Location: Coruscant - Sith Temple
The Temple hummed. It always did. It was a constant pressure that sat beneath everything, steady and unbroken. Ace stood along the outer walkway, overlooking the chamber below. Acolytes moved in measured lines: sparring, correcting, adapting. Every motion had purpose. Structure. Control.
Then a faint vibration broke through it. His gaze shifted to his pocket, he pulled out his personal comm, flickering with an unstable signal that came from the Outer Rim... from Bonadan. For a moment, he just watched it. Then he activated it.
The signal struggled, then steadied just enough to form a projection. It took a second before the image resolved: grainy, distorted, but the voice came through clear enough.
"…yeah. That's you, isn't it?"
Ace didn't answer immediately. He studied the figure, then spoke.
"Risk."
The Kiffar let out a short breath, something between relief and disbelief.
"Knew it. Wasn't sure if this thing would even reach you." He shifted slightly, glancing off to the side before looking back. "You look… different."
"So do you." Ace replied.
Risk smirked faintly. "Yeah. Well. It's been rough out here."
"Didn't expect to hear from you." Ace said.
"Yeah, I figured." Risk rubbed the back of his neck, like he was deciding how to say it. "Look, I'm not calling to catch up. You probably got bigger things going on now. Heard some stuff about you."
"Stuff?"
"People talk. Say you're… what, Jedi now? Running around the galaxy, doing something important." He shrugged. "Didn't know what to believe. Still don't, really."
Ace didn't have the energy to set the record straight.
Risk watched him for a second, then exhaled. "You came back, what... a year ago now?"
"Give or take."
"And then Tessk ended up dead."
There was a brief silence between them.
"I ain't stupid, Snowhead. I can put that together."
Ace didn't deny it. "What do you want, Risk?"
Risk's expression shifted slightly, the edge fading. "It's worse here."
Ace's gaze didn't change. "Worse how?"
"After he went down, everyone started grabbing for whatever they could. Smaller crews, old rivals, people who never had the spine before... now they think they've got a shot." He shook his head. "No one's big enough to hold it, though. So it's just… constant. Every day."
Ace's gaze shifted off center, contemplative.
"People are getting caught in it..." Risk went on. "…you remember how it was before Tessk got big?"
"Yeah."
"It's like that again. Meaner, actually." Risk glanced off again, jaw tightening before he looked back. "You started something when you came back. Whether you meant to or not."
Ace's eyes lifted slightly, still thoughtful.
"So I'm asking…" Risk hesitated, then pushed through it. "You gonna finish it? If you really are what they say, then you can do something about it."
Ace's eyes then finally settled on the Kiffar. Filled with resolve.
"…I will."
Risk blinked once, like he hadn't expected the answer to come that easily. Then he nodded. "Okay."
The signal flickered, breaking apart before stabilizing one last time.
"Don't take too long."
The transmission cut and the chamber below carried on unchanged. Movement, correction, structure. Ace stood there a moment longer, then turned away from the ledge. Tessk was gone. The system had broken. And Bonadan… needed order.
