The Spark Of Hope And Fire

An Old Friend

  "Ah... h-here we go." The door slid open, releasing a dusty haze into the dimly lit corridor. "Snoke used to have spies, dressed up as senators, to inform him of any hints of mutiny or t-treason. He would kill the actual senators, then the spies would take their place. This is their wardrobe."
      "And how would you know of this... DJ?" Leia was becoming more and more suspicious of the man.
       "I was one of the spies. I d-don't remember the senator I replaced. It was a long time ago. And I wasn't here long... Whew, that was a lot of money, though.." DJ trailed off into memory.
         "I have -" Rey began in a whisper.
         "A bad feeling. I know. I do too." Leia interrupted with a similar whisper. She and Rey cautiously followed the scruffy man into the room.
        There were rows and rows of racks. Each full of uniforms, gowns, masks and head pieces. There were shelves along the wall stuffed with various prosthetic body parts. The amount of deception the room gave off made Leia sick to her stomach.
     Rey became completely immersed in the clothing. She was so enchanted by the sheer variety, she almost forgot the reason they were here. It was going to be difficult to choose.
      She thought to herself that maybe since she is known for always being capable and ready for battle (which, to most, was a masculine trait), she decided on something exceptionally feminine. Rey had picked out two things already. One being a fitted red patent bodysuit with no back, and another was an elegant gown covered in soft white feathers that shimmered with the tiniest movement. There was a V at the neck and intricate beading around the waist and hips.
      As she continued scrolling through the vast inventory, a pale blue sparkle caught her attention. Rey pulled it off the rack. It was a very soft, smooth, glittering fabric. It had no sleeves or straps. Silver arm bands hung at either side, served as sleeves. The garment draped down to the hip, and flowed from the waist to the floor. A high slit was over each leg.
       This was it. She took the garment to the stall at the back of the room, and changed. However, she felt uncomfortable showing so much of her legs. Rey held the flowing piece closed as well as she could, and quickly found some shiny pants of a slightly darker blue and put them on.
       Leia had already settled on a thick jumpsuit, heavy boots, and a smooth grey helmet with narrow slits at the eyes. She found some pretty sandals and a headpiece that had long, straight hair very similar in color to Rey's.
       "You might want to practice a few steps in those shoes." Leia advised. Rey took a couple of tentative steps, and only slightly stumbled once. But she caught on quickly, and within a few minutes, mastered walking in heels.

     In the Senate chamber, Leia, Rey, and Chewbacca sat in one of the dedicated visitor's pods in silence. Kylo Ren had Luke by the throat. The huge monitors displaying the scene, switched periodically to different view points. Rey was forcefully reminded of Han Solo standing on the walkway. Kylo Ren standing face to face with him. As Luke hit the floor, Kylo's saber pierced Han's chest. She had to stifle a scream.
       "It's alright Rey... " Leia put her hand on Rey's shoulder.
      "It's... the memory.…"
       "I know."

     After a sharp, deep breath, Luke sat up and looked around. Ben was leaning against the counter at the wall, with his arms crossed, staring at the floor. Dark hair formed a curtain over his eyes.
       "It's different now, isn't it?" Luke chimed, stretching, and shaking off leftover unconsciousness.
       "What?"
       "Killing someone."
       Been hesitated to answer. "Yeah... a little." He had spent years searching for Luke Skywalker, seeking to kill him. Now that he succeeded in "killing" Luke in front of te entire galaxy, it didn't feel like a victory. But more like a sick joke. One directed at him.
        Luke chuckled. "Maybe it's because I'm not actually dead." He bent down, grabbed the discarded medic uniform, and put on the mask.
        "Shut up." Ben feared Luke was listening to his internal monologue, and immediately stopped thinking.
               "Let's go, kid." He patted Ben on the shoulder, and gestured to the exit.

       General Hux stood at the entry way to the conference room, hands clasped behind his back, waiting. A huge dark skinned humanoid man with shoulder length dreadlocks, and a tuft of beard on his chin had already arrived. As well as a voluptuous, scantily clad reptilian female. Hux was trying to hide the tremble of crippling fear coursing through his body. These two were bad enough. He dreaded seeing what the rest of them looked like.
       Each knight was heavily armed. Their Kyber weapons were modified and customized to each individual's preference and expertise. One tall, rather thin, masked knight brought an entire case of specialized weaponry. He dropped the heavy case to the floor dismissively, and took the nearest seat.
      "Welcome -" Hux began, standing at the head of the table. 
      "Get to the gist, ginger." The tall one spoke, in robotic monotone.
       "Right. " he stammered. "You all no doubt know that Supreme Leader Snoke is dead, and Kylo Ren has taken his place as ruler. However, he has vexed me for far too long with his silly, pointless quests. They are of little relevance to the first order, and I need him out of my way. I've put up with his antics for far too long."
         The one calling herself Duchess stood and leaned across the table. With her long, clawed fingers, she caressed the generals face, starting from his temple, tracing his jaw line all the way to his chin.
        "And why would you call on us in this endeavor? Would you expect us to murder our beloved leader of Ren?"
        Her unwelcome touch travelled even further down. Hux squirmed uncomfortably. The claw of her middle finger grazed across his collarbone, and down his chest, severing two shirt buttons along the way.
         "Oops…!" The duchess said with a smirk, clearly not in any way remorseful. She slid slowly back into her chair. Her metallic sequined dress tinkling as it moved across the table. Now sitting, she crossed her legs, revealing too much shapely green scaled flesh.
         "You like looking at this woman." The bearded man stated in a deep scratchy baritone. "I warn you, she is quite venomous." Amrik smiled.
          "I… er… let's get to business." Hux's voice shook.
         Only three of the knights spoke. The rest sat, silent and ominous around the polished table.
          "So what is your plan?" Nataya enquired, sudden authority in her voice.
           "I propose we lure him in somehow. But I will leave the working out of details to you."
            "Perhaps we could use you as bait." The tall masked cyborg threatened.
            "I don't think that would work, given Kylo's rather unfriendly opinion of me."
            "That's precisely why and how it would work, mister General." Seduction once again saturated the Trandoshan female's voice.