Forget Me Not (Kylo Ren Story)

Sympathizers

Landing down in a thick coverage of trees and moss on the outskirts of the First Order sympathizing planet, Athena and Poe were greeted by a heavy downpour of cold rain. The First Order and their cold planets... Wiping the rain that slid off her hood and down onto her face, Athena looked to an already shivering and soaking wet Poe, "So where do we find these plans?" "A man named Nor Del, who lives on the other side of the village, in the forest" Poe stated, pushing his dripping hair from his eyes. "Ok well let's go, try and get out of this freezing rain while we're at it too." Trudging through the cold brisk air and muddy remnants of snow, the two lingered on the edge of the village, still concealed by the towering trees. Athena tugged her hood tighter around her face, trying to hide from the cold and ignore the feeling inside her. She felt an unusual sensation, like a tether being pulled inside her, a feeling that had her looking over shoulder every so often. This pulling tether attempted to inform her of a presence nearby, but there was no sign of anyone behind them following. Athena tried to ignore it, knowing if she was not 100 percent focused on the mission at hand it could go sideways, but a cold sweat gathered at the back of her neck making her surrounding loose hair and clothing feel suffocating.

A run down log cabin emerged from the dense tree and rain coverage, positioned just far enough from the village. Poe climbed up the creaking dark wood stairs, while Athena surveyed their surroundings, something did not feel right. Poe banged on the door as Athena walked up besides him, "Something doesn't seem right, Poe,'' she whispered. Poe simply nodded and before he could say anything, he was cut off by the front door creaking open. A gray haired man with many healed scars littering his sagging face, poked his head out of the cabin's threshold. "Who are you?" he barked, voice rough and eyes menacing. "Friends of a friend of a friend." Poe smirked leaning in a little as he recicitated the Resistance's code, the man grinning slightly at his words. "Nor Del." He shook each of their hands and opened the door wider, "Come in." The cabin was small inside, everything located in the wide open room. The stiff smell of burning sage greeted them as well, the smoke emitting from a small stone black bowl, on a mat in the middle of the room. A fresh pot of tea, steam billowing out of it's spicket was positioned carefully next to the sage. "You two are the Resistance fighters?" Nor confirmed in the safety of his dwelling. Poe nodded for them as Athena continued to watch the odd Rebellion pilot man before her, Poe was always the talker. She was merely support, backup, and perhaps another pretty face to help negotiations along. Athena recalled the time her and Poe went undercover in an illegal underground casino, where the two had infiltrated the weapons distribution table. Poe's curious questions had started to become too much for the head boss, but luckily Athena was able to distract him, her high slit dress had done the trick for the filthy rich man perhaps a little too well... Her hand was broken for over a month after that right hook. Nor bent down and retrieved a black harddrive from beneath the burnt sage, "This holds important information, a necessity if the Resistance is to truly survive and bring an end to the First Order." Nor handed the hardware to Poe as he asked, "How did you retrieve these plans?" Nor Del is quiet for a moment, a flicker of something behind his eyes, before he told Poe of the people he knew aiding on the inside. His answer wavered a little, differentiating from his previous collected monotone words, as if it was not a part of his rehearsed lines. Athena's eyes widened as a flash of an image appeared in her mind, white masks and uniforms marching through the thick tree coverage. It was a trap! She quickly pushed Poe back and grabbed the loose fabric of Nor Del's black tunic, hoisting him close, shocking both men. "Why? Why did you set us up?" She spat out angrily between her gritted teeth. "Athena?" Poe questioned, confusion etched onto his olive toned face. "The plans are a fake, it was just a way to lure us here, to one of the most heavily guarded First Order planets." Nor Del only smirked at the intelligent girl's realization, Poe's eyes widening as he chucked the useless hard drive to the wooden floor. Athena jostled the man again, "Why did you set us up?" Nor only sighed, a slight sense of humor written on his face, "The First Order carries a big stick." The beat of rhythmic marching began to grow outside, echoing loudly through the cabin, Athena dropping the man as the steps drew louder. "We need to go, like now!" Both eyed the small window on the back wall of the cabin, Poe racing forward and breaking the glass with the end of his blaster. He helped Athena jump out first, quickly following after and into the wet forest, their boots sloshing through puddles of cold mud.

"They are escaping through the forest!" A muffled Stormtrooper voice shouted, making Athena and Poe push faster and further into the woods. Red beams of light whizzed past them, the Stormtroopers attempting to slow them down. "Anytime Dameron!" Athena shouted, dodging a blast on her left. "I'm working on it, Stryker!" Poe groaned diving behind a large tree to shoot back at the incoming enemy. They could do this, they had escaped the grasp of the First Order countless times before, this was just another tally to add to their list. Athena raced ahead of Poe, a sudden scream ripping through her lips as she dropped onto the ground. A burning sensation originating from her torso had the girl crawling to move behind a tree. Poe halted his assault immediately and dove over to Athena's tree up ahead. The Stormtroopers continued to fire, Poe shooting the couple down and finally turning to face the discomfort filled face of Athena. She was propped up against the rough bark, hand clutching her side tightly. "What happened?" Poe exclaimed, lifting her black jacket to reveal her red sweater turning a darker shade above her right hip. It was not bad, yet."Athena come on, we got to go." She shook her head frantically, eyes squeezing shut at the movement that shook her whole body. "No you gotta leave me." Poe ignored her, moving to lift her left arm over his shoulder, "Like stars I am!" The sound of more incoming Troopers had Athena protesting in Poe's arms. "Poe you have to go, I'll only slow you down." Poe shook his head furiously, angered by their position and the betrayal of the former rebellion pilot. "I'm closing in on them!" A stormtrooper shouted from somewhere behind them. "Go, Poe!" Athena moved her hand across Poe's head, before pushing him roughly. A disgruntled sigh of defeat escaped through Poe's pursed lips, the pounding boots growing closer. He gently set her back down, resting her back against the tree bark, "I'll come back for you", Poe whispered before disappearing into the woods. Athena laid against the cold tree, hand pressed to her bleeding side, as five stormtroopers converged around her. "The other one must have abandoned her, us three will continue to search for him." Instructed one of the masked troopers, as the other two hoisted Athena up on her knees, twisting her arms behind her back. "And her?" the one holding her right arm questioned. The Stormtrooper mandating orders bent down before Athena and she could almost sense the smirk plastered on his covered face. He nuzzled his blaster into her right side, Athena biting back a scream as a muffled sob escaped through her lips."Bring her to him."