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[a z u l a]

Poe

Things had gone less than well for the Resistance pilot in his escape plan. By some miracle he'd happen to come across the one Stormtrooper that was defective, a trooper that he'd henceforth decided to call Finn. It was hard to imagine what it was like to have no family, no name, no identity except a mindless servant of the First Order. He hated those high ranking officers in charge of the Stormtrooper program, and unluckily for him he happened to be stranded in the desert with one. It hadn't been his intention to take a hostage along with him, but she'd been in his way of escaping and pulling the trigger hadn't seemed like the right thing to do. Despite how evil she had to be to be working for the First Order, he couldn't find himself to kill her when she was looking at him with those blue eyes. It was much easier to kill those without faces, the Stormtroopers like the one who had helped him escape, ironically enough.

It was harder to escape while dragging an unwilling captive, but they'd managed to barely get out before getting shot down. That was most definitely not part of his plan. The TIE fighter had gone down in flames in the desert sand, Poe along with it. He was more than a little banged up, but he tugged at his jacket to get it unstuck until he was free of his confines and could scramble out of the air craft that was heavily lodged into some quick sand. By climbing on to the top of the craft he was able to jump just out of the sand's suction, rolling onto the hot desert sand and coughing as the dust crept its way into his lungs.

Finn was nowhere to be seen, but a spot of red hair in the distance signaled that at least one of his passengers made it, so he rushed forward with his gun drawn before she could escape. The First Order officer wasn't much better off than him, having ejected from the TIE-fighter before impact unlike him. He hoped that Finn had made it out safe somewhere, but he didn't have time to search for him when the First Order would surely be right behind them. Not only had he escaped, but he'd taken a prisoner. If he wasn't already on their most wanted list he certainly was now.

"If you want to live get moving." He spoke, voice hoarse from the sand that seemed to be suffocating him. Strategically, it was a great idea for him to take a high ranking officer back to base for interrogation. Logistically, he had no clue how he was getting them both back to base alive. They were in the middle of this god-forsaken desert with no sign of civilization in sight. There was no giving up now though, if the First Order caught him they wouldn't be so nice this time.

The two trudged silently through the seemingly endless sand for what felt like hours. One skill that Poe Dameron was lacking, was patience. The curly haired pilot always wanted to be part of the action, he never had sat still well and only wanted to participate in the fun training exercises. Wandering through the blazing desert with only an enemy officer for company wasn't exactly what he considered a fun mission, but it was good for the cause and it wasn't like he had much of an option.

"Let's make a bet." They'd been walking in silence for too long, even if she was one of the people he despised the most he couldn't bare the lack of chatter any longer. "If your people come to rescue you first, I'll let you be the one to put a bullet in my brain. If, and by if i mean when, I get us off this sorry excuse for a planet first, you have to tell me everything you know about the First Order, yeah?" He grinned over at her cheekily, the intense sun reflected off of the sand and made her hair seem as if it were on fire it was such a bright red. While many people (himself included) would describe Poe Dameron as charming, there were the few outliers that called him annoying. He had a strong feeling Reveille was the latter. It wasn't his fault some people didn't have a sense of humor. In a life time of war, you had to be able to make light of every situation.​

 

[a z u l a]

Kataly'a

It wasn't necessarily uncommon for Kylo Ren to be in a bad mood, but today was more than a mild annoyance for him. She could feel his anger through the Force without even trying, she'd felt it from almost all the way across the ship earlier but now that he was standing before her she couldn't ignore the waves of agitation in the Force. The still fresh apprentice was acutely attuned to her Master, his presence in the Force was always the first she noticed. When you spent enough time with someone, especially training in the Force with that person, you locked onto them whether you wanted to or not. She of course knew about the escaped prisoner, the one that held the map to Skywalker, and that the same prisoner had managed to take Admiral Reveille with him. It was unsurprising that Kylo would be upset by this, she herself was baffled by the incompetency needed to let a prisoner escape.

There were many hopefully much more competent people searching for the map and the Admiral right now, she didn't doubt that soon enough they'd have both their Admiral and the map back. However, she wasn't sure how well Kylo would manage to stand idly by and wait while the others retrieved them, it was only a matter of time before he destroyed something, hopefully not her. It was always a thin line she walked on with her Master, sometimes he was in an almost pleasant mood and would even occasionally praise her form, but more often than not he wouldn't acknowledge her except to critique her or scold her for letting her emotions get in the way of her training. While she was artfully skilled in combat, her progress with using the Force in the year she'd been training was pitiful.

Today would be one of those days where Kataly'a was extra careful, trying to reign in her emotions and not mess up a single step. When he was in a less irritable mood she sometimes pushed his buttons, trying to crack his rigid exterior and get a glimpse of the man beneath the mask. His cold attitude and disinterest in her shouldn't have bothered her, she was here to secure her spot in the First Order and learn how to be an even stronger fighter with the Force, but it did bother her and she couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was because he was the only person she had to rely on in the First Order, she'd come from ruling a planet with an entire people supporting her, now she mostly only interacted with her Master and the other Knights of Ren, though they were even less interested in her than Kylo and almost never around.

"Hello, Master." She greeted, dipping her head out of respect as he entered the training room, his irritability swirling in the Force surrounding them. It put her more on edge, she had a short fuse herself and was nowhere near practiced enough to let his own anger not affect her concentration. The Force had always been tough to tap into for her, there was almost no one on Drumond Kaas who could even attempt to teach her, and even those who tried didn't have the patience or practice for her. The Sith blood in her was muddled, barely there under a millennia of mostly human blood. The Force called out to her, but she just couldn't grasp it. It only came naturally to her in moments of extreme rage, and even then it was completely out of her control. It seemed like the Force controlled her, no matter how hard she tried to properly control it.

They started their session with sparring, an activity that came naturally to the former warrior princess. Kataly'a had been training in combat since she could walk, it was what was expected of her. Even when there wasn't an intergalactic war raging like there was now, there was never peace in the galaxy, especially with what remained of the Sith race. The Sith were never welcomed anywhere except the outer rim, even if she did appear human Kataly'a would not be welcomed somewhere like Coruscant. If their Sith blood didn't make them bitter, the way they were outcasted surely did. It was why Kataly'a had left her home planet to serve the First Order, Snoke had promised that he would make the Sith race legendary again.

Despite a lifetime of combat training and fighting small wars on planets nobody cared about, Kataly'a still struggled to keep up with Kylo in a fight. He was a formidable opponent, and he was much taller and broader than her and had been training with Snoke much longer than she had. His fighting style was much more controlled, the Sith way of fighting. She had learned how to fight from the Sith too, but only what was left of their race, not the Sith religious followers that had once ruled the galaxy. She had never understood the Rule of Two, it was what had put the Sith race close to extinction.

When it was time to move into her Force training she was less than excited. Though she so badly wanted to learn how to be the best Sith possible, it was still something she struggled with and she knew that her master's patience with her was thin. Still she took a few deep breaths, trying to clear her head before focusing on the task at hand. Her instruction's were to riffle through Admiral Hux's personal guard for information on the missing prisoner and their missing Admiral. They may not be on the ground searching, but she could still make herself useful.

She reached out and closed her eyes, pushing through the mental blocks as fast as possible, trying to find exactly what she wanted. The harder she pushed the harder it was to control, the Force around her crackling like electricity as her powers started to slip from her. Her fists clenched as she desperately chased after the particular information she needed, anything that could help them locate their missing prisoner and Admiral Hux faster. The guard was fighting her off, thrashing as she pushed and pushed, until eventually she found what she was looking for and let go of her vice grip on him.

"You will forget the last five minutes, go back to work." She spoke calmly, though she felt anything but calm at the moment. Though she hadn't exactly failed, she hadn't done what she would call a good job either. As the guard left she could feel her master's eyes on her, giving her the disapproving look he so often did. She could never figure out why she bothered him so much, from the moment she'd been assigned to him his distaste for her had been apparent, though from her time aboard the Finalizer she'd come to realize that it wasn't just her that Kylo disliked.​

 

[Lucyfer]

Admiral Reveille Hux half-wished she had died on the sands of Jakku after managing to eject from the TIE fighter. She didn’t, of course – in spite of fair skin and a lean build, she was healthy, and the scrapes and bruises weren’t enough to put her out. She just hadn’t recovered herself enough before Poe Dameron was in front of her, with a blaster to her head.

She had glared at him, but said nothing as she pulled herself up, irritated that she had been disarmed on the Finalizer. Irritated that she was in this position to begin with.

She walked in silence.

The heat of the sun was unbearable. ‘Starkiller isn’t looking so bad now, is it?’ Destroying a sun out of spite might indeed end up on her agenda when she got back to the First Order. This sun. She was certain it had enough power for five strikes, at the very least.

Except, of course, that was the anger talking. Reveille Hux still did not approve of Starkiller, or the methods. Planet-destroyers were useless to the long term, and were an unnecessary expense.

Still….

The cocky pilot spoke up, sounding exactly like her TIE fighters. She supposed flyboys were the same everywhere. A universal trait of cockiness and smiles that some found endearing, or even charming. Reveille had her moments where she enjoyed their company, where she could be found in a hangar, nursing a pint of jet juice with the others.

She was not in that kind of mood, but she didn’t glare this time. Her gaze was impassive.

The sun was partially to blame for that. She had a headache. Her skin was on fire. She was fairly certain the back of her neck above her collar was scalded, and her face couldn’t be faring any better. At least the rest of her was covered in a white uniform, but stars, if it weren’t for the fact she knew it would burn her to do so, she would have been tempted to strip the heavy material off. It was definitely sticking to her, like her hair was to her face.

“You’d have better luck bribing me with water, Dameron, than making a bet that you’re certain to lose.” Not that Dameron had water. Or anything. He didn’t seem to be suffering as much, though his tone indicated he probably wasn’t unfamiliar with the sun. “I don’t suppose you actually know where you’re going, do you?”

~***~

Kylo Ren was furious.

The incompetency that led not only to the escape of Poe Dameron, but to the kidnapping of Admiral Hux, bit into him. Most of all, that guilt and that anger, came back onto himself. He should have killed the pilot as soon as he was done with him, but he had wanted to make Poe Dameron’s death something public. A spectacle, and a warning, for the Resistance.

The thought had occurred, in the back of his mind, to attempt to ransom Poe to Leia Organa, for the map to Skywalker. That part of him, which recalled playing with Poe beneath a tree on Yavin-4, and knew Leia still had a soft heart for those that served under her.

He had ignored that thought, and pressed it far back.

Poe should have died.

He didn’t.

So needless to say, when he came to deal with the chore of training Kataly’a, he wasn’t actually in the mood to train. The sparring session was more of an excuse to get out the rage that boiled under the surface, beneath his armor, beneath his mask. He had broken enough monitors that day, enough of the Order’s precious equipment, that he was able to at least keep himself in check, even if all he really wanted to do was push his lightsaber through the woman before him, and storm out.

To prove he was more competent to her.

To prove that Snoke was making a mistake in looking at her as a replacement. Snoke had said as much, not when Kataly’a was around, but always when she wasn’t there – always when it was just the two of them, and he could speak of his secret doubts in Kylo Ren.

The Commander was certain that Snoke spoke sweet promises to Kataly’a about her possible promotions.

He didn’t skewer her.

He let the physical exertion serve to relax him, before he moved on – the Force. This was where Kataly’a struggled, and what she needed to work on the most, and they had more than enough targets for today. So, he took her to the guard, Jinah, a miraluka who was within the Order and knew well enough to take his orders.

The silver-haired man stood still, and tried to work with Kataly’a, rather than hide, or mask, information. It was still obvious to see, despite the lack of eyes Jinah had, that this was a painful process for him.

And Kylo could sense Kataly’a struggling.

He didn’t help.

He let it devolve until the guard was actively thrashing about, in agony. He knew it wasn’t Kataly’a’s intent to cause further suffering. This was, after all, a loyal member of the Order. Someone they shouldn’t hurt.

But still, he didn’t help.

He allowed it, and half-hoped her pithy little Jedi trick didn’t work on Jinah when at last the guard was allowed to his feet, and allowed to leave – and told to forget. No, he didn’t think that was going to work. He’d chosen Jinah for a reason – he was one of the few with a bit of Force sensitivity. It was the nature of his species, rather like the Sith, and nowhere near as strong…but it made him a bit more difficult than the average human.

Kataly’a turned back to him when she had finished, and he stared at her through the mask.

Waiting.

But she didn’t say anything. “Tell me what you found.” He finally ordered, the voice modulator adding extra layers of threat to his words.

 

[a z u l a]

Poe

"Sorry, I'm fresh out of water. You know, 'cuz you guys confiscated my canteen when you kidnapped me." He joked dryly, still sore both mentally and physically from the torture he'd endured at the hands of an old friend. It was easy to see that the heat was wearing on her, it was beating down hard on both of them and it had been sometimes since Poe had food or water at this point. If they didn't find some sort of civilization soon he wasn't sure how long they'd survive out here.

"Of course I know where we're going. You can't tell all these grains of sand apart?" Poe was naturally just being a smartass, he really couldn't tell where they were going because all of Jakku looked the same. They could've been wandering around in circles for the last hour and Poe wouldn't have the slightest clue. It was a miracle anyone lived here, he wasn't sure if he hated the blistering sun of Jakku or the frozen tundra's of Hoth more. In his time with the Resistance he'd stayed in plenty of unpleasant places, mostly uninhabited planets where no one would find them.

He wondered if she was always this cold or if it was just because he'd kidnapped her. He had been just as chatty as usual with his captors, though he hadn't talked about what they'd wanted him too. Talking incessantly tended to annoy people, enough so that his guards had left him alone and he'd been able to make his escape. Poe Dameron's mouth had gotten him into a lot of trouble, but it had also gotten him out of quite a few hairy situations.

"Don't worry, unlike you, I don't get to stay in a cushy ship. I know how to survive out here, and I guess that means keeping you alive too." He envied how easy it was for the First Order, they fought and continued to win a galactic war from the safety of their massive war ship. Their leaders didn't have to lay a foot on soil and actually fight their own battles, they had Stormtrooper's and lasers to do that for them. Poe had seen all of the horrors of battle with his own eyes and had the scars to prove it. He wondered if Reveille had ever been in a real fight, or if she merely gave orders.

Kataly'a

"The prisoner said something about the droid, they were heading to Atollon next. Perhaps to meet up with their rebel friends?" She shouldn't have waited to tell him, but her mouth had been sealed shut, waiting for him to scold her. Not that he needed to, she was already scolding herself for not being able to control her powers. What was the point of being able to use the Force if she had no control over it or herself?

Training almost always went like this, even on the good days she would eventually mess up and earn a disapproving glare from him, even through his mask she could feel it. While sometimes his annoyance towards her seemed to be for no reason at all, most of the time she could understand why he was so dejected to have her as an apprentice. Where she came from she was powerful, but in the presence of Kylo Ren she was nothing but another task to complete. She was certain the moment her training was complete he'd send her on some far away mission and get her out of his hair. At this rate though, it seemed like her training would never be done.

"If we go now we might be able to intercept them. Shall I go prepare the ship for launch?" Kataly'a offered, trying to anticipate their next move. She was used to giving orders, not taking them, but to be a good Knight she needed to be able to make the right decisions on her own. If she could anticipate her master's orders better perhaps he wouldn't be so short with her.​

 

[Lucyfer]

‘I’m going to die here.’ Reveille allowed the thought, even if she did not allow the belief. She would not contradict Poe Dameron, of course, and suggest she had capabilities beyond what he believed. Not that her odds of actually taking him by surprise in this condition were any good, but assuming he was true to his word and intended to get her out of there alive, it was better he not be aware that she was anything more than a do-nothing officer.

Like Canady.

Or Pryde.

Or a thousand other Old Imperials who coasted by on name alone.

“Fantastic,” sarcasm dripped from her own tone, “I’m glad that one of us can tell apart every grain of sand.” She’d rather be on Hoth. Why couldn’t they be over Hoth? This was the only reason she even liked Starkiller base – it was cold. It was pleasant. “I’m afraid they didn’t teach that in the First Order, we were busy learning things like military strategy. If only I had known how important it would be.”

Still, she shut her eyes a moment as they walked, and rubbed at her temple. “If I may offer a singular suggestion, however, perhaps you should try to find shade. Navigating by stars is easier than navigating by a single sun, and we won’t dehydrate quite so fast.” Not that there was much in the way of shade, but she knew star destroyers had crashed on the planet. She knew there were cliffs and dunes. “If you can divine from the sand which way shade would be, anyways.” He might want to press on to civilization.

Given, any delay was to her advantage, where it came to the Order finding her.

~***~

Atollon was a world that Kylo Ren knew of. He knew of most of the worlds that had old Rebel Alliance bases on them, though, and this was no exception. He’d informed the Order of them, naturally, and they’d gone over most of them – Atollon included. Of course, that was years ago. Things could have changed.

He didn’t know why else Poe would mention Atollon.

“See to it,” he ordered Kataly’a.

At least she took initiative and had learned a bit of what to expect. What to do. “I’ll inform General Hux,” loathed as he was to do so, “so he may prepare reinforcements to follow, in case this turns out to be a rebel base,” given, Kylo knew where one of those was for sure.

D’Qar.

Poe Dameron’s mind had given that away, but he wanted to avoid that.

He wanted to avoid confronting Leia Organa as long as possible. Atollon wouldn’t have Leia Organa on it. Other rebels, certainly, but no one he cared about. Well, Poe. Maybe. If Poe ever got off Jakku.

Ideally, he wouldn’t. Nor would FN-2187.

Kylo Ren would not stay for Kataly’a to ask any follow-up questions. He turned from her, expecting her to do as ordered, to head to the Bridge and inform the General of the situation and make sure he actually prepared reinforcements.

Sure, his sister was lost – that didn’t mean there weren’t bigger problems that needed attention and troops. At least there was one thing he was certain of – Armitage Hux was cold enough to understand this. Snoke wanted the map. That would take priority over anything else.

 

[a z u l a]

Poe

"It's an art really, each grain of sand is unique. Just like a snowflake." He was talking entirely out of his ass now, he had no idea what the anatomy of a grain of sand was. Only that it was coarse and got everywhere. Jakku was on his Never Return EVER list. Heat usually didn't bother him, his home planet of Yavin 4 was always muggy, but this was a different kind of heat. It was insufferable. How did anything live here?

As much as Poe hated to admit it, she was right. They'd been walking with the sun blazing down on them for far too long, if they didn't pass out from heat stroke they might pass out from dehydration. When he'd been on Jakku, right before being captured, he'd only been there for a short while in the evening. It hadn't been anywhere near as hot and there had been plenty of stars in the sky, maybe Reveille was much more prepared for this type of situation than he'd thought.

"We're going to find shade, not because you suggested it, but because I've decided that's the best thing to do." Maybe it was a little bit of a lie, but he couldn't let her think she was smarter than him. He didn't want her to see him as incapable, he'd gotten them into this mess and he was going to get them out of it. There was no way he could let the First Order find them first, it simply wasn't an option. The longer they stayed on Jakku to more time the Order had to find them, but they didn't really have an option at this point. Until he could get them to some semblance of civilization and hijack a ship, they were stranded.

He stopped for a moment, surveying their surroundings and what time it was based on the position of the sun. The sun would hopefully be setting in the next couple hours, which meant they only had to hold out in the shade for a little while. They continued on their hike through the desert until he spotted what appeared to be some sort of large shelter, though the heat wavs radiating off he sand obscured his view. As they walked closer he could see that it was a stranded ship, there were plenty of holes ripped into the metal but it was good enough to shield them from the sun.

"Looks like its your lucky day, princess." Poe smirked over at her, grateful that all this wandering hadn't been for nothing. If they were lucky there'd be some very old canteens in there or some ration packets, but he doubted it. Anything was better than continuing their walk in this dreadful heat. Eventually they reached the shell of the ship and Poe was quick to kneel to the ground, soaking up the shade but never taking his eyes off of Reveille incase she tried something.


Kataly'a

Just as soon as he'd arrived, Kylo was gone in a flurry of a swooshing cape and heavy foot steps. She didn't waste a moment, heading for the port to make sure that the ship was properly fueled and stocked with rations. Hopefully, this would be a quick mission, but you never really knew when a mission would be derailed. They far out numbered, out weaponed, and out powered the Resistance, but she knew better than to underestimate any opponent.

After ensuring they were set for their mission, Kataly'a buckled herself into the co-pilot's seat just as Kylo was coming aboard. Despite his sour mood and the serious nature of the assignment, she couldn't help but smile as they took off, gazing with wide eyes at the expanse of stars before them. Kataly'a had flown plenty of times before, but she wasn't a great pilot per say, and no matter how many times she saw it the vastness of the universe always put her in awe. She was just a tiny spec in the grand scheme of things, she hoped to be remembered on her home planet as a good leader, but the way things were going she would not be one of the most feared and recognizable names of the First Order that went down in history. Kylo would, he had already made quite a name for himself.

"I've been to Atollon before." Kataly'a was the first to break the silence after their take off, she usually was. Her master wasn't of the chatty type, but she was. As the leader of her people it was her duty to give orders and reassure her people that they would prosper. The well-being of her people was what had brought her here in the first place, while of course she was ambitious and honor to join the Knights of Ren, it had been in her people's best interest for her to join the alliance. The First Order would help them prosper, and if Kataly'a was among their ranks she could ensure that they never fell on the wrong end of the Order's favor.

"It was a long time ago, but it is much similar to my home planet." She hummed, rubbing the jagged scar on her shoulder that she'd acquired on that trip. They weren't the feared race that they once were, but Drumond Kaas didn't exactly have many pleasant trading relationships with other systems. Kataly'a wasn't sure there was any good trading relationships in the Outer Rim. There wasn't much respectable work to be done in the Outer Rim, it was the least populated and least civilized of the galaxy, besides the Unknown Regions. When they needed something, they simply took it from other planets.

There was practically no one living on Atollon, and certainly no army to protect their land. She'd been attacked by a Krykna and while she still had a scar, the beast hadn't faired as well. Plenty of things had tried to kill her, and she was certain someone or something would be trying to kill her until the day she died. Kataly'a couldn't remember if there ever was a true time of peace in her life, but perhaps once the First Order succeeded there would finally be an end to the constant bloodshed, though truthfully she wouldn't know what to do with herself if there was.

"If you could live on any planet, where would it be?" Kataly'a asked, looking over to her master curiously. Despite a few missions, Kataly'a hadn't seen much of the Mid Rim or the Inner Rim yet. Most of the planets she'd been to were scarcely populated and wild, she wondered if she would ever get to visit somewhere like Coruscant​

 

[Lucyfer]

‘So the Resistance is similar to the Order.’ Reveille kept a dull stare at Poe’s back as he suggested they would go find some shelter, but it was absolutely not her idea. As if that wasn’t familiar. Well, at least when Starkiller Base went up in flames, she could at least say that wasn’t her idea. Although, telling Snoke ‘I told you so’ would probably not to over well.

She didn’t really want to be Force choked.

At least they got lucky, and Poe did seem to manage to find shelter. Divination from the sand or sheer dumb luck, Reveille wasn’t going to complain about it right then.

She would complain about one thing, though: “It’s Admiral, Dameron.” He could at least get the damn title right. She was no princess, not like the woman he followed. She had no noble blood in her veins at all. Still, she trekked forward, and as soon as she was in the shade of a ship, she sat down.

Considerations of snapping Dameron’s neck could wait, at least a little bit.

He definitely hadn’t let his attention stray. Yet. “Why do you even waste your time serving an actual princess, Dameron?” She asked it as she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her arms over the top of them.

May as well find out what he saw in this pointless Resistance that was building. “You both left the New Republic – you can’t want to defend it that badly.” Leia had stopped being a Senator, and she was aware of Commander Dameron’s history with the New Republic Navy.

She tried to know her enemies.

The Resistance didn’t make much sense to her. They were led by people who abandoned the New Republic, but they were trying to defend that terrible institution.

~***~

General Hux was on the Bridge, as expected, monitoring every bit of incoming information that was sent their way from the Stormtroopers they had on the ground, and the TIEs doing flyovers. “General,” Kylo addressed as he walked to where the man stood. The irked man looked in his direction.

“What is it, Ren?”

“Has anything been found?”

“Their TIE was found,” the General answered, “no one was there. There was evidence of ejection, but nothing else, yet. They can’t have gotten far. I have TIEs spreading out from around it,” a circular pattern, ever-widening. “Eventually, they’ll be caught.”

“Don’t forget the droid.”

“I won’t.” The Supreme Leader wanted the droid.

“I need you to redirect some of the troops towards Atollon.”

Hux looked abruptly away from his monitors, “Why?”

“We have information that the droid may move to Atollon if it cannot reunite with Dameron. We mean to take a look and intercept it, if we can.”

“Ren, nothing has left the planet, we have it entirely blockaded.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a gap,” Kylo indicated, “In either case, we may find more rebels there, and at least cut off a point.”

“We know where the rebel base is,” Hux stated,

He wanted to say more, to point out that it would be better for Kylo to head in that direction, but he was wise enough to Kylo’s body language when he couldn’t see his face. While Kylo would not directly harm him so long as Snoke lived, sometimes, it came too close for comfort.

So Hux didn’t finish that, or make a comment about Kylo’s mother. “Just be sure you clear it with Supreme Leader Snoke.”

Kylo did not, in fact, do that when he left the Bridge. He went to his ship, to find it seemed ready, and he went into the cockpit, joining the dark-haired Sith there. He tuned out her presence, going through the motions of launching the ship from the hangar, and immediately taking it into lightspeed towards Atollon.

Which, she was speaking of. Apparently she’d been there before. He couldn’t fathom why. He also wasn’t going to ask.

Even if she apparently wanted to use this as an opportunity to ask him about where he wanted to live. He’d seen many planets. He grew up on Chandrila, but traveled much with Han and Leia. He had lived at Luke’s Jedi Temple for a while, too. “I don’t have a preference,” he answered monotonously.

He expected to be living much of his life on starships from this point on.

The way to avoid more questions, was obvious: “What were you doing on Atollon?” He kept his attention focused on the viewport, rather than the woman in the co-pilot’s seat.

 

[a z u l a]

Poe

"It's not a waste of time, first of all, and Leia has fought two intergalactic wars now, I think she's proven to be more than just a princess." Poe defended, anger rising in his chest at her attack on Leia. After his mother died, Leia was the closest thing he had to a maternal figure. Both of his parents spoke so highly of her, she had always been the star of his mother's war stories. Leia had been one of the first to express condolences after his mother's death, though they hadn't had much interaction until her offer to join the Resistance. The two had taken to each other fast, Poe admired General Organa more than he'd ever looked up to his mentors in the Republic.

"The New Republic isn't perfect, there's the usual corruption that comes with politics, but there are still good people worth saving." The pilot explained, licking his lips as he desperately wished for water. Even baking in the hot Jakku sun was better than being held prisoner by the First Order, by his old friend, Kylo Ren. It was ironic in the worst sense, their parents had fought side by side less then thirty years ago, and now their sons were pitted against each other in the most bitter of wars.

"The New Republic wasn't doing anything to stop the First Order from breaking the Galactic Concordance, so we had to take matters into our own hands." He was still bitter, that after all the evidence they gathered to prove that the First Order was committing crimes, the New Republic turned a blind eye. They were still recovering from the last war, if the New Republic had put a stop to the First Order before things had gotten this far, so many lives could've been spared.

"What about you, Admiral? How can you work for the First Order, after everything that they've done? Do they brainwash you, or are you just heartless?" It was a little harsh, but Poe couldn't sugar coat it. After the endless hours of torture he'd endured and what he assumed had been the death of poor, brave Finn, he couldn't find it in himself to pretend not to hate Reveille's guts. He hated everything that she stood for, an oppressor who took kids like Finn from their parents and taught them that they were nothing more than a tool for the Order. It was horrific.

Kataly'a

His lack of a real response earned a frown from her, but she was use to it by now. If there was anything that Kylo hated more than her, it was answering her questions and talking about himself. That, and Armitage Hux. It was a relief to know that there was at least one other soul aboard the Finalizer that incurred more of Kylo Ren's anger than her. It only made her more curious, he deflected every question she asked and was the most closed-off person she had ever met. There'd been a time when she had thought that she was closed-off, now she seemed like a socialite compared to him.

"I was acquiring assets." Kataly'a replied cooly, two could play at this game. It wasn't that she didn't want to answer his question, she just wasn't sure how to explain her life back on Drumond Kaas to him. She so desperately missed her homeworld, she hadn't yet been back to visit and every day she missed it more. There was something about the planet that made her feel at home, perhaps it was the powerful hold the Darkside of the Force held on the planet and the Sith artifacts buried there, or maybe it was because it was the closest she could ever be to her parents. Nonetheless, she missed the dense jungles and was looking forward to visiting a planet that resembled her homeworld, without the Sith history ingrained in its soil.

"The Outer Rim is...different. I'm still learning all of these First Order politics. Where I'm from, if you want something you take it, forcefully." There weren't many civilized planets in the Outer Rim, if another planet had something that they needed, they simply took it. For the most part there was no one but farmers and spice runners to stop them, and if they did they were simply dealt with. There were a few other planets that could be legitimate threats to Drumond Kaas, but the Outer Rim was big enough that they managed to shed as little blood as possible, which was still a lot compared to the way the New Republic operated.

"You would think that after a year of me being your apprentice, you would be more comfortable with me." She stared directly at him from where she sat only a few inches away, though there was a different kind of distance between them.​

 

[Lucyfer]

Reveille arched a brow at Poe’s assertion that Leia had fought two intergalactic wars. Had one happened between the fall of the Empire and now? She certainly hadn’t heard of it. It couldn’t have been on the same scale, at any rate, but she didn’t care enough to ask Poe about that. It was likely just Resistance propaganda, anyways.

“They tried to brainwash me,” that much was true. Her own father. “It didn’t hold.” Just as it didn’t hold on FN-2187, “I haven’t quite been with the program that continues the conditioning, but it would seem the majority have weak minds, and at least their weak minds can be put to good use, rather than toiling away in aimless endeavors.”

They would instead help something much greater.

“It’s no worse than what the Jedi of the Old Republic did,” from what she understood, which was more than most. The Cadet program was based on Jedi training of non-attachment and much else; that which they had tried on her and her brother, and which was updated for the Stormtroopers. “We’re doing what is necessary to save the galaxy from itself,” though she doubted Poe would understand.

“We don’t have the short memory the rest of you seem to have about how Republics so often fail those who serve them, and how they only support the Core. We’re going to finally put an end to it.” The means justified the end.

It had to.

“All your Republic does is talk. Talk of ending slavery. Talk of stopping pirates. Talk, talk, talk. We’re actually going to do it and put things on an equal scale.” It would be Ordered. Efficient.

Everything would be set right. “That’s why we’ve risen and gained as much power as we have. That’s why so many are willing to support us, even if it goes against your Republic – as you know, they’re not going to do anything about it.”

~***~

Kataly’a’s answer was answer enough for Kylo Ren, given he hadn’t been that terribly interested to begin with. He knew how Drumond Kaas did things before the First Order stepped in and tried to civilize them. To show them order. It wasn’t all about taking what one wanted – that was why the New Republic was failing.

The Core continued to take what it wanted.

It had to stop.

So he just scoffed at Kataly’a reminded him of that detail, as if he was fool enough to forget it. He knew how Sith worked – the religion, at least. They were blind fools chasing whim after whim and never settling long enough to get much done. Sheev Palpatine was among the few who had managed to achieve his goals, without being distracted by the present moment or present whims.

“And you would think after a year of being my apprentice, you would realize that will not be happening,” he could quote how long he’d been around Hux and Phasma. Of them, he only truly tolerated Phasma. “But you are a slow learner,” he couldn’t contain the insult, “which is why you remain my apprentice.”

Unfortunately for him; he couldn’t just send her off like the other Knights of Ren to do something useful, no, she had to hound his every step.

Yet Snoke continued to insist she could be greater than him.

He didn’t see it.