Private The Zone

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

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

"How to destroy?" Valery's jaw fell open in feigned offense, and she even slapped the side of his shoulder for that crude statement. "I didn't just destroy!" She huffed and pushed him away a little - no easy task with how much bigger he was, but it was the thought that counted.

Destroy.

Being called his beautiful bride had her drop the act, though, and returned that playful smile to her lips. She walked up closer, placed a hand up against his chest and reached for his cheek with the other, "I will always protect you, as you will protect me." She didn't care about where they were or who was watching, and leaned in to steal a kiss.

A longer one, knowing that suits and masks were going to make it difficult to touch him.

"I love you, silly." She let her thumb brush over his cheek and through his beard while she stood on the tips of her toes. "Where first? Strider or the Doc?"

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Perhaps the most surprising part of it was that Kahlil had the same thought in mind as she reached up to hold his cheek. Or perhaps he was just peeking into the future for her intent as he caught her cheek first and pulled her right into a kiss himself. One that he let linger even longer than she did. If they were going to be trapped in those suits, he was for certain going to enjoy this moment.

"I love you too, my little bodyguard. Strider first." That was the first name they were given. Might as well go in order. He chuckled as he let his hand fall from her cheek.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

Valery's eyes briefly widened when he predicted her desires and was quicker to act. He always had a way of tapping into their bond at the right time, and it never failed to take her breath away. The kiss itself lasted longer too, but Valery hardly noticed that - she leaned into his hand with her cheek to enjoy his warmth and comfort, and let herself get lost in the moment.

So much so, that once the kiss broke, Valery leaned back in and stole a second kiss, albeit a shorter one. She could keep him close like that for hours, just to savor every part of him.

But they had a job to do, so she reluctantly pulled away from the kiss and looked him up in his eyes, her own expression much softer and without the teasing edge for once, "Little, hm?" Valery chuckled and ran her hand over his chest. But where she'd usually have some witty comment in response, she just smiled this time.

"Alright, let's go." She flashed a quick wink and walked down the street to head for one of the buildings inside the camp. It was easy to tell which one housed Strider, given the dead mutant on display just outside its walls - a three-headed beast, twice the size of a Vornskr and with teeth and nails that could carve through the thickest hides.

A truly awful abomination.

"The Nobles, aye?" A hoarse voice asked. A man covered in a green protective suit, though without a mask appeared in the doorwag. His face was full of scars, and his lower lip was almost split, but it didn't kill the lethal fire in his eyes. He was a hunter at heart, and every part of his body showed it - from his eyes, to his scars, to the muscle and strength of his body.

Strider spent a moment looking both Nobles up and down and let out a huff of air, though it wasn't clear if he was impressed or disappointed, "Husband and wife working together." He tilted his head but said nothing further about it and turned his stare to Valery instead, "You two need suits and equipment if you are hoping to survive the Zone."

Valery perked a brow and looked at her husband. Strider already felt like a difficult type to work with, but she wouldn't voice that out loud.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Yes, lets."

It didn't matter how many stares they got now. He was happy, content. And then a little more peeved once they made it to Strider. He gave the benefit of the doubt, at least. It wasn't common for a husband and wife to be so close with their work. And as Jedi, no less. "That's part of the reason we're here. Finding the equipment needed, offering assistance. You're one of the better people to speak to about this, from what I was told."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

Valery couldn't stop just a small smirk from forming when she picked up on her husband's annoyance. Strider wasn't the first who had shown surprise that a married couple worked together — Don't shit where you eat, and all that. But most quickly learned that the Nobles were a unique pair and they were at their strongest when working together.

Hopefully, Strider would figure out the same.

"Aye, s'pose that's true," he muttered while he turned around to head inside. With a small gesture of his hand, he told the Nobles to follow him. Once inside, the two were led into one of the larger storage rooms. There was military combat armor, special suits, helmets, vizors and racks full of rifles all along the walls.

It was an armory.

"I'm afraid I don't have any gear meant for a woman, but maybe it'll fit just fine-" he paused and looked her up and down. "... nevermind." He flashed his disgusting, yellow teeth and picked out two suits. "The helmets are air tight, but you don't need them unless you're in or near a chemical anomaly. Those are easy to recognize." He offered the suits and looked at them both for a moment.

"If you need any guns or grenades, I'm your guy. If you need tips about hunting mutants, I'm especially your guy." He winked at Valery in particular, but she ignored it and showed no change in expression.

"There's a price for these suits, though. I'm going to need you two to do a job for me. Should be good practice, no?"

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil's eyes narrowed. He kept a rather calm expression, but as the man stared at his wife his eyes very visibly narrowed. And with it, a pressure in the Force. he wasn't going to harm anyone, but he did make it very, very clear that he did not appreciate nor allow someone to look at his wife like that. Just as she didn't allow anyone to look at him that way either.

They were people, not eye candy.

"We will do a job, but you will keep your eyes to yourself. Understood?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

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

Strider was quiet for a moment and chewed on the inside of his lip while he stared back into Kahlil's eyes. There was undoubtedly some level of anger or frustration in the soldier after being called out, but knowing he was outmatched, he decided against acting on it. Instead, he bit back his anger and handed over the suits with a shrug, "Whatever," he muttered, clearly annoyed with the much larger man.

Valery also remained quiet but briefly smiled at her husband to show him how much she cared.

Strider then reached for a datapad from a stack of five he had on his desk. Each one with a particular mission described on it, but he only chose one for the Jedi. "There's a changing room to get into your suits down the hall. After that, this is your mission." He handed over the datapad and leaned back against a table in the center of the room. "Bloodsucker lair. Nasty things, they are, but no trouble for a pair of Jedi aye?" He flashed them both his rotten teeth and nodded.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

That's right. Walk away small man.

While he didn't say such things out loud, it was clear in his eyes. Kahlil and Valery would help, but if he gave her such a look again it was either going to be him or Valery who broke his jaw. Really just whoever ended up swinging first. Which could very well be him. He raised a brow though as he mentioned blood suckers as he took up the Datapad to look it over.

"Bloodsuckers?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

All of this wasn't uncommon behavior, and in a camp without women and just men - soldiers who were clearly rougher around the edges - Valery had expected some looks and flirtatious behavior. But it didn't mean she'd accept it and somehow she felt it was even more annoying for her husband. So, he would definitely be the one swinging first. Valery would have in his shoes, if some random man or woman decided to treat her husband like a snack they wanted.

Sometimes, it was more frustrating to her if someone flirted with him, than if someone tried it with her. Perhaps that was her more jealous side, but she just couldn't help it.

He has every part of her heart, and there was no room for someone else.

"Bloodsuckers... That sounds troubling." Valery leaned in closer to her husband, and looked at the images of bloodsuckers that were tied to the report. With their strange maw and rather tall and strong physique, they looked intimidating.

"They are even worse than they look. The bastards turn invisible to the eye and only appear when they attack. If they get their claws on you, they'll suck you dry." Strider smirked a little as he looked from Kahlil to Valery, but Valery herself wasn't quite as amused. From his pile of options, this must have been the more dangerous one.

"Love? I think we should get dressed and check it out, hm? Maybe first stop by the Doc?"

Strider nodded, "We only have one changing room, so you'll have to share."

"We'll make sure to lock it." Valery narrowed her eyes and grabbed her husband's hand, both to pull him along and to potentially keep him from attacking this disgusting man.

Stridee just looked at them both with the same grin.

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Yes, we will."

Kahlil let out a heavy sigh as he glanced to Valery, then back to the files. Soldiers weren't horndogs. Not like this man was. If he continued, Kahlil certainly would break his jaw. He grumbled as he followed Valery into the room to get fully dressed. If she hadn't stopped him, he really would've started to dismember that man. "We can go check on the Doc, yes."

He was still very much grumbling, though.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

As soon as they entered the changing room together, Valery waited to make sure nobody else was inside. The last thing she wanted was to run into a half-naked soldier now, especially if they were anything like Strider. Luckily, it was just the Nobles, so she turned around and locked the door behind them, before she rejoined her husband.

He looked frustrated.

"You okay?" She asked and walked up to him to wrap her arms around his waist for a brief hug. When she pulled back, she took his much larger hands into her own and squeezed.

"I know he's frustrating but let's forget about him, alright? We do this mission and hopefully we can learn about the Zone from others afterwards." She tried a hopeful smile this time. They had been excited about this mission, so she didn't want this one disgusting bantha to ruin it for them.

"Can you help me suit up?" Valery then asked with a slightly playful smirk. "Mine won't be easy to get into." She had a feeling it was going to be tight around her hips and chest, but at least it'd give them something silly to chuckle about.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Being without a woman does not make a man a beast. It's disgusting."

Men were not slaves to a primal desire like that man seemed to behave. He let out another grumble before focusing on switching into his suit. He only paused long enough to at least return the hug she gave him. He truly didn't want to see people like that, and now they had to deal with them. Maybe they didn't deserve any of their help.

He reached over to tug up her zipper. He wasn't chuckling, but he did smile at least. "Maybe we should just go to the Zone. We don't need someone like that for help."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

"Babe..." Valery looked at him over her shoulder with a comforting smile. There was something cute about how protective he was of her, but she could tell this man had rubbed him the wrong way, and she hated it when anything made him remotely uncomfortable. But as much as she wanted to leave and not help Strider out, that would only cause more issues. He owned these suits, and they needed them.

"The scientists and Commander seemed alright, so let's give these people the benefit of the doubt, alright? Doctors are usually patient friendly too, so we should at least pay him a visit." Valery smiled, but then groaned when he pulled the zipper up. It was a tight fit, but she had a feeling that was only going to be fun for him.

A little, maybe. Hopefully.

"I want to see you smile." She bumped her butt back against him to mess with him and turned around with an almost pleading look. Puppy eyes and everything. "This mission can be exciting and something new, so screw this guy and let's take down that lair? Explore and help out?" She reached up, pinched his cheeks and pulled the corners of his lips up with a stupid little grin.

"You are kind of cute when you're angry, though..."

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"Mmhmm."

He grumbled. He wanted to be done with it. No matter where they went there was always someone far too openly oggling one of them. He was tired of it. Tired of feeling like they couldn't just be around people without stares.

"I'm glad you think I am. .. Hopefully we'll see people who are normal and not literal animals."

He only gave a half hearted smile. He truly was done with people like this. "Let's just get this done, love."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

Valery looked up at him with a somewhat saddened smile now. She couldn't blame him for the way he felt, so she wasn't going to comment on that, but it was clear in her eyes that she hoped their adventure together wasn't ruined by one animal of a man. Her eyes asked him to keep faith for her, if not for himself.

She really wanted an assignment to enjoy and learn from with her husband.

"Alright," she said, her voice and eyes betraying she was just a little bummed out. "Let's go see the doc." She tried her best to smile, then took his hand, squeezed it, and turned around to leave the changing room with him in tow. Somewhere along the way to the exit, she caught a glimpse of Strider working in the armory, but she paid him no attention at all - she blamed him for everything now. So, to suppress ber own growing anger, she gently pulled Kahlil along into the streets.

Once outside, the fresh air forced a sharper breath, but she couldn't entirely shake the feeling in her heart and looked between buildings with a frown. The infirmary was right across the street, so at least it would be a short walk.

"...I'm sorry." Valery spoke quietly and without looking at him this once. "This should have been exciting and interesting. Something for us two."

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"You were planning for this to be a vacation for us?"

He spoke up after a moment as they walked side by side in the street. He needed a moment, really, after facing yet another scumbag he couldn't just tell to screw off and be done with it. He couldn't do that in the Senate, he couldn't do that with the Epicanthix. Now he couldn't even do it here. He was annoyed, but he squeezed her hand and gave a brief smile.

"The people suck. The Zone is fascinating. We'll help the people here, because they need it, but the sooner we can explore the rift the better I imagine. It'll be much more fun then. Don't worry."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

"No, but I didn't imagine it to be a nightmare either." She looked up at him, her eyes still betraying a hint of sadness over the whole situation, but at least she managed a smile for him. For the same reason she imagined he smiled back - even when something frustrating happened, they would always at least have each other.

Again, she squeezed his hand and ran her thumb gently over his knuckles. Maybe it'd get better once they were focused on the Zone, but until then, she would do her best to keep their spirits as high as possible.

"I hope not all people suck either," Valery said with just a soft chuckle. Her eyes then turned away, back to the infirmary, but this time a man stood in the doorway. He wore no protective suit like the soldiers, but a doctor's coat, and looked much older as well. He met the Nobles with a warm smile and stepped forward to introduce himself, "Ah, the Nobles," he said, his voice a warm contrast to what they had experienced so far.

"I was told you might visit. Please, follow me inside." He held up his hand and waited for the Nobles to follow him. Valery, at least, felt some relief and looked at her husband again, hoping he was a little less on edge as well.

"Have they told you much about the less visible dangers of the zone already? I imagine they might not have. Soldiers tend to concern themselves only with the mutants, but it's what you can't see that's truly dangerous.." He chuckled a little to himself and brought them into the medical facility. Unlike the armory, this place actually looked clean.

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

"It's not a nightmare, I just wish I could punch the guy and be done with it. I can't, though." That was by far and large the issue he had most with this. Having to take the high road when people insulted his wife, him, his family, anything he cared about. It was just too often for it not to wear on him. But right now he didn't want to think about it any longer. They had a task they'd handle.

And another person to meet.

At least this one didn't seem so bad. He didn't feel relieved yet, but he was optimistic they could at least have a proper conversation with this man. "They mentioned the Bloodsuckers so far, but not too much else. What do you mean unseen?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Zone

​

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

"I know." She could tell he didn't want to think about it anymore, so she squeezed his hand one last time and decided to move on from what happened herself. Maybe she could cheer him up later, or perhaps exploring the zone would be a good enough distraction. For now, though, they had one more person to meet before they'd go on their first mission together. The bloodsuckers sounded like a serious threat, but she had a feeling there was so much more.

Thankfully, the doc already seemed like a welcomed change of pace.

"Ah yes, bloodsuckers are treacherous mutants," the doc mused as he led them into his medbay. There were several beds there, and cabinets full of equipment and supplies. The entire building doubled as both a medical facility and a storage location for their supplies.

"The real dangers of the zone are not the mutants, though." The doc sat down on his stool with an audible sigh and a somewhat sheepish smile. He was getting older, so standing around all day wasn't good for his back. "Radiation is a serious threat, but that's why you have the suits and these..." He reached for something on his desk and offered it — strips with capsules meant to be swallowed with water. "Take one after every meal and they will help prevent radiation poisoning."

"The other dangers are the anomalies. Have they told you about them?" he asked Kahlil directly before turning to Valery. "Please take no offense, but I have to ask. You're not pregnant, are you?"

Valery blinked, looked at Kahlil, then shook her head, "I'm not, no." She imagined he asked for the health of a potential baby, so her smile showed appreciation for his question.

The doc smiled warmly in return, "Good, I just wanted to make sure. Now, about those anomalies... have either of you seen one already?"

Kahlil Noble
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[Kahlil Noble]

Radiation was one of the largest threats indeed. He frowned slightly as he looked down at the suit. It should be enough to prevent any real exposure, but the odds were there were some waves that might pose an even greater risk. He did raise a brow though. Other anomalies? That's what he was focusing on that rather the idea she could again be pregnant. It was good she wasn't, but if they were here for a while they'd have to be careful.

Something to really think about later.

"Bloodsuckers were the only thing we got definitive information on. Everything else you have we'd like."

Valery Noble