#Little Kyber Thoughts Collaboration

[kybercrystals94]

Then & Now

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ANGST-PRIL 2024 | DAY 3 | PROMPT 3: BROKEN HEARTED 

RATED: T | WORDS: 1109 | SUMMARY: Crosshair tells Omega about Mayday. | CHARACTER FOCUS: Crosshair, Omega

“What happened?” Omega asks. 

Crosshair doesn’t move, doesn’t shift his gaze to the child sitting behind the grate of his cell door. He keeps his focus on the ceiling above him, where the light has a barely discernible flicker. “What do you mean, what happened?” he asks, hoping that the venom in his tone will make her recant the question. 

But he isn’t surprised when she only clarifies, “Why did you turn against the Empire?” 

Omega has been nothing if not persistent these past few weeks, regularly sneaking her way down to talk to him. She does most of the talking, while he pretends he’s not listening, and wonders if she will take the hint and stay away.

To his frustration, Omega takes the hint and blatantly ignores it. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Crosshair growls.

Omega shifts so that she is kneeling in front of the door, facing him full on. “It must’ve been something terrible. You seemed so sure on Kamino.” 

They let him die. The unspoken words taste bitter, so he verbalizes something less distasteful. “It pains me to say that Hunter was right. We are nothing but a number to them. Disposable. You’ve seen the labs here.”

The kid frowns. “Realizing Hunter was right doesn’t put you in a cell,” she observes. 

“I already told you, it doesn’t matter,” Crosshair tells her. 

“It matters to me.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you’re my brother,” Omega states. “What happens to you – what happened to you – matters.”

An infinite number of retorts line up Crosshair’s throat. Awful, horrid things that he is sure will finally drive Omega away, make her hate him the way he deserves. Keep her safe the way she deserves. Safe from him. Safe from attachment and familial duty. 

But not a single one of them comes out. 

“His name was Mayday.” 

Omega is quiet for a moment. “What happened to him?” 

“He died.” 

Another meaningful pause. “The Empire killed him?” 

“They couldn’t waste precious medical supplies on a disposable meat droid,” Crosshair snaps. Blistering rage burns glacial in his veins. “So I killed the officer who stood by and watched him die.” Crosshair turns his head to look at Omega, who stares back with wide eyes. “That’s what happened. That’s why I’m here.” 

He hates the sympathy that washes over Omega’s transparent expression. He does not want her pity or her love. He wants her to leave him alone. 

Funny, isn’t it? How these clones around you keep disappearing?

“Go,” Crosshair says, turning away. “I don’t want you to come back.” 

He can feel Omega watching him, hear that she hasn’t moved away. Finally, she sighs, a long-suffering exhale that sounds too much like Hunter. “I know you think you’re protecting me, but I will come back, Crosshair. I won’t let you be alone again.” 

Crosshair waits until he knows she’s gone before he releases a shaky breath. He rubs harshly at his eyes. He hasn’t cried for Mayday. He won’t cry now. 

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

They’ve been in hyperspace for a couple hours now. 

Crosshair sits on the floor of the main hold, Batcher’s head in his lap while he strokes the hound’s smooth, leathery skin. He listens to the rumble of his brothers’ voices in the cockpit, Omega’s melodic voice occasionally chiming in. He imagines this is what it was like before, when the Batch first got Omega. In all the time he has known her, even before he liked or cared or… loved her, Omega has always had something to say, something to contribute. He remembers it annoyed him, but the emotion attached to the memory feels foreign and ugly. He hates that it used to be that way, but he cannot deny that it was. 

It was the chip, he reminds himself. After that, his own stubbornness butting up against Omega’s persistence. Regret constricts around the muscle in his chest, memories of the cruel and harsh words he’d used on Tantiss to push Omega away. He can’t remember exactly when he’d given up the effort, resigning to be talked at relentlessly until it became something he ached for. When she’d go days without coming to his cell, he began to worry for her, straining to hear the light tread of her footsteps. 

Those familiar light steps approach him now, but Crosshair doesn’t look up at his sister when she stops in front of him. 

“You look comfy,” Omega says. 

“Yeah, the floor of a ship is luxurious,” Crosshair retorts. 

“I was talking to Batcher,” Omega responds, deadpan. 

Crosshair rolls his eyes, but smirks in spite of himself. 

Omega moves to slide down next to him. “You’ve been quiet since we left the base.” 

“Unlike some people, I don’t feel the need to talk constantly.”

“Fine. You’ve been quieter than usual. Happy?” 

“Ecstatic.” 

Omega turns so that she’s leaning her back against his arm, head tipped against his shoulder. “Is that where you met Mayday?” 

Crosshair stiffens, his hand freezing in place on Batcher’s head. He swallows. He could try to lie, or at the very least, brush the question off. Seconds of indecision tick by, Omega patiently waiting Crosshair out. She’ll know if he lies. 

“Yes,” Crosshair mutters at last. 

Omega hums. “I saw the helmets. Hunter said he saw you picking them up.” 

When did he tell you that? Crosshair wants to demand, but the question catches in his throat, giving Omega time to continue uninterrupted. 

“I’m sorry for what happened there,” she says, softly. “It must have been hard to go back.” 

Crosshair shrugs, purposely jostling Omega’s head resting against him, making her huff. “It is what it is,” he tells her. 

“Tell me about him?” The question is gently put, a small voice guarded for rejection. 

Crosshair sighs. “There’s not much to tell. I didn’t know him for long.” 

“Long enough to care about him,” Omega says. 

“Hmmm,” Crosshair concedes. He hesitates a moment before saying, “I guess he reminded me of our brothers...”

Omega nods, head bumping against his arm. 

“There was an avalanche,” Crosshair continues, voice low, throat tight. “We were both injured, but Mayday had the worst of it. He…” Crosshair swallows. “He wanted me to leave him behind, said he wouldn’t make it. He was right, in the end, but I tried anyway. We got to the base, but they wouldn’t help him.”  

Omega reaches back, her fingers finding his hand and wrapping around it. Her grip tightens. He squeezes back. 

“I wish I could have met him,” Omega whispers, and Crosshair knows she means it. 

Blinking back the burning sensation that suddenly impairs his vision, Crosshair mutters, “Me too.”

He hasn’t cried for Mayday. 

He won’t cry now. 

END

Wow! Already to day 3 of Angst-pril, and my time has come to join the collaboration alongside @the-little-moment & @just-here-with-my-thoughts!

(If you haven't already, you NEED to go read their stories for the prompts Homesick and Frozen!!!)

My next prompt is: "This isn't going to work."

✨Let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list!✨

Tag List: @followthepurrgil @isthereanechoinhere96 @amorfista @mooncommlink @arctrooper69 @nagyanna424 @groguandthebadbatch @proteatook @ezras-left-thumb

#angstpril2024 #Day 3 #Prompt: Broken Hearted #the bad batch #star wars #Star Wars the bad batch #sw tbb fanfic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #tbb omega #tbb crosshair #Mayday mentioned #The Outpost mentioned #angst #family relationships #Little Kyber Thoughts #Little Kyber Thoughts Collaboration #fics by kyber

[disregardcanon]

a few thoughts on structuring the imperial inquisitorius since i’ve been in that headspace. if you’re unfamiliar with maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you might want to pull one up for your viewing pleasure along with this. it gets referenced a lot

1. inquisitor training is in 3 stages: fully a prisoner, recruit, and then full-fledged inquisitor

2. the first stage is pretty heavily just torture and isolation, but with some smatterings of propaganda thrown in along with the “hey just give in and you can like, eat food, see people, and stop getting tortured to death”. the propaganda about the empire being Good TM almost never sticks in this stage, but it’s important to sew those seeds at the beginning because it still starts to take root in the person’s brain. 

the main propaganda tool here that IS effective is that one that ninth sister tells cal: you can’t stop the empire. this is what’s repeated every time that someone is tortured and then locked back away indefinitely. 

prisoners almost always eventually give into this thinking because the torture and only getting the bare minimum of food and water to not die, combined with an imprisonment and no hope of escape eventually does that to a person. 

3. the way to get out of this stage is to agree to become an inquisitor. however, to become a recruit, the member has to bleed their kyber crystal. if they did not come to the inquisitors with a kyber crystal because they lost their saber or they were never a jedi to begin with, they’re required to bleed a crystal from the inquisitorious’s supply. 

now, bleeding your kyber crystal is pretty much permanent. it can be “purified” like ahsoka did, but it is never going to return to the color that it started as. 

there is also no canon information about this, but i imagine that there’s a spiritual connection between kyber crystals and their wielders, so bleeding a crystal really hurts. for sith who bleed OTHER people’s crystals, this is a form of torture... but for those forced to bleed their own, it feels the same. it’s just self-inflicted. 

this is important because it’s 1. a physical reminder of your status as an inquisitor that has painful memories, always linking your identity to the pain of your becoming and 2. a painful pledging ritual that makes you feel like you’ve chosen this path and severed your ties to the jedi too irreversibly to be accepted back. 

4. the second stage is much more intermittent torture, the kind that’s masquerading as discipline and slow integration into a group dynamic. if the prisoner phase is about depriving them of all of maslow’s hierarchy, this one’s about giving the recruits the first level and flirting with giving you the second and third. 

the second level “safety” needs will never be fully realized, the way that it never is for people in abusive relationships, but they will be made to feel like there’s a reason for each violation and a predictable pattern. there will also be hints of the third level “belongingness and love needs” being fulfilled. 

the recruit is half initiated into the group, kind of like pledges in a fraternity that are actually getting hazed to hell and back. they have the hints of being a full member of the group and are made to believe that there’s at least a little bit of community that they can get.

 they have a specific trainer assigned who’s supposed to mold their skills (we aren’t making the corpse of the jedi order into a terrible undead creature no sir), make them nostalgic for the jedi order and easier to mold, and guide their indoctrination. 

most of the recruits get through by parroting the rhetoric with little actual investment beyond I Would Like to Get Tortured Less Please or maybe I Would Like To Be Able To Hurt People the Way I Have Been Hurt along with some hope that maybe there’s a little bit of a place in the world for them at the end of it, but a few are the sort who take the punch bowl and slurp down the koolaid because that’s the only way for them to go through with this. 

it’s one way to meet those needs for belonging and not feeling like a shit person, so there’s that. 

5. for the “final trial” recruits are forced to kill someone who the others have determined would best prove their loyalty. for recruits without direct ties to someone, this is frequently a targeted or vulnerable group that the full inquisitors have determined this individual is most sympathetic towards. 

the other inquisitors always bring a charge against the victim (jedi, traitor, etc etc) but for everyone who isn’t drinking the koolaid, it’s just a clear leveraging of power- if you want to survive this, then you will destroy every bit of your soul for us. this is the life that you’re choosing, and you will choose it every day. 

dance, fucker, dance

6. the inquisitor initiation ritual is mainly pillaged from the jedi knighting ritual with some darker twists. this is partially as a bit of gallows humor, partially to make integration easier for the members while also reminding them that they will never be that again, and partially because all the founders were jedi and it’s hard for people to come up with ideas that are completely alien to their own culture. 

the future inquisitor in full uniform on bended knee, 

“by the right of the inquisitorius, by the will of the emperor, rise inquisitor title”

7. the number system is like chairs in a middle school band. at the time of initiation, the inquisitor becomes the lowest number brother/sister. there is a certain duration of time that they have to spend at the bottom of the ladder before they’re able to challenge a higher ranking inquisitor for their position. it’s considered gauche to challenge more than two inquisitors above you and is not normally done unless someone is cocky because it WILL get you singled out among the members as a cocky asshole that no one wants to work with. 

if the challenger wins, they steal the number and knock the other one down to the one that they held. this makes things confusing because titles change, but it’s productive because it 1. allows for upward mobility 2. ensures that members keep up their skills because losing loses you income, privileges, and respect among the organization while winning BRINGS those things 3. helps keep members from growing too close to one another. a certain degree of isolation is desirable in a hierarchy like this. and of course it dangles the possibility of meeting some of those esteem needs in maslow’s hierarchy in front of them. 

there is some hesitant collaboration between inquisitors because they are all cautiously and reluctantly trying to fulfill those belonging needs (and most of them have accepted that this is just what they are now) but it’s difficult for any of them to do much beyond nervously wish they could be friends because the atmosphere is too dangerous and uncertain to do anything more in. 

part of the way that they keep inquisitors in line is just meeting the base of the pyramid and then dangling the psychological needs (both belonging and esteem) in front of them like lucy from the peanuts with a football. 

8. the grand inquisitor is in charge, but whoever holds that title is outside of the hierarchy. they cannot be challenged and have their position stolen because that would be like challenging the drum major for the role of drum major. doesn’t work like that, babe

9. i’m going back and forth about whether i want the numbers to start with first or second. on one hand, having a first makes sense and i sometimes would want one. on the other hand, trilla suduri seems very high ranking and skilled, and having someone above her seems strange, plus having “second sister/brother” be the grand inquisitor’s “second” in command seems like a fitting naming system. 

#nobody expects the imperial inquisition #inquisitorius #trilla suduri #grand inquisitor #sw meta #sw headcanons #the inquisitors are fascinating

[koderenn]

Summary: A mortally wounded Kylo Ren is laying in the arms of Rey amidst the battlefield. "You can't escape fate, Rey," Leia had once said to her. "Just make sure that in the end, when everything has come to play, you will have no regrets."

Leia lifted her head from the desk’s monitors to glance at the approaching planet on the viewport of the bridge.  The Titan had just exited hyperspace. She had been wrecking her brain on how to possibly convince Correlia, one of the most powerful worlds in the Core to join their cause. Correlia’s  council was the most reluctant she had come across so far, fearing retaliation from the First Order in case their world collaborated with the Resistance. The talks would drag, she was fairly certain about that. It would be a tiring day. Maybe she should have stayed in her rooms a little longer, instead of making her way to the bridge at the crack of dawn. She smiled to herself.

 Figuratively speaking of course.

 The Cassandra under General Caluan Ematt’s command should be planet bound by now, waiting for Leia to embark after the meeting, in her customary ship jumping. Switching ships was cumbersome but it seemed to keep the assassin at bay.

The attempt on Naboo had caught her unprepared. But the one in Coruscant a few days ago, Rey and her were able to elude. Barely. After meeting with the governor of Coruscant, instead of returning to the Titan they took off on a wild ride across the city with a stolen speeder, the assassin hot on their heels. They ended up hijacking a small freighter and meeting with Poe’s Titan two systems away.

A little excitement had felt good.

Thanks to the kyber crystal hidden at all times in her gowns, she could sense Dark Forcers approaching her way. And so could Rey. But the crystal also had its setbacks. It seemed to wear her down.  Her grasp on the Force was becoming slippery and her perception of feelings hazier.

What really troubled her, though was Rey’s confession on Arkanis. Leia still couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of a Force bond between Rey and her son. Or the dangers it brewed. Rey had insisted that he did not intend to draw information from her, nor wanted to cause her harm. But the General in her was a sceptic and maybe a little paranoid.

Leia stretched her back shutting the holoprojection in front of her. The bridge was quiet, apart for the everlasting beeping and occasional chatter amongst the crew. Correlias’ seas were reflecting the sun’s beams directly into the bridge by now, lighting up the grey industrial surroundings and perking up everyone’s mood. She glanced at the mug on the projection panel in front of her. Another mug of caf wouldn’t hurt. Along with a little breakfast perhaps.

The doors behind her hissed open and she could sense Rey’s presence entering the bridge along with Poe. Interestingly enough, her brightness in the Force was somewhat dimmed as of late.

“General,” the man stationed on the communication’s panel next to her –Tim was it?-said. “Incoming message, no identification or origin known.”

That’s odd.

“Is it on our channels?”

“No, ma’am. It’s… ah… it’s addressed to a Mrs. S.”

“Don’t know who that is, so they’ll have to settle for me. Put it through.”

Leia sipped from her caf and cleared her voice.

“This is the Titan. Identify yourselves,” she asked, her voice stern.

A little static filtered through followed by a pause. Rey walked up to her side a nervous expression on her features.

“No need for that,” a voice answered through the speakers. Rich and deep, it almost sounded like…

Her heart stopped.

No, it can’t be.

Her hands grasped the mug in front of her, threatening to crush it.

“Hello General.”

Her heart started hammering and her vision fogged up.

“Who is this?” Poe intervened noticing Leia’s paling face.

My son.

Her hand reached out, seizing Poe’s forearm in an attempt to silence him.

“I don’t have time for introductions. I’m only here to give you the information you seek. I will speak only to General Organa,” the voice dictated.

“I will take this in my office,” Leia quickly commanded, getting off her chair and heading for the adjacent room.

“No way. You are not talking to this man by yourself,” Poe objected following Leia to her office his agitation evident on his stride.

“Yes, I am. And that’s an order Dameron,” she commanded over her shoulder.

“Not on my ship it’s not!”

She opened her mouth for a retort but immediately realized that perhaps two set of ears were better than one. Rey too trailed after him, without a word, as the doors hissed closed behind them. She wore an expression that had never appeared on her clear face before, Leia noticed. That of guilt.

Leia frowned pressing a button on her office panel and accepting the call in her office.

There were so many things she wanted to say to the man across the galaxy, but her emotions were getting the better of her and drowned all coherent thought.

“What kind of information?” She asked, her political reflexes taking hold of the situation.

“The attack will take place on Coruscant six days from now,” his voice continued, the information being relayed digging for her attention. “There will be close to thirty Star Destroyers and a new Dreadnought. A cyber virus is to be released on Coruscant’s databanks at the same time, blocking any data transfer on everything from households to government establishments. It will wipe out power, communications, transports, banking systems, you name it. Coruscant will reduced to a primitive civilization in less than a day. They don’t stand a chance.”

The words were met with complete silence for a few long moments, before Leia and Poe turned to look at each other.

“Leia who is this?” Poe asked a hint of fear in his eyes.

No. This can’t be happening. Why would he…

“You can’t expect us to fall for this,” Leia protested, voice thick with emotion.

Rey stepped in taking Leia’s hand softly in hers and regarding her seriously.

“He isn’t lying.”

“You knew,” she said to the girl eyes narrowing in accusation. She recalled the events that took place a few days ago, connecting the dots. “You’ve been in contact with him.”

“Yes.”

Leia sat, closing her eyes and massaging her temples with the fingers of her hand.

What do I do? Force, how can I believe him?

“Ben, do you have any idea how this sounds coming from you.”

“Do not call me that!” he bit back, his anger seeping to her bones. “I will not beg for you to listen like I once did. The decision is yours.”

Rey hurried to settle things down before they got out of hand.

“You must understand how this sounds coming from you. Why should the Resistance believe a word you say?”

A pause hung heavy in the air.

“You believe me.”

His voice came through, anger dissipating.

Leia could feel Rey’s hand trembling in hers. She turned to regard the girl next to her, taking in the sadness in her eyes. Poe was also observing her, an unreadable expression on his face.

“That’s different,” Rey whispered.

“Let’s assume that you are telling the truth, is there something you expect us to do?” Poe interceded.

A sigh was heard from the other end.

“Raise a proper fleet to help defend against the battleships. The Dreadnought must be taken out before it levels the surface. I will be leading the ground troops. My goal is to access the capital’s central systems and disable the virus with my codes.”

“Why can’t you stop it from the ships?” he asked again.

“The slicer will be infecting the planet’s system from the surface. The virus is too unstable to do it from the ships. She will proceed the moment the first Star Destroyer appears in orbit. The order has already been given and I cannot revoke it without raising suspicions. She is planet bound as we speak and avoiding all communications.” Aggravation was coloring his voice again.

“There must be some other way this slicer can be stopped,” Leia said.

Rey squeezed her hand in agreement

“You can’t be there during this battle. It’s not safe. You’ll get yourself killed!”

“Safe? Nobody will ever be safe again, Rey, if the First Order succeeds,” he snapped.  “World after world they will all be broken into submission.”

“Don’t do this,” Leia heard herself beg. “You can be of better help from your flagship, and when all this is over than we can figure out a way for you to…”

“To what, mother? Come back home? After everything I’ve done? Your beloved Republic will execute me or bury me away in some prison for the remainder of my years. There is no place left for me in this galaxy,” he exploded. “No. I get to choose what I do with my life. Not you. Not my uncle. Not Snoke. Me.”

Leia looked down at Rey’s hand clasped tightly with hers, fighting back the tears threatening to spill.

If only…

“It’s a shaky plan. But we’ve had worse.” Poe chimed in, breaking the tension. “Is there a safe way to contact you?”

“Just ask Rey.”

Poe pressed his lips and looked at Rey from the corner of his eyes.

“Ben,” Leia said.

My boy.

“May the Force be with you.”

No response came from his side of the connection. The communication broke off.

Leia unclasped her hand from Rey’s, wiping away the tears that had rolled off her eyes. She took a deep breath trying to calm her rattled nerves. Poe huffed running his hands through his curls. He had a look on his face that she had come to recognize as him wanting to get into an X-wing and tilt the world back to its normal axis. Rey stood perfectly still, waiting for Leia to come to a decision.

And she did.

“We need to find that slicer,” Leia ordered.

*

  “Rey! Wait up!”

She heard Poe call behind her. She reluctantly slowed down and turned to face him, bracing herself for whatever storm he was about to unleash.

He quickly caught up to her outside the doors leading to the engine room, where she was stationed.

“Care to explain what that was all about?”

“This is hardly the time or place to…” she gestured with her hand avoiding eye contact with him.

“There will never be a right time for this,” he countered, his eyes searching for hers.  “You’ve been in contact with Kylo Ren, for Force’s sake! Under everyone’s nose. What were you thinking?”

“It wasn’t like that,” she protested in a small voice.

“The man is unpredictable. Did it ever occur to you that he might be manipulating you?”

Her head snapped in his direction. How could he think that of her? She would never put anybody in danger.

“Of course I…”

“No you didn’t Rey,” he pressed on.

“Will you just stop!” She cried out.

Poe rested a hand on her shoulder, bringing his eyes to her level. There was an intensity burning in them that caused her to squirm

 “You never think of the consequences,” he stated. “You just follow your impulses wherever they may lead you.”

Rey nailed him with a glare.

“That’s rich coming from you.”

“You have been talking with Kylo Ren! And you weren’t exactly exchanging advice on how to fix your lightsabers,”

“He’s giving us the information we need to save a planet. So I must be doing something right.”

“This isn’t just about Coruscant Rey. Don’t you see that?”

Rey did not like where this conversation was heading.

“You don’t even consider him an enemy anymore. If you could have just seen your face in that room.” Poe exhaled, running his hand through his curls and down his face, trying to compose himself.

He stepped closer to her, taking her hands in his and gazing caringly at her face.

“I don’t know what he means to you…”

“He’s my friend,” she answered in defense.

“No.  He isn’t just a friend.”

Rey lifted her eyes to his, hesitating about how much to say. She trusted this man standing in front of her. Cared about his so deeply and hated seeing him hurt. But the Force bond was not a concept he could comprehend.

“I don’t know how to explain what he is to me,” she started. “We are bonded in a way nobody could understand.” She shook her head pleading with him. “Poe I can’t let him die out there.”

“Rey…” he tried to warn.

“I’ll find Chewbacca and ask him to take me to Coruscant with the Falcon. That way I won’t be using any of your ships. You’ll need every single one of them,” she added.

Fear fleeted in his eyes and he squeezed her arms tightly.

“Rey. No. It will be an open battlefield down there. You can’t go strolling amongst the troops calling out his name! If what he says is true, Coruscant will be a heap of rubble and ash within a day. You’ll just die searching for him and all the Force in the galaxy won’t be enough to help you. Nobody will help you.”

She stared at him without blinking for a moment.  Realizing the magnitude of what she was about to do.

Poe must have read her distress, because he took her in his arms, kissing her temple softly.

“Stay here with me. There is so much you can still offer. We could build so much together,” he whispered in her ear.

A flash of morning sun, swiveling curtains and children’s giggles echoed in her mind. All that seemed so far away now. Unreachable.

Rey slowly pulled away setting a soft kiss on his lips. She extracted herself from his arms and backed away. Poe stared back at her, disbelief and hurt alternating on his face.

“I have to do this,” she said taking a deep breath.

She was at a loss of better words to say.

“You won’t make it back…”

“I’ll find a way.”

Poe straightened his body and jammed his hands in his pockets.

“Right,” he nodded looking away from her. Rey could feel his bitterness wrapping around him like a shield. “I have work to do at the bridge. I’ll see you later,” he said schooling his features. He turned around and headed down the corridor without glancing back.

Rey waited for him to disappear around a corner before sighing and pressing the panel to the engine room. One of the mechanics approached her with a box of tools and a schematics holopad in hand demanding her attention.

*

  Stars, he was tired. He barely ever slept properly, but these past few days had taken exhaustion to a whole new level.

Kylo Ren entered his quarters, not even bothering to raise the dimmer. The blue streaks of hyperspace running outside his window bathed his rooms in an ethereal glow. He removed his heavy cloak and leather gloves, setting them on his sofa on his way to the bedroom.

He had sensed the growing dislike and apprehension from his subordinate officers as he systematically switched the leadership of the Star Destroyers to less capable hands. And the latest meeting in the Conference room had only cemented their distrust. General Hux’s attitude as annoying as it may have been, did not come as a surprise.  The man was sly, though, and his threats were not to be dismissed as void.

Kylo Ren plopped on the corner of his bed removing his boots. He unclasped his saber and set it on the nightstand next to his bed. What really grated on him, was Valek’s disobedience. He was very much aware of his knight’s intentions. Fights between the two of them were becoming an everyday occurrence aboard the Finalizer, dividing his knights’ allegiance and turning the ship into an arena.

That’s why Snoke never gathered us on one ship.

He wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up to a lit saber set on his throat one night. Hence his lack of sleep.

The knight continued to remove his belt and overcoat, tossing them at a chair nearby. His neck cricked as he stretched it, and he winced at the pain on his left ribs. A bruise was probably forming from that kick he had sustained.

He needed a shower but couldn’t find the power in him to drag himself to the refresher.

And to top everything off, that call to his mother…

Part of him still couldn’t believe he had gone on and contacted her.

Kylo Ren dropped his head to his hands, fingers grasping on to his locks of hair.

What was I thinking?

But the decision had been made and he had to see it through. If anyone suspected his betrayal, then his codes would be blocked and all his plans would go to waste. And he’d end up dead.

Either way.

He inhaled deeply, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his palms. Rey had too much of an influence on him. His loyalties were in havoc because of her, his judgement was already questionable, and his life was at stake to say the least.

How the hell did I get myself in this position?

Removing himself from the bed, he padded towards the refresher, taking off his shirt. He had to figure out some way to make it out alive and disappear into the Unknown Regions if need be. Or beyond.

And start over.

*

  Rey was too rattled to concentrate on anything she was fixing. The wrench dropped from her hand, clanging loudly on the metal stairs below her and dropping a good twenty feet next to a mechanic, who turned to her with a glare.

“Sorry,” she called out biting her lip.

She knew she should have called it quits when she caught herself rewiring the cooling system to the shield generator, instead of the hyperspace engine, earlier in the afternoon. A headache had settled throughout the day, clouding her thoughts and making her clumsy.

Nothing to do with the mother-son confrontation she had witnessed in the morning, nor her fight with Poe.

Or the suicide mission Kylo Ren had assigned to himself.

She got up from her crouched position, wiping her greasy hands on her uniform and chugging some water from her bottle. She packed up her tools and carefully made her way down the ladder. Practically her whole day had been spent in the engine room and nightfall had creeped up on her again.

Rey made her way down the deserted corridors of the ship towards the lounge area, picking on the loaf of bread she had stashed in her pouch earlier in the day. The room was dark and empty by now, the only source of light coming from the large viewport taking up most of the wall.

She sat cross legged in a corner next to the window overlooking Correlia at night. The sun was hidden behind the planet accentuating the numerous small moons orbiting around it. Her head rested on the window taking in the view spread before her.

It was breathtaking.

Her heart clenched. The serenity and beauty outside clashing with the turmoil within her. Events were spiraling out of control. The choices she was forced to make were leading her down paths she couldn’t come back from. And Rey was afraid. Afraid for the lives of the people she cared about. Leia. Finn. Poe.

Ben.

What it if she couldn’t find him in the battle. Or she didn’t make it on time to help him. Or distracted him and ended up being the cause of his…

I’ve seen it…

I’ve seen his death…

Rey covered her face with her hands. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the void inside her if the bond was severed. It had so quietly evolved from a pinprick at the back of her mind to a near constant presence just a thought away.

She pressed her palms to her temples, wishing her mind to quiet.

Their time was running out.

She would be alone.

Again.

Desperation clawed on her heart and she reached out for him.

The room she found herself in was lit up by blue waves dancing on the smooth surfaces of a bedroom. She was sitting cross legged, her back resting on an enormous viewport taking up what should have been a wall.

The man lying on the bed in front of her was still. Features relaxed from the emotions burdening them. Dark circles were marring his closed lids, while wet tresses clung to his face. His back was bare and an arm was hanging from the bed. The light rise and fall of his body reminding her there was still breath in him.

He was asleep.

Rey brought her hand to her mouth stifling a cry of relief threatening to wake him up.

She slid closer to him, the cold tile floor numbing her knees. She rested her chin on the mattress a few inches away from his face, holding her breath. A lock of hair lay across his forehead and she stretched her hand, lightly fingering it away.

Eyes flew open.

Her wrist was grabbed by an iron grasp.

Before she knew it her back was on the floor, arms pinned on the side of her head and Kylo Ren’s body was set heavily on her.

Brown eyes widened in recognition and his body sagged in relief. But he did not move. His gaze remained trained on hers, unwavering as he slowly brought his face closer to hers.

Shutting his eyes, he lowered his head setting it softly on the column of her neck.

“You startled me. Don’t do that,” his voice rumbled on her chest.

She exhaled, letting go of the air she had been holding.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispered, her voice caught on her throat.

He lifted his head, looking at her curiously.

“I’m a light sleeper these days.”

“It shows,” she said, gaze falling on his dark circles.

Ren smiled, a set of dimples appearing on his cheeks.

Of course this man would have dimples.

He carefully lifted himself off her, extending a hand for her to take.

Rey accepted.

He was clad only in his soft loose night pants. His chest was bare which had once made her fidget. But not this time. It felt almost natural for him to be standing like that in front of her, their bond thrumming in prospect.

“So this is your room? Cozy.”

Ren looked around at his bed, nightstand, desk, holopad, and sofa. His fingers went through his tussled hair messing it further.

“Um… yeah. It’s… ah…scarce,” he admitted, his eyes breaking into a smile.

She grinned is response warmth spreading inside her.

Her eyes dropped to the saber on the nightstand. Ren must have noticed because he rushed to comment.

“It’s a habit. I’ve had it for years. It’s been proven effective.”

Rey knew very well what it meant to sleep with a weapon by her pillow. She too had made a habit of it all those years in Jakku. But she didn’t need one anymore. And it saddened her to see that he still felt like he had to defend himself even in his sleep.

She stepped closer to him lifting her hand and setting it hesitantly over the beat of his heart. His breath hitched in response.

“Don’t do it. Don’t go to Coruscant. Come back with me…” she pleaded.

He looked away, conflicting emotions written on his features. For some reason he felt unnerved. As if he didn’t know how to be around her. She removed it, releasing whatever hold she had on him.  Sorrow began to shadow his eyes.

“You know I can’t.”

A pale face covered in dirt and blood floated before her eyes.

Her jaw set.

“What if you don’t make it? There are so many other ways that you could help bring down the First Order. This doesn’t have to be the one.”

Ren stared back at her steadily, brushing against their bond to decipher her feelings. Was he doubting her?  She could sense an unspoken need simmering underneath his skin. Hesitantly, he lifted his hands to cup her face, caressing it with the pads of his thumbs.

“I have to finish this,” he said, movements tender but voice resolved. “Let me finish this.”

It’s his path

The realization trickled like ice water on her back. He was choosing his path.

She shook her head.

“Then I’ll help you. I’m coming with you.”

 “No. Your place is with the Resistance, next to my mother and your…” he paused clenching his jaw. Any residual mirth had by now disappeared, his usual solemnness engulfing his presence. “There is no place for you with me.”

Ironic how their positions were now reversed.

“Why does everyone think they know where my place is?” She asked in resentment. “I choose where I want to be and I am not letting you do this on your own.”

“Rey…”

“I will find you in Coruscant!” She lashed out.

“You will never find me in a battlefield like that. I can’t be worrying about you. Rey, please…” his hold on her face tightened.

And I can’t let you die.

Rey brought her hands up to his, unclasping them with care. They dropped to his side as rejection began to settle in his eyes. But she lifted her hand to cup his face and his eyes jolted to hers in surprise.

“I’ll see you soon,” she promised and let go of the bond.

She blinked, the bluish glow having disappeared and replaced by the dark body of Correlia hovering over a window.

#reylo

[vaingloriosa]

Unsung Heroes

A Rogue One Reader Story | In collaboration with @can-t-figure-it-out

Words: 3,972

Summary: You are  an inhabitant of the planet Jedha, who has lived the life of a thief. However, not by choice but rather for survival. Your means of living becomes harder when the Empire begins their unwanted occupation of a rather peaceful place of trade. Though you may think your life may be over, the Force has something else in mind.

Author’s note: Eek! It’s now here and I couldn’t be any prouder to deliver such a story. What an incredible experience to be collabing with Dori like, words cannot describe. Inspired by the song Infinite (Unsung Heroes) by Built by Titan feat. Joel Smallbone 

Be sure to read the companion comic!

“Some planets are held together by power, some by blind faith. Faith does not care about the street children, nor does she feed them. So to save them, I became a thief.”

Jedha didn’t exactly scream “home” but that arid planet is all you have known. There had been times where you tried to fall asleep when you wonder about life outside the dusty planet. Traders would exchange stories about the various planets they went to, describing places you could only imagine in dreams. Running water, vast greenery farther than the eye could see, and planets that were so cold, some of your face would get covered by what the traders had described as “ice”. Some traders would even show your curious eyes holos taken from their travels. The blue shade didn’t do any of the extravagant stories justice but you held onto the images reflected on the holo like a string of hope.

Hope, you felt, that would never come but for the sake of the children (and yourself), you kept playing on that feeling.

Stealing was a strong word for what you did. You considered this to be survival, not only for you but for the others you had to take care of. You picked up your thievery skill many years ago once your parents said goodbye to you, explaining to you that they had to leave to fight “for the good of the galaxy”. Your parents had promised you that they would return back to Jedha once they knew the galaxy was safe for you. They knew leaving you was a difficult choice, given how young you were then, but they believed in you, knew that you could be resourceful and quick on your feet.

There was no bitterness towards your parents’ decision. Sure, it hurt like hell to see them leave, but you knew then that life isn’t alright. Their sacrifice was honorable, not cowardice. Everyday you look towards the sky and wonder when they will return but until then, you kept on surviving.

Day in and day out, you would go into the market to scope the place out. Many come out to display the fruits of their labor to any passing visitor or weary traveler that dared to land on Jedha. You kept the bag over your shoulder close to your thigh to avoid suspicion. You had learned a technique that you felt was nearly foolproof. As a customer walks up to the stall you’ve been eyeing, you wait until the customer and the seller begin to barter and that is when you make your move. You take a few fruits, stuff a food item that looks a lot like portion bread, and swipe a small toy for the youngest kid you had under your guidance. Before you leave, you look over your shoulder to make sure no one is following you and you disappear behind the shadows of empty corridors.

Through the twists and turns, you manage to find your way back home. You knock a secret rhythm and wait for someone to open the door. While you wait, you continue to check both ways before you enter.

“What did you manage to find?” the one who opens the door asks right as you enter.

“No ‘hello’? No, ‘how are you doing today’?” You dump the goods on the makeshift table towards the wall. Two other kids come flooding from the other room to rummage through your findings of the afternoon. Doja rolls her eyes, immediately grabbing a fruit before anyone could claim it. Luun, the youngest, pouts at her action, folding their arms and huffing their frustration. You shake your head, squatting down and presenting a tiny figurine you snagged earlier.

“Maybe this will cheer you up, bud?” You mess their dark hair a bit with your hand and smile as Luun yells on their way into the other room to play with their new toy. You take a seat next to Leo, the boy you consider to be the middle child of the bunch. You remove your dark jacket that had once belonged to your father and toss it carelessly aside next to you.

“They were here,” Doja says in a low voice, bowing her head to avoid eye contact. You straighten up a bit, knowing full well who “they” are.

The stormtroopers.

Ever since word got out about the temple full of kyber crystals, the Empire had to get their dirty hands on sacred belongings.Their ship casts a dark shadow over the town like a creature in the night, stalking its prey. There was no doubt that their presence has been intimidating to say the least. You knew the Guardians of the Whills were more than capable at handling the unwanted guests but you still feared for the worst. They have dedicated their lives into protecting the temple and its people yet they were incredibly outnumbered compared to the Empire. One man against ten stormtroopers? Perhaps the Force works in mysterious ways.

“We must put faith in the Forc-”

“If you say the ‘Force’ one more time, I swear I will slap you.” You can tell Doja is agitated by the breach of security by the stormtroopers. It is only natural for her to be acting the way she is.

“While we’re at it, guess we’ll blame the Maker for putting us in this predicament, hmm? Just four random orphans who managed to find each other. Maybe we’d be better off dead.”

“Where is this hostility coming from, Doja?” You stare at the young girl. She has both her fists on the table as if she is about to pick a fight. Without saying another word, Doja leaves the room in a quiet rage of her own. You turn to Leo who had witnessed the entire situation.

“Hey,” you grab the last fruit that was supposed to be reserved for you from the table and place it in his hand, “how about you go check up on the little one?”

Leo nods and clutches the fruit tightly. Another silent exit and you are alone with your thoughts.

They are all scared. Just imagining the sound of the stormtrooper armor clashing together as they march down the path sends a shiver down your spine. There isn’t much you can do to protect the children and yourself from the dreary future that looms ahead. The only thing for certain is that you must go back into the marketplace to bring home something for the evening before the market closes.

Because of the Imperial occupation, your thievery has gotten a lot trickier. Every time you went out there to do your “job”, you had to be extra cautious. Sometimes you had to come up with different disguises to fool some troopers away from your ways. You put your jacket on then grab a gray scarf from your satchel to put around your head. Before you open the door, you look over to the shared bedroom between the four of you. Doja lays still on the bed and stares off at the wall while Lunn and Leo play with what little toys they have in the corner.

With a sigh, you bite down on your lower lip and close the door behind you, making sure not to slam it. You pull the scarf over your mouth then continue on your journey to the trading market. As the liveliness of the market come closer within earshot, your ears perk up as you sense the sound of incoming stormtroopers. You back yourself up against a wall and hope that no one suspects you of wrongdoing. Once the white armor walks by without a bash of an eyelash, you continue on your mission.

Bread was an essential, maybe you can switch it up with getting some vegetables, and maybe even another fruit if your favorite vendor happened to be there. You conceal yourself through the mirage of passing bodies, floating like a Force ghost through one stall to another, almost as if the objects flew into your hand. You are good at this, you say to yourself. You walk further until you find the vendor you had in mind, Nameless. They spoke of ancient stories about the Jedi to anyone who would listen. Since their product was always good, people would have to reluctantly listen to what they have to say before paying up. You liked them for that because that made your job even easier. Before you can grab anything, you position yourself behind another wall around the corner of Nameless’ cart. Your eyes look both ways quickly then, at the right moment, you take one of the precious red fruits into your hand until you hear a frantic voice.

“You! Halt! Hands up where I can see them, thief!”

You’ve been caught.

The fruit drops from your trembling hands to the floor with a thud and you shake from fear. You close your eyes to accept your deadly fate. It was bound to happen one day and maybe this had been a sign that you cannot live forever. You remember the children you take care of, the last moments before you left. Doja, Leo and Lunn. Maybe it was better that you sacrifice your life before these scumbags could rip those children’s lives away from them. You let your body go loose as you prepare for the blaster blast.

But it never comes. One did, but it wasn’t meant for you.

Carefully, you open one of your eyes to see one man with a heavy blaster on him that you’ve never seen before. Another man appears behind him with a small smile on his face.

“I told you the Force will show me to them,” the man says in a soft voice, almost like he was trying to proof a point to his partner.

“Yeah, yeah, but remember who took that trooper down,” the other man with the longer hair tells him, adjusting the straps of the blaster. You continue to tremble as your mind tries to wrap around what just happened.

“W-w-who are you?” you manage to squeak out, slowly bringing your hands down to your sides.

“We are the Guardians of the Whills. I am Chirrut.”

The bearded man nods to you. “Baze.”

You nod at them and tell them your name.

“And the Force led us to you.” Chirrut approaches you carefully with Baze cautiously falling behind. You shake your head in disbelief.

“The Force? What do you mean?” You knew of the Force, how it surrounds every being on the galaxy. Only a few could truly be attune to it, but you never considered yourself Force sensitive.

“I sensed there would be danger around here. I was shown the way to you, my dear.” Chirrut looks up and smiles then plants his staff into the sand. Your eyes move between him then to the man next to him. Baze simply sighs and puts his weapon down to his side.

“He is no Jedi,” the bearded man states then huffs out what sounded like a laugh. Your breathing becomes less labored and dropping back to normal. You blink again at the two men standing before you.

“Thank you...for saving my life,” you manage to get out of your mouth. You are still shaken by the close encounter with death and would like to just get back to the children.

“Now if you will excuse me, I must go-”

The last word trails out of your breath as the noise of marching armor and firing blaster shots ring several feet down the corridor. Baze is the first to draw his weapon, sprinting down to check the situation out. Chirrut turns to you and places a hand on one of your shaking shoulders. You glance up and realize then that the man is blind.

“It is not safe to return where you wish to go, not yet. Stay close behind us until this is all over.” A whistle makes you two turn your heads towards the noise.

“I will not let anything happen to you.”

As the Force wields it, you manage to come out unscathed by the scuffle between the stormtroopers and what you assume are the good guys you’ve heard so much about. You hid behind a column that was still standing despite a pile of rubble laid before it. You took little sneak peeks of the events unfolding before you and felt as if none of this was real. The sound of your name draws you out of the emotional fog that had befallen on you. Gently, you watch where you step and come closer to the much larger group.

“A Jedi?” A man with a synthfur parka drops his blaster slowly when he recognizes the threat was over.

“There are no Jedi here,” Baze explains, turning over to Chirrut and tells the man that he only wishes he were. The scruffy man starts saying something about leaving Jedha to bring a man over to the Alliance to deliver much needed intel about the Empire. The man in question cowers a bit behind a woman with a gray scarf much like your own.

“And we must hurry before the Empire detonates their weapon on this planet in less than five minutes,” the woman speaks up, making your blood grow cold.

“Excuse me?” you muster out, feeling your heartbeat accelerate to an abnormal rate.

“Yes, Bodhi here still had his comm link and we all heard the announcement. It’s advisable you come with us.” The woman gestures to you, Chirrut, and Baze then turns towards the archway to guide you to the ship. You turn to shake your head at Baze and Chirrut.

“I can’t leave. I-I-I have to go back.” With the countdown clocking down, you take off running towards the place you call home. You hear the sound of your name again, echoing between your ears, but you don’t stop running. You had to reach the children. Even if you couldn’t make it to their ship, you would at least get to see them one last time before Jedha’s untimely demise.

You frantically knock on the door, hoping someone would open up in the next millisecond. When no one comes, you pound harder on the door and scream out.

“Doja! Leo! Lunn! Open up! We must go now!” you bark out your orders with tears of both frustration and fear forming at the corners of your eyes. Finally, the door flings open and Doja appears with stunned eyes.

“What? Why?” You move past her and straight into the bedroom where the brothers were quietly playing.

“I-I don’t have time to explain everything-”

“Are we in trouble? Is it the troopers?”

“No, no, not the troopers. Something bigger,” you calmly say as you scratch your head in a panic. What could you do? The thought of chasing after this ship with those people you barely met left your mind as soon as you ran here. The only viable solution was to hunker down with the children for one last time.

Until you heard panicked knocks on the door followed by your name.

“We must hurry! The ship has arrived!” You watch Baze’s head pop in quickly then out into the street. With wide eyes, you tell the children to follow you and to stay close behind you. Right as you exit the humble abode, your hair begins to blow in your face. Looking up, you find the giant U-shaped ship hovering over and trying to find a good place to land.

One by one, you each aboard the ship, taking Leo and Lunn then Doja first then finally you hopping on. The ground beneath you starts to shake and your curious self turns back to find the dark cloud of sand in the far distance. Adrenaline kicks in as you jump in then stumble on the ground, watching the door close quickly behind you. You prop yourself up and someone grabs your arm to support you. From your peripheral vision, you can tell it’s the man they call Bodhi that’s by your side. You can’t peel your eyes away from the viewport to witness the death of your home planet, the place you’ve known all your life gone in a mere minutes. Before you know it, you are jumping into hyperspace with a flash of blue and white passing into view.

“The Empire is heartless,” Doja speaks up to drown out the silence in the ship. She sits with Leo and Lunn on each side, both visibly trembling from the action that just happened.

“Who are you? Why did you save us from that destruction?” Your eyes glaze over the woman, Bodhi, then towards the cockpit where you spot a fairly large droid and his master.

“We are with the Rebel Alliance,” the man responds from his seat, punching on a few buttons before turning around to get up, “It’s what we do.”

You manage to get up with the gentle help of Bodhi. “I don’t know any better words other than ‘thank you’. Dramatic or not but I feel like I owe you a life debt.”

He waves his hand in front of him.

“No, what we did was nothing. It was the right thing to do. I’m Cassian.” Cassian points over to where the woman sits. “That’s Jyn and the man right next to you is Bodhi. K-2SO is my droid.”

“If you don’t mind me asking but what were you doing on Jedha?” You cross your arms across your chest and inch more towards the center of the small group. Cassian places his hands behind his back and stands a little straighter.

“Well, Bodhi had defected from the Empire in order to relay a message to Jyn from her father who happens to work for said Empire. As the Force has it, we found Bodhi just in time. What happens next is up to the council.” Cassian looked like he wanted to say more but was interrupted by the droid in the seat adjacent to his.

“We are here, Captain,” K-2SO announces to everyone. You walk over to the larger viewport to observe your new surroundings. The abundance of greenery is the first thing that piques your brain. Never have you thought you would see something so beautiful as this. For all your twenty plus years on an arid wasteland of a planet called Jedha, you never thought it be possible to experience anything else. Commotion happens all over you but you couldn’t care less what is going on. You feel the presence of the other children right next to you as you all marvel at such a sight. The droid remains silent as they try to land the ship in the right spot.

You are one of the last people to unload but you don’t mind. Your head is trying to wrap around what a massive temple the Rebel Alliance has as their headquarters. You watch several members walk, sprint, and interact with one another in the shared space. You become lost in your thoughts that you don’t feel the hand on your shoulder.

“Cassian says he has someone he wants you to talk to,” Doja tells you.

“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything?” you try to explain any type of reasoning behind this. Doja simply shrugs at your questions since she knows as much as you do. You kneel to reach the height of Leo and Lunn.

“Hey, stay with her, okay? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” You flash a small smile at them to calm their nerves.

“That’s not a lot of things,” Leo giggles at his own little comeback and you can’t help but make your smile wider. Lunn wraps his tiny arms around your neck and you sink into his hug.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” you reassure everyone. When you leave, you spot Cassian but he is not alone. Rather, he’s accompanied by Chirrut with a tiny smile beaming on his lips. A curious pairing but you don’t question it. Your senses begin to heighten as you approach them; your boots appearing to bellow with every step that you take and your mouth feeling like coarse sand.

“Hi, you wanted to see me?” you ask, almost unsure what the reply might be. Cassian turns to Chirrut to help answer your query. Your eyebrow perks up at the anticipation.

Chirrut strikes his staff on the ground slightly to steady himself. “The Force has brought you here for a reason. Jedha was only temporary but now, you are home.”

You squint at his words for a second before he moves to the side to reveal the longing you have sought out for so long. Before you are your parents, the ones who left you to be the unsung heroes for the battle for good. Your eyes begin to well up with the tears of sheer happiness. You can’t seem to get the words out from your mouth but your parents bring you in tight for a group hug. Your hands wrap around their necks, a feeling you never thought you would feel again. They were real, all this is not a dream but your reality. A sweet reality.

Your mother pulls away first to touch your cheek with her thumb. “When we heard the mission report from Cassian about the survivors he had, when he stopped at your name, I just knew it was you, baby. It had to be you.”

Your father squeezes your shoulder firmly and pats it slightly. “By the Maker, you are back to us now. Safe, and out of harms way.”

You lick away at your chapped lips and try to compose yourself. You realize that Cassian and Chirrut had long gone to give you three privacy. Ten years is quite a long time to be away from your parents. Ten years worth of words, all seeming to leave your mind.

“You’re alive,” you manage to squeak out. Now even as an adult, you can’t help but become a small child around your parents. They nod as your mother pulls you in for another hug.

“Yes, yes we are. Alive and well. And I’m sorry, for leaving you on Jedha.” You can tell that your mother’s words tremble as she begins to apologize. You shake your head then take her hands into yours.

“Don’t apologize, not ever. What you did, you were doing the right thing for not only me, but for the entire galaxy. You,” you grab your father’s hand, “you were keeping me safe. Your sacrifice...I knew that took a lot out of you to make that decision. Now you’re heroes in the Rebel Alliance. Like, that’s cool as hell.”

You three laugh at your remark. You purse your lips together and glance between your parents.

“We aren’t the only heroes, you know,” your father adds, nodding over to something behind you. You peak over your shoulder to find the children with Baze as they talk among each other. You quietly smile at where your father is going with this.

“You protected them when society couldn’t. You provided for them, housed them, protected them. If anything, we are the ones we admire you the most.” You clutch on both of their hands and give it a small shake. You never once were complimented like this before.

“I did it because it was the right thing to do,” you tell them, feeling the tears rush back into your eyes all over again. You are pulled into another embrace by your parents and you allow yourself to sink in and allow your tears to flow freely. For this is Yavin 4, and your life has just begun.

They’re alive.

You’re alive.

Everyone's alive.

#angel writes #cassian andor x reader #chirrut imwe x reader #baze malbus x reader #cassian andor #chirrut imwe #baze malbus #rogue one #jyn erso #bodhi rook #star wars #rogue one imagine #star wars imagine #cassian #chirrut #baze #jyn #bodhi #unsung heroes

[thegirlwholied]

So I've been reading your posts about Rebel Rising and the inconsistencies are driving me crazy. I just can't see her having been adopted by a family and her NEVER thinking about them after they're killed. And of course they had to give her a love interest. I literally can't imagine her having romantic feelings for anyone before Cassian, or even having an emotional connection to anyone until she meets the R1 squad. Does she actually fall in ~Love~ or is it just a passing attraction?

Very Telling here is that I didn’t even mention that Jyn’s Temporary Found Family dies… but you immediately Knew It To Be True.

And it is.

Here’s the rub with Jyn never thinking about them after they’re killed, though-

RebelRising!Jyn thinks about them again. Plenty.

Novelization!Jyn doesn’t, and we’re fully in her head, but she maybe wouldn’t have reason to.

Movie!Jyn, our only insight into her thoughts is the acting, the dialogue and how it’s delivered, and how of course we then take it. There’s more backstory-room.

But STILL there’s inconsistencies, which I’d describe as:

RR!Jyn’s characterization doesn’t feel in line with movie!Jyn and comes closer to directly contrasting Novelization!Jyn.

Small but specific example of what I mean:

RR!Jyn has a “bit of luck” in that the stormtroopers inspecting her mistake her kyber crystal necklace for a bit of glass.

Novelization!Jyn ‘managed to keep’ her necklace, smuggled into the prison when she should have ‘been worried about weapons or a comlink.’

Movie!Jyn has the necklace; we don’t know why; either works but the two are pretty incompatible as presented, both Factually and Characterization-Wise.

More overall example:

RR!Jyn, while she of course has her canon combat skill set, avoids fights whenever possible, after Saw leaves her. She never starts one.

Movie!Jyn, on a covert mission, when somebody just bumps into her:

…That is not the face of someone who is not looking for trouble, but okay. It’s not… factually incompatible.

Novelization!Jyn, chapter 1, as we’re introduced to Jyn on Wobani and who she is as an adult: considers rising a second time ‘solely to irritate’ her cellmate (who is threatening to kill her), but decides against it only because “If she was going to pick a fight, better be awake enough to enjoy it”.

“It’s not a problem if you don’t look up” - Novelization!Jyn explicitly says this just to hurt Saw. Felicity’s acting suggests the same in the movie- and maybe partly that she’s trying to convince herself, but her heart’s not in it.

RebelRising!Jyn legit comes to believe this and stews a lot about the Rebels drawing the Empire down on people who might otherwise be left alone…

The Inevitable YA Love Interest is honestly the least of things I took issue with, my friend. But let me break it down for you, so as to answer your actual question, under the cut:

We make it 213 pages - over half the book! - without a love interest.

This was refreshing, and I say this as someone fond of a strong flavor of romance in my plot (Empire Strikes Back style, say, or Raiders of the Lost Arc - childhood favorites that probably set the tone of Things I Like).  

Attraction was largely not even on Jyn’s radar. She was busy, being Saw’s surrogate daughter, training to trying to be included on missions - not that she ever gets sent on many, for the ‘best soldier in his cadre’ - working on her forging skills (the development of Jyn’s forging skills was my favorite part of the book by far)…

But this is YA, a YA book fully intended to be a bestseller and have all the bestselling YA things, so I was waiting for it.

Every single newly introduced character near Jyn’s age, I considered like I was playing mental Clue.

-Could it be young Rebel group leader Reece Tallent with his YA-romance-ready name and blue eyes?

-Could it be one of the Partisans Jyn asks after in the novelization, who all show up here?

(Note: the YA-sounding scene referenced in one line of the novelization, Codo trying to kiss her and then not speaking to her when she refused, is Not In This Novel.)

-Could it be the Imperial Lieutenant Colonel with the perfectly chiseled face Jyn “felt inexplicably drawn to” and is struck that he doesn’t say the “Empire was already wonderful, just that it had the potential to be”?

(Note again: I thought he might be the novel’s central villain when he again shows up on a news report, now missing an eye. No, this is just a character introduction that goes absolutely nowhere but is just kind of episodic.)

-Could it be the young man Jyn grabs to get off a planet under bombardment, since she’s got the forged clearance codes to get by and he says “I work transport; I can fly anything”?

…Who immediately opens a potentially interesting Rogue One esque dialogue by saying, racked with guilt, “We could have saved someone other than ourselves”?

(A Note of Nope: …don’t get your hopes up on this dynamic. They might scrape through near-certain death together but Jyn never even learns his name.)

I was pretty pumped by Jyn’s first post-Saw team-up. She gets a temporary job with a woman freighter pilot who ships for the ‘little guys’, family-run mining companies, not corporate or goverment…

…But winds up just moving into this woman’s house where she immediately meets her son, the first character all book described as:

“a boy about Jyn’s age.”

Anddddddd before I even made it to the next line, I knew, we have a winner.

His name is Hadder Ponta, and he’s fine.

And yes, I’m sure he’s “fine” as in “hot”, though the writing’s solid enough we don’t need that kind of direct descriptor, we get, “same dark brown skin with red undertones that [his mother] had, and the same black hair, though his was cropped to chin length”; later we get that Jyn’s attracted to him because it’s “very distracting” when he runs his fingers through his hair and the “silky locks fluttered around his ears. He needed a haircut…”

But I mean “fine” in the general sense. He’s just a boy, who really likes Jyn.

…I mean, his mom brought home a cute mysterious girl and put her in their house one wall away from him, and then just the two of them hang out while his mom’s off-planet doing her job; if other people their age are around we never meet them, so…

The most interesting thing about him is probably his dead sister, and I don’t mean that in a mean way -

Tanith Ponta, the real Tanith Ponta, died because she had bloodburn, a new!canon disease that impacts pilots, and actually, she overdosed on the addictive treatment for it. This is… a lot of interesting information, for a plotline that is otherwise irrelevant, but, tangent, odds in favor that bloodburn is what  killed Shara Bey? I’m not aware of any other diseases existing in the Star Wars universe likely to carry off a young fit pilot when her son is six.

The purpose for this is that Hadder’s mom is afraid it runs in their family and won’t let him fly, though he and Jyn secretly take out a shuttle together.

in other words his main personality characteristics are

wants to be a pilot but parental figure won’t let him

thinks being a Rebel sounds like a good idea but has no concept of the fight/gray areas

just wants to get away and see the universe

admires strong women

… wait why does that sound famili-

…I’m actually fine with this, but the execution of the concept was a little lackluster.

Book-wise, it wound up being not quite I was Here For - I was hoping for some more of the ‘disorderly conduct’ and ‘escaping custody’ and ‘creating a public nuisance’ promised by her charges in the Rebel Dossier (I still thought that would be coming, but uh, yeah, that never happens)…

But here we get about 100 pages of Jyn trying to live a settled life in a nice place for ~ a year with these nice people who remind her what the word family means again, obviously both the Empire and Rebels show up and there is crossfire and the Inevitable again happens…

But, while Hadder’s kind of boring, he’s fine, and I *can* see Jyn going for someone naive and genuinely caring at this point in her life, and part of me is like, whew, okay, it’s nice to see Jyn grab ANYTHING nice for herself, especially for her strongly implied first time and when Rebel Rising is drilling home that her life is A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The word ‘love’ is never thrown around, except once, by Hadder: he goes “Copy that, love” and I mentally go… “wait my default America reading accent may have been a mistake here”. The word “forever” is, in Jyn’s thoughts, and I was pretty bummed we never get older her reflecting back more cynically on how likely that would have been, even if he lived…

But no we don’t get that, and this becomes her big losing hope/’maw in her heart’ event/feels she doesn’t deserve good things and then the remaining 100 pages of the novel have so many Imperial collaboration issues, still seeming sixteen when she’s supposed to be her movie-age now, that I barely had a groan to spare for Hadder being something of a Lost Lenore.

But yeah he is, so it teeters pretty close to “L” on that scale you were asking about- but still, for me, fell pretty evenly in between “Could’ve Been Worse” and “Could Have Been Better”.

The big question, for me, which pushes it more one way:

Is that line I’d seen circulating Tumblr before I read Rebel Rising - of Cassian seeming “familiar” but she can’t place it- meant to imply, as we’re finishing the book, that he reminds her of Hadder?

(Hadder does have a “We need to do something” line at one point, she sees something “steely and fierce” in his dark eyes that Jyn thinks would make him a hero in the Rebellion, he’s the only character I can think of getting a laugh out of people… this is not a book with much in the way of humor…)

…so while that’s thankfully left open, there really isn’t much in the way of other in-book contenders she might be thinking of, that is a solid “probably” on intent there.

In summary of my whole long explanation: believe me when I tell you, even though there are some really good scenes in this book and aspects I like a lot… when I say Mistakes Were Made, Jyn’s teenage love interest and how important or not he remains to her, not even registering on my scale of frustrations. 

#jyn erso #star wars #rogue one #rebel rising #rebelcaptain #look there is absolutely no blame for the author here and I'll probably check out her other books #but WHERE WAS THE STORY TEAM ON THIS #aren't there supposed to be a whole team of people maintaining canon consistency #isn't that one of the reasons they got rid of the EU #Imperial collaborator Jyn Erso okay sure #that's... #sure #situation normal #I'm fine #I'm fine here now thank you #how are you? #who decided this is canon #what's your operating number #(just saying i'm really glad i checked this one out of the library rather than buying) #(i still drove ONE TOWN over to get it during my lunch break on May 4) #(and i've been so busy i have not let myself read an Actual Book since... well probably since the Rogue One Novel) #(so this was a combination fulfilling-my-curiosity and treat to myself of reading over writing) #(whoops) #(...no blame may not be 100% accurate because I just don't understand how we could have watched the same movie.) #(but mostly I blame the oversight)

[jacobhinkley]

Smart Contract-Based Decentralized Exchange Dex.top Launches This Month

This week news.Bitcoin.com spoke with the team behind a new trading platform called Dex.top — a decentralized exchange built using a smart contract. According to the Dex.top developers the exchange has no access to a user’s private key and assets are never held on the Dex. This means, much like the cryptocurrency wallets out there that allow individuals full control over their private keys, Dex does the same as it acts a non-custodial trading platform.

Also Read: Steve Eisman of ‘The Big Short’ Fame: What Value Does Cryptocurrency Actually Add?

A New Bitmain-Incubated Cryptocurrency Exchange Dex.top Utilizes a Smart Contract to Facilitate Decentralized Trades

The Switzerland-based exchange, Dex.top, is an open source decentralized trading platform incubated by the well-known blockchain firm Bitmain Technologies. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency exchanges, Dex.top is built from a smart contract that is compatible with both the Ethereum and RSK networks. The organization claims that all assets are kept within a smart contract and are never held by the exchange. Dex.top says that users maintain full control over their assets and transactions are always signed by the users themselves.

“Technically users do not need to trust Dex.top, as Dex.top neither has a user’s asset nor does it have the authority to transfer the user’s asset. Lastly, our platform utilizes Raft’s algorithm to ensure our system’s security and usability,” explains the Dex development team.

It initially creates ROC (Replayed-On-Chain) trading mechanism, which supports off-chain and on-chain of two ledgers that secure assets and instant trading.      

Dex.top and Metamask

The exchange explains that as it builds on the ERC-20 framework, in the future developers hope to add other public blockchains into the mix such as RSK, BCH, and EOS. This week news.Bitcoin.com was granted access to look at the exchange via the trading platform’s trial period. Dex.top representative, Yixuan Lin, tells us the trading platform’s public launch will begin around the end of May. While giving the platform a tour we noticed that users utilize Metamask as their wallet which gives the exchange fluid transfers with ETH or ERC-20 tokens. Users simply tether their Dex account to the Metamask wallet and when you sign to deposit or withdraw tokens users confirm via the Metamask UI. The Dex team in the future it will also be collaborating with other wallets like Imtoken, Bitcome, and the hardware wallet Ledger. At the moment due to the pre-trial period, the Dex.top platform has very little volume and users at the moment.

The Dex.top user interface.

The Dex.top Team Plans to Integrate an ERC-721 Marketplace and Collaborate with Other Decentralized Platforms

Additionally, the Dex.top team says it hopes it can also work with other prominent decentralized exchange platforms like Kyber, IDEX, and DDEX. Alongside this, the project will also be implementing ERC-721 protocol compatibility and a marketplace for these types of tokens. Yixuan Lin explains to news.Bitcoin.com that the Dex.top team members are based in Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong and all of them are huge fans of decentralized concepts. For now, users can register on the platform and check it out, while the Dex.top team emphasizes that they look forward to greeting the cryptocurrency community at the end of this month with its new exchange.

What do you think about the Dex.top platform and concept? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Dex.top

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post Smart Contract-Based Decentralized Exchange Dex.top Launches This Month appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Smart Contract-Based Decentralized Exchange Dex.top Launches This Month published first on https://medium.com/@smartoptions

[cryptnus-blog]

Is Zilliqa (ZIL) One of the Best Buys of Q2?

New Post has been published on https://cryptnus.com/2018/06/is-zilliqa-zil-one-of-the-best-buys-of-q2/

Is Zilliqa (ZIL) One of the Best Buys of Q2?

The global crypto market is slowly making its way towards recovery and during such times, investors and traders look for new investments in better performing altcoins. Among the handful of profitable altcoins which gained entry in June with a considerable rise in their respective market is Zilliqa. Zilliqa is a rather a young cryptocurrency that finished its crowdsale at the end of previous year. Zilliqa’s markets have successfully gone through May and entered June with a green indication. Zilliqa has been gaining an increasing number of followers since Q1 and thus making constant progress. In this article, we shall discuss how profitable Zilliqa trading can be and whether it’s a risk-free investment or not.

A Little about Zilliqa Project

Zilliqa was created as an open source blockchain whose aim is to achieve high scalability levels and remain decentralized. The project challenges Ethereum and Bitcoin in terms of speed of transactions and fee. Its cutting-edge technology makes it better than some altcoins out there in the crypto space. Each and every aspect of Zilliqa was carefully made to work better than the crypto giants. Many crypto traders have joined Zilliqa in its journey of becoming the Gem of the market by holding onto it since the time it was created. Zilliqa is best known for introducing mining through sharding and also for its currently under development new programming language named Scilla. Sharding means dividing a particular mining network into smaller shards.

Reasons for Investing in Zilliqa

Zilliqa is set to revolutionize the smart contract aspect of blockchain technology through its sharding technology and its upcoming releases. Its platform is designed in such a way to scale in transaction rates as the number of shards rises. Smaller mining units which are created through sharding can process the transaction by themselves and hence solve the problem of network congestion which is frequently experienced by developers in case of Ethereum platform. The upcoming Scilla, the programming language has created much hype within the community because it’s said to be extremely developer friendly and allows the testing of smart contracts before its launch. All of this gives Zilliqa markets the traction it needs making it a profitable investment.

Risks Associated with Zilliqa

Everyone expects to make a profit while enjoying the benefits of a certain blockchain project but it’s more than just necessary to keep a watchful eye on the risks associated with each investment. Zilliqa also has its own risks such as foreshadowing regulations which threats Zilliqa’s growth or even make it inexistent. Also, being a young project, there is always a chance of some other improved platform to be better than it and coming up with a newer, better technology all because the competition between cryptocurrencies is fiercer than what it looks like. Zilliqa’s sharding technology also gives rise to some shortcomings, for example, it requires a lot of disk space. Although Zilliqa team has hinted a collaboration with bluezelle to address these problems in the future.

Zilliqa Trading and Recent Listings

Zilliqa has come a long way since it was launched on 12th January. Its now available for trading on a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and many more exchanges are now adding Zilliqa due to its hype and expanding community. As of now, Zilliqa is listed on some of the largest crypto exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, Bithumb, Upbit and Huobi etc. It’s also available for trading at EtherDelta, IDEX, Hotbit, OKEx, Bitbns, Gate.io, Kyber Network, Radar Relay, GOPAX, and Koinex etc. However, one cannot directly buy Zilliqa with dollars or any fiat currency. First, you need to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum with fiat currency from an exchange that supports dollars and then buy Zilliqa from any of the aforementioned exchanges.

Market Position

Currently, Zilliqa markets are signaling improvement and progress with its individual price close to $0.127 USD which is rising with a 7.03% indication. At the time of writing, Zilliqa holds the rank of 26th largest cryptocurrency of the world. It’s impressive to note that it has been merely six months since Zilliqa entered the global markets and in such a short span it has grown a lot. Its total market capitalization is close to $933 million USD as per the data on CoinMarketCap. It’s interesting to note that according to analysis Zilliqa market has improved more than 30% in terms of its value in less than a week. It’s presently, making its way to enter the 1 billion USD market and analysts speculate that it’s only a matter of time when Zilliqa crosses the threshold and enters into the 1 billion market capital mark.

Final Thoughts

After closely monitoring Zilliqa’s movements and doing an in-depth research on its features one question arises in the mind of every crypto enthusiast, ‘will Zilliqa maintain its current performance and for how long?’. The volatility of cryptocurrencies is evident, and nobody can guarantee whether Zilliqa will make a record-breaking profit or not. But rest assured, Zilliqa is going to be one of the best players of this game all through the Q2.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

Image courtesy of Pexels

[kybercrystals94]

I had such a wonderful time planning and scheming alongside my fellow writers, @the-little-moment and @just-here-with-my-thoughts, to complete the Angstpril 2024 prompt challenge. We each had 10 prompts, and I am so proud to say that we did it! 30 prompts in 30 days! (YAY!!)

**A special thanks to @the-little-moment for creating the beautiful banners we used to tie all our stories together!!**

I adore being a part of this lovely fandom community! I have met and continue to meet so many amazing people 🥰

Thank you for all the likes, kudos, reblogs, bookmarks, and comments!! They are such sweet encouragement to the creative soul! ❤️

*Find all 30 of our collaboration prompt responses here!!*

Kyber's Angstpril 2024 Master List

Day 3 | Prompt 3: Broken Hearted

Then & Now

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr) 

Rated: G | Words: 1109

Summary: Crosshair tells Omega about Mayday. 

[Character Focus: Omega, Crosshair] [Tags: mourning, loss, siblings]

Day 6 | Prompt 6: This isn’t going to work…

First Brothers

Star Wars: The Clone Wars / Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr) 

Rated: G | Words: 723

Summary: Late night conversations about first brothers 

[Character Focus: Rex, Fives, Echo] [Tags: Domino Squad mentioned, late night conversations, soft angst]

Day 9 | Prompt 9: Trust Issues

Trusted

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr) 

Rated: G | Words: 444

Excerpt: Crosshair doesn’t have any sort of cosmic power to keep his word. Wrecker clings to it nonetheless. He trusts his brother to the ends of the galaxy. 

[Character Focus: Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega] [Tags: sibling relationships, broken trust] 

Day 12 | Prompt 12: A Little Too Late

Sacrifice and Loyalty 

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr) 

Rated: G | Words: 562

Excerpt: The moment Hunter slips through the door, he knows something is desperately wrong. The needled talons of dread claw up his throat from the pit of his stomach. He tries to swallow it back, but it lodges tightly just behind his tongue.

[Character Focus: Hunter, Crosshair] [Tags: regret, missing scene]

Day 15 | Prompt 15: Confrontation 

Focus Up

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr)

Rated: G | Words: 816

Summary: Morning training does not end the way the siblings expect.

[Character Focus: Omega, Hunter, Echo] [Tags: training, bloody nose, sibling relationships]

Day 18 | Prompt 18: Left Behind

Teal Paint

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr)

Rated: G | Words: 1526

Summary: Memories left behind… 

[Character Focus: Hunter, Tech, Crosshair, Wrecker, Echo, Omega] [Tags: sibling fluff, soft angst, tattoos, armor paint] 

Day 21 | Prompt 21: Faking a Smile

Self

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr)

Rated: G | Words: 238

Excerpt: She is supposed to be happy.

[Character Focus: Omega] [Tags: reflection, memories, grief] 

Day 24 | Prompt 24: The Ghost of You

Sounds Like Him 

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

(Ao3) | (Tumblr)

Rated: G | Words: 435

Excerpt: “I thought you were Tech for a second,” Wrecker says. “It just sounded…like he was here. The way you were typing. Haven’t heard typing like that since before.”

[Character Focus: Wrecker, Crosshair] [Tags: brothers, grief, memories]

Day 27 | Prompt 27: Panicked 

Again 

Star Wars: The Bad Batch 

(Ao3) | (Tumblr)

Rated: G | Words: 446

Summary: Crosshair struggles as they approach the facility on Tantiss. 

[Character Focus: Crosshair, Hunter, Wrecker] [Tags: missing scene, panic attack, anxiety attack, soft Hunter, soft Wrecker]

Day 30 | Prompt 30: The Last Time

The Last Time 

Star Wars: The Bad Batch 

(Ao3) | (Tumblr) 

Rated: G | Words: 1562

Summary: Snapshots of the last times things happened.  

[Character Focus: Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, Echo, Omega]

[Tags: memories, humor, brothers, a touch of angst at the end] 

#Angstpril2024 #Masterlist #the bad batch #star wars #the clone wars #Star Wars the Bad Batch #Star Wars The Clone Wars #Angst #Humor #Brothers #Family #Hurt/Comfort #tbb hunter #tbb tech #tbb omega #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #fives and echo #arc trooper fives #tbb captain rex #tcw rex #captain rex #fics by kyber #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #fanfiction