Private New Moon

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

He hadn't planned on contacting her. To reach out. He wanted to leave everything there, to not get involved. Especially with her. But he gave in, and her response came through swiftly, brief and broken. Impossible to ignore.

But Ace was here because he was concerned. He remembered the first time she'd told him about her faith, that moon goddess, Shiraya, and the way she spoke of her. Back then, he hadn't thought much of it. Just another belief system, another way people tried to make sense of the chaos.

But after what he'd seen on Nessantico... the blood, the chants, the reverence twisted into ritual, it didn't feel like faith anymore. It felt like fever. And he'd seen fever before.

On Dathomir, the women of Clan Vethrisa had whispered the same words in different tongues. "The thread is all". "The prophecy above life". They culled their sons and bound their daughters, carving futures out of flesh in the name of destiny. He still remembered the smell of ichor and incense, the look in their eyes when they called him the Final Weave, their deliverance. But he was their ruin.

He'd burned that faith down with his own hands.

And now, watching Jael vanish into her order's rituals, he wondered if he was seeing the same madness take root again, a devotion so absolute it devoured the people inside it.

The air on Chommel Minor was cool, laced with the smell of incense coming from somewhere nearby. Maybe wherever Jael was. Thing is, she was meant to be here, by the lake she told him to wait at. He held the private comm device, sealed with House Amnen's crescent, staring at it in his palm.

This was taking too long. If this was a trap, it was a well-laid one. If it wasn't… then something was wrong. He lifted his gaze toward the convent's pale towers again, their windows glowing faintly in the night.

Ace exhaled through his nose, quiet and resigned. Then he started walking. If she wouldn't come to meet him, or couldn't, he'd find her himself.

Jael Amnen​

 

[Jael Amnen]

The incense had not yet faded. It clung to the silk canopy and the curve of her wrists, sweet as decay, threaded with the faint sting of myrrh. Hands moved about her in silence, pale attendants with eyes like moonstones, undoing the clasps of her outer robe, smoothing scented oil into her palms. The rites of purification were gentle, practiced, but they made her feel as if she were being wrapped in cottonwool.

She endured it because she must. The Midnight Vigil could not be broken, not by longing, not by fear. Still, as the oils cooled on her skin and the priestesses murmured their litanies, she found herself glancing toward the balcony doors again.

The gardens below were veiled in mist, the lake beyond glimmering faintly in the moonlight. That was where she had told him to wait. Foolishly, perhaps. He should not have come. She should not have answered. Yet when she closed her eyes, she could still imagine the way his voice had sounded through the static. It was rough...disbelieving...human.

One of the attendants noticed her distraction and reached for her wrist. “Lady Amnen,” the woman said softly. “The rites are not complete.”

Jael managed a smile, faint and false. “Let me breath for just a moment.”

She slipped free of their touch and crossed to the open balcony, the silk hem of her shift brushing against marble. The night air was cool and damp, the scent of rain woven through the incense haze. For a long moment she stood there, bare feet against stone, watching the mist curl through the cypresses and listening for footsteps that would never come.

If he had come, he would already be gone. If he had not…then she had lost nothing by hoping.

Her fingers tightened on the railing, the crescent of House Amnen glinting faintly on the ring she still wore. “Foolish,” she whispered, unsure if she meant him or herself.

And yet, when the breeze shifted and the clouds broke just enough to let the moonlight fall full upon the gardens, she lingered there still — a pale figure three stories above the world, caught between devotion and doubt — before she turned back into the darkened chamber and let the curtains fall closed behind her.

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace moved along the edge of the lake, following the sound of his own footsteps against the marble path. The gardens were still and from here, the convent looked carved out of moonlight. The balcony lanterns burning like stars, caught his attention. Somewhere behind one of those veiled windows, Jael was there. He could feel it.

Tic chirped once from his shoulder, it was a soft, worried trill that broke through the silence. Ace glanced at him. "I know." He muttered under his breath. "Terrible idea."

The outer wall seemed older than the rest of the structure. Easy enough to climb. He crouched at its base, eyes tracing the vertical path to a narrow balcony three stories up. A pale curtain swayed there, half open. That was her floor. He knew it.

He took a breath, slipping the comm into his pocket and jumped. The Force thrummed quietly through him. His boots hit the first ledge, hands gripping an exposed stone. He moved fast, not reckless, just practiced. The same flow he'd used scaling old cathedrals and Imperial towers. Tic followed, magnetized feet clicking softly against the stone, keeping pace in small, precise hops.

Each jump carried Ace higher. The wind tugged at his clothes, incense thickening the higher he climbed. Halfway up, he paused and glanced down. The lake below looked like liquid glass, reflecting the spires above it. From here, the world was silent... except for Tic, who let out a low mechanical whirr, nervous.

"Don't look down." Ace murmured.

The droid beeped a sharp protest.

"Yeah, fair point." He breathed, and kept climbing.

He reached her balcony with a final, controlled leap, landing lightly on marble. Tic perched against his shoulder again, lens flickering as he scanned the chamber beyond the curtain.

Her presence was a thread of warmth through the haze, calm on the surface, but frayed underneath. It felt like touching the memory of someone's breath, like she was both near and impossibly distant all at once.

He brushed the silk curtain aside with one hand. Moonlight poured over him, silvering the edge of his prosthetic and catching the dust in the air. For a heartbeat, everything was still. Then he saw her.

"You really stood me up?" He said, "After telling me to come here?" He sighed.

Jael Amnen​

 

[Jael Amnen]

Preoccupied.

That was her excuse for how he was able to approach without her sensing him. When he spoke, she startled and spun about. Her loose, flowing white silk gown spun with her, giving the appearance of a dancer in motion. Her hand was over her mouth and her eyes wide with surprise, but also thrill.

"Acier!" She took a step forward, eager to be close, but then pulled back, "Mother-goddess...why did you come here?"

She covered her mouth again, suppressing what had been too loud of an exclamation. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that no one was storming back into the room to check on her. Yet.

"I did not anticipate the sudden decision to perform the Midnight Vigil on this very night," she said, eyes pleading for forgiveness, "the decision was made only after I messaged to say you should come..."

Footsteps could be heard approaching the door behind her. She wasted no time, moving quickly to his side and reaching for his sleeve. She stopped short, unable to touch him and undo the purification ritual. Not that he would understand this.

"Behind the tapestry...quickly...if they find you here...quickly...delay not..."

Quick gestures indicated the urgency of the moment, as she shooed him towards an elaborately embroidered tapestry that hung over a small alcove, behind which was one of the few private spaces afforded to the High Priestess; it was barely a room, more a closet, with a mirror, a pitcher of water, and a chair that looked like it would recline if there was room to do so.

She calmed herself. Her heart rate suddenly dropping to a reasonable, controlled pace as she turned toward the sound of an unlocking door.

"High Priestess. The final moments of purification are upon you," said the aged, though remarkably beautiful Amnen priestess, "take off your robe...we must not delay."

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

She spun around like a ghost startled by its own reflection. For a second, Ace thought she was going to scream. Then she said his name, that formal version of it. He exhaled, jaw tight. Then she asked him why he had come, his brow arched.

"Because you told me to?"

The words came out sharper than he meant. He didn't bother softening them. She was already looking over her shoulder, whispering apologies and explanations that made less and less sense the longer he stood there. The Midnight Vigil. Purification. He didn't even know what any of that meant.

Then he heard footsteps, eyes flicking in their direction. When her hand reached for his sleeve and stopped short, he caught the hesitation, saw the fear in it. Whatever rule she was bound to, it wasn't for show.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. Behind the tapestry... quickly.

Ace stared at her, then at the wall-hanging. "You've got to be--"

But she was already pushing him toward it. Tic whirred nervously, retracting his limbs as Ace backed into the narrow alcove. The curtain fell, heavy with dust and perfume. The small room, or closet, was cramped, with only a few things within it.

Through the thin fabric, he could hear her steadying her breathing. He forced himself to do the same. Then the door unlocked and voices followed. He listened, muscles coiled, and when he heard 'take off your robes' he could feel his ears burn.

Ace spun around, trying to occupy himself while he waited, deciding to take the time to really take in this... 'room'. There was barely any space to breathe. His shoulder brushed the cold wall; Tic perched against his chest, lens dimmed to almost nothing. In the half-light he could make out a mirror framed in silver, a pitcher of water resting beside a small bowl of salt, and a reclined chair so narrow it looked built for penance, not rest.

He took it in with a glance, mind cataloguing details the way it always did - weapons, exits, cover. Only here, everything was ritual. Every surface meant for kneeling, cleansing, or confessing. Nothing meant for living.

Tic let out a nervous beep, faint but sharp in the stillness. Ace's hand snapped up, pressing lightly over the droid's vocabulator.

"Shh." He whispered, barely moving his lips. "Do not--"

He chirped again. Louder this time. Ace glared down at the little machine, eyes promising murder. Tic's lens flickered guiltily and dimmed to black. Ace held his breath, hoping no one heard.

Jael Amnen​

 

[Jael Amnen]

The priestesses entered like drifting smoke. They were soft-footed, unhurried, carrying their incense trays in both hands so the coils of pearled mist curled through the air behind them. Jael’s breath caught, but only for a moment. She stepped away from the tapestry as if nothing at all lay hidden behind it, as if her pulse weren’t shivering beneath her skin.

“Lady Amnen,” the eldest murmured, already reaching for the clasp at her shoulder. “The purification must continue.”

Jael inclined her head, serene on the surface. “Of course.”

Their hands were deft, impersonal, reverent. Silk slipped from her shoulders, gathered by waiting arms. Warmed oils touched her collarbones, her wrists, the hollow of her spine. She kept her expression composed, eyes lowered, though every sound felt sharpened to a blade-edge — the rustle of robes, the shift of bare feet on marble, the clink of a porcelain vial being uncorked.

And beneath it all, behind the tapestry, she could feel him. Hear the faint, strangled chirp of Tic. Hear the sharp inhale he tried to bury in the silence.

If any of them noticed…

“Your spirit seems unsettled,” one of the attendants observed gently. “Did you see something outside?”

Jael’s gaze remained on the floor as the last clasp came undone. “Only my own reflection in the glass,” she said softly. “It startled me. Nothing more.”

The explanation seemed to satisfy them. They continued their work, whispering soft invocations to Shiraya, their voices rising and ebbing like distant tidewater. Jael endured it all with perfect posture — but her heartbeat was not her own. It drummed in time with the hidden shape behind the wall hanging, with the forbidden presence breathing the same thin air mere steps away.

At last, the eldest priestess stepped back. “It is nearly time,” she said. “We will retrieve the final vestments.”

“Thank you,” Jael murmured. “I will be ready.”

They bowed and filed out, the door closing with a gentle click. The silence that followed was so total it felt like a held breath.

Only then did Jael allow her shoulders to fall.

She turned — slowly, carefully — toward the tapestry. For a moment she only stood there, staring at the heavy fabric that separated them, her fingers hovering inches from the embroidered moon-thread. Her voice, when it came, was barely more than breath.

“…you shouldn’t have come. I was a fool to ask it of you.”

The moment lingered, like no one was there to answer. There was a tremor too soft to call fear.

“Not because you weren’t wanted,” she added, voice low, fragile at the edges. “But because wanting you here is the very thing I’m not allowed.”

She pressed her palm lightly to the tapestry — not enough to move it, just enough that he might feel the faintest shift of her touch through the weave.

Footsteps echoed faintly somewhere down the corridor.

Her hand slipped away.

“What are we, Acier Moonbound?” she whispered. “I can be many things for you, but a few are forbidden without relinquishing my title. Why do you come to me? Why do I wish it so?”

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace's hand remained firmly placed over Tic's vocabulator. He waited with baited breath, listening to the exchange between Jael and the other Priestesses. Once he finally heard the door to Jael's quarters click shut, he finally breathed again.

Then, he glared daggers at Tic for almost blowing their position. "If you'd pulled that at an Imperial outpost--" He whispered, tone harsh, only cutting himself off when he felt Jael's presence on the other side of the tapestry.

Her voice came soft. The same gentleness he was used to hearing from her, but there was a shakiness beneath it. She told him he shouldn't have come, Ace didn't answer, he just let her speak.

Tic shifted slightly on his arm, the faintest mechanical click breaking the stillness. Ace exhaled through his nose and answered, voice low.

"You didn't show." He said bluntly. "I thought maybe something had happened."

Ace felt the gentle pressure of her palm touching the tapestry, his dark eyes flicked to the small imprint and lingered there for a moment. The words that followed sat in the air between them like smoke, curling and unresolving. What were they?

His jaw tensed and his eyes shut. There had always been something since that first meeting at the Grove, small... barely a spark, but it was there. Whatever it was, he wouldn't allow it to grow or become more. Not after Sibylla.

"We're nothing." He answered, almost droid-like with how devoid of emotion his words were.

He let his words settle and lowered his head, pale locs hanging over his eyes. Tic shifted again and Ace stabilized him with a gentle stroke on the droid's head.

"What happened... back at Nessantico. You over that woman's dead body, the others chanting--" He hesitated for a second, still affected by what he'd seen. "That's not normal, Jael."

Jael Amnen ​

 

[Jael Amnen]

A hope that she did not know had been born was suddenly, a viciously ended. Her silver eyes diminished for just a moment, as she looked away. "Of course. Nothing..."

He had moved on to bringing up the ascension ritual, and the understandably foreign nature of it. He didn't understand her faith. But at least to her faith, to her House...she was something.

"Interesting that you would go to such lengths for nothing," she said as she turned from him and walked with haste to the far side of the room. There she made herself busy tending to the incense that burned upon a small pedastal.

The hurt became resolve. And resolve brought her back to her role as Priestess of the Mother's Love. Acier Moonbound was someone in need of her service, however that might best be administered. The affection he would be gifted was that of the Mother, Jael would simply be its conduit. Perhaps then he would permit them to be something more than nothing...as they were before.

"Interesting name. Moonbound," she said, clutching the crescent shaped pendant hanging from its thin silver chain and nestled midst her bosom.

She turned, grace and formality returning. She was — again — the soft, generous priestess of the grove that he had met that first night. "How can I serve you this night in the moments that I have remaining?"

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace didn't need to be Force-sensitive to know what he'd said affected Jael. It was clear in her voice, even from behind the tapestry. But why? What was the issue? It was true... wasn't it? They'd only ever met once, hadn't stayed in contact since. Seeing each other again on Nessantico was pure coincidence. Of course they'd be nothing to each other.

Her next comment though, caught his tongue. Interesting that you would go to such lengths for nothing. He didn't say anything, even Tic noticed. His silence was loud.

Ace shook the thought. It didn't mean anything, nor hold any weight. Ace had put his life on the line for strangers time and time again. Protecting others was a compulsion he couldn't shake. Even now.

Metal fingers wrapped around the edge of the tapestry, swinging open as Ace stepped out of it. Tic scurried on to Ace's shoulder. Jael was at the pedestal, tending to the incense that filled the room. His jaw was tense, eyes peering at the newly ascended High Priestess.

"Jael, I'm serious." He said, voice stern. "I respect faith, but this? What you did? That's not faith. It's... it's fanaticism."

Jael mentioned his name. Moonbound. She'd said it was interesting. The pivot was... strange, but he noticed as she clutched her own crescent pendant. The irony... wasn't lost on him. Her faith was all to do with the moon, his name was also linked to it.

"It isn't my birth name." He clarified, glancing away but refused to elaborate.

His mother had left him on Bonadan with only a lightsaber. Nothing else. Now, he knew she didn't reveal his name to keep him safe, but before, he believed it was because she didn't care. The caretakers at the orphanage had named him 'Acier Moonbound'. A mean-spirited joke to remind him he had no ties outside the planet.

Joke was on them in the end.

When Jael turned, his hard expression softened. He could see it, her demeanor, her tone, her cadence - had reverted. Back to how she was at the grove. Like she wasn't her own person, like some sort of... vessel. Devoid of any individuality or autonomy. He hated it.

"How you can serve me..." He echoed, glancing away for a moment, then his eyes found her once more. Hardening.

"You can listen." His voice was stern again. "I've seen this before, Jael. This kind of... devotion. And I--" Ace's voice cracked ever so slightly "--I lost someone important to me because of it."

Tic whirred, his own tone sad and melancholy. Ace's fingers curled into fists, the knuckles on his remaining hand going white. His jaw tensed again, sharp eyes still locked on hers.

"I can't just watch it happen again. To anyone. Even you."

Jael Amnen

 

[Jael Amnen]

"Even...me?" Her voice shook just a little as she spoke the words.

She was nothing to him. Someone he condescended to show concern to. Others were more worth his time, attention and concern. But not her. She was someone that got his concern by nature of her being a living being. It was only his good natured inherent concern, not because she meant anything.

"You need not concern yourself with me, Acier Moonbound," her words were soft, formal and restrained. It was as if a silken veil had been pulled over Jael Amnen, and only the High Priestess could be seen.

"I serve my House. And I serve the goddess," she looked at him, her eyes stoic except for the faint disturbance in the silver streams that were her irises. "Your approval is not needed for me to feel I have purpose and place."

She dropped some incense into the bowl that rested neatly atop the stone pillar before her. The fire burst to life anew.

"The sisters of my faith will return soon. Should you be found here, you will be imprisoned and I shall be punished for taking the Vigil so lightly. For your sake. It is best that you leave. Nothing will be lost for your absence."

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace gently bit the inside of his cheek, turning his head ever so slightly away from the Priestess. She was descending deeper into her role, retreating even harder. His words weren't reaching, in fact, his hesitance to show his care may have was making things worse.

"It's not about approval." He argued, voice calm but carrying the same sternness. "I'm telling you how this goes. Every time. How it warps your--"

He stopped himself, turning to face her again, watching as she placed more incense into the bowl. Seemingly, not heeding his warnings. Maybe there was a tactful way to do this, a better approach, but trauma was illogical, it made you impulsive - irrational. And right now, the young man was drowning in old wounds.

Ace ignored Jael's warning. He wasn't afraid of her 'sisters', not because he was arrogant like before Atrisia - but self-assured confidence. He reached out and gently grabbed her wrist with his organic hand, hoping to draw her attention back to him.

"You're not nothing to me, Jael." He confessed, voice softening "Look, you helped me out during a bad time. And I won't forget that."

Pushing her away initially, it felt like the best option. Both to protect his heart from another Sibylla scenario, and because... if he failed, he couldn't bare living with being unable to save her. Like how he was unable to save Orryn. Maybe... maybe he could atone if he opened Jael's eyes to the dangers of her faith.

"Nothing will be lost in my absence?" Ace said, repeating what she had said "You'll be lost."

Jael Amnen ​

 

[Jael Amnen]

Her formality was retained, despite admissions of care that came too late. Why she felt so on edge was unknown to her. Her normal unflappable, calm and at ease exterior was generated by her internal calm. But since the ascension ritual, that had begun to waver. Jael attributed this to Acier. He was the new feature that caused her to splinter within. Nothing else.

Surely.

"I am where I am supposed to be. Serving the goddess that is my hope, my desire...my all," she said calmly, eyes settling into a lying calm.

She moved towards the window, silken robe billowing in the breeze. She stood, moonlight from above highlighting her form, as she gazed out onto the woods below.

"You do not know me, Acier Moonbound. Part of me wishes you would want to know me," she said softly, before gazing over her shoulder at him, "but you will find nothing more than what I am. A servant of the goddess and all that would seek her graces. We shall meet again, the Mother speaks of this time. And I will serve you, in the form that you need. Comforter. Guide. Companion. It is unclear. But know this..."

She turned back towards the forest.

"...you are not my saviour. For there is nothing I wished to be saved from."

Acier Moonbound​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Chommel Minor

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace released his hold of her arm, hand retreating back to his side. He didn't interrupt when she spoke, he just listened... only to realize she had fully closed herself off from him. What he had said, the wat he'd handled it all... only pushed her away further. Forcing her to retreat.

When she finished, Ace parted his lips to argue, to fight. Only nothing came out. His lips pressed into a thin line, as if he was physically forcing himself to be quiet.

The young man quickly realized that there was no negotiating, no talking now. He'd completely bombarded his chances. Ace took a step back, sighing in resignation. Tic lifted his head, photoreceptor blinking as he trilled something solemn in binary.

Maybe Ace was overstepping. Allowing his PTSD to influence his decisions, make him irrational. What he'd seen Jael do? It wasn't normal, or right, but... who was he? Who was he to step in and try to uproot her life?

"You're right." He said, finally, "I don't know you."

He glanced away, expression blank... shadowed almost, slowly rubbing the back of his neck with his prosthetic hand. Ace stayed silent a few moments longer, then rested both hands on his hips - still averting his gaze.

"And I'm not your savior." He added, agreeing with her.

Finally, he met her pale-silver eyes. For a moment, he didn't say anything, just watched her with his trademark intense gaze. Ace turned away, moving toward the window he'd snuck through.

Before leaving, Ace perched himself on the window sill. His back was toward her, but he took a moment to turn his head over to look at her one last time.

"Your services in the future? Won't need them." He said, heavily implying they wouldn't meet again past this moment. Ace finally turned away, his entire body facing away from her now. "Not planning on sticking around to see what's coming next."

And with that? He was gone, his figure descending into the night below the Priestess's quarters.

Jael Amnen

​

​

 

[Jael Amnen]

Her chin rose in defiance to the sinking feeling in her stomach. She watched him leave. Mulled over his words. And felt a rising ill within her.

He looked upon her ways as barbaric. She looked upon his soul as broken. Neither looked at each other with the grace needed to continue the conversation, but oh how she longed for him to have felt different. Someone to talk to outside of this world of religion.

She loved her faith. Loved her goddess. But the structure she now found herself in was...stifling. And it had only been a week or so. It was the politics that made it so. Acier was to be her break from it all. But now...she just felt broken.

All was still within her room for but a moment, her eyes watching the movement of the trees as if his hasty departure made them shift. But then...something shifted.

"My priestess, who was that?"

Jael's muscles clenched, throat tightening, and she stood tall, rigid and panicked. "Who?"

The voice was laced with more suspicion now. "The one that departed from your room, just now."

The High Priestess turned. Slowly. Eyes aloof, defying the truthful accusation. "You saw nothing." She said, hoping that rank would see her through.

"You desecrate our holy offering to the Mother and deny it?" Said the older woman, experience and length of service etched into her still beautiful, if aged, features.

Jael's heartbeat faltered.

"The ritual must be abandoned," the older woman said bluntly, "and you must learn the consequences of taking our ways so lightly...child." She was stalking about the room now. "I gave you room to prove yourself and instead you hang yourself on your freedom at the first opportunity. You know what you would endure should you violate this...and you do it anyway..."

"I..."

"...silence, the only words you speak until more are words of penance to the mother. I will report what I have found, I will report your fragrant lies and dismissal of our ways...and you will be purged of this mind. Mother be blessed."

"Mother be blessed."

Acier Moonbound - THE END​