Private Ride the Wave

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery raised an eyebrow when she stepped out of her room and spotted Colette. She had an almost judging mother type of look, whenever the daughter was wearing something a bit too revealing. But with her own shorts and tank top choice, she knew exactly what kind of response she'd get from Colette in return. "I know, I know. Don't have to tell me about hard work to stay in shape." She chuckled and glanced down at herself for just a second.

To some, it was about looking good or just feeling good with your own body, and to others it was about being in shape for the job they had signed up for. To Valery... it was both at this point, but with an emphasis on the latter.

"What makes this difficult? Steep cliffs? Small and windy paths?"

"Mostly-"

...Old creaky bones?"

Valery raised a hand and flicked Colette's forehead with a huff, "I'm not old, so shush it. I'll outrun you every day of the week," she told her Padawan with a grin. Sometimes, being a little competitive wasn't a bad thing.

"But it's steep, the paths are narrow and there's the danger of rocks falling down. No problem for us, though." She flashed another grin and headed outside, so they could start walking. First, she guided her Padawan away from the beach, and into a small forest at the base of the mountains. There were paths everywhere with lighting meant to set an almost romantic atmosphere in the evening, but that would soon change.

"So, what did you think of the water and the surfing? Happy we gave it a shot?" Valery then asked to start up some conversation while they walked.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The flick got an audible snicker out of Colette, a small but raspy exhale from her throat. It was fun but equally dangerous to poke Valery. One moment laughs, the other it was a significant ramp up in exercise and 'sparring errors'. But bruises healed and worthwhile egos were rarely shattered by words alone.

Colette couldn't help but raise a brow at the people that she and Valery passed as the two walked along the weirdly lit promenade. Pink and red didn't feel much like a natural color for this place, and especially not when the sun was still kind of up beyond the canopies of the trees. Still, there was no mistaking that everyone was holding hands or some variant thereof.

"Huh?" Colette asked as she turned back towards Valery again. "Oh, yeah it was… Weird."

"Not sure anyone back home would ever believe me if I told them I had stood on water. Much less water that moved on its own for that long." She chuckled. "... I've been talking a lot about back home lately, huh?"

The duo approached a big rock on the trail. Most certainly not something that was meant to be there given the way the trail seemed to budge under its weight and continue on the other side. Part of Colette figured they'd remove it, but… Where would they put it? The rock was either going to be on this path or they'd move it in such a way that it would undoubtedly roll on down the hill towards the resort after a while.

"Suppose it's hard to ever really let that go. Home, I mean."

Up and over it was. Colette latched onto the rock's surface and pulled herself up. No force, just her own strength against the call of gravity.

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

There were definitely going to be some extra laps now.

For now, though, Valery kept walking down the path and couldn't help but wonder how fun it'd be to walk here with her husband. Maybe she'd have to- Valery stopped, looked at Colette and smirked a little. She seemed to be looking at the couples and 'weird' lighting as well, and perhaps even found herself in a bit of a trance.

"Huh?" Colette asked as she turned back towards Valery again. "Oh, yeah it was… Weird."

Valery snickered and looked around once more before turning back to her Padawan, "Nothing wrong with talking about home. I've done it a lot as well, but my home just happened to be a Jedi Enclave. Now..." she smiled sheepishly, knowing how much she liked to ramble about her family and what she considered home. It wasn't necessarily a place, but just wherever she decided to be with the people she loved.

"It is hard," Valery agreed as she stopped in front of the rock, and pulled herself up on top as well. As much as she could, she'd try to avoid using the Force as well. It was fun and challenging to just rely on body and mind alone, and made for some good exercising as well. "I've never really gotten attached to places, but very much to people. They really make something home to me, and I don't think I can let that go."

Sometimes that was a strength, and other times a weakness.

"But I don't really think letting go of all that stuff is a good idea anymore. The old Jedi were all about letting go off your past, but as long as it doesn't conflict with being a Jedi, I believe there is strength in embracing it."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Despite being taught the ways of the Jedi, there was something undoubtedly rewarding about feeling the way your body worked in order to get itself moving. The way your hands tensed up and your fingers felt ready to dig into even the thickest of metals or the way your pulse could be felt as it thumped against your chest. The force felt easy in that regard sometimes. For Colette it required a more mental approach and an organized process for her body to fall into. This wasn't that, this was just the flabby skin and bones of the human body being pushed and strained to achieve something, no thought necessary. It was, in a sense, quite liberating.

"Yeah, but old Jedi also only accepted little children into their ranks for this same reason." Colette said and flashed her recent studies on the subject before she jumped down from the boulder and continued on the trail. "Makes sense that the practice ended." She shrugged. "No challenging views, just everyone following the same routine and practice. It sounds horrible."

Never let it be said that Colette cared much for tradition or held much respect for the old ways just because they were the old ways. If something was stupid, it deserved to be called out as such no matter what it was. Perhaps that was why Colette wasn't ever really considered for the seat of Elder despite how close she was to the current one. The kid would have changed traditions liberally if she had that power.

"Do you think we'll be getting into a lot of trouble tomorrow?" Colette asked and looked out across the vast open landscape of Pamarthe. It was mostly a lot of water. "What did the brief say about the path they'll be going down?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Hey, I was one of those little children," Valery said jokingly with a smirk. "But I agree. These days, we still have similar values, and we still focus on the same things. Defending people, bettering ourselves and contributing to a safe place to live in the Galaxy... we're just more accepting about where we all come from, and what we bring with us." Among other things. The biggest adjustment to her has been allowing attachments to form. For the majority of her life, she had suppressed those emotions, and felt awful as a result.

Now, she was no longer holding onto the traditional things she had learned as a Jedi anymore. Some of it still was important to her, but when it was necessary or if she was shown to be wrong, she was now far more flexible to change.

"When don't we get ourselves in a lot of trouble?" Valery snickered and jumped off the boulder to continue walking forward. The path seemed a bit more clear, but the angle was getting steeper quickly.

"But my suspicions are that there's a lot of exploitation and cheating happening. There are huge bets being placed on the race participants, and a lot of those credit streams end up in the wrong hands. Maybe to buy weapons or spice or... I don't know." She sighed and struggled a little more to get up the mountain side.

"You're not too worried about it, are you?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"I mean, maybe a little." Colette admitted and grabbed a hold of the ledge. "As worried as someone probably should be about stopping someone from potentially hurting others."

That was the true purpose for all of this, wasn't it? Jedi as a peacekeeping force more than anything. Help others help themselves, or stop them in their tracks if need be. Racing, trafficking and smuggling seemed a bit small in comparison to some of the other things to work on. Corruption, mass murder, and manipulation all seemed so much bigger and urgent to fix. But, Valery had already told Colette about the whole 'ground up' thing and that if you want to topple a particularly nasty tower you will have to crumble the foundation so that it couldn't just get up again.

"So, weapons and spice." Colette repeated as she climbed up next to Valery. "Are we to make the arrest or prepare for the proper authorities to come in?"

They reached the top and the quickly took a seat on the edge to get her breath back.

"I read that there were some sort of problem with people who are upset that the Jedi have too big of a jurisdish-... Juris…" Colette cleared her throat and dropped it. "You know what I mean."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Weapons and spice," Valery confirmed, and while it seemed like a small fish compared to some of her accomplishments, spice ruined far more lives than most people could ever imagine. It just wasn't as visible as Sith invasions or Mandalorians burning down entire civilizations. It was a constant source of death that lurked in the shadows and targeted the weak, the outcasts and those forgotten by society.

To Valery, it was up there with slavery in terms of evils in the Galaxy.

"I know what you mean, and that's something to be mindful of. An old Jedi philosophy called the Conquers and Honors covers it, and one of those Honors is to 'Honor the Law'. This applies to both Alliance space, as well as neutral territory. Pamarthe is not part of the Alliance and has its own laws and procedures on dealing with crime. We can help expose this criminal group, and we can stop them from making runs into Alliance space, but we can't just act as if we're the police here." Valery sat down at the edge and took a deep breath of fresh air herself.

"It can make our work tricky, but it's too important to ignore. Of course, I did reach out to local authorities, and they agreed to us running this investigation." She looked at Colette and offered a gentle smile.

"We'll make it work, hm?"

 

[Colette]

Right, the mantra for facing human nature in a sense and keeping it under control. Arrogance, overconfidence, defeatism, stubbornness (although that would never happen), recklessness, curiosity (yeah, right), aggression, external loyalties, and materialism. The whole conquers and honors concept was a veritable shopping list of things that Colette saw the point of, and one or two points that she just didn't agree with at all.

The honors were too conservative, too subservient. To not question your master or never to argue with them was to hinder the relationship. It was to say that one was always inherently right because of their position rather than their knowledge. There were enough clans where the wrong position was filled by a person with the wrong knowledge. To allow that in the Jedi Order (or Council) as well would be a disservice to not just them but Colette as well. If something was wrong, you owed it to yourself to speak up. It was as simple as that. The alternative was death. Not an immediate death, but a painful and slow one.

"Yeah, we'll manage." Colette nodded and looked out across the landscape again. "My bet is that they come from the small valley over there, depending on the size of their craft." The kid said and pointed at a small crease. "See how it narrows down there? Perfect place to throw pursuers off their tail."

"They could come from there," Colette said and pointed at the wide open space on the other side of a small mesa from where the valley opening was. "But that approach isn't quite as direct, and it leaves them far too open for other predators to spot them in the wide open."

"No, it's going to be the crease." She figured and squinted to try and draw a line from there and whatever direction they would go in. This was a delivery job, and those never truly changed beyond the means used for it. These were low flying speeders. Capable of some flight but nothing above certain altitudes. "They will need to break vision from there." She said and put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle her desire to hum in contemplation.

She pulled her hand away to look at Valery. "Any ideas?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Yeah, we'll manage."

Valery had a confident grin when her Padawan said that, but the second she started speculating about their approach, she perked a brow and followed along. Everything Colette told her made a lot of sense, but there were still a few questions Valery had about this approach. "The race will pass by this point as well, but I'm not sure when any spice or weapon runs will happen. My thoughts were that we try to use the race to figure out how and where the criminals are involved."

"But if they end up having to pass by this point, we could set up at the crease somewhere?" she asked Colette before looking over in that direction again. If this was one certain point they'd reach, it would be a good location for an ambush.

"We could set up there during the race already."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette's attention danced around the crease with a thoughtful frown. While Valery had brought up something that she had considered, something about it felt wrong. The kid closed her eyes to try and focus on why that feeling was there, to consider what it was trying to tell her before her eyes opened again and she simply said:

"No." And cleared her throat. "Imagine that you are hunting an animal through that crease with someone else. An ambush is based on you reacting to them passing through to the other side. Besides that they could spot us from a mile away if we position ourselves in the wrong place."

Colette lifted her leg from the ledge to put her foot on the cliff's edge and rest her arm on her knee.

"We should position an officer there instead and have them set up a block." She said and looked at Valery. "Instead of letting them pass through the crease and giving chase, we should let them believe that they are outsmarting us by taking another route without knowing that they are playing straight into our hands."

"You know, like herding bantha."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery's eyebrow went way up when Colette countered her plan with one of her own, "You...sound like you've done this before." She chuckled and glanced between the crease and the alternative path out of this area. It was honestly a good plan, so she let out a soft sigh and dipped her head. "Very well, we'll set up that road block with a law enforcement, and we'll spring the trap."

She paused and hummed some more in thought before looking at her Padawan. "We just have to figure out when they'll make their run. I assume sometime after the race, when they've collected their credits and want to get out before it gets too hot." She sat down herself now, and drew in a deep brearh of fresh air.

There was a lot to consider, but she could still find some joy in being here.

"Maybe during the race, we have to find a way to learn more. Infiltrate their office or listen in on them somehow. What do you think?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"There was a reason I could fall asleep next to the Bantha on that herdship, you know." Colette grinned. "My people kept livestock. It was necessary to survive."

Valery sat down and Colette looked out across the landscape again. The heat was a welcome change from the coldness of Coruscant, even if she had admittedly grown somewhat used to it.

"I suppose the rest is something we'd have to get during the race, yeah." The kid frowned. "Though I don't really like the sound of that. Too many things that can shift and change without us knowing."

Maybe what Colette actually should have strived for was a tactician role in her clan. Although the thought of having to plan routes and defenses for the rest of her life was enough to send a shiver down her spine. No, that would have been too sedentary, too detached from reality. Watchman and scout were more her speed. Never too dull, never too much of the same.

"I mean, we could theoretically put up blocks like fences to force the race in a certain direction, but that would probably put the racers off more than anything." She said and looked over at Valery again. "I mean, at least that's what I would have done. If it becomes obvious that someone is leading me in a certain direction, I'd just turn around and not go that way. So, I figure they would do much the same."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"I'm afraid we'll have to wait until after the race," Valery said after a moment of thought. "When the race starts, there will be cameras everywhere, and they have safety teams ready in case of crashes. They'll definitely notice if we altered the track in any way, which will result either in them removing our obstructions, or cancellation if they suspect trouble." She didn't want to risk giving away what could be their only chance, so they'd have to let the race happen.

"I'm sure we'll be able to adapt to whatever happens during the race, hm?"

Valery then grinned and turned her eyes back to the waters down below, "You think I can sneak my way into the race? I'd love to go down the track myself. To... inspect it for our mission, of course." She smiled innocently at her Padawan before climbing back up to her feet.

"Want to try and make it to the top now that we're this far up already?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"You could," Colette mused and looked out across the fields for a moment before she looked back at Valery again with a mischievous grin. "Not sure you could run the circuit though."

This plan of planning to improvise most likely wouldn't sit right with Colette. With this many question marks surrounding whats and wheres the two of them would be left at a disadvantage, but at least Colette had Valery to lean against if they failed to do anything substantial.

"Well, duh." She tsked and chuckled as she slowly stood up from the ledge. "Climbing is excellent exercise to activate the whole body, and all that."

The kid latched onto the side of the hill and proceeded to hoist herself up to get a new grip.

"Just have to be sure we don't spend energy that is better spent tomorrow."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"I'll get one of those water...jet...flying... hover thingies, don't you worry," she said whilst nodding. "If you want to join me, you can. As long as you don't fall off, you don't need to be a good swimmer either." She grinned a little at her Padawan and waited for her to catch up, before she offered to make the climb up. It was still a decent climb, but it would be a nice distraction and great exercise.

"I had a feeling you'd want to, and don't worry, it shouldn't be too draining." They still had plenty of time to get rest after this little excursion too, so Valery wasn't worried.

"After this mission, is there anything you'd like to learn more about? We've been progressing a lot on basics but each Jedi will ultimately specialize in a few things as well. Any idea what you want to focus more of your time on?" she asked as they began their way up the mountain.

This could help Valery refine her lessons, or maybe force her to find additional teachers if she couldn't cover the lessons Colette wanted herself.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Yes, I quite enjoy drowning." Colette fired back with a clearly unamused stare at her master before she continued climbing yet again. Joking had started as a sort of coping mechanism for the kid to keep herself from being overwhelmed by the insanity of the greater galaxy. In reality she didn't like the way it cheapened the importance of her words, but she supposed that with Valery that didn't matter much.

"I want to do what we are doing now." She grunted and lifted herself up along the cliffside. "Work to stop others from harming people."

The climb continued until eventually they reached the halfway point from where they were and where they were going. Colette stopped to grant herself just a brief moment of assessing how things were going with the climb and gather the thoughts dancing around in her head.

"I don't know what more a Jedi would want to do." Colette sighed and continued her climb. "I really just want to help people. Stop all the violence, that kind of thing."

"Just… No diplomacy, please. I hate the way the consulars keep using so-called 'small words' to avoid angering others. It has this… Exact opposite reaction from me."

"Speak plainly for fu-" The kid stopped herself by clearing her throat. "For fffff… orce's sake."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Colette's answer was hardly surprising, and brought out a smile despite her almost swearing again. "We'll be doing plenty of this, but while we are out and about helping people, it's also important we keep learning and improving ourselves. One day, you'll have to be able to stand entirely on your own without my help, after all." Even though that's exactly what Valery was preparing her for, she never actually liked the thought.

It was almost as bad as thinking about the day that Vera will move out and live her own life without her parents. She'd no longer be able to protect her little girl, and similarly, she always needed time to get used to not having her Padawans close anymore either.

"Well, we can't entirely avoid diplomacy. Sometimes it's not that we look for it, but that a situation we stumble into requires it. That said, you can take on assignments that feel more fitting for you." Valery grinned and continued the climb up, which involved moving over some more boulders, and a few fallen trees as well.

"I just want to make sure I can help you learn new skills you find useful and interesting. Sometimes, I'll teach something that might not be fun but is necessary, but we should also explore what we feel a connection to. Maybe it's Alter Environment like we tried back on the water, or something else entirely."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette bit her tongue right as the words 'I already can' formed on its tip. It mattered to Valery that she felt needed like that and despite how much she might have tried to hide her parental instincts it was hard not to notice the way that she handled her students like she would handle her own children. Or maybe Colette was different in that regard given the two women's similarities and how she had been there for the children when Valery literally couldn't have been.

It wasn't exactly a one-way street though. Whether Colette would ever really admit to it or not, Valery felt a lot more like the mother figure that she never had than a so-called 'master' which was perhaps why despite her disdain for the idea of calling anyone her master, it was alright around Valery.

"Technically," Colette grinned back and climbed over the obstacles. "We can. It just wouldn't be a good idea."

The two reached the summit and Colette let out a deep sigh of relief as she planted herself right on the edge again to seek air.

"I think you're too focused on making a plan for things that can't be planned like that." Colette panted and wiped her brows. "I was late to the order, and my learning will be a bit slower because of it."

"I'll just need to be a bit faster to catch up with the rest. And maybe in a year or two, I can start to really think about who or 'what' I am."

"Until then, I guess, I'll just do my best to be like you."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery rolled her eyes and nodded, "It really wouldn't be a good idea." Still, she wasn't going out of her way to find and accept every diplomatic mission she could find either. If Colette wanted to be more among the people to directly solve problems and help others, then that would be a very Jedi way of living.

"I think you're too focused on making a plan for things that can't be planned like that."

This time, Valery perked a brow, "You sound like Kahlil now, and it's creepy," she joked with a smirk, but Valery did understand what she was trying to say. "Whether it is now or in five years, it's just important to me that you never feel stuck in your development. Once you reach a certain point, it can get hard to really see improvement, and that's where I might be able to help." She was already smiling, but Colette's last comment certainly brightened it up even more.

She wanted to be like her Master, huh?

"I'm sure you'll do a great job but for now... why don't I take a cool picture of you here? Then we'll head back, rest up and be ready for tomororw." She flashed a grin, held up the camera and waited. "Say cheese~"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

She had gone from living in a tent in a desert to living in the most densely populated city center at the very heart of the universe. As far as progression went, Colette found it difficult to see how anything could get much larger than that. As she stared out across the open landscapes of Pamarthe, she could hear the shutter from the camera snap and turned around to look at Valery with a curious raise of her brow.

Weren't photos just cheap imitations of the real deal? Just being here was a memory in and of itself, like an imprint on Colette's brain that let her remember how she felt in this very moment the next time that she found something as strikingly beautiful as this very view.

"You're right," Colette chuckled and stood up from the cliff's edge. "We should probably head back and prepare."

The return in itself wasn't all that eventful. The two of them talked, quipped about the odds of success tomorrow, and had a few good laughs at the cost of the hopeless romantics spread out across the resort they were staying at.

All in all, a very different atmosphere from the almost eerily quiet cabin that Valery woke up to. As she began to look around it would be pretty clear that Colette had gone off somewhere, but the kid returned just in time for the Master to start wondering where she had gone off to.

"Oh, hey." She said and let in a deep breath. The girl was practically unable to stop bouncing around. "I couldn't stop the bouncing so I went for a quick jog around the block."

In reality it was the nerves, but she was just a little too proud to outright say it. There would be a lot of water for someone that couldn't really quite swim, a lot of big question marks about how this bust would go at the end of the day.

The nerves made sense.