Private Quiet Channels

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Yavin 4

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Mist clung low between the roots of Yavin's ancient trees, curling around fallen stone and the broken steps of one of the old temples. Vines crept over carved reliefs like they were reclaiming a debt long overdue. The air was thick with humidity and the low chorus of unseen life.​

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Ace stood at the edge of the clearing, just outside the temple's shadow. He hadn't gone inside. Teth had made him wary of areas like this. Too much history pressed inward. Too many ghosts that didn't care who you were now, only what you might become.​

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He rested his weight back onto his heels, arms folded loosely across his chest, posture casual. But his body had other ideas, a dull ache flared along his right side as he shifted. The beanbag round Arris had put into him at point blank range had faded from angry purple to a sickly yellow, but the impact still lived under his ribs. Every breath tugged at it just a little. He exhaled through his nose and ignored it. Pain was inconvenient, not informative.​

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Yavin was forgotten enough to stay off most scanners, old enough that Force-sensitive conversations didn't echo quite so loudly into places they shouldn't. If you were going to say things that could get people killed, or start wars, you did it somewhere like this.​

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Ace's gaze drifted to the treeline, then back to the temple. He could feel the Force here in that quiet, layered way he'd come to associate with old battlegrounds and abandoned ruins. Not loud or demanding. Just… present.​

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He'd sent the messages to Sibylla and Lorn seperately. What he'd learned inside the Covenant had shifted the ground under his feet, and there was much to discuss. The information and how to go forward.​

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Ace rolled his shoulder once and settled again. The waiting stretched on, and he didn't fill it. No restless pacing, no reaching outward through the Force to pass the time. Just maintained stillness. Whatever reaction should've come with standing here; anticipation, unease, doubt? Never quite arrived. Ace remained where he was, composed and unmoving, aware of an absence without feeling compelled to name it.​

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Sibylla Abrantes | Lorn Reingard​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

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Jedi Temple
YAVIN IV

The shuttle cut through Yavin's dense cloud cover with a low, steady hum, its hull briefly swallowed by mist before the jungle opened beneath her. Sibylla's hands moved over the controls, guiding the descent carefully. Even so, she caught herself biting her lower lip, gnawing at the flesh as she felt that tension that had been growing since Eshan threaded through her focus and settled in the furrow of her brow.

Concern did that. Worry did that.

She remembered what she had felt from Ace on Eshan. Not the crushing pressure and gravity that had radiated from the Sith Empress, no. But the disquite there. And perhaps maybe it had been the circumstance. Perhaps it had been because they had agreed to talk in code. But SIbylla couldn't help the way it stilll unsettled her. Adelle had sensed it too, and had confirmed that there was more beneath the surface than Ace ever showed outright.

And Sibylla trusted that. But more than that, she trusted her own instincts just as much.

If there was more there, then she needed to see it for herself. To speak with Ace and look him in the eyes and see what lived behind them now.

She had sworn to herself she wouldn't hesitate any more and meet things fully. Which is why she was here.

Minutes later, the shuttle settled into a small clearing with a low thrum, the landing struts slipping out to sink slightly into damp earth. Sibylla powered down the engines and sat there for a breath longer than necessary, letting the jungle's soundscape flood in around her. The air was thick, heavy with humidity and the scent of green life reclaiming old scars. Mist clung low between the massive roots of ancient trees, curling around fallen stone and broken steps that led toward the remains of a temple long abandoned as vines crawled over carved reliefs.

Such a strange world this was. Nothing like Naboo. Nothing like Roon.

With another breath, Sibylla rose, using her hands to straighten her jacket, and then she moved to step down the ramp.

It didn't take long to find him.

Ace stood just beyond the edge of the clearing, just outside the temple's shadow. He hadn't gone inside. That alone told her something. At first glance, his posture was loose, with his arms folded and his weight balanced on his heels. Casual, if one didn't know how to look closer.

But Sibylla did.

She caught the subtle shift of his stance, the careful way he held himself. Her steps slowed as she approached, hazel eyes studying him with quiet intent.

Sibylla stopped a few paces away, the mist curling briefly around her boots before dispersing. For a moment, she said nothing, letting the silence exist as the place settled around them.

Then her voice quietly cut the din.

"You chose a quiet place."

Those ever observant hazel eyes lifted to meet his as she drew closer, searching, picking up what she could.

"I got your message."

Lorn Reingard Acier Moonbound​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Acier Moonbound | Sibylla Abrantes​

Lorn's ship settled into the clearing with a muted whine of repulsors, leaves and mist scattering outward before sinking back into place. He cut the engines and sat for a moment, hands resting on the console, listening to the jungle breathe. Encrypted summons from Ace did not come lightly. He'd told himself this was simple. Check on the kid. Make sure he wasn't bleeding or spiraling. Maybe wander the ruins after for a few days. Isla was grown now. Ala ran the Order with a steadier hand than most Councils he'd known. Lorn had time. Too much of it, if he was honest.

He started down the ramp toward the temple and stopped.

Ace was already there. Halfway up the overlook, standing like he belonged to the stone. And around him, settling into the clearing, another ship touched down.

Lorn squinted. Then groaned.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

He set off up the incline, boots slipping on damp dirt, breath already protesting. The hill was steeper than it looked. Vines snagged at his trousers. His knee reminded him he was closer to his forties than his twenties. He pushed on anyway, because that was what he did.

Halfway up, he saw them clearly. Ace and Sibylla, standing close. Too close for coincidence. Lorn felt the familiar weight settle in his chest. Of course. The Queen. Young, brilliant, and beautfiul. He wheezed out a breath that might have been a laugh. So that was why he chose to involve her.

He reached the top at last, hands braced on his thighs, lungs burning. He straightened with effort and looked between them, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion. The Force hummed faintly here, old and watchful, like it knew this meeting mattered.

"No," Lorn said between breaths. "This is a great place to meet." He gestured vaguely at the ruins, then the climb behind him. "Not at the temple." He sucked in another breath. "Definitely not at the bottom of the hill."

He glanced at Ace, then Sibylla, something weary and fond crossing his face.

"Damn kids."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Yavin 4

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace didn't move immediately when Sibylla spoke. Her voice cut cleanly through the jungle noise, and his gaze lifted to meet hers without hurry. For a moment, he simply studied her but not in the way he once might have, searching for reassurance or familiarity, but with a quiet appraisal. As if cataloguing her.

His attention briefly shifted as the second ship settled into the clearing. He could sense it was Lorn. Good, it meant they could get to business sooner. Ace's dark eyes settled on Bylla again, as he answered her.

"Quiet's the point." He replied, evenly.

He didn't turn at the groan. The cadence of it alone told him who it was. When Lorn finally crested the incline, Ace waited, patient, expression unreadable as the older man caught his breath and delivered his commentary.

At the last line, 'damn kids', something like the ghost of a reaction flickered at the corner of Ace's mouth. But it didn't quite qualify as a smile.

"Glad you're both here." He said instead.

He unfolded his arms and shifted his weight, careful not to favor his side too obviously, though the movement pulled at the bruise beneath his ribs all the same. His jaw tensed and eye twitched ever so slightly, he ignored it.

Ace's eyes returned to Sibylla. "I have information. Not leads, but... it's something."

Then he looked to Lorn.

"I've told Sibylla already, but it's better you both know." He went on. "There's a traitor in the Republic. I don't know who, except it's a noble."

He let his words settle for a moment, allowing Lorn to absorb what had just been said. As he did, the Force hummed faintly through the area, old and indifferent.

"Arris Windrun." Ace said, eyes still on Lorn, a reminder of what they had discussed on Desevro. "I heard her say it, about the traitor. And Mercy Star-Arm?"

He glanced aside briefly, as if orienting himself to a memory rather than the ruins around them.

"The attacks in Tapani? It's scaffolding. She called it a 'building block'."

His gaze returned to Sibylla, steady and unblinking.

"Star-Arm wants the Core Worlds. A real war."

Sibylla Abrantes | Lorn Reingard ​