Private Wings in the Storm

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Pilot Outfit
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The hangar was alive as mechanics worked hard to keep the rebel fleet up and running. Valery stood near one of the smaller transports, a datapad in hand as her orange eyes scanned the readouts one last time. This mission would take them straight into enemy territory, and while she trusted her own skills well enough, she knew better than to attempt it alone.

The distribution center they were tasked to strike was an important node in the enemy's supply chain. Crates of weapons, fuel cells, and rations flowed through it every day, feeding the Imperial war effort across half a dozen sectors. Taking it out would not win the war, but it would cut deep and force their adversaries to feel the strain. That was reason enough to act.

She had gone through the roster of pilots the Path could rely on. Many were capable, but one name had stood out. Devin Virell was newer to the Path's cause, but that only made him even more interesting. This was a chance to test him a little. Straightening, Valery set the datapad aside as the echo of approaching footsteps reached her ears. She folded her arms lightly across her chest, her expression calm as she waited.

Devin had been summoned here for a reason, and it was time to see if he was ready for what lay ahead.

Devin Virell ​

 

[Devin Virell]

Valery Noble

​

Over time, the hangar had become more than a workplace to Devin; this was the closest thing to home he had now. Even when he was off-duty, he found himself drawn back here, lingering near his X-wing. Often, he found himself checking systems that didn’t need checking, or just sat beneath its wing with a datapad, journaling his thoughts. The ship was his..his alone..and in a life where so much had already been taken away, that mattered.

It reminded him of why he was here, why he kept fighting.

The memory of Coruscant’s fall burned at the edges of his mind as it always did. He could still see the skyline, hear the hum of speeders, feel the pulse of the city.

Now it lived only in memory.

A sharp blue glow lit up the screen. Devin exhaled slowly, thumb hovering over the keys before acknowledging it. It wasn’t a request, but an order. The sender also wasn’t just any name, it was one that carried weight, and he couldn’t help but begin wondering why she had chosen him.

Once he finished lacing up his boots, he began to head down the corridor. Tools clanged along the way, and mechanics were shouting back and forth. The air smelled of fuel.

Before long, he saw the Jedi, who was also wearing the infamous orange suit of the rebellion. His helmet was tucked under his arm now.

As he approached, he straightened his posture. It felt like he was already being evaluated.

Stopping before her, the silence stretched for a moment.

At least this meant it wasn’t another boring routine patrol..

“Master Noble, reporting as requested. Ready when you are.”

​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Pilot Outfit
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery watched him approach, her gaze steady as she lifted a hand to sweep back a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The helmet rested snugly between her arm and hip, its weight familiar after so many years of flying.

When he stopped in front of her, posture straight, she allowed herself the smallest smirk. For all the fire and chaos of the hangar, he carried himself well. And she had to admit, he was pleasant on the eyes.

Dipping her head slightly, she let her expression turn just a little more serious. "I need a wingman," she said, her tone clear. "We're striking a distribution hub behind enemy lines. The idea is simple. Get in quickly, hit the target hard, and get back out before it gets too hot and we're forced to evade a swarm of imperial fighters."

Her orange eyes stayed locked on his, that little smirk of hers returning as she challenged him, "Think you can handle that?"

Devin Virell​

 

[Devin Virell]

Valery Noble

​

The hangar’s chaos pressed in from all sides; it was a storm of clanging tools, and numbers being shouted out.

A twist rolled through his gut as he stood there, the kind that came before a hard run, but he held it steady. The sharp bite of ozone hung in the air, now tangling with the scent of someone’s ration bar that’d clearly been cracked open nearby. A small, human distraction.. but Devin refused to have his focus pulled in that direction.

So instead, his thumb traced the top of his helmet in a slow circle, a habit he’d picked up in the Academy when he needed to regain his focus without showing that he was distracted

Though he was a rookie, his gaze fell on her with the precision of an ace pilot sizing up a fleet he was about to engage with, reading her stance like a flight path.

During the short time he’d been flying with the Path, he’d already shared formation with every kind of pilot.. veterans, loudmouths, a few poets, and even a brawler.

Exhaling slowly, his exterior was calm, unhurried, as he absorbed her words with ease.

“Fast in, hard hit, clean out.. sounds like my kind of run," he said, voice low and smooth. The faintest hint of a smile played on his lips, a glimpse into the depths of his mind where thrill and danger were one in the same. "I can handle it. Just tell me where you want me in the formation, and I’ll make sure we both get home.”

Underneath the bravado was something else. The words were simple, but under them ran a promise he'd made to himself long ago

Don't waste this shot.

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Pilot Outfit
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's smirk widened at his answer and she let a small, approving nod follow. "I like your spirit," she said, then gave him a quick wink that was halfway challenge and halfway encouragement. Turning, she moved toward her X-wing, the helmet tucked back under her arm again.

It was time to get moving.

She slid into the cockpit, zipped her flightsuit up, and clipped the helmet into place. "Get ready," she called over her shoulder as she ran systems, "Fall in formation on my six and keep your sensors sharp."

The engines hummed as they cleared the bay and punched for open space. Once clear of the hangar and into the dark, she keyed the comms and ran a quick check.

"Comms green on my end. You read me?" she asked over the feed. When his confirmation came through she added, "Prepare for the jump. We go in on my mark."

Devin Virell​

 

[Devin Virell]

Valery Noble

​

Across his placid exterior, the wink landed like a sharp spark, yet his features remained still; perhaps, a mask of control, refusing to give game away. He didn't return the gesture with a grin, for that would've been too easy, too expected. Instead, just a subtle twitch of recognition at the corner of his mouth to silently convey that the message was received. With a tilt of the chin, the unspoken reply should've been clear: challenge accepted.

So, he pivoted toward his X-Wing, the hangar's noise echoing with his steps. A hand brushed the scarred fuselage when he approached as if in a ritual of greeting. The helmet descended upon his dark, a transformation complete, as he ascended the ladder and settled into the cockpit, a seat that had been waiting for him all along.

The cockpit bloomed to life under his gentle touch.

Devin’s hand slid to the yoke.

A reply came smooth, threaded in a way that kept him human. “Copy that. I’ll try not to scratch the paint.”

No wasted time after. Engines roared, and he guided the starfighter out of the hangar. Silence followed when hitting space, like a breath of cold air.

He snapped into formation behind her.

Comms crackled. The pilot’s tone took on a steady edge. Flying for Devin just had a way of smoothing away everything else in life.

“Reading you loud and clear. Formation locked. You’re not losing me that easily.”

One hand tapped a lazy rhythm against the console before he continued.

“And don’t get too comfortable. I might steal the lead.”

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Pilot Outfit
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's laugh came through the comms, "Steal the lead? You can try," she said, a teasing edge in her voice. She was never going to allow someone to beat her at any form of competition. But as fun as that thought was, now the time came for them to focus on their mission.

Her gloved hand reached for the throttle. "All right, hold tight. We're up."

The stars stretched into lines, and in a heartbeat, both X-wings slipped into hyperspace. The hum of the engines settled into a steady rhythm, and for a few brief moments, there was nothing but the blur of starlight. Then the controls began to flicker with the proximity alarms, the end of their route closing fast.

"Reverting in five," Valery said over the channel.

The blue swirl fractured, and they dropped back into real space. Before them hung the Imperial distribution hub, a massive, fortified station, its hull crawling with freighters moving cargo in and out. Valery adjusted the scanners, "There it is. We hit the supply nodes first, then the reactor conduit. Keep your formation tight."

The sensors flared red before she could say more. Three TIE signatures streaked toward them, screaming across the void.

"Looks like we've been spotted," she said, already rolling her fighter to intercept. "Break and engage. Let's make this quick."

Devin Virell​

 

[Devin Virell]

Valery Noble

​

The laughter through the comms hit harder than the static he was used to. A challenge,..light, but a challenge all the same. It still stirred something familiar in his chest, the same fire that had carried him out of the lower levels of Coruscant, where every word was usually full of doubt.

Devin’s mouth twitched, ready to throw something right back, a quip to hold his ground. But her tone shifted, and timing mattered. So the words died in his throat, and he just listened to the hum of his own engines.

Hyperspace swallowed them whole, blue light stretching and blurring. He’d grown used to squadron chatter filling these jumps, voices bouncing all over the place to kill the silence.

This time, he just sat with it, gloved finger tapping a rhythmic cadence against the console.

Luckily, it was a short trip, as he couldn't shake the anticipation of what was waiting on the other side

The Imperial hub soon came into view, massive and crawling with freighters like insects.

“Copy. Formation locked.”

And then, the sensors screamed.

Devin’s hands tightened on the yoke, body already rolling the X-wing to port as green bolts slashed past his canopy.

Adrenaline surged.

“Three inbound. I’ve got the high one,” he reported.

With control that betrayed his rookie experience, he pulled up hard, the G-forces throwing him back into the seat, but his hands were steady. The TIE attempted to evade, trying to shake him, but Devin was already there.

The reticle danced.

The tone chirped.

Lock.

“Got ya,” he muttered, a faint smile at his lips.

Two lances of red spat from his cannons, stitching across the TIE’s wing, and fragments scattered into the void.

Eyes were already scanning for the next target

“One down. Two left.”

It felt like stating the obvious, but he spoke it nonetheless.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Pilot Outfit
Ship: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's sensors flared with the flash of the explosion ahead, the bright fragments of the first TIE scattering across her viewport. "Nice shooting," she called through the comms.

Her own targeting display was already flashing red as well.

She angled her fighter down, cutting across the hub's outer ring to line up the second TIE as it swooped in from the flank. The enemy pilot tried to bank away, but Valery matched his move, then squeezed the trigger. Red bolts tore through the black void, catching the TIE in its roll. It broke apart in a burst of fire and debris.

"Two down," she said, eyes scanning the field. The words had barely left her when the final TIE dropped in behind her, its green lasers streaking close enough to light her cockpit. The shields flared under the hits. Valery pulled hard on the stick, rolling her X-wing into a steep dive that scraped the edge of the station's hull. She let the fighter dip beneath a cargo arm, then pulled up sharply, cutting across one of the hub's docking struts to break the enemy's line of fire.

"He's on me," she said calmly, turning her fighter just enough to line up the TIE for her wingman. "Take him out."

Devin Virell​

 

[Devin Virell]

Valery Noble

​

"Take him out."

For a moment, that was all that he heard.

The shriek of TIE engines rushed in. In an instant, the cockpit became a storm of chaos. When the enemy exploded, the burning metal scattered like shooting stars, bathing the scene before him in a hellish light.

His own X-Wing thrummed beneath him, its vibration felt alive as his own heartbeat. Shoving the throttle forward, the stick began to tremble, surging forward. G-forces pressed him hard into the seat. With a roll, he began following every twist and turn of Valery's dive through the confines. He didn't flinch, forcing himself to trust her line.

The TIE clung to her thrusters, oblivious to the hunter closing fast behind. His targeting reticle blinked red, then snapped to green. A long, slow exhale escaped him.. jaw clenched, hands rock steady.

“Copy,” he said sharply,“I’ve got him.”

Scarlet blasts tore the void apart. The TIE twirled and was then engulfed in flames.

Devin’s lips curled into the barest hint of a smile, hidden beneath the veil of the visor. “Three down.” Dry humor laced his words, as if this mission was nothing more than another casual pastime. “Should I keep tally, or are you worried I’ll win?”

With ease, he guided his X- Wingback into line, gaze piercing the expanse ahead, already scanning for the next threat. “Not too shabby for a rookie, eh?”