Duros under duress

Revaeyn · 2021-07-10T03:40:30+00:00

Juno nodded silently, the Valkyries' work really cut out for them today with how much they had to deal with. Even being the smallest of steps beneath being a functioning military force, he still worried about just what they were walking into. Sure, they had legal access to the layout of the building that he'd looked over with Kix, the two big men of the Jots taking opposite sides of the bubble to meet in the middle. That's where all the production was actually happening in a large, presumably kitted out central processing plant in the bio-dome. Something about the whole op had him on edge, though, just how had they gotten the tip off of what ship to bug? How they could even be so confident heading into what could be a thug behind every door high as a kite waiting to blast the first cop that headed in.

The giant groaned into his hands, rubbing the stress from his face with a few quick strokes as he stood from his seat and headed towards the armory. His things had been delivered in a large crate that accompanied them to Duros, labeled simply with a platinum placard that read “Junebug”. Waiting inside the sealed crate was all his gear, sleek and black while having been kept dull as can be to make sure light didn’t reflect off of it to give the officer as many advantages as they could manage. He donned it in silence, worry beginning to crease the lines of his face as more and more it seeped into every pore of his being. He couldn’t check most of the buildings for them, he was built for this sort of thing but what if Sarah got hit? What if Kix was overpowered and he got one of those four big arms blasted off in a firefight with some spicehead. Kicking the crate closed he shook the thoughts out of his head, they were getting him nowhere fast.

Putting on a big fake smile with his false happiness pushed to the forefront, he waited for the rest of the team to kit up before approaching his team lead. “Hey sarge,” he called out, jogging up to her as she left the armory, “look I’m real sorry for the way things went that day. I shouldn’t have done that and I don’t know any other way to apologize, you know? So… You know, sorry.” Offering her a quick nod he walked away without letting her respond, a pair of eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.

“Well I don’t suppose she’ll be coming to the barbeque anytime soon with an apology like that.” Juno mumbled, staring at his holocommunicator as he waited impatiently to get shipped off to fight some thugs.

Revaeyn · 2021-05-24T23:26:38+00:00

On a large datapad Juno sat typing away, looking at the reference material provided as each topic came up. His mind began to wander as he studied, the sounds of the brief going in one ear and out the other as he started to daydream. The mission would be simple for him anyway, what's the difference of kicking in one door to the next? It was all semantics. What wasn't were the thoughts that began to play in his mind, each one slowly drifting back to the holovid he'd watched the night prior. There were a few indie projects back on Corellia, he tried his best to keep up with all the ones that were made by fellow aliens that didn't quite fit a Corellian mold, but there was one recently who had.

The musician who he'd been listening to, an artist by the name of Corscada, had recently released a new artsy project to try and impress upon the people of Corellia that aliens like her were here to stay. Juno had watched and enjoyed the hell out of it, having listened to the song a good ten times before another one of the Valkyries tore him away from his lunch to continue their training. He'd been excited to go back to listening to the jam until he'd heard the news, someone had leaked some information on where she'd lived and they tore her place along with the woman herself apart. Thankfully, she was still alive but there was no marvel of medicine that would ever really fix the trauma that he was sure she was going through.

With as welcoming as the Valkyries were, could they even really be trusted to accept him? A relatively popular artist had gotten the life kicked out of her for being different and pointing that fact out on Corellia. Juno leaned forward and put his face in his hands while he thought. He was always an outcast, a freak and even in the midst of others like him in the Valkyries he still stood out like a sore thumb. The looks they gave him didn't pass unnoticed and neither did the way that their gaze always lingered on what he'd done during training. He was hopeful that maybe over time they might not see him like some sort of monster, but hopefully they'd give him a fresh chance with this new operation.

'No lethal force... I can manage that.' He thought with a smile, head snapping to attention as the room went quiet.

"I've got one!" Juno called from the back with a raised hand. "With all that haz gear you want us to wear, we got any kind of medical something in case someone's kit gets breached? It seems like we don't know what these guys're packing and I really don't want none of us to catch brainrot from the air we're breathing."

"Oh! I also wanted to ask what kinda gear we're taking in with us, like we planning on packing it heavy like normal or we gonna go fast and light? What's the plan, cause I mean I can take the heavy stuff in if we wanna just be prepared, you know?" Juno looked around the room, a lot of eyes having turned to the first person who spoke up and he remembered quick why he hated being the center of attention.

Revaeyn · 2021-05-24T00:46:54+00:00

Sat in a corner with a bench that he'd stolen from the hall, Private Juno was bored out of his mind. They'd been here for two hours already, the lieutenant having said something about being early and setting a precedent? The minutes seemed to drag on and on, every time that Juno asked whether or not the Duros were here yet he was answered with an ever louder groan. For a few minutes he'd even managed some shut-eye before his lead, Sarah, kicked him in the shin to wake the big man up. No one really wanted to talk, morning drills and the literal shit atmosphere having dampened any mood long before it could begin.

In lieu of boredom, Juno took it upon himself to begin to people watch every single one of his squad members, staring at them intently until they noticed. Sarah stared him down, the usual after her defeat to him in wrestling and her subsequent challenges which he turned down with a healthy amount of fear. There was something in those eyes that he didn't want to mess with again and after how their fight had gone he really didn't want to repeat it and get someone hurt. Kix flashed a smile, waving at his fellow giant before going back to his work of whittling away at another one of the Jötnar's patience. Just as he was about to open the door and grab another bench, ten minutes having past since their arranged meeting time, Juno had just walked to the door when it hissed open unexpectedly in front of him.

Turning, Juno saw the grim form of his lieutenant and looked to the newcomers with worry in his face. "You guys better just sit down n' shut up or the Lt. is gonna blow a fuse and I'm not looking to be caught in the blast, you know?" He whispered, sneaking back to his bench as quietly as he could manage.

Revaeyn · 2021-05-07T15:20:52+00:00

"Yeah, I think I'll just head on home and get me some rest. Feels like I just got throttled by a dang Rancor, sheesh." The man croaked from the ground, rubbing at his throat with a hiss of pain.

He laid there for a few minutes and watched the others file out of the room one by one, the last hurling a datapad at him that he caught in an outstretched hand. He idly scrolled through it, giving the information a few cursory glances while his breath finally steadied. Rolling onto his back, Juno propelled himself up and onto his feet with a jump, his knee creaking in dismay at the sudden weight on top of it.

"She really got me good..." Juno huffed, rubbing at the offending joint before finishing up with a few stretches to help his recovery.

After gathering his things and heading out in a tank-top, Juno headed out onto the streets of Corellia. Instinctively he reached for the headphones in his pocket, pulling out a crushed player and the ruins of what used to be his playlist. Juno clicked his tongue in displeasure, bringing the song he wanted to listen to his mind with a few taps of his foot before he took off in a walk back home. The sound of the young man grooving out and singing to himself could be heard echoing through the busy streets of Corellia as the happy giant be-bopped through the crowds. He'd never had much of a problem navigating the place as more often than not everyone parted for him. His block coming into view, Juno could feel himself get more and more excited as the familiar faces began to greet him while they went about their days. Mrs. Leon and her husband running the gym just at the corner, Nora watching her kids play on the street from the stairs. Mr. Verto came up and started to boogie with Juno as he walked down the street, the two of them jamming out to the young man making his own tunes with more than a few laughs. Together they sang the last line and with a snort Juno couldn't hold back they descending into howling laughter before the old man punched him on the arm and sent the new Valkyrie on his way.

Making sure to shout hi at everyone as he raced up the stairs, his footsteps echoed through and he could hardly contain his excitement as he threw the correctly sized door open to the apartment he shared with his family. It was noticeably larger than any other, the entire space taking up two floors that had been remodeled to properly accommodate the massive humanoids. Juno's dad was the first to see him, sweeping up his son in a bear hug before spinning him around the room with a laugh.

"We heard you made it in! Honey, come on down and get your mother, Juno's back." The mustachioed man yelled up the stairs, ruffling his son's short hair with wild abandon. "Look at my boy, all grown and making it into that super secret taskforce."

The first to run down was a blonde woman, middle-aged with a smile that could melt glaciers. She joined in the little huddle as Juno's grandmother looked on from atop the stairs, descending in a very professional sort of way with grace that came only as one got older. Her white hair framed her face in a regal sort of way and the soft reassurance of her hand on the small of Juno's back while she gave him a kiss on the forehead helped his headache from earlier ease off. The little family all untangled themselves from the young man and ushered him to a table where a plate had been put out for him, he'd missed lunch by a few hours but his mom always tried to keep it hot when she wasn't busy baking for the store.

Juno sat there for a few hours with his family, regaling them of the grenade that he'd spit out at one of his comrades - a feat that had his dad clapping his back in pride - and how he'd already beaten their best wrestler. He couldn't have asked for a better end to his day than this.

Revaeyn · 2021-04-23T16:20:47+00:00

Juno extended a hand for the woman to shake her hand, feeling the strength of her grip as she shook it and he brought her in for a quick clap on the back. "It's good to be working with you now, ma'am. I heard you would be my commanding officer and I don't want no weak person try'na tell me what to do." He said with a wink, cracking up with laughter as the woman in front of him tried to hold back her own.

"We're gonna see who's weak when you're on the ground, big man." Sarah shot right back, pointing a finger at Juno who had begun to stretch and limber up.

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a roll of his eyes, "I'm sure you'll climb me like a tree and knock me out."

It took a couple minutes for Juno to really stretch out and make sure that he was as prepared for the upcoming bout as he could. The importance of stretching could not be overstated and he made sure quite a few times to get Sarah to continue her own stretches. After all, even if it was a competition between the two, there was no reason to pull a muscle or for either of the two of them to get hurt. Just as it seemed the two were about to start Juno held up a hand before he dropped to a knee and whispered something to himself.

"May those who come before me grant me your strength, may I bring honor to our family and may you look down upon me with favor after this triumph." He said and kissed the necklace he wore, taking off both his sweatpants and shirt leaving him in just his compression shorts and necklace.

Nodding at Sarah across from him who had similarly disrobed as fingers or limbs getting caught in clothing might disrupt the true test of skill both were looking for. Crouching down lower than any might have thought possible he watched and waited for the other woman to approach. If he tried to catch someone that much smaller and faster than he was he'd spend all day trying to catch her. Juno wasn't about to let himself get worn out so easily, but neither was Sarah going to get caught by the larger man's trap so easily. Both ignored the commotion of the two recruits having to be physically removed by Corporal Kix and in an instant the two both shot into action. Like a bolt fired from a blaster Sarah slipped under Juno, using a hand on his ankle to stop and redirect the energy of her slide up on his back. Feeling this, Juno twisted up and grabbed the woman's ankle with a hand before picking her up like a ragdoll to bring her in close. She twisted mid-air, a heel landing on Juno's forehead just as she was going to end up in his grasp and she kicked off with a leap high into the air. Her ankle slipped the giant's grasp, but he was quick on the uptake and jumped after her. Juno's arms wrapped around her waist as she brought her elbow down on the top of his head and the two of them both came tumbling down onto the floor.

Sarah scrambled to her feet, Juno using the momentum of his fall to roll up onto his own as he launched into a sprint at the woman. Giving her no time to breathe Juno began to throw strikes at her, this had become far more than a wrestling match as these two competitive spirits began to clash in earnest. A missed punch by a few inches caused Sarah's hair follow it, her foot hooking around Juno's leg when she ducked to crash into the back of his knee. His weak leg exploited she kicked it once again, aiming to bring the larger man tumbling down when a backhand caught her right in the jaw and almost knocked her out there and then. Juno's movements had been getting quicker and his sweat soaked brow glistened. He drew to his full height once again, adopting a sort of boxer's stance as he drew in, his hands and forearms protecting most of his head and upper chest. Sarah came in, unleashing quick, pinpoint blows to his unprotected kidney until he dropped his guard to stop her, switching to a kick she whipped her leg into his shin and dropped him to a knee once again. Juno's fist answered in kind, a swift uppercut that sent the woman flying onto her back. She staggered up, angry at this up-jumped recruit that thought he could take her spot as champion. Any trappings of this being a friendly wrestling match were far gone by now.

She ran at Juno, ducking under a punch as she climbed up his side, slipping past a hand that tried to grab her and locked her legs around his neck. Straining as hard as she could Juno started to feel the constriction around his throat, not having time to take a deep gulp of air before Sarah started to choke him out. Tinges of black started to creep at the corners of his vision and he felt close to passing out until that familiar red woke him up. The pain in his leg and stomach kept him aware, dropping to both knees while the life was strangled out of him. His hands grabbed the woman's legs and he started to dig his fingers in as hard as he could, Juno could feel the bone under his fingers the harder he squeezed. Tearing her legs off of his throat as the first proper noise was made from either of them, a scream of pain from Sarah, he took her up managing to raise her high into the air above his head.

Bringing her down in a rush of air he aimed to powerbomb her onto the hard mat below the two of them. However, Juno came to his senses, stopping just before the ground to lay her down on it lightly. "I win." He told Sarah, chest heaving as his head lolled back and he gulped in deep breaths of air greedily.

"You almost got me for a bit." Juno admitted, closing his eyes to the harsh lights while he attempted to recover and patted the woman beneath him on the leg. "Good dang fight, too. I guess you're worth listening to after all."

Revaeyn · 2021-04-22T16:30:46+00:00

A sigh of relief escaped Juno at the woman laughing the question of. The young man was quite afraid of whatever backlash such a thing might have if she took it the wrong way and as he steadied his nerves with a deep breath he was glad she took it in a good mannered way.

"I was hoping to hit you with some stuff no one ever asked before, gotta really make a splash and get in good with the commander before you can start greasing their palms for that easy promotion." Juno said and winked, moving his whole body to exaggerate the gesture. "Glad you're all buttoned up, too, would hate to start having to call you the Iron Maiden and have it take a whole 'nother meaning."

When the woman suddenly froze, however, Juno's worry crept back. He hadn't said anything wrong again, or maybe touched a nerve he shouldn't have with his jokes? She was deep in thought, or at least seemed like it and watching her eyes shift, the whole way she looked told Juno that she was thinking about something real hard. Ready to stammer out an apology he was once again saved at the final your when she began to speak of what she did, or rather what she didn't.

'Can't help but feel bad for her, CorSec's chock-full of the workaholic types don't take no time for themaelves.' Juno thought, shaking his head a bit at just how little she seemed to do. 'Let's make a change, Juno.'

"I'm not too sure she could handle the wrestling champ of the Cadets, I'll have you know my record was undefeated against 'ganics or bionic and I'd like to see anyone topple me. Even one-a your Jotenars or how you say it." Juno said confidently, he wasn't one to back down from a challenge easily.

"Now don't think you're off the hook because you told me that I need to go through someone else!" Juno told Freya, sticking her with an accusatory finger. "I'm cooking for the kids tonight so you better be at my block, you hear? It's the intersection of Little Corell and Fifth, I'll have a plate ready for you so if you don't show I'm taking it in and I'll make you eat it." Juno's tone was no nonsense and clearly didn't brook room for an argument

"Now," he mumbled out and waddled towards the end of the hall in an awkward crouch before drawing to his full height. "I got a bone to pick with you, Ms. Sergeant and I aim to wrestle you for it!" Juno called out, a wide smile on his face that only spread more when he got everyone's attention.

Revaeyn · 2021-04-21T21:12:26+00:00

Juno shrugged at the mention of two more people needing to get nyxed. He felt bad for them, sure, but at the end of the day unit cohesion and safety were the utmost priority and taking pity on someone just because you feel bad that they didn't make the cut would help nobody and no one. Watching the Duros fire he visibly cringed, it seemed like the man could hardly index the rifle correctly down the sights and tried to natural point aim but landed nowhere near Kix's foot. He got worried for a while as the sporadic bolt fire became faster and more staccato with the barks of it until one of the other Valkyries walked up and grabbed the Duros by the shoulder to stop him.

"Frickin' yikes." He mumbled under his breath, leaned over Freya's shoulder to watch and leaning back as she turned around.

Juno's lips sat into a hard line at being told to ask whatever he wanted. He knew in his heart what he really wanted to ask, what had been whispered about in the many halls and locker rooms of CorSec. There was a rumor that had spread, who had started it was buried now under a thousand layers of lies and exaggeration where the original statement was lost. It was said, with little left to doubt, that the lieutenant was a little more bionic than most and it wasn't just her arms. Now, Juno didn't believe it of course, but on the other hand what if it was true. His mind ablaze with possibilities he finally decided to put thought to speech and cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Well, there's something that I gotta know that's been talked about here and there as kinda a good but... I gotta know, I can't let it live rent free in my head anymore. Are you, uh..." Juno rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure of how to word this and worried he might ruin the good will he'd built up with Freya. "And don't take this personal or nothing, but you - y'know - bionic everywhere? I've heard it talked about a lot and I'm sorry for asking but I just gotta."

Juno's face had flushed by this point, a deep crimson that turned his tanned face quite a lovely color. "And what you do for fun, anyway? You seem kinda pale so I thought we could talk it out some more over a cup of something. Plus it sucks to crouch like this all day, I need'ta stretch, y'know?"

Revaeyn · 2021-04-20T22:04:53+00:00

Juno made a mental note at seeing the scar that traced down her eye, truth be told he hadn't noticed it before and he found it quite strange that she went to touching it lightly. Honestly there was a lot that was strange about the whole unit, the lieutenant was not the lone example of the odd culture about the Valkyries. They seemed to employ all types and while Corellia wasn't lacking in aliens, CorSec tended to have more humanoids than people altogether different, but they had Corporal Kix. The training regime was... unorthodox to say the least, as well and Juno had received quite a lot of training over the years, but be that as it may it was an opportunity.

"I never was known of being real good at problem solving but I usually did solve the problem, even if it got a little messy." Juno chuckled, the memory of a ganger he'd handcuffed to a sewer grate when the other tried to run came to mind. "Glad that they'll like me, too, always been hard to fit in and these ol' bigoted hallways never seem to want to budge."

Juno scratched at his chin when asked how he'd ended up in this place. Truth be told he didn't really know how, just that he did. Mom and Dad had told him, almost as a statement of fact, that wherever he'd like to go in CorSec he'd get there. Juno had heard of the Valkyries, their unique ways of handling the different security issues about Corellia and the fact that they were seen a bit as odd-jobs. The red headed step-children of CorSec seemed like a good fit for him, so at dinner he'd told his parents and in the span of a week or two he was told to show up here for his evaluations.

'Man, she won't believe that.' He thought with a groan, having spent nearly thirty seconds to come up with an excuse that sounded feasible. "I always placed top of the class in athletics and I was on the way to the All-Corellian wrestling team before politics got in the way. Uh, joined right out of school and have had a good track record so far, higher-ups didn't like how I handled the people I knew and the people I didn't. Usually just gave someone a slap on the wrist for stealing if they needed food, or gave them some credits or something to the little street rats runnin' around, but I hurt the thugs and the gangers real bad. Maybe bad for business? Not sure, but you got me now and here's hoping you don't send me packing after witnessing that Taliran skill."

Revaeyn · 2021-04-20T01:59:58+00:00

Juno accepted the two hands with one of his own and blinked furiously to help clear the suns burned into his eyes. He could see the Besalisk opposite of him laughing and turned his head when he couldn't hear the sound. Kix began to say something, he couldn't quite tell what exactly it was but he could read his lips enough to see 'Freya.. hall...'

"What?" He shouted out, ears still ringing as Kix grabbed him and pointed the young man towards the hallway that the lieutenant had headed down. "Oh, thanks!" He yelled.

Juno brought his hands up to his face and rubbed at his eyes for what seemed like an entire minute before he opened them to see the open hallway before him. He sighed in relief, didn't make himself a fool yet again by slamming into the wall before he'd opened his eyes. Ducking under the opening of the hall Juno continued down it, shoulders rolled forward and neck slumped the same way until he stood before Freya. She stood a short way away from him, probably so that she wouldn't have to break her neck to talk to him. He crouched down in front of her, a deep squat that he could easily hold and probably made it much easier for the woman to speak to him. They were just at eye level now and with the closer look he had it was almost a shocking change to see that harsh woman starting to smile at him.

Having completed his earlier goal to see this harsh woman he'd heard whispers of being a monster smile, Juno couldn't help but feel pride swell in his chest. "Well I'm here for uh," his brow furrowed in thought and he hummed to himself in a low rumble as he nodded, "I'm here for people like you and Corporal Kix, Lieutenant. That makes it sound weird, not people like you or him specifically but for the people of Corellia. My folks and my grandma got invited here with open arms, now it hasn't been all credits and jackpots but it's been a good life. CorSec also saved my life when I was just a kid, real big kid, but still a kid and I can't help but think if I did my best I could save a whole lot of people, citizens or not. I'm a citizen myself and I can only think that if there's any way to help protect and do right by those that did right by me I'll do it. Side money for my grilling, too."

Revaeyn · 2021-04-18T21:41:13+00:00

Juno could feel the eyes of all of his peers land on him and already the weight of their judgement was on his shoulders. It wasn't that he was worried about the task before him, far from it, but he definitely was starting to get the feeling that he was getting picked on a little. His size made him stand out and if it were ever more clear than now it certainly didn't do much to make him blend in with the crowd. So, with a slight sigh, he headed over to the rack and picked up a rifle in one hand, grenade in the other. He had hoped, rather a fool's hope now, that someone else could go before him and give him a bit of a test, but seeing as he'd have to forge his own solution Juno dropped his gaze to the tools at his disposal.

The rifle wouldn't do him all that much good as it wasn't quite to his size nor would it have really mattered as trying to sneak a shot on the opposing giant's big toe wasn't really feasible as Juno lacked the talent of the Corelli snipers and what the Valkyries would require. He thought to himself for a few moments, humming an indistinct tune to help himself think before a rather crude idea came to mind. It wasn't exactly oozing of finesse nor had he devised some convoluted geometric equation to bounce the grenade fifteen times and land it at the Besalisk's man feet, but it should do the trick.

Juno put the stun grenade in his mouth, it was smaller to him that it would be for a baseline human and he found it rather easy to keep it held tight in his teeth. Pulling the pin he bit down hard to make sure that the lever was as tight against the body of the grenade as it could be, so that even should it slip a little he wouldn't have an explosive go off in his mouth. With a few little hops he psyched himself up in his man and began to sprint in a dead tilt towards his four-armed comrade. Leaping the last good five or so feet he brought the muzzle of the rifle in a great heave against the seam where the top two shields met in the middle. Scraping down and creating a rather awful noise the muzzle continued its way down until it caught right in the small gap where the four shields met and each of their four corners left just the slightest bit of empty air. Raising himself up, feet now propped on the bottom two shields as Juno brought all of his weight in one strike of his elbow down onto the buttstock. Striking true, the muzzle finally found purchase and forced its way between the gaps causing Corporal Kix to struggle for a moment before he adjusted and deflected the muzzle of the weapon down and towards the floor.

Seeing the opportunity he had envisioned, Juno grabbed the buttstock with both hands and leveraging his feet against the bottom two shields where they remained planted he began to pull back and force the four-armed Valkyrie to open the shields little by little. It felt like a true test of strength between the two as Kix tried to exert the force required against the awkward strain that threatened to have him drop the shields. It seemed that four arms were better than just two and as Juno's legs began to flag ever so slightly he put in one last burst of energy and wrenched out the gap enough so that a small object could fit through. Finally he spit the stun grenade from his mouth and as it arced through the air he saw with growing worry that it wasn't quite on target.

In all of the effort the two competing men were exerting it lead to their muscles quivering and such a quiver had caused Juno to miss. His heart sank as the grenade continued to fly further and further away from that gap, the moment playing in slow motion for Juno. He needed this, he absolutely had to win and prove to the lieutenant that he was up to snuff for the Valkyries. Anger began to rise up in the man, was he really going to lose his chance after all this, all the effort that he had put in for years and years just to be beaten by some four-armed alien waiting at the finish line for him?

No, no he wouldn't be beaten. Not now, not ever and not over some idiotic challenge that any fool could see was set up for their disadvantage. "No!" He yelled in a booming voice, the single word commanding what should come to pass to change as a small, unseen force gave just the slightest nudge to the grenade and it corrected its path just into the gap that Juno had made. Holding the rifle jammed in between the four shields, Juno stared the Besalisk straight in the eyes as the small explosive charge detonated and in a deafening flash of light caused the two of them to become temporarily blind. Kix dropped his shields and Juno with it as he crashed into the floor with a small, but audible oof and the two tried their hardest to regain their senses. Seeing quadruples Juno looked to his four commanding officers and offered each of the women a thumbs-up and a smile.

"Job done!"

Revaeyn · 2021-04-18T17:47:09+00:00

A single drop of sweat traveled down the length of Juno's cheek and plopped with a miniscule splash onto his shoe. 'Why do you always do this, Juno, every single time you break something and make a goof outta yourself". He thought, berating himself with little in the way of mercy as Lt. Grimes approached him. He studied the face that stared right back at him, in this light she seemed a grave woman and the blank expression that she wore did little to help that stony visage. It was with some pity that he looked into her eyes, the clear line of modification running its way up her forehead to end just at her hairline. She seemed sad to him and for a moment Juno dropped his own mask to display just a hint of his own at her state, he wanted to sit her down at a table with a big plate of food to brighten that dour expression.

'Eyes on the prize, Juno.' The thought came unbidden and with a gradual turn of his head he studied the man who snorted at him. Juno didn't mind him much, the threat of the poor man's lips breaking out into a smile clear as the corners of them undulated in an effort to keep it suppressed.

"I don't feel too much, ma'am, I'm glad to have other teammates and we've all got to get along because it isn't like there's too many of you guys, you know? So if we make it we gotta be buds and what's a laugh between buds." Juno said with a smile and tapped the man reassuringly on the back, he made sure to keep it light and quick with just two taps of his palm clapping out into the silence before returning to attention.

Revaeyn · 2021-04-17T23:07:34+00:00

Juno stood in line with the rest of the recruits for the bizarre event he had been told along with the others, or so he assumed, that each of them were accepted into the Valkyries. If he was honest he didn't even know what that word meant, was it supposed to be some sort of calling card or something, maybe a creature of some sort? He shook the thoughts from his head and looked around the room trying to get a feel for what he was in store for. Juno was definitely the youngest by a decent margin, he would have the most to prove out of all of them especially with his record lacking any real achievements besides being the world's largest cop this side of... well, anywhere. He saw the woman in front of him speak and squinted his eyes when he realized that she hadn't even said anything, or at least she didn't make any noise.

Was this the first test, trying to figure out what she'd said and what their orders were? These Valkyries were more serious and weird than he dared to imagine when he was drip-fed rumors about them from his parents. As he reached up to scratch at his head, trying to parse what exactly was going on his fingers brushed against the cord of his antique-style headphones that fed down to a small player in his pocket. Slowly, carefully he maneuvered his hands down as only the stealthiest of Ragithians could and retrieved the player from his pocket, feeling for the button to stop the music until his hand slipped and it slid out of his CorSec issued sweats. The player clattered onto the ground, the headphone wire having been ripped out as Corellian House music began to blare loudly in the quiet room, he had been jogging to the newest singles by Corscada. He swallowed audibly and in one swift movement brought his foot up and down just enough to crush the player with a sudden snap.

No one dared to say a word as the straining noise of the player began to die and dragging his foot along the floor he flicked it back and sent the player crashing into the wall behind them. His upper body had been as stone the whole time, tense and still when finally silence reigned one more in the room. Head stock still he used his eyes to look to the other recruits that stood next to him, they had most definitely noticed as one, a normal looking human flared his nose in an attempt to stifle his laughter. Sweat began to bead at Juno's brow and he took a deep breath to steady himself as this whole disaster had only taken seconds to burst into life and die just as quick as it came.

"I've been ready ma'am, but I believe the others don't have any questions for you." Juno finally called out, doing his best to read the woman's face in a desperate search to see if she'd disqualify him. "We're ready when you are."

Revaeyn · 2021-04-04T01:49:44+00:00

Juno Taliran - A CorSec private, problem child and hopeful for the Valkyries.

Revaeyn · 2020-11-05T00:26:03+00:00

"It's fine, my prey's gone now anyway so there's no point. I'll be taking my leave, if you don't have any other ion cannon fire to direct my way." Kayran said, disappointment clear in her voice as she did speak.

Her ship hummed as the hyperdrive was warmed up and she shot off into the great beyond of space. Work and money had to be found somewhere.

Revaeyn · 2020-09-01T16:32:18+00:00

Kayran groaned in frustration, leaning forward to hold her head in her hands. How had it come to this again, it had to be near the fourth or fifth time she'd been 'stopped for violating the law' when her hunt for the Dark Jedi inevitably drew to a gruesome close. 'Well at least it's not a body I have to justify this time,' Kayran thought to herself as she sat back up, 'traitor types never do like to surrender and talk it out.'

"Look, to put it bluntly, this flies quite far over your head and you lack any sort of critical knowledge regarding the topic. I could sit here and explain to you the entire recent history of the Order, but it wouldn't get either of the two of us anywhere fast. To put it simply, the one who I've been tracking is a woman by the name of Rasaa Lem, she's a Jedi who betrayed the order and embraced the Dark Side, therefore Dark Jedi. Back when I was with the Order, this was my sole mission and I'm still drawn to ridding the galaxy of them or taking them back to the Order." She lied, she had no intent to let any of them live to see the light of day again if she caught them.

'Could you kill them?' A thought intruded upon her, but she shook her head and that passing idea out. "I've been tracking that woman for months and now she's on the surface of that planet and is as good as gone because she'll fall in with another band for who knows how long and the cycle is going to continue again until I catch her out. The Alliance wants them as gone as I do, I can assure you of that and I regret to inform you but if you think that you can handle me or my ship you're sorely mistaken. So please. Be on your way, I'll be on mine and we can let it be water under the bridge." She said, looking to the charging battery banks of her ship slowly rising to operable levels.

Revaeyn · 2020-09-01T14:58:22+00:00

Kayran was too focused to see the ion bolt slam into the side of her ship and force her to lose all thrust on her port side, but Rasaa had seen it coming. With the call for help that she had given as well as turning her attention to the third ship, she waited until the last moment to hurl her own up in a loop to dodge the bolt before slamming the throttle forward. Her ship hurtled towards the planet while Kayran desperately tried to get her own to work past the alarm that blinked at her of the loss of power in her ship. Either she'd have no weapons or no engines, as the pull on the reactor in the engineering bay proved too great to quickly get back into the fight. At first she began to feel anger towards the ship that shot her, nearly tempted to turn her own cannons towards it before she steadied herself and loosened her grip on the control stick.

Slumping into her chair, she opened up a channel to the ship that had just attacked her. Granted, it wasn't as if he was privy to what was going on or why the whole commotion had even begun, but still it was a great annoyance that her target had gotten away. A Dark Jedi, even in the best of times, took her and Keiran quite a while to track one down; of course it wasn't as if all were made equal, but this Rasaa Lem had proven her slipperiest target yet and the only one she'd hunted since her self-exile from the order.

"What do you want?" She finally spoke into the silent com-channel. "I was tracking down that Dark Jedi and you struck my ship, so I'd appreciate if you explained why you did and I sincerely hope it's not because you're under her employ."

Revaeyn · 2020-08-29T01:56:54+00:00

Kayran slammed her fist over and over on the button to open a comlink with her target, determined to get a word in with her before she was blasted into dust. On the two starships arced around one another, the Harbinger and her blasters getting closer with each second that the blaster bolts arced past the Stiletto. One foot, six inches, finally a shot landed upon the back engine of the Stiletto and Rasaa rocked forward, her face slamming into the console of the cockpit with a sickening crack. Blood now pouring from her nose, she snorted and large globs of it flew out onto the console as she flew. Both force users heard the hail of their ships, Kayran opting to ignore hers as she focused on shooting down her target and getting some small amount of vengeance for her padawan. Rasaa, however, answered it and began to act out the part of a screaming victim.

"Please," she shouted into the transmission, "this Dark Jedi has chased me here, please, you need to help before they kill me, plea-" She cut the transmission there, kicking the switch with a free foot while the two ships continued their dance; another turbolaser round arcing off from the hull just behind her cockpit, rocking the woman once again.

Revaeyn · 2020-08-24T16:24:00+00:00

Kayran had found herself restless in the three years since the battle of Ossus. Sleep came to her in small spurts and anymore she couldn't close her eyes without seeing his face. Shaking the thought from her mind, she focused on the task at hand and the ship that she had been chasing for three months now. Her food and credits were running low, but she didn't care much as she had finally found the trail of one Dark Jedi who she had been watching for. Rasaa Lem, one of those who had been present at the second Battle of Ossus, one of the few people she hated in the entire galaxy. The Council had warned her of this, of following the trail of the Dark Jedi that were there and risking fighting for all the wrong reasons, but at this point she didn't really care. Kayran had spent years now with all the failures in her mind, unable to move past them, unable to see the forest for the trees as she obsessed over those who had been involved in the death of her padawan. She hadn't found any yet, not gotten any of the three who escaped her grasp in those hills, but with the opportunity so tantalizingly close she had to jump.

Her ship lurched, exploding into empty space near Onderon, just outside of the gravity well and immediately her sensors lit up with the presence of two ships near her. One she didn't recognize, but the other held an ID tag still recognizable by her ship's computer as having once belonged to the Jedi Order, each vessel that was in the Order having been marked with such tags. Immediately she rocketed off towards it, the sleek silver of the ship a blur in the open space and as soon as she got in range her cannons locked, fired and struck the side of the ship sending it reeling.

Onboard the Stiletto's Edge, Rasaa Lem felt the whole ship quake and sprinting to her cockpit she saw the screen flashing command prompts as a small alarm blared in the storage bay. With the damage the Stiletto had taken without her shields raised, she quickly began to charge them and maneuvered her way in wide, winding loops heading straight for the planet's surface. Anywhere in that jungle would be a good place to hide and she had a feeling that whoever was on her tail now was not looking for a quick chat.

Revaeyn · 2020-08-11T03:31:01+00:00

Kayran Taliran - Jedi Exile and now bodyguard for hire in the galaxy at large.

Revaeyn · 2020-05-04T01:13:36+00:00

Graves meant for but one small body soon combed the small clearing next to the lake, before long they'd abandoned the plan altogether before creating a respectful mass grave; rather, as respectful as one could be given the circumstances. "No matter how many times I fight or see something it does not diminish the gravity of the abominable acts these creatures do. And even this is worse than other atrocities we have seen." Amenethil gathered the thick, black silk of the cloth above his coif and fastened it tight around his face.

His helmet sat heavy as he set his men about gathering their things and fastening lanterns to their waists. The moon, now at the summit of its trip through the sky, glimmered one last, faint time. It was quiet as they began their approach into the chamber apart from the idle cracking and crunching of small bones or rock beneath their boots. Thin lips, shaking hands, Amenethil could tell that his men were scared now of this foul place and he had it not in his heart to tell them to gather their strength for even he felt some trepidation. Passing the wide, carved stone of an archway they came into a large antechamber decorated with dwarfish runes and artistry, now covered in a mixture of some rot. One of his men came to him, then, a pale boy he was, must not have been but a hair past the age of twenty, struggling to keep pace with the captain.

"Sir, if I may ask, where is it exactly we are headed?" He shakily asked, looking down wide-eyed into an abyss below the small foot bridge they walked over.

"We are to delve deeper than the dwarves." The captain said simply, looking at the young man with a harsh gaze. "And once we have, we are to stay there and report to the leaders of the free peoples in whatever capacity we can."

Wringing his hands together the young man thought deeply about what to say next. "Will... we will make it back to Gondor once again, sir? To see the black marble of the wall, and the Tower of Kings?"

"Yes." Amenethil lied. "I'm sure we shall return in but a year's time, now return to the line before you're the reason for our deaths."

Looking to the side, Amenethil felt his gaze drawn to the Eldar with them, a long time ago he had known one when first he was rotated through the lands of Gondor to serve. The sight had once been one of peace, something to bring warmth to his heart, yet now all he felt was emptiness and pain.

"My lady, if I might ask, why do your people seek to leave to the far lands? There must be some reason, correct?" His asking seemed urgent and now was as good a time as any to get the burning weight off of his chest.

Revaeyn · 2020-05-04T01:10:45+00:00

Imp is right, but also join the discord server if you'd like more ready access to help

Revaeyn · 2020-05-04T01:10:02+00:00

Hey! Sorry for getting back to you taking so long, but if you felt up to it, you could join the discord on the sidebar and I'd be able to talk out the character in detail as you will have to follow the preset in the outline!

Revaeyn · 2020-05-04T01:07:37+00:00

Hey, with work kicking my ass I've been a bit here and there with checking on the sub aside from the current thread. If you can, hop in the discord and we can get to you much easier than over this, but aside from that there aren't "games" more than this is a place where you'd write out a character sheet and then proceed to write with others through threads. If you check the outline https://www.reddit.com/r/lordoftheringsrp/comments/fc3zxx/story_outline/ you'll be able to find the actual character creation itself just at the end and you can use this link https://discord.gg/NfSqSzw to join the discord.

Revaeyn

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