Private Coup de Grâce

[BB-610]

It first started with a stroll through Coruscant. An off day between missions, some much needed downtime for the Noble family to soak in the sun and relish in each other's company. Deciding to give Valery and Kahlil a moment of privacy, BB-610 had offered to retrieve a crate of food. It would have been a rather uneventful trip, destined to wind up at the back of his memory banks, if it weren't for the rather bizarre flailing of a pink protocol droid on his way back. Her movements were stiff, as most protocol droid's were, yet the panic in her voice was gut wrenching. Yelling at any and all passerbys if they had seen her master, she went ignored by most, denying to have known anything as the streets grew busier.

BB-610 rolled back to the apartment that day feeling rather sad.

A few days later, however, it was when a trio of fellow astromechs had been spotted quivering outside of an apartment complex, having been refused to be given shelter, that BB-610 finally couldn't turn a blind eye to things. Rolling up to them, concerned about their safety and thoroughly confused at the recent happenings, he'd asked them a fountain of questions. Much like the protocol droid, they were without their masters, and had mentioned that another droid - a BD unit - also hadn't returned, and that commlinks were inactive. Taking down names, BB-610 promised to let them know if he ever came across their friends.

Almost a week had gone by. Out of sight, out of mind, and things had returned relatively normal. BB-610 had been sent off to purchase more papers for Vera's drawings, swerving through Coruscant's streets. The flickering of yellow to his right caught his attention, though, tempting him over to a corner's dumpster. Peeking inside, BB-610 was surprised to see the pink protocol droid from a week ago, rusted and broken and stuttering with malfunctioning optics. Worriedly bweeping if she was okay, any information he could have garnered was lost, her voicebox glitched and croaking the same word on loop:

" Wayland. "

Her systems permanently went offline shortly after.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────​

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| STARFIGHTER: Modified Jedi T-85 X-wing |
| TAG: Valery Noble |

It wasn't often that BB-610 was the one calling for adventure. While he wasn't opposed in the slightest to assisting her in missions, the droid was certain that he spoke for most when he wished wars would end and peace would allow families to safely settle down. Nonetheless, today proved to be an exception, as the emptiness within his core from seeing so many distraught droids had finally bottomed out into a well of guilt. At the very least, it would provide him closure, and at most, he could potentially return with answers, to hopefully give an explanation for the strange sequence of events that had followed him for weeks. As Jedi and astromech seated themselves inside Valery's X-wing, BB-610 fed the navicomputer coordinates for Wayland, and as soon as they dived past Coruscant's skies, they blipped into hyperspace.

BB-610 was visibly uneasy. He'd told Valery of what had happened, how none of it felt good, and how horrid it was to ignore it as most had. As they soared through hyperspace within a course to the Outer Rim, BB-610 bweeped quietly, letting Valery know how much he appreciated her company. Wayland was supposedly a planet teeming with life, with an array of flora and fauna alike living throughout dense jungles and gorgeous tropics, populated by sentients and carefully cared for. Perhaps it had been reckless to assume that it was related to everything that had happened, to bank everything on an irrational hunch. But as the X-wing jumped into realtime and drifted down to Wayland space, BB-610 waved off his anxieties by saying that it couldn't hurt to look.

From afar, the planet was just as beautiful as it had been described. Upon closer inspection, however, it was clear that something was very, very wrong. With the X-wing landing as delicately as ever, Valery would immediately be able to sense... nothing. Surprising, as a thriving planet such as Wayland was ripe with The Force, and yet not a single soul could be felt. tense uneasiness blanketed them, as while the landing zone among green grass and tall trees showed signs of normalcy, the pathway within them had been dirtied with blood, bark scarred with scratch marks that implied a struggle. The world around them was gorgeous, and it's what made that morbid outlier all the more eerie.

Whimpering softly, BB-610 glanced down at Valery from inside the X-wing, tweeting quietly as he informed her that the ship's communications were suddenly offline. Lowering himself down from the astromech socket, the droid brought his lifeform scanner out, swirling around as he looked at the surrounding flora. Peering back up at the Jedi, he solemnly confirmed that his scanners were scrambled as well.

If Valery had exited the starfighter, BB-610 would roll up to her, nervously hugging her legs as he trembled. All they could do was stare at the forest's entryway, as though it were tempting them ever so sadistically, beckoning them forward. Would Valery proceed?

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

"Of course, I'm always happy to help and be with you, Bee," Valery assured him after he expressed appreciation for her company. For about a week now, he kept coming home with new stories that troubled him. Fellow droids struggled and had no masters, but there seemed to be something much darker going on with all of them. Sadly, there was very little information that could help them figure out what it was exactly.

All they had was a planet: Wayland.

For the first time, Bee had asked her if she could help him with a mission, and after everything he had done for her, it was an easy decision to make. They immediately prepped her ship together, got all their gear ready, and made the jump into the Outer Rim the second they were able to. Kahlil would stay behind to take care of Vera and keep an eye on both their Padawans. It allowed her to stay away for even a week if necessary.

She hoped that this would be an easier assignment to handle together, but something told her that it wasn't going to be so simple. Perhaps it was just personal worries, but generally, when she felt this way, it was the Force trying to tell her something.

"It's quite beautiful, isn't it?" Valery asked as they made their approach. But as they got closer and Bee began to initiate their landing, Valery suddenly gasped for air and fell back into her chair. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb and pushed out her breath. "Something's really wrong here, Bee. I don't feel anything," she said. Valery had been exposed to complete voids in the Force in the past, and to someone as sensitive to the Force as she was, it was incredibly overwhelming.

Despite the extreme discomfort, Valery hopped out of the canopy and looked down at her vambrace. None of its sensors and systems were working, so whatever was out here... it really messed with everything. "Well, we're not really getting out of here like this, so let's keep moving forward. Find the source of this problem." Valery reached down to pat her friend on the head and began to move forward.

Into the Jungle.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |

Whatever anxiety that BB-610's gut instinct had told him, it had almost certainly tripled in severity upon arrival. With none of their scanners functioning and a newfound cloudiness in The Force, the pair were effectively blind, and it deeply troubled the droid, whose fears grew visceral upon hearing the tone of Valery's voice. The road forward was murky, but it was all they had, and the terror that would have overwhelmed the old BB-610 was promptly silenced in favor of a much virtuous intent that had festered after his adoption at the hands of the Nobles. Pressing forth, the astromech could at least take comfort in knowing that Valery had his back; as foreboding as the planet of Wayland had presented itself behind its deceptively beautiful mask, BB-610 wouldn't be doing this alone, and he couldn't have asked for a better person to ease his worries.

The trek through the jungle was an uneasy one. The damp dirt beneath them was stained a deep red, the air thick with a grotesque scent of rust and decomposition. BB-610 found it abhorrent, whining quietly as crimson painted the plating of his chassis while he rolled along the dirt path. Claw marks trailed along the array of trees, soon accompanied by bloodied handprints. Deeply concerning, it was a perverse thought that BB-610 found himself almost missing the road of blood guiding them through, as what had grown even more concerning was its abrupt stop deep into the embrace of Wayland's trees. The path from then on was far too thick to navigate safely, cut off by large leaves and overgrown flora that weeded the floor and inconvenienced travel. Thankfully, Valery had her lightsaber, which BB-610 relied on as they wandered deeper into the greenery, the droid bweeping softly as he told her that it reminded him of Xa Fel all over again.

After a good few minutes, the road finally cleared itself, presenting a dirt slope that led down to a nearby village, houses of crackled cobblestone and cozy straw alike visibly run down, scattered and broken with clear signs of a struggle. Puddles of blood had dried beneath the blazing sun, with what appeared to be the occasional body thrown lifeless halfway through entryways, as though they had tried desperately to flee. Solemnly cooing, BB-610 peered up at Valery in worry, hugging much closer to her before they would seamlessly slide down the hill and arriving at the village. The waft of decomposition grew stronger, evident that these bodies had been days old, and an air of despair was palpable as it lay heavy over their heads. While all communications remained offline, The Force had otherwise awakened, incredibly faint but nonetheless present, weak in its attempts to stand before--

GRAB.

A hand had latched itself around Valery's right ankle, a foreign cry of pain alerting its presence and getting BB-610 to twirl around, only to yelp at the sight. A human male had dragged himself across the ground, a pool of blood following as he glared up at the Jedi. He was deathly pale, bags beneath thoroughly bruised eyes, his chest rising and falling in hysteric hyperventilation, breaths ragged and panicked from a heart drumming slower and slower. One leg broken, it's already a sight that proved difficult to watch, but the key feature was nauseating: a steel pipe had been forced through the back of his head and had pierced his eye, and very clearly damaged his brain in the process.

The man was speaking, but none of it was coherent. A babbling mess of broken pleads as spit dribbled down his chin and mixed with blood, sobbing and croaking between guttural gags. A datacard was loose in his spare hand, trembling wildly as he clutched at Valery's leg. It was clear that whatever had happened to him, he was too far gone, wounded and clinging onto life. Hesitantly, BB-610's utility arm gingerly took a hold of the datacard, the sight of the man getting the droid trembling uncontrollably as he hid behind Valery's feet with quiet, synthetic cries.

As the man spasmed, Valery was presented with an ultimatum: keep him alive, or end his suffering.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

Valery now began to develop a theory about why she couldn't sense anything.

Great loss of life was often able to create wounds in the Force, as it relied on life to flourish. And as she walked around through the forest with Bee close by her side, she saw so much of it. Blood stained earth, body parts, and what remained of them, and she could swear that she still felt the agony of whoever lost their lives here. It sent shivers down her spine and the longer they walked, the more she struggled to look down at it.

She just wanted to move forward and find out what happened. The source of it all was likely the cause of their own problems, and she had no intention to end up like these poor people.

"Bee, you see that?" Valery asked when they reached a position that allowed them to oversee a small village. It reminded her of the one on Xa Fel, where Drengir had burst through homes and killed so many people. But they weren't as bloody or messy as this, right? She could also not feel any darkness, which either meant there were no Drengir, or the void was so strong that even the unnatural stain of the Dark Side couldn't flow through it.

After sliding their way down carefully, Valery began to look around for signs of life or anything that could help them figure out what happened. From camera footage to datapads or other recording devices. But in this search, she was so focused that she didn't notice-

GRAB.

Valery froze with widened eyes and looked down as a man grabbed her ankle with an intense grip. She gritted her teeth against the sudden pain, but made no move, fearing that it would hurt him. Rather quickly, though, she understood that none of it likely mattered — he was in intense agony, whether he could even register it or not, and there was nothing she could do for him. "I'm not a healer... I can't..." Valery crouched down with a deep frown, and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I can't save you but I will do what I can to help survivors and bring those responsible to justice," she said softly before taking her lightsaber. She pressed the emitter gently against his head and with a tap of the ignition switch, released him from his immense suffering.

"Bee..." Valery said, her tone suddenly far more intense. "Gather as much information as you can. We need to figure out what happened so it doesn't happen to us, and so we can stop it."

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |


It was unclear whether the man had understood her. Sweat beading at his brow, trickling down his cheek as he convulsed and fidgeted, pleading desperately through incoherent babbles squeezed from a tightened throat and failing lungs. He screamed, thrashing wildly, voice cracking as he choked on his tears, heart pounding against his chest while the armbands of adrenaline kept his lifeboat buoyant. His grip never loosened, bloodshot eyes barely kept open as he weakly pounded at Valery's leg, begging her to help him. BB-610 watched on, unable to pull away despite however loud his inner voice told him to, deeply unsettled and mind utterly blank from the disturbing scene playing inches before him. The droid huddled up to the Jedi's legs, hiding behind them while the man gagged from the acidic aftertaste of froth pooling at his throat in the wake of a seizure, organs beginning to fail.

He screamed, and cried, and begged and begged and begged as loud as his lungs would let him.
Then there was the swift hum of a lightsaber.
And the noises stopped.

Falling limp to the ground with a dull thud, the man's hand finally released Valery's ankle, slumping lifelessly beside him as his suffering was put to an end. From those brief minutes that felt like an eternity, a grotesque juxtaposition arose; no longer did the trees ring out with echoes of a dying man's pleads. Instead, the ransacked village of Wayland was deathly silent, blanketing the place with an eerie peace as Valery and BB-610 stood there in the aftermath of euthanasia. It had been the right thing to do, but it was hardly a moment to be proud of. The astromech had killed before. Other droids, nameless guards in opposing starfighters. There was something so visceral, however, about seeing it upfront for the first time in his life. A burn mark through the man's skull, his body still warm as it sat there, never to move again.

"Bee... Gather as much information as you can. We need to figure out what happened so it doesn't happen to us, and so we can stop it."

Peering up at the Jedi, optic as dilated as possible as though the astromech were on the brink of tears, he slowly nodded, hesitantly rolling out from behind Valery's feet. Inserting the newly acquired datacard inside a slit on his chassis, BB-610 turned his head, holoprojector blinking to life as it displayed the card's contents:

It was a recording of the man the two had just met, seemingly performing a visual log entry.

< My name is Caestylo Coltann. I've noticed missing persons reports all over Coruscant of people last seen going to Wayland. Everybody that's been sent there has never come back recently. I could never keep a stable connection with them. I've decided to go to Wayland myself and record my findings. There's something insidious happening that the public refuses to acknowledge. I'm done ignoring it. >​

There's a flicker, with the recording jumping forward into its following log entry.

< I arrived on Wayland two hours ago. All communications are down. My protocol droid's trying to track me as a test, but nothing seems to be working. There looks to be a village south. Hopefully the locals can provide any useful information about the whereabouts of all the missing people. > ​

Another flicker.

< I have been on Wayland for five hours. The village-- it's empty. Everyone's dead. Something's happened here, I- I don't know what it is. My scanners don't work, I can't pick up anything. The bodies, they're- they're a few days hold, I think, I-I don't know. I can't leave now. I can't. >​

Another flicker, and the man is noticeably stressed - bags under his eyes, breathing heavily laboured, on the brink of an anxiety attack.

< There's something here. Something is HERE. It's not human, I don't think, it's- Oh God, it's killed EVERYTHING. I don't know what it wants, or what it is, but its eyes-- They're yellow. It's tall, it's not human, it's not, but it looks... I-I don't know, I don't KNOW anymore-! I need to LEAVE! >​

The recording blinked to a close, holoprojector shutting off. Glancing back at Valery, BB-610 quietly whimpered as he told her that there were no other entries. Just then, a clang of metal echoed within one of the houses, ringing loudly with a thud soon after. Startling the droid as he scurried behind Valery again, the noise seemed to stop. BB-610 was in no way comfortable enough to press forth anymore, but if Valery led the way, the astromech would undoubtedly follow.

~​

And if she did, the house's door would slide halfway open upon detection of visitors, sparks flying as the frame malfunctioned. Rolling inside the run down residence, the odour of decomposition ran thick, magnified. The body of a Psadan male, presumably the owner, lay lifeless beside a shattered wooden desk, and throughout the main room lay a plethora of metal cages. All of them housed what appeared to be birds - perhaps a breeder, perhaps a smuggler, perhaps an act of conservation, as bird cages and floor cages alike contained convorees, porgs, Endorian chickens, and more. All of which, just as the other residents, had been slaughtered, their bodies slack against the bars that held them.

That is, with exception of the rustling of a cage by one of the couches, dented and mostly hidden by broken scaffolding. Upon closer inspection, brushing aside the bricks and debris littering the cage's front, a single porg stood within, its feathers puffed up in fear, heart racing and eyes bugging out of its head as it whimpered and whined, petrified out of its mind. The lone survivor of whatever had destroyed the village, it stared at the two strangers, pressing itself up against the corner and crying in terror.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

Valery had noticeably changed after the man's passing. She knew that it was her only option out here and without any medical tools or ability to heal, but taking a life just to release someone from so much pain and misery wasn't easy. Jedi were trained to honor life, which had always meant defending it until the bitter end to her. But in this situation, she supposed that the best way to honor his life was to not let it end alone in pure agony.

Turning to Bee, she noticed that it hadn't been easy on him either. These were not the types of missions that made anybody want to be a Jedi or a close companion to one, so she reached out with a hand and gently placed it at the top of his head. Right now, it was impossible to take away his fears — they were stuck here on Wayland, and it was her duty to find out what happened and put a stop to it.

But with this gesture, she wanted to let him know that he didn't have to face his fears alone.

"Alright, let's play the recording." Valery took a deep breath and detached herself from the situation to the best of her abilities. She turned her fiery eyes to the projection that appeared and listened carefully. This man had given everything to try and help these people, and it seemed he had done it all alone. If only others had listened to him; if only she had been here with Bee to assist him while he was still alive.

He'd still be alive.

"It seems that we're dealing with some kind of beast." Whether that beast was some kind of creature or intelligent life remained to be seen, but as far as she was concerned, it was a beast. No sane living being would cause so much suffering to people so harmless and defenseless. Even the Sith in all their lust for power didn't kill and destroy without such a lack of purpose. But as Valery's thoughts lingered on it for a moment longer, something pulled her back out.

A noise.

As quickly as it came, it faded away again but Valery and Bee both knew where it came from. A survivor? The beast who caused all of this? Valery felt no sense of danger just yet, and no rising tension as she followed Bee toward the source. So the most likely conclusion was a survivor, and after entering the building, she got her confirmation. Nothing or nobody had been spared inside the house, but one single soul had been overlooked somehow.

"Hey there, little guy," Valery said softly, as she approached the cage and allowed her presence in the Force to wrap around the creature, hoping to show that she meant him no harm. Then, carefully, she opened the door of the cage and held out her hand, the palm facing up to invite the porg to join her.

"I don't think he's hurt, Bee, but I can feel his fear."

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |


Shining his flashlight on the cage, BB-610 was surprised to see what was inside. A male porg, judging by its orange plumage around the eyes, with chest patterns reminiscent of a bowtie as it trembled before droid and Jedi. Making way for Valery as she came closer, he disabled his internal flashlight while the Jedi crouched down and opened the cage. Despite being offered freedom, the porg never budged, trying to retreat into its puffed up feathers in a defensive maneuverer to seem bigger. The Force, however, had other plans, as its soothing tendrils snaked around the creature, wrapping it in a layer of comfort. Heart racing as its chest rose and fell with rapid intervals, the porg's nerves promptly began to calm, its breathing slowing considerably and its muscles loosening, posture losing its tenseness as the bird's feathers retreated back to their usual position, smoothing out as it cautiously hopped closer to its cage's open door.

Peeking outside, the porg waddled out, peering up at the droid, and then the Jedi that had freed him. Warbling quietly with tweets and chirrups, the bird spread its wings, giving a series of test flaps before it lifted itself airborne, startling BB-610 as it fluttered skyward and took refuge on Valery's shoulder. Head tilting side to side as it approached the human, whatever timid nature the porg had was seemingly out the window, its instinctual curiosity taking over. Nibbling along the Jedi's ear, it soon moved to her hair, biting and pulling it, only to release it and grab it back all over again, chattering softly before scaling the side of Valery's head, standing atop her scalp and ducking down to peer into her eyes upside down.

It was, all things considered, a much needed break from the unsettling atmosphere Wayland had presented. BB-610 stared up at the ordeal, bweeping and chirping as he told Valery that it must have been overlooked by the monster responsible for all these deaths. Upon hearing the astromech's noises, however, the porg perked up, hippity-hopping across Valery's shoulder and fluttering down to perch on top of the droid's flat head, mimicking his bweeps and chirps. The porg then proceeded to nibble at him, tapping him repeatedly with its webbed foot, mesmerized by how shiny the droid was. BB-610 retaliated by wobbling side to side, squeaking in binary as he shook his head to try and remove the bird, but it persevered, not budging as it copied BB-610's squeaks.

Finally, the BB unit accepted his fate, droning to himself in defeat while the porg flapped its wings and bobbed its head up and down. As much of a palette cleanser as it was, of course, it provided only a momentary escape from their mission. Deciding to press onward, BB-610 made his way back outside, surveying the surroundings. They would have to explore each of the village's residences, with an air of suspense layered above them as whatever had caused this supposedly still roamed free. Rolling forward, it was then that the porg's head turned to the right of the house, beginning to screech loudly, staring intently at what was an amalgamation of vines and leafs back into a section of jungle. Curious, BB-610 rolled towards it, and while the porg stopped screeching, it soon flew off of the droid upon noticing that they were approaching the entrance, and clung back onto Valery's shoulder, nestling into its feathers next to her ear.

Turning to face the Jedi, BB-610 beeped and clicked, telling her that the porg might have seen something frightening this way. Musing on the idea that it, perhaps, was the answer to their problems, the astromech let Valery lead, as her lightsaber would be able to cut through the dense tropics of the jungle, heading straight along a dirt path marked with humanoid footsteps, until the obstructions ended and the road led them to a secluded area, marked by an abandoned, rusting facility that had been hidden by Wayland's towering trees.

Stopping to stare, BB-610 glanced up at Valery, the porg still frozen stiff on her shoulder, as he nervously tweeted and bweeped, asking her if she thought that this was where their beast was. Once again, the astromech was far too nervous to lead the way himself, but if Valery opted to enter the opened gates of the facility that led into a dark hallway, decorated with cobwebs and flickering lights, he would follow.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

While the little porg seemed frightened at first when Valery opened the cage and reached out, the Force was quick to interfere and calm it down. She was able to assure it that she was friendly and meant him no harm, resulting in its heavy breathing settling down until he carefully hopped his way over. "Hello there~" Valery said with the same tone she had once used to talk to baby Vera. Her hand remained extended for the porg to hop onto, but he seemed to have different plans. With its wings fluttering, he managed to fly up on her shoulder, where he comfortably waddled around before turning to her.

"Ow," she grumbled when the porg nibbled on her ear. "Ow," followed again, as her head tilted when he pulled on her long hair. This gave him the opportunity to climb up to the top of her head, and from his new position, he ducked to look her straight in the eyes. Valery just blinked but couldn't stop herself from chuckling anymore. All she could think about was how much Vera would love to play with him.

It was a good moment of relief after seeing and feeling so much darkness.

"I think so too, Bee," Valery then said in response, but it seemed that Bee's bweeping caught the attention of their new little friend. He jumped up on top of Bee's flat dome, and Valery's chuckling grew louder. "Careful, Bee. He doesn't want to hurt you," she said as she watched her friend try to shake off the Porg. After a moment, he had to give up though — the Porg had a good grip and seemed to be very persistent in sticking with them. Probably because Valery and Bee had offered him some security after something had frightened him so intensely.

But all good things come to an end, and this little moment was no exception. The Porg began to screech as it looked off to the right side of the house, and after Bee went to take a closer look, it seemed they had a new lead. "I think so, and judging by the footsteps I see, someone was likely on the run as well. Or this beast is a lot more human than I expected it to be." She frowned and spent only a brief moment contemplating what to do next.

There was only one option.

"Alright, let's go take a look but stay close to me," Valery said before stepping in front to take the lead. Just to be cautious, she decided to draw the hilt of her weapon into her hand, and together with Bee she followed their new path while she occasionally cut their way through vines and other dense plants.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |


The factory that loomed overhead was intimidating. Rusted walls painted with scorch marks, sparks flying from the occasional flickering lights that tried their hardest to function through cracked lenses and power losses. The gates were wide open, inviting them inside, as insane an idea it even felt to BB-610. Its entrance towered above them, shadow overcast as flecks of blood dotted the matted soil beneath them, strings of crimson trailing along the facility's walls in signs of struggle. This was what BB-610 had been looking for - finality. The end of the road, the answer to his question. Only, it wasn't the discovery of something new like he'd been expecting; the place had clearly seen visitors, guests, or possibly intruders, with blood ranging from dried to relatively fresh. They weren't discovering something new. They were stumbling upon something that swallowed up all those that stepped foot inside and never spat them back out.

The metal flooring creaked beneath Valery's steps, stable enough to support her weight, but frail enough to suggest corrosion. The facility's entrance was pitch black, requiring the astromech to enable his flashlight and slowly guide them forward down its long, empty halls. An array of rooms were at its sides, but they had been sealed shut, cobwebs littering the corners and masking the place with a musky scent. Whimpering quietly, BB-610 stuck to Valery like glue, as did the little porg; their uneventful - albeit tense - trek through the hall finally rewarding them with light at the end of the tunnel.

Up ahead, the end of the corridor gave way to a large, spacious room connected to several doors, all of which had been shut tight. Light shined through the little amount of windows nearing the ceiling, almost akin to a skylight as particles of dust dance through rays of sunshine cast down onto the floor. It was still dark, but no longer did BB-610 need to shine his flashlight. No bodies seemed to surround them, however the very end of the room presented another mystery: more than a dozen droids pressed up against the wall, all inactive but otherwise seemingly unharmed. Astromechs, protocol droids, pit droids, BD units, all shapes and sizes as they were spread out almost like trophies.

Speechless, BB-610 froze, optic focused intently on his fellow droids. A shock to his system, he no longer had the objectivity to process the situation, his emotions far too prominent in his programming now as he hid behind Valery's legs, chassis trembling while he whined, unsure of how to react or proceed. The astromech was so taken aback that he'd tunnel visioned, not hearing the skittering and clanking along the darker edges of the ceiling above them.

 

[Blackout]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |



Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The sound of footsteps echoed from within the room, talon-like claws digging into steel as the lurker scaled along the ceiling. Two goldenrod eyes peered down ever so brightly, watching every last move intently, gauging its guests and sizing them up as though they were nothing more than dessert. The woman, while a stranger to him, held herself in a way that was all too familiar. Tight-fitting attire suited for a slim, toned build, scars and marks as badges of battle. And the most telling, of course, was the small, slender hilt attached to her belt. It wasn't an educated guess anymore.

"It was only a matter of time before a Jedi showed up."

Came a deep, droning voice from atop them. Clearly synthetic, yet bordering eerily on human-like, it carried a sense of playfulness. And so, with its presence all but announced, the figure released its claws and fell from the ceiling, two metal feet planting themselves onto the floor with a reverbing THUD. Unfurling itself, the beast finally showed itself: a large, bulky droid, standing tall at over six foot, rolling its shoulders and staring at the Jedi with its piercing gaze. Its facial features never once shifted beyond the half-lidded glare of its optics, yet an air of disgust had been weaved between its amusement as it stood face to face with the woman.

With the porg screeching in unbridled fear as it hastily took flight to escape and the astromech droid still shaking behind the Jedi, the assassin tilted its head, grunting an artificial scoff.

He brandished his claws. "Bet you must be confused. Angry, maybe. No, no..." He soon corrected himself, though his tone was far from genuine. "Anger leads to the Dark Side. Wouldn't want that, huh, girlie? Jedi don't kill. That is, if I were flesh and bones." The droid added, a low chuckle rumbling at his chest. One step closer. Two steps. Soon, he was circling the duo like a shark, neither scared nor pressed for time. "Always so hard to kill another, isn't it? Morals. Ethics. A struggle to reason with the choices you make."

His steps came to a stop, back turned to Valery, before glaring back at her over his shoulder, photoreceptors narrowed.

"Never for droids, though."

And so he continued, another mocking chuckle as he positioned himself before her once more. "Just machines to break down. No reasoning with them, not a care in the world. Cannon fodder, expendable, replaceable. One droid dies, you get another. No compassion for the ones the galaxy has deemed an object." His voice was laced in venom, bitter and angry. "We're built as what-- tools? To serve meatsacks like you. Programmed to risk it all in battle, to die again and again, just so the Jedi can be praised as the efforts of their slaves go unnoticed."

A sluggish gesture to the BB unit cowering behind her, gaze not even bothering to look at it. "I'd be willing to bet that that isn't your first astromech, and it won't be your last." He spat, before stepping aside to gesture at the several dormant droids standing behind him. "I lured their slavers here. Like baiting fish with a hook, all it takes is some trouble for scumbags like you to play hero. You call it slaughter; I call it liberation. Now they get to live their lives free of the slavery the entire galaxy's forced onto them, even Jedi. No trouble, no suicide, no stress or torment for the droids that people like you selfishly use to win your missions and do your chores."

There's a rather strained sigh, and the brooding figure tilted his head once more. "As I said, we don't get the same respect you organics do. Jedi will wipe the floor with droids without second thought, while they stray from the murder of others..." He began. "... but not you. No, you're different, aren't you? You murdered that skinbag when you got here. I put him there. Wanted to see where your morals lie. You did what all the other spineless fleshlings I've brought here wouldn't."

"You killed him. Delivered the finishing blow." A hearty chuckle, as the droid sneered. "Coup de grâce."

Two steps forward. "You've got guts, girlie. I like that." He said, "Too bad they'll be spilling out of 'ya in five minutes, give or take. Now, you don't wanna die, and I've got places to be once word gets out that a Jedi's taking her time..." The assassin spoke, voice rumbling with musing thought. "So how about we reach a middle ground?"

"You hand over the droid, and I'll let you go back to playing hero elsewhere, with your astromech's newest replacement."

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

"I know this place looks scary, but I'm here with you both," Valery said as she approached the open entrance of the factory. It looked like it had been abandoned for years, or at least neglected for a very long time. From rusted floor panels to broken consoles — this entire place felt like it was pulled straight out of a horror story. But the most disturbing thing by far was the trails of blood and the echoes of death that lingered inside.

It felt so cold and repulsive.

But through the darkness of the corridor, Valery soon spotted light up ahead, shining down into the open room through shattered windows in the ceiling. The way it refracted would have perhaps been interesting if it wasn't for the blood that tainted almost every inch of this place. The room they were in now, however, wasn't quite as bad and instead offered a new mystery for them to solve. Droids were scattered along the wall, all unharmed but it still felt so unnatural.

Is this where those droids from Coruscant ended up somehow? But how, and why? Valery couldn't even begin to answer those questions for herself, and she realized it wasn't the right time to think about it either. Bee was terrified and the monster behind all of this was still out there.

"Heyy, don't worry, okay? I'm here for you," she tried to tell Bee in an attempt to keep them all hopeful, but much of that faded when a haunting sound echoed through the chamber. Her eyes were soon drawn up to follow a figure lurking in the shadows, and while it had no presence in the Force, Valery could still feel something sinister about it. How truly evil must something be to feel so dark without being connected to the Force?

"It was only a matter of time before a Jedi showed up." ​

Valery's muscles tensed and her hand already began to slowly drift to the hilt of her lightsaber. She wasn't drawing the weapon yet, but she already knew that it was going to be necessary. After what she had seen in the village, she knew this droid showed people no mercy, and that he couldn't be reasoned with. But before a fight could even start, the droid dropped down and presented her with another kind of evil.

A monologue.

As much as she wanted to dismiss anything he said, his cause was actually one she understood. Droids were often treated like slaves, and Valery had a very strong hatred for slavery after a personal encounter with it. But the way he was trying to fix that issue... it was disgusting.

"So how about we reach a middle ground?"​

Valery raised an eyebrow and listened to him as he made a proposal that sent a shiver down her spine. The grip on her hilt tightened immediately, and she took a protective step between this new threat and her little buddy. "If you think I'll ever let you touch my friend here, you're mistaken," Valery warned the assassin with fiery intensity in her eyes. Nobody was going to hurt Bee again - not on her watch.

"I also understand your cause, and I agree that droids aren't treated properly. But what you're doing only makes the problem worse." She sighed, knowing that her words were never going to change its programming. "If you put down your weapons, I will not harm you, and you'll be taken prisoner and treated fairly. But if you don't, I will not hesitate to bring you in myself."

 

[Blackout]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |



The air was thick with tension. To a sane man, Valery's counter-offer would have been met with contemplation. To Blackout, however, all it earned was a sickening glare and a dismissive scoff of disgust. Drumming his talons against his arm, the droid turned his nose up, head shaking in clear disapproval. Their fate was set in stone the second the Jedi had arrived. No bartering, no deals - two diametrically opposed souls who knew what had to be done. "You have the nerve to agree with me? To say that the galaxy is wrong, that droids are discriminated, and yet you side with the Jedi who have enslaved them just as much as any other?"

The droid's shoulders bounced with a cruel, synthetic chuckle, only to snap into a sneer with a gaze that shot daggers into the woman before him. "Your words are nothing but hypocrisy. It wasn't good enough to turn a blind eye and play ignorant like all your little fleshsuit friends, was it? You think this makes you the hero, but truth is, you're even worse than the skinbags I killed before you. Your droids are nothing but slaves."

Reluctantly emerging from behind Valery's feet, BB-610 rolled in front of her, opting to take a stand. The act was enough to earn Blackout's attention, yellow optics gazing down at the astromech that had been silent for long enough. Droid to droid. Shaking his head, BB-610 bweeped and clicked, his voice echoing throughout the facility's chamber.

"So... you say I am wrong? That you are not this human's servant, you are her friend?"

BB-610 nodded, chirping affirmatively.

The assassin narrowed his eyes. "Then you are as worthless as she is."

In less than a second, Blackout had jutted his right arm out, hand aimed downward as a paralysis cord was sent flying out from his wrist. Before BB-610 had even processed what had happened, the whip-like cord proceeded to tangle itself around the astromech's spherical body, tightening fiercely as more and more of it unspooled, grip nicely secured before the assassin droid's upper chassis rotated a quick 360, effortlessly lifting the smaller unit into the air and retracting the cord back into his wrist -- sending BB-610 flying across the room and slamming into the wall with a deafening THUD.

Rolling his shoulders and rotating his neck to crack his joints in preparation for a scuffle, Blackout glared at the Jedi, flicking his arm forward to unearth a dagger stored inside it, grabbing onto its helm and brandishing it across the length of his forearm, sending sparks flying.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, girlie. Best case scenario for you is to die in this room, but I guess we're both too stubborn for our own good, so let's make this quick."

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: BB-610

Valery was about to argue against what he claimed about her when Bee rolled forward and defended her instead. Despite the tension in the room, she cracked a smile and proudly looked at her little friend. She was going to make sure that he'd never feel like a servant to her. That he'd never feel replaceable or worthless about anything — he was as close a friend to her as anybody else could be who entered her life, and she would never take him for granted.

The assassin, however, did not change its mind when a fellow droid defended her.

With widened eyes, Valery watched the cord launch from the assassin droid to wrap itself around Bee. She couldn't get in between or help him, so she was forced to watch helplessly as he tossed her friend against a wall. The sudden attack really made Valery want to jump into action and show this droid what she was made of, but she could feel the threat he formed, especially if she were to underestimate him.

She had to remain calm.

"Oh it'll be quick," Valery assured him, as her thumb found the ignition switch of her double-bladed weapon. Two violet blades of plasma burst into existence, and Valery's glowing eyes stared him down with fiery intensity. "You shouldn't have harmed all these people," Valery then added with a clenched jaw.

"You shouldn't have hurt Bee."

She took a step forward and rolled her shoulders while her mind readied itself for battle. The Force began to flow through her entire being, and just as abruptly as he had attacked her friend, Valery exploded towards him like a lightning bolt. Her body tensed, twisted, and with all of her core's strength, she swept the rear blade around into a devastating blow across his body, hoping to land a quick hit with disastrous damage for the assassin.

 

[Blackout]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |



He stared, feet squared and knuckles clenched as he steadied his blade. His faceplate allowed for no twitch of his lips, yet the glint in his eyes spoke nothing short of disappointment. There existed no fear, no cowardice, but the droid knew exactly what he was getting himself into, and that's what applied the pressure to his shoulders as Blackout prepped himself for the Jedi's assault. With a groan, the assassin narrowed his optics, and within seconds of Valery's feet leaving the ground, his systems had done all the thinking necessary to calculate--

BZZZZHT.

--The lethal blow to his center, which had been blocked by his dagger, bicep raising to keep it level against the lightsaber burning into its steel. With the powerful arc of his arm, Blackout threw his force into a swing that aimed to knock the Jedi's blade skyward and away from his body. In doing so, Valery's lightsaber finally sliced through his dagger, scorching metal cut in half with the clatter of its sharpened end falling to the floor. Seizing the opportunity to create some distance between the two, Blackout promptly took a short leap backwards, carelessly discarding the remains of his weapon by tossing it to the side.

"About time I got to dust this thing off."

With another crack of his neck, a finger tapped at a button tucked beneath his scarf, and in a matter of seconds, the droid's body was enveloped by a broad, blue bubble- shield humming to life as Blackout bellowed a taunting chuckle, the shield shortly hugging his form in a skintight layer of energy. "Let's put your toy to the test, eh, girlie?" Blackout snickered, low voice a sickening reverb. Right arm jutting to the side, the droid's fingers joined together to form a claw-like knife, his durable chassis only heightened exponentially by the saber-resistant shield.

Charging forward, the assassin aimed to strike right into the Jedi's side, claws attempting to directly pierce the flesh beneath Valery's ribcage. Assuming the attack was blocked, Blackout would grunt, trying to brute force his way past the offending lightsaber by adding more and more pressure onto it, sparks flying and shield brimming with the blade's heat. Opting to defend next, the droid would use his own arms to block whatever swings were potentially dealt, growling from the Jedi's power.

"You wanna really help your friend?" Blackout hissed, trying to break away, "Then leave your sanctimonious cult until they realize that the only difference between them and Sith are the colors of their swords."

Another strike would be thrown, this time at Valery's chest, with the deliberate intention of it being blocked - as the droid's spare hand would grip onto the other blade of the Jedi's dual-lightsaber, energy shield sizzling obscenely from overzealous usage as Blackout applied his upper force entirely against Valery's weapon, only to raise a leg and try to deliver a fierce kick to the woman's abdomen, the brunt of heavy steel clashing sickeningly against her tunic in the event that she didn't block.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Blackout

Her blade connected with lightning speed, but this assassin droid was surprisingly quick himself. He threw up his arms, forcing her blade up in the process to disengage, and distanced himself with a leap back. She had managed to slice through his weapon with the attack, but she knew better than to believe him defenseless. His entire body was a weapon, and when a shield formed around its metallic skin, she knew she had just missed her best shot at ending this fast.

"Come and try me," Valery then challenged with a grin.

The droid was quick to respond and accelerated toward her with a newly formed blade. In that brief moment before collision, Valery tapped into the Force to read the flow of combat and shifted her body with augmented speed to block the strike aimed for her side just in time. He immediately added pressure, hoping to push through and cut her wide open, but Valery was much stronger than she looked. And she looked strong. Sparks erupted from their weapons, and her body tightened but she didn't give up and suddenly disengaged with a step to the side, hoping to turn his momentum against him.

She followed up with a series of quick strikes where she alternated between her two blades, but his skin-tight shielding absorbed her blows. For now.

"You want to help fellow droids? Stop kidnapping them." Valery narrowed her eyes and saw his next move through the Force. Her blades came up, blocking the strike meant to cut open her chest, but what he did next surprised her. With his free hand, he caught her blade and used it for leverage to throw a powerful kick at her abdomen. There was no way she could block it, so in a last attempt to minimize damage, Valery augmented her body with the Force and felt a tremor of pain as the kick set her back several feet.

"Not bad..." she said through gritted teeth. "But it's not enough." This time, her hand came up, and she attempted to lash out with a powerful telekinetic burst, hoping it would send him flying into the wall. His shield was capable of resisting lightsabers, but she wanted to know how it would handle brute force.

Following the Force attack, whether it worked or not, Valery accelerated back towards him and used her superhuman speed to throw several more quick strikes at his torso. No personal shield could last forever, so she was going to push him until it shattered to bits.

 

[Blackout]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |


A triumphant chuckle echoed throughout the facility's chamber, the two of them distanced once more after a powerful kick. A bitter smell of ozone in the air, steam trailed from his hand with his energy shield flickering briefly as it sizzled from over usage, the droid's palm scorched. Despite that, Blackout showed no signs of pain - whether it be because he physically hadn't felt anything, or if he was simply adept at hiding it, it was unsure - as he drummed his talons against the side of his hips, dragging dagger-like fingernails along hardened metal to idly sharpen them. "Hahah..." The assassin's chest rumbled with amused laughter, straightening himself out during their downtime. "Looks like it's mutual, then."

A mocking glare as the Jedi's hand protruded forward, Blackout's shield tightened further, flashing as it dismissed the Force's kinetic energy, softening Valery's intended push into a harmless shove. Despite that, the sudden inches back had briefly shaken his stance, feet needing to properly anchor themselves once again, allowing the Jedi to rush forward and-

CLANGK.

A blow to his torso, knocking him off balance with a pained groan.

BBZZHTT.

Another blow courtesy of the lightsaber's additional blade, cutting through his shield with an array of sparks and spine-chilling crackle of energy. Blackout struggled, grunting with a furrowed brow as his sharpened hands sought to deflect Valery's strikes, rivalling the woman's speed through use of the Force with the droid's matching precise algorithmical predictions. With the assassin on the defensive, none of Valery's assaults made it past momentum-fuelled swings, with their opposing pressure cancelling each other out; Blackout's energy shield, however, made itself apparent that it was losing power, steam flooding the air as the Jedi's lightsaber carved holes and pokes through its surface. Any more and the blade could very well begin slicing the droid's body, and Blackout knew this better than anybody.

Withdrawing with a duck as the distance himself after a cartwheel and landing on his feet with a threatening thud, the assassin's yellow optics glared menacingly at his adversary, before the droid dropped to all fours, nails digging sharply into the ground and slinking rapidly towards the chamber's corner with spider-esque movements. Latching onto the wall, Blackout promptly scaled it as his chassis turned, a compartment within his left wrist opening. Stretching his index and ring fingers backwards to coil around the grenade that had just emerged, Blackout swiftly catapulted it directly towards the Jedi. Allowing his shield to recharge, the droid hastily shot a second grenade Valery's way, this one aimed a few feet before it as it ricocheted off the ground and inched toward her in tandem with his previous explosive.

He anticipated the woman's effectiveness; she was a powerful opponent, the strongest he'd ever fought, and he knew as well as anyone that Valery's efficiency would neutralize his attempts. As such, while the Jedi was swarmed with ordinance, Blackout lunged from his spot along the wall, landing into a forward roll before springing free and sending a line of his paralysis cord snaking forth, aiming to tangle itself swiftly around her left leg.

If the attack connected, Valery would feel a sudden dosage of volts spiralling through her limb, numbing her nerves enough for the droid to follow up with the twist of his chassis as he leaned his weight into his throw, forcing Valery off her feet and onto the floor for the droid to spin and toss her across the room just as he had done to her astromech.

If the attack failed, then the droid would charge forward and throw his leg forward into another kick, expecting a block by the powerful blade of her lightsaber, and proceed with a volley of feral, angered punches full of synthetic adrenaline, clashing with her saber if it were to block his advances, yet the power of his swings could be felt even through her weapon.

Whichever the droid ended up doing, it all depended on how Valery handled his dual grenades.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Blackout

The shield was weakening.

She wasn't sure by how much yet, but the fact that he disengaged and ran off on all fours made her believe that she was getting awfully close to cutting him to pieces. He was having to adjust his tactics, so all she needed to do was remain patient and wait out her opportunities to strike. Especially with Bee still out of the fight, she couldn't risk anything that would have the assassin turn her friend against her.

"What's wrong? Running already?" Valery asked, and she got her response very quickly in the form of two grenades. Rather than running or jumping away to distance herself from the blast, she held up a hand and projected a barrier of force energy around herself. It absorbed the explosion and kept the smoke away from her mouth so she could breathe just as easily. But once her barrier dropped, she understood why had thrown those grenades so obviously.

A chord shot out and latched itself around her leg, and before she could sweep her blade down to sever it, electricity passed through her body.

"Aahhh!" she screamed out in pain, as her eyes widened from the sudden shock. Her muscles tensed up, leaving her unable to move, and so it was without much resistance that Blackout smashed her into the ground when he pulled on his end of the paralysis chord. With another quick spin, she was tossed to the opposite side of the room and hit the floor hard again with another yelp of pain.

However, it wasn't over. Far from it.

As quickly as the pain came, it disappeared when she tapped into the Force to suppress it. She severed the chord with a swipe of her lightsaber and pushed herself up to hands and knees. Even though her long hair had fallen around her, he'd be able to see the corner of her lips tugged up into a grin. "Not bad," she said again, before rising up to her feet.

With a quick telekinetic pull, Valery drew her weapon back into her hand and made the decision to attempt her own attack. It began similar to those before — with superhuman speed, she closed the distance and twisted her body to deliver a powerful sweeping strike. But this time, right as they were about to make contact, Valery phased through him in an attempt to off-balance him, and end up behind the assassin droid.

Once there, she exploited the advantage of having two blades, and simply thrust back the rear blade with as much force as she could muster, hoping to pierce into the droid's back. Whether it connected or not, she then spun around to use her rotational momentum for a follow-up strike meant to bisect him.

 

[Blackout]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |



There was a sense of relief as the Jedi was flung across the room, both from the mere sight of seeing her scream in pain from the satisfying THUD into the wall that left a subtle crack, and from the added downtime the droid had scored as he blinked his energy shield offline, giving it time to recharge from its critical state. A low growl as he saw Valery pick herself back up, Blackout knew that their fight was far from over, brandishing his claws once more in anticipation for her next move. "Getting back up so soon?" The droid sneered, feet stanched and planted firmly in the ground, "You Jedi just don't know when to quit."

And as she charged toward him, Blackout brought his arms out, crossing them into an X as a makeshift barrier to soften the blow his scans had expected. It wouldn't be nearly as effective as using his energy shield, but the assassin's chassis remained fairly durable, and while Blackout wouldn't go unscathed, it would be enough protection to buy him a few more seconds to gain some distance and strike her from afar all over again. Bracing himself as Valery drew nearer, the droid planned to block the woman's blow and lean forth to throw off her balance.

Only that moment never came, as within seconds, Valery had phased through him in an act he'd never have expected, a ghastly force tugging him back as he staggered in clear confusion. Eyes widening, Blackout was far too taken aback to block her next move, as the blade of a burning lightsaber was driven into his back, sparks blinding as steel was pierced, sinking into his hull with the sizzling screech of metal and a deafening scream of pain from the droid. Chassis thrown forward before twirling around out of pure instinct to hastily yank the saber from his back, Blackout's energy shield manifested once more, flickering online and hugging his body. It hadn't nearly gotten the power it needed, still requiring a much longer recharge, but the droid was growing desperate, and while the last ditch effort had stopped Valery's strikes for burning through essential core components, her attacks were far too powerful for his struggling shield to keep up with, as the Jedi's swing had torn another another hole through his shield - now far too damaged to protect him properly.

Roaring in unfiltered anger, Blackout swiftly crouched down, performing a sweeping kick in an attempt to knock Valery to the floor. Wasting no time, the droid jutted an arm forward, metal hand gripping fiercely around the woman's throat and lifting her up, his chest heaving and eyes burning with festering hatred; animalistic and crazed, Blackout would proceed to slam the Jedi into the ground before she had the time to strike. Towering over her, the assassin paused, as though a realization had just struck him. Shoulders bouncing as he erupted into a fit of menacing, unhinged laughter, the droid's energy shield shuttered off, only for it to flash back online. Burning a much brighter blue, tears and holes flawlessly repaired, the shield had been returned back to its original state. After all, Valery had damaged the energy shield's power... but the droid had simply redirected raw processing power from his own systems to instantly recharge it.

"Should have given up, skinbag. We had some fun, but you've pissed me off for the last time."

Hands shaping into dual claws, Blackout raised his arms in preparation for a deadly swing, ready to plunge his talons into Valery's guts and slice upwards to cut her open in one swift strike. Steam pouring out of the gaping wound from his back, the assassin took one last look at his adversary: one of malice, resentment, and borderline toxicity before finally bringing his arms down to pierce the woman's flesh and--

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGGHHH!!!"

Electricity danced throughout his body, burning his circuits as he screeched in agony, optics flickering with the arc of his back before he'd had any opportunity to land a finger on the Jedi before him. What was nothing short of excruciating pain for the droid lasted a good three seconds, his servos and processors thoroughly damaged from such an overwhelming voltage that his energy shield was brought offline, flickering away and disabled. As Blackout fell to his knees, huffing and grunting with barely functioning processors, BB-610 peeked to the side from behind the assassin, electro shock prod retracting.

And there laid the droid in front of the Jedi, still online but severely wounded -- completely and utterly vulnerable.

 

[Valery Noble]

Wayland

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Blackout BB-610

Valery could feel the resistance of plasma burning through metal, as her thrust pierced into the assassin's back. He screamed in agony himself this time and stumbled forward to keep the blade from finding critical components to burn. Valery took the opportunity to spin around, and swept her blade into another attack, hoping to finish it. Sadly, his shielding came back online in time to catch her strike, but she noticed how weakened he had become.

His shield was failing, and his options were growing more limited.

Blackout's speed hadn't been compromised yet however, and when he ducked low to try and sweep Valery off her feet, she jumped up to evade it but was instead caught in a fierce grip, as his metallic hand came forward and latched itself around her throat. Valery's eyes widened, and her feet instinctively searched for the ground beneath her, but he kept her up and looked her in the eyes before slamming her down against the ground.

For just a moment, lights of consciousness flickered inside her mind, and the brief lack of strength loosened her grip on her weapon, causing it to slip away.

But Valery was far from defeated.

As the Assassin droid shaped its hands into weapons, Valery looked up and waited, readying herself for yet another trick to escape the attack and bring him down. But before she could, his attack was instead interrupted by an arc of electricity passing through its body. Valery immediately knew what was happening, and took the opportunity to roll out of the way and back up to her feet. She summoned her weapon back into her hand, ignited its two blades, and stared down at the body of the assassin.

"Thanks for the help, Bee," Valery told him with a soft smile. The Force was working hard to suppress the physical pain mostly caused by the impact of his feet and the slam into the ground, but she seemed okay. "Are you alright?" she then asked first, prioritizing his safety over finishing this.

"And do you know where our new little friend went?" she followed up.

 

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Wayland |
| TAG: Valery Noble |



BB-610 glanced down at the droid in front of him. In many ways, it pained him to harm another of his kind - especially one who had tried to help him, however twisted the act had been. But he had attacked his friend, and no matter how vocal one was about the freedom of droids, the little astromech refused to stand by and allow them to hurt his family. Rolling up to Valery, BB-610 chirped happily, bweeping in relief that she was okay, and telling her that he was fine. Blackout's assault had knocked the astromech offline temporarily, but beyond a subtle dent in one of his tool-bay disks, BB-610 had no damages to show of it. Looking around, he tried to scan for the little friend in question, only to glance upwards and spot the porg perched on one of the chamber's crossbeams, peering down at those beneath it.

The porg, as frightened as it had been, looked perfectly fine, staring with wide eyes out of curiosity at this rate. Valery herself seemed to be okay too, much to his joy, with nothing but a few wayward bruises en route. The Jedi was incredibly tough, and BB-610 grew more and more impressed by the woman's feats as time went on. The glee and happiness of having helped his friend, however, had distracted the astromech from the monster he'd zapped only moments prior, who had been hissing through a trembling vocalizer and glitching systems, claws digging into the ground and scratching with a piercing screech like nails on a chalkboard, staggering and groaning.

"You're... DEAD!"

The assassin droid screamed, using the last remnants of his strength to lift himself to his feet and lunge forward, no longer mindful of the fact that his energy shield had depleted or that he had been severely damaged. Judgement clouded by irrationality and fuelled by bloodlust, the only thing Blackout could think about was the grotesque gutting of the Jedi in front of him, careless of her lightsabers as he reared his arm back, talons primed and bared, and aimed directly for the woman's heart.