CHAPTER 16
JUNKYARD PLANET
SHE had woken up early that morning for the meeting, her limbs weak despite knowing she would have to be stronger for the day ahead. They were to arrive on Jakku in less than two hours.
Raena walked in her familiar outfit to the other end of the ship, her fast pace causing her to practically glide down the slim corridors. When she reached a fork in the hall, she almost ran into him, who was adorning the same dark mask that she got the pleasure of seeing removed in private hours.
They stared at each other for a moment before she greeted, "Good morning, Commander Ren."
"Officer Nhagy," he nodded, gesturing for her to walk with him at his speed, which was just slightly faster than her own. "Were you informed of the relevance to the meeting we are attending? That we are to arrive on Jakku?"
Having to talk formally with the man that she adored to touch was nothing but uncomfortable. She couldn't take the aura he held at the moment, something entirely different than how he usually was with her, but she knew she had to deal with it to keep herself on Supreme Leader Snoke's good side.
"I was informed yesterday by Captain Phasma," she replied as they passed by a group of storm troopers.
They were just about to step into the meeting room before he spun her around, gripping her arm tightly in his gloved hands. "Excuse you," she muttered, ripping her arm away.
"I just wanted to say something, in case we don't see each other in private again today," he muttered, his voice now soft, despite the difference from the modulator. Raena looked around the hall, spotting no one. "Be aware of your surroundings today. This is the first time we're attacking this base, and we don't know what they're capable –"
"It's on Jakku, Ren," she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about me. I've gotten out of the head Resistance base before. I can handle a small one on a junkyard planet."
He moved his gaze away to a passing trooper, causing the being to suddenly stare at their feet. "When we return, I'll tell you everything."
She quirked a brow. "You better make sure you stay alive then."
Before he could say another word, she strode into the meeting with him on her tail, just shy of a minute late. They both received suspicious glares from most of the cadets and officers in the room, the worst coming from General Hux, who looked back down immediately afterwards. "Morning, everyone," the commander grumbled as he and the assassin took their seats next to each other.
"Now that we are all here, let us discuss our important mission for the day," Captain Phasma informed from her place next to Hux.
Kylo rested his hand on Raena's leg under the table, a gentle reminder that he was always there, behind closed doors. She had been looking down at her hands, her only response being a smile at the touch. Although, at the thought that this gesture would be an act that Ben Solo would also do, he retracted his fingers away quickly.
•••
She stood right beside him, a usual spot that she liked to stay. They matched in colors: both decorated in their famous black capes while a secluded helmet shielded his face and a red scarf did the same for her. His fingers ached to hold her own, even in front of the rest of the crew, but her hands were clutching her favorite blaster, and the last thing he wanted was the touch to remind him of his former identity.
And that's when Kylo had an epiphany: Who the fuck cares? He was still Kylo Ren, even while being completely in love with their best assassin. Nothing would ever change who he identified as, and that's what Snoke needed to realize as well.
As the ship fully landed, Hux watched his team ready themselves for the mission ahead. He could be angry at the secret of Commander Ren and Officer Nhagy's newfound relationship all he wanted, but nothing could stop the immense pride he had at their accomplishments for the First Order.
Gerardo strode next to the general, handling him a tablet that lit up with the base's blueprints as he watched the hanger open. General Hux didn't take one look at the object, only continuing to stare at the group of storm troopers being led by Ren, who was sided by Captain Phasma and Officer Nhagy. Gerardo found himself staring as well, but more over at the leading team of the commander and Raena.
He soon muttered, "They make a great team – Commander Ren and Officer Nhagy, I mean. I've heard that they always stay by each other on missions."
"They are great," Hux nodded, taking the tablet finally and looking over the layout. It felt odd to compliment the commander, but he did it nonetheless. "They are chaos, at best."
•••
The moment they stepped off the ship, they were gifted with the sight of scared workers flooding from the base. They had expected their arrival.
Kylo gestured for his troopers to march ahead, and the army immediately started shooting at the dozens of workers. "Slaughter them all and bring the leader to me," he ordered. Phasma walked in front of the storm troopers, adorning her favorite First Order cape to let their presence be known. Raena covered the commander, who grasped her hand for a mere second before she could register it.
Somehow, the people on Jakku were rewarded with blasters, and used them to shoot at Ren. Raena could already notice their's were rusty and old, nothing compared to her own. She shot in their direction, her finger pulling back on the trigger at such a fast pace that it would've made her younger self cringe.
The workers of the base never had a chance as the storm troopers charged through the base building. Kylo and Raena waited outside for the leader, hearing the urgent cries for mercy from inside the base. At that moment, Raena was glad that her scarf hid her grim expression.
A disgruntled worker with a bloodied hand came at her then, but she caught him from the corner of her eyes, throwing her fist at his jaw before he could even touch her. He fell to the ground, his nose sending out spurts of blood on her shoes. His hand reached up to grab her ankle as she heard Kylo's voice mutter beside her: "Just kill him."
The fire of her blaster cracked in her ears. His blood scattered across the desert ground and her pants.
Soon enough, an uncomfortable silence ensued across the property as the trooper army marched out of the base with the leader in their arms. Phasma stood next to the base's head, introducing her once they neared both the commander and assassin.
"Commander Ren," the captain greeted, "this is the Jakku's bases chief, Andromedia Melonee, as requested."
Raena watched Kylo take a few steps forward, her worry increasing as the seconds of silence ticked by. Calm down, his voice reprimanded in her mind.
"Was this ... fun while it lasted?" He finally questioned the leader, who's sunken in eyes suggested she craved death at this moment more than ever. Kylo gestured to the desert around them, the bodies littered amongst it. "I know this was fun for me."
Andromedia smirked, revealing chipped and yellow teeth. "Oh, I'm having a terrific time."
"Why rebel?" Kylo then asked, quicker than usual. "What tempted you?"
The female head took a moment to look at the ground before she shrugged. "I thought it was the right thing to do."
Ren nodded, turning away from her. His hand pulled out the hilt of his saber. "The galaxy needs to rid itself of people like you."
She laughed, a hearty chuckle too happy that it already set Raena off. The assassin's grip on her blaster tightened.
"Not if I get rid of you first."
In the back of the building, a person – almost small to the eye – emerged from the corner, a vintage blaster readied in his hand. Silence reached its peak, the only sound Raena was able to hear was her own heart beating loudly in her ears. Time stopped as she watched the mystery male pull on the trigger.
"COMMANDER REN!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, her scream piercing the dusty sky.
He turned at the same moment she moved in front of him, the trooper army just only catching the sight of the male in the back then. She shot her blaster in his direction, knocking him out cold as his own fire sliced into her skin, sending her tumbling a few feet backwards into the sand.
At the known plot, Phasma suddenly shot the leader herself as Commander Ren ran to the assassin's body, hidden in between the sand particles. "GET HELP!" He hollered at the army, his voice hoarse from the lack of breaths he was taking in. "GET SOME FUCKING HELP!"
He knelt by her side then, not bothering the stares of his crew behind him. He breathed heavily, ripping the gloves off his hands and trying to keep as much pressure on her bleeding wound as possible.
She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead.
He couldn't believe he was making this much of a spectacle in front of the crew. It didn't take an idiot to now realize the care Kylo had for the assassin, and he was showing it for them all to see.
His heavy breaths were making the mask cloudy, and out of frustration, he threw it off and into the sand. The crew could finally see the tears streaming down his face then, something that Kylo hadn't done in an extremely long time. He was sure he wasn't capable of the emotion anymore, but here he was, crying over Raena Nhagy's dying body.
His digits were covered in her blood as he pressed them further into her side. One hand lifted to her chest, feeling a slight pulse still there. He sighed in relief, but the tears kept coming. He couldn't stop them for the life of him, showing just how out of control he was. His voice struggled to scream again: "SOMEONE GET THE FUCKING MEDICS!"
He didn't know the hustle moving around him as her own fingers slowly brushed his own. His dark orbs lifted to hers as she tried to talk, but it only came out in a whisper: Stop crying, she mouthed.
Kylo couldn't stop; his tears were pooling within his lids. He cared so badly, and it hurt him to see the blood of his lover on his hands. He used to enjoy the sight of his fingers covered in someone else's gore, but when Raena's stained his, he was sure the pain in his heart was more than just a symptom.
He wasn't supposed to be like this.
As he pressed harder into the wound, a medical team finally materialized from their ship, sprinting over the dense sand to pick up the injured assassin. They hoisted her into their arms, her blood streaking their cream colored outfits. Kylo continued to kneel on the desert ground, his eyes trained on his dirty hands. He knew he could wash it off, but the memory would be embedded in his brain forever.
"Sir," Captain Phasma mumbled as she stood beside him, his helmet in her silver hands.
He looked up at her own shielded face first, staring deep into the darkness of her vision before taking his famous helmet. He slid it back on his head and slowly stood up from the sand.
"Retreat" was all he needed to say to have the mission cleared.