Private Unmutual Breakup

[Noah Corek]

View attachment Western-spaceport.webp
Coruscant
Port Quarter
Western Spaceport

Valery Noble​

This hadn't been the first time Noah had been in the Western Spaceport, with it being one of the most busy spaceports on the world and said world being his homeworld Noah had spent more than a few hours in the spaceport. As such he had found his favorite caf shop, found a seat and sat down to a nice cup and a slice of uj'alayi or uj cake to the aruetiise.

With his business and his family Noah found himself coming less and less to the place of his birth but today it was business that brought him here, well less business and more of doing a favor for an old friend of his. This old friend, Valery Noble, had contacted him and spoke about a group of smugglers and gun runners funneling illegal arms into the Alliance.

Noah was no stranger to running guns, as he himself had done this plenty of times in his career, the difference between the guns he ran and the ones being ran at the moment was that his were often smuggled to resistances groups and insurgencies against governments like the Sith Empire, the Brotherhood of the Maw and New Imperial Order, as well as being done with the at least tacit support of the governments opposing these other governments.

This new group, according to the little information that Valery had decided to share for the sake of security, had no scruples in supplying their arms to anyone who could pay. Criminal syndicates, terrorist groups, street and swoop gangs and the occasional lone wolf. He was Mandalorian and as such he believed one had the right to own and bears arms but that right stopped when the innocent were hurt and harmed.

It was for this reason alone that Noah sat in the caf shop, sipping caf and eating small pieces of uj cake between sips.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

"You look like you're enjoying yourself," Valery said as she stepped inside, and walked over to her old friend. She wasn't dressed like a Jedi at all this time, and wore her old operative suit instead. A little classy for a Coruscant spaceport perhaps, but it'd make her a lot less recognizable. Just the eyes and scar were more difficult to hide, but she didn't care enough to wear a mask or do anything about her eyes.

"Here, this might be interesting for you to look over," Valery then added, as she walked around and sat down across from him. She offered a datapad as well, which contained some more info about the fighting ring they were up against. Valery had even participated in some fights because she couldn't blow her cover. But the bosses of said fighting ring are who she's really after, and for good reason.

"Nothing too dangerous, but it's easy to scare them away if we expose ourselves too quickly." She sat back and let out a soft sigh. Last time, she didn't manage to get to them, so she hoped that this chance would be different.

 

[Noah Corek]

He had been halfway through a bite of uj cake when Valery's voice filtered into his ears, his attention previously being attracted by an article he was reading on a datapad of his own. "Well this is one of the few places on Coruscant you can get decent uj cake for a even more decent price." The words he spoke were somewhat muffled by the few bits of the cake he had yet to swallow. He quickly did so and washed the cake down, his face breaking into a smile as he nodded towards Valery Noble . "What Val? No small talk? No 'how's the family?' Man that's just hurtful...and I was going to tell you how good you looked today."

With the teasing that was almost obligatory between the two old friends nowadays he took the proffered datapad and quickly began sorting through it, quickly absorbing the information into his mind. One piece of information that was on the datapad stuck out to him however, his brow furrowing when he read it. "The fighting ring is run out of Level 1888 in the Mid Levels...chit...I haven't been back there in over forty years."

Deciding that she was owed some sort of explanation he fixed Valery with a bit of a smile mixed with grimace. "I grew up on that level. Spent the first eighteen years of my life there before I joined the army. I might have contacts down there that could help...though again I haven't seen any of them in over four decades."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

Valery rolled her eyes as she settled into her seat, but let out a soft sigh quickly after before she smirked a little, "Yeah, sorry. I'm just in a mission mindset, but I do hope that everything is going alright," she said, knowing that he was just trying to tease, but she still didn't want him to think that she didn't care when she did. But whenever she shifted into that mission focus, she didn't always think too much about more personal matters.

They could get too distracting.

"Been there before, hm?" she perked a brow, but it wasn't really too surprising considering his job.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try and reach out to those contacts. Maybe they'll know more about the people we're after." If they didn't, no harm done — they'd just have to figure everything out themselves. But every little bit they could gain beforehand would make this process go faster.

"Where do we start?"

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble
​

Noah chuckled and grinned as he observed the eye roll from Valery, his grin growing wider as he saw the smirk on her face. "You're fine. There's a saying for that in Mando'a. Buy'ce olar, kar'ta ogir. Rough translation? Helmet on, heart off. I think the meaning behind it is pretty clear." He sipped the last few sips of his caf before placing the ceramic mug down on the table before smiling a little more lightly. "Everything is going good. Let me tell you something, be glad Vera is young right now. As soon as children turn from twelve to thirteen it's like a switch flips. I've faced down army of Stormtroopers and Sith Lords...but my teenage daughter on a tear? No thank you."

He smiled at the thoughts that ran through his mind when Valery asked if he had been there. Memories of his time growing up on the Level 1888 filtering into his mind. "Alderaan is home for me now but Level 1888? Well that's the first place I think I every truly called home."

When his contacts he mentioned were brought to the forefront Noah nodded. "Some of them might. Most of them are or were members of a local swoop gang down there. The Red Talons. Tacky name I know but they're mostly good people. Down there they act as the law for the most part. Yeah they make credits from some illicit means but it's mostly gambling and protection rackets, they do far more good than harm..."

Valery would probably be surprised that Noah was making excuses for criminals, but he had grown up in the area and knew the situation there much better than her. "Well to start you might wanna change clothes...no offense you look great like always but to be honest? You look like a cop, not something you want to look like that deep in the mid levels in gang turf."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

Valery snickered a little when Noah mentioned the horror of raising a teenager, "Oh I'm sure we'll have our hands full with Vera when she's a bit older. The triplets too, one day." One teenager sounded like a struggle, but three of them all at the same age was a nightmare waiting to happen. Still, she was looking forward to watching them grow up, and be able to do a lot more things with them as family.

For now, though, she was going to enjoy the years she had with them as her little kiddos.

Valery then listened to Noah as he explained more about the level they were heading to, and raised a brow as he defended what sounded like criminals. Not that she was going to do anything about them today — the weapon smugglers were a far bigger threat, so if these people could help, she'd happily accept it.

"Well, as long as they can be trusted, I don't mind working with them. But I don't know them, so I'm taking your word for it." Which meant she was putting quite a bit of responsibility on his shoulders, but she had a feeling that he understood this was quite serious. They couldn't afford to also be shot in the back by other people down there.

"Hmm..." Valery glanced down at her clothes and sighed. "Alright, I'll get a jacket and some jeans." Maybe sunglasses to cover up her orange eyes as well, while she was at it. "Meet you at the taxi pad to go down there in about an hour, then?"

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah smiled self satisfiedly to himself when he finally was able to draw a bit of a snicker out of Valery Noble , it wasn't a full laugh like he would have wanted but he could settle for a snicker. It was his turn to laugh once she mentioned that the triplets would be coming to that age eventually too. "Man and I thought it was bad that Junior and Morgan came to age at the same time...triplets...well if any parents can handle it it is the 'Sword and Shield of the Jedi."

As much as the man complained about his, and others, kids he would have it no other way as his children were what made him the person he was today...well that and his two wives, his clan and his military service but that was neither here nor there at the moment.

The man would have had to been blind not to catch Val's obvious apprehension of working with what shook out to be petty criminals but it was a testament to the trust between the two old friends that she didn't raise any argument or complaint about it. "Hey, I trust them and you trust me. So that's enough."

He chuckled as she looked down at her clothes and nodded with her assesment. "The more casual the better." With the plan set to meet in an hour Noah nodded, finished the last of his caf off, making a face as he realized it had gone cold during their talk, and stood before throwing a few credit chits on the table, enough to pay for his drink and food and to give the waitress a healthy tip. Tipping his head to Val with a wink and a smile he began walking off, needing to gather some stuff of his own. "See you in a hour."

One Hour Later
​

He sat on a bench near the taxi pad, legs crossed at the knee, right hand resting against his knee while the index and middle finger of that hand drummed rhythmically against said knee. He had changed his clothes himself, now sporting a untucked dark green long sleeve button up with the sleeves rolled to just below the elbow, a pair of slightly faded jeans and a pair of comfortable black sneakers with the laces tied and stuffed into the sides.

Sat next to the man on the bench was a duffel bag and with Val knowing Noah better than most she'd be able to deduce that the bag was filled to the brim with weaponry. And so there the man sat waiting for his companion to arrive so they could proceed to his former home neighborhood.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

With his confirmation that he trusted them, as well as a plan set about where they'd meet and in what kind of clothing, Valery offered a final smile before she quickly returned home. Almost the full hour later, she returned — now dressed in jeans, a white shirt tucked into her pants, and a black leather jacket over it. She was wearing sunglasses as well, and had retouched her make-up to make sure she looked as civilian as she could.

Whilst also looking like she shouldn't be messed with.

"You're bringing a lot of toys for this one," Valery said as she glanced down at his bag. "I've got mine too," she then added, before tapping the two pistols Noah had gifted her for her birthday. She still had a lightsaber concealed in her jacket as well, but she wasn't going to draw it unless necessary.

"We should just grab a taxi to go down, I think. Feels more... normal."

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble​

Noah raised an eyebrow when he finally saw Valery approaching him, the right side of his mouth curling upwards into a grin before he reached and picked up his bag before standing and slinging it over his shoulder. His grin only grew wider on his face as she pointed out the duffel bag and called out its contents. "I bring a lot of toys to every situation Val...never hurts to have too much equipment." He gave her a wink before turning and turning slightly and motioning her to follow him to the taxi hailing console.

Pressing the button to summon the taxi he turned back to look Valery up and down and nodded in appreciation. "Well you definitely don't look like a cop anymore, look like someone who definitely knows her ways around the mid levels..." He looked down further at the blasters she had brought, the one he had gifted. "Well I hope you've been following the training regimens I provided you. Made em myself."

It wasn't long before the taxi arrived streaming onto the platform next to them, Noah opening the trunk and throwing the duffel in the rear before walking around to Valery's side and opening the door for her with an exaggerated bow. "M'lady."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

"I do know my way around the mid-levels," Valery said with a chuckle. "I used to be down in places like it more than I'd be at the surface or somewhere... well, nice." A Jedi Shadow's work hardly ever brought them into fields of flowers and sunshine. It was always the darkest corners of the Galaxy she had to visit, and always for the most dangerous jobs out there. All-in-all, it had prepared her well for missions like this.

"Yeah, I've been practicing plenty, and Kahlil has helped me too. He's a very good shot and his ability to use the Force helped taught me how to shoot whilst using it for guidance." She was obviously quite proud about what she learned, but she still hoped that she wouldn't have to show it off today.

Soon enough, the taxi arrived for the fairly short trip down to where they needed to go. Noah held open the door and made a comment that got Valery to roll her eyes at him again. "Oh please," she said with a chuckle and shake of her head, before stepping inside to get seated.

"I'll leave the navigating to you."

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble​

Noah grinned as his teasing of her now changed appearance got a rebuttal from her. "Well now you look the part as well, so its a double whammy." He smiled and then his mouth went flat and an eyebrow was raised as she spoke about his home level not being the most hospitable place. "Are you saying that where I grew up isn't a nice place to live? Well that's quite rude now isn't it..." While his words seemed a little testy Valery would knew the man well enough to know when he was yanking her chain.

He nodded to her when she brought up her improvement in her shooting skill, having seen her shoot previously he'd be interested just to see how much she had improved, though he hoped it wouldn't be in a actual firefight. When the use of the force in aiming was brought up Noah snorted somewhat, less in detestment or disgust but more in a lack of understanding. "I don't get the whole using the Force to aim, I've never had the use of the Force and yet I can still hit a pinhead at five hundred meters...and that's not exaggeration."

After the touting of his skills and the joke of holding her door open for her Noah stepped into the taxi beside Val and closed the door, glancing at her with a grin and a wink before looking towards the datapad that was mounted in front of him. After quickly typing in a address and punch the enter key a window popped up with a warning message in Aurebesh about the dangers of going to their destination to which Noah simply shrugged and swiped away the waring and the taxi began the descent.

As the taxi descended Noah looked out the window and watched the sunshine of the surface disappear being now replaced with the dim street lights of the mid levels of the ecumenopolis. While the pair descended Noah's view shifted over to Valery and his mouth opened to talk but closed, the usually talkative man somewhat stumbling before speaking. "I know I asked how the family is but how are you doing Val?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

Valery chuckled, "The Force is an extension of who we are, so using it when we're handling a blaster is as natural as you using your eyes and experience. It helps us aim, but it also warns of us threats we can't yet see, so we can more easily line up a shot long in advance. It has its applications." Still, using the Force was no replacement for actually developing skill and experience, so she practiced with the Force, as much as she did without.

The two then got settled within the Taxi, and began the rather familiar ride down into the lower levels. There were more than she could ever hope to visit, but many of them sparked the same feeling within her.

Somewhere mid-ride, however, Valery was drawn out of her own mind when she noticed Noah turning to face her, and at first, he seemed hesitant to speak his mind. But after he asked his question, she offered a faint smile, "I've been doing alright. I had some harder times behind me, and the recovery from being captured was slow and painful, but I'm feeling good again. My family has been very supportive, and so have my friends."

"I hope you've been well, too."

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble
​

Noah listened to Val speak about using the force while aiming a blaster before giving a shrug, not a dismissive or disagreeing shrug but one more of a shrug to indicate a agree to disagree and dropping the subject. When Valery spoke to him about her time after her capture he nodded sympathetically with a sad smile on his face. "I can understand somewhat...I uh spent a few months in a Imperial prisoner of war camp when I was younger so I know some of what you went through maybe if you ever ya know want to talk about it."

When she brought up how he was doing he let his face scrunch up into a thinking face, not really having thought about it for a little while. "I'm...content? Yeah that's probably the word I'd use." He sighed and leaned back against the seat, placing his head on the head rest and closing his eyes. "I've got nothing to complain about. I'm healthy both physically and financially, I'm married to two fantastic women whom I love who have given me more than enough kids and I have more than enough work to keep my occupied. So yeah, content is the word I'd use."

He opened his eyes, looking over towards Val with a smile on his face after his words and then looked back forward when he heard the ding of the taxi's systems letting them know they had arrived. Rolling his shoulders and necks to get the kinks out he reached into the pocket on his shirt and drew out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Looking over to Valery with a smile once more he gave her a nod before reaching to the door handle and opening it stepping out and onto the landing platform.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Western Spaceport

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

"I appreciate it," Valery said with a soft smile at the offer to talk about her struggles with what happened in captivity. She had already gotten a lot of support, luckily, and she wanted to focus on the mission for now. So she let the topic shift to how he had been, and felt relieved to hear that he had been doing quite well. He was stable in life, had his family close and very little things that seemed to threaten it.

Or, well, at least for now. A conflict with the Mandalorian Enclave was on the horizon, and she feared that anybody within Alliance space was going to feel a lot less safe because of it.

"Glad to hear all is well, and let's make sure ot stays that way, hm?" She smirked and patted Noah on the shoulder before glancing away. They were about to reach their destination, so she readied herseld and stepped onto the landing platform after he did.

"I'll let you lead the way down here. You are more familiar with this place."

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble
​

He smiled when she brought up her appreciation and nodded. "Eh don't mention it, people like us have to stick together." His smile turned to a grin and a wink before they had stepped out and onto the landing platform. He once again smiled as he felt the pat on his shoulder, his own hand reaching up to pat hers in return before looking towards the doors that led into the main street for the level.

As they walked towards the doors he heard her advising him to try and keep his life on the steady and he laughed, a full throated laugh at that. "Well as you know that really depends on my kids and spouses, I'm sure your family is doing its best to disrupt your peace as well...that is just the nature of family. Chaos...well a good sort of chaos I guess." Finished speaking he walked up to the doors and mashed the button to open them, the doors sliding aside with obvious protest as they were not well maintained.

The first thing Valery would notice would of course be the smell, it wasn't appealing by any sense of the word but at the same time it was off putting it was simply unique. He nodded at her aquiescence of control to him in leading them on this level. "Sounds good, there's a little cantina down the way a bit, it caters solely to locals so it'll be a good enough place to attract some...attention."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

"Oh you have no idea," Valery said with a laugh, "Kahlil called me chaos incarnate once, and I feel like the kids have taken after that nickname. Vera is just... such a ball of energy, and the triplets are quite the same right now." Her smile betrayed that she loved it, and wouldn't have it any other way. Seeing them grow up was so much fun, but she was clearly enjoying the time where they were little and really needing their parents.

It's why she'd probably not want to stop having kids until she just couldn't anymore. The idea of having little ones to raise made her happier than anything in the Galaxy.

Meanwhile, the two continued down the lower levels, and Valery made sure to stay close. She'd be fine if she ended up on her own, but there was always strength in numbers. A common thug might attempt something if they saw a woman walking here alone, but having to deal with two clearly well-trained bodies was far too much for most people to even think about trying.

"Agreed, and I think drawing attention will be easy for us. Even now, I feel like we're already being watched," Valery commented while her fiery gaze shifted around.

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah let out a long and loud laugh when he heard what Kahlil had once called Valery Noble , a hand coming away to wipe a tear that had formed at the corner of his eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh Manda! I'm sorry for laughing so hard Val, that's just funny as hell." His laughed tapered off though the large grin on his face remained as he gave the woman a teasing nudge with his elbow.

"I for one agree with him, I've seen you in action and you a definitely a force of pure chaos. Though I can relate to him, my wife Alex is a similar force, when we first met she demanded to spar and bet she could beat me, the bet was for a date. She won but cheated using the force but still let me take her to dinner." He chuckled and shook his head with the large grin still splitting his face, his mind transported back years in the past to happy memories.

As they walked down the street Noah got the same feeling Valery was currently experiencing, even without the force his years of experience still gave him that sixth sense that afforded him an edge in life overall. His eyes shifted around the streets as they walked, darting into alleys and doorways as he saw various beings watching, even seeing a few of them palming weapons before a grin and slight head shake from him dissuaded them.

When Val spoke about them drawing attention he snorted with a smile. "Yuuuup. They're sizing us up, trying to figure out if we're worth the hassle or not...or maybe they're just staring at your butt, could easily be both too." He gave a flippant shrug and winked at her, the shrug itself being a strategic move that rode his jacket up a little bit and exposed the grips of the dual pistols in their shoulder holsters.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Noah Corek

"Yeah, yeah... laugh all you want," Valery said with just a slight pout, though a smirk took over soon enough. She didn't mind the teasing from her husband or friends at all, and even welcomed it. To her, it just showed how much they cared about her, and that they liked to have fun too. She wasn't just a Jedi Master or acquaintance to them.

Especially to her husband, of course.

"Did she now?" Valery snickered when he told her about his wife. "Sounds a lot like Kahlil and I with our spars and dates. It's those little things that make life fun, huh?" Valery asked with a smile before her expression turned a little more serious. That feeling she had of being watched was shared by him, and it was alarming. Would there be weapons drawn against them? Or were they going to be able to at least speak to the people they were searching for?

"If they're looking at my butt, they're going to have a bad day," Valery said rather casually. "But I think they're sizing us up too. From their perspective, we're intruders, hm? I'd be careful too if I were one of them."

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble​

He chuckled with a grin and leaned over to gently bump Valery’s shoulder with his when he saw the small pout that came over her face. “Aaww come on now Val’ika, turn that frown upside down I was only kidding.” Despite his words his tone gave off a teasing inclination, that and the chit eating grin that was currently plastered over his face. Having grown up with little siblings and serving many years in the military he was no stranger to teasing to show one’s care and affection for another.

When she mentioned her and Kahlil being similar to him and his wives he smiled and nodded. “Well great minds do think alike. Me, Alex and Yasha don’t really do ‘dates’ per se since they really don’t like leaving the estate unless they have to. We do similar things though, we have picnics in the garden, we go camping in the forest that surrounds it, we play with the little ones of course and sometimes we just laze about and just enjoy one another’s presence. It’s rather mundane with the lives we live? Mundane is best.”

They continued walking, thankfully unmolested as they finally reached their location. A bar of course, a bright orange neon sign above the door reading ‘The Kessel Rum’. He laughed at her response to him suggesting they were staring at her rear. “Ah don’t worry Val, you’ve got me here to defend your honor, not like you actually need it but still.” With a smile toward her he opened the door and ushered her inside.

Almost as soon as they entered they were meet with the gaze of roughly a dozen patrons were leveled at the newcomers, Noah meeting each and every one of them with a smile. Looking towards a booth in a nearby corner he walked up to it, looked at its three occupants, a Devaronian, a Human and Aqualish and jerked his head towards the door. “You guys are in my booth.”