Private Silence in the Void

[Caelan Valoren]

The transport vessel Bulwark flew at a steady speed through deep space in the galactic northwest of Ilum. Its destination was a research space station, The Aegis, that had been home to Alliance research personnel until it mysteriously went dark. No communications. No transports in or out. A security team was previously sent to investigate the situation, but were not heard from again, leaving people worried about the state of the station and what might have befallen the scientist and security team.

Aboard the transport that was drifting towards the station was their response to this: Jedi. Specifically, Caelan and Grandmaster Noble. Both were seated in the transports bridge, watching out the viewport as they approached the station, the pilots of the transport vessel being careful given the loss of comms with the previous recon mission to the area. Nobody knew what had happened. It could be an Imperial incursion, it could be some alien attack, or it could be a host of other things, but they had to approach with the understanding that it could be anything, or it could be nothing at all.

"The station is completely dark," Caelan noted, looking out the viewport.

"There's no power readings of any kind," the copilot said as he scanned the station. "No lifeforms detected either."

"None?"

"None at all. But look, you can see the security force transport docked at one of the external ports."

Sure enough, as they drew closer, they could see another transport docked at the station. But if the security force had arrived at the station, wouldn't there be life forms within? Or had they all somehow perished? But if there were no lifeforms, how would they have perished? This was, without a doubt, something that warranted investigation by the Jedi. He was glad that he was going with Grandmaster Noble on this one because it seemed something of grave interest. If something had killed off an entire stations crew, and then killed everyone that had so far come to investigate, they needed to find out what it was and make sure it didn't leave.

Caelan turned to look at Val.

"I guess if there's no power on the station there's probably no oxygen. We're going to need EVA suits."

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's fiery gaze remained locked on the looming structure of The Aegis, her expression unreadable as she took in every detail. The station was completely dark — lifeless, silent. No power, no comms, and worst of all, no trace of the people who were supposed to be inside. Yet, the security transport remained docked, untouched. Something had happened here. Something that left no survivors.

A quiet exhale left her lips as she leaned forward slightly in her seat, studying the station through the viewport.

No life signs… but that doesn't mean there's nothing there.

Caelan's voice pulled her from her thoughts. At his mention of the lack of oxygen, she nodded. "Good call," she murmured, glancing toward the copilot's readings. She rose from her seat with practiced ease, her mind already running through the possibilities. Was this an Imperial attack? A containment breach? Something worse?

Whatever it was, they needed answers.

Turning to Caelan, she smirked slightly, though the tension in her stance remained. "let's suit up," she said, her voice calm but firm. "We're not leaving until we know what happened here."

Without another word, she stepped away, heading toward the transport's equipment bay to grab her EVA suit. The station wasn't going to answer their questions on its own — so they'd have to step inside and find them themselves.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Fate beeped at him and he shook his head.

"No, you don't need a suit," he assured the droid. "You don't need oxygen to survive."

He rose from his seat when Valery did and followed her back to the equipment bay, Fate tagging along behind him. Grabbing one of the suits that seemed the right size for him, he began pulling it on but stopped briefly to set his lightsaber on the little droid's head. No sense in having it inside of the suit if he needed it on the outside. Suiting up completely, he was soon encased in a suit complete with its own oxygen supply, lights, and pretty much anything else they'd probably need on the inside. Fate was busy balancing the lightsaber on his head like it was a toy, so Caelan let him continue for the moment.

"Moving to dock now," the pilots voice called over the comms.

There was a slight bump as the transport connected with the station, its magnetic seal locking onto the docking apparatus. Deep space stations were equipped with several, both for ingoing and outgoing transport. The one they'd chosen wasn't far away from where the security team had boarded the station, but far enough to keep them clear of it had both been active and needing to take off.

"Seal secure. Opening access hatch."

As the hatch began to open, Valery would feel an ominous darkness wash over her suddenly, as if something distant within the station was calling out with a dark power. Caelan's dampened sense skills were too weak to pick up on the darkness emanating from the center of the station, and he was too busy watching as the door that separated them from it opened. There was still gravity within the station despite the loss of power due to the rotation of the station itself, which meant they at least didn't need grav boots. Also meant nothing came floating through the door.

What did happen as soon as the door fully opened was that everything electronic suddenly died. The power to their transport? Gone. Fate? Collapsed in a heap on the floor. If the transport wasn't magnetically secured they probably would have floated away. Worst of all, there was no comms, as he was trying to speak through them to the pilots but getting nothing. Acting quickly, he grabbed two more suits and raced up to the cockpit to hand them to the pilot and copilot. They needed them alive, and if there was no power, the oxygen was going to run out soon. Then he returned to Valery because even without the comms they could at least yell to each other.

"No power isn't good. We're going to be running on limited oxygen."

He grabbed his lightsaber and thumbed the activation switch, but nothing happened.

"Lightsaber doesn't work either. Something inside of the station is interfering with all electrical items connected to it."

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery felt it the moment the station's hatch opened — a slow, creeping darkness that slithered along the edges of her senses like a whisper from something ancient, something hungry. It wasn't just the silence or the emptiness. It was the way the very air, or what little of it remained, seemed to hold its breath.

Then, everything died.

The ship, the comms, even Fate collapsed into a lifeless heap. No hum of repulsorlifts, no flicker of emergency lights. Just nothing. Valery exhaled through her nose, steady despite the ominous weight pressing against her mind. No power means no easy way out. If whatever was inside this station had the ability to shut down all technology, that left them with only what they carried within themselves.

She glanced at Caelan as he hurried to get the pilots suited up, nodding in approval before he returned, his voice cutting through the eerie quiet. No power. No weapons. Then he tried to ignite his saber.

Nothing.

Valery tilted her head slightly, watching him attempt again before she reached for her own. She flicked the ignition. Nothing. The weapon remained a cold, lifeless hilt in her grasp. Interesting. Her fiery gaze flicked back toward the open station, the gaping entrance like the maw of some great beast, waiting. Testing them. "No power, no weapons… just the two of us against whatever is in there," she mused, rolling her shoulders. Then, her voice lowered just a fraction, her expression sharpening with resolve.

"The Force will guide us." Technology failed. Machines could be broken, drained, rendered useless. But the Force? That was something deeper, something beyond the reach of whatever shadow had taken hold of this place. She took a slow step forward, crossing the threshold into the Aegis, her presence burning steady and bright like a torch against the void.

"Let's see what we'll find, hm?"

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Valery also tried her saber and found that it didn't ignite as well. Neither of them had their most trusted of tools at their disposal. Caelan found this unsettling, but did his best not to allow it to take control of him. He was a Jedi and he had to retain control of himself in order to be in control of his response to situations. Even though he was now down and out one of his best tools, and his trusted droid friend, he still had the Force and he still had the Grandmaster of the Order at his side.

She said the Force would guide them and then she moved into the station. He nodded in agreement and followed her, even though he knew his senses weren't as in tune as hers were. The Force didn't quite guide him as well as it did others.

The inside of the station was pitch black. No lights lit their way. Even as their eyes adjusted it was difficult to see much more than a few inches in front of their own faces. Caelan relied on his ability in the Force to keep him close to Valery, utilizing it to keep track of her comforting presence since she wasn't very far in front of him. Neither of them could move very quick since the station was dark. At least the doors were open. Considering they had no way of opening them, without that it would be near impossible to navigate.

It was slow going, even down the main corridor, which appeared impossibly deserted. The station should have had dozens of people living on it. Where had they all disappeared to? Why was there no sign of any sort of disturbance that he could feel? No bodies lying on the ground. There wasn't any evidence that was immediately discernable as to what was going on.

Then Valery stepped across a threshold, and a door snapped closed behind her, separating him from her. Caelan realized it only a second too late, his helmed head hitting it softly and hands brushing against it. How had it closed if there was no power?

"Master Noble?" he called, wondering if she could hear him. Though, with the huge metal door and absence of air in the station, it was unlikely.

Worst of all, and Valery may have noticed this by now, they weren't actually alone. While there was nothing in the station that would be detected on a life form scan, there were beings in the station. Machinations created by research into a sith artifact that now sat at the heart of the station and was the reason for all of this. These beings, void shades, were essentially an emptiness in the Force, barely visible to the naked eye in the brightest of conditions, though they made a humming sound when present. They moved throughout he station, searching for something to feed upon, and what they fed upon? Emotions of the living.

"If you can hear me at all, I'll try and find another way to you! If not, meet at the center of the station!"

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The second the door slammed shut, Valery twisted — too late. "Shit." The curse left her under her breath, barely more than a whisper in the suffocating silence. She pressed a gloved hand against the sealed metal, feeling the vibrations of Caelan's voice just faintly through the bulkhead. Muffled, distant. She could just barely make out his words.

Meet at the center of the station.

Her jaw tightened. There was no way to answer him — not with the comms dead, not with the ship's systems offline, and not with the absolute void that pressed in from every direction. She could only hope he'd be smart enough to handle himself. Because right now, she had no choice but to move forward alone.

Exhaling slowly, Valery turned back toward the corridor ahead. Pitch black. Even with her vision adjusting, the darkness here felt unnatural, alive in the way it swallowed everything whole. She took a step forward, then another. Her senses stretched outward, scanning — not for life, because there was no life — but for something.

Something was here. She could feel it.

"Let's see what we've got..."

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Darkness.

Everywhere darkness.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to focus himself, feeling as though he were all alone in a place devoid of everything. The only thing keeping him grounded was the feel of the suit against his skin. There was silence save for his own breathing, which was almost deafening in the absence of other noise. He didn't even have to close his eyes to achieve a moment of peace because of the pitch black of the space. It was frightening. The most frightening he'd ever experienced, and he'd faced battle against beasts of unimaginable horror.

Hands started to shake and he felt overwhelmed. He reached for his lightsaber. Even though it didn't work, the crystal within afforded him a connection to his late mother, and a strength that came from her, which he could certainly use in that moment. But he felt nothing. She didn't come.

"Mother..."

He leaned back against the bulkhead door that had cut them off. Feeling as though everything were closing in around him. Feeling entirely abandoned by coincidence. He felt small in a vast, empty void, a speck in time that was destined to be forgotten.

But in the dark of his mind, an image came to him. An image of Anavi Vandala, his wife. Yes, he was married. They hadn't sent the video to everyone prior to his going on this mission, but that didn't make it any less true. And he knew that she was back at home, training, preparing, studying, probably spending time with his cousin to learn what had been going on with the Senate since she was going to eventually be taking over that position for the people of Lazerian IV. But she was there, and she needed him. His people needed him.

Show them your strength.

Those had been the last words he'd heard from his mother on Woostri when facing off against Lirka Ka . He hadn't put it together then, but the strength he'd found then hadn't come from her or the crystal in his saber. It had come from himself.

He stood and stepped away from the closed door, moving his feet one step at a time. As he did, he reached through the Force, pushing against the limits of his own mind, the limits that had been placed there through the suffering and trauma of the loss of his parents, and felt out around him. He could feel it move further than ever before. He could feel the pilots inside of the transport. He could feel Valery as she moved through the station away from him. Most of all, he could feel the darkness emanating from the center of the station.

And he could feel the pockets of Force absence moving about.

Determined, he moved forward, intent on finding a way to the center of the station that kept him away from whatever was creating those moving pockets of emptiness. They needed to reach the center, and figure out what had caused this, before it could do to them what it had done to the scientists and those previously sent to investigate.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Corridors were pitch black, as the void pressed in. Not just the absence of light, but something deeper, something unnatural swallowed the light whole. Valery moved carefully through the station, every footstep careful, every shift of her body controlled. The dark wasn't just around her — it clung to her, whispering at the edge of her senses, brushing against her like unseen hands. It wanted to smother her. To drown her in silence.

But she wasn't alone. She could still feel him. Faint and distant, but he was there. Caelan had moved and pushed past whatever fear had gripped him, and was pressing forward, just as she was.

Her grip on the Force tightened, weaving through the stillness like a guiding thread. She could feel him reaching outward — stronger than before, more aware — and she let the barest flicker of reassurance pulse through the connection. Soon, Valery stopped, her breath steady but controlled. There — just beyond the next passage. A disturbance, a wrongness. A pocket of absence in the Force, moving slow, shifting through the corridors like a shadow slipping through cracks in reality.

She exhaled through her nose.

It was hunting. Valery pressed forward, adjusting her path to avoid the thing in the dark. Every instinct screamed at her to engage, to face whatever was lurking within this station, but not yet. The center of this station is where she needed to be. That was where the answers were.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Something was getting closer to him. Multiple shadows in the Force itself. The further along he went, the closer they came, and it was obvious they were coming for him. As he moved, he began to hear a humming, which, given he was inside of a suit, was disconcerting. He stopped but the humming grew louder so he backed away, feeling along the wall for another passage he could take, all the way going towards the center of the station as best as he could, though avoiding these moving Force negative areas was growing harder and harder the further he went.

Everything about the situation was unsettling, but at one point he passed so close to one of the voids he felt an intense pain in his mind that caused him to cry out in pain. It was like it was tearing at the very fabric of his being and he was forced to run away from it because nothing he did seemed to have any effect on it. He couldn't push it away, he couldn't even use the Force to push it away because it was a void in it, unaffected by the Force at all. Nothing physical affected it either. He had a suspicion that the thing which created them was the only way in which to get rid of them.

He could feel Valery's presence calling out to him, trying to keep him collected, and as the pain ebbed with his flight from whatever that shade had been, and it was indeed some form of creature, he sent a reassuring feeling back to her. He was alright. Despite everything going on, he was alright and he would be fine as long as he continued to work his way towards the center of the station where the dark power was emanating from. Even though that meant going near more of the shades.

For that part of it, Valery was closer. If she arrived and entered the chamber where the artifact was, she would find it pulsing with red energy that illuminated the room. Plastered to the ceiling were the bodies of the crew and the security personnel that had been sent to investigate. Their skeletons were literally fused to the metal. And if she entered, the artifact would unleash a powerful blast of red, malevolent energy intent on grasping hold of her and lifting her up from the floor to the ceiling and higher walls to begin the process of stripping her soul from her body, unless she did something to stop it, or someone rescued her.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery stepped into the chamber, and the world tilted.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the air thickened, pressing against her like a living thing. The deep crimson glow of the artifact pulsed at the center of the room, bathing the walls in an eerie, flickering light. And above — her breath caught for half a second — bodies.

Then, the room twisted again.

A surge of red energy exploded outward, the blast of malevolence hitting her like a shockwave. Before she could react, she felt her feet leave the ground. The Force around her twisted violently, warping as the artifact's pull wrapped around her body like invisible chains. She was yanked upward, her back slamming hard against the cold, metal ceiling. The moment of impact rattled through her bones, but the real battle had already begun.

Something was trying to tear her apart.

It wasn't just physical — it was deeper, worse. The energy slithered through her like poisoned tendrils, prying into the very core of her being. It scraped against her soul, searching, pulling. Trying to unravel her from the inside out. A sharp, searing pain spread through her chest, like she was being wrenched from her own body.

For a fraction of a second, the darkness pressed in, whispering the same fate that had befallen the others.

No.

A growl of defiance ripped through her throat, her fiery gaze snapping open. She clenched her teeth, her entire body tensing against the crushing weight of the artifact's grip. She had fought Sith Lords. She had stood against the horrors of the Dark Side. She had survived Exegol.

She was not about to be unraveled here. The darkness clawed at her, but Valery fought back.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Every turn he took brought him closer to the center of the station. He hadn't quite realized just how large the place was. From the outside it had seemed big, but not quite as massive as it felt when he was walking through it in the dark. Though, perhaps, that was because it was dark and he was being forced to wander a labyrinthian path to his destination rather than having the easiest shot to reach it. The straight shot had fallen to Valery since she'd been on that side of the door.

Then there were the things that were moving through the station. Each one of them gave off that distinctive hum, and each time he heard it he did his best to backtrack away from it, attempting to avoid getting anywhere near them. The first encounter he'd had was painful enough. He didn't wish for another. Whatever they were, hopefully taking care of the thing at the center of the station would also get rid of them.

He was weaving his way through what seemed a sort of mess hall when he felt something off. Not related to him, but related to Valery. His newly awakened senses were picking up on something happening to her, feeling her struggle, pain. Had she had an encounter with one of these void shades? No, he could feel her presence directly near the same malevolent entity at the center of the station, and whatever was happening, it was causing her some form of distress. If it was causing the Grandmaster of the New Jedi Order distress, then he knew he needed to move faster.

Moving into a brisk walk, he weaved his way as best he could through the mess hall and into another corridor. Around he went until he passed through one corridor, crossing another, but caught a glint of red light out of the corner of his eye. Stopping, he stepped backwards and turned to face the corridor. The only reason he didn't run for it was that he could feel a void shade between him and the light. Or, rather, he could feel an absence in the Force which lead him to believe there was one there.

It didn't seem he had much choice, though. Run through it, deal with the pain, or leave Valery alone to face whatever it was that was hurting her. He couldn't do that. Grinding his teeth, he ran forward, straight though the void in the Force, feeling briefly the Force ripped from him just as he felt the pain of his soul being clawed at, but then he was through it and running on the other side, approaching the source of the light beyond. At least the shades weren't fast.

At the door to the center of the station he could see bright red light dancing about, and there he was able to grasp the magnitude of what was happening: Valery wasn't even on the ground. Her presence was above and opposite from him, he approaching from the opposite side as her. The thing in the room, whatever it was, seemed to take notice of him, as one of its red lances shot towards him. He acted quickly, bringing up a barrier of the Force, which it slammed into with enough ferocity it nearly knocked him from his feet.

"Damn," he muttered to himself. "It's strong."

Worse, it was cracking his bubble. It wasn't a living being that was doing this, it was some thing that they'd discovered, some artifact. How it had such power he didn't know, but he did know that dark artifacts could be cleansed. Corazona von Ascania had taught him that. So he closed his eyes for a moment and reached deep inside of himself. He didn't call to his mother. He didn't call to anyone else. He didn't seek power from anywhere but himself, because he knew it was there, he just had to find it. And when he opened his eyes again, even his irises were pure white, his hand pushing out a barrier of white light that the beam slammed into when it broke his barrier.

"The light is a barrier against darkness for all who seek it."

He started forward, stepping into the room, a shield of white light in front of him.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery clenched her teeth, muscles straining as she fought against the crushing weight of the artifact's grip. It felt like invisible talons were sinking into her, trying to peel her apart layer by layer. The pain, the twisting darkness — it all clawed at her, seeking to pull her under.

But she wasn't alone. White light burned against the red, cutting through the thick malevolence. Valery's vision flickered, her fiery eyes snapping toward the source. His presence crashed into the storm like a sudden tide, a wave of pure energy forcing the darkness back just enough for her to move — just enough for her to push back.

Valery's breath hitched as she watched him advance, the shield of light radiating outward like an unshakable force. He was strong — stronger than even he likely realized. But the artifact was ancient, insidious. It wouldn't surrender so easily. A fresh surge of red energy lashed out, tendrils of darkness seeking to shatter his barrier, to wrap around him as it had her. Not this time.

With a sharp breath, Valery closed her eyes, reached past the pain, and let go.

The Force surged, a tidal wave of light exploding outward from her core. The chains of darkness shattered. In a flash of motion, Valery dropped from the ceiling, twisting mid-air to land lightly on her feet. The artifact pulsed furiously, reacting, lashing out with power.

This fight wasn't over yet.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Shields and barriers were something Caelan had always had good intuition with. For whatever reason, they'd come naturally to him in the Force, even despite the blockage that he had faced. Other Jedi had called upon him to use them in the past, such as Roman Vossari when they had been on Iridonia facing down a Sith who held one of their own hostage. They had recognized something in him that he had never seen as a strength until this particular moment, when he was utilizing it to face down a darkness like nothing he'd faced before.

It surged angrily at his shield of light, but couldn't break it, so it sought another avenue. Before he could counter, Valery found a second wind and freed herself while shattering the bands that sought to strike out against him. He could feel it through the Force. More to the point, even though he wasn't looking at her, he could see her in his mind because he was in a transition state that allowed him to view the room as if he weren't in his own body via the aid of the Force itself. The two of them white points of light facing a torrent of red with a sickening blackness at the center of the room.

"It hungers insatiably," he said, "but it is still just a thing."

More tendrils lanced out at them, and he reacted by creating a series of walls within the room. Not full height ones; they were more like shields in reality. These he shifted around through the Force to block tendrils that aimed to strike at him and at Valery. He had an idea of how to destroy the thing, but it was going to take the both of them to do it.

"We need to get close to it and overwhelm it with the light. Purify it. Destroy the darkness once and for all. Use my light shields as protection."

The shields were easy for him to manipulate. Light shields. Something new for him. These weren't simply barriers, but actual manifestations of the Light side of the Force, which is why the tendrils struggled so mightily against them and couldn't easily shatter them. They weren't going to be broken the way his protection bubble had been before. He continued to walk forward towards the artifact, getting closer and closer to the danger that had ruined the station and killed many.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery exhaled sharply, steadying herself as the pulsing artifact lashed out again, its tendrils of darkness writhing against the radiant shields Caelan had conjured. They held. Not just against the raw energy of the artifact, but against the insidious, creeping hunger that had tried to unravel her moments before.

She flicked her gaze toward him, watching as he moved forward, his light shields shifting seamlessly around them, protecting their advance. It was impressive — more than that. It was powerful, and he wielded it with the kind of control that spoke of instinct rather than practice. Her lips curled into a small, approving smirk.

"Overwhelm it?" she echoed, stepping forward to match his stride. "Now that's something I can do."

Without hesitation, she reached out, summoning the Force in a way that resonated deep in her bones. The energy around her flared, the golden fire of her aura igniting in full as she let her presence expand. The weight of the dark pressed in harder now, fighting back with renewed ferocity, but Valery didn't let it in. Didn't let it touch her.

She had burned through worse.

"Keep those shields moving," she said, voice steady as she surged forward alongside him, weaving through the barriers he created. The closer they got, the stronger the artifact's pulses became, twisting and contorting reality itself around its corrupted core. The walls of the station groaned, warping under the strain. Whatever this thing was, it had been feeding for a long time. It wasn't going to stop now.

But they had to get closer.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

It was instinctual. It always had been. Barriers. They'd always been there when he needed them and now they were progressing against a dark hunger that had killed and fed and thirsted for more with the help of his barriers coupled with the skills he'd been taught in the light. It was combining of skills that made what he did strong enough to face against this thing. And though he was sweating profusely inside of his suit, it was mostly because he was starting to get hot and the oxygen levels inside were getting a little thing because of the exertion.

When she said keep them moving he did. The barriers shot around them, springing up and moving as needed to direct the tendrils. If the thing had an intelligence it would have been frustrated by this, but since it didn't it just kept trying to get at them, hungrily trying to devour their very being. That made it more dangerous than if it had been a Sith. Overwhelming the living would have been a lot of easier. Would have probably already happened by this point. But this thing? This thing was relentless and would continue to be so until they managed to purify it, destroy it, reduce it to a thousand particles of dust.

They moved closer and closer, their steps measured, calculated to bring them closer. Close enough to where no matter what it tried to do, its tendrils wouldn't be able to reach out against them, where his barriers could hold them in place.

"Almost... there..."

They were so close. So close that he didn't even hardly have to move his barriers. So close then that he didn't have to move them. So close the barriers began to merge into a single one. They coalesced into a bubble of light around the artifact, which appeared as a rune covered red gemstone on the table before them. The stone continued to try and slam its tendrils out at them, but it couldn't break through his barrier. They had it in a position where she could concentrate while he held it at bay. Together they could end this.

"Purify it! Destroy it!"

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery felt the shift as soon as his barriers merged, coalescing into a single, impenetrable dome of light around the artifact. It fought — thrashing, writhing against the containment, tendrils of darkness lashing out in desperate hunger. But they held. He held.

And now, it was her turn.

Her fiery gaze locked onto the pulsating gemstone at the heart of it all, its runes flickering erratically, its corruption clawing at the air like a dying thing. Valery took a slow, steady breath, centering herself. The darkness here was ancient, deep — but she had burned through worse.

She lifted her hand. The Force surged to her call, light gathering in her palm like a star being born. It started as a small ember, flickering against the oppressive dark, before swelling — expanding — until it radiated like a supernova within the barriers. The artifact screeched, an unnatural wail that rattled through the station as the first pulse of energy rippled outward.

Another pulse andnd another, each one brighter, stronger, relentless.

The darkness buckled, withering. The runes etched into the gemstone flared violently, resisting until the very end — until finally, finally, fractures spiderwebbed across its surface. A keening wail filled the chamber as the artifact shattered, bursting apart in a final, desperate surge of corrupted energy that slammed into Caelan's barriers and evaporated against their combined light.

And then — silence.

The air, once thick with malice, now felt lighter. The station's metal groaned, the very walls seeming to exhale as the unnatural weight lifted. Valery lowered her hand, the last traces of golden energy dissipating from her fingertips, and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

She turned, glancing toward Caelan and smirked, "I think we did it."

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

He could feel her drawing the light to herself. It grew and grew and combined with his barriers and pressed down upon the artifact, smothering it with light, burning away the darkness that had created it, until nothing was left but a dull stone, the entire nature of it having changed as a result of what they had done. But the result was that the malevolence which had permeated through the station was gone, and so, too, were the void shades that had been created by it, their existence tied to it in some fashion.

An additional result, the purification of the stone allowed power to return to the station. Lights turned back on, life support systems came back to life, things that hadn't been working, such as Fate and the transport, sprang back to life. The people that had been killed were eternally gone, their bones and bodies still fused to the ceiling and walls of the room they were in.

Caelan was out of oxygen, though, and struggling inside of his suit. The exertion had depleted his oxygen supply, which hadn't been full when he'd put the suit on but he had been neglectful in checking it in his haste to get everyone suited. His hands grasped at the clasps of his helmet, pulling against it, trying desparately to get it off and struggling to do so for a short time before finally the clasps came undone and he ripped the helmet from his head. He didn't know if there was enough oxygen in the room yet, but he'd been suffocating inside of the helmet.

Fortunately, there was just enough he could take a deeper breath than normal and hold it in to allow his lungs to absorb it more greedily and he nodded at what Valery said, giving a thumbs up that he would be alright in a moment. He did point to a flashing light light on one of the rooms consoles, which indicated that there was a problem with the stations power system that either needed to be addressed immediately, or the station needed to be evacuated.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's smirk faded the moment she saw Caelan struggling with his helmet. She knew that look — knew the desperation clawing at his lungs, the way his fingers fumbled with the clasps, the way his body was screaming for air. He'd burned through his oxygen. The second his helmet came off, she took a half-step forward, ready to help if he needed it. But then he gave her a thumbs-up, his breath still ragged but steadying. He'd be fine — winded, but fine.

Instead, he pointed toward one of the flickering consoles. A warning light pulsed angrily, casting red flashes across the chamber. Power had been restored, but something was still wrong. Either they fixed it, or this station would turn into a floating coffin.

Valery exhaled sharply and nodded. "Catch your breath. I've got this."

Moving quickly, she crossed to the console, fingers brushing over the controls as she scanned the diagnostics. The energy grid was fluctuating, unstable after their purification of the artifact. It was like severing a tumor from a body — the corruption was gone, but the damage it had caused left the system fragile, on the verge of collapse.

Her fingers flew over the controls, rerouting power, stabilizing output where she could. A surge flickered through the station, lights stuttering before settling into a steady hum. The distant groaning of metal quieted. A few more adjustments, and the warning light dimmed to a faint yellow — still not perfect, but stable enough to hold for now.

She glanced back at Caelan, still watching him closely. "We're not out of the fire yet," she murmured, her voice steady but edged with exhaustion. "But I think we've bought ourselves some time."

She rolled her shoulders, shaking off the tension as she looked back at the console. "You good to move?"

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Oxygen slowly filled his lungs and he took slow, measured breaths in order to keep from overloading his lungs and hyperventilating. Controlled breathing was an important skill for anyone dealing with combat situations, but Jedi especially needed to learn to do it. After only a moment he was able to turn his head and watch as Valery moved to the stations controls to work on the issue that they were being warned about. If Fate was with them, he'd have figured things out quick, but the droid was probably still rebooting.

After a few moments, the lights settled into a more normal pattern and he reached down to pick up the helmet that he had tossed aside before. She asked if he was alright to move and he nodded.

"Yeah, but shouldn't we obtain the stations records before we leave?" he asked.

He knew that would take a little time, and might put them at risk, but if they didn't do it, there would be no understanding of everything that had happened on the station that had led up to the point that the artifact had killed everyone and shut the station down. Whatever that thing was, wherever it had come from, the station was no better for having found it, that much was for sure. This research station was going to be permanently out of commission.

Pulling up his comlink, he flicked it on.

"Fate, you awake?"

There was a moment of silence and then, <"Bwoo-dweep beep?>

"I'll explain later. Can you find a jack and scomp in and download all of the stations data? We've gotta leave pretty quick."

<Bwoo-dweet, dwooo-beep bwee-dwoop!>

Caelan sighed in relief. That would save them the trouble, and danger, of having to stay and download everything themselves.

"Fate will get it. We can go."

He started for the exit to the room, walking a little bit slow, but he seemed alright otherwise. Perhaps just a touch tired from everything that had happened.

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery exhaled, rolling her shoulders as she listened to Caelan's suggestion. He was right — if they left without pulling the station's records, they'd be leaving too many questions unanswered. And if there was one thing she hated, it was loose ends.

"Yeah, good call," she murmured, nodding. She then watched as he contacted Fate, her gaze flicking toward the console as the droid beeped out its response. Valery smirked slightly at the exchange — if there was one thing she had learned, it was that Jedi would always be grateful for their astromechs.

With the task delegated, she turned and started toward the exit, falling into step beside Caelan. Her sharp eyes flicked toward him, taking in the slight drag in his step. He was steady, but she could see the edges of exhaustion creeping in.

"You did well back there," she said, her voice carrying quiet certainty. "That was a hell of a challenge, and you handled it."

She let the words settle for a moment before tilting her head slightly, watching him. "But how do you feel?"

It wasn't just about whether or not he was physically steady — this had been more than just a simple mission. The artifact, the darkness, the sheer pressure of what they had faced — it could weigh on a person. And she wasn't about to let him brush that off without at least checking in.

Caelan Valoren ​