Private The Zone

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

Valery gave him a brief look.

She knew what was going on inside his mind at all times, and he was thinking about how they'd have to be careful if they stayed here for a while? With regards to pregnancy? Her gaze turned back to the doctor with a smirk on her lips. She was very much amused at the thought of doing that out here in the Zone.

But she wasn't going to complain.

"Of course," the doctor replied, oblivious to Valery's reaction. "Anomalies are like minefields. You can pass through without any problems if you take the right steps. But one wrong step..." he shrugged his shoulders. "There are different types of anomalies, some more dangerous than others, but almost all of them are lethal with enough exposure." He reached for a piece of paper he had on a stack in one of his cabinets and handed it over.

It was a list of anomaly types.

"From what I've heard, you're working towards finding a new way to detect and navigate these anomalies. But until then, watch out for strange distortions in the air or other peculiar phenomena, such as sudden temperature shifts. Some anomalies are obvious, such as flame-based anomalies. Others can't be seen until you're in the middle of it. One way that soldiers navigate through them now, is by tossing small objects ahead of them. Bolts or marbles, and the like. Throw them a few steps ahead and they will trigger the anomaly if it's there and warn you to take a turn."

He paused, giving the Jedi a moment to think about it all.

"Any questions?"

Spoiler: List

• Flame-based anomalies.
• Gravity-based anomalies.
• Chemical-based anomalies.
• Electricity-based anomalies.
• Reality-altering anomalies.
• Global anomalies.
• Multiple-hazard anomalies.

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"All I'm really hearing is that they're incredibly dangerous, but you have no idea what they really are." There were a lot of words, but nothing to actually pinpoint what they could be. Only how to avoid maybe one type. That wasn't enough in his book. Then again, he wasn't too surprised. If they did know everything, the Zone wouldn't be as dangerous as it was now.

He let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"We'll be sure to keep things floating in front of us, but unless you have any more specific information, I can't say I have any more questions."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"That's because each one is very different from the other, and they can change," the doctor explained with a grim smile. "On that list is also something we call a global anomaly. The most dangerous type is what we refer to as an emission — a violent storm of radiation, gravity distortions and other phenomena so violent that we can't record data about it. When an emission hits, you must find shelter, and once it's over, anomalies will have displaced or even changed completely." That was one of the real dangers of the Zone.

Mapping it was impossible.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but please take these." He offered them both a datapad alongside the strips with capsules. "These datapads receive transmissions made from this base. If an emission is about to hit, we will warn you over its channel."

Valery took her datapad and let out a soft sigh before she turned to her husband, "Alright, I think we know enough, hm? Bloodsucker lair first, then we'll see about steps to reach the plant."

"Or is there anything else before we go, love?"

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

An ever changing effect? That was.. Fascinating. It was slightly annoying and worrying, but now his eyes were practically lit up with sheer interest and enjoyment. He was excited, to say the least. He wanted to learn more, find out the secrets of this place. Find all the secrets, if he was being honest. It might be annoying, but that also meant a challenge.

He loved challenges.

He took the datapad, nodding his head briefly. "I've no more questions that can be answered here. Let's deal with the bloodsuckers. I'm now far more eager to find more of these anomalies."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"You won't have to look very far to find them, Master Jedi," the doc said with a warm smile. "Now, one last thing before you go. If either of you feel strange at any point or suffer from lingering effects of something that happens in the Zone, please find me immediately. It would do my heart no good, knowing that two people who want to help are in trouble when I can help." He chuckled and looked at the two with a caring smile before he rose from his seat and nodded.

"Good luck, Masters Jedi."

"Thank you, we'll be in contact," Valery said with a smile in return before she grabbed her husband's hand and turned around to head outside. She was grinning from ear to ear now, clearly amused by the sudden excitement he showed. From the start, she knew the anomalies would have been interesting to him, but the revelation about their ability to change had really made him eager to get going, hm?

"Have I told you that you're cute when you get excited over these things?" She teased as they walked towards the edge of camp, her eyes not focused on him but her smirk very much was. "You're in luck, too. The latest version of the regional map shows an anomaly between this camp and the suspected lair."

"Want to check it out?"

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm not cute, I'm adorable."

Kahlil smirked wide as he glanced down to her, even as she didn't look his way. That was the power of their bond, after all. They could feel each other in ways no one else could understand. "Do you even need to ask?" The more they learned about these anomalies, the better for when they did end up deep in the zone. He grinned, looking ahead.

He was much too excited, he knew, but at the same time it was better than how he was feeling earlier.

"Let's check it out, love."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

Valery snorted not once, but at least twice and broke into laughter after that. She had never imagined him saying something like that, but she couldn't quite disagree either. For all his height, muscle mass, and strong masculine lines, he was also the most adorable husband she could have hoped to marry. A true nerd at heart, always eager and excited to learn more about the mysteries of the Galaxy or the Force.

In this case, perhaps both.

"You're also silly, but I like it." She grabbed his arm and gave him one big side hug. It was likely obvious to him because of their bond, but she felt an immense relief to see him excited again.

Soon enough, the two Jedi reached the edge of camp where a large gate was kept shut at all times. A protection against mutants, Valery assumed. The guards there opened it up without complaints and allowed the two to wander off into the Zone, before shutting the gate behind them again.

"The location of this anomaly shouldn't be hard to find, even if the anomaly itself is impossible. Apparently, there's a crashed military vehicle right at the center." Which made her wonder. Had this anomaly appeared right on top of it? Or had someone actually tried to drive right through?

Either way, Valery stopped on the long-abandoned road they walked on, and looked downhill into an open piece of grassland. There, in the middle of roadless terrain, stood a military vehicle, its hull warped and its doors missing. There was no sign of the people who had driven it there, and judging by the rust, it had already been there for a while.

"Do you want to throw marbles or should I just hide behind you and let you go first?" Valery teased.

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You better like it."

He snickered a little as they finally did step through the gates and were, finally, out of the camp. He couldn't hide his relief of simply being away, but he didn't bring attention to it either. Instead he tilted his head. A military vehicle that had some how been at the center? Depending on how centered it was, he could think of several more possibilities.

Kahlil reached up a hand, pulling some loose pebbles once they had gotten closer to send them over.

"We should keep an open mind on what happened, but isn't it odd that it's so perfectly centered? As if the anomaly had come from it, mm?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"I always will." She looked at him with a loving smile this time. No teasing edge, no playful smirk — just a smile to show him how much she loved him. Perhaps it also helped that they left camp now. He looked relieved and felt happier, even if he didn't bring attention to it. She was his wife and they were bonded in a way nobody else ever would. She knew exactly how he felt, and it brought her much joy.

Now, it was time to focus on exploration.

"That's... a very good point. You think we should try to reach it?" Valery asked. Kahlil started throwing pebbles and the first few just fell to the ground like they should. But one that flew along the center line towards the vehicle was caught in mid-air. A large bubble of deformed space appeared, swallowing whatever entered the whole, and disappeared again with cracks of electricity lashing out at the ground.

The anomaly had come to life.

Other pebbles caused sudden electrical sparks to ignite in mid-air now as well, even in the absence of live wires or other electrical components.

"Be careful, love... don't get zapped."

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil reached up, idly rubbing at his chin as he watched the pebbles zap and spark once they were too close. If the anomaly had been triggered by the vehicle passing it, that would be an explanation. So too would it be if it actively tied to make one. There was a question that needed answering here; if they had created this purposefully, why?

And how?

He flashed a smirk to Valery as he raised a hand. "I stopped being a Sith, but that doesn't mean I'm suddenly bad at handling lightning." He reached out with the Force, mostly to try and get a grip on the bubble itself. He'd analyze it eventually.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Oh gosh. Love, please," Valery wasn't sure whether she should facepalm at his statement or snicker. This was very much his area of expertise, but she was still a little bit cautious. They knew very little about these anomalies and it wasn't a guarantee that they could manipulate them with the Force. Perhaps they were-

Valery blinked when he reached out with his hand and extended a grip on the bubble.

"I think it's doing something," Valery mused as the bubble appeared and seemed to warp and distort more violently than it did before. As if the pressure he applied had some tangible effect on what was ultimately unnatural. Sparks and electrical currents began to lash out, but with the Jedi at a safe distance, it couldn't harm them.

Then, it flashed.

From the very center of the bubble, a body fell down and hit the floor right underneath, before the bubble disappeared with more violent electricity passing through the air. From the hand of the person clad in military armor fell a strangely shaped rock that glowed jumped around a little.

"...do you think we should try to reach him?"

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I don't feel any life from him. Odds are this killed him already."

He reached out a hand, calmly bring the Force to fruition to take hold of the strange looking rock. Just to pull it over to his palm, mostly to see if there was a reaction from how he handled it with the Force, then possibly how it might react to his touch. The Force at least seemed to bring it down from whatever that bubble was. "We'll see how exactly this works, I imagine."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

Kahlil reached out with the Force and the artifact responded. Waves of Force energy rippled out from its surface and increased in intensity as it drew closer to his hand. It was a soothing feeling, powerful and gentle at the same time. It connected with the body and upon touching it, any pain, injury or exhaustion he felt, no matter how strong or weak, would begin to fade.

Valery perked a brow as that feeling resonated their bond. She felt relief of muscle strain and tilted her head curiously, "Healing properties? Do you think this anomaly made it or did he just carry it with him?" She asked but her attention was quickly drawn to something else. The radiation meters were making a ticking noise, suggesting an increase in radiation.

Not to dangerous levels, but this artifact did emit radiation.

"Hey babe? Look," Valery continued as she pointed at something she saw near the body. A datapad.

"Maybe it has useful information." But getting there was not easy.

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Healing? He glanced to her briefly before looking at the artifact in his palm. Radiation ticked, which certainly confirmed the nature of the object, but there were many more rules at play with it. What caused such a reaction for the vehicle to be stuck in time? He nodded though, glancing to the datapad that she pointed out. "You should be safe enough to grab it with the Force from here. Unless you're feeling unable to use it?"

He was teasing, but there was some concern with it. If she couldn't use it, that meant a whole different sort of problems with this location that they'd have to address.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Fine."

Valery was purposefully not looking at him, pouted, and kept her eyes narrowed while she focused on the datapad. A part of her worried that using the Force could cause the bubble to lash out and destroy the datapad, but he had also gotten the rock back, right? It was probably much safer for everybody to just summon it to her hand. Not that she'd admit that. It'd mean telling him she completely forgot that she could just summon it into her hand with the Force.

It was the excitement to explore that made her forget, is all.

Valery raised her hand and summoned the datapad without any issues, her eyes still not focused on him. "Shut up," she told him preemptively, knowing he'd at least give her that teasing grin of his. Valery then activated the datapad and immediately stumbled onto a recording.

"This is Major Ayno. I've been walking for 5 days now since I was sucked into that bubble. But no matter where I turn, I always go in circles! The men are starting to lose their minds. I've heard some whisper about turning their guns against themselves. If we don't find a way out soon, we'll be lost forever."

Valery blinked and looked up at the bubble, "Alright, we are not getting too close to that thing, huh?" She had a bad feeling he'd only want to investigate it even more now.

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Time distortion. That's always fun." Kahlil chuckled as he again looked to the bubble. Ignoring the cost it had taken on this Major and his troops, it was a fascinating thing. But if the distortion was still there, then it wasn't tied to the object? If anything now he was more confused on what the artifact was he was now currently holding. And why the Force interacted with it so oddly.

So many questions.

"Maybe a little experimenting. It looks fun, honestly."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Time distortion, or maybe it's like a maze in there? And they actually were trapped in some place for a while?" Valery could nerd out with him over these things, too. Or, at least, she was trying to come up with her own theories and see what he thought of them. The anomaly was still a mystery, after all, and even Kahlil seemed a little puzzled.

But that probably just made this even more excit-

"Maybe a little experimenting. It looks fun, honestly."

Valery blinked, "You're impossible, sometimes," she said with a huff. "What if that thing swallows you? I'd have to rip it apart, you know." He'd break time and space to bring her back if she were to ever be gone, but she'd do the same for him. Perhaps a scary thought, but it was the truth.

"But alright, let's go take a closer look? You first though..."

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh I figured you would, so I'm counting on it."

Kahlil stepped over shortly after handing the artifact over to Valery. Just in case, given the man inside had it and was certainly in the center of the bubble. Then he reached out to touch it. The Force had it's reactions, so now he was hoping to make use of his own body, just to figure out it's effects. There was so much to explore here, after all.

And maybe he was a little too eager for it.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Wait-"

Valery held the artifact he offered her and reached out with a hand to stop him from approaching the bubble. But she was already too late. The moment Kahlil reached for the anomaly, electrical arcs lashed out and kept Valery just two steps away from her husband. Too far too stop his fingertips from brushing against the distortion.

In an instant, he vanished.

With the entire world warping around him, Kahlil moved through a realm never seen before. Everything, from the trees and plants, to the buildings and roads, were upside down, twisted, on their sides or flowing like water through a river when they were meant to be solids. Time itself seemed to stand still, but when the overwhelming feeling finally ended, he was back.

Surrounded by dead trees, a ticking radiation meter, and no sign of Valery.

Kahlil Noble
​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil pretty calmly looked around, despite the drastic change of scenery. He knew what he was getting into, technically. The unknown, random effect that it could be. Which seemed to be either an alternate reality, or a different time. Lots to explore.

Right now though he was more focused on feeling the bond with Valery herself. Time and space hadn't stopped that before.

Valery Noble