Private Dark Remnants

[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

"It has been a while," Valery finally said, now looking over her shoulder from the pilot chair. The journey so far had been spent mostly in silence, as they headed into former Maw territory to take down a dangerous Sithspawn. It was the kind of mission that no longer made her feel tense after years of tracking down these types of monsters when she worked as a Jedi Shadow. Today, she felt tense for a different reason. The last time she had worked together with Rakaan, he had seen a side of her that very few people ever would. A side that she didn't want anybody to see.

Anger, intense grief, and unbearable pain.

A lot has changed since then, and she wasn't sure if he wanted or cared to talk about any of it, so she didn't bring it up. Perhaps it was best to focus on the mission and work together the way they had before. As a solid team of very capable Jedi.

"And uh, we're still not sure what kind of Sithspawn we're dealing with. All we know is that it wiped several villages worth of people, and left not even a single survivor." She frowned slightly at the thought and let out a soft sigh. "Won't be a problem for us though, hm?" she smirked faintly and turned her fiery gaze back forward, as they were about to drop out of Hyperspace.

 

[Rakaan Horne]

THE BASTION - Valery Noble

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Idle hands toyed with electronics; buttons, switches, levers, even wires. Blue eyes shifted across scanner displays and those of cameras and system monitors. Of such little use, the momentary distractions to calm his mind. There was no frantic war inside, rather a quiet confusion - Master Noble was last seen in a state of distress, worse than all others and neither was Rakaan free from it either. It ensnared him, held him firm and close. It would not release, no, never and the stillness in the air seemed to exist as a reminder of it. Of his failure to cleanse himself of those dreams, of those visions, even with their intrusion near an end.

For now.

"Hm," he breathed with a small and faint smile, a soft turn of his head. Rakaan pressed one more button, spun one more knob. In the robes of a Jedi, he wandered across and closer towards the pilot's seat. His covered hand rode across the crimson dome of the astromech unit. "Should hardly be a challenge," the Jedi smiled, "at this rate, all the Sithspawn will be done for in a few rotations, Master."

The streaks of hyerspace faded and vanished, the planet once beneath the thumb of the Maw clear in their view. His own eyes sharpened on the system, an observant stare set upon the planet; "Do we know much of this place?" He asked with arms folded across his chest.

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[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

"I hope so, but we have to stay on top of it. I'll be leading a bigger mission soon with a few others to make a lot more progress." She paused and briefly turned her fiery gaze to him, a softer smile finally tugging at her lips, "I'd be happy if you could join me again when the time comes." She wanted to spare him the details for now, but her part of the mission was going to be an active hunt.

She felt that it was just the kind of task his skills would be useful for.

With a pull on the hyperspace lever, Valery brought them back into real space, and glanced at the planet that appeared in front of them. "This is Rhand, a planet with a dark history even before the Maw settled here. Most notably, the Sorcerers of Rhand expanded their influence from this place a long time ago. I'm sure that a lot of traces remain, and whatever it is the Maw did here..." She trailed off and let out a soft sigh while she brought the ship down through the atmosphere and to the last village that had been wiped away.

"The Dark Side is strong here," she commented as they approached the surface for a quick but smooth landing. "There is something really dangerous out there."

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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"Hmph," the young Jedi hummed aloud, "never heard of them."

A student of the Force, though a poor one; skills and abilities came naturally, an innate grasp of an immense power - a breeding ground for arrogance, to misuse and find fleeting respect for what another may hold in such high esteem. The Jedi and the Sith, an understanding that the two had been ancient enemies for the reason of being so utterly opposed to one another.

The Jedi, a force for good. The Sith; evil. A kind that could not be allowed to stay aflame, burning and blinding across the stars. A flickering flame in darkness with the Maw gone, a dying light. The very kind that hung heavy in the air of Rhand, permeating. The taste of ash and dust with the sights of a torn apart village.

In piles of wooden rubble mixed between that of stone and duracrete, the smoldering fires remained atop the withering prairies. "There is," Rakaan agreed while a narrowed gaze set itself upon the ruins, seeing in full those feelings of dread and terror and pain whisper across the Force. "I feel it, too."

Striding forwards across what was once a road, now torn up and covered in a layer of ash, Rakaan lazily pilfered through the nearest ruins with his booted foot. The very material seemed to crumble away into nothingness, so weak and fragile. "Here," said Rakaan with a harsher look in his eyes, grasping onto what must have been a child's toy and raising it, "not even the kids made it out."

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[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

"Another dark side cult," Valery clarified before they stepped outside and got a first look at the destruction caused by the monster that was now able to roam freely. Even the Maw had to keep these beasts in check while they held the people of planets like this under firm control. But in their absence, chaos had taken over, and so many innocent lives were lost because of it.

She suspects that the Jedi and Alliance will have their hands full, addressing what has been left behind. But too many were still too blinded by the relief of peace to respond quickly enough. She wasn't going to make that same mistake.

After spending a moment looking around, Valery followed after Rakaan and walked down the street of ash. Death lingered in the Force around them, as well as the pain and despair these people must have felt in their final moments. Yet, there was a surprising lack of bodies - only objects and items left behind in a hurry. But no matter how hard they tried, it seemed that nobody was able to escape.

"Hmm?" Valery turned to face him as he spoke up, but het eyes quickly shifted down to the child's toy in his hand. Immediately, an image of her daughter flashed into her mind. Her smile, the joy she had playing with her parents or friends. The muscles in Valery's body tightened for just a moment, before she let out a soft sigh.

She couldn't let this get to her.

"Whatever beast attacked this place, I suspect that it's quick. It seems nobody made it very far." She hummed in thought for a moment and looked at him again.

"Maybe we can try to lure it out? Or follow its path of destruction to the next village?"

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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"I say we follow it," said Rakaan lightly tossing the child's toy, "for now, at least. See what we can find of it then lure it out, since I think we're still clueless as to what it even is."

He motioned to stand, to rise, and sent an arm out with a splayed hand; feeling the Force, washing over the feelings of pain and misery, all down the road across what was one mess from the next - tracks, marks, wrecks. It was all the same in that it remained an identified, a constant one. It came through, barrelling and breaking. It was fast, the two could tell, though what else? He wondered as to whether it was big and strong or small and swift, though each combination must have made something just as deadly as the last.

"This way." He concluded, walking on down. A stride absent all caution and ever too much trust in his senses.

He turned over his shoulder, thoughtfully. "How come you asked me for this one, Master? I imagine you would have more than a handful of Jedi that you know better and could trust more."

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[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

Valery quietly acknowledged his suggestion with a dip of her head, while her eyes turned to the toy one last time. To her, it was yet another reminder why she was out here, risking her life to hunt down these kinds of twisted beasts. The thought that children had lost their lives here sparked a fiery determination inside of her.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," she said before she watched him rise. With an outstretched arm, Rakaan connected with the Force and allowed his senses to be his guide. If it wasn't for his almost visible lack of caution, his methods would have been very similar to her own. But she had too much to lose to be so carefree these days. In some ways, it was her greatest weakness, but in others it was a strength.

With a direction discovered, the two Jedi began to follow the invisible trail, which was heading up north to what would likely be another village.

"There are different kinds of trust, in my opinion," Valery began as she met his gaze. "I know what I can expect from you when we head into missions like this. You're reliable and won't suddenly act in unpredictable ways because of what we encounter." She paused for a moment and offered a faint smile.

"So no, I don't believe there are many others I trust more for something like this." Another part of her also didn't want to let what happened last time form a rift of discomfort between them. This was a chance to for her to push through it.

"Hmm, look-" Valery stoppes and frowned, as she spotted a merchant's hover cart, shredded to pieces by what had to be some large and incredibly sharp claws. The ground around the cart was strangely altered as well - the foot prints were smaller holes that made it seem as if it walked on the very nails it used to tear apart the cart and its owners.

"I fought a lot of Sithspawn but I haven't seem this before."

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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"I think Master Korvan would disagree," chuckled Rakaan lightly while a hand met his covered wrist, a glove that extended down over his wrist and the beginning of his forearm. "You're too unwieldy, he told me. Restrain yourself. Maybe I learned to, if that's what you see now."

The Jedi Master had seen him at his best and at his worst, to whether the storm that was Rakaan as much as see and feel the beams of sunlight on his own horizon; a call of hope yet to come, etching at the brittle stone exterior all things callous and coarse. A shield like no other, as impenetrable as Mandalorian armour while varying from the verge of collapse, to go supernova and fade like a dying star.

Did the rest of the Jedi know it, he wondered, were they able to see beyond the facade of strength and determination to find the trouble that lay flat and lazy beneath the projection? Did Master Noble, Rakaan questioned in fleeting thought, or was there any trouble at all? Did the shadow toy with his mind, was it ever cast?

Business was his distraction, his meditation, his calm. He would not find it in his own thoughts. For now. While the shadow left him and left him wondering, dreading, awaiting the return. Was the end of the Maw the end of the shadow, the end of those dreams? Would they return?

Rakaan silenced those burdens that reared their ugly heads in the corner of his mind, thoughts that would become powerless with time. He hoped. His focus on the moment was all he maintained in truth now, thinking on the sights and swallowing them in full. From that damages seen along the dirt road, to the ruined buildings on either side, and torn up earth with no sign of life left to be found. He crouched low along what amounted to foot prints, of a sort, running two fingers around the stabbed in dirt, as if it were to aid him in understanding it even more.

He turned over his shoulder and upwards, looking to Valery with squinted eyes from the sun. "You would know more of Sithspawn than I, Master." His own... expertise, as it were, lay in the Imperial and the Sith, not their inhuman creations. "Is this common of them? To go on rampages like this, to kill everyone?" He asked grimly.

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[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

"Maybe you're just unwieldy around your old Master," Valery replied with a slight grin. She knew how difficult Padawans could be, and even though they became Knights, the bond between a Master and Padawan often meant they'd continue to be difficult. Just for different reasons. "But I've learned that I can rely on you when it matters most, and that's all I really care about for missions like this. That we get the job done, and that we both get to go home to fight another day."

The last part of the statement still stung a little after what happened last time, but she was also far more determined about it. She had reasons beyond duty to live, and people who not only cared about her but also relied on her. No matter what, she was going to make sure they'd make it back. The end of the war might mean an end to fighting for many Jedi and especially for soldiers, but she knew that her battles were far from over.

Similarly, she knew Rakaan could not move forward and ignore the conflict that lurked in the shadows.

"It can be," Valery finally did reply, after he had crouched down to take a closer look. "Some Sithspawn are created to target specific prey, while others are mindless beasts that will kill anything in sight. They are as varied as the animals that you'll find throughout the Galaxy." The only difference was that every Sithspawn was dangerous, and all of them were twisted to some extent. Some were created of pure darkness, while others had once been innocent creatures.

"Whatever caused all of this, though, is-" she paused as a loud shriek echoed through the trees that surrounded the path they were on. All at once, the two Jedi could feel the sting of death, striking their hearts again and again. Valery wasted no time, and sprinted uphill into the small forest, heading towards the small village up ahead. "Right there!" she called out, as the first buildings appeared, and through the small roads that weaved between, they could finally see the beast.

It moved quickly and destroyed obstacles with great strength. Its claws easily tore apart vehicles, machinery, and flesh. Without their intervention, nobody would survive.

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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The words were those of comfort. It forced a smile, no matter how small it was out of the corner of his mouth. The worries, the concerns, faded in an instant; as if moisture that dried up in a flash. For all the distrust in the shadow, the bathing light could lift it. With an effortless remark, Master Noble lifted it. The weight, gone.

He nodded in listening. The Sithspawn were far from his area of expertise, the broad sense of Sith creations in the Force were all that Rakaan had known of them in full. He no doubt put an end to one without coming to realise it, of the mind it was another monstrosity in the arsenal of the Maw. Of which it was. The sudden shriek announced it, with the stench and pull of a violent death breathing along the Force. A chill across his spine, dancing to an awful tune.

Rakaan snapped his attention towards it, the expression upon his face becoming full of a harsh focus set towards the ongoing commotion. It tore across the beginning of the village, with accompanying screams and grind of tearing metal with the whir of electronics straining against the creature's strength.

"Oh, this isn't good." He said in a low, strained whisper. Bounding into the air a moment afterwards, the snap-hiss of his blue blade humming to life as the robed Jedi continued towards the village.

The sight of it gave a moment of pause, with studious eyes sent about the beast in equal parts examination and shock - unlike anything Rakaan had ever seen, he knew, and only then had his inorganic hand risen from beneath the concealing glove that stretched onto his wrist, attempting to pry it from that speeder in which it latched onto with the rumbling focus of the Force and a forceful yank.

It's sharp and dangerous limbs kicked about wildly with spittle dripping from the fanged maw with predatory yellow eyes bouncing wildly between what lay ahead of it; a speeder, another one, the dirt roads of the villages with fleeing locals and cautious peering eyes along the windowsills.

"Is this par the course for these things?" He yelled over the panic. His voice fellow softer, only for himself to hear; "What is this thing?" Rakaan muttered disgustingly.

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[Valery Noble]

Rhand

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

The smile she spotted on his face got her own lips to curl up as well, but that relief she felt didn't last very long. As they approached the village and spotted the monster responsible for so many people killed, she felt a strange cold inside of her. She had never seen this kind of Sithspawn before, but it was easy to tell just how dangerous it was. Its entire body was a weapon, from the fangs to its claws, and even its tail.

They'd have to respond with caution.

"It's not, so be careful," she warned him, which perhaps seemed unusual. Typically, she had so much experience to draw from that she had specific strategies ready to deal with various Sithspawn. But this time she had none.

Together, they made their approach down towards the village, and after Rakaan pulled it off the speeder with the Force, they had caught its attention. The beast looked at them, at the people running, and let out another screech before it chose a target nearby to focus on — a family trying to escape.

"This one is a lot more dangerous!" she called out and with an outstretched arm of her own, she telekinetically froze the creature. It lashed out wildly with its arms to strike down the family, but it couldn't. This angered the beast greatly, and with a quick slash, it pierced a claw into the remains of a speeder, before tossing it over towards Valery, who was still focused on keeping it from moving, so that others could escape.

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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In a single darting bound, Rakaan leapt into the air with his lightsaber at the ready. His Force-focused self targetting the Sithspawn beast, of a likeness which neither Jedi had ever seen before. With monstrous limbs, long and short, thrashing about wildly and dangerously, it was the steely concentration of Rakaan that guided his course. It was attempting to bear down upon those straggling behind before hurtling a clawed and torn remnant of a speeder towards the Jedi Master.

Its arms outstretched from the throw, Rakaan cleaved through two claws on the three-clawed hand. The smell of burning flesh accompanied the wild shriek as the steaming meat crashed into the dirt while the knubs were waved about angrily. Though he stood now in the shadow of it, ever-alarmed and cautious.

The drooling, spitting maw made from a mouthful of knives and glaring, fiery yellow eyes bearing down upon him. A three-clawed hand ready to tear and rend, to gut and kill. The third claw on the other beastly hand still remained, deadly as it ever could be. With two legs made of swords, if not spears within kicking and stabbing range while two short and clawed hands dangled overhead.

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[Valery Noble]

Rhand

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

When Valery watched Rakaan jump toward the beast, she first expected him to intercept the vehicle it hurled at her. But when she realized his true intent, she decided to release her telekinetic grip before jumping up and over the incoming object. At the same time, Rakaan's blade struck the creature, severing two of its deadly claws to leave it screaming in pain. But as with all Sithspawn, it would never be enough to deter it from attacking again.

"Rakaan!" Valery called out, as she watched the enraged beast suddenly move. No longer restrained by the Jedi Master, it was able to accelerate with incredible speed and lashed out with its powerful, three-clawed hand in an attempt to bash the Jedi Knight away. But whether it worked out or not, the beast wasn't stopping there.

Using its legs to trample, it sought to pierce the Jedi and tear him apart by pushing all of its weight into the spear-like nails it stood on. This is when Valery knew it was time to step in.

With an outstretched arm, she summoned debris from one of the collapsed homes, and tossed it against the creature's back, which caused little harm, but did enough damage to make it roar. Immediately, it turned around, eyes fixated on Valery, and charged at her with blind rage, hoping to devour her as well.

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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For a moment, regret. The young Jedi stared into the fiery yellow eyes of the vicious beast, able to rip and tear people in twain within a moments notice; standing beneath it, beneath the claws, the teeth, and the source of such rage that danced across the Force - a feeling upon the nape of his neck, across his very spine, and swirling within his stomach. With his brightly beaming stick of superheated plasma risen defensively, the swift and cleaving clawed thrusts and slashes made Rakaan realise how truly fruitless it was.

With careful footing and deft movements guided by the Force itself, Rakaan outmaneuvered the creature's dangerous attacks. The snap of an awfully strong jaw sounding faintly above him while ducking into a roll, the smell of rotten meat upon its breath. Though it could not last forever, Rakaan knew, finding his blade pinging off of the flesh albeit leaving behind a burning singe and an erupted roar. The broad-length of a limb crashed into his chest, sending him careening across the road.

Rolling, tumbling. It made a move to dash across, though the hurled debris collected with its back and ensnared its attention in one. With a groan, Rakaan motioned to his feet and hissed a sharp breath between clenched teeth. The rumbling, scuttling sounds of it rushing towards Valery upon clawed feet drowned out all else.

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[Valery Noble]

Rhand

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

Too close.

Valery's attack had drawn its attention away from Rakaan, who recovered from the hit he took, but likely needed a moment to get up and ready to fight. The beast meanwhile charged at Valery, who was backing up a little to lure it away. Now that she had seen it fight, she felt confident that she could take it out even on her own. But it was far easier with the right help, and Rakaan was someone she could rely on.

So with her movements in retreat, she bought him the time to recover and return, so they'd trap the beast between them.

Soon enough, however, the creature was slashing wildly at Valery, trying to tear her apart with claws and feet, but the agile Jedi Master was not so easily struck down. She weaved between its attacks, sliced open a leg with a flourish of her weapon, and waited for the moment Rakaan returned.

The beast slammed down again, but this time Valery didn't move. She shifted her being into the Force and phased through its limb and body so that she ended up on the other side. The creature was brought off-balance by its claws digging hard into the dirt, and Rakaan was right behind it now.

"Finish it!"

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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Upright, Rakaan dashed across the open space towards the Sithspawn creature. The flash of a twirling violet with searing sparks were followed by a howling scream, bellowing in pain from the spittle filled mouth with rows upon rows of teeth. With his own blue ignited still, it whooshed and whirred with his hurried movement and began to groan and burn through thick hide once Rakaan landed atop the dense carapace that lined its back.

His lightsaber was left low, dragging and trailing and cutting in twain as the young Jedi Knight continued to barrel ever further along the spine of the beast until the screams of it came to a resounding end, the head sliced in two. Down the middle, burning wounds with a foul stench to match. Rakaan landed in front after an acrobatic feat, the light dust and dirt of the road kicking up in tandem with the slumped corpse.

"There," he said between breaths, "finished."

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[Valery Noble]

Rhand

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Rakaan Horne

The beast had cornered itself when it failed to slam down on the Jedi Master, and Rakaan was quick to take advantage of it. Staring at the top of its skull, the Jedi Knight's blade began carving its way through skin, bone, and flesh. The beast screamed at first but was silenced almost instantly when its head split apart by plasma. Its body hit the floor, burned and torn apart by lightsaber strikes, and for just a moment, there was a sense of relief.

"Well done," Valery said through her own breaths. "I think we-"

She stopped as loud roars echoed through the valley around them. Darkness seemed to surround them once more, and three more beasts appeared from different sides of the village. The Jedi were trapped in the middle, and slowly but surely, they were getting closer.

That would explain how so many villages had been destroyed so quickly.

"You've got to be kidding..." she muttered and turned her gaze to Rakaan. "You ready?" she asked while she brought up her double-bladed weapon again.

 

[Rakaan Horne]

RHAND - Valery Noble

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A bead of sweat upon his brow, careening ever downwards once the young Jedi Knight dismounted from his acrobatic feat and stood beside the searing corpse of a foul creature split apart. The beaming blue blade twirled about within his grasp with the emergence of three more creatures much the same as the last, drifting eyes crossing over them all. A sly smile stretched over his unconcerned lips, despite the fray he was thrown into moments before.

"As I'll ever be," said Rakaan with the three scuttling sound of encroaching beasts dancing atop knives. The hum of his lightsaber sang alive, flowing back and forth with each strike and screeching with every connection that both pierced and bounced over hardened armour-like skin.

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