Private Down, But Not Out

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

He found where the frayed wiring had been pulled from the board, gave it a cursory twist to tighten the end, then sighed.

“Everything has reason and purpose,” Elias said, lifting the disassembled beacon with a soft groan. He held it up for Valery to see. “Wiring’s come loose,” he explained flicking the cable with his finger to show her.

He pursed his lips as he thought of ways to reattach it, toting with the device while Valery set out to gather food. The next few hours were uneventful. The distant sound of the river made for excellent white noise, against which Elias could paint his thoughts. Without a soldering iron, there’s no way he could reattach the wiring… if only he grabbed a repair kit from their ship before the explosion. They were prepackaged loadouts containing various tools and pieces of equipment to help with ship repairs and upkeep on long patrols. Could one have survived the engine overload?

The sound of her voice pulled him from his plotting. He gave her a warm smile, one that only grew wider when he saw her catch.

"How are things here? You feeling okay?"

“I’m much better, now that you’re back,” he said. But when his words hit his own ears, he cleared his throat, adding, “with food.”

His stomach was rumbling, and while he wasn’t a stranger to fasting, he’d need all the energy he could get in his current state. Elias leaned forward, offering to help however he could with cleaning and cooking the fish. Years spent on his father’s wa’a kaulau gave Elias an impressive edge when it came to angling; As fast as Valery could spear and roast the fish, Elias was gutting them.

“So, I’ve got some good news… and some not so good news.”

He gave her a cautious side-eye, trying to gauge which she was in the mood for first.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

Valery blinked and looked at him for a moment when her return sparked some awkwardness. But with a chuckle and a grin, she shrugged it off and held up the food, "Wow, I'm glad you're happy to see the food," she teased before she made her way over and started preparing the food with his help. It would be a nice break from having to focus on a rather tough situation, and she figured staring at the electronics of a beacon would get boring after a while too.

That said, she was interested in hearing more about his progress.

"This should be a pretty good meal," Valery said when the fish was finally cooking, but her excitement for a meal faded a little when he mentioned both good and bad news.

"Just hit me with the bad news first," she said with a sigh. "I'd rather know what we're really dealing with, so we can work out a plan." Because as much 'fun' as it was to mess around and apply all of her survival training from New Cov again, she didn't want to stay here any minute longer than necessary

"So, what do you got for me?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

"I need a repair kit to fix the wiring," Elias said plainly, as if it were no big deal. But the coy smirk forming on his face told her there was more to it than just needing a repair kit.

"It's on the ship."

He eyed her nervously, knowing that a trek back to the ship that nearly became their grave was the last thing she wanted to do. But unless they could happen upon a naturally occurring soldering iron out in the jungle, their only bet was to rummage through the charred hull of their ship in hopes that the kit survived the blast.

"If I didn't think this was the only way, I wouldn't suggest it, but... we need to go back," he said. It didn't have to be now, or even today. In fact, he thought it would be best to eat their fill and rest before they ventured back out. In the morning, they could try their luck with the crash site. If nothing else, they could say they tried.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"You said you had good news as well," Valery grumbled, clearly displeased to hear that they have to head back to the crash site in order to fix the damn thing. It was the last place she wanted to be right now, but she did understand that they didn't really have any options. So with a defeated sigh, she sat back against the cave wall and took a bite from her food.

"If I didn't think this was the only way, I wouldn't suggest it... we need to go back,"

"I know," she assured him, "I just have a really bad feeling about being there. But if that's what it takes to activate the beacon, then we'll head back there first thing in the morning." She looked his way and briefly glanced out of the cave. "We'll eat up first, get some rest and then hopefully we've got some more energy again tomorrow."

She then paused for a moment and turned back to him.

"Do you think we should sleep in turns? Just to have one of us on watch duty?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Elias nodded, eating a bit of fish as he thought it over. She was right.

"Ugh… it’s probably for the best,” he groaned. “I’ll take first watch.” He raised a hand before Valery could comment.

“It’s the least I can do, for the delicious meal,” he mused with a boyish grin. Elias knew she’d protest, but he insisted. Besides, maybe few more hours alone with the beacon would get them closer to sending out an SOS. It was at least worth a try. Elias gave his friend a kind smile.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

She was about to protest when he raised his hand to stop her. Instead, she shot him a death glare but it faded quickly when he met it with a boyish grin. Valery still didn't like how much he was sacrificing himself for her, but as long as he woke her up in a few hours to get some rest himself, she'd be alright with it.

"Alright but try to take it easy, at least."

She gave him another look to make sure he would, before adjusting herself to be as comfortable as possible. Her eyes closed, her mind and heart calmed down, and she soon found herself falling asleep. Several hours passed and eventually Elias did wake her up to take over guard duty. This took the two Jedi into the next morning, and while Valery felt a lot better, there was something on her mind that she needed to share.

So as soon as Elias opened his eyes and got adjusted to the faint sunlight shining into their cave, she turned his way, "We have a problem," she told him before her gaze shifted out of the cave.

"We're no longer alone. I sense people... probably near the crash site." Either it was a rescue group of some kind or people looking for survivors, or they were dealing with the people who shot them down the day before.

"But you said it yourself, we don't really have an alternative." She got up to her feet, stretched a little and shot him a quick smirk, "Ready to get moving?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

The morning sun came much sooner than Elias had hoped, but with it came the company of a good friend and the vigor to recover their supplies from the wreckage. Her voice cut through his drowsiness, pulling his eyes to meet hers.

"A problem?" he repeated, listening as she shared her feelings. Elias closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and focused on his own connection to the world around him. It didn't take long for him to find the same tension in the Force that she had.

"I sense it, too," Elias told her, bracing himself on a boulder and rising to his feet. He grabbed his lightsaber.

"This ought to be fun," he said with a grin, stepping through the veil of greenery that secluded the cave from the jungle outside.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Fun?" Valery shook her head with a smirk and watched him rise up to his feet. She was still a bit worried about his physical state, so she was quick to step forward and get in front of him. "You're still pretty beat up, so I'll lead the way and take point if there's trouble." There was no arguing this if he wanted to survive another minute with her.

Valey then finally exited the cave and started to follow their path back, but along the water for as long as that was possible. It allowed them to clean up a little but the river provided a good escape route if necessary too.

Eventually, though, they were drawing close enough to vividly feel the emotions of the people at the crash site. There was confusion, but also a lot of anger from just about everybody there.

"I think it's trouble," Valery whispered before drawing the hilt of her weapon into her hand. "Ready to move in? I think a fast attack will overwhelm them, so they might surrender or retreat."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

“On your mark,” Elias said with a nod. When Valery launched the offensive, he followed suit without skipping a beat.

Elias dashed into the fray, cutting down a pair of pirates with incredible speed. His emerald blade slashed through a third man’s blaster, bisecting the barrel from the rest of the gun. The lull of confusion gave Elias a window to push him back with a burst of Force energy. With sharp eyes, Elias spotted the next pocket of enemies ahead and closed the distance between, furiously deflecting incoming blasterfire until he was upon them. In moments, they lay at his feet.

“Noble!” he called out, realizing he’d lost sight of her. The nearby hum of her lightsabers told him she had things under control. He cracked a grin, realizing how well they worked together. The polarizing harmony of Fire and Flood was an unmatched synergy. Why hadn’t he fought by her side before? Ahead, a wounded pirate stumbled around the wreckage with his hands up. His focus snapped to the man immediately.

“Come forward!” Elias yelled. He wanted to drop the scum where he stood, but he sensed the man would prove more useful alive than dead. It was time for answers.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Noble!"

Valery only briefly glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge his gaze with a quick grin. She had the battle under control on her side, and she felt that he wasn't in trouble either. They split the attention of their enemies carefully between them through silent communication through the Force, and took them down without too much difficulty.

They were armed to the teeth, but not properly trained.

So the more of them fell or were disarmed, the more chaotic they became in their defensive measures. Whatever structure they had in their positioning fell apart, and some of them even started running. As much as these people presented a type of evil, Valery would never kill when it wasn't necessary, and thus decided to let them go.

Especially because one of them stepped forward to surrender.

"I've got his weapon," Valery said before she raised a hand to summon the blaster pistol at his hip into her palm. The barrel was then crushed apart before she dropped it.

"Please, don't kill me! I won't fight back!" The man began, and Valery just rolled her eyes before speaking up herself. "How many more of you are out there?" she demanded.

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Elias stared holes through the pirate as he begged for mercy. They showed he and Valery no such kindness when they were busy shooting them down. He studied the man’s garb, looking for any notable insignia that might give his employer away; Black Sun, Eclipse, Kraken… those were only a few among the legion of syndicates faced by the RTL. He could be on anyone’s payroll.

“A d-dozen,” the pirate stammered. “We f-followed your ship.”

Elias stepped closer, his lightsaber humming intimidatingly. The man winced as the emerald blade came closer. He saw what the Jedi could do. He didn’t want to end up like his fallen comrades.

“Who do you work for?” Elias demanded.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

Valery could feel the tension in her friend, as he stared down the thug who surrendered. They hadn't shown any mercy and likely never would, but they were Jedi. They couldn't allow themselves to be as bloodthirsty as these people, so when one surrendered, they'd have to honor that.

No matter how difficult.

"A dozen left?" She looked at Elias and dipped her head, "I doubt they'll come back, then. We'd be far too dangerous for such a small group." But that still left one other issue unresolved — they needed to know who these people were working for, and Elias was quick to get on asking about it.

"I-if I tell you, t-they'll kill me!" he exclaimed, clearly scared for his life.

"You will be coming with us, so nobody is going to harm you. Tell us who is behind this." She demanded it this time, and subtly influenced his mind with the Force. Not to force him to speak, but to calm him down and keep him rational. He was caught, there was no way out, and telling the Jedi what they wanted would be the only way to reduce his sentence at all.

"We're just mercenaries..." he whined. "Hired by an Imperial Remnant warlord to assassinate you."

"Just us?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

“Is that so?” Elias asked, unimpressed by the hired gun. His skills in combat were decent enough, and he did manage to survive two Jedi. Mostly. If he hadn’t turned coat so easily, Elias would’ve recommended him for the Rangers. The kid had guts.

“Two dozen mercs is all they sent? For two Jedi? Not a very bright tactician…” Then it dawned on him. Sure, a halfway decent intelligence corps could track RTL patrols this side of the Sanrafsix. But Elias and Valery being on duty here was privileged information. He glared at the merc.

“Who are you working for?” he demanded again. But it wasn’t the warlord he was interested in. If confidential Jedi movements were leaking, they had a mole to deal with. Someone within the League, or worse, the Coalition.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Two dozen mercs is all they sent? For two Jedi? Not a very bright tactician…"

"W-we figured the crash would have killed you both already!" He sputtered, realizing that Elias wasn't all too convinced by what he was trying to tell the man. But he was just a simple lackey, meant to be muscle for the group, rather than its brain. Most of the work he did, he didn't understand the bigger plan behind it.

He just did his part of the job, got paid, and did it all over again the next time.

Then, Elias turned back to the captive, and asked a question that had his eyes widen. "I-I don't know! I just follow orders. Maybe you can find out more at one of our ships, though. The squad lead is the only one who communicates with the war lord." Surely he'd have the answers!

"Please, don't kill me."

Valery perked a brow and turned to Elias, "He's not lying, I can feel it. Our best shot is to find information at their ship, or capture their squad leader if we haven't killed him already. Then get the beacon going, and make our way out of here."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Elias shrugged sarcastically, flashing a snide grin to the merc.

"Seems it's your lucky day," he said. But the headhunter wasn't getting away so easily. Elias noticed the blinking comlink on his belt. He held his hand forward, pulling the device from its holster and crushing it in his fist. He wouldn't be relaying anything to his superiors anytime soon. Elias eyed the man over one last time, judging if he'd survive without help in the jungles until reinforcements arrived for him. He had some burns from returned blaster shots, but nothing dire. He'd make it.

"Run," Elias said grimly. They were racing the clock now. He figured they had a fair amount of time to get the beacon active and signal for help, but even without his comlink, the survivor would be running as fast as he could to report. Not wasting a moment of their head start, Elias stepped past Valery and carefully began scaling the charred hull of the ship.

The repair kits were stored in the cargo hold, along with the beacon. It didn't take him long to find his prize. Among the burned metal and wires was a single kit, scared by flame but otherwise intact. Elias smiled to himself, passing on a silent thanks to the Force that had once again prevailed over hardship and evil. He emerged from the ship with the kit in hand, holding it high above his head like a trophy.

"One left," he called to Valery with a grin. "We're on the downhill slide, now."

It wouldn't take long to repair the beacon. Elias had identified the faulty circuits the night before. He just needed a bit of time and some patience to get the device operational. He suspected the League would already be scouting their original route, being they'd gone nearly two days without a proper check-in. Getting an evac from the jungle world would be a walk in the park.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

Valery was a little bit relieved when Elias told the man to run. She had felt the conflict in her friend, but ultimately, he did the right thing. That thug wasn't going to be a problem to then anymore, and if they got their hands on the repair kit they needed, they'd be out of here in no time. She was already looking forward to being able to take a hot bath, relax and spend some time doing whatever she felt like. Perhaps a little bit selfish, but she felt like it was earned after all of this.

"Alright, let's go," Valery then said, as they moved towards the ship. Again, she didn't quite like seeing him go in there alone to retrieve the repair kit, but he was the one who knew what to look for. The danger from before wasn't really there anymore either, so she just accepted it, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and waited.

Until she heard him call out.

"Good, I'm so ready to leave this place and never come back." She smirked and waited for him to join her again, before turning back around. "Once make it back, I'm going to catch up at home, but let's meet again soon, alright? I think I still owe you a visit to Bogano."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

"I'd like that," Elias answered with a smile. His golden eyes flashed at the prospect of a new friendship to explore.

He expected a new slough of League business to tend to, now that a powerful Imperial had revealed himself, but he'd always have time for Valery and the enclave on Bogano. And with the repair kit in hand, a trip back to his enclave seemed to be waiting just around the corner. He found a decent place to sit and began repairing the wiring.

"Shame we have to be shot down over uncharted territory to catch up with each other." He flashed her a cheeky grin. "I wouldn't have had it any other way, though. It's good to know there's someone out there who's got my back."

He worked as he pondered the recent renaissance experienced by the Jedi now that Exegol had fallen. It was important to Elias for the galaxy's Jedi to stand firmly beside one another. New Jedi, the Coalition, the Silvers... it didn't matter. They were all brothers and sisters in the Force, and only by working together could they hope to bring peace and order to the galaxy. A green light blinked to life on the face of the beacon, cutting off the reflective silence that had befallen the pair.

"Phoenix 1, this is Gold Team, do you copy? We have the coordinates from your distress signal, please respond." Elias rushed to answer the comms.

"This is Phoenix! I'm here with Master Noble of the NJO. We've got the beacon here, near the crash site."

"Copy that, we have a visual."

He looked up to spot a League shuttle swooping in through the misty sky above, then flashed Valery a triumphant grin. They were found, this time by friends rather than foes.

"Let's get off this rock, shall we?"

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