Private The Bridge is on Fire

[Elijah Black]

Amidst the cold, sterile hum of machinery, the bridge of the starship pulsated with an ominous energy. The atmosphere was thick with tension as the pirate captain sent out his message to the nearby system, his voice echoing through the metallic confines.

"…until then, they'll stay right here with me on the bridge" Captain Harlan's gravelly voice declared, his gaze fixed on the holographic display before him. "If a rescue force is sent, the hostages are dead. If a negotiator is sent, the hostages are dead. If someone accidentally pops onto our radars, the hostages are dead. All I want to see are credits rolling into my account."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in the air, each syllable a foreboding warning. The hostages exchanged uneasy glances, the gravity of their situation sinking in.

"Actually, to really drive the point home that we mean business…" Harlan's steely eyes flickered towards a holoprojector at the center of the room, and with a swift gesture, the holographic image they'd see switched from the captain to a hostage, bound and helpless. One clean blaster bolt to the head took him out.

"If the family wants his bones back, we will accept half price on this one's head. I'm an understanding man. Don't take too long. Space gets boring real fast."

The holographic image vanished, leaving an uncomfortable silence in its wake. The fate of the hostages hung in the balance, and the captain's resolve left no room for negotiation.

Everyone braced themselves for the storm that lay ahead, knowing that the choices made in the coming moments would shape the destiny of all on board.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Sleheyron

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Elijah Black

Valery's Stealth-X dropped from Hyperspace a safe distance away from the ship held by pirates. It had been a long time since she last used this ship, having given up on the path of a Jedi Shadow. But desperate times demanded it — they had already killed one hostage just to send a message, and Valery didn't trust that they would return the others unharmed. These people were selfish and extremely violent.

There was only one way to handle them, and it wasn't negotiation.

Once the X-wing locked on to its target, Valery activated every jammer and stealth system on board, before accelerating towards the ship from down below. The black paint job made it hard to see her ship in space with the naked eye, but to be safe, she was approaching from the angle with the least amount of windows.

<Going to magnetically lock myself to the ship and board it,> Valery reported on a secured comm channel. Soon enough, she was going to set foot inside, and those responsible for the death of that hostage would be brought to justice.

 

[Elijah Black]

"Empty ship just drifting through space. Maybe some other pirates got to the pilot first. That's a new one" one pirate remarked with a rough chuckle.

His companion joined in the laughter. "Yeah, imagine grabbing the pilot and leaving the ship. Pirates with a sense of humor. It's a weird galaxy we live in." Their conversation went on in a blend of nonchalance and amusement.

The pirates' banter faded into the ship's metallic echoes. After a prolonged silence, the floorboard loosened then popped open, revealing a hidden compartment beneath. Elijah was accustomed to dodging patrols and outsmarting customs, but smuggling himself aboard an apparently abandoned vessel took a different kind of finesse. He counted his lucky stars that the pirates bought the ruse.

Yet, the stakes were high. He couldn't simply lift off and escape. The pirates might shoot him down, and he picked up enough from the open broadcoast to know that his ship appearing on their radars spelled doom for the hostages.

Elijah Black emerged from the concealed compartment, his features veiled in the dim glow of the ship's lighting. His angular face, weathered by the harshness of his trade, displayed a confidence that spoke of both experience and resilience. "We've been through worse" he gently tapped his holstered blaster.

Leaving the safe confines of his captured light freighter, Elijah moved with silent purpose, his steps melding with the greater vessel's muted hum as he left the small hangar behind. The narrow hallways became his labyrinth, and he trailed the metallic veins, inching closer to the heart of the vessel—the bridge. As he navigated the labyrinthine corridors, he steeled himself for the challenges that awaited, knowing that the path to salvation was fraught with danger and uncertainty.

The air on the ship seemed to thicken with tension, an oppressive stillness that Elijah could almost taste.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Sleheyron

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Elijah Black

With a gentle hiss and a feeling akin to gravity pulling you down, the X-wing magnetically sealed itself against the ship. Valery turned off all systems immediately, just to avoid the small risk of sensors picking up on power fluctuations from within her fighter. Once handled, she unstrapped herself and opened the canopy with her flightsuit on, allowing her safe passage through the otherwise lethal vacuum.

Her boots touched the hull of the ship, and for just a moment, Valery stood still. Her focus shifted into the Force, and the former Jedi Shadow phased her way through the outer walls. She ended up inside a small compartment that stored cleaning supplies, and decided to scramble out of her flightsuit there, leaving her in the more familiar tunic she wore on missions. Hands came up to fix her hair, and her eyes shifted to the door.

It was locked, and she knew that trying to force it open would draw too much attention. So, once more, Valery stepped towards the wall and phased through it... only to suddenly crash right into Elijah Black as he stepped into the corridor. With an oomph, Valery fell back onto her butt, and felt the hilt of her lightsaber rolling a few inches away from her thigh.

Chit.

 

[Elijah Black]

A smarter man would've stopped to question what one lone gunman could do against a crew of pirates. Thankfully, Elijah had learned a long time ago that thinking was for the plebs.

"Sithspit!" Elijah cursed loudly. He didn't properly realize what had happened. One moment he thought he'd checked if the corridor was clear, then next… Not so much.

She fell, he fell. His trusty blaster pistol was knocked out of his hand and slid across the floor, but that didn't stop him from holding his empty hand up at her, fully expecting it to be there. To his surprise, his other hand held something else entirely.

He wasn't sure how it had happened (a theme today, apparently), but somehow as the two hit the ground he had managed, by accident or instinct, to grab a hold of her lightsaber. For the briefest of moments, he stared at it with a haunted look in his eyes, but Elijah almost immediately snapped out of it. His gaze now narrowed upon the sight of the woman before him. He didn't bother getting up. She hadn't attacked him yet, and he wasn't about to change. Ladies first, and all that...

"Now this here better not turn on red." Snap-hiss. Purple. Huh. He hadn't seen that coming. Neither red, nor blue, or even green, but something in-between?

Unable to hide his surprise, his stern gaze turned perplexed, as he looked at the blade, trying to make sense of it, then back at her.

"I'm confused. Does that make you agnostic?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Sleheyron

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Elijah Black

After hitting the ground with her rear, Valery's hand quickly reached for the fallen lightsaber... only to end up taking hold of something else instead. She raised the object, and blinked when she realized that the barrel of a blaster was now aimed directly at the stranger in front of her.

"Watch where you're walking!" Valery exclaimed with an annoyed huff, as if she hadn't just literally phased through a wall into his path. The frustration in the moment didn't make her think straight, and it made sure that the blaster stayed pointed at him a moment longer than it should.

Especially with his comment about it turning red.

"Of course it's not red, you idiot. I'm not Sith!" She grumbled and finally lowered the weapon. "I'm a Jedi, and I suggest you give that weapon back before you lob your own arm off with it." She slowly began to rise and held the blaster by the barrel, so she could extend the weapon to him with the grip in his direction.

She could tell he wasn't one of the hostage takers, so he was either trapped here, or trying to help.

"I'm also going to need it back to get those hostages out of here."

 

[Elijah Black]

"Hey! You're the one who walked into me!" At least he thought she had walked. She must've, right? There was no way… He was seeing things. Seeing the barrel of his own gun pointed his way, for one.

When she declared her allegiance, he thought of saying 'that's exactly what a Sith would say', but given the circumstances he didn't think she would appreciate the joke. "Yeah, too pretty for a Sith anyway. I hear the Dark Side gives you wrinkles" and he could see none on her. All he could see was... 'No, focus'

Elijah deactivated the blade and held out the hilt for her. "Come on, give me some credit, I'm pretty confident I can stop off at the elbow"

He dusted himself off and got up to his feet and offered her a hand, though he imagined she might be too proud to take it. He didn't socialize much with Jedi these days. "I overheard some guys talking. I think they've got all the hostages up at the bridge. But there might be the odd patrol here and there. You lead, I cover?" She was the one with the blaster deflecting glowstick after all.

"You're not a Padawan, right? I'd really love not dying today"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Elijah Black

"Damn right, I am," Valery said with a smirk when he called her too pretty to be Sith. But... she was also still cranky over having stumbled into him. It was unlike a Jedi Shadow to be caught during a stealth mission, so this had definitely bruised her pride a little. Not that she'd tell him as much.

It was best if he knew as little as possible.

Valery then rolled her eyes at his elbow comment, and found herself staring at his hand for a moment. She was somewhat stubborn and prideful, but she could recognize a kind gesture for what it was. She took his hand, pulled herself up to her feet, and exchanged weapons with him.

"Thanks," she said with a faint smile. "I can take lead, but if we run into a patrol, try not to engage. The second we take one down, we're on a timer." It'd be better not to get detected until they were on the bridge. That'd be-

She paused and squinted at him.

"...either that's a compliment because you think I look very young, or you think I look like I need help." She knew this was a dangerous statement with no good answer, but she didn't care. "I'm a Jedi Master, so you won't have to worry."

 

[Elijah Black]

"Of course, makes sense" he said with the roll of his shoulders while inwardly thinking 'I did not consider that'... Elijah was sometimes too much of a shoot first, work out the problems afterwards kind of guy.

It appeared Elijah talked himself into something of a trap later. He only grinned however, and quickly delivered a "Either way, you're safe with me Miss Master, I got your back"

The duo moved down the hallways. With a Jedi Master ahead of him, his chance of success increased significantly. He was particularly happy with the decision to have the Jedi lead. She could lead him anywhere she wanted any day of the week. And it was good thing she was on lookout up front too, because he was not watching where he was going. At all.

As they were coming up on a corner, he suddenly reached out "Wait!" he nearly hissed. One hand clung to his blaster, the other to her waist in a firm grip as he pulled them as close up against the wall as he could. They'd still be spotted by anyone coming around the corner, probably, but they made about as small of a target as he could possibly make them. Next was a tense moment of complete silence, Elijah pressed up close behind her with his blaster arm resting on her shoulder and pointing forwards.

Then he releaxed, and slowly moved back to the side of her. "I guess it was nothing. Can never be too careful..."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers
Tag: Elijah Black

"Safe with you, hm?" Valery purposefully made herself sound unimpressed and briefly flicked her fiery gaze at him, before she walked ahead to scan the hallways for patrols. The closer to the bridge they were, the more of them she expected to show up. It's why she had intentionally docked further away, so in these hallways, Valery wasn't expecting any trouble to appear. Still, she walked with a slight bend at the knees and kept herself closer to the walls.

A slow, methodical approach to remain undetected.

Blissfully unaware of what was happening behind her, Valery spotted a junction of hallways up ahead. The turbolift wasn't too far away from there, but she wasn't going to actually take it up. Instead, her plan was to reach a maintenance tunnel and use the emergency ladder there to climb up to the bridge deck.

From there, they could-

"Wait!"

Valery's eyes widened, as she felt his arm snaking around her waist. She was drawn back up against the wall, and made no sound while she kept herself still against him. Had she missed something? Was a patrol coming? Valery shifted a little in his grip, feeling something behind her, and tilted her head aside to let his blaster peak over her shoulder.

But... nothing happened.

After an awkward moment of silence, she stepped forward and kept her face turned away from him to deny him the satisfaction of her initial reaction. Heat burned into her cheekbones, but after a few seconds, she did spin back around on her heels to look at him, "You know I can sense if a patrol is close, right?" She asked, and that's when it dawned on her. Did he... know? She shook her head a little and let out a soft sigh.

"Next time, pull out your other blaster as well. I uh, felt it."

 

[Elijah Black]

"Oh yeah, didn't think about that" he said with a face that couldn't carry the lie. Her fiery gaze was probably meant to dissuade him, but it did anything but. Was she blushing? That brought forth a smirk, and caution was thrown to the wind as he observed the Jedi Master from head to toe.

Her next remark snapped him out of it, and he looked for a moment like she'd caught him off-guard, before that familiar, confident look quickly restablished itself. The way she had shifted... It was hard to keep his thought straight, and it guaranteed she felt something in return.

You want me to pull out my blaster, he thought to himself, a little too happy with himself, thinking she probably hadn't thought of how she'd phrased that. "Easy now, we've got hostages to save. Careful what you wish for" he said with an almost mocking grin, taking a step closer than what he normally would with a stranger, but they had after a fashion been introduced. In his mind he played his reaction off cool, but of course, now he could think of nothing else.

If there were patrols, they hadn't encountered any, and the two progressed further down the hallways, finding the maintenance tunnel she'd been looking for. With a kick and some heavy pulling, he managed to pry it open. In the balance of power between them, despite her being a Jedi Master, he told himself he was firmly in control, yet ever since his little rogue move he hadn't been thinking straight, courtesy of priority blood flow. It was a good thing she couldn't read minds- oh feth...

"Ladies first" he helped her into the tunnel entrance with a guiding hand on her lower back.

Valery Noble