Acier Moonbound
Forcebound Rebel
Location: Bonadan - The Vergeworks - Sector 9G
They moved unlike anything he'd ever seen. They were tall, easily towering over Ace, and they were built like statues with violence carved into their frames. Each one gripped a long, black staff, crackling with violet energy that made the air buzz and the hair on Ace's arms rise. Their footfalls were quiet. Too quiet. Not like droids he'd seen before.
They didn't scan for threats, they already knew who their targets were. Him and Rheyla. And worst of all? They didn't look designed for restraint. Whatever these things were, they weren't made to keep the peace and they weren't built for patrol. They were built for something else. Something... harder to survive.
They moved with the kind of precision that didn't come from software updates or street mods. He recognized this was legacy programming... old and tested. The kind of tech that was meant to match people like him. No wonder Tessk looked so confident.

It moved like bladed wind. The first swing nearly took his head off.
Ace was barely able to raise his lightsaber in time. The electrostaff cracked against the glowing blue blade with a jolt that buzzed all the way down his spine. The force of the hit staggered him, feet skidding across the durasteel floor. He countered with a sharp step in, slashing toward the droid's midsection, but the strike bounced off the reinforced staff with a hiss of deflected energy.
It didn't slow. It merely pressed forward with machine precision, every strike faster than the last, spinning, jabbing, sweeping wide. Ace ducked one blow, then twisted to block the next. His lightsaber sparked, arms straining with the effort. The droid advanced again, driving him back with brutal, methodical aggression.
Ace's precognition flickered with warning, but it wasn't enough. He wasn't reading the droid, just reacting. And he hated it. His foot caught on a loose bolt but he recovered fast, pivoting on instinct, but it didn't matter. He was being walked down. Forced on to the backfoot.
This is nothing like sparring with
Pisti Caleida
, he realized, breath hitching. The rhythm was wrong. The flow was gone. It was just survival... like always.

Ace grit his teeth as the staff came in low. Hhe leapt over it, barely clearing the sweep, and landed in a roll that brought him closer to a stack of crates. He used one for cover, pausing just long enough to breathe.
You're House Verd, the thought spat. I shouldn't be struggling with a droid!
He clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing behind the glow of his blade. The MagnaGuard didn't taunt. Didn't hesitate. It simply adjusted its grip and charged again. Ace stepped in. His lightsaber met the staff mid-swing with a crash of energy and momentum, the impact flaring bright between them. Sparks flew as the blade and staff locked, humming, grinding, vibrating with kinetic pressure.
Muscles strained against the droid's mechanical strength. It towered over him, unrelenting, pressing its advantage like a machine designed to kill Jedi. He clenched his jaw, eyes locked on the soulless photoreceptors staring him down... and for a heartbeat, doubt flickered in his chest.
But then, a memory surfaced. "Ya put too much faith in that lightsaber of yours. Gotta see yourself as the weapon, y'know?" It was Pisti's voice. Upbeat but calming.
Ace's grip shifted and his stance changed. And just before he moved, he dropped his lightsaber.
Last edited: