Lucyfer
Said you'd die for me, well -- there's the ground
Numbers slipped monotonously from Demetri Tarkin’s lips as he read from a datapad the masses that had gathered at Chandrila. Soldiers, civilians willing to help, X-Wings, Capital Ships, and everything else – it was all recorded neatly in the datapads and constantly updated by the officers running around and trying to give some semblance of order to the bodies in a rebellion.
When the Tarkin looked up, he saw not what he expected to see. Kes’s eyes were wide, Typh’s lekku were twitching, and the Senator of Chandrila was all but gaping. “What? What did I say? What’s wrong? This is all we—”
Laughter broke out from Kes Dameron, and Typh clutched her hands tightly together, wringing the pink fingers in excitement. Adelita rose, the smile touching her tired eyes, “That is more than any of us thought, Governor.”
The man looked exasperated at that point, arm holding the datapad dropping to his side, “Really? This is still hardly acceptable up against the First Order. We need—” he visibly flinched when Kes threw an arm around his shoulders, the veteran rebel shorter than Tarkin by far, making Tarkin have to bend with the weight of the arm.
“—don’t forget who kicked the Empire’s ass with fewer people, Tarky.”
“Did you just—”
Syndulla joined in the fun, throwing her own arm around Tarkin’s shoulders, over Kes’s own, “Yeah, we’ll teach you all you need to know about guerilla warfare, Tarky!”
Red touched his cheeks, almost matching his hair, as he glared between the two rebels, before muttering, “I can’t believe I ended up with you scum.”
“Language,” Adelita said, the lilt in her tone suggesting how much she was resisting laughing at the scene, before there was a knock at the door. Kes and Typh quickly pulled away from Tarkin as the door swished open, a young woman standing there.
“Apologies for interrupting! The Millennium Falcon is in atmosphere, and will be landing shortly!”
The excitement in the room was shared in glances, before Kes went running. They all knew why, and Adelita shared that enthusiasm, but she wasn’t going to run. Kes was looking to see if his son, Poe, survived, while she wanted to see if her brother survived. She knew Holdo didn’t, may the Force be with her, but she had no word of her brother.
“Let’s go!” Typh said enthusiastically, and walked out with the rebel who brought the message, as Adelita walked from behind her desk, brushing strands of lavender hair back behind her ear and keeping pace with Tarkin.
They were both too tired for this. Somehow, Kes and Typh seemed to have endless energy. Probably because they weren’t crunching numbers. “Thank you, Demetri,” she added then, as they stepped out into the sun that showed the makeshift camp around the senate building, “I know this isn’t ideal…but it’s all we have.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I’ll do my part.”
She gave him a light, reassuring smile, as they came to the pad where the Falcon was landing, and Kes was waiting impatiently.
It did land, and the ramp did fall, and people began to stream out, seeming just as surprised by the loud reception and many faces as Adelita had been when she actually heard the numbers from Tarkin’s lips. Not like the First Order…but far more than the people in that ship. Thousands.
She waited, hands clasped in front of her chest, for the woman wearing Alderaan’s mourning braid, who was led out by another, younger woman. Adelita did not stay at Demetri’s side then, but broke from the circle that formed around the Falcon. “My Princess.”
‘My Queen. My General. My Hope.’
General Organa’s eyes fell on her, in the fluttering purple dress and silver shawl, and the smile that came to her face seemed almost broken. Adelita walked forward and embraced her, tight, hard, as she needed – as Leia needed, too. No words needed to be spoken for either to know they shared the same grief, and the same hope.
“Mon would be proud,” Leia whispered into her ear, before they started to part, and she truly began to assess what was laid before her as other reunions took place.
~***~
The Supreme Leader was gone.
Rey was gone.
Han Solo was gone.
These three blows weighed heavy on the heart of the Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren, as he sat in the Command Shuttle while it started to lift up from Crait, to return not to the Supremacy but to the Finalizer. The Supremacy needed to undergo repairs after that suicidal woman shot through it and destroyed one side of it, while breaking through many other ships. The Finalizer was spared, thankfully.
It may be Hux’s flagship, but it was the one that Kylo was the most familiar with. His dark gaze shot distractedly over to Hux, as if looking at the General might tear his thoughts away from Han. They didn’t. Hux was staring forward, standing, silent, lips thin and angry.
Kylo averted his gaze down to his hands, or rather, the black gloves that covered his hands. He imagined the golden dice there from the Millennium Falcon. He imagined Rey’s hand there. He imagined the lightning from Snoke, not thought of foully in the moment, but as a painful memory and lesson in diligence and control. As the father he needed, but not the father he wanted.
‘Everything I’ve done….’ It all felt wrong in those moments, but more than that, it felt like something he could not turn back. Now that he was here, he had to continue forward and show the Universe that he was right this entire time. Perhaps he’d gone about some interactions wrong. Perhaps he put his faith and trust in the wrong people – but he was still right. The First Order and the Knights of Ren were still right in their goals and in following the example of the Empire, no matter who stood against them.
Voices distracted Kylo and he looked forward to see Hux speaking into the comm device to alert the Finalizer crew of their return and to learn where they could dock in the hangars. The numbers were given back, and Kylo rose, sensing then that there were others waiting for him, familiar presences within the Force – the Knights of Ren. He pushed forward, to Hux’s clear irritation, and pressed down on the comm link to connect it again. “General?” The voice on the other line questioned.
“This is Supreme Leader Ren,” Kylo corrected, “where are the Knights of Ren?” He asked.
“Ah – I’m not sure, I did not keep tabs on them as they arrived. I can announce your return and request they go to the hangar?” The Officer suggested.
Kylo gave a curt nod, even if it couldn’t be seen, dark hair brushing forward and over his scar, “Yes. Do that.” He agreed, and then leaned back, turned, and sunk back into the chair he’d been brooding in before. Hux paid it no mind.
No one did.
They were all distraught when the search of Crait turned up nothing. They had no idea where the Resistance was going. Kylo knew what he planned to do – rush the Core. The Resistance would come out of hiding if he started attacking the Core and taking it over. Coruscant would fall easily, but worlds like Chandrila would put up a fight, of that, he was certain. Gatalenta may even do so, now, though he doubted that pacifistic world would do anything other than kneel.
Soon, the Command Shuttle was landing, and Hux was the first off of the ship, ignoring all those at the hangar and making a clear beeline for the Bridge. Kylo ignored him. They’d talk strategy later. He had to see to his Knights, and see how the situation was with each of them. He hadn’t seen some of them in years, since they were all off on their own missions.
He stepped off the shuttle after the Officers had cleared it, and glanced around the hangar to see if any had answered the announcement that was supposed to have gone off to alert the Knights of Ren to his return, and his request to see them.
When the Tarkin looked up, he saw not what he expected to see. Kes’s eyes were wide, Typh’s lekku were twitching, and the Senator of Chandrila was all but gaping. “What? What did I say? What’s wrong? This is all we—”
Laughter broke out from Kes Dameron, and Typh clutched her hands tightly together, wringing the pink fingers in excitement. Adelita rose, the smile touching her tired eyes, “That is more than any of us thought, Governor.”
The man looked exasperated at that point, arm holding the datapad dropping to his side, “Really? This is still hardly acceptable up against the First Order. We need—” he visibly flinched when Kes threw an arm around his shoulders, the veteran rebel shorter than Tarkin by far, making Tarkin have to bend with the weight of the arm.
“—don’t forget who kicked the Empire’s ass with fewer people, Tarky.”
“Did you just—”
Syndulla joined in the fun, throwing her own arm around Tarkin’s shoulders, over Kes’s own, “Yeah, we’ll teach you all you need to know about guerilla warfare, Tarky!”
Red touched his cheeks, almost matching his hair, as he glared between the two rebels, before muttering, “I can’t believe I ended up with you scum.”
“Language,” Adelita said, the lilt in her tone suggesting how much she was resisting laughing at the scene, before there was a knock at the door. Kes and Typh quickly pulled away from Tarkin as the door swished open, a young woman standing there.
“Apologies for interrupting! The Millennium Falcon is in atmosphere, and will be landing shortly!”
The excitement in the room was shared in glances, before Kes went running. They all knew why, and Adelita shared that enthusiasm, but she wasn’t going to run. Kes was looking to see if his son, Poe, survived, while she wanted to see if her brother survived. She knew Holdo didn’t, may the Force be with her, but she had no word of her brother.
“Let’s go!” Typh said enthusiastically, and walked out with the rebel who brought the message, as Adelita walked from behind her desk, brushing strands of lavender hair back behind her ear and keeping pace with Tarkin.
They were both too tired for this. Somehow, Kes and Typh seemed to have endless energy. Probably because they weren’t crunching numbers. “Thank you, Demetri,” she added then, as they stepped out into the sun that showed the makeshift camp around the senate building, “I know this isn’t ideal…but it’s all we have.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I’ll do my part.”
She gave him a light, reassuring smile, as they came to the pad where the Falcon was landing, and Kes was waiting impatiently.
It did land, and the ramp did fall, and people began to stream out, seeming just as surprised by the loud reception and many faces as Adelita had been when she actually heard the numbers from Tarkin’s lips. Not like the First Order…but far more than the people in that ship. Thousands.
She waited, hands clasped in front of her chest, for the woman wearing Alderaan’s mourning braid, who was led out by another, younger woman. Adelita did not stay at Demetri’s side then, but broke from the circle that formed around the Falcon. “My Princess.”
‘My Queen. My General. My Hope.’
General Organa’s eyes fell on her, in the fluttering purple dress and silver shawl, and the smile that came to her face seemed almost broken. Adelita walked forward and embraced her, tight, hard, as she needed – as Leia needed, too. No words needed to be spoken for either to know they shared the same grief, and the same hope.
“Mon would be proud,” Leia whispered into her ear, before they started to part, and she truly began to assess what was laid before her as other reunions took place.
~***~
The Supreme Leader was gone.
Rey was gone.
Han Solo was gone.
These three blows weighed heavy on the heart of the Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren, as he sat in the Command Shuttle while it started to lift up from Crait, to return not to the Supremacy but to the Finalizer. The Supremacy needed to undergo repairs after that suicidal woman shot through it and destroyed one side of it, while breaking through many other ships. The Finalizer was spared, thankfully.
It may be Hux’s flagship, but it was the one that Kylo was the most familiar with. His dark gaze shot distractedly over to Hux, as if looking at the General might tear his thoughts away from Han. They didn’t. Hux was staring forward, standing, silent, lips thin and angry.
Kylo averted his gaze down to his hands, or rather, the black gloves that covered his hands. He imagined the golden dice there from the Millennium Falcon. He imagined Rey’s hand there. He imagined the lightning from Snoke, not thought of foully in the moment, but as a painful memory and lesson in diligence and control. As the father he needed, but not the father he wanted.
‘Everything I’ve done….’ It all felt wrong in those moments, but more than that, it felt like something he could not turn back. Now that he was here, he had to continue forward and show the Universe that he was right this entire time. Perhaps he’d gone about some interactions wrong. Perhaps he put his faith and trust in the wrong people – but he was still right. The First Order and the Knights of Ren were still right in their goals and in following the example of the Empire, no matter who stood against them.
Voices distracted Kylo and he looked forward to see Hux speaking into the comm device to alert the Finalizer crew of their return and to learn where they could dock in the hangars. The numbers were given back, and Kylo rose, sensing then that there were others waiting for him, familiar presences within the Force – the Knights of Ren. He pushed forward, to Hux’s clear irritation, and pressed down on the comm link to connect it again. “General?” The voice on the other line questioned.
“This is Supreme Leader Ren,” Kylo corrected, “where are the Knights of Ren?” He asked.
“Ah – I’m not sure, I did not keep tabs on them as they arrived. I can announce your return and request they go to the hangar?” The Officer suggested.
Kylo gave a curt nod, even if it couldn’t be seen, dark hair brushing forward and over his scar, “Yes. Do that.” He agreed, and then leaned back, turned, and sunk back into the chair he’d been brooding in before. Hux paid it no mind.
No one did.
They were all distraught when the search of Crait turned up nothing. They had no idea where the Resistance was going. Kylo knew what he planned to do – rush the Core. The Resistance would come out of hiding if he started attacking the Core and taking it over. Coruscant would fall easily, but worlds like Chandrila would put up a fight, of that, he was certain. Gatalenta may even do so, now, though he doubted that pacifistic world would do anything other than kneel.
Soon, the Command Shuttle was landing, and Hux was the first off of the ship, ignoring all those at the hangar and making a clear beeline for the Bridge. Kylo ignored him. They’d talk strategy later. He had to see to his Knights, and see how the situation was with each of them. He hadn’t seen some of them in years, since they were all off on their own missions.
He stepped off the shuttle after the Officers had cleared it, and glanced around the hangar to see if any had answered the announcement that was supposed to have gone off to alert the Knights of Ren to his return, and his request to see them.
