The command shuttle of Kylo Ren descended onto the planet of Dantooine, onto one of its many continents. The planet, infamous for nearly being destroyed by Grand Moff Tarkin when Leia offered it as a rebel base, was still considered a relatively unimportant agriworld in the Outer Rim.
The only reason the First Order were now beginning to swarm it was because of a ship that had been shot down not far from where the command shuttle landed.
As soon as the ramp descended, the black robed commander of the infamous Knights of Ren descended, covered head to toe in black as TIEs began to land around him. Through his visor, he could see the smoke of the ship shot down and he walked towards it.
He was not leaving this to the Troopers.
The last time he trusted the First Order with that was Poe Dameron, and Poe Dameron escaped him, with FN-2187, and that led to the series of events that destroyed Starkiller base, and left him permanently scarred.
No matter what the First Order did, no matter how much bacta was used, and no matter how Kylo focused on the Force, he could not heal the scar across his face, nor near his heart. Both were painful reminders of his failure to Supreme Leader Snoke, in spite of his own personal success against his light.
Troopers began to swarm out of their own ships. Some were ahead of Kylo, and he found the wreckage with a few Troopers nearby.
“Commander,” one immediately greeted him, this one with a red shoulder plate signifying him as a leader. “The rebel is not here, but we do not believe they have gotten far.”
“Spread out. Comb the area,” Kylo gestured out, and immediately the white armored Troopers moved.
Kylo moved closer to the wreckage, examining the cockpit to find clues to how the pilot escaped, as well as signs of injury or difficulty in escape.
He was all but motionless in his examination, feeling things out not only with his eyes, but also with the Force, looking for a powerful emotion left behind to draw on, that might bring up a vision of the escape and the direction that the rebel had gone.
This one was no low-ranking rebel. This one was one of Leia’s precious pilots, someone who would know where rebel bases were scattered about.
Where Leia Organa herself was.
Kylo just had to make sure to lose this one. This clue could take him to Leia, and then, to Luke, if his own spy didn’t manage it.
~***~
Orange was an atrocious color for a red-head, Vera had decided upon checking herself out in one of the Resistance jumpsuits. So, the Knight of Ren turned spy tossed the jumpsuit onto her bed in the barracks and threw on something more casual – she was just going out to get breakfast, after all.
She tied her red hair back, threw on a black sweater and matching slacks. She always felt more at home in black. Imperial. First Order. Knight. Always, black. Besides that, it made sense.
The base she was on was freezing. ‘Because of course you would get sent to Hoth.’
At least the food was good. Warm.
Vera Schaeffer exited from her tiny quarters, as put together as she was going to get before her first cup of caf, and made her way towards the mess hall.
She got some looks for having a vibrosaber at her hip, but she was used to that. She felt vulnerable without her lightsaber, but that couldn’t be with her. She had to pretend she wasn’t Force sensitive, which meant, no lightsaber.
She hadn’t gotten much time to contribute to the Resistance. What they knew of her was simple: Vera Schaeffer of Eriadu. Family of Imperial supports. She went through the Imperial Academy system, so she had all the poise of an Imperial Officer, was on board with it all – until Hosnian Prime. She defected to the Resistance then.
So they knew she could fight. Pilot. Lead.
But, she hadn’t been tested, and she was from an Imperialist background, which meant she was mostly delegated to repairing ships – they didn’t trust her fighting with them yet, not on the field and not in the sky, but her knowledge of ships wasn’t going to go wasted.
“Hey, Schaeffer,” someone called to her as she walked into the mess hall, “You might have your work cut out for you today,”
Curious, she grabbed a cup of caf, abandoned breakfast for the moment to stand besides the twi’lek woman who had quite the grin on her face. “Why’s that, Vivi?” That wasn’t her full name, of course. The turquoise twi’lek had a much longer name than that, but it was what everyone called her.
“I heard Black Squadron was showing up. They usually get into some messes.”
There, Vera let her eyebrows rise, and the twi’lek laughed, “Don’t get too excited, you’ll embarrass yourself around the celebrities.” Everyone knew Black Squad.
Vera rolled her eyes, “They repair their own ships, anyway,” or that was what she heard. “I’m going to get something to eat,” she said, didn’t say if she’d join Vivi as she went to figure out just what it was she wanted that morning.
The only reason the First Order were now beginning to swarm it was because of a ship that had been shot down not far from where the command shuttle landed.
As soon as the ramp descended, the black robed commander of the infamous Knights of Ren descended, covered head to toe in black as TIEs began to land around him. Through his visor, he could see the smoke of the ship shot down and he walked towards it.
He was not leaving this to the Troopers.
The last time he trusted the First Order with that was Poe Dameron, and Poe Dameron escaped him, with FN-2187, and that led to the series of events that destroyed Starkiller base, and left him permanently scarred.
No matter what the First Order did, no matter how much bacta was used, and no matter how Kylo focused on the Force, he could not heal the scar across his face, nor near his heart. Both were painful reminders of his failure to Supreme Leader Snoke, in spite of his own personal success against his light.
Troopers began to swarm out of their own ships. Some were ahead of Kylo, and he found the wreckage with a few Troopers nearby.
“Commander,” one immediately greeted him, this one with a red shoulder plate signifying him as a leader. “The rebel is not here, but we do not believe they have gotten far.”
“Spread out. Comb the area,” Kylo gestured out, and immediately the white armored Troopers moved.
Kylo moved closer to the wreckage, examining the cockpit to find clues to how the pilot escaped, as well as signs of injury or difficulty in escape.
He was all but motionless in his examination, feeling things out not only with his eyes, but also with the Force, looking for a powerful emotion left behind to draw on, that might bring up a vision of the escape and the direction that the rebel had gone.
This one was no low-ranking rebel. This one was one of Leia’s precious pilots, someone who would know where rebel bases were scattered about.
Where Leia Organa herself was.
Kylo just had to make sure to lose this one. This clue could take him to Leia, and then, to Luke, if his own spy didn’t manage it.
~***~
Orange was an atrocious color for a red-head, Vera had decided upon checking herself out in one of the Resistance jumpsuits. So, the Knight of Ren turned spy tossed the jumpsuit onto her bed in the barracks and threw on something more casual – she was just going out to get breakfast, after all.
She tied her red hair back, threw on a black sweater and matching slacks. She always felt more at home in black. Imperial. First Order. Knight. Always, black. Besides that, it made sense.
The base she was on was freezing. ‘Because of course you would get sent to Hoth.’
At least the food was good. Warm.
Vera Schaeffer exited from her tiny quarters, as put together as she was going to get before her first cup of caf, and made her way towards the mess hall.
She got some looks for having a vibrosaber at her hip, but she was used to that. She felt vulnerable without her lightsaber, but that couldn’t be with her. She had to pretend she wasn’t Force sensitive, which meant, no lightsaber.
She hadn’t gotten much time to contribute to the Resistance. What they knew of her was simple: Vera Schaeffer of Eriadu. Family of Imperial supports. She went through the Imperial Academy system, so she had all the poise of an Imperial Officer, was on board with it all – until Hosnian Prime. She defected to the Resistance then.
So they knew she could fight. Pilot. Lead.
But, she hadn’t been tested, and she was from an Imperialist background, which meant she was mostly delegated to repairing ships – they didn’t trust her fighting with them yet, not on the field and not in the sky, but her knowledge of ships wasn’t going to go wasted.
“Hey, Schaeffer,” someone called to her as she walked into the mess hall, “You might have your work cut out for you today,”
Curious, she grabbed a cup of caf, abandoned breakfast for the moment to stand besides the twi’lek woman who had quite the grin on her face. “Why’s that, Vivi?” That wasn’t her full name, of course. The turquoise twi’lek had a much longer name than that, but it was what everyone called her.
“I heard Black Squadron was showing up. They usually get into some messes.”
There, Vera let her eyebrows rise, and the twi’lek laughed, “Don’t get too excited, you’ll embarrass yourself around the celebrities.” Everyone knew Black Squad.
Vera rolled her eyes, “They repair their own ships, anyway,” or that was what she heard. “I’m going to get something to eat,” she said, didn’t say if she’d join Vivi as she went to figure out just what it was she wanted that morning.