Private Traffic Stop

[Noah Corek]

Nar Shaddaa
Space Port
Landing Pad 5

Noah sighed as he leaned against the door frame of the landing pad, waiting for a shuttle to arrive. This shuttle contained a good friend of his that he'd hope would be able to help him with the current assignment he was on. That assignment was pretty simple on paper but in reality had proved to be rather difficult to accomplish by himself. Stemming the flow of arms to some certain unsavory characters and groups throughout the galaxy. Terrorists, criminals, cartels and the like were flourishing in a galaxy being torn apart and Noah, well more specific the Galactic Foreign Legion that he led, had been hired to help stem the flow.

The initial stages had been easy: launch a few raids on know storehouses and depots, seize and destroy the weapons, arrest all still alive and then interrogate them. Problem was that most of the people guarding these places were either hired muscle who had no clue what was being stored, these people usually surrendered rather quickly when confronted by overwhelming force, or rather low ranking members of the organizations that had no actionable intel. Of course there were always the few bigger fish that were caught in raids that yielded some more storehouses or where higher ranking members could be found.

It was from the later of these sources that Noah was able to track down a middle man that many of the different organizations used to ship their illicit goods around the galaxy. And where was this person situated? Well Nar Shaddaa of course, the galactic capital of crime. Every criminal empire had a slice of the pie of Nar Shaddaa, the Pykes, the Black Suns, Crimson Dawn and of course the Hutts. Many people thought of the planet as a den of crime and inequity, and while they were right that didn't mean the planet did have its uses. Need to disappear? Find some illicit goods that are banned in the rest of the galaxy? Avoid taxes? Facilitate the shipping of illegal arms to various unsavory enterprises? Well the Smuggler's Moon was your spot.

Sighing once again Noah looked up and saw a shuttle landing, looking down at the transit schedule he had downloaded he gave himself a confident nod that Valery Noble would be on this shuttle. Pushing himself off the wall he pulled the cloak he was wearing tighter against himself to avoid the downwash from the shuttles engines and waited for the boarding ramp to lower.

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo (with cloak)
Location | Nar Shaddaa
Tag | Noah Corek

Nar Shaddaa.

Every memory she had about the planet was awful — dealing with slavers, spice traders, or taking down other illegal businesses. Occasionally, she went after people in hiding here as well, as it was used for refuge quite often. But today she traveled here to help a good friend with something a little different. The weapon industry in the Galaxy was immense, and much of it was correctly handled by companies who held the proper permits and delivered their goods to official militaries.

But sometimes, there were groups whose weapons only made it into the wrong hands, and the suffering it caused was impossible to describe with words.

So when the call came, she was quick to respond and wrapped some long robes around her usual attire, placed the hood over her head, and boarded the next civilian shuttle to the crime moon. Soon enough, she arrived and it didn't take long for her to spot Noah — she could feel his familiar presence and approached him without drawing too much attention to herself.

"Been a little while, Noah," she said with a soft smile. "Good to see you again."

​

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble

Noah was no stranger himself to running guns, having done it more than a few times himself during his time in the army, covert operations had been his bread and butter after all. Hell even now his company, Hekler'Kok Defense Industries, ran guns to sympathetic groups around the galaxy, mostly resistance groups that were fighting against the Maw and the New Imperial Order. All of this was of course done extremely covertly with even the ones running the guns not knowing exactly where they had been procured.

Pushing these thoughts from his mind Noah looked up at the figures departing from the shuttle and his eyes caught one in particular. While her body was obscured by the long robes and face by the drawn hood, Noah recognized her gait and immediately made to intercept.

When he made it to her he did something that Valery might find surprising, he reached his arms out and pulled her against his chest in what could be described as a bear hug. "Val'ika...I'm so sorry, I heard about Kahlil." His voice was a extremely soft whisper, meant to keep others from overhearing and to convey to his friend just how sorry he was for her loss.

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo (with cloak)
Location | Nar Shaddaa
Tag | Noah Corek

While she expected a very friendly greeting from him, she was quite surprised when he pulled her into a tight embrace. It stunned her for just a second, but when he whispered his condolences, she understood why he hugged her. A soft smile began to tug on her lips, and her arms wrapped around him for a long moment as well. The loss of her husband had sparked a lot of pain and months of suffering, but with help from friends like this, she was finding her way forward again.

"Thank you, Noah," Valery said with a soft whisper of her own. Her voice had something somber to it, but that fiery side of her wasn't entirely suppressed.

She always found a way to keep going, whether it was her daughter, her Padawans, or her close friends — there was so much left to live and fight for. It's what Kahlil wanted for her too when he sacrificed himself to save her life. Valery was determined to honor that promise and keep going.

"Now..." she began after pulling back from the hug. "Where do we begin with this mission?"

​

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble

Noah sat there holding Valery against his chest for a little longer than necessary for a friendly hug, detaching from her after about a good minute, stepping back and clearing his throat into his hand he looked at Val with a degree of sorrow and regret. "Kahlil was a good man, the galaxy is lesser for his passing...how is Vera taking it. If you need anything I'm always here for you." With this said he clapped his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "I was around her age when my father left so I've got a pretty good idea of what she is going through."

When Val mentioned the mission his face shifted to a more serious look and he reached down and picked up a duffle bag he had with him before gesturing for her to follow as he began walking away from the landing pad. "I've got a few contacts we can run down, quite literally as some of the won't be too happy to see me. I've got some familial connections that could help here as well, the Smuggler's Moon is a good enough place as any for a Mandalorian to cut their teeth."

He gestured towards a nearby transit terminal and quickly called a cab to the area, opening the door for Valery before following in behind her. Once settled inside Noah typed the address into the screen and the cab began its journey to the typed into terminal.

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon/Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo (with cloak)
Location | Nar Shaddaa
Tag | Noah Corek

"Vera is doing okay," Valery said with a quiet smile. "It was hard for a while, but she's attending classes at the Temple again and making friends. She's a tough little kid," Valery said with that proud, motherly tone she always had while talking about her daughter. Her support to Vera helped the little girl push through, and in return, Valery knew that Vera really helped her keep going despite everything as well.

"If I end up needing some help, it's good to know I can give you a call, though. Thanks." She smiled at her friend but with that, they quietly agreed to shift their focus to why she was here — a mission. Noah began to cover some of its details while they walked over to a transmit terminal and summoned a taxi. "Seems you have it all figured out, then," Valery commented before settling in the taxi.

"Are we starting with one of your lesser friendly contacts? Or do you need to get info from some of those familiar connections first? Either way, I'm ready to help however I can."

​

 

[Noah Corek]

Valery Noble

Noah noticed the shift in Val's tone when she began talking about Vera, he had been told he had a similar tone of voice whenever he talked about his kid's and what they were up to or their recent accomplishments. As the taxi pulled away Noah relaxed slightly, now being in a rather concealed space he was a little less worried about being seen and/or identified. He gave Valery as much space as possible in the rather cramped backseat, fully aware he wasn't exactly what you would call a small person.

When she brought up who they would be tracking down first he looked over towards her. "Staring with my familiar sources, I'd rather start the hunt out with some initial information I know is true that way if anyone lies we can call them on it. We'll start in a place called 'Little Keldabe', it's where most Mandalorians on Nar Shaddaa spend their time and consequently is probably one of the safest places on the moon...somewhat ironic if you think about it."

He sat in silence, whether it was comfortable or uncomfortable was up to Noah and Valery to decide, for a couple of minutes before he finally spoke. "I know I asked how Vera is doing...but how are you doing Val?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon/Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo (with cloak)
Location | Nar Shaddaa
Tag | Noah Corek

Settled into her seat, Valery's eyes shifted out through the window of the speeder. Nar Shaddaa, despite being full of crime, looked quite spectacular at this time. But she wasn't looking to admire its beauty — the passing lights and amazing skyline helped her focus her mind a little. "Sounds like a good place to start, then," Valery said with a dip of her head when he explained the situation with the Mandalorians on the planet.

"I'm not sure who they're affiliated with, but my relationship with the Enclave and its Mandalorians is quite good. And well, I'm with you as well, so I'm sure they won't mind a Jedi in their neighborhood. Or should I keep that part hidden?" she asked him just to be sure. They already had quite a mission out here, so the last thing she wanted was to cause more trouble along the way.

The two then sat in silence for a little while, which all things considered, Valery wasn't too worried about. But when he opened the conversation again, she didn't mind it either, and offered a soft smile, "I'm doing alright. It was really tough for a while, but I was able to briefly talk to him on Lothal recently. Through the Force, and it helped me move forward. Having Vera makes a huge difference too."

"She needs me, and I really need her too."

​

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah stared out his own window though he was admiring the view as well it wasn't the only thing that he was surveying. Potential sniper hides, ambush locations and possible traps or IED under every patch of garbage and pile of scrap. This was the reality of Noah's life after nearly five decades of training and armed combat, not that he would ever complain as this training and experience made him into the man he was today.

When Valery spoke about his family Noah shrugged when she mentioned his family. "To be honest my House and Clan are kind of insular when it comes to the other House's and Clan's. We were separate them for so long that we don't see them as necessary for our survival, just extra trade partners who share our way of thinking. As for you being a Jedi? They won't care. During the Mandalorian Wars we fought for Revan and his Revanchists, probably not the ideal Jedi but we respect them. Just act like yourself and you'll get along fine with them."

When Valery answered his own question Noah nodded. "I understand the feeling. Whenever I'm having a tough time I usually alleviate by surrounding myself with my wives and children. Maybe it's because I'm Mandalorian or my time in the military but having a group of people around tends to calm and invigorate me."

It didn't long after their conversation ended that the speeder came to a stop, the screen in front of Noah's face blinking the amount of credits he owed for the ride. Quickly withdrawing a credit chit from his pocket he swiped it and the screen blinked green. Stepping out of the cab Noah slung the duffle over his shoulder before hurrying to the other side to open the door for Valery.

When the woman stepped from the speeder she would be met with a rather nondescript building with a sign above it in Mando'a. Two figures stood outside, dressed in your typical Mandalorian beskar'gam with cloaks over top and brandishing rather intimidating rifles. He turned to Valery Noble , smiled and spoke. "Stick with me."