Wandering Stars || Closed

  • salander.

    salander. (150)

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    Ben Solo Kylo Ren


    Please could you stay awhile to share my grief
    For its such a lovely day
    To have to always feel this way
    And the time that I will suffer less
    Is when I never have to wake
    Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
    The blackness of darkness forever


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    Isolde Varga
    May 2nd, 2018 at 12:10am
  • salander.

    salander. (150)

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    Junior Lieutenant Varga was starting to go a bit cross-eyed or the countless hours she’d spent pouring over the inventory of weaponry on her datapad had damaged her eyesight. One of the many cargo bays on the Supremacy appeared to be stocked to the brim with nondescript black boxes that had been delivered at the beginning of her day cycle. A day cycle that seemed so long ago compared to the impending night cycle she was facing down. For a moment, Isolde allowed herself to think of how happy the person that must’ve been swimming in credits for such a large transaction. Bitterly, she cursed them for putting her in this situation, for giving her so much work to do and be done, before quickly remembering that this was her duty. This was how she served her First Order—what she’d trained her whole life for.

    For a brief moment, she allowed her mind to wander back, to try and remember what life had been like before she’d been put through officer school. Isolde couldn’t remember much of anything outside of the sterile durasteel walls, white lighting, hierarchy, and control; just a planet full of greenery and color and…life. Part of her wondered if her life would have been any better had things been different, but she quickly reminded herself that thinking like that just wouldn’t do. She had everything she needed with the First Order and she would serve the Supreme Leader until her last breath. Though, there was a part of her that wondered how many stars and planets she was missing out on seeing because of where she was. Shaking herself from that mindset altogether, she managed to collect her focus. She could not allow her wandering mind to make a mess out of her first task as a Junior Lieutenant.

    Rounding a stack of cargo, she continued through the manmade labyrinth of boxed weapons, shiny black boots reflecting in the harsh, white overhead lighting. Her long, dark hair was curled into a meticulous bun at the nape of her neck, shrouded by a light grey command cap that she typically tried to hide herself under as well. Her uniform still managed to appear impeccably pressed, even after a day of crouching and standing on tip-toe to scan in all the items. It was tedious work, but she’d like to imagine that her ability to perform such tasks would help her climb the hierarchy within the First Order to a more respectable position than just Junior Lieutenant.

    A soft ding from her datapad reminded her that she’d missed being able to grab herself dinner from the canteen and she looked down at it, pursing her lips and letting out a sigh through her nose. Pulling her glove off with her teeth, she poked at the datapad screen for a few moments, reporting back on a few of the Ensigns that had worked beneath her to try and complete the documenting of inventory in a timely manner. Assigning work out for the next day cycle to them, she gripped the datapad in hand and began to march out of the expansive cargo bay. The only sound that greeted Isolde above the low hum of engines was the sound of the soles of her boots thudding against the floor of the eerily empty room and the echoes that reverberated off the walls and items around her. It was too quiet and too still—something about it had her on edge.
    May 2nd, 2018 at 02:22am
  • yibo.

    yibo. (100)

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    Silence. It was new to him. It felt like there was new, odd and uncomfortable space in his mind. Something was gone, removed, and yet still lurking. It had left room for itself, whatever it was. There was no low, rumbling growl beating away at the inside of his skull. No more whispers in the dark. No more screaming. Just a shaking of metal as the shuttle carried them through vast space. With every turbulent bump, there was a clattering. It was either an inexperienced pilot or a bad one. There was the occasional mutter and flicking of a switch as the two sat at the front lazily attempted to get the ship back until control. The other six of them simply sat across the two benches in the back, no one saying a word to each other. It was a small craft, and they were all uncomfortably close. None of them were rushing to fill what silence there was.

    Ben’s hands hadn’t stopped shaking since they had left the Jedi temple. Blistering rage had subdued and left him with nothing but betrayal and disgust. The look on his uncle’s face could have literally set a fire in him, and he swore he could feel it’s sickening warmth wrapping itself around his organs still. He kept his hands tightly pressed together between his legs, bones aching as he tried to force them to stop shaking. No weakness. There could be no weakness. Not after everything that had happened at the temple. That was not weakness. That was justified. It was what he kept telling himself, what he kept hearing rattling around in his head.

    Well done, my boy.

    He grasped his hands tighter between his knees, feeling that empty space in his mind fill once more. The white, Jedi robes they had all been given were dirtied with ash and sand. The dirt covered his hands and looking at everyone else, it was clear that none of them were in a good way. As he glanced up he noticed that no one was looking back at him. No one was making eye contact. They all had the same expression on their faces.

    They fear you. What you have done. What you will become. They will learn, Son of Vader.

    The silence was interrupted as the shuttle’s engine whirred down, the craft slowing to a comfortable cruise as they approached their destination. Ben couldn’t make out the voices as they chattered into their headsets – landing codes and approvals that made little sense to him. Something told him there were more important things for him to concern himself with. Now was not the time to be hung up on the practicalities of docking the craft. It had felt as though they had been traveling for too long, and no time at all. He had no sense of where they were, or what time it really was. Something about the journey told him that that was how it was meant to be. The larger ship they had approached was not out in the open for many to see, nor was it hiding. It seemed suspended in space, waiting for their arrival.
    May 3rd, 2018 at 01:56am
  • salander.

    salander. (150)

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    Managing to suppress the unease that was bubbling within her empty stomach, for some unknown reason, Isolde locked out the controls on her data pad and slid it into the hidden pocket in the front of her tunic. Just as her fingertips were poised to press the controls to open the door, it was already opening with a hiss of hydraulics and a soft click as they locked into place. She jumped slightly from the sudden unexpected movement and she instinctively took a step back. Her heart, which had already leapt into her throat decidedly lodged into place when she realized who had stepped into the cargo bay. Their new, young General was staring at her with a certain look in his eyes and a lifted brow, hands clasped behind his back. Without a word, he stepped into the room, a Colonel following behind him, and pressed the controls to close the door behind him.

    Numbly, Isolde realized she still had her glove between her teeth and she quickly yanked it from her mouth and hastily tucked it back onto her hand before the lack of decorum was too noticed. General Hux’s cool gaze merely flickered down as she tugged the black, synthetic leather over the skin that had been exposed. He was choosing to say nothing, but she could tell by the slight pursing of his lips and the way his eyes snapped back to hers that he was displeased. Hastily, she stood at attention, posture going rigid and gaze forward. She remembered Armitage Hux vividly from their time in officer school together. She remembered being on a ship to Jakku as he bossed the other children around—ordered them to hurt one another for his own amusement, or so she supposed. He intimidated her immensely.

    “Junior Lieutenant Varga,” he stated, “I was hoping you’d still be here.” There was a short pause as he stepped further into the room and he nodded his head almost imperceptibly to the large bay doors that had closed for a good duration of the time that Isolde had been conducting inventory. She knew to follow behind the Colonel, who was following behind the General—as was her place. “The Supreme Leader has chosen you to take part in a mission that is more…personal in nature to him.” Isolde managed to keep her expression blank, but her stomach was doing anxious flips. The Supreme Leader chose her? “I’m sure he has some reasoning for it, though I personally can’t see what makes you so special.”

    The bay doors opened up with the screeching and groaning of metal on metal and Isolde could see a ship approaching in the distance. The General stopped walking abruptly, and the two lower ranked officers were quick to follow suit. “However, the honor he’s bestowing upon you is a great one. And holds promise for a quick promotion should you exceed his expectations,” he said. His words did nothing to help calm her nerves. She didn’t deign to think of what would happen to her should she fail. Instead of speaking anymore, they remained silent as the tractor beam engaged to pull the ship in to land. Isolde’s hands were clenched in tight fists behind her back to keep from shaking, feet and legs tightly bound together as the ship landed with a cacophony of whirring and thuds. Swallowing hard, she kept her focus on a particular spot directly in front of her, not wanting to gain any of the ire of General Hux.
    May 3rd, 2018 at 11:18pm
  • yibo.

    yibo. (100)

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    There was a final clatter as the shuttle found it’s way onto the landing bay of the larger craft. Ben had never seen anything coming remotely close to the size of the ship they had just boarded. On the approach, it was as though the smaller craft was being swallowed whole without a second thought. Even the ship he had seen his father leave on so many times before seemed minuscule to this.

    Now is no time to be thinking of your father.

    The pilot said nothing as he stepped back between the two benches, simply ignoring the group as he moved to open the door. It lowered down, opening up a ramp for them all to find their way down, yet none of them seemed to be in a rush to leave. There was a sense of uncertainty between them all, and Ben could feel the questions radiating off them – Why had he made them do this? Where had he taken them? They were all questions Ben wasn’t quite sure he had the answer to yet. All he knew was that there was still anger and betrayal simmering low inside him that he wasn’t quite able to shake just yet.

    The door seemed to both wheeze and sigh as it was lowered down onto the floor of the landing hangar. There was suddenly a much more palpable feeling of unease amongst the group. From the corner of his eye, Ben could see the other six glancing around at one another. His head remained lower, hands shaking as he pressed them together harder and harder. He wasn’t afraid. That was the most confusing thing. No part of him felt afraid. It was the only emotion that seemed to have actually left. Beyond the anger and betrayal, there was a strange, swimming feeling of calm, finally. There wasn’t much of it, but it was there, in the pit of his stomach. This was where he was meant to be at this very moment, there was no denying it. There was no turning back either. Not for him, and not for those he had brought along with him.

    “Move it,” One of the pilots ordered from behind his helmet, looking back at the group of dirt-dusted young ones.

    Ben finally parted his hands, his muddied palms turning a shade of red under the layers of dust. His bones ached from being pressed so tightly against one another, but it was nothing that couldn’t be ignored.

    “Now,” Was the next order to come from the pilot stood by the door. It wasn’t the most friendly of welcomes.

    One of the boys sat closest to the open door was the first to stand, glancing back at the group nervously. His eyes settled on Ben, who had yet to look up, before he took a step onto the ramp.
    May 9th, 2018 at 07:37pm
  • salander.

    salander. (150)

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    In her peripheral vision, the young junior officer could see the General diverting his gaze between the ship and her, as if he were inspecting her for any more lapses in presentation. Junior Lieutenant Varga was curious as to who was in the ship that was docking in the cargo bay—which was honestly a rare occasion for anything that wasn’t a cargo freighter. Drawing in a deep breath of air, she kept her expression cold and passive, though she was beginning to feel the swell of anxiety within her.

    Sure, Isolde had her share of missions that were above and beyond what most she’d trained with, or more than what her rank would typically entail. But this mission, to have it passed down from the Supreme Leader to be given to her by the General, in person, was something that was unheard of. She cared deeply about her tasks within the First Order, to do her part in ensuring the Order grew and flourished, but what had she done to garner this sort of attention?

    “You, Junior Lieutenant Varga and Colonel, will be helping our newest…arrivals adjust,” the General continued once the engines of the ship quieted and a hush fell over the cargo bay. Isolde drew herself up even taller, blinking steadily. “Over the course of the next week, you will help them learn all they can regarding the First Order and how it is run. They are your superiors, so you will grant them any request they may make and make sure they are comfortable. Is that understood?”

    “Yes, sir,” Isolde and the Colonel beside her replied in tandem as the door began to lower.

    “And you are to tell no one of this mission. The utmost discretion must be used as these individuals will be functioning without rank and for a different purpose entirely. Is this understood?” The General continued, his own gaze focused ahead on the ship as well.

    “Yes, sir,” came the chorused reply. The ramp hit the floor with a soft thud and Isolde swore everyone in the bay could hear the sound of her heart beating hard in her chest. There was no telling who would be coming out of that ship shortly and the thought that she was to soon be at their disposal made her yearn for a few more weeks of inventory duties.

    Eventually, the first of the passengers made themselves known and Isolde’s gaze couldn’t help but to be drawn to the humanoid being that was slowly descending the ramp. The first thing she noticed was that the boy couldn’t have been much younger than she was The second thing she noticed was the sullied Jedi robes the boy wore and her eyes widened despite herself. What was the Supreme Leader doing harboring Jedi? Her head snapped to look over at the General, who looked just as surprised as she did before he shot her a stern enough look that had her quickly looking away. What the kriff was going on?
    May 10th, 2018 at 02:11am
  • yibo.

    yibo. (100)

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    Pushing himself up from the bench he had been sat on was the heaviest Ben had ever felt. It seemed to take all of his strength just to hoist himself up into a standing position. He may have been young, but his height still required him to dip slightly in order to avoid grazing the top of the ship. It wasn’t the largest of crafts, and he doubted it was even used to carry people at all. Wherever they were, whoever had brought them here hadn’t wanted very many others to know they were coming. There was no entry fanfare, no suggestion that this was even meant to resemble a new home. This wasn’t luxury. They were all used to minimal living, given the nature of their Jedi training, but this was different, harsher. They were to be molded by the coldness of it all. There wasn’t to be anymore coddling, or soft encouragement to just keep trying. That was burnt to the ground with the temple, buried alongside Luke Skywalker.

    Ben was the last to make his way off the shuttle, down into the silence of the hangar bay. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to see just who was waiting for them. It wasn’t the largest of welcoming parties, and Ben’s eyes were drawn to the rather gaunt looking man trying to appear larger in his black, military great coat. There was something about him that immediately set Ben on edge, as though he wasn’t to be trusted. There was a telling in his sleep-deprived appearance. Whatever sleep Ben had lost over the past few days, the General had lost tenfold.

    The woman stood near him looked no older than Ben. There was enough distance between them to tell him they weren’t friendly. Friendship didn’t seem to be a primary concern of anyone of this order. Her expression seemed as confused as the rest of them, and the anxiety radiated around her as hard as she may have tried to conceal it from the rest of them. It was almost tangible to Ben, as though if he got close enough to her, he would be able to feel it brushing against his robes.

    None of the three that were stood waiting for them seemed to be entirely sure of what to do, or exactly what they were looking at. The disheveled Jedi students certainly didn’t appear to belong on the First Order ship, in fact, it seemed to be the last place they belonged. But, considering the destruction they had left behind them, Ben didn’t know where else any of them could go. Any connection he felt to his family had been destroyed the moment he saw his Luke standing over him in his hut. Whatever love his parents had feigned for him was simply replaced by rage. Ben Solo had died with the Jedi Temple.
    May 21st, 2018 at 01:22am
  • salander.

    salander. (150)

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    The young officer’s pulse was pounding in her temples by now, an anxious sort of energy gripping her lungs tightly and forcing her to be hyperaware of her own breathing. Isolde knew she had to remain calm, when nothing indicative of that word could be found inside of her. The Supreme Leader had chosen her for this, to acclimate these Jedi to the Supremacy and the First Order. General Hux was correct. What made her so remarkable for such a task? She was just a Junior Lieutenant with nothing particularly extraordinary about her. What could possibly have made her a prime candidate for interact with Force-users?

    She lost herself in self-doubt, in questions of her worth, forgoing watching the rest of what she would assume would be Jedi climbing out of the ship docked in the cargo hangar.

    “Welcome,” General Hux resounded beside her, putting on the warmest tone she supposed he could manage. The icy exterior barely cracked. “You’re currently standing in the First Order’s finest ship, the Supremacy. You are all safe here.” Junior Lieutenant Varga dared to let her eyes wander the group in front of her as he spoke words that sounded like they’d been rehearsed. There were seven of them in total, the eldest of them didn’t look much older than she did. If his towering height didn’t catch her eye, it was the dirt that colored the robes her wore and splattered across his hands. “I’m General Hux and beside me is Colonel Gunnet and Junior Lieutenant Varga.” The General motioned to them as he spoke, almost as if he were speaking to children.

    “But there will be enough time for introductions later. I’m sure you’re all in dire need of rest after your journey,” General Hux continued. “Colonel Gunnet will see to the six of you, but Junior Lieutenant Varga has been chosen for your leader, who I’m assuming is you.” The General regarded the tallest of the group with a sort of amused look, taking in his unkempt clothing and dark, shaggy hair. “You’ll report back to the Supreme Leader or myself if she does not see to it that your every need is taken care of and we’ll find you a more suitable replacement. I’ll gather you all during the next day cycle.” With that, the General turned on heel and marched out of the room.

    All Isolde could do was stare forward, trying her hardest to keep her breathing even and regulated though she knew what failure would mean and she doubted it’d be reconditioning. Finally, she brought her gaze back to the tallest one with the dark hair, wondering to herself what he’d done to be deemed leader. Drawing in a deep breath of air, she pushed down the overwhelming fear and anxiety that dared to bring her to her knees and stepped over to him, stopping just a few paces away. Once she was in front of him, she wasn’t exactly sure what she should say. Comment on the amount of dirt they were tracking into the hangar? Question when his last meal was? “Wh-what can I get for you, sir?” She asked, her voice trembling slightly despite how much she’d tried to steel it.
    May 22nd, 2018 at 12:45am