The mention of the Empire and its superweapon drew an unconscious reaction from Ace. His prosthetic fingers curled into a loose fist before slowly relaxing again. For just a moment, his thoughts drifted back to Ravoch, but the memory came and went almost as quickly as it had surfaced. It no longer carried the same weight it once had. Some wounds never truly disappeared, but that one had long since healed.
His attention returned to Lorn. It was strangely humbling to learn that, long before he'd ever walked into the Covenant believing someone had to take the fight to the Sith, there had already been Jedi who shared a similar philosophy. He had spent so long believing he was thinking differently from everyone else that the revelation forced him to reconsider how much of that isolation had been self-imposed.
As Lorn spoke about helping him overcome the lingering grip of the dark side, Ace found himself looking down to Tic at his side. The little BD-unit bumped gently against his shin before letting out an expectant chirp. Ace crouched without really thinking about it, resting a hand atop the droid's head casing and slowly rubbing it in familiar circles.
"...Like getting an addict off death sticks, right?" Ace asked, his voice carrying none of its usual dry humor.
Lorn's answer to the question of whether they were doing the right thing lingered in Ace's thoughts long after the words had been spoken. He respected it, respected Lorn. But he couldn't ignore the quiet voice in the back of his own mind. Everything had felt right before, too. Walking into the Covenant, the compromises, the lines crossed, the sacrifices justified. None of those choices had felt evil while he was making them. They had felt necessary.
But he kept those thoughts to himself. If there was anyone left in the galaxy whose judgment he was willing to trust over his own, it was probably Lorn's.
Silence settled over the abandoned outpost. Ace remained crouched beside Tic, absentmindedly continuing to stroke the little droid's head. The simple familiarity of the moment gave him something to focus on besides the constant pressure lingering at the edges of his mind.
Eventually, Lorn broke the silence and Ace's hand stopped moving. The question itself wasn't what gave him pause.
Keep in mind, anything that weakens the Covenant puts people at risk."
His gaze never left Tic as his fingers slowly resumed their gentle motion across the droid's head casing.
"They're not my brother's." He said at last.
"All I know is they hit us on Humbraine carrying a grudge that goes all the way back to my father's time."
He paused before continuing.
"As for the Blackwall... I don't know anything you don't already know."
The words left his mouth easily enough, but what followed did not. His thoughts drifted toward certain people he'd left behind. He no longer saw them as faceless Sith, but as individuals he believed were still worth saving. That made every piece of intelligence he shared feel heavier than the last. His loyalty belonged here now, he knew that, but some lines remained difficult to cross.
After a long moment, Ace finally lifted his eyes from Tic and looked back toward Lorn.
"...I do know one thing." He hesitated, carefully choosing his words.
"Mercy's not as batshit crazy as I thought."
"All I am doing... is inserting a little bit of uncertainty into the Galaxy. A little bit of chaos to make things interesting."
"She sees the Jedi and Sith trapped in an endless cycle. Her endgame isn't winning, she just wants to shake up the board. Whether she's lying... whole 'nother story."
Lorn Reingard
