Private Far From Home

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Saleucami

Equipment:
Vanguard Robes | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm | Tic

The hydrospanner slipped. Ace caught it before it hit the ground, though only barely.

"Shit."

He exhaled through his nose and returned his attention to the open maintenance panel. Half the wiring inside looked older than he was, insulation peeling from cables somebody had patched together years ago and apparently decided was good enough. It probably had been.

Ace shifted beside the battered medical generator, one knee drawn up while his cybernetic hand held a bundle of wires aside. Under normal circumstances, the settlement would've replaced the entire thing.

These weren't normal circumstances. Thyferra had fallen. It had only been days, and somehow those words still didn't feel real. He'd watched the fields burn and people running beneath a sky filled with smoke and falling ships. He could still remember Lorn's weight against him during the evacuation. Srina's blood against his hands.

Ace absently touched the plaster across the bridge of his nose before stopping himself. The consequences were already spreading far beyond Thyferra. Wealthier worlds had reserves, credits and governments capable of fighting over whatever bacta remained.

Places like Saleucami didn't. It wasn't dying or anything, that'd be easier for the galaxy to notice. But farms still needed tending, freighters still landed, and people still got up every morning and went to work. They'd simply stopped receiving enough bacta.

Then came the rationing. Then the refugees. Ace couldn't do much about Thyferra anymore. Much as it pained him. But he could fix a generator.

"Tic."

A metallic chirp answered beside him. Ace held out his organic hand without looking away from the wiring.

"Three-millimeter coupler."

Something landed in his palm and he looked down. Five millimeters. Ace slowly turned toward the BD-unit perched nearby.

"Three."

Tic warbled.

"I know what I said."

His head tilted, then he tossed the coupler lightly back.

"Don't get smart."

The offended chirping that followed pulled the faintest twitch from the corner of Ace's mouth. He'd left the Vanguard behind for the time being. Not permanently. He wasn't naïve enough to think the war had finished with Thyferra, but right now there were people who needed help.

There hadn't been much of a plan beyond that. Find the worlds being overlooked. Carry whatever supplies he could. Fix what couldn't be replaced. Move on when there was nothing else he could do. Saleucami was only the latest stop.

"Alright. Try it."

Tic plugged into the diagnostic port and the generator hummed, coughed, then produced a noise no functioning machine should make. Ace pulled his hand back and sighed. Tic chirped.

"Don't say it."

A suspiciously amused whistle answered him. Ace leaned against the machine, eyes closing briefly as another transport roared somewhere overhead. Then Tic's attention shifted and the little droid unplugged himself. Ace didn't notice until he heard mechanical feet pattering away.

Ace leaned around the generator, watching as the BD-unit was wandering off toward something beyond his view.

"Where the hell are you going?"

Tic continued on. Ace stared after him, then sighed.

Suri Thatch​

 

[Suri Thatch]

​

Suri had never been alone.

Not once. She had always had her sister, always had Patch and their little apartment and in a matter of hours it had all been torn away. The sith had come to Abregado-Rae and shattered her whole world. Patch was dead. And her sister? She could still see her face as she looked back, watching the transport doors close. Arra had put her first as always and Suri could feel nothing but guilt for it.

She was alone, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with that, aside from finding things to occupy herself with. So Suri volunteered, she helped in the medical tent when refugees arrived with injuries, she handed out blankets and rations to those who lined up for them. And every day she checked in at the main spaceport to check the registry to see if Arra had made it out.

There was no guarantee that she would come here if she did. They had no idea where the transport was going aside from away but she checked anyway, because giving up hope meant giving into everything she was trying her best to ignore.

She had at least made a friend in the first few days of being here. Not the kind that talked but then Suri had never really been good at making friends with people. There was a soft rustle of wings as she moved down the path, eyes downcast before a weight settled on her shoulder, the raven let out a deep croak clicking its beak,

“You, are greedy.” Suri said softly, smiling all the same as she reached into her pocket for the ration bar she’d opened earlier, breaking a chunk off and passing it to him, almost losing her fingers when he snapped it from her. “See” she said, withdrawing her hand quickly “Greedy. Maybe that’s what I should call you.”

Something small darted across her path and she stopped, her gaze drawn to the BD-Unit as it stopped and looked up at her. “Oh…” she stopped lowering to a crouch. “Hello.”

The raven hopped from her shoulder, his wings ruffled once, beady eyes studying the small metal thing with curiosity before it pecked the top of the droids head hard. Suri clicked her tongue and swept the bird aside. “Don't be such a bully.” That earned her a nip and more indignant clicking of his beak.

✦

Acier Moonbound ​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Saleucami

Equipment:
Vanguard Robes | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm | Tic

Tic rocked backward as the raven's beak struck the top of his head, letting out a startled electronic squawk. His legs shuffled beneath him before he regained his balance, photoreceptors snapping upward toward the offending bird. A low series of indignant beeps followed.

His head tilted sharply to one side, then the other. Whatever conclusion the little droid reached apparently demanded further investigation. Tic took a cautious step closer, craning his head upward to study the raven while emitting a questioning chirp. The earlier offense seemed forgotten almost immediately, replaced by the relentless curiosity that had gotten him into trouble more times than Ace cared to count.

"Tic!" The distant call earned a quick swivel of his head. "What're you--"

Ace rounded the side of the medical generator, hydrospanner still clutched in his organic hand. He stopped when he finally found his missing companion.

Tic wasn't alone. There was a girl crouched nearby and a raven accompanying her. Young, probably younger than him. Ace's gaze moved briefly between the three of them before settling on Tic.

He sighed. "Sorry about him."

Ace approached at an easy pace, though he made no effort to call Tic back or otherwise interrupt whatever he'd decided he was doing. The BD-unit was perfectly capable of deciding when he'd satisfied his own curiosity.

Instead, Ace found his attention returning to the stranger. Something about her had caught at his senses almost immediately. The Force. His steps slowed slightly, it touched her as it touched him.

That realization came easily enough now. But there was something else too. Ace's expression shifted almost imperceptibly as he studied her. Beneath that presence was something heavier. Recent. He couldn't see what had happened to her, couldn't pull memories from her mind, but he didn't need to. He knew what trauma felt like.

It clung to people. Sometimes quietly enough that nobody else noticed. A weight buried beneath ordinary movements and ordinary words, carried because there wasn't much choice except to keep moving beneath it. Whatever this girl had been through, it hadn't been long ago.

Maybe that shouldn't have surprised him. Not here. Not with transports arriving every day carrying people whose homes had become places they couldn't return to.

Ace didn't ask. His dark brown eyes simply remained on her for another moment, curiosity lingering behind them. Beside them, Tic chirped again.

Suri Thatch​

 

[Suri Thatch]

​

Suri let out a soft chuckle at the little droids apparent curiosity, shifting from a crouch to sit on the floor forgetting she was in the middle of a walkway, one hand moving to the raven she had yet to find a name for, running a hand along soft glossy feathers. “You are a curious little thing aren’t you?” she said softly and then with a touch of sadness. “Arra would like you.”

Her gaze lifted, hand pausing in its path along the ravens back to follow the droids gaze towards the source of the call. Suris small smile faded and she shifted moving to get her feet under her as the man approached. He was about Arra’s age, dark skin with a serious face framed by a shock of white dreads, her gaze flicked to the hydrospanner and then back to the little droid.

“He’s okay.” she said quietly, watching as the raven’s head tilted fixing Tic with a beady stare as he drew closer, letting out a soft croak before reaching gently with his beak to try and grab the protruding overhang the protected Tic’s photoreceptors, gently enough to be testing if this little metal thing was food or not.

Suri reached back into her pocket, digging the ration bar back out and breaking off another piece for the bird in the hopes it would dissuade any notion that Tic was food. She watched the stranger out of the corner of her eyes as he approached slowly. He didn’t strike her as a threat, but that didn’t make her trust his approach.

Her gaze lifted to him as he drew nearer, soft green eyes eyeing him warily before she extended an arm to the raven who hopped onto it without fuss and then hopped again with a small flap of his wings to settle on her shoulder, picking at a silver nut that was woven into one of her braids. Suri didn’t seem to notice.

She offered the other hand to Tic with a small smile, the BD unit stepped lightly onto her palm, photoreceptors blinking as he looked at her. She let out another chuckle and rose to her feet. “You’re cute, but I bet you get into all sorts of trouble.” She extended her hand towards the stranger, offering Tic back to him with her eyes downcast.

“I’m sorry if we distracted him.”

✦

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Saleucami

Equipment:
Vanguard Robes | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm | Tic

The raven's interest in Tic drew Ace's attention briefly, though it was what the girl did next that held it. She reached into her pocket and broke another piece from what looked like a ration bar, offering it to the bird instead.

Ace's gaze lingered there for a moment. She was thin. Painfully so, now that he was close enough to notice properly, yet she'd given part of her own food away without a second thought.

Sector 9G had taught Ace the opposite. When there wasn't enough to go around, you guarded what was yours. Nobody else was going to make sure you ate. He'd broken that rule for Risk and Hina sometimes, but this girl was doing it for a bird. He didn't comment, but he remembered it.

Instead, he watched as she offered her hand to Tic. The BD-unit stepped onto her palm without hesitation, apparently deciding he'd made a new friend. A faint smirk crept onto the corner of Ace's lip when she spoke.

"You have no idea." His tone was dry. Ninety seconds. That was apparently all it took to figure Tic out.

The smirk faded when she rose and extended the droid toward him. Her eyes dropped with the gesture, avoiding his own. Ace's expression didn't visibly change, but it didn't take a genius to understand why. She'd been perfectly comfortable with Tic until he'd approached. Now every movement seemed a little more careful.

Ace glanced down at the BD-unit. Tic looked back at him. Then toward the girl. Ace stared at him for a moment, and understood.

"Don't worry, it wasn't you. He has a tendency to wander."

Tic chirped as though he had something to say about that. Ace ignored him, though his gaze returned to the girl after a brief pause.

"He likes you." That was probably obvious by now. Tic wasn't exactly subtle about these things.

Ace rolled the hydrospanner between his fingers, suddenly conscious that he was still holding the damn thing. He could've taken Tic and gone back to the generator. Probably should have. Whatever had happened to her wasn't his business, and the last thing somebody carrying that kind of weight needed was a stranger asking questions they hadn't offered answers to.

Still, something about walking away didn't sit right. Maybe it was the ration bar, or the way she'd lowered her eyes, or maybe it was just recognition. Ace knew a stray when he saw one.

His eyes drifted toward the ration bar before returning to her. Whatever had brought her to Saleucami had happened recently, that much the Force had already told him. She was alone too, or at least she looked it. Ace wasn't about to pry into why. But he didn't have to pretend he hadn't noticed her either.

He exhaled quietly through his nose, fingers still turning the hydrospanner. "You hungry?"

Suri Thatch​

 

[Suri Thatch]

​

Suri’s gaze lifted briefly when Tic didn’t leave her hand, the reassurance that she was not the cause of any disruption making her hand lower a little, her gaze settling on the tiny droid instead of on the stranger. Movement at the edge of her vision drew her gaze down, to the hydrospanner rolling slowly between his fingers.

He likes you.

Her gaze lifted again, back to Tic a small smile appearing as she brought him back towards her. It faltered when she finally found the courage to meet his gaze. Despite the crease in his brow that seemed like it was a permanent fixture, there was something softer in his eyes, concern maybe?

The hydrospanner was still turning in his fingers and for a moment Suri imagined it was at the same speed as the cogs in his mind, like he was deciding something. She didn’t rush him, her free hand running over the top of Tic’s head where the raven had struck, checking that there wasn’t a dent left behind.

"You hungry?"

Her gaze snapped back up and Suri blinked in surprise. For a moment she didn’t answer, her head titled to the side as she frowned at him as if she was trying to work out which answer was safest. What answer had the least strings attached. Her gaze moved back to Tic before she finally nodded.

“A little.” she said quietly before offering “I’m Suri.”

✦
Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Saleucami

Equipment:
Vanguard Robes | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm | Tic

Ace watched the small smile return to her face when she brought Tic closer again. The droid seemed perfectly content with the arrangement, and something about the way she ran her hand over the spot the raven had pecked caught his attention. Gentle. Like she was genuinely checking whether the little droid had been hurt. A faint smile touched Ace's own face.

Then she finally looked at him. Ace met her gaze quietly. Soft green eyes stared back, cautious in a way that didn't quite match the tenderness she'd shown Tic. She looked even younger this close.

His question seemed to catch her off guard. Ace noticed the hesitation that followed. The slight tilt of her head, the way she seemed to consider the question more carefully than something as simple as food should've required. He recognized that too. Trying to work out what somebody wanted before accepting what they offered.

Then she nodded.

A little.

Ace's eyes briefly swept over her again. That was underselling it remarkably, but he didn't call her on it. Instead, Ace gestured loosely for her to follow.

"Come on."

He didn't take her far. Most of what he'd brought to Saleucami was stored near the equipment he'd been working on, packed into a couple of weathered supply crates alongside spare components and medical supplies. There wasn't an abundance of anything. Ace wasn't rich, and with bacta becoming harder to find by the day, credits only stretched so far when there were entire settlements needing help.

But there was food.

When she offered her name, he gave her a small nod, then hooked the hydrospanner through his belt.

"Ace."

He crouched beside one of the crates and opened it. Inside was a modest collection of things he'd accumulated between stops: a few ration packs, dried fruit, protein strips, some wrapped flatbread and several sealed containers that had survived the journey without needing refrigeration. Nothing particularly exciting, but better than going hungry.

Ace took out a small selection and set it across the top of the crate rather than choosing for her.

"Take whatever you want."

Then he stepped back. His arms folded loosely across his chest, leaving enough distance that she wouldn't have to reach around him or feel watched over while she decided. If she really was as hungry as she looked, the last thing Ace wanted was to make accepting food more uncomfortable than it already seemed to be.

Tic, meanwhile, apparently had no interest in giving her the same space. The little droid chirped and craned his head toward the selection before looking back at Suri. Another enthusiastic series of beeps followed, seemingly offering an opinion nobody had asked for.

Suri Thatch​