Private Traitors

[Arris Windrun]

Acier Moonbound

The mention of Rox only reminded her of that numbness from earlier. She sighed.

But when he asked what she had learned, Arris paused near the entrance, turned, and leaned against the wall. She looked back at Ace with stern consideration.

"Okay," she said, arms crossed.

"First - I learned that you're a complicated fuck. I mean, you were captured by Vestra, right? But when we spoke, you said you believed in this. The Covenant. Yet, unlike the other acolytes and apprentices, you have zero ambition. No initiative. You killed when I asked you to kill, without hesitation. You attacked ISB headquarters and stuck to the mission, but you resent the 'reward' of being my apprentice."

Succinct, maybe, but she wasn't really missing any details as far as she recalled. She rolled her shoulders and looked off to the side.

"You criticized our collateral damage... judged our methods and our motives."

She looked back at him. "Then, you suggested we could improve the way things are done around here. Affirmed again in our little conversation a moment ago. It doesn't really make sense."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Coruscant - Federal District

Equipment:
Apprentice Attire | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm

Ace watched her. Her posture, the way she leaned, the way her arms crossed and stayed there, the distance she chose to keep. Every small detail filed away, measured against what he already knew about her. Arris wasn't guessing. She was mapping him... and she was getting close. Closer than most.

He felt it settle in his chest, not as panic, but as recognition. She saw too much. Not everything. Not yet. But enough that sloppy answers would out him fast.

The worst part? She wasn't wrong. The inconsistencies she laid out weren't cracks. They were the structure, and if he didn't frame them himself, she would. So he adjusted. Not by lying, that was the mistake amateurs made, but by choosing what truth looked like.

"On paper. I believe in this." His eyes stayed on her now. "The focus on individualism. Not serving some bloated institution that decides what you are before you even get a say in it."

After letting that settle, he moved on to her next point.

"I have ambition. It's just not the kind you're used to seeing from Acolytes and Apprentices."

His hands moved, adjusting the collar at his neck, then rolled his gloves into place like he was settling into something more comfortable.

"I used to run jobs for an up and coming crime boss when I was a kid. I know how to be a good soldier. Follow orders. Get results." His jaw shifted slightly. "Doesn't mean I like it."

A breath left him, slow and controlled. He tilted his head once, then twice, there was a quiet crack through his neck before his gaze locked back onto her fully this time.

"All the shit I've done?" He shook his head faintly. "It doesn't make me buy into it more. It does the opposite. Every job, every kill, every mess we leave behind… It just makes it clearer."

He took another step, deeper into his point.

"I believe in individualism. I believe people should be able to decide their own path without some system forcing their hand."

His eyes didn't leave hers.

"But I don't believe in senseless killing. Or destruction for the sake of proving a point."

A small, lifeless smirk tugged at the corner of his lip.

"That's where you're getting stuck. You're trying to fit me into a mold that doesn't apply."

Arris Windrun​