Private Into the Past

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery watched Kahlil, half-amused, half-bewildered by his intense focus on the serpent rather than the danger it posed. She shook her head, dusting off more sand from her clothes as her smirk widened. "Unbelievable," she muttered, her voice filled with a playful exasperation. "We're fighting a giant Force-resistant serpent, and you're geeking out."

Her eyes darted back to the serpent as its tail lashed out again, narrowly missing them both. Valery ignited her own lightsaber with a snap-hiss, the violet blade crackling to life. "Focus now, questions later," she called out, her tone teasing but laced with urgency as she moved in, aiming for a joint in the serpent's armored body, hoping to find a weak spot.

"Whatever is blocking the Force, we're going to have to figure it out on the fly!" She ducked another tail swipe and slid beneath the serpent's coiled body, using the momentum to deliver a powerful slash with her lightsaber. The blade sparked against its thick hide but barely left a mark.

Frustration built, but Valery kept her composure. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before. Maybe something woven into the material itself?" she mused aloud, her mind racing to match Kahlil's nerdy excitement.

Wait, was she asking questions and nerding out too, now?

"Either way, we need a new plan." She shot him a grin, always ready to adapt when the stakes were high.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Could be. Terentateks were engineered, so it's not a far cry that whatever this is made of is also augmented in some way." The nerding did not stop. Would not, given Valery started to play into it herself. They did need a new plan though, as he tightened his grip and readied himself for the next swing of the creature's tail. Again it hit like a truck, but this time he was more prepared. He slipped across the sand, a different rune keeping him level despite being pushed back.

It again opened it's mouth, lunging down to try and capture Valery within it.

"Perhaps the eyes! Or within, technically."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery's eyes narrowed in concentration as Kahlil continued to nerd out over the serpent, but she couldn't help the flicker of amusement that tugged at her lips. His enthusiasm, even in a fight, was endearing. However, she knew they needed a more immediate solution, and the constant swipes from the serpent's tail weren't helping.

"Eyes or within, huh?" Valery echoed, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes as she looked back at Kahlil. He was perhaps so focused on the analytical side of things that he wouldn't catch onto her plan.

Within, it was.

In the middle of dodging another strike, she made a snap decision, her body moving with fluid, Force-enhanced precision. With a quick flick of her lightsaber to grab the serpent's attention, Valery turned toward its wide, gaping maw as it came for her. And with one decisive push through the Force, she leaped directly into the creature's mouth, vanishing within its jaws.

The inside of the creature was a tight, constricting space, the heat and dampness of the serpent's body pressing in on her from every side. She could feel its resistance to the Force even more strongly in here, but she kept her focus, her mind racing as she searched for a potential weakness — anything that could help them turn the tide of the battle.

Meanwhile, from the outside, Kahlil would have seen the entire thing unfold in a split second. His wife's silhouette swallowed whole by the serpent, and then… nothing.

It was a good thing she could phase, just in case.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Yeah, it could be weaker insi-"

Chomp.

Kahlil blinked slowly as he watched the snake machine ingest his wife. Worry was there only briefly. Incredibly brief at that, considering he didn't feel any danger for her. Exasperation was what came next as the creature tuned to him. It was a machine at the end of the day, but he could swear it seemed to be gloating at him. It was the only one in danger right now, though. It lunged for him, and he pretty quickly brought his saber around.

Rune flared as this time he hit the creature up. He couldn't cut it, but he could beat it down.

"Don't just get yourself eaten! That makes it harder for me to hit it!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Within the serpent's body, Valery focused, her lightsaber slicing into the thick, mechanical flesh. Each strike was deliberate, aiming for internal mechanisms, hoping to disrupt the beast from the inside. The creature roared, convulsing in pain, but Valery only smirked. She knew Kahlil could handle the outside, but it was time to make her presence known from within.

Hearing his exasperated voice call out to her from the outside, Valery chuckled to herself. Through their bond, she projected her amusement and teased back, "Oh, now I've got your attention? Done nerding out?" Her voice was light but carried a playful challenge, as though daring him to keep up with her bold tactics.

As the serpent convulsed harder from Kahlil's strikes, Valery seized her chance. With a swift push, she burst out of the creature's maw, using the Force to propel herself upward. She landed nimbly atop its massive head, her lightsaber still ignited and held high. With a grin, she shot a glance down at Kahlil.

"Need a hand, love?" she teased again, balancing effortlessly atop the thrashing beast, a hint of showmanship in her tone as she rode the serpent like a beast tamer in full control, basking in the shared thrill of the fight.

She was definitely showing off a little now.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"If you're sure you're done being swallowed."

Kahlil quipped, glancing up to her as she rode on top of the creature's still flailing head. It didn't surprise him that she could keep her balance so easily. If anything, it had him chuckling and shaking his head. Leave it to her to make this another kind of leisurely stroll more or less. "How about we go for the eyes this time, mm? How mechanical was it inside anyway?"

He leapt up over another tail swipe, landing some distance away as he observed. It seemed more distraught now, desperate. And-

Kahlil pulled on the Force again. All at once the sand the snake was on flashed over in a blinding heat. Turning it to thick, thick glass.

"No no, no escaping. I have to study you, you know."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

"If you're sure you're done being swallowed."

Don't make the joke, Valery, she told herself. All he got was a dangerous, playful smirk that betrayed every thought she shouldn't have. Thoughts he knew she would have.

Balancing effortlessly atop the serpent's head, she could feel the creature's desperation as it thrashed beneath her. But now wasn't the time for showing off — they had to finish this. "Eyes it is," Valery called down, the amusement still lingering in her voice. With one swift motion, she leaped forward, using the Force to enhance her speed and precision. Her lightsaber crackled to life once more as she aimed directly for the serpent's glowing red eyes, the weak points in its otherwise formidable armor.

As she drove her blade toward the first eye, the creature let out a shrill, mechanical screech, its movements becoming more erratic as it struggled against both the internal damage and Kahlil's manipulation of the environment. With each slash, Valery could feel the beast weakening, and a surge of determination flowed through her.

Inside, it had been a tangled mess of metal and mechanical organs, but now she saw a chance to end it. Her lightsaber cut deep into the first eye, sending sparks flying, and without hesitation, she flipped to the other side, aiming for the second. All while Kahlil blocked off its chances of escape.

But would it be enough? Or did it have other tricks up its sleeve?

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

Now blind the snake thrashed about. The glass cracked underneath it, but wouldn't give way. It couldn't escape. It was helpless. Kahlil reached up, bringing the sand that still could shift up and around the creature. He'd learned early on how to tap into the earth itself to control it, and now he was using it to wrap around the snake to pin it atop the glass. And flash burn the sand to form thick glass chains more or less.

"Finish it!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery's eyes gleamed with determination as Kahlil's command rang out. She took one final breath, her gaze locked on the mechanical serpent's motionless form. With a powerful leap, she brought her lightsaber down in a fluid arc, the blade slicing through the creature's core with precision. The serpent let out a dying screech, its body convulsing before falling completely still.

Landing gracefully beside Kahlil, Valery extinguished her lightsaber and stood tall, a teasing grin lighting her face.

She slowly ran a hand through her hair, fixing the stray locks in a deliberately graceful, almost seductive gesture. "That was all me," she quipped, her smirk playful and confident as her amber eyes sparkled with amusement.

But beneath the teasing tone was a shared satisfaction — they had worked together, and despite the lighthearted banter, Valery felt the bond between them strengthened even more through this fight.

"You doing okay? Saw you take a few hits from that tail~" She grinned and bumped her hips into him, "I wonder what other golems are out there. Do you think this might be the worst one here?"

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh yeah, all you? I'll leave it to you for the next one."

Kahlil rolled his eyes a bit as he crouched beside the felled serpent, his eyes now scanning over the metal that it was made of. He let the Force trickle over it, sensing deeper now as he sought what made it so resilient. Sure enough, it was infused with the Dark, much like a Terentatek. What he was more curious on tough? What was making it run.

What made it move, what gave it life.

"I'm sure there's others. This one was probably one of the worst here in the sand. They're designed, so I'm sure the next one we find in a different location will have been made to use that place best. For now, though, help me pry open it's head. I'm curious if there's a power source."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery shot Kahlil a playful pout, her lower lip jutting out just slightly at his teasing. "You're leaving the next one to me? How brave of you," she quipped, though the grin tugging at her lips betrayed her amusement. There was no way she was letting him off that easy, but for now, she let it slide.

He'd never actually leave it all to her, right? Valery blinked, then forced herself to focus again.

When he asked her to help pry open the serpent's head, she hesitated, grimacing slightly at the idea. The remnants of the serpent looked both metallic and organic — definitely not something she wanted her hands on. But with a soft sigh of resignation, she stepped forward, narrowing her focus.

"Fine, fine. But I'm not digging through it with my hands."

She raised her hand, focusing the Force on the fractures she could see within the structure of the serpent's skull. With a gentle tap of her knuckles, the head splintered apart, crumbling with a satisfying crack.

"See? I can help with golem stuff, too," she grinned, turning back to Kahlil with a wink. "I'll let you handle the autopsy, though." Her teasing tone softened the challenge, but she was clearly proud of herself.

As she watched Kahlil investigate, she tilted her head slightly. "So, what's in there? A fancy dark-side battery? Laser generators? A fire-breathing device?"

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"I'll get the one after, if you think you'll be too tired."

He flashed a grin before he stepped beside her, and once the creature was broken open he got right to work searching through it. He was used to this work after all. The core had been punched through by Valery earlier, but enough of it was together for him to at least look it over. "Looks like a dark conduit of some sort. Not sure what's powering it, given you destroyed it, but I imagine nothing good. Likely similar beast souls."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery's eyes gleamed as she shot Kahlil a quick, playful glance. "Too tired?" she echoed, her tone dripping with mock offense. "You usually tap out before I do~" Her smirk was confident and playful, a hint of a challenge lingering between them. She knew what she was implying and she knew the trouble it'd cause her later.

She'd never take it back.

As Kahlil sifted through the remnants of the serpent, Valery folded her arms, her gaze softening just a touch when he mentioned the dark conduit. The weight of her earlier actions flickered through her mind, and she exhaled softly. "Maybe I should have been more careful with that core," she muttered, almost to herself. The idea that it might have been useful for study, or that they might have learned something from it, tugged at her conscience.

She lingered for a moment longer, and then her usual fire returned with a wry smile. "But hey, I'm great at wrecking things, right?" she quipped, trying to brush off the nagging sense of loss. She tilted her head slightly, eyes now fixed on the splintered remains of the beast. "I hope it's enough to give us some answers."

"What do you think? Should we keep moving?" she asked, her fingers tapping lightly against the hilt of her lightsaber as she awaited his next insight.

"Maybe we can find a beast and work harder to keep the core intact."

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"We could, or we could find where it was made." If he had a guess, there'd be a lab somewhere close by, considering the serpent. He dropped the core, idly dusting his hands before glancing around the sands. The glass beneath him shattered and dusted, returning back to the grains it had been so he didn't completely ruin the ecosystem here.

"You feel anything through all this dark haze?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery's response had barely formed on her lips when the attack struck with lightning speed. From beneath the sand, a metal tentacle shot out and coiled around her ankle, its cold, unyielding grip seizing her before she had a chance to react. With a brutal yank, Valery was lifted off her feet and hurled into the ground, the impact radiating pain through her body.

The wind rushed out of her lungs, and stars danced in her vision, leaving her stunned and gasping for breath. The ground beneath trembled violently as more tentacles erupted from the sand, the massive kraken golem now fully revealing itself. It loomed above, towering and grotesque, its form somehow silent in the Force, giving no warning of its presence or power.

The tentacle tightened around her leg, dragging her back through the sand, and Valery's fingers twitched as she fought to reach her lightsaber. Her body screamed in pain from the earlier slam, muscles burning as she strained to break free, but the sheer force of the creature's grip kept her pinned. Any chance to speak or call out for Kahlil was stolen by the crushing pain in her chest, the air still refusing to return to her lungs.

Perhaps she deserved it for all of her teasing.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Val!"

The only thing he felt was danger and pain. Not his own, but Valery. Without warning she was caught by something- another golem. One he couldn't feel in the Force? He gritted his teeth before raising his hands. The air lit up at once with runes. He couldn't affect the golem specifically, but when Valery hit the ground onto one she'd find herself on another, free from it's tentacle.

"You alright?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery pushed herself up slowly, her muscles groaning in protest as she steadied herself. Her body ached from the impact, but the fierce determination in her eyes hadn't dimmed. Through the haze of pain, she flashed Kahlil a quick, reassuring grin. One that did little to hide her pain.

Not that she could hide anything from him, even if she tried.

"I- I'm alright," she finally said, her voice strained but defiant, as she tightened her grip on her lightsaber.

Before she could catch her breath, more of the Kraken golem emerged from the sand, its tentacles thrashing out in all directions. The metallic limbs lashed toward them with relentless speed, and Valery immediately jumped into action, slashing through one with her blade, sparks flying as it recoiled. "Careful!" she called out, twisting her body to dodge another strike aimed at her.

The Kraken's massive form continued to rise from the sand, each movement rumbling through the ground beneath their feet. It was silent in the Force, but its deadly intent was crystal clear as its deadly maw appeared from the sand dunes.

This fight was far from over.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"At least they're creative."

Kahlil mused as he steadied his stance. A kraken like creature in a desert. Sarlac, perhaps? Didn't matter, it rose from the sands, snapping it's jaws at the pair of Jedi Masters. It was a terrible idea for it, in truth. The Shield pulled on the Force, forming another rune underneath Valery. The intent was clear. Shatterpoint. The core didn't matter. This thing could hide in the Force.

It needed to be dealt with quickly.

So, the rune would flare to life. He'd form more and more of the runes, letting Valery teleport between them to strike from whatever angle she needed. Their Dyad made it that much easier to plot out her course to shatter the leviathan.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring

Valery's body moved like a whirlwind of power and precision as she darted between Kahlil's runes. Each jump placed her perfectly in the path of a writhing tentacle, and with every swift, precise swing of her lightsaber, she severed the metallic limbs with a crackle of energy. Sparks flew as her violet blade slashed through the Kraken's appendages, her raw strength in the Force on full display.

Her every movement was fluid, her strikes faster than the eye could track, and all the while, she could feel the connection between her and Kahlil — a perfect harmony guiding her attacks. His runes allowed her to blink across the battlefield effortlessly, each step bringing her closer to dismantling the beast.

There was a hint of pride in her movements, knowing Kahlil was watching her tear through this monstrosity. She was always fierce in battle, but with him? There was something more — a subtle show of strength that she knew he admired. Epicanthix were a warrior people, and Kahlil had always appreciated her power, even if he didn't say it aloud.

With a final, powerful leap, Valery landed before the Kraken's remaining maw. Its massive jaws snapped violently in the sand, but it was helpless now, all of its tentacles lying in ruins around it.

Valery twirled her blade once before bringing it up in a defensive stance, her eyes locked on the beast. "Not so tough now, are you?" she muttered under her breath, her fiery gaze glowing with intensity as she looked over her shoulder, "Love? Do you think we can still extract the core?"

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil exhaled a breath as he opened his eyes. The runes about dissipated now that Valery had finished her attack. Crippled the beast to stop it from being able to move. That'd make it easier to handle now. He stepped over beside his wife, staring at the creature as it tried to gnash it's way towards them. Metal, like the other golem. Just as primal in thought.

"We can, yes. I get the feeling these are made from the local animals."

Valery Noble