"Perhaps the troops could do with some reinforcement?"
Amelia had joined her master once again for a council meeting and had been graced with the news that the rebels on Trebula had not yet been entirely sought out. She walked to the head of the table as she spoke and brought the attention of every officer.
"We can't spare any more full regiments, only a few stragglers."
"I wasn't suggesting troopers...Maybe some help from Master Ren would encourage both our army and invoke some fear in the rebels, forcing them out."
"It certainly has its merits..."
"Providing my master would agree to such a task."
"I will agree, certainly. Amelia is right: I will assist."
"Good," Hux said and Amelia nodded to him. "We will begin immediately. They will be stopped, there is no doubt of that."
"Thank you, General."
"You continue, in the meantime, I will make final preparations before loading," Ren said, making for the door. "Amelia."
And with that they both left, Amelia hurrying to stay by his side as they walked the corridors.
"I'm sorry to have thrown you into that if you don't actually want to do it," she said, following him around a corner "Only, I think it could really work."
"You are right, it will."
"You think so?"
"Yes, and you will be joining me this time. I believe you are prepared enough."
"You do?"
"Yes, after all, it is only a small gathering of fighters, mostly inexperienced from our intel. It will be good practice in the field, you will have to do it at some point. And our combined force will be stronger than one; that is what we need. But be warned," He stopped and turned to her, looking down on her from a height and she met the stone-cold face of his mask from under her hood. "This is real, a battlefield. There is no room for mistakes or petty errors."
"Of course, master. Absolutely. I won't let you down."
"Good. I have faith in you, Amelia...And this is for you." He handed her a new shining black lightsaber lined with gold engraves that hummed and glowed crimson when she ignited the blade. "Your own saber."
"It's gorgeous..." She moved it from side to side then rolled it in her hand: it was light and manoeuvrable, easily slicing through the air before her. She smiled at its gracefulness. "Wow...Thank you so much..."
"An apprentice needs their own weapon to learn with, not just a spare blade. I hope it will serve you well; take care of it."
"It will," she replied as they entered the hangar, making for one of the ships. But she turned at the mention of her name to the General following after them, perfectly poised as always and dressed as well to travel in his coat and gloves.
"Miss Amelia."
"General," she asked in slight astonishment as Ren boarded, leaving them to speak privately. "What brings you here?"
"Well, I see you will be joining the mission this time rather than observing with me: congratulations."
"Thank you..." she muttered cautiously, confused at this praise as it was far out of character for the two of them to be civil. "Master Ren believes my training is complete enough and I think so too..."
"I wish you the best of luck although I have no doubt of your ability now. I will be joining you, I hope it is not too much of a distraction given our less than tasteful relationship."
"Yes...No, I'm sure that will be fine...I wasn't aware you participated in field missions."
"Well, not from a fighting perspective, I'll be observing from the ground shuttle to make sure everything goes smoothly."
"I see..." She nodded as their conversation came to a fading halt, leaving them unsure quite how to conclude it. "...Was that all?"
"Um, yes, I suppose."
"Right...I must be going. Thank you and I will see you shortly."
He gave a single nod and departed without another word to the other side of the hangar to the larger command shuttle that would oversee from planet-level so she boarded Ren's ship and took her place beside her master in the cockpit still processing her conversation. It was such a strange turn from their previous interactions she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Maybe he was mocking her but it honestly didn't sound like it. Maybe he'd gotten the memo from their last argument that she would not hesitate when it came to her power.
"What did Hux want?" Ren asked, flicking switches while she absentmindedly adjusted her seat, hitting the button to close the cockpit door.
"Only congratulating me on my place on the mission," she replied as he engaged the engines. "And he said he's starting to see the potential you do."
He didn't seem entirely convinced by Hux's sudden appreciation of his apprentice - although not much was easy to interpret from under the mask - and let out a disgruntled 'hmph' as they left the base.
"What's wrong with that? He's starting to respect me as an equal. Coming from such a higher up, from someone I've had serious issues with recently, doesn't that make you proud in your training?"
"I do not like that man. There is much distrust between us. I think he is creating a false sense of security for you, to make you believe you're more than you are to inevitably fail you and spite me."
"Maybe if you tried to like him there wouldn't be so much distrust between you: I did, to begin with," she muttered and he caught on, quickly turning to look at her. "What?"
"I have my reasons, as do you, evidently."
"Why can't you just be a little proud of my achievements, my new worth in the eyes of the General of the First Order rather than being so negative all the time? It's a start, isn't it? Even if he is a pain in the arse."
"I am proud."
"Well, you certainly have an interesting way of communicating it, master."
She was silent and instead focussed her attention out of the window and the mission at hand, trying to hide her nerves by wringing her cloak in her hands and taking some breaths, chewing at her lip.
Yes, she had trained, and hard at this point, but there was a difference between training and the actual thing: of going out there and fighting real people. There would be no second chances if she screwed up, those blasters would be real and would rip through her like scissors through paper.
Still, she had trust in her master, in herself and their army. She would be okay, right? As long as she was focussed and undistracted.
"I'm glad he congratulated you on your achievements." Ren eventually said and she looked over at him. "It is good he is recognising your potential...Only, in my experience, Hux and Force users don't mix. He'd easily leave a friend for dead if he had to, there is no doubt he would do the same to you given your distaste for one another. I only want you to be cautious."
She allowed a small smile and nodded once. He was right, of course, as always. She shouldn't be completely trusting.
"Thank you."
They soon landed and she took a few deep, calming breaths as she opened the hangar, climbing out of her seat.
"Be careful out there and don't forget to listen to the Force: it is your greatest asset," he told her as the ramp landed and she looked out into the orange flames and clouds of pale dust that flew into the air from blaster shots on both sides, the air hot on her face.
"Good luck, Amelia," he said, igniting his lightsaber and she nodded.
"Good luck, Master." She followed him down the ramp into the dust, releasing her own blade which scattered a few fighters, shots whizzing past her head clumsily.
"Another one!" someone shouted nearby and she turned. "There's two! He has an apprentice!"
Her attention was brought away from them however by shots being fired straight at her. She blocked them, batting them away and advancing on their sources. The gunmen appeared and she pulled one towards her with the Force then threw him, cutting down the others.
It was the strangest thing, having no mercy even though that's what she had always been conditioned to and her master did exactly the same: swiping with one hand and holding out the other to deflect a bullet aimed at his head. She was flanked by two Stormtroopers and ducked blaster shots from all directions, returning some with the graceful flick of her lightsaber. She held it up as she surveyed them all, the glow illuminating her shadowy features and glaring eyes; attackers stared at her in fear when her gaze landed on them, effortlessly deflecting with her blade.
She projected a true image of fear, magnified by the hum of her weapon, bouncing and dancing in her eyes. Her strength at that moment was unmatched even by her master, the terror of her raw power filling the hearts of all that looked on her. She authority and fear and force at her disposal, all culminating into one fearless opponent.
Almost no one feared her master as much as they did this new adversary on the battlefield who projected hate onto all beings. They wanted to flee but they had to stand their ground for their dwindling cause.
In the midst of her winning streak where Resistance members where becoming scarce at her hand and troopers took cover by her side to protect themselves, a tugging at her very soul caused her to stop. It was like ice water flowing in place of her blood, burning yet refreshing and full of hope; light, mercy and innocence...light. The light side was calling to her, begging her to stop.
This small window where she was incapacitated gave the fighters the chance they needed. She was weak and distant as she deflected their shots; feeble, nearly getting away with it but for one blaster that caught the side of her abdomen and knocked her backwards into the ship, tucked into a small corner between the ramp and the ground.
Her cloak shielded her, created a sort of shadow to protect her as she writhed, groaning and crying in pain. A direct hit that pierced through to the bone and created a buckle in the dark side of the Force. She felt it herself through all the pain.
The firing of blasters was becoming less frequent and she tried to get a look at her wound but it was too painful to even shift the material around it. She was losing blood fast, that much was clear, illustrated by the pool surrounding her, creating some bubbly mess when it mixed with the dust. Her hands shook violently when they came away coated in the stuff and her heart began to pound, her whole body falling into shivers of fear and pain.
If that wasn't enough, her vision began to fade, darkening at the edges as she tried to drag herself onto the ship but it was no use, even the will of the Force wasn't enough and she slumped back again in defeat.
This was where she would die, wasn't it?... She had disappointed her Master, the only person who had ever meant anything close to her, disappointed the Supreme Leader and proved that stupid bloody General right: she was nothing.
"Amelia," someone appeared next to her, falling to their knees in the dirt by her side and trying to assess her wounds while flinching from the sounds of explosions and gunfire rippling across the landscape, but she cried out and struggled too much for them to do anything so they shouted to a bunch of troopers: "Form a barrier, don't let them hit us!"
He leant over her followed by a now dishevelled mess of orange hair that dripped sweat and possibly blood, framing deep green eyes that looked down at her with pure worry and slight fear, lined with tired circles that were cast with shadow.
"You'll be alright," he said, soft and comforting yet panicked, racking his head for the best route out. "You're okay..."
"What happened?" He was joined by a second person who was trying to push him aside but he wouldn't move. This shadow of a man was a deep contrast: a mess of dark curls hanging limply from his head as he looked down on her, eyes dark and deep.
"Who are you...?" she whispered, sensing an energy about him but she was too zoned out to think anything of it.
"You know who I am," he muttered, quietly, guiltily. He turned back to the other man who she now noticed had a harsh cut on his lip and he wiped the trickling blood aside but not to much avail. "I asked you what happened."
"I don't know, I think I saw her get hit. Let me deal with this, you help the troopers protect her."
"No..." Amelia whimpered as the dark-haired one stared him down. "He'll leave me for dead...My master said...he would leave me for dead."
The ginger one looked to her in confusion and offence then shook it off and turned back. "We need to get her out of here. You need to stay, I'll get her back and have her admitted. I'll see to it she is treated as the utmost priority."
"No, I don't trust you-"
"We don't have time for this." The one with the energy was pushed aside as the other took matters into his own hands, leaning over her to lift her from her crumpled position against the ship, her head falling into the crook of his arm as she blacked out completely. "She will be safe."