Private Unexpected Visitor

[Acier Moonbound]

Ace's brown eyes locked with Rheyla's, wide with a cocktail of adrenaline and seething, white-hot fury. Of course she'd crack a joke—even now—with a lightsaber pressed beneath her chin.

She droned on and on, then she mentioned something about buying her dinner. His eyes slid shut. He bowed his head slightly, shaking it in disbelief, in frustration.

"Stop. Just -- shut up." he hissed, digging the emitter deeper into her skin.

"You want to let me go? Fine. But don't act like it's out of principle. You just don't know what to do with me."

Ace blinked, his head recoiling slightly in surprise. A bitter chuckle escaped him as he turned his gaze to the side, then slowly looked back to meet hers.

"Not exactly," he muttered. "I'm giving you a chance - something you wouldn't have given me."

He could've ended it here. It wouldn't have been hard. One motion. One mistake on her part, and she'd be gone. But he didn't want to cross that line. Not yet. Instead, Ace studied her eyes—watching, hoping. Was there understanding? Respect? Anything? The silence between them stretched taut.

Then slowly, deliberately, Ace lowered the lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt. He rose cautiously, never breaking eye contact. Every movement was wary, as if she might still make a move. But she didn't. Maybe she understood. Or maybe he just wanted to believe she did.

Spinning on his heel, Ace turned and ran—vanishing into the shadows of the rooftop.

Rheyla Tann

 

[Rheyla Tann]

The plan had always been simple.

Let the kid talk. Let him turn his back. And then—stun him.

The moment Ace made the fatal mistake of looking away, Rheyla moved like lightning. Her blaster was already in her hand, set to stun. One clean shot to the back and the boy crumpled where he stood, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

“Rookie mistake,” she muttered. “Turning your back on your hunter? Bold strategy.”

She crouched, hooked her arms under his, and with a grunt, hoisted him up. He wasn’t exactly light, but she’d hauled heavier cargo—and less talkative ones, at that. Keeping to the shadows, she made her way toward her ship, careful to circle wide around the last place she’d seen Dro.

But the longer she carried him, the heavier the silence grew.

Her mind, usually so sharp and decisive, started drifting. What if she just...let him go?

She scoffed at herself. She’d never dropped a bounty after taking it. Not once. Not even when it got messy. Freedom was everything—and contracts, even dirty ones, paid for that freedom.

Still, the thought kept slithering back in.

By the time the ship was in view, her pace had slowed. Her grip on the kid loosened. She cursed under her breath.

No. No, no, no.

Five minutes later, she slipped into an old warehouse off the main strip—abandoned, quiet. Carefully, she laid Ace down on the cold floor. She looked at him for a long moment. Young. Dumb. Power he didn’t understand and a galaxy he clearly wasn’t ready for. Her hand hovered over his lightsaber. It would fetch a damn good price. Hells, the Hutts would practically throw credits at her.

But she paused.

A beat.

Then slowly, she set the hilt down beside him. Instead, she rummaged through his belt until she found a small pouch of credits. That would do. Just enough to cover fuel and frustration. Digging through her own belt pouch, she pulled out a scrap of parchment—crumpled, half-cracked from heat and time. With a borrowed stylus, she scrawled out a few words in bold, sharp strokes.

“You owe me, Sparkleboy.”

She stuck the note right on the lightsaber hilt.

And then—because she was Rheyla Davaar, and because the little bastard did get them into a firefight with 'Shorty by refusing to got stunned the first time—she fished out a charstick from her vest.

A quick flick there.

A delicate curl here.

By the time she was done, Ace sported a truly villainous moustache—one twirled handlebar and a smug little soul patch to match.

She stood, admiring her work with a smirk. “Now that’s a face worth a bounty.”

And without another word, she disappeared into the shadows, the door creaking shut behind her.

Acier Moonbound

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Ace darted toward freedom. A smirk was etched on his face, proud that he was able to resolve his predicament without bloodshed. Then, he felt it -- that all too familiar sensation of every nerve ending in his body ablaze. It lasted only a moment before everything went black.

In what felt like less than a second, the boy's eyes shot open and a gasp escaped him. His body shot up as his head darted around to see where he was, he knew what had happened, Rheyla took the opportunity. Half expecting to find himself in the cargo hold of a ship, he was surprised to find an interior of an old warehouse as his immediate surroundings.

She didn't take him in. Maybe the Twi'lek had a semblence of honor after all. A sigh of relief left his chest before a gasp entered, he frantically checked for his lightsaber to find it was still on his person. Relief returned, she could have easily taken it and made a profit. Acier was glad she didn't, it was the only connection he had to his long lost parents - whoever they were.

Then, he noticed the note stuck to his lightsaber. Removing the adhesive note from his birthright, his eyes traced its contents.

You owe me, Sparkleboy.

He rolled his eyes at the nickname. Why Sparkleboy? That didn't even make sense. Out of habit, Ace checked his belt and groaned once he realised that his credits were gone. Shaking his head, he counted his blessings, he could make the money back - not his life, if she'd taken him back to Tessk.

Although he was safe for now, Botajef was now compromised. It was time to get off world and start again. Rising to his feet, Ace made his way to exit the old warehouse to begin doing what was needed to relocate. The kid was completely unaware of the markings on his face left behind by Rheyla.

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Rheyla Tann