Star Wars: Commanders and Traitors [Closed]

[ReddShark]

Melsara thought about saying something sarcastic about how thrilled she was to be joining the first order, but it was more than clear that it was not a good idea. She had no lee way here, there was zero wiggle room for her to be anything but a model prisoner. She was convinced that if she even looked at him with the wrong expression he’d strike her down.


Following after him, she took a seat in the co-pilot’s controls when he gestured for her to do so. She doubted that he wanted her to attempt assisting him, but she couldn’t have with her hands cuffed anyway. 


When she heard the hiss of his mask, Melsara couldn’t help but look over to see the face that hid beneath it. It surprised her how young he appeared. She had heard rumors of him, and what Rey had done to him after their last interaction. Still, she hadn’t expected this. She looked away, staring at the window port in front of them, afraid he’d grow annoyed with her staring.


“Oh,” Melsara responded automatically when he asked her a question before she had given it any thought. The air hung in silence for a moment as she tried to think of something more to give him. “It’s hidden in the tree’s and jungle. It was an old temple of some sort, over grown now. It’s in the northern hemisphere, to the east.” It wasn’t much, but she hoped he’d take it for now.


- - - 


Poe nodded, pleased by her immediate readiness to leave on an unknown mission. He hadn’t even told her where they would be going, or what they were looking for but unquestioningly, she was ready to go. That was a good sign. 


“Well, I’ve already had breakfast and it should be a short mission, at the most a day - day and a half. So pack for a couple, just in case and we’ll meet back here in twenty.” He spoke to her almost as if he was giving an order to his squad, which she very well could be if she played her cards right. 


“I’ll stop by the hangar on the way and get you an X-wing. I just need to let the guys know that you’re coming with me.” He smiled again, pleased with how the day was going so far and how Vera was turning out. He liked hard workers, people that cared, and people that wanted to fight. He got along well with them.

 

[Lucyfer]

A temple as a base? Interesting decision, considering Kylo Ren would be searching temples regardless. He couldn’t remember much about a temple on Felucia. But then, all Kylo Ren really knew was that it was a planet important to the Perlemian trade route, which was in the hands of the New Republic.


‘I wonder if we could get to it through some merchant ships.’ Or rather, ships disguised as merchant ones.


With the lightspeed set, and the ship lifting from the planet, Kylo relaxed back in his seat for a few moments.


It did not take long to reach the Finalizer. Sometimes, Kylo was still bitter that Hux’s ship remained in perfect condition after Starkiller. It seemed like Hux hardly lost anything – never mind Starkiller itself. Kylo lost his original helmet, his command shuttle.


‘Your father.’


And of course, Starkiller, which he did like to consider his. At least the Darth Vader helmet had been on the Finalizer. And Hux did grab his lightsaber.


The radio buzzed to life, “Identify yourself.”


Kylo rolled his eyes. They recognized his damn ship. “Kylo Ren,” he spoke, “Open hangar 4.” He wasn’t parking his ship elsewhere. Hangar 4 was usually the one closest to the command center, which was usually the place to find the General or Phasma. Either one worked.


“Ren,” a sigh from the radio operator. “You’re forgetting the clearance code.”


Ren hated all of them, some days. He glanced to the rebel. Said instead, very calmly, “I can’t give the code right now, but if you don’t open the hangar, I’ll open it myself.” He didn’t want to be offering up clearance codes that the rebels could use. Just in case she ever found a way to contact them.


There was silence on the other end, for several long seconds, before, “Come in, Ren.”


When he started to pull into Hangar 4, he noticed how many Stormtroopers were there, including Phasma – no doubt, in case he wasn’t actually in the ship. He landed perfectly, but even before he got out of his seat, he heard a knock on the door. “Commander Ren?”


Phasma. He pulled on his mask, then reached down for the prisoner’s cuffs again to lead her out with him.


~***~


Vera nodded to his assessment. She never packed much, anyway – another thing one learned on Eriadu. Necessities. One had to learn the jungle they were going into, but some things didn’t change.


A weapon.


Currency.


Rations.


Rope – it was a rule. The second you didn’t have rope, you needed it. Best to just bring it.


Clothing. One more set than you plan to need.


A smile graced her lips, truly sincere, at the comment of getting an X-Wing, “I’ll be back here soon.” She informed him, spun on her heel, and sprinted. Fast – always fast. She made a habit of pushing a bit of the Force into these actions, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise when it was needed. A little bit more speed. A little bit more strength. Just a little unexpected – but not inhuman.


Besides, Poe was responding well to the eagerness.


Once back in her small room, she hastily folded four sets of clothes, grabbed the thin rope she had – thin material, but strong. It was already rolled up, and it rested over the clothes. She had a bag of currency, various sorts. Credits, and some rarer sorts of currency found in the Outer Rim. ‘I should bring spice….’ But that would cause too many questions, and she didn’t have any here, either. Back on base, yes – spice was a terribly addictive substance that some people would sell their children for. As good as currency.


She also grabbed her datapad. Not a necessity, but useful.


Her weapon was a blaster, and a vibrosaber, both placed on either hip.


She swung by the cafeteria to get rations as well, enough for three days rather than two. Always, just in case. Then, with a refilled cup of caf, she walked back towards the hangar – 3 minutes to spare.

 

[ReddShark]

Melsara sat silent for the rest of the trip, it seemed better to only speak when spoken too around here. She frowned at her dim reflection in the window port, she’d really made a mess of things. She considered her fate for a long moment, she was either going to have to live out the rest of this charade as a part of the First Order and never see anyone from the Resistance again, or she’d be killed. But with the option for living coming with so many stipulations, death didn’t seem all that bad. She sighed a bit, annoyed with herself for the decisions she had made.


As they neared the Finalizer, goosebumps filled her skin again. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Their leisurely and awkward flight was over already and she’d now be put in a cell somewhere to rot until the Knight came up with more questions. 


She took advantage of when Kylo spoke, and turned to look at him, it felt natural enough to give attention in that moment. His face didn’t match him, he looked strange sitting there with the helmet beside him. The mystery was gone now.


As they arrived in the hangar, Melsara could see the a large number of Storm Troopers waiting for them. She sucked her breath in, the fear returning, her need of flight instead of fight, returning. Almost as soon as they landed Kylo seemed to be on his feet with his mask back on. He was still more than a little intimidating, but at least now she knew he was human. 


She extended her hands up slight for him to grab the middle of the cuffs. It was easier to accommodate him than fight constantly. If she was a good, model prisoner, she at least had the chance of being released eventually. 


She followed after his lead.


- - - 


Nodding with a grin plastered across his face, Poe gave Vera half a salute as she rushed off to get her things ready. She just kept surprising him. She was an interesting character. 


Hoth wasn’t his home base so he didn’t have a real room in the barracks. If he had stayed to rest, he would’ve just used one of the empty beds. His clothes and essential materials for missions were already packed away in his X-Wing, ready to go. So with that in mind, he turned to head for the mess hall to pick up rations and then to the hangar to make sure she had a ship to pilot. 


He picked up rations for two days, he was sure they wouldn’t be out there any longer than that. If they were lucky they’d be back to Hoth by the evening, considering it was still relatively early in the day. He held them under his arm as he made the relaxed walk to the hangar to see whoever was tending to it that day. 


Vrat, a young male in the hangar at the time. After some brief small talk with the other man, the younger attendant had no problem letting Poe take out an X-Wing for his test mission. He knew that Poe was a great asset to the Resistance and that he wouldn’t lead his astray. 


Poe wrapped up their conversation when he glanced at the time, he was going to be late meeting Vera because he got to chatty. Quickly he departed the hangar and made his way back to where his ship was stationed, and of course, Vera had beat him there. 


“Did you wait long?” He asked waving one hand a little sheepishly. She’d even had time to get coffee he noticed. He turned to his ship and put the rations away before standing before her expectingly.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren held the cuffs tight in his hands to make sure Melsara could not flee in fright. The emotion was apparent as he walked to the door. It slid up with a gesture, showing the chrome-plated Stormtrooper upon it. She stepped down, stepped to the side.


"Commander Ren," she addressed him, "We were informed of your arrival and the prisoner." She stated. Her head turned a bit to make it clear she was now scrutinizing the shorter red-head. Her attention snapped back to Ren as he moved off the ramp. "Shall I see the prisoner to a cell?"


"No need," he answered, "She is going to be active in dealing with the Resistance. Where is the General?"


"The Bridge," Phasma answered. He had asked her to check Hangar 4 to make sure it was Ren that landed.


Kylo gave a curt nod and led the prisoner along with him to the bridge.


~***~


"No, I haven't," Vera answered, for Poe wasn't late, just behind her. She picked up the black bag and slung the strap over one shoulder. It was hardly heavy, fortunately. No reason to even feign a struggle.


"Get me an X-Wing and a helmet?" She asked him, left foot sliding behind the right. The jumpsuit might be inane but the helmet was necessary. She didn't feel comfortable with the thought of flying without one. 


"Or am I forgetting something?" His look was expectant and she wasn't sure if she was skipping a step, forgetting a step, that was the norm for the Resistance.


It was probably the stupid jumpsuit.

 

[ReddShark]

Melsara made no move to escape, she was far to focused on keeping her breathing level so her fear wasn’t so apparent to every single Storm Trooper that they passed by. She was sure Kylo knew her feelings, he could probably read her like a book without any effort at all. 


She let her gaze wander over the chromed Storm Trooper, that must be Phasma, she’d heard about the female Trooper. Last thing she’d heard though was that Han Solo threw her in a trash compactor, looks like she survived. 


Some kind of relief flooded through Melsara when Kylo said she wouldn’t be going into a cell just yet. It wasn’t long until the relief seeped away and she realized it may not have been a good thing. She took a deep breath, trying to ready herself for whatever would come next. She followed him through the halls of the Finalizer in silence.


- - - 


“Good,” Poe responded immediately, relieved he wasn’t running as late as he thought. “Yep, Vrat is brining it around for us. It’s all fueled up and ready to fly.” Poe gestured towards an orange and white X-Wing being guided out of the hangar behind them and rolled up beside Poe’s ship. “He should’ve brought you a helmet too.” 


Vrat popped out of the X-Wing and climbed down, offering the helmet to Poe who nodded to Vera. Vrat quickly changed his course of action and held the helmet towards the woman. “Have a safe flight.” He grinned. 


Even after being out in his ship for days and spending less than a few hours at the Hoth base, Poe was already ready to go again. He climbed up the side of his ship and leaned beside the cock pit, looking back down towards vera. “Do you want a jump suit? I guess they’re not required, but they look good on everyone.” He teased, his tone light.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren knew the Finalizer better than the back of his own hand...especially considering his hands were always covered by black gloves. If his knowledge of it weren't enough he could also pinpoint the tension on the ship.


Hux was not afraid-Kylo knew that, but those around Hux were. 


Kylo led the woman into the Bridge, full of darkly garbed officers and the General himself, peering at a map of a highly forested world. "Well, General, it's good to see you finally doing something useful." He had up Felucia, no doubt a Stormtrooper passed on the information.


Hux looked up, the arms he had behind his back shifting forward as he sneered at Kylo. Noted the prisoner, the reason Ren wouldn't provide clearance codes, no doubt. Here. "Ren, what is the prisoner doing in a highly secure area?" The General inquired, already certain he would not like the answer.


"The rebel is going to assist with taking down Felucia base. She is here to answer questions and assist," Kylo answered, not faltering under Hux's icy gaze.


~***~


"Thank you," Vera said to Vrat, taking the helmet and then pulling a hair tie off her arm to pull her hair up and back. Poe went on ahead to his ship, and Vera heard his comment.


"No," She looked up, met the tease, "I'm too much of a rebel for a jumpsuit," not going to conform to the standard in a group of rebels-how ludicrous!


It was easy to speak with him, Vera was finding. As if she'd known him for a while. No wonder he was so beloved by the Resistance-he cared, and not the polite caring, either. 


Definitely a rebel. 


She climbed up the side and situated herself, not closing the top as she adjusted the seat and controls for herself, "Are you going to tell me where we're going, Dameron, or am I just going to have to keep up with you?"


Either way worked, and she was more eager than she would confess to try out the ship,

 

[ReddShark]

Melsara followed after Kylo Ren quickly. He moved with determination and confidence as they moved through the halls. Most of the officers they passed moved away and turned their heads, no one seemed like the wanted to look at him. She wondered if he took his infamous temper out on his own soldiers. 


When they entered the bridge, people seemed more comfortable turning to watch them enter. She followed him to a tall ginger man who she took as General Hux, she’d heard plenty about him as well. She continued to not speak, which she was getting tired of, but there was no place for her to interject, or any reason. She kept her eyes downcast, avoiding Hux’s questioning looks.


- - - 


Poe looked back at her and chuckled a bit, amused by her answer. He wasn’t really surprised she didn’t want to were the orange jumpsuit, they weren’t exactly fashionable and truthfully he didn’t even wear his that often. He usually opted for a darker ensemble anyway. 


After making himself comfortable in his cock pit, he pulled his helmet on and started readying his ship; flipping switches to get the engine prepared. “I’ll transmit you the coordinates just in case.” He grinned again. “Let’s see if you can keep up.” 


With that, Poe closed his cockpit and the X-Wing roared to life around him. He still got a little excited every time he fired up his ship. He pushed a few buttons on the front panel and sent her the coordinates to Riosa just in case. While he didn’t foresee any complications on this mission, it was better for her to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. 


Slowly, the X-Wing moved out into the openness in front of the hangar and began ascending.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was written on Hux’s face. ‘This is a stupid idea, Ren.’ It was often written on Hux’s face. He set his jaw, considered ordering Ren to remove her, but he knew how that would go. It would lead to an argument, and while he didn’t necessarily mind arguing in front of his own troops who already knew how tense things were, he did not want to argue in front of the Resistance.


He had no desire for them to see the splinters and fractures within the First Order.


So long as he kept the topic off of his own forces, he supposed this could work. “Fine,” he seemed to exhale the word, and he walked back around to be opposite Ren, opposite the floating Felucia. “Where is this rebel base, exactly?”


Kylo provided an idea first, answering, “She said it was in the Northern hemisphere. East.” Hux followed the instructions, gesturing with his hand to move the world. Northern hemisphere became the only one, and he sectioned that out as well, to the Eastern half.


Then his blue eyes fell upon her. “Where?” He asked again, short and curt.


~***~


‘I can keep up.’ Ever-confident, the woman made sure to bring up the coordinates once they were brought.



She knew of Riosa. Never went there. They were one of the worlds Darth Vader turned into a living hell after the destruction of the first Death Star.


The cockpit closed over her as well and she took a deep breath, taking in the idea of piloting an X-Wing. There was a small part of her that screamed this was going to be terrible – the rebel ship wouldn’t fly near as well as anything the First Order had.


But she silenced that voice and soon had it rolling after Dameron’s, shifting through the controls as she got a feel for them and their location in the ship, noting the differences between the TIEs weren’t that extreme. No wonder Dameron had no troubles flying a TIE out of the Finalizer.


X-Wing followed X-Wing into the sky.  

 

[ReddShark]

Standing slightly behind Kylo and to his right, she looked at the world displayed in front of them. It was Felucia alright. She wasn’t necessarily surprised that so much was being asked of her so soon. It was expected that they’d want her to prove her loyalty as soon as possible, but this all felt so terrible. Blatantly pointing out another base on a map, there was no way for her to dance around the truth. 


She waited until she was spoken to directly by Hux, Melsara took a small step forward, evening her self with the Knight next to her and went to move her hands up to point at the map but the handcuffs were still held by Kylo. She glanced to him, silently asking permission to show them what she knew. 


Guilt rushed though her. She knew Poe Dameron never would’ve agreed to something like this, he would’ve just died with honor. He would’ve died like a fool.


- - - 


Poe grinned to himself, he was sure Vera would have no problem keeping up with him and he was excited to see what she could do in a ship of her own. If she was truly as skilled as he was expecting, it would really be useful to have her join his little squadron. Her knowledge of the imperial forces would help immensely and it was always good to have another pilot around to watch your back. 


His X-Wing took off, flying into the atmosphere, “We’re going to make the jump to light speed.” The raven haired man said over his intercom, communicating with Vera as he hit the controls for his hyperdrive. 


It was only a second after he communicated the order that his ship took off, disappearing into the stars with incredible speed. It wasn’t completely necessary, but it would certainly get them there faster. 


When he came out of light speed, he could see Riosa near by. He paused to look around, making sure that Vera had followed him.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo had kept a firm grip on Melsara's cuffs, knowing that it was one way to keep Hux in agreement. Show that the prisoner was not going anywhere. However, he saw the problem now.


Hux let out an exasperated sigh, "You cannot just provide the coordinates?" It seemed like something even the kitchen staff should know, but perhaps he was expecting too much of a rebel. They thought it was a good idea to oppose him after all.


Kylo didn't bother repeating the query. Instead, he let go of the cuffs. The way Hux tensed was worth it, even if he doubted Melsara would try anything. Now she would be able to show the base to them on the map, and they would both have a better idea of what to prepare for based on the location, and other tidbits this rebel would provide.


And without complaint, begging, or bartering! Kylo was pleased with this so far. She could become their own useful traitor...perhaps even like it as FN-2187 did. "Show us."


~***~


Vera silently thanked the Force for her fortune of a light speed jump. Regular piloting was well and good - enjoyable at times, but they were far from Riosa. 


She was a few seconds behind, keying in the coordinates and then figuring out the hyperdrive control placements. She did a quick, manual look over the path through that space before the X-Wing shivered and jumped.


For a few moments she was at peace, life moving by faster than she could see. Feel. The Force always felt...surreal in light speed.


Then she was out, ship cutting a smooth line in the open air as it came out and she took it to the left of Poe, Riosa before them. "Ever been here before?" She asked him over the radio, prepared to follow him down to the planet.

 

[ReddShark]

Melsara hadn’t even considered just telling them the coordinates, she felt even more stupid than she already had. She closed her eyes for half a second, trying to regain whatever composer that remained. It was hard enough being looked at by Kylo Ren, but now both men stood there staring at her with expectant gazes, even if one of them was hidden by a mask. 


After waiting a beat, she raised her hands that were still cuffed and pointed with her right hand to an area in the North-East before reciting the coordinates. “It’s right here.” She still regretted what she was doing, but she was beginning to rationalize her actions as her only option to continue living; which really was true. 


She was slowly starting to feel less guilty, but she still felt just as afraid. What if they never released her? What if she even though she was willing to work with them, she was still doomed to be captive in a cell for the rest of her miserable existence?


- - - 


Poe arrived above Riosa just a fraction of a second before Vera had moved to follow him. It was no surprise to him that she was having an easy time getting the hang of an X-Wing’s controls, considering she had been supposed to be tech for them. 


“No,” He responded over the radio when he heard her voice. “I’ve read about it though, and there’s supposed to be something down there that we need.” His ship hovered before he began to move towards the surface. 


“Go ahead and follow me down, keep it tight, we want to avoid too much attention.” He said into his com as he entered the atmosphere, his ship moving quick and careful into an empty and flat area outside of populated area. He landed and waited for Vera to follow suit before he opened his cockpit.

 

[Lucyfer]

The map moved with her gesture, enlarging the area that she motioned to the area, enlarging upon what was, indeed, a ruined temple. At least, the last time the First Order had gotten details of it, which was admittedly quite a while ago. The world wasn’t of importance to them.


Hux’s hands moved behind his back. “Who leads this area?” He knew the names of many people there.


“Rosann Battoo,” Kylo Ren remembered, but he shook his head. He didn’t know anything about her.


Hux knew little, as well. His blue eyes examined the base, assessing what he’d use it for, and then trying to imagine what use it was to the Resistance.


He needed more information, before he could determine what he wanted to do with it himself. He knew Kylo Ren was going to want to strike. “Tell me about the leader. Tell me about the average numbers on Felucia’s base, and its use to the Resistance.” He commanded the prisoner.


~***~


They were looking for a thing on Riosa. The details of said thing weren’t offered, but she imagined Poe would tell her if it was necessary. It could be one of those need-to-know things that they’d grab in a box, wrapped up nicely for them by some Resistance supporter.


Right now, this mission wasn’t about the details. It was about getting on Dameron’s good side, and getting his trust. “Roger,” she said when he gave instructions, and she flew down behind him, following into one of the old hangars that hadn’t been destroyed. Wouldn’t have been – the Imperials always had to have a place to land to check things out.


Just as soon as she was docked, she let the roof raise and quickly removed herself from the cockpit, setting her helmet down on the seat and pocketing the keys. In a split decision, she decided to also grab the bag. Better safe than sorry. It was a bit of a burden, but if it was necessary, she’d be glad it wasn’t in the ship.