Fandom Star Wars: Loose Threads [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

Cadence Faraday did not have too many missions off-ship, unless it was something on Starkiller base. Her life revolved around ships, so there was little need to leave them, particularly given the fact the First Order wasn’t exactly welcome in the galaxy. The trip to Jakku upon the Finalizer was to be one of her first planet-side missions, and even then, her involvement was limited.

Fly the transport shuttle to the settlement that Lor San Tekka had been identified at, and then stay back. ‘Good enough orders.’ Given Commander Kylo Ren would be more than capable of taking care of things. He could have piloted the ship himself, but he wanted to make an entrance and step right on down from the ramp as the ship was settling.

Admiral Faraday was doing her best not to consider the fact that Kylo Ren was back there, but it was hard. Even without the Force, his presence could be felt, drowning any area he was in with fear. His appearance alone did that, but Faraday was certain the rest was the Force, and that he was projecting that sensation of dread, outwards. True or not, it remained her theory.

After all, Snoke seemed just as capable, even when he was only a hologram. Not even Phasma could project quite like that, although her chromium visage was frightful to many.

She kept her attention forward, on Jakku. The desert planet meant little to anyone, but to Cadence, it was almost a homecoming.

Here, truly, was where the First Order began. The infamous Battle of Jakku had sent destroyers to the sands, and scattered the Imperial remnants to Wild Space, to become the First Order. Rae Sloane had spoken of it, as did plenty of other surviving officers of that time. Even Armitage Hux had seen bits of it, though he’d been far too young to have contributed to it.

‘It looks dead.’ That was Cadence’s first impression of the planet as she began to descend into the atmosphere of it. Likely, all desert planets looked dead, but seeing the destroyers dotting the landscape of the planet didn’t help with her perception of it. They seemed like giant grave markers to her. ‘What did we want with Jakku?’ Was it simply that it was out of the way?

That couldn’t be right. Why would Lor San Tekka be here, if it didn’t have something to do with the Force? Why was Luke Skywalker’s information here, on Jakku? ‘There’s more to it.’ More than she’d ever be told, of course. She didn’t have the Force. She didn’t get to know these things.

“You’re right.”

Cadence nearly jolted out of her seat as the heavily modulated voice spoke out behind her, gray eyes widening in shock she couldn’t keep down. She didn’t, but her grip on the controls tightened, and she forced herself not to look back at Kylo Ren – it wouldn’t help her. She’d just be staring at a mask; she had no idea how he looked beneath it, and quite honestly, didn’t want to know.

He had somehow managed to step into the cockpit without her awareness. And tapped into her thoughts. The surface ones, anyways. She tried to stop the flow of them about her immediate dislike of his violation of the sanctity of her mind, and spoke, “About Jakku?”

Kylo’s gaze held the horizon, and the approaching village. He was silent for a few seconds, “Yes,” was his final word on the matter, with no elaboration, before he turned away from the cockpit.

The tall man walked back to his position before the ramp of the transport shuttle. He felt something out there that called to him in a familiar way. He knew it was not Lor San Tekka, though he could feel the man’s presence when he focused on the life ahead. There was something more in the Force.

Familiar.

‘Not Luke.’ No, Luke Skywalker wasn’t there, but Kylo Ren could not pen it down. His dark eyes were hardened into a glare ahead at the door, the mask obscuring any indication of his disturbance, although it wouldn’t have mattered much. His own face had long been foreign to him, his ability to emote slowly worn away with anger and frustration overriding everything else.

A single fist clenched at his side.

He could feel the fear, out there, as they approached. The villagers knew what this meant, even if they’d never met the First Order before now. They understood the vessel had no friendly intent. ‘Good.’ They were fools for harboring Luke Skywalker’s secret, fools for harboring Lor San Tekka. Now, they would pay for that.

The shuttle came to an easy enough landing, and the ramp fell to the sandy ground, door opening wide to let Kylo Ren out, his black form drawing immediate attention – and fear – from those who had dared to stand around and wait to see what was in the ship.

He was followed by the FN Corps and Phasma herself. Those who had stood waiting, began to run.“Your command?” Phasma’s own modulated voice reached him as he looked over the field, noting the X-Wing that was present.

‘They were here first.’ Not a good sign.

“Gather everyone up,” Kylo ordered, “Kill any who resist.”

The Stormtrooper Captain nodded, and relayed the order to the FN-Corps, directing them to gather the villagers – and kill anyone who resisted. “This includes droids and animals,” Phasma clarified, though Kylo Ren barely heard her.

He was trying to find the source of that familiarity which distracted him from joining the fray and dragging Lor San Tekka out from whatever hidey-hole he may have found in the village. ‘Where are you?’ He started to walk forwards, ignoring the screams and cries of supposed innocents as they were caught by Troopers or directed towards the village center.

Ignoring Phasma’s comment to the Admiral – a suggestion to stay in the ship – that the Admiral clearly ignored, stepping out and overlooking the situation. Near the ship, of course – but out of it all the same, and pushing back red hair that she hadn’t done up to make sure it didn’t obscure her vision.

‘Poe Dameron?’ Kylo sensed him there, before the other sensation in the Force registered, the familiarity hitting him the same as Poe – both known from younger years. From another name.

‘Skye Ruana?’ His attention shifted immediately in the direction he thought that he sensed her.

 

[witchingly]

"You need to hide." Those were the first words out of Poe's mouth the moment he noticed the ships coming. Him and Skye both knew what this meant. The whole village knew what it meant, and those that noticed as well were already readying themselves for what was to come.

"You need to leave," was all Lor San Tekka spoke in return, ushering both of them and BB-8 to the back. The X-Wings were not very well hidden but that wasn't something they could worry about now. They had what they needed — what was important now was getting off of Jakku.

As she ran, the fighting began. Skye could hear the sound of blasters, the screams of the villagers, and while she desperately wanted to stop and help, she also knew it was important that they deliver what they got, or this mission would have been for nothing. The moment Skye boarded, however, things were already taking a turn for the worse.

Flashing lights and blaring alarms alerted her that one of the engines had been fired at. "Crap," she muttered under her breath before getting out. Two stormtroopers were closing in on them and Skye immediately pulled her blaster out to fire shots at their feet. As she did this, Poe joined her, and the matter was taken care of quickly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only matter on their hands. In fact, it was the least of their issues.

"We're not getting out of here so easily," Skye told Poe as she inspected the engine of her X-Wing.

"Way to be optimistic," Poe replied before taking the map out of the small bag it was kept in. He crouched down in front of BB-8. "This is safer with you than it is with me. Go as far away as you can, okay?"

Skye didn't quite like the idea of leaving BB-8 alone, but she knew Poe was right. They'd have less chances of finding the map this way. "We'll come back for you," she promised before turning to join Poe. BB-8 reluctantly took off into the darkness while the other two took cover.

As they watched everything that unfolded, Stormtrooper FN-2187 was running around, blaster in hand. The sight of another stormtrooper falling in front of him made him crouch down to take cover. All he could do was watch as he struggled to move, reaching out to smear blood across his helmet, before he stilled for good.

Witnessing that struck a chord within him. For long he'd felt out of place. This violence wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to be on any side because it all called for danger and death, as he'd just witnessed. He already knew he didn't belong. This pretty much hit the nail on the head.

But it wasn't like he could just up and leave. That was treason. No, for now at least, he was going to suck it up, so he got up — albeit reluctantly — and joined a few other stormtroopers who'd done most of the job when it came to rallying up the villagers.

"Stay here," one of them barked at him, and he could only nod in response. He did what he was told, but he also did his best not to make eye contact with any of the villagers. He could still hear some of their cries, and the sense of fear in the air only grew stronger now that Kylo Ren stepped out of his ship. He didn't dare look toward the Commander. He stayed put, holding his blaster, till he also noticed Admiral Faraday as well. What was she doing outside the ship?

Skye watched as two stormtroopers dragged Lor San Tekka forward. Once she saw the dark, cloaked figure step out of his ship, she knew where they were taking the old man, and she was filled with dread.

Poe seemed to be feeling the same way, if his grim expression was any sign. The worst part was that they knew that cloaked figure. They did once, at least. And back then, he hadn't been known as Kylo Ren.

Skye picked up on the familiar sensation she got the moment she knew Kylo Ren was on the ground. The Force made it impossible for her to not know when he was close, which meant he likely knew the same about the two of them. And if he didn't care, he was about to, because Skye couldn't stand by and let Lor San Tekka die.

It seemed Poe was thinking the same thing — the only difference was that he went with his feeling and blew their cover.

"Poe—" She watched as he got up and aimed his blaster right at Kylo Ren. She wasn't close enough to push his hand away physically, but the powers of the Force acted for her, shoving his hand away at the last second and messing up his aim. The shot was fired at the ground instead, and now clearly gave away their location.

Great.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren was distracted from the sensation of being certain that Skye Ruana and Poe Dameron were out there, somewhere, by his attention being drawn to Lor San Tekka as he was hustled forward by a pair of Stormtroopers. Kylo Ren moved to where Lor San Tekka was brought and looked into that face.

He recalled traveling with him and Luke before, looking for Jedi artifacts together. Just as he recalled that first encounter with the Knights of Ren, when he would later become Commander of the Knights of Ren. He had no idea how pivotal that moment had been, back then.

Back when he’d protected Lor San Tekka from the Knights who had come to get the Jedi artifacts for themselves.

He’d looked so much younger than – Kylo couldn’t help the first comment that came from his lips, a reflection of that, “Look how old you’ve gotten.”

“Something far worse has happened to you,” Lor San Tekka stated.

‘The shadow.’ That was what they had called it. Kylo knew better, now. This was not something worse – this was something so much better than what he’d been before. Kylo didn’t want to stand around and trade insults, though. “You know what I’ve come for.”

“I know where you come from, before you called yourself Kylo Ren.”

Kylo was nearly exasperated by the statement. “The map to Skywalker.” He tried to set Lor San Tekka back on the path to what he wanted, even with that nagging sensation that it was one of those he sensed that now had it. “We know you found it,” he started to circle, “and now you’re going to give it to the First Order.”

Kylo couldn’t care less about the First Order, but surrounded as he was by Stormtroopers, Phasma, and an Admiral, he supposed he should play nice.

“The First Order rose from the dark side.” Kylo wanted to bang his head against a wall. Did Lor San Tekka really think he was going to get anywhere attempting to lecture him? “You did not.” Kylo ceased his circling.

He walked directly in front of Lor, “I’ll show you the dark side.” That sounded a lot better in his head.

“You may try.” Stoic, calm, reserved, “but you cannot deny the truth that is your family.”

Kylo felt his anger boil over at that. Lor San Tekka meant Leia. He meant Luke, and he meant Han. ‘Did you know? Did you know who they were really descended from?’ He wanted to demand. Kylo Ren hadn’t found out until much later – his mother hadn’t told him, nor Luke, nor Han. No, he found out through the HoloNews when his mother’s name was being smeared by the New Republic for being the daughter of Darth Vader. He still remembered the fury he felt that day, at being lied to for so long, and at what was happening to her.

A fury that pulled his lightsaber into his hand, before he was distracted by the sound of a blaster shot that didn’t reach him – but hit the ground.

His attention snapped in that direction, and he knew who was there. The Resistance.

The lightsaber lit red in his hand and he used it to point in the direction of the shot, “Seize them!” He directed the Troopers.

There was little argument amongst the ranks, Phasma giving her commands through a comm in her helmet to address a few of the Troopers – including FN-2187 – to seize whoever had attempted a shot at Commander Ren, and drag them forth. She was angry enough that they had apparently missed someone who had a blaster.

Through all this, the Admiral was at least staying back, staying silent, but the sight of the lightsaber had caused her to jolt. Its hissing and angry sound was intimidating enough on its own, but the sight of it – that was something terrifying.

But then Kylo turned his attention back to Lor San Tekka, as the man looked out in the direction of his would-be saviors with such sorrow. “It seems I know where to find the map now.” And before Lor San Tekka could say another word, he was cut down by that red blade where he stood.

“Why?” Admiral Faraday couldn’t quite contain her demanding question, and a spill of thoughts followed it. ‘We could have interrogated him, we could have gotten more from him, we could have—’ but before so much as a word of question could part her lips, she felt her throat close.

A warning, more than a threat. She didn’t have the authority to question him, or his decisions – and she managed a nod as both hands stilled at her side, clenching into tight fists as she resisted looking foolish and clawing at her neck.

The pressure released.

 

[witchingly]

Skye was expecting the army to come toward them. They had not exactly been very subtle. As soon as Kylo Ren gave the order, many of them came rushing forward. Skye readied her blaster and stood up to start firing while Poe did the same — except he had to talk while he did it.

"What were you thinking?" He called out, shooting down a stormtrooper.

Skye's expression shifted to one of surprise. He was mad at her? "Me? What were you thinking?" And that was a valid question. A shot from a blaster wouldn't have caught Kylo Ren off guard. Not when he likely was searching for them to begin with. He would have known the two of them were there because of the Force. That made it impossible for them to catch him off guard.

"I was doing fine until you intercepted my shot!" He fired two more shots, causing a few of them to jump out of the way.

As much as they fired, however, it became clear to Skye that they were grossly outnumbered. Each stormtroooper they took down had two more taking its place. Skye was relieved that BB-8 was long gone. Now she was trying to think about how to get out of this.

As Skye continued to fire at the various enemies ganging up on them, she sensed struggle and looked to her left to see that Poe had been subdued. His blaster was out of his grasp, and his arms were both held down by stormtroopers. In an attempt to try and help, Skye once again channelled the force. She succeeded in sending the enemies around Poe onto their backs and further away from him, but in doing so, she was left vulnerable.

It didn't take very long after that for her blaster to be taken away and for her arms to be held behind her back. A quick glance behind her showed her that the same had happened to Poe, and the fallen stormtroopers were slowly getting back up.

Well that was a failure. In any case, they still didn't have what Kylo Ren was looking for, and they were about the only ones that did it seemed, because right as she was taken a hold of, she watched Kylo Ren lift his lightsaber directly over Lor San Tekka.

Skye froze, but was dragged forward nonetheless. She could feel a scream building in her throat, "No!" But by the time she yelled the word, the deed had already been done. She watched as the old man was struck down in one swift movement, and the only thing she felt in that moment was helpless.

Meanwhile, FN-2187 was continuing to feel a myriad of different emotions. He'd received his orders — to go after the Resistance fighters. he hung back though, letting the ones that run ahead first do most of the work. Though there were only two of them, they put up a good fight.

FN-2187 was also surprised when he noticed that one of them happened to be force sensitive. Just when he'd thought that there were no others. And if he could be proved wrong about that, then surely he didn't have to stick around and do something he didn't believe in, right?

For the time being anyway, he did his job. He scrambled forward, avoiding tripping over himself as random blaster shots were fired at the ground near his feet. He was ultimately the one to grab hold of the woman while she was distracted trying to help her companion. It wasn't as hard as he thought because she seemed to almost go limp in their grasp. When he looked ahead, he realised why.

Kylo Ren wasted no time getting rid of the old man now that he was no longer needed, and the guilt filled cry that pierced his ears from beside him made him feel even worse about the situation.

FN-2187 didn't have long to process it though because he soon noticed something wrong with Admiral Faraday. He didn't know how he knew. He just knew something was wrong, and he wasn't sure why. The feeling faded quickly once Admiral Faraday gave a quick nod, he presumed to Kylo Ren, but he couldn't be sure. Everything was happening so quickly, and the trooper who had taken hold of the woman's other arm was ushering him along. "Move it."

So he did as he was told. Both of the Resistance fighters were pushed to the ground to kneel down in front of Kylo Ren and FN-2187 stood back, knowing now that his job was to guard since he'd come this far.

Skye looked up at Kylo Ren, almost as if she could see through his mask and into his eyes. Poe did the same, though he opted to throw some of his wit out there at the same time. "So do you talk first or do I talk first?"

 

[Lucyfer]

The thought occurred to Faraday to go back into her ship, and wait. To see no more, and invoke no further wrath from Kylo Ren. She heard enough horror stories from other officers, particularly poor Lieutenant Mitaka, who was often tasked with delivering messages to Kylo Ren. It was rare that Kylo actually killed anyone – likely, they had Snoke to thank for that – but she didn’t want to test it.

Even if she felt anger wash over her after the fear had faded. Perhaps it was wrong to question Kylo in front of their enemies, but his response seemed unwarranted.

She couldn’t quite help but lift a hand to her throat as the Resistance fighters were subdued, FN-2187 assisting in that, and bringing them over to Kylo Ren. Both were dropped harshly to their knees, a man with a rather scrappy look to him, and a darker woman who had utilized the Force. Kylo was likely to latch onto that one, even if the man spoke first…with his stupid question.

Faraday managed not to sigh at his idiocy. ‘Scrappy indeed.’ It was going to get him killed. Not that he really had hope of survival at this point.

Kylo Ren did not drop down to his knees to join the pair. He stared down at them, that familiar heat, that familiar anger, pressing in on him, even with some wonderment. Poe, well, Poe he was simply angry with for supporting Leia’s Resistance, for not seeing even after his stint with the New Republic, how messed up this galaxy was.

Skye?

He supposed, in some way, he could understand why she would stand opposed to him, given what he had done. If she knew who he was, which he was certain, she must. ‘How did you survive?’ He would not get to ask that, here. He could not reveal in front of all these Stormtroopers that a Jedi had survived.

Poe’s comment grated on him. “The old man gave it to you two,” Kylo assessed immediately, shaking his head a bit as Poe gestured to his own face.

“It’s very hard to understand you with all the—” Kylo didn’t bother to wait for him to finish.

“Bring them on the shuttle.” He ordered, taking another glance at Skye, though it would be hard to notice, “Put them in binders.” He added. “I want them fully searched when we have them in cells aboard the Finalizer.” There was little point to a search out here, and he wanted – needed – so much more information from them.

From Skye.

Stormtroopers would move ahead to drag the pair back up to their feet, binders that were on their belts would be strapped upon wrists, as Phasma came forward to approach Kylo Ren. A trooper would move ahead of FN-2187 to the job of bringing Skye up as Phasma approached – nerves, no doubt, getting to them and making them push ahead.

“Sir,” she drawled, “The villagers,” almost bored, almost as if they were a second thought.

Kylo Ren cast his gaze out at the huddled masses, terrified, some crying, some just staring…hoping. Their hopes would be in vain. Their cooperation, in vain. “Kill them all.” Kylo Ren ordered.

Immediately, some of the Stormtroopers lifted their blasters to follow the Order.

Faraday did not, though she had a blaster on her hip – she decided now was as good a time as any to turn into the ship, and make sure the prisoners would be secured. ‘They have to. They have to prevent witnesses.’ She reasoned, and she knew she’d find no disagreement in Phasma. Phasma would likely understand it better. It was worth a conversation, later, certainly.

“On my command….” She heard Phasma saying in the background.

 

[witchingly]

Skye grit her teeth as Poe spoke. Did he really need to poke the man further? Clearly, he wasn't willing to stop there, but he was finally silenced when Kylo gave the command — They were to be taken aboard the ship and searched. And then probably tortured to find out the location of the map. At least it would buy them some time. Skye wasn't sure what she'd do now but there were many thoughts in her mind.

Skye was lifted by her arms, before her wrists were held behind her back and bound. Poe was in a similar condition and they both were pushed along into a ship. Skye turned back when she heard the strong voice of a woman giving a command. She knew what was to come before the words had been said which was why she looked away in time. All Skye saw was the reflection of the flashing red lights, and the screams of the innocent plagued her ears.

FN-2187 would have much rather preferred to have taken the prisoners on the ship. He didn't rush because he wasn't expecting what came next. When he heard Kylo say to kill all the innocent, FN-2187 wanted to run inside and avoid the whole thing but it was too late now. The other troopers were already standing ready, blasters in position, and FN-2187 knew he had no other choice, in that moment.

Reluctantly, he held up his blaster as well, aiming at the many innocents, and when the command was given, he could hear firing all around him. None of those sounds came from his own blaster though. In that moment, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Slowly, his arms lowered themselves, and eventually, the shooting stopped. He was hoping nobody noticed that he failed to follow an order, but if anyone did, they didn't bring it up with him. Not yet at least. After that, they all had to head back, and soon enough, FN-2187 was aboard the Finalizer yet again.

He needed room to breathe. He needed somewhere where nobody would see him and FN-2187 rushed to the nearest empty space he could find to take off his helmet and take a breath. He couldn't do this anymore. He didn't want—

"FN-2187." The familiar voice came from behind him and he knew who it was. He didn't turn around, but he stood up straighter, to listen to what Phasma had to say. "You are to submit your blaster for inspection."

FN-2187 replied the way he had done for so long, "Yes, Captain."

And after ordering him to put his helmet back on, she was gone, and FN-2187 had made a decision. He was going to get out of there. He had to do it now... but he also needed a pilot.

A prime candidate was currently being hauled along with Skye to the rooms they'd be kept in. Of course, not the same one, and Skye tried to do her best to remember the route, just in case. It felt even more worrying to be separated from Poe but she'd have to figure things out as they came. Now that she was bound and alone, she knew she'd be meeting with Kylo soon enough.

And she wasn't going to give up the location of the map no matter what.

 

[Lucyfer]

The Admiral wasted no time in returning them to the Finalizer. She wasted no time in exiting the ship once it was cleared, but she didn’t catch Phasma outside. A small swell of disappointment was quelled as she walked to the Bridge; she would at least find Armitage Hux there and learn the situation, and if there were new commands for herself.

Armitage Hux was already being briefed when she arrived, not by Phasma, but Kylo Ren himself. “I take it you failed to retrieve the map once again, Commander?” Hux’s disdain was obvious. “I hear we have two prisoners.” Which meant, of course, that they were necessary to finding it. Otherwise they wouldn’t be there.

Kylo did look agitated. “Searches indicate they have nothing of value on them,” Kylo agreed, “but it’s in their minds. I’m going to speak with the female,” he refused to name her right then. Refused to admit in front of Hux that he knew her, and that she was a Jedi who shouldn’t even be alive.

There was a quirk at Hux’s lip that went unspoken, but both the Admiral and Commander noted it – even if the Admiral kept her distance. “Then I’ll dispatch a team to get the information out of Dameron,” he already knew that prisoner – Poe had been a pain in the side of the Order for years now.

The name registered with the Admiral, just as well. She didn’t know his face off-hand, but she remembered plenty of complaints from Terex about a ‘Poe Dameron’ before Terex left the First Order.

“It’s pointless.” Kylo noted.

Hux just sneered, “We’ll see about that.” He never wanted to depend on Kylo’s abilities.

Kylo wouldn’t stand and argue. He’d let Hux waste precious time and resources on interrogating Poe Dameron. He turned on heel, black cowl sweeping behind him, and made for the exit of the Bridge. He halted briefly as the doors opened early, Phasma stepping in. She gave a curt nod to Kylo Ren, “Commander, the prisoners have been taken to cell blocks D and F,” not together, that was begging for trouble, “Rooms 15 and 2. Dameron is in Cell Block D, his companion, in F.”

“Thank you, Captain,” at least someone had the proper respect. With that, he strode out. It would not be long before he had taken the lift to the room, and found himself before it.

He didn’t enter immediately. He stared at it for a few long moments, before he ungloved his hand and pressed it to the pad to open it, and then stepped in, moving his glove back on. If the Stormtroopers had done their job right, Skye would be strapped to the chair, her weapons removed and taken away from her.

Kylo wondered if they’d found a lightsaber. Phasma didn’t mention it.

“Skye Ruanda.” He greeted as he walked around to face her. “It’s been a long time.”

~***~

General Hux’s gaze remained steady on Phasma, but she turned to the Admiral first, “Admiral Faraday, a word.”

The Admiral nodded, and when Phasma gestured outside the room, she followed, until they were far enough that the sliding doors closed. “Is something the matter, Captain?”

"Perhaps," was the vague answer, before the elaboration, "I have had FN-2187's blaster taken for inspection. He did not fire a single shot on Jakku. Given your interest in his future, I thought I should bring this to your attention, Admiral."

That was potentially problematic. "Thank you. I'll speak with him to consider what may need to be done." Reconditioning was likely to be in order for him.

Phasma said as much. "I would plan on at least a month of reconditioning, but I will be interested in your assessment, Admiral."

And she would provide it. Faraday didn't ask Phasma where the stormtrooper was. Everyone, officer to trooper, had tracking devices in their belts, and her clearance allowed her to locate him through that.

She didn't quite realize how close to cell block D that was, when she caught sight of him. "87," the full term was a mouthful and felt unnecessary, "Do you have a moment?" Not an official request.

 

[witchingly]

Skye could sense that Poe wasn't close but Kylo was. She picked up on it as he neared her cell. Looking around the room, Skye realised there was hardly anything in sight. Her weapons had been taken from her as soon as she was on board the large ship. Where they were kept, she had no idea. She was hoping they'd be somewhere right outside, but Skye didn't get a good look.

Before she had much time to think on it, the door opened. Skye turned her face toward the sudden light, and she saw a familiar cloaked figure standing in the middle.

He walked forward, and the door closed behind him, surrounding them in a dull lighting once more. He was taller now than she last remembered. Or maybe it was just all that time apart.

"It has," Skye agreed with what he pointed out. Skye's arms were strapped to the side but it wouldn't have mattered even if she wasn't bound. She wasn't going to attack him, and he probably knew that. She couldn't say if she believed the same of him. It was hard to tell.

"I bet you thought it'd be never," Skye continued, referencing the fateful day all the Jedis had been killed. Well, clearly not all of them.

Even though she mentally cursed Poe for it earlier, Skye couldn't help but comment on the same thing. "It really is hard to hear you with that mask on." Perhaps part of her hoped that by removing the mask, she'd see the man she once knew, but that wouldn't make much of a difference.

Skye didn't want to beat around the bush but she didn't say anything else for the time being. She wanted to hear from him what he thought. She wanted to see if he came here to find out how she could be alive, or if he dismissed that entirely and came only to retrieve the information he needed to get.

~***~

It was not very hard for FN-2187 to find out where the resistance fighters were being kept. Shortly after he'd submitted his blaster for inspection as asked, he'd taken off down a corridor, hoping to find the man he needed. It made sense. It was a win-win situation for the both of them — the complication arose because there were two of them and not just one, and it would admittedly be easier if they could just leave with one.

But FN-2187 was not expecting any of this to be easy. He was still sweating in his armour, and his heart was beating rapidly inside his chest. If he was questioned by the wrong person, he'd be done for. He had to carry this out with confidence and a sense of calmness, or he'd never be able to pull it off.

FN-2187 rehearsed what he was going to say. Kylo Ren wants to see him. If the man was only being guarded by one trooper, it'd be easy enough to convince them to let him go. After that, they'd have to find their way to a TIE fighter — or figure out a way to save his companion as well.

It did not occur to him that the man might be in the middle of questioning. That would certainly be a bad thing to walk in on, but he wouldn't get to find out, because a familiar voice called out his name as he neared cell block D and FN-2187 stopped in his tracks only to turn around and come face to face with General Faraday.

She wanted to speak to him, and he wanted to say that he didn't exactly have a moment, but he couldn't say that now, could he? So instead, he nodded and took a step closer to her. "Of course." Despite saying so, FN-2187 kept looking behind him, as though Poe might be taken out of his room and shifted to another cell during the time that he was not paying attention. He was on edge because this was a life threatening mission as it is, but he remained rooted, so as to not raise any suspicion with General Faraday.

It was proving to be much harder than he expected it to be.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren did not notice any loose straps. He wondered if Skye had attempted to escape, and made a note that he should have comm feed silenced on her side of the cell, and the door closed. The Stormtroopers were susceptible to the Jedi Mind Trick, and he was certain her training with Luke may have at least taken her that far. ‘At least I know she has not continued training with him.’ Not if she was with the Resistance, looking for Luke.

Luke was in hiding even from his sister Leia.

He didn’t so much as tilt his head as Skye accused him of not expecting to see her again. That was true. He could not look away from that bold truth.

He would not look away from it.

“You’ll get used to it,” was what he said in response to her comment about the helmet, and the modulator. He may get used to staring at her for a while, but he was not going to take the bait and remove his helmet, to let his face be seen so easily by someone who had once known it. It was bad enough when people he had only known under the name of Kylo saw his face; he wasn’t sure what sort of reaction to expect from Skye.

He didn’t want his curiosity to delay him long, but it couldn’t be denied. Snoke would, eventually, find out about this. That may come with immediate execution orders. It may come with worse than that. “How did you survive?” He kept his posture perfectly still, perfectly upright, to avoid giving cues with his body.

He imagined it was not something that Skye actually wanted to talk about, let alone with him, the craftsman of that day, when the Jedi Order fell, once and for all.

‘How did Luke survive?’ That was his own carelessness. He hadn’t expected to find he’d been careless twice, but that day had been…horrific. Emotional.

~***~

FN-2187 stopped and turned back to her, answering easily, but simply. His nervous energy was there, but it seemed more than usual. “Would you take off your helmet, please?” She requested with a light gesture of one gloved hand to his helmet. She did not desire to speak with him, with that on his face.

She wouldn’t be able to get much of a read on him underneath the helmet. That was good for their enemies – their enemies didn’t need to know that faces lived beneath the buckets. ‘Is that so? Wouldn’t it be better if they could connect?’ Faraday shut that thought out.

“Captain Phasma came to me with some news. I imagine you know what it is,” she didn’t want him stepping into the conversation entirely unaware, once he’d been asked to reveal himself. She didn’t know how practiced he was in schooling his expression, given the bucket, but this would give him a moment to compose himself, and prepare to address this in a…civil fashion, even if the news was bad.

Even if it begged several questions about what was going through his head, that convinced him he should not fire on the witnesses. ‘You wondered it yourself.’ Again, the thought was pushed back, ignored.

She had, but then she understood why. They were witnesses. This was necessary.

 

[witchingly]

Skye noticed that Kylo Ren conveniently dismissed her earlier comment — about how he probably thought he'd never see her again, just like the rest of the Jedi who were dead now. She could have been with them, but somehow she survived.

All because Kylo never looked back.

She should have known it wouldn't be so easy to get him to take off the helmet. She wasn't sure why she even tried, but she also knew she wasn't going to stop trying.

Perhaps she'd be made to if he decided to finish off what he started and kill her, right here, right now, but she still had information that he needed, so she didn't think it was going to be that easy. Especially since he still was concerned about the past, because that's what he asked her about. Not the map.

"Honestly?" Skye looked up at him, doing her best to maintain eye contact, even if she had no exact idea where she was looking at him, with that mask in the way. "Probably some stroke of luck." She herself thanked the stars since she'd somehow been spared, whether by accident or not. Kylo was clearly surprised about it, and she expected no different reaction.

"It doesn't matter how," she told him after taking a brief pause. "I survived and I'm here now. And I'm not going to give you what you want." He probably knew that himself, and she was probably asking to be killed in that moment but she wanted to see what he'd do, now that he was faced with a mistake he'd made in the past.

~***~

When he was requested to take the helmet off, FN-2187 complied, removing it and holding it against his hip. He noticed the difference between Phasma and Admiral Faraday. Whereas one commanded him to always wear his helmet, the other liked to speak to him with it off. One gave orders and the other asked if he had a moment to speak.

FN-2187 would have liked to think that not all people were as strict as Phasma but he knew that was wrong. The truth was that not all people were like Admiral Faraday, and unfortunately, it meant he still had to leave. She was in a better position. He was just a trooper — a trooper who had failed to fire any shots while on Jakku.

With the helmet off, FN-2187 realised it would be much more clear to notice the nervousness on his face. It could be attributed to the fact that he knew what she was here to talk to him about. The fact that he hadn't fired on Jakku. But if Admiral Faraday knew any better then she may just see something beyond that.

If he wanted any kind of opportunity to get off this ship, he needed to be convincing.

"I do, Admiral" FN-2187 nodded when she brought up why this conversation was happening. The silence that came afterword made it clear that she was likely looking for some kind of explanation, and so he gave her one. Or... tried to.

Admiral Faraday had always been nicer so perhaps a little candour would be appreciated. "I was confused," he began to explain. "It became clear to me a little late that it needed to be done. Because they were witnesses. By then, the deed had been done, so..." he faltered, knowing she didn't need any further explanation as to why he'd been such an incompetent trooper out on the field today.

 

[Lucyfer]

Skye had been present, and Skye had been aware of what was happening. She didn’t demand to know why, or ask any questions of that occurrence for herself. She stuck directly to the point of their confrontation, and he scoffed beneath his helmet, paced a bit further to her other side as he came closer to her.

“You may not want to,” Kylo Ren agreed with her sentiment, “But you will.” He knew the standard torture of the First Order wouldn’t work. It may have been based on Inquisitor torture devices that had once broken Jedi of old, but the Jedi back then were already broken and lost without their Council and their Republic.

It may break Poe Dameron, but it wasn’t likely to break Skye.

He lifted his hand, arm and fingertips angled towards her, and reached out with the Force towards her mind. Towards those surface thoughts that would bring him into understanding, as he added, “If you tell me, the torture your friend is undergoing stops.”

He didn’t even acknowledge that he knew Poe, in the moment. It was just ‘her friend’. Someone dear to her. Not someone he recalled sharing an interest in starships with, not someone he’d raced against, not anyone who meant anything to him – just ‘her friend’. And his fate was in her hands, so far as how long she wanted to hold her own guard up.

However long she wanted to resist letting him know what he needed to know, about where Luke Skywalker was. ‘If you tell me, I can tell Snoke that you did.’ It was not a spoken addition, but only a small and flickering hope that it might buy Skye time. Might buy him time. Though many of Luke’s padawans had been nothing but kind, many were too awed by who he, Ben Solo, had been.

Not Skye.

And there was a part of him, a stupidly hopeful part that was likely to get hurt, that wanted her to ask questions, and wanted her to see that he was right – that there were better options than the Jedi, than the Resistance. Never mind that he’d literally tried to kill her. That had been about destroying the Jedi.

~***~

It was hard for Admiral Faraday to consider that there was much duplicity in FN-2187. If he had meant to deceive them, he could have fired a few shots into the ground to cover his tracks, but he hadn’t. He expressed that he had been confused, his anxiety on display. No doubt, he anticipated disciplinary actions for it. Reconditioning, as well. ‘Independent thought isn’t appreciated in Stormtroopers.’

But it was in Officers, and it made Faraday curious.

In theory, there was no reason to be confused. Phasma gave a clear order, based on the order of Commander Ren. Every other Stormtrooper had reacted to it immediately – Faraday had seen them lift their blasters and aim. ‘Would you?’ She knew the answer. She would have; she’d done enough in her own history to know she was capable of following such orders.

Her position meant she didn’t need to, often, but she’d done enough terrorizing from behind a TIE.

“Would you elaborate on your confusion, 87? Perhaps this is a matter that we need to address in our training programs,” perhaps it is not a fault of his own, but in how he was taught. She knew that wasn’t true, but it was the best way for her to suggest that she was looking to understand, without accusation. She’d done enough teaching of her own among those who would be TIE fighters to prefer a gentler hand. Admittedly, those had mostly been teenagers and kids, not…well, adults.

 

[witchingly]

Skye knew there was a reason Kylo Ren was here with her now and not with Poe. They'd try all they could with him, and she knew it wasn't likely to break him. That being said, it definitely wasn't going to break her. She knew that for sure. And because of his presence, she knew that Kylo Ren knew this as well. Which meant he would have to resort to other techniques.

As expected, he lifted his arm, aiming it toward her. She knew he was trying to pry into her mind, to try and get her to reveal to him what he wanted to know, but all those years of training would have gone to waste if she gave up so easily. No, she would fight. Maybe she could try to get under his skin. It might distract him enough or at least make him want to leave, which would give her some time to figure out how to get out of there.

Skye would admit that the added leverage didn't help. She didn't want anything to happen to Poe but she also knew they wouldn't kill him. No, he was a valuable asset. They'd torture him, definitely, but she had to hold out a little longer.

"I don't believe you," Skye told him with a slightly strained voice. She would continue to resist.

"You nearly killed me once," Skye spoke again, looking at him directly. "You may as well finish off the job because you won't break me." She wouldn't let him. He could try all he wanted — she'd let her body give up.

Something told her he wouldn't go that far though. Perhaps that was the only thing giving her the strength to keep going.

"What does it matter anyway?" She asked, deciding it was her turn to throw some questions at him. "What are you getting out of this?" Skye could think of a few answers, but she would never fully understand the reason he turned on his own. Not unless he explained it all to her himself.

And on the plus side, it would buy them some time.

~***~

FN-2187 wasn't expecting this conversation to be an easy one. Had it been Phasma asking him these questions, he would have come up with blatant lies and it still wouldn't have been enough. Yet here he was, debating telling Admiral Faraday the whole truth. He was hesitant. There were many ways this could go. Did he trust her enough to reveal his true feelings?

One thing he knew for sure was that the more time he spent having this conversation, the more time he was wasting. He could have gotten the pilot out of his cell and they could have been making their way to the TIE fighters this very moment, and the added pressure of a time constraint made him further nervous.

"I..." FN-2187 continued to hesitate. He wanted to find the right words to express how he felt so it didn't seem like he had wanted to defy orders, but rather that he was genuinely confused.

"They were innocent," he said finally, not finding any other way to say it. "I didn't... I didn't understand at first why they needed to be fired at, but it became clear to me that they were witnesses. It needed to be done." He tried to cover up his disillusioned state by expressing how he'd come to quickly realise that he received orders and he needed to execute them.

Only, as he'd already told her, by then, it had already all been done.

His words had been a little rushed as well, since he was in a bit of a hurry. He just hoped she wouldn't notice.

"I'm sorry," FN-2187 said, now that there was nothing more to say. "It won't happen again, Admiral." That, at least, was a promise, because he intended to leave this ship as soon as possible, and leave the stormtrooper life behind.

 

[Lucyfer]

Skye’s doubt was not unfounded; he had tried to kill her. He would, inevitably, kill Poe Dameron. That was a certainty. Once they had the information, there was no further use of Poe, beyond also revealing where the Resistance base was. The First Order had narrowed it down to a few systems, but they still needed to confirm which of those systems hid them.

It took a while, from his understanding, to bring Starkiller to full power, and that was ignoring the fact that their power source was finite, lasting only until the sun died.

He grit his teeth as he felt the resistance against him, not yet being able to draw anything out. His fingers began to curl towards his palm, before he shook it out, and broke it, as she asked questions – ones he wanted to answer – before he could resume. “Luke left you, too, didn’t he?” The question was rhetorical, “You didn’t leave him. You didn’t know what he did, or you wouldn’t be asking that question.” what he was getting out of it was justice. Revenge.

Skye wouldn’t be searching for him, if she knew what Luke had done.

“That night, I was shown what the Jedi truly want, what it truly means. I learned that all of Luke’s stories were lies,” it was unlikely that he saved Darth Vader. Kylo no longer believed that. He felt the presence of darkness around Vader’s helmet. His malice, his hatred. He knew that Luke didn’t believe in salvation, and that he would slaughter children just as easily as anyone, if he felt a hint of darkness.

There’d be no talking about it. “Do you know why Luke Skywalker is hiding from even his sister in shame, somewhere out there, getting stronger every day?” At least, that was what Kylo assumed, and he gestured out with that hand which had been closing to try and pull information out of her, a wild gesture, “Because he tried to kill me – Ben Solo – while he slept.”

And in so many ways, Luke had killed Ben that night.

~***~

FN-2187 stumbled over his words, but the Admiral’s gray eyes kept a patient gaze on him, not interrupting, not demanding, just waiting for him to find the words. Even if, perhaps, the words were condemnations in and of themselves. ‘Innocent.’ They weren’t taught to think that way – not directly, but through indirect means, they were all led to believe that the Galaxy out there needed them.

The galaxy was held hostage and controlled by the New Republic, which was destroying them. ‘And no one will care that this single village was lost. No one but you, FN-2187.’ The New Republic left the Outer Rim to rot, at the mercy of pirates and crime lords. It was how the Order got away with so much, even destroying planets – the New Republic didn’t care, and their apathy was terrible.

An apathy the Order did not need to develop, and so, a small smile quirked on her lips, “You’re not wrong, FN-2187. They were innocent,” and then the smile flickered away, “You’re the future of the Order,” not her, perhaps she was already too jaded, “Remember, it’s the apathy of the New Republic that is condemning so many lives to even worse fates. When the Order finally finds it place in charge, we cannot become as apathetic as them, we cannot forget that we are fighting to make things right…and we cannot forget what we’ve done to get there.”

Jakku.

“The end will justify these means.” And though she said it, clearly holding his gaze, a part of her wanted to look away, because there was something terrible in saying it with such belief. “I know that Captain Phasma will be looking into reconditioning you. I’ll speak with her before then.” She wasn’t sure yet what she intended to suggest, but she knew she meant to try and push FN-2187 somewhere else. “I will likely see you tomorrow.”

 

[witchingly]

Skye watched Kylo Ren with curiosity. He wanted to answer her, but she sensed there was something deeper there. He wasn't doing any of this out of logic. Not entirely, at least. There was something emotional tied to it. What else could make him want to leave his old self behind? She couldn't imagine what would have been so bad that it caused him to act the way that he did.

Skye didn't answer when Kylo asked whether Luke had left her too. Of course, she didn't now why he had left, and he was making it incredibly hard to be found, but she had a feeling this was all tied together. It had to be.

She remained silent, allowing Kylo to continue speaking. Talking about Luke's stories being lies. She didn't understand where all the hatred was coming from. All she understood was that it was aimed at one person: Luke Skywalker.

Finally, she got the answer. She realised why Kylo was so angry, and she realised why Luke went into hiding. Something, whatever it was, had prompted Luke to end Ben's life. She didn't know what could have possibly brought that on — honestly, she would have had a hard time believing it if not for the voices in her head screaming at her that Kylo was telling her the truth. This had happened. And as a result, Ben had put an end to all the Jedi. No, not Ben. Kylo Ren, from then on.

"That doesn't make sense," she told him softly, still recovering from the news. She believed it, but she didn't want to believe it. Luke Skywalker would kill his own nephew? It didn't make sense, but it had almost happened.

"And that still doesn't mean anything," Skye continued. She could understand where he was coming from, even if she'd never been in such a situation herself, but she didn't believe that all of Ben Solo had died that night. If it had, He would have gotten rid of her instead of telling her all of this.

Which begged another question: "Why are you telling me all of this?" She knew she had asked the question to begin with but had she been faced with anyone else on the ship, she knew her questions would have likely been met with more forms of torture. There was more behind all of this. Skye was sure of it.

~***~

FN-2187 wasn't sure what he expected out of Admiral Faraday, given what he'd just confessed to her. She'd never struck him as a violent being — not when she absolutely needed to, at least. She wouldn't have crawled up in the ranks if it hadn't been for that in her nature, but she was still softer than all the others.

When she smiled, he was genuinely surprised. It may have lasted only a short while, but it was there, and with it was agreement. They were innocent. Then why did we need to do that? He wanted to ask her this. He didn't though. Even if he felt comfortable enough to confide in her why he couldn't shoot on the innocent, he didn't want to push it too far. He would not take advantage of the kindness she was currently showing him.

The end will justify the means.

FN-2187 wasn't quite sure he believed in that. Or perhaps he did, which was what scared him more. This wasn't the kind of world he wanted to live in, so how could he help make it happen?

His thoughts on the matter faded as it seemed that their conversation was coming to an end. He nodded at the woman's words, and then spoke again for good measure. "Thank you, Admiral." The truth was, he could see her on the other side of all of this. She didn't fit in here — not according to him. This was no place for kindness. She was fierce, that was a given, but she'd do much better away from this kind of environment.

Saying such things would never be possible, however, so FN-2187 simply nodded his goodbye and waited for her to go. He reminded himself of his mission, and he was halfway to freedom. He just needed to find the right cell, free the pilot, and then... well, they could figure that out once he had another head in the mix, adding to the brainstorming.

For now, once he was in the clear, FN-2187 set off to finish what he had started. He needed to get off this ship.

 

[Lucyfer]

Though Skye couldn’t see behind that mask, Kylo’s eyes were burning with fury as she told him it didn’t make sense. No, it didn’t – except that, Kylo’s mind had found its own answers. Kylo had made Luke Skywalker into a radical, and the Jedi Order into that, as well. He had taken Luke’s half-truths about the future of the Jedi and seen what was really meant by it. What sort of galaxy would follow in the wake of that, where confused children were slain in their sleep, and the orthodoxy of the Jedi reigned supreme, more than it had in the New Republic.

Worse, than it had ever reigned before.

The New Republic was inefficient and deserved what was coming to it, but the New Republic under command of the Jedi Order would be a terrible thing to behold.

“You asked,” Kylo answered, “You asked, and you were there, and you did not know,” he stated. There were others, perhaps, who hadn’t known as well, even though Kylo had shouted it to plenty of them, told them to leave Luke behind, but they hadn’t done so. They hadn’t believed him, either.

The modulated voice could never carry the weight of his anger, nor the depth of his grief, but he knew both moved through the Force, the anger more obvious than the grief. That he still wasn’t over the situation only fed the cycle of anger. It was weak. “By choosing to keep this information about Luke’s location safe, you are choosing to protect him, and condone his actions. You are choosing to let him grow in power, so he can come back and be the savior again – but I won’t let him. I won’t fall like Darth Vader did.”

And Luke would not get to go to Leia, and tell her that at the end, her son had been redeemed.

Kylo Ren didn’t need redeemed from anything. “Do you feel good about doing that, Skye?”

~***~

The Admiral tipped her head at FN-2187’s gratitude. She did note he didn’t move from his spot, to head elsewhere – to his quarters, or to a mess hall, but it was not something she dwelled on long before she turned away and started to mentally compose what she’d tell Phasma. Started to try and figure out what it was FN-2187 needed to rise in the ranks and do better, be better.

He had the skills with a blaster, and many other weapons. Cadence knew this, she’d seen enough recordings of his practice with the others of FN squadron. ‘Phasma will insist he shouldn’t be moved from the corps.’ So would General Hux.

Someone who questioned direct, clear, orders was going to be reconditioned. ‘And that could take out his good.’ This was going to require hours of reading on old First Order training guidelines and rules. It was going to be a headache, and she knew that anything Cardinal, Brendol, or Sloane would have suggested back then may go entirely ignored.

She was going to need a lot of caf, but she was certain, it was worth it. ‘He was at least smart enough not to mention it aloud.’ Idly, she lifted a hand back up to her neck, before coming to a halt, a few hallways away, as an IT-O droid came around the corner.

Unusual.

Except that it started to dawn on her that she was now near cell block B, and she had been speaking to FN-2187 around cells. Her fingers went cold beneath her gloves, and her cheeks lost some of their pallor. What was FN-2187 doing out this way? He wouldn’t have orders here – stars no, not after—

Admiral Faraday turned right back around as she recalled that he also, hadn’t moved away when she dismissed him, even though he’d clearly been walking when they met in the hall. ‘He can’t want to speak to the prisoner, he can’t.’ Faraday didn’t think anything beyond that possible threat – and FN-2187 was already questioning enough. He would be too vulnerable to their lies.

 

[witchingly]

Skye could feel the hatred that Kylo was feeling right now, and it only grew more intense the more they spoke of this subject. She knew he was telling the truth even if she didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't give up everything because of that.

For a moment, she tried to put herself in his shoes. Sure, she would have been distraught if she had to find out that her Jedi Master — her uncle — wanted her dead and tried to execute her, for whatever reason. But would it have led to all of this? She wasn't so sure.

Whatever happened, she didn't think Luke deserved to die. She wasn't any closer to giving away his location, but she was closer to finding out the root of the problem, that was for sure.

"Did you feel good when you left me and plenty others to die?" Skye asked him in response. He wasn't going to get an answer from her, but she was going to make him understand why she wasn't just going to give up Luke's location.

"You're telling me now that Luke tried to kill you, and you ask me if I feel good about letting him live. But I didn't know that back then. And it didn't stop you from killing all of us, innocent people," she pointed out to him, arms struggling against her bounds, feeling the urge to make gestures as she spoke.

Skye took a brief pause, bowing her head, to gather her thoughts. She was frustrated, and the situation she was in didn't make things any easier. "He shouldn't have done what he did," she said finally, lifting her head once more to look at Kylo Ren. "But you shouldn't have either."

~***~

After his conversation with Admiral Faraday, FN-2187 was in more of a hurry. He sped along the hallways, slowing down only when there seemed to be other people around, so his behaviour wouldn't be questioned. He couldn't afford any more slips.

Finding the cell was easy enough so, with his helmet back on and his blaster at the ready, FN-2187 entered only to be met with a solo stormtrooper who was guarding the prisoner.

"Ren wants the prisoner." He'd rehearsed the words in his mind ever since he left his conversation with the Admiral, and now that he said it aloud, he was afraid it wasn't convincing enough. Fortunately for him, it was, because the bounds were removed without question.

Poe Dameron seemed to be in a bit of a bad state. FN-2187 assumed they had a go at him once, got nothing, and decided to come back later to try again. It was good he chose to do this now. Who knew if the man would even be in the condition to fly later on?

Taking him down the hallway, blaster aimed right at him, FN-2187 looked for some kind of empty space. The man needed to be informed of the plan or things would only get more messy.

"Turn here," he ordered him, using his grasp on the man's arm to shift their direction. It was a small enough space in the middle of the corridor that hopefully would go unnoticed. The corridors didn't seem to be busy right now anyway.

"Okay listen to me," FN-2187 told him as soon as they were hidden. "If you do exactly as I say, you might just make it out of here."

Poe seemed disoriented. "What?"

FN-2187 took off his helmet. He wasn't going to need it once they were out of there, but for the time being, it would benefit him if the man knew who he was working with. "This is a rescue mission. I'm helping you escape. No, can you fly a TIE fighter?"

Poe almost looked insulted. "I can fly anything," he replied. "Why are you helping me?"

FN-2187 gave it a moment's thought. "Because it's the right thing to do."

Poe stared at him for another moment longer before he put two and two together. "You need a pilot."

FN-2187 sighed, but nodded. "I need a pilot."

 

[Lucyfer]

‘No.’

Nothing about that entire day had felt good, but it had felt right. Ending the Jedi Order felt right, even if the method had not. He wasn’t sure anything would have felt good. He wasn’t sure anything since that day had, truly, felt good. He set his jaw against a response, though. Clenched his teeth together. He wouldn’t be baited into anything like an apology, when Skye insisted on clinging to the past.

No, she hadn’t known what happened then.

But she did now – and she still refused to give him any information that could help him to find Luke, and put an end to it, once and for all.

“The Jedi Order had to end.”

It was the only justification he had, but it was enough, “And I won’t let it rise again.” He reached out with that hand once more, and this time, his reach out with the Force was more sudden, more like a wave to break against the walls of her mind to try and tear them down, tear them open.

She may understand that Luke shouldn’t have acted – but she didn’t understand why this was right. Necessary. Perhaps she would in time, but time was not something he had when it came to making sure Luke never returned to the galaxy as a Jedi once again.

~***~

Admiral Faraday did not find FN-2187 where she had left him. She did not make it so far as the cell before she heard his voice, not obscured by his helmet, and another. Another she’d heard making agitating comments to Commander Ren. ‘Oh stars no, let me be wrong.’

She was not wrong, and she was able to approach the corridor going unnoticed long enough to hear FN-2187 say something about the ‘right thing’, and Poe Dameron boil it down to needs.

This was treason.

There wasn’t exactly wiggle room to debate with Phasma, Hux, Snoke, or Ren when it came down to this, and she was too surprised to consider that, perhaps, she ought to pull her blaster from its holster. Perhaps she ought to shoot them both where they stood, and not interject with some smart comment.

But the latter was what she did, “87, if you needed a pilot, we were just talking,” her arms folded across her chest as she stared down both him, and Poe Dameron, not at all pleased with the appearance of the latter, out of his cell (she didn’t yet realize, out of his bonds) in the corridor. “Why don’t you step out into this hall, and I’ll forgive the slight to my abilities?”

There was no please.

It also wasn’t much of a question, either. A hardness was entering her tone, a familiar chill running through her that would help to numb the actions she’d likely have to take if FN-2187 stood his ground.

 

[witchingly]

Skye didn't believe in his justification. It couldn't be the only justification but it was the only one she was getting, it seemed.

Before she could ask any further questions, Kylo Ren reached out again, and this time she wasn't prepared for it. It came quickly, suddenly, and it was strong. Skye could feel him beginning to pry into her mind to get her to talk and give him what he wanted.

But that was the one thing standing between him and Poe, who'd be killed if any of this was given up. And she likely would too, if they required no other information. That thought was enough to keep her going. That, and the fact that she believed there was more to him. He wasn't all Kylo Ren. But they'd have to see about that another time.

The strain was clear on Skye's face but she wasn't going to give up.

"I don't think you have that choice anymore," Skye told him, because it wasn't up to him whether she rise or not. Well, unless he killed her, but she already felt he wouldn't do that. Not now. And she was determined to prove him wrong.

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind," Skye added for good measure. She wasn't sure what she aimed to do here. All she knew was that she was not going to give up the only important piece of information she'd been trusted with.

~***~

"Okay we need to go back though," Poe was saying. "Do you know where they kept Skye?"

FN-2187 assumed he meant the woman that was taken along with him, and he nodded. "Cell block F, but—" Before he could say anything further about how dangerous that was going to be, a figure soon came to stand before them, outside their little hiding hole.

He knew who it was without needing to turn in her direction, and eventually her voice filled his ears and he found himself panicking internally. Now what?

Slowly, FN-2187 turned toward the Admiral. Her tone had shifted from their previous conversation. Of course it had. She was witnessing treason. She could have shot them both right there.

But she didn't.

Maybe... just maybe, he could try to reason with her? Or was he thinking too big?

Before he could make that decision, Poe reached out in an instant and grabbed his blaster before aiming it at the Admiral. What the hell was he doing?

FN-2187 tried to think about what they could do, what he could say. "Admiral—"

"Admiral," Poe wanted to take over. "It'll probably make things a lot easier for us if you lead the way," he said before looking to FN-2187. "Don't you think so"

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren was not getting what he needed, not yet, but he felt her thoughts starting to slip. Surface things, nothing he needed, as it was currently all focused on their shared history, and the whirlwind of thoughts his own words had inspired. Again, his fingers began to pull towards his palm slowly.

He heard her words, but they seemed distant. They weren’t bothering him. They were statements he’d heard often enough from Snoke when he failed. Not strong enough. Not good enough. Not capable enough. Not focused enough. To claim he didn’t have a choice was almost laughable.

He didn’t, that much was true.

He had no choice but to pursue Luke to the end. No choice but to end the Jedi. He knew she meant otherwise, that was obvious even in those surface inklings, but like so many other things, he let his mind twist it. His lips pulled back in a sneer that she wouldn’t see.

But, he hadn’t had the experience, too often, to deal with a Force sensitive who had apparently been prepared.

He relaxed his grip, released her once more – suddenly. Likely, a constant back and forth of that would get to her, in the end. However, he didn’t have the time, and those surface thoughts about the Jedi bothered him.

That she thought they would rise. That she considered herself a part of that, still. ‘Did you expect her to turn in an instant, in a torture chair?’

“If you won’t speak, Poe will.” It was a threat, but this time, one that would be followed through with action. He fully intended to go see Poe then, rather than linger here and deal with Skye’s resistant mind. Every second he wasted, the information was getting further and further away, and he didn’t have a clue of where the map was. Just that he was wasting his time.

~***~

As soon as it registered what Poe Dameron was doing, the Admiral reached for her own blaster, but she wasn’t quick enough. She’d laid her hand on it, and pulled it halfway from its holster before there was one pointing at her. She stilled, not foolish enough to try and continue down that route. She’d be shot, and she didn’t imagine the rebel was kind enough to put it on stun.

She let go of her blaster and it slipped back into place. Her hand moved from it slowly, so she wouldn’t startle anyone into an act.

Faraday glared Poe down in spite of his command, and the situation. ‘Stormtroopers will see something wrong. An alarm will be sounded.’ Except no, it wouldn’t. Poe wouldn’t be holding that gun the entire way. Certainly, he’d hand it back to FN-2187 so that it would just look like the Admiral leading a prisoner with Stormtrooper escort. And they’d get the second prisoner. It had more believability with her there, and she knew it.

FN-2187 would know it, and her hatred focused on him for a moment. “Oh, don’t bother,” she said to him as Poe framed his question to the Stormtrooper.

‘You should die. Here, and now. It’s the way to prevent their escape and that is more important than—’

Maybe so. And maybe Phasma would call her a coward or kill her later but she nodded. “It seems I don’t have a choice in this matter.” ‘Maybe you can signal to the guard there. Somehow.’ This wasn’t the end of the line yet. “If you’ll follow me, then?” She stepped back so they had room to leave their hole, her mind full of half-finished threats and half-believed hopes.

 

[witchingly]

Skye could feel him continuing to pull, and she was doing her best to resist him. It took a struggle but eventually she felt him release his hold on her, and she realised her body had moved forward because now it slammed back against the metal plate that she was strapped to.

In truth, Skye felt tired, a little groggy, but Kylo Ren's words got her alert once more. He was going after Poe.

Skye was able to resist his attempts to use the Force to pry into her mind, but she wasn't sure Poe could last very long. She needed to figure a way out. She could try to latch onto the thoughts of stormtroopers passing by. She hadn't been left with any guard — of course she hadn't. He knew what she could do, using the force. She'd be out of there quickly, and causing mayhem for him.

As she thought of what to do, FN-2187 and Poe Dameron were busy putting a plan into action.

FN-2187 wanted to try and say something — of all the people on this ship, Admiral Faraday was the last one he wanted to disappoint. At least if he got off without having run into her, he would never have had to face that. Now she was forced to cooperate.

Still, it was better than running into Phasma, or God forbid, Kylo Ren himself.

Since Admiral Faraday seemed to be helping — because she had no other choice when a blaster was aimed at her — Poe and FN-2187 followed. He'd been given back his blaster, because it needed to look like he was escorting a prisoner, not trying to escape with one.

They followed the red haired woman through cell blocks till they reached cell block F. This was where they were keeping her.

"Make up some excuse," Poe told the woman from behind, speaking in a hushed tone so any troopers passing by wouldn't overhear. "We need to get her out and then we're out of your hair."

They were coming up to the room and FN-2187 noticed that she wasn't kept in the same way as Poe had been. There was a guard inside with Poe and FN-2187 had been allowed to enter without much question. Right now, two guards were stationed a few feet outside her room, and they stood straighter when they noticed Admiral Faraday.

Though their postures changed, they remained silent. They were waiting for a command.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cadence Faraday refused to look back as she walked ahead. She didn’t want to see FN-2187’s face right then, or the smug pilot, for that matter. She considered that she could have led them the wrong way, but FN-2187 would likely catch on to that too soon, and then she’d be dead. ‘Tell the Stormtroopers at the door.’ There were two of them. The thought came and went. ‘You’ll be the first shot.’

Did it matter?

As soon as these three were out of her hair, she was dead. They’d know she aided them, no amount of ‘threat to her life’ would be enough to spare her. Like it or not, she was already committing treason. ‘It matters now.’

As she came to the Stormtroopers, and she had the opportunity to tell the truth, or lie.

“The prisoner is to be released into my custody, immediately.” She had no reason to offer a lie to cover her ass – they couldn’t challenge her authority, and so she didn’t make up something about Kylo Ren or anyone else needing the prisoner moved.

One Stormtrooper moved, while the other held his position, to release Skye Ruana from her chair, though the Stormtrooper would attempt to snap binders back onto her wrist before leading her out to join the group, blissfully unaware of what the group’s actual intentions were.

~***~

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren had managed not to pass the group on their way to the cell, and he reached the cell where Poe Dameron was. He strode in before the Stormtrooper could so much as tell him that Poe had been moved, and he paused, coming face to face with the empty chair, and confusion.

He knew he stared at it too long.

He walked back out of the room to the place where the useless guard still stood, “Where is the prisoner?” Kylo Ren demanded.

“Sir? I was told that you had requested the prisoner.”

“By who?”

“Another trooper, sir.”

Kylo was about to ask who, but it came to him, clear as day. He had been distracted by the situation on Jakku, but he still recalled the sense of something being off that led him to look at a Trooper with a bloody helmet. He didn’t know which one it was, off-hand, but he knew, immediately, it was that one.

He also knew this Trooper was an idiot, and with an angry outcry, he threw the Stormtrooper into the opposing wall with the Force.

 

[witchingly]

FN-2187 was growing increasingly nervous about this whole situation yet Poe seemed to stay calm. Or at least he looked it. Admiral Faraday could pull out the stops at any minute. He was just a stormtrooper with a single blaster. All she had to do was lead them to a room full of stormtroopers and they'd be grossly outnumbered.

But she led them to cell block F, as they'd asked her to, and so far things seemed to be going according to their wacky plan. He still had no idea what they were going to use to get off of this ship. TIE fighters were out of the question since they seated only two people. They were going to have to find something else.

Skye, meanwhile, in the middle of thinking of how to get out of her bounds, was surprised when the door to her cell suddenly opened.

She noticed a woman with dark red hair first, and she vaguely remembered seeing her back on Jakku, shortly after both she and Poe had been apprehended.

Speaking of which, Poe was there too, though he didn't look as grim as she expected him to look. What was going on?

Skye was released from the chair, but not out of any bounds just yet. She was walking though, following along behind the woman, while a stormtrooper stood between her and Poe. She glanced over to him briefly and he met her gaze, speaking now that they were further away from the other troopers. "We're getting out of here."

Skye had many questions. Did Poe not know there was a stormtrooper right between them? Or a commanding officer in front of them? Unless...

A brief tap into his surface thoughts gave her a few answers. The woman was leading them to their death. She was forced to lead them to their escape.

With a bit of walking, they were back where they started. Rather, back where Skye and Poe had been brought onto the ship in the first place. She saw rows of TIE fighters lining the walls and she vaguely wondered what the escape plan was. She was nervous to ask.

FN-2187 himself was a little more nervous at this point. He needed another ship or they'd have to command two TIE fighters. Assuming Skye knew how to fly. He looked at the back of Admiral Faraday's head for a moment before leaning forward and speaking. "Come with us," he told her.

Admittedly, he needed her help finding a big enough ship, but she had also been the only person on this whole ship to have ever been nice to him. She'd walked in on him at the wrong time. Otherwise he would have never wished this upon her.

And he knew what would happen to her once it was clear that she had helped them escape.

 

[Lucyfer]

The hangar wasn’t terribly far – it had to be close enough to the cells so that prisoner transport was quick. There were plentiful TIEs, but the command shuttle was already moved to its usual place. The Admiral thought to leave them there, leave the woman in her binds, and figure out if there was any way yet to save her soul – but as she started to turn to get lost, FN-2187 spoke to her.

The look she gave him still held revulsion to it. ‘I’m not a traitor!’ It was what she wanted to scream, but it felt hollow. “So I can be a prisoner?” Would she rather be dead, or would she rather be a prisoner? She thought dead, but then again, she assumed the Resistance was worse than the Order.

And she knew how bad the Order was.

There wasn’t much time to debate. The alarms in the hangar started to go off, followed by an announcement of the prisoners escaping. Needless to say, what Troopers and Officers were in that particular hangar focused in on them. “Prisoner it is.” Perhaps given a level head and a moment to think, she might have chosen otherwise, but as it was, she wasn’t going out in a fire fight like this, and she bolted towards the nearest TIE without a second thought, just before the hangar bay lit up with blaster fire and officers pinging others of where they were located.

~***~

Kylo Ren had made his way back to where Skye’s cell was. Rebels were predictable. Poe Dameron wouldn’t leave without her, and he thought that he could catch Poe in the attempt.

He was late – and apparently, Admiral Faraday was in on it, now.

Kylo Ren managed to restrain himself enough to call up to the Bridge, “General Hux, sound an alarm on the ship. Both prisoners have escaped.” They would be on their way to a hangar. They would be looking for an escape, quickly. If nothing else, Skye may have mentioned that Kylo had been heading Poe’s way to underline the severity.

Hux, for his part, didn’t question things in the moment. He had the alarm rung through the ship, and seconds later was informed of the location of them – which he immediately relayed to Kylo Ren, before dispatching his own contingency of Stormtroopers.

“And prepare a few TIE fighters,” Hux ordered, “Just in case.” Admiral Faraday was with them, it seemed – that meant he wouldn’t be succeeding in locking down any ships. She had the override codes. If they got off the ship, he wanted them pursued, immediately.

 

[witchingly]

FN-2187 had been thinking more along the lines of a 'free person', but Admiral Faraday did make a point when she mentioned the word prisoner. Just because Poe trusted him to get off this ship didn't mean that he would ever trust the admiral, and who knew what his companion, Skye, would think of the whole situation.

Instead of saying anything in response, he ran behind her as she rushed to a TIE fighter. Shooting soon began, shortly after alarms began to blare all around them. He spotted Poe heading to another TIE fighter and Skye was running right in front of FN-2187.

She came to a halt all of a sudden and turned towards him. "My hands." She didn't have to say anything else because he understood what it meant. He quickly got her out of them before running behind Poe and following him into the TIE.

Skye did the same, only into a different TIE, as soon as she was freed from her bounds. She had assumed that she took one that was empty, but that turned out to not be the case.

The red haired woman was inside, and Skye put the pieces together quickly. She had to get off or she'd be punished for treason. And Skye knew they would hardly bat an eyelid before getting rid of her for helping prisoners escape.

Skye didn't want to share a ship with a member of the First Order but she didn't exactly have a choice right now. Not when they were being shot at.

"I'll fly," she insisted, moving toward the pilot's seat so she could get the thing up in the air.

FN-2187 meanwhile, took a seat behind Poe who was getting the ship ready to go. "Do you know how to shoot?" He asked as he flicked a few switched.

FN-2187 looked around while he answered. "Yeah, but only blasters."

"Same principle," Poe explained. "Use the toggles on the left to switch between missiles, canons and mag pulse and use the site on the right to aim, triggers to fire."

FN-2187's eyes scanned the panel in front of him. "This is very complicated—" Before he could even finish his sentence, the TIE fighter lurched forward. Quickly grabbing the controls, FN-2187 tried to make sense of what Poe said, and a stream of shots were fired toward the stormtroopers down below. Okay, maybe this isn't so complicated.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cadence would have preferred to fly. She knew exactly how good she was, while this woman – well, she had no idea of her skills. Nonetheless, arguing was pointless. If she died, she died. “Fine.” She moved to the gunner’s seat. ‘At least I may be able to prevent some deaths.’ She could disable ships with some finesse, anyways.

She wasn’t going to shoot to kill.

Not that it would win her any points with the Order at this time, even if they recognized her actions for what they were.

She was at least able to access the control panel from the gunner seat – or rather, briefly take control while the TIE with FN-2187 and Poe struggled to escape. She clipped the cord through the control panel before shifting controls back to her own partner in the ship.

It was a necessary part of any TIE – in case one partner died and the other didn’t, rare, but it happened – then controls could be taken over by the remaining. “These don’t have lightspeed. I hope you weren’t planning to go far.” Cadence noted. There was only one place to go. They’d run out of fuel long before they’d outrun the First Order.

Their best shot was to get lost on Jakku, and quickly. ‘I hope it’s still night.’ She adjusted the guns, and fired through the cord holding Poe back before they were out.

~***~

The TIE jolted as Poe attempted to get them out, alarms starting to flash in the TIE itself. “I can fix this!” He immediately reassured, looking around the buttons and levers around himself and looking for one that would release the TIE from what Poe was considering its umbilical cord. He hadn’t even considered that, but then again, the Resistance didn’t often have their ships locked down like that.

They needed to be ready in an instant.

The Order had the luxury of time.

He didn’t need to fuss for too long – the cord was cut by fire from the other TIE, “Woooo! This thing really moves.” The outcry came unbidden, but with clear delight, “Thank you, Skye!” He assumed, of course, as his TIE was propelled forward by the momentum it’d been gaining since he was pulling against the cord. It leveled out quickly enough, and soon he was propelling through space.

‘Jakku.’ It was still there. The Order hadn’t gone to lightspeed and left the area.

That was good, as well as bad. He could go find BB-8.

He moved along the base of the ship, “All right, we gotta take out as many of these canons as we can or we’re not gonna get very far,” he explained to his partner, who he realized, he didn’t know the name of. “I’m gonna get us in position, just stay sharp.” He could figure that out when they were in the clear.

~***~

Kylo Ren was too late to the hangar, as Phasma was. They both looked displeased as they stepped into it, and Kylo turned off immediately, “Prepare to send Stormtroopers down to Jakku. To Niima Outpost,” Kylo directed. In case they made it that far.

“Understood,” Phasma agreed, and Kylo left to another hangar to get to his own TIE Silencer. He could not let Skye escape. He could not let her and Poe escape, when he didn’t have the information that he knew they had. ‘This is your fault. If you had just interrogated Poe first….’ He could have broken Poe much easier, but he had allowed sentiment to get in the way.

He couldn’t go before Snoke with nothing.

He found his TIE already disengaged from the wall when he entered the hangar, and was in it immediately, and launched it out into space. He reached out with the Force, intending to find the ship Skye was in, and pursue that one – to make sure it wasn’t destroyed, but crashed.

He needed at least one of them alive to speak with.