Private The Sands of Ophus V

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"She didn't mean it." Colette sobbed. "She didn't mean it, right?"

Valery offered a hug and Colette thrust herself into it with all of her strength as if she was afraid her master would float off and disappear somewhere. Aeris slowly took a few steps back and gave Valery an understanding nod. She went down the corridor and took a seat there to let the two clear the air of whatever it was that had happened in there.

"She—" The kid stammered. "She must have been t- tired or something."

In truth, this very well might just have been who the Elder became once Colette had left. Or maybe it was just who she had always been and the kid had been too blind to see it, and she wasn't quite sure which of those two thoughts hurt her the most. It felt like something so central to her core had been torn apart, and yet she could still stand.

How?

Why?

The hysteric crying began to quiet down for a bit as Colette grounded herself in this new reality where she didn't have any home to return to. At least none that she could see in that moment when all seemed to be lost.

That cramped grip around Valery didn't let go. The kid was clearly having a difficult time and for as long as Valery would allow her, Colette would cling to her like a barnacle to a boat. A door opened a little bit further down the hill, where the Elder's room had been and the nurse stepped out again. At first she seemed upset over the manner in which Colette had barged in, but as she saw the state of the girl it seemed as if she let up a little.

"The elder…" The nurse spoke through her frown. "She just lost half of her people."

Colette froze up again just to break from Valery so that she could see, observe, witness as these words passed from the nurse's lips. The others were dead? Where were the rest? Her heart skipped a beat and then another.

"They arrived in the middle of the storm you must have seen when you landed." She added. "... Cardiac complications in the left-most aorta."

What complications? The word was lost on Colette entirely, but the word 'complications' was enough for her to worry. She let in a shaky breath and looked back at Valery.

"No." She said. "No, they're—"

The kid swallowed her grief for but a moment to let the burning sensation of absolute rage course through her veins.

"They're NOT DEAD." She exclaimed angrily at the nurse. "Where are the others?"

"In the camps down by the oasis." The nurse sighed, clearly unphased by the anger put on display. She had seen it many times before when giving similar news. "They were in a rough shape too but had doctors of their own who could see to it."

"Nix." Colette mumbled in recollection for a moment before she quickly stood up on her feet. "Valery, we have to go see them. Now."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery wasn't letting go.

Being an anchor of support and comfort for Colette was all that mattered to Valery right now. She didn't have the answers, and it was unlikely that she'd ever really understand, so all she could do was show her Padawan that she wasn't alone. No matter what happened between her and her people here, she'd always have a family, and she'd always have a place to call home. Valery understood Colette wouldn't see it that way at this very moment, but she was confident that she would eventually.

But as Colette continued to sob into her embrace, the nurse finally returned.

Much like Colette, Valery perked up to listen to the woman and didn't address the more aggressive response either. Colette was running on emotions right now, and until it put her at risk, Valery felt it was important to give her the space to express the way she felt.

"Nix?" Valery then asked with a tilt of her head, while Colette seemed very ready to go.

"We'll go but take one step back," Valery urged her. "That sandstorm is still out there, and if something happened to your people, we have to be careful. We're of no use to anybody if we just end up in the same trouble." She placed a hand on Colette's shoulder and gently nudged her along towards the entrance.

Of course, she offered the nurse a thankful smile on the way out.

"Aeris? We have a new lead," Valery said as they reached her in the hallway. "Are you coming with us?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There was a brief moment when that hand on Colette's shoulder made her twitch her way out of it before she let out a long exhale and turned around to face Valery who, despite the outsider's perspective clearly had a good point. Her eyes set on the ground with a clearly hurt expression; eyes closed so that she didn't have to deal with the burning sensation of bright lights on the reflective, plastic surface.

The kid only relented once Valery nudged her back towards the entrance. She looked at Aeris with a measure of uncertainty, but if she had been smart enough to track Ophus V down, then maybe she had been smart enough for other stuff too. The archive was, after all, full of her work.

"Of course," Aeris said and began to trail behind the two. "I already talked to the other half, actually. They were very helpful."

As they stepped out, Colette would remember Valery's question.

"Nix," She said and continued, "She was— is… Our—" A spark of pain shot through her heat. "Their… doctor, of sorts."

Aeris was smart enough to pick up on the hints. From the loud crying outside the room to the way that the kid was struggling to remove herself from the clan… She looked at Valery and gave a mournful frown as they continued down the streets of the bazaar.

"If she is here then they must have been desperate." The kid frowned yet again as she rubbed at her neck. "I think I'm getting an idea of what happened, and I don't like it."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Thanks Aeris, I appreciate it," Valery said with a grateful smile for her old friend. She wasn't too worried, and she knew she could handle this after all the horrors she had already gone through in her life. But it was still nice having a close friend to help her and her Padawan get through this day. Colette was likely going to need all the support, or at least the help to find the answers she's looking for.

"Do you think Nix will know what happened?"

She probably would if she had been with her people, but it made sense to ask the doctor. She could give the most accurate assessment of how her people were holding up.

"What do you think happened?" Valery then asked when Colette mentioning having a feeling. "The sandstorm? Or are there other dangerous out here for them?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Nix will most likely be able to tell us why they left." Colette told Valery and her friend as they stepped out into the open. The signs of the sandstorm were a lot more evident here in the way a thin dust-layer had formed over the walkways and in the nooks and crannies.

"I think they had to leave in an emergency." The kid continued. "Either brave the sandstorm and the elder survived, or stay and the elder died for certain."

There was no denying that Sheila had been an influential elder for her tribe. She had most certainly held the seat for the longest amount of time, longer than anyone could remember. As someone with a reputation like that it wasn't difficult to see how people had built enough of a myth around her to lay their lives down like that.

"Colette?" A man's voice called out from up ahead. A man jogged into view. "It is you! What are you doing here?"

"I… Needed to see home again." Colette decided not to tell him about the elder. "Then I heard something had happened, and that you are here."

"Well, okay, wow." The man leaned in to wrap the kid in a tight hug. "We never thought we'd see you again. Who is your friend?"

"That's, uh…" Colette said and extended a hand towards Valery. "Well, it's my best friend, really. Her name is Valery."

"Name's Red, Valery." The man said and gave her a quick handwave. "How in the world did you meet with Colette?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

It was almost ironic, hearing this and remembering what Sheila chosen as her first few questions for Valery. But as long as people had a choice, Valery could admire a desire to protect others, even at the risk of one's own life. Hopefully, not too many had gotten harmed in whatever happened to the tribe.

Valery snapped back to reality when a man made his way over, and squinted at him a little when he hugged her Padawan. She could tell that it was a friendly hug, and that there were no wrong intentions there, but that protective side of her was too irrational to really care. So, he got the glare for just a short moment.

"A pleasure to meet you, Red," Valery began with a smile. "Colette here is my Jedi Padawan, so she's essentially a student under my care." Valery wasn't certain if he knew anything about the Jedi, so that should make it easy enough to understand. "She and I travel around to learn and help people together. Today, we decided to come back here, so she could see her home again." Valery's hand shifted to Colette's shoulder, and she gently squeezed it again.

"Could you tell us more about what happened? I'd like some certainty and clarity on it, and I'm sure Colette does, too."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Oh, is she now?" Red asked and raised his brows in surprise. "I don't know much about the mystics, but she seems happy, so…"

The man shrugged almost the same as Colette would at times. Red was a bit of a softy and a bit of a father figure. Although Colette was too young and dumb to really realize that she saw him as such. It was just how a good friend in the clan would treat one another, she figured.

"Oh yeah, that…" The man's smile slowly began to turn itself upside down and into a frown. "We were in the middle of the dunes when the elder's heart began to ache." He said and shifted his frown from one side to the other, also kind of like Colette would. "Nix did her best to help but, well… We're here, aren't we?"

"We lost a few days of travel on our way to seek shelter as we tried to come up with a plan." The man said and rubbed at his neck. "And, well…"

"A few days is a lot of time to lose when a storm is chasing you." Colette frowned as she began to think. "Book girl." She said and turned to a surprised Aeris. "Do you have any maps of the area?" The blonde nodded. "Good. Bring them out, please."

Red was about to continue when from behind him, a rather thin woman popped up from around a corner. She looked angry.

"Red!" She shouted. "Stop dilly-dallying and come back here."

"In a minute!" He shouted back over his shoulder and raised his hand at Valery, almost as if urging her not to say anything.

"In a MINUTE?" Small determined steps marched on up to Valery. She got a once over. "This woman is out of your league, now stop—" her eyes caught sight of Colette's back. "No way."

Those footsteps marched on over towards the table that Colette had seized for her planmaking, and Colette would turn around to face the short woman before she could try to catch her by surprise.

"You have a lot of GALL showing up after what you did!" The woman said, seemingly angered. "Without even sending a message first!"

The woman lightened up with a big bright smile before she swept Colette up in a tighter hug than even Red could manage. This woman too was someone that had spent more time than most looking after Colette in her younger years.

"Girl, how are you? It's so good to see that you're alive!" The woman then turned around towards Red. Those furrowed brows sunk real low yet again. "Red, you could have told me we had friends visiting!"

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled and turned back to Valery. "Sorry, Miss Valery. That there is my wife Nix. She's… An acquired taste, I've been told."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

There was a slight hint of annoyance in Valery's eyes when Red was interrupted by a rather loud voice. She wanted to know what exactly happened to their people, and how bad it was. But everything seemed to be against her finding out, and now they were being interrupted again. Red raising his hand made sure that Valery remained quiet though, even as the woman marched over and stopped to look Valery over.

"This woman is out of your league, now stop—"

Valery blinked and was about to speak up, when the strange woman noticed Colette. Without wasting a second, she addressed Colette, and at first even seemed angered, before brightening up a lot. Valery just smiled warmly and watched the little interaction that followed.

It was good to see that some people from her tribe still welcomed her with open arms like this. After the encounter with the Elder, she figured it'd help Colette feel a little better.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nix," Valery said with a warm smile. "I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble, and Colette here is my Padawan learner." Valery gave her Padawan a rather firm pat on the shoulder and smiled.

"We were hoping to figure out just how bad the storm hit you, and maybe offer some help if we can."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Both Nix and Red seemed to mellow for a moment.

"The storm was bad." Nix eventually said as she stepped closer to her husband who wrapped a caring arm around her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Limited masks and goggles meant that the three that me and Red traveled with needs medical aid while their system recover from the chemicals and contaminants spread, as well as the sand."

Red began to run his thumb up and down Nix's shoulder for a moment before he chimed in as well.

"Nix is our doctor, I am a pathfinder." He said and nodded. "The Elder needed care and we… Well, we wanted to help."

This time around it was Nix who shuffled the big softy around and offered him comfort. It was quite clearly a mutually loving relationship.

"Well," Colette cut in and turned back to the map so that everyone would follow along. "Given the sandstorm we can't track them."

On the table in front of them lay a map, and encircled on it were a few different landmarks that she could recognize from the area, all of them suitable covers from a storm. In the center was the spaceport which had a significantly wider circle around it. Some landmarks were housed within the circle, but the rest were at least close to it.

"But we can estimate where they would have gone." She explained. "These circles are places we know of to seek shelter in." Colette said and pointed to one of the landmarks before she moved to the outer circle. "While this is a day's travel on a speeder."

"Assuming you left in the afternoon, late enough to get caught in the storm, I'd give the others a day's travel at best to find shelter." The kid drew a second wide circle that wasn't too much wider than the speeder's range circle. "Meaning you either came from here in the south-east." And then she pointed to the opposite side of the map which had several shelters just out of reach of the newly added circle. "Or up here in the north-west."

"North-west." Red clarified, clearly impressed by the girl's deduction. "I see you didn't let your skills rust none."

The girl merely smiled back at him with a warm sensation in her chest before she turned back to the map again.

"That leaves us three different points where we could start our search." Colette sighed and pointed to the first spot on the map. The only spot that was within range of a day's travel.

"Actually, that one's no good." Red said and leaned over the table. "Wildlife claimed it as their own a few months back according to the other clans."

"Fuck." Colette cursed but was quickly whacked on her shoulder by Nix. "Sorry, uh, damn."

Colette turned back around to look at Valery.

"If we sleep here tonight we will be wasting a lot of good hours that could be spent on the trail." She said and sighed. "We will be going there on speeder, but we will most likely be heading back on foot with the others."

"Are you okay to leave right now?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Well, they were cute.

The more she looked at them, the more she wanted to get home and be wrapped up in a big hug from her husband. But then again, being away from home for a little while to work made those hugs feel extra special. She'd just have to be patient and focus on what mattered the most right now — helping her Padawan.

Though, it hardly seemed like she needed her help.

Valery blinked and watched Colette turn to the map, only to cover where her people could have gone, and deduct from there where they'd likely went. Nix and Red offered a few details to help her along the way, but Valery was just awfully quiet. Even a Jedi Master needed to understand when something was best left to the care of others.

Even if it was her own student — it just made Valery proud.

"I'm good to leave right now, and if we end up in darkness, we might actually have an advantage," Valery said with a soft smile. "I'm Keshian, so my eyes can also see the entire UV and Infrared spectrum. At night, I can very easily see people or, well, anything that gives off heat."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Valery got herself an appreciative smile from her apprentice and a tight hug.

"Aeris, do you have a comlink at hand? I might need to reach you or one of these two." She pointed at Nix and Red and Aeris nodded. "Once we have the resources to go, me and Valery will take one of your speeders and head out."

And that wasn't very difficult. As long as Colette and Valery explained to the merchants at the bazaar that they were going on a rescue op it was practically open season for some of the better stuff in stock, provided they only took what they needed to balance out their diet. A bunch of fruits, some dried meats and a few nuts as well as nutritious vegetables. It was going to be a few days on the trail and despite the grave circumstances it had Colette in an ecstatic mood.

This was the girl in her most natural state, as it had been before she left for the Order.

"Okay," She said and went over the list. "That should be everything."

The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but it was most certainly starting its descent. The two got on the speeder, Valery was given the reins given her claims of seeing all the fancy spectrum stuff. Which speaking of,

"How does it work anyway?" Colette asked. "The eyes. Like, do you see UV and Infrared while also seeing like I do. Like is it all at once, or do you have some sort of… Mental switch for it?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery returned the tight hug with a smile, and briefly glanced at Aeris. It was heartwarming to see her Padawan taking the reigns a little to do what was right, and Valery was never going to get in the way of it. Sometimes, she could learn as much from her Padawan, as they tended to learn from her.

This was Colette's time to shine.

After the plan was set up, the two Jedi collected what they needed to safely traverse the planet, and made their way to the speeder. Right now, it was extremely useful that these people knew no credits, because Valery wasn't sure if she'd have been able to pay for all of it otherwise.

"Alright, sit tight and enjoy the ride," Valery said with a grin after getting inside the speeder. But even though she seemed excited, she was carefully watching Colette to make sure she was safe — it was that protective, motherly side of the Jedi Master.

"Well, it's similar to humans at night. The way the pupil changes to let you see better in the dark?" Valery chuckled. "When there's not enough 'visible light', as most call it, my eyes will adjust to see Infrared or UV, depending on the environment. It's not even really a mental switch — it just sort of happens. That said, a sudden change in lighting can be annoying. Especially if I'm in the dark, and bright lights are turned on without warning."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The speeder was a well-used thing. The interior was showing clear signs of wear and tear with more than a few 'personal' additions to it such as a working radio and a jury-rigged cargo cover. If there had ever been a symbol of the Orphian people's ingenuity this might just have been it. It was the very idea of "recycle, reduce, and reuse" in one complete package.

"So, it's a bit like when Vera decides for someone else that it's time to wake up." Colette laughed and looked out at the desert landscape as they began to set off. "I guess some things are just universal like that when it comes to lights."

Just feeling the winds brush through her hair and the dusty smell of home was enough to make her smile despite the elder's rude awakening. Given that the people that had essentially been her surrogate parents still cared for her was just enough for Colette to drop whatever the hag had to say. This rescue operation wasn't for her, it was for Nix and Red. It was to stick a metaphorical finger in the elder's face for her disrespect.

It was to show that despite the dislike, Colette could do what they seemed unable to do. It was a selfish impulse but one that despite being selfish was also the right thing. Given how rare it was that those two things aligned, there really was no good reason not to do this.

Still…

"I feel like I'm not doing this for a good reason, Valery." Colette said as her smile slowly turned into a frown instead. "I…" She puffed up for a moment before she shook her head. "I want to show the elder, Sheila, wrong. I want to be who she can't be."

"I just-…" That pain began to resurface again. "She really hurt me. It wasn't right of her to treat me like that."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Heyy, Vera doesn't really do that anymore," Valery said with a chuckle. "Now I have three little ones who do it instead." They were also far worse about it than Vera was, especially Aeryn and Adam. But Valery would be lying if she claimed that it ever bothered her. Sure, sometimes it made for restless nights, but the joy she got out of her children couldn't be compared to anything. They always gave her a reason to get up and keep going forward in life.

Colette very much did the same.

"It wasn't right how she treated you, and I believe she was being fairly hypocritical as well, if you see how people here look at her." She paused and frowned a little. "...how you looked at her, until after what happened." She paused for a moment to focus on the endless path ahead, but still watched her Padawan from the corners of her eyes.

"What we're doing now shouldn't be about proving the Elder wrong, but I do believe you can do it to prove something for yourself. We always have to push ourselves beyond our boundaries and we're constantly confronting our fears or things that make us uncomfortable. Find strength in completing this task, knowing what just happened."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

How Colette looked at the elder? The comment took the kid by surprise for a moment and she recoiled into herself to think about what Valery was even saying. In the end she supposed it made sense, the Elder was a very respected person in her tribe and had been a voice of reason for many generations. It was hard not to look at someone like that with at least some sense of reverence.

"Yeah." Colette said and looked out at the desert again. The port was disappearing behind them and soon enough they would exit the valley proper and step into the bigger dunes that Colette had known as home. It was desolate on the surface but teeming with life just below it where the harsh sun didn't shine with the same intensity.

"It just sucks knowing that someone you somehow thought would always know what to say would just so carelessly toss you aside." She then said and turned back to Valery. "I did nothing but work, and work, and work for her people and yet it's like the second I was gon she just... Forgot."

"I don't get it."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Some people are very protective of what they have," Valery said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "So when you chose to leave, she may have felt insulted or even felt that it threatened the tribe and its future. But it's hard to say — some people also just aren't what they seem to be, and sometimes you only notice it once you get older and more experienced. Or, when you get an entirely new way of looking at things." Colette certainly had gained a new perspective on the Galaxy, on people and on life itself.

But Valery could only really theorize about this — she never knew the Elder before Colette joined the Jedi.

"Either way, we all get to choose what we dedicated our own lives to, so don't let her or anybody bring you down." Valery offered her Padawan a smile this time, and then focused on the dunes ahead again.

It was unlikely they'd crash, but she still had to pay attention.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"But I was…" Colette exhaled in confusion as she too stared out at the dunes. "It was made very clear that I was never fully part of their tribe, now that I think about it. It wasn't said, but it was in how they acted."

"As someone without a past or a family, I was always a bit more like a constant guest. I slept alone, and…" She chuckled. "I mean, it doesn't matter, but… I was also never going to have children. It was seen as too risky no matter which tribe I turned to. Without a family to claim me as their own, with proof, the risk of genetic problems would be too great."

Actually, the more she thought about it, the less amazing her culture seemed to get. It wasn't a realization that Colette had expected to find for herself. The more she looked at it, the more it seemed to be just like the other cultures in the galaxy, except they said no to credits.

Her heart broke a little.

"I…" She swallowed the pain. "I am starting to think what I have believed, and what the truth is, are two very different things."

"I hate it."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery's heart broke a little alongside Colette's.

She was never treated as part of the tribe or family there, yet also not allowed to ever start her own? Sure, she doubted the kid had really given much thought to having kids of her own, but it was still a painful thought. They cared more about their genetics and own way of living, and didn't even stop to consider how Colette might have felt.

Then again, if she had never left for the Jedi, Colette would have been raised thinking that was normal.

"I understand how it makes you feel," Valery said with a slight frown. "But how that Elder feels about you, or how they treated you, is not the whole picture either. Red and Nix seemed very happy to see you, and it's those people who matter the most on a personal level." As Jedi, they would help even the less pleasant of people, after all.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

A moment of silence passed where the only noise heard was the sound of the engine pushing against the sand and the winds struggling against the glass that protected the two women. Colette fell into a rare moment of contemplation where she seemed to genuinely struggle to connect the wires that she seemed to want to connect before she inevitably turned back towards Valery again.

"There's two thoughts I can't stop thinking about." Colette frowned. "One of them says that they did care, and that I while they pitied me they still wanted me around."

"... The other says that me leaving was what they had really wanted, and that they used me for work. Then they discarded me like trash as soon as they could, with the exception of Red and Nix. But even then…"

"What if they really just cared out of pity? What if I was just a… A charity case? A way to make themselves feel better for feeding a stray, a nobody."

 

[Valery Noble]

Ophus V

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery's brows furrowed at the question Colette asked, and her eyes briefly steered away from the dunes to focus on her Padawan. She had seen Colette at her lowest point when she killed someone on Pamarthe, but this was perhaps even worse. These people had been her family before becoming a Jedi, and now she felt as if she had never truly been part of the family. That was a pain Valery wouldn't have overcome so easily.

She had learned just how much her parents had loved her, and this was the complete opposite.

"I don't really know them well enough to answer these questions. But if you let all of these worries get to your head too much, you'll never really feel like you can trust people again. Some people will only ever care about themselves, and your tribe is likely not immune to it. But there are also people who do care, such as Red and Nix, and perhaps many more. It's not a black and white situation, and to me, it's always the good people whose views matter on a personal level."