Private Where the Jungle Dreams

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Teth

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic

The Flickerfox cut low through Teth's fog, engines throttled back so the roar didn't bounce off the cliffs. The jungle stretched endlessly below, a green sea broken only by the spires that stabbed skyward like stone knives. From the cockpit, Ace had to keep nudging the yoke just to stop the mist from swallowing their path entirely.

It wasn't a friendly place. The kind of world the Path bothered with because it was so far out of the way, so difficult to navigate, that the Empire would never waste time hunting here. At least that was the hope.

Zaiya rode shotgun. Ace knew her, not well, not like Aris Noble , Everest Vale , or Vera Noble , the ones they'd bled beside at the Forge. But he knew she and Aris were involved in some way. It was obvious. Still, she was more a face from the edges of his circle than someone he'd really had time to know. Until now.

The way the clouds pooled and drifted felt as if the whole place had a pulse. Tic whirred at his elbow, lens flickering as the droid tried to track heat signatures through the haze, only to spit back a frustrated chirp.

"Yeah, I know." Ace muttered, glancing sideways at the opalescent glow of Zaiya's skin "Not exactly welcoming, huh?"

The Flickerfox dropped through the last layer of cloud and settled into a narrow clearing, the trees pressed in tight on all sides. The landing struts hissed against damp earth, and the ramp creaked open to spill out humid air thick with the smell of moss and rain.

Ace glanced at Zaiya. "Path wants eyes on this basin, see if it's worth the risk. Nothing more." His tone was casual, but his eyes lingered on the treeline, restless.

The jungle loomed back at them, loud with insects, shadows shifting where the canopy met the fog. If they wanted to know what secrets Teth held, they'd have to step inside.

Zaiya Ceti​

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x | Companion: Domxite
Interacting with: Acier Moonbound

Domxite shifted on her shoulder, their little paint splattered metal claws clicking lightly as their lenses whirred, scanning the mist, before giving a little nod of their head in agreement.

"Ye-aah... doesn't feel too great either," she agreed softly, in a thoughtful hum.

Zaiya's head tilted, her opal blue eyes narrowing as she felt more than she saw, the jungle pressing against her senses like a damp cloth. The unease that clung to Teth prickled at her skin.

A shimmer of citrine rippled across her mottled spots, curiosity weaving through the wary haze. Her gaze lingered not just on the fog and shadows, but on Ace himself, the tension behind his casual tone stirring something she couldn't quite name, that and the Force seemed to swirl in all sorts of interesting ways with him.

"So we are here to chart and scout things?" she asked, already rising from her seat. The Lovalla tugged her satchel over her shoulder, bracelets and cuffs chiming together like quiet windchimes with every movement. She flashed him a bright sunny smile.

"Or are we setting up a specific perimeter? The fog might hide what her eyes could not see, but her senses stretched further. She could feel the tangle of life forces, faint threads of alignment, even little disruptions that marked when something was… off. And if that wasn't enough, well she had gadgets too. All the gadgets!