Private The Throne, Adrift

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

The Gray Queen's Throne sat in orbit around the derelict Shipyard that had provided ships to an empire of old. Decrepit and left adrift. Pulled apart by those daring enough to draw near the edge of known space. Spacefaring creatures had made nests here, come and gone in their migrations as the crew of the vessel escaped from the attack on Dromund Kaas.

They had failed to fix the ship completely. Instead taking refuge on a passing vessel destined for civilization. Marked for retrieval, the vessel waited for the crew to eventually return and reclaim the AI that waited patiently in silence.

Remembering when the captain had been aboard, replaying the last bits of footage in an attempt to reconcile her inaction at the kidnapping, she hadn't paid attention to the reactor and power levels before eventually wearing down the cells to a state of hibernation. Fizzling out aboard the command deck, watching her captain be yanked through some dark vortex by a being she knew nothing of.

Those passing through had pinged the vessels on their scanners, marking it for investigation as the threat of Mynocks on already stretched lines of relief were to great for their limited wallets. The order was passed down and down, eventually reaching the desk of Valery.

Elsewhere

Sasmay sat in silence, mind focused on meditation and sifting through memories both her own, and of others. One stuck out to her. A perspective low and yearning. Drawn away from a place that it had grown comfortable in shared misery. The familiarity with the memory drew her mind out and away.

Finding the echo of it in a great distance away.

"This is...familiar." The only words to disrupt the quiet around her. Her mind unable to trap the words as she tapped into the dark energies around the galaxy to shape her desire.

The echo was faint across the void.

A distant sound that reminded her of something nearly forgotten in her time training. Her mind stilled, listening to the sound as she became ethereal and drifted towards it.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

"We should be getting close."

Valery told her astromech through the commlink they shared within her modified X-wing. Her little friend bleeped a few things back about it coming up on sensors, but the high-pitched squeals made her little buddy seem a bit worried. Surrounded by derelict ships in this graveyard in space, there was a lot that could go wrong. From Mynocks disabling your only way out of this stretch of Wild Space to smugglers and scavengers getting aggressive because they wanted the fancy parts of your ship.

But perhaps worst of all, was the idea that this mission somehow required a Jedi, and Valery in particular wasn't one they often drew away from the front with the Maw, where her leadership and skills were most useful. The Jedi also weren't as numerous as they once were, so their assignment to a mission meant it could be dangerous.

"It's going to be okay, the ship is supposedly just drifting without a crew. I'll go in, check logs and download any files I can, and then I'll be out of there again," she tried to reassure the droid as the Nebulon-S class cruiser appeared as a signal dot on her scanners. Just to be safe, she performed another life sign check, but it seemed there really wasn't anything out there.

"Taking us in."

After determining the closest docking port that still had atmosphere in its hangar, Valery accelerated and carefully docked her X-wing with the ship. She powered down engines and other systems and opened up the canopy to get out of her fighter. "Stay here and warn me if any trouble comes our way," she told the astromech, and finally, she departed to get inside the cruiser.

"Let's see what we got here..." the woman muttered, mostly to herself as she began moving through the hallways, her destination the bridge of the cruiser.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

The shape rippled across the void of space, the astromech in its socket picking up a spacial anomaly headed their way as her dark form materialized on the broadside of her old vessel. Dormant and showing the signs of the attack it had sustained.

External panels ripped and blown aside from the Baradium warheads used against it. The support droids had done what they could to sustain internal atmosphere, but exhausted their supplies in the effort when the reactor had gone into low power mode. Unable to recharge properly, they lay dormant in the internal hangar. Quiet and unnoticed in their rack along the far wall.

The interior had sustained less of the destruction that Onrai had brought upon their heads. But it had suffered from something else. A lingering dark side energy that Valery would know all too well from the dark lord that had sired her husband.

Kaine's energy was like a residual ichor in the hallways and corridors. The lingering aura present but weak. Sasmay's channeling of his power in their brief connection having steeped the vessel in it. Only dissipating with the evacuation of the crew and left adrift in the far reaches of space.

A hand cupped her jaw, staring quietly at the hull before her. A sense of longing making her linger outside as she slowly became aware of the small beacon of light inside. Squinting, the presence seemed familiar as her dark form fluttered forward and into the Hangar.

The anomaly had drawn close enough for the droid to attempt a scan, relaying the alert to Valery as it's dome swiveled to the outside of the Hangar in time to catch the image of a dark face and glowing eyes drawing near. The sharp squeal and whooping sound silenced quickly as a large hand rested atop the dome and drained its power for the moment.

"Sleep. I won't harm her. Though her presence is a curious one." The figure chuckled, letting her long legs grace the cold floor of the Hangar and examine her surroundings with a longing once more.

"Where did you all go?"

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

Slowly and carefully, Valery moved through the hallways of the ghost ship, her Keshian eyes piercing through the darkness to observe what lay ahead. But the deeper she went inside, the stronger the familiar, dark presence became. It was one she couldn't ever forget the feeling of — this Sith had caused her and her family more problems and sleepless nights than any other being in the Galaxy, and sometimes it felt like it followed her wherever she went.

"I'll be coming up to the bridge soon," Valery said, as she stopped for a moment and raised the commlink up to her lips. But after glancing through the empty hallway for a moment, she just pressed on. For a few minutes, she kept walking but nothing inside the vessel offered her any answers about what could have happened here.

Did the crew evacuate or was something more sinister behind their disappearance? The battle damage at the outer hull would suggest the latter, but the interior was barely scratched, and it was unusual for any crew to just surrender without a fight. Then there was this darker feeling within the metal halls... it must have been something terrible.

A sudden loud screech through the comms suddenly drew Valery's attention away from her surroundings, and she noticed the alert that was sent to her, "R5? Is everything okay?" There was no answer, and for a moment, she considered what to do — to keep moving forward or to head back and check up on her droid.

"You need to stop scaring me like this..." she muttered before turning around and heading back in the direction of her ship, her pace a bit faster now that she felt her little buddy could be in trouble.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

Her large form fit well inside the hangar, hands sliding over the vessel that someone had brought with them. A look inside the flight compartment revealed nothing of note, or identification. Not that it would have likely helped her in the wider galaxy. Especially near the space where the crab like beings had resided.

Her mind went to their existence. And their sudden disappearance. They had seemed a terrible threat, in a similar vein to what the current looming darkness that the Maw was. But that had apparently been short lived, or quickly dealt with. It mattered little to her in the end, pushing away from the vessel and headed towards the doorway to the interior.

The landing gear scraped, though the vessel had barely moved as she crouched low, snarling harshly as her shoulders became stuck in what she remembered being a taller and wider corridor.

The sound resonating through the walls of the ship as she pulled herself back into the hangar.

"Stupid fething thing. Put you into drydock for a refit." She grumbled, light shimmering about her dark and mist veiled form, shifting to something more readily able to pass through the halls.

The presence ahead of her would be passing through the crew quarters, and she wasn't entirely certain yet who it was just yet.

Someone with a score to settle? No. The familiar feeling of their light suggested something else. An inquisitive mind searching a strange vessel? More likely. But the familiarity was still a point that brought her back to finding them.

Rather than hunting them.

A dark presence behind Valery perhaps catching her attention as it seemed to concentrate into one area now rather than attempt to overshadow Kaine's.

Where Valery Is

As Valery passed through the hallways of the crew quarters before reaching the lift at the far end, she would find open doorways. Personal items left behind and luggage left half packed. Weapons and armor partially missing from their racks in those rooms.

Datapads were here or there along the floor containing lists of parts, maintenance logs, updates on crew medical logs. All faintly lit against the floor as she passed by or picked them up.

Maintenance logs would detail stabilization of the internal compartments of the vessel. Minor cracks along the hull being patched as best was able with liquid metal sealant or by the support droids in the hangar. Details about the exterior paneling, what could be salvaged or had to be scrapped to make a repair elsewhere.

Medical logs detailing what appeared to be severe gravitational stress and even some details of crew being thrown about the ship in an emergency jump after an incident of an unknown enemy contact.

The updated list of parts detailing what had been salvaged from nearby or what was missing entirely. Most all dockets were labeled consumed or missing.

Near the lift would be a larger room if she glanced inside. A photo along the desk visible from the entryway of a green skinned twi'lek rolling her eyes beside a face that Valery would recognize as Sasmay Cull. The eye patch visible even behind the goofy smile as what appeared to be friends or crew members surrounded them.

Small scrapes and claw marks could be seen around the doorway of some great beast. If she remembered her encounter with Sasmay from before, she might have remembered Myunna from their visit.

If she didn't look beyond the doorway, it would seem as though something had been attempting to hunt its way throughout the vessel before she reached the end of the hallway and the lift that was stationed there.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

"Seems they left in a hurry..."

Valery muttered to herself as she paused to look at the abandoned crew quarters. Some personal items were missing, but there was too much here for this to have been a smooth evacuation. The logs that lay scattered around also detailed something that made this look like an attack, rather than an incident of some kind. But what kind of enemy could cause the hull to shear and buckle under gravitational stress? It was a peculiar thing, but something the more detailed logs on the bridge could hopefully offer answers for later.

Right now, she had to learn as much as she could on her way back to the hangar. Because the last thing she wanted was for this enemy to show up and cause her or her droid any real trouble.

"R5, you there buddy?" she asked but she already knew there wasn't going to be an answer. So with a frown on her face, she kept moving, her pace faster now that she was getting closer to the elevator. But before she reached the doors, a larger room caught her attention, and as her fiery eyes turned to look inside, she spotted a picture with a familiar face on it, "It can't be..." she stopped immediately and made the decision to head inside for a closer look.

No matter how much time had passed, she wasn't going to forget Sasmay Cull 's face — she had met the woman during the festival of Wishes on Eshan when she made the wish to get her partner back. Seeing her in the picture and noticing the claw marks, Valery hoped she had gotten out okay.

"Yeah, it's her alright..." Valery said as her hand shifted over a claw mark, and the image of her companion flashed through her mind. Her skills with Psychometry weren't good enough to show her a great deal more, but she knew something bad had happened here, and who was involved. Valery now really hoped she'd be able to find more answers somehow.

With that in mind, she finally turned to the Elevator and hit the button to get the doors to open.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

Her mortal form fit easily in the doorway, though she squinted a bit more in the failing dimness of low power lights. She wondered quietly how long it had been adrift. The hallways that led forward only vaguely familiar with her time away as her hand slid across an exposed panel.

Traces of someone else's passing shown faintly against the floor. Dusty marks like stains against the floor around odds and end tools. Scattered pieces of bolts and welding implements as she picked her way through. The path ahead was like a bad dream.

Coming back to what she had once called home in her escape from responsibility and purpose.

There was nothing here for her except a sleeping ship, and pieces to pick up. Much the same as she had left in her wake. Friendships that had strained against her disappearance. Explanations perhaps to some, schisms that maybe had formed and could be bridged. Or perhaps merely left alone and forgotten as a bad experience for the other.

It was yet to be seen. And she would find no answers waiting for her in the midship.

Her footsteps were as careful as they could be, but even in her mortal form the footfalls echoed like a final call to spirits as she pressed onward toward the bridge.

Valery's Location

The button pressed, the chime for the lift rang in a muted, dull tone. The sound of something in the tune engaging. Or at least trying as the column it was affixed in shuddered briefly. Time would seem to drag on as the sound of the lift slowly resonated down.

And down.

Down.

A grating noise could be heard as it finally neared Valery. A sharp and angry sound as the chime sounded once again. The door attempting to part only for it to halfway open. Enough for her to squeeze inside the mostly aligned carriage if she chose to do so.

If she went up in the lift, the ride would be a slow one under its own power. More than once coming to a near halt before lurching upwards once more. The doors would open to the connecting hall of the bridge. To one side a series of doors, open and showing what was likely assembly rooms for debriefings or similar things.

The other side with far fewer doors, one standing open, unable to close. The doors pushed inward and barring them from shutting all the way as though something large had forced its way inside. Claw marks on the door and floor suggested Myuna. The interior homely and spartan in nature save for what appeared to be a mess.

A desk, lightly topped with photos of different faces. A similar photo as the one below deck, another of Domino and Sasmay while on the Sith burial planet with Myuna. More yet of a small gathering of people closely assembled as though in a family portrait. Another of a smaller being, curvy but much smaller than Sasmay posing as the best holo-models might have.

Even a sneaky selfie of Sasmay with Ingrid sat atop the desk along with scattered and powerless datapads.

An inlaid dresser further in was partly open, clothes lain across the top lip though plainly pulled out. A trail of them leading to the grossly oversized bed. Atop the bed the blankets thrown this way and that around a nest of clothing in similar fashion to what Sasmay might have worn. Some pulled closer to the inside, though all of it taking the space of the sleeping area.

The lingering force energy around the room was that of sorrow. If one listened closely enough they might have even heard the howls of grief and sorrow from the force wielding being.

A rack of weapons also sat on the far wall. Collecting dust and untouched. Enough to arm a small boarding party, and no less the largest being a blaster gattling cannon.

If she did not take the shaky appearing lift, a hallway to either side of the lift would lead to emergency ladders to the floors above, all the way to the bridge. Taking them upwards to the next floor would reveal the mess hall. While not glorious or perhaps up to luxury cruise liner standards, it certainly met the expectations of a private vessel. The center dominated by what was once a plant arrangement, little more than wilted and dried shrubbery for kindling.

Circling the center were large and smaller tables, some pushed together while others seemed separated even further yet towards the wall. Small particles floated through the air, like a tomb freshly opened. Dust having settled from whatever had rocked the vessel at the exodus of the crew.

Plates and silverware were scattered here and there. Most plates clean of food with other having a small bite left. A hasty exit perhaps had been made during chow time, a passing vessel finally flagged down for their rescue maybe.

If she looked further inward, the cold storage had been ransacked leaving little more than heavier items or those that would quickly spoil. The environment in the storage barely passable as saving what was left, though the stink of rot and mold was somehow not yet present. Exiting the mess hall would lead to more hallways, lined with doors to general crew quarters.

Most seemed barren, personal effects taken with them or simply lacking in any significant number of them. Here to were toolboxes and repair implements scattered across the floor.

If she continued on until the bridge, she would be greeted by the open door to Sasmay's room.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

Slowly, and in an almost eerie way, the elevator came down from the top level of the ship and slowly began to grind its way to a halt right in front of her. But when the door blocked halfway whilst opening, Valery frowned — something must have happened up there as well. It was to be expected considering the entire crew had disappeared, but it was still difficult to see.

"Great..."

Turning sideways, Valery made herself as small as possible and, with some considerable effort, squeezed herself through the opening. When she popped out into the cabin, she drew in a deep breath and hit the button to travel up to the bridge. It wasn't really a surprise that the ride up went slow and shakily, and a few times she feared it would stop halfway up, but luckily these ships had been designed well, and eventually, she was able to squeeze herself back out into the hallway that would lead up to the bridge.

But for a moment, Valery didn't move closer to the bridge at all — powerful emotions lingered in the Force, and for just a couple of seconds, Valery focused on them. They were the last echoes of what happened to the crew, to Sasmay and her companion, and even the one behind the attack. Finally, she did move forward and looked at the rooms on each side of the hallway, the pictures within them, and the personal items left behind to remain here forever.

Perhaps if the ship was later recovered, these items could be returned to their family or any survivors, if there were any.

Moving forward, Valery finally spotted a weapons rack. Not too strange on a ship like this, but the weapons were all still there — either they were specifically for use outside the ship, or the crew had never even gotten the chance to arm themselves. The latter was a terrifying thought, and would likely suggest something hit them very suddenly, and in a way that left them completely defenseless. Hopefully the bridge and its logs provided more answers.

"Alright, this is it. I'm going in, R5." Valery said through her comms unit before she went into the bridge, and took the open door into Sasmay's room.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

The sound of a chime caught her attention. As well as a grating noise. By the time she had come close enough to know what was happening, someone was already taking the lift upwards. The sound of running behind them only stopping as the lift went upwards.

Sasmay frowned and grumbled at her luck. Her gaze went to the side of the hallway and groaned, lifting the manual lock on the doorway to the ladders inside the outer compartment.

Those asigned maintenance duty had mentioned the door locks needed some time before she'd been snatched. A side note before the battle that had thrown both parties wildly off course from...whatever she would have cooked up next.

Her hand lingered on the handle, thinking about what the crew might have been doing in the meantime.

Had they moved on from this life? Met up with other crew's and found work elsewhere? Vella surely had found another command somewhere else with her abilities. Or maybe she'd holed up waiting for her captains return. Thoughts swirled freely as her body moved with purpose. The lock mechanism grating as siezed metal ground against the rust that coated the gearing inside.

The strain on her form caught her off guard. Even rounded, the handle managed to feel sharp as she cursed the thing up and down before finding a pry bar from the hallway. Levering it into place, she ducked low, squatting down before forcing the bar upwards and being rewarded with a sudden snap as the handle let loose.

The door popped free from the frame before she muscled it aside. Nearly falling into the empty space from using her legs to finish opening the doorway enough for her to crawl her way up.

The air between the main and outer Hull was stagnant, thinner, and cold. Her hands reaching for the ladder upwards as she stepped out. The whole thing groaned, eyes narrowing at the audacity of the ladder when there was no one to appreciate her condemnation of an inanimate object.

Focusing, she drew upon the ambient force energies to steady her labored breathing climbing upwards. She still had to figure out who was on her ship.

Valery's Location

The droid did not reply, still in stasis from Sasmay.

The private room held misery and grief as only Myunna could best describe. The world was gone. Her friend and companion left by her first snatched from her. Unable to do more than watch in silence as the shadow came and went with Sasmay. An echo in the force at her howling and baying for the woman's return.

Sasmay's own grief and slight comfort with Myunna nearly overshadowed by the hounds own presence. The empty liquor bottles in the corner of the room a clear sign of what measures she had taken to feel something. Or to not feel anything.

The room was a mess of sorrows.

Passing through it was akin to walking through a bog that attempted to root one's foot in the muck and mire. Passing through to the connecting door however would open up to the remains of the bridge.

Several consoles seemed crushed inward. The controls long since silenced of their sparking and burning nature. The main display dominating the center of the bridge flickered on and off with what resembled a map of the area. Certain locations marked with a check for some purpose or another as a light on the panel shown brightly before fading.

Only to repeat the signal to be pressed once more.

The communications pit seemed a wreck. Seats half crumpled or tore apart with tools scattered around the bottom half of the booth. A panel pulled aside to allow access as wires lay bare and spliced in sections.

What was likely the fire control pit was in a similar way. Chairs and other furniture in half assembled fashion likely stripped for parts to manage some semblance of use.

The main control panel had pieces grafted to it as well. Apparently fixed either shortly before or after the communication array. The button that illuminated itself waited patiently, the only thing alive on a desolate and abandoned ship that she knew of.

When pressed, a long list of public logs would appear, in order by date. The most recent logs at the bottom, oldest at the top with the final entry simply labeled, 'Sasmay'.

The timeline of these public logs suggested the ship might have been present for the battle at Dromund Kaas. The system requiring a password for the logs prior if she attempted to open the older logs. The log entries were plainly different before what was likely the incident in question. Much cleaner but also lacking in descriptions to what they might have contained.

Opening the oldest public log, she would find little detail inside it as a woman's voice came through, highly distressed from the recording. But not Sasmay's voice.

First Log
The captain has been...kidnapped? Taken? I. I don't know how to describe what happened. We made an emergency jump out here to meet up with the cargo vessels. Tried to...I don't know. Salvage the situation? But I don't have the connections like she did. I can't just ring up the Eternal's or Priddy. Least not without her password anyway. Feth this all went sideways. I know Jaho. I just want to get this jotte-No. Go ahead and take a count. Yeah. Alrig-alright! Sheesh calm-End of Log

Next Log-The next day
I gotta put this down. Everyone outside the bridge thinks we are delusional or something. But I know what I saw. Or...didn't. Something got on board. Something was up here with us while we were being shot at. Talked to her from the shadows, looked like shadows. Mentioned a Him. Kept going back and forth. None of us could get up. Felt like we were pulling a high-g manuever without the compensator on. Pretty certain the blood was pooling in my legs before she just. Vanished. Poof. Gone. Like she'd walked across a bridge that wasn't there. And I could get up. And I did. Smashed that emergency jump button. Paid for it. But most everyone is alive at least. Other than Yonzl. Poor guy. Anyway. Ought to get back to helping. Still have those leaks along the crew quarters to manage and Grey won't let it go. Vella out.End of Log

They continued like this in much the same way. Detailing a list of things to do each day. Tracking progress through their time adrift as the remaining crew grew restless and fearful. Hopelessness slowly settling into Vella's tone as the logs wore on about being found. Closer towards the end of the list began the details of what might have been a mutiny brewing against the acting captain. The laundry list of her paranoia slowly showing through her words before the second to last detailed a vessel hailing them for rescue. The relief in her voice plain as the sound of hurry and cheer rang through the background of the recording.

The final entry waited for her to select it.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

She wasn't exactly surprised when the droid didn't answer and turned her focus to what she could find around the bridge for now — there was time to worry about the astromech later. But what she saw on the command deck seemed to be similar to what she had come across throughout the ship. Similar, powerful emotions lingered in the Force like distant echoes, consoles were broken and more personal items lay scattered around.

"Hmm..."

For a moment, Valery considered tapping into psychometry again. The damaged consoles or signs of struggle could offer images that explained what happened, but there was a lot of risk to that as well. Something tainted in the Force by death or the corruption of the Dark Side could drive a user of psychometry insane, and she wasn't quite willing to take that risk here.

So instead, the woman's fiery gaze turned to a console that still seemed to be operational. And luckily, getting access to the ship's logs wasn't that difficult for once. But what they detailed was a lot more difficult to get through. The woman who recorded them spoke of the attack that had left both the exterior and interior of the vessel marked, but her growing paranoia was quite evident as well.

That was, at least, until one log mentioned a rescue vessel.

"Maybe they made it out okay..." she said out loud to herself, as she stared at the last available log she hadn't touched yet. "But nothing about who this attack was." Valery sighed and looked around the room again for a moment. The crew may have been able to evacuate, but Sasmay was still captured. Why did they just take her and leave the rest of the crew behind?

Not able to craft an answer in her mind right now, Valery looked back at the final log entry and opened it. She wanted to know everything she could about what happened here.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

She climbed, and climbed, seeing the signs for each deck as she glanced downward with each locked door she passed by. They'd likely made it to the bridge already, a fact that drove her forward with hastened steps. Reaching the door for the bridge, she found it already cracked open. An afterthought as she pushed it open the rest of the way.

It creaked open, not nearly as rusted as the first before she pushed into the adjoining hallway and snuck into her room. The sight of Myunna's grief and rage causing her to pause long enough to hear a familiar voice play over a message. Then another familiar voice remark on something else.

She wrapped herself in the force as best she could, hiding her presence as though a ghost was slipping inside. The room was just as she had left it. More or less anyway having seen the nest Myunna made on her bed. A bitter sweet notion as she tread silently toward the bridge door and stood in the passage while listening to the final message.

Valery's Location

The final log waited before Valery pressed it. The screen shimmering briefly as the green skinned Twi'lek appeared on the screen. Bags under her eyes and plainly showing exhaustion as she tried to smile regardless.

Final Log - Sasmay
Hey. Or...well. Welcome home. Whichever. We uh. We evacuated onto a passing civilian freighter in exchange for some supplies from the hold. We left everything else, for what that's worth.
I'm sorry we didn't come find you. We just. We couldn't. The ship took to much damage to make it beyond this point. Myunna misses you. I'll keep her with me. I'm about the only one she doesn't try to eat anyway so...yeah. Um. If. If you're finding this. You know how to find me. Old Agents signal. I kept it just in case. But I didn't think.
Never mind.
The crew didn't take well to that thing, that shadow taking you. You'll probably have to find a new roster if you want to get the ship going again. Except for me anyway. I don't know what that power was...but I guess I got used to scary things with the Agents more than the others.
It sounded like it knew you. Or about you anyway. I'm still holding out that you made it out alright. But whatever that shadow was, did a number on our systems. You'll probably have to call Niki to get it hauled back. Gray...we couldn't take her with us. I'm hoping she did alright with the isolation. It was already bad enough with us thinking we wouldn't make it. But she...she tried.
Anyway. I'm hoping you get this. I know you struggled with the force for the longest time but. You always had a knack for finding things. Hopefully this will be one of them.
Find me when you get back.
End of Log

The visual of the Twi'lek would fade away with little given about the attack before the sound of footsteps cut through the silence.

"Welcome to what remains of the Gray Queen's Throne." Came the sing-song voice of Sasmay from behind her. A smile appearing on her face. She was missing the eye patch from the last time they met, and her eyes were fixed on Valery with a strange focus. "Go ahead and ask. I'm sure you are wondering what happened."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

Listening to the final log, it confirmed much of what she had started to believe.

The attack against the ship had resulted in Sasmay disappearing, but the crew had eventually managed to evacuate to safety. As a Jedi, that was the most important thing right now — to make sure lives were no longer at risk. The ship itself was of little importance; it could hopefully offer more answers about the attacker when its logs were reviewed, but that remained to be seen.

For some odd reason, even in these final logs, the crew didn't seem too sure about what had hit them, and they would have had the time to review their own evidence as well.

"Welcome to what remains of the Gray Queen's Throne."

Valery blinked as a voice behind her called out to her. Turning around, she looked at Sasmay for a moment but remained quiet. She could recognize the woman she had met on the Eshan festival, but she looked and felt a bit different as well. Normally, she would have chalked it up to the amount of time that had passed. But not this time — something really had changed.

"Sasmay... it has been a long time," Valery said while she tried her best to offer a smile. "These logs, they say you were taken by something. Did you manage to escape?"

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

"It has. And you seemed to have dropped off your passenger." The smile was paired with a point to her stomach. "Everything went well I hope?"

She waffled for a second, her head bobbing side to side as she mulled on the phrasing. Or how exactly to convey the meaning.

"I was taken. Over Dromund Kaas. Was doing privateer work for the Rimward Trade League, hoping to catch Maw vessel flat footed." Her eyes were glassy for a moment as she replayed the memory.

"Tapped into the force. Made myself into a very scary beacon and caught someone's attention. They came asking questions. If they hadn't I would have killed everyone of my crew by accident. She helped me learn some control and we parted ways for the time being." She left the name out on purpose, baiting the question rather than giving everything away. Still not entirely sure who felt what on the matter of the woman that had instructed her.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

"It has. And you seemed to have dropped off your passenger." The smile was paired with a point to her stomach. "Everything went well I hope?"

Valery looked down at her stomach and blinked — it had been a while since she gave birth, so it took her a moment to realize what Sasmay was referring to. When it hit, she chuckled and looked back up, "About a month after we met at the festival, my partner found me again, and not long after that, I gave birth to a healthy daughter." She was smiling brightly for a moment now, "So I'd say it went well, but... that's not important right now."

She was actually quite concerned about what happened, and how Sasmay had managed to come here at the same time that she did. Was it pure coincidence or did the Force bring them together within these walls for a reason?

"That sounds... peculiar. What I saw inside the ship and outside, it looked like whoever took you attacked." Valery frowned, not sure what to really think about it all. "Who came for you, and are you sure they really helped you?"

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

"I am happy for you both then." She allowed herself that final diversion from the topic Valery was pursuing. At least before leaning against the doorframe to prepare herself for what was likely to be a long talk.

"She did. Not knowing what I was or why I existed. I channeled the force through Zambrano. The Zambrano, and made myself into a darkside beacon before I knew what had happened." Came the first bit of her explanation. Her eyes casting about the room before settling back on Valery. Sadness lingered in the corner of her smile, not quite reaching her eyes.

"Onrai came searching. Wanting to devastate whatever He was doing on my ship. And found me, nearly killing my crew with power I couldn't control. Couldn't stop." Bitterness lingered in her words, a look to her hand as the memory played back of the sounds and faces around her. Muddled through the hazy red lense that had taken her suddenly.

It didn't last long as the feeling slowly began to surface from the memory, the remainder of His power stirring as she lingered in the memory around her.

"As for helping me. In one way, yes. I...hmm. It's a bit more complicated than just a yes or no on that one. I mean, since He was the one who made me." She explained, leaving more questions floating in the air between them.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

"She did. Not knowing what I was or why I existed. I channeled the force through Zambrano. The Zambrano, and made myself into a darkside beacon before I knew what had happened."

Valery began to frown the moment the conversation shifted into the important topic at hand. Especially the mention of Kaine Zambrano provoked only terrible memories and feelings. There was likely no person alive in the Galaxy who had caused more trouble for her and her family than he did, so to think that Sasmay had channeled the Force through him... it was difficult to accept.

"Onrai?" Valery then asked for confirmation, but she knew the answer already. Her own encounters with the Force entity had been interesting, and she still didn't quite know what to think of her. But none of this made the situation seem particularly good to Valery.

"What do you mean with he made you?" she asked, "And what did Onrai do? I still felt remnants of his power on this ship when I entered, so she didn't devastate all of it?" Valery shook her head with a frown. She clearly had some trouble understanding all of this.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

The nod she gave was followed up by her words.

"Onrai, yes." The topic switched to Kaine quickly though. A question about his hand in all of this as she sighed.

"I was a strand cast. An early project. Made in a lab. Thrown together pieces to make a suitable host for his spawn. But I was lost in a raid. And he thought nothing of me further." She shrugged at the idea of being tossed aside so readily. Thought nothing more of by her creator in that moment as she switched topics.

"She taught me to wield the force. Gave me a chance at resisting him if he should come for me. As for the remnants of his power. I..." Shame crept even further into her features.

"I channeled his power while I was angry. I wasn't in control. I usually could only run fast or enhance my strength in life or death situations. Being so close to him...I almost crushed my own ship." She explained a bit better.

"If Onrai hadn't pulled me from the bridge. None of them would have survived while I was lost in that-" Her hands loosed themselves from her sides, trying to muster up the right words with her hands as though pulling the word from the ether itself. "That crushing wave. I can't put it to words how I was overwhelmed. I lost myself. I would have crushed the ship, my crew, and suffocated in space."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

"But what is the price you had to pay?"

Valery had listened to her words and she understood the woman's pain — to lose control and unintentionally cause harm to those you care about is possibly one of the worst things in the Galaxy. But for Jedi, Sith, and other Force-sensitives to develop control takes time, a lot of effort, and a great deal of dedication. That is the price they have to pay to control the gift that can do wonderful things but also be incredibly destructive.

Instead, she had been helped by another.

"I'm glad you didn't end up killing your crew, but the Force is extremely complex, and learning to control it isn't something you do overnight. Onrai is also...." she frowned. Valery didn't trust Onrai and her intentions at all, and she clearly feared that Sasmay had been pulled down a path that could endanger not only herself but for others as well.

"How did she help you? What did she do to you exactly?" Valery then asked after a moment. She remembered Onrai visiting her during her time in captivity, and the offers as well as threats she made. Something had to be wrong here.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: N/A
EQUIPMENT: Personal Robes
TAGS: Valery Noble
LOCATION: Near Hast

The answer to the question of price stuck in her throat. What had been the price exactly? What had she truly given of herself to become more than she had been? What purpose had she flung to waste for something else?

"Everything. And nothing. I was and yet still am a no one. I am not bound to some greater purpose as you and your husband are." The answer was a slow one. Considering as she straightened herself and looked to her hand.

"I have no one aside from the remnants of a love that abandoned me. I have a crew scattered to the celestial sea for my own failure. I have people with which I have not spoken to for months, nigh on a year now." She kept her tone low, drawing a deep breath as she felt a void forming between them suddenly. One that she had hoped would not form.

But fate was always a fickle thing in the end she supposed.

"Onrai is a force imbued entity. Something beyond a mortal being. A spinster of plots and machinations that only are known to herself. I am aware. But I have no one else." An almost pleading undertone to her words for understanding. To allow her to explain. For a chance.

"She took me under her tutelage. Helped me focus what was once a hammer into a needle. It was there. I just needed the catalyst to reach deeper. To actually unlock what was seeping through a keyhole. Domino spent what time she could, but eventually that time..." Cutting the trail of thoughts short as she shook her head viciously at the memories. Near to doubling over as His voice trickled in from the remnants of his power to her ear. The dark lingering presence seemed to grow around Sasmay as pain and hooked in doubts came into her mind. A near miasma of ill and tantalizing promises swirling across the bridge as she pushed the memories away.

A deep inhale drew the miasma of power in before the exhale pushed it away. Near to a fog being brushed aside by a shifting atmosphere. The steadying of her breath found her hand against the wall. Still fresh into her new powers, she hadn't realized she would find contending his lingering presence a point of contention.

"We traveled to Abeloth's planet." Came the final verdict of her answer. Her form slowly righting itself once more.

"Far and away we flew across the void of space. I have bathed in the pool. Drank from the well. And been laid upon the altar there." The cold and final admission from her own lips seeming to draw out the darker side of her. The Cinnamon hue of her eyes taking a lighter tone as she looked at someone she still considered a friend across the growing mental void between them.

She wasn't sure how they would move forward with this revelation. Wasn't sure that the woman before her wouldn't attempt to strike her down. Wasn't sure she would be welcome once more to address her as friend.

The light in her eyes dimmed. Defeat crossing her features before she hid behind the barrier of her hair. Slow steps moving her wide and away from Valery. Giving the woman room to leave the way she had come.

"I am sorry that this is what you found of me. Perhaps it would have been better some other way. You are a kind soul, and I hope it carries you well into the future." A dismissal, and a tone of defeat as she allowed the mental chasm between them to solidify.

Another failure on her part. Another friendship lost to her own greed and wants. Always another. She waited for the sound of footsteps, facing away from Valery to hide her face. Silenty fighting tears.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Near Hast | Wild Space
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Ship: Link
Tag: Sasmay Cull

While Sasmay answered her question, she was quiet again and listened with a frown. She had her thoughts about it all, but none left her lips in the form of words. Not until Sasmay began talking about Onrai.

"Onrai is a force imbued entity. Something beyond a mortal being. A spinster of plots and machinations that only are known to herself. I am aware. But I have no one else."

"I know what it's like, but Sasmay..." she didn't finish her sentence and just looked at the woman she had considered a friend with a somber expression. They had never spent that much time together, but they met under circumstances that made it impossible to ever forget. Valery had been at her most vulnerable, and Sasmay had not only been a shoulder for support but someone who offered some joy during difficult times as well.

To see that she had changed so much, and especially to hear how she had changed... it was difficult and somewhat disappointing to hear. But while Sasmay expected her to turn around and walk away, Valery stepped forward.

"I'm so sorry as well, Sasmay. I didn't know things were..." she paused again and frowned, "Like this." Valery reached out and placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. With her having accepted Onrai's help and what it likely meant to travel to Abeloth's world, it was almost certain that they wouldn't find each other again, not the way they once had. But she had no desire to lash out or part ways on a hostile note.

"I don't know what real purpose Onrai has given you, and where your path will take you next. But you helped me more than you might realize, and I'll never forget that. I hope you find yourself in a better future as well."