#pre tlj

[paranoiareigns]

And despite the fruit of their labour crashing down around their ears, Ren swore that he heard a hint of reminescent fondness in Hux's cold voice. UwU this post just wouldnt let me go, idk, had to draw it. Bfs being like “u wErE jUSt nEarBy GoD” is a canon kylux line now :)))) I need six dozen lessons in lettering im sorry

[scribeofmorpheus]

The Rebel Queen (ii)

Chapter Two: Scramble

Pairing: Poe Dameron x (OFC) Princess Calista Ordell

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | A03

Words: 7k | Warnings: More ramblings of a delusional fanfic writer…

A/N: The murderess who started this entire pandemonium of unrest is front and centre in this chapter. We have more Poe and fun-loving Paige Tico as well! And we get to see my two problematic favs get into some trouble (Ton-Ton and Watts).

Taglist is open

Epilogue | About Thesmora

 Karas, Thesmora...

Red on black. The taste of charred timber burning on the underside of her mouth. That was all that bled through as Maligma's polished boots traipsed over the razed courtyard. The once splendid land had been terraformed into a landscape worthy of a sonnet of death. All the bodies had been moved, leaving behind mounds of ash and the smell of fumes from the clouds of smoke that diffused upwards into the sky, polluting it, darkening it as far as the eye could see.

The Duchess nursed a look of stoic resignation, taking in the destruction she had caused through umber coloured eyes. Her feet crunching into the ground as though it were snow at her feet and not the remnants of a once lush and green landscape.

Ping!

Unexpectedly, her boot was obstructed by something hard. Reaching down she noticed the familiar silver and gold weaving of the delicate crown. She’d recognise it anywhere. It belonged to Calista.

Like a grieving widow, Maligma reminisced about the day she had helped her niece pick out that exact crown. Lenora had been away from the capital on that particular day and was unable to share in the experience of choosing ones first crown with her daughter. It had been a kind memory. One she had once thought would turn sweeter with the turning of time. Now it was but a reminder of what she lost… what she had destroyed.

A bitter aftertaste soured her mouth as she realised her sister would never again share any more experiences with her daughter. For once, Maligma was grateful she was without children of her own.

Heaving a weary sigh, she dusted off the blood muddied dirt from the crown, digging out the soot embedded in between the small cracks with her long fingernails. She knew Calista was out there, somewhere amongst the stars, hiding in the endless darkness of space.

"Where are you, little one?" Maligma sought to the sky for answers, her pupils expanding to take in more light. From here Thesmora’s two moons were still visible, even at noon. The shattered rock of the third moon resembling a dandelion gradually blowing away, scattering further and further in the wind.

She hovered close to the burnt-out funeral pyre, placing the crown to rest with the remaining bones of the late queen. Her fist closed around a mound of ash. "It didn't have to be this way..."

Wind blew the tears pooling in the corner of her eyes away in a level stream, a salty droplet falling into her ear, the liquid matter eliciting a shiver from her stiff body.

"Duchess?" the encroaching voice of Hazo O'Raka disturbed her from her solidarity –depriving her a moment of reticent bereavement.

Maligma steeled her nerves before addressing him with the new authority afforded to her, "Commander."

Despite his youth and unhinging beauty, Hazo was the embodiment of discipline; a perpetually straightened posture, an unwavering blank expression and hardened eyes the colour of swamp water branded him as one of the planet’s most revered warriors. His demeanour and gait resembled that of Mokk-Toh's, a comparison that always reminded Maligma to stay vigilant while in his presence.

The Commander handed over a data-pad displaying images of the Somnambulist –the ship Calista had escaped on– taken from the space station on Yotai. Her eye twitched ever so slightly when she read the report.

"We don't know where they're going?" Maligma asked, displeased by what she read.

Hazo shook his head, "We were unable to plant a transponder on their ship and it seems our scanners stopped picking up their signal once they jumped to hyperspeed. They have successfully managed to elude us." He sounded almost impressed.

"Careful, Commander," Maligma eyed him. "A tone like that and I might be inclined to assume you're actually relieved they got away."

No muscle or line on his face moved. He was an impregnable statue. His most inner thoughts would forever remain elusive, even from the most trained eye. "You need not worry, Duchess. My loyalties lie with Thesmora. Who sits on its throne is arbitrary so long as they have the people’s best interest."

Maligma's lips curled upwards, "Always the loyal soldier… Mokk-Toh trained you well. Though, I do wonder if he trained you a little too well."

He said nothing, too smart for Maligma's probing it would seem.

She eyed him through the corner of her eye while she absentmindedly scrolled through pages upon pages of data, "And what of the bounty hunter?"

He shook his head once more, it was the most distinguishable form of emotive language she had witnessed from him thus far. "He went radio silent. We believe he's somewhere in the Western Reaches, but have been unable to locate his ship. Should I send a tight-beam to our spies within that sector to keep an eye out for the Admiral in case the bounty hunter was unsuccessful in his mission?"

"Former admiral," Maligma corrected with a dark ring to her voice. She let out a huff in thought. "And no. Versengen is tenacious and vindictive, being a ghost is in his nature. If there's anyone I would bet on to see this bounty through, it would be him."

She handed the data-pad back to Hazo, feet kicking up dirt as she made her way from the courtyard. Her blood-red coat-tails dragging behind her.

"There is another thing," He informed her as she strode back to the palace. After she didn't reciprocate with any words, Hazo went forward and explained: "The Somnambulist was first spotted leaving the Shallow Pits."

Maligma sucked the air in through her gap teeth in annoyance, she knew instantly what that meant. "Murray, that two-faced bastard." Her words, though insulting, held a form of esteem.

"My soldiers believe that is where the princess and Koa initially secured passage off-world. We took him in for questioning earlier. He is currently under lock and key at the barracks."

She noticed the slight shift in Hazo's tone at the mention of Koa, and even though she was intrigued by his slip up, it didn’t warrant any further investigating given the circumstances. However, she did make a mental note to remember it for later.

"Good work Commander… Keep this up and you'll be on the fast track to admiral soon," she doused her words in honey, Hazo, on the other hand, remained unfazed.

"Promotions are of no consequence to me. Once we've secured Thesmora's safety, then we will let the people decide whom they wish to lead the Royal Guard... If there will be one left after your undertaking." Hazo bowed before taking a diverging path to the barracks, hand on his swords hilt the entire time.

She kept her eyes trained on him until his outline dissipated into nothing more than a shadow. "You trained him well..." Her words were lost in the wind, meant for ears that could not hear her.

 The cell door opened with a hiss as cold air washed over Maligma's body. Hot and cold clashed from the still radiating heat of the sun on her skin.

Banden was draped over the clinically white bunk placed in the corner of the equally clinically white room. He had on a bored as he twisted his wrists against the arm restraints in an effort to pass the time. When his eyes lifted to meet Maligma's a look of familiarity shone through them. The green of his eyes turning brighter from the imposing light once he shifted out from under the shade of the bunks canopy.

"Maligma, what a present surprise," his suave attitude rolling out in waves. "Gotta admit, I thought about how things would play out when you came traipsing back into my life…" He scoured the room and then looked to Maligma's furious glare, holding it until she made a move before he glanced back at his restraints. "And I have to admit, you got most of the details right. Except for the location."

She scoffed in disgust, "Keep your lascivious thoughts to yourself, Murray. No one wants to hear them."

"You used to sing a different tune once," Ever the audacious mobster, Banden smirked his famous bone-chilling smirk as if he were talking to one of his mercenary thugs.

Maligma's cheeks hollowed inwards as she stared him down with a scornful look, but there was a hidden lick of heat traded between them, it filled the air with tension, whether sexual or antagonistic was anyone’s guess.

"You know you committed treason by aiding my darling niece's escape?"

Banden shrugged like an aloof idiot, "All you Thessi look alike to an outsider like me. I couldn't tell you for certain if I aided the princess’s escape or not. I handle a lot of business deals at any time of day, it would be all too easy for anyone to fall through the cracks."

Maligma scoffed, flipping her rust coloured hair to the side. "Even a fugitive?"

"You forget my line of work."

She glowered, voice turning sharp, "I could have you executed for less."

Banden's smirk grew wider, "Yes, you could, but we both know you won't. Not if you want things to keep running smoothly. Imagine if all the mines dried up, who would feed all those soldiers keeping the people in order?"

Maligma's eyes narrowed at him, "You dare threaten me?"

"Threaten the Master of Spies? I'd be a fool..." He was leering at her now, his entire body bustling with exultant energy from the thrill of trading verbal blows.

She folded her arms, her eyes looking out through the open door, head bobbing to the side to call someone forth.

Hazo appeared from a blind spot with the keys to Banden's shackles. Begrudgingly, he kneeled close to free the mobster's hands with a snarl curling at his nostrils.

Banden searched Hazo's face, his smug disposition fading away instantly like he’d seen a phantom. Maligma careened her head at his unexpected reaction.

When they were alone again, Maligma patronized, "Acquaintance?"

Banden rubbed the skin on his wrists as he looked up, his brows drawn together like heavy drapes. "Only by reputation," he said through a set jaw.

“Since when were you one to care for reputation?” Maligma's eyebrow arched before setting her eyes on his tattoo written across his chest.

He stood from the bunk, stalking close to her until he towered over her, voice threatening, “I don’t.”

 D'Qar...

Poe had managed to get cleaned up, packed up and saddled up in record time. He had traded in his pilot jumpsuit and mechanic overalls for his trusty brown jacket, a tan shirt and a pair of red utility pants –holstering his blaster rifle to his thigh. After grabbing a pair of dog tags that hung off the side of his mirror, he picked up his duffle bag and turned off the lights to his sleeping quarters –giving it one last look before heading for the ship parked outside the base.

BB-8 rolled over to Poe’s side, concerned beeps sounding out as he bumped into his leg to get his attention. Poe crouched down, hand on the little droids round surface. "Sorry pal, not this time." The droid rolled to the side and back, bumping into his leg harder.

Poe couldn't help but laugh at his droids enthusiasm, "I need you to stay here, look after Finn for me while I'm away. Keep the General safe." He patted the round ball. BB-8 whistled and chimed but its tone was more downcast, almost disheartened. "I'll be back in no time," Poe reassured the droid, watching him roll away with a proud smile.

The hot-shot pilot got off his knee and walked out of the shade. Heat permeated off the dry, cracked ground in a mesmer. Burned by the brightness, he cupped his hand over his forehead in an effort to shield his eyes from the sun. Rays of light hitting his parent’s dog tags at a sharp angle, reflecting outward.

A woman standing in front of the banged-up star-ship blinked furiously as he walked closer. "By the stars, Poe, you trying to blind a girl?" Paige protested as she blocked the refracted rays with her arm.

Poe slipped his tags under his shirt's collar and patted Paige firmly on the shoulder, "Now that would be a disaster. It's a bit last minute for me to find a replacement co-pilot."

"Co-pilot?” Her bug eyes sparkled with excitement as she punched his chest playful, “You aren't messing with me?"

Poe handed his duffle to one of the men loading up the ship, "You gotta start somewhere right? Can't just jump straight into an X-Wing without chipping a little paint." His knuckles knocked on the ship's side and ironically, peeling sheets of paint fell off.

Paige giggled with excitement as she looked up at the old piece of junk. Regarding it with newfound enthusiasm as if it had turned into a fancy race pod, "Rose is gonna flip when she hears about this."

"Easy there, hotshot," Poe huffed to keep from laughing. "You have to get us to Takodana in one piece first."

"Done and done!" She said confidently. The smile on her face was full of promise.

Poe admired her spirit. She reminded him of how he used to be in his younger days, before all the politics and red tape caught up to him. Sometimes he wished he could simply be a pilot and only a pilot. Take to the stars. Feel the rush of soaring against the winds. Feel the pull of gravity growing and growing until it was cast aside all together whenever he broke through a planet’s atmosphere. He wanted to return to a time when he'd proudly, and solely, declare that flying was all he knew. But the resistance had many pilots, what they didn’t have in abundance were new heroes. And as Leia had told him: ‘As fighters, we have all to accept that people will always expect more of us if we keep rising to the occasion. You have to learn to rise up to the pedestal all these men and women have put you on. We all had to go through the growing pains of transitioning from rebel to hero.’

Silly him, he had kept rising to the occasion, no matter how perilous or impossible a situation got. Which also meant, he was no longer just a pilot, but a hero that others looked to for guidance. And the Force help him, he had no intentions of ever becoming an authority figure in this war.

"Come on," Poe started towards the ship's doors. "Let's get this bird up and running."

Paige jogged after him, her entire aura buzzing with excitement.

"So what's our mission?" Paige asked, already strapped into the co-pilot seat, headset fixed over her grey woolly hat. The blacks of her eyes reflecting back all the lights of the dials on the dash.

Poe rubbed at his chin, the prickly feeling of newly forming scruff scraping against his calloused fingertips, "No clue."

Paige looked at him in surprise, "So we're heading to Takodana with no intel? Talk about flying blind."

"Our orders are to reach Takodana and get in contact with Maz, the rest is all a coin’s toss."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, if the General chose you to oversee this mission it must be important," she reassured him with a big smile. "She's General Leia for crying out loud. There must be a good reason for our mission even if we can't see it yet."

Poe took Paige's words to heart, feeling slightly more at ease.

"We're all fuelled up and ready, Commander," one of his flight crew informed him.

"Ground control, we clear for take-off?" He spoke into his headset.

Through the windshield, a member of the landing party flagged him on with their glowing orange wands, "That's a copy. It’s all clear skies and open runway. You've got the green light."

"Mission Control, we've got green light. Fuelled up and ready for take-off," Poe spoke into the headset at a different frequency.

"That's a copy Black Leader. Mission Control requests a call sign for the log before you take off," Lieutenant Connix's voice spoke out through the headset.

He turned to Paige whose bewildered expression informed him she was still taking everything in, "Well, Number Two? How about it?"

Paige looked like she were about to suffer a stroke, her hand blocking off the mouthpiece so she could whisper to him conspiratorially, "You want me to name the ship?"

Poe chuckled with a friendly nod. She shook the startled look from her face, her hand closing around her pendant. Then, all of a sudden, that look of confidence returned and she punched in the new name into the transponder.

"That's a copy, Rose One. You are clear for take-off," Connix relayed as she spoke out the ships new name for the first time. "May the force be with you."

“And with you, Mission Control,” Poe turned to Paige. "Alright, Ensign Tico, take us away!"

Paige hit the thrusters, retracted the landing legs and turning the ship stern-side until they faced open land. With a deep breath and a kiss to her pendant, Paige set their course for Takodana. Poe helped her climb through the atmosphere like it was a piece of cake with his excellent piloting skills.

"Whoo-Hoo!" Paige cheered as the Rose One broke through several clouds and glided out of the ozone layer.

 Space-port Hanoi, 200 Million KM from Hoth...

Odhen sat at a booth in the back of the cantina next to a window just wide enough to see the tiny white planet of Hoth from this distance. His haul: the princess of Thesmora and her trusty, yet frighteningly serious bodyguard, were over by the bar, blending in with the riffraff as best they could.

Ton-Ton had remained with the Somnambulist to oversee its repairs. Docking at the port had been a last-minute decision after Odhen convinced the two Thessi women that a working hyperdrive was more valuable than a ship without a working hyperdrive.

He sipped from his cup, his attention drawn to the commotion at the bar where Koa held a man face down against the counter with a clenched jaw. Calista tapped on her arm and like a reflex, Koa instantly relaxed her grip and straightened her face, a duplicitous look of calm taking over her as the thug fanned his jacket as he made his way to the exit.

Odhen had never seen two people so attuned to the other that they rarely needed words to convey a thought. They worked like a pendulum. When one swung over to the edge the other would veer them back on course.

"Stirrin’ up trouble your first day here," he chugged the rest of his drink when the women returned to the booth, an impressed shrug pulling at his shoulders. "You blend right in. Ever thought of changin’ professions?" He joked.

Koa didn't find his jab amusing, deciding instead to fix her eyes on the pins stuck to his jacket. "Were you some sort of hero?"

Odhen shifted in his seat, "Is there any such thing these days?"

“Did you steal them then? Some twisted form of souvenir?”She arched a brow at him and he simply looked out the window, ignoring her questioning. "A deserter then?"

That got his attention.

The tired pilot chewed at the skin in his mouth. "That don’t say much, aren't you both deserters?"

"Perhaps, logically. But such things don’t matter if you still have your honour." She squared her jaw, nails tapping languidly on the table. “Or is that a foreign concept to you as well?”

He knew something about him rubbed Koa the wrong way, he figured it was her disdain for anyone who lived outside the comforts of lawful structures or orderly hierarchies. She struck him as someone who took her ideologies too seriously. From the prickly way she regarded everyone in this establishment, he could tell she was having a hard time reconciling the fact that she was now just like everyone else in this cantina: an outsider. A fugitive. Someone of little honour.

No matter her disposition, Odhen wasn't planning on pulling any punches. It wasn’t his style. "Honour’s just a fancy word for havin’ a code. And a code is just a set of rules we make to ensure we don't cross those lines we’re uncomfortable with. It’s a barrier we put up to try and distinguish between what goes for civilised and what goes for savage. It’s a delusional safety net, nothin’ more."

“Is that why you live like this? Taking odd jobs for scraps? Because you’re above it all. Above the need to distinguish between the two?”

Odhen pointed his finger to the table, tapping between each sentence to emphasise his point, “Your commission wasn’ for scraps. The two of you were quite the lucrative deal, in fact. And in my line of work, it is all about the credits. So stop tryin’ to analyse me as though there’s more to my story than what you see. If you can promise that, I’ll promise not to raise your expectations of me.”

Koa’s mouth opened, a rumble in her throat signifying she was about to rebuke his words when Calista interjected.

"I've always wanted to travel to Hoth," She said softly, shifting their attention to the small round dot in the distance. "It doesn't snow on Thesmora. Not unless you live among the mountain tribes –but even then it's not the same. In the academy during our history lessons, I'd spend hours staring at its hologram, imagining what it would feel like to be knee-deep in snow. Toes going numb and skin turning blue.” A smile danced over her face at the memory, the tension that had begun to climb between Odhen and Koa diffusing away. “To see nothing but pure white stretching on and on forever. This is the closest I've ever come to seeing it with my own eyes. It may be the closest I’ll ever get to it."

Odhen watched Calista's face change from impassive to cheerful and back again –a glimmer of passion slipping between the cracks every now and then. He saw that the same fire that Koa wore proudly, like a suit of armour, Calista kept hidden, like a concealed weapon. In some small way, she reminded him of his late wife. They both held a stubborn vibrancy, kept hidden behind soft smiles and poised etiquette.

"Who knows, maybe you'll get to do more than just see it one day," Odhen muttered as he stared at the white orb in the distance. Calista hummed into her drink while Koa looked out at the white orb.

He was startled from his thoughts by the sound of his holo-terminal beeping around his wrist. He connected the call once he read the transmission signature. A second later, a miniature hologram of Ton-Ton stood on top of a ring of moisture left behind by his cup. The Jawa was shouting and waving his arms as usual, but his tone was slightly more alarmed.

Odhen frowned, repeating what he heard with a hint of disbelief to his pitch, "They grounded our ship? Why?"

The Jawa explained how one of the smugglers who transported refugees off Thesmora recognised their ship and informed the security personnel expecting a reward. Watts had intercepted a tight-beam transmission sent to the base on Yotai. It became instantly apparent that they didn't have long before a group of Elites would mobilise to their position.

Odhen swore under his breath, ending the transmission with a heavy finger, the two women catching none of what Ton-Ton had just said. "You may need to secure another ride. The Somnambulist just got tagged," he swallowed the remainder of his drink and with a loud clink of his glass, he walked away.

 "You can't just leave us high and dry after you promised to get us to Takodana," Koa marched after him with a stern scowl on her face and just as stern of a tone. Calista hung back, the pendulum deprived its opposing force.

Odhen sped up his strides, but the young Thessi woman had no problems keeping up with him, her legs almost as long as his. "First of all, I didn't promise anythin’. We made a transaction, I took a job and now that jobs screwed. End of story."

She clicked her tongue, "Of course someone like you only cares about looking out for themselves."

He rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, "Listen, kid, I'm a smuggler, I take cargo no one wants to be caught dead with and deliver it to where it's supposed to go. I get paid and then I move on. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Sometimes the cargo gets compromised, sometimes I have to stash it, other times I have to space it. This time I'm giving it a heads up before cuttin’ it loose! Caring has nothing to do with it."

"Congratulations," she clapped sarcastically. "You just lived up my expectations." Koa marched off, going to stand beside Ton-Ton who was currently lost in a heated argument with the port authorities.

When Odhen thought he had the room to breathe, Calista finally walked up behind him, but she stayed silent. Simply using her presence to strong-arm a response out of him.

He pinched his nose with an airy snort filling the awkward silence, "Look, I can ask around the port, see if I can find someone I know. Maybe they can get yo--"

"Time isn't on my side and what little time I do have is too precious to waste on the possibility of finding an alternative,” she stated frankly. "I'll double the pay."

He ran a hand over his beard roughly, feeling slightly insulted, "This ain’t a matter of credits."

"From everything you said to Koa in the cantina, your own words would seem to indicate it has everything to do with credits. Unless you don’t believe any of what you said before."

“Look, I have nothin’, nothin’, to prove to you or your friend over there.”

“I never thought you did,” her tone was cold, detached.

Odhen was seeing a different side to her, a darker side –an entitled side. She didn't look at him while she spoke, instead, she kept her chin high and her face unreadable. She spoke at him rather than to him. She made him feel as though he were no different than a low-life willing to do anything for a scrap of credits.

Isn't that what you want everyone to believe? He laughed ironically. Isn't that what you've become?

“Double?” He asked looking for confirmation.

“Double.” She nodded.

"I'll speak to Ton-Ton, see what we can do," he grumbled as he walked away from her, away from the sickening feeling of being regarded as the very thing he had told them he was.

 "She's willin’ to double the pay," Odhen whispered to his number two while they conversed in a dark section of the hangar bay.

Ton-Ton spoke energetically, his feet bobbing at the prospect of an even larger payday.

"I agree, that's a lot of credits, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy."

The Jawa kicked his shin in annoyance as he muttered something else.

"By the stars!" Odhen rubbed at his leg. "Fine, but we'll need a distraction too so the port authorities don't send security after us while we disembark. Someone will also need to override the clamp controls in the station's main offices."

Ton-Ton's arms came together and then rapidly flew apart in a circular pattern as he sounded out an imitation of an explosion.

Odhen’s eyes went wide, "You want to set off an explosion in the port? Are you insane? You could rip a hole through the entire station and kill everyone, us included!" He whisper-shouted as he nervously rubbed at his neck. "Always the pyromaniac. Are you forgettin’ what happened the last time you dabbled in controlled explosives? I was deaf in one ear for a week!"

Ton-Ton brushed Odhen's annoyed complaints away with a whack of his wrench, clipping the large pilot in his shin this time.

"Oof! You measly dwarf, I oughta..." he swore under his breath, side-stepping away from the violent prone Jawa with a height complex.

Ton-Ton explained his reasoning’s for being eager to help the two stranded Thessi women and Odhen huffed, a tweak working at his cheek jowls.

"You like the mean one, eh?" his gaze fell on the two women standing by the Somnambulist. He clicked his tongue as he took a deep breath. "Well, I guess we're turnin’ out to be a pair of suckers after all… Grab your mouthy droid and get to work."

Ton-Ton waddled back to his droid while Odhen strutted towards Calista and Koa, hands picking at his scruffy beard, more silvering hairs falling out. "Once an old fool..."

Calista propped her elbow over her forearm, fingers drumming on her lips as she studied the body language of their pilot and his second mate arguing in a dark corner.

Koa twirled a sharp implement between agile fingers, her line of sight drawn up towards the sparks hailing from a construction site overhead. "Do you think they'll reconsider?"

"They're desperate, and so are we. Whether we want to admit it or not, we need each other," she hypothesized.

"What did you say to him? He was pretty adamant about not wanting to help us earlier," Koa shifted her eyes to look at something else.

"I said what I had to," Calista ran her tongue over her teeth in distaste of her previous actions. She didn’t like manipulating others, but Odhen wore his wounds more openly than he thought. Everything had become clear once he snapped at Koa’s questioning his honour.

From what she had deduced of Odhen’s character during their short time together, she could tell his weakness was somehow linked to all those neglected medals pinned to that ridiculously small jacket he never took off. Something from his past haunted him, so much so that he had to constantly keep on the run from whatever it was that he didn’t want to face. From his past.

Koa narrowed her eyes at her friend's nonchalant countenance, "I know it's been a trying time, but are you certain you're alright?" she motioned to place a comforting hand on Calista's shoulder but the princess narrowly avoided the contact by shifting her weight onto her other foot.

"I'm fine. Let's just focus on getting to Takodana."

Ton-Ton and Odhen made their way back to the Somnambulist at a slower pace than Calista would have liked, her legs and arms were on fire with riled up energy that needed an outlet.

"Well?" she asked the pilot while the Jawa waddled towards his droid, placing several pieces of junk equipment into the trolley before he wheeled Watts towards the scaffolding that held up the construction equipment a few yards away.

"That little daredevil over there seems to think your cause is worth aidin’, which doesn' mean much considerin’ he has the worst self-preservation instincts in all the galaxy," Odhen glanced at his second mate getting into an argument with a construction worker allowing Watts to discretely stash something under a support beam. "You know he set himself on fire one time just so he could--" 

"Odhen..." Calista brought him back on topic.

He fisted his hand and brought it to his mouth so he could clear his throat before continuing, "Right, we can help, but we'll need more than two hands if we expect to get off this station without being shot to stardust."

Koa expertly threw the sharp implement at an unsuspecting stranger’s crate, the sharp end lodging itself at the centre of a letter printed on its side. Her swift action had gone unnoticed as she straightened off the part of the ship she had been leaning against.

"What do you need?" she asked, hands itching for some action.

He kicked at the air with his weathered boots, hands on his hips as he rehashed the plan, "We'll need someone to get to the control deck and hijack the controls that are keepin’ the ship docked. You can also access the defence turrets from there too. Giving them a hard reboot will take them offline long enough for us to make our getaway. Ton-Ton will set off a distraction that will draw the security personnel away from their patrol stations allowin’ you two to access the service elevator." He pointed to a guarded elevator that led up to a glass structure in the distance.

Calista frowned, "How do we get back onto the ship once we're up in the control room."

"There's an aerial access panel responsible for sending long-distance tight-beam transmissions, it's accessible through a maintenance hatch. The station is one of the largest in this sector, the dome-like structure will allow 'ol girl over here to fit her fat ass up there with enough wiggle room for you to climb aboard before we leave."

Koa judged the distance between the antenna’s platform and open space wide enough for the ship to fit through, "That's no small jump..."

"We'll make it," Calista said confidently as she held out her blaster rifle for Koa –who in turn tilted her head to the side. "No blades, we just need to scare them."

Odhen unholstered his much larger rifle, "Here, somethin’ tells me you'll feel better handling this." he offered his weapon to Koa and she accepted it with a whistle of approval.

Calista tucked her blaster back in her holster and gave him a nod of gratitude.

Koa checked the weapons specs with a smile. "This bad boy can do some damage," she complimented. "It's still got nothing on trusty Mohara though."

"Mohara?" Odhen cocked his head.

"Her sword," Calista informed him.

"Oh," was all he said.

 Hunkered under the darkness of a shadow cast off a larger star-ship, Calista and Koa stayed vigilant, waiting for Ton-Ton to set off the signal so the guards blocking their pathway would move. The silence was so all-consuming that she could hear the grinding of her ribs when her chest rose and fell with each controlled breath. It was akin to the sound of sugar being ground in a mortar and pestle. Jarring and very distracting. She kept the time by counting her heartbeat, she was somewhere close to 300 now.

Koa had pulled up the sagging layer of material of her cloak’s collar up over the sharp point of her nose so it clung to her cheeks and hid everything but her eyes. In the dark, they almost seemed to glow the same shade as her blade. She hadn't moved by even a fraction.

What first appeared as a trick of the light, grew into a bright orange flame and then finally a magnificent show of pyrotechnic colour splashes culminating in an explosion that toppled half a section of the scaffolding absent of workers.

Calista's mouth was pried open by the wondrous beauty of the hazardous flames and all they’re eye-catching flamboyance. Koa smirked as she tapped on her shoulder. "That's our signal."

Ton-Ton had outdone himself. Though something told Calista that this wouldn't be last show of needless extravagance she'd witness at his hands. The guards scurried towards the demolition site, as did several workers and crew docked nearby. Eyes wide and voices filled with panic birthed a pandemonium rife with discord and panic.

"So it is," Calista replied as they snuck passed the unguarded post and high-jacked the express elevator with the scrambler, another one of Ton-Ton’s inventions.

"Don't ever tell him I said this, but that odd little Jawa is a genius," Koa admitted as the elevator doors hissed open.

"And rambunctious, don't forget that."

 The second time the elevator doors hissed open, Calista and Koa burst out with their weapons drawn at the engineers and technicians working in the control room.

"Don't move!" Koa shouted as she held the hefty rifle in a menacing manner with both hands.

Frightened faces filled the cramped space maintained by a skeleton crew. Calista quickly made her way to the docking clamp operator and pressed the barrel of her blaster onto the spaces between his spinal discs. "I need you to unlock all the docking clamps in the east bay."

The operator held up his hands, trembles travelling from his skittish body through to her rifle, "I- It's against policy." He stammered.

Koa pulled her trigger, a spark-filled tiny explosion devouring the soundboard in a show of forcefulness. The operator jumped in his seat.

"How about now?" Calista asked.

He flipped several switches and turned several more dials as he pleaded, "O-okay, just… please, don't hurt us."

The mechanical whirr of clamps unhooking and retracting throughout the eastern bay made the entire station sound like an ancient behemoth moving rusting joints for the first time.

Plasma rounds hailed around Koa originating from an adjacent hallway, she fired her rifle at a door panel to seal it shut and hinder their attacker's advances.

The commotion had startled Calista, drawing her attention away from a comms worker who tried to knock the blaster from her hand. Luckily, her training kicked in as soon as she felt foreign hands grip at her wrists. She flicked them upwards and elbowed the comms worker so hard his head knocked into an electrical panel rendering him unconscious. She exhaled and then turned back to the bulging eyes staring at her, "Where are the controls for the exterior defence turrets?"

Her audience all pointed towards a scrawny looking woman manning a large station. "How do I reboot the cannon's targeting system?" she asked her, gun pointing down.

The technician slunk into her neck, both hands raised in the air, "I- I don't know. We've never needed to reboot them before." Her voice trembled.

"Move," Calista tossed her head to the side and the technician pushed her chair away from the control panel, gliding without resistance on the scratched up floor. She aimed her blaster at the panel and fired at it several times until all the lights turned off and the wiring sparked.

The technician took a shaky breath, closing her eyes in relief that it wasn't her that was sporting blaster holes. All of a sudden, the previously sealed door was blown open and Koa was kicked back by the force into a terminal, her body pressing down on several buttons causing unplanned chaos to ensue in the docking bay as mechanical arms, shutters and levers started malfunctioning. A rain of bright plasma shots filled the room with a red glow and everyone hunkered down for cover.

Calista spotted the maintenance hatch and shouted over her shoulder, "Koa, I've found the hatch."

"Can you get to it?" her companion shouted back between a spray of gatling plasma rounds.

Her nails dug into her palm as she looked between her corner of cover and the very exposed hatch, "I can try!"

"Go! I'll lay down suppressing fire!"

"I won't leave without you!" She said stubbornly.

"You won't be, I'll be right behind you. And look, there's our ride, right on queue!"

Calista turned to look at the brightly coloured ship manoeuvring its way around tight spots in order to get to the aerial maintenance tower. Its bulky sides scraping against metal structures.

She cursed before bracing herself as she made a run for the hatch while Koa let out another spray of plasma rounds. The hatch refused to budge at first, its hinges unlubricated and stiff, then, without warning, it popped open with a terrifying screech. Calista climbed down the ladder shoot and balanced her footing on the very narrow walkway. The Somnambulist spinning round and blowing wind as the cargo bay door opened with a hydraulic whir.

Ton-Ton waved her over, his body anchored to the ship using a cable tie while Watt's -sporting some singes and new scrapes- was kept in place by a giant magnet pinning him to a wall. Calista gulped as she jumped the distance and landed with her hands bracing at a depression in the floors panelling. Ton-Ton placed his tiny hands around her arm and heaved until she was safely aboard.

She stared at the walkway with bated breath, waiting for Koa to follow suit. Ton-Ton yanked at her sleeve as he made a motion to pull her further inside.

"Wait," she barked out, chin starting to subtly quiver.

Security personnel started firing on the Somnambulist causing it to sway in the open trying to dodge the attacks.

"This bird's got a fat ass, I can't shake em all. We need to get gone and soon!" Odhen's words rippled out over Ton-Ton's headset. The Jawa spoke a reply of his own as he increased his efforts to drag Calista backwards.

"One more minute!" She begged, eyes rapidly scanning the space for any sign of Koa.

Another explosion broke through the glass of the control room, black smoke curdling outwards. Some seconds later, Koa jumped onto the walkway and discarded the large rifle over the side. She steadied herself before breaking out into a balanced sprint.

Just as Koa made her jump, a rocket hit into the side of the ship causing it to move slightly further. In a panic and fuelled by a rush of adrenaline, Calista grabbed onto the meshed tarp that held the ship’s cargo down and leaned over the edge, arm extended to catch her. Koa's fingers grabbed down on her arm, the weight of her swinging body causing something to pop in Calista’s elbow as she helped her up.

Ton-Ton shouted into his headpiece as he made for the cockpit, the cargo bay doors closing shut, sealing them off from the dizzying cacophony playing outside the walls of the ship.

Calista sighed as she rolled onto her back, her arms splayed out limply. She smiled, feeling like she could breathe again.

"Gahh," Koa groaned, a scorch mark burned into the side of her trousers. "Let's never do that again."

Suddenly both of them were laughing, the ship becoming a womb of safety as they caught their breaths and allowed themselves a respite from all the stresses they had faced.

Takodana…

Lush, bright, mossy greens rolled out forever. A panorama of flora and fauna growing wild and free, a green sea untouched by the poisons of war and strife. The smell of earth and pine and clean made its way into her lungs, clearing her mind and body, separating Calista from her worries. It reminded her of home. Of before.

"Welcome to Takodana," Odhen said, thumb hooked on his belt loop. A sense of discomfort resonating through him as he looked to the large structure suffering from recent damage. Flags of all colours blowing in the wind, contrasting with the green of the land. "I kept my end of the bargain… I expect you'll do the same."

Ton-Ton struggled to wheel Watts through the muddy terrain. Odhen, noticing this, pulled the lever away from the Jawa and into his own hands, his gait less confident than usual. “Oh, and uh… I expect to be reimbursed for that blaster you never returned.” He spoke over his shoulder.

The Jawa hitched a ride by sitting in the trolley while Odhen pulled it with him towards the structure. Faint music travelling with the winds.

Calista took a moment to just stand there and take everything in. To revel in the silence and lack of smoke or fire or ash.

"Bargain?" Koa asked.

"I promised him double."

"Can we afford it?"

"No," Calista's jaw muscle twitched. "But there's always Felix."

Koa took a limping step forward, eyes cast down, stray hairs running with the changing directions of the winds. "Do you think he knows?"

Calista sighed, palm pressed to her mouth as her eyes jumped from leaf to branch to tree and back again. Finally, after a stagnant pause, she spoke, "Lenora is his mother too… Was his mother. No matter how much he claimed to despise her, she was family. We still are."

Her answer wasn't a definitive yes or no, if anything it sounded more like an 'I hope so' than a 'maybe'.

To be continued...

Tags: @carolinamalo53 @everything-intertwined

Permatags: @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet @savethehoneeybees

[streetsolo]

Star Wars: Poe Dameron (2016-) #28

Poe Dameron, volunteering to risk his life before the Battle of D’Qar so that the Resistance can evacuate with minimal casualties 

[illyrianslut]

Enchanted

Pairing: Kylo Ren x Reader

Words: 4.1K

Summary/Prompt:  As the Princess of your home planet Pulea, you were selected by the First Order to become Kylo Ren's 'companion'. Pulea is in debt, and the only way your father can find his way out of that debt is through the First Order, Reader stays with Kylo Ren for three months in exchange for Puleas debt paid in full.

A/N: This is just part 1/? also pre TFA (Pinterest board) (Request)

Your entire life was so predictable, after twenty years of your days consisting of the same thing you knew for as long as you were alive your days would be planned for you. As a child you didn’t mind the structure as much, because there was allotted time for you to play with some of the other children, you had time to actually enjoy your life. But now, you are no longer the young Princess of Pulea who brought joy to so many, now you are the Princess of Pulea, the woman in training to rule your planet if anything were to happen to your father. There was no room for fun for a Princess in training.

Your days became more and more like your fathers days, small meals in between meetings with important political parties. Pulea was a non conflict planet, neither aiding in the First Orders rule over the galaxy, or the Resistance who tried so hard to fight them away. Deep down you know that there are plans for Pulea to become sanctuary for the First Order, for them to plan their next attacks in secret, but your father would never actually admit that to you.

Today, like any other, you sat in the oversized conference room, listening to your father debate and give his opinion on new policies that the people of Pulea were attempting to put in place.  

They all knew that your father had the final say on anything that happened on Pulea, but that didn’t stop the people from trying to put new laws in place. Most of which consisted of creating a law for after your father dies you will have to run and get the peoples vote on whether or not they saw you fit to be Queen. Both you and your father knew that if that were to happen you wouldn’t be sworn in as Queen, the people had grown tired of your family ruling Pulea, especially your father who had put Pulea in so much debt it seemed almost impossible to rid yourselves of this debt.

Later that night, after several more hours of listening to your people voice their concerns, you were finally free to relax in your bedroom, and do some light reading. You knew of your fathers secret meeting, but you paid it no mind it wouldn’t be the first or last time there was a secret meeting you weren’t invited to. More often than not it was your father brainstorming ways with other higher up political parties, and you never really wanted to be in those meetings, they ran into the late hours of the night, long after you’d fallen asleep.

The following morning you were awoken, seemingly much earlier than usual. Your handmaiden Zula stood beside your bed, with a regretful look on her face. Your heart dropped, something is wrong. “Zula, what is wrong? What is happening?” You sat up in bed, and let your feet dangle over the sides waiting for a response, but it never came. Your father opened the door, peeking his head in making sure you were clothed. You pulled your blankets over your front, you did have a nightgown on, but it was unheard of for a Princess to be seen by anyone other than her handmaiden undressed.

“I have it from here Zula, thank you for waking her for me.” Your fathers almost regretful eyes finally met yours, something is wrong. “Daddy?” You ask scared, using your childhood name for your father. “What is happening?” As he walked across the room, saying nothing your anxiety only grew more and more in your chest. “Darling,” He puts his hands over yours and rests them in your lap “Something wonderful, but heartbreaking has happened.” A thousand things were running through your mind, wonderful but heartbreaking, what could that even mean? “Tell me.” You insist, not enjoying the suspense. “We have found a way to erase every last credit of debt we have.” He was right, that is wonderful, but what could be heartbreaking about that? “That is amazing father!” A genuine smile spread across your face, you were unbelievably happy this is happening, but you knew that wasn’t all the news. Your face fell once more “What could be heartbreaking about that?” The moment of happiness that had made its way to your father's face was quickly washed away. “You have to understand y/n,” He started, remorse coating his voice “This is going to get us out of debt, and it’s only for a short amount of time.”  

“Just tell me!” You insist, wanting to get this news over with. “You will be moving to the Starkiller Base for three months to be Kylo Ren's companion.” He had spoken the words so fast you were sure you had misunderstood him, he would never send you into the arms of the First Order, let alone their commander, Kylo Ren, the murderer. “I’m sorry, what? I don’t think I heard you?” You mumble, knots forming in your stomach, your own father wouldn’t do this to you, would he?

“I said you will be moving to the Starkiller Base for three months-” You put your hand up wanted to stop his talking, you were about to be sick. You threw yourself from the bed and ran to the bathroom, just barely in time to be sick in the toilet. You becan sobbing, sitting on the floor of your bathroom, how could your father do this to you? He has to know you’ll never make it out of there alive, it’s Kylo Ren. But then you began thinking over his words again, Kylo Ren’s companion. You empty your stomach once more, fear building in your body, what exactly does his companion mean?

“Father!” You called, needing more answers, he was in the room at your side immediately, rubbing your back softly in an attempt to calm you down like he had done while you were still a child. “I’m so sorry my darling, I had no other choice, there was talk of another mutiny.” You shook your head, still not understanding most of the situation ahead of you.

“How will be being Kylo Ren’s companion free us from our debt?” You asked, trying your best to hold back your sobs. “The First Order has agreed to pay off all debt owed by Pulea but only if we provided Kylo Ren with you, our Princess.” You sat staring at your father in disbelief, how could he sell you like that? You may not be sold forever, but how could he do that to his only child, the only heir to the throne.

“What is included in being Kylo Ren’s companion?” Knowing the answer would break your heart further, you pulled your knees to your check, and rested your chin on your knees as if it would protect you somehow.

After your father explained to you what your duties were to appease Kylo Ren you fell silent, you were basically going to be his whore. Whatever he wanted, you would have to provide him with. Your father hadn’t outright said it, but you could tell one of those duties would be to please him sexually. That thought alone scared you more than anything, you would be losing your virginity to the commander of the First Order, whether or not you wanted to do so.

You packed some of your things quietly in your room, avoiding your father. He told you that you would be leaving just after nightfall of that very same day. You had no words for your father, the man who had raised you would never have agreed to letting you be a companion for someone so widely known for killing in anger. But maybe the man who you thought raised you was long gone, Pulea was all that mattered to him now.

Zula knocked on your door softly, indicating it was time for your departure. You took in every intricate detail of your home as you walked silently through the halls. As you walked down the stairs in the foyer you noticed the staff who worked in the castle lined up near the door, as if to pay respects to you. It’s like I’m already dead you think to yourself. You nod your head to each and every person, the people you’d grown up around, many of the people watching you had tears in their eyes, the reality that the Princess that they had all watched grow before their eyes was leaving, possibly forever.

Your father stood waiting for you at the ship you were about to board, his hands crossed in front of him while looking at the ground, not able to meet your gaze. “Darling,” He started once you had finally reached him, you held your hand up though as to tell him to stop speaking, something you normally would have never done. “Don’t.” You whisper softly, before hugging him and kissing his right cheek. His arms wrapped around you, tighter than you were really comfortable with, but you know he needed to hold you one last time before you left so you allowed it.

“I love you.” You both whisper in unison. You finally step away from your father's embrace and walk towards the large shuttle in front of you. Not having the courage to look behind you at everything that you’re leaving behind, you walked aboard, and stood listening to the airtight lock of the doors closing.

You weren’t sure how long the trip to Starkiller Base would take, you assumed several hours so you moved a few steps behind you and took a seat as you felt the ship start to take off. “Excuse me,” You ask softly, hoping the Stormtrooper or pilot might answer you. The Stormtrooper turned his head and glanced at you, but remained silent. “How long does it take to get there?” You felt as though you were being an inconvenience so you averted your eyes away after asking your question. “An hour and thirty minutes, Princess.” You were surprised at the use of your title, you had assumed you would be stripped of it the minute you got on board.

You nod your head in thanks, and look down at your hands resting in your lap. Your mind began to wonder to what the next three months would be like for you, would Kylo Ren be as awful as he’s made out to be? Probably. But maybe he would be bearable, maybe if you were lucky you’d make it out of this situation alive. You try your hardest to stay positive, your father surely wouldn’t have sent you if he feared for your life, right? You feel tears start to form in your eyes and shake off the thought of your father, it would serve you no good for the next few months, it would only cause you heartache.

The entire flight was silent, aside from your question, neither the pilot or the lone Stormtrooper said a word to you, and hardly even looked in your direction. You hadn’t realized an hour and a half had gone by until you felt the shuttle slowing down, and eventually landing. You took in a sharp breath, unsure of what was awaiting you beyond those doors now. Would Kylo Ren be there waiting? Or would you be locked and interrogated before you laid eyes on the man, fear took over, and you began to shake wanting nothing more than to go back home to Pulea.

The door opened, and the Stormtrooper stood beside you, giving you his hand to stand up. You accepted his help, and stood taking deep breaths, if you’re going to make it through the next three months, you must remain as calm as you can. “This way, Princess.” You were escorted down the ramp of the shuttle, and were met with a ginger haired man waiting for you at the bottom, you somehow knew just by looking at him he was not Kylo Ren, you had heard stories of the Jedi Killer, and he would have to be much more intimidating than the man before you.

“Princess y/n.” The ginger haired man greeted you, bowing his head slightly, you did the same in return waiting for his name, but it was never given. “This way.” He put his hand out before him as to tell you which direction you would be walking. You followed closely behind him in fear of getting lost, there were so many people in the room you didn’t want to chance anything happening.

“Before meeting Commander Ren you will be evaluated by our team of medical staff, to insure you have no disease, or any other health problems that we should be made aware of.” The ginger tells you, after a  minute of silence. You had gone down several hallways, each one looking the same as the last, you wonder how he keeps track of where he’s going, there is no indication of where anything is.

You decide not to respond to the man, finding him to be rude for not sharing his name, or status within the First Order with you. After a few more halls you finally showed up to a brightly lit room, with several more rooms off that one. A kind looking woman greeted you with a smile “General Hux,” She bows her head “is this Commander Rens companion?” You take note of General Hux's name, finally knowing something about the man. “Indeed, I leave her in your care you have instructions on what do you. She is yours now.” General Hux turns and walks away without another word to you.

“He’s not a very personable man.” The doctor smiles at you again. “I’m Doctor Kille, I’ll be the one performing your tests. Did General Hux explain to you what we will be looking for?” You shake you head, and look around the room trying to gain the courage to speak. “This way.” Doctor Kille says leading you to an examination room and closing the door behind the two of you. “I can see you’re experiencing some anxiety right now, that is very normal, are you able to speak?” A blush crossed your face at her knowledge of the reason behind your silence.  

“I am.” You speak softly, sitting on the plastic bed in front of you, setting your hands in your lap and staring at them nervously. “Very good!” She practically cheers, causing you to blush more. “What kinds of tests will you be doing?” Your voice is still very quiet, but you look up to meet her eyes so as to not be rude.

“Yes, so we will be running a few non invasive tests, and one that may be uncomfortable but won't take much time at all.” Your heart rate picks up, you’d never had any kinds of tests on your body done so you weren’t sure what to expect. “Will it hurt?” She smiles apologetically. You decide she’s almost too happy to be doing this job, who smiles this much? “It will be uncomfortable, but it should not hurt you.”

A few minutes later after she explained to you that she would be needing blood samples, a urine sample, and a swab of your cervix she got up to get the supplies. You had felt embarrassed at not knowing what your cervix was, but back on Pulea the anatomy of a human body only really came down to what you could see on the outside, it was considered impolite to discuss things such as the inside of your body. Doctor Kille also had to explain to you how she would be getting a blood sample, you had never heard of someone sticking a needle in your arm for blood before, you still didn’t quite understand why the First Order would need your blood, but she insisted it was necessary.

She arrived back in the room with a plastic up in one hand, and two clear bags in the other hand holding various medical supplies. “First we are going to get the blood sample, can you turn your arm out like this?” She asks you, showing you to turn your inner arm out. You copy her and look up for approval, she nods and walks to you with a small pad. “This is just to sterilize your arm, okay? Just to make sure that the blood we take will be clean, and not contaminated.” You mumble a soft ‘okay’ and watch as she cleans the fold between your forearm, and bicep.

“This part shouldn’t hurt too bad, it’s going to be a small pricking feeling, and as long as you don’t tense up it won't hurt you.” She makes sure you nod your head before sticking the sharp needle in your arm, you take in a sharp breath at the feeling but make sure not to tense up so it doesn’t begin to hurt. “Very good.” She smiles -again- and pressed a cotton ball onto the area, and taping it over with medical tape.

“Are you set to use the bathroom, or will you need some water?” You had needed to use the bathroom since you’d gotten off the shuttle, you had just been too nervous to ask permission to use one. “I can now.” She explains to you to use one of the sterilizing pads she had used on your arm just moments before, just to make sure your urine was clean. It didn’t quite make sense to you that urine could be clean, or how the cloth would help, but you agreed anyway.

You take the plastic cup from her hand and walk to the bathroom behind you. There was only a curtain for a makeshift door, leaving you little privacy to use the bathroom, but you had to go bad enough you barely noticed her feet standing directly behind the curtain. After washing your hands you bring the cup out to Doctor Kille, and sit back on the plastic bed waiting for her next request.

“I’ll be right back darling, hold tight.” Your chest tightened at her use of the word ‘darling’ the nickname your father had always had for you. “You're doing it for Pulea.” You repeat to yourself over and over again waiting for her to return. When she walks back into the room you see a fairly large instrument in her hands. “This is the part that will be slightly uncomfortable, but I need you to trust me, can you do that?” You nod your head slowly, looking at the tool, wondering what the in the galaxy it could be for.

“Alright, so I need you to put this on, you can leave on your bra, but your underwear needs to come off, okay?” She hands you a gown that opens in the back, you do as she asks and strip yourself of your clothes from home, and put the gown on. She was polite enough to turn around and give you some privacy as you changed, but you were still unbelievably nervous about what was to come next.

“You can go ahead and lay down on the bed, and put your knees up, alright?” You hesitantly lay down, and put your feet below your butt and keep your knees in the air “What are you about to do?” You had realized by now that whatever it was that she was holding was going to go inside you, but you demanded to know why before she got any closer.

“This is called a speculum, I’m going to insert it inside you, and take the swab of your cervix now, that's all. It’s going to be uncomfortable, but just like before, if you don’t tense up, and let me get the swab quickly it will be over before you know it.” You did trust Doctor Kille, but you didn’t trust the First Order, she still hadn’t explained to you what the purpose of this test was. “Why do you need to do this?” She looked up at you nervously, at least she wasn’t smiling this time. “This swab will tell us if you have any sexually transmitted diseases.”

Your heart sank, you knew why they needed the test, but you had put it to the back of your mind. You didn’t want to admit that you would more than likely be losing your virginity to Kylo Ren. You had nothing more to say after that, you fell silent again, and listened to her orders for the swab, just wanting it to be over. It was uncomfortable, just like she had said it would be, you had tears freely falling from your eyes once she finally took the speculum out, but the pain wasn’t the only reason you were crying anymore.

You sat, and waited while she finished getting the results for the tests she had done. It was then that you realized just how tired you really were. It must have been after midnight by then, you had left Pulea just after ten at night, it made sense that your body was finally getting tired. “May I rest?” You ask Doctor Kille, in the hopes that you could get some sleep before meeting Kylo Ren. She nodded and left the room. You close your eyes and fall asleep quickly on the uncomfortable bed.

Unsure of how long you had been asleep, you sat up and looked around the room to see if your doctor was back with results yet. The lights had been turned off, and a blanket had been draped over your body, you smiled, grateful for whoever let you sleep. “Hello?” You call, hoping to find out how long you had been asleep in the medical bay of Starkiller Base.

“Y/n!” Doctor Kille greeted you, another smile plastered across her face. “You’re finally awake, how was your nap?” You tell her that you had slept fine, but wanted to know the time, and possibly get food, after all it had been at least six hours since you’d eaten last, and you hadn’t even eaten much because of your nerves.

“It’s a little after eight in the morning, Commander Ren decided to let you continue sleeping on account of the changes you’re going through right now.” You stared at her puzzled, had Kylo Ren been in here while you slept. “He was in here?” You felt your nerves building up, he had seen you asleep, not prepared to meet him at all. You must admit, you felt bad, that is no way to meet someone you’ll be spending three months with, if you even could call it a meeting.

“He was, he is the one who got you the blanket, and turned the lights out.” You hadn’t even considered that he had done that, in your mind you were sure he would have been annoyed at you falling asleep before meeting him. “Your tests call came back clear, just as we thought! We just have one last task at hand before sending you to Commander Rens quarters.” You weren’t sure what the last task was, but you had hoped it was a shower, and clean clothes.

“We just have to put an implant in your arm before we send you on your way. The implant will aide in making sure you do not get pregnant in your time with us.” Her smile wasn’t as wide as it had been last night, she looked exhausted.

Putting the implant in your arm wasn’t as painful as you had thought it would be, it didn’t feel good, but it was bearable. Not long after the implant was placed two Stormtroopers showed up, ready to bring you to Kylo Ren's room. You were disappointed you weren’t able to shower, and more than that you were frustrated that you had to wear clothes from the day before while meeting Kylo Ren for the first time.

The walk to his room was much longer than the walk to the medical bay had been, but it did feel good to be moving your feet, after being in the examination room for so long. Just like the trip to Starkiller Base, the Stormtroopers didn’t say anything to you, nor did you say anything to them, it made no sense to engage in small talk, you’d more than likely never see them again.

Once the three of you stopped at the door, one of the ‘troopers entered in a series of numbers to unlock the door before you. “Here you go.” He tells you once the door opens, motioning for you to go inside.

[mereoleonawifecity]

Here’s some highlights from Rey’s survival guide that pretty much destroys everything Rian ever said about Rey. I’m kind of tired right now my orginal more detailed post wouldn’t load cause tumblr sucks so you just get the pictures.

[thefaultinourforcebond]

Fandom you okay?

[hawkebo]

i keep thinking about that pic of ben, from the visual dictionary

comm ♡

[streetsolo]

Star Wars: Poe Dameron (2016-) #28

Answering the question of, “Where was Black Squadron during The Last Jedi?”