Private Ride the Wave

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

That I guess was the only worrying part about what she said, but Valery shrugged it off this time and turned her gaze back to the stands for a moment. The entryways into the VIP area were all guarded, and using the Force to get up there would be far too obvious. Everybody would be able to see them jump, so that wasn't an option either.

"We avoid mind tricks if we can, but using them to bypass a guard for an important mission is not the worst use of it. When the alternative could cause harm, it's especially useful." Looking back at Colette, and then at the huge 6ft5 guard waiting up ahead, Valery began to smirk a little.

"Have you learned how to do a mind trick already?" If it wasn't clear by now, Valery was thinking about letting her Padawan get them passed the guard.

Naturally, she'd be ready to step in and help.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"No I haven't." Colette whispered back. "You would know if I did."

It was true, Valery was her master after all. She was even all too aware of Colette's continued experiments to shape water in the force. It was fun for Colette, but not everyone appreciated the watermarks it sometimes left on some of the polished stone surfaces around the temple.

Apparently it made them slippery.

"What are the basics?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

Valery dipped her head and looked over at the guards once more, deciding it was best that she handled it now. If Colette had successfully practiced it before, she maybe would have let her make the attempt, but she wasn't going to make her first time trying a Mind Trick happen during a critical point on a mission.

Still, it wasn't going to stop her from explaining how it worked.

"For a Mind Trick, we connect with the mind of the other, similar to how we would when we use telepathy. It only really works on those weak of mind, but when we have that connection, we can nudge subtle orders into their mind. We can make a guard look away, someone step aside or try to get someone to reveal sensitive information. The more complex it is, the less likely it'll work and some species are immune to it entirely. I'd... also not try to use it against other Force Users, as they tend to have shielded minds." It was just a basic rundown, but hopefully painted a pretty decent picture for her Padawan.

Valery then gestured for Colette to follow her, and together, they'd make their way over to the guards. Before Valery even had a chance to speak, they demanded their VIP tickets, but Valery just waved her hand, "We are VIP guests and you'll let us pass," she told them, and their bodies stiffened.

"You are VIP guests, and you may pass," one said, before stepping aside to let them in.

 

[Colette]

Well, if ever there was a way to make a mind trick sound unethical, this would have been it. Colette listened intently to the lecture and gave a nod at the end to confirm that she had understood what Valery meant. The two were let into the VIP section and Colette couldn't help but throw a glance over her shoulder at the guard station by the entrance again who seemed to resume his duties as soon as they had passed.

They stepped over the threshold of the small staircase that would take them to the stands and sure enough there were enough scum to make you vomit. Colette's lips twisted into a frown despite her efforts to quell it. At the front sat an overgrown slug with two clearly unwilling meatbags attached to it by some form of leash. A man stood next to them, a wiry type, most likely fed just enough to not rebel compared to the other two.

Then there were the nautolans, the gran, the weequays, and the rest of the usual suspects that Colette had no actual knowledge or experience of.

The air reeked of lavender, yet an unmistakable aroma of sweat clearly hung in the air.

"Your companion is staring." One of the gran members said and looked over at Valery. "Tell them to stop."

Except Colette had already stopped by then. The gran's friends looked at Valery and then their friend with a quick pat on their back to urge them to let it go. In front of them laid lines of some strange powder that Colette had never seen before. Spice?

"If I catch them staring again, she's dead. Keep your cattle in check."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

For a moment, Valery had been lost in the scene around her. As a Padawan, she had briefly been captured by Hutt slavers, and ever since, her hatred for what she already found disgusting before her capture had gotten even worse. Not long ago, Kahlil Noble had helped her confront those demons when the Hutts showed up on Keshi, but she still couldn't shake the shivers of disgust whenever she saw them.

All she wanted to do was cut those leashes and set those people free, but it wasn't that simple.

"If I catch them staring again, she's dead. Keep your cattle in check."

Valery blinked and snapped out of her thoughts to turn to the gran, "If you threaten her again, you'll get to see the waves up close." She wasn't one to threaten people as a Jedi, but she wasn't speaking as one now. To be among these thugs, she couldn't let anybody just walk over her.

"Come on," she then told Colette, before nudging her to walk to some open seats.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The gran scoffed in disgust at Valery as she pushed past him before he went right back, nose-deep in the powder on his table with a shake to still the shivers that spiked through his body. His friends joined in not too long after that. One of them let out a throaty yet strangely guttural 'mmm' before Colette let her attention slip over towards the rest of the little VIP area.

Her eyes met with a slick looking man that rested against the nearby bar. He gave her a slight nod and she did her best to quell the urge to make her disgust all too obvious by giving him one in return and faced towards the stage of the race. She gave her master a once-over to assess the situation. It didn't quite show, but something about this place seemed to put Valery in a mood. Call it intuition or an understanding of how her master worked. No words needed, Colette just kind of felt it.

"Well now," An all too smooth, practised voice rang into Valery and Colette's booth before its owner slid in just a little too close for comfort to the former. It was the man by the bar. "Look who we have here."

"You won't mind if I take a seat." He said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Name's Charles Beaufort."

He extended his hand.

"And you are…"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

After dealing with the gran, Valery was far too focused on pushing her mind away from thinking about the scum around her to notice the man at the bar. She just sat down in her booth, relaxed and let out a deep breath. It was more than likely that Colette could tell this place had an effect on Valery. Because no matter how direct and gremlin her Padawan was, she was also good at picking up on these things.

She had always seemed very aware like that.

Colette, however, was afforded no chance to bring anything up if she had wanted to — the man from the bar slipped inside their booth and sat down right up against Valery's side. The Jedi Master blinked, clearly taken aback, and slowly turned her fiery gaze to the man who didn't even ask if he could join them.

His smile and the way he talked told her everything she needed to know. It was obvious what he wanted.

"Sarah Brant," she said rather flatly as she took his hand for a firm shake that made her wedding ring press into his hand. "How can I help you?" she then asked, but her tone almost made it sound like she was demanding the answer if he wanted to stay here a minute longer.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

A dry tongue slipped between the man's lips to wetten them before it disappeared within the dark, nicotine-scented abyss that was his mouth again. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was getting some twisted idea of fun out of this. Colette wanted to speak up and protect her master, but Valery seemed like she was making that effort herself.

The man was caught off-guard by the firmness of her handshake but was quick to follow it up with an equally firm handshake as if he sought to outright hurt her for the insolence.

"Well, 'Sarah'," The man said and licked his lips yet again before he let go. "That was a real slick move you pulled on my man back there at the entrance. Creegor is not usually one to let people in when I have given him the direct order to let no-one else step into my den like this."

He ran a quick hand through his seemingly oil-slicked hair and rubbed his nose for a moment with a sharp, sniveling inhale. His force presence was mute. Not gone, but also far from as noticeable as certain other signatures in the room. It was clear that some kind of substance was running in his veins, but whatever it was seemed alien to Colette.

"You, and your friend here, your… Pah-day-won aren't welcome here." Charles then followed up as he dropped all veneer of being as amiable as when this conversation had started. "I run this circuit, I know who is who."

"And you, are not welcome here. Right now there are fifteen different groups around us, all with a vested interest in seeing someone like you disappear. But as luck would have it, I am not one of them." He withdrew a colorful cigarillo from his inner pocket and lit it up with the ease of a frequent smoker and quickly exhaled it right in Valery's face with a clear desire to simply try and make her squirm. "They are too stupid or arrogant to realize who you are, but not me. If either of you make a move, there won't be anything left to send back to your husband, Ms. Brant."

He leaned in for a whisper. "Or should I say Grand Master Noble?"

The look in his eyes said it all: "Plead before me."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

He knew.

Valery could feel it before he called her out on the fake identity. It was honestly not that surprising — Valery was one of the most recognizable faces in the Galaxy. With orange eyes, a huge scar on her face and the long ponytail it was easy to pick her out even in a dense crowd. But of all the things he said, her mind lingered most on the threat he made, not just to her but indirectly to her family as well.

To her husband, her kids and also to her Padawans.

"Or should I say Grand Master Noble?"

Faster than a blaster bolt, Valery planted an elbow in his neck and forced his face down against the small table in their booth. Her other arm snatched his wrist, and pinned his arm to his back at a painful angle. There was a flash of something in Valery's eyes, bordering somewhere between anger and determination, but she ultimately kept herself in check. As easy as it would have been to send him flying or break his arm, she held back.

"Colette, change of plans," she said, knowing how obvious it was. But if they had surrendered to this man, they wouldn't have seen the light of day every again.

"We're bringing him in." She glanced down and forced him against the table a little more roughly. "It seems you're as stupid and arrogant as the others here, Mr. Beaufort."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

This was going to hell, and it was going real fast. Colette was taken aback by the whisper and her eyes wandered over towards Valery with a worried look before the master took action. The man grunted as he was thrown against the table and Colette slowly scooted her way out of the booth and looked at the other.

There was no denying the surprise that spread across the VIP section, everyone looked over at what was happening. The hutt even managed to shuffle out of his seat to look over at Charles before a wide scowl set over his slimy lips. Hurried footsteps from the entrance stepped on over towards them. Colette ignited her saber on sheer instinct to block the first shot that went towards Valery's head and deflected it away.

A tense moment of silence passed.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Charles roared in anger. "SHOOT THEM!"

Chaos erupted upon being given the go ahead. Some souls began to scramble for the door, others flipped their tables over and began to fire at the duo. Colette did her best to try and use her saber to protect herself, but in the end even she needed to seek cover.

"Let me GO!" Charles roared yet again. "Or your young one gets shot."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

She bet nobody had responded to him like this before.

Men like him always hid behind bodyguards and used their wealth or perceived power to oppress others. Now he had threatened someone who wasn't afraid, and the surprise and shock in him and the people around him made it very obvious that this hadn't happened before. Valery almost enjoyed it, but she was in enough control over herself to focus on what actually mattered. She had to bring this man to justice and make sure her Padawan got out unharmed as well.

As chaos erupted around them, Valery pushed the man down behind cover while she crouched as well. Colette had given them the time they needed to reposition, and was in cover too.

"Colette, now!" Valery raised her hand, and many of the tables the others were using for cover flew up into the air, resulting in their loss of protection.

Hopefully, it'd give Colette an opportunity to take a few of them down, so they could start moving.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There was a brief moment of confusion as Valery told Colette to move before the kid vaulted over her own cover and reignited her saber. The smell of superheated plasma began to flood the small room. People down in the stands seemed to have noticed the commotion. Some slowly made their way towards the exits, others merely looked up to see what was happening while the cameras continued to scroll the race.

Colette swung for the thugs' blasters and legs, arms and hands. There was no attempts to end lives, just to incapacitate them and disarm them. They just wanted to do what was the right thing, same as—

Something snapped, the kid could feel it. It crept along her spine like a shiver. The entire room went silent for a moment, or so it felt like. A loud ringing noise began to fill the room as her focus seemingly just dropped.

Her target's head lifted from their shoulders and dropped to the ground. Colette felt the pain and fear for little more than a second before it was gone and yet the whole scene seemed to burn against the periphery of her mind.

A deep nausea impacted against her chest that she just couldn't resist. Security stormed the place with their blasters and rifles raised as the kid deposited the morning's breakfast right there on the floor.

Colette was a murderer now. She had—

No. That wasn't possible.

Or was—

No.

She threw up yet again, a shaky hand reaching out towards a nearby seat as she struggled to keep herself upright. Her knee planted itself on the floor, in the puddle, as she felt her entire body begin to shake more and more violently. Tears welled up, her breathing grew increasingly staggered.

She had just taken a life.

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

Valery watched as Colette took advantage of the opening she created, but what happened next was something even Valery hadn't expected. Her hopes had been that her Padawan would have been able to deflect their bolts back, now that they were no longer behind cover, but she was forced into a clash and that meant people weren't only getting hurt, but one of them died. She watched the head separate from the torso, before bouncing on the ground, and looked at Colette with widened eyes.

Her shock and pain rippled through the Force.

"Colette!"

Seeing her drop down to her knees after throwing up made fear spike in Valery's heart — she was still out in the open and people were still opening fire. So without wasting a second, she pushed the disgusting crime lord away and drew her own lightsaber, before jumping over to cover her Padawan. No blaster bolt was going to reach her, and with a sudden wave of Force energy, Valery blasted everybody away from her.

For a moment, she considered pulling their target back towards her, but she couldn't drag him along and help Colette at the same time. She had to make a decision and she wasn't hesitating at all — she was protecting her Padawan.

"Come on, we've got to move and get out of here!" She called out. Valery wanted nothing more than to drop down to her own knees and embrace her Padawan, but she couldn't. Not while they were getting shot at.

"I'm not leaving you here, Colette. We have to move."

 

[Colette]

The ringing didn’t stop, the buzzing under her skin didn’t stop. Each shiver that went up and down along her spine brought with it another wave of cold sweat as Colette struggled to breathe. A single bolt whizzed past her before the noise began to fade with a push within the Force. Colette heard her name being called.

She tried to answer but her voice was too weak. Life was sacred to her, always had been, and this act, this desecration of it felt like a thousand stones that came crashing through a glass window she had polished since adolescence; all that work — gone.

The Security Officers raced in to maintain the fragile moment of peace and seized the moment to cuff those who had been part of this, Charles included. Those who didn’t come willingly were tazed, those who agreed to be cuffed. One ambitious thug opened fire on an officer and shot them dead, only for the favor to be returned ten-fold by his colleagues.

One of them approached Valery.

“We will need to discuss this down at the station, Master Jedi.” He said with a soft voice and looked over at the kid. “Get her a blanket, and… Sort this whole thing out.”

“Provided that you both come with us willingly, of course.”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

"Well come with you, but just give me a moment to help her," she looked at the officer with a gentle smile and crouched down by her Padawan's side. The last minute or so had been a blur to her most likely, but Valery had never left her side and stood ready to shield her against any thug even thinking about targeting Colette. But now that security had a grip on things, she wanted to just help her Padawan out.

That was the most important thing to her right now, even if the mission wasn't quite a success.

"Hey, it's alright now," Valery then began as she wrapped comforting arms around the young woman. "We'll head over to the police station and I'll handle things there. You can stay by my side or just take it easy. I... know how hard that was on you and I don't want you to feel scared or overwhelmed."

Right now, she didn't care how many police officers would show up. She was comforting her Padawan before they went anywhere, and she felt confident enough that they could accept that.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

She had no right to cry. Tears didn't undo what she had done, and nothing else would either. Death was death and it came for all beings eventually, Colette just hadn't ever thought herself to be the one to bring it about.

The kid's mind was a storm of fractured thoughts. She tried so desperately to grab at each of them but no matter what she did it was as though they all just seeped through her fingers like sand. With each moment that passed she struggled more and more to gather her thoughts, and with each moment that she struggled she felt her entire body tense up. A small whimper tore its way through her body to signal that she was there when mentally she was somewhere else.

She couldn't breathe. Every little seedling of doubt that was planted in her mind seemed to sprout in an instant and all of them at the same time. She wanted to scream but her voice was too weak, and as Valery wrapped her arms around her the dams finally burst.

The kid still shook, violently, as the master's embrace brought forth a warmth that she hadn't known that she so desperately needed. A cough-like sound, a stifled sob, rumbled in her throat as she let in a deep breath and exhaled with a loud whimper.

Colette struggled to do anything at all. In one moment she was there and in the next she was gone as was evident in the way her eyes seemed to shift between the realm of the living and somewhere else completely. Her hand had latched onto Valery with a firm, increasingly tight grasp that would threaten to bruise unless she was calmed. And yet no matter where her mind wanted to take her it would seem that Colette found no real peace or sense of presence. She was too stubborn to cry and too clueless to know where to begin.

Guilt had never been a part of her life like this.

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

It didn't matter to Valery that Colette was squeezing so hard it'd bruise her — she knew her Padawan needed this and she wasn't going to leave her side. Security and law enforcement around her even realized that this was something not to interrupt, and that was a good thing for their sake. Valery would have snapped against each and every one of them if they had dared to get between her and Colette.

"It's okay," Valery whispered again, knowing that there weren't any words in existence to lessen the pain Colette felt. So instead, she opted for a more reassuring touch with an almost motherly tone. A reminder for Colette that she was safe, and that Valery wasn't going to let go.

That she wasn't going anywhere.

"We'll get through this, alright? I promise."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There were no words that Colette could think of to describe just how pathetic she felt in this moment or how extremely selfish she felt. She still wasn't the one who just died, and this warmth wasn't hers to have. So, why was she slowly starting to ease into it? She let in a deep breath that felt like the first breath she had taken in years. She leaned into Valery and gave in to the sadness as she finally allowed herself to feel the tears roll down her nose bridge.

"I failed." Was all she managed to say under her breath. "I-..."

She let the words roll off her tongue with a timid click. Her hand pulled herself into Valery to tighten the hug. She needed something, anything, to get back on her feet again.

"I want to get out of here." She whimpered. "I want to go home."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

​

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

"Let's get you up to your feet," Valery said, her voice still soft and comforting. Then, with Colette in a tight embrace, she slowly began to rise to bring her back up to her feet. She could keep herself buried in Valery and take as much time as she needed, but Valery wanted her to stand again.

She had to help build her Padawan back up.

"You're not the one who failed Colette," Valery added while her hand gently shifted over the back of the kid's head. "I failed you, for making you go through this." Her chin gently lowered to rest atop her Padawan's head, and her eyes shifted to the waiting police officers.

She was thankful that they were so patient and understanding.

"We'll tell local law enforcement what happened and who we are. After that, I'm bringing you home with me, okay? We'll head back to the Temple later this week."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

The officer seemed to recognize the moment. As Valery looked at him he gave her an understanding nod that perhaps he understood this feeling all too well. A lot of rookies went through this in their first firefight, and he wouldn't have hired anyone who didn't feel at least a little remorse for a life taken. His eyes betrayed his sympathy as he looked over at Colette again with a gentle sigh and ushered the two along without saying a word.

Colette would remain shaken for a while. As Valery helped explain the situation with Charles and his confession to the two Jedi, the Officers seemed to understand. While there were no evidence yet to back the claims up there were already enough reports in their files. All they needed was something solid such as a collaborator to join their investigation or a warrant to search his apartments.

Still, that would come with time. For now Valery and Colette needed to get themselves out of there and into something new, something that wouldn't remind the girl of the blood she stained hands with today.

In the end, despite everything, Colette would find some solace in knowing that with time this would all seem much smaller. Not that the death of another sentient being would ever be a small thing, but that the guilt would be allowed to be lifted off of her shoulders. It was an accident, and while it was a most regrettable one, it was something she would have to live with rather than let it destroy her.

She had failed in one thing, but she had succeeded in other regards. It just wasn't all that evident yet. This wasn't over, there was still a loose end to tie up, but if — or rather, when — that day came, Colette would be a different person for it.

Until then… Life just had to find a way. It always did.