C-7717 walked down the hallway with steady, even strides. She was in no particular hurry, and always preferred to look as grown up as possible at any given moment, which meant no running down the hallways, and no horsing around with the other cadets, even when they were clearly inviting her to join them.

A couple of kids in her class suddenly rushed past, laughing and shouting, and clearly enjoying themselves. C-7717 turned her nose up in disgust at them. "You should cease your actions at once, as you are not participating in any activities that have been approved for junior cadets."

A boy, C-8164, slowed down, then backpedaled and turned around so he was facing C-7717 directly. She was several inches shorter than him, but the way she held herself made her look infinitely taller and stronger than him. He pulled off his helmet, then crossed his arms over the chest. "What is your problem? Us actually enjoying our lives in no way interferes with yours, so you should just learn how to stay out of other people's business. I get that you're clearly not human, considering your utter lack of emotions, but you need to back off. You're already at the top of our class, what more could you possibly want."

C-7717 blinked quickly, and her cheeks turned dark red. It was moments like these that was supremely grateful to the mask that was covering her face, and acting like a little shield between her and everybody else. She shifted on her feet, then crossed her arms over her chest in imitation of the other cadet. She spoke in a soft voice that had somehow become her most threatening one. "Cadet, there is obviously a very good reason that you are not at the top of the class and I am. I have worked hard, studied hard, and trained hard before each and every test that's been thrown our way. I excel because I choose to excel, and your constant fooling around puts all of my achievements in a lower light. And beyond that, someday we're going to be a squadron someday, which means that we need to learn now how to work together and watch each other's backs. I refuse to die on a battlefield simply because you were too busy to pay attention during your classes." She uncrossed her arms, and continued walking.

C-8164 stammered out a few random syllables, then snapped his mouth shut, and turned in the opposite direction. C-7717 chuckled quietly to herself as she headed back to the cadet dorms. She was planning on getting some studying done in preparation of their next big test. She would not lost her spot as top of the class after holding it for the past two years.

As she entered the dorms, her communicator buzzed, and since she was still

wearing her helmet, she accepted the call through there. "Cadet C-7717. Please identify yourself."

The voice that responded sounded amused. "Commendable practice of following proper protocols. Most cadets don't, but then again, I suppose that's why you're the one at the top of your class. This is Commandant Zandro speaking. I've been asked to invite you to a private meeting with the one and only General Hux."

C-7717's eyes widened, but she forced her voice to remain steady. "Where and when is this meeting to take place?"

The commandant chuckled again. "You've definitely got a future in this place, kid. Definitely got a future here." Then he gave the details of the meeting, and hung up.

C-7717 pulled off her helmet and tossed it onto her bed, a stunned expression on her face. Was this really happening? She was being invited to meet with one of the highest ranking officers in the Order? If she were in trouble, then the punishment would have been immediate, and she would not be meeting with someone much higher ranked than herself. So this meeting had to be about her getting praised. She grinned happily. This should be exciting.

Who could really study with so much on their mind? C-7717 decided to concentrate on something else, instead. She pulled a flat black square out from under her pillow, and hit the power button. It immediately brought her to the page she had left off on. This was one of her favorite stories, known as The Beginner's Guide to Gardening. And despite the title, it was not, in fact, a book on how to start a garden. It was actually rather fascinating, and was only titled the way it was because all of the main characters had flower related names. She ended up falling asleep in the middle of a sentence.

C-7717 walked down the hallway, her stomach fluttering nervously. She had her helmet on to hide her nerves, because she was freaking out a little bit. She couldn't think of any other times when cadets had been called for a private meeting with General Hux of all people.

She walked outside, and hurried over to the shuttle that was going to take her to the base where Hux lives. She rattled off her identity, and was told to get in. She did, and found herself sandwiched between a lot of stormtroopers. She looked them over curiously, while trying to act like she was just staring straight ahead. Seriously, whoever invented these helmets knew exactly what they were doing.

Aside from the pilot, there were five other stormtroopers on the shuttle. C-7717 couldn't figure out why exactly there were so many of them. Shuttles went back and forth between the academy and the base all the time, and nothing bad ever happened. Then the cadet gulped, and forced herself not to shrink down a bit. These extra guys were either there for her protection, because they believed that someone would try to hurt her, or they were there because they believed that C-7717 herself posed a threat. Either way was not good, and C-7717 wasn't honestly sure which one she would prefer to be the truth.

C-7717 ended up getting lost in her own thoughts, and before she knew it, the shuttle was docking, and the other stormtroopers were telling her that it was time to get out. She complied, and then followed them into the building. As soon as they stepped inside, a violent shiver wracked through C-7717's body, and she felt ill. She took deep breaths, and forced herself to follow the stormtroopers who were leading her through the large twisted hallways.

Finally, they stopped in front of a door, and one of the stormtroopers glanced back. "Are you alright, cadet?"

C-7717 nodded. "Of course." The stormtrooper shrugged, and turned back to knock on the door. It slid open, and he gestured to the young cadet. "You're on your own from here."

She gulped, then walked into the room in what she really hoped was a confident manner. There was General Hux, sitting behind his desk. C-7717 wasn't sure exactly what the protocol was in this situation, so she just went and stood in front of the desk. The general smiled. "Ah, C-7717, is it?" The cadet nodded. "I was just discussing you with Commandant Zandro. He was telling me how impressive you are. You've held the top rank in your class since you began official training, and have broken the records for almost every test so far, correct?" C-7717 nodded again. "So, do you believe that you are a rather impressive individual?"

C-7717 shook her head. "Sir, there is no such thing as an impressive individual who is also part of a squadron. All that matters is that my entire team can handle themselves, not just me."

The general tilted his head. "That wasn't much of an answer. What do you think of all of your test results?"

"Well, I'm at the top of my class, sir-"

The general shook his head, cutting the girl off. He let out a long sigh. "I suppose that you're not going to actually tell me, are you?" Then the edges of his mouth tilted up. "Please, remove your helmet. I'm sure that you deserve a break from the stuffy old thing, right?"

C-7717 contemplated just clutching her helmet and screaming. If she removed it, then she would be removing her only source of protection. But she couldn't disobey, so she removed the helmet, and tucked it under one arm. She made sure that her face was completely blank, and prayed that there were no traces of redness left behind.

The general smiled softly. "You know, your test results have proved to be so impressive, that there's someone very special who wishes to meet with you today, since you're here anyways. He's a very important man."

That nauseous feeling from earlier returned to C-7717 tenfold, and she bit down on her lip, hard, so stop a gasp of pain from escaping. It felt like someone was squishing her brain, and it was a thoroughly unpleasant sensation. The doors behind her slid open again, and that cold feeling grew stronger as soft footsteps entered the room.

The general gestured to the person who was standing behind C-7717. "Kylo Ren, this is cadet C-7717. The one that you've heard about already."

C-7717's eyes widened infinitesimally. The Kylo Ren was standing behind her right now? This all seemed so unreal. She made sure to keep her breathing steady, though, and slowly turned to face the man who was only a decade older than her. He was wearing his mask, putting C-7717 at a large disadvantage.

Suddenly, C-7717 felt that cold, sick feeling barraging her like someone was just throwing it at her over and over again. Despite all of her training, and all of the times she'd proven to have a very high tolerance for pain, this was too much. She bent in half, her arms wrapped around her stomach, though she was able to remain on her feet, so there was that.

Then the feeling was gone, leaving just the faint traces that C-7717 had been feeling ever since she stepped into the building. She slowly straightened back up, and she knew that she couldn't look very put together anymore. But that was the fault of whatever had just happened, so she wasn't to blame.

To C-7717's surprise, Kylo Ren reached up, and pulled his mask off, revealing… nothing. He was just an ordinary guy if one was going on looks alone. Though one couldn't really do that in this situation for obvious reasons. Kylo Ren smiled a bit. "Cadet C-7717." He said it like he was just trying out the number, then shook his head slightly as he came to the conclusion that he didn't like it. "Have you ever stopped to wonder how you were able to break so many records throughout your training?"

C-7717 wasn't sure what exactly Kylo Ren was expecting out of this conversation, and she was already freaking out about everything else, so she decided to just tell the truth. She shook her head, since her throat felt too dry to get any words out.

Kylo Ren nodded. "Did you know that you are the only cadet to ever complete the 'laser pit'?" C-7717 nodded, since she could still remember everyone going on about how she had done the impossible. Kylo Ren's grin became predatory, and C-7717 shivered again, not able to hide it this time.

Before the strange conversation could continue, a stormtrooper burst into the room. "Sir! Several Resistance ships are attempting to enter the atmosphere!"

The small smile on Kylo Ren's face immediately disappeared. "It's a distraction while they send in a smaller ship. Whatever they're after, they aren't going to get." He shoved his mask back on, and went behind Hux's desk, literally shoving the man out of the seat so that he could properly see all of the cameras.

A few minutes later, while C-7717 was fighting the urge to start fidgeting or shifting around, a loud alarm went off, and Kylo Ren swore under his breath as he watched the Resistance's movement through the base.

Suddenly, he looked up, and even though his eyes were no longer visible, C-7717 could feel his gaze drilling a hole through her head. "Cadet, you are currently the top of your class in all subjects, are you not?"

C-7717 nodded. "Yes, sir."

He nodded once. "Good. Then I want you to head down to the lower level and cut them off before they can escape." He reached over the desk to hand C-7717 a small velvet box. "You're obviously a smart kid. I think you'll be able to figure out what to do with this."

C-7717 hesitated. "I'm not sure that I like my odds when they're one against many."

Instead of getting angry, Kylo Ren let out a soft laugh. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure that you won't find anyone fighting you back."

C-7717 nodded again, and accepted the box. Then she jammed her helmet back onto her head, grabbed the spare blaster that was clipped onto the stormtrooper who had brought them the news, and marched out of the room.

The cadet could understand why she was being shoved out into the field so suddenly. She had proved herself capable of fighting and keeping herself alive, and was pretty sure that she could kill someone if it came down to it. But most importantly was one asset that C-7717 had never before found useful at all.

The Resistance were a bunch of bleeding hearts in the end, everybody knew that. And what bleeding heart would kill someone who was just a kid? C-7717 knew that she didn't look quite as old as the other cadets who were in the same class as her, which was part of the reason she enjoyed wearing her helmet so much. But Kylo Ren believed that C-7717's baby face would now be useful, and C-7717 wasn't going to let him down.

She found the spot that she needed to guard, and stepped into the shadowy corners of the space. The element of surprise would be pretty useful. C-7717 opened the box that Kylo Ren gave her, and found that the item inside was pretty useful, and it told her exactly what was expected of her right now.

She could do this. She could follow out Kylo Ren's unspoken orders. And no wonder he hadn't said anything out loud. All of the other officers would have opposed the idea too strongly, believing that someone who was just a cadet, just a kid, was not ready for what was going to happen.

But C-7717 was ready to do this. She was ready to prove herself worthy of being a soldier in the First Order. Worthy of being called in to meet with Kylo Ren himself. It couldn't be a coincidence that the Resistance had chosen today of all days to attack. It was clearly a sign. A sign that C-7717 was fated to follow through with this plan, no matter what. She could do this. She had to do this.