Private Ride the Wave

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

After a walk back that left Valery secretly grumbling about the hopeless romantic jokes, she pretty much went straight to bed. Not that the day had tired her out too much, but she wanted to be at her best tomorrow. As fun as their time on Pamarthe had been thus far, it was still a serious mission, and she couldn't allow herself to lose focus. Especially not with Colette around, who likely needed a bit of guidance.

This place was just a tad out of her comfort zone, after all. Or well, the water was.

When Valery's eyes eventually opened in the morning, and she got dressed to try and look for Colette, she was surprised to find the girl's bedroom empty. She could still feel Colette's presence out there, so she wasn't too worried, but there was definitely some relief in her eyes when her Padawan walked through the door.

On the table, Valery had prepared quite a nice meal for them both.

"Well, sit down and eat and drink something. Good breakfast will help you feel better," she said with a smile. "How was the run, though? See anything nice?" She wasn't going to make Colette talk about her nerves, but she hoped to make all of this comfortable enough to where she might.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Colette took a seat and slowly began to shovel one morsel of food after the other with a slow, methodical chew. For each second that passed she swore that she could feel the way her feet tickled under the involuntary spasms lifting her foot up and down again at a rapid pace.

"It was good." She mumbled and swallowed. "A lot quieter in the morning. Less people trying really hard to do something really simple."

The kid let in a deep, very audible breath.

"No, actually…" She let out a long shaky exhale. "I— I'm afraid of what could happen if I fall into the water."

"I don't want to drown, or risk our mission."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"I love morning walks or runs too," Valery commented idly while she ate, but mostly watched her Padawan. The question had been simple and wasn't really what she was interested in the most. Something was on Colette's mind, and it was important to her that she felt comfortable telling her Master.

Or if she didn't, that she'd find a way to handle it alone.

But after a moment, it seemed that Colette would finally open up after all, and Valery nodded in understanding. "I understand why you feel that way. But you don't have to go into the water if you'd rather not. I certainly don't want you to feel like it's too much to handle." Valery took a smaller bite and kept her eyes locked on the girl.

"It's not all about the race. Maybe you can figure out a lot more on land, as I suspect that the criminals we're after will be in the stands somewhere too."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

It would seem that Valery chose to appeal to Colette's pride. On one hand it would be safer if she was not present for the water section of the job, but on the other hand that was also exactly what she had signed up for. On one hand she could play it safe and try to find other ways to help, or she could do what she had been asked to do.

"I— I said I'd be there for the race, though." Colette stammered. "I can't just say I will do one thing and then do something else, that's… That's wrong."

"And if we split up, we'll put each of us at greater risk."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"It's important that we know our limitations," Valery said after listening to Colette go back and forth a little on it. "Confronting fears and overcoming our weaknesses is important, but unnecessarily risking our lives for it isn't the way to do it. If you think it's too much for you to be on the water, then we'll find another way."

"Either by splitting up, or we both try something else."

She finished off her meal and looked back at Colette with a gentle smile, but it was hard not to hide the fact she was a little bit worried. The protective Master kind.

"I don't want you to be overwhelmed."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"My limit is death." Colette sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she shoveled another piece of egg into her mouth and swallowed. "I can't let this chance go to hell just because I didn't know how to swim, there has to be something I could do."

The kid left it up for interpretation what that 'chance' was, but she hadn't exactly been silent about how extremely privileged she felt for her force sensitivity and the duty that it put upon her shoulders whether she wanted it to or not. Usually she had the anxiety under wraps, but it came back in situations like this when the weight of her own expectations directly clashed with what she could actually do.

"I—" Colette stammered. "I am not going on the racetrack, I would only hinder us, but…"

"I don't want to work alone either, Valery. I have no idea how to navigate bigger cities or environments like this either.

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"My limit is death."

Valery's brows furrowed and the concern in her eyes grew for just a moment. But deeper within her Padawan, she felt that something was changing. As stubborn as Colette could be, she wasn't a fool, and wouldn't actually take serious risks that could very likely result in death. At least, not when it really wasn't necessary. When she finally reached the conclusion Valery had been hoping for, the Jedi Master let out a soft breath of relief.

If she would have had to tell Colette herself that she wasn't going to be brought on the water, the argument that followed likely wouldn't have been very pleasant.

"Good, I'd rather have you not take the risk either. That said, I won't go on the track either, and we'll both be in the stands. I'm sure we can figure out a lot being just there."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Well, that's decided then." Colette grumbled with an uneasy sense of relief. "No drowning just yet."

She wanted to say something. The words were right there, buried within her chest, but there seemed to be no way to actually give them weight or even sound. How would she describe something she didn't know? It was an emotion of guilt for feeling like she had failed at something but mixed with an understanding that it was the right thing. Yet in all of it a deep worry that it wasn't the last time that it would happen.

An uneasy silence took Colette as she continued to eat her food.

"I don't know how to describe what I am feeling." She said and sighed. "I've failed you, but… It's also the right thing to do, and… It's going to happen again?"

"It's hard to explain."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"Failed me?"

Of all the things she had said, that stood out the most to Valery, and it could only make her frown. Did she really feel like she was failing her Master just because something was too much for her? Valery let out a soft sigh, and tried her best to offer a more reassuring smile this time.

"Colette, you're not failing me because we run into something you're not ready for yet. If you were always ready for everything, you wouldn't need to be a Padawan anymore." In a lot of ways, Colette was more ready for the Galaxy than a lot of other Jedi her age, but she was still young, and her experience with strange new worlds was limited.

She was still a Padawan.

"You've made the right decision, and you haven't failed me. We're going to still solve this problem together - we're just taking a better approach."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"That's wrong." Colette frowned at Valery. "I would still be a Padawan, this is me failing because I am physically incapable of something that I should be capable of, given…" Yeah, what exactly? "Everything."

"I would be a padawan because of my inexperience in the force. Not being able to swim despite everything else is a failure on my end to not learn or be what I can be."

"But yes, we'll just… Do something else. We can work the stands, but… The plans we talked about yesterday seemed to rely a lot on being closer to the race."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"No," Valery said rather bluntly in response to Colette's stubborness. "Everything is a matter of experience, and your ability to swim is too. We learn things in life because we need them, and where you've grown up, you didn't need to be able to swim," Valery said before standing up to take her dishes away to the kitchen.

"You're going to run into a lot more of these things. Whether it's related to the Force, knowledge of the Galaxy, or skills that might not be specific to the Jedi at all. It's not failure if you haven't learned something yet, no matter what the reason is."

"You only fail when you actively avoid learning what you need, and you wouldn't have stepped into the ocean yesterday if that was the case." Valery now shot her a bit of a look, already expecting her to still be stubborn, but she wasn't having any of it. It was time to start thinking about the mission again.

"There are always other ways to get the job done. Not afraid of a little challenge, are you?" She asked with a smirk.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Gah! It was THIS impasse again. The kid flared her nostrils for a moment. Colette had seen it often enough to understand that there was no point in arguing with Valer anymore, and even so — just this once — she actually understood what Valery meant. She understood, but her pride refused to let her agree.

Colette let out a sigh to punctuate the conversation and maybe just let out a small huff of hot air. Fine, they'd avoid getting her killed. Was probably better that way and all.

"We'll find their scouts in the stands, I guess." The girl said and took her last bite of her food and brought it over to the kitchen as well. "Will be a lot of people though."

"We'd need some way to tell their people apart from the rest."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

Valery squinted, knowing that Colette wanted to argue back somewhere deep down, but she luckily didn't. Maybe she realized she wasn't the only stubborn one in the room, or hopefully... she understood there was some truth to what Valery was trying to tell her. Ultimately, all Valery cared about was keeping her reasonably safe. She'd never actively shield her Padawans from all forms of danger, but there were limits.

They had reached one of those limits.

"There's no way they will be among the common folks, as they call it. Ever seen a podrace on the holo? The rich, influential and criminals are always up there in VIP seats. This race has them, too." Valery grinned but they did still have to find a way to maybe get inside that VIP area as well.

"We could try to find a way in."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The best way to let the desire to throw words back at Valery was to move forward. Colette forced herself to drop the topic even if she didn't want to as they moved on to her least favorite subject: 'nobility'. Of course, that wasn't the word used but it was as direct of an explanation for it as anything else that might have been 'fancier' to call them.

They ruled because of reasons few could achieve, held no real right to power, and more than anything tried to dictate how others should live their lives without being bound to set an example. Colette might have spent a long time in the Jedi Order now, but that didn't mean her more deep-seated beliefs were any less fiery than when she had arrived. Anyone who claimed to be above others deserved to have their legs cut off so that they could see what a waste of good air they actually were.

The frown on her lips told Valery enough about Colette's opinion on this thought, and yet the kid clearly had no better idea.

"Funny how the criminals and the rich tend to be the same people." She muttered and glared at the wall next to her before turning back to Valery with a sigh. "Is there any other way?" She asked. "Do we trust that I can keep my mouth shut long enough not to call those pests out for the vermin they are?"

Speaking truth to power? Underrated and wholly necessary.

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

There was the frown.

Valery shared Colette's dislike for people who put themselves above others the way most people did. Society needs leaders, or people willing to drive things forward, and that naturally results in certain hierarchy's. But in a proper society, those leaders did not abuse their power, and they weren't above the rules and laws either. Out here though, where it was so easy for these rich and 'powerful' to keep others suppressed beneath them, they always did.

"They aren't always the same, but sadly, here they mostly are." Valery let out a soft sigh and then perked a brow when Colette asked if there was another way. "I don't think so, and keeping your mouth shut when it matters shouldn't be an impossible challenge, I hope. Remember why we're really doing this — we're trying to stop them from shipping more weapons and illegal goods into the wider Galaxy."

"We can't let more people suffer because we want to win a verbal argument against someone who cares little about what we think and feel in the first place."

 

[Colette]

"If the shoe fits." Colette muttered. "This idea of wealth as you people out here know it is built on the idea that someone values—" The girl sighed. "Forget it."

The kid had a hard time dropping the ideals of her home in that regard. The more you claimed as your own, the less you shared, and the less you shared, the less likely your tribe was to survive. It was a line drawn in the sand that said 'this is mine, and you can't touch it despite having a clear greater need'. To be rich wasn't just a question of being or not being, it was a mindset and a mindset that Colette clearly despised too, even if others tried to tell her that it was just the way that society was built.

Bullcrap. Life wasn't static, it was malleable, and these people would always fester at the gaping wounds of the galaxy. At least until those who were at the bottom, the workers who built the foundation upon which the 'rich' grew fat off would finally realize the power that they held over those above them and tore every rug they could from underneath them. If they knew how to build a foundation, then they damn well knew how to tear it down too if they could just see it in themselves.

But, that was not why they were here today, and Valery had a point.

"Fine." Colette muttered, nearly spat in disapproval. "I will do my best to keep quiet, but I will also do what is right."

"I am sure you will, too."

Colette would be disappointed if Valery said no.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

"Of course."

Valery could tell that Colette wasn't thrilled about any of this, and she wasn't either. But when it mattered, Valery trusted that Colette would always do what was necessary for the mission. Whether that meant telling someone exactly how she felt, or choosing to keep it to herself to avoid a situation from escalating. They'd do what is right and necessary, but never compromise why they were here.

"Now, let's get going then, shall we?" Valery asked with a smirk. "We can take one of the taxi rides, buy our tickets and we'll make our way over to the VIP stands. I'm sure we can find a way in, hm?"

As a former Jedi Shadow, Valery definitely had no trouble getting into restricted areas. But doing so while also bringing along a Padawan was more of a challenge. A challenge she welcomed.

 

[Colette]

"Sure." Colette sighed and reached for her things on a table by the door. "We'll get in, get out, stop the drugs, and head home."

The door opened and she held it for her master before it closed and they locked up. The warmth and the salty breeze didn't feel as relaxing today as it had yesterday. There were already people sleeping in the sand and people working out in the open gyms, although clearly more for attention than anything.

The taxi arrived and the two got in. Colette hesitated to talk about what they were about to do.

"You know I'm a bad liar." She said and frowned. "You will have to do the talking."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

"I will if necessary, but I doubt that you can get out of talking. Just avoid what you don't want to say," Valery said before she paused, blinked and looked at Colette, "If anybody asks, you're my daughter. We can't really go around telling people that we're Jedi, and calling me Master without the right context..." Well, she didn't want anybody to think that she owned Colette in any way. Even if it was undercover.

Valery had her limits, and slavery especially was something she despised.

"There it is," Valery then said after a moment, right as they moved around one of the Islands and saw the huge stands that were slowly filling up with people. The trace track was ready, racers were being moved onto the water, and up in the VIP sections, they could already see people sitting down.

Hutts, business people, slavers... the worst of the worst, among perhaps some who were trustworthy.

"Ugh..."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Subterfuge was such a frustrating concept, but Colette supposed she understood. Valery was used to it. The lying aspect of being a 'Shadow' had been part of her life as much as hunting had been Colette's. It didn't mean that the kid approved of it, but it meant that she understood. They were both hunters, just of two different kinds of beasts. Valery could find 'trust' in a place where Colette only saw contempt.

The thought did cross Colette's mind that just a few swings of a lightsaber alone could do a lot of good to a lot of people. She wasn't sure who those people were, but it couldn't be all bad people. Still, the fact she would die herself if she even made a move was enough of a reason not to make a move. Not to mention that Valery herself would cut the kid down before she even got very far.

"In, out, get it done." Colette whispered to herself as she let in a deep breath. "We can do this."

The duo wandered the stands in an attempt to find a way into the VIP booth, but there wasn't anything too obvious in sight.

"Could just use the force to make them let us in." Colette whispered to Valery. "Unless that's unethical, I guess."

This whole thing was unethical, so did 'ethics' really matter?