Private Reflections of Power

[Caelan Valoren]

ATTIRE: Link
TAGS: Valery Noble

Three down, a half dozen or more to go.

Caelan turned towards them, bringing his lightsaber up into a ready position as two started towards him. But then, shouts from one of them drew them back and they began to retreat. Having no interest in fighting when it was no longer necessary, he let them do so. He did, however, follow them at a safe distance to make sure they were heading back to their ships and not trying to find an alternate means of getting to the passengers. If they were doing that, he would cut them down.

But they retreated to their ship and pulled away. This created a vacuum in that area of the transport, which nearly sucked him out, but he cut a slab of metal from an interior bulkhead and threw it at the hole before using his lightsaber to weld the two together. Not perfect, but it would keep them from losing air out into space.

He was about to turn around and head back when he suddenly heard something impact the outside of the ship. Not a laser blast or torpedo, but something had impacted the outer hull. Then another did, and he started to hear the outer hull straining before noticing some buckling down the corridor from him. Moment later, a whole section of the outer hull ripped away and he ran backwards, slapping shut a door to seal off the corridor before anything worse happened.

In haste he ran back towards where Valery was, running through the room of frightened passengers, and into the room with her. It was full of gas, but he drew on the Force and used it to push it away, back down the corridor towards where the attackers were fleeing.

"They're using harpoons to tear apart the ship!" he shouted at her. "We have to do something to stop them!"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery's face hardened as Caelan's words sunk in, her gaze flickering toward the bulkhead as another harpoon impacted the ship. The sound of metal groaning under strain echoed ominously through the vessel. Time was slipping away, and the situation was growing direr by the second.

"We won't be able to save this ship," Valery said grimly, her voice carrying both urgency and calm resolve. "We need to evacuate the passengers now. Get them to the escape pods." She glanced at Caelan, her tone leaving no room for doubt. "You'll lead them. Guide them to safety."

The ship shuddered violently, emphasizing her point. She turned back to Caelan. "Once they're away, I'll join you, but I'm heading to the breached sections first. I need to sever those harpoons and buy us more time."

Without waiting for an argument, Valery moved quickly, leading Caelan toward the main corridor where the evac routes branched out. The crowd of frightened passengers stumbled toward the pods, faces pale but filled with determination.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

ATTIRE: Link
TAGS: Valery Noble

"Yes, Master," he said before returning and gathering those still alive.

They moved to the escape shafts that lead to the pods and Caelan quickly ushered people into them. They were few in number at this point, only the ones that had been in the room with himself and Valery. The escape pods were full, but Caelan didn't dare try and shove himself into one and make it dangerous for those inside of it. Instead, he issues instructions for them to launch the pods, leaving himself and Valery stranded inside of the derelict ship.

But he did have an idea. Valery had pretty much killed all of the marauders she'd been facing. Curious, he tracked to where they had entered. While he found one bulkhead collapsed where a shuttle had been used to escape, he found another hole in the exterior of the ship that was not open to vacuum. Poking his head in, he did a quick check to see if anyone was inside, but he didn't see anyone, so he climbed in.

The sound of tapping greeted him, and he looked down to see a small droid that bounced skittishly from one foot to the next.

"Hello," Caelan said, trying to move past it.

It jumped back in front of him, then half ran away, and then returned.

"I need this ship to escape and to save the others that are. Can I please get by?"

The droid beeped and whirred at him and Caelan frowned.

"I don't understand. You want me to but can't let me?"

Instantly a blaster bolt whizzed past him, coming from the eye of the droid that looked like a holoprojector. Caelan was fortunate that it had missed, but either way, he quickly grabbed the little droid and faced him away.

"Sorry. Can't have you doing that right now."

He shoved the droid into a compartment and sealed him in before heading towards the cockpit. Everything was in order and the ship was empty except for the droid. The droid didn't seem bad. There was something off about it. That's why he didn't destroy it. Plus it was easy enough to shove it away and lock it up for the moment where it couldn't cause any trouble.

Caelan did spot trouble outside, though. A fighter was lining itself up for another harpoon shot and two other shuttles were nearby. He looked around before spotting the controls for the ships weapons systems, and targeted them at the opposing craft. The vessel was armed with torpedoes and laser cannons from what he could tell. He fired torpedoes at the two shuttles, with two clear impacts, though neither ship was torn apart. The one fighter he could see, and he could tell from the scanners there were at least two more, was busy with its harpoon attached and unable to fire at him, so he turned the laser cannons on it and peppered it with repeated fire until it exploded in a cloud of debris.

He hated doing it. Killing people made him sick to his stomach. But he had to in order to keep them from going after the escape pods, or killing him and Valery. He hoped she was having luck.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery pushed through the crumbling corridors, her boots pounding against the deck as the ship groaned under the strain of its multiple breaches. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of burning metal, but she kept her focus sharp. Each second counted—every harpoon severed meant another moment bought for the evacuees.

She reached the first harpoon, its thick cables vibrating under the tension of the enemy ship still pulling against it. Without hesitation, Valery ignited her lightsaber, the violet blade hissing to life. With two precise slashes, she cut through the cables, and the harpoon groaned as it lost its grip on the ship's hull. The sudden release sent a shudder through the vessel, but she was already moving.

The second harpoon was buried deeper, its metal claws ripping through bulkheads and conduits. Marauders guarded this one, but Valery approached without slowing. Her lightsaber became a blur as she deflected a volley of blaster fire, closing the distance with terrifying speed. Within moments, the marauders were disarmed and incapacitated, their weapons clattering uselessly to the floor.

Valery turned her attention to the harpoon, severing its connection with a single, decisive cut. Sparks flew, and the ship trembled as the tension released, but she remained steady. Her breath came in controlled bursts, her mind focused on the task at hand.

The ship groaned again, louder this time, as another harpoon embedded itself further down the corridor. Valery didn't hesitate. She sprinted toward it, weaving through the wreckage and leaning on the Force to keep her balance as the vessel continued to destabilize. Her lightsaber hummed with purpose, ready to cut another down.

It wouldn't be enough to save the ship, but she could buy Caelan some time.

Caelan Valoren ​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

ATTIRE: Link
TAGS: Valery Noble

Whatever she was doing, it was causing a shift in the ship. Maybe it was because they were pulling on a ship that wasn't pulling back against them, he didn't know, but the ship was starting to roll. With artificial gravity, it didn't matter much to him, but it did mean that he was starting to drift around to where he would be able to target whatever was still shooting at them. Eventually.

Somewhere back behind him, that little droid was beeping up a storm, trying to get out of the locker he'd shoved it in.

"I know, I know!" he called back to it. "But right now isn't the time for me to mess with you. We can fix you later!"

The ship continued to spin and he did his best to utilize the targeting computer to keep the weapons on the thing ready. As soon as one of the enemy ships appeared on screen, he opened fire on it, peppering it with weapons fire until it went up in a ball of flames, or at least got sent spinning out of control away from them. He didn't care which outcome it received as long as it was not shooting at them or the escape pods. They needed the people to get away safely.

Another one came into view and he blasted it as well. That only left one more and it must have realized it was the last one because it quickly started to fly away and then jumped to hyperspace. He sighed in relief, sitting back in the seat. That was a lot to deal with. Killing, cutting people up like he had, was not something he enjoyed doing. He closed his eyes and tried to work on calming himself down.