Fandom Fight for Control [closed]

[cleopat]

Kylo exited the ship after Discord. This mission had not lasted long at all, yet he anticipated at least a day or so away.

Did they just get that lucky? Or was there more he overlooked?

He would find out soon enough if Nyx was pleased with their mission.

The woman in question was visible from the moment he stepped on the ramp. Kylo made his way to her, as he knew they had much to discuss. And he wished to ask her about the continuation of his training.

“Darth Nyx,” he gave a slight bow in greeting. “As you are already aware, the mission to rescue Caprioril from the First Order was a success.” He didn’t know why he had to repeat something she was well aware of.

Maybe from unknowing what to do next.

“They tested us and our capabilities, and failed. I am eager to see how the future will play out in the rest of the Core.”

~~

Lavinia didn’t even have a chance to react before the troopers stunned her.

The next thing she was aware of was waking up in an unfamiliar room, unable to move. One glance at what held her down confirmed her fears.

Oh no.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to emit some sort of emotion at her current predicament. Instead, Lavinia forced herself to calm her racing mind and her speeding heart.

Fear and irrationality won’t help her.

If only I didn’t pause in the corridor…

No, there was no point in lingering on what ifs. She needed to focus on what would happen now. She knew her odds weren’t looking good. But maybe something could still be done.

Strapped to the chair, she figured an interrogation was in her future. That did scare her. The Baron broke so easily under Reveille’s techniques. With those spiraling thoughts, she futilely pulled against her restraints, but as expected, they did not budge.

Her body started to panic at the situation, but Lavinia took the time to even out her breaths and slow her beating heart. She faced uncertainty, and she knew she had to approach it with as calm a mind as possible.

Panicking will not help.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx inclined her head to Kylo’s greeting, the soft smile never leaving her lips as she agreed, “I have been well informed of the situation at hand. Thank you,” she said, “you and Discord, I understand, did quite well in getting by their armada and keeping their sensors busy so they never realized anyone was coming,” Nyx knew he may have wanted to do more. “Your presence also ensured the Order fled. We have lost few.”

It was nearly bloodless on her side, something she was quite grateful for. She’d rather win by just showing up, rather than having to fight long and tedious battles. The First Order opted to flee immediately.

“It will not be so easy in the future, but I am certain we will become victorious in all of our endeavors against the Order, the Resistance, and what forces Tarkin or others have organized,” Nyx’s confidence never wavered in that. As more Nightsisters would find their places on worlds, and commanding her own makeshift armies, more people would come to see the power they were up against.

They would be afraid.

And they would fall in line.

~***~

Reveille woke to darkness and a pulsing headache. She woke to her room, without the recollection of how she had gotten there. ‘Sienar?’ Her hand moved to find another, but there was no one. He didn’t always stay when she was that drunk, of course. It didn’t happen that she blacked out except once before – that she could recall. That had….

The news of the day started to return, of what had brought her to that point.

‘Sienar….’

No, he’d never see her to her room again, would he?

A cry was choked in her throat as she forced herself to sit up, the room not quite steady. ‘Kos’tel’lanni.’ That still invoked a cold fury that she wanted to focus on and carry through the day. ‘Lavinia. Kylo.’ Kylo hadn’t known that Lavinia was a traitor, but right then, she regretted ever stopping him from terrifying her that day in the hangar.

She lurched forward and caught herself with an end table.

There was plenty to do that day.

She had an idea of why Kos’tel’lanni chose to shield Lavinia; she was curious of the Resistance.

There could have been so many other ways. Kos’tel’lanni could have gone to them as a diplomat for the First Order – with Kylo gone, there could have been opportunities. ‘She found Lavinia while Kylo was here.’ And made her choice. Reveille knew she’d have to focus on that. Kos’tel’lanni was as much a traitor as Lavinia.

But she didn’t like the thought, as she moved through her routine and all but chugged two cups of caf to try and bring some semblance of sanity and wakefulness to herself.

Then, she checked her datapad.

There was a flood of messages, most of which she ignored as unimportant right then.

Rani’s were looked at, but for the moment, ignored. Rani’s furious questions of what was going on, of Kos’tel’lanni, of Sienar, of Althea, were painful. She was heartbroken. That much was clear. Two of the people she considered friends were in cells, and Sienar was dead.

She didn’t respond to those. She didn’t know how, because she could hardly admit to the way it was tearing her apart. To the thought that she could just crawl back into bed with a bottle of whiskey and not leave it. No one would know to check if she just drank things, although she supposed alcohol poisoning might be painful. If she came to.

She shifted to her brother’s messages.

They were, thankfully, less emotional. Short and curt. He wanted an opportunity to speak to Lavinia before she did so. He wanted to make sure that would not ruin her plans.

Go Ahead.

~***~

Armitage had seen Reveille back to her room before she was completely gone, but he had known that would be the result. The fact she still woke up well before 7am galactic standard was almost impressive. Her message came through as he forced himself through work relating to the losses of Corulag and Caprioril.

As he brought up information on Dathomir, and historical records of the Nightsisters.

Reveille’s message was simple; he had permission to go question Althea. ‘Good.’ Because he needed answers of his own that had little to do with her status as a traitor. That was indisputable, and what was to be done with her…well, even he knew the answer.

It’s not like they needed anything else from Leia.

And Kos’tel’lanni and the Chiss would be a matter he’d have to discuss with Reveille, though he imagined they also didn’t need the Chiss that much. Or that the Chiss might understand their actions, given Kos’tel’lanni had sworn them allegiance and hid a traitor.

Or perhaps they never needed to know.

In either case, he dismissed his work, and left his office to head to the cell he knew Althea was in.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo lifted his chin ever so slightly at the praise Nyx offered him. He did wish he could have stuck around and done more, ensure that they took back what the First Order stole, but other plans were already in place. He had to trust Nyx that things will get done.

“The First Order proved that they aren’t impenetrable. They have weaknesses in their defenses, as proven by their rapid retreat.” Their TIEs didn’t stand a chance against a freighter, even if it was piloted and directed by two Force sensitives. They ran scared when the help arrived.

With an actual army? He’d imagine no one would dare challenge them.

“And I hope with your training and guidance, we will grow ever stronger.” Darth Nyx had already made stride in helping guide him to heal his mind, which served as a hindrance to him for many years with the division that constantly plagued him.

Once that was fixed, he could finally become even better. A warrior for all to fear.

~~

Breath in.

Breath out.

Lavinia didn’t know how much time had passed. Maybe it was only minutes, or maybe it was hours. Maybe no one would ever come for her, leaving her to rot in that chair.

Who would come see her first? Every scenario ran through her mind, from stories she heard of Reveille’s torture techniques, to Armitage coldly, and rightfully, approaching her, to only a stormtrooper fetching her for a public execution.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Her deep breathing helped her from spiraling into hysterics, but that would only last so long. Lavinia was terrified, and she had a right to be so.

With the silence of the cell, it wasn’t hard to hear someone on the other side of the door. She tensed when it slid open, but she didn’t allow herself to make any remarks until she saw who it was.

~~

Onna frowned as she read through the messages of what transpired the previous evening. The Lieutenant-Admiral was killed on action. The Admiral outed as a traitor. The Supreme Leader’s aide discovered to be a traitor.

All in all, the First Order was going through a rough time.

This would take quite some time to recover from.

She leaned back in her seat with her datapad in hand. The Admiral and Lieutenant-Admiral were close to Reveille. The aide had worked with her brother. With what she was already going through, Onna couldn’t imagine the grief the Grand Marshall was trying to process.

I bet there’s a bottle of liquor on her bedside table.

Her efforts may be futile, but Onna would still extend an offering in case Reveille decided to humor her. The mere act of ranting to someone helped one process their emotions, which Reveille...was not good at.

Her fingers tapped on the datapad to create a message for the woman. She could read it, she could ignore it, but Onna tried.

Grand Marshall, I wish to extend to you a reminder that I am always available for you. You know how to reach me.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx shook her head, “No one and nothing is impenetrable, Kylo,” Nyx knew that well. Not even their forces would be impenetrable, and she doubted the First Order thought they were, in truth. They were arrogant, it was true, but their plans had been notably smart of late. Securing the Core, rather than conquering it.

They’d erred when they started to rapidly take up the planets she had convinced to her side, spread too thin, too fast.

“We will be prepared when they regroup. We will be stronger,” Nyx agreed, “You will be.” A promise, “I understand you did much of the flying for this. Are you all right?” He was fresh from memories of Han, after all.

She wasn’t sure if she hoped the question would strike him as strange, or not. She didn’t know how much he’d kept out of his head then.

~***~

Althea – Lavinia was strapped into a chair. Armitage was glad for that, for the limited movement she was allowed right then. At least they weren’t being lax any longer with prisoners, and he walked around the left side until he was in front of her, arms behind his back.

He hadn’t slept. He felt exhausted, but also, numb.

Rather like Reveille, he was considering that his father might have had one good lesson to teach – the only good thing the Jedi had to offer – the instruction of no attachments. Of course, the pair of them had weakened each other, Reveille and Armitage, by attaching to each other.

Weakened, by attachments to aides, of a sort.

“How long?” Armitage asked, realized how quiet his voice was, and raised it, “How long were you with the Resistance?” Had it started that way? Had they approached her while she was in his service?

He needed to know that.

~***~

Reveille had finished getting dressed for the day, trying to consider how the hell she was going to approach Kos’tel’lanni after all of this. Sienar and Rani would have been easier to handle, but ‘Tel?

Just the thought was like a twist of a knife.

‘But you keep moving. You should have listened to your father.’ Something Reveille never wanted to consider, and she heard the ping of her datapad. A new message. She checked it, planning to ignore it to get to business, but paused as she saw it wasn’t from some random underling trying to figure things out.

It was Onna.

‘Yeah? You actually saw her? Then what’d she say to do?’

Reveille tried to shut out his voice. She took a deep breath, and popped up the message, intending to thank Onna for the reminder and leave it at that. Except, her fingers trembled over the letters, ‘Hells.’ She had time.

Kos’tel’lanni could suffer a little longer.

If you are available now, I would like to take you up on that offer, Doctor Varik.

 

[cleopat]

Nothing is impenetrable. But he wanted to train until he was. Kylo wanted to grow their military and improve their strategies until they were. He couldn’t risk losing anymore.

He didn’t comment on those thoughts. Darth Nyx may not be pleased with his stubbornness for perfection.

The reason of her question did not escape Kylo’s notice. His muscles tensed as a relax, but he was quick to relax them as he breathed outward. “I did do most of the flying, with Darth Discord serving as an effective navigator.” A navigator of sorts, to remain one step ahead of the enemy.

“And yes, I am all right.” The memory of his father hadn’t popped up in his head since they left the planet for Caprioril, and he didn’t wish to dwell on his memories too much.

Kylo still had a lot to process and work through before he would be able to obtain closure.

“What is next for us?”

~~

The visitor was the man she simultaneously wanted to see and wanted to stay far away from. She couldn’t read what Armitage felt, but the way he spoke hinted at the pain he felt.

The breathing exercises vanished from her mind. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes with the guilt, the hurt, and the anger in herself she felt. Maybe Borran and Tanis had been right. She should’ve stayed out of the war and remained neutral.

It would’ve been less painful.

“Two years.” Two years with the Resistance, seven months in the First Order. One month aside Armitage. And she was foolish enough to form friendships on both sides.

~~

Onna hadn’t expected Reveille to message back. She thought the woman would ignore her, or reject her offer. Her eyebrows raised in mild surprise when the message came back in the affirmative.

She must really be in need of help.

A quick look at her schedule for the day indicated she had an appointment in half an hour, which she immediately rescheduled. The mental health of the Grand Marshall outweighed anyone else in the First Order, except for the Supreme Leader.

I am available now, in my office. If you’re in need of somewhere less formal, we can talk in my quarters.

Onna almost suggested they could meet in Reveille’s quarters, but she had remembered about Sienar. He and Reveille were paramours, and, likely, met in her room often.

Her room may be suffocating her right now, constantly reminding her of the man.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx listened to Kylo, and she did believe him. His flying had never been impacted before, from what she understood of his history. He was able to not let it influence him, even if things were getting in the way of him processing the Force as she and the others did.

The other obstacles would be dealt with, in due time.

“Your training resumes, of course,” Nyx answered his question, “Now that you have ventured outside of your body, and seen the Force around you, I believe you will have better luck with using it.” He had seen it, truly seen it, in the trees, and the world around. He had felt the power of the Outside Force as it guided him.

That taste sometimes aided her students in those first tasks. “You are going to turn a plate to fire,” Nyx gestured once more back to the camp, where he would easily find a plate, “And you will return to me when you have done so.”

~***~

Two years.

Longer than she had been in the First Order. That was enough, really, to be certain that it had all been a lie. She had somehow won over Kos’tel’lanni and convinced her to keep her secret, to lie to all of them, so that she could undermine the Order.

Her connections were likely poison, then. He’d have to cut off his workings with Kasabian and the others – they were likely somehow aligned or working with the Resistance to undermine the Order, if she had connected him to them.

His jaw clenched. “And just how are you using Kasabian against the Order? How are you using all those connections you established for the Order to undermine me?” Perhaps it didn’t matter, in the end. He’d terminate those connections, but something could still linger.

~***~

Reveille considered how bad it would look in either case, heading to Onna’s office or her quarters. ‘Sienar died. Rani is suffering. Kos’tel’lanni is a traitor. You can find a general excuse if anyone thinks to ask.’

Reveille wasn’t sure she’d have the energy to do so. At least, not right then. When she was confronted with it? Probably so.

I’ll be there shortly.​

She was already prepared to leave her room, so she simply tucked her datapad into a pocket, and grabbed her half-finished cup of caf. She didn’t think she’d be able to drink enough caf to clear her headache, or wake her up, but she was determined to try.

She left her quarters with the thought that she didn’t want to return.

It wasn’t a pleasant thought to follow her to Onna’s officce, and she knew it was completely unrealistic as she pinged the comm besides the door to announce her arrival.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo perked up. Finally, the training will resume, something he had been eager to approach. He felt that the actual, physical training had been put off long enough, and he wanted to finally learn how to set the damn plate on fire.

And now he had a glimpse at the world around him, at the world beyond. Before he knew of how the Force worked, how it was all around them, but to see it on another level of existence was an entirely new experience.

Because of that, Kylo felt more attuned to the Force in other living things. Learning Nyx’s style of Force should be easier to grasp onto now.

They were brought back to the plate. His first task when he arrived on Dathomir, and now he would face it again. It’s a plate, not an enemy.

“And I shall bring you a pile of ash,” Kylo vowed, determined to accomplish the task in no time at all.

~~

The question about Kasabian and her other connections were unanticipated, but in hindsight, Lavinia should have expected them. Armitage would want to rid the Order of anything he may fear would poison them from within, even if her connections would not do that.

“I’m not. Those connections have no ties to the Resistance, and as far as I’m aware, they have no plans to undermine the First Order.” Would he believe her? She doubted it, but she continued, as if adding on more information would convince him.

And if it didn’t, Lavinia knew she told the truth.

“I had those connections before the Resistance. Some came through my family’s social circle, who believe in the Order, and, I suspect, are financiers. ” There was no point in trying to skirt the subject of her family. If it helped, then so be it.

But she did want him to believe her. She wanted him to see that not everything had been a lie.

~~

Onna looked up at the sound of the comm buzzing in her office. It could only be one person, but she checked the camera outside her door just to be sure.

Reveille stood on the other side, looking quite worse than when she had seen her last.

She rose to her feet and walked around her desk before opening the door for Reveille to step through. Once inside, the Grand Marshall would see two plush, dark red chairs, with Onna sitting in one of them.

Normally she would remain on the other side of the desk, keeping a layer between her and her patient, but for this case, Onna wanted to create the illusion of openness and inviting.

“Please, sit,” she offered, gesturing to the other chair.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx shook her head slightly, “No, Kylo. You will bring me fire.” Ashes would prove he had burned the plate. Fire would prove more – that he could feed it, once he lit it, and that it would last. That might take more than one plate, but Kylo was eager, and Nyx would give him the time, and the space, to practice it.

She would be near – but in this case, she hoped he would not seek her out.

She would tend to the others, for a while, “Should you run out of plates, let Sister Thenn know,” he liked Thenn, and though Thenn could not get more plates so easily, she could make it known to the others, and perhaps that would help to introduce Kylo to the others, through the friendly medium of Thenn.

If it became necessary.

One day, he would integrate.

~***~

‘Before the Resistance.’ Armitage doubted it. Armitage didn’t believe her, as she added on details. “Ah yes, your family,” he spoke to that. A family she’d lied about. A history she’d lied about it. He hadn’t actually looked into her family name, in truth. “From Coruscant.”

Elites.

A reason to dislike the way things were. An easy lie, and he should have looked into that more, but he’d taken her at her word, because she had seemed sincere in her loathing for their way of life. “Why should I believe they aren’t rebels themselves?” That was how most ended up in the Resistance, after all.

People from families like what Lavinia lied about, didn’t go to the Resistance. Not the way she did. “Why would you go to the Resistance if you were from that sort of family, and hated it so? They’re only going to protect that lifestyle and allow it to fester and spread.”

But then, she was lying about hating it, wasn’t she?

He realized that, and drew a hand up to his temple, He wasn't as numb as he'd thought. “Never mind.” He wouldn’t trust anything she said, anyways. He didn’t even know why he came there – he had his answer. She had been a spy from the start. Everything she touched was poisoned.

~***~

Reveille stepped in, and noticed the situation. She eyed the chair that was clearly meant for her, overly plush. She could have complained about that, but she didn’t. She just walked over towards it, and sunk into it, moving her mug into both hands as she did so.

‘Now what?’

Her caf was nearly empty from the walk here. She was half convinced to get up, and say she needed more caf, and not return.

After all, how could Onna help? She didn’t know Onna. She wasn’t sure she liked Onna.

Then again, look where trust had gotten her.

And so it wasn’t the grief at Sienar, the idiot who convinced her to go to therapy, that parted her lips, but a simple statement, “I trusted her.” Kos’tel’lanni, of course. Kos’tel’lanni, who had convinced Reveille to let some others in – Sienar, Rani, to even hold on to Terex when he left….

 

[cleopat]

Keeping the fire alive without burning the plate would be more of a challenge. It was easy to create ash. It wasn’t so easy to keep a controlled fire with the Force. It required control and precision of the Force utilized from the nature around them, something Kylo had only begun to learn.

He saw himself destroying many plates to master the ability, so he nodded. “I will.” Thenn had been an interesting little girl he wanted to see succeed. Maybe he would get to know her better and help her do just that.

With a nod, Kylo turned to move towards the camp. The Nightsisters milled about the camp, so he grabbed a handful of plates that laid in the vicinity of their fire and walked closer to the edge of the camp.

He didn’t want to risk setting any tents on fire.

Once sitting on the ground, Kylo began. And he would try his damndest to succeed before the camp ran out of plates.

~~

“You can look my name up. My family’s name up. There are plenty of pictures, videos, and records of us.” Naturally he didn’t believe her. The tears she tried to hold back began to roll down her cheeks. Not because of her situation, but because Armitage didn’t believe her.

Didn’t want to listen to her.

Lavinia ignored his words for her to cease.

“My uncle was General Veers of the Empire. My family are far from rebels.”

She didn’t answer his next question, and she wouldn’t unless he decided he wanted an answer. Lavinia joined the Resistance for a foolish reason, and it was a reason why she wished she had simply stayed out of this war. She didn’t know what she believed in anymore. Who were the good guys.

“I’m not lying.” The words were a near whisper. He wouldn’t believe her. He wouldn’t listen to anymore she had to say, that she was certain of.

Lavinia wished she had the ability to feel numb.

~~

Onna wouldn’t be the first to speak. She would remain silent until Reveille said something, and from there, she would direct their session.

Which, truthfully, would be more of a way for Reveille to get out anything she needed.

I trusted her. Onna assumed she spoke of the Chiss who now sat in a cell. They shared a long history, one Onna didn’t know the details to, but Reveille wasn’t one to form attachments so easily.

It had to have been a close friendship.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to understand the irrationality of others.” In that statement, she could have spoken of anyone involved. “If you need to vent, if you need to cry, if you need to yell, this is a safe space for you to do so. If you just want to sit in silence, we can do that as well.” No sarcasm or cruelty was insinuated in her last offer. Some people genuinely wanted that.

“I am letting you direct how this goes, and if it’s guidance and understanding you want, we can do that.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Armitage could look them up. He could do it right there, but he didn’t want to. He preferred to assume she was lying. It was easier that way, particularly as she cited her Imperial credentials. She was related to the Veers family, and of course, he knew that name.

Why would a relative of Veers go to the Resistance? ‘Look at Tarkin.’ True. Family names meant nothing in the scheme of things, except how much power they could pull with it. Organa and Tarkin remained the major names in the galaxy.

Before him, Lavinia was crying. It seemed pointless to him to cry at this point; did she think it would earn her mercy? Or was the reaction of terror just that strong? He supposed the latter was possible. He could still recall her reaction after Kylo had terrified her with the Force.

Oh, that chafed.

Had Kylo known? ‘No.’ No, Kylo was just an irrational idiot. But he’d lashed out at the right person, for once. “If you’re not lying, then why did you join the Resistance?” Perhaps that was truly what they needed to know, and what they never asked – why did people go to the Resistance?

~***~

“It’s not irrational!” Reveille couldn’t help but snap when Onna tried to attribute that to Kos’tel’lanni. Perhaps that’s what irritated the most. It had every bit of rationality in it – except for her hiding it.

Except for her not finding any less dangerous way to go about it. “Supreme Leader Snoke forbade contact with the Resistance except in cases where combat was unavoidable. Our enemy was not well known. It’s completely rational that Kos’tel’lanni would want to know more about them – she wasn’t fully with the Order to begin with.” A bitter truth, one Reveille shouldn’t have forgotten.

She was with the Chiss Ascendency.

She was looking out for their interests, not the First Order.

Perhaps any closeness was also a lie. A way for Kos’tel’lanni to rise up in the ranks and have access to the inner workings of the Order. Unlike Lavinia, hers would have been an intentional act, rather than just thrust into it.

Apparently she’d started a vent without considering it, and only there paused to consider, again, this wasn’t a safe place. But why else was she there? “It wasn’t her idea to see you, at least,” she finished what caf remained in her cup. “So maybe it wasn’t a terrible idea.”

 

[cleopat]

Kylo closed his eyes, and he focused on what he could feel around him. He reached out for the Force, seeking it in the grass and the trees around him.

It flowed around him, and he could feel it shift when he desired for it to, but it wasn’t enough. As he focused on the friction needed for the fire, the plate he held in his hand only smoked, but nothing more.

Scowling, he continued for a while. After the first few attempts, the plate finally burst into the flames he aimed for, but the fire quickly reduced it to ash, something that Darth Nyx specifically did not want.

So he tried again, with each subsequent plate lasting longer than the previous one. Kylo hoped he was able to do as needed before he ran out of plates, but as he watched the last one dissolve into ash, contributing to the pile he now had, he knew that wasn’t possible.

He needed more plates.

As the fire lasted longer each time, he would try for a while longer before requesting help from Darth Nyx. He rose to his feet, and after his gaze settled on the Nightsister he wanted to talk to, Kylo walked over to the little girl, Thenn.

~~

Lavinia didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to show weakness or fragility in front of someone who wasn’t known for compassion or mercy. But she couldn’t stop the small tears that leaked out. Tears born of self-hatred and fear.

Of course Armitage had to bring up the question again concerning why she chose the Resistance. Not many of her background did, for most either stayed where they could live in comfort and luxury, and others chose the path of the First Order.

“It was partly due to my own naivete and spite. Spite towards my family.” Her family supported the ideas and actions of the First Order, and she wanted to do one last thing she knew would tick them off.

Yes, it was a foolish reason, but it hadn’t been her only one. “But I also believed that they wanted to help the galaxy and rid it of the chaos and crime that has ruined so many lives. To help destroy the slave trades and the crime syndicates.”

Believed. Did she still believe that they could do it? That they truly wanted to help even those of the Outer Rims, far from the Republic’s control?

Lavinia didn’t know what she believed in anymore.

~~

Onna allowed Reveille to rant, not once considering to stop her. She aptly listened as she learned more about the Chiss through what the woman told her.

“Then was it truly a betrayal?” She asked questions only to gauge Reveille’s response, and how she reacted to potential other scenarios she wouldn’t consider in her current state. “As you said, the enemy wasn’t well known, she wanted to know more about a side you don’t engage with, and maybe she perceived this spy as a non-threat overall to the Order.”

She knew very little of this Lavinia Aburius, but she wondered if the woman ever truly posed a threat to the First Order if Kos’tel’lanni was willing to keep this secret between them.

Or maybe Reveille just knew the Chiss less than she thought she did.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn had her own practices to be concerned with, though at that time they had little to do with the Force and everything to do with math. She stared down at her so-called homework and the numbers for multiplication. She was just getting a hand for addition, now this? Why wasn't 3x5 the same as 3+5! 2x2 and 2+2 were the same!

So, needless to say, she welcomed the distraction of the large shadow. "Oh! Hi!" She perked up as she registered his arrival, trying to wipe the scowl from her face. He wasn't numbers. She wasn't mad at him. "I heard you and Discord went to help in the Core. I'm glad you're okay."

She rocked back from her datapad, not sure why he was there, "Do you need something?" He probably wasn't actually there to save her from math. Nyx had mentioned he might come to her as he adjusted.

She was a good diplomat. A good and friendly face. She made Kylo comfortable.

~***~

Spite.

That was something Armitage knew well. It drove him to many things, but despite that, he had never let it drive him from the Order his father had a hand in creating. He had known the Order could be good, he had known the Order could improve the galaxy.

Apparently, Lavinia thought the same of the Resistance, and he did scoff at that, wondering how anyone came to that conclusion. “Why? Why did you possibly think they could help the galaxy? They support the Senate!” He gestured out, as if he could gesture at the very thing that was so despicable, and so responsible for the chaos of the galaxy. “Pirates and crime lords don’t compare to what the Senate has done through its many millennia in power.”

It created the systems that kept those in the Outer Rim poor. It practically enslaved those worlds to the service of the core. “That is what the Resistance is fighting for. Your family and others to continue on as they are.”

~***~

Was it a betrayal? ‘Yes.’ On a personal level, if nothing else. Kos’tel’lanni had known it would hurt Reveille, and more than that, it wasn’t within Kos’tel’lanni’s power to determine who was, and wasn’t, a threat to the Order. “That she hid it suggests she knew it was wrong. Perhaps it was no betrayal to her ends, but she knew what the results would be.”

Whether or not Lavinia was a threat to the Order or not, hardly mattered.

Kos’tel’lanni had been instructed to find out, “I told her that I suspected Lavinia of something, and she cleared Lavinia’s name. She intentionally acted against my wishes, and put the Order at risk.” She disobeyed a superior, directly. “But I was wrong to presume she was trustworthy in the first place. That doesn’t stop her actions from being a crime to the Order, but it is something I’ll have to accept,” and err on the side of caution from then on with regards to anyone she spoke with.

The matter of the Chiss, and their aid, or alliance, was also lost.

Much was lost with Kos’tel’lanni…if it had ever truly been there to begin with.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo noticed Thenn concentrated on something quite hard as he approached her. A quick glance at what it was had him amused. Math. The bane of every child’s existence. A huff of laughter left him. He certainly held his own disdain for math, preferring to be outdoors and running around.

A smile crossed his face. “And I see they’ve been torturing you while I was away.” A light joke, although a younger Kylo would’ve thought it was torture. “I do need something, but how about we both take a break and do something else?”

He didn’t really want to take a break from his training, but Kylo felt the urge to pull Thenn away for something that could cheer her up. “How does that sound?”

Stars know he won’t help her with the math. Although, he didn’t know if he could refuse her if she asked.

~~

“And terrorism will stop these crimes?” Her voice raised, nearly shouting her question at him. She paused, took a moment for a deep breath, before continuing her thoughts.

“Trying to achieve peace through terror will only create more terror. Crime increased during the Empire, and it will again under the First Order’s rule. I thought trying to help the Senate would be the best for the galaxy, but...” Lavinia trailed off. She struggled with her thoughts, what she believed, and what she learned.

Everything was so fucking complex.

“My time here showed me that we both want the same thing for the galaxy. But now I struggle with who will actually achieve that, if anyone.” She didn’t want to imagine what Borran and Tanis would tell her if they ever knew how she doubted everything, and that she should’ve just stayed out of their business. It would’ve been a more peaceful life. Relatively.

~~
And you felt this betrayal from one of the few people you could call a friend. One of the few people you allowed yourself to get close to.

Onna wanted to voice that thought, but she felt it may not be the best thing at the moment for Reveille. She knew the heartbreak she felt. Onna didn’t need to add more to that.

“Have you talked to her since you found out? Asked her all these uncertainties you have? At the very least, it will help you gain closure with her.” Now whether that closure was understanding Kos’tel’lanni’s motives or realizing their friendship was fake was unclear.

But Reveille needed to figure that out.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn nodded exuberantly at Kylo’s recognition of what was happening to her. “I don’t know why I need to learn any of this,” she gestured down at the datapad. “But Discord says I do,” the whine was evident in her voice. This was, clearly, not her own idea.

The thought of a break was good, and she immediately turned the datapad off, lifting up a bit on her knees as he offered it, “Yeah!” She was sure they wouldn’t get too upset with her for putting aside math.

Nyx told her to be friendly and help Kylo adjust, so she was doing her job, right?

“What did you want to do?” She didn’t know if he had an idea for how to go about this break, or if the break would just be chilling out for a bit and talking. Thenn was happy for either – it took her mind off the accursed multiplication that Discord thought was soooo easy.

~***~

One thing was clear: her time in the First Order had started to change Lavinia’s mind about the Resistance. Though Armitage did not consider the actions of the First Order to be terrorism, he knew what she was getting at. Planetary destruction was, certainly, not something people smiled at.

He didn’t regret it.

He regretted the design, but not the act itself. He’d taken down the structure of the New Republic. He’d turned back the harm that the New Republic had done to the Outer Rim and plenty of others, back on them. Perhaps innocents had died, but this was war.

That was bound to happen in war.

“The First Order will.” He believed in that, of course. “Through whatever means necessary.” If some terror at the outset was necessary, then that would be the case, but it certainly wasn’t how he wanted to rule.

He wanted to rule differently than Palpatine had.

“At least you’ve at least found reason to doubt the Resistance.” Even if she apparently didn’t believe in the Order. Not that her doubt would help her now.

~***~

Closure.

Oh closure.

Reveille had been denied that with Brendol. Not that she had considered it terribly important, but she certainly had questions for him, all the same. Questions she would have enjoyed asking with an interrogator droid. Not that she’d need it, no…but she’d want it, anyways.

Hells, she had questions for Kylo.

For Sienar.

Kos’tel’lanni would require no such thing. There was nothing to take from her, really. She had confessed her crime. Anything beyond that was superfluous. At least, Reveille hoped anything beyond that was superfluous. “That is what I will be doing when this session is over,” Reveille answered. “I will speak to her, as well as to Lavinia,” to learn if there was anything to learn, and to help determine their sentence.

It would be death, of course.

But it could be private. It could be public. It could be agony, or it could be swift.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo leaned close to Thenn, as if he wanted to tell her a secret, and whispered like he was telling her a secret, “Truth be told, I don’t know I had to learn any of that either, but if Discord said to study, you should do so.” He leaned back. “But that can be resumed later.”

What should they do? He considered a moment, though he knew he didn’t care, since he just simply wanted to distract her from studying.

“What would you like to do?” He still didn’t know much about the little girl, and so he didn’t know how she liked to spend her leisure time. Did she bounce around the Nightsisters, helping them with whatever they need or chatted them up? Or was she more like him, and tended to roam around, looking for adventure?

“I will let you chose what we do next.” And he wanted to know what her childlike curiosity would lead her to do.

~~

Armitage still believed in the Order. He still believed his plans would lead to a better galaxy. “One thing I had admired about you was your ambition.” Lavinia still did, even if they were misplaced ambitions.

But despite being strapped to a chair, and despite knowing she may not make it to the end of the day, her feelings for him did not waver. Just as she told him on Lothal a month ago, she was a romantic at heart.

Lavinia didn’t know how much longer Armitage would remain in the room. What more did they want from her? She supposed that they may try and obtain information on the whereabouts of the Resistance cells, if the Order wanted to bother with them while Kylo’s influence grew stronger.

“I want to say, even though you may not believe me, is that everything I’ve said to you in private was true. Everything you learned about Althea was truly me.” She figured Armitage wouldn’t believe her, but she had to say that before it was too late. She wanted him to know.

~~

Onna nodded. “Just be sure to let them talk. Give them a chance to explain their own actions.” She knew the woman could be...abrasive. She had techniques for torture that made men squeal within hours.

Would Reveille believe the truth when she heard it? Or would she want to believe they’re lying? To disregard someone’s words as a lie when feeling betrayed was easier to do, because it made it easier to send that person to their death.

She folded her hands on her lap. “What else would you like to tell me?” She opened up the opportunity for Reveille to continue whatever she wished to get off her chest.

Onna didn’t point them out for the session, but she had a box of tissues on her desk, on the end that was closer to Reveille. Although a woman like Reveille wouldn’t cry in front of someone she didn’t trust, she had to bring them out in a silent gesture.

“And a reminder, if you want to get something off your chest without my asking questions or interrupting, just let me know.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn let out a sigh of long-suffering as Kylo told her she should study, even if they were still humoring this idea of doing something else. That was better.

Admittedly, she would have gone off to see what help others needed. That was how things usually worked – she checked in on others, she helped them, or they suggested she work on something, as Discord did with the math. “Hmmmmm.”

She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking. She probably couldn’t go run up to someone and find out what was needed with Kylo in tow. That probably wouldn’t be fun for him. “Well, there’s a place not far from here that Nyx showed me, once. She said I shouldn’t go alone, ‘cause it’s hallowed, I think.”

Maybe it was haunted? Nyx seemed to use the words for similar things. “But she shows it to a lot of people, and I don’t think she’s showed it to you yet, so we could go see it, and I can look at it more since I won’t be alone.” Kylo counted as an adult, right?

~***~

Armitage’s eyes narrowed as Lavinia expressed that she had admired his ambition. That she would dare to offer any sort of praise now was suspicious, and he was wary of listening to it. Was it his ambition that made her think better of the Order? Was it the sincerity behind that ambition?

She went on to say that everything about Althea was true.

Hard to believe. It was easy to imagine it was a construct, that somehow she had known what things to say, trained for it, to stay in his good graces.

But she had so easily drawn up music. They had shared similar interests in opera, even if he liked the more tragic. She had spoken as if she truly enjoyed these things.

“What does it matter now?” he found himself asking, in spite of himself.

What did it matter if he had liked Althea, now that she was Lavinia?

What did it matter if she had liked his ambition?

~***~

Reveille would let them talk. Whether or not she believed what they said was another matter, though at this point she didn’t think either would have much to lie about, contrary to her brother’s opinion. Kos’tel’lanni in particular knew what fate awaited her. She had been in the Order long enough.

She would likely speak the truth, at the end.

Lavinia was another matter. Reveille had not started with a good impression her, and though Reveille knew she’d be bitterly honest in her own end, she didn’t think the same would necessarily apply to Lavinia. They were alike in some ways, but that had yet to be tested.

Onna opened it up to more, rather than harp on that ‘listening’ bit. Which would have earned her a comment about jobs, if she had continued on it too long. Reveille just sighed as more was opened up. What else could she really say? What else was there to say? It wasn’t as if saying some of it would do any good, but why not? “Valles Sienar is dead.” That was known. “Valles Sienar told me to come see you.”

He had been the only one aware, and now he was gone. “He wasn’t…I didn’t love him, but I cared for him. And outside of Kos’tel’lanni and Armitage, he was the only one I could talk to.” Though it wasn’t always talking. She didn’t love him, not in the way one would think, but they had developed a language of touch and words that overlapped into many areas. They had a shared love of ships, and competition.

And now he was gone.

Kos’tel’lanni was gone to her.

And Armitage was not someone she felt as comfortable confiding in after the events with Kylo, because how could she begin with a moment of vulnerability spiraling out and sending her to therapy? They could talk…but not about everything. “Now he’s gone, and everything is worse.”

Everyone she’d cared for.

Everyone she tried to believe in.

It felt like it was all slipping through her fingers. Sure, there was Rani. There was Jinnah. There was Armitage. But Rani and Jinnah had never been so close to her, and Armitage…there were still things she couldn’t tell him. Things he wouldn’t want to hear.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. Of course little kids would be interested in checking out a place such as hallowed grounds. Snooping somewhere they probably shouldn’t be snooping.

But it caught his interest. He was curious to see what this place was now that Thenn planted the seed in his mind. Surely looking around wouldn’t hurt.

“Okay, you can show me this place, but you stay near me,” Kylo didn’t know what kind of creatures may lurk near this place, “and if I say we go, we go.” He had to establish rules to make sure nothing happened to Thenn.

And he still had his lightsaber at his side. He wasn’t defenseless.

He gestured with a wave. “Please, lead the way.”

~~

What does it matter now?

Lavinia had many answers, and yet no answers.

Emotions were confusing.

“I wanted to tell you before I-” she broke off, holding back a buildup of tears. She didn’t want to start crying again at the thought of death being near. “Well, you know.”

As the Supreme Leader, he may be the one to call it.

“I felt like you had a right to know.” Even if he thought she continued to lie

What was going through his head? Did any part of him know she was telling the truth? “As useless as my words may be right now, I just wanted to let you know.”

~~

Onna knew that there was a relationship going on between Reveille and Valles, although she didn’t know the true extent of it. She had expected someone persuaded the woman to see her, for she figures Reveille wouldn’t come willingly.

But if he was the reason she came, Valles must’ve had a great influence in her life, and given the events of the day, she lost two friends. Two of the only people she allowed in her life.

“Yes, he is gone, but life will continue. Some days you may even start to ask yourself how could everyone can continue on as if nothing has happened.” It was the unfortunate reality. Grief was a difficult process, and ultimately it came down to how Reveille choose to process that grief.

“It may seem like everything is worse right now, which is perfectly understandable, and this is your mind grieving for what you just lost. Allow yourself to grieve, and it will help heal you.” And Onna would be in her office if Reveille ever needed help to process the grief.

“And if you need anything to help you get a peaceful rest, let me know, and I can get you something.” With her previous trauma, Onna gathered Reveille did not get much sleep, and the current situation would only worsen her sleep patterns.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Mm!” Then was on her feet in a moment, leaving behind the datapad, “It’s just through the forest,” it was actually within the forest, surrounded and protected by it, but that sort of discernment was yet to occur to her. If she came to a large clearing, she considered the forest had ended.

She led the way towards the forest Kylo had ventured in when he explored the Force outside of his body, and when they had gone to collect wood together. “I don’t think anything bad will happen. I’ve never sensed anything bad here,” Thenn said. “If so, the forest would tell me….”

At least, she thought it would, as they moved through it.

Gradually, the trees became taller, more spindly things, nearly deprived of leaves, but not quite. The area they ventured towards thrummed with life, but that life didn’t seem to pulse into the greenery despite the power that grew as they approached.

Opened sacks hung upon the trees, their contents long gone, long forgotten.

There were bones and scraps of clothes, but none of it seemed to bother Thenn as she moved over the place where a battle had taken place long ago, and the dead had risen. She was moving towards the old home of the Nightsisters – hallowed ground, indeed.

~***~

‘Before you die.’

Armitage did not finish Lavinia’s thought aloud. They were both aware of it. Even if Armitage had the power, the authority, to say otherwise, his position did not allow it. If he let one traitor go on sentiment alone, what would that show to the Order? He imagined Reveille was looking at a similar situation with Kos’tel’lanni.

Would it be enough to say she no longer supported the Resistance?

No – she wasn’t joining the Order. She didn’t support either, right then, and couldn’t be trusted not to become their enemy again. “So that it remains on whatever I have left as a conscience.” He decided to say that aloud, instead, to make her words a curse, a plague, rather than anything good.

He should know, so it could bother him until the end.

But why should it bother him?

He knew the answer to that; she had grown on him, in spite of everything. She had grown on him, and she had betrayed him.

~***~

‘Everything is worse, and I do not think it will get better.’

Even if the Order succeeded. Though it would be a boon to the galaxy, the personal cost felt high. She knew that was irrational. Given time, she would certainly recover. She might never recover her sense of trust, but she would recover enough to understand the costs of victory and accept it as worth that cost.

Right?

Onna told her to grieve. She knew, that she should, but there was no time in the day to grieve. There really wasn’t time for this. There was barely time to sleep, and she didn’t want to sleep. She’d had enough nightmares thanks to Kylo. She was likely going to have new ones with Kos’tel’lanni after she watched her friend day.

Sienar would haunt her, just as well, though not in the same way. She’d wake up, and he wouldn’t be there. She could fill her bed with other bodies, but it would be Sienar she’d first seek when any warmth registered.

She’d go through that too many times.

“I think my whiskey is sufficient at that, Doctor. Potentially less addictive,” Reveille answered, though she wasn’t sure about that, but she at least knew what to expect from the whiskey. Sleeping medications often had terrible side effects. She’d rather wake from her dreams than go through them.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo followed behind Thenn through the forest, and once they were through the trees, he remained on alert for any threat that may endanger them. Dathomir was largely unknown to him in terms of fauna and dangers, but the planet certainly held a reputation.

“Still, anything could happen.” He didn’t rely on her assertion that she hadn’t sensed anything bad there before. Thenn was still so young, and a chance for a surprise may be there.

The forest was quiet, and he noted the trees steadily shifting into different shapes as they walked. Less like the green leaves closer to their camp, but instead twisted into something distorted, devoid of leaves. The area hummed with life.

Interesting.

The opened sacks reminded him of some large bug’s lair, but that wasn’t what caused them. He didn’t need the Force to know that.

The scraps of clothes and bones did not affect Kylo, but he was now curious as to what happened there. He continued to follow Thenn, who led him to an abandoned home.

“What is this place?” Something of importance happened there, that he knew, even if she didn’t tell him it was hallowed ground.

~~

The words felt like a slap to the face. Lavinia knew he would be bitter, that was too obvious of a thought. And while she would be executed soon, and then free of the guilt and self-hatred at ate at her, he would have this lingering with him until his end.

She didn’t know what else she wanted to say to him. What would Armitage believe? He didn’t believe anything she said, not that he had a reason to, or he did believe her, but didn’t want to.

It would make things easier.

“I still have those lemon drops in my room. On my bedside table.” Her voice was low. “I know you like them.” It was likely he would throw them away rather than take them for himself, but she let the offer sit there.

~~

Onna frowned at the mention of alcohol serving as her medicine. “Reoccurring inebriation is a cause for removal from the First Order, I hope you realize this, Grand Marshall.” Onna knew many people turned towards alcohol when they faced uncertainty or fear, or some other strong emotion they want to numb.

But Reveille also had a position where any inebriation could put many soldiers in harm’s way.

“Medicine has come a long way. There’s several options that aren’t habit-forming, if you so choose.” Onna paused, shifting her legs and considering throwing the box of tissues at her. “If you continue drinking in that capacity, I will put in a word to have you temporarily removed from your position due to persistent inebriation affecting your leadership.”

It was harsh, but she wouldn’t let Reveille knowingly destroy herself.

“So if you want to handle this the appropriate way, we can talk further.” Whether that was through continued therapy, medicine, or a combination of several things. “I know this is a terrible time, but drowning your grief in whiskey will only make things worse down the line.”

 

[Lucyfer]

“Nyx said this was where the Nightsisters used to live,” Thenn answered as she continued to walk, to where huts were crashed to the ground, and a temple still stood. Yet, it was not the temple that Thenn moved towards, but a cliffside; it seemed that the village had been built in the shadow of that cliff, and it was from within it that most of the energy seemed focused, rather than the temple itself.

“She said there was a battle, and the Nightsisters lost, a long time ago. They lost because their enemies weren’t alive.” Droids, of course, though Thenn didn’t know that.

And indeed, among the bones, were rusted metal bits.

“That’s why this is hallowed ground. ‘Cause her dead sisters are here, and they speak to her, sometimes. Sometimes they speak to others, too.” They hadn’t spoken to Thenn, but she didn’t think she had reason to fear them, if they wanted to.

~***~

The lemon drops…for her wounds. For illness. He had cared enough to offer them to her, and he wondered if it was, in its way, an offer for his future wounds. Not of the physical sort, not of illness, but the emotional wounds this was bound to leave upon him.

He didn’t know if he’d throw them away, or find them, and split the bag.

Or keep them to himself.

He didn’t want them tainted, but now that was inevitable. They would be. He wouldn’t be able to consider looking at them the same way any longer. “It was from Terex,” he found himself murmuring, “Terex who gave them to Reveille, and Reveille who shared them with me, because they were good for illness. Everyone else thought it was poison.”

But not Reveille, and so he had trusted it, and taken one, too.

It had been a small way of including her in a strange tradition. A small way of extending his past forward, and now…it was tainted. “I suppose they were always poison.”

A poison to his mind. To let him trust. He should have been as paranoid as the other Cadets.

~***~

Reveille arched a brow, “I am allowed to drink on my off-time, Doctor,” that much was true, and she could hardly be punished for it. Still, the threat was made, and Reveille rose, “but go ahead and tell my brother if you like,” her response to threats had never been to humor them for long, and she wasn’t in much of a mood to do so then.

Likely, it was why she had gotten into such trouble with Kylo Ren, among others, but so many expected their threats to be enough. They didn’t consider following through. “Thank you for your suggestions, Doctor. I’m afraid I do have things that I need to tend to, though.”

Dealing with Kos’tel’lanni.

Dealing with Lavinia.

She would turn to leave the office with that, even if a nagging voice told her she shouldn’t. A voice too much like Sienar’s, calling her a coward.

She tuned it out.

 

[cleopat]

It made sense now. Kylo could tell that a village once stood beneath their feet, now reduce to rubble and ruin. He had paused for a minute to get a chance to see the remains of what once stood there. The temple. The huts.

He continued to follow after Thenn as she walked towards a cliffside. He felt the energy; it grew stronger the closer he approached the cliffside. The mention of the enemies not being alive stumbled him briefly, but a glance at the remains of the bones cleared his confusion. Rusted metal scraps were strewn throughout. Droids.

“Does she ever tell you what they say to her?” Would they speak to him? Kylo didn’t know why they would. But if they wanted to say something to him, he would listen, and Thenn mentioned that they spoke to others sometimes.

He felt at slight unease, but it was a graveyard. Nightsisters died here. How much did Darth Nyx know of this place?

~~

A knife stabbed her gut.

At least, she felt like one just did.

Armitage grew to care more about her than he ever admitted, and she ruined it. Lavinia sucked in a sudden deep breath of air as she struggled to keep tears at bay.

Crying wouldn’t do her any good now. She didn’t want her last moments to be spent crying. “I’m so sorry.” Another apology. An apology that was useless. He wouldn’t accept it, and likely scorn or mock her.

Or deliver another emotional blow.

But she said it again. “I’m sorry.” A choked sob followed. Lavinia lowered her head in an attempt to hide her face so Armitage didn’t see her tears, even they were obvious.

~~

Reveille continued to be stubborn. This did not surprise Onna. She would have been shocked had Reveille actually listened to her and also accept the sleep medicine.

She hoped that their Grand Marshall will learn. Heal. But it will be a long journey, and she had no one to turn to for comfort. Though Onna did wonder about Armitage, her brother, but he didn’t seem like the sort to be very accepting of emotions.

She wanted one therapy session with him.

“Allow yourself to grieve, Grand Marshall. Don’t hold everything in,” Onna would say to her as Reveille left the room. Just a reminder once more, that she’s human. And to feel is only human, even if she didn’t want to perceive herself as human as everyone else.

Damn Cadets.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn shook her head, “No, she doesn’t,” it wasn’t something that Thenn needed to know. They were private conversations. Thenn was certain of that much. These were dead Nightsisters, after all. They had a strong connection to Nyx, and to some of the others, though she knew Zeme’lodi’csapla hadn’t heard them.

She didn’t know why they chose to speak with some, and not others.

Or what their messages were.

As they approached the cliff wall, Thenn paused a few feet before it. She took a breath and held out her hands, communing as best she could with the rock, with the illusion. It took a few moments, but eventually, the wall lowered. “Nyx goes in here when she talks to them. I know that. She told me.”

And so, Thenn went in, not sure what she’d see. Nyx hadn’t taken her in before. She was curious about the place where she spoke with the dead, though.

~***~

It seemed his words were understood only too well. Lavinia sucked in air, and it was expelled in a sobbed apology, with another following right on its heels. He felt some vindication for that. Her understanding did little, but she did understand.

And her emotions, unfortunately, seemed sincere.

He didn’t want to soften the blow, and yet he couldn’t say he enjoyed the sight of her sobbing like that, either. It was frustrating, because it came to this point. Because it would always come to this point.

She was sorry.

And there was nothing either of them could do for it. “You’re not forgiven."

~***~

Reveille didn’t want to grieve.

She wanted to rage. She wanted to burn everything in her path, to carry that through to her conversation with Kos’tel’lanni so it wouldn’t hurt. Or rather, it would hurt in a way she was familiar with – anger had a nicer feel to it than sorrow, even if both hurt. She’d rather burn than drown.

She tried to block Onna’s words as she went to the hangar, and went to her own ship, to make the quick hop over to the Finalizer. She knew where the prisoners were kept, and a quick word with the guards outside told her Armitage was still speaking with Lavinia.

Which meant she had no choice but to speak to Kos’tel’lanni first, and she made sure not to hesitate a second in going to that door, and opening it.

Kos’tel’lanni was strapped to the chair.

She lifted her head to meet Reveille’s gaze as the Grand Marshall walked around her right side, They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds longer in that silence. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Reveille asked.

Kos’tel’lanni had considered it all night. All day. She had considered what Reveille had done in going to see Leia, and had considered their long history. She had considered what she asked of Armitage and his refusal, as well as what she knew of Reveille’s attempts to work with government officials. The differences in the two, that came to a simple thought: “I do not regret my actions, but I know you will regret yours.”

 

[cleopat]

The occurrence of the dead Nightsisters to only some were interesting, and Kylo did wish to know what was said. Was it some worthwhile advice? A great, unknown secret?

But he couldn’t control if they decided to talk to him.

When Thenn held out her hands, Kylo wanted to ask her what she was doing. He waited, and soon the wall lowered before them. One eyebrow raised at the illusion. What was in this cliff?

Kylo followed Thenn into what he assumed was a cave. This time, he stuck closer to her, in case of any surprises that wanted to make an appearance. The way she phrased her last statement had him asking, “You haven’t been in here before, have you?” If that was the case, he would keep her close to his side.

He wasn’t going to let little Thenn go too far.

~~

Lavinia heard him, and she nodded her head. Her sobs softened until all that was left were her tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. You’re not forgiven.

No, she wouldn’t be. She didn’t even forgive herself, and she accepted this.

Her head lifted so she could look at him again. Maybe for the last time. Or maybe he would be present for her execution.

“I know.” Her voice was soft, low. “I don’t expect you to. I don’t forgive myself.” But maybe, she thought, he would be able to forgive her long after she was gone. Or maybe she would disappear completely from his memory in the future.

 

[Lucyfer]

“No, I haven’t,” Thenn agreed. Nyx hadn’t let her in here, but she hadn’t forbade it, either. She just forbade Thenn from going alone, and she wasn’t alone. She was with someone who didn’t know any better, to escape the math and the training.

The cave wasn’t deep, though the passage had a slight curve to it near the end which obscured that end. There was a cauldron there, empty for the time being. There were murals on the wall, as well as a throne-like chair against the wall. Unlit candles were scattered about, and there was a crystal ball that had a long crack running through it.

“Woah….” Thenn then immediately waved her hand, drawing on the Force, and all the candles lit up, casting eerie shadows about.

The cauldron smoked.

Thenn ignored that and went to the broken crystal ball to look it over more closely.

~***~

Armitage should have been glad that Lavinia wasn’t dying with a clean conscious. She wasn’t a martyr for the Resistance, and he knew that was good, in general, for the image of the Order. If she was going to die, it was not like Finn and Rose. It was as someone confused, someone who now thought the Order could do good, and that should make him glad.

Killing martyrs just made more martyrs.

But what did killing her make?

He didn’t know, and he didn’t have an answer for her response. Just a nod. Agreement, that it was how she should feel. Unforgiven, and terrible.

He could leave on the awkward silence. He knew that, but he spared another word, “It’ll be quick.” Painless, he decided. Perhaps she would suffer enough until then.

An apology stuck in his throat, before he shook his head, and turned off.

~***~

“Perhaps,” Reveille couldn’t find it in herself to lie outright to Kos’tel’lanni, “but why do you think so?” Did she imagine she would regret it because of the loss of a friend, or something else?

Kos’tel’lanni’s were measured, “I have observed you long enough. Your act to see General Organa mirrors mine to hide Lavinia. You doubt the Order, even without Snoke at the helm, and you know there are answers out there. You may consider you only went to see General Organa for Kylo, but you also wanted to take the measure of her, and you’ve found yourself wanting.” She would regret killing someone like-minded. She would regret the demand of her position to do so, of the familial relationship with her brother that demanded it, and much else.

The resentment towards all sides would eat away at her.

And Reveille didn’t argue. Her jaw twitched in a gesture more accustomed to Armitage, rage suppressed, because she knew Kos’tel’lanni was right. She knew she would have liked more time, and more discussions, to figure the Resistance out, and Kos’tel’lanni had been doing just that. “Do you think the Order is wrong?”

“It has flaws, like every system, but its major one is the role of Supreme Leader. One person cannot adequately hold power in this galaxy. Too much depends on it…and when they die…if their replacement is inept, it all falls to pieces.”

There were others. Kos’tel’lanni could enumerate them, but that wasn’t the desire. The desire was the singular flaw that the Resistance had different – the New Republic had different. Perhaps their voices were too numerous, but a single voice was just as flawed.

“Do you think I’m wrong?”

A bitter smile came to Kos’tel’lanni’s lips.

“I think you are flawed,” she said, “and I have loved your flaws. I loved your choice to spare me, once. I have loved watching you learn…and I hope you will not forget. I hope you will not cut off communications with Csilla, or the Resistance. One death does not need to tarnish everything…and the First Order has much to learn of allies and compromise.”

It wasn’t said, but it was heard – I still want you to succeed.

Reveille wished for bitterness. She wished for anger, for Kos’tel’lanni not to understand, but how could she ever expect that from her, when Kos’tel’lanni had always understood. “You know your acts endangered the Order.”

“Of course,” no argument. No defense. “I am aware of the damage a spy can do. Am I not a spy you trusted for the Chiss?”

“You trusted Lavinia to do no harm?”

“She didn’t,” Kos’tel’lanni answered simply. “The Resistance did not have information to move on, and she never gave me details of their location, just small facts and details of them. Her actions to connect the Order to people like Kasabian were good connections.”

Reveille hated that answer. She believed that answer.

“And if she had?”

“Hypotheticals do not matter much in the face of reality, do they, Reveille?” A pause, “What would you have done if Terex gave you poison?”

Reveille nearly said the same thing – what did it matter? He hadn’t.

So what did it matter if Lavinia did harm? She didn’t.

‘So what am I supposed to do?’

“You really think I can still salvage relations with Csilla after this?”

“They understand what it means that I trusted a spy. They will understand your actions. I was in service to the First Order.”

Reveille swallowed down that thought. She nodded. She wasn’t thinking much of salvaging relationships, but she wouldn’t confess that. Sienar wanted her to continue therapy. Kos’tel’lanni would want her to continue to try and improve the galaxy – to learn alliances, to reach out – but right then, she didn’t want to do either. She didn’t want to stick with this system and try to fix it.

Perhaps she’d do better to see Csilla again. To see how it worked.

To get away. “That’s all, then.” Reveille didn’t need to ask more.

Kos’tel’lanni inclined her head, “When…?”

“This evening. I think it may have to be public.” To send a message to others in the Order, and to those outside, so they knew what happened to spies and those who helped them.

“I understand.”

‘I wish you didn’t.’

 

[cleopat]

Kylo took in what he could of the cave. The cauldron held his interest, before his gaze flickered to the murals, the cracked crystal ball, and the strange throne. What is this place?

His observations were disturbed by Thenn speaking, before drawing forth the Force to light the candles up. Which, in turn, seemed to activate the cauldron. “What is going on?” he whispered, more so asking himself than seeking an actual answer.

Though an answer would be appreciated.

The cauldron drew his attention. He went to it to see what was inside the cauldron that caused it to start smoking.

~~

It seemed Armitage was willing to grand Lavinia one last mercy. A swift death. Painless. “Thank you,” she would say before he left the cell.

And she would be left strapped in the chair, unable to even comfort herself in the last hours. Unable to wrap her arms around herself. And maybe this was what they wanted, for her to suffer until she was taken away.

Maybe it’s what is deserved.

Her tears eventually stopped until they were nothing more than dried streaks on her cheeks. Acceptance settled over her numb body. Lavinia anticipated one more person to come talk to her, Reveille, and she didn’t know what to expect from her.

She braced herself for anything.