Private War Time Temptations

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"I won't let you be without a home."

Gatz let out a shaky sigh, and the knot in his stomach unwound itself. Those words were more reassuring than any he'd ever heard before, he thought. It wasn't like he thought Valery would just let him go homeless—he couldn't imagine her letting that happen to someone she cared about. But knowing that she understood the severity of what losing The Red Night meant, and knowing that he had a safety net should the worst come to pass on this mission, made handing over his father's ship a much easier prospect.

"Then she's yours," Gatz said softly, nodding, "thank you. For... for caring. I don't think many other Jedi would understand."

Many would just disregard The Red Night as another ship lost in the line of duty. Another piece of equipment destroyed. Not worth shedding tears over. But for Gatz... it was the last thing he had of his father. And it was the only home left to him. He'd hoped Valery would get that, having once made her own home on a ship. But a part of him was afraid that she'd forgotten what that was like, accustomed as she was to her family home on Niv Hani.

He was glad that fear was unfounded.

Though he still didn't like the prospect of Valery flying, if someone else had to, she was a pretty solid pick. Sure, her experience lay more with fighters and interceptors than light freighters, but if she could fly The Bastion then she could fly The Red Night. And she'd done so much for him these past few years. What Val was asking was a small thing, compared to what she'd given him in return.

"I noticed a couple of pads not far from here," Gatz offered, "I'll have Arfour put her down there."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"I think a lot of them would," Valery said with a smile. "It only takes one look in your eyes to know just how much this ship means to you. A true Jedi would understand." Valery placed her hand briefly on his shoulder, then started heading for the landing pads Gatz mentioned. His little friend would bring the Red Night there, and they'd move to collect the supply. Having checked her datapad a few times already, Valery was still waiting for coordinates.

But she knew they'd be on their way soon.

"While we wait, maybe we should have a plan? We're going to accept the shipment and travel to where they send us, but what then?" she asked curiously. "We can jump them immediately, but we can also play along a little longer and maybe get even deeper into this organization."

"There are risks and benefits to both."

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"Cora and Briana would," Gatz conceded, "but... we aren't supposed to be materialistic, right? And we're supposed to let go of attachments... and I can't let go of this ship. It's part of what makes me a poor Jedi."

All he had left was this ship and four sets of clothes. And that bothered him... but a good Jedi would have been fine with their lack of things. But it bothered him because if he lost the Order's support today, he'd be closer to total destitution than he'd been as a hungry child growing up on Naboo. His safety net was a Jedi Order that was under siege.

The truth was: he was scared of what would happen to him, if he didn't have the Order to fall back on. And he was frustrated that he didn't have a back-up plan.

But Gatz couldn't think on that now. Not when they had a mission to focus on, and Valery was laying out options to him. Plus... he was probably going to die young anyways, so it wasn't like he needed to worry about retirement or outliving the Jedi Order. He'd escaped death too many times. It was sure to properly collect one of these days.

Who needed money when they were dead, right?

"We play along, and see how far we can get," Gatz both sounded and felt decisive, "the more we know, the more damage we can do. And I want these people removed from Coruscant. It's hard enough for an addict to say 'no' to spice when it's in his face. Imagine how much harder it is to say 'no' when he's an anxious wreck because he knows war is coming to his home."

They turned the corner, and The Red Night came into view, her engines still spinning. R4 had actually made good time, for once.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"No Jedi is perfect, and as much as you love this ship, would you choose it over saving people's lives?" She doubted that, as much as he cared for the Red Night. Gatz wasn't one to give up on trying to protect others — he had nearly given his life many times for it, and taken many beatings to do just that. To help.

When it really mattered, she believed in him and his ability to make the right choices.

One important choice followed as soon as they began to discuss the mission again. Her preference was to dive deeper into this organization, but there was a risk to get caught. They didn't have a story prepared that would cover them when being questioned, and there was always the chance that someone would recognize them.

Her face wasn't exactly hard to distinguish from others, given the scar and orange eyes.

But Gatz made a very sound argument, so Valery pushed aside her worries and dipped her head, "You're right, so that's what we'll do. Maybe we should come up with a few simple background stories? If they ask questions, it's important that we tell them the same lies." She flashed a smirk, then turned her eyes up to the Red Night as it made its way down.

It was time.

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"No Jedi is perfect, and as much as you love this ship, would you choose it over saving people's lives?"

"No," Gatz admitted easily, "but I don't know how much of me would be left if I lost her."

It was a sacrifice he didn't want to think about. Giving his life felt like an easier prospect than sacrificing The Red Night. It was his home, it was the last thing he had of his father, and it was his freedom. It was the one thing he owned. The one piece of him that still held any sort of joy: because behind her flight stick was the one time he felt anything akin to happiness.

Everything else in his life was a trial, or a hardship, or pain. A life in the service of other was good and noble, and it was a sacrifice worth making, but Gatz found he felt very little in the way of satisfaction or contentment.

That was fine. A Jedi's life was sacrifice. And that was exactly what he'd signed up for.

"You need a background story," Gatz corrected Valery, "I did this for over half a decade. The monster I was didn't just disappear. He's still inside of me somewhere, and if I have to, I can bring him back out to play his part."

But Gatz didn't sound like he was looking forward to that prospect. Still, playing the role of a smuggler would be like putting on an old suit. Except that suit was covered in bugs that crawled along his skin. He'd probably want to rip it off immediately, but he could withstand his disgust with himself long enough to get this done.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"The fact that you wouldn't choose the ship over someone's life means the attachment isn't a problem." At least, that's how she had always viewed it. "But that it'd be hard on you, I totally understand." She offered a comforting smile and hoped to convey that she was going to do everything in her power to return his ship the way it was now. Without significant damage, and without even scratches along its paint.

She'd take this very seriously.

Valery turned and watched the Red Night make its landing a moment later. She began to walk towards the ramp, but the matter of a background story came up first, "Well, I do think we need one. In the sense that our stories have to connect and that we should be aware of the basics. I intend to keep it simple, though," Valery said. At the ramp, she waited for Gatz to open the door and wouldn't go inside until he was ready to do so.

"Are we just two smugglers who decided to join forces? It's reasonable but it means we're okay with splitting costs and earnings. Or do you have a better idea?"

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"The fact that you wouldn't choose the ship over someone's life means the attachment isn't a problem."

"I... guess that makes sense, actually."

Gatz had never thought about it that way before. Yes losing his father's ship would suck, and it would hurt, and maybe it would even be like losing his family again. But if Valery was right, if being able to make that choice meant that he was able to let go of attachment, then maybe he was a better Jedi than he thought he was.

But even if he did lose The Red Night, he wouldn't be alone. Not the way he'd been before.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you in my life," Gatz admitted quietly, "but thanks for being in it. Thank you for hiring me to take you to Erakhis."

The loading ramp dropped, wheezing as one hydraulic ram was leaking fluid. But it did hit the ground eventually, and Gatz waited for Valery to board first. It was supposed to be her ship, according to their story, and so they should act like it was—even here, on a removed landing pad.

"Smuggling partners sounds best, and sounds simple enough to keep straight." Gatz agreed, "Very few people in this line of work are willing to play nice with others and split profit though. We need to come up with a reason why we aren't constantly trying to steal the other's cut."

Even Roche had always been looking for a way to cut him out of a deal, and the man had been like a father to him. A criminal father, who taught him bad things, but a father figure nonetheless.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"Thank you for being a good friend," Valery returned with a chuckle. "As for Erakhis, well, strange how some things can play out, hm?" It was hard to believe in coincidences when you thought about it all, "But I'm glad it happened the way it did." She offered a genuine smile and turned away only when the Red Night made its landing and nearly deafened her with the sound of hydraulic gasses venting out.

Seems it needed some repairs, but that could wait until after they made it back to the Temple's Hangar.

"Well, I see two options," Valery continued as they discussed their plan and headed inside, "Either we don't come up with a reason why we're splitting costs, and play up some fake tension between us. Maybe give our targets the impression that we can be persuaded to turn on each other? It might open up certain paths?" she shrugged, clearly uncertain. She just figured that they wouldn't be the only smugglers working together in a strained relationship like that.

"The other option is that we're family. Even in the underworld, there's some respect there, right?"

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"Thank you for being a good friend,"

Was he though? Gatz wasn't so sure. He didn't think he'd ever be sure. But he also knew the futility of arguing with Valery, so instead, he smiled at her and nodded. One of these days, he told himself, he'd prove her right. Maybe that would be today. Granted... he'd probably just jinxed himself with that thought, but whatever. It wasn't going to stop him from trying.

Valery pitched a good idea: that they weren't trusting partners, and they were always looking to get one over on the other. Honestly? It was the more realistic option. Gatz could probably count on one hand the amount of actual, trusting pairs of partners he'd met. And he'd certainly never had one of those himself. Not when the closest thing to partner he'd had had been Roche, who was constantly trying to cut down his share of the profits even as the man taught him how to be a scoundrel.

"You are family." Gatz said quietly, "at least, the closest thing I have left. But we don't look anything alike, so I don't know how well we could sell that."

Unless she was, like, his hot aunt by marriage, no one was going to look at the two of them—different species with different skin tones, eyes, and hair color—and believe they were family. Probably better to go with her first idea. He had plenty of practice acting like he didn't trust his criminal partners anyhow, because he'd never trusted his criminal partners.

"Your first idea probably works the best," Gatz, with an intake of breath, plopped himself down in the co-pilot's seat, "it's more believable if we're scheming against one another."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

Valery hummed in thought, then dipped her head, "Alright, you're more experienced with this than me, so I trust your judgment. We can claim that we've met during a more challenging smuggle run and decided to join forces?" It'd explain how they met, and the rivalry and attempts to scheme against each other could have started after that. During this run, they could try to play that up and maybe learn just a little more.

One way or another, these people were going down.

"If we really want to take some risks, we could fake a story where I'm trying to scam them. You reveal it and win their trust by 'taking me down' for what I'm trying to do. Maybe it'd let you get even closer into their circle?" It was just a theory, but she was curious to hear his thoughts on that.

Escaping from a few criminals who didn't know her skills would be easy enough.

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"I could be a crewman you hired, looking to usurp my—I mean your—ship," it sounded like it hurt Gatz to say that, "it's pretty uncommon for a ship this size to be operated solo. There's a reason Arfour and Whacky are on-board. It wouldn't be suspicious for you to have hired me to handle repairs and the like."

Gatz swiveled in the co-pilot seat, letting himself look out at the cityscape of Coruscant. This might be his last chance to see it, after all. The Dark Empire would invade, eventually. Win or lose, the planet would probably be left in shambles—miles tall durasteel buildings bombarded into nothing more than ruins. A glum thought, to be sure. But a realistic future for the heart of the Galactic Alliance.

"If we really want to take some risks, we could fake a story where I'm trying to scam them. You reveal it and win their trust by 'taking me down' for what I'm trying to do. Maybe it'd let you get even closer into their circle?"

But Gatz was torn away from his pondering on the war, by the proposition that Valery made.

"Not a bad idea," Gatz admitted, "if they don't trust us or buy our story outright, that might convince them."

It wouldn't be the first time a scoundrel got a job by screwing over another scoundrel. It was how he'd convinced Kragan to hire him long ago, in fact: by revealing that one of his smugglers was stealing a portion of every brick of spice he was delivering. That man was dead now, Gatz was sure. His fault, but he had no time to dwell on that.

"Get us going then. I'd say try not to scratch the paint... but she doesn't have any anymore, so..."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"Alright, crewman. Let's get going, then," Valery said with a smirk. Flying out from Coruscant, knowing what was coming, felt strange. But with some light-hearted jokes and a focus on their mission, Valery tried to keep herself distracted. The next time she visited Coruscant, it could very well look like an entirely different planet.

But for now, it still stood as the heart of this Galaxy, and their mission into the underworld began there.

"Alright, I'll leave the betrayal story in your hands. I'll focus on getting us there." She offered one final smile and turned in her seat to take control of the Red Night. It responded to her input similarly to the Bastion, so she quickly adjusted and slowly brought the vessel out into the Coruscant skies.

"It's only a short jump to our first location. You think they'll make us jump between several before we reach the pick-up?" Valery asked. "Either way, keep your eyes open and your senses sharp." Just in case this turned out to be a trap.

Gatz Derrevar ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

Crewman on his own ship, that he'd been flying for as long as he'd been legal to fly—and before that, even. What kind of bullshit was that? The kind of bullshit he'd thought up, funny enough. But that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He could trust Val with his ship, understand that this was necessary for their mission, and still grumble about it. And dammit, he was going to!

"Careful," Gatz advised, "she's not as big as The Bastion is, and the extra engine strapped to the back has a lot of kick. Her power will sneak up on you if you aren't careful."

Which was kind of the point: The Red Night was made to run from dogfights, not participate in them. He'd done a lot of that too, back in his heyday, but that was because he was just that guy. This ship had been near stock, when Dad had flown it. Under his ownership, and with all the credits he used to make from unscrupulous means, he had turned this simple corellian freighter into something that could outrun X-Wings.

In a straight line, anyways. She was far too bulky to outmaneuver them.

"It's only a short jump to our first location. You think they'll make us jump between several before we reach the pick-up?"

"You said they were desperate, and in a rush to replace their missing pilot, right? Probably not, then."

Then again, this was a criminal organization he had no knowledge of. There was no guarantee that their practices matched that of Hutt smugglers and drug peddlers. Maybe, because they worked in the Core, these guys were more cautious and more strict about who they gave their hyperspace coordinates to.

"I'll keep my eyes peeled," Gatz promised, "but if we look too wary, it'll be suspicious."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"Extra power, huh?" Valery flashed him a dangerous grin. A teasing one, at that. He could complain and grumble about her piloting his ship, but she could and would tease him every chance she got. As long as he knew that she was serious about returning his ship whole, she wasn't going to shy away from making jokes.

And extra power to go fast was always fun~

"You weren't kidding," Valery said as she took them into atmosphere. "Your ship is very responsive and I love its power." She wasn't joking this time. The fun about piloting a fighter was its acceleration and ability to turn. The immense freedom it offered, and that feeling in your gut when you pushed it to its limits. There was no time or reason to go that far now, but even just a simple trajectory to get away from Coruscant's magentic field felt rather fantastic.

Once they were locked in a moment later, she made the jump.

"You're probably right, so we'll be arriving at our destination in a moment." She paused then looked at him with a smirk, "Relax. They can't see you looking at your sensors. I just don't want anything to catch us by surprise when we drop from Hyperspace. They know we're coming."

Gatz Derrevar​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

"Extra power, huh?"

Oh no, what had he done? He'd just told the queen of "I wanna go really fast" that The Red Night had exactly what she wanted in a ship. It was like Gatz was trying to convince her to go full throttle, and smash them into the side of a frigate. For a man worried about preserving the last thing he had of his father, he certainly wasn't making bright decisions.

Telling a power hog that the ship she was flying had that power, what was he thinking?

"Did you think The Red Night would be unresponsive? I flew Briana Sal-Soren through Csilla's cosmic boneyard in this ship. Couldn't have done that if she handled like a brick."

His words were grumpy, but there was no heat behind them. Mostly because, thankfully, Valery had refrained from pushing his ship to full throttle just to see how fast she could really go. And considering that The Red Night had an overheating problem when the engines were pushed that far for too long... well, Gatz was breathing slightly easier than he thought he'd be.

But there was still someone else flying his ship. His ship. That he flew. Alone. No one else. Well, Briana had a pass, but that was only because she'd probably inherited his muscle memory when it came to flying The Red Night. And even then, he'd still be complaining if Rich Girl was helming his ship. And another thing—

Oh, what was the point in being disgruntled? Valery hadn't hit anything yet.

"Sorry," Gatz mumbled, as he turned to watch the radar, "you're doing just fine. Ignore me, I'm just moody."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

"It's okay to be moody sometimes," Valery said with a satisfied smirk. She knew it wasn't easy to surrender your baby to someone else. She never really shared her speeder bike either, and if someone else were to get on it, she'd be just as paranoid. Not that she'd tell him that right now. It was amusing to see him bicker a little over something that wasn't all too serious. Their mission wasn't about racing or showing off.

She was flying very casually.

"We're about to reach our destination," Valery said a moment later, as the ship dropped from Hyperspace near an asteroid belt. It was a logical place to transfer shipments — the asteroids created interference for sensors and most wouldn't dare getting too close to one. That's why they needed a good pilot for their shipment.

"Are you seeing them on sensors?" Valery asked as she slowly brought them closer. "They should be around here somewhere." Her senses did alert her to others nearby, but she couldn't quite pinpoint their location.

Gatz Derrevar​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

At least his moody attitude was excused. Still, he didn't want to be the kind of prick that lashed out at the people he loved. So he bit his tongue, swallowed his discomfort, and put himself to work as Val's co-pilot. It was a good distraction, if nothing else. And... he could see first hand that there was nothing to fear from her flying his ship. Yeah, she might have been more suited to fighters, but clearly flying The Bastion had paid off.

"Just try not to put a dent in her when we land, yeah?"

They dropped from hyperspace into an asteroid belt. Gatz bit back a groan. Asteroid belts were dangerous things: chunks of rock floating into other chunks of floating rock. It was all too easy to get hit by something. Still, even with his anxiety rising, Gatz said nothing to Valery. He did, however, start tapping his foot.

Call it a nervous tick.

"Are you seeing them on sensors?"

Gatz took a moment to answer, looking down at his console to verify that he saw nothing. Interference. Maybe the asteroids? Or maybe a jammer. He couldn't be sure.

"No. Let me try thermal."

Not that heat detection was any easier. Rocks smashing into other rocks generated plenty of friction, and therefore plenty of heat. But after a few quiet minutes, Gatz did see something that looked a little unusual.

"This one here. There's a lot of heat coming off of it, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a molten core."

Hollowed out for a warehouse or station? That seemed the most likely, but they wouldn't know until they got close.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

Valery looked at him from the corners of her eyes, slightly annoyed by the constant tapping of his foot. She was trying to focus, damnit. But she knew that he was nervous, so she forced herself to remain silent. Quiet, mental grumbling could get her through this journey into the asteroid field.

Perhaps asking him to help with sensors would keep him distracted, too.

"I see it," Valery said when he found an odd thermal reading. "They're built within an asteroid, hm? Wouldn't that... be really strange with the constant spinning?"

Oh no wait, artificial gravity existed.

Valery dumbly stared out through the viewscreen and just started moving them closer. There were no shots and no ship was coming out to attack them either — so far so good.

"Can you handle communications? Request permission to land?" She shrugged her shoulders.

Gatz Derrevar​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble

He saw the way Valery looked at him out of the corner of her eye. His own narrowed in her direction, and he began to tap louder. This was his ship dammit! If he wanted to tap his foot nervously, he sure as hell was going to do it. Tip-tap-tippity-tap-tap! He'd make a beat out of it, if Gatz had ever been musically inclined—which he most certainly wasn't!

"They're built within an asteroid, hm? Wouldn't that... be really strange with the constant spinning?"

He did, however, stop when she struck a conversation.

"Artificial gravity." Gatz smirked, "surely that existed even back in your day."

He supposed that centrifugal force could be used to create artificial gravity, but that was about as primitive as space stations came. Like, before the first Great Hyperspace War, Gatz was pretty sure. Valery was ancient, but she wasn't that ancient. He was pretty sure she'd been born sometime after the Jedi Civil War. Then again, she'd never exactly given him her birth year...

Ponderings for later.

"Can you handle communications? Request permission to land?"

The moment she asked, the console pinged with a hail request. Raising an eyebrow, Gatz accepted the call, presuming it would be some sort of docking official. Or, well, "official," considering this was an undocumented, illegal landing site.

"Welcome," immediately, Gatz noticed that the voice was artificial, like a prerecorded messaged, "to GrimHex, paradise hidden where even the Galactic Alliance can't find it. Find an open pad, land on it. If someone tries to charge you a toll for parking, pay 'em, or shoot 'em. Have a pleasant stay, and don't forget, keep your fuckin' lips shut."

"Ah, I missed places like this. So uncivilized."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover Smuggler | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters

Valery did not respond.

She knew her comment had been a little dumb and she was still annoyed by the constant tapping of his foot. If they weren't undercover on a mission in deep space, she'd have likely attacked him by now. Instead, she supposed she'd focus on getting them the shipment to further infiltrate the organization.

A call on their comms channel pulled her back into that focus.

With a perked brow, Valery listened to it and couldn't help but smirk when it was cut off, "Sucker. We've already found you," Valery said rather smugly. Her gaze then slid to Gatz again, lacking its earlier frustration. She was bringing them into the space docks to land and get moving, so it was time for them to play their parts.

"Should I act like an ass to you in front of them? To make our little 'rivalry' feel more realistic?"

Gatz Derrevar​