Private Standing Strong on Shattered Ground

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"Didn't think it would be that easy, right?" Adonis asked as he withdrew his knife from the dead assassin's chest. This wasn't the first attempt at his life that he was made aware of, but none had been able to get this close to him. If it hadn't been for his Akk dog waking him up, the coward would have stabbed him in his sleep. Now, this assassin would sleep forever instead. But as sad as it was, this attack was the least of his concerns. Someone had decided to challenge his authority and started dividing some of his people.

There was no worse time for division.

"Oh goodness me, I'm glad you're alright, sir!" his protocol droid said with a posh core accent, once he had entered the bedroom. He glanced down at the body, then back up to his Master. "Is there any way I can be of service? Dispose of the remains, perhaps?"

"Aye," Adonis said while he studied the cut along his forearm. "Send a message to Kahlil and Valery Noble. I need their help." It wasn't a card he liked to play because he knew how busy the Jedi were, and he wanted his people to be able to stand on their own feet. But something darker was happening — something far worse than a random assassin looking to take him out.

He needed people he could trust around him.

...
"Isn't it odd?" Valery asked as the Bastion, piloted by her husband, was making its way down to the planet. "They've gone through hell when their homeworld blew up, and now there's a power struggle..." She frowned, but in a way, it perhaps made sense. They were a people of warriors, so the strongest should lead, right? Adonis began to lead after a relatively small group had supported him. So many more had joined since then, so maybe they wanted a voice.

Adonis just didn't seem like the type of person to deny them that voice. So what was really happening?

Looking between Kahlil and her Padawan, Valery smiled faintly, "I suppose we'll start with investigating the assassination attempt and go from there? Maybe look into his new political rival as well."

 

[Colette]

Kahlil Noble // Valery Noble

Wasn't it odd? There was a power struggle.

"That's one word for it." Colette muttered as she stared out the viewport. Power struggles were ultimately a petty desire for more. The same greed that dripped off of every other political structure there was out there in the galaxy. She let in a deep breath and sighed.

"You'd think that losing their home would be enough for them to try and find their similarities." Colette shook her head. "But now, someone is assassinating the others?"

"I hate politics."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Only a coward tries assassination. But only someone unfit to lead succumbs to it." Kahlil scratched at his chin as he similarly stared out the viewport. The Epicanthix, his people, it was good to be back among them. If only it wasn't because of something like this, though. An assassination attempt was an insult of insults. If someone wanted to take over, there were better ways. Proper ways. Even challenging to a fight to the death was better.

"Adonis represents those who openly stood against my Father. As more Epicanthix come here to live, different beliefs will come to light. And I imagine the Ilam Bsaakik have started to take notice. If Adonis is killed in an assassination, the Seszil Bsaakik will be shown as weak. There's a number of reasons behind it just from the Epicanthix themselves, let alone the galaxy at large. Someone who hates all Epicanthix for my Father's sins are far more common than most would think."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

Valery sighed and dipped her head in agreement with her husband, "We'll have to be thorough with our investigation to figure it out. If something were to happen to Adonis now, I fear the consequences will be quite severe for the Epicanthix people." She turned her gaze back forward, and watched the Bastion slowly settle on the surface. The camp looked a lot bigger than last time, and it had gotten some upgrades as well through hard work from its inhabitants.

But there was also a new kind of tension they'd be able to feel.

Once the ramp lowered, the three Jedi would be greeted by a protocol droid, as well as a woman with long, white hair. She stood with her posture straight, her hands neatly folded in front of her lap. Her gaze was somewhat distant and cold, but she still managed a polite nod for the Jedi. "Thank you for coming. I'm Lyra, Mr. Vassak's new assistant, and this is B4-D."

"It is most wonderful to finally meet you, Masters Jedi! Oh I have heard much about you." Unlike the woman, the droid seemed rather excited and far more welcoming.

"Mr. Vassak is currently being treated at our medical facilities for his injuries. I can take you to him, but perhaps you prefer to visit the crime scene first?"

 

[Colette]

Kahlil Noble / Valery Noble

“That’s pretty stupid.” Colette said as bluntly as ever as she looked over at Kahlil and then the viewport again. At least it was in regards to the part where someone unfit succumbs to assassination. A bit like expecting someone to survive a deep cut to their thigh without applying bandages and pressure. In reality there was no kind way to say that Epicanthix society sounded like some of the dumbest ideals that Colette had ever heard of so far, and as such she settled for being direct about her perceptions on it.

They stepped out of the ship, they got greeted, and they were faced with a choice.

“We should go to the crime scene first so we don’t have someone else ruin our evidence before we get there.” Colette said and looked at her two masters. “Key to tracking an animal is to not let it get too far away.”

“So, I figure, this is like that.”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It is not our place to judge the cultures of others, Padawan. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't call my people stupid. Some might take that as a challenge of their honor, and they will defend it." Kahlil glanced towards Colette with an actual frown on his face. Just for a moment. She was, for sure, Valery's Padawan. That thought alone got a chuckle out of him before he glanced towards the droid and woman duo.

Ironically with them being more like what one would expect of the other. Ah, irony.

"Padawan Colette is correct. And I know for a fact Adonis would appreciate us figuring out what happened before visiting. If you could show us to the crime scene, that'd be appreciated."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"That's pretty stupid."

Valery blinked and turned to Colette but Kahlil addressed it first, and Valery just dipped her head in agreement. Only when a certain thought passed through his mind and got him to chuckle, she suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. <I know what you're thinking,> she told him telepathically through their bond.

<I wasn't that blunt.> She pouted a little and shot him another look before turning to the woman and Adonis' droid. They seemed like an odd pair to both be working for the same person, but perhaps Adonis liked the balance between both worlds? Either way, she agreed with her Padawan.

"He could always come visit us at the crime scene as well when he is allowed to."

Lyra nodded, "Very well, please follow me." She turned around and together with B4-D, moved to a building at the center of the colony. It was no longer a simple tent, but an actual building — still simple to make it easy to break down, but they had clearly been working hard to prepare everything for their future.

"We have kept everything as it was, the body of the assassin included!" The droid chimed in as they made their way inside, up the stairs and to Adonis' bedroom. "Just be careful not to trip. Master Vassak broke a lot of items in his battle with the cowardly attacker."

Valery blinked, briefly glanced at the others and stepped into the bedroom. With a gaping hole in his back, the body of the assassin was still in the center of the room. Furniture was broken, vases had fallen onto the ground and shattered, and the bedroom window was wide open.

"We believe he got inside through the window," Lyra said flatly.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

So, to keep quiet was the game then. She didn’t apologize or say that she was sorry, because that would be a lie. A society built on struggle and who saw weakness as something to exploit was a society destined to die. If anything, Colette gave the two elders that lectured her a small nod and a shrug. She wouldn’t hide who she was or what she thought, at least not unless asked. It was clear that this was an issue for Kahlil, and there was just nothing to be gained by arguing the fact when he seemed to have such an attachment to them.

The robot introduced them to the scene and it certainly was something alright. Ironic that they referred to the assassin as cowardly when he was just acting in accordance to how a society built upon—

The kid sighed and rubbed her eyebrows. These thoughts would not do her well.

“These buildings remind me of home.” Colette said and knelt down by the window to put her finger in a small spot of dirt from the window sill. Still somewhat damp. Not as crumbly as a day-old mud would have been. “Easy to move, but in the end just too unwieldy to carry many of at once.”

“Needs to be repaired a lot.” She rose from the floor and began to look around. “Are there any holes in the walls?”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

<No, you were. Just, not that rude.>

He chuckled through their bond before following after them. He kept his gaze around them, studying how the rebuilding was going. He came by, now and then. With the kids. Vera, mostly. She loved the classes, the martial fighting. Learning their heritage, as close as they could with Panatha gone.

"It's a type of building we learned after the conquests early on. It's one of the few things saved after the destruction of the Epicanthix home world. So many cultures that became us, gone. .. It's sad."

Kahlil let out a sigh before he finally tuned into the investigation itself. Holes in the wall? He raised a brow.

"Why holes in the wall?"

Colette | Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

<No, I wasn't,> she stubbornly persisted. <I was... appropriately direct.> Valery heard him chuckle in her mind, but grinned a little herself now. She knew that she had been quite a difficult Padawan, but she wasn't that blunt, right? She blinked, looked at Colette and thought about her own time as a Padawan again.

...right?

She shook her head and decided to focus on the investigation as well. Listening to Kahlil brought a brief frown though, and he'd know through their bond that she did have some difficulties with the Epicanthix. They were once conquerers before they were essentially conquered themselves, under the rule of Carnifex.

Conquest was not the Jedi way, but a lot had changed since then, and being a Jedi also meant that she wouldn't turn her back on people in need.

"I don't see holes in the wall, why?" Valery asked.

"Perhaps she believes the assassin used tools to climb up the walls to reach the window!" the droid chimed in again.

Looking down through the window, Valery blinked. "I don't see rope or anything down there either. He also doesn't seem to have anything on his hands that would allow him to climb up against a wall." She looked at Colette. "Or were you thinking something else?"

She then looked at Kahlil, "Don't you think he's also a bit uh...short...for an Epicanthix?" She smiled sheepishly because she knew that he was technically considered short for them as well, even though he towered over his wife. The assassin, however, was maybe 5ft5 at most.

 

[Colette]

Kahlil Noble / Valery Noble

A culture didn’t “become us”, it was assimilated and destroyed. It hadn’t died with Panatha, it had died long before that. Colette had to truly bite down on her tongue to stop herself from speaking her mind and the struggle was undoubtedly felt by her masters through the force.

“Because if they were anything like the easy-assembly houses from back home they’ll be able to stand up to a solid punch or two before cracking and crumbling.” Colette explained the idea with holes. “Meaning that if someone were to, say, shoot us right now, they wouldn’t need a line of sight as much as a general idea of where we are and take a shot.”

Valery pointed out the shortness of the assassin. Colette walked over.

“Unless he isn’t an epicanthix at all.” She said and knelt down next to them. Would not being an Epicanthix suddenly make this all the more un-cowardly? “I think we all get an idea of why they would do this.”

To name the suspicion outright would be to give away their thought process. Colette didn’t trust anyone in their immediate area save for the two Jedi Masters that had brought her here. The thought did cross her mind that maybe this wasn’t necessarily an attack but some form of orchestrated drama meant to bolster the existing leader’s seeming mythos. The one who survived an assassination and all that.

Of course, it also felt like a load of horseradish.

“Do we have a murder weapon?”