Private Decloaking

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

For a moment, it was as if Valery lived in a world completely separate from his own — she was blankly staring ahead of herself, those fiery eyes lost in the thick flora that surrounded them. It had happened before on missions between them, but only when she was in deep focus on something that bothered her greatly. Only when Aldric directly addressed her, Valery snapped back to the present and turned his way.

"I'm okay. There's just so much darkness here... it's sickening." Color began to slowly return to her skin again, as she blocked out the Dark Side with mental barriers, but she still looked a little too on edge for what he'd be used to seeing from her. As if she was still trying to figure something out.

But with Aldric nudging her in the direction of the Temple, Valery just nodded in agreement and began to move while she tried to piece it all together. Not long after, she had her conclusion, "We're not alone in here," she said, as her brows furrowed and her eyes shifted up to look at him. Her expression made it clear she didn't know much more than that, but it also showed that it worried her a little.

Slowly and carefully, the couple continued to walk, the Temple getting ever closer and thus far, they hadn't encountered anything that made it feel like they were being looked for. The shuttle was still flying overhead from time to time, but there was no way it could see them down below. After a few more moments, however, Valery suddenly stopped and looked back at Aldric, "Did you hear tha-"

A sudden rustling from a nearby bush alerted Valery to danger, and as she turned around to face it, she spotted a long, thick vine with thorns extending rapidly toward her. Before she had a lightsaber out, it latched around her leg and pulled so hard that her back slammed against the ground. She yelped in pain but despite it all, a violet blade ignited so she could attempt to cut herself free. But with the vine shaking heavily as it pulled her towards the bushes, she couldn't risk trying to sever it without potentially cutting off her own leg. "Gaaahhh! Let Go!" Whether Aldric tried to help or not, another vine was slowly slithering up from behind him as well, looking to ensnare him...

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"It's not like any forest I've seen, that's for sure." Even a non-sensitive like Aldric could sense the unease this palace brought about. There was a thich, suffocating atmosphere that made one feel ill. "You'll tell me if it becomes too much?" It was a question, but it was phrased more like a command. He didn't want to risk it.

They trekked onward to the temple, occasionally harried by the passing scout, but it never caught sight of them. "Yeah. I was getting that sense," Aldric droned. With the sort of influence that temple was exerting, whatever else might be in here was either a servant of the dark, or corrupted by it.

Then, came a rustling. Before Aldric could even respond, Valery was yanked to the ground by a large vine, "Val!" He immediately ran to try and catch her as it pulled the Jedi away, but suddenly found himself tripped to the ground, face first. He sputtered, and was yanked back himself, "W-woah!" They were both dragged along the forest floor, unable to get free. Aldric managed to grab his pistol, and fired a few shots at the vine grabbing Valery. The first few missed, but a well placed shot struck it. Whether or not it dropped Valery, he couldn't tell, because he was soon pulled through a mess of foliage, and lifted up into the air by his leg.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

At the question that hardly really felt like one, Valery paused and turned to him for a moment. She had always been the type to downplay injuries or problems, in favor of focusing on helping others. But now that she had people so close to her, she couldn't do that anymore — she couldn't worry them like that. So without arguing, she offered a faint but loving smile and nodded. If something were to happen, he'd be the first to know.

But as they moved further, their first problem hit them hard real fast.

After being slammed against the ground, Valery rolled onto her stomach and tried to hold onto branches, vines, rocks, or anything that could keep her from being dragged away. But there was no grip to be found, and as she turned to look at Aldric, she watched him drop down as well. "Aldric!" she called back, and despite his situation, he managed to fire off a few shots that set Valery free. There was no time to waste, so rather than moving closer to help him, she threw her lightsaber in a wide arc to slice through the vines that kept him down, but without risking taking his life in the process.

"The plant is being manipulated!" Valery then called out, as she felt the darkness seep out from the flora around them. What it truly meant was that they really weren't alone — someone was closer than they thought, and turning this corrupted stretch of the forest against them.

Now with her blade drawn back into her hand, she ignited her second lightsaber as well, and stood her ground defensive, cutting away through vines as they came at her. "Do you see where these vines are coming from?!" There had to be a 'head' or some kind of central point somewhere, right?

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric felt the blood rushing to his head as he was lifted upside down, struggling to reorient himself amid the chaos. His pistol slipped out of his grasp and into the bushes below, and before the agent knew it, there was a flash of violet, and painful thud as he hit the forest floor.

"Ugh," Aldric grumbled, rubbing his back as he stood up. Part of the vine that had grabbed him was laying on the ground, near the discarded pistol, which he quickly snatched up once more. Valery confirmed that there was more to this than an angry vegetable; Somebody was controlling it.

"I got it!" Aldric said, having gotten a sense for where the vine was coming from when it lifted him into the air. He charged ahead, pushing through a thicket of branches and eventually finding a large plant bud. Vines were whipping out of and around it, but before he could raise his pistol for a shot, the agent was thrown back, skidding on the ground. A hooded figure had appeared, stepping between them and the plant, but made no moves.

"Who the hell's this guy?" Aldric asked Valery, looking for some confirmation that he was more than just some tryhard goon. Which, given the circumstances, he assumed he already knew the answer to.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

"You okay?" Valery called out after he fell down once the vines that had gripped around his leg were severed by her lightsaber. But with him quickly scrambling back up to his feet and reaching for his pistol, she already had her answer and rushed over to stand together with him. Her lightsabers made it easy to cut away the tendrils coming for them, and his pistol would be ideal to end the threat from afar.

The only question that remained was the location of the plant bud, which Aldric had seemingly spotted during his time up in the air. He immediately rushed towards it in an attempt to neutralize it but before he could, something shoved him back, and a hooded figure finally revealed himself quietly, his darkness, beating against their minds.

"I don't think this is our main guy but be careful..." Perhaps he had an apprentice or just worked with another Dark sider, but she could feel his sinister intentions and knew it meant trouble. Less than a second later, the figure stepped forward and raised a hand.

"You shouldn't have come. There is no way out." All around them, the already thick vegetation began to rapidly grow, thereby blocking off paths they could have taken to advance or retreat. The plants felt and looked unnatural, with thick thorns and strange poisons dripping out from their tips.

"I'll get him up close, cover me," Valery said and as she rushed towards their target, thick vines rapidly extended at her from several directions, attempting to wrap themselves around all of her limbs and bury into her skin and flesh with their thorns. She was ready to cut away some of them, but hoped Aldric had her back as well.

Aldric Laurent

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"I'm good, I'm good," Aldric assured, brushing off some of the burrs and vegetable matter that had clung to his clothes. However their trouble still remained, as the Dark Jedi appeared from behind cover to present himself. It was highly doubtful that their main target was all the way out here himself. But this one was still trouble, "Got it."

The darksider warned them of their coming death, manipulating the plant life around them once more to cut off the Jedi and the agent. Valery charged ahead, leaving Aldric to offer covering fire. He grabbed his pistol and began to fire, taking a few shots at the attack vines, but also at the darksider himself. The latter was a bigger target, and easier to hit. With luck, it would cause his focus to waver. "Watch out!" Aldric said, only to be attacked by another vine. It whipped overhead, forcing him to duck down. It then wrapped around his wrist, pulling a hand aside and skewing his ability to aim.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

With quick and precise sweeps of her blades, Valery cut down several thorned vines that were coming for her and left those Aldric targeted alone. Through the bond she felt with him, she knew exactly what he was going to do, moments before it happened. It made it easy for her to understand which vines would be shot, and which ones she needed to clear. With some pressure on their enemy at the same time, she was quickly closing the distance.

But that's when their situation changed.

Right as Aldric's hand was pulled away, and his aim was disrupted, he'd watch a vine suddenly whip around, and shoot up into Valery's stomach to impale her. It lifted her now lifeless body off the ground, and slammed it back down, leaving her a bloody mess on the jungle floor.

"You can't stop it."​

The sudden sound of two lightsabers clashing pulled Aldric out of whatever he had just seen, leaving only that dark voice to echo in his mind. Ahead of him, Valery had engaged the Dark Sider, and there were no signs of any injuries on her body. Something or someone had affected his mind to create the illusion of her death, and it wasn't the hooded figure in the woods. But whoever it was, the emotions he forced into Aldric's mind would feel so real.

"Babe!" Her voice called out to him, unintentionally assuring him of her safety. "Get close to me!" She then added, as more and more vines were closing in on them from all directions. She wanted his help to fight this Dark Jedi, and she had an idea to handle the vines as well.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric fought against the vine, planting his boots in the dirt as it tried to drag him away. It's supernatural strength nearly threw the agent down, but he managed to seize his combat knife, and hack into the stem, freeing himself. It was only a moment later that he swung back around and saw his worst nightmare. "VAL!" He cried out in shock and anguish, suddenly finding the strength to fight sapped out of him. His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the jungle floor.

Time seemed to move in slow motion, yet it was only a few moments before the sound of lightsabers thrusted Aldric back into the present, where he saw, "...Val?" There she was. Untouched. In a duel with their opponent. None of it made any sense to him. At this point he could no longer tell which of the two visions was a trick, but desperately chose to cling to the hope offered by that which was now in front of him.

Aldric rushed forward with a battle cry, firing a barrage of shots at the Darksider, trying to take out his anger on the figure he thought responsible.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Something felt terribly wrong.

While she fought and continued to pressure their enemy with overwhelming barrages of attacks, Valery heard Aldric's scream behind her and felt the powerful emotions behind them through the Force. They carried the intense kind of pain, similar to what she felt when Kahlil died, and it worried her greatly. They were both alright, and she was already gaining the upperhand against their opponent. Why did she feel such crippling pain from deep within his heart?

"Aldric!" She called back, not realizing what was going on but she still felt an overwhelming desire to assure him, even though they were winning this battle.

Hearing him approach from behind, filled with anger and opening fire at the Dark Jedi, Valery took the opportunity to Force push the enemy back, before dashing towards Aldric. Her hand reached for his arm, her touch confirming she was no illusion, and she tried to keep him close while his blaster fire forced the Dark Jedi into a defensive stance. All around them, the temperature was suddenly rising rapidly but only close to Valery, it was still bearable.

"Take him down!" She then called out, as the air around them suddenly ignited in powerful flames, instantly burning away the vines that were closing in, and destroying everything that stood in their way. Such sudden loss of his connection to the twisted world around him left the enemy momentarily dazed, making him a much easier target.

She felt confident now that they could end this fight, but what she wanted most was to help Aldric, find out what happened to him, and most importantly, make sure he was alright.

Aldric Laurent

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric closed to the distance while the heat rose around him. Beside Valery, it dissipated, only for the rest of the area to explode with flame. The corrupted plant life was incinerated, and the Dark Jedi was left recoiling. Aldric wasted no time firing a pair of shots into his center mass, making the hooded man collapse back. But he wasn’t done; Stepping forward, Aldric unloaded a barrage of rounds into the body, even after he was decidedly dead.

The pistol vented, and he shakily lowered it to his side, “Go to hell.” His experiences with dark side influence were limited, and he was wholly unprepared for the effect it thrust upon his mind. Aldric took a deep breath, and looked back at Valery, skepticism still lingering on his face, as if what he saw wasn’t making any sense.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

The corrupted forest around them had erupted in flames, killing the aggressive vines and plants instantly, yet this intense fire didn't remotely threaten the couple who stood in the center of it all. Valery remained focused on keeping the fire away and even killing it again, but Aldric's mind was already turning to something else, still filled with anger. Two bolts were fired and both connected with the Dark Jedi's chest, who collapsed onto his back.

He was dead.

Now that she no longer felt his stain on the Force, Valery's muscles finally relaxed but tensed up again quickly when an unexpected shot was fired, and another... and another. Her eyes widened as she turned to Aldric, who unloaded everything he had into the man's body until the barrel of his pistol was glowing hot and smoking. He then took a deep breath to compose himself, but she could still feel something lingering inside and stepped closer.

"...hey love?" she asked, not scared but definitely surprised. "Is everything okay?" She seemed very worried about him and disengaged her weapon so she could reach out and take his hands to offer that familiar, soft and comforting touch.

"What happened?"

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric took another deep breath, shutting his eyes for those few long moments as he grounded himself. No illusions. No tricks. She was really here now. As Valery took his hand he looked up at her, then to the body with an ambivalent expression. "That creep… He… I don't know. He messed with my head… Made me see… It looked like you got killed." Aldric powered through, as if saying it was painful enough on its own.

"But you're okay. And he's gone now," The agent sighed, and checked his weapon, which thankfully hadn't overheated to the point of uselessness. "...We should get out of here," It seemed he was quite ready to move on.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Valery was completely quiet while she looked into his emerald eyes. They were always a familiar source of comfort and strength to her but right now, they felt very different. Aldric went on to explain what happened to him, what he was forcefully shown and what he felt, and Valery's expression immediately showed a great deal of conflict. She was worried about it, angered that someone did that to him, but there was also a faint blush when she felt his relief about her safety.

She wasn't quite sure what to say or do, so she did the one thing she felt was right, and wrapped her arms around him. Not for too long, but long enough for him to also draw on her strength. Through the Force, she was already beginning to shield his mind, but she wanted to be someone he could rely on for support not related to her jedi skills as well.

"When this is over, come live with me..." She suddenly blurted out after pulling back, her face a deeper shade of red now. She had planned to wait until they were away from this planet, but she couldn't after what just happened.

She had to ask him.

"Let's find the man responsible for everything we've been fighting, for what just happened to you, and head back home together." She smiled faintly, also ready to move on, and waited for his response before heading towards the Temple.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric stewed in his mental conflict for a few moments longer, and nearly turned to step away, until Valery pulled him into an embrace. He blinked, then reciprocated, giving himself a chance to lean on her for support. It was a quiet moment, that did more to ease his mind than could be expressed. The illusion was nothing more than that: An illusion. This was the real Valery, unmistakable.

She pulled away, and struck him with a new offer, seemingly out of nowhere. He blinked again, processing the question… and then gave his answer by pulling her into a kiss. It was brief, but filled with the passion of one who had thought his loved one lost just a few moments before. Aldric pulled away, and smiled, "...Okay." The agent redrew his pistol, filled with a second wind of determination, and turned to the Temple with his partner in tow.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"I love you..." Valery whispered softly when she felt him lean into her, his face resting against her thick hair. She kept him in that tight embrace for a long moment, so they both could find their comfort with each other, but then pulled back nervously when she made her offer. He remained quiet for a few seconds, but eventually gave his answer when he pulled her into a kiss. Valery's eyes closed and all of her nervousness faded away instantly, as she melted into their kiss.

When the kiss broke, she finally spotted a smile again and already felt he was doing better. They would still have some things to talk about, such as where they would live, but bringing the offer out there was the most important step.

They were going to live together.

"Let's end this," Valery said before she pushed forward with him. The rest of the path toward the old Sith temple was without obstacles, and they soon found themselves on the edge of a cliff, not too far away, but high up enough to give them a perfect view of what they were up against. The shuttle that had been circling the sky above them was landing, and there were some guards down below as well. Only a handful, though.

Vaguely, she also spotted a few soldiers in darker armor, but she couldn't quite see much more. "Hey, babe? Can you get a better view of what's down there with your glasses? The more we know, the safer it'll be."

But as he began to look, he'd hear that voice again, but much fainter this time, and without its manipulative strength because of Valery's shielding.

"You can't stop it."​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"I love you, too."

And with that, they were off. The remaining trek was unimpeded, until they reached a sheer cliff face that overlooked the temple. A few general shapes could be made out, and as instructed, Aldric pulled out his glasses to get a better look. "A few guards on patrol. Some other guys, not sure what their deal is but they mean business. All pretty well-equipped." Given the lucrative business they were in, that was unsurprising.

That voice crept through once more, albeit much more dampened. Aldric grimaced, "I think someone knows we're here. There's some voice trying to speak to me. Must be whoever was giving me those visions." He realized.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"Nothing we can't handle," Valery said despite his comment about them being well-equipped and ready. She had fought alongside Aldric more than enough to know what they were capable of together, and after what happened in the forest earlier, there was an even more intense focus in them both.

Valery then looked at Aldric and frowned when he brought up the voice, She had tried her best to block everything out of his mind, but somehow it managed to slip through the cracks. As long as he wasn't mentally tortured by more illusions or visions, she knew he'd be alright though. "They definitely know we're here. They've sensed us and..." she looked back at the forest she had set ablaze earlier. "Pretty sure I alerted them as well with the flames."

It had still been the most effective method to destroy all those corrupted vines, but it definitely didn't help here. The only bit of relief was that they'd never know from which angle the two would strike, and when.

"Alright, time to go but we're not going to slowly walk down there." She flashed a grin that meant trouble and reached out with her hand to telekinetically carry him around with her again, while she hopped her way down from heights no ordinary person could survive. When she finally came down all the way, she began to crouch a little and moved up towards a large pillar of stone at the outer perimeter. "I'll draw their fire if you can cover me and take them out. Be careful and keep your eyes on those armored few... I have a weird feeling about them."

She wasn't sure why she told him all of this, but she always had a tendency to give detailed 'briefings' - something her Padawans and Kahlil had teased her about plenty of times before. But now that they were ready, she jumped out of cover and dashed across the distance to a nearby target, who was swiftly taken out by her violet blade. It sparked a lot of others to turn to her and open fire.

Those in black armor had not yet engaged but were moving in.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"Whoever this guy is, he's no joke, then," If his influence could spread so far, then this Darksider was not to be trifled with. Aldric looked back at the scorched grove when V pointed it out, "That too," He admitted with a shrug, and a smirk.

By this point, Aldric had come to expect Valery's unorthodox strategies, and hardly raised a finger when she began to manipulate the Force around him. The descent still had him wiggling with discomfort, but they made it down no worse for wear, as usual. He shook it off, and joined her behind cover, "I've got you covered."

As soon as Val moved in, Aldric leapt out to fire a series of quick shots at the defending guards. The first few were so focused on the Jedi, they didn't even realize someone else was picking them off on the side. But eventually a few took notice, forcing Aldric to take cover. He managed to spare a glance at the dark figures from the corner, and pulled out a thermal detonator in hand. He waited for a lapse in gunfire, before activating it and tossing it towards the mystery enforcers.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Cloak of the Sith

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"I've got you covered."

He didn't even really need to say it — she knew he'd have her back. But still, she always liked hearing his support as well, so she couldn't hide a faint smile when she finally engaged the enemy. With incredibly quick and graceful movements, she dashed from one enemy guard to another, her blades dancing along to strike them down if Aldric didn't already get them. But with their element of surprise soon fading, she knew he'd be pressured as well, and that meant she'd need to add more pressure in return.

The more they were forced to focus on her, the easier it would be for him to pick them off.

Slowly but surely, the enemy numbers were dwindling, but their new positions made progress go slower. They forced Aldric into cover, and a couple of dark armored figures now made their approach. To meet them with power, Aldric tossed a thermal detonator towards them, which got them to spread out right before the blast caught them. Some were thrown around, but all but one seemed fine — their armor was incredibly strong.

"Moving in on them!" Valery called but as she got closer, they leveled their weapons and rather than blaster fire, huge flames erupted from their weapons, threatening to consume the Jedi Master. In response, Valery channeled her connection to fire again to force the flames to wrap around her, but the threat wasn't over. From a balcony on the Ziggurat, a quick and powerful surge of lightning lashed out at Valery from the fingertips of the Dark Jedi and caught her torso. A yelp of pain followed as she was launched back across the wet stone, and landed on her back with some smoke rising from her body.

She was still mostly fine, however, and rolled backward and onto her feet again, now crossing her blades to block the next surge. But this fight was getting a lot more difficult. "So many..." she muttered to herself, as she looked at the armored soldiers standing between her and the Dark Jedi.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Valery was doing an excellent job of maintaining pressure, keeping Aldric from ever getting too overwhelmed by blaster fire. It was easy to pull someone's focus, when you're jumping around swinging colorful blades that can cut through anything.

The darkly-armored figures weren't deterred by her or him, though. His detonator only managed to take out one, which made Aldric grimace, "Damn." Definitely well-equipped. Further proven by the gouts of flame that they launched towards Valery. Insticitivcely Aldric lurched forward, but he restrained himself. She was an adept pyrokinetic, and that was no different now. Still, the use of fire rather than conventional weapons, seemed to indicate that this unit was specifically designed to counter Jedi and other Force-users. At least, that was Aldric's working theory.

Then, a bolt of lighting came from seemingly out of nowhere, and that did get Aldric to launch out of cover. A few grunts fired on him, forcing the agent to slide behind a stack of crates for a new position, "The hell?" He peeked out to spot the figure on the ziggurat, and from there the pieces fell into place, "The big guy himself showing up?" Aldric muttered over at Valery, before reaching down to grab one of the automatic weapons from a downed soldier. He then leapt out to offer coverign fire, mowing down a whole group of them in a barrage of bolts.

Valery Noble​