supposed to be anything different. Same job, same planet. Some years later, that same girl ran frantically towards the entrance of the mine, only to fall to her knees outside its collapsed shaft. Inside, her parents, along with several other slaves, all dead.

"The nova crystal mine. On Mygeeto. You owned it." Her lip twitched. She froze in place but seemed ready to explode. The man seemed to simply watch at first. As it was, her question probably wasn't specific enough.

A man like him owned many people, and many things, on many worlds.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

"I know your face…"

Valery had been looking at the man with confidence, knowing that bringing him in with Kasady's help was going to be easy. But when she heard those words and felt the emotions that came along with them, she lost it almost instantly. Her eyes briefly widened, and turned to Kasady, who looked like she was about to explode against the slaver.

And that's when the reason was revealed.

The man just looked at her, no sign of emotion or regret in his eyes, and he just shrugged, "Yeah? So what?" he almost laughed right in her face while he kept eye-contact, "You managed to escape?" he looked her up and down, "Not really a loss. Frail little-" he couldn't finish his sentence, as the back of Valery's hand whacked him across the cheek.

"Shut up," Valery said with a stern tone. "Kas, you okay? We got him, so it's all over now," Valery cotinued as her attention shifted to the blue-haired woman, who she hoped would be able to keep it together.

 

[Kasady]

“Twenty-three people died in that mine. I knew all of them.” She refuted the man's complete disregard for what happened, finding it impossible to comprehend. It was like looking into the eyes of the devil; The person single handedly responsible for her life hitting rock bottom. He may not have made the mine collapse, but the conditions he enforced, the labor he employed, and the treatment he neglected, all were to blame. Which meant he was to blame.

Valery’s words hardly registered. Some part of Kasady fought to hear her, to latch on to what she was saying, but her vision tunneled, and all she could see was him.

“You just… let it happen. You didn’t care. It was all just… lost profits to you?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

"Hardly," the man said, and just going off of his tone alone, it was evident that he really didn't care about all those people losing their lives working in his mine. The reason he was so public about this was perhaps strange, given his current situation, but he had noticed the way Kasady responded to this bit about her past, and how Valery seemed to try and calm her down.

It was something he could exploit to create tension between the two who held him captive.

"The mine wasn't producing as much anymore, so we cut back on maintenance," he said with an almost evil grin, "And I'd hardly consider those slaves to be lost profits. They were replaced easily enough." He was really trying to rub it in at this point, to an extent where Valery almost wouldn't blame Kasady for ripping his throat out. But she still wanted him alive.

"Kasady, he's not worth it..." Valery said while she took a step closer, trying to get in between just a little.

 

[Kasady]

Kasady stepped forward, but found herself bumping against Valery as she did. She looked between the Jedi and the Slaver, constantly flicking between confusion and fury. Valery had shown her that there were other ways to deal with scum like Lord Duras. Perhaps even… better ways. Kasady looked at her with large pleading eyes, as if hoping that her Jedi powers could wish the problem away entirely. She wanted to listen to her, so very badly. And at first she seemed too, relaxing and stepping back. But one more look at the Slaver’s face was simply too much. His attempt to divide them had worked well.

Too well.

Blam!

In the blink of an eye, Kasady had her pistol aimed at Lord Duras’ face, or what used to be his face. It took a moment for what had happened to even register with her, but the smoking barrel only further proved the action she had very much taken. Her hand shook violently, and with the other she touched at her cheek, where there was now a messy streak of grayish red. She rubbed her fingers together, now also marked with sticky blood, and had a reaction that surprised even her; The faintest hint of a smile twitched at the corner of her lip.

She was glad he was dead. Excited even. It didn’t last long, however, as Kasady was forced to confront Valery now with the raging storm of emotion that spiraled out of her control. “...Y-you shouldn't have helped me.” The gun fell to the ground, and Kasady tried to run.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

Blam!

Much like Kasady, Valery froze completely after the gun went off and killed the slaver instantly. The plan to capture him and use whatever information he had to take down the rest of the operation was off the table now, and she wasn't quite sure if any part of her plan could still be salvaged. It was a huge problem, but not the only one.

Looking at Kasady, Valery noticed the pain in her eyes and felt the tornado of emotions raging deep within her. She felt relieved about what she had done, but was she conflicted at the same time as well? She couldn't quite tell, but Kasady dropped her weapon and tried to run. A quick hand extended to the woman's shoulder to stop her, but Kasady was too fast and broke free.

"Wait!" she called out with widened eyes.

"Kasady stop, it's not safe!" There were still angry slavers everywhere, and she had just dropped her weapon. So without wasting any time, Valery ran after her, trying to catch up without making her think she was going to get aggressive.

 

[Kasady]

"Leave me alone!" Kasady cried out. Everything was falling apart around her. She didn't know how to feel, how to think. So she just ran. Her legs carried like powerful pistons, letting her burst from the scene and eventually leap onto one of the shipping containers around the perimeter.

One of the slavers, now recovering from his earlier subdual, raised a blaster and fired several shots at the fleeing assassin. One grazed her waist, and the other struck the lower spine of her exoskeleton. The machinery wailed, then croaked as the entire lower half ceased functioning, and with a yelp of her own, Kasady tumbled out of view over the other side.

She hit the ground hard, and once the failsafe bolts deactivated, she fought to wriggle herself out from under the claustrophobia of her dead suit. "Nonononono-" Kasady stood up, and only now noticed the burn mark on her side, making her wince. The area was on alert now thanks to all the commotion, and she was forced to slink between containers and crates for cover.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

In her exoskeleton, Kasady was incredibly fast and while she would have easily escaped under normal circumstances, the young woman was too emotional to track everything. The slavers they had taken out were waking up, and after some of them were able to reach for weapons and adjust to the fact they had blacked out, shots began to ring out through the docks.

Two of them connected with Kasady right after she climbed on top of a container, sending her back down but on the opposite side. Valery watched it happen with shock in her eyes, and quickly drew her lightsaber again. With augmented speed, she moved through the docks and this time, she made sure those on her path weren't getting back up anytime soon.

"Kasady!" Valery called out after she jumped on top of the container to figure out where she had gone. The abandoned exoskeleton was right below her, and the young woman seemed to have moved for cover, "You need to trust me!" Valery called out but her position up high made her the big target now, and a lot of blaster bolts were coming her way.

In the middle of that storm, however, she spotted one particularly large brute moving around the crates and containers to flank Kasady. He was armed with a vibro-knife, and his intent was clear — he wanted to kill the much smaller woman.

 

[Kasady]

Kasady heard her voice, but gave no reply. She crept through the maze of containers, and rounded a corner, when she walked straight into the large man who had been stalking her. Instinctively, she reached for her gun, only to find it wasn't there. A gasp of realization as the weight of the moment truly hit her.

No weapon. No suit. Nothing.

The man swiped at her with his knife, leaving a fine cut in her right shoulder. Kasady yelped and stumbled back, getting as much distance between them as she could. She weaved angles, then settled into a corner behind a collection of crates and waited for him to pass. Atop one of the pried open crates was a crowbar, which Kasady took into her hands, and began sneaking up on her assailant. If there was a single advantage she had in this fight, it was her light frame, which lent itself to little other than being quiet.

She raised the weapon overhead, and clocked the man over the head with it. He recoiled, dropping the knife but decidedly more angry than he was unconscious. Immediately he threw the small woman to the ground and clasped his hands over her throat. The struggle lasted only a few moments, but living through it felt like centuries as he began strangling the life out of her. Kasady flailed wildly in search of the knife, fingers eventually wrapping around its hilt, and promptly plunging its blade into his throat. A curtain of blood seeped out, and the man toppled over to the side, dying from the wound shortly after.

Kasady rolled onto her hands and knees, retching for air, when the sound of more approaching forced her back on the move.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

The heavy focus these slavers had to kill Valery kept her from reaching Kasady, who she still felt down below but in trouble. Through a series of quick and precise deflections, she was able to thin the numbers a little, but it was already too late to help the other woman. However, as her senses focused on Kasady again, she realized that she didn't need the help. Somehow, she had fought her way out of the tight situation and was back on the move again.

"Stop, Kasady!" Valery pleaded as she jumped down and moved through the narrow streets with her violet blade drawn. It still drew a lot of attention, but she was no longer hesitant about using her lightsaber to send these slavers down for good. The precision of her deflections had increased, and slowly but surely, the intensity of incoming fire began to fade.

However, they weren't giving up.

As Valery moved forward, a small metal sphere landed just in front of her, bleeping fast — a thermal detonator. Valery was given very little time but managed to project a barrier right as it exploded. The force knocked her onto her back, and the explosion itself left her stunned and with ears ringing.

Slavers were getting closer too, so she was in quite a tight situation herself now.

 

[Kasady]

Kasady jumped into one of the open shipping containers, glued to its wall in fear and uncertainty. Everything going on outside threatened to overload her senses, and she slid down, wrapping her hands around her knees as she tried to block out the commotion.

Then there was one sound she couldn’t block out no matter how hard she tried. An explosion rang in her ears, and made the metal container thrum in the shockwave. But rather than immobilize her further, it spurred action. Kasady looked down at her belt, and was reminded of the one last thermal detonator she still had. “Okay… Okay…” She sniffled, and wiped her blood stained face, before creeping back out into the open.

Toward the source, she found Valery, still in a daze from the impact, and a pang of guilt struck Kasady. Whatever else had gone wrong, or whatever feelings she ultimately had for the slavers, her Jedi partner had done nothing to deserve any fate they would offer. Just then, a swarm of them flooded out of an alley, the first among them pointing towards the Jedi and the ex-slave, and leading the charge.

Kasady weighed the detonator in her hand, activated it, and threw it up between two of the stacked containers. The fiery blast rang out, taking a chunk out of the edge of the lower container, and causing the one on top to lurch forward and topple over. It landed with a powerful thud, right in front of the incoming slavers, and blocked their path. Kasady sighed, relieved that it worked, and then grabbed Valery’s hand, trying to drag her with little success, “C’mon. We gotta go...” Frustration mounted, and already she could hear the slavers searching for a new route, “I can’t, Valery. I can’t-”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

Stunned by the blast, Valery rolled over from her back onto her stomach and tried to look around. The world was spinning, her ears were ringing and her senses had trouble adjusting as well. She could feel danger and even felt the slavers approaching from behind with the intent to kill, but she was hurt and barely able to respond to it.

Was this it?

Valery gritted her teeth and began to fight, as images of her family flashed through her mind, but while she was slowly recovering from the explosion, she feared it wasn't going to be fast enough. Then there was another explosion, loud like the one that had knocked her over, but further away, and much of the danger she sensed faded almost instantly. Her eyes were drawn up and she spotted Kasady rushing back over to help her out.

She felt the woman grabbing her hand, but she lacked the strength to pull Valery up and along. But she didn't need to — the gesture alone offered Valery the strength to push herself back up to her feet, which made it much easier for Kasady to guide her away to safety.

"Thanks..." Valery said as they went around a container for cover, "For coming back for me." She flashed a smile and looked around briefly, "You bought us some time too, so let's get out of here."

 

[Kasady]

Valery getting to her feet was a relief. Kasady simply lacked the strength to lug a full-grown person around, and she felt guilty that, had taken much longer, doubts had already been creeping back in and telling her to run away. Telling someone that your survival instincts almost overtook your desire to help them was never really a fun conversation for either party.

Valery's appreciation was a whole other relief of its own. Visibly so, as Kasady's shoulders seemed to drop some of the tension that had built up. For now though, she said nothing, still frowning shamefully even as she nodded in agreement.

Most of their journey back toward their escape was silent, at least from Kasady. Only once their ship was in sight, did she mutter, "...I ruined everything."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Outer Rim
Outfit: Undercover outfit
Necklace: Link
Weapon: Lightsaber (Concealed)
Blasters: Link
Tag: Kasady

While Kasady had returned to help her, Valery could still feel the pain and conflict within the woman. So while they made their way back to the ship, Valery made sure to keep her covered without necessarily saying it. She wasn't going to allow anybody to sneak up on them, catch them by surprise or even get in the way of their escape. There had been enough death, enough pain — it was time to clear the area and accept what had happened.

Which, to an extent meant Valery had to accept that her mission was only a partial success and at a high cost. The slavers lose their leader, but there was no way they could do more damage, not until things settled down again.

Eventually, the two did manage to get back to their ship without trouble along the way, so the emotions came out a little again, "It's alright," Valery hoped to assure her, "Their leader is gone, and much of their assets are destroyed or damaged." Sadly, they hadn't been able to rescue the slaves, and she knew that would likely bother Kasady quite a bit.

"I'll come back for those people, but we first need to get out of here."

 

[Kasady]

Kasady gave the Jedi a skeptical look, the frown never leaving her face even with those reassurances. She knew full well what her knee-jerk reaction had cost. The slaves, the people she was fighting on behalf of, still in chains. Not even her gear had survived the fight. Kasady had nothing to show for it.

But their leader was dead. The moment of it kept replaying in her mind. She told herself it was because of how distressing the event had been. But the truth was that deep down it brought her some comfort. A fleeting glimmer of satisfaction in this dark hour. He was dead. Put down like the dog he was. In the middle of the dregs he helped build. Reaping what he had sown. And she was the one to deliver it. There was no more fitting end for Lord Duras, in her mind. It was so much easier to focus on his pain. It made things feel, at least on some level, worthwhile.

Kasady took her first tentative steps onto the ramp, and asked the question that now lingered, “...What’s going to happen to me?” Jedi were keepers of the peace, weren’t they? She had shot down a defenseless man in cold blood. The law never quite seemed to function how it should, in Kasady's mind.

Valery Noble​