Copper for the Charlatan

Bank it

The return trip to the ship was made in awkward silence. With Phasma at the controls and the other 2 guards unconscious, the General sat quietly across from Ichara, randomly glancing over at her. He was uncomfortable that he couldn't follow her eyes behind the smoked visor glass. Knowing her force sensitivity, he also found himself trying to think of nothingness. Flashes of blood, the belt, the way his face felt against her skin, all flashed through his mind despite his best efforts to keep them down.

She sighed, set the holopad on the seat beside her, and reached up to take off her helmet, setting it on the floor.

"General Hux. Can you please try not to think of nothing so loudly? It's all I can hear. I will not pick through your thoughts unless you ask me to."

"Why the hell would anyone want that?"

"I signed that contract- I'm here to serve you. You need to trust me or this is all going to be very difficult."

"Forgive my trepidation, I've had naught but negative experiences with you lot, and I hadn't expected to be saddled with... this ." his voice came out a lot harsher than he'd expected.

"I know. I'm sorry." The genuine softness in her voice threw him off.

She picked up her holopad and went back to typing. "I'm informing Mistress Orgida of the rooftop incident. It is the responsibility of business owners on her strip to adhere to strict security guidelines. They will be punished for such laxity in the attention they pay to their surroundings. There is no reason those spying scum should not have been quickly noted. Their laziness will not come without severe consequences."

He liked the venom in her voice. Maybe this won't be so bad after all he mused. After all, she was here to serve him, and she has proven herself to be excellent at what she does.

In many ways.

He stuffed the thought down as soon as it arose. There couldn't be any more of... that type of behavior now that this was a working relationship. Hell, there was still the chance that Kylo Ren might strike her down on sight. Aside from his infatuation with that scavenger, who knows how he would react to her. Her eyes flashed up at him for a second at the thought, and as he caught her gaze she quickly looked back down to what she was doing.

Part of him felt certain that she was the mechanism in some elaborate trap.

Only time would tell, and he was good at waiting.

-

-
Kylo sat bolt upright in bed. He leapt up looked around frantically, expecting to see Rey somewhere in his quarters. No- this force swell was across the ship and had the distinct dragging of darkness calling. For a split second he was terrified that somehow Snoke had come back from the dead, but his signature in the force was darker and more distinct than this.

He dressed quickly, taking a moment to run a brush through his hair and mist it with some ridiculous oil Mitaka had suggested. Kylo had choked the man after overhearing he thought his hair looked "comically unruly", but had to admit it did make quite a difference in his appearance. Instead of thanking him, Kylo assumed obviously taking his advice through a more polished appearance should be complement enough. After hastily getting dressed, he flew down the hall way.

He was concerned that if Hux had something to do with this he might not like what was waiting for him. The General rushed to Canto Bight after a particularly heated meeting earlier that ended in him being thrown against the wall and Kylo Ren storming out of the room. There were all manner of wild accusations about what he did there, only ever taking Phasma and a small handful of loyal soldiers. The darkness grew as he neared the hangar, and did so the mixture of dread mingled with excitement welling in his chest.