Author's Note: Nira's POV
Citizens were screaming in the stands louder than before as Edroth struggled to get away from the guards, but Edroth was quickly shackled up just as I was and hustled from the room.
The audience began to flow from their stands, jeering and screaming louder than before. There was a constant stream of furious First Order citizens at the door. I watched with wide eyes.
Kylo Ren left the podium and walked towards me. He sat at my table and watched as people streamed out.
I looked at him. "Whoa," I said, completely in awe.
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Kylo Ren used the Force to unlock my shackles. The chains and cuffs fell to the ground but I could barely hear the sound they made over the furious crowd that was rushing through the doors.
I knew that the people who watched the trial would feel betrayed and endangered. How could anyone feel safe knowing that a foreign organization called 'Anarchic Galactic' knows private information regarding our base? Who knows how much information those anarchists had? And how could anyone trust a president again knowing that presidents had the power to do such a thing?
When only a few people remained in the courtroom, Kylo Ren and I stood up and walked out easily. I felt elated, but confused. I'd been aware of what had happened during my trial but I still had so many questions and a lot of confusion.
I knew what happened but at the same time I really didn't.
Kylo Ren and I walked out of the courtroom. He walked me back to his quarters and just as we were about to enter, he stopped.
"Nira, I have to go deal with the matters I have just unleashed on this base. I'm sure that everything is hectic. Just try to remain safe for a while." Kylo Ren stated from beneath the mask. I desperately looked up at him.
"When will I see you again?!" I exclaimed with a significant amount of need in my voice.
"Soon. I just can't leave this alone. I need to ensure that the right measures are taken for us to both be safe." He said. A few seconds passed with me staring up at him in horror, and him looking back down at me. He added, "I love you."
"I love you too." I whispered. Kylo Ren turned and walked away.
The last thing that I'd wanted was for Kylo Ren to leave me when I so fiercely craved his protection. Nevertheless, I walked into his quarters and let him leave.
*****
Several days had passed since my trial. I had mainly kept to myself because I thought it'd be better to not draw attention.
I had installed some type of a schedule for myself. I woke up, ate breakfast, trained, ate lunch, trained, ate dinner, and returned back to Kylo Ren's empty quarters.
In the dining hall I still maintained my seat at the elevated table of superiors, but I barely spoke with any of the people there. My old acquaintances, Rulara and Fruvis, either weren't there or spoke with people on the other side of them at meals. I don't think they were trying to be rude, but I felt completely out of the loop.
From listening to their conversations I could guess that a lot of important events were happening inside the base regarding President Edroth's obvious treason. I didn't really know what was going on, though, and no one bothered to tell me. I guess I didn't care enough to ask.
I saw Kylo Ren one time, at lunch, three days after he'd left at his quarters after my trial. He ate very quickly and left with barely saying a word, as if he were in a hurry and needed to be somewhere immediately. I guessed that he did have to be somewhere immediately and he was in a hurry.
On the ninth day, I returned to our quarters after a hard training session. I showered and when I walked out to get dressed, Kylo Ren was there. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and couldn't help a small smile from growing on my face -- it was as if gravity stopped working on my cheeks.
"Can you stay?" I immediately asked. Kylo Ren removed his helmet and replied, "Yes."
"Good!" I began, walking over the dresser and rummaging for some clothes to wear to sleep. I found a black cropped top and loose black pants. I walked into the bathroom and began pulling on my clothes, allowing my wet hair from the shower to fall over my shoulders.
"Can you stay a long time?" I tentatively asked, combing out extra droplets of water from my hair.
"Yes. All of that Edroth business is finished, but a lot more happened besides just that." Kylo Ren stated. I didn't question him on anything else, unsure of whether or not he wanted me to ask.
"It's night time. Would you like to go to sleep?" He suggested. I had missed the sound of his sweet and sour vocals.
"Yes." I replied easily, thinking of getting to lay with him in bed and possibly listen to him speak or have him touch me.
I brushed my teeth and crawled under the covers. Kylo Ren got ready for bed and followed suite.
I was laying on my back with my arms folded loosely above my head. Kylo Ren laid directly next to me on his side so he could look down at me. I gazed up at him and couldn't help but notice how solid his abs looked the way he was laying. His fingers gently grazed up and down my stomach for a few moments before I interrupted the silence.
"So . . ." I started, not in an awkward way, but in a way that suggested I was leading up to something -- and I was. I was going to ask him about the trial and how he defended me.
"I'll explain everything." Kylo Ren assured me. Kylo Ren then began the story of how his past nine days went, which were a lot more eventful than mine.
"Leading up to your trial, I had my ways to defend you planned out. I knew exactly what to say to get you the best defense possible. Yes, the best defense possible for you wasn't that strong. You did technically commit a federal crime by stealing the ships and you did help the general escape our base even if you did it with an innocent state of mind." Kylo Ren began. I shrugged and smiled up at him, and one corner of his lips raised upwards.
"So I had a plan, but I figured that we were going to lose simply because the facts were facts and you were guilty." Kylo Ren sighed, and continued. "Right before the trial I was organizing my evidence that fought against some of the other more ridiculous charges that President Edroth was accusing you of. I was in one of the hangar control rooms and about to make my way to the courtroom."
"But as I was gathering my things, General Hux entered behind me. He had a small case with him. I looked at him and asked him what he was doing there. I was extremely suspicious. Hux merely set the case down on the counter beside me and wordlessly opened it." Kylo Ren said. I got more confused with every word he said.
"He looked at me and said, 'Although I don't agree with what your girlfriend has done, there are bigger problems within this base that need to be dealt with,'. Hux then told me all about how he had slowly been observing President Edroth's every move for quite some time. Several months ago he had received a package of galactic credits with a note that read 'Base shield box location'. After receiving that package and note he remained on alert. Turns out the package was sent to him on accident, but it helped reveal one of the biggest corruptions in the First Order ever.
"Hux began to notice more and more strange things as he paid stronger attention. He walked in on President Edroth demanding for her payment. The strangeness of that is that Edroth isn't paid anything by anyone. She is provided with all of the goods and food she needs as the President and there weren't any current trade deals within the First Order or any other organizations that would result in her payment.
"Hux also began receiving reports from various communications employees saying that strange foreign audios were being intercepted. The audios simply stated different parts and locations of parts on the base.
"Hux began to watch, track, and monitor President Edroth with much more concentration. He secretly collected evidence but there was never enough evidence to surely prove that Edroth was giving away information about our base in exchange for payment.
"He wasn't able to find enough concrete evidence until last week. He monitored all of her holographic communications while she was in her office and found the two audios. Then, two days before your trial, Hux searched her office and found the contract well hidden within the metal floors of her office." Kylo Ren paused and took a deep breath.
"So he gave me the audios, the contract, and the story. Hux didn't tell me how to use his evidence in collaboration with mine, but we both knew what the smartest thing to do would be. We knew that I would use President Edroth's evidence to draw all attention away from your case. What's worse, a president giving away information about the base or a soldier stealing a star ship? Sure, Nira, you committed a federal crime, but Edroth was endangering the lives of everyone on the base." Kylo Ren explained himself.
"So I used the evidence. After your trial I had to immediately report to a senate meeting. I re-presented the evidence to the senate and Hux helped me recount his part of the story to all of the senators and generals. Immediately following our presentation there was a massive debate held on whether or not President Edroth was actually guilty.
"Meanwhile, Edroth herself was in a maximum security holding cell. No one could truly trust her with all of the evidence on the table until after we had reached a decision -- guilty or innocent. I, obviously, thought she was guilty, along with Hux. Some senators believed that there wasn't enough evidence to convict her, but I did.
"We sent a search team out to ransack her office and surely enough more evidence was found. Actual holographic messages from the Anarchic Galactic were sent and received by the search team while they were investigating her office. Their leader, Alqi, sent a message asking to know how to destroy your force field box." Kylo Ren shook his head and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"It was clear to everyone that Edroth was guilty. All of the senators and generals took an emergency vote of impeachment and all but three of fifty senators voted for President Edroth's removal of office and exile. So that's exactly what happened.
"She was loaded up into a pod and immediately ejected into space. Hopefully that is the last we ever see of her," Kylo Ren said thoughtfully before continuing.
"So we got rid of the problem-initiator, but the threatening problem was still at large. The Anarchic Galactic knew multiple secrets about the defenses and offenses of our base and we didn't know what exactly they knew. The next few days were dedicated to taking maximum precautions and setting up our best defense. We informed all of the officials what was going on. All stormtroopers were called back to the base from their various missions. All missions were dropped and we ensured that our base was protected to the best of our ability.
"Obviously our force fields wouldn't fail because Anarchic Galactic didn't know how to dismantle your shield -- that's why they called and that's how the case had gotten confirmed as true, and Edroth as guilty.
"After all of our strongest defenses were put up, including back-up shields, guns loaded, and consistent, round-the-clock army observance from all hangars and angles, the senators and generals had to deal with the fact that there was no president leading our base. That's where I was for the remaining number of days.
"Some senators attempted to run for the president position, some senators wanted other senators to get the position, but the clear majority of the senators actually wanted me as president." Kylo Ren looked at me as if he were worried about my reaction.
"Well, did you take it?" I immediately blurted out. Kylo Ren grinned a small smile.
"I considered it. I mean, I would be in complete control and this organization would be so much stronger and so much more superior than it already is. But . . . I thought of you, actually. If I were president I wouldn't be allowed in battle. I definitely wouldn't be allowed to be around you as much. I wouldn't be able to supervise you in battle and make sure you make it out alive, or be there for you if you didn't." He was not smiling now.
"I thought of the next battle our troops would be sent into, because there will surely be another battle. I couldn't stand the the thought of being trapped back at the base and knowing -- knowing that you would be out there, risking your life. I couldn't stand the thought of, well, what if you -- didn't come back. What if your body was left at the battle scene, or destroyed, and . . . there's just too many horrendous possibilities to think about." Kylo Ren now looked disgusted and was staring off at the wall, clearly absorbed in his own nightmarish thoughts.
"I rejected the election. I didn't want to be in the running for president. I wanted to remain a general of the army, the highest ranked army general of the First Order, where I could participate in battles alongside you. Even if one of us were to perish in a battle, I would want the other to be there for each other -- for one final good bye." Kylo Ren shook the grimace off of his face and looked back at me.
"General Hux was offered the job, but rejected the position as well. He takes too much pride in his current position as a general. The president ended up being some other trustworthy senator that everyone was satisfied with.
"But there's just one thing I wanted to ask you." Kylo Ren began, "While I was considering the presidential job I thought a lot about you, and about how I never want what we have to end."
Kylo Ren took a deep breath and said, "We live in a dangerous universe, and if anything were to happen to you or I, I want all loose ends to be tied up. I want to know that I will be with you forever, and vice versa."
"I want to marry you, Nira."
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Author's Note
Guys. I am freaking out. I just watched the Rogue One trailers and I have to admit, while I love every aspect of Star Wars, I didn't know how excited I would be for this movie. I just haven't gotten around to watching the trailers, really.
BUT OMG I'M GONNA SHT MYSELF I AM SOOOOO EXCITED HOLY CRAP!!! This movie is about to be AWESOME!!!!
Okay see you :)