Fandom Fight for Control [closed]

[cleopat]

Kylo held his breath for a tense few seconds, awaiting Nyx’s reaction to the news Thenn brought forward. She looked momentarily alarmed, but soon relaxed, though he still couldn’t gauge if she was upset or not.

Nyx announced she would close up the cave, to which she mentioned to Kylo he could talk to her afterwards. He would keep that in mind, but he also wanted to think in silence for a few minutes.

Ponder over what Qui-Gonn told him.

He nodded, and after she left, he would turn back towards Thenn. “I need to practice some more, but I ran out of plates. Do you know where I could find some more?” The real reason he had approached Thenn earlier.

He burnt all their plates.

~~

“I guess I just got to know you too well.” He smirked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Whether it did or not did not matter to him.

Valo did know was that Reveille exhibited doubt in the First Order when she agreed to meet with General Organa, and now, in a completely new look, she continued to venture away from them. This was why he and Oola didn’t consider her an exact threat at the moment, or why they didn’t simply try to kill her.

The war was complex. There was more than just ‘this’ or ‘that’. ‘Good’ or ‘bad.’

“Yes, you did,” Oola spoke up. “And if you had stayed, she may not have been able to escape.” That Oola didn’t know for sure. Neither one knew the exact details, as Lavinia hadn’t been very responsive to messages sent to her, which worried them.

But there wasn’t nothing they could do about that for now.

“You can come with us for now, if you want. You have no credits left. Do you even have a place to sleep?” Valo asked. “We’re not going back to the Resistance for some time, if you’re worried about that.”

~~

Lavinia wanted to interject Kos’tel’lanni’s offer, but she would wait until Adrian left their ship. “I do appreciate so much what you’ve done for us. Please tell the others I’m sorry.”

He gave her a hard look. “I hope we don’t see each other on opposite sides of the battlefield.”

“We won’t,” she assured him, to which he scoffed and made his way off the ship without sparing a glance at Armitage. Her gaze followed him off, and she briefly lingered on Armitage before turning back to Kos’tel’lanni.

“No, I’ll stay. I don’t want to risk running into any other rebels on the planet. It could cause a problem.” It was a small lie. She wanted to stay with Armitage, knowing his anger clouded his judgement at the present.

Lavinia didn’t hesitate to stun him before. If he caused trouble, she could do it again. “Besides, I think you’re the better negotiator out of the two of us.” A hint of a smile crossed her face.

 

[Lucyfer]

Plates. Fire. Thenn nodded immediately as Kylo asked, letting Nyx go without considering following to go learn a bit right then. She didn’t think Nyx wanted to teach right then. “Yes, of course!”

And Thenn immediately led on back into the camp, and approached a woman, “Friya! Friiiiiiya!” She trilled, and the woman cloaked in black looked over to them. She was humanoid, but certainly not human – her skin was a pearlescent white, and she seemed to glow beneath the black cloak, but one could see that her eyes were blue, and she had silvery-blonde hair.

She also had wings, the bottom set poking through the end of her cloak. An angel, of Iego. “We need plates!”

Friya looked up from Thenn, to Kylo, and then back to Thenn, “I was wondering why we had so few left,” training, then. She had not approached Kylo but she had seen him and was aware of him, of course. They all were, “You are fortunate I have sent for more, but I have these,” she would move away from the campfire she had been tending to, in order to grab a stack of plates, which she offered out to Thenn.

Thenn happily took them, “Thank you!” And she lifted them up for Kylo to take, though it was clear that took some effort, the combined weight of the plates apparently rather heavy for her.

~***~

Reveille wasn’t amused with Valo’s statement, but she didn’t do much more than scowl. Oola was the one to suggest her departure had saved Kos’tel’lanni – or played a role. Had it? Should she feel good, or bad, about that? She didn’t know. She didn’t think she was going to be certain about much for a while.

Those few things she was certain of took her here. Away.

Valo extended an invitation to her to join them, claiming they weren’t going back to the Resistance for a bit. ‘You are the Resistance.’ She wanted to counter, but didn’t. She understood well enough what they meant. They weren’t going to the leadership. They weren’t going to those who could make demands of her, or them.

“There’s plenty of ground,” Reveille couldn’t help the slightly sarcastic answer. Especially in recalling how much of a fan Valo wasn’t of her sarcasm. She needed to be a bit contrary. Of course she had no place to sleep. She’d been on Batuu for, at most, a half hour, maybe a little more.

She hadn’t secured anything. “Before I consider anything else, though, what are you doing here?” It could still be concerning. Or troubling. She might have better luck at the docks. ‘Doing what? Are you going to kill someone for credits?’ The alternative of sleeping with someone was not a welcomed thought. Even if she’d found someone she liked, which was unlikely on Batuu, she knew too well how that would end up.

~***~

Armitage didn’t bother to watch Adrian leave. He was grateful. One less set of eyes, one less person to deal with. He knew he would be able to get out of the cuffs. He felt that he’d finally cut flesh. The blood would coat his wrists, hidden behind his back. Drawing them up and out wouldn’t be difficult then.

He’d done it before.

He’d do it again.

He didn’t want to draw attention to that, so he kept his gaze simply hyper-focused on Lavinia as she spoke to Kos’tel’lanni. It was getting easier to make out what was being said, as Kos’tel’lanni started the ship back up to get them off of Takodana, once Adrian was gone.

“If you’re sure…,” Kos’tel’lanni’s tone was doubtful, but she wouldn’t argue. “Where do you think we could go?”

Kos’tel’lanni briefly thought to Lothal. To Sienar Fleets…except, no. That would be bad.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo looked amused at the childlike antics of Thenn, as she led them back into camp and called out for another Nightsister. He had seen this one before in the background – it was hard to miss her, with her pearlescent white skin that seemed to glow beneath her cloak.

The wings he didn’t notice before. Now that he had, Kylo forced himself to not stare at them. He had only heard tales of the angels of Iego before, but the stories didn’t do their beauty justice.

Kylo was quick to rescue Thenn from holding the plates too heavy for her young arms. He let out a light chuckle. “Thank you for your help,” he told Thenn, before shifting his gaze to Friya. “And thank you as well.” He inclined his head in a light nod.

His eyes flickered back down to Thenn, his arms shifting the plates to gain a better grip on them. “And now you should probably return back to your own work. We can talk again later.” Unless they wanted to invoke the wrath of Darth Discord, who had wanted Thenn to focus on her math to begin with.

~~

Valo raised an eyebrow. If she wanted to turn down a free offer for temporary shelter and food, then who was he to argue? He had half a mind to turn around and walk back into the cantina, so he and Oola could wait kriff knew how long for their little ‘friend’ to show up.

Reveille asked why they were there. She was considering. Valo wanted to think her mind was already made up, but she wanted to give the appearance of considering, to save her pride.

Whatever got her to cooperate.

“We’re meeting with someone who has information concerning Kylo Ren’s activity with the Nightsisters.” Neither one knew exactly what information that would be, but after making the connection of Kylo and Dathomir, they were able to expand their research for what Kylo was up to.

They also could have just investigated Dathomir, but no one wanted to risk being outnumbered by a clan of Force sensitives.

“And I have my own question. Where were you hoping to go after here?” After she did what she wanted on Batuu. No one ended up on Batuu accidentally.

~~

Lavinia soon became all-too aware of Armitage’s intense gaze on her. She tried to ignore it, but her curiosity wanted to ask why he was starting at her.

It didn’t matter. He couldn’t do anything right then.

She nodded. “I’m sure.” Her own doubt remain, but it wasn’t something she tried to acknowledge. If Armitage posed an issue, she wouldn’t hesitate to stun him again. Anything more? She doubted the situation would come to that.

Lavinia couldn’t hurt him though. Not like she was sure how he wanted to hurt her.

“I’m not sure.” She shook her head. They only had so many allies, and most were on either side of the war. They need neutrality though. They needed…

An idea popped into her head. “I may have someone we can contact who can help us out for a bit, but I need a datapad. I don’t suppose you have one on you?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Friya inclined her head slightly to Kylo with his gratitude, “You’re welcome,” and then it was back to sorting out what they did have, so she would know what else she needed to send someone on a run for.

Thenn did whine as Kylo suggested she go back to her studies. Math. She knew she had to, but she didn’t like hearing it. “Fiiiiiine, but I’m not gonna like it,” that was known, “I hope you can do the fire thing soon!” She added, “You’ll do it sooner than I understand multiplication.” Whether or not that was true, was yet to be seen, but regardless, she would let Kylo go off to train with the plates.

And she’d go back to trying to figure out why 3x5 was 15, and not 8.

~***~

Reveille stiffened. ‘Nope.’ A part of her wanted to just turn away with no explanation at the mention of ‘Kylo Ren’. Her hunger to know more of what he was doing had turned to the opposite. She just wanted to get far away, and never see him, again. He wouldn’t find her on Csilla. No one would find her on Csilla.

‘Except Kos’tel’lanni. Except Kylo works with Zeme’lodi’csapla.’

She managed to hold back a whine as Csilla suddenly sounded like a terrible idea. Where the hell could she go? Then again…what were the odds Kylo wouldn’t just be murdered before he got on Csilla? Even she knew how difficult it was to get there. That’s why she was on Batuu of all places.

In spite of knowing that, she shook her head, “I can’t tell you that.” It was the one thing she could do. He hadn’t understood the argument with Oga. He didn’t know she was there because of the Chiss, Eli Vanto, any of it. “I always had a contingency plan. Let’s leave it at that.” Which was probably a bit telling. She didn’t want to consider that, though.

Did she want to stay with them, and risk getting dragged into a Kylo situation?

‘It’s that or you murder an innocent dock worker, isn’t it?’

“I…I should just need a few days. The system for getting messages out from Batuu is shit, but eventually, I’ll be heard. If you’re willing to put up with me, then I accept your offer.”

~***~

Kos’tel’lanni shook her head. “No, I don’t,” obviously, if she’d had a datapad on her before going to her cell, it was taken. The Trooper didn’t have a datapad, either. They hadn’t been furnished with such.

But her gaze moved to Hux.

He’d have a datapad.

She looked back to Lavinia. They couldn’t very well ask Hux for his datapad, and she wasn’t volunteering to get it. Her lifted brow suggested Lavinia do it.

“What?” Hux had noticed the look. He also noticed the stalled conversation, much as Millicent did, who bristled in response to Hux’s tone, prepared to murder whoever came too close to her.

 

[cleopat]

“I know you’re not.” The amusement in his tone was obvious, and he nearly chuckled at her antics. He hardly blamed her. Kylo didn’t care for math either. “We’ll both understand by the end of the day.”

He hoped. Neither one wanted to continue learning the same damn thing the next day, when it was something they should’ve already mastered.

Kylo set off to his spot near the edge of the camp once more, in case he lost control of the fire. Sitting on the grass, he moved the stack of plates to his side, from which he grabbed one, and set it down in front of him.

Like before, Kylo closed his eyes and focused on the Force around him. From the grass, from the living creatures nearby, from within. Tendrils of the Force reached out and attempted to manipulate the Force around the plate. Nothing happened at first, but he withheld the frustration building. After a few minutes, smoke rose from the plate, and soon it erupted into flames.

But much like before, the plate reduced to ash. Scowling, Kylo slammed another plate in front of him. He repeated the process, focusing on holding that Force. The plate lit in flames, and this time he was able to keep that fire longer than before.

Almost there.

Once more, he placed a plate before him. Taking a deep breath, Kylo closed his eyes, concentrating on that Force from all around him. Concentrating on the plate. Flames licked at the plate, but unlike before, it didn’t reduce to ash. He opened his eyes and grinned at what he saw.

The plate still remained on fire, no evidence of the edges turning to ash.

~~

Valo and Oola noted how Reveille reacted to Kylo’s name. Most tended to react in a similar way to his mere name, but it wasn't like her to openly express fear like that. Well, that’s what Valo surmised from what little he knew of her.

Neither one would press the matter. They understood.

And they nodded. “Fair enough,” Valo quipped. If she didn’t want to tell them what she had planned, then so be it. She wasn’t part of the First Order anymore, and that’s all they cared about. If she didn’t wish to reveal anything, they wouldn’t pry.

Oola raised an eyebrow at Reveille’s answer, and Valo grinned. Put up with me. Not exactly the words they expected to hear from her. “I think we can do just that. What do you think, Oola?”

The togruta nodded. “I think so as well. But, there’s a small issue. Since you were kicked out of the cantina, either one of us will have to meet with our informant, or we’ll have to try and find a new meeting location with him.”

~~

Lavinia followed Kos’tel’lanni’s gaze to Armitage. Oh no. Her eyes flickered from his face, to the pissed off cat in his lap, and back to Kos’tel’lanni.

Who had a look on her face that suggested she wanted Lavinia to retrieve the datapad.

She groaned. “Oh, fine, I’ll do it. But remain alert.” Armitage may have still been bound, but he was still potentially dangerous. And so was that damn cat of his.

She walked over to where he sat. “We need to borrow your datapad. That’s it.” Millicent hissed at Lavinia as she came closer, and she just tried to shoo the cat away. No luck.

The cat swiped at her as she reached one hand into the first pocket. Damn, not there. Dodging the cat’s second attempt, Lavinia reached for the other pocket, where the datapad sat. The cat managed to snag her shirt as she pulled out the datapad, to which Lavinia gently batted her paw away.

She and the cat may not have liked one another, but she didn’t wish to harm the cat.

“I’ve got it.” As she made her way back over to Kos’tel’lanni, Lavinia opened the messages to compose her own.

 

[Lucyfer]

The timing was fortunate. Nyx was walking back from the hallowed city, and returning to the camp. She noticed Kylo on the outskirts of it, working at the plates – and she noticed how one caught, and then held, the flame.

A smile crossed her lips, and she opted not to wait for him to bring it to her, but to go to him, “I knew you could do it,” she said, eyes lifting from the plate to Kylo, “Just a bit of time, and a bit of practice. You will soon master much that we have to teach you.”

As the plate burned, she asked, “What has it taught you?” Curious to see what lessons he gathered from what was a simple act to someone like Thenn, but such a difficult one for Kylo. Of course, Thenn could not use the Force the way Kylo had been trained, either.

Knowing which of the lessons he now understood would help to know how to further his teachings.

~***~

Reveille half-expected the matter would be pressed, given she had asked what they were up to. She was relieved when it wasn’t, and took a step closer to the duo of her own accord as they tried to figure out how to go forward with their negotiator.

The matter of her being kicked out of the cantina was problematic. She wouldn’t suggest either one of them trust her in what spaces they’d reserved for themselves. That’d be asking far too much, and she knew it.

She supposed she didn’t really get a say. “I’ll work with whichever, although I do not think it is generally a good idea to be alone on Batuu, even in Oga’s Cantina,” she had come alone, of course, but she also planned to get a room quickly and stay there as much as possible. Batuu had its shares of troubles, even in Black Spire. “It may be hard to get a message to them until they arrive on Batuu, though.”

So figuring out a new place had its issues. Messages going in and out were always delayed, but once they were on Batuu, they’d likely get the message immediately.

~***~

Armitage was not pleased, but what could he do? ‘You could stop her.’ One hand was now quite loose. He knew he could slip it right out with a yank, but he’d wait. He needed their backs turned for that, and then he’d have one free hand, which was really all that he needed.

Then he just had to wait for the opportune moment.

Until then, he had to deal with the indignation of having his pockets searched. At least Millicent was willing to attack Lavinia for this violation.

Kos’tel’lanni smiled as Lavinia moved away, “Good. Let me know where we’re going. I’ll keep us above Takodana until then,” better than on the ground of Takodana, anyways.

“So have you two determined what’s to be done with me, yet?” He was certain that was part of all this mess, given what Kos’tel’lanni had said about the Order, and their apparent desire not to see him dead. It was a stupid desire. For their sakes, it was stupid.

“We’re working on it.”

“I do not suppose I get a say?”

“No, no you don’t.”

 

[cleopat]

Kylo noticed Nyx approaching before she reached him. He felt like an excited child who wanted to show their parent what he created. Calm down, you succeeded in the first task of many.

“I can only hope to make you proud in what I learn.” He glanced up at her, before carefully grabbing the plate and standing up. The flames licked at his hand, but it didn’t burn him. Not as he controlled the fire.

Kylo considered her question for a second. “Patience,” he answered. “I taught me that patience is required to fully master these techniques.” And patience wasn’t something he held much of in the past.

It was something he would get over.

“It also truly taught me that the Force is everywhere, in all living things. From the grass, to the trees, to the living creatures living in the woods.” A lesson Nyx already taught him, but now Kylo understood. And with understanding, he was better able to control that Force.

~~

Reveille was right. None of them should be alone on Batuu, so Valo couldn’t simply wait in the cantina for their informant, while Oola and Reveille waited somewhere else.

“We can send them a message, and then wait near the cantina until they respond,” Oola offered. Valo nodded. There wasn’t much else they could do aside from messaging and waiting.

Once the informant was on Batuu, communication would be easier.

“We still have about two hours until they’re supposed to show up,” Valo mentioned. He didn’t quite see Reveille being one for idle chit chat. “Was there anything else we needed to do beforehand?” While he looked at Oola as he spoke, the question was directed at both of them.

But with Reveille’s lack of credits, he didn’t imagine she had anything else planned for the moment.

~~

Lavinia spared Armitage a quick glance before turning back to the datapad. She would send a message to Borran and Tanis. As neutral as they come, they would be able to help Kos’tel’lanni and Lavinia figure out what to do next. I hope.

She composed her message.

This is Lavinia. I can’t answer questions right now, but is there any chance you two are near Takodana?

The message was sent, and Lavinia didn’t expect to immediately receive a response. It could be a few minutes, it could be a few hours. But she would keep the datapad handy.

“Did we want to go ahead and get a new ship while we’re waiting?” She was back to whispering to Kos’tel’lanni. “Just so we’re not in the First Order ship anymore.”

The Order could be tracking them. Tracking Armitage. And Lavinia would feel unease until they were far away from the ship.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo reminded her more of a child – more of Thenn – then most of her students ever had. Even some who had been children, or near enough. His enthusiasm and eagerness to please was almost innocent. If she didn’t know him to be capable of slaughter en masse, she might have been endeared.

But she knew him to be capable of all that and more.

And now he would learn other lessons – patience was, indeed, a good one.

So was the truth that the Force was everywhere. In his case, she wasn’t sure which would be more helpful to him. She gave a nod, a small smile tugging at her lips, “Both invaluable lessons,” she agreed. “Both will feed into each other as you learn to work with the Force that is all around you.”

~***~

Reveille was not enthused about the plan, but she also knew she had no say. This was, after all, what they were here for. The fact they let her tag along was a mercy, and she couldn’t really be too choosy.

Two hours in strange company was not how she’d planned to spend the day.

“I was just going to get some rest.” Reveille didn’t have plans, just exhaustion from travel, but she could stay awake. She would need to stay awake, it seemed, at least a little more than two hours to await this messenger and get more nightmare fuel on what Kylo Ren was doing.

On better thought, “I’m sure I can manage a while with enough caf.” She could also just trade one addiction for another and never sleep again.

~***~

Kos’tel’lanni blinked back confusion, “You weren’t getting help with that problem?” Her voice had raised enough that Armitage could hear, but he didn’t know what the problem was. He could assume himself, and so he just scowled. “I thought that you were reaching out to someone who could help with the ship issue.”

She had no plans of going back to the surface of Takodana to try and find a ship, mostly because she didn’t want to leave a First Order ship behind on Takodana. Takodana had seen enough trouble. She wasn’t going to do that to Maz.

She let out a slight groan, unaware that Lavinia had told her friends that they were above Takodana, “Fine, fine, I’ll…hells, I only know where Reveille went to get ships or ship parts.”

Armitage couldn’t quite contain a scoff, “Schaeffer isn’t going to look for me.”

“Not to keep you alive,” Kos’tel’lanni countered.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo nodded. Good, Nyx was pleased with what lessons he picked up from attempting to create fire from nothing. Could he immediately do it again, without fail?

He did not know. He’d rather not find out either, as he knew the line between his frustration and not was very thin right then.

“Maybe we could focus on something else that could utilize these lessons,” he suggested. And then maybe he would return to the fire, and hope he could master it the first time around, as oppose to waste more of their plates..

~~

Oola had half a mind to let Reveille go ahead and get some rest in their ship, but neither she nor Valo could trust her in there alone. Who’s to say she wouldn’t just steal the ship and leave them stranded on Batuu.

They may be willing to extend the olive branch to temporarily help her out, but it didn’t mean they trusted her.

Valo nodded. “We can get you a caf while we wait. Unfortunately there’s no rest until after this meeting is done.” And for that, they would have to go somewhere else other than the cantina.

But Black Spire Outpost had other places they could go to for a simple caf.

~~

Lavinia held back a groan. She hardly spared Armitage a glance before returning her attention back to her datapad. “They may be able to help with our ship issue depending on where they are, but if they’re too far away, I would prefer to not keep this ship longer than possible.”

So far, no response from her friends.

“But if not, they can at least help us with what to do next. Not to mention, we’re going to need credits soon.” And Borran and Tanis had graciously been given a million credits. They could help them.

The datapad soon pinged with notification of a message.

Got yourself in a bit of trouble there, darling? We’re on Elgit for a job. If you can, meet us here.

“Elgit?” She repeated, one eyebrow raised. “How far away is that from here?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx doubted Kylo wanted to focus on something that utilized patience. It would be good for him, but perhaps he deserved something of a reward for the fire lesson, something that Nyx felt would be a bit easier now that he had some understanding. “We can move on to other lessons. Learning to manipulate the other elements will come in time,” a consideration of the future, as she lightly touched one finger to her lip in thought.

With that in mind, though, she did look over the grass. It was no longer morning, dew no longer stuck to it, but it gave her a thought.

She pulled from the roots, from the soil, and droplets of water began to pull up and manifest in the air around them. She let them all fall back onto the grass, coating it lightly, “Since you have learned fire, it may be good to learn ice,” she gestured to the already-slick grass, “And this will be a test of your ability to manipulate the Force all around. You can try by air, or you can try by each blade of grass, but you should be able to cool the air and freeze the grass, the way you focused on burning the plate.”

It was just an opposite sort of focus. Slowing movement, rather than hastening it, until it was all still.

All calm.

~***~

Reveille understood and had no plans to argue it – she was the one to suggest the caf to stay awake. Resting wasn’t on the agenda until they could make sure she was watched, or otherwise couldn’t act easily against them.

Caf would do, and she nodded, “Thank you,” they didn’t have to do anything at all, but they were. She’d likely owe them for this, one day. She certainly didn’t feel as if things were even and equal right then; Valo had taken her to Leia, that had evened things out with her releasing him from his cell.

“Are you familiar with Batuu?” It was her way of asking if they needed to be shown to another location where caf could be gotten. She didn’t know how long they’d been there. It had been a few years since her last visit, but she still had some ideas of where to go.

~***~

Kos’tel’lanni was figuring out where to make a jump when a message came through. She couldn’t help but sigh at the mentioned world. Elgit. “Hutts,” she grumbled, but noted, “Not too far,” hutts and criminals went together, and Takodana was a hive of criminals.

It wasn’t the easiest trip. Sometimes the hyperlane needed repairs and they’d be jolted out of it and have to manually fly a ways, but she hoped that wouldn’t be the case this time as she set the coordinates.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to sell me to Hutts?” Armitage’s nose had wrinkled.

“No,” Kos’tel’lanni said, “just…getting a ship there, or help to get a ship,” they could probably trade Armitage’s ship for credits. She figured there was no point leaving him out of the loop, now that Adrian was gone, “We can probably sell this ship for credits. I imagine someone on Elgit would buy it,” Kos’tel’lanni said to Lavinia, as Armitage relaxed back against his seat.

Pulled one arm free of his bindings.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo looked down at the grass, freshly moistened by Nyx’s manipulation. Freezing the grass seemed easy enough after creating fire from nothing. This would simply manipulate the moisture that already coated the grass blades.

“Okay, yes, I can do that,” he assured her, more so for himself. He could do it. Slowly one hand reached out, and he allowed himself to seek out the Force that lingered all around them, in the grass, and in the water.

All he needed to do was the opposite of what he just learned. Instead of hastening movement, he had to slow it down.

Did Kylo ever experience a moment of stillness? Of when his mind didn’t race with thoughts and worries?

The Force slowed in a small section of the grass. The water droplets froze into shimmering ice crystals, and while it wasn’t over the entire area indicated, it was still noticeable improvement.

~~

Oola masked her surprise at the thanks Reveille offered. It wasn’t something she figured the woman knew how to say, but she withheld the urge to look shocked. They were making some progress. She didn’t need to mess it up.

The togruta nodded. It was all she felt appropriate to respond with.

Valo spoke up. “We’ve been here a few times before.” Taking the cue, he led them forward, to where he knew a simple vendor had a stand with caf. Largely they had only dealt with the Black Spire Outpost, so both knew where many things were located.

So it didn’t take long for them to come up on a stand ran by a particularly energetic bith. The smell of caf wafted in the air, among other comforting smells that Valo couldn’t pinpoint at that moment.

~~

Lavinia didn’t care for hutts either. They had a notorious reputation, and she had one encounter in the past that left her with a sour impression of them on her mind.

“I’m sure someone on Elgit will be willing to buy anything,” she commented. “Especially if it’s something that belonged to the First Order.” Whether they wanted to sell the ship for parts or some other purpose, she did not care. As long as it was far away from them.

Lavinia looked back down at the datapad, typing out one more message for her friends.

We’re coming to Elgit.

That was all she wrote them.

“What are we to do with him?” Lavinia was back to whispering. “Should we just drop him off at a port somewhere? We can’t just keep him bound like that.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx stood, and she observed as Kylo tried to slow things down and ice over the grass. It was progress. He was able to do quite a wide area without messing it up, but she had thought he would. He didn’t have to summon the water, after all. He just had to interact with elements already there, and she nodded her approval.

“Small things such as this, can be the difference between life and death. A foe who charges and slips on an icy path, may save your life.” In the dead of summer, no one expected ice. “This lesson, you will learn in time, as well. It is not always grand feats that are needed, not always exorbitant power, but simply to know the time, and place, to use your power.”

And which power.

He would soon have much at his disposal. “There is much that can be done with the elements. Plenty you can learn on your own from watching nature,” he could set fires, he could grow plants, draw up water, shoot electricity, “All that is nature, is the Force.”

~***~

Reveille couldn’t say she was surprised that the pair had been here before. Though Batuu was no Takodana, it was an undeclared space that fell to far out of range for the First Order to care much about it. It would be a great place for the Resistance to do business, and perhaps Reveille should have considered having it watched.

She hadn’t.

It was a place she had intentionally left alone, because of what it was to her, a plan she had hoped to never act on.

She followed them to a bith with a vendor stand, and the scent of caf. She knew she didn’t want anything fancy, despite some of the sweeter offerings. The bith turned their attention to the trio now, and Reveille spoke up in Basic, “One caf,” she didn’t know if the others wanted anything, and the Bith certainly looked to them to verify if there would be additional orders, or just the caf.

~***~

They’d sell the ship, and reap the credits from that. Kos’tel’lanni wasn’t sure what they’d do after connecting with Lavinia’s friends, but at least it would be movement away from the Order, and time to think. Time to figure out what the hell to do.

And what to do with Hux, too.

‘I don’t know.’

Hux had survival skills, but he would also want to get back to the Order. She couldn’t fault him that, but she did worry about what may happen if Schaeffer was in power. She could only imagine Armitage would never make it.

She just shook her head, not sure how to answer, when there was movement out of the corner of her eye.

Armitage had risen, and he swung the binder he’d gotten loose from both of his hands now, at Lavinia’s head.

 

[cleopat]

As Nyx spoke, Kylo concentrated on spreading the area of ice over a wider swath, eventually encompassing all of where she drew up the moisture.

It is not always grand feats that are needed.

That was a truth he needed to learn. Like the old fable he heard as a young child, slow and steady wins the race. And sometimes, something as small as creating a slick of ice could change the tides of a battle.

Just like being able to set a ship ablaze.

“How long did it take for you to learn to manipulate the elements?” Kylo didn’t expect to learn everything overnight, but he was still curious as to the potential timeline he worked with.

~~

Valo shook his head. He didn’t care for anything at the moment. He looked over at Oola for her answer, and she looked particularly eager at the small selection of sweets the bith offered. “Go ahead,” he laughed, to which she eagerly responded.

“One oi-oi puff,” she ordered. Oola held a penchant for sweets, and she couldn’t resist the opportunity to indulge in a berry-flavored pastry.

The bith nodded and started his caf maker. “One caf, and one oi-oi puff.” The total was announced, and Valo walked forward to give him the credits. As the caf brewed, the bith handed Valo the pastry, which Oola eagerly took from him.

“How are you hungry already?” he asked, amused as he watched her bite into the puff.

“I’m always hungry,” she responded, not even bothering to swallow her bite first.

~~

Lavinia had her attention focused on Kos’tel’lanni, so she didn’t see Armitage approach her with the binders in his hand.

Pain exploded in her head, and she immediately crumpled to the floor. Her hand clutched at the site he struck, and while she couldn’t feel blood, there would be a giant bruise the next day, if there wasn’t already one forming.

Then it clicked for her what was going on. Armitage was free, and he was obviously pissed. Lavinia scrambled for the blaster she had on her, seeking to stun him once again.

They would have to find another way to bind him again, as apparently Armitage had a way to get out of those binders.

Her vision swam, but she managed to grasp onto the blaster and held it up with shaky hands.

 

[Lucyfer]

Darth Nyx shook her head, “That does not matter. Have you not seen Thenn?” Nyx reminded him, “She cannot do what you must consider simple – she cannot use the Force to pull or move things about,” or else she would not have struggled so with the tent. “It is a matter of exposure, and what we were brought up with.”

Nyx had learned a variety of skills, from a variety of teachers. If something was harder? It was because of knowledge she already had, which made new methods, and new ways, harder. She wanted to rely on what she already knew, not develop new ways.

She had worked through that, bit by bit, as Kylo Ren would. “I struggled with those things, as well. I was used to the Force within things…within myself, and within other things. To learn to use it, to do something as simple as pull an object towards me,” her smile was sincere, even if her words were a bit self-deprecating, “you would have laughed at how long it took me. It certainly frustrated Lord Vader at times.”

The simplest things he had learned as a Jedi had eluded her for so long. It was, indeed, funny now. It had not been then. Vader had a temper.

~***~

An oi-oi puff was what Oola ordered, and that was easily handed off as the caf brewed. Apparently, they had eaten recently by Valo’s comment, but Oola hadn’t been sated. ‘And when did you last eat?’ She knew she still had a few nutrition bars stowed in her bag. Terex had at least set her up well.

If she’d kept that credit chip, none of this would be a problem.

She’d worry about food later. She could dig a bar out at any time and she wasn’t feeling hungry, so she’d just go by that logic for now.

When the caf was finished, it was also handed off to Valo like the pastry had been, a small act that annoyed Reveille but she wouldn’t say anything. He had paid. Perhaps it was some sort of protocol here that he be the one to be handed the goods.

Either way, she refrained from thanking the bith for the caf.

~***~

Lavinia crumpled, and Armitage stepped back as Kos’tel’lanni reached for the binders. He threw them at her, and she managed to shield herself with her arm, before she reached for her own blaster.

Her uniform was clunky and large on her.

He moved before she could grab it, a fist slamming into her skull and knocking her back into the chair. He grabbed the blaster himself and rounded on Lavinia as she returned to her feet, pointing it at her in turn.

He would have pulled the trigger.

Fortunately, Kos’tel’lanni wasn’t exactly unconscious, or incapable. She slammed the sole of her foot into the back of Armitage’s knee, and he stumbled and took to a knee, his shot going wild, but frying a wall of the ship.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo wanted to interject that Thenn was a young girl. There were many things she could not yet do, stuff that he couldn’t recall knowing at her age.

But she had a point. Every Force user had a different specialty brought upon them by their circumstances growing up. Kylo could manipulate people and channel the Force into his fighting skills, both of which he trained in under both Luke Skywalker and Snoke.

He couldn’t imagine young Thenn doing those things. Or rather, he didn’t want to imagine.

The name of his grandfather was brought up, and he couldn’t help but to inquire more about him. “You mention his temper. What kind of teacher was he?”

~~

Oola took a large bite out of the sweet treat, and a dab of the berry filling left a dot on her nose. She brushed it off with a finger and licked the sauce, clearly happy she got the pastry.

“Don’t mind her,” Valo offered. “She has a ridiculous metabolism paired with a sweet tooth comparable to that of a child.”

Oola shot him a look, but clearly wasn’t upset. She merely took another bite of the treat.

“Unless there’s anything else you need, we can probably return to the area near the cantina and keep an eye on our friend.” Oola held a thumbs up in agreement.

She wouldn’t be talking until she was done.

~~

When Armitage stumbled, Lavinia took her shot and fired a blaster bolt at him, stunning the man once again. It wasn’t until after she looked at where his own blaster bolt landed.

And didn’t know how she wanted to react when she realized Armitage had aimed to kill.

He wanted to kill her. She felt numb, looking down at his unconscious form. But she still didn’t want him dead.

Maybe we should just drop him off at some port. It would be safer for them. “This time we’ll bind his hands in front of him.” Her voice was emotionless as she looked to Kos’tel’lanni.

She registered that the cat was meowing again, but she paid Millicent no attention.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx had wondered how long it would take him to ask of Vader. She did consider his teaching methods. She had held immense respect for him as a pupil, though later in life began to harbor more questions, and more resentment, for his methods. His temper was among those reasons.

He had been torn, in many ways.

He had been an example of what not to be. “Many things came easily for your grandfather,” she began, “At times, it could make him difficult to work with. He was not an understanding Master. He expected much, and when I failed to deliver, his reaction…varied. At times he was merely disappointed and would leave me to try again. At other times,” there was a slight shake of her head, “his rage would get the better of him and he would react with violence, thinking that I was tricking him for some reason or another.”

She no longer had the scars. She had learned to heal them, as well as the broken horns, but the memories remained.

Kylo deserved the truth, though. “It is difficult for an expert to step down the level of a novice,” she would excuse him, for Kylo’s sake, “and after the many betrayals he faced, his paranoia was something I came to anticipate. I may not have understood why he felt it, but I knew it resided within him.”

A paranoid, angry master.

He’d likely draw the parallels easily to Snoke. “But he did believe in me.” He had been angry because he thought she was tricking him, holding back to kill him, as all Sith were supposed to do to their master. Not because she was failing, not because he doubted her.

~***~

Reveille glowered as Valo didn’t hand off the caf, and Oola enjoyed her treat. Even if there was something terribly endearing about the way Oola enjoyed it, that threatened to draw a smile from her.

It didn’t. Not quite. But her passing gaze over Oola wasn’t cruel.

She’d told her brother countless times that actual food could be good. Uplifting.

He probably wouldn’t listen to that kind of advice now.

It wasn’t in her to ask for the caf after he’d handed off the money, even if the intent had been for her. She could only too easily imagine him taking a drink of it after it was mentioned.

It was the sort of thing she’d do, and she probably deserved it.

“No, nothing else,” they would get to a new spot to occupy, she’d attempt to send a message to Vanto, and then she’d…hope. And wait. That had been her entire plan in the first place. Now she just happened to have company for all of it. “I’m at the mercy of your messenger now,” so far as anything she’d be doing. She couldn’t go to sleep.

~***~

“Binders don’t really work well with them…him.” Binders were never going to matter with Reveille again, were they? “They know how to slip them.” His bloodied wrists made that obvious, as she pulled herself up, “Your head….”

She’d been bashed, of course, “There might be first aid. You should take a look,” she ignored Millicent as she pulled Hux back up into the chair, “And rope. We might fare better if we can tie him into the chair,” with the binders on.

She moved to get those, and in retrieving them from the floor, she did reach up and stroked Lavinia’s cheek, “This situation is terrible,” for all of them, and she knew this wound hurt in more ways than one. She also had completely expected it from Armitage. It was one of the reasons she worried to leave him alone with Lavinia.

He was colder by far than his sister, and Reveille had left her for dead.

“You have my condolences, and my ear, when we get out of this,” she promised, before she would move to Hux to get the binders on him, in front, in spite of Millicent’s attempts to stop her.

 

[cleopat]

The information Nyx provided to Kylo on his grandfather’s teaching methods did not surprise him. Some of Vader’s traits reminded him of himself. Volatile, angry, paranoid.

He didn’t know what to do with the information. He suppose it helped create a real image of Vader, with very real flaws that he hadn’t been able to control.

And Kylo was working on that. He wanted to be not only just as strong as Vader, but even stronger. And to do that, he had to control his emotions better.

That was a work in progress.

“Do you ever regret becoming his apprentice?” Dark Lords weren’t known to be kind, and any young pupil who wished to study with them knew about this. But that still didn’t mean that they would hold some regret for what they chose.

Just like Kylo had some regret with Snoke.

~~

Valo just realized he still held Reveille’s caf. He looked down at the item in his hand, then up at the woman. “I suppose you want this.” He handed her the caf, piping hot and aromatic.

“Come on, I think there was an area near the cantina entrance we can sit at,” urged Oola, nearly done with her pastry. She led them to a spot, as Valo attempted to send a message out to their informant regarding their slight change in plans.

He didn’t expect a response soon.

There was a bench Oola sat at, and Valo followed behind her. “So,” he started, addressing Reveille, “I don’t suppose you want to tell us what happened between you and the First Order? Not that we’re really complaining right now.”

~~

“My head is fine,” she lied. It pounded, but she wanted the pain. A reminder of what Armitage had done, and was willing to do. Maybe then she would be less forgiving in the future.

But Kos’tel’lanni mentioned tying him to the chair. She nodded, lightly wincing at the movement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Before she moved, a soft hand rested on her cheek. Kos’tel’lanni offered comfort, and Lavinia had started leaning into that warmth.

Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes. “There’s nothing to talk about. I was just foolish for thinking...” but she trailed off, refusing to acknowledge the truth even to herself.

Slowly, Lavinia made her way to where she knew the first aid kit was, where rope would lay nearby. It didn’t take long for her to find a length of rope, and near it was some tape. He tends to never shut up. This may be for the best. Lavinia grabbed both items and walked back over to Kos’tel’lanni.

“Here’s some rope, and I found some tape as well, in case we wanted to keep him quiet for a while.” She offered both items to the Chiss, in case she wanted to be the one to secure Armitage to the chair.

Her head still pounded, and her arms weak. Her tying skills would have been less than satisfactory in the moment.

 

[Lucyfer]

“No,” on that, Nyx was certain of. There were periods during it that were difficult, and times she may have hated Vader, but given age? No, she didn’t regret it at all, “I have no regrets. Each experience in this life has led to who I am now. I have grown from them. One day, I am certain, you will see it in much the same light.”

Snoke could not be forgotten, so Snoke would have to be learned from. The actions that Kylo performed as Snoke’s apprentice could also have no room for regret.

Though, she would not say that, precisely. To tell him not to regret murdering his father, at this stage, would be simply foolish. Vague worked better. “If I had not become his apprentice, there is much I would not have learned. He was difficult, but he was available.”

And so, she had learned. Other Masters could not have rivaled Darth Vader or taught her the sorts of things that he had done – by example, and through actual teaching methods. “I know that you admire him. And what he tried to do was admirable, even if he failed due to sentiment.”

His mission wasn’t over. It lived on.

~***~

Reveille took the caf wordlessly and started to sip it when Oola suggested a location. She followed, and took a seat at the bench, though she kept her distance from the duo. Still on the same bench, just as far to the edge as she could get.

She contemplated trying to send the message then, but opted not to. There would be better times when someone couldn’t too easily look over her shoulder.

And she sighed at Valo’s question. ‘Where do I even begin?’

There’d be no just sipping her caf in peace. She had known this, but she didn’t like it. “I still think the First Order is better than the alternative,” Reveille said, as if any clarification would matter. The Resistance was just a group of lawless anarchists, and the New Republic was just rule by the rich with no regard for others.

The First Order could have been more. Should have been more. “But the First Order rules by fear. I knew it. I knew it before, but being put in the position to kill a friend to send that message…I realized what it meant. And I couldn’t do it. Even if this galaxy needs that.” But her brother could.

She had some faith in that. Armitage had always far more savage than she was, even if he was also more easily intimidated. His survival instinct was better.

There was more. More thoughts of how it was a xenophobic cesspit that she couldn’t change, no matter how she tried, but she didn’t want to say those things aloud. Didn’t want to condemn it, when she wanted to hope her brother would still manage it on his own.

~***~

Kos’tel’lanni would let Lavinia have her little lies for now. She knew, too well, now wasn’t the time to dwell, but there would come time after this. Time to talk. Time to work through all that had happened in so short a time period. Lavinia had just left the Resistance, and the one she tried to save had bludgeoned her.

Not that Kos’tel’lanni was surprised.

But Lavinia would likely be stunned for a while. The lesson of no good deed goes unpunished was always a hard one to learn.

Kos’tel’lanni had Hux bound in binders before Lavinia returned, so she easily took the rope from her, and chuckled a bit at the tape. ‘They never know when to shut up.’ Except it wasn’t ‘they’ anymore, and she didn’t want to acknowledge that. Would it be better to gag him, or let him talk? She mused over that as she wordlessly began to tie him up to the chair to make his movement all the more restricted and difficult.

She then put the tape over his lips, “He should be out longer this time,” having just been knocked out recently.

Not a good thing for his health, but all the same, it made their lives easier.

 

[cleopat]

People come into who they are through life experiences. It seemed that Nyx understood that, and embraced what she had learned through Darth Vader. Kylo knew through this that he should also embrace what Snoke taught him, even if some of his lessons messed him up.

Failed due to sentiment.

Kylo would not fail where he did. He would not let sentiment hold him back.

“I will ensure that I do not fail where he did, if you will help me with that.” She hadn’t deny him that before. Nyx wished to see him succeed, after all. She would help him.

~~

Oola and Valo respected Reveille’s distance. They weren’t too eager to get on top of her either. Despite sharing niceties, there will still some reservations held for the woman.

Neither one was surprised when she admitted that she still preferred the First Order over the Resistance. They didn’t expect that opinion to change any time soon.

“You can’t create peace with fear,” Oola muttered. While Reveille wasn’t completely changed in her views on the First Order, it was better than before. It was better than her brother’s, who did believe in that mantra.

“Do you think you’ll ever fight the First Order to try and change it to something closer to what you believe in?” Oola finished the last of her pastry, looking over at Reveille as she finished her question.

~~

Lavinia nodded. “Good.” A longer time of quietness. Longer to plan out what they were going to do next without worrying about Armitage overhearing them for some time.

She made her way to the co-pilot’s seat and sat in it, opting to stare out the viewport. “What are we to do if he wakes up before we get to Elgit? I don’t think it would be advisable to keep stunning him every time he stirs.”

I shouldn’t care. But she did. And she knew she would care even if Hux stuck a knife in her heart.

They would need to drop him off at a port before she allowed him to do that. Drop him somewhere far, and hope they never run into each other again.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx nodded, “Of course. That was why we explored the Force. It showed you where you might fail, and what sentiments linger, what things you need to rise above,” Leia, of course, “but it does not mean you need to kill or destroy them. Only come to terms with what is real.” That Leia would never support him. Poe would never be his friend. Reveille would never caress him again.

“I will be there through it. There’s no need to go through the trials alone,” she wouldn’t throw him at Leia and expect he’d manage it on his own. Stars, no. Snoke was that stupid, but Nyx knew better than that.

Kylo would fail if he was left on his own, at least right now. He didn’t yet have things reconciled in his own mind, he didn’t know how to approach the matter of his sentiments. But, he would. And he would overcome them. With any luck, he’d be the one to kill most of them.

Leia, likely not. But leaving Leia behind would be enough, in that case. Nyx could see to it that Leia met her end after that.

~***~

‘I know.’ Reveille had always known. It was why the Exigency had been different. Why she had tried to be different, but in the end, she’d been the same as them all, and she knew it. She had been good at her job, because of it, no matter what airs of equality or olive branches she tried to extend to non-humans. None of it mattered.

Reveille shook her head at Oola’s question. “No. I’m leaving.”

She knew neither of them could quite grasp that. They didn’t know Csilla, and they wouldn’t know Csilla, either. The galaxy as they knew it ended long before Csilla. The Chiss wouldn’t get involved any further. They’d wait again, and watch, and never get involved.

Reveille wouldn’t have to fight any longer. “That’s your job. You two are the rebels,” and she wasn’t joining. She wasn’t going to risk being on the other side of a gun that could be aimed at her brother.

Even if it wasn’t meant for him…accidents happened.

~***~

No, they shouldn’t keep stunning Armitage every time he wakes up. “Hope the ropes hold?” Kos’tel’lanni said with a small shrug. What else could they do? Armitage would try to kill them both, Kos'tel’lanni had no illusions about that. “We can’t leave him at Elgit.”

She didn’t know where they could leave him. “Perhaps Arkanis,” though that would require navigating through the First Order, it still seemed like the only place to take him – back home.

Even if it was never really his home. He might have been born there, but all he knew was the Order, and their ships. He would loathe to be returned to Arkanis, and he’d be well-known there, too. She sighed, frustrated, “Maybe not,” someone would likely kill him there, if Schaeffer already was in charge.

There’d be bounties placed on his head on some trumped up charges, to make sure Hux could never return.

Schaeffer wasn’t an idiot.

 

[cleopat]

The Force indeed showed him what sentiments lingered. Leia. Poe. Reveille. Closure on his father’s death. Coming to terms of what was reality was one issue he grappled with, but Kylo didn’t know if he could kill them.

He secretly hoped he didn’t have to make that decision.

Nyx would be there for him. He nodded. He liked that idea. “Thank you.” It was a mumble, but clearly heard in the still air of Dathomir.

Maybe with her guidance beside him, and not how Snoke would abandon him to learn his own lesson, Kylo would fare better in the future.

~~

Both Oola and Valo understood Reveille’s unspoken reasons. She had friends in the Order, and even though she won’t support it, she wouldn’t fight on the opposite side and potentially kill those she was close to.

Valo nodded. “That we are.” And he couldn’t imagine himself not fighting with the Resistance for what he viewed was best for the galaxy.

A ping sounded from Valo’s pocket. He pulled out his datapad, where he received a new message. “Our informant friend will meet us out here.”

He must’ve already been on the planet then, but Valo didn’t know if he was in Black Spire Outpost. After typing up a quick message in response, Valo slid the datapad back in his pocket.

~~

Lavinia sighed as it seemed every option they thought they had regarding Armitage was quickly shot down. Despite that he struck her on the head, she couldn’t fathom the idea of leaving him behind in Hutt space, not with the bounties she knew was on his head.

He would be a dead man in no time.

“Maybe we can give him some spice when he wakes up.” A small joke, though some seriousness seeped into the statement. It could make him calm, or happy…

Then there was still the unknown of what to do with him. “If all the bounty hunters will be looking for him, then maybe we should think about a change in hair color.” The ginger hair wasn’t exactly subtle. Or common. He would stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Lucyfer]

Nyx gave a nod to his gratitude, but given the quiet way he said it, she opted not to speak to it. However, it did bring to mind what the individual earlier had come with. Information about the Order, out of the spies she had on the Exigency, who had onboarded since Lothal.

“One of those may no longer be a concern,” she said, “The Nightbrother came with an interesting report from the First Order. It seems Admiral Kos’tel’lanni and the aide formerly known as Althea Storax were found out as traitors. They were both sentenced to die,” she was yet unaware of their escape, but she was aware of one thing.

That news had spread quickly.

“The Grand Marshall seems to have taken her own life. Her ship was found on Chandrila, and evidence that it had self-destructed, with Reveille’s blood, was found.” Though Kylo may know the truth of that. Nyx had no bond to the other woman, no concern, but Kylo might have felt her death – although the Ghost situation may have also hindered that.

She would wait on a reaction, before determining how to respond further to the situation.

~***~

Reveille observed, even if she couldn’t read, the message that came through and Valo’s response. Their messenger was here. ‘Breathe deep.’ And she did so. They would have news on Kylo Ren and his activity soon enough.

Hopefully he was dead.

Or doing poorly.

Reveille hesitated a moment, then asked, “Why is the information being received here in Batuu?” Then, “Has the messenger already gone to Leia?” Would they have to leave right after, to tell Leia? Reveille hadn’t considered those things, until just then.

With any luck, they’d have other business.

~***~

Drugging Armitage was not high on Kos’tel’lanni’s things to do. Nor was making any physical changes to him. “I don’t advise it,” his resentment would build, “He’s faced enough humiliation in his life, and that is more likely to get us killed.” She’d heard the stories of his patience, and the people he had killed.

Sure, he wanted to kill them now, and that would only grow when he woke up and realized he was bound in a chair. But to then be drugged and have his ability to react taken away? To have them physically change him? Somehow, she could imagine that being a wound too much.

At least he would understand these things. “Maybe a hat.” His hair was short enough to hide under a hat, but his attire was hardly non-descript. Kos’tel’lanni was not going to even attempt to change his clothes, though.

It did remind her that she was still in armor. She rose, “I’m going to get out of this while I’m still thinking of it,” she said, intending to walk back and strip out of it, even if no such modesty was needed with this armor.

 

[cleopat]

One of those may no longer be a concern. Kylo looked at Nyx as he raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what to expect, but what Nyx explained to him was certainly far from what he anticipated.

The news of Admiral Kos’tel’lanni and that lieutenant he had assigned to Armitage irritated him. No, infuriated him. Both he had been near, even conversed with Kos’tel’lanni, and not once did he notice anything off with them. Not that he had been looking, given his distractions with the Hux siblings, but still.

It was a bruise to the ego. Death was appropriate for them.

The next bit of news felt like a stab to the gut for a reason he couldn’t explain.

Reveille Hux had killed herself. No, that can’t be right. The stubborn woman who fought with him on every minor thing?

And although he shared no great bond with her, Kylo couldn’t recall feeling anything that may have hinted at her death. There was doubt in her death, but he didn’t voice those doubts. He may have just been hopeful for some reason. He may have been wishing that she was still alive somewhere.

One hand tightened into a fist at his side. “Is that all?” His tone was steady, calm, deceptively so. He attempted to withhold the emotions he felt rising to the surface, but he knew that could only last so long.

~~

Valo felt no reason to withhold the answers Reveille sought. Responding to her questions may make her more amicable towards them, even if neither had any reason to desire that.

“Given his background, we both thought it would be better to meet at a neutral location, and Batuu was closer for all of us rather than Takodana.” Valo didn’t go into detail yet of their informant’s background. Reveille may inquire about it further, or she may soon find out for herself.

Oola answered Reveille’s other question. “He hasn’t gone to General Organa yet. Depending on the nature of the information, we may either send her a holovid, or go to her to deliver the message.”

“But we’re hoping to save on fuel and only send a holovid,” Valo piped up. His dark eyes scanned the surroundings for any sign of their informant, but he realized that was a futile effort. Neither exactly knew what their informant looked like. Only that he would be the one to approach them.

With the distinct markings of Oola, they should be easy to spot.

~~

Kos’tel’lanni was right. Again. Spice and hair dye would only serve to piss him off even more, as if he didn’t already wish them dead.

No need to poke the agitated beast.

“He will at least need a hat,” Lavinia agreed. And different clothes. The First Order uniform was easy to identify, something they didn’t need while trying to lay low. While meeting up with Borran and Tanis, they could all probably buy some new clothes, as Lavinia still wore the black under-suit of the trooper uniform.

Lavinia nodded. “I don’t know how anyone can do anything in that armor.” She had felt so uncomfortable. “Then we can discuss plans further once we reach Elgit.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Anger and doubt flooded Kylo Ren at the news, not sorrow. ‘She is not dead.’ Nyx filed it away. She would mention it to Zeme’lodi’csapla. That Reveille was close to the Chiss meant a few things. She was aware of how they spirited people off. Usually, there was no cover story. There one day, gone the next.

It was possible, but she would not speak to that. She would let Kylo deal with the emotion, and they would see if any further rumors reached them.

Nyx shook her head at his query, “No, Commander,” she answered, “Not at present. I am monitoring the situation closely,” Kos’tel’lanni was not to be underestimated, nor was a Resistance spy. There was never just one.

Nyx knew better than to have one spy in the Order, and Leia was no idiot. Whether or not that would mean anything for either of them, remained to be seen. “Is there anything more you would like to say, or to know?” She asked, instead of simply walking away.

~***~

Reveille did arch an eyebrow at Valo’s statement. What sort of person couldn’t meet on Takodana? They allowed Terex on Takodana. Did this individual start a fight there? It was the only thing that Reveille could think of.

It also seemed they weren’t keen on leaving Batuu, which inspired more questions.

Reveille didn’t hide her curiosity, “What has this messenger done to avoid Takodana of all places?” She asked, adding, “And why are you two keen to stay on Batuu?” Were there other people to meet? Was there a Resistance operation going on here that she was unaware of?

The only reason she knew to come to Batuu was the Chiss, but most people weren’t aware of that, and apparently, the Chiss kept themselves scarce. Well, of course they did. Eli was the one they tended to send nowadays. It would be a sad day when he finally died, though she imagined his children would then simply take up the role, since they were hybrids.

~***~

Kos’tel’lanni nodded, “We may be able to get a coat, or a poncho for him, in the short term,” if there was to be a long term, they would figure that out, but they couldn’t expect him to be cooperative right now. A hat, and a coat, would help to cover up what he was. “Maybe sunglasses.”

His eyes were still rather striking. Perhaps not recognizable in a standard fashion, but Kos’tel’lanni had seen those eyes before – eyes like Matja, eyes like Reveille, a certain piercing blue that seemed to scream ‘Control Freak’.

She stepped out, but only for a minute, before she returned to the cockpit in the same black undersuit.

Hux remained out. She sighed, and slunk back into the chair.

Today was…too long. And not nearly done.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo did not suspect that Nyx caught on to his doubt. He thought he had hidden it enough amongst the anger, though he still couldn’t quite control his emotions.

The mere idea of Reveille dead had upset him more than he thought possible. She hated him, and he hated her in return. Didn’t he?

Kylo wasn’t sure of anything anymore, as Qui-Gon’s words still weighed heavily on his mind.

Nyx inquired if anything more lingered in his mind. “Admiral Kos’tel’lanni and Grand Marshall Hux were, obviously, two vital officers of the First Order. Do we know the current state of the Order?” There had been brief chaos and disarray after Snoke died, but Kylo did his best to restore order.

He didn’t imagine Armitage allowing chaos to linger for very long after the death of those two. “What about what the remaining Hux has planned next?” He wouldn’t call Armitage the Supreme Leader. Not while Kylo still lived.

~~

“Oh no, he’s not avoiding Takodana. We were both closer to Batuu already, and it had just been easier to meet here,” Valo responded. Just ease of convenience.

“And as for your other question,” Oola began, “it’s not so much we wish to stay on Batuu, but we had at least hoped to get a day’s rest before heading on our next mission, which wouldn’t have put us anywhere near where General Organa is currently location.”

And neither would tell Reveille just where that was. Despite helping her, they didn’t trust her yet. She could still want to help her brother and the First Order in some way, even if she claimed she was done with the Order.

There may also be a bounty on Leia’s head. Reveille could want the credits.

~~

A hat, a poncho, and some sunglasses? Lavinia snorted at the mental image. “Oh yes, cause that’s less humiliating.” She couldn’t imagine he would be very happy with that outfit.

Kos’tel’lanni stepped out to remove the armor, and she paused in her thoughts while she waited for her to return.

She glanced back to look at Armitage, with Millicent pacing around his legs. Weaving in and out. Asleep, he looked normal. At peace. Like the entire galaxy didn’t weigh on his mind.

Lavinia sighed, and turned back to the viewport.

Once the other woman returned, Lavinia continued. “What about dressing him up as a bounty hunter?”