Private Chains Unbound - Valery Noble

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Danton Corazona von Ascania Capris Halcyon

A continuation of Going Down...

"Valery,"

She didn't respond to his voice, nor did her soulless eyes or broken body offer any acknowledgement to what he said. It looked as if she couldn't hear him at all, but deep down, his words registered and were still being processed. She was alive and without the repeating music of death crippling her mind, she was slowly starting to recover again. The voices had finally been silenced, the screams were no more and the cell in which she was bound suddenly felt like refuge from something far worse than death.

How could it have gotten this far?

At the touch of his hand against her cheek, Valery's eyes suddenly moved to meet his gaze, and a panicked breath managed to escape her lips. The chains around her rattled, and fire flickered in her pupils. "The c-cave-" her voice broke and the words never fully managed to echo through the cell, before another overshadowed it. One of his lackeys, the brute who had beaten her hours ago, made his way down the small staircase leading into the underground prison, and stopped right in front of the cell.

"A single ship has entered the system and is moving towards us," he said, his tone not all too worried. If the Alliance had discovered where she was, they surely would have sent more than a single ship to free her, right? His eyes turned to Valery for a moment, and an insidious grin spread across his lips. So Danton had managed to break the Sword after all. The situation at hand, however, drew his gaze back to Danton.

"It could be trouble, so I've told the men to gather their weapons. It would be wise if you joined us as well," He suggested before turning around to leave. All the former prisoners were already taking positions in the various small hallways, and several were out patrolling the forest around the entrance of the abandoned prison. It would take a small army to get through them.

Or, perhaps, a few dedicated Jedi.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The scanner says there's multiple people down there. Armed. I said I would leave the planning to you two, but I cannot allow you both to go into such danger." Kahlil sat, calmly observing the scanner as the Bastion slowly made it's way on world. He had time on the trip. Some to breath, center himself. Re-find his sense of peace and control. He couldn't act on emotion. Not now. Especially not now.

He glanced to the Padawans. He didn't smile, but his face was calm. He knew his limits.

"I'm going in alone. And while I deal with that group, you two will find Valery and remove whatever it is cutting her from the Force. There is no discussion."

The Shield of the Jedi, here alone to find his wife. Desperate to save her. It'd be easy to assume such. Easier to make them believe he was indeed here alone. He stood, walking towards the ramp of his ship. His home. Their home. He took a breath as he hit the ramp. It lowered, revealing the rush of the air as the ship started to pass by the location. And he jumped.

There was no hesitation in him as he plummeted at full speed. He didn't slow himself, just hit the ground with full momentum by all appearances. And yet, the cloud of dust that had formed soon had his silhouette standing.

"I am here for my wife. As a Jedi, I will tell you to leave now and you will be spared. But if you stay," Green erupted from his lightsaber, cutting through the dust as he glared towards those who'd dare stand in his way.

"I will kill every single one of you."

Valery Noble | Capris Halcyon | Corazona von Ascania | Danton

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"I'm going in alone. And while I deal with that group, you two will find Valery and remove whatever it is cutting her from the Force. There is no discussion."

Cora's lips parted to speak. To protest at letting Kahlil go in alone. The Shield of the Jedi could very likely handle the physical challenges that came with this task on his own.

Her concern was for his mind. Kahlil was calm as ever, but this was Valery. The love of his life, captured and tortured by days on end by Force knows who. Would whatever awaited them in the prison below be enough to break him?

"Understood."

As much as Kahlil knew his limits, Cora understood her place in this mission. Her lips thinned into a firm line, and she gave him a nod.

Cora had lied to her husband in order to be here. Her mother was not ill, and she had not gone home to visit her.

It has been a few weeks since her wedding, and maneuvering around the royal eccentricities of Ukatis had proved challenging, but not impossible. Fortunately, when the information came through, Horace von Cholmondeley III had been away on business. Cora had leveraged her mother's sickly nature as an emergent situation, retrieved her lightsaber from Horace's mantle, and left on a shuttle headed for Ascania territory late one evening.

Luciana von Ascania, though weak, was not near death.

Capris had met her in a field, whisking the Princess offworld after helping to deactivate the droid pilot and disable the ship's sensors and erase any recoded data. It was a dangerous idea that could lead to fallout if she wasn't careful, but the risk was worth whatever Horace's punishment would be.

Valery was simply that important to her. A second mother, a guiding light who'd helped Cora develop into a Jedi before their time together had been cut short by circumstance. Perhaps another could have taken her place, but Cora needed to be here. Perhaps it was selfish, but she wanted to help bring her Master back home.

"Kahlil." Her voice was level, and she reached out to press a hand to his shoulder, seeking his eyes with her own.

"We will not leave without her today."

Blue eyes fell closed as Cora concentrated, intentionally easing the tension that wound her muscles, locked her jaw and creased her brow.

We are coming for you, Master.

It felt so strange to be out of the corsets and gowns, and back into something more suitably Jedi. The dark clothes she had on were not her own—those were borrowed from Capris—but they felt more familiar than anything else she'd worn over the past few weeks.

Cora blinked clarity back into her eyes and looked over to Capris. One corner of her lips lifted in an attempt to offer an encouraging smile, but it just looked hollow and properly grim.

"You know, I think that the two of us work pretty well together."

And now they were here, on the Bastion as it hovered above the forested earth that they had tracked Valery's location to, watching as Kahlil leaped from the ramp to the surface below.

The Padawans followed, and Cora marveled at the feeling of weightlessness that came from falling, reveled in the wind as it whipped harshly across her face. Her wedding ring—which contained voidstone specks, unbeknownst to her—had been left aboard the Bastion in a small compartment for safekeeping.

As they surged towards the surface, Cora felt the ichor of of tortured souls beneath the earth. Their presence rose from the ground like steam after a storm.

And if they so much as lifted a finger to confront them, Kahlil would paint the soil with their blood.

Kahlil Noble Capris Halcyon Valery Noble Danton

 

[Danton]

Madness had driven Danton to the brink.

Since capturing Valery, he'd subjected her to shockings, lashings, beatings, and recordings of the vile Dizonite genocide. He had broken her completely and turned her into a withered husk. But trying to get her to talk had been hysterically infuriating. He thought he would find enjoyment in tormenting her—and a sick part of him did—but all he wanted was information.

All he wanted was his Force sensitivity back. He wanted the voices to stop.

And finally, Valery had given him what he needed and so desperately wanted.

"A cave," he repeated. "A cave." Danton pressed a hand to his face. He climbed to his full height and through his curling fingers, broke into frantic laughter, the sound like cutting glass. This was what he needed to hear. At long last, something to work with.

When he finished cackling, he turned for the cell door, ready to depart for Spintir in earnest, but one of his lackeys stopped him in his tracks. His delirious joy fell to silence. Trespassers? It shouldn't have been possible, but of course it would. Just another wrench in his plans.

"Fine," he said. "Alert the others. I'll deal with this nonsense. Just keep watch on Valery. If anyone gets too close to her cell, you have my permission to kill the shrew."

———​

Danton stormed from the cell, readying a handful of men and retrieving his own weapons: a hip blaster and his old lightsaber. It had been a long time since he last used the blade, but even without the Force, he knew how to wield it. He still knew how to kill.

As he emerged from the underground base, walking into the hazy light of the forest, he was surprised when a man dropped from the trees, drawing the attention of the perimeter guards. Eyes widened. Blasters unholstered. As the dust settled, Danton gave pause and squinted at the stranger who'd decided to interrupt his fun and ruin his evening.

He froze. Kahlil. It was Kahlil fucking Noble.

His lackeys stepped back. Some wavered. Something like doubt rippled between them and they exchanged a few worried looks, not sure what to do. Danton shot them a furious look.

"What are you waiting for?" he spat. "Kill him! Bring me his head! You captured the Sword of the Jedi. He is only the Shield. Break him as she's been broken."

At the encouragement, his lackeys descended on the Jedi, knives and teeth flashing.

Valery Noble , Kahlil Noble , Capris Halcyon , Corazona von Ascania​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Kill him! Bring me his head!"

It was to be expected. Kahlil lifted his blade, readied his stance for the coming assault. Then froze.

"You captured the Sword of the Jedi. He is only the Shield. Break him as she's been broken."

He froze completely. His silver gaze shifted among the people there in the way, in his way, before they settled on the speaker. Broke her? Broke Valery? His Valery? A blasterbolt whizzed by his face as he took a step forward. There was an eerie calmness to every step as he moved. The lightsaber in his hand lowered, passively dipping into the ground for a moment before it shut off entirely. Another burst of blasterfire ripped through, yet the bolts still didn't reach him.

It was when one of the thugs charged forward with their blade that the why became clear.

Their body crumpled in an instant. Bone and flesh twisted unnaturally as they swung their blade and their arm got too close. It ripped free of it's socket before slamming into the ground. They screamed, but as Kahlil stepped by the rest of their body followed suit, splattering against the dirt.

"What do you mean broken?"

Two more charged. More blaster fire erupted around him. A grenade even flew, detonating just before it could reach him. The ground before him scarred, but the void he seemed to have around him kept him unharmed. Ember eyes glared, focused solely on Danton alone as the pair that tried to jump him met a similar fate to the first, splattering against the ground once they were too close.

"What did you do to my wife?"

 

[Danton]

Kahlil was a beast. Every man who stepped too close, he crushed and melted and broke. The sight was horrifying, blood and gore spattering the bark of nearby trees, but Danton was steadfast. He mirrored the Jedi Master's glare, even as the voices in his head swarmed.

"I did exactly what I promised."

More blood caked the ground. Danton backpedaled slowly, staying out of Kahlil's terrifying reach. Never had he seen so much raw power. Strength beyond his dreaming. Hate deeper than a Sith Lord's tomb. He'd heard all the tales about the former son of Darth Carnifex, a Prince of the Sith, but seeing a glimpse of the man he once was with his own eyes?

He felt only harrowing disbelief. This was no heroic Jedi he was facing.

Why he still even spoke was madness, but Danton had always been mad. "I warned her what would happen. I told her what I'd do. She got what she deserved."

The trees shook. Leaves fell. Anyone else might've thought it was another sign of Kahlil's rage, but something mechanical thundered from behind them, a rusted tangle of durasteel.

Another Imperial-era relic found and stored by his master, the Scorpenek droid was an automated monster, equipped with deflector shields and heavy turret blasters. One dark look at Kahlil and its red eye flashed between the shrubbery. Its cannons whirred and aimed.

Forget his lackeys. They'd merely been a distraction. Danton had long prepared for intruders, and he was not going to let some avenging husband stop him from retreating to Spintir, from recovering the Force, and from watching the last of Valery Noble's life drain out of her eyes.

"This is for Kyrel Ren," Danton spat, and the Scorpenek fired.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Then you know what's coming. I gave my warning."

Kahlil's gaze never left the man before him. Nor did he slow his walk. The Force had already warned him of the danger around him. Not that he cared particularly. No, his only target was the man before him. The one who knew where Valery was.

"Tell me where she is."

Another step. He could hear the activation of some turret to his side. A large droid? An old weapon, and an effective one at that. He took another step, but this time it wasn't a direct one. Instead, a rune flashed before him. The blast ripped the very ground up, sending a scattering of debris and a cloud of dust. And as it settled, Kahlil wasn't there. No, instead he stepped out beside Danton, his silver gaze burning with rage.

"Give me my wife, and I won't drag out your death."

Danton

 

[Capris Halcyon]

There is no discussion…

Much like Cora, Capris almost thought to object, tawny eyes scanning Kahlil’s in some wordless argument. The calm was a lie. A substitute for a much more visceral and surging undercurrent of rage. One which, all things considered, was incredibly warranted.

Still, she didn't like this plan. Especially not the whole 'leaving Kahlil to confront his worst nightmare in the most vulnerable position she'd ever seen him in' part. But as much as she'd typically pounce on the opportunity to argue there was a note of finality in the air. Unshakeable even for the stubborn padawan.

So it was with both feet planted at the ramp's edge and a glance down at the wooded canopy Capris gathered her resolve, ready to bend and snap under the weight of it.

"You know, I think that the two of us work pretty well together."

Again Cora was somehow handling this a lot better. Miraculous really. Still managing to scrounge up something of sentiment even if it was paired with the hollowest of all smiles.

"We do have a pretty decent track-record don't we." Capris reasoned back with an equally flimsy huff of amusement.

One adrenaline-inducing free fall later and Kahlil split off on his own war path, the two padawans left to infiltrate and extract. With one concerned looked Kahlil's way Capris dragged herself back into the game, offering a hand to Cora as they regained their bearings.

"It's gonna take a lot of fire-power to put Kahlil down, we won't be facing much resistance." Capris noted, clearly not all that worried about how her Master would shape up against the kind of brutes she'd gleaned from her visions. "Still let's be smart about this, yeah? Beeline to Valery." Canting her head down the treeline, she carved a path forward from the lingering mental fragments, eventually finding them an opening to the bunker. One which promised anything but a good time

”Inviting...” Capris deadpanned, thumb on her saber in preparation.

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Corazona von Ascania Danton

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Capris Halcyon Corazona von Ascania Danton

Even with her mind still broken, Valery managed to look up as Danton and several other of his thugs left her cell. The ones that remained behind were met with a bloody grin, further accentuated by her almost soulless eyes. She knew, even without feeling him through her bond, or the Padawans through the Force. Someone had come to rescue her, and if it's who she believed it would be, all of these people would be in trouble.

"Get that smirk off your face," one guard hissed before smashing the back of his hand across her cheek. But after Valery's head snapped back and lowered again, the grin remained.

Meanwhile, both Capris and Cora had made their own landing, and were quickly moving to a separate opening into the bunker. The hallway behind the hatch was mostly dark, and only dimly lit by weak emergency lights. But through those empty halls, voices soon began to echo, and faintly in the distance, they could tell the sound of rattling chains apart from those voices. They were getting closer to Valery, but with each step they took, they were getting closer to trouble as well.

Until...

From around the corner up ahead, a single man appeared with a blaster pistol drawn into his hand. He stopped, froze and stared at the two Padawans with widened eyes. The Jedi Master wasn't alone. A second of silence passed and with just a loud yell escaping his lips, he raised his blaster and opened fire, alarming others that something was wrong as well. Foot steps began to approach, but as this danger closed in on them, they'd feel something else as well.

A flash of anger, followed by the sting of death as Kahlil crushed opponents in front of him. It would be impossible to tell what exactly was happening out there, but the Jedi Master's emotions and power resonated through the Force like an unstoppable tsunami.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Kahlil wasted no time in drawing the majority of the fire towards himself. Even if the Padawans still had their own reservations, they knew better than to disrupt a plan in motion.

Especially if the consequence of failure meant Valery's head.

The pair encountered little in the way of trouble until they'd made their way beneath the surface.

”Inviting...”

Cora's nose wrinkled on the first inhale of musty air. They hadn't even reached Valery yet and already irritation prickled at her raw nerves. They were keeping her Master in a place like this.

"Disgusting."

She spat the word out like bitter tea.

A lone figure appeared from around the corner. The moment cool blue eyes laid on his solitary form, a surge of overwhelming adrenaline shot through every nerve from the pit of Cora's stomach to the very tips of her fingers. One thought burned in her mind before she took action.

He should not have come alone.

Her hand shot forward a split second before the blaster discharged, and she pushed the guard backward with vigor that surprised even herself. After having her connection to the Force suppressed for weeks on end, it felt like she was flexing a muscle with training weights removed.

The plasma bolt hit the ceiling, causing a shuddering crack as bits of plaster crumbled to the floor. Having lost his hold on the blaster, the guard hit the wall with a grunt of pain while his weapon skidded against the ground.

Maybe it was a culmination of her anger with what had been done to Valery, what Cora been subjected to herself, and her rage at an unfair galaxy that hurt the people that she loved.

Maybe she was feeding from Kahlil's torrent of emotions that seeped into the Force even here.

Maybe being married to a sadist had begun to erode her moral standards.

Maybe she'd simply had enough of rules and this was a release.

The sound of hurried footsteps drew near from somewhere around the bend of the corridor. Cora answered their approach her own slow, methodical footfalls.

She was almost surprised with how soft, how fragile the guard's flesh felt beneath her boot as she pinned him to the wall by his chest.

Cora leveled the blaster between his eyes.

"Talk."

Capris could handle whoever was coming for them. The girl was a tempest, a capable fighter and vicious combatant. With Valery's life on the line, there was no doubt in Cora's mind that Kahlil's Padawan would cut a swathe in the name of who they'd come here for.

Cora wasn't sure if she just wanted information, or if she wanted this man to feel as helpless as she did. Her finger caressed the trigger, blue eyes frigid and cold like the sky above an unforgiving mountain peak.

"Where is Valery Noble?"

Capris Halcyon Kahlil Noble Valery Noble Danton

 

[Danton]

"You will get nothing from me."

Danton's smile widened as the Scorpenek fired, blasting at Kahlil, scattering dirt and ash. The strike seemed to have landed. There was no way it hadn't.

He blinked into the smoke, seeking out the Jedi Master. But as the dust settled, the man was not there, and neither was his smoldering corpse. Just a crater in the forest floor.

He spun around at the sound of Kahlil's voice, low and knifelike. Cold shivers ran up his arms and he lunged back. First he felt surprise, and then, like a blanket of fog rolling towards a shoreline, fear. This was not a Jedi he was facing. Not even a common monster. This man was a nightmare come to life, some demon from the Netherworld.

It shouldn't have been possible, and yet, there he was.

Danton stumbled a few paces back and raised a blaster from his sleeve. "Stay back!" he seethed, firing indiscriminately at Kahlil. At almost point-blank range, every shot was guaranteed, but even the former Sith should've known it wouldn't work, not after what he'd just seen.

No matter. By the time Danton had emptied his clip and tossed his blaster at the man, he started to laugh maniacally, clinging to what little remained of his own sanity. "I see you for what you are, Kahlil Zambrano. You're like me. You're pitiless. You're a killer."

"Except, I didn't kill your wife. But come another step, and my men will." His smile was maddening. With a flourish, he revealed a small comlink clutched between his fingers. "Lay a hand on me and I will order them to gut Valery and carve her a pretty smile from ear to ear."

From behind, the Scorpenek continued to assess the threat, searching out the best opening to eliminate Kahlil. One wrong move, one clear sighting, and it would.

Valery Noble , Kahlil Noble , Capris Halcyon , Corazona von Ascania​

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[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil's blade flashed through the air, battering away the shots. Some of them. Others he just seemed to ignore as they hit unimportant parts of his body. Pain wasn't going to slow him down, he'd long learned how to deal with that.

"You don't have a leg to stand on here."

He didn't take a step. Not yet. Instead his gaze burned into Danton's own.

"You harm her in any way now that I'm here, if you tell your men to kill her, there's nothing you have that will stop me from ripping you limb from limb. It's the only reason you still breath. So you will run. You will tell your men to run. And you will pray that in the time it takes me to make sure she's safe and alright you're already far enough away I can't chase you."

She was alive. And that was enough for him. He turned from the man, stepping away towards the bunker. Towards his wife. He didn't even pay mind to the Scorpenek now. He'd made his threat, shown exactly what he could do.

If they tried anything, he'd end them all.

Valery Noble | Capris Halcyon | Corazona von Ascania | Danton

 

[Capris Halcyon]

Capris could only blink back a look of surprise. First at the lone minion, then at Cora’s boot nailing him to the ground. It was like watching a porcelain mask slip and shatter, some cracked pressure valve flushing the blue blood from Cora’s system.

And yeah, it was an understandable reaction- Wasn't like she was at risk of being reduced to a trophy wife herself, but having ferried the aristocrat away from what amounted to a gilded-cage imprisonment was definitely… enlightening.

But Capris didn’t move to join her. Not when she felt Kahlil. Not when she felt the amount of death permeating the air around him.

She’d been nursing her own hurt and hate since Valery’s disappearance. Fantasizing revenge with the immaturity of a child who wanted any opportunity to hurt back. But this was like being soaked in ice water. Every lesson in peacemaking- every time she’d watched her Master redeem instead of maim- every time her own violent urges had been doused by a distinct fear of disappointing him, of not living up to the legacy he built.

It all felt weak, fragile- ready to snap.

And weirdly clarifying.

So while Cora drilled the guard on Valery’s whereabouts, Capris fought to ground herself, the dizzying rage she’d grown comfortable with suddenly sucked from her body as she turned her attention to the second wave.

Hurry

Without much discernible thought, a rune formed in her hand, burning harshly before Capris placed her palm to the wall.

Hot steam leaked from pipes lining the forked hallways, their metal oxidized in a tell-tale sign of the bunker’s age and structural security. And in the next moment an encasement of ice circled and contracted the metal, releasing a geyser of boiling air to fatally blanket the opposing hallway and any combatants charging down it.

Had to be a pretty damn good deterrent.

With a shaky breath and a palm calloused with burn marks, Capris stepped back, not allowing herself any time to process her knee-jerk reaction.

Her eyes stayed shut a moment.

“Do you need to hear it twice?” The girl finally leveled over the hiss of hot air, turning back to Cora and the man she had pinned. “She said talk.”

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Danton Corazona von Ascania

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Capris Halcyon Corazona von Ascania

By the time the lone man had recovered from his impact against the wall, his breath was knocked out of his lungs a second time by a boot pressing down on his chest, pinning him against the wall. He looked up slowly, first with a flash of anger in his eyes, but it quickly became fear for his own life. Not because of the gun leveled between his eyes, but because of who was wielding the weapon. The cold in her blue eyes, the tone of her voice, and the demand she made.

He couldn't see any hesitation in her about killing him right here, and right now if he didn't talk. But he knew he was a dead man if he told her anything as well. So he hesitated, gulped and even began to tremble in fear. "P-please don't shoot," he said, his hands coming up as a sign of surrender. She was a Jedi, right? They never killed unarmed prisoners, he heard.

Surely, she wouldn't take his life.

Meanwhile, Capris moved into action to address the incoming wave of trouble. Each one of them was an escaped prisoner from Azrael Asylum, locked up for murder and other extreme crimes. Their hatred and willingness to kill or maim without regret was a constant pulse in the Force. But one that dimmed as well, when the young Padawan tapped into her runic powers to fill the entire hallway with hot steam. Not all of them had rushed into the heat, but the screams of pain that she'd hear would confirm that many of them did.

Then, with the hallway cut off, Capris turned back to Cora and their prisoner, and the man froze. Cora had terrified him, but now that he had seen what they were willing to do to reach Valery, he feared that they wouldn't hesitate to kill him. So once more, he swallowed hard and looked up at Cora, before a shaky hand began to rise, pointing down another hallway.

"A-at t-the end of t-the hall," he squeaked, and with his answer, the two Jedi would be able to lock down their senses, and feel the concentration of guards there. Five in total, armed to the teeth and ready to fight for their prisoner.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The man's look of visceral fear caught Cora off guard. She'd expected him to be scared. His dread rang clearly in the Force like the deep toll of a church bell, harmonizing with the cacophony of angst and violence that radiated from Kahlil in waves.

Cora found herself drinking it all in. The terror, the ferocity, the turbulence in their hearts and minds. It surrounded the Jedi, engulfed them, and they sank slowly into its depths instead of fighting piously to say above the surface of a rough sea.

A measure of hardness dropped from her expression when she was confronted with the guard's terror, but still she held the tip of the blaster steadily between his eyes.

A swell of energy around them, a pitched hiss of angry steam, a chorus of pained screams. Capris had managed to intercept their approaching foes with a technique that was as clever as it was horrifying.

Capris' voice sounded from behind the Princess, somewhere over her left shoulder. Cora's wavering expression solidified again, paying close attention to every inflection and syllable as the captive found his voice.

Her finger pressed against the trigger when he moved, but it stilled as he gestured shakily towards a passage.

"A-at t-the end of t-the hall,"

Blue eyes narrowed, then flickered to Capris. The pair would share a silent moment spoken only by their eyes. A spark of gratitude crossed the blonde's face for her fellow Padawan's support before she turned back to their captive.

"And who else is there with her?"

They wouldn't leave such a valuable prisoner unguarded.

"Their numbers, their weapons. Are there any traps?"

And then, she pulled the blaster away. Cora knelt down, crouched on one knee until she was eye level with the frightened man. With Capris and her menacing abilities behind her, Cora was confident that he wouldn't try anything.

"We will be leaving this facility with Valery Noble, alive and intact. Perhaps you can too, if you cooperate with us."

Her voice was smooth and coercive, a contrast to the hard venom she'd spat before.

Cora's focus flickered downwards for a moment before it settled back onto his face. She smiled. The blaster pointed directly in his lap, hovering just above his groin.

"The choice is yours. I’d advise you to make it quickly."

Capris Halcyon Kahlil Noble Danton Valery Noble

 

[Danton]

"You don't have a leg to stand on here."

"What do you mean? I have two."

Danton laughed, his voice strained and compounded by nerves. Under Kahlil's shadow and burning gaze, he felt like a grain of sand against a seastorm, and he knew that if he made one wrong move, he was dead. Forget Spintir. Forget recovering the Force. One look at the former Prince of Sith and he knew the man would make good on his promise and peel him apart.

Danton stepped back. When he saw his opening to escape, he took it.

Kahlil didn't have to say it twice. He told him to run and he did. Now underneath the belly of the Scorpenek, as the other man turned his back to him and moved for the bunker, Danton staggered away for the woods. He was overcome with disbelief. Had Kahlil really let him go, just like that? The universe could not have been more kind.

As he stumbled through the forest and towards his ship, Danton paused shakily against a tree. He struggled to catch his breath, and not out of exhaustion, but panic. By some miracle, he'd stared down Death and survived. He still had his chance to escape.

But what about Valery? What about your revenge?

The thought struck him like a punch to the gut. He shut his eyes. No, no, no, his mind hissed, trying to quiet the voices, but they persisted, shouting him down. Valery had stolen the Force from him. Valery had left him to rot in a cell. Valery had helped destroy Exegol. If he let her go, if he let her be saved, what would stop her from destroying him too?

Well away from Kahlil, who by now had likely entered the bunker, Danton raised the comlink to his lips. A maddening laugh escaped his throat as he tested fate and said, "Kill Valery. Now."

Then he was off, careening towards his interceptor, planning his escape.

Valery Noble , Kahlil Noble , Capris Halcyon , Corazona von Ascania​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Capris Halcyon Corazona von Ascania

"And who else is there with her?"

The man gulped again between erratic breaths of fear, and looked between Cora and Capris. Both of them had an intense aura about them, and scared him equally. Neither seemed more willing to leave him alive than the other, and it all depended on what he told them. But if he spoke, and any of the others found out and managed to find him, he'd be a dead man. He'd have betrayed some of the most dangerous people in the Galaxy.

Or, at the very least, some of the ones who were most comfortable with murder.

Cora then knelt down, bringing herself closer to him to better convey just how serious she was. Her blaster leveled at his groin, and after a brief glance at it, she looked up and smiled. He swallowed hard once more, and glanced in Capris' direction a final time, as if hoping that she'd somehow interfere and let him go.

She wouldn't.

"Th-there are five of them. Blasters, vibro-blades, just the usual," he said, too afraid for his own life to keep the information to himself. "There are no traps, just the guards we left with her." Any use of the Force would reveal that he wasn't lying. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to try his luck with two bloodthirsty Force Users hovering over him. But even with this information, the threat was far from over.

...

"Kill Valery. Now."

Danton's words were received loud and clear by the guards inside Valery's cell, but all of them hesitated. If they killed Valery now, there was nothing stopping the Jedi inside the tunnels from killing all of them. She was a hostage they could use to stay alive, and for that reason alone, they didn't want to kill her.

All, except for one.

"If you cowards won't do it, I will," the large brute who had beaten her earlier said, before he drew his knife and pulled Valery's head up by her ponytail. He grinned, and gently let the edge of his blade run across her throat, before he withdrew the knife and held it low by his hip.

"The throat would be a swift end, but gutting you seems more appropriate." The tip of his blade poked into her stomach now, drawing just a bit of blood.

Time was running out.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

After their brief show of force, teasing information from the man proved delightfully easy. So easy that Capris couldn’t help a snort of grim amusement as he stumbled over his words.

He was afraid. Serves him right.

Trusting Cora to handle her prey however she saw fit, Capris unholstered her own saber, lips drawn thin.

“Let’s move.”

Covering ground faster than she had any right to, the padawan nearly dove in guns blazing, rational thought tabled by an impending sense of doom. A distinct, unshakeable feeling that Valery’s flame was at risk of being extinguished.

It was only when she felt Kahlil approaching did she stall a moment. His presence an overwhelming force choking out any other. A monsoon ensuring unparalleled devastation, deliberate and calm in that promise.

It was terrifying.

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Corazona von Ascania Danton

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

To Capris' snort of amusement, Cora arched a brow. She said nothing, attention fixed wholly on the terrified man she had under the muzzle of the blaster. The noble wore a pleasant expression, lips parted slightly and eyes lidded as she drank in his fear.

She knew it was wrong for this to feel good, but for the first time in months, Cora felt powerful. Capable. In this bunker, she was no longer beholden to the whims of a man who'd scarred and violated her. Horace wasn't even a thought—or maybe he was.

It was all too easy to picture her husband's features superimposed over this man's frightened face. Perhaps then, she would've pulled the trigger.

Her free hand reached out and caressed his face. A gentle touch in sharp contrast to their brutish approach. Tendrils of the Force probed his mind, a cursory but unpleasant intrusion to verify the truth of his statement.

"There's a good boy," Cora murmured soothingly. The blaster drew away, up, then cracked over his head.

Cora rose and jogged after Capris. The end of the hall came into sight, and with it came a swell in the Force. The pair halted and Cora glanced towards the other Padawan, suddenly looking more apprehensive. Kahlil's approach was felt like a force of nature, bearing down on them with no means of escape.

It was almost suffocating, and she was glad that nature happened to be on their side today.

There was another presence too. Weakened, but just as familiar. Cora bit her lip, pressing a hand against the duracrete wall.

"It's her." She whispered to Capris. "She's here. She's alive, but she's..."

Capris Halcyon Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Danton

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You've done enough. Thank you. Both of you."

He was there in an instant. A new rune, one he'd yet to show Capris but very much left with her, flared to life as he stepped seemingly from no where. A cheap imitation of the Dathomeric magic he'd wanted to obtain as a child, but no less effective, especially now. In the twist of his anger and unforgiving frustrations he'd felt it. His pull in the Force was affecting them both, the two he'd asked to keep him in check.

Two Padawans, no less.

The Force shifted as the frost rune emerged before him, and in a flash the room Valery was in froze over. Everything, save for her, turned to ice. He closed his eyes as he looked to the pair and gave them a smile. One he knew they needed, but one he knew would never reach the anger in his gaze.

"I'm sorry for bringing you here. Please, go find the ship. I'll bring Valery."

Capris Halcyon | Valery Noble | Corazona von Ascania | Danton