Private Confronting the Past

[Kahlil Noble]

He felt it too. His blaster already in hand as Valery Noble pulled her saber, firing back to where the volley came from. An attack? Of course there's an attack. He half grumbled to himself as he fell in line with the Jedi, using her as a shield while he returned shot after shot. And he was a fairly decent shot, at least. "This how it usually happens, huh?" He teased someone, though there was some panic in his voice.

He didn't want to be recognized. Not here.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Especially when I run them, it seems," Valery said with a slight smirk of her own. But much like him, she was a bit worried — there were a lot of imperial soldiers judging by the amount of incoming fire, and they had very little cover outside the lightsabers the Jedi were wielding.

"It's a whole damn army out here, Master Nobl-" The soldier's scream was silenced as a blaster bolt exploded through his chest, but the message was quite clear. They hadn't just hit an ambush, but it seemed a larger enemy force was on the move.

"We have to get back to the facility. Run and I'll cover — we can get reinforcements there!" Valery called out as she began to move in retreat with her weapon drawn. But there was a lot of fire concentrated on her as one of the few Jedi here, so it was going to be challenging to get back.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Ah, chit. This was bad. He could feel the others around. Soldiers. Sith. They were in a full on assault then? Kahlil didn't need to be told twice to retreat. So he ran, leaving Valery Noble there with the others of her squad. Not that he was a coward. He'd leave the world if he could, sure, but he couldn't, so being a coward wasn't going to get him anywhere. The Force rushed through him, breaking the guise of the Taozin Amulet for the briefest moment as he sped through the underbrush.

Right back to the hanger. His ship. "R6! Get the 'gifts'." He shouted it as he stepped on board. Well, jail was better than dying after all.

He was gone no more than five minutes, but it was explosions that heralded his return. Thermals. The high powered, illegal kind. He emerged from the under brush as one of those charges went off, consuming a swath of Imperials in a blinding light. And toss some to the republic troopers that had started to gather around for the retreat. "Set 'em as you run! We'll set them off when we get back to base! Consider it a Life Day gift, yeah?" He grinned wide, glancing to the soldiers who stared blankly at him, then to Valery.

He just grinned. "Little underhandedness is somethin' Sith are used to. It'll be fine."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Looking over her shoulder, Valery perked a brow as she watched Kahlil take off with unnatural speed. It produced a brief spike in the Force that she could feel, and it made her wonder... but there was no time to think too long. The attackers were still pressuring them, and the retreat was difficult with the lack of suppressive fire.

A few minutes later though, she felt his return, which was promptly announced to everybody by the serious explosions that took down swarms of Imperial soldiers all around them. It was the covering fire they needed, and as more of those grenades were being passed around, the troops were finally able to move back.

"Remind me not to be around you when it's actually Life Day — I don't want to find these under a tree," Valery smirked as he talked about his gifts to the troops.

As more explosions followed, they were finally able to get back to the facility and within mere minutes, the gunfight began to fade out, and it seemed the enemy was back in their own positions. Valery just stood at the entrance, looking out into the jungle, and let out a long sigh.

"I'll make sure not to mention your gifts in my report, Kahlil, but I think we're still in trouble." She turned to him with a look of concern on her face. "This wasn't their full force — they were simply testing our reactions and defenses."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Well, that's a pain." Kahlil frowned as he stared out one of the open door ways. Looking for any more of the enemy. So far, clear. But what Valery Noble said only meant it wouldn't be clear for long. The man leaned back, arms crossed over his chest as he went deep in thought. "They weren't supposed to attack, I take it? What's here that has their attention? Something you're guarding?"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Valery frowned and looked at the ground for a moment, "I... am not sure why they are so interested in this facility. But we're also at war, so they might just want to kill all of us. If the Jedi here and myself fall, that would be the end of my Enclave," Valery said before she sighed.

"I think we should get some rest while we still can. I'll stand guard with one or two others, and you might want to get comfortable on that ship of yours. I hope it's going to make it to the next day."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

He squinted. Hard. Then glanced around where they were. For anything, any kind of mark that might explain why the Sith here were. Valery Noble was right, they'd kill anyone who stood in their way. But they wouldn't be this aggressive about it. They'd of just blown the place up. Was she lying about what might be here? Or did she not know? "Well we can't have that, I guess. I'll keep watch. You should sleep."

Kahlil flashed a grin, patting his blaster. "I'm a decent shot, sure, but you're a Jedi Master. Better to have you at full capacity for the coming fight."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"No offense, but I hardly know you, so I'm not putting my Jedi's lives in your hands," she said, now squinting a little herself, "I'll stand watch with you, I've gotten enough rest." Whether she really had or not was hard to determine — maybe she was just being a tad stubborn or overly protective. Perhaps both.

"While we sit and watch, maybe you want to tell me why someone with a connection like yours is running smuggling runs? Could have easily been a Jedi," She said, as she sat down on the ground near the exit of the caves. Other Jedi and soldiers were clearing away from the area now to find a place to sleep, leaving the two alone in an almost eerie silence.

The enemy was out there somewhere, but they were impossible to see or hear.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Suit yourself." He wasn't about to try and make a Jedi go to sleep, especially when she made it clear he wasn't trusted. Not that he was distraught about it. He did sort of break the law, even if it helped to keep Valery Noble and her Jedi alive. He got comfortable, finding a spot to sit down, pulling out his blaster so he had that in a place he could easily draw it. "Could've been a Jedi, sure. Not that they're better pilots, but I guess they coulda been. Or some other smuggler. I just happened to pick up the job."

He shrugged. There really wasn't any other reason for him to be here. Chance and chance alone brought him to Valery's fort.

".. Oh, you meant- Ah. No, I uh, I've no desire to be a Jedi."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"To each their own, I suppose," Valery said with a soft smile. She wasn't sure if she really believed his story — sure, some didn't want to become a Jedi or left the order later, but they wouldn't typically possess a Taozin amulet to keep their connection hidden. There had to be more, but digging for it was probably not going to be appreciated.

"It's a shame, but I can't say I blame you either." Now alone, she finally was able to really catch her breath, and ran a hand up through her hair while she tried to relax. But she was exhausted, especially mentally. So for a moment, she just sat with her face buried into one hand, the thumb and index finger pressed against a temple each.

"I uh, do appreciate your help out there today, and with the supplies. They may not have all shown it, but it helped morale more than anything else has thus far."

She looked back up at him and for perhaps the first time, her smile was genuinely warm and grateful. No more suspicion or distrust.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"And I appreciate not being thrown in jail." Kahlil snickered, turning some kind of joke on it as he glanced to Valery Noble . Smiled at her in turn, though his softened as he noticed just how genuine she was. Then he motioned to the entrance.

"It's no problem, really. I got paid, so don't thank me too much. .. You should really try and sleep. Have another Jedi help me keep an eye out if you don't trust me, but you do need sleep too. You're not a god, after all."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

She briefly rolled her eyes at his joke, but the smile didn't fade and she followed his gesture to look out through the entrance. The idea of sleeping sounded good, but the corners of her lips dropping out of the smile showed that it wasn't really something she could do.

"It's not that I don't really trust you or don't want to sleep, but I just can't. I've barely slept a minute since we were ordered to stay here, and well... I don't think that will change."

"So I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me a bit longer," she said, smirking a little. Valery was beginning to enjoy his company, and it showed. Hopefully, it made getting through the night easier.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Suit yourself. So long as you don't pass out mid battle I'm sure it'll be fine." That was a lie, but again, Valery Noble was a Jedi Master. She would know her own limits better than most. Jedi were good like that. .. Right? Ah, a bit of doubt crept in his mind, but he brushed it off. He didn't know that much about the Jedi. Enough to know how to kill one, sure, but there was a lot to figure out.

"You sure they don't know something you don't about this place? If they wanted you guys dead, better to just bomb it unless there's something important within."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"I'm sure it'll be fine," she said with a mostly convincing smile, but it was a bit of a lie as well. The truth was that their numbers were dwindling, many were injured and it felt increasingly more likely that they were going to be overrun soon. But at the same time, being well-rested wouldn't change much of that.

"Well, this place is largely built into a cave that runs deep into the hills. Bombing us to death isn't easy because there's a lot of rock and dirt above our heads," Valery said but she considered her words carefully. "I do think there might be something though. We found medical stasis pods and a lot of other equipment in this strange laboratory. We also haven't been able to get access to their computers, so there might be something there they want to get back."

She looked back out into the jungle and sighed.

"Right now it doesn't matter though. We're stuck here and they'll be hitting us again soon," she said, looking back at him, "I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this. Probably not what you were expecting from a supply run, hm?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

A lab huh? He frowned. If the Sith really were here for that, there was probably something bad down there. Kahlil let out a breath, closing his eyes before leaning back. Getting comfortable. Not to sleep, but try and rest sure. Even if Valery Noble was adamant she wouldn't, he would.

"You learn to never expect anything from a supply run. Things can always go ways you never see coming. This though, this I expected a bit."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"I wish it would have been different," she said, looking over at him as his eyes closed. Without even really thinking about it at all, her gaze lingered for a good while, just studying him now that any kind of tension was gone. It made her mind wander more than it should, but maybe she was just tired?

Either way...

"If things go bad and we risk getting overrun..." she started after a moment of silence, "You don't have to stick around; this isn't your fight. I'll do my best to help cover if it gets to that."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Even if I left now, I'll likely be shot down. I'm a damn good pilot, but if the Sith want this place there's no escape, not without some fire power. More than I have, at least." Kahlil chuckled a little, eyes still closed. "So I'll stick around for now. We win, I can leave easy, yeah?"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"I like your optimism," Valery said with a soft chuckle of her own, her eyes still fixed on him as he tried to get some rest. Sometimes she wished she could be so carefree. Or at least have it seem that way — but she was just too caring about those around her, and felt a huge responsibility keeping them safe.

Even if she couldn't.

"Hopefully it'll be enough. Of all the places to die, some creepy cave in a jungle somewhere isn't really what I had in mind."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I doubt you'll die. At least, unless they got some Jedi killers there. Then you might be in trouble." He flashed a grin, snickering to himself. There were probably a bunch she might have to deal with. Valery Noble probably had to deal with several in her past. That's what it meant to be a Jedi in war, from what he'd seen. "Sides, can always go down to the lab. Much better to die in a creepy lab than a creepy cave."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Onderon
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

For the first time, Valery snickered herself and the more personal side of her flashed through, rather than her Jedi side. She was usually surrounded by other, very traditional Jedi, so this felt refreshing and... nice. Looking at him, she was now grinning a bit herself.

"Creepy lab it is, but I'll warn you, it's quite-"

Valery suddenly paused with a tone that suggested something was off, and her eyes finally shifted away from him. Staring into the jungle, she felt people moving, and faintly, they could hear the plant life respond. Without further thought, she jumped up to her feet and drew the hilt of her lightsaber into her hand, before stepping out of the cave and into the darkness.

What the incoming assault team didn't know, however, was that Valery's eyes allowed her to see fairly well in the dark. So before a single shot was fired, her blade suddenly ignited and it sparked the Imperial soldiers shooting at her.

"They're here!" she called out, and within seconds, other Jedi and soldiers were moving to try and keep them back.

But where the earlier ambush had mostly been a smaller squad of Imperial soldiers, both Kahlil and Valery could see a trio of crimson blades ignite a bit further up ahead, and they were getting closer. This attack was a lot more serious.