Private Going Down — Valery Noble

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

"No... I can't..." she tried to tell him, but even just talking was unbearably painful at this point. He likely didn't know, but Valery had helped several Jedi recover their Force-sensitivity, but there was a lot to it. She had taken both Kahlil and Amani on journeys to help them, but both had their own trials to face without her as well. No matter what she'd tell him, there was no easy path to recover it, but she knew where to start. "I-"

"Shut up, would you?!"

She shut up very quickly and looked confused for a moment after she realized that he wasn't talking to her. But nobody else was there, right? Or had her senses been so disturbed by the torture, that she may have missed one of his lackeys? Whatever it was, Valery only felt more concerned now. Only a madman would inflict this kind of torment on another living being, but somehow he felt even crazier to her. Even more unpredictable.

Danton then returned and continued to circle her, the bloodied whip still in his hand. Valery cringed and shook just at the sight of it, but nothing would get him to stop. Not until he felt like he had gained what he desired the most, and she still was refusing to help. So without an answer to his question, he struck her again, and again.

The ferocity of his strikes and the hatred behind it was growing with every hit, and little by little, it was starting to break Valery down. Not just physically, but mentally as well. She wanted it to end. It had to end. Before it was too late. Before she'd never be able to see the people she loved again. Tears began to roll down from her eyes, and as he screamed at the top of his lungs, demanding for answers, Valery finally cracked.

"Sp-Spintir..." she cried, her voice frail and breaking apart along with her mind. There was a lot more she could tell him, but she was strong enough to resist. Allowing just a little to slip would hopefully get him to stop. For now. But whether he did or not, the pain and loss of blood finally took its toll on the Jedi Master, whose vision darkened until she slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

 

[Danton]

Danton froze as she spoke the word. His whip fell short from her back, electricity crackling, desperate for more flesh to bleed. "What?"

His breathing was labored and sweat beaded on his forehead. She'd spoken a name. No, a planet. Spintir was a quiet trade world tucked in the Outer Rim and according to his master's intel, home to a Jedi temple. Was that where they housed the secrets to recovering their Force sensitivity? Were they hoarding some mysterious Force artifact? The news rattled him.

Danton staggered back into the wall. Blood dribbled from the whip onto the floor. He'd no idea how such little information could benefit him, but it was a start, and as he looked upon Valery's slumped and unconscious body, he felt a flicker of hope. He was getting somewhere. Finally, she was beginning to crack. Given time, what other secrets might she reveal?

Forget it, said a voice. You're wasting time. What she's said is enough. Kill her now and be done with this. Set a beacon and leave her corpse for her loved ones to find.

Danton shook his head. "No, no. I still need her. I still need to learn more. I…" He wiped a hand over his face. "I need to think alone. Yes, alone."

He staggered out of the cell. Several of his lackeys waited, armed with their own weapons and blasters stolen from the asylum, and watched him with stunned expressions. He was a clammy bundle of nerves, whispering under his breath to voices no one else could hear.

"Watch her," he ordered them with a hiss. "Tell me when she stirs. Any of you lay a hand on her without my say so, and you lose it."

Without another word, Danton strode into a separate room and shut the door at his back. He paced around it, his eyes bleary and bloodshot. His knuckles were bone-white from having held the whip so hard and blood drenched his fingers. Horror shook through him. Disgust. Terror. Then, something else, and as he clutched his head, he laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

She had already told him too much.

Deep inside, even in her state of unconsciousness, Valery felt immense guilt for offering him this information. Spintir was a sanctuary she had used to help others recover their Force-sensitivity in the past. But more recently, she had joined her husband to encourage Jedi to go on pilgrimages, and Spintir was one of many locations they offered. What if a Jedi went there and ran into Danton and his people?

She'd never be able to forgive herself for it.

"On it, boss," one of the lackeys then said, after they were given clear instructions to just watch her. But the second Danton left, one of them stepped into the cell with Valery and just looked at her. With every passing second, the muscles in his face tensed up more, and anger began to flash in his eyes. His own demons were talking to him inside his mind, forcing him to act against better judgment.

So, he stepped forward.

"Hey, the boss said-"

"Shut up. Do you have any idea what she did to my squad?" He pinched her cheeks between two fingers and raised her chin, just to look into her unconscious eyes. His hatred wasn't nearly as strong as Danton's, but he wanted to finish the job here and now. The boss already had what he wanted, right? "I just don't understand why he's keeping her alive. It would be so easy to..." His hand slipped down around her throat and began to apply some pressure.

"That's enough." The other guard pulled him back, causing the man to grumble and clench his jaw before he backed off and walked out of the cell. "He's going to be the death of us all."

...
Many hours passed, but eventually, Valery's eyes fluttered open to the same, dark cell. Her body somehow ached even more, and with a series of groans and coughs, she finally understood where she was again. Danton wasn't with her anymore, but the guards quickly noticed that she was awake instead.

"Boss?! She's awake."

Valery gritted her teeth and stared down at the ground, as tears formed in her eyes. She had told him too much.

 

[Danton]

Danton didn't sleep. For untold hours, he spoke to himself, thoughts racing in his mind. A rational man would've murdered Valery and fled before anyone else was the wiser, disguising his tracks and drawing the Jedi to this place while he cut a path to an unsuspecting Spintir. But he was not a rational man. He was just a hollow, desperate husk of one.

He wanted more. He needed more.

At one of his lackey's call, Danton turned. He strode from the room like a dark cloud, brushing past several of his men before coming upon Valery stirring in her cell. They locked eyes. He saw the despair in her gaze, the defeat. She knew she'd said too much. What she didn't know was just how much more he was going to make her say.

"Well," he said, walking into her cell. "Look who's up again. Dream of anything else this time?"

He dragged out a seat and planted himself in it. Leaning forward, he clasped his hands and stared at Valery, his face half-cast in shadow and flickering firelight.

"Let's not waste time. Spintir. I know what it is. I know about the temple you keep there. Tell me how I can recover my Force bond there, or I will take my friends and find a Jedi who will tell me." He laced his fingers together. "Who knows? Maybe it will be a Padawan I come upon. Maybe they'll be just as brave as you."

"And maybe I'll have to break them, too. Maybe I'll offer them the same hospitality I've shown you. Unless you do us all the kindness of giving me what I need. Save everyone the bother. Save yourself the misery."

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

"Look who's up again. Dream of anything else this time?"

The pain and despair in her eyes briefly faded, as anger flashed through them instead. But as much as she wanted to snap back, she decided against it. Ever since the torture started, she felt as if he was turning increasingly more violent and insane, which made her wonder just how unpredictably he could lash out if she were to push the wrong buttons. In order to survive, she had to stay strong and not provoke him too much.

"You won't-" she coughed, winced, and trembled as a shock of pain echoed through her body. "...find another Jedi able to help you," she continued, "If you kill me... that's it," she said as a warning, and for the most part she was right. The only other Jedi who she believed would be able to help him, was the one she hoped would be coming for her right now. Kahlil had discovered much of his path to recovery alone, with their trip to Spintir only being one part of it.

But if Kahlil found them now... with her like this...

"I've told you enough," she then hissed, another hint of her anger flashing through when he mentioned hurting a Padawan. "You're not getting more out of me, you sadistic-" she bit her lower lip and held herself back from saying more. He'd either only enjoy it, or use it as fuel to cause even greater harm.

"You'll never be strong enough to hurt people again."

 

[Danton]

At Valery's last word, Danton groaned. He hated this. Her spite and bravado. Allowing her to rest had given her a chance to recover, a mistake he would not be making again.

With a beckoning wave, one of his lackeys stepped forward. Rings adorned his fingers like a second pair of knuckles. Black iron, gleaming in the firelight. At Danton's signal, the man cracked his fist across Valery's face. Danton had enough of beating the daylights out of her. Now, it was time he let his men beat the hope from her, too. A small reward for their loyalty.

"I'm tired of these games, Valery. Aren't you?" He sighed. Another brandish of his finger, and his man slammed a second armored fist into her stomach. A bone-breaking blow. "When I ask a question, I expect a proper answer. Not whatever useless nonsense you keep feeding me."

Danton leaned forward, almost sick with hate.

"You know, I heard about Vera's capture at the hands of Darth Carnifex. Plucked from her own home like nothing. Careless, weren't you?" He tsked and shook his head in mock disappointment. "Say, what would happen, you think, if I got my hands on your little ones? The triplets? I'm sure Kahlil is too busy trying to find you than to protect them."

Darkness filled in his gaze. "Can you imagine what I might do?"

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

Valery's eyes turned to the man he beckoned over, and even though she couldn't sense his intent through the Force with the nullifying bindings on, she knew what was about to happen. She braced herself for it, but as the fist with metal rings was slammed into her face, shockwaves of pain passed through her body. Her world was spinning now, she could feel her bones bending, and her muscles tearing, and she knew that she wasn't going to keep it up for long.

Above and around her eyes, the rings had cut her open, causing a stream of blood to run down the side of her face. Valery could barely open her left eye now, but she still looked up into his eyes with that defiant flame.

"I'm-" she screamed in pain as the air was forced out of her lungs by another punch, and this time, she could swear that she felt her lower ribs shattering. She coughed up more blood and curled up as much as her restraints allowed her to. But even that didn't last very long, as the brute grabbed her ponytail by the base and pulled her head back up.

"Look at him when he's talking to you," he said, clearly enjoying himself now that he was able to inflict some pain on the Jedi who had been a thorn in the ass for many of his kind.

Danton then leaned closer, and despite her pain, intense anger flashed through her eyes when he mentioned her kids. Her babies. Even the nullifying bindings strained against the kind of force she wanted to unleash, but after a few seconds, she forced herself to calm down and looked him in the eyes.

"If you..." she coughed again. "Even try to get to them, he'll kill you." Spoken like a threat and with a strength that had left her ever since the torture began.

"That, I can imagine."

 

[Danton]

Danton wiped a hand over his face. He wanted to be angry again. He wanted to break another rib, to lash her back until he saw bone, but physical torture wasn't working. She was too strong for that. Her blind defiance even now was proof enough.

"Fine," he said. "Keep stalling. Make your threats. In the end, you will break like the others, and that I don't have to imagine." He waved at his other lackey. "Get it. Now."

With a reluctant nod, one of the men left the cell. In less than a minute, he returned with a pitch-black container, handing it delicately over to Danton. He held it in both arms.

"You may have heard this story once, Master Noble. Of a moon called Dizon Fray and a species there once known as Dizonites. You see, they'd been heavily resistant to the Empire under Emperor Palpatine, and as it always was with the Imperials, they decided it would be easier to wipe them all out than try and reason with them. To commit genocide rather than negotiate."

"So, as proof of their mission, Imperial soldiers documented the massacre, and as they laid waste to their settlements, they recorded the choral, agonizing screams of Dizonite younglings. Children. It was a horrifying thing. Worse, even, as anyone who's listened to their screams, including the Imperials responsible, were reported to have driven shortly into madness."

Danton popped open the container to reveal a small headset and dashboard.

"Most of the recordings were destroyed during the Rebellion, but my master had managed to stumble upon one of the last, stored in an Imperial vault and left to collect dust. It's among the few interrogation devices left behind by the former Galactic Empire."

He lifted the headset into the dim light of the cell for Valery to see. "Now, it's not like the Mind Flayers you might've heard about. Oh, no. I like to think this is much worse." His eyes were black pits as he strode towards where she knelt. "Would you like to hear it?"

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

"We'll see..." she paused and winced as a tremor of pain shot through her ribs. "...about that."

Even though she tried to be strong and defiant, Valery's physical state was making it nearly impossible to fight back. Even the most gentle touch could hurt her now, let alone the type of pain they wanted to inflict. But Danton had something much worse in mind than more whippings or beatings, it seemed, and it made her awfully quiet for a moment.

What was his brute going to retrieve?

With her hair released, it fell back down again but she mustered her own strength to look up into Danton's eyes. She listened to what he explained, and while the story wasn't actually familiar, she felt dark shivers going down her spine. The screams of agony and despair of people massacred? Children, even? She grew pale at the idea alone, and knowing it was something used to drive people insane...

"Keep that thing away from me," Valery said, her tone more frightened while she pulled her head away to keep him from forcing the headset over her ears.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing!" she yelled.

At this point, she didn't care if he saw that she was frightened — she couldn't even think about trying to control herself. This was something far worse than any kind of physical pain to her. So she had to get out of here. But how? There was no way out, and were people even looking for her?

Of course, they were. They had to be, right?

Valery began to panic and forced her eyes shut, while she listened to her heart pounding in her own body.

 

[Danton]

Fear. He smelled it in the air like fresh roses. He could see it in her eyes, the panicked twist of her head. Danton enjoyed the dread in her voice more than he should've, and he took his sweet time as he carried the headset towards her as if it was a crown. "I've seen my master use this only twice. The first Jedi caved in minutes. The second was stronger. Stubborn, like you."

"They went mad after eight repeated, hour-long listenings."

"Afterwards, couldn't talk or eat or move. Eventually, they managed to get a hold of one of the guard's blasters, but instead of trying to escape though, do you know what they did?" His head tilted slightly. "They put the blaster to their chin and fired." He snorted. "Many are never the same once they listen to this. Makes me wonder how long you will last."

With a nod, his lackeys stepped forward and seized Valery by the neck. That way, she couldn't struggle. Couldn't resist. She would be helpless as he tucked the headset over her ears.

A curtain of silence fell between them. Danton would've loved to mock her further, but he seriously doubted she'd be able to hear him. So, he turned back to the dashboard he left in his seat and, casting a warm smile back to Valery, flipped the switch. First, there was nothing.

Then the screaming began.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

"I won't be able to tell you anything if you do this," Valery said in an attempt to reason with him, but she already knew it was a futile attempt. At this point, she wasn't sure if he really wanted to get her to talk anymore. Perhaps he even knew enough after she told him about Spintir and all of this was just for him to get revenge for what she had done to him. Either way, deep down she already knew that he wasn't going to stop.

This was going to be far worse than death.

"Y-you're not going to break me," Valery gritted her teeth and tried to pull her head away, only for his lackey to wrap a strong hand around her neck and throat. It forced her airways shut and kept her head still long enough for Danton to slip the headset over her ears. Immediately, an eerie silence fell as the device blocked out any sound from the real world. It was designed to make sure its target couldn't find refuge in any sound from the outside world.

All they'd be allowed to hear was the massacre and screams that could drive any person insane.

"P-please don't do this... I won't help you!" She screamed but she could barely hear her own voice. What followed was a painfully long silence — one that only disappeared with the flick of a switch. There was nothing at first but the gentle hum of the headset activating. But then the screaming began.

Valery's eyes widened and her body folded in on itself, as the pain those people felt was now forced to become a part of her. "Stop!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Make it stop!" she continued to cry but nothing made the screams stop, and as this recording continued to play, it only got worse.

But Valery wouldn't tell him anything. Not anymore.

"Please just kill m..." she couldn't finish her sentence, her eye twitched, and slowly, her mind was starting to fall apart.

 

[Danton]

"Never thought I would hear the great Sword of the Jedi beg. But what do you know? You are human, after all. You are just like the rest of us."

Danton leaned back. As the recordings played and the choral shrieking of the Dizonite younglings rang in Valery's skull, he listened to her own screaming, the sound like music to his ears. The louder she screamed, the louder he turned up the recordings. He would not give her the chance to block out the horrifying genocide howling in her ears. He would not let her rest.

Once a half-hour passed, more than enough time for the layers of her mind to begin peeling away, Danton ceased the recording and rose from his seat.

"What was that?" he said, expecting she'd be able to hear him. "Just kill you?" He knelt down and put a finger to her chin, raising her eyes to meet his own. Dark shadows hung beneath them. "Oh, Valery. You know I can't do that. Not until you tell me what I want to hear."

"Spintir. How do I recover my Force sensitivity there?"

His head tilted slightly, his voice soft and quiet as fallen leaves. "Just say it, Valery. You won't be betraying anyone. No one needs to know but me. Just tell me how to enter your temple, what it is I need to do, and I will not harm a soul. I give you my word. And then, once I return? Perhaps I will even let you go. Wouldn't you like that? To see your sweet family again?"

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

Even as the recordings became louder to drown out her terrified screams, Valery could hear Danton speaking to her. His words registered, but she gave him no answer. The screams, the agony of the people being massacred — it was far too overwhelming for her to handle, especially after already feeling so broken and hopeless. But Danton wasn't going to allow her to just suffer her way through the recordings.

He still demanded to know more.

With his finger tugging up her chin, Valery was forced to look him in the eyes, albeit only with one of her own. Her left eye was covered in blood and swollen from the punch she took earlier, but even the right wasn't what it used to be. That defiant flame that burned so intensely before had faded completely, and all that remained was pain and a desire for all of this to end, one way or another.

"I w-won't..." she said weakly, while her entire body trembled. Tears were starting to run down her cheeks, and as much as she wanted to face him with strength, she couldn't control any part of herself anymore. She forced her eyes to close, but tears still rolled down her cheeks.

As far as she was concerned, she was already dead — just without the lack of pain.

"Wouldn't you like that? To see your sweet family again?"

"Y-you're a m-monster..." she cried, "And I won't help you."

 

[Danton]

"How?" he asked. "How are you still able to resist me?"

His finger dropped from her chin. Misery and pain clouded his vision. For someone who'd been subjected to lashings, beatings, and torment very few could stomach, to hear that Valery still would not give him what he wanted, despite the fresh horror of the Dizonite recordings, was unbelievable. It was not humanly possible. He could not wrap his head around it.

One eye twitched. A flash of madness underneath the calm mask he wore. A heavy fog of thoughts and voices swept back into his mind, begging and shrieking and demanding. If Valery was not going to submit, then he was going to have to turn up the heat.

"Fine," Danton spat and reeled back in disgust. Whatever glimpse of sanity he had before was gone. There was only the broken Sith now. "I'd hoped to be reasonable, but you've given me no choice. You call me a monster? Let's prove you right."

He turned and retrieved the headset. Furiously, he grabbed her by the hair and forced it back over her ears, before whirling around to the dashboard on his seat. Do it, his thoughts urged. Destroy her. Destroy the Jedi. Destroy her mind like she destroyed yours. Seizing the controls, he flicked the switch and dialed the volume up to its highest point.

Then he left, storming from the cell as his lackeys watched on in cold silence.

It would not be for another four hours until he returned.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Danton

Valery's head fell back down when he pulled his finger away. Her breathing had gotten short and erratic, likely because each and every breath she took caused her pain. Blood still dripped down from both her face and body, and the effects of the mental torture lingered, leaving her with barely any idea as to what was happening. The world was spinning and no matter how hard she tried to focus, she remained in an unbreakable daze.

How could all of this have happened?

"I'd hoped to be reasonable, but you've given me no choice. You call me a monster? Let's prove you right."

Reasonable? Valery was in too much pain to laugh, but she wanted to. How could a living person inflict so much suffering and still talk about reason; about making choices. The grip in her hair forced her eyes back up, and she stared him in the eyes one more time, not to show defiance, but to see what true evil looks like. She had never seen or felt this much hatred directed at her before, not even from Kyrel Ren.

The headset was forced back over her ears, and while it briefly offered her silence, Danton turned up the massacre again, but even louder. Her eyes widened, her muscles spasmed and for the next few hours, she experienced nothing but pain.

By the time Danton returned, it seemed as if nothing remained of Jedi Master Valery Noble, Sword of the Jedi. Her body was shaking, her gaze seemed cold and distant, focused on nothing particular in the room. It looked like her soul had left her body, and only a shell remained.

"Sir," One of his lackeys decided to speak up. "She stopped screaming about an hour ago."

 

[Danton]

"Is that a new record?" Danton mocked as he entered the cell. "Most voices give out only two hours in. But my, what music they make."

He approached Valery slowly and removed the headset, observing the cold and broken husk of the Jedi Master with a dismantling glower. Paranoia told him she was faking, that her hollow eyes were little more than an act, but as Danton looked into them, he saw the truth of it.

Valery wasn't there anymore. She seemed lost, faraway, as if stripped not only of her strength, but her very soul. It reminded him eerily of when she'd stolen the Force from him. Was this justice? Had he found retribution? If so, why did he still feel so empty inside?

It didn't matter. He had wanted revenge, but he wanted his power back more.

"Valery," Danton whispered, his voice soft as silk. Despite his promises to be the monster she claimed he was, the man of reason had returned. The silver-tongued snake had come to spit its venom down her ears.

"Don't tell me you've lost your voice. I still need you to sing for me. One last tune. Come on, now. Just tell me what it is I have to do on Spintir, and all of this?" He gestured to the dark and clammy cell. The flickering torchlight. The dried blood on the floor. "It'll be done. No more screaming. No more lashings. No more anything. Just peace."

He knelt and put a hand to her cheek. "Just tell me what you know."

Valery Noble​

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