As the thought of reaching out to Leia crossed his mind, Kylo blocked it all out. As such, he did not feel whatever Verena was referring to, and didn’t open himself to it. “No,” he denied, not at all sure what she meant…and very certain he didn’t want to know.
Now was not the time to be distracted from the mission.
“We need to focus,” he was talking to himself, more than he was to Verena, but he still pitched his voice low enough that he was unlikely to be understood by the Stormtroopers, “if we fail here, the weapon will fire again, and we will lose all hope of finding Skywalker. Snoke will destroy the Resistance if they get the droid first.”
And everything around the Resistance.
He didn’t know where they were, but it would be…a lot more innocents killed.
Weren’t they out to rule the galaxy and create order? Not…just destroy it? How did that prove they were right? He’d question it, he’d hoped it would only be used once, but right then, he understood – it wouldn’t.
They would lead by fear…and that fear would have to be constantly reinforced.
He hated that idea. And though he tuned out the feelings, his own still bled off of him. All that hatred. All that turmoil.
~***~
On another day, Neria would have been annoyed with Poe for trespassing. In truth, she would have been annoyed with Lenora, even if Lenora had been in here before. At least, Neria thought she had. The Orrineswa was one of Neria’s few spaces that truly spoke to her identity. It wasn’t made pretty or sterilized for visitors, beyond the lounge.
Her room spoke of the Carrion Plateau. Fur rugs, fur blanket, trees in pots anchored in place, tables with river motifs captured in resin, and weapons made not of metal, but bone. Nature’s place was obvious in the confines of the room, and when Beta returned as Poe asked his question, Neria took one of the water glasses, and stuck the bloom into it.
She set the other down for Omega.
“He sees with the Force,” Neria answered, “among other things. The sudden loss of life across the Hosnian system must have overwhelmed his senses, in a manner of speaking. He’ll be all right.”
“Wait—wait wait. Hosnian System? Loss of life?”
Neria nodded, “The First Order used the Stellar Forge plans and found a way to make it work. The fact they’re stationed on Ilum gives me thoughts as to how they did it. They launched a lightspeed attack on the Hosnian System. Everyone left behind is dead.”
Beta became a sickly yellow, and her shrill whisper spoke to her horror, “Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Neria shut her eyes, and calmly responded, “The chances of any of you doing something stupid with that knowledge were too high. I do not apologize for my deceptions,” she stood up, opened her eyes, “Mari and Milo…don’t need to know. They weren’t there long.” Beta hesitantly nodded, and stepped out to regroup, and return to the kids.
Omega shifted, letting out a groan as he started to come back to consciousness, “Easy,” Neria said gently, “there’s water, and a plant. Take care of the plant until I can.”
His blind reach was likely genuine, she couldn’t imagine his sight completely clear, but his hands wrapped around the plant-cup like a lifeline.
Something living.
Something peaceful. “I am going to return us to our path.” Taking the kids to Takodana was a fucking terrible idea, but Poe left her no choice.
Now was not the time to be distracted from the mission.
“We need to focus,” he was talking to himself, more than he was to Verena, but he still pitched his voice low enough that he was unlikely to be understood by the Stormtroopers, “if we fail here, the weapon will fire again, and we will lose all hope of finding Skywalker. Snoke will destroy the Resistance if they get the droid first.”
And everything around the Resistance.
He didn’t know where they were, but it would be…a lot more innocents killed.
Weren’t they out to rule the galaxy and create order? Not…just destroy it? How did that prove they were right? He’d question it, he’d hoped it would only be used once, but right then, he understood – it wouldn’t.
They would lead by fear…and that fear would have to be constantly reinforced.
He hated that idea. And though he tuned out the feelings, his own still bled off of him. All that hatred. All that turmoil.
~***~
On another day, Neria would have been annoyed with Poe for trespassing. In truth, she would have been annoyed with Lenora, even if Lenora had been in here before. At least, Neria thought she had. The Orrineswa was one of Neria’s few spaces that truly spoke to her identity. It wasn’t made pretty or sterilized for visitors, beyond the lounge.
Her room spoke of the Carrion Plateau. Fur rugs, fur blanket, trees in pots anchored in place, tables with river motifs captured in resin, and weapons made not of metal, but bone. Nature’s place was obvious in the confines of the room, and when Beta returned as Poe asked his question, Neria took one of the water glasses, and stuck the bloom into it.
She set the other down for Omega.
“He sees with the Force,” Neria answered, “among other things. The sudden loss of life across the Hosnian system must have overwhelmed his senses, in a manner of speaking. He’ll be all right.”
“Wait—wait wait. Hosnian System? Loss of life?”
Neria nodded, “The First Order used the Stellar Forge plans and found a way to make it work. The fact they’re stationed on Ilum gives me thoughts as to how they did it. They launched a lightspeed attack on the Hosnian System. Everyone left behind is dead.”
Beta became a sickly yellow, and her shrill whisper spoke to her horror, “Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Neria shut her eyes, and calmly responded, “The chances of any of you doing something stupid with that knowledge were too high. I do not apologize for my deceptions,” she stood up, opened her eyes, “Mari and Milo…don’t need to know. They weren’t there long.” Beta hesitantly nodded, and stepped out to regroup, and return to the kids.
Omega shifted, letting out a groan as he started to come back to consciousness, “Easy,” Neria said gently, “there’s water, and a plant. Take care of the plant until I can.”
His blind reach was likely genuine, she couldn’t imagine his sight completely clear, but his hands wrapped around the plant-cup like a lifeline.
Something living.
Something peaceful. “I am going to return us to our path.” Taking the kids to Takodana was a fucking terrible idea, but Poe left her no choice.