Fandom Fight for Control [closed]

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren eventually gathered himself. He didn’t stay away from the cockpit, but returned. Reveille did look up to note his return, and make sure his actions weren’t going to be hostile. She hadn’t gotten to her games yet, reading up on Denon still.

Kylo’s statement left little room for a harassing comment, beyond the thought that the hour could be used in far more beneficial fashions than waiting on a starship to reach an out-of-the-way world, for a pointless venture.

Thankfully, she managed to keep that to herself.

Kylo’s body language helped with that; his pointed way of not looking at her this time said enough. “Good.” This time, she rose, “I trust I can leave you in charge of the ship so I can handle some research on the matter of our next target?” It wasn’t much of a question, she imagined he’d also prefer she leave the area.

~***~

Kasabian was far more pleasant to work with than Atar. She was to the point, and when she brought up the datapad and showed it to him, for the 190 tons, Armitage could hardly say he saw much flaw with the prices. There was a bit of an uptick, but this one was more reasonable – more what he would have expected, given people who sold resources had to make a profit.

“This is an agreeable price,” particularly given all that he’d saved in dealing with Atar. “I can pay half up front, and half upon delivery,” she would understand that, he imagined.

And he’d willingly offer to transfer the funds then and there, and arrange the location for delivery, before shifting the conversation to the other matter, “As for who it is you work with that is into slavery, It is Anolo Atar. Lieutenant Storax took the information in regards to that,” he gestured to her, encouraging her then to share it.

She’d been notably quieter in dealing with Kasabian. Perhaps because Kasabian had been more forthcoming, and far easier to work with. “I would prefer you handle him after he has delivered the promised doonium, which we purchased from him at a significantly lower rate than the going price, but I would be willing to inform you the moment that is done.” He would have lost money, and then, lost product. Armitage knew he wasn’t making much, if any, profit off of this trade.

 

[cleopat]

Reveille’s question went unnoticed at first. Kylo was still lost in his thoughts, as he grappled with the voice that hissed his failures and inadequacy and one that assured him peace can be found for his tempestuous mind. It was hard to believe one when the other attempted to be overheard.

Eventually the question registered, and for the moment, Kylo snapped out of his thoughts. He spared a glance in her direction, though he once again focused on the viewport with eyes not focusing on anything in particular. “Go ahead.”

Should he have even brought her along? Although his paranoia that leaving her alone would result in his overthrowing, the trip could potentially prove to her that he was as incompetent and weak as he felt.

That’s why he needed those siths on his side. He needed their help to get stronger and to prove that he should be a feared leader of the First Order and, eventually, the galaxy.

~~

Lavinia noted that Aya didn’t look the least bit surprised when Anolo’s name was mentioned. “Oh, I knew that man was up to no good. His loss won’t make much of a difference for me, or anyone else as far as I can tell.” Her attention then shifted to the other woman. “I know you can talk, Lieutenant Storax. Please do tell me how you came upon this information.”

A slight flush crept up her cheeks, which she pretended to ignore. “The man made himself easy to read, no doubt from drinking one too many drinks. It was simple enough to get inside the files he tried to hide. He’s planning on attending a slave auction on Kadavo in a few days. It seems that he had the intentions of both selling and buying.” She had no qualms in exposing a guilty man to what she knew was his death sentence.

Aya seemed pleased with the information Lavinia supplied. “Thank you, Lieutenant, for your help. It appears that I need to tell my boys to make a visit to Kadavo soon.” She turned back to Armitage with a placid expression that had Lavinia wondering if she was planning something else. “I will deal with Mister Atar when and how I see fit, General.” Her tone was sharper, but she didn’t appear too bothered.

“If you agree to a partnership, then I can ensure that any doonium you may lose will be replaced. If not, then that is hardly my concern.”

 

[Lucyfer]

With permission to leave the area granted, Reveille didn’t waste further time in the cockpit. Some distance was likely to help both of them survive this endeavor. Kylo’s skin was far too thin, and Reveille knew her mouth was going to get her in trouble if she was allowed to continue speaking to how stupid an idea this was. Which, it was. She wasn’t going to be taking that back. She was of no use to the First Order on Korriban.

She didn’t go back to a room, but simply to one of the benches, where she began to sort out the pros and cons of each planet and their threat level to the First Order. She’d have to follow up with her brother on one – the name ‘Kasabian’ came up with one on the Corellia Run, and it’d be in poor tastes to move against them if they actually proved useful.

If not, she’d have no issues with it. All planets, eventually, were to fall to the First Order.

As she started to wrap up her own research, a message came through from Kos’tel’lanni. Short, but it said enough.

Zeme’lodi’csapala is rogue.

Confirmation that she’d spoken to the Ascendency. Confirmation that they were not in agreement.

A second followed.

I have looked into Althea Storax. A report will follow when you return, on both matters.

Reveille allowed her brows to raise, but she wouldn’t press. Even she knew these weren’t the most secure systems.

Thank you.

That was all that needed to be sent back. She would follow up when she returned. If she returned. If she didn’t, she assumed Kos’tel’lanni would at least let her brother know anything important relating to Storax.

~***~

Aya Kasabian seemed to want to deal with Anolo Atar on her own terms. Armitage was hardly pleased with that. As the one who offered the information, he felt she could at least delay a bit until the doonium was in his hands. After all, it wouldn’t take that long.

Still, she did promise to reimburse him for any of the losses, “I am acquiring 250 tons from Atar,” he indicated, the amount not significantly more than what he was asking of Aya, but on top of it? Quite a bit. “I trust you will honor the agreement to see to it that I receive all of that, for no additional cost than what I have already paid to him.”

Otherwise, he couldn’t agree to be so agreeable in future endeavors. The doonium was important to the immediate repair of the Supremacy, which was high on the list of things the First Order needed to see completed. He wasn’t about to lose money on this now.

He wouldn’t say that. He imagined it was implied heavily enough in his own words. If any bit of that doonium was lost, it would fall to Kasabian to replace it, or be charged in another fashion for it, since she couldn’t be patient enough to wait until the First Order had it in hand.

 

[cleopat]

Aside from a quick glance to Reveille as she stood from her seat, Kylo hardly paid any attention to her as she left. It was best if they remained separated for the journey, for Kylo’s temper still simmered, and Reveille always managed to say just the right thing to get him to burst.

And he really would rather not destroy the ship while traveling at light speed.

Kylo remained in his seat, gazing out the viewport yet not focused on anything in particular. He lost himself in his thoughts, as he plotted out what he wanted to do on Korriban, and how he was going to convince the siths to help him.

Closer to his destination, Kylo pulled out his datapad to check for any messages of importance. Only a few minor messages from officers concerning nothing that required his immediate attention. They’ll survive without him for a while. And even if it loathed him to admit, General Hux could oversee anything that occurs.

Time passed, and the ship exited from lightspeed, leaving Kylo with a view of the red planet. “Gather your belongings. We’re here.” He called out loud enough for Reveille to hear, but his attention shifted to piloting the ship down into the planet’s atmosphere.

~~

Aya’s posture stiffened with Armitage’s additional words, but Lavinia couldn’t detect any anger in her face. Her expression remained neutral, calm even. “If Mr. Atar knows what’s best for him, he would’ve already made the necessary arrangements to complete your deal. If not, then you'll still get your doonium if you agree to an alliance, as I've stated before."

General Hux would be able to avoid a major headache if he agreed to such a thing, but Lavinia couldn't help but wonder if Aya had an ulterior motive for so easily agreeing to work with the First Order.

Her musings were interrupted by another thought concerning what Kasabian had just told them. “Mr. Atar isn’t a colleague, is he?” Looking slightly amused, the woman raised an eyebrow as her silence urged Lavinia to continue. “He works for you, doesn’t he? You hold direct control over all his assets.”

Aya’s posture relaxed. “So you really aren’t just a pretty face, are you? Yes, Mr. Atar does work for me. Or rather, he did. He broke a rather important rule of mine, and now he must be dealt with.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo’s call reached back to Reveille, and she sighed. She wasn’t prepared for this in the least, and she hardly wanted to be here, but she would make due. She stood up from the bench and walked the short distance to where she’d set her bag and slung it over her shoulders.

If nothing else, at least she had supplies enough to last a bit, if Kylo Ren died or if they got separated. Assuming her datapad couldn’t call out for a retrieval. She was fairly certain it could, no matter how backwater Korriban was.

And it was that – Reveille frowned a bit at the lack of satellites or other “space debris” in the atmosphere as she moved back to the cockpit to observe the planet from above.

It looked hot, it looked dead, and it looked like no place she wanted to be.

“Do you have a particular destination on Korriban in mind, Supreme Leader?” Perhaps a temple of some sort that he knew of, or heard of. At least, she hoped he had some idea rather than leaving them to travel aimlessly across those wastes.

~***~

Armitage half-expected Aya to go back on her word as soon as she heard the amount and understood the risk. The stiffness of her posture suggested her dislike of the idea, and yet, in spite of that, she agreed. His brows arched. ‘Well, well.’ He was pleased enough with that, and if he had her as an ally, that would mean the Resistance wouldn’t see anything.

He would be cutting off one supply option from them.

That Atar was someone who worked for Kasabian was interesting to note, but Armitage wasn’t quite sure why it was mentioned. “I am glad to hear he’ll be dealt with. And that you will honor the arrangement made between us, should it all go south.” Should Atar not have things being prepped and sent over in a timely fashion.

Armitage didn’t trust him enough to think he wouldn’t try to drag his feet or delay things. “You have a partnership, Kasabian,” he stated, “I understand you wish to see improvements to the galaxy, so I trust you will inform us of areas that may need looking into as we go forward.” That was, indeed, how a partnership worked. He would get doonium and other such things from her, but he knew that would come at the ‘cost’ beyond credits, of also seeing to helping some areas that were, perhaps, not high on the list of the First Order and cleaning them up a bit.

It wouldn’t be too difficult.

It was the goal of the First Order, anyway.

 

[cleopat]

While the atmosphere wasn’t particularly difficult to traverse through, he noted the hazardous weather on the desolate planet. A sandstorm raged through one of the harsh and vast deserts, and he was sure the mountainous region, near where he wanted to search, was plagued with tumultuous winds. He would need to see how close to the temple he could land.

And he was right. Closer to land, steering his ship became more difficult due to the elements, but due to years of training and practice, he maintained control. “The Sith Temple,” he answered, and although he preferred silence until they landed, he said nothing on the matter.

The ship further descended towards the planet, where sharp, red rocks appeared on either side of the viewport. Soon the ship landed in a deep valley, with the rocks characteristic of the planet stood all around. They would need ideal weather to make their way back out of the valley, something Kylo noted for later.

Once landed, Kylo moved from his seat to head towards the back of the ship, where he grabbed his own bag, one he kept onboard in case of emergencies. Mainly water and food, the bag served as a precaution for a worst case scenario on the planet. Lightsaber clipped securely to the belt around his waist, he released the hatch to open the ramp.

The howl of the winds sounded, but their trek to the entrance of the temple wasn’t very far, though he mentally entertained the thought of the winds whisking Reveille away

~~

Armitage agreed to a partnership, and Aya looked quite pleased at that announcement. Lavinia knew she had her own motives for wanting such an alliance, but who in the galaxy didn’t hold ulterior motives during these times? “I am a woman of my word, General.”

Lavinia wasn’t sure how accurate that statement was, but she wasn’t about to challenge it right then. Aya was...a bit more intimidating for her. Less transparent than Anolo was. And she was going to remain silent until their meeting concluded, or unless either one addressed her.

“I do have a few areas in mind I would like for you to take care of, but I will send further details of that later to your lovely assistant here, along with a contract to formalize everything we’ve discussed.” Aya relaxed her posture and looked as if she gave no intention of ending their meeting with any formalities. “Is there anything else you wished to discuss?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Korriban did not look to be having the best of weather. Reveille wasn’t expecting great weather. She was expecting to burn, but a sandstorm? No, she hadn’t expected that. ‘Sith temple – so there’s just one?’ Somehow, Reveille doubted that, but she wasn’t going to demand anything further. Coruscant had only one Jedi temple, after all.

Force-sensitives weren’t the brightest bunch.

With that information, she opened her bag as she took a seat in the co-pilot’s chair, trusting Kylo to guide them through the sandstorm as she stored her hat in the bag, and drew out bandana. She had thought sand might be an issue, so she made sure to grab one and she used it to cover the lower half of her face, before taking out a case with a visor in it and putting those over her eyes. It didn’t have a strap, so it wasn’t as secured as she’d like it to be, but it was better than nothing.

Better than Kylo Ren’s preparations, though at least he had a bag. She was half-convinced he might be stepping out with nothing but his clothes.

She let him step out first, after closing up her bag and slinging it back over her shoulders. Her white was going to be ruined, but that was the least of her concerns. She stepped out after Ren, maintaining her poise as the wind buffeted her side, throwing up sand. She moved a hand to the visor to make sure it stayed in place, and didn’t dare open her mouth even with the bandana offering its coverage.

She was not eating sand, and she doubted Kylo wanted to, either.

She would just follow him until they got somewhere a bit more secure.

~***~

That was to be seen, and Armitage didn’t plan to do any favors for her, until he had all the doonium. He was pleased she wasn’t stating anything immediately; it would arrive later, apparently, to Althea. He made no protest of that, nor did he offer his own information. Althea would receive it, and inform him of it when she did.

“No, that is all that I need to discuss at this time,” Armitage answered. He’d discussed more than he intended to already when all he wanted was doonium. Not that a new ally was bad. He at least had all the doonium he would need to see to it that the Supremacy would be fixed. “There are other matters I need to attend to now.”

Speaking with the new Captain of the Stormtroopers.

Speaking with Sienar about purchasing ready-made ships.

There were probably a few other messes due to the Corellia situation, but in theory Reveille would have all of that handled. “If that is all you desired to discuss as well, we can take our leave, Miss Kasabian,” perhaps not the most polite exit, but there was much else on his mind.

Not to mention seeing if Reveille had learned anything about Althea yet. Unlikely, given her preoccupation with Corellia…but still.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo mentally chastise himself for forgetting his cape back on the Supremacy. Although a bit dramatic, as he will admit, it would’ve helped in the minor sandstorm they were caught in. Reveille appeared to have been one step ahead, something he cursed himself for, but it didn’t matter anymore.

One hand formed a half shield in front of his face against the direction that the wind was blowing. It aided somewhat, but he was still partially blind from the sand particles in the air. Pausing for a second, he allowed the Force to reached out and find the Temple, which radiated with remnants of ancient Force energy.

He moved forward again with the image of a path clear in his mind, a stark contrast to how his eyes were practically closed to safeguard them from sand and how his other hand now protected his nose and mouth from accidental ingestion.

The sand would take ages to fully remove from his hair, but that wasn’t a concern for him. Sand would just be an obstacle to get passed in order to hopefully discover any evidence at the Sith Temple he needed. And the Temple’s entrance was only a few more feet away, yet due to the sandstorm, they seemed like miles.

The sands stopped buffeting against him as he stepped into the large entrance of the Temple, created by two towering statues of ancient Sith Lords long forgotten by time. He glanced behind him to see how far away Reveille was, even though he was certain she would’ve left him behind in the sandstorm, had she been the one ahead.

~~

Aya merely raised an eyebrow, but her half-smile still remained on her face. “Of course. I can only imagine how busy the General of the First Order is right now, now that you finally have the Resistance out of your hair.” Someone Lavinia assumed was a waiter came up to Aya and handed her an amber-hued drink. She muttered her thanks, and he briskly walked back over to the bar.

“I do look forward to hearing reports of your successes.” She sipped on the drink with her eyes flickering to Lavinia one more time, who swore that the woman knew something based on the mischievous glint in her eyes. But as she said nothing further, maybe it was just Lavinia’s paranoia.

She would stand after Armitage had done so, and dutifully follow him back to the ship. Her heart began to pound as she wondered if he would go back to their previous conversation before arriving, or if he was now fully distracted from her hiccup in her earlier answers. She could claim exhaustion, if need be. Neither had slept the previous night, and she fully expected him to believe that she couldn’t handle it.

 

[Lucyfer]

From what Reveille could see, Kylo was no good at using the Force to keep the sand from assaulting him. She watched as he endured the wind and sand just as she did, though with less protection. It seemed he hadn’t considered the possibilities of a desert planet as she had. At least this meant she didn’t need any sunscreen.

That was the only positive.

Much like Kylo she knew she was about to be annoyed with all the sand in her hair, and how visibly dirty her clothing was going to look, but she was able to keep up with him, not daring to let him get too far lest he fall out of sight. Even if that meant the occasional jog to regain lost ground. He did cover so much more than her in spite of the storm.

The temple wasn’t something she could take in, given the storm. At least, from the outside. She was quick to hasten her steps and join Kylo in the entrance when he paused, and there she started to recognize the damage done to her clothes, now tinted brown and red from the sand and likely the soil of the planet. It had looked red in the viewport.

She wouldn’t complain, just walked forward further into the temple. The entrance seemed straight, not rounded as other temples seemed to be. It was rectangular, lined with pillars and statues, and a clear path to the back of it, but there seemed to be passages on the sides, as well.

Reveille didn’t know where he intended to go, and she may have asked, but a snarl cut off the thought as she quickly realized they weren’t alone in the temple.

She’d missed seeing the partially-eaten bodies of three others several feet ahead – she saw them now, and it certainly made sense as these creatures strode from around pillars, canines with spines along their backs, making them seem more reptilian than canine. “Well…I suppose grave robbers and archeologists won’t be a problem.” Reveille’s hand was already reaching for her blaster.

~***~

The Resistance was far from out of his hair, and Armitage scoffed at that declaration, “They may be inactive, Miss Kasabian, but we all know General Organa a little better than that,” but he was not going to waste time hunting her down. Eventually, she would reveal herself, “but I do have much to continue working on, and I appreciate your understanding of it.”

Some didn’t. She, at least, didn’t seem to get offended by his desire to move off, and so he rose, as Althea did after him. “I hope the rest of your day goes well,” it certainly didn’t seem they were parting on bad terms, and she would take care of the Anolo situation, so he didn’t have to waste any troops on that.

Other things, yes – but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be met with too much protest.

He would step out then, and soon enough his pilots would notice and step in line, behind them, to leave the Opalescence behind and return to his ship. “That went far better than I anticipated.” He dared to comment aloud, before adding, “Presuming she keeps her word.”

He would soon see. That was the trouble of dealing with these people, and he took his datapad out as they walked to shoot off messages.

A quick one was returned from Kos’tel’lanni.

I am sorry, General. A matter came up on Corellia. I am not currently with the Exigency and it will be stationed above Corellia until I return. Perhaps you could ask Sienar himself?​

Armitage glowered. He wouldn’t.

No, I will wait for your return. What happened?​

Reveille hadn’t mentioned anything other than their victory.

Sith happened.​

More confusion, as Armitage walked up the ramp.

Why would you be involved in that? Sounds like a problem for our esteemed Leader.​

As he moved to the bench and sat, he did wonder why Reveille would assign this to Kos’tel’lanni. Reveille wouldn’t do this on a whim.

I will explain when I return, presuming Reveille has not. ​

Armitage did shoot off a message to Reveille after that, but nothing came immediately.

 

[cleopat]

As Reveille joined Kylo in the safety of the entrance, finally shielded from the storm, he quickly observed how her white uniform now stained in shades of red and brown from the soil and sand of the planet that was flown around in the storm. His own clothes didn’t fare any better, though the redness of the sediments didn’t quite contrast against his black fabric like it did against her clothes.

While that didn’t bother him, what did bother him was the grainy texture of the sand throughout his hair. It was course and irritating, and his complaining about it would likely only encourage Reveille to ridicule him. He swallowed the thought and turned to walk further inside the temple, whose grand entrance was lined with statues of Sith Lords from thousands of years ago. Some Kylo recognized from old texts and holobooks, and others unknown and maybe even forgotten for centuries.

A snarl echoed throughout the entrance hall, bringing Kylo’s attention to the direction of its origin. He swore at the sight of the creatures as his own gaze just now noticed the partially-eaten bodies strewn on the floor. “Tuk’atas,” he mentioned as he pulled the lightsaber from his belt. “Watch out for their claws and venomous stingers.”

He read about the creatures, but thought they were long extinct. Apparently someone or something has been ensuring their survival. Probably the occasional scavenger or archeologist, or any other foolish souls, who, unarmed, attempted to explore the Temple in hopes of treasure and fortune. And if they weren’t careful, they would be their next meal.

Kylo ignited his lightsaber just as one lunged for him. Their size was much larger than he had imagined, but he didn’t let that distract him as he swung the lightsaber at the creature. A piercing cry signaled that he managed to injure the tuk’ata, but it still wanted to attack.

~***~

Lavinia could feel the woman’s gaze on them as they left her lounge. She could envision Aya sipping on her cocktail with that amused expression in her eyes, as if she knew something they didn’t. All that was soon behind them though, and Lavinia doubted that she would meet the woman face-to-face anytime soon.

“Something tells me she’s a woman of her word,” she mused. They will soon see for themselves how she worked and if she stays true to her word. Maybe she should ask one of her contacts more information on Aya Kasabian.

Lavinia took her place back on the bench, and as she picked up her datapad, she remembered the earlier message that was sent to her. Short, sweet, and from someone she desperately needed to hear from. As Armitage remained beside her, she wouldn’t open it. Poe Dameron would have to wait just a little longer to hear back from their spy.

I wonder if they ever thought I died or got discovered.

Armitage seemed deeply involved in his datapad, which Lavinia couldn’t help but to be curious about, especially as the expressions on his face shifted every so often. “Is everything alright, sir?”

 

[Lucyfer]

The name of the creatures meant nothing to Reveille. She had never heard of them, nor did she have any certainty how to deal with them, although knowing that their stingers were poisonous was a useful tip. Still, she doubted her armor was going to do much. It was meant more for blaster shots, not claws and fangs. Cortosis weave didn’t really help with that.

She gave a sharp nod as he mentioned it anyway, and stepped away, just as the first of the trio lunged, at Kylo. ‘How convenient.’ Three dead bodies, three canines.

Reveille managed to unravel her light-whip from around her arm as the two turned their attention to her, another trying the same strategy of lunging, only to receive a backpack to the face that threw it right off target. The backpack would only be a hindrance now, and nothing in it was going to break.

The creature landed well and shook off its irritation, as the other moved for her instead and received a smarting strike to its face, lancing across its eye as the other one cried out from the lightsaber.

Reveille snapped the whip again, cracking it more for the sound, the intimidation that tended to ring through. If she could just keep them back, that would certainly be to her advantage. Her empty hand did reach for her blaster as the pair started drift apart, still around her, but making sure she couldn’t get both of them with her whip at once.

The intelligence was something Reveille did notice, because it was a human strategy. She briefly considered she was reading too much into it, until one lunged for her, followed milliseconds by the second one.

She snapped the whip at it, enough force to throw it off target, and fired at the other, but the shot was wild – it was in her off-hand, and it didn’t even graze the beast, which was quick to wrap its maw around her wrist as its legs collided with her chest and knocked her to the ground. ‘FUCK!’ Reveille dropped the whip as the claws dug through the cortosis weave in the fall, dragging down. She knew she felt pain over her torso, she wasn’t sure how much was concerning and how much was just pressure from the weight and the claws.

Her fingers pulled up at a thread in her sleeve, and pulled the dagger into her hand.

She thrust it up into the creature’s throat just as it let go of her wrist to go for something more vital and jammed it straight up. She held it in, glad it was able to pierce the hide – not that much could withstand a monomolecular dagger – and pulled it down the creature’s neck, opening up its throat and chest, spilling blood on her uniform.

The whine that came from the creature as it stumbled off and fell was satisfying enough, but not something Reveille could enjoy as she had to move quickly as the other came on the heels of its fallen comrade to strike her, making sure Reveille wasn’t getting her blaster or whip as she had to roll out of the way of its jaws and reclaim her feet quickly to run. It’s stinger only smacked the ground in its attempt to get her.

She didn’t really want close quarters again, and she was betting she could grab her backpack quick enough to feed it to the beast.

~***~

Armitage had half-expected for Althea to be reading over his shoulder the entire time. The messages weren’t ones he needed to mask. Her query when he sat down confirmed that she hadn’t been doing such a thing, and he sighed. He wasn’t sure if he should shake his head, or not. They had won Corellia, after all.

“It seems there was an unexpected development,” he answered, “Per Lieutenant-Admiral Kos’tel’lanni, she has taken a brief leave after our victory over Corellia to investigate the matter of A Sith appearance,” that was easy enough to discern without her stating that. “I am not sure why matters of the Sith concern her, and that is something I intend to find out once she returns. Reveille does not seem inclined to answer me right now.”

Likely, she was just busy with the clean-up of Corellia and not even looking at her datapad. He imagined her on the Bridge, speaking with diplomats of Corellia and making sure instructions were given to their military for their stay on Corellia. Still, he felt a bit slighted that this hadn’t been mentioned.

Perhaps she thought it better to wait until he returned, or had finished things up. “Due to this, the Exigency is staying in the Corellian sector until Kos’tel’lanni’s return….” That hit him. Why would it have to wait until Kos’tel’lanni?

Why is Reveille not returning the ship to Coruscant?​

He glared down at his pad, waiting for an answer.

It came.

Reveille is going to Korriban with the Supreme Leader.​

Armitage was certain he lost some color at that. He’d heard horror stories of Korriban. He went looking for them when Snoke showed up and claimed he wasn’t a Sith. When he knew Kylo took a few trips out there. He wanted to know more. He had not liked what he learned.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo didn’t see the light-whip that Reveille pulled out, but he heard it. Good, she has other weapons besides a mere blaster. The creatures were tough, with even tougher skin, and a blaster bolt would only do so much damage.

That’s why he relied on his lightsaber. The tuk’atas were intelligent as they were ferocious, and the one focused on Kylo seemed to know when to dodge before his lightsaber came down. The creature jumped out of the way and circled behind him. Kylo quickly spun around, and before he had another chance to strike, he became momentarily distracted.

He may not have heard it, but he could feel Reveille’s cry of pain. His attention shifted over to the woman in question to determine if she was going to be overpowered by the tuk’atas.

The break in gaze proved to be a foolish mistake for Kylo. The creature lunged at him, its maw gaped open in preparation for a bite. He realized his error too late, and as he brought his arm back up to swing at the tuk’ata, his arm didn’t reach high enough before the creature was able to wrap its teeth into his flesh in a bite he swore pierced his skin and into muscle.

He let out a cry at the sudden pain, but with a shift of his free hand, the lightsaber sliced into its throat. A gurgling sound emitted, and Kylo pulled the blade to the side in a half-way decapitation of the tuk’ata. Pain radiated from his arm, but that was hardly a concern as he turned to the one creature left alive.

His right arm pained him too much to be useful in the fight, but he could manage with the opposite one. In one stroke, the lightsaber came down onto the tuk’ata focused on Reveille, severing the creature in half and leaving it in a pool of its own blood and gore.

~~

Lavinia almost expected Armitage to deny her the answer she wanted as he took a moment to answer her question. But yet his answer only created more questions. A matter of a Sith? Was the Supreme Leader involved in this situation in some way? But then why was Kos’tel’lanni investigating the matter?

But Armitage knew as much as she did, which was nothing. So she made no comment on the subject, as this was beyond the scope of her knowledge. Force users in general frightened her, for they held so much power that couldn’t be seen. It was unpredictable, and she needed predictability in her life in order to subdue her opponent.

It seemed that Armitage wondered the same thing as Lavinia, and this time she did peak over at his datapad as he sent off another message. They didn’t have to wait long for a reply, one that had visibly upset the man. Her brows scrunched at the name on the screen. Where have I heard that name before? Only a few seconds later did her mind connect the dots.

She heard of Korriban only in passing, more so of fanatical tales she overheard in the past. If what they said were true though, then Reveille was in a very dangerous place. “But why is she with the Supreme Leader?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Reveille’s fingers had just found the strap of her bag, and was about to swing it behind herself, but there was no need. She heard the slice of the lightsaber, and a glance back showed that Kylo Ren had taken care of the tuk’ata that had been in pursuit. Her gaze fell down to it, before going back up and over Kylo. It seemed his arm was wounded in the process of this fight, as well.

She knew her own needed treatment, and she’d need to discard at least part of her uniform to see how much blood on her torso was hers, and how much was tuk’ata. Also to help prevent infection.

She straightened up, bag still in her good hand. First-aid was packed, and Kylo Ren was obviously down an arm. He was holding his lightsaber in his off-hand. “Sit down, let me see your arm.” Perhaps she should have seen to herself first, but there was thing made very clear now: she wasn’t getting out of this if Kylo died.

The threat was gone, for now, but there were likely others lingering around here. She was, clearly, going to need Kylo alive. She wasn’t going to get out of this mess with him still living, for one. Two, if something did take him down, she wasn’t going to be able to convince them to just let her retreat to the ship.

Best to make sure he didn’t die of infection either. She could look over her own wounds afterwards. She was fairly certain they weren’t fatal, though she supposed she might want to drink quite a bit of her water. Blood loss wasn’t kind, but the pain was manageable.

~***~

‘Why indeed?’

The answer was obvious to Armitage. Reveille had pissed him off. Reveille had put herself in his sights. Kylo Ren assigned someone to watch his General, but it seemed he had yet to find someone capable of watching Reveille. So he was doing it himself. He couldn’t think of another reason, but he didn’t like it.

Kos’tel’lanni wouldn’t have any answers on that. “I don’t know,” he said, rather than state his suspicions. “He’s not exactly an intelligent leader. I don’t imagine how he thought this was a good idea,” Armitage grumbled and he blackened the screen of his pad, embittered. This could be a plot to get Reveille killed, as well.

Who would see it? Who would know? Kylo could say anything he wanted. It’d be only too easy, and Reveille had to know that, but she couldn’t refuse. ‘Damn it.’ His frustration grew with each passing second and his fists clenched over his knees. “We’ll know when they get back.”

He would believe that. They would return. And he would have plenty of questions.

“When we return to the Finalizer, you may return to your quarters to rest. I am going to speak with our new captain,” he didn’t know if Althea would allow the dismissal, given her own circumstances with Kylo, but then again, she might. He imagined she was fairly tired at this point. Even he was, though he was more practiced in not showing it. He would likely stay up until it was actually time to sleep.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo’s attention focused back on the bleeding wound after Reveille mentioned wanting to look at it. Then the pain started, no doubt a result of adrenaline slowly leaving his system. It was dull at first, but he knew it would only intensify as the minutes tick by. And with the way the blood created a dark, wet spot on his black sleeve, critical blood loss was inevitable.

He wanted to protest. He wanted to demand why she wanted to help him. He wanted to not appear so weak. But he needed to survive, and he wasn’t about to forfeit his life over blood loss or a nasty infection. The lightsaber turned off and placed back in its holster, and Kylo sat with a huff.

The sleeve won’t be able to roll up to reveal the wound, so Kylo was left with removing half of his tunic, though his torso was fortunately covered with an undershirt. He removed enough of the shirt so his right arm was revealed, and the wound exposed to the dusty air of the temple. Pain flared as he moved, but Kylo forced himself to swallow that pain.

“You’re hurt too,” he noted. His subconscious urged him to return the favor after Reveille cared for the injury, which he wanted to scoff at the very notion of. But, then he thought, if he helped to bandage her wound, then maybe she would be more amicable for the duration of their trip. A foolish and naive thought, but maybe one worth exploring.

~~

It was clear that this situation bothered Armitage greatly. His thoughts were quite clear to Lavinia, that not only was he frustrated that the Supreme Leader simply took Reveille to this hostile planet, but he feared for her life. Her hand lightly touched his shoulder in an attempt, that surprised herself, to calm him down. “She’ll be fine.”

Her hand retreated, and she forced herself to not dwell on why she did what she just did. It was simply a spur of the moment action triggered by her fatigue. Lavinia would accept the offer to return to her own quarters. Though no sleeping will happen until her scheduled sleep cycle.

She needed to respond to Poe’s message through an encryption, in case someone picked up her message in transit. She may even be able to create a holovid, as that will be a better option to fully convey her current situation. But for now, a simple message would have to do.

“When are we to reconvene?” She wanted to know how much time she had for what she wanted to do, and depending on when Armitage wanted to meet back up, a little rest may be possible.

 

[Lucyfer]

As Kylo sat down, Reveille moved to his side and took a knee as well, pulling items out of her bag with her good hand while Kylo got himself prepared. Soon enough, she came to the bandages and disinfectant, as well as some bacta patches. She set those aside and pushed the bag behind her, dabbing the clothe in the disinfectant and wrapping it as tight as she could around her wounded arm.

It was more necessity than cleansing it. The disinfect stung, but the wrap would keep the blood from dripping onto Kylo, and she wanted to imagine the disinfect would help somewhat, even if she wasn’t actively cleansing the wounded area just yet.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” her tone dripped with sarcasm as she grabbed Kylo’s arm and pulled it out a bit, taking a new clothe and dabbing it in the disinfectant before starting to wipe away at the blood to clean the area and reveal how large of a wound it was. That was done with her good hand – the other just held his arm to keep it somewhat steady and to give her some illusion of control.

She could make small adjustments to the position so she could see or clean things better.

Teeth didn’t make for a clean wound. It was jagged, and deep, and around multiple points. Still, Reveille dutifully placed a bacta patch in a way to cover them as much as possible, wishing the squares were a bit larger, before she tied them tightly around his arm with the bandages to keep them in place and keep the blood from flowing out. She worked in silence; she hadn’t needed to bother with bandaging wounds in a long while, but it wasn’t rocket silence.

“Are you bleeding anywhere else?” It was hard to tell with all of his black.

Unlike the damnable white that showed everything – not that pallor of her own skin was helping matters; she was already pale, she didn’t need to be more so. She at least found a packed outfit in digging for the first aid so she’d be able to get out of this soaked uniform.

~***~

Armitage straightened at the touch, his gaze moving immediately to Althea, a reflection of confusion and concern in his gaze. He still wasn’t used to such gestures, even if he understood her intent with it. Had he been that obvious? Yes – of course he had. He was sitting here bitterly criticizing the Supreme Leader and worrying about Reveille.

He wanted to believe that Reveille would be fine.

He just found it difficult.

Her hand was gone before he could shrug it off, or consider if he was actually uncomfortable or just thought he should be uncomfortable.

His gaze shifted down to the datapad, “That will depend on when the Exigency returns to Coruscant,” he answered. He did not know how long Kos’tel’lanni might be away. Or Reveille, for that matter. “I will send you a message when I have word from Kos’tel’lanni. I suggest sleeping light.”

He felt the ship shift as it left lightspeed; outside the viewports, the Coruscant space would be visible, with the First Order ships decorating the sky. This one, naturally, would veer towards the Finalizer rather than the Supremacy. At least the latter would soon be repaired, which prompted, “You’ve done good work in aiding me today, Lieutenant. Kasabian in particular, if she remains a woman of her word, seems like she will be a good ally, while Anolo will soon be removed. I appreciate that you found both and arranged this under such short notice, and on such limited sleep."

She had stepped up into her role well.

It was worth comendation, even if he retained some suspicions. He knew he would have answers to that soon. If...

No, he wouldn't consider if Reveille returned, or even if Kos'tel'lanni returned.

 

[cleopat]

His gaze momentarily flickered to Reveille’s wound as she attempted to temporarily wrap it, but he could see she would need more help in ensuring she didn’t lose the arm. Or pass out from blood loss. But he could just as easily ignore her and hope that she would pass out so he could leave her behind. He could even end her right then in her weakened state with no one around to witness.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Reveille tugging at his arm. Sharp pain radiated, but he ignored it. The disinfectant stung, more so than he was prepared for. Kylo hissed, but he resisted the desire to yank his arm back to his body to escape the pain. The alternative to no disinfection would not be a pretty one, which was made obvious by the site of the wound now that the blood was cleaned.

The wound was secured for now, and if he thought about it later, he would pay med bay a quick visit to ensure he wasn’t at risk for an infection. The tuk’atas most likely did not have clean mouths.

Kylo carefully maneuvered his arm back into his sleeve. “No, that was it.” And it was one wound too many, all because he managed to get distracted. You damn fool.

As he buttoned his tunic closed, he motioned towards her own arm injury with a nod of his head. “Let me wrap that. You won’t be able to do it properly with only one free hand.”

~~

Lavinia feared she made a step too far, but when Armitage continued as if nothing had happened, she relaxed. And would say nothing more of the moment of uncertainty Armitage felt.

Without a set time to return to the general, Lavinia mused if she would be able to take a quick nap, but ultimately she decided on preparing a longer report to send to the Resistance once she fully established connection with Poe. “Understood, sir.”

And if someone managed to bring her a new uniform set due to her unexpected relocation, then she could finally take off the dress before she did something to ruin the fabric.

She had thought that that would be the end of their conversation, since they left lightspeed and approached their destination, but Armitage surprised her, despite their earlier conversation, with a commendation of her work that day. Heat spread up her neck, which she attempted to ignore. “I was just doing my duty, sir.”

Noting their destination was close, Lavinia stood from the bench. An unknown emotion bubbled beneath the surface, and she wanted nothing more than to escape to her quarters and try to not think about it or how it related to Armitage’s praise. “I would do anything to ensure the success of the First Order.”

 

[Lucyfer]

There was no satisfaction in Kylo’s reaction to the sting of the disinfectant. Reveille could only be happy he didn’t lash out; he didn’t seem much more reasonable than the dead creatures strewn across the floor sometimes. Certainly not when it came to his temper. He had no other wounds, thankfully, so Reveille was able to lean away after his arm was bandaged.

She intended to move on to herself, starting to rise if only for the sake of distance, when Kylo offered to return the favor.

She did want to deny him. She didn’t know how capable he was at this sort of thing and she half-suspected her own bandaging, when properly done, would be better than what he could accomplish. At least until she could return to the Exigency. She bit the inside of her cheek on that idea.

He still had a point; one-handed, she couldn’t wrap her own wrist well. “Fine. But give me a moment.” She settled back to her spot and made note of where her clean clothes were, before stripping her top off to peel away the blood that threatened to get into any wounds on her abdomen. She likely should have stripped them first, but the thought hadn’t occurred to her when Kylo’s wound needed treated.

There was an undershirt, a simple white tank top, but there was enough blood there for Reveille to remove that just as well. That at least proved that it wasn’t all tuk’ata blood, anyway. Two of the creature’s claws had dug through her attire and tore open stomach. There was a third white line of torn skin that didn’t go so deep as to bleed, but the other two lines were certainly bleeding.

She tossed the attire aside, hardly concerned with modesty; she had been raised in this environment and unlike her brother, didn’t let such a thing as modesty bother her overmuch. Besides, she still had on a white bra, she wasn’t indecent. All the same, “I’ll tend to these, I can do that much on my own,” she held out her arm, though.

She’d still accept his help with the arm, but the abdominal wounds she could cleanse and wrap without his aid, and then slip back on the cleaner clothes. Hopefully she wouldn’t lose them, as well, in some fight.

~***~

When Althea rose, Armitage’s gaze followed her, an eyebrow arching at her determination to leave. He presumed she really was just that tired, rather than anything else, but her words following did cause a light smile to touch his lips. It quelled some of his doubts, if only because it did sound sincere.

She could have left it as a matter of duty.

But it seemed, at least right then, that she wanted to see change occur. That she did, sincerely, want the First Order to succeed. “Good.” Though hopefully it would never come to ‘anything’ for either of them.

As the ship returned to the hangar, he would rise, “I am going to change back. You are dismissed for the time being to catch up on sleep or whatever you may need to do,” given her night was taken from her. It was also an indication that he was not stepping out with her so that she would not wait for him unnecessarily.

He wasn’t stepping out into the First Order dressed like this. He’d be back in uniform, and then go meet the new captain. He expected it to be a fairly uneventful situation; he would relay the information to them about their position, request information in regards to an officer they would like to work with during this transitory period, and then assess the situation of Corellia until he heard from Reveille or Kos’tel’lanni.

And end up annoyed when it was Kos’tel’lanni he heard from first.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo look up into Reveille’s face, half expecting her to immediately deny his offer. Her sheer stubbornness was obvious to those around her, but she was still smart. She knew when to accept that she needed assistance, even with something as seemingly simple as bandaging.

He rose as he situated himself with his tunic fixed up properly, although signs of the struggle was evident, as well as lingering dirt and sand from the elements on the planet. New clothes would have to wait until he was back on the Supremacy, though a spare shirt may be hiding somewhere on his personal ship.

Reveille peeled off her shirt, and Kylo thought most of the blood would disappear after that. No, it seemed the blood caked on her top was her own and not just the tuk’atas. The wound on her stomach drew his focus, he hardly registered that she only now had on a bra. When he did notice, he said nothing on the matter, nor did his gaze flicker to her chest.

The tips of his ears were tinged a light pink, but he refused to acknowledge that.

Reveille was still able to stand, so Kylo surmised that the wound on her stomach wasn’t terribly deep, but if she didn’t bandage it soon, then he would have to deal with an unconscious Reveille. At which he will then just leave her behind for any other tuk’atas to find, right?

He hated how he questioned his own thoughts.

Without a word, he grasped Reveille’s arm, his grip surprisingly light. Although she had already wrapped a cloth soaked in disinfectant around her arm, he took that bandage off and dabbed another piece of cloth with the disinfectant before cleaning the wound site. An infection while on the planet would not only be highly inconvenient, but the likelihood of getting back to the ship for proper medial care in time would be slim.

A bacta patch soon covered her wound, and he wrapped bandaged around her arm to keep the patches in place as well as to help clot the bleeding. While not as neat as what a nurse may accomplish, Kylo wasn’t sloppy in the bandage dressing.

“How deep do you think that is?” He motioned one hand in the direction of her stomach wound. If too deep, then Reveille may require more medical help than the bacta bandages they had on hand, but it would had to do until his mission was complete.

~~

Lavinia nodded at Armitage as she acknowledged his order. “I will see you later, sir.” When the ship arrived in the hangar, she was the first one to disembark. It nearly felt strange for her to exit the ship without the general next to her, but she knew to take advantage of this free time she had.

The fact that she still donned the garnet red dress, a stark contrast to the greyscale uniforms, was made obvious by the slight stares she received along her walk back to her quarters. Yet no one questioned her, and her journey to her quarters was uneventful.

Her door slid shut behind her, and she set her datapad on the small bedside table with nothing else on it. She removed the dress and carefully laid it over a chair before changing into her uniform. General Hux could call for her at any time, and she needed to be prepared to leave at any given moment.

Lavinia picked up her datapad as she sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled up the message she yearned to receive for weeks now, and a light smile crossed her lips as she considered a response.

Who could replace the biggest troublemaker in the galaxy?​

Poe wouldn’t immediately respond, that much she knew, so she situated herself further in her bed, leaning against the headboard as she attempted to relax. It didn’t take long for a ping to sound from her datapad.

Good to know that you’re still surviving. Is there any update on your end?​

There was so much to say, but Lavinia knew she could only say so much through her messages. She would need to set up a holovideo to send sometime in the near future.

Same to you. I’ve been promoted to the general’s assistant.​

The response was nearly instantaneous.

Shit. I know I don’t need to tell you of all people this, but be careful. Let me know if an extraction is necessary.​

She didn’t immediately respond to the message. The thought of being in a situation where an immediate extraction was necessary for her survival terrified her, and she hoped that she would merely make the decision to escape before it got that far.

 

[Lucyfer]

Though Kylo didn’t acknowledge it, Reveille did notice. She had little else to focus on except Kylo, given she wanted to make sure he didn’t cause further harm to her arm, so his pinkened ears were obvious enough. The thought of teasing him about it crossed her mind – this should be normal for him. He was a soldier.

But he was also separate from the main First Order forces. It was likely he always had the luxury of privacy, for himself, and from others.

She said nothing. She did file it away for later. If they ever sparred again, it certainly gave her a couple of ideas. That was, assuming they got out of there alive.

Thankfully, Kylo wasn’t needlessly rough in handling her wounded arm. She was actually surprised that his grip was light and not bruising. She was already used to the stinging, so she didn’t wince as he cleansed the area, nor when the bandaging was wound around tight.

She gave a small nod of approval as she took her hand back, and then grabbed a new bit of clothe and dabbed it in the disinfectant before cleansing the wounds on her abdomen. “Not terribly,” she answered, the blood clearing up fairly quickly. It wasn’t gushing blood, that was a good enough sign, it just seemed to rise to the surface and spill over a bit. A tight wrap around her midsection and bacta would be sufficient.

It would heal quicker than her wrist, anyways. “So, should I be expecting anything else like those things here?” She asked as she started to place the patches and began to wind the bandages around her midsection.

This was going to exhaust what she had of bandages.

A shame.

~***~

The meeting with the new captain was decidedly quick. Although she came with commendations from Phasma, he had still expected more questions or confusions, but it seemed that was not to be the case. She even had a name already chosen, apparently something she must have been dreaming of for quite a while – Lazuli. She’d stand out in the future with blue armor. It didn’t quite fit the aesthetic of the First Order, but Armitage wasn’t going to protest it.

It was a petty thing, the color of the armor, but if it encouraged others to do better in order to get colored armor, then he saw no problem with letting them determine the color.

He was given a couple of officer’s names that Lazuli would want to work with and thought capable. He made notes to speak with the pair of them, and did so after seeing Lazuli. There wasn’t much else to do at that time besides await updates from others.

Major Yenn ended up seeming the most capable, and willing, to adjust his routine to include assisting Captain Lazuli, and so Armitage arranged a meeting for the three of them the next day, and suggested in that time that Yenn take stock of his current duties, as well as what subordinates he already had, as well as speak with Lazuli to learn their thoughts on moving forward and what they thought they would need assistance with.

Hux would speak to them later.

All of this, he was pleased to accomplish without oversight of Ren’s minion. Not that Althea would have slowed him down, but even so, he saw little purpose for her being there. Ren would be pleased to know that the situation of the Captain was now handled, but he didn’t send a message off to the Supreme Leader.

He was a bit too ticked at the man to do so.

It was much later in that evening that he received a message from Kos’tel’lanni, indicating she would be returning to Coruscant. She was leaving a contingent of Troopers and TIE Fighters on Corellia, and requested another Destroyer stay over the world, which Hux had no problems obliging.

Kos’tel’lanni also asked for her dress back – of course – and he rolled his eyes, but he sent the message on to Althea when the Exigency showed up on the radars of the Finalizer. They would be going over there instead of sending for Kos’tel’lanni.

 

[cleopat]

The wound on her stomach wasn’t as deep as he first suspected after Reveille cleaned up the site. If they encountered more of those creatures, Kylo surmised that she wouldn’t be able to hold up against them as well as she had before. The wound would slow her down and potentially reopen the wound for it to bleed again.

As for her question, he didn’t know the answer. Anything could lurk further into the temple, but he had hoped that the tuk’atas would be their only surprise. He could only give her a vague answer that highlighted his own complete cluelessness at what awaited them. “Maybe.”

He glanced around the entrance hall, noting the side passages and the main corridor further down from where they stood. While Reveille bandaged herself and redressed, Kylo took the moment to reach out and feel which way they should head. His breathing calmed as he allowed the Force to seek out anything of interest.

It was faint, but it guided him down one of the side passages behind the statues. He looked back at Reveille to see how close to being finished she was. “There’s a path I wish to take. Keep your blaster in hand, just in case there are more of those creatures further in.”

~~

Although she hadn’t inquire into the current location of the Resistance out of fear of somehow revealing their location to the First Order, Lavinia did dig deep into the messages she received to discover where they were sent from. Once she did so, any evidence of the message was wiped clean from her datapad. She now knew how to contact Poe Dameron should she need to.

The Resistance were hiding in the outer rims for now, no doubt seeking for help from any allies they may have left.

Determining the sending point of the messages and subsequently erasing them took Lavinia a while to accomplish. General Hux hadn’t requested her presence by the time she finished, so she took the extra time to read through various files she could get her hands on concerning First Order business. During that time, Aya Kasabian messaged her the contract detailing the partnership between her and the First Order, which she immediately forwarded to Armitage.

It wasn’t much later that she received the message from Armitage that they would be leaving soon – and to not forget Lieutenant Admiral Kos’tel’lanni’s dress. She nearly scoffed, but it was expected that the Chiss would want her dress back. It was rather beautiful, and expensive.

Tucking the datapad away, Lavinia stood and carefully folded the dress over her arm before making her way to the hangar for their jaunt to the Exigency.

 

[Lucyfer]

The attire that Reveille had packed was not a uniform, but it was still armored with cortosis all the same. It was a rather simple white shirt otherwise, no indication of rank or markers of authority. It was for necessity, after all – the uniforms were heavy and not worth packing to a planet like Korriban.

With the shirt slipped on, she tucked the rest of her things back in the bag and slung it over her shoulders once again before moving to retrieve her weapons.

She’d leave the top where it was – there was no point bringing it back.

The light whip coiled around her arm once again like a bracelet, but the blaster was not returned to its holster per Kylo’s instruction. “Lead the way,” she would keep it in hand, even if she didn’t think it was going to do much against more tuk’ata. She wouldn’t be surprised if a blaster shot was simply reflected off of it.

In either case, she would follow after Kylo when he started on his way. It was better than staying here. Stars knew what else might show up at the entrance.

~***~

Armitage was already in the hangar when Althea arrived, and he gave a nod as he saw her, before stepping up into the ship and taking his seat on the bench, now simply expecting Althea to join him there.

He would speak when she entered, “Our Stormtrooper is now Captain Lazuli,” so she would know, at least, that much had been accomplished, “She intends to have blue armor, and will be working with Major Yenn going forward,” he still had no word from Reveille, and Kos’tel’lanni had plenty to explain.

He was trying not to focus on those thoughts, though.

He knew Kos’tel’lanni was blameless, but she was the only source he could vent his frustrations for this whole mess on.

As Althea settled, the ship did move forward and made the short jaunt to the Exigency where both Kos’tel’lanni and Commander Sienar would be waiting in the hangar where the ship landed. Armitage wasted little time and exiting the ship, “Lieutenant-Admiral, you promised explanations.”

“I did,” she agreed, as Sienar arched a brow at her, “But I believe you wanted to speak with Commander Sienar about more ships now that you have settled the matter of doonium to repair the Supremacy.”

“That can wait.”

“Good, then what am I doing here?” Sienar asked, but Kos’tel’lanni did not seem phased.

“General, I need a moment to gather my things and return my dress to my quarters, otherwise I will be terribly distracted and there is much about Corellia situation that I have to tell you. It would be a good use of that time to speak with Commander Sienar while I return my dress to my quarters.” A smile easily lit her face as she saw Althea, “And I absolutely must hear how things went with you, and how many people bought you drinks.”

Armitage wasn’t pleased to be pushed off onto Sienar, and Sienar seemed less thrilled, but he would allow this. He supposed Kos’tel’lanni might be less distracted if her dress was put up and not dangling on Althea’s arm. “Go on then. We will find a room.”

“I have already secured one. Sienar, please show General Hux to the conference room.”

“Fiiiine.” He paused, though, looking at Althea, “Who’s this again?”

“Lieutenant Storax, aide to General Hux.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Sienar couldn’t help the slight smirk. “Think Reveille needs an aide?”

“I make sure she doesn’t, Commander.”

“Tried.” He shrugged, “Sounds cushy. Lucky.”

“I assure you it is not,” Armitage stated, “Shall we?”

“Yeah, yeah, time to rip off my family for the sake of the Order.” Sienar gave a bored wave and started off.

 

[cleopat]

Once Reveille signaled that she was done, Kylo made way to the western wall. He followed the path around the statue and behind it, where a side corridor was located. Down the passage the light faded until all one could see was the dark void of nothingness. Noticing the lack of light, Kylo slid his bag off his shoulders and retrieved a flare, one of two he kept for emergencies, before slinging the bag back over his shoulders.

He lit the flare, which illuminated the path in front of the duo by a few feet. The corridor was cold and quiet, but he knew better than to let his guard down. There was a possibility that the tuk’atas were smallest threat they would face.

Further he stepped into the temple, and a peculiar sensation prickled in the back of his mind. He could feel something stirring within, and it took a few minutes for him to recognize the Force that lingered in the temple from the ancient siths. The Force was dark and unyielding, and Kylo craved more of it.

Turn back while you still can. Nothing good awaits you. He frowned, unsure of where that thought came from. It was ignored, and Kylo made his was further down the corridor. A dim light could be seen further down, and Kylo soon found himself in a large chamber. He didn’t have much time to look around before another tuk’ata charged at the two, teeth snarling and claws ready for the kill.

~~

Lavinia made no comment on the matter of Captain Lazuli and Major Yenn, but she did make a mental note of their names for later. There would be nothing more for her to add to that conversation, though she was relieved that their endless night of perusing through files paid off.

She followed Armitage off the ship, and in the hangar, waiting for them, was Kos’tel’lanni and a man she didn’t recognize. As the Lieutenant Admiral spoke, she learned his name, but she focused once more on the Chiss. Lavinia gave a small smile, and just as she was about to speak to her, Sienar questioned who she was.

And his response to Kos’tel’lanni’s answer did not amused her. She lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing as he led Armitage to their conference room. Once they were out of hearing range did she finally speak up. “He seems intriguing.”

Her attention shifted back on Kos’tel’lanni. “Thank you again for allowing me to borrow your dress. It proved very useful for our meetings.”

 

[Lucyfer]

While Kylo felt the Force as they moved forward, Reveille did not. Her attunement to it was next to nothing. There was no prickling at the back of her neck, no voices to distract her, and so unlike Kylo, she heard the tuk’ata’s steps as they moved over the stone floor.

She couldn’t see it yet, but she took note of the sounds all the same and prepared her aim accordingly.

When it burst into sight, lunging at them, her blaster was already raised behind Kylo. A slight adjustment, and the blaster dart struck its head. More than that, it struck its eye and charred the flesh around the eye. It did prove that the hide was tough, though, for it was left only charred, not penetrated. However, the eye was ruined, and it let out a pained howl as it staggered backwards and off to the side, clearly disoriented by what had happened.

Reveille fired again at its open mouth and the dart sunk in. That was far more effective, leaving a bloody mess and a coughing beast that wouldn’t be able to breathe quite soon.

Reveille said nothing, but prepared to move on.

She was a good shot when she didn’t have two enemies to deal with – and time to prepare.

~***~

“Intriguing is hardly the word I would use for Commander Sienar,” Kos’tel’lanni noted, a smile playing on her lips, “But he is by far our best TIE fighter and squadron leader. His connections to a few notable starship manufactures also helps his cause.” It was all common knowledge, common knowledge that had embittered Sienar in plenty of situations and made him blatantly disregard authority because he felt he could get away with it.

The First Order needed his connections.

Kos’tel’lanni did allow the easy shift of conversation back to the dress, and her red eyes dropped down to it, “I am glad. It tends to serve me well. I’ll want to know all about it. I do not have so many opportunities any longer, I have to live vicariously through others like you and Rani,” she chuckled a bit at that thought, “Though I have been thinking another Girl’s Night Out is in order, once we can take Admiral Reveille back from the Supreme Leader. She should have listened to me.”

Small drops of information, harmless things to pique interest, as they came to her door and she let it slide open and gestured the Lieutenant back into her quarters.

Once they were both in, and the door had whooshed shut, she added, “Perhaps you’d like to join us on one of those nights, Lavinia Aburius?”

She wondered how many seconds it would take her to realize what had been said.

And she wondered what her reaction would be when it clicked.

 

[cleopat]

The blaster bolt that whizzed passed his head did not surprise Kylo. He knew she was ready for the beast, and when she struck it in the eye, he reached for his lightsaber, but that was proved unnecessary. The beast writhed on the floor as it struggled to take in its last breaths thanks to the quick reflex of Reveille.

He looked over at her, and a well done almost came out. Instead, he gave a nod and walked further into the chamber. The room was not empty, which Kylo could’ve guessed with the appearance of a fourth tuk’ata. At the far wall, there was another statue, larger in size than the others they’ve seen, and it stood on what he assumed was a tomb.

Eyes widened as he stepped closer to the statue and made out who the figure was. Yet something felt off. In front of him was the tomb of Darth Vader, and the dark side of the Force should be stronger in these tombs. But that prickling he felt earlier was still faint, as if it wasn’t for this room. Still, he drew closer to the tomb, intending to find something of use.

Did the two siths he encountered pay the tomb a visit recently? That he couldn’t tell immediately. But there was something there for him to find. He could feel it. But the question was, where and what is it.

Near the tomb there was another passageway, just as dark as the one they came through. “There’s something down there.” His hand grabbed his lightsaber, inactivated but ready for combat as he made his way to the corridor, flare still in his grasp.

~~

Sienar’s connections was news to Lavinia, so she made a mental note of that information. She lightly agreed with Reveille’s comments, as she did not know much more about the man in question. The conversation was light, and for someone who managed to get close to Reveille, Kos’tel’lanni seemed friendly enough.

She chuckled lightly when the conversation switched over to the dress. No, she couldn’t imagine that Kos’tel’lanni would have very many opportunities to wear anything other than the First Order uniform given her position. “I’d say one night of celebration for the two of you is in order given our recent victories.”

The door shut behind him, and Lavinia stepped further into the room. She was about to politely decline Kos’tel’lanni’s offer, remembering her less-than-pleasant encounter with the admiral, when it clicked what name the Chiss spoke.

Her heart skipped a beat and her blood turned cold. Fuck. The dress still draped over her arm, and Lavinia used that in order to conceal her hand slowly reaching for her blaster. She feigned confusion, a quizzical expression on her face as she looked over at the woman. “I’m sorry? Why did you say that name?” Playing dumb may not get her out of the situation, but it could buy her time if she needed to use her blaster and make her way out of there.

“Maybe you’ve gotten me mixed up with someone else.” Her hand brushed the blaster, readied for action if need be.

 

[Lucyfer]

Darth Vader. ‘Of course.’ Well, the Siths claimed to be his apprentice – or one did, so the other was continuing his line of teaching by learning from her. It may be correct to assume that they paid a visit to the tomb of Darth Vader at some point. Even just for sentimental reasons. Still, she didn’t know much about what could be gleaned from that sort of visit.

He didn’t linger in front of the statue, at least. Reveille wouldn’t have to watch any awkward sentiments or prayers, or whatever he might have done to show his reverence towards his dead grandfather.

His attention turned to another dark tunnel.

And so, of course, she followed, “I do not suppose the Force gives you any idea of what this is, does it? Is it living, for example?” Was it something she needed to shoot? Probably not. Kylo probably had no idea what it was, and that was honestly frustrating.

Just as the small crystals on the ground were a bit frustrating, scattering across the stone as they moved. They seemed like kyber, but not quite – Reveille couldn’t recognize them as synthetic kyber in this light. Someone had, apparently, been trying to make a lightsaber here once upon a time, and had a hard go of it.

~***~

The feigned confusion did little to throw Kos’tel’lanni off. For one, it was only too obvious with how her arm was moving, that she was reaching for something. Two, she was immediately too defensive over it. Nervous. “Lavinia Aburius, the only child of Galvin and Delia Aburius, and so quite easy to match your face to numerous videos and pictures originating on Coruscant.”

Her tone lost its humor, but not its warmth. It remained calm, patient, even.

“I imagine you are smart enough to understand this, but you are panicked right now, so I shall highlight some details to assist. I have chosen not to confront you in the hangar, in front of General Hux and Commander Sienar, as well as many Stormtroopers. I have chosen to confront you in private, Aburius. I would like you to take a moment to breathe, and to consider your situation for a moment. Gather your thoughts.”

There was the other side to this. If Althea acted, she would be the single suspect. The hall cameras had seen them come into the room together. They would record the sound of a blaster shot.

Reveille wouldn’t need any other reason.

Even if she did, Reveille knew how to do exactly what Kos’tel’lanni had done – she just didn’t yet have the time. A boon for Lavinia.