Private Abduction on Naboo

[Gatz Derrevar]

"Careful what you wish for."

Gatz wasn't sure what there was to be careful about. If Valery wanted to crack some heads, he'd just kick back and crack open a cold one. Gatz had never seen a Jedi Master let loose, mostly because of how young he was when he left the Order, but probably also because most Jedi Masters made a point of not cutting loose. The Sword, in his experience, wasn't like the typical Jedi Masters he remembered.

She was far less stodgy, and far more attractive.

Still, she was probably right: he ought to be careful of what he wished for. If he ever got the chance to see what Valery could really do, it wouldn't be because some drunk was sitting on his speeder. It was more likely to be in a do-or-die situation, like fighting a Sith Lord over some children. Which was becoming more and more likely to happen. He wondered if he'd just jinxed the both of them.

Valery seemed happy enough to take charge, even if she didn't like leveraging her status to get her way. He supposed he understood her reluctance: when you got down to the brass tacks of it, using the title of "Jedi" to bully people into giving you what you want wasn't all that different from shoving a lightsaber in their face. But that was a philosophical quandry he could debate with her later.

"Well, if casually dropping all your titles is too much, you could always try batting your eyelashes at some guards. You'd be surprised how far that can get you."

Oh, all the trouble he might have avoided over the years, if only he could say "no" to a pretty face...

Gatz walked a step behind Valery as she approached one of the guards, an older human who had gone slightly round in the center. He blinked a few times as Valery introduced herself, though whether he recognized her specifically, or just the title of "Jedi Master," Gatz couldn't tell.

"Benji?" the guard rubbed the back of his head, "yeah, I know him. Some of us get together at the end of the week for a few hands of sabaac. He's usually there. What do you need from him, Master Jedi?"

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Well, if casually dropping all your titles is too much, you could always try batting your eyelashes at some guards. You'd be surprised how far that can get you."

Valery smirked and rolled her eyes, "I'll keep it in mind," she said with a chuckle, not oblivious to the fact that she could probably get people to talk if she played her looks to her advantage. It was just something she disliked even more than throwing titles or achievements around. That said, she didn't need to bat her eyelashes or do anything too actively to at least look pretty enough, and perhaps that alone was going to help.

Luckily, the guards she approached seemed to know Benji, and they weren't immediately shutting her down either. So hopefully she could just settle this verbally, rather than having to rely on the Force or other manipulative tactics.

"Just some information about a case he could help with," she said, and while it wasn't entirely a lie, she was bringing it in a way that made him seem helpful to her. So if these guards suddenly got suspicious, cautious or nervous, she'd know they were either involved or knew about what was happening. "It involves the missing children in town. I want to try and find them, and he can help me with it." She smiled a far more friendly smile this time, and did her best to look that way too.

Would they talk?

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Much to Gatz's relief, the security guard seemed willing and almost eager to divulge some information about Benji. After the fiasco with the bartender, he'd been worried that they'd get stonewalled again. If they had, he was certain Valery would have found a way to get them what they needed, but this was so much easier. No arguments, no violence, and seemingly no Jedi manipulation. They didn't even have to tell the man a lie.

Well, Valery was sort of stretching the truth and omitting certain details, but she wasn't lying per se. It was still better than the patented Jedi Mind Trick.

"Missing children, huh?" The officer blinked, "well, I won't get in the way of that. Benji is one of the middle managers, he handles the approval of freight being loaded onto commercial flights. He has an office upstairs, but you'd probably have a better chance finding him in one of the commerical bays, inspecting cargo."

Gatz was immediately interested in Benji's office. Did he have a terminal in there? Or a datapad? It was probably unlikely that he'd keep anything that could incriminate him on his desk, but searching his office was worth a shot. A man could lie. Evidence typically couldn't.

"Well, if memory serves, the offices are closer than the hangar bays,," Gatz mentioned offhandedly, "would it be alright if we checked there first? Just knocked on the door?"

Maybe slice the door, maybe break into the office, maybe steal some incriminating evidence...

"If it'll help with an investigation, sure. Just try to be quick about it, and try not to bother any of the other managers up there."

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Similar to Gatz, Valery felt relief when the security guard seemed open to help out. He didn't really know what role he was playing in all of this, with Valery keeping details away and all, but it was beyond important. "Thank you very much for helping out, it means a lot," she said with a very pretty smile for the man, before she turned to Gatz and nodded in agreement. The office was definitely where they'd be able to find useful information.

"If it'll help with an investigation, sure. Just try to be quick about it, and try not to bother any of the other managers up there."

"We'll be very quiet, I promise," Valery said with another almost overly polite smile. She then turned away, grabbed Gatz by the arm and tugged him along until they were out of range. "Could you take a look in the office while I keep an eye out for him?" she asked, her voice lowered into a softer tone. "I'd rather not have him walk in on us."

She blinked at the way that sounded, and smiled sheepishly.

"If we find something, we might be able to arrest him here on the spot."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Valery seemed to agree with his plan, because before Gatz knew it, she was stringing him along by the arm. And man, did she have a really firm grip. But considering that she'd spent decades holding a lightsaber, he supposed that made sense. He really didn't mind it: clearly the Jedi was eager to finally find their culprit, and admittedly, so was he. Finding Benji, or finding evidence of Benji being an accomplice to the kidnappings, would go a long way toward finding the children and their supposed Sith Lord abductor.

"Yeah, I'll take a look in the office. I was going to suggest the same thing-"

Gatz blinked at the innuendo, and it took all of his willpower not to respond with something inappropriate. She looked a little embarrassed as it was, and so with a show of great restraint, the young smuggler pretended that he didn't catch it. Part of being a better man meant not acting like a sleazy creep, he reminded himself. Plus, it was probably best not to shamelessly flirt with a Jedi Master who was married with children.

Ascending the stairs into an oddly quiet hall, Gatz spotted the door in question. It had a simple terminal next to it, probably meant to lock it. He didn't have his slicing tools on him, unfortunately, and so instead of a quick hack, he was probably going to have to pull the panel off the terminal and manually cross a few wires. He could be quick at that, but not as quick as they wanted.

"That lock is going to be a problem. I didn't think to bring any of my tools, and unless we want to take a jaunt all the way to The Red Night's hangar bay, I'm going to have to pry the whole terminal out of the wall."

But first... on a whim, Gatz reached out for the door handle, and twisted it. Only for the door to swing open into the office.

"...this man is cunning enough to smuggle children off-world without anyone noticing, and yet he leaves his door unlocked."

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Luckily, he didn't catch the way the comment sounded, or the embarrassment that followed — or so she thought, anyway. It made her move on rather quickly, so they could focus entirely on the mission again. This brought them up into a quiet hallway, where they quickly spotted the office they wanted to get into. The panel on the wall suggested a pretty serious lock, and Gatz expressed his concerns about it.

"We're not going to run all the way back, so let's-"

Valery paused and blinked when she watched him just open the door. Had he used the Force to unlock it somehow? Or... did he actually just... Valery sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Well, that makes this easier. Try to find records about when the next ship with kids is scheduled to leave, where the kids are being held if you can, and maybe where they've already been transported to."

She really hoped there would be enough.

With Gatz looking through files, Valery remained closer to the door, still inside the office, but ready to step out and intercept anybody who was coming here. Or to warn Gatz if their time was really running out.

"Please hurry," Valery said softly, even though it had only been half a minute. For once, the Jedi Master felt a little tense.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Gatz slipped into the room, quiet as a mouse. This was a classic breaking and entering, except this time his intentions were far more noble than they had been in the past.

Gatz took one look around the room, and found it to be almost barren. Benji had a desk with a terminal and a datapad on it, a few file cabinets up against the wall, and a low table that was empty save for a plant. With as little time as Gatz had, he knew trying the terminal was pointless. He picked up the datapad, found it required a passcode, and set that down as well. All that left him with were the file cabinets at the back, and he certainly didn't have the time to figure out how Benji filed things and search for what he needed.

He turned around, figuring that the office was a bust, and that he and Valery would have to just track the man down. But right before he opened the door again, something caught his eye: there was a blinking red light coming from the potted plant on the table. Upon investigating, Gatz found a commlink hidden behind the stem of the plant, half buried into the dirt.

And it had a new message.

"I will be delayed tonight," the voice was clearly feminine, but it was downright frosty, "but proceed as normal. I have already secured hangar bay thirty-two. I expect you to be there when I arrive."

Gatz practically burst out the door, long past caring about being subtle.

"Bay thirty-two," he didn't even bother to stop and tell Valery what was going on, moving at a brisk pace, "and we need to hurry!"

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

While Gatz worked on searching the room, Valery had calmed down and was watching the hallway carefully. She didn't want them to be caught off-guard, and was already preparing herself mentally to burst through the door and catch whoever was coming their way. But it ended up not being necessary at all — right as Gatz seemed to make a discovery of some kind, he sprinted at her and burst through the doors himself.

Valery blinked, clearly surprised, and just ran after him without understanding what he had actually discovered. He just mentioned a location at the spaceport, and that they needed to hurry.

"Careful! Security might stop us if we're running through the place!" she called out, as she began to catch up and follow him through the terminals. "There, that way!" she had spotted a sign with the right port on it, and finally decided to augment herself. Like a blur, she took off towards it, not knowing what to expect just yet, but she knew it was important.

She trusted Gatz.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Gatz slowed himself down, only because he knew Valery was right: damn near running through the place would only look suspicious, get them stopped, and then ultimately slow them down in the long run. Patience, he reminded himself. Sprinting into the hangar was only going to get them both killed, and worse, the children might slip away from them.

But man, was it hard to restrain himself. He'd have made for a terrible Jedi.

"She's coming for them tonight," Gatz explained quietly, scanning signs to ensure that they were headed in the right direction, "he's bringing her the children he's kept hidden away. I don't know how he's getting them into the spaceport, but they'll be there."

As would the Sith in question. Lord, Knight, Apprentice? He didn't know. Doubted even Benji knew. Either way, the thought of staring down a Sith of any echelon made him shiver. If Valery wasn't right beside him, Gatz wasn't sure he'd have risked it, even for the children. No. Scratch that. He would, and then he'd have died, failing to save anyone, and having made no difference.

It was a good thing a Jedi Master was around, then.

Naturally, that was when she spotted the hangar bay, and took off herself, running far faster than any normal person could. He sprinted after her, pushing people aside, and only barely caught a glimpse of her passing through the sliding door. He followed her through it, and came to a sudden stop as he took in his surroundings.

A sleek freighter was touching down, having only just arrived. Waiting for it, about a hundred feet away, was a Nikto man of average height. It hadn't looked as though he'd spotted them yet. He stood, fidgeting nervously, hands on the handle of a hover pallet holding a large crate. There were no children in sight, which could only mean one thing...

"He's packed them away like freight." Gatz wasn't sure if he was astonished or furious. Probably a mixture of both.

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

The air around the two as they passed through the sliding doors rapidly grew colder, as Valery's eyes fell on Benji and the crate by his side. Her intense focus kept her from hearing what Gatz was saying, but she knew exactly what was happening. He had shoved those kids inside the crate, so they could be delivered to this Sith as if they were animals. The mother inside her took over from the Jedi Master, and a flash of pure anger burned in her eyes, making them glow as she stared him down.

"Benji!" she called out to pull his attention, but he was afforded no time to respond. Because as soon as he turned around to face her, his entire body froze up, as she locked him in position with the Force. It was no highly practiced use of Force Stun or some special ability that did the trick — it was pure telekinetic pressure, and it showed as his face contorted slightly from the pain he experienced.

"You've made a terrible mistake taking these kids," she told him, her voice almost showing a desire to just snap him in half right here. But she didn't, and after a few more seconds to think and breathe, she calmed down enough to look over her shoulder.

"Gatz? Can you please get those kids out? I'll handle the visitor if she's still willing to show her face."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

With Benji not having noticed them, Gatz began to quickly throw together a rough plan in his head: one that would include subduing Benji, saving the children, and hightailing it the hell out of there before that Sith managed to come out of her ship. They'd have to take care of the Nikto quietly and swiftly, and then maybe the Sith would think Benji bailed on her and just leave. With Benji out of the picture, she probably wouldn't return, and so they'd save the children and avoid a confrontation with a Sith-

And then Valery, uh, well she kind of blew their advantage by yelling out for Benji. Gatz might have been a bit miffed at that, if Valery hadn't immediately frozen Benji with the Force. Or, put him in some sort of statis. Gatz really didn't know the specifics of the ability she'd used, but Benji was as still as a statue, so did the specifics really matter? She'd just solved one half of their problem.

Unfortunately, the other half was about to make itself apparent.

Gatz had just taken a few steps toward petrified Benji and the crates, when the freighter's ramp began to lower. The hangar had already been noticeably colder than the rest of the spaceport, but it suddenly became downright frigid: so much so that goosebumps broke out all over his body. He froze, fear seizing control of his limbs, and it took all his willpower to just to stay upright.

The ramp hit the floor with a thud. Standing at the entrance to the freighter's cargo bay was a dark robed figure, their face obscured by a hood. They strode down the ramp, in Valery's direction, but turned their head to look at Benji.

"Your incompetence will cost you," It was that same feminine voice from the recording, tone dripped in ice, "you have allowed a Jedi and some scoundrel to discover us."

"Valery, now would be a really good time to toss me my blaster."

"Yes Valery," the Sith turned her head to look in the Sword's direction, "grant your underling his last request. Let him think he has a chance of surviving. It will make killing him so much more satisfying."

Well, that was unsettling.

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"You were just as reckless," Valery assured the Sith, just to make sure that she knew. Sightings of her leaving with the kids had sparked much of this, but she supposed that no longer mattered too much. They had the Sith, they had the one man who could help her smuggle kids off-world, and they had the kids themselves. All that remained was for Valery and Gatz to bring this woman down for good.

"Valery, now would be a really good time to toss me my blaster."

She glanced over her shoulder and dipped her head before she tossed it over. The Sith words were largely ignored at first, but when she threatened Gatz, a fiery glare shifted back to the woman. "If you think you're harming him today, you're sorely mistaken," Valery said, calm as ever but there was a lot more intensity in her eyes. She knew what the stakes were here — not just her own life and that of someone she felt closer and closer to, but the lives of several kids as well.

There was no way she'd allow herself to fail today.

"Last chance to surrender," Valery then added, while the two blades of her double-bladed weapon ignited. She wasn't expecting the Sith to, but she genuinely did hope that she wasn't forced to kill the woman. Her more realistic mind told her that it was likely inevitable though.

<If she draws her weapon, open fire. I'll be on her right after.> Valery told Gatz, her voice soft and gentle in his mind, so it wouldn't startle him.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"I suppose I have tarried here too long. No matter. I'll deal with you three, and be on my way."

Gatz kept his eyes on the robed woman, trying not to even blink. Out of his peripheral, he could see Valery unholster his blaster and toss it to him. The scoundrel waited for the Sith to reach out, and pull his blaster to her hand with the Force, but she did no such thing. He was surprised, almost fumbling the catch as he tried to figure out why she'd let Valery arm him. But then, he supposed the answer was simple: she really thought she could take on both of them.

Frankly, Gatz would have bet on Valery alone. The Jedi didn't hand out titles like "The Sword of the Jedi" without reasonable proof that one deserved such a title. Did this Sith even realize who she was facing? Even if she had, though, it probably wouldn't have changed her attitude. Her arrogance didn't stem from anything rational: no, she was drunk on the Dark Side, like all Sith tended to be.

"Jedi," the woman sneered at Valery's pledge to protect him, "you lot just can't function if you don't have someone to save, can you?"

Valery drew her saber first, something that would have surprised Gatz if he'd had the luxury of such a thing at the moment. It hummed to life with two purple blades, and just seeing it brought him a little ease. There was no point in panicking or freezing, not if he wanted to live through this.

"You should really take her offer," Gatz found the courage to speak, but knew that no true Sith would ever surrender, "it's the only one you're gonna get."

"An empty threat," the Sith began to reach for her weapon, "I don't fear—"

Gatz's trigger finger was faster than her mouth, it seemed. The woman didn't get to finish what she was saying, as she was forced to step aside to narrowly avoid taking a shot to the sternum. She finished drawing her weapon midstride, and threw herself at Valery in a frenzy of strikes that Gatz vaguely recognized as Form VI.

Apparently he wasn't worth her attention, even with a blaster drawn. Fine by him. He'd just shoot her in the back when she wasn't paying attention.

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"He doesn't need a savior," Valery said, her grip on her weapon tightening while she stared the woman down. "Underestimating him is going to be your downfall." This was a warning for the Sith, but one she knew the woman would ignore, as it likely bruised her ego. In reality, Valery was confident she could best this woman on her own, but she always knew that she'd be stronger fighting alongside someone she could trust.

Gatz would help make a difference.

Finally, the Sith Lord reached for her own blade as well, but was forced to sidestep an incoming blaster bolt. A split-second later, her crimson blade did ignite and while she tried to pressure Valery with a series of strikes, the Jedi Master was right on top of her as well, battering away the Sith's blade before countering with strikes of her own. She kept it simple and calculated, just so she could get a feeling for her enemy's fighting style.

But soon enough, Valery saw an opportunity and exploded into the air to evade a sweeping strike. She flipped over the woman, landing on the opposite side, thereby trapping her between herself and Gatz. It was a chance for him to shoot, while she lunged forward and thrust her blade at the Sith's stomach.

Hopefully, it'd start to get overwhwelming.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"Your faith in him will be yours!"

He did, in fact, need a savior.

Not that he didn't appreciate Valery's faith in him, but against a Sith Lord he may as well have been a youngling again. No trick in his playbook would have been enough to come out on top against an actual space wizard with a laser sword. Well, actually, maybe a flamethrower would have done the trick. Or a slugthrower. Or gas grenades. But all those things were back on his ship, and well out of his reach.

All he had was a blaster, and with the Sith's wild strikes being tempered by Valery's precise blows, all he saw was a whirlwind of red against purple. Certainly nothing he could shoot through, not without potentially putting himself or Valery in harm's way.

Patience then.

He took slow steps in a half circle, doing his best to put himself behind the ferocious Sith Lord. But while she was focused on the actual Jedi Master in front of her, she was clearly aware of him as well, as she kept turning herself away from him. For every step he took, she managed two, which kept Valery's back to him instead.

To her credit, Valery figured this out quickly, and threw herself over the Sith in a leap that would have pulled every muscle in Gatz's body. She landed behind the Sith, and Gatz fired his blaster once more, just in time for Valery to lunge at her. The Sith twisted unnaturally, and spun her lightsaber behind her back. His shot was reflected off of the crimson blade, harmlessly dissipating against the durasteel floor, but the Sith hadn't been quick enough to evade Valery. The purple blade glanced off the Sith Lord's side, not quite impaling her, but searing through flesh and leaving behind a hell of a wound.

Her scream was filled with rage, and with a hand she gestured in his direction, sending him flying a good ten feet through the air, before throwing herself against Valery with a ferocity that reminded Gatz of a wild animal.

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

Their little plan had worked.

The Blaster bolt had not managed to bring the Sith down, but that wasn't necessary. It distracted the woman long enough for Valery to exploit an opening she found, and her front blade cut through flesh as a result. The Sith Lord screamed, and while it was tempting for Valery to push forward and already try to strike her down, she knew to be careful. Anger and hatred were two sources of immense strength for Sith, especially when those emotions had only just been provoked

If she remained patient, she could play into the weakness of their anger — the way it tended to blind them.

This was no easy task, as Valery was forced to watch Gatz fly through the air from a telekinetic attack. But she remained composed, and shifted into a far more defensive pattern than she normally would. Not because she was planning to keep it that way, but because she was going to present the Sith with an opening she couldn't refuse. A chance to deliver a powerful strike right down the center of Valery's guard, and strike across her chest.

But as soon as the Sith's blade moved to cut Valery down, it swept through nothing but air. Valery had phased her way through both the enemy's blade, as well as her body, and ended up on the other side. The double-bladed weapon was then thrust back, hoping that the rear blade would explode through the woman's back to end the fight before she had a chance to turn around.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Gatz hit the ground hard, air being forced from his lungs. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be attacked with the Force, like a disembodied hand was pushing him against gravity itself. It wasn't a pleasant feeling by any stretch of the word. But, hey, she could have chosen to choke the life out of him instead, or electrocute him to death, so he figured he was lucky to get away with only a push.

He scrambled to his feet in time to watch a red lightsaber bisect Valery. Fear gripped him for a moment, fused with rage, but he was too stunned to cry out.

Even more stunning was when Valery, who should have been a mutilated corpse, walked right out of the Sith's back like she was some kind of ghost. She thrust her lightsaber backwards, and the Sith must have been as confused as he was, because she made no attempt to avoid the blow. The purple blade speared the woman through the back, exiting her body right below her sternum, and she collapsed.

Gatz had never taken pleasure in anyone's death before, but there was a sickening sense of satisfaction to watch this Sith, who was so prideful and arrogant mere minutes ago, crumple to the floor. Still, that was a baser instinct, and one he wasn't proud of feeling. So he let whatever rage and fear he still felt for this woman go, in a long drawn out sigh. Holding onto those emotions were pointless now that she was dead.

Or would have been, if she hadn't decided to draw in a rasping breath, followed by a cough. How was she even still breathing? She'd just taken a lightsaber to the abdomen! Gatz watched as she reached out with a trembling hand, grasping for her fallen weapon that was just inches away from her fingers. With a sudden wave of his own hand, he sent an effort of will through the Force, and her lightsaber skipped across the metal flooring, out of her reach.

He sighed once more, this time out of exhaustion instead of relief.

"She's still alive," it was half an incredulous statement to Valery, and half a question, "you put a hole in her. How is she alive?"

---

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

The feeling of her blade piercing through flesh and bone was a familiar one, but it still felt as disturbing as the first time she had used her lightsaber to strike someone down. Sith or not, Valery would never enjoy taking a life, but she knew that in doing so, many more lives were going to be saved. Not just the kids they were here for today, but anybody else who they'd otherwise have terrorized in the future.

Valery was about to disengaged her weapon, when she felt a tremor of danger in the Force. She spun back around to face the Sith, when Gatz sent her weapon flying away. It wasn't the first time Valery had seen them so stubbornly cling to life, but she wasn't going to survive for much longer.

"She won't be for long," Valery said, knowing that they'd likely not get her help in time to save her life. "I was once stabbed through the gut by a Dark Side clone of my husband who tricked me, and I only survived because of some rather special healing I can't replicate." She sighed and watched the light slowly fade from the woman's eyes, as her anger and hatred burned away because of her body's physical weakness.

"Are you alright, though?" Valery then asked with a frown. "That telekinetic blast looked... painful."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"A Dark Side clone of your—" Gatz blinked, then sighed for a third time, "you know what, I'm not even gonna act surprised. My life has gotten three times weirder since I met you, so I can only assume what your life must be like."

He took a moment to glance back at the Sith, her last gasps of air going nearly unheard by them. She was so far gone that she couldn't even use her last moments to curse them, or to taunt them, or even to lament her fate. She was probably braindead; probably didn't even know they were there anymore. And then she went still. No longer was she a Sith Lord, or Knight, or whatever. Just another wasted life.

He barely heard Valery's question, fixated as he was on the Dark Lord she'd just killed.

"I'm sure I'll feel it in the morning," Gatz admitted, "but my ego's more bruised than anything else."

He didn't elaborate on that. Wasn't sure he could have, at the moment. All he knew was that this fight had left a bitter taste in his mouth. Surviving hadn't brought the relief it should have, or the pride that should have accompanied the momentous act of killing a Sith of any rank. All he felt was self-loathing and... fear? Yeah, fear more than anything, even after the act was done.

Gatz didn't understand why he was brimming with negative emotions at the moment, but he didn't have the time to process them: there was still the matter of the children.

He stared back at Benji, still frozen from whatever Valery did to him. Gatz thought he ought to feel angry at the man. But now, seeing the fear on the man's face, and feeling his own fear pounding within his own heart, he just wasn't capable of rage or hate. But the man still had to be dealt with.

"Probably better you handle the children," Gatz said quietly, "I'm not exactly a comforting presence. And... I want to have a few words with Benji. There's something I need to know."

---

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Valery Noble]

Naboo

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Gatz Derrevar

"Weirder? I'd like to think I'm adding some excitement to it," Valery said with a grin and a small wink. "Well, when we're not having to fight Sith and save children, anyway." She wasn't going to even joke about any of this being fun and exciting. But spending time with Gatz certainly has been fun to her, and she hoped that this wouldn't be the last time either. A topic for later, perhaps — they first had to free the kids.

Valery then watched Gatz briefly glance at the Sith's body, and her own gaze followed suit. It was a shame that it had to end this way, but Valery didn't regret a single thing she did today either. If she hadn't done it, these kids would now be out in the Galaxy somewhere, tortured into becoming Sith themselves.

The thought alone sent shivers down her spine.

Her eyes then shifted back to Gatz, and she could tell that he still had something on his mind. Something he didn't seem to want to voice out loud, so she wasn't going to push him on the subject. But after he proposed her talking to the kids, she did walk over to place a hand on his shoulder, "Thanks for all the help today, Gatz. I'd have never been able to get to these kids in time without you." She wasn't lying or just trying to make him feel better either.

Without his call, and without some of his quick thinking, they'd have been too late.

"I'll handle the kids." She offered a soft smile, walked over to the crate and raised a hand. The locking pins were crushed instantly, causing one side of the cage to fall open. Several kids immediately looked at her with frightened eyes, but also confusion — she wasn't the person who had forced them in there.

"Hey there," Valery said as she crouched down, "My name is Valery and I'm a Jedi. I'll be getting all of you back to your parents," she told them with an almost motherly smile, before she extended a hand to them.