Private Tactical Retreat

[Aldric Laurent]

"A big ask. But I'll try my best." He returned the smirk, and turned to reach his end of the clearing in short order. As they began, Aldric intentionally paused to give Valery just the slightest bit of a head start. A little cocky? Maybe. But this is one of the fields in which he actually had more prowess than the Jedi Master did. Besides, he was just having fun with it.

Valery was quick to take advantage of it as well. In fact he hardly even had time to let the head start settle before she began laying down suppressing fire. In response, Aldric chuckled, and blind fired around the corner without leaving his cover. More an effort to make her back off than actually land a lucky hit. But as soon as the fire waned, he spun around to get a proper shot, laying down a few bolts as he saw Valery's figure heading for cover. Whether or not he got a hit, Aldric then rolled behind another tree and posted up.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

Even though she laid down suppressive fire, it wasn't accurate enough to really pin him down, so when she made her move for the nearest tree, he was able to get a few shots off, and one grazed her arm, stinging it as it connected. She grumbled and completely concealed herself for a moment.

That one doesn't count.

She would have survived it if it had been a real shot, after all. With that convincing argument, she crouched down and quickly moved away from cover, opening fire at the tree he was behind, to break some branches and hopefully distract him as they fell down towards him. She then leveled the weapon again, and fired two shots in his direction... but not with the greatest accuracy again. This was still too far away.

I'll get you.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric was too far away to notice the hit, though if he had, he undoubtedly would have pestered her over it. Sure, technically not a kill shot. But technically not the rules they agreed on either. Not that he genuinely cared either way, but teasing her was simply too good an opportunity to pass up.

Alas, he would go on without knowing for the time being. And instead found himself surprised by the sudden falling branches. As he shifted away from one, he found one of Valery’s shots whizzing dangerously close past his arm. Whether it was due to her accuracy or the luck of him almost moving too close to it, was to be left unsaid. For the second shot, he managed to duck, quickly scrambling for another tree as he fired more indiscriminate, wild shots to get her off his trail.

She might have missed her shots, but she did give him a new idea to consider. Aldric grabbed a small rock and weighed it in his hand, then tossed it to the side, still close enough to be relatively reasonable, but enough that it could potentially pull her focus away. It was a risk though, as either way he quickly came back out of cover to fire more shots at her if she popped out.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

While her distraction and trick to get him to move worked, she wasn't quite able to land the most important shot. It wasn't because of her own failure though, but because of how well he could anticipate her moves and adapt. This kind of experience and mindset is what made him such an amazing agent. The wilder shots that followed managed to slow Valery down as well, but now that she felt there was an opportunity, she decided to push her luck.

Without using the Force, she relied on her normal senses, so when she heard movement, Valery moved out of cover to level her weapon and-

Aldric's blaster bolt struck her square against the chest, and knocked her down to the ground, and onto her back. It was in a safety setting, but the blast still stung like hell and kicked like a mule. This time, she couldn't just keep going either — she lost against her own trick and remained on the ground to play dead.

Maybe she'd get him next time!

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric just blinked at first, surprised by his own predictive strategy. Perhaps even a bit of that underlying Force-attunement coming into play. It had happened before, though he was ever unaware of it actually playing a role. He would never be strong enough to control it properly, but the Force had a way of manifesting itself at opportune moments, registering as little more than subconscious gut feelings or outright luck.

But once it registered, he couldn’t help but fist pump at his success, before quickly making his way over to her. More genuinely, he kneeled down next to her, “...You good?” Aldric was well acquainted with the lower power settings. They were still far from pleasant experiences. Valery could take a hit, but what kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t show a little concern?

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

While she laid on her back, Valery looked up at the bright blue sky, both happy and annoyed at the same time. She was loving this trip, the plans they had for it and the prospect of growing this relationship with him even more. But at the same time, she could do without losing these little challenges, and the stinging pain in her chest wasn't very comfortable either.

He was definitely going to rub this in and remind her forever. In other words, she needed to beat him at something soon and settle the score a little.

Aldric did rush over after landing his shot, and crouched down next to her to check if she was okay. Valery just grumbled and turned her eyes to him, "I'm fine..." she muttered, cleary not satisfied with losing. Even if it was the expected outcome here, she had hoped for a lucky day.

Slowly, she sat up and brought a hand towards her chest, where she felt the sting from the bolt's impact. "Those things hurt," she commented with a slightly annoyed glare. "But uh... you win," she added, finally with a smile.

Valery then reached for the lightsaber on her belt and offered it to him. "As promised."

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric managed what seemed like a smile of genuine relief as she confirmed that she was alright, "Good." As she sat up, he stood, and proffered a hand to help her do so as well, "Ayup, gotta keep the incentive to not get shot fresh in mind." Basic training made him very familiar.

Of course, as soon as she admitted defeat, his genuine warmth suddenly turned into a smug smirk, "Damn right I did," Valery was fine, he won, time to relish in it. Better to do it now than when there was a couch he could be banished to. Unless she just banished him to sleep outside the tent…

Too late to think about that. His emeralds shone with an excitement that bordered on childlike as he took the saber hilt in hand. He weighed in a bit, studying the design, and finding himself disturbingly tempted to gaze down the emitter. But he refrained. Instead Aldric outstretched his arm in front of him, and spent a few seconds searching for the ignition button. When he found it, the blade springed to life in his hand, and he grinned, "Preeeetty nice." Aldric waved it a bit in front of him, slow and careful. As interesting as it was, he wasn't looking to suffer an accident. A topic he shortly after addressed, "How do you manage to swing something like this around without chopping yourself up?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"That makes sense." Valery reached for the offered hand and pulled herself back up to her feet. She patted away at her clothes to ditch some of the branches and leaves that stuck to them and looked back up at him just in time to see the smug smirk form on his features when she admitted to losing. Her eyes narrowed and with two fingers, she jabbed jokingly into his side, "Oh I'll get you back for this."

He had done it now — she wasn't going to ever forget or forgive. The only way for this to be settled was by her getting that sweet, sweet revenge.

Valery then offered the lightsaber and focused on the way he looked at it, noting the childlike fun and excitement over holding a new toy. She chuckled and took a step back so he could safely ignite the violet blade of the weapon and move it around to hear its signature hum. "It's difficult to control without using the Force, and it just takes a lot of practice. I started my training almost right after I was able to walk. With training lightsabers at first, and later as a Padawan I built my first real lightsaber." This one wasn't her Padawan lightsaber, but it gave an idea about its importance anyway.

"But... what did you think of my shooting?" she asked with a slightly more sheepish smile. It didn't bother her that she lost, but she hoped that she at least did okay. "Good enough to maybe leave my lightsaber behind on our next undercover mission?" She smirked a little. Another dangerous question, or just a joke? It was hard to tell by the way she looked expectantly at him.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"Guess we'll find out," Aldric chuckled, recoiling a bit as she jabbed a few fingers in his side. He liked watching that fire in her eyes burn a little brighter. Hopefully, it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.

As Valery explained her use of the lightsaber, Aldric listened with genuine curiosity, his gaze intermittently flicking between her and the blade, "Wow. A literal lifetime of training then. Guess that explains it. I'm afraid I'll lose a finger just trying to choke up on the hilt." He chuckled.

"But... what did you think of my shooting?"

Aldric's eyes locked back onto her, apparently not expecting the sheepish question. The agent straightened back up and disengaged the saber, holding it back out to her with a soft smile, "You did good. Almost got me there a few times." Her follow up was met with more careful consideration, "...Maybe keep it just in case… Lightsabers are pretty versatile," He winked. Hopefully that was enough to cover all his bases. And it wasn't wrong, either, "I'd imagine the Force would be a useful tool with firearms, if you used it. Better accuracy, predictability."

Aldric shrugged, "But, that's that. You wanna a bit more proper instruction, or ready to move on to something else?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"Mhmm..." she hummed. It was definitely going to come back to bite him in the ass, but that was a large part of the fun in all of this. The challenges, the teasing and always keeping each other on their toes. This time it meant he got to hold her lightsaber and mess around with it a little. Next time, she'd get something out of him.

In response to his compliment about her shooting, Valery beamed a warm smile, clearly happy that he felt that way about it. She wasn't one to need constant approval but hearing these little things from him definitely helped that smile on her lips to brighten up even more. "Aaaaalright, I'll make sure to keep it~" she smirked, impressed by how he answered her question. "And yeah, the Force can help me overcome a lot of my problems with a blaster, but it's good to have a strong basis that doesn't rely on the Force."

Especially because, unlike with a lightsaber, it really wasn't needed. Aldric was living proof of that.

"Hmm," she thought about his question for a moment. "If you have an idea for another fun exercise to practice something, I'm up for it. But we can always just head over to the river, do some fishing and maybe even some swimming. The water might be cold, but we'll make a fire to warm ourselves up again."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric nodded with a smirk, "Respectable. Gotta have all the fundamentals." There were ways out there to disable a Force User's abilities, after all. Might as well have a reliable backup.

With Valery's offer, Aldric hummed in thought, then answered, "Some other time, then. Let's check out the creek." Fishing and swimming both sounded quite agreeable right about now. As did warming up by the fire after…

He went and grabbed a couple fishing rods attached to his bag, along with a tackle box, and gestured ahead, "Shall we?" It wouldn't be too long of a walk. A short jaunt eastward off the trail, and they'd reach the banks.

"So, these padawans of yours. What should I expect?" He asked with a smirk as they walked. With more time to think about it, Aldric was quite curious to learn a little bit about them. And to prepare himself, if need be.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

Fishing and swimming it was.

While Aldric grabbed all the fishing gear they needed, Valery brought along some snacks and drinks for them, so they could have lunch and just relax together. Then later, by the fire, she'd cook up a meal and they'd have each other for warmth, love, and comfort. She was already looking forward to it.

"You know, I've not really gone fishing all that often," she admitted as they walked down towards the creek. She had learned how to survive in the wild, but that was usually without tools. So she was more than likely going to end up needing some help, or she'd just look silly.

"So, these padawans of yours. What should I expect?"

Valery snorted and turned her gaze to him, "Well, Briana is... just like me. Strong, caring... a bit stubborn," she flashed him a grin. "But she's reasonable and just wants me to be happy. Iris is almost like a daughter, and she sees me as the closest thing to a mother. So she can be protective over me, but I don't think she'll be a problem."

"Silas... well, Kahlil was a father figure in his life, so he might not accept it as easily. But he was very supportive to me, so I think it'll be okay when they all realize just how happy you make me." She blushed a little, but it was the truth — she hadn't felt this happy in a long, long time.

"Just don't joke about what we get up to at night," she added as a joke before winking.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric shrugged, unsurprised, "Doesn't seem like the kind of thing you learn in Jedi school," Not that he would know, but her answer seemed to lead to that assumption anyway, "What do they teach you anyway? I mean beyond the lightsaber swinging and the Force using." He always had respect for the Jedi, and what they stood for, but some of the finer details of life in the Order were lost on him. Valery was one of the few direct links he had to their corner of the galaxy, and that was before they started dating.

They trekked along, and Aldric tried to mentally envision the students as she described them. Briana and Iris just came across as smaller Valerys, a thought which made him smirk. Silas was a harder image to construct, though he frowned at the idea he might not be so easily accepted. He couldn't blame the kid if so, but hoped they could move past it in time. Aldric smiled a bit softly, even blushing a little himself, as Valery admitted just how happy she was. He hadn't been there when the worst happened. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been. But if he could be here now, then that could at least count for something.

"Just don't joke about what we get up to at night,"

At that, Aldric sputtered a nervous chuckle, tugging a bit at his collar, "Heh. No. They don't need to know anything about that," Some details were better kept just between the two of them…

Soon they reached the banks of the creek. It was a resplendent blue and green waterway, meandering lazily through the woods. To their left, the creek descended from a series of rocks in a gentle tiered waterfall before continuing on the path in front of them. It was perfectly picturesque, and just another indicator that Kamparas had been a good choice after all. Aldric grinned and gave himself a mental pat on the back, before crouching down to open up the tackle box.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"We learn all kinds of things," Valery said with a nod. "From diplomacy skills to history classes, to biology or astronomy. It depends on what we choose to focus on as well, but it's quite varied. I also learned a lot about survival skills because our Enclave happened to be in one of the most dangerous jungles in the Galaxy. Just... not fishing with rods and useful tools," she said with a smirk as they walked towards the water and talked about her Padawans.

She hadn't really told him, but she was a bit nervous about the meeting as well. Their opinions were probably not going to change her future plans with him, but she still valued the way they felt about someone so close to her. So she really hoped things would go smoothly, and that they would like him.

"Mhmm, they don't," she chuckled. Iris had once overheard her talking to Kahlil over a holo-call, and that was a fairly mild conversation given the subject. It was best they heard nothing like that ever again.

The two finally reached the banks, and she was completely stunned by its beauty. From the water to the surroundings and waterfall up ahead. Kamparas was just as pretty as she remembered it to be, and now she got to share it with someone special. "You really picked a great planet for this trip. Scored some browny points," she winked and put down her backpack, so she could unwrap some of the things she had brought along and prepare them each a sandwich.

"You'll uh, show me how to fish, right?" She watched him prepare a few things. It seemed a lot more complicated than she thought.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"Hm. And when did they start teaching you how to be a Shadow? Is that a decision you made?" Might as well be doing a lot of learning, cooped up in a temple or enclave for so many years. And the knowledge their Order had access to was certainly vast.

"Only the best~" As he set to work preparing their supplies, Aldric looked up and flashed a charismatic grin, "And can these brownie points be cashed in for anything?" He didn't quite admit just how long it took him to come up with the idea, scouring for potential planets and retreats. It was a significant amount of thought, but it seemed like it was paying off in the here and now.

He blinked, then nodded reassuringly, "'Course. It's not too bad, really. Especially here, since it's a small body of water. Don't have to worry much about casting and I've already set the drag," Aldric stood up, and handed her a rod, "There's the lure. So what we're gonna do is stand at a bit of an angle so we can actually throw the line out," He helped position her as such, and pointed to a few other parts of the rod, "Hook it with your finger, open up the bail here, raise it up over your shoulder- and just fling out there. When it's landed, close the bail again, and you're good to go."

Aldric then replicated his explanation with his own rod, casting the lure at an angle down the creek, "Then all you gotta do is start reeling in when you get a bite. Should see the bob go down into the water and feel a bit of a pull." He sat down against the bank, and shrugged, "Don't imagine we'll be catching anything big in a creek this size, so shouldn't have to put up too much of a fight with what you hook. Don't imagine we'll be catching much in general, either, given the circumstances. So don't feel too pressed about it. Just enjoy the moment. Most of fishing is waiting around, anyway."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"The Shadows is... complicated," Valery said as she watched him prepare a few things, and held out a sandwich so he could take a bite while his hands were occupied. "Back then, nobody knew the Shadows existed. Only the Shadows themselves and Council were aware, so you were recruited into them secretly. I was one of them, and underwent the extensive training and trials they have for its candidates."

"These days, it's very different."

"And can these brownie points be cashed in for anything?"

Valery almost choked on her food and shot him a grin, "Of course. On fun stuff~" She let his imagination take care of the rest, and just smiled happily his way before it was time to get ready for some fishing. This trip had probably not been easy to plan out, so she made a mental note to plan their next vacation — somewhere tropical to forget about everything except for each other and possibly heat strokes.

"Don't have to worry much about casting and I've already set the drag,"

Set the what

She blinked and just quietly listened to his instructions, pretending to understand through a smile. When he finally encouraged her to start, she threw it out into the water and watched carefully... to see nothing happen. It was dead quiet for longer than she had imagined or did it just feel slow?

"Wait, I think I feel something!" she finally called out after a few minutes, and something was indeed tugging on the line. But all of a sudden, it turned into a powerful pull that nearly yoinked her off her feet, and got her to stumble forward and into the water. She went down under, and it remained quiet for a few seconds, before she popped out and gasped for air, her tank top, pants, and hair completely soaked. "You said nothing big!" she called out. "Ahhh, it's so cooold..." she squealed and began to swim over to the bank, looking to get out as quickly as she could.

But the stream of water she ended up in did not make it easy, and the sound of the nearby waterfall suddenly wasn't quite as pretty anymore to her.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric leaned forward and took a big bite out of the offered sandwich, “Really?” Aldric asked curiously, the word a bit muffled as he was still chewing on food. He swallowed, “How did they decide if you’re a worthy candidate?” He took another bite, and stuck up a thumb to indicate his approval, then made a silly show of waggling his eyebrows at her response on brownie points.

Throughout his explanation, Aldric just smirked, getting the sense that it wasn’t all quite hitting for Valery. But he had most of the setup good to go anyways, so it was a simple enough endeavor. He figured maybe they’ll catch a small fish, maybe even two if they were lucky, but nothing to write home about all the same. More than anything it was just a chance to kick back and relax with a pleasant view-

“Oh?” Aldric leaned forward, watching as Valery’s bob was pulled under. Then, she was fully taken off her feet and into the water with it, “Oh!” The agent scrambled to his feet and tossed his own pole aside, along with his jacket. Gallantly, he chose to dive in after her, “Val?” It wasn’t much longer before she reemerged, completely soaked. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her comment, “I didn’t think there was!” It was a relief to see her up though. He didn’t genuinely know what all lived in these waters, so when she was suddenly thrown under, it made for quite the scare.

“I gotcha…” He shivered a bit at the drop in temperature, suddenly forced to move himself a bit faster as he realized they were headed for the falls. Aldric reached for her hand to pull her in around him, and began to swim downstream. Fighting the current was proving too difficult, and so they had to come in at a diagonal angle, bringing them just a little too close for comfort with the plunge. But thankfully, they smacked the riverbanks, and Aldric flopped onto his back for a breather. “That the swimming you had in mind?” He chuckled. “Ugh. My clothes are soaked,” And a bit muddy now too, thanks to his decision to lay right beside the water. Shame. He liked this flannel.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

Valery just shook her head and chuckled at the waggling of his eyebrow. Not that she expected anything else after teasingly playing into his imagination, and knowing what all they liked to get up to. "You're watched in the field, especially with how you handle things related to the Dark Side. You have to be decisive, able to work alone for extended periods of time and it's generally for the more combative Jedi." It was probably not too surprising to him, then, that she had been one.

...

After falling into the water and coming back up, Valery was surprised to see Aldric in the water as well, probably because he was a little concerned. It got her to smile, and his betrayal by making her think only small fish lived here was quickly forgiven. Only the problem of the stream remained, but he was quick to help with that as well and reached for her hand to pull her close, so they could swim towards the bank together.

It was probably the toughest swim of her life, and it got really close, but together they reached solid ground again and plopped down on their backs to rest a moment. She was breathing heavily and very cold, but turned her head his way to smile despite the discomfort, "Not really and I'm sorry..." she said with a nervous smile. "It probably wasn't a big fish but I was just, not ready?"

She got up and began to squeeze the water out of her long hair, before she pulled the tank top off over her head, and squeezed as much water out of it as she could, uncaring that he saw her without the top. She was wearing a bra, anyway. "W-we should-d get a fire g-going..." she muttered with chattering teeth and rubbed the sides of her arms.

"I brought s-some warm blankets t-too."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric lazily pulled his head up, a curious look on his face as she apologized. He just shook his head, “You’re fine, Val. Not a big deal.” He pulled himself up into a sitting position and smirked, “Guess we’ll never know anyway… But if anyone asks, it was the biggest fish either of us ever saw,” A chuckle.

The agent stood up, and ran a hand through his hair, before pulling off his now heavy, sopping wet shirt, “Let’s head back to camp, try and grab some extra firewood while we walk.” He grabbed the fishing gear and his fur lined jacket, holding the latter away from him to keep from getting it too wet. His hands were too full, meaning that Valery would be relied on to grab some extra branches and sticks for their fire. “Sounds p-perfect,” Aldric chattered, feeling the cold coming on. It didn’t help that a small gust of wind decided to pick up just then. Kamparas was slowly finding ways to make him change his tune. With another nod, Aldric began walking back toward their site, his boots squelching unpleasantly with water.

"Brought an extra change of clothes, right?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | Tank Top | Camping outfit
Location | Kamparas
Tag | Aldric Laurent

She couldn't help but chuckle and dipped her head in agreement, "Luckily I had you diving in to scare it away for me, hm?" she winked and began to grab some firewood while he took care of the fishing gear. She picked out branches further away from the water, so she was certain they were relatively dry and able to burn up a little easier. Then, with the collection in her arms, she followed after him towards the campsite.

"I did, but I t-think I'm stealing one of your sweaters." They were nice — big, warm, and cozy.

The wind had picked up, and the higher they went uphill, the worse it was, so she was quickly getting even colder. Valery hated the cold, and it showed in the way her whole body had tensed up. So rather than going through a painful process of starting the fire, she plopped the wood together, glared at the stack, and it ignited instantly.

"T-that's better..." she muttered before she quickly moved between the tent and fire to grab some new clothes and get changed. They were alone out here, so she didn't care about him seeing anything, and just made it quick. The only thing that mattered right now was getting into some dry clothing, and then getting comfortable around the fire. "Oh, I also meant to say earlier, thanks for jumping in after me. The cold of the water really shocked me, so I don't think I would have gotten out before reaching the waterfall." She beamed a warm smile and patted the ground beside her to invite him to be close.

​