Private A Stab Forward

[Raphael Gallustrade]

There were many things that Raphael hated, his master had already become one of the chiefest and most impactful of these. She was one of the main reasons for his suffering, since she could've, at any time, allowed him to go free, but that wasn't how the sith worked. Nor did it really matter, the more that he thought about it. Yet, in this case, there was something that he hated even more than her, though he never let her now about this: pirates. They were a worthless form of life, parasites that killed and took. Worse still they rarely, if ever, cared for who they were hurting and often left the people with nothing.

That was the justificatioon that he was giving to himself, as his small shuttle, more a long range gunship really, hurtled through hyperspace towards a barely habitable planetoid. According to some intel he'd picked up, a group of pirates was operating out of a former refueling station that had been abandoned as the sith had begun their advance. It was a decent enough place. If he was lucky, then he might be able to find fuel and supplies here, as well, but that wasn't his primary objective.

His actual objective, frustratingly, was to gather allies. One day, he would not only surpass his master, but he would kill her, as was the way of things, and that was something he'd learned from history. He was also quite determined to not become part of that. He'd keep a closer eye, and a tighter leash on any apprentices he had, once he'd killed his master and taken her secrets. Though that was something that he was being careful of, as well. He didn't fully trust that these men that she'd sent with him were on his side, even though there were only three of them.

Overall, if they turned out to be a problem, or to report back to his master, then he'd kill them too. They weren't going to be a problem. If they wouldn't submit, then they would fall, and he could just tell his master that they'd died while helping him fight the pirates. She wouldn't care. She was too powerful and too great to care about some piddly little group of men.

As they landed, and the ramp opened, Raphael dressed, for once, in a black tunic and gray undershirt, he went back over his version of the plan, in his head. He was going to knock out as many of the men as he could, and then threaten the head of this pirate clan. It was never too early to begin building a powerbase and a group of pirates, no matter how small, would be a good way to start. A group he could use to hit the Galactic Alliance, without his hand being in the pot directly and as he exited the ramp he saw the building.

Just down below the bluff they'd landed covertly on. Raphael glanced down at the building and the singular ship. There was a heavily armed gunship and a few escorts. They were a boarding crew then. Most likely, if he could get them on board, he could grab a corvette from the Alliance and then, he could continue building such a powerbase. He readied his bblaster pistol, setting it to stun. He didn't want to kill them, if he could help it. And thus off he went, a side ways around to the front door, and with a quick movement, stun blasted one guard and then put the other into a chokehold, before opening the door. He'd made his move.

Valery Noble
Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Raphael Gallustrade Colette

"We'll be dropping in as quite a surprise, I imagine," Valery told Colette as their shuttle was about to drop from Hyperspace. Ever since his droid had found her on Coruscant, Valery had tried to figure out where Raphael would be. There were scouts looking for him, and she kept a close eye on intelligence regarding the missing young man. Finally, she found him, and she was going to bring him back.

The Sith had gotten their hands on him, but she knew that it wasn't his path.

"Once I land and lower the ramp, be ready to get out and cover the ship. There are pirates there, and they'll likely see us as an additional threat. Can't run the risk of them damaging the shuttle." Normally, she'd land further away and approach on foot, but she didn't want to give Raph the chance to get away.

He'd know who was coming the moment they landed, after all.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble // Raphael Gallustrade

There was no denying that no matter how Colette twisted and turned this whole thing, this mission was all about retrieval. There was a wayward individual out there and Valery seemed keen to bring them back in. While Colette could have argued that if he had chosen this path it was his mistake to make… This particular decision also involved pirates, and she couldn't have that. Not that she'd wish death on them, just a… Ceasing of operations, preferably in a peaceful manner, but she also knew better than that.

"Got it." Colette nodded and positioned herself on the ramp. The door opened and sure enough there seemed to be a small storm of blaster bolts heading in their direction. For the time being the kid would just focus on herself and let Valery handle the rest, she was a Jedi Master for a reason after all.

One bolt after the other seemed to bounce right off of the kid's saber blade. Not back at the one who had fired them but in all manner of directions. Her hand extended towards some of them to rip their weapons out of their hands with a powerful tug that sent one or two of them off in Colette's direction so that she could cut them in half and render them harmless.

"Try not to kill anyone." Colette reminded Valery. "If you can."

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He'd gone in through the side entance and had managed to leave all the pirates he'd encountered so far, unconscious. Many were eating and he'd made it very sneakily through without starting any alarms. He glanced around. They were taking care of the place, albeit barely. The pirates had welded several plates back in place and had soddered pipes, but , unfortunately, there were still many pipes and indoor windows that were broken. He wondered where they were getting their repair supplies and parts.

It was as he was threatening one of the pirates for information that something started to beep. A proximity alarm? But who in the Force would be out here, besides himself? Then he felt her. There was a moment where a tide washed over him and the darkness was pushed aside, allowing light in.

"...Valery..." he muttered and the pirate, in his hand looked around, trying to see what he was looking at. The light receded, and the dark took over him once more, his smile and hope vanishing into a frown and rage. "...you abandoned me to them and then you come back now?! Now that I've become what I am, now that I've started learning, you dare to come back here?!"

"What other ways in and out are there, scum?" Raphael demanded, lifting the pirate with telekinesis into the air. "WHERE?!"

The man seemed to panic. "T-The side entrance, the main entrance and the hangar!!"

"Any ships in your hangar?!"

"N-No. it's where we fix 'em!"

"Damn..." He threw the man against the wall, knocking the man out. "...I can't... Can't let her get me... but... shou-should... Let er... Let her get me..." The light and the dark, once more at war with each other. Neither side was winning, but neither side was losing. It was quite clear, even to him that he'd not lost his light, just that it was being buried in a cocoon of darkness.

"I've got to get out of here... My only option, at this point, is the hangar... It's possible that they'll go there also..." Immediately he started moving. he had to get away. Yet... he... His teeth grit.

Valery Noble Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Raphael Gallustrade Colette

"Really?" Valery asked with a frown. "I don't just kill everybody, Colette." Especially not when they were fighting pirates like this. These people were hardly trained to use the weapons in their hands, and most of them would try to run or surrender as soon as they understood what they were up against. There was absolutely no need to kill or severely harm them, so much like Colette, Valery focused on taking them out of the fight differently.

With the Force or by deflecting blaster bolts, she destroyed their weapons, and with quick Telekinetic bursts, she was able to send them flying. It wouldn't really hurt them, but someone already scared would more than likely run if they were sent flying so effortlessly.

"I can feel him," Valery continued as they moved through their ranks. "He's heading for the hangar. I'll cover, can you run after him?" she asked. She did trust Colette to also cover her, but she just didn't like the idea of having her Padawan absorb everything on her own.

"We can't let him escape!"

 

[Colette]

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Colette grumbled back at Valery before she continued to block and disarm the pirates, and once given an order she gave a quick nod. "Got it."

The new goal was the hangar. She pushed through the few panicking pirates that were blocking the entrance into the larger compound where she broke into a sprint and followed the conveniently red marked lines with the text 'hangar' on it.

She rounded a corner and was greeted with more pirates, but it was a practiced form of combat. Pull, disarm, discard. Their fear was unfortunate but self-inflicted.

"Just stop!" Colette called out to them. "Leave, I am giving you that chance."

A few seemed to take her up on that offer by sprinting as fast as they could in the opposite direction, but a few still stuck around. She supposed she couldn't fault them for preferring to fight over flight. But that was temporary. The closer she got with her lightsaber, the more she could feel their flight take over until eventually she merely pushed one of them and the crawled their way back on their feet as they all ran away.

Colette got herself into the hangar and began to look around for her target.

Where the hell was he?

Valery Noble // Raphael Gallustrade

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He made it deep inside of the facility, bypassing several pirates, hopping sideways and evading another group, before he ducked into the armory. Stopping to take a breath, he thought. Valery was much stronger than he was, and trained. He needed a new plan. He didn't want to kill her, just... just what? He wanted her to let him go? That wasn't going to happen. Besides, she'd abandoned him, as had the Jedi as a whole; hadn't Darth Keres taught him that much?

Did... she, though? Far too often had she lied to him. He kinda hated her, it had been getting worse and worse... He would have to have a long and serious talk with her. he'd need it anyways, so that she could give him more lessons on why the light had abandoned him, why the Jedi had abandoned him.

He grabbed some thermal detonators, and moved towards the hangar, when he stopped. There was someone else. Had she brought a padawan with her on her retrieval mission? He chuckled shaking his head and then ducked inside the hangar. There was no doubt to him that she would be able to feel his darkness but, at the same time, he could feel her light. He would track her as she tried to track him.

He ducked into an alcove in the top of the hangar and readied himself. He'd be getting out of here, he had to.

Valery Noble Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Colette Raphael Gallustrade

The pirates who didn't put down their weapons or ran, were brought down long before they could even think about harming her Padawan. With an extended hand, Valery slammed them into the ground, not with enough force to cause serious injury, but certainly with enough to knock the wind out of their lungs. Another pull from the wrist, and their weapons were yanked out of their hands, and thrown across the concrete floor.

"It's best you all surrender," Valery said. Her hand then clenched into a fist, and every rifle she had drawn away was crushed by her control over the Force. It was hardly necessary after already disarming them, but the show of strength helped convince the few who were thinking about collecting their weapons.

<Colette, be careful out there,> Valery told her.

She could feel that her Padawan was closing on him, but she felt danger too. As Colette's Master, it was sometimes just the result of her Padawan getting into a dangerous situation. But... there was something about Raph that concerned her as well. He was in doubt, and that uncertainty could cause a lot of trouble.

<I'm on my way.>

 

[Colette]

Raphael Gallustrade // Valery Noble

She cared a lot, it was important to focus more on that than the constant questioning of Colette's ability to look after herself despite the very clear evidence that the girl was able to ensure her own safety and had been for almost a decade and a half before she arrived on the doorsteps of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

The girl let out a long sigh. Did she HAVE to look around this place? It was big, open, and more than anything he had most likely spotted her already.

"Can't you just come out, Raphael?" Colette called out with a frustrated shout into the open. "You already know that she's here, you already know that she's going to find you."

The kid slowly spun around in a small circle to try and get a visual on her target. It was difficult, she'd give him that, but eventually her eyes set upon a small stirring behind a set of crates. She narrowed her search in the force, peered through it with the intent on finding the darkness in one very particular spot and…

"That crate won't do much." Colette sighed. "Please, just come out."

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He'd been found out, and he knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. After all, Valery was a very determined person and, to some degree, that determination had probably rubbed off on her padawan, if the woman hadn't already been like that. Fine. There were other options that he had available to him. After all...

Slowly, he stepped out from behind the pile of crates. "You got me...whoever you are." He really...did not know this person. "I'm afraid that I never had the opportunity to meet you before everything that happened."

He frowned, reaching down and taking a belt of ten thermal detonators from his belt and stared at them for a few minutes and then at her and frowned. "How long, do you think, it will be before the light abandons you too? Before the Jedi abandon you? Like they did me?" His mind raced, his anger hit its boiling point and then suddenly abated. His fear was still there, raging. Oddly it wasn't for his own sake at the hands of the Jedi. It would most likely just be an execution. That would be simple enough. Still though... with these detonators, he could cause enough damage that he might be able to escape...

"I... can't go back, and I don't now why you all can't see that... You go too far and coming back gets harder and harder... that was one big reason that I had designed River...after all. I knew that there was only so long before..." His hand slowly rose and traced a scar of a clawmark starting from the top of his head down. "It was just a bit too much to withstand... Between the planet and m... and Darth Keres..." The thermal detonators fell to his side.

Valery Noble Colette

 

[Colette]

Raphael Gallustrade / Valery Noble

"The light hasn't abandoned you, and the Jedi didn't either." Colette tried to reason with the man. "We're here, aren't we?"

Valery emerged and with it Colette felt just a little easier about this whole thing.

"Please, can you come down? We only want to talk." There was nothing but truth behind those words. "Keres might have hurt you, but we'd never consider it." Colette turned to her master. "Right, Valery?"

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

His frowns deepend, as he hung from the rafter of the ceiling, after having left the box and stared at this woman, this... he was fairly certain that she was a padawan. He couldn't help but feel sadness and a bit of remorse, though that was overshadowed by his anger. Something that, while he'd learned to manage, this was... a different kind of anger. One born of lies and of betrayal, an anger that... He didn't know quite how to deal with.

He'd known, all along, that Darth Keres had lied to him about the jedi and the light. He'd known taht they hadn't abandoned him. But it was... it was the thought that she drilled into his head. No matter what he did, from then on... It was worthless...

"Any attempts that I make to return... They will amount to nothing... It's a lie, yes. But it's one that becomes easier to believe, the longer that you're stuck in the darness. There's so much pain. Even were I to be absolved... I don't know." Yet still he hung from the garter, holding onto it, as if he was scared that he would fall. He was... afraid.

Valery Noble Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Colette Raphael Gallustrade

Valery could tell that Colette had caught up to him, and rushed over just in time to see the two talking. Colette had been the right Padawan to bring for this mission, she knew. The younger Noble wasn't one to draw a weapon on someone who needed help, and someone in Raph's situation really needed that respect for life and patience to find alternatives. Still, Valery felt Colette's relief when she joined them, and offered her Padawan a grateful smile.

She had done good.

"Then it's time to no longer feel stuck in that darkness," Valery began. "Turning away from it is not easy, especially not on your own, but you're not alone. We came here not to harm you, but to help you, Raph. All Jedi are willing to do that, as long as you offer them that trust and put in the effort."

"It's not too late."

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He felt Valery enter the situation, and there was the immediate thought of climbing back up. Raphael could still feel the burning, the boiling and bubbling of skin that his master had forced him to live through. He could still feel the many scars that she'd left from her lessons and training. The panic and the fear, the hatred and rage... All of it bubbled in his throat now. There was nothing more that he had.

You can always forgive them, Raph... Remember what you told me.

Words from a lifetime ago. Words that he'd said to console someone else's heart, and to keep them from terrible violence...his sister... Barlaa'vay... One good turn of betrayal deserved another, so the saying went, but was this betrayal? Was wanting... to be better, a better person, specifically... Was that truly betrayal?

He stared at them, the two of them, for a good five minutes. He wondered how it felt to them, to be looking up at him, someone who'd only started their descent into madness, trying to claw his way back. Then swung once and leapt down from the ceiling, landing in front of them.

"I'd rather try. I didn't want to go this way, regardless. My death was the only other salvation." He watched them for a moment. "...I still wonder if that would've been better."

Colette Valery Noble

 

[Colette]

Raphael Gallustrade / Valery Noble

The two Jedi gave Raphael the time he needed. A minute, five, it didn't matter.

"No." Colette said calmly and shook her head. "Death is death, it's the end."

"You are stronger than that, we can see that you are and I think deep down you see it too. It takes strength to turn away from something like this, and even more strength to ask for help."

The kid slowly opened her arms. She was offering a hug.

"We want to help, but we can only help if you want to take the step. You have already taken the first one."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Colette Raphael Gallustrade

This time, Valery remained quiet.

Colette addressed his question perhaps better than she could have herself, and it made her unbelievably proud. The young kid, as crude and gremlin as she was, had really changed into a good Jedi. Her respect for life, and the immense willingness to protect it, would always make sure that she'd stay on the right path.

Now, it would hopefully help Raph find some comfort in his return.

"She's right, Raph. Colette here, myself, and many more Jedi are willing to help and accept you among us. Or, if you prefer to go your own way, we'll always respect that too."

"But that decision is yours to make. It's your life, and nobody should twist your will or force you to go anywhere." She looked around for a moment and sighed.

"That time is over. You're free now."

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He blinked looking first at the padawan, and then he glanced at Valery with a frown. There was just something to this that he couldn't.... What he'd wanted this whole time... So often had he dreamed of simply escaping... of getting away... but... now here it was... It couldn't be this easy could it...? Physically? Yes, but mentally? Nowhere near that easy... He'd not truly done anything terrible, but...

No.

There were always opportunities, times, moments. This was one. He'd wanted out. He'd wanted an escape, a chance to go back. He was staring at it, at them. If he declined, if he turned this down... He might never get out.

He took a deep breath, his body practically refused to respond. He wanted to run, he wanted to accept, he wanted... he wanted so, so, many things but he couldn't have everything that he wanted and he'd have to accept that.

You need to choose what you want for your life. Once that choice is made. You cannot look back. This path was not meant for you. You need not justify it to anyone, not even to yourself. You are an individual and, as such, you need make the choice.

He exhaled again and his body seemed to lax, losing all tension. "What I want... is to be away from this darkness... and to be free of it. It might be...because I am still here, that I'm still wearing this, that I still feel her crawling around in my skull... But there is that ever present fear that... she'll find me again. I'm happy to come back...with both of you. I've...wanted to come back for a while now. It was all about control..." He gently brushed the lightsaber at his side. "...I never reached that "far" in any training to be able to bleed her... But...I haven't used her since my time on that horrible planet..." He looked up at them. "...I'm sorry...for not getting back sooner... for not...for not trying harder."

Colette Valery Noble

 

[Colette]

Raphael Gallustrade / Valery Noble

"There is nothing to apologize for." Colette said as she knelt down in front of Raphael and carefully reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but only if he accepted it. If not, she would let her hand rest on her propped up knee. "You are here now, and you seem to genuinely want to make things right for yourself again."

"What you needed wasn't for us to accept that. You needed yourself to accept that, okay?" She let the man go but remained kneeling right in front of him so that they were speaking on an even level. Nobody was above the other here, there was nobody looking down upon him. "You know that saying, you can lead a bantha to water but you can't force it to drink?"

"I think that you are the bantha, and the healing process is your water. The healing can only begin once you yourself want to drink the water from that source. We can't make you do that. That's not how any of this works."

"However, me and Valery are here to help lead you to more water, if that's what you want." She said and turned to Valery. "Right, Valery?"

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Colette Raphael Gallustrade

"Yes, that's right."

Valery had stayed quiet while Colette crouched down and talked to Raphael. For her age, Colette could be awfully wise sometimes, but most of all, she had a great sense of empathy. When she wasn't being a gremlin, the people around her could always rely on her warmth for strength.

"You've already made the important step, Raph," Valery then continued with a warm, encouraging smile. "Now it's time to go where you want to be, and if that's with us, we will all welcome you back with open arms." She stepped forward, and placed her hand atop Colette's shoulder as a sign of gratitude.

She had done well today, and Valery felt incredibly proud now.

"What do you say?"

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

There was so much wrong with everything that was going on. Raphael... he wasn't sith...he wasn't. He didn't agree with their philosophy, he... He could hear Colette and Valery. Their words were true. Pain, however... It was the pain that stalled him, in both word and movement. How many times had he had this dream? that Valery, or any Jedi had come to rescue him from the jaws of hell and nightmares, that they'd come in with forces from the Alliance, and defeted and captured Keres... But each and every time he'd just wake up to more of the same nightmare, with his master smiling over him... The psychological damage was immense.

Slowly he rose to his full height, albeit very slowly. He new that he could trust them, but the question on his mind was if he could trust himself. He'd done it once, who was to say that he wouldn't again? There was only one answer, that was worth a damn, and that was the one that came from within. Though, Valery's insistence that he could come with them, rejoin them... it was appreciated.

He looked at Colette first and then Valery. He took a deep breath, leaving a path was almost always simpler than it seemed. "...this was...all I wanted, for the last month... The pain inflicted... the "training" endured..." His breathing slowed, going from panicked to calm. "I suppose that the question becomes, is surviving worth delving into darkness, to which I would say no..." He smiled, lightly, and held out his hand. "At the very least... I wish to leave this place, and not go back to...that planet..."

Colette Valery Noble