Private A Moral Difference

[Noah Corek]

Coruscant
Uscru Entertainment District
Outlander Club

Noah leaned back into the booth in the Outlander Club, sipping at a mixed drink before him, some type of soda mixed with tihaar. The bartender had given him a strange look when he had order tihaar, a traditional Mandalorian liquor, muttering something under his breath something along the lines of 'damn Mandos' before making Noah's drink. After taking a swig Noah gave the bartender a rather generous tip before making his way to a booth in a, relatively, quiet part of the club and began scanning the crowd for anything out of the ordinary.

He was dressed rather casually for a night on the town, a dark brown leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, a pair of jeans, a set of combat boots on his feet and a pair of aviators glasses deposited haphazardly on the table. The jacket was just bulky enough to hide the shoulder holster he wore, the jeans long enough to conceal the knife clipped to his calf and the aviators being somewhat similar to the HUD on his armor.

The real question was why Noah was on Coruscant though. Originally he had returned to his homeworld to conduct business, meeting with a few Senators of less powerful worlds who didn't have the defense budget of larger and more wealthy worlds. He had been more than willing to offer these planets sufficient arms to defend themselves and even offering professionals to teach their militias and police forces to use them. This was most of Noah's life now but he didn't mind, it was peaceful and eventful sometimes and that was enough for him nowadays.

While his business was concluded Noah was still on Coruscant for a different reason however, Valery Noble . It had been a while since he had seen his good friend, last seeing her on Lothal and they had not been able to catch up much during those negotiations. So after his business had been concluded he had contact her and sent her an invite to the club to meet, have a few drinks and whatever else the night brought their way.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

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Outfit: Operative Suit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Noah Corek

Valery didn't particularly like these parts of Coruscant, mostly because people on this planet easily recognized her, but also because there was very little separation here from the underworld. Dangerous figures were among ordinary citizens, and she had often been their target. So to make sure people were less likely to spot her, she was wearing her operative suit and had her blasters hidden on herself, rather than a lightsaber.

She kept her hair loose instead of tied up in the usual ponytail, and wore some glasses without actual lenses in them. The scar was something that still stood out, but this was the best she could manage in a relatively short amount of time.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long?" Valery finally asked, after she had stepped inside and approached him with a friendly smile. She had ordered herself a glass of whiskey, which she didn't really enjoy, but it was all to play a role again. She then settled in the seat opposite to his inside the booth and relaxed into her chair.

"Never expected to see you on Coruscant. How have you been?"

 

[Noah Corek]

While Noah sat and waited he participated in one of his more mundane hobbies, people watching. During his time in the army Noah had been a sniper and unlike the holo's that portrayed that military occupation as nothing but shooting at long ranges, his job consisted of ten percent of that and ninety percent conducting reconnaissance. In his down time he kept this skill sharp by observing people, watching their movements and actions, determining whether they possessed a threat or not.

He was in the middle of sipping his drink when a woman sat down at the table, he opened his mouth to tell her he was waiting for a friend when his eyes began more closely scrutinizing her. While the clothes, hair and glasses were most certainly helpful, the scar was a dead giveaway, this was Valery Noble . "No not long at all, just a minute or two. That's a good look on you by the way Val, hell I didn't even recognize you for a few seconds there. It suits you by the way...especially the glasses." Noah gave her a friendly wink before reclining in his chair, relaxed now that he realized the intruder was really the person he had waited on.

When she mentioned that she surprised to find him on this world he laughed, not a low chuckle but a full on laugh. "Yeah most people say that. Though would it surprise you to know that this is actually my homeworld? Yup I was born here...not to far from here actually, I spent a lot of my leave time in the army in this club actually." When she asked of his reason for being here he shrugged. "Business for the most part, talking with Senators and Representatives from various smaller worlds, making deals and the like for supplying their armed forces and training them as well. As for how I've been? Not bad, business is picking up, the kids are growing and everything is okay...how about you?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

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Outfit: Operative Suit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Noah Corek

"One of my favorite undercover looks," Valery said with a chuckle while she sat down. In the past, when she still worked as a Jedi Shadow, it was far more common for her to be among crowds who disliked or even hated the Jedi. So she owned more outfits for this purpose than she could count, but the one she picked today was one she acquired more recently.

"Yeah most people say that. Though would it surprise you to know that this is actually my homeworld?"

"Oh really?" she asked, clearly surprised since he was a Mandalorian as well, but Noah went on to explain it all. "Supplying armed forces? That's tricky business, I imagine," Valery commented idly, having no reason to believe that it was handled improperly. "Seems business is going well then if those smaller worlds draw you all the way out here." She paused and looked around the club for a moment.

"Although I hope you chose different locations for business meetings," she added with a joking grin. "I've seen... better establishments than this."

In response to the question about how she was doing, she offered another soft smile and did her best not to show too much of how she really felt. It wasn't something she really wanted to talk about too much, so that's the signal she gave. "I've been alright, just busy and tired. Vera is doing great, though, and I've enjoyed spending a little more time with her now that we live here on Coruscant."

"She's growing up so fast and already starting Jedi training," Valery said with motherly love in her eyes and voice. If there was one topic that always brightened up her mood, it would be her daughter.

 

[Noah Corek]

He looked Valery Noble up and down when she mentioned that this was her favorite undercover outfit before chuckling and nodding his head. "I can agree that you look rather...fetching in it. Though I'm pretty sure the idea of an undercover outfit is to blend in...and you in that outfit really does stand out if I'm being honest." He gave her a playful wink before leaning back into the booth and stretching his arms, removing the knots and kinks that seemed to come more and more frequently as he aged.

When she showed surprise at Coruscant being the place of his birth Noah smiled and nodded. "Yup, born and raised here. Lived on Level 1945 for most of my life. I'd take trips with my mother off world every once and a while but it was mostly to Saleucami to visit with the rest of my clan. But I lived here, went to school here, graduated college from here and commissioned in the army here. I mean I consider Alderaan my home now but I'll always have attachments here."

When she mentioned that arms manufacturing sounded complex Noah sighed and leaned his head back and gazed at the ceiling. "You have no clue. So many little rules, laws and regulations regarding the shipment of weapons, especially inside governmental borders like the Alliance, Silver Concord and Ashlan. The best territory is neutral space, having to deal with only a single planets laws is a lot less restrictive, Rimward Trade League space is the second best as they've got some pretty good economic sense."

When she mentioned the quality of establishment he shrugged. "They are usually only a little more...lowkey than here. Most politicians don't like being seen making deals with arms manufacturers for some reason."

He picked up on the signal of her not really wanting to talk about herself and decided not to push the issue, smiling when the topic shifted to her daughter. Like any good parent Valery practically gushed about her daughter and he nodded. "Good, if she is even as half as good as you then she'll be a terrific Jedi."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Operative Suit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters
Tag: Noah Corek

"Sometimes I feel as if the only way for me to not stand out is to wear a mask," Valery said with a chuckle. Luckily, she was mostly well-known in the Alliance and to her enemies in the Maw and Empire. In the underworld, as long as it wasn't on Coruscant, she was typically able to hide her identity quite well. In this cantina, it would be trickier though.

"You don't say..." she then said, as he listed how much of his life he had spent on Coruscant. If he hadn't told her, she'd have believed that he was born and raised on Alderaan. There was just that connection he seemed to have to the planet, but perhaps that came to be later because of certain special people in his life. Either way, it gave her a new perspective on her friend.

On the topic of supplying weapons, Valery could only nod — she had no experience with it, but it was only logical that it was heavily restricted and full of rules and regulations that needed to be precisely followed. "It sounds complex but I'm sure it's worth all the trouble if you're still doing it," she said with a smirk. Especially in these times of war, there was a huge demand for weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and tools that could turn the tide of the war.

Playing a part in that was a lucrative business.

"Oh I'm sure she will be," Valery said with more motherly love about Vera. "She's having a hard time with controlling her visions still, but once she can, she'll be able to guide Jedi in ways I can't do. But right now... I'm just really trying to enjoy every second I have with her where we don't have to worry about all of that. She really needs it, too." Especially after Kahlil's death, she began to rely a lot more on her mother, and even just a day apart was tough on the little Noble.

"What about you? The kids doing alright?"

 

[Noah Corek]

When Valery Noble mentioned the possibility of her wearing a mask Noah gave a mock look of horror. "And hide your beautiful face!? Perish the thought!" He chuckled at his own joke, sipping at his drink before he looked at her a little less flirting. "That's the reason I don't advertise myself. Look at any recruitment poster for the Legion or any advertisement for Hekler'Kok, my name is mentioned a total of zero times, better to let others have the spotlight, means less danger for my family."

When she expressed yet more surprise of Coruscant being his home he chuckled and shrugged. "One of the main reasons I decided to join the Army, besides it being a family tradition. I bought into the whole 'Join the Army, See the Galaxy' line. Of course it wasn't completely a lie, spent a lot of time in a lot of exotic locales...mostly being shot at too much to actually enjoy anything about the planet itself."

When she mentioned it sounded complex he took a rather large swallow of whiskey to agree with her. "It is, I had to hire a team of lawyers for each different jurisdiction I sell weapons in. One team for the Alliance, one team for the Concord, one team for the Enclave and so on. I much prefer getting my products to areas that are a little more...rough but that requires greasing a few palms. For the NIO borders it is easy, always a corrupt Imperial looking to make a few credits on the side or a disillusioned one looking to make a difference. The Maw is a whole different beast, easier to move them into but harder to get them to their destination."

When she brought up kids Noah sighed and let his shoulders sag somewhat. "There are doing fine. Our oldest set of twins, Morgan and Junior, are a couple years shy of being twenty. Morgan is happy to help me and her mothers with our respective businesses, she has got a pretty good mind for it. Junior...he's a little more complicated. For awhile now he's wanted to join up, fight the Imps like me. His mothers are of course against it and they want me to be too but...I don't know, the Army turned me into what I am today and while I'm not a glowing example of a upstanding member of society I think I've done well for myself. As for our youngest set of twins, Cahira and Alexander, their getting to the age of starting their training which also has our hackles raised."