Lillibet - A Star Wars story

Pamarthe

Walking around the ship, everything looked normal, besides all the Stormtroopers that were alined and ready for battle. There was no chaos prevailing or anything like that. Even the people with masks, although you couldn't see there expressions, looked calm. Lillibet wondered how many times they must have down this, in order to be able to be so collective of their emotions. Their stability helped her control herself too.

She was standing outside the TIE Fighter she was supposed to fly to Pamarthe.  Everyone else was already boarded, but she just needed to see something beforehand. She was watching outside a window the space melting away in light speed. She loved it. But her favorite part was when the ship would come into a halt, and the stars all around would suddenly start materialising from nothing. She put one hand on the glass, to keep her balance for when this would happen, and the other one on her lightsaber, by her side. She had made sure she hadn't forgotten it about a million times by that point.

Finally, they reached the Outer Rim Territories, and stopped right in front of a blue planet. That must be Pamarthe. It looked as if it only contained water, and nothing more. Images from Earth filled up her mind, and she got a little homesick. All the beauty she was viewing moved her a little too much.

When she turned around to finally board, she saw General Hux standing behind her. His face was austere; something that was the norm. But somehow she had started getting used to the exceptions.

"Hangover?" she smiled to him. But all she got in return was a frown.

"Why aren't you in the Fighter yet, Lillibet?"

"I was just going there, chill..."

She walked up to it, put her hands on some handles to lift herself up, but stopped. She looked over her shoulder. Hux was still there, watching her in complete silence.

"What, do you need help?" There was no way of knowing if he was being sarcastic or not. The odds of either were both high.

"No..." Lillibet simply said and turned her body to face him. "You called me Lillibet."

The General looked a bit confused. He had called her like that many times. Why was it surprising now? He took a few steps closer, as if he couldn't hear her.

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"No. Lillibet was just what my friend called me. My real name is Elisabeth," she said, her voice being in a low volume, as if it were a secret.

"I know..." The General moved his head ever so slightly. His eyes were peering into hers, just like they've been doing since the first time they landed there. Looking at the classic General Hux, right before embarking, gave her a warm feeling.

"Good," she replied. "I just needed to make sure you knew that before..." She gulped. Well, saying 'before going to die' didn't sound nice.

"And my real name is not General".

Lillibet chuckled. Hux came even closer to her, in need of whispering. "But you already know my real name, don't you?"

He was now so close, whenever Lillibet breathed, it felt like she was breathing the air that had just come out of his lungs. But they had been closer. Maybe it was just the fact that they were both breathing so heavily this time. She looked in his eyes, switching from right to left, trying to see if it was safe to say it.

"Armitage..." she whispered holding her breath. Hux just blinked in reply. She had been studying him closely for so long, she could even decipher the way he blinked by that time. And that blink was the equivalent of a smile.

They stayed there, just looking in each other's eyes, their breathing becoming heavier and more synchronized with every second that passed. It felt like the right thing to do before going in battle. To look at him for as long as she could. Take in as much as her brain could store. The shape of his eyes, his cheekbones, his lips...