Private Arcadium

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble

"Okay Vera, before we set off, I need to make sure you know a few things" Silas said as he knelt and got to her level to make sure she wasn't intimidated by what he was putting across "Like your mom said you stick with me at all times. I know you've grown since the last time we've met but you're not big enough yet to wonder off by yourself" he continued in a calming voice "Secondly, do not talk to strangers. Sometimes they can be not what they seem, even if they're nice" Silas warned. Even though Valery had probably said it thousands of times, there was no harm in giving her another reminder.

"Last but not least, have fun. Try and live in the moment and be curious, Arcades are a goldmine for that" Silas smiled briefly and gently ruffled her hair, his head motioning backward in the direction of the arcades "Come on, let's get moving" with another clear expression of reassurance, he got to his feet and gently held her hand as they began walking down the street towards the large neon sign that showed their destination.

Before Silas gave a rundown of the rules Valery had been there to see them off. It took a few tries to ask Valery to let him take Vera to an arcade for the first time. Not because she didn't trust him, but because of how much she cared for her daughters well being. She had already lost Kahlil, Valery didn't want to lose her daughter too. Silas didn't blame her by any means, if he ever had a child he'd be the same as her.

"How about we win ourselves a fluffy toy on the cranes?" the padawan said down to her with enthusiasm "And maybe, just maybe if you're extra good I'll show you the secret to unlimited toys!"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

After dropping Silas and Vera off at the arcade, Valery left to attend a meeting nearby that she expected to last a few hours at most, but it was still a bit scary. Silas was old and responsible enough now to keep an eye out, but only if Valery was still close. Five-year-olds weren't exactly the easiest to handle, so she wanted to be able to get to them quickly if she needed to. The meeting was luckily only a few minutes out, especially if she made haste, but those motherly instincts never made it easy.

....

"Mkay!" Vera just called out after Silas crouched down to lay down some rules. She was already looking everywhere and hardly focusing on him — there were games to be played! But at the mention of having fun, those multi-colored eyes turned back to Silas and she grinned widely while he ruffled her hair. "Yes! Let's go!" she took his hand and bounced up and down a few times while they walked into the arcade.

"How about we win ourselves a fluffy toy on the cranes?"

There was a sparkle in her eyes at the mention of fluffy toys — she recently won one when teaming up with Amani Serys and now she could get her little hands on another? She was all in. "Okay! Can we also do the shooting game?" While they walked, she turned her head to a game some other kids were playing. It looked competitive and there was some violence involved, but she had that Noble grin because of just that.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas doubted Vera had taken in his rules, but at least she seemed excited for the fun that was ahead of them. She cutely jumped up and down as they came up to the entrance of the arcade, a place which was not as full as he thought. There were people in there, but most of the machines were free for them to use. Vera seemed to be quite interested in a shooting game some kids were playing to the right of them.

"Hmmm... well Master Valery didn't say anything about no games being off limits" reaching a hand to his jaw Silas smirked and looked between the two machines. The crane was calling to him, yet the shooting game was something that Vera seemed most interested in. Even so, he understood that it wasn't about him "Alright then, Vera. Why don't we go on the shooting machine first?" he looked down to see her reaction before walking Vera over once the kids were done.

As they grew closer, he saw that Vera was too small to see the screen properly. He looked down at the girl and rested his eyes on an object that would solve everything "Alright young lady, would you prefer a box or the great heights of my shoulders?" his lips couldn't help but smile briefly at the options he had given her.

Although, he had a feeling about which one she'd chosen already.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

"Alright then, Vera. Why don't we go on the shooting machine first?"

"Yess!" she called out happily before she almost tried to run there and pull him along. But she remembered her mother's words, and Silas reinforcing them again when they entered the Arcade, so she eased off a little and walked over there hand-in-hand. But much like Silas, she also noticed that she couldn't quite see the display.

It got her to pout a little.

"Alright young lady, would you prefer a box or the great heights of my shoulders?"

She instantly brightened up again and grinned. The idea of getting on his shoulders was fun, but there was another thought that changed her mind. "Box, so you can shoot too!" she exclaimed with her mother's competitiveness. Games were a lot more fun if there was a chance to win.

Vera then grabbed the toy gun that was used as a controller and looked at Silas, "Time to kick butts," she said, almost creepily serious now with the orange part of her eyes burning like her mother's eyes always do.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble

​

"Box, so you can shoot too!"​

"As you Wish!" the teen said happily as he motioned for Vera to stay while he went to pick up the box. Swiftly, he lifted the box into his arms and placed it in front of the machine which offered a nice view for the girl "Kick butt huh? let's see what you've got" he chuckled down to her before placing his hands under her armpits to lift her on top of the object.

When Silas handed her the gun she seemed to have the same fiery look in her eyes as his master. Vera had a lot of the same qualities as her mother, Competitive, and determined. Although, the same couldn't be said about being bubbly. Valery was a kind and caring woman, but Silas never really saw her being excited and jumping around like Vera. Maybe with her padawans, she just liked to be all business.

"Alright, let's do this. If we're going to win, we need to have each other's backs!" he said playfully as the game began to start. Silas wasn't expecting much from the girl considering her age, but as long as she had fun that's all that mattered. Starting with a bang, enemies began to pop up from all directions as they progressed through the level.

"Hey look! top left!" he said enthusiastically to call out some sneaky enemies to Vera

Silas was quick to dispatch his foes as they went along. He was almost enjoying this more than Vera since it reminded him of all the times he went with his mother to the arcades. Silas was just pleased to share the happiness onto Vera as she once did.

​

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

"Alright, let's do this. If we're going to win, we need to have each other's backs!"

"Yuh uh!" she exclaimed while she hopped up again, the gun still in her hands and already elevated on a box. She was grinning from ear to ear and kept her eyes focused on the display. There was just no way she'd lose in a game, so she had to give it her best and make Silas and mom proud.

When it started, Vera began pulling the trigger like crazy, but her little frame didn't make it easy to quickly adjust and focus on new targets. So initially, she missed a lot of her shots and she wasn't too oblivious to notice it either. A wave of frustration hit those little Noble eyes, and without realizing it, Vera began to tap into the Force.

She had always been particularly strong at visions and precognitive skills, and right now it allowed her to predict where enemies would pop up, and what they were going to do. It wasn't as perfect or well-trained as that of her mother or other trained Jedi, but for a simple game, it was essentially like using cheat codes.

Vera began blasting through enemies as a result, ramping up the combined score with Silas and stunning people who were watching them play. It wasn't often that a five-year-old who needed a box to even see the display was outperforming most people who touched the console.

"Silas!" she called out, seconds before a mini-boss appeared out of nowhere, making her use of precognition a little more obvious.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

"Nice shooting!" he said in surprise from how accurate she was. Somehow, she seemed to predict where they were coming from before they even appeared on the screen. It appeared little Vera was trying to throw him off his game with a cheeky lie. Smiling to her now and then, they both continued to gather up points pretty fast as they progressed through the level like a hot knife through butter. Yet, an even tougher test was indicated by the keen eyed Vera.

A boss in the form of a heavily armored tank crashed through a wall on their screen. At this point, Silas's face was all concentrated on the game as they both peppered the tank with everything they had. Within a minute, the boss blew into smithereens and the level ended with a thunderous explosion. Silas chuckled happily and turned to the girl to give her a high five "You're a natural Vera! are you sure you haven't played this before?"

Looking at her with a playful expression it didn't seem to matter what answer she gave him. Vera seemed to be having a wail of a time, and for him, that's all that mattered.

"Hmph... I presume you want to do the next level now huh?"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

After she called out that the boss would appear, Silas was quick to respond and they brought it down without a problem. The game ended and the two had set a new high score that no ordinary person was ever going to beat. Vera just grinned, turned to Silas, and slapped her little hand against his for a high-five.

"No, I never played games! But it was fun!" she exclaimed, and it was easy enough to tell that she wasn't actually lying. Valery wasn't overly strict about what she could and couldn't do in her playtime, but while they lived on Cularin there simply were no arcades with games like this. All she had were her own toys and nature around her.

"Hmph... I presume you want to do the next level now huh?"

"Mhmm, or we can get plushies!" she looked at the cranes they had skipped earlier — it would be fun to leave this place with something to remember her time here. And, of course, she loved the idea of getting her teddy bear and plushie tooka cat a new friend as well.

However, as the two began to walk through the Arcade for their next game, Silas would likely feel a strange tremor in the Force. Nothing too concerning yet, but enough to get neck hairs to rise. The two were being watched from various directions, but they knew what they were doing and made sure they didn't reveal themselves yet.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

"Fair enough... either way, we got a new high score!" he said with a grin as he looked back at the machine. Silas wasn't expecting by any means to gain such a high amount of points with a five year, you just couldn't judge a book by its cover. Towards midway, they also had a small crowd watching their progress in amazement. He wasn't the only one shocked by how well Vera did, maybe there was something he didn't know about the gifted girl.

Silas smiled at Vera's intentions of getting a plushy "We can always come back on here later if you're still hungry for more. Come on, let's get you a nice toy" the boy said warmly as he helped her get down from the box and began making the short walk towards the claw machine. However, Silas began to feel something uncomfortable. Fellow arcade lovers had their eyes on them before, which was understandable. But now, he felt a multitude of stares from all directions.

For now, he brushed it off as paranoia considering they just had loads of people watching them. Even so, it was only wise to be cautious of that feeling. You never knew who was on this planet, especially Coruscant.

The two of them stopped next to the machine and peered inside. In a large pile, there was a mixture of squishy toys which ranged from bears all the way to different creatures throughout the galaxy. However, there was a grand prize right in the middle. A rare, astonishingly cute Wookie plushy that would be the pride and joy in anyone's collection.

"Before I show you the tricks of the trade, why don't you have a go first?" he smiled before sliding a credit into the machine to let her have a go. In the meantime, he decided to see if his feelings were not tricking him. All he had to do was wait and see if anything came true.

"I definitely know what I'd go for if I was in your shoes"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

"Before I show you the tricks of the trade, why don't you have a go first?"

Vera was in her own little world again, glued to the small window of the crane machine to stare at the big plushie Wookie with widened eyes. She really wanted it and began to frantically point at the fluffy cuteness, until she realized that he had asked a question, and she hadn't answered yet. "Yes! I wanna try!" she called out excitedly.

Relying on Silas to toss a few credits into the machine, Vera waited and stepped into the center so she could reach the controls and do her best to get her plushie. On the first attempt, she was struggling with the controls, and lowered the crane almost instantly on accident to grab nothing. "Hmmm..." she mumbled before she tried again, this time getting a little closer but she still wasn't used to it.

On the third try, however, the arms of the crane wrapped around the Wookie, she pulled up slowly.... and it just slipped through. "Huh! Not fair!" she yelled, a little angered that this machine denied her plushy "I got it!" she whined and looked at Silas with a pouty face.

Around the same time, one of the men who had been watching them started to make his approach. He was careful to move from behind Silas and waited to see if he'd play first. If Silas got focused on the game, he'd have a shot at going for Vera.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

"By means all means, I want to see if you can get that particular plushie" he smirked, moving behind Vera got ready to use the controls. Folding his arms, he watched closely to see if she'd do as well on this too. Maybe she truly was a natural, but it wouldn't surprise him if it was something to do with the force. After all, her parents were some of the strongest force users he knew.

Sliding a few credits into the machine, it was finally time to see what she could do. Watching on cautiously, he kept briefly looking around while Vera accidentally lowered the machine too early "Hey hey, forget about that first try. We've all done that" he encouraged her, not everything can be done on the first try, especially when you were new to machines like this. Watching her again, she seemed to be getting closer to the Wookie, this time only missing it by inches. Another try soon came, and for a second he thought she had nabbed the Wookie only for it to fall back down.

"I'm afraid that's the way it is with these machines. They are built to punish the player and urge them to play more, that's why you must always be perfect. No more, nothing less" it felt like he was teaching a lesson to the young girl, but it was something she needed to know if Vera was going to understand what he was going to show him.

Ruffling her hair, he stood beside her and took control of the machines "Here let me show you..." he said calmly as he began to focus on the claw. However, around him, he could still feel their gaze watching them both. There was something more to this now, it wasn't natural for it to get stronger "Vera, stand to my left. I need you to look closely" the teen lied, instead wanting the girl to keep clear when he felt them getting closer. Placing another credit into the machine, he began to half focus on the claw in front, using the controls to slowly but surely bring it above the Wookie.

"Okay, now bring your eyes to the glass and make sure it's directly above the Wookie, once you're sure that's when you hit the button" he explained, sensing a pair of eyes get closer to them than before. He didn't want to show he was nervous to Vera or the people watching them, but if the person close decided to go through with what Silas was thinking, he wasn't going to hesitate turning to punch him in the throat and push him away.

With a sigh, his clenched hand finally hit the button.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

When Silas ruffled her hair, she was still pouting and still very frustrated about the machine. But his words assured her that there was still a chance to win the plushie she wanted, so her expression turned less sour, and she watched him closely. However, right before Silas was starting the game again, she noticed something changed about him. It was difficult to understand what happened to the little Noble, but she knew it was why he wanted her to step closer to his left.

Her mother had instructed her to listen very carefully to Silas, and so she agreed. Taking her position to his left, she was quickly glued to the window again and watched as Silas hovered the crane right above the Wookie. To her, it looked exactly like what she did, but there was a subtle difference to it, and hopefully enough to win her what she deserved.

"Okay! I think it's good now." She turned to Silas, but as she did, a man approached the young Padawan, casual in his steps and with a friendly smile. Yet, Silas would feel the tension in the Force only rising more, the closer he got. "Ah, young man? Can I ask you something?" he began, but right as he did and hopefully drew Silas' attention to him, a second man appeared from behind a corner on the opposite side, right behind Vera.

He moved to quickly snatch the little girl, but even before his arms could reach her, Vera already began to scream.

"Silas!!"

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

"I'd say you're right..." he said with a warm smile down to her as the claw slowly went down to wrap itself around the Wookie. Although, Silas and Vera would not get to see the result. A voice to his side seemed to try and gain his attention and with that an opportunity to try and grab Vera. Before she even screamed Silas had planned what he was going to do, instead of turning his body to the man who talk, he swiftly did a 360 to swing a punch into the man's throat.

The intruder choked loudly and brought two hands to his throat when he fell to the floor, struggling to gain breath while his companion swung a cheap shot at Silas's midsection. The teen grunted out loudly and leaned forwards from the strike, giving the man an opportunity to push him back first into the machine. Without hesitation, Silas slammed a powerful knee into his gut to make him gasp for air. Grabbing his shoulders, he suddenly threw him face first through the claw machine's glass.

A loud crash soon followed and many of the gamers close by began to run towards the entrance out of fear of getting hurt. Silas brushed himself down and looked around him for anyone else. He could still feel it, there was still more in here "You okay Vera?" he said as he knelt down and checked her over. No one was going to touch a hair on the girl, even if it meant hurting himself in the process. The punch hurt, but not too much. If it wasn't for him tensing, he probably would have been winded.

Silas looked back to the machine and suddenly reached into the collection hole of the machine, to his surprise something was waiting in there for him "Here, keep this guy safe will you?" he said reassuringly to Vera, handing her the fluffy Wookie. He wanted to keep her calm, this was one of the very few things he could do.

"Okay, what I need you to do is stick tight to me alright? we're going to get out of this place and find your mommy" he said with a soft squeeze of her shoulder before getting up to take her hand "If you see any nasty men, let me know" the padawan said softly, even though he was now turning into his fighting instinct that was only reserved for battles.

He made a promise to Valery, and that's something he couldn't break, not now.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

The second Silas turned and punched the man in the throat, Vera began to hyperventilate. She wasn't screaming or making any attempts to run in panic — she just stood there frozen, shocked, and breathing heavily as the fight continued. But the attackers weren't the only ones to get hit, and soon enough Silas took a punch to the gut that folded him over.

Only now, Vera let out a scream and without realizing it, she tapped into the Force with all of her might. Its waves echoed through the room, shattering the glass of several games directly around her but luckily without causing harm to anybody. Her training had allowed her to be somewhat in control of herself already, but in highly emotional moments like this, she could explode and lose all of it.

Silas then recovered and despite taking the hit, he managed to take the attacker out, which helped calm Vera down. But what really helped the most was the way he talked and comforted her. She took the plushie, sniffed, and nodded, "Okay, I'll keep him safe," she said while she hugged the Wookie toy to her chest.

"Okay, what I need you to do is stick tight to me alright? we're going to get out of this place and find your mommy"

"Okay," she said again and this time, she hopped over to stay really close to him. Getting to her mom was the only thing she wanted right now, and she trusted Silas to protect her and help her get to Valery. If one person in the Galaxy always made sure the scary people stayed far away, it would be her mom. Although right now, Silas was doing just that as well.

But as expected, the path to safety wasn't easy — another thug popped up in their path, and unlike the others, he wielded a blaster pistol and aimed it at Silas.

Bang

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

"Good, we'll get through this alright?" Silas reassured her again, adamant about getting through this for Vera and the sake of her mother. Valery had already gone through so much loss, he couldn't let her daughter be another. Pulling her along gently, his free hand lifted his shirt to retrieve the hidden lightsaber from his pocket. Walking through the near empty arcade he noticed something that felt odd in the force. When he was fighting the man, he felt a surge of power go through Vera, big enough for a bunch of windows to explode. Silas knew Vera had great potential considering her parents were some of the finest Jedi they had. But showing it at this age? Master Valery must have been teaching her well.

Come through a long line of pod racing games, they could see the entrance in the far distance. Some of the visitors were still running out from the chaos that was going on, leaving only those who still had a reason to be there "Your mother is close by, I'm sure she'll be" suddenly a man with a blaster jumped out in front of them, aiming right at Silas to fire a shot right at his chest. The teen didn't waste a second to move his hand up urgently, using the force to shift the blaster upwards to the ceiling. The man growled and stumbled back a few steps, lifting his gun to shoot again. However, that never happened.

Letting go of Vera and bursting forwards a few steps, he ignited his saber and slashed down on his hand. The limb fell to the floor with a flop just before the intruder yelled out in agony, leaving him open for Silas to force push him back first into a roulette wheel. His body crumbled to the floor after the impact, keeping him lifeless and silent while Silas went back to Vera "Close your eyes, Vera..." if anything, a girl her age shouldn't be seeing such things just yet.

Looking around, he could feel the shifting of boots all around them. Swiftly, Silas took Vera's hand and took her inside a photo booth. He kept Vera behind him when he shut the curtains shut, his eyes only partially looking out to see if he can spot anyone "How's he holding up Vera? is he being a trooper like you?" the teen whispered with a strained smile back to her before his cold eyes glared into the room.

All he hoped was that Valery had caught wind of what was going on. He was unsure of how many opponents he was up against here, and exactly how strong some of them were.​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Silas Westgard

Vera's grip on Silas' hand tightened as they moved through the arcade, clearly because of how terrified she was. On the outside, it seemed as if she was holding it together for now, but internally she was panicking. The only thing she wanted now was to get back to her mother, who always protected and comforted her. But right now, she felt further away than ever before, even though she was only minutes away at most.

The two continued to rush towards the exit, and right when it seemed like they were going to make it, another thug appeared and aimed his blaster at Silas. Vera's eyes widened, but the Jedi were far quicker than their enemy. The shot never reached the two, and the man's limb was severed with a quick cut. Seeing this, Vera's breath hitched and she forced her eyes shut, right in time because Silas struck the man down and told her not to look. The image of the man losing his arm, however, was burned into her soul.

"I want my mommy..." she began to cry, as tears started flowing down her cheeks. This was too scary, and now that people were dying around her, Vera was completely overwhelmed.

Silas soon returned and after taking Vera's hand, he pulled her along into a photo booth, where they had just a brief moment to think about what they were going to do next. Vera was sniffing and opened her teary eyes to look up at Silas, her lips trembling but she tried to look brave. "He's okay..." she muttered as she held the plushie tightly against herself. Sadly, their safe time in the booth was already up.

"We have you surrounded, Jedi. Give us the girl, and you can walk out of here alive." Three men with blaster pistols moved to surround the booth now and took aim.

"Please don't leave me, Silas," Vera cried, scared for her life.

The three men took aim, waited, and if no response came — they opened fire.

​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

Silas saw one of the three men standing a few feet away, a gun outstretched and aiming at the booth. The other two were out of sight for now, but he could feel them close by. They were threatening to shoot if they didn't get Vera, and from the sound of their tones, they didn't seem to be messing around. Withdrawing his eyes, he slowly knelt down to face Vera and put two hands on her shoulders "Vera... you need to calm down" he said with a warm smile as he moved a hand to her cheeks to wipe away the streams of tears "I have a plan, but it requires you to be above and beyond. Can you be a trooper one more time?"

A young girl like Vera shouldn't have been put through this, it wasn't fair. However, he needed her to dig deep to help him get through this and ultimately keep herself safe "For a few moments, I will have to leave you. Those nasty men outside will not give up until they get you, so I'll need to do what's right to keep you safe..." he explained, lightly squeezing her shoulder to reassure everything was going to be fine. "One last chance! we're not bluffing kid!" one of the men shouted, making him break his concentration "I need you to lay down in the booth and wait until I've come back. I don't want you to be hit by anything, okay?" the padawan said before slowly getting up and lightly ruffling her hair "Now get down. Before you know it your mommy will be here"

Silas made sure she got in position before taking a deep breath to face the curtains "Okay okay... we're coming out" he shouted back at them calmly, not bothering to go out just yet. Tense silence soon followed, but as soon as the man in front was going speaking Silas suddenly burst through the curtains and ran straight at him. His speed caught them off guard and by the time the left and right men had pulled the trigger Silas extended both arms out to force push them away into the machines.

The intruder in front of him on the other hand was able to fire, leaving him little time to react. Doing the best he could, Silas tried to snap his head to the left. Grunting loudly, he felt a searing pain in his cheek as he came a few feet away from the man. Igniting his lightsaber, Silas swiftly thrust the saber into his chest and tackled him to the floor. Below him, the foe soon stopped breathing and looked up at Silas with wide, lifeless eyes. He had to do this, or else they were going to take an innocent child.

Getting up and turning around, he wasn't expecting one of the larger individuals in the group to tackle him to the ground. At the same time, his saber rolled along the floor from the impact, escaping his grasp just when the agent tried to plunge a knife into his chest. Silas raised both hands up and did the best he could to stop a painful death. Even with his great physical strength, he was starting to lose the battle "Just give up, I'll promise to make it quick!" he grunted through bloody teeth, sending the sharp end of the knife inches away from the cloth of his shirt "I...I will not let you take her!" he grunted back up to him.

Without warning, he shot a powerful knee into the middle of his back to make him loosen his grip on the knife. Now that there was less pressure, he threw a punch to his jaw that made him fall to the left of him. Rolling on top of him, Silas began repeatedly hitting him in the face over and over. By the time he was finished, his hands were bruised and bloody, all in the course of doing what was right.

His hand hurt, and his cheek was burning, but for now, it was over. Or so he thought...

"Vera?! talk to me!"
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Operative Suit | Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Silas Westgard

When Silas wiped away her tears and encouraged her to be strong, Vera sniffed and quietly nodded. She was too overwhelmed to speak, but she knew that she had to be strong if she wanted to go home. Silas then explained the plan, and she just looked at him with widened eyes — being left alone was the last thing she wanted right now, but she did understand. He was going to take out the bad guys, and she'd be brought back to her mom.

"Okay..." she squeaked before she went to lie down with her eyes closed, the plushie hugged tightly against her chest. She was trying her best not to panic even more, but when Silas burst out of the booth to engage the enemy, she screamed and cried all over again. Her mother had already helped her with basic Jedi training and she was attending classes at the Temple for younglings, but nothing she had learned prepared her for something like this.

The sounds of the fight that ensued all reached her, but very little of it registered. She couldn't see what was happening directly, but the Force was showing her more than she liked. Vera knew that Silas had taken one out, but she also knew that he was hurt, and after taking down the second one, she also knew that he was in trouble.

The third guy was still coming, and another group of 4 who had been outside to guard the doors had rushed in to assist as well. With guns at the ready, they stormed towards Silas, and Vera just screamed again, "Silas!"

"It's over, kid," the man he had thrown into a machine said, as he aimed his rifle at the Padawan's back. But right before he squeezed the trigger, the entire rifle was suddenly crushed within his hands. He looked at it dumbly, and before he realized what happened, both him and his 4 buddies were all floating with great pressure on their bodies. Their weapons were all crushed, and they began to yell because of how scared they were.

In the back, Valery was slowly walking closer, her eyes on fire and her body language far more threatening than it had ever been before. "Where is Vera? Is she okay?" she asked Silas, her tone cold and emotionless, as she looked at the restrained attackers again.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Take Vera to the arcades
Tag: Valery Noble / Vera Noble

Silas was reaching over to the curtain the sound of running and a voice spoke up. He slowly stopped and took a shallow breath, realizing that he had finally been caught "I'm sorry master..." he whispered to herself before his eyes closed in preparation for the worst. Seconds seemed to pass and he thought everything was going in slow motion, but that thought was only broken when a crushing sound was heard behind him. Silas shot his eyes open and turned to see the intruders floating in the air, as well as the sight of Master Valery, was more dangerous than he had ever seen her.

"Master! she's safe," the boy said in clear relief before finally pulling open the curtain. Silas knelt down and gently help Vera to her feet, a hand brushing away the tear on her face again "We're safe now Vera, you don't need to worry" the boy smiled weakly, looking over to her mother with a quick motion "Go to your mother, she'd want to see you safe and sound more than anything" he remarked before shuffling out the way to stand up and let her through.

Silas used his hand to retrieve his lightsaber from the floor and nervously stood before his master, head lowered and unsure of what she truly thought of his failure "They had been following us all this time Master, they were waiting until a moment like this to trap us. I'm... I'm sorry I didn't do more" Silas muttered even though Vera was ultimately unharmed.

Even though he almost died, he was just happy Valery didn't lose another loved one.
​

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

​

Outfit: Operative Suit | Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Silas Westgard

Hearing that Vera was still okay softened Valery's expression just a little bit, but she wasn't quite done with the attackers yet. Her hands clenched into fists, and the group of men began to scream until they were all knocked out cold. She hadn't killed any of them, knowing that wasn't the right thing to do, but she had been far more intense with them than she normally would have been. Valery then released her grip over them and allowed their bodies to fall and hit the floor before she turned to the booth.

Vera came sprinting out with her arms forward after Silas had helped her up, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Mommy!" she cried out, as she wrapped her arms around Valery's legs. Vera would not let go. Valery's entire demeanor shifted instantly as a result, and that motherly side of her began to shine through again when she lifted the little girl up into her arms and hugged her tight. "I'm so sorry, little star," Valery said, her eyes getting teary while she buried her face in Vera's dark hair.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." she added before her eyes finally turned to Silas, full of tears and motherly fire. "You did everything you needed to and more," she assured him with a smile. Valery's arm extended and she pulled him close against her for a hug as well, clearly very happy with what he had done for her daughter. "Thank you for protecting her, Silas. I really owe you one."

She pulled back and looked him over, "Are you okay? I can get you some medical help."