Private In Good Faith

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Await the arrival of a friend.

Jenn never thought she would return to Kaddak. Many years had passed since her last visit on that world, and the company she had kept... thinking of them brought her nothing but melancholy.

Shai. Kranak. Gwyneira. Eliz.

In spite of her boundless arrogance and disdain, they had welcomed her, offered her to join their family- an offer she had, in the end, refused. Things would have turned out different, had she chosen to accept... but, then again, she never would have met her beloved on Hefi, had she remained with them.

For now, she merely waited within the perimeter of the landing pad she had secured. Kaddak was a largely lawless world, refusing to be tamed by the hand of others- and many had tried. Paradoxically, this marked the planet as the perfect location for her to conduct this rather unorthodox business. The Karjr were too busy securing the worlds within Enclave space, lending their experience in training their people for the inevitable counter-attack: not all were Mando'ade, after all. There would come a time when they would need to stand and defend their homes. And when this hour would come, Jenn intended to be the shield of her people she professed to be. Not a Crusader, but a Warden. Steadfast and unyielding.

The landing pad was isolated - about as close to out in the middle of nowhere as she could manage. The right amount of violence, bribing, and calling of favors from her days as a bounty hunter allowed her to keep the location relatively secure for the afternoon. Resting her foot against the crate she had brought, the Mandalorian flicked her gaze over to her own ship- a humble Xandu, dependable and trusty. And more than capable of getting her out of danger if the entire thing turned out to be a trap.

After all, it took a certain boldness for Valery to accept the offer - invited to a lawless world by a Mandalorian under the pretext of a fair exchange... it would be all too easy for Jenn to be lying in wait with reinforcements to strike a crippling blow against the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. It would be entirely unlike her, of course- she had only ever been honest and true with the Grandmaster, from the moment the two had met one another on Wielu. But necessity trumped honor in times of desperation, and a small part of her could not help but wonder...

... if she was making a mistake.

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Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Corazona von Ascania

It wasn't entirely uncommon for opposing sides to exchange prisoners of war, or even belongings. Still, it felt strange to meet with a Mandalorian not long after an intense battle, even if it was going to be one she trusted. That had likely been the only reason Valery accepted in the first place — she knew that Jenn wouldn't use this opportunity to attack her. But the whole ordeal still had her on edge a little.

She had told her family that she was meeting with a Mandalorian for this, and Valery especially was quite wanted by the Enclave. Both for her leadership role within the Jedi, and because she had killed Shai Maji at Ryloth.

"Alright, we'll be landing shortly," Valery told Corazona von Ascania , who she had asked to join her for this mission. "The armor is all in the cargo hold, but let's bring a piece or two with us when we step outside. To show we're not tricking them." They couldn't carry every bit of armor, but a helmet or two would make it clear enough that they had brought it all along.

Or so she hoped.

"The Mandalorian we're meeting is a lot more honorable than those we've fought. She's not exactly... in favor of the Enclave's direction. Hopefully, it'll help this go smoothly."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora did not like this.

Her distaste for this mission was plain. After witnessing how they'd razed Ukatis, she wanted nothing to do with the Mandalorians unless it involved direct combat.

This wasn't a peace talk, though it partially edged on being a diplomatic mission. Lightsabers of the fallen Jedi for beskar of the fallen Mandalorians. On an intellectual level, Cora understood why it was necessary. She understood that Valery had a level of trust for the warrior they were going to meet for the exchange.

Cora didn't like this, and had to consistently remind herself that this wasn't about her. A Jedi had to do what was right, what was best for everyone, regardless of their personal feelings on the matter.

"To show that we won't trick them?" She snorted bitterly, upper lip curling into a sneer. "Those beasts have no honor. I wouldn't be surprised if we walked straight into an ambush."

As soon as they landed, Cora made her way to the cargo hold. She leaned on her immense trust and respect for Valery, but not entirely. This mission could still end up being problematic, even if they had the best intentions.

Armor components had been stacked neatly in the hold. Blue eyes lingered on a discarded beskad, before figuring that would be a bit too aggressive to approach with. Instead, following her Master's determination, she retrieved a helmet.

Her hands nearly dropped under the weight, and Cora grunted as she re-established her grip on the garment. It was heavier than she'd expected.

Valery Noble Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

​

| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Speak fairly, and truly.

"Su cuy'gar, Jetii!" called the Mandalorian as Valery touched down, far more formal than she had ever been before. A polite greeting in Mando'a as well as a statement of fact- her friend was, in fact, not dead yet. Resting her foot on the crate containing the lightsabers as she was, she kept her blaster repeater in her hands, although the barrel was safely pointed towards the ground, and nowhere near the direction of the ship nor its occupants. Merely a precaution, given the nature of the world she had chosen for them to meet upon... or perhaps a sign of just how guarded she was, in spite of her friendship for the Grandmaster. "I've secured us a window that should last for a few hours. There won't be any eyes looking our way. I trust you brought the beskar'gam of my fallen vode?"

Calmly putting down her repeater next to the crate, she lifted her foot from it, her finger dancing along the keypad to the side - and when the right combination was entered, she was free to let both hands take hold of the handle, a grunt of effort escaping her as she opened the reinforced case. When it came to the spoils of war to be exchanged, she had opted for a blast-resistant container, if only out of respect for those fallen Jedi whose property was now hers.

Perhaps Valery would ask her how a humble smith such as herself had gotten her hands on so many. Perhaps she would not care. Letting her fingers dance along all those grim reminders of the rising cost of the war, she chose to pick one with a curved hilt, taking it from the protective foam padding. And, as soon as the Grandmaster and the other person she had mentioned she would be bringing came into view, she tossed her friend the lightsaber. An act of goodwill, that the two might ascertain the truth of her words before stepping out in the open.

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Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Corazona von Ascania

"I know, I know," Valery replied to Cora's bitterness. "Trust me, I don't feel great about this mission either, not after what they've done. But this mission is larger than our personal problems, so let's at least set ourselves up for success." In other words, they weren't going to come out with weapons raised, and they'd have to show their good intentions. Similarly, Valery expected Jenn to do the same.

If this ended up stinking in any way, the deal would be off and they'd be heading back immediately.

Following Cora into the cargo room after touching down, Valery watched and raised an eyebrow as the helmet made Cora's hands drop a little. With a smirk, Valery reached over and pinched Cora's arm around the bicep, "Do we need some extra strength training?" she asked teasingly before picking up a helmet herself. Hopefully, Cora's bitter mood wouldn't make her explode over that little joke.

The two Jedi finally stepped outside, and Jenn was already waiting for them. To answer the woman's question, Valery held up the helmet but decided against tossing it over. Lightsabers weren't so heavy that they'd get damaged on impact, nor were they too hard to catch. A beskar helmet was a different story.

"We have quite a bit," Valery told her as she put the helmet down and caught the lightsaber. "Let's get the exchange going, hm? But first, this here is my Padawan," Valery said, before allowing Cora a moment to introduce herself.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora glared at Valery's little joke – not wholeheartedly, mind you. She was still her Master.

"It's not too heavy for me." She corrected, realizing that she'd likely signed up for a two-week intensive course on upper body strength training. "I just didn't realize how much heavier it would be than the average helmet."

There were many things Cora wanted to say, but decided against it. Valery was right. There was a balance to feelings – focusing on them too much would dull your senses to what was going on around you, but gut feelings were often warnings not to be ignored.

Her jaw tightened as the Mandalorian called out to them in her language, the Padawan's gaze immediately drawn to the blaster she held. There was nothing overtly hostile to the situation yet, but the mention of fallen vode made her skin prickle uncomfortably.

Does her voice sound…familiar?

It was difficult to tell though the helmet. That helmet made her easier to hate, with her organic, expressive features concealed under a T-visor. Cora decided that she did not want to know this woman.

"Corazona von Ascania." She supplied curtly. Standing with her back straight and shoulders square, she unclasped her hands from behind her back as her gaze briefly went beyond the Mandalorian to the crate that allegedly held the lightsabers of fallen Jedi.

"Were you present at the raid on Ukatis?"

It was a sudden, unprompted question. One that tasted harshly of iron in her mouth.

Jenn Kryze Valery Noble

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Speak truly.

There was a marked pause when Valery brought her attention over to the blonde at her side, introducing her as her padawan. The Mandalorian studied the young woman's features behind the Y visor, doing little to answer her at first - nothing beyond an upnod acknowledging her presence. Polite enough, if curt. Perhaps Valery would be able to tell that the smith's lack of enthusiasm at the sight of the buy'ce of one of her fallen kin was... unorthodox, for one so clearly devoted to seeing it reclaimed. During their first meeting on Wielu, the redhead had called it the birthright of her people, after all.

But... no. Instead, she merely stared, the silence hanging between the three of them growing tense, even though the Mandalorian's repeater rested near the container behind her. After all, the armor itself was known to hold... a fair amount of countermeasures and weapons. None more recognizable and feared than the flamethrower, mounted on most bracers.

"Jenn, of Clan Kryze", answered the warrior just as curtly, even though her tone betrayed nothing but calm. There was none of the tenderness Valery had glimpsed several times throughout their past encounters. No, if anything, she sounded dispassionate - purposefully so. "I was not present on Ukatis. My mission took me aboard the Ans Corvo." And, for a moment, it seemed as if things might... stay there. The Nite Owl had not been present on Corazona's world, and so a degree of separation was present.

"But I did return to see the devastation for myself."

Ah. There it was again. Jenn's focus on honesty and truth.

​

Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The softer features of the Padawan's face firmed, lending her the steely expression of her father. Unmoving, unwavering, honed in like a shriek-hawk on the faceless woman and her unperturbed tone.

Jenn's answer was cold but satisfactory. Cora had been prepared to step back and allow the remainder of the exchange to pass by without incident, but then-

"But I did return to see the devastation for myself."

The Padawan stepped forward with a hiss. She did not reach for her lightsaber, but it was still very much an outwardly aggressive gesture. Blue eyes leveled onto that fiendish Y-visor with a bitter mix of pain and malice.

"My home - and the destruction you savages wrought upon it - is not a spectacle."

It was as if Valery, the crate of lightsabers, and the cargo hold full of beskar weren't even there. The scenery fell away, everything narrowing down onto this brute who wrapped herself in steel and took death and destruction unto innocent people. Her people. The people who Cora had failed to protect.

The Force surged suddenly around them, a violent burst of wind rippling over the vicnity as Cora's jaw clenched harder.

Jenn Kryze Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Jenn Kryze

"Cora."

Valery's voice was calm, but with an edge to it that very little people ever got to hear. She reached out, and placed a hand on Cora's shoulder to pull her back, and hopefully, to calm her down. "Calm down, and focus on the mission," she said, knowing just how difficult that was right now. Valery completely understood that Jenn's comment provoked these emotions, and she didn't blame Cora for it at all either.

But she also couldn't allow it to break this mission apart.

"Jenn, I suggest we keep this short and simple — we exchange the armor for the lightsabers and we depart." Valery wasn't really in a rush, but she wasn't going to expose Cora to this longer than she needed to be.

Even if it was a good learning experience for her.

 

[Jenn Kryze]

​

| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Stay on guard

As soon as the Padawan took a step forward, there was... a change in the air. The Mandalorian barely shifted her stance, and yet all one would need was to reach through the Force to realize just how much her disposition had been altered. Behind the helmet, her eyes looked from Valery to Corazona, drinking the Padawan's stance and equipment in particular. It simply could not be helped: the prospect of a fight loomed, and so her reaction was immediate, calculating her odds and thinking of a plan of action.

"Savages?" repeated the Mandalorian calmly, taking a step forward herself. The control she kept over her tone belied the storm raging beneath the surface: the desire to let her bracer-mounted blade slide out, rushing down the blonde before she could hope to activate her lightsaber, and teaching her the same lesson she had shown to Senator Calgar. Or perhaps she could reach out through the Manda to pull her discarded repeater to her hands, opening fire at point-blank range and eliminating Corazona first before moving on to-

Calm.

The thought came to her almost unbidden. Jenn's self-control had been thoroughly tested throughout the years since her abandonment of her ways as a Crusader, and yet it held: when her calm was compromised and those old habits reared their ugly head, the Nite Owl proved that she was neither a slave to her nature, nor her emotions. Instead, she gave but a nod as the Grandmaster spoke, even as that Y visor kept on facing her Padawan so intently.

"Of course, Grandmaster", came her polite response, the choice of a title rather than a name yet another attempt from her to remind herself that she was here on a mission, and no outbursts could be tolerated. Stepping aside, she extended an arm to show them the way to the container, letting them go first. "As a token of my good will, I will let you appraise the lightsabers first. Once you are satisfied, you can take me to the rest of the beskar'gam, carrying the container with you as you go." And with that, she crouched down to pick up the helmet left on the ground by the Grandmaster - assuming the two Jedis did as she offered, naturally. The last thing she wanted was to turn her back on Corazona.

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Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora felt Valery's hand at her shoulder, felt the sharp edge to her voice that pricked at her mind.

The Padawan did not have regular outbursts. This was new. She knew that righteous fury was dangerous, that it would make her stupid, but it was addictive in the worst way.

A part of her wondered how Valery could even ask her to calm down, to deny her the anger she'd earned as the Mandalorians laid waste to Ukatis. It was only a few weeks ago that Cora had wiped the soot from her little sister's face after Gatz Derrevar had helped to pull her from the wreckage of a building.

Screw the lightsabers. Screw this Mandalorian witch who'd honed her warrior's instincts in on the Padawan, a subtle but deadly shift in the Force that she could read as easily as the wind whipping through her hair.

Cora's anger flared, then was wrestled violently back into the steely cage of control she'd forged over years of repressing her negative emotions. She'd been feeling them more viscerally since Thule, since her contact with the Sith. A part of her almost wished that this Jenn Kryze hadn't been so calm, that she would have snarled back or raised her weapon. Even if the Padawan was cut down in the process, it would have been more honest.

Valery.

Her Master brought her clarity. Who knew what would've happened if the linchpin that held so many alliances together hadn't been here? Both Cora and Jenn had a clear respect for the Jedi Master, so there was an obvious boundary that neither would cross.

Cora did as Valery bid, moving forward with her to assess the case of lightsabers. She nearly scoffed at the idea of goodwill, but her tongue had been stilled and her face had forcibly firmed into an expressionless mask. Only her eyes remained hard, burning head-on into that Y-visor as she silently offered Jenn the helmet she'd been holding.

She didn't want to touch it any longer, not when the words of Tish Cowen , the Mandalorian whom she'd faced on Ukatis, were ringing so loudly in her mind that they nearly drowned out her thoughts.

"Tell me what Ukatis herself has done to you."

<You act as if I care.>

<I don't.>

Of course they didn't care. None of them did. Ukatis had been an unfortunate casualty of their barbaric need to flex their might; not a world full of innocent civilians.

Your people have no honor.

Spoken words wouldn't project direct into Jenn's mind - the Padawan was not skilled enough for that. Instead, it was a vague but intense thought that would drift through the Force, like seeds carried on the wind.

Jenn Kryze Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Corazona von Ascania

The tension had risen very rapidly over comments that weren't intended to create this much friction, but luckily, the two snapped out of it again as well. Cora, as strong as she felt about what happened to her people, still trusted and respected her Master — she wasn't going to make things even worse. Jenn, similarly, viewed Valery as a friend and wouldn't raise a weapon unless she needed to defend herself.

Still, it felt a little too close.

"That sounds good, Jenn. Thank you," Valery said with a soft smile before she took Cora to collect the lightsabers. But as they walked and had just a brief moment alone, Valery reached out to place her hand on Cora's shoulder. Gently this time, and her voice was a lot softer and without its earlier edge, "We'll talk a bit later, alright?" She smiled, just to make sure Cora knew she wasn't in trouble. Their talk would be a moment for her to vent.

A chance to speak freely to her Master.

"The Lightsabers luckily aren't so heavy, but the armor crates are. Cora, mind helping me carry them with Telekinesis? Should save us some trouble."

 

[Jenn Kryze]

​

| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | No honor?!

"Of course, Valery", came the Ersansyr's polite response, the controlled calm of her words betraying a touch of relief. With the lightsabers laid out before the two Jedi, she gave proof of her honesty when it came to upholding her end of the bargain... and, for a moment, it truly felt as if things would carry on as expected. Although the animosity between the Padawan and the Mandalorian grew with each passing instant and each comment made, they shared a great deal of respect for the Sword of the Jedi - and so the both of them seemed to relent. The helmet placed down onto the ground by Valery earlier was now held under her arm, and the other one offered to her by blonde was taken in her free hand.

The Nite Owl was already planning on putting them down close to her Xandu close by before joining the pair to go and see the rest of the armor for herself when that thought caressed her mind. More of a concept than words, really, but it reached her nonetheless. Yet another accusation levelled against her and her people. Perhaps the worst kind one would throw in the face of a Mandalorian. And she had to weather that same accusation again and again, every single time she tried to reach out, to try and speak truly, to prove that her people were more than the bloodthirsty warmongers the Alliance now painted them as. Patient and calm as she may be, Jenn's patience had been thoroughly tested over the course of each and every conversation she held with Valery's sort.

SHUK!

The sound of a knuckleplate vibroblade coming out of its vambrace... and the sudden shift in the atmosphere that accompanied it. If they teetered on the brink of violence before, Corazona had all but shoved her Mandalorian counterpart towards it now. Already using her HUD to lock on the whistling birds stored in her boots to target the pair, she dropped the pair of helmets and reached out - and, to her credit, she paused for a moment as her blaster repeater flew right into her hands with a little too much strength. Evidently, she had a long, long way to go to really use her powers. The weapon was not quite raised towards them yet, but the butt of the blaster sat comfortable against the smith's shoulder.

"I came here in good faith", warned the warrior, her every word all but spat out as Jenn's calm and control finally gave way to pure, unadulterated loathing. "With nothing but good will. Tell me, do you see Enclave sharpshooters anywhere? Do you think I told anyone about this, so afraid was I that someone would talk and get my best friend killed? And all you do is come here, standing before me to insult my honor, and that of my people? Me, who accepted to bear the burden of being called traitor by the Crusaders and speak out? If I had no honor, girl, I would have made sure the both of you were drowned in blaster fire from all angles as soon as you left your ship."

​

Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora felt the comforting weight of Valery's hand on her shoulder, but she couldn't bring herself to return the encouraging smile. Instead, her Master would receive a curt nod.

Before they could step away to the cargo hold, something unexpected happened.

Or, perhaps, it should have been expected.

Cora's jaw tensed, blue eyes flashing sharply as the vibroblade engaged. So the witch had heard her – she was briefly fascinated by that, and the way her blaster snapped into her free hand confirmed it.

Does Valery know? I thought her kind spurned the Force and its traditions.

There was simmering ire in the way the Mandalorian spoke, and it almost make Cora feel better to have dragged the woman into her own state of loathing. Still, the danger of the situation was not to be underestimated, nor was the inevitable backlash she'd get from Valery for souring a deal and potentially putting strain on their…allyship?

"Anyone who hides behind their honor as an excuse to butcher innocent civilians has no honor at all."

Cora did not step forward, but she did face Jenn with her back straight, shoulders even, and stance ready to intercept any blade or bullet that came her way. Her brow furrowed as she considered what this woman had faced – new information to her, really – in order to be here and meet them for the exchange. She'd spoken out against the Crusaders? She was a traitor? Valery was her best friend?

There was worth in that, if it were true. Honor, even, if that word meant anything at all anymore.

But Ukatis had still burned. Cora had still pulled her younger sister for the rubble. The image of Fantine's face, still and blanketed in soot as if she were a statue, was overlaid next to the cold, unfeeling visage of a Y-visor.

Cora squinted as if trying to discern how much of Jenn's words were true. They were certainly spoken with conviction and more heart than she'd imagine one of them was capable of. Her wrist rested against the hilt of her lightsaber, balancing on the same precipice as the Mandalorian.

"Did you speak out against the senseless slaughter of my people? If you are really a traitor, then why have they allowed you to remain among them?"

Valery Noble Jenn Kryze

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Corazona von Ascania

Just when Valery had believed that she had relieved the room of tension, the entire atmosphere shifted again. Jenn drew her weapon, and Valery immediately took a protective stance between the Mandalorian and her Padawan. Regardless of her own stance or opinions, she wouldn't allow anything to happen to her own student. Not after already losing her once to the Sith.

But even now, Valery did not draw a weapon. Her hand rested closer to her hilt just in case, but she allowed her eyes an attempt at disarming the woman in front of her first. One shot fired would be enough to destroy any hope at a more peaceful resolution between the two factions.

There would be no trust left in dialogue or cooperation.

"Enough of this. Can't you both please look beyond your own hurt, pride and honor for just one hour?" Valery looked at them with a flash of frustration burning in her eyes. "We're surrounded by the belongings of people who died in this conflict, so their memories can be put to rest. So their friends and loved ones can get some closure. Nothing will get better by either of you trying to win some argument here."

"If we fight now, this war will only ever end with more blood spilled. There will be no trust left, and for what?" She narrowed an agry gaze at them both and kept herself between the two.

If they wanted to fight, she was going to stop them both.

 

[Jenn Kryze]

​

| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | If you want peace...

For all of her attempts at calm and restraint, Jenn was far from a saint - and her patience was severely limited, now more than ever. So many voices crying out against her and her people, wherever she looked: and holding on to ideals of peace and justice seemed all too naive to her when so many viewed Mandalorians as savages. Why, then, did she keep on deluding herself into these, these... pointless fantasies! This exact scene would play out again soon, when the Alliance finally came to her world, so why stay her hand now? Why give the benefit of the doubt to those who would scatter the Mando'ade across the stars?

The Nite Owl shifted her gaze over to Valery, blinking twice in rapid succession - activating the lock-on for the whistling birds. Normally, she would merely shift her eyes from one target to another, staying just long enough for them to be registered as one... but instead, she stared down the Grandmaster, ensuring that the entire payload would fly her way. And once that was done, she adjusted the aim of her repeater, her HUD allowing her to align the trajectory with Corazona's midriff. And yet, even with all those measures taken, her finger remained pressed against the trigger guard, not quite slipping down to rest against the trigger itself just yet.

There would be no going back from this, and she realized that. Even now, Jenn... refused to fire the first shot. Just as she had done with Valery, and more recently, Amani Serys . Mere trigger discipline, this was not - but a moral responsibility to stand by her beliefs all the way to the end, no matter how tactically disadvantageous they might prove. As the voice of her best friend rose once more, she found herself listening with rapt interest, all too aware of the truth in her words.

"I trust you", spoke the Ersansyr at last. Three simple words, yet so very full of meaning and respect. Then, she gave an upnod in the Padawan's direction.

"Her, I do not trust."

​

Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

In a flash, Valery had placed herself between Jenn and Cora.

The Padawan looked past Valery, keeping her gaze locked onto the Mandalorian, keenly aware that they were being assessed as threats. Still, Master Noble had a way of making herself heard, words sinking not only into Cora and Jenn, but into the landscape itself.

The Mandalorian did not trust her - that was fair.

"Likewise."

The Padawan's wariness was not assuaged. She simply could not trust someone who actively supported those who'd set fire to her home, who’d used the lives of her people to send a message.

Out of respect for Valery, she wouldn't push the conflict further, but Cora was done setting aside her pain for the benefit of others. Some things she could not look past.

Yet, there was a startling familiarity to Jenn's own aura. Pain and suffering, sacrifice and heartbreak.

"Shall I return to the ship, or retrieve the beskar from the cargo hold?"

Whichever helped this task to progress all the quicker, she would do so silently.

Valery Noble Jenn Kryze

 

[Valery Noble]

Kaddak

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Jenn Kryze Corazona von Ascania

"I don't care whether or not you two trust each other," Valery said rather flatly. They had already decided against turning this into a fight, so there wasn't much to gain on that front, but Valery wanted them to really understand why they were doing this exchange, and she wasn't yet satisfied.

"I don't want you to be doing this for me either, or that you stop fighting only because you respect me," Valery added, her fiery gaze shifting between the two, fierce as always but a lot more serious. "We're here for those who were left behind with fallen relatives, and being able to set aside your differences for that is crucial. For a Jedi, it shows the ability to distance ourselves emotionally when we need to, so we can do something good for others. For the people we've sworn to protect," Valery said with her eyes fixed on Cora.

"For a Mandalorian, there's honor in choosing not to fight, when those at home are still waiting desperately for something related to the people they lost," she then added, and this time she looked at Jenn. Perhaps for the very first time, she was disappointed with her friend, though she felt the same towards her Padawan.

Being selfless was hard, especially when your own home had been targeted, but she had agreed to come on this mission, and they were going to complete it.

"I'd like you to help me retrieve the Beskar and bring it to Jenn's ship," Valery then told Cora. "Jenn, can you help us as well? The armor is a lot heavier than the lightsabers, and bulkier too."

 

[Jenn Kryze]

​

| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Situation Normal

Valery's next point was a much tougher ask, if only at first.

Jenn still had the whistling birds locked on to Valery, and the repeater ready to fire right at her Padawan's midriff - but with the both of them now accepting that they did not trust one another, the situation was being defused. And, to her credit... the Mandalorian lowered her weapon when the Grandmaster made her point. In a way, she felt humiliated, if only because the thought process was the very same she had used to justify her ventures into Alliance space to retrieve the beskar'gam of the fallen. There was truly no possession more highly prized than one's armor among her people, and seeing it returned to the families of the fallen would allow them to truly grieve, and being the process towards healing.

"You're right", declared the Nite Owl simply as she deactivated the lock-on and calmly brought her repeater over her shoulder, letting it be secured into place by the magnetic clamps next to her jetpack. Meeting the Grandmaster's request for assistance with a nod, she turned towards the Jedi's ship, walking towards the cargo hold.

Showing weakness in front of others was disagreeable, doubly so now that she was Alor of her Clan... but, Jedi or not, she had to recognize when she was wrong and acted poorly as a result, no matter how much it cost her pride. What kind of honest soul would she be, if she refused to accept her own shortcomings when they were pointed out by another?

By her friend, no less?

​

Valery Noble Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Valery wasn't satisfied, but neither was Cora.

Her lips twitched as the lecture continued, but she didn't intercept Valery's words. The Padawan may have been too forward in her approach, but some differences simply couldn't - shouldn't - be set aside, not when there were raw wounds and worlds burning.

Wasn't it enough that they'd both agreed to back down?

"Very well."

Her voice was hollow, forcibly devoid of emotion as Cora fell back on an old reflex so heavily ingrained that it had become instinct at this point; bury your anger, regain control. The ire worn in the creases of pale features evaporated, the Force stilled, and she approached the cargo hold.

Cora was silent as she worked, her movements almost mechanical as she levitated several crates, guiding them out into the open.

Valery Noble Jenn Kryze