Wandering Wolf
Location: Republic Space - [REDACTED]
The cell was quiet. It wasn't the oppressive kind that made his skin crawl or kept him awake at night, it was just... quiet. The dampening field built into the prison walls saw to that.
For the first time in what felt like years, the Force wasn't there. No distant emotions brushing against the edges of his awareness. No threads stretching across star systems. No constant awareness of life moving around him. The familiar current that had become part of every waking moment was gone, smothered beneath layers of Republic technology.
Strangely, Ace didn't hate it. He sat on the edge of the narrow bunk, elbows resting on his knees, hands loosely clasped together. The absence wasn't hollow. It was relief. Like setting down a weight he'd forgotten he was carrying.
His thoughts had been his only company since surrendering, cycling endlessly through the same familiar roads. The things he'd done. The people he'd hurt. The lines he'd crossed because he convinced himself there would be time to step back later.
Every choice seemed easier to justify when it was happening. Looking back on them now, stripped of urgency and momentum, he found fewer excuses than he'd expected.
There was guilt. Shame. Regret. Enough of it to fill the entire cell. Yet somehow, through all of it, one thought kept finding its way back.
Fatine. A smile beneath theater lights. Brown eyes. Warm hands. Warm laughter. Just warmth. Even here... especially here.
The cell itself was... unsettling. He'd expected a cage, but instead he'd been given a room. It wasn't anything luxurious or excessive, it was just... human. That irritated him more than it should have.
He'd watched the Republic stumble from one disaster to the next, always reacting after the damage had already been done. Entire worlds burned while committees debated. People died while officials argued over jurisdiction. Yet when a former Sith Knight walked willingly into their custody, they treated him like a guest who'd overstayed his welcome rather than a terrorist. The disconnect sat poorly with him.
Sometimes he found himself staring at the ceiling wondering if they'd misunderstood who he was, or worse, if they understood perfectly and chose this anyway.
This thread is meant to give an opportunity for members of the High Republic to interact with Acier during his incarceration. General idea is that the conversations between Acier and whoever wishes to join are taking place at separate points in time.
