Private Trouble never Ends

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

"Glad you could join me here, Alicio," Valery said as she glanced down the street that was still being investigated thoroughly. "After what happened here... after what almost happened to me, I prefer not to come here alone." Her dislike and perhaps even fear of Denon clearly ran deep, and not just because of this assassination attempt. She had spent much of her pregnancy on Denon as well, and during that time, two attempts were made to kill both her and her unborn daughter.

Since then, she's been through near-death encounters several more times, and many people close to her have suffered through terrible events on the planet. As far as she knew, it was the one place in Alliance territory where you always have to look over your shoulder, and where no person can easily be trusted.

"Thus far, we've found nothing that can lead us to the people responsible for the bombing, but so much more happened that night," Valery continued with a deep frown, as her gaze shifted away from the street and to her friend. "There was a lot of chaos, and smaller gangs took advantage of it and hit various targets on the planet. From rival gangs to raiding stores or even targeting law enforcement."

It was unlike anything she had seen before within the Alliance.

"Where do you think we should start?"

 

[Alicio Organa]

SCENE OF THE CRIME
DENON
​

There was an unmistakable frown that brushed the Count's face as he stared out, past lines of yellow holographic police tape, over the rent and blasted metal that was Valery's near-death experience. He knew that it was useless to ponder what terrible things could have happened, rather than focusing on the present... but he couldn't help but wonder where the Jedi, where the Alliance, would be if Master Noble had perished here.

Where he would be.

Alicio smoothed the collar of his coat, adjusting it out of his face as he turned his eyes to Valery. "Anything, Val," he replied, repositioning his cane. "I just hope I can help."

As Valery explained the situation, Alicio's frown only strengthened. He'd bore witness to the destruction of that night first-hand. It wasn't hard to imagine that criminals had taken advantage of a security force spread thin. "Well... I don't think we should go about this the regular way. I'm sure CorpSec is exhausting those options." Whether they would share what they found remained to be seen. "I think we should try something more... esoteric."

"Have you ever glimpsed into the past before, Valery?"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

"You're already helping, more than you might know."

She turned to Alicio and offered a soft smile. More than anything, she needed people she could trust out here, and he was among her best friends. With all the work he had already done on Denon, as well as his determination to not give up on the planet, she knew that very few others could do as much good here.

But they did have to figure out how to even get started.

"Yeah, this investigation hasn't been easy at all. Much of the evidence was lost in the fire, and while chemical analysis of the explosive composition can help us determine which explosives were used, it's impossible to link it to anybody. The web of options is just far too big." It really didn't help that Denon had so much illegal trade, so tracing weapons or explosives was probably not going to work, and nobody involved in what happened had really exposed themselves too much.

However, Alicio seemed to have another idea that sparked Valery's curiosity.

"Visions usually show the future but, at times, the past or present as well. It's just not common for me," Valery explained. Her time-perceptive skills were mostly focused on the near future, refined specifically for battle — something often referred to as Battle Precognition. To intentionally look far into the future or deep into the past wasn't her strength.

One day, though, it would be Vera's.

"Do you think we might be able to see something? And... is that something you can initiate?"

 

[Alicio Organa]

The Count flashed Valery a brief, silent smile. He didn't know what had happened to her here, other than what he saw from the explosion in front of him. But he did know that he would be here for the Jedi. Whether that was just as a forensic assistant, or moral support, he would be there for her.

As the Keshian began listing the avenues that they couldn't walk, Alicio stepped forward, passing through holographic tape to observe the other side. He stepped confidently through a street of broken metal and glass, as if he knew each step was a safe one. Then, the expected question.

"Do you think we might be able to see something? And... is that something you can initiate?"

"Maybe, and... maybe." He chuckled to himself. "To your first question, we might not find anything. But I think it's worth exploring. And to your second... I've never done it, but I know how."

The Count finally stopped in a clearing. "Time is a... complicated subject. I've always seen it as a vast ocean, myself. Looking ahead, to the Future, is like trying to navigate stormy waters. All that potential energy is shifting, turning, roiling, and all you have to navigate by is what is most likely to happen, not what will. The trouble is knowing where to go." He realized, then, that for the first time, he was more experienced than Valery at something. The idea made him smile, just a little.

"Looking behind to the Past is an entirely different struggle. It's already happened, so there are no waves. The water's frozen, no way to sail into it. All you can do is peer as far as you can into the ice, and hope you see what you're looking for. Some people can use objects, physical matter charged with potential, to receive echoes in the Force, crystalize their vision, but... I can't do that. So we'll just have to squint, and look as far as we can."

Alicio shrugged, turning to face Val. "I figure we join forces, and we'll be able to see something. Impressions, at least."

"Tell me if that sounds crazy."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

"Your analogy reminds me of the old Seers," Valery began with a chuckle after he explained his view on it. "My own perspective on the future and past is similar, but I've just... never been able to intentionally tap into them. Not in terms of visions, anyway," Valery explained. The concept of how they worked, what they showed, and how they could be interpreted wasn't alien to her — all Force sensitives received visions to some extent.

But not all of them as frequently, and even fewer Jedi focused on them.

"What you describe about seeing the past through objects is what we call Psychometry, a skill I only grasp the very basics of. But I don't believe it is the answer here either. The past is as you say, a frozen ocean with memories buried beneath. But memories aren't the only thing frozen in there." She turned to him and rubbed the back of her neck. "Emotions are as well, and tapping into them around a place like this, with death and suffering still being so vivid is very overwhelming. Jedi have fallen to the Dark Side using Psychometry, and others have lost their sanity."

She paused and looked around again with a returning frown. "Perhaps if we work together and focus on diving into the Force, we can see something but hopefully remain detached enough from the powerful emotions that linger here." Looking back at Alicio, a sudden faint smirk began to tug at her lips.

"Can't have you going insane right before the wedding."

She now stepped forward and gestured towards the remains of the train. "Let's sit down close to it and start with some meditation. The deeper we focus, the more likely it is that the Force will reach out to us."

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Can't have you going insane right before the wedding."

Alicio scoffed as he approached the wrecked train, humor flecking his grey eyes. "I don't think Amani would appreciate that, no." The Count had always been jealous of those beings blessed with Psychometry. He had often ran his fingers along a wall, and pondered it's history. But maybe if it was so dangerous, he was lucky not to possess the skill.

Finding a safe spot, Alicio sat down on the ground, taking off his coat, and placing the folded clothes caringly to his side. Once he was situated, with a bit of a smile towards Val, he unfastened his lightsaber from his cane, and removed his crystal from the hilt. The synthetic gem, deep blue with a heart of glittering black, he placed between himself and the Jedi.

"Okay," he breathed, already tasting the Force in the air. "Let's start peeking."

After a few minutes of meditation, and likely a few odd looks from Denon's security force, Alicio felt the rippling weight of the Force pressing down against them, like the pressure of water when one dove too deeply. Then, suddenly...

They were standing on an ocean of black, mirky water. Shifting and breaking and swirling as if it were in the midsts of a storm. The sky, dark blue and angry, reeled against the sea, tossing it every which way, though the liquid never seemed to touch their clothes, only the soles of their shoes.

Alicio turned around, and frowned in thought. The way behind them was solid, like a sheet of black, glacial ice, creaking and groaning under the weight of potential and emotions past. The Count didn't know where to start.

He then looked to Valery. He had led her to this place, a crossroads in the Force he had been many times before. Did she see it the same way he did, because of that? Or was it different to her? Either way, it was up to her to lead them to the event.

Focus, he encouraged, the unspoken thoughts resonating between them. Show us what happened.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

Once they had found a place to get seated, Valery lowered herself into a meditative position and set aside her own lightsaber. She drew in a small breath and allowed everything around her to slowly fade away into the background. Everything except for Alicio. Her mind focused on his, and through the Force, she reached out to connect with him. This wouldn't work if they reached a deeper state of focus separately, so she allowed their minds to blend together.

Her own into his, and she opened her usually shielded mind to him.

Where am I?

Valery looked around the black waters with a frown of her own and studied the way the ocean shifted around them. All of this reminded her of the analogy from before, but it felt much darker and colder now that she was able to see and feel it. Turning around, Valery's eyes settled on the ice, and she knew what to do.

I'll show you, but it won't be pleasant. You'll have to trust me.

Valery held out her hand for him to take, before crossing over in what she believed to be a manifestation of the past. She had never drawn someone other than her husband into her memories, but now she was going to allow the Force to reveal things she had most certainly missed in the moment.

Once they had crossed over, Valery drew in a deep breath and opened her mind to that day once more.

With a continuous hum of the train's metal hull soothing the mind, Valery almost felt herself falling asleep. She had been looking at a holo-image of her daughter for the last hour, hoping that she'd see her little star again very soon. Vera was turning six years old in about a month, and only one thing was really missing to make that day as special as it should be.

One person.

After a long moment, Valery closed her projector and stared at the display that had been hanging on the cabin walls for many years. She was about to cross over to the next district, and while the small clock ticked away slowly, she began to mentally prepare herself for it. But right as the district number changed, the clock stopped ticking.

Fire engulfed the entirety of the cabin, the glass exploded and the view changed from the woman bracing herself against what she believed to be certain death. Instead, it showed the explosion underneath the train, carefully prepared but far from professional in origin. There was a laugh and two long blue bundles of light at the source of this cackling.

Then finally, the emotions.

Pain, confusion... fear.

Was she going to lose Vera? She had already lost so much.

Then a voice — Valery but not the woman inside the train.

It's... painful. I can't... focus.​

 

[Alicio Organa]

The Sea, Alicio replied, staring out over a chaotic, freezing ocean of Time, his clothes and hair tossed by chilled winds. The Count wasn't sure what exactly it was; perhaps a construct of his own mind, to make sense of an infinite concept such as time, or a physical manifestation of the Force itself. Either way, it was real enough.

She asked for his trust. He smiled at her.

Always.

They dove into the past together, hand in hand.

It was a strangely peaceful scene. Valery, staring into a datapad, dreaming of somewhere, someone, far away. If Alicio didn't know what was to happen, he would never have guessed she was seconds from dying. But he could taste the ripples of danger coming from the future, a warning of the storm to come.

The world turned slow and bright, their perspective shifted, and the Count tasted something new- the bitter-sweet flavor of fear. As the disaster crawled along at a snail's pace, certain objects began to bloom with black and blue, bleeding like a painting dipped in water. Alicio's voice broke through the vision.

Val, listen to my voice, he projected, his voice soft, but assertive. You are safe. Vera is safe. This is the past. Nothing here can hurt you unless we let it. And I won't let it.

Alicio didn't make himself seen, but his presence was suddenly everywhere, comforting, powerful in ways he couldn't be in the physical world. Time was his domain, after all. He wouldn't allow it to harm one of his closest friends.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

Val, listen to my voice​

It wasn't just the words guiding her focus, but the way he talked to her that helped Valery remain calm. No matter what she'd see inside this domain she helped him create, nothing could harm her, and nothing could change what had already happened. She survived, Vera was fine, and now all that remained was figuring out who was behind this attack. Not just for her own justice, but also to provide answers for the families who lost loved ones that day.

Now embracing the soothing presence of her close friend, Valery sharpened her focus and those two blue streaks of light began to slowly shift. A woman appeared wearing a skinsuit and helmet with two long, blue braids sticking out from the sides. She was laughing and enjoying the destruction she had caused.

But the bombs were not enough.

Even though Valery had already exited the train, this woman returned to plant more explosives. She loved the destruction she caused and cared nothing for the despair and chaos that ensued. Alicio would be able to feel a fire burning brighter and brighter within Valery, bordering on anger trying to force its way out.

How could anybody love such mindless and unnecessary slaughter?

Then, the image shifted.

Masked figures with blasters, chains, brass knuckles, and other makeshift weapons were fighting their way through the streets, brutally destroying and maiming anything or anybody in their way. Law enforcement stood no chance, as most of it was focused elsewhere to contain the growing riots. Then there was a large building, still within district 7 but there were no riots there. Loud music was playing and more of these thugs stood outside its doors, guarding it like it was their own.

Finally, the images all blurred, the clock began to tick again, and Valery was pulled out of her vision.

Valery gasped for air and dropped down to her hands and knees after her grip on Alicio's hand had suddenly weakened. Her long hair fell around her like a blanket, and she stared at the black ice with mixed emotions. Confusion, pain, and some anger but mostly determination.

This had to stop.

That was... intense.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio was glad to sense that Valery had centered herself based on his presence. It was something he'd never felt from the Jedi Master before- and something he would attempt to protect her against, were he were ever able to again.

The vision continued to crystalize, the blurred edges of prophecy hardening into tangible images. Alicio could sense the joy coming from the woman in the helmet, a reckless, savage joy of destruction, that Alicio hadn't ever felt before.

But their eyes were pulled from that scene, as more heightened emotion drew in their attention. A marauding band of criminals, tearing their way across an embattled Denon. Instead of the righteousness he felt radiating from Valery, Alicio could only peer on in sadness, wondering at what had happened in their lives to bring them to such desperate violence.

A building. A clue? Maybe. Alicio didn't have time to pry further, as they retreated to the Sea once more.

Alicio seemed lost in thought, eyes gazing melancholic over the sheets of ice, as they returned to the crossroads. He hadn't been as affected by what he'd seen, but he was also more removed from it than Val, who had been right in the action. He kneeled down, knee dipping slightly into the inky water beneath them, and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

You can say that again. He smiled, despite the somber greys of his eyes. Let's return to the Now. I think we've seen all we will today.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

With his hand settling on her shoulder, Valery glanced up to offer him a soft smile. A hand then came up to tug her hair behind her ears, and she quickly steadied her breathing. Everything was alright, and while the answers to their questions were not revealed to them as clearly as she would have liked, she believed they had a starting point.

The woman with the blue braids and this gang.

Let us.

​

Once the vision had shifted, Valery's eyes opened and the smell and sight of the train's destruction briefly overwhelmed her senses all at once. A sigh escaped her lips and after a couple of seconds of adjusting herself to the real world, she turned her fiery eyes to Alicio. There was a new kind of appreciation in them.

"I'm lucky to have a friend like you," she told him honestly.

"If you saw everything I did... then I believe we saw two separate issues. The person responsible for the explosion might be hard to find, but those gangs who exploited the chaos..." She tightened her fists and rolled her shoulders.

"Do you think we should pay them a visit?"

 

[Alicio Organa]

When the pair finally opened their eyes, Introspect's crystal, which had been floating and singing it's high, whistling song, fell heavily to the ground between them. With a practiced motion, Alicio swiped up the gem, replacing it into his cane.

"I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

The Count smirked, standing as he draped his coat around his shoulders once more, his cane trading hands as he fitted on the sleeves. His grateful silence would tell Valery all she needed to know on how he felt about their friendship.

"I got the same impression," Alicio mused, after a moment. "And... we didn't get much to go on, with the saboteur." He smiled sardonically. "There are probably quite a few people with blue hair on Denon."

"So... let's do what we can. Follow the path we've been given." The Count nodded subtly to the Jedi Master.

"I'm with you."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

Valery softly smiled in response to his smirk, but rather quickly shifted her focus back to their mission. The vision, as disturbing as it had been, was only the beginning. It gave them a starting point that prior investigation failed to provide, and now they had to somehow tie it all together. The woman with blue hair — the saboteur — was likely going to be very difficult to catch just on visuals alone.

And even if they did, hard evidence linking her to the crime was still necessary, or she'd be free again fast.

"Not to mention that a vision doesn't exactly count as evidence in a criminal case." Valery sighed, clearly a little defeated that they hadn't been able to find more. But this was only the beginning. "Maybe these thugs we saw are more closely tied to the saboteur than we think. If not... then I'll already feel a little better if we address them."

She gestured around at cameras in the area. "I'm sure many of them were seen on cameras throughout the city too, so it should be easy enough to find evidence against them."

Turning around, Valery let out a soft sigh and focused on what she saw during the vision. They may have retreated back into the real world, but the Force was still with them both, guiding their path forward.

"It's this way," she said after a moment, and with great confidence, she began to walk. "If what we saw is still accurate, they are guarding the whole building. But they're also not expecting us... maybe we can draw some of them out and jump them together? Maybe if we trap them in a less advantageous position, they'll be more inclined to surrender."

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Not to mention that a vision doesn't exactly count as evidence in a criminal case."

Alicio smiled bitterly. "No. Nor should it. Visions, both of the future and the past, are far too subject to interpretation." It was why he hadn't yet used the skill to assist him politically. There was no one path to peace, and abandoning all others to chase one could instead lead them into darkness.

The Count took small steps beside Valery, as they followed the tides of the Force towards the building they had seen, cane tapping intermittently on the harsh Denonian duracrete. "How could we lure them out?" Already, ideas were flashing in his head. Terrible, terrible ideas.

"Well... I'm dressed rather fancily, what with the cane and all. If they see a hit, a few might come out and try to rob me." He frowned at his own suggestion. Alicio had performed deceptions of that caliber before, but that didn't mean he had to like them. "They expect a defenseless Count, and they get a Jedi Master. Might work, though I'm not sure how we're supposed to detain anyone."

A while into their stroll, the street began to feel familiar, though Alicio was sure he'd never seen it before. Not physically, at least. At the end of the street, a large building echoed with raucous techno music, multicolored lights streaming from windows. Three armed, tough-looking individuals sat outside the building, shaking dice over a few hands of cards. Alicio and Valery had yet to be noticed.

"Your call, Val," he breathed, pausing and stepping out of view of the house.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

Valery nodded in agreement. It was for the best that they weren't going to rely on visions, but it did complicate the mission even further. They had to find a way to collect solid evidence or whoever they apprehended was going to be set free long before any kind of trial could be started against them.

For now, she decided to focus on step one — finding the thugs they could more easily recognize. In her mind, she was already starting to make plans for it but Alicio did the same and proposed one that made her blink. "You want me to use you as bait to bring them all out?" she asked rhetorically and with a smirk that was slowly widening.

"Well, it'll likely work but if your fiancée finds out... it wasn't my idea." She chuckled and turned her gaze to the structure up ahead. Even from this distance, it was easy enough to not just feel the people inside, but what kind of people they were too. The worst of the worst, and she was going to let them all target Alicio at first.

"Just uh, be careful okay? We'll take them out and with camera footage of what they did that night, I'm sure a strong case can be made against them." Valery stopped and turned to Alicio one more time, mostly to check if he was alright with going through with the plan. He was putting himself in danger the most, so she'd only accept this if he felt confident.

"I'll be watching from the shadows~" Valery said if he agreed, and without another word, she completely vanished. All that remained was her familiar Force presence, which she didn't feel was necessary to suppress right now. But she couldn't be seen, and she couldn't be heard.

This way, she could remain relatively close to him.

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Well, it'll likely work but if your fiancée finds out... it wasn't my idea."

Alicio smirked, leaning on his cane. "Deal. Though I doubt I'd need to do much convincing. This is... par for the course, for me." Amani probably wouldn't like him taking risks like this. But she had trained him knowing that he tended to enthusiastically rush headfirst into danger.

It wasn't even the first time he'd offered himself as bait.

After agreeing with his plan, Alicio was absolutely baffled as Valery vanished from view. "You can... turn invisible?" He blinked, trying and failing to see the Jedi. "When were you planning on telling me you could do that?"

Obviously, he had a lot to learn about the Force.

With Val's presence at the corner of his perception, Alicio stepped out from around the building, favoring his cane a bit more than necessary. Putting on an expression of mild worry, the Count approached the building, turning off into an alleyway once he was sure the three playing cards had noticed him. He could sense their interest pique, reeking with a rotten taste. He waited in the side-street, unscrewing the hilt of his lightsaber from his cane in preparation.

After half a minute of waiting, seven gangsters came sauntering around the corner, wielding an eclectic assortment of vibroblades, blasters, and blunt objects. "Hey!," one called out, recognizable from the card game, blaster drawn at the turned back of the Count. "You lost, friend?"

"No. I don't think so." He turned slowly, a knowing, infuriating smirk on his face. "But I appreciate the concern."

Any time, Val.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

<A Shadow doesn't reveal all of her tricks~> She told him telepathically and even though he couldn't see her, she was certain that he knew she was grinning. Force Cloak wasn't exactly a common skill and back in her day, only Jedi Shadows were taught the ability. It's why she had taught Iris, and it's likely why he hadn't really seen it before.

There was a first time for everything.

But with Valery in her cloak following him closely, they made their approach and it didn't take long for them to draw attention. A group of gangsters, armed with a variety of weapons, all came out to likely attempt a robbery. Denon wasn't a planet where that happened without an abundance of violence either, so she kept herself ready to make a move in a split-second.

"No. I don't think so." He turned slowly, a knowing, infuriating smirk on his face. "But I appreciate the concern."

"Nice cane you got there," Another chimed in when Alicio tried to agitate them.

"Maybe you're the one who should have beeen concerned." As the man's finger inched closer to the trigger, his entire weapon suddenly folded in on itself. He stared at it with widened eyes, but one of his buddies was quicker to move. A metal bat was swung down towards the count's head, but it suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"Tsk tsk, boys," Valery said as she suddenly appeared behind them. Before giving them a chance to respond, she sent a powerful kick against the back of another armed with a blaster. She wanted to prioritize the most dangerous ones of the bunch, but it did leave Alicio to fight a vibro-blade-wielding maniac.

He'd be fine.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio had come a long way since he'd first trained with Valery.

There was a sure, easy confidence in his posture as he faced the band of ruffians, cane gripped loosely in his main hand. Their attempts at intimidating him down only served to bolster him further. These were the type not just to mug and kill, but to enjoy doing it.

The Count didn't enjoy violence, but he could find some accomplishment in helping Val cut these people down to size.

Alicio didn't flinch as a metal bat was swung towards his face, having seen the Future, and trusting in his friend's abilities. His faith was rewarded, as only wind tousled his hair. He stared into the man's eyes, a lordly calm where the criminals might have expected fear.

The battle began in earnest, with Valery taking the lion's share of opponents. Still, one vibroblade-wielding criminal stepped up towards him, rushing in to chop at the Count. But Alicio had spent time practicing his form with Master Noble, with Iris, with Amani. One untrained thug who relied more on intimidation than skill wouldn't stand a chance.

Alicio won the bout in three moves. He dipped past the slashing blade, slapped the wrist to make the swordsman drop his weapon, and slammed his cane into the man's throat, pushing him to the ground. Afterward, Alicio dipped elegantly into the battle beside Valery, seeming to know exactly when to strike, and how to dodge in the melee.

One of the gangsters screeched unceremoniously into a wrist comm. "Hey! Door Team needs backup up front!"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Alicio Organa

After prioritizing the two goons with blasters, Valery turned to see Alicio elegantly taking down the man who had charged at him first. His form had greatly improved since their first training together, so she could only grin when he made the thug look like a complete fool. There wasn't too much time to laugh and enjoy it though — several more goons remained and Valery charged at them to knock a few more out while Alicio handled the others.

Unlike the thugs, they fought like a team and they were much better trained.

"Hey! Door Team needs backup up front!"

Valery turned on her heels and used the Force to fling one of the broken blasters directly into his face. It knocked the man down instantly, but she knew it was too late. "Got several more incoming!" Valery called out as she looked over at the building. Unlike the goons they were fighting now, all of these were armed with blasters, so it was going to be a tougher fight.

To provide cover, Valery quickly stepped forward and drew her lightsaber to deflect the first wave of bolts coming their way. Only when Alicio was ready to advance with her, she'd make a move.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio noticed Valery's look of approval at how far he'd come since their first meeting, and Alicio could only smile, feeling a bead of pride burning in his heart. He dove in to help Valery, using his cane to parry attacks, bludgeon knees, and crack people atop the head.

Of course, Alicio winced each time he did so, hoping he'd correctly calculated the right force not to seriously hurt anyone, even as they tried to kill him and his friend. Of course, he did get hit once, receiving a knuckle to the cheek, but the Count recovered quickly, his stick whipping across the perpetrator's face, sending them crumpling to the floor.

They were unable to silence a call for help, and Alicio sensed the approach of more enemies around the corner. Valery saw it too, finally activating her blade, and Alicio was quick to follow suit, as a flash of blue and black lit the senator's features.

Valery gave Alicio cover as he quickly dispatched the rest of the melee combatants, slicing their weapons with one move, and knocking them out cold with his cane in the other hand. With a nod to Valery, Alicio finally discarded his cane to the side, holding his blade up defensively to help her push away the blasts of red energy. He was ready to advance.

"Jedi!"

"Hey, is that... Valery fuckin' Noble?"

"Who cares, keep blastin'!"

- Valery Noble -