The holorecording flickered to life and Ace sat alone in frame. He looked exhausted, worn down by months of stress and sleepless nights. But there was something else there too, a strange lightness, like a man who had finally stopped running.
He stared at the recorder for a moment before speaking.
"Hey, Fatine." His gaze dropped briefly. "...I don't really know how to do this."
A faint, humorless smile crossed his face.
"I left the Covenant. Should've done it sooner. A lot sooner."
He leaned back slightly, rubbing a hand across his jaw.
"I kept telling myself there was a reason to stay. That if I could get high enough, if I could take control, maybe I could stop it from becoming something worse."
His eyes drifted away, and a long pause stretched between his words.
"I did horrible things. Hurt people. Killed people." His jaw tightened. "I became someone I would've hated a year ago... I think that's the worst part. Not what I did. The fact that after a while it got easier."
His voice grew quieter.
"I stopped letting myself feel things. Kept telling myself it was temporary. That it'd all be worth it when I finally got where I needed to be." A quiet breath escaped him. "It wasn't. I was just lying to myself."
Silence settled over the recording. Ace looked down at his hands for several seconds before continuing.
"I'm turning myself in. The Republic can decide what happens after that." A faint smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. "If they're smart, they'll lock me up. If they're really smart, they'll throw away the key."
The smile disappeared almost immediately and his expression softened.
"I don't know if I'll ever see you again. And honestly... I don't think I deserve to." He exhaled quietly. "I should've stayed away from you. I knew what I was becoming, and I just kept hoping I could reach the end before it mattered."
A longer silence followed. The only sound was the faint hum of the holo.
"I'm sorry. For lying, for disappearing, for making you worry, for letting you care about... me."
His words hung for a moment, and Ace ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't regret meeting you..." For the first time, genuine emotion cracked through the composure he had been holding onto. "That's the problem."
A sad laugh escaped him.
"Because if I could do it all again, knowing how this ends... I'd still want those moments with you."
He went silent then, sitting motionless for several seconds, as though searching for words that refused to come.
"I don't know what happens next. For the first time in a long time, I really don't."
He looked tired then. Not physically, but deeply, profoundly tired.
"But whatever happens... I hope you're happy. Safe. And I hope one day you find someone better than me." He paused, forming a weak smile. "Shouldn't be too hard."
The joke landed flat, and he seemed to know it. For a moment, he simply looked at the camera, committing himself to the goodbye.
"...Goodbye, Fatine."
The recording lingered for a second longer before the image flickered and vanished.
