Private Epilogue

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Aurora's Edge

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Cholganna's scent clung to Acier's clothes, damp, metallic and green. Ace sat near the viewport of one of the Aurora's Edge's many lounges. Elbows rested on his knees, he absent mindedly toyed with his lightsaber - tracing circles into its durasteel texture with his thumb.

The stars stretched thin outside the transparisteel, now clear of Cholganna, the freighter began to feel safer. Ace's jacket was slung over the back of the chair opposite him, still speckled with jungle grim. Skip was asleep at the next booth over, snoring loud enough to shake the entire ship.

Pisti had held her end of the bargain, managing to negotiate his and Skip's passage off the planet with Captain Demoux. He could hear her voice somewhere down the corridor, whether she was headed to the lounge of passing through - he wasn't sure.

The white-haired boy was deep in thought, reflecting on the last few months - his search for his parents, his growing strength in the Force, and where he found himself now. Ace now held partial knowledge of his origins - his father was Isley Verd and he had an elder brother... the Mand'alor Aether Verd . It all recontextualized his place in the galaxy, who he was, and made him wonder where to go next.

Well, he knew one thing. He had to find his mother, or what happened to her at least, and why his parents abandoned him. The second thing... Ace was well aware of the dangers of the galaxy, but his repeated life and death encounters had made him realize that relying on his current abilities weren't enough. And with where his journey would take him next? He needed to be more prepared.

Ace glanced toward the corridor, to where he had heard Pisti. Maybe she could help him, it wouldn't hurt to ask at least. Attaching his lightsaber back on his belt, he rose to his feet and made his way to the Jedi Knight.

"Can we talk?"

Pisti Caleida
​

 

[Pisti Caleida]

C H O L G A N N A- O R B I T​

​

Pisti played with the crystal pyramid. It's faint red glow pulsed as she tossed it from hand to hand. She knew that the legendary artefact was priceless. That didn't stop her from testing her own hand coordination.

Captain Demoux hadn't been happy with the stragglers she'd brought on. She'd met his frustration with a smile - as always - and had managed to convince him on the account of 'better them than a bunch of prisoners'. Still, she'd have to inform the temple about it. Somebody wielding a lightsaber outside of the Order wasn't rare. But having come in close proximity of the Sith holocron that she know held, well that could cause problems down the line. Who was to say that the holocron hadn't been their target to begin with?

Then there was the issue of their wrong intel. A Sith holocron where they had expected a stash of Jedi artefacts instead. It wasn't the kind of mistake their scouts made. No, there was more at play here.

Pisti set the pyramid down and rose from the small bed that made up over half of her room. The renovated Longbeam-cruiser was long but somehow lacked comfortable space. That was no issue to her - she'd just go annoy people in the kitchen area instead. Perhaps that would incentivize them to pick a larger transport next time.

Whistling, Pisti sauntered down the corridor. Eyes bright, yet clearly bored.

Then came a question from a now familiar voice. Ace.

She frowned.

"Sure. What's up?"

Acier Moonbound
​

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Aurora's Edge

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Ace shifted on his feet a little, eyes not quite meeting hers at first.

"What's going to happen with that?" he asked, unintentionally shifting the topic before it even began - masking what he really wanted to say.

The Sith holocron was an unexpected discovery, he had no idea what they'd find but it was the last thing he expected. It reeked of darkness - it felt cold, wrong. But yet, he felt a strange allure to it. His brown eyes were entranced on the red pyramid. Was this normal? Or, maybe he felt called to it because of what he was born from.

Ace shook his head, focusing on what he was really for. He rubbed the back of his neck, still averting his gaze from the slightly taller woman. After several seconds of fighting with himself, to get the words out. He finally spoke up.

"I've been able to get by so far. You know... just instincts, wit, dumb luck... whatever you wanna call it. But back there on Cholganna... it really hit me."

He finally looked at her now, serious but not desperate.

"The Force, I still don't fully get it. Even after months with my Jedi holocron. I feel it. I can use it. But I don't know it. And I'm starting to see that if I don't figure it out properly... I'm just gonna get myself killed. Or worse. Someone else."

There was a pause. Just the hum of the freighter beneath their feet. Ace leaned against the wall, arms loosely crossed, but there was tension in his shoulders.

"I've been figuring things out bit by bit. I can move stuff now, little things. Push, pull. Nothing crazy." He paused, meeting her eyes. Ace's tone wasn't boastful. If anything, it was tired. "But that's the thing. I shouldn't be learning this stuff alone. Every time I get into something heavy, I realize how little I actually know. Back on Cholganna? I felt the Force, really felt it. That... wrongness. And I had no idea what to do with it except stab it until it stopped."

He pushed off the wall and stood straighter, more certain now.

"I don't want to be a Jedi, but I don't want to keep guessing either. I want to understand the Force, not just what I can do, but what I should do with it. Yeah, I can fight, I can survive. But I don't want to only survive."

He paused again, words on the tip of his tongue. This was it now, he'd laid everything bare and now he was asking for help. Real help, not the kind that that would help him short term, but the one where you carry it with you for the rest of your life.

"Would you teach me?"

Pisti Caleida
​

 

[Pisti Caleida]

C H O L G A N N A- O R B I T​

​

She held the holocron up high, its red glimmer reflecting in her eyes as she studied it intently. "Dunno. I s'pose the High Council will dispose of it." She imagined the High Council, led by Valery, taking turns on the thing with a sledge hammer. "But who knows? Thing is, 'tis better off with them than us. Imagine how much damage it could do if some kid got his hands on it." Pisti glanced at him. Like you, she seemed to say.

Ace managed to break away from the artefact's influence - she saw it happen. Only then did she bother to lower it again, wrapping it into her cloak. She did trust the teen. Somewhat. But she wouldn't be parting with the artefact, because that was the only way to be certain that it couldn't corrupt anyone aboard the ship.

She listened, face tight and eyes sharp. Ace had a Jedi Holocron, one he was actively using to study the Force. Yet it seemed that, in practice, he had issues applying what he learnt. She wanted to suggest the Order, but he made clear that it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted more than survival…

Pisti let out a breath of relief, slumping against the wall, as Ace got out his question.

"Oh thank the Light. I thought ya were gonna ask me out or somethin'." Pisti confessed. "Was already preppin' a 'it's not you, it's me' kinda speech." She blew a strand of hair out of her face and composed herself again.

"Teachin' huh?" The thought reminded her of Kraud. He'd been wise. Tolerant. Yet strict and corrective when necessary. What did she have to offer besides guts and an emphasis on proper accents?

"I… think you've got the wrong Jedi for that job" She said softly. "I can't even explain the difference between left and right ta ya."​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Aurora's Edge

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Ace let out a quiet breath through his nose, a dry, tired smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. It wasn't amusement or disbelief. He wasn't sure what he expected her to say really. Her deflection had taken some of the tension out the air though, sort of.

Still, when she brushed off the idea of being a teacher, something in him tensed again. It was familiar, people walking away before they ever really stepped in. Or maybe it was his own fear of asking for too much, too soon.

But this mattered. This really mattered. He looked down, studying the scuff marks on the floor of the freighter beneath their boots. His voice was quiet when it came, not timid, but considered. Ace glanced up at her.

"You say you're not the right Jedi… but you were the one who told me to feel the Force back in that valley. To trust it. And I did. That's what helped me find the source. That was teaching, whether you meant it or not."

Ace's eyes lingered on her a moment longer before he looked away again. He wasn't trying to flatter her. If anything, he was speaking the plain truth. The snowy-haired boy shifted, leaning one shoulder against the wall. There was a flicker in his gaze

"I'm not asking for robes or rituals. Not trying to recite Jedi code or impress a Council I've never met." His brow creased, just a bit. "I don't even know if I want to be a Jedi."

He exhaled and let his arms drop from their loose fold. There wasn't pressure in his voice, just truth. A raw kind of hope.

"You don't have to be perfect. I don't want perfect. I want someone who's real. And right now, that's you."

Pisti Caleida
​

 

[Pisti Caleida]

C H O L G A N N A- O R B I T​

​

Pisti was quiet. He'd made a convincing argument, but… Blast it, her? A teacher?! Kraud had made it look easy, but the furball was nearing two centuries of dealing with rebellious youths. She still was the rebellious youth.

She folded her arms under her chest and let out a sigh. "Hate ta be the gal sayin' it, but we got a code for a reason. 'S what separates us from them." She made a nod down, toward Cholganna below. The thugs they'd encountered there had been strong in the Force - one particularly. Yet they hadn't wanted to talk things out the way she did. Violence had been their intent from the start.

"I'd be givin' ya a rifle and tellin' how to pull the trigger, without a when, why, or who." She pursed her lips. A rifle wasn't even the right allagory. She'd seen what the Force could do. Both to the wielder and the unfortunate souls as the receiving end. But then - if she didn't teach him, who would? What if he would end up unleashing incredible violence on his own if left unchecked? At least her training, Jedi training or not, could instill some discipline. It was a slippery slope, though. Even with her own doubts in teaching set aside.

"What happens when somebody gets hurt 'cause of what I thought you, freckles? Somebody who didn't deserve it?"​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Aurora's Edge

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Ace didn't say anything at first, he just stood there. Still. Pisti's question "What happens when somebody gets hurt 'cause of what I taught you?". It hit harder that he thought it would. Because... she wasn't wrong. He'd seen enough of the galaxy to know the difference between power and control, and that line blurred real fast. Especially for people like him: angry, lonely, barely held together by instinct and spite.

Then again, that's why he was asking. Ace lowered his gaze in thought. Pisti was afraid, not of him, but of what he could become under her tutelage. If he were to ever become the next galact threat, it'd be all on her. It was a lot of pressure, understandably.

"I get it..." Ace finally said, quiet.

His voice wasn't defensive. It was softer, tender... more than he'd normally allow himself to be or sound.

"You don't wanna shoulder the burden of me maybe going off the rails someday. You teaching me could make things worse, right?" he looked up, meeting her eyes with complete understanding, but also resolve "But you saw what I did back on Cholganna. That wasn't training. It was desperation."

Ace took a step closer - as if he was closing the metaphorical distance between them. He exhaled and ran a hand through his white hair. He wasn't pleading, just speaking his truth.

"You said teaching me would be like giving me the rifle without the why or when. I've already got the rifle. I'm just a toddler running around with a blaster set to kill and no idea how to use it." he paused, glancing at his palms "I don't need a code. Just someone to tell me how and when to use it... and when not to."

He swallowed then gently bit his lower lip. This type of vulnerability was excruciating - everything in him screamed to stop. To stop showing so much of himself. But... he couldn't go on like this anymore. Just reacting, surviving. Ace didn't want this unchecked power to consume him... he didn't want to become a monster.

The boy sighed "I don't want to keep running around, not understanding this part of me. I don't want it to turn me into something I'm not supposed to be."

The silence settled in again, but this time it didn't feel uncomfortable. Just honest. He didn't push further. Didn't beg or demand. He'd said what he needed to say.

Pisti Caleida​