Private Sounds like a Journey.

[Alina Grayson]

Alina's head turned slightly at his voice, the golden glow of her saber glinting off her cheek. She didn't answer at first, but her eyes narrowed, not at him but toward the far end of the hangar, where the shadows didn't move like they should. She did feel it. The shift in the Force was subtle, but unmistakable.

"I feel it," she said quietly, her voice level even as her fingers moved to override the next container's lock. "Something's coming."

The hiss of decompressing seals filled the space as the door slid open. Faces stared out civilians mostly, some bruised, some in shackles, all of them wide-eyed with disbelief. Alina's expression softened as she reached out a hand, guiding the first few forward.

"Stay low. Head for the west wall we came through there. Stay close to each other." Her tone left no room for questions, but carried enough warmth to steady the frightened.

She moved with practiced calm, cloak trailing behind her as she crossed to the next crate. One by one, each seal released beneath her fingers, each set of captives met with the same steady reassurance.

"This way. You're not alone anymore."

Behind her, she trusted Aiden to watch the corners, to sense what she was already bracing for. Reinforcements weren't just probable they were here. They hadn't revealed themselves yet, but the Force crackled faintly, like the air before a storm.

She turned to him, voice quiet but urgent. "I can hold them here long enough to get the others to the ship. Get them to safety. If they see me, they'll focus on me." Her gaze flicked to his. And without waiting for agreement, she moved again to the center of the hangar now, gold saber still lit and burning away the darkness.

The force around her rippled and rolled off her in waves, making sure whatever was lurking knew that she was the biggest threat on Kuat.

TAG: Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Aiden's jaw tightened as he watched her step forward, golden light spilling over the crates, casting jagged shadows that dared anything lurking in the dark to show itself. He felt the ripple in the Force surge outward from her, deliberate, like a beacon cutting through the void. She was daring them to look her way.

His instinct was to call her back, to remind her they had one mission, get these people out. But he caught himself. He knew Alina. This wasn't recklessness. It was strategy, and the best chance they had.

"Then we don't waste time," he muttered under his breath.

He turned, moving through the lines of prisoners now pouring from the containers. Fear radiated off them like heat, but his voice cut through with steady calm.

"Stay together. Keep low. Follow the path west, you'll see the opening. Move quick, but stay quiet."

He kept one hand lifted, the other brushing his saber hilt, eyes sweeping every shadow, every rail strut above. The presence was closer now, undeniable. Whoever they were, they weren't rushing in. They were watching. Measuring.

The last crate cracked open behind him, another dozen civilians blinking into the floodlights. Too many to move swiftly, but there was no choice. He gestured them forward, scanning the far edge of the hangar. "Don't be a hero Alina, come back to me." Aiden voiced urgently as he ushered the rest of them.

"Stay low!" Aiden's lowered voiced pierced the air, as those in his sight, if they weren't low enough, they got lower.

Alina Grayson

 

[Alina Grayson]

Azure eyes stared into the darkness she was focused but Aiden's words still reached her, of course she would come back. But come to Aiden? She pondered the implication for a moment then pushed it down without another thought. A distraction right here could mean her death. She raised her saber sliding into a defensive stance.

She was a beacon of calm despite not wearing her usual armor, she knew she had the attention on her. Precisely where she wanted it a sudden touch of the force drew her eye to the right a blaster bolt fired at her followed by several more within the shadows. Cloaking? she wondered but had no time to evaluate the first two blaster bolts were parried with expert flair, sending them back to their origin points but unfortunately whoever fired them was already out of position.

Who ever they where, they were accustom to fighting Jedi, unfortunately for them she was more than a jedi. Her right hand fell from the saber and began to gather the force she began channeling the force through it and pulse after pulse radiated through the shadows. Alina was using the umbral current to echo-locate them within the shadows, invisible to the eyes yes but no the force.

When the next bolt was fired it she deflected it not to the origin point but toward a curious void in the darkness it knocked the solider out of his stealth and sent him sprawling. The next shot was a different sound and faster, instinctively she evaded as a round sailed past her only to fragment on the wall behind her. Kinetic rounds, this complicated things.

Her movement became like a dance, deflecting and evading while gradually thinning the numbers. This was not a battle to be showy in, this was a war attrition. She would meet the challenge with the same grace she always did, and provide Aiden and the civilians the precious time they needed.

TAG: Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

The silver light of his saber cut a narrow path through the dark, steady enough to draw the eyes of the frightened without blinding them. He walked at the head of the group, every step measured, every sense stretched to catch even the faintest ripple of danger. Behind him, the shuffle of boots on duracrete spoke of civilians unused to silence, unused to moving like shadows. Fear pressed at them from every direction, but it also kept them close.

"Stay low," he whispered over his shoulder, his voice quiet but firm. "Keep moving. Don't break from the line."

He resisted the urge to look back at Alina. He could feel her through the Force, her presence burning like a golden flame in the storm, fierce and unyielding. Every surge of her strength bought them another step, another breath. His task was simpler, but no less vital, get these people out before the hangar's shadows collapsed in on them all.

The exit loomed ahead: the narrow service corridor they had used to slip inside. Its door gaped like a wound in the steel, half-hidden behind rusted beams. Aiden gestured them through in small groups, counting each face as they passed. Old men, children, workers still in ragged uniforms, faces marked by exhaustion but lit faintly with hope. Hope they couldn't afford to lose now.

When the last few hesitated at the threshold, too afraid to move, he turned to them. His voice softened, the edge of command melting into reassurance."You've already survived the hardest part. Just a little further. Freedom's waiting."

Something in his tone broke through the paralysis, and the last of them slipped into the corridor, the line reforming on the other side.

Aiden lingered in the doorway, silver blade angled across his body. He could feel the press of hostile presences deeper in the hangar, more than just mercenaries. He drew in a breath, grounding himself. Almost there. Just hold the way a little longer.

He stepped back, ushering the civilians forward down the corridor toward the ship. Every heartbeat felt like it was running against time itself.

Alina Grayson

 

[Alina Grayson]

Alina pivoted behind a support strut, using the brief lull to recenter her stance. Her saber's golden glow painted sharp edges on the durasteel walls, casting the encroaching dark in harsher contrast. The cloak of shadows was no ally to her enemies anymore—her senses were open, sweeping, her attunement with the Umbral current giving her eyes where no light could reach.

Another pulse rippled outward from her open not overt, not enough to alert them to its true purpose. Like a subtle sonar, it swept the hangar again. This time, she caught it a flicker of hesitation in the upper gantry, a breath too shallow, too controlled. She moved.

Her saber deactivated mid-motion as she leapt, silent as wind, landing behind the next assailant. Before he could cry out, she seized him with the Force, his armor cracking as he was slammed into the steel with just enough restraint to leave him breathing. He slid to the floor unconscious. Three remained. Maybe more.

They were adjusting. Spreading out. One tried to bait her into the open with a sudden, concentrated burst of fire. She deflected the bolts not at him but at the hanging cables above, slicing through them just enough to send the rig crashing down behind him. He barely rolled free before she was already moving again, blade humming back to life.

She felt it again the same presence from before. Watching. Still not moving. Still not interfering. That chill through the Force, intelligent and cold, like an unseen hand resting on the edge of a blade not yet drawn. Her jaw tightened slightly, the only outward sign of her rising focus. She didn't need to win this fight. She needed time.

Another soldier emerged from a crate's shadow, raising a rifle. She was faster. Her saber rose, deflected the barrel up and away, and with a surge of Force she yanked him into a spin, disarming him midair and sending him crashing hard onto the floor. He didn't rise. That left one. Somewhere. No more blasterfire. No more movement.

Alina stilled herself. She drew in a slow breath, exhaled. The Umbral current coiled around her senses again, threading through the space searching for the last fracture in the shadow. And then she heard it. Not through sound, but sensation. A mind, not afraid but focused. Close. Watching. Calculating the cost of action.

"I know you're still here," she said quietly, voice calm but resolute. "Whatever you were promised, you've already failed. You will not have them. If you wont reveal yourself, so be it. We have already won"

Her boots barely made a sound on the duracrete as she turned away, the golden light of her saber casting a fading arc across the floor. She walked with purpose, posture unhurried deliberate. Every step a challenge.

The kind that invited a mistake.

It came in a rush. A whisper in the Force, sharp and sudden. A shadow peeled itself from the darkness behind her, no words, no breath just the hiss of a vibro-knife arcing for the base of her skull.

Too slow.

Alina pivoted on her heel. In one seamless motion the saber reversed in her grip, ignited mid-turn in a flash of radiant gold.

The sound was brief. Final. Her blade buried itself to the hilt beneath the enemy's ribs, cutting through the bodysuit and armor plating like they were air. The momentum of his attack died instantly, the weapon falling from his grasp before he ever touched the floor.

She didn't look away. Not until his eyes dimmed, not until the last tremor of violence left his form. Then she deactivated the saber, stepping back as the body collapsed behind her with a dull thud. Without another word, she turned once more and walked toward the hangar doors, they should all be at the ship by now and finally she could join them.

TAG: Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

The corridor back to the landing pad was a blur of anxious movement. The civilians kept pace as best they could, clutching at one another, their breaths ragged but hopeful now that the open air was ahead of them. Aiden kept to the rear, saber lit in a low guard. Every glance over his shoulder tugged at him, part of his mind reaching back toward the hangar where Alina still stood.

Then, at last, her presence shifted in the Force. The storm she'd been holding flared, then quieted. Finality. Aiden exhaled slowly. She had ended it. By the time she stepped through the hangar doors, the last of the evacuees were already being helped up the ship's ramp. Aiden stood at the base of the ramp, blade now dark, waiting.

When she appeared, walking through the gloom with her saber unlit at her side, there was no mistaking the weight she carried. Not exhaustion, resolve, heavy and sharp-edged, the kind that came only after you had stared death in the eyes and sent it back into the dark. He moved to meet her, his voice quiet enough that only she could hear.

"They're aboard. Scared, but alive. You bought them the time they needed. Thank you for this Alina, I couldn't have done it without you."

Alina Grayson