This Masquerade
Chapter 1
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Destroying Starkiller Base was only the first victory in a long war that would be hard to win. The First Order were regrouping and rebuilding. General Organa and the resistance needed all the information they could gather. Their numbers were few, and without the New Republic, they had little support across the galaxy. Factions were already emerging among the fragile alliance. Leia hoped to find something they could all unite against. From the little she'd heard, the surviving remnants of the First Order had retreated, possibly to the Outer Rim. Whatever their future plans, they were shrouded in secrecy. It was known that they were in dire need of new conscripts. The children they abducted for their Stormtrooper programmes would not serve the First Order's current needs as many of their battle-ready adult counterparts were lost when Starkiller Base exploded. It was riskier for them to take adolescents and adults that had not been indoctrinated since childhood. However, the penalties for breaking the rules were harsh enough to keep most of them in line. General Organa received intelligence that the First Order was rounding up all capable scavengers, smugglers and other young miscreants with creative talents. It was via this route that Leia hoped to get an agent inside their new centre of operations.
Leia knew that Ben had survived the destruction of Starkiller Base; she could feel his presence through the force. She was not alone in sensing her son. Luke and Rey felt the connection, too. After months of training, Jedi Master and Padawan were ready to rejoin the efforts of the resistance. Plans were being drawn and infiltration of the First Order seemed to be the best course of action. Sending a spy undercover was something that had yielded the most useful results in the past and strategically, it made more sense to send someone dispensable. There was a high risk that the agent might be discovered and killed, but it was also a mission better suited to a Jedi. Someone who could use the force to get information a regular person might miss or not have access to by conventional means. Rey was wary, mainly because of the unwanted bond that she'd forged with her enemy. Kylo Ren had got into her head and under her skin. She resented having any connection with him. For Leia and Luke's sake, if nothing else, she wanted to believe he wasn't all bad. But after witnessing him killing Han and seeing the damage he inflicted on Finn, it was nigh on impossible for her to accept there was any good left in him. The occasional glimpses she got into his head did little to convince her otherwise. Kylo was like a black cloud that hung over her. He was rage, pain and every other negative emotion she could name.
There was a suggestion from some in the resistance that Rey should return to Jakku. A temporary resumption of her old life could serve as cover, the general postulated. The idea stirred up conflicting emotions in her. A small part of her wanted to go back, and at the same time, the rest of her never wanted to set foot on that planet again. Resigned to accepting the mission, she found she was relieved when it was discovered that Jakku had already been visited by the First Order. Further intelligence suggested that Zanddu, a planet in a neighbouring system would be their next target for gathering new conscripts. With no time to lose, Rey made preparations for the task ahead. Finn was vehemently against her leaving, fearing he would never see her again. BB8 followed her around beeping his concern. Luke and Leia made it clear that it was her choice to make, they wouldn't order her to do it. In the event that she was to cross paths with Kylo Ren again, one of them would likely not survive to tell the tale. Neither his mother or uncle asked her to spare his life or attempt to bring him home, but she knew what was in their hearts all the same. Killing Han had not extinguished their love for him. Even if they had accepted that the boy they once knew would never return.
Rey found some aspects of being a Jedi apprentice rather restraining. The force chose her, rather than her choosing it, and there were times when she felt resentful about that. Mostly, she embraced her destiny. She was grateful to have a purpose after years of doing nothing but waiting and surviving. The force gave her the power to do good and help others instead of scratching a living in the dirt. But it could also be a heavy burden to bear. Rey wondered if it might be the reason her family never returned to reclaim her. Did they know she was force sensitive and saw a curse where others saw a blessing? The dark side was seductive; she tasted it when she defeated Kylo and vowed never to let it consume her as it had him. She had found belonging with the family he left behind, and she would not throw it away.
"Don't give me that look," Rey scolded Finn as she loaded up the J-Type Star Skiff for her journey to Zanddu.
His scowl conveyed his displeasure without him having to tell her for the umpteenth time how he had a bad feeling about all this.
"I promised when I left for Ahch-To that we would see each other again and I kept my word, didn't I? We are best friends forever now, and you don't get rid of me that easily," she grinned as she hugged him tightly to her.
Finn couldn't help feeling a sliver of disappointment. Friendship was a wonderful thing, but he couldn't deny he'd hoped for more. There was so much he wanted to say and declarations he'd planned on making. In the end, he opted for letting her know how much he would miss her.
"Just don't go getting yourself killed," he warned, "and if you see that Gundark-faced, long black streak of no good, you kick his ass all the way across the galaxy."
Rey chuckled, "Don't worry, I will."
All the resistance who were on base turned out to say farewell to her. Poe teased her about how they couldn't afford to lose their second best pilot and told her she had better come back safe. Leia reaffirmed her faith in her agent, leaving her flagging but abiding hopes for her son unsaid. Rey entrusted her newly build double-edged lightsaber adapted from her old staff to Luke. She felt vulnerable without it, but her master and Leia's parting valediction of May the force be with you, gave her strength for the task ahead.
It was less than two parsecs to Zanddu, and the journey passed without incident until she came out of hyperspace. A First Order Star Destroyer materialised close behind her as she entered the planet's atmosphere. There would now be no time for her to establish cover as a scavenger. She would have to land, ditch the skiff and integrate with the local population as best she could before the First Order shuttles arrived. Rey located what appeared to be a busy civilian trading area on the scanners and headed towards the outskirts just beyond the settlements. The terrain wasn't too dissimilar to Jakku and she was able to find a sheltered spot to land in. She was already wearing a replica of the outfit she wore back in her scavenging days. It shouldn't be too difficult to blend in, she reasoned. Her main concern was that Kylo Ren might be the one who was sent to make the selections. He would recognise her for sure, even though her hair had been dyed a lighter shade of brown and her hazel eyes were camouflaged with green lenses.
Making her way into the main trading area, Rey spotted a Bothan struggling to fix a speeder.
"Need a hand?" She offered with a cheery smile.
The hairy humanoid eyed her with suspicion but stepped aside so she could inspect the fault. Having repaired many similar vehicles on Jakku, it didn't take her long to pinpoint the problem.
"The reverse power flux coupling has come loose," Rey explained as she adjusted the wiring.
In no time at all, the engine was humming.
"Thank you," the creature said in a gruff voice.
He looked as if he had more to say, but at that moment, a fleet of shuttles and Tie fighters swooped into view.
"Holy beek-monkeys, it's the frappin' First Order," the Bothan growled, "Go and hide, quickly."
His warning rang in her ears as she watched him ride off on his speeder. The moment of truth was upon her. Rey took a deep breath and reached out to draw strength from the force as she awaited her fate.
The first battalion of Stormtroopers arrived led by a rather short brown-haired man in a black uniform with matching hat. His jacket bore the emblem of the First Order.
"Round up all the young healthy males and females," he commanded his troops.
Rey soon found herself corralled with a rag-tag group of scavengers and orphans. Blasters were trained on them as the black-uniformed officer assessed them individually.
"You," he addressed her, "what are your skills?"
"I'm good at repairing just about anything," she boasted.
He looked her up and down, "You'll do," he said, signalling for her to be loaded onto the nearest transport.
It was cramped and hot once the other conscripts had been brought aboard. There were too many people packed into too small a container with no food or water. Rey calmed herself by meditating. The air was stale and stifling by the time the transport craft reached its destination. She felt lightheaded and could see some of the others in the group were struggling too. As the doors opened, they were hit by a welcoming cool breeze. The rain was pounding down from leaden grey skies, making it difficult to get a decent view of the terrain. The planet surface she could see was made up of jagged rocks and nestled amidst the craggy granite outcrops were five huge domes. Each one was a mix of shiny metal with numerous glass viewing platforms. The structures were interconnected with translucent walkways.
"This way," the commander herded the new acquisitions towards the nearest building.
Rey grew more apprehensive with each step. A feral looking young man of around sixteen tried to break off from the group. He was immediately stunned with a blaster and carried away by a couple of Stormtroopers. For a terrifying moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of the dark figure of Kylo Ren staring out from behind his blank mask at her from one of the observation windows. However, when she looked again, there was no one there. Rey reached out through the force in an attempt to detect any sign of him but was unable to sense his presence. Luke had taught her how to hide her force signature, in case Kylo was there, she hoped it was working. Up ahead, there was an inspection line of six black-uniformed officers that were assessing the new arrivals. Every conscript was scanned under two intersecting beams of red light. The results were then displayed on the datapads each officer held. From there, they were sent to one of three reception areas, depending on what their scans showed. Rey was directed to the middle group where she was met by an administrator.
"You have been assigned to engineering and general maintenance," the female officer informed her as she checked her datapad. "Your designated identification code is RK-1992. You will remember it and use it in place of any name you might previously have known. Proceed to the turbolift, it will take you to the subterranean barracks. When you arrive, collect your work uniform and go directly to the Refresher. A medical droid will examine you and implant your tracking chip."
The tracker would be a problem, Rey frowned; she needed to perform her reconnaissance of the entire base without detection. She hoped there would be an opportunity to somehow prevent the implantation. Glancing around with unease, she found the sterile environment unnatural as someone who had lived most of their life in sand and dirt. Everything was black, shiny and new. Packed into the turbolift capsule with twenty others, she counted it descending seven floors before it came to a halt. The whole place seemed designed to prevent and deter fraternisation. She was abruptly ordered by an armed administrator to remove her clothing and throw it into an incineration chute. There were multiple showers cubicles in the Refresher so everyone could be kept separated. After a brief sanitising blast of hot water and air drying, Rey hesitantly pulled on her dark grey jumpsuit. It was emblazoned on both arms with the First Order emblem. The tool belt gave her some shape, but wearing it made her uncomfortable. She thought about Finn and how he must have felt, trapped inside his Stormtrooper armour.
"RK-1992," a medical droid beckoned her to step inside an examination pod.
With no way to avoid it without arousing suspicion, the best course of action appeared to be to allow the tracker to be implanted. She would worry about removing it later. A yellow light passed over her body and the droid strapped her left forearm down. Rey let out a sharp exhale as two needles shot out and pierced her skin.
"Hey," she protested, "I thought there was only one tracker."
"All females are required to receive a contraceptive implant," it informed her.
The droid's emotionless delivery belied the unnerving implications of such a necessity. Was she to be passed around for the pleasure of the male occupants of the base? The idea made her shudder with apprehension and repulsion. There was no time to dwell on it as she was led to her individual habitation pod. The barracks housed hundreds, if not thousands of workers. Rey was grateful for some measure of privacy. It was a small space, containing only a cot, a square table with bench seat attached, basic refresher facilities and a small viewing screen. The lighting was harsh and propaganda reels were played at regular intervals on a loop.
"The First Order is your family now. Together we will build a better future."
The ginger-haired General Hux delivered the message with zeal. Rey kept waiting for Kylo Ren to appear and tell her to get with the programme in his own unique way, vocalising from behind that silly mask. There was no sign of him, until a section on military might ended with a stylised fighting display from the Knights of Ren and their Master. Rey rolled her eyes as she thought back to their battle in the snow. Evidently, he had repaired his lightsaber as she watched him twirl the unstable blade. She briefly thought about the scar she'd left him with. It gave her a twinge of guilt to recall the rage with which she'd inflicted it. There was no doubt in her mind at the time that he deserved it, and worse. But she was a Jedi Padawan now, and that kind of thinking would lead only to the dark side. Her focus returned to her mission. Whatever the First Order were up to, they weren't advertising it to the rank and file. Rey touched the sore spot on her arm where the tracker was embedded. It wasn't too deep under the skin, and with her access to engineering tools, she hoped to be able to find something sharp enough to remove it.
The sound of a blaring siren startled her and a booming voice came over the intercom system, advising everyone to make their way to the mess hall. Rey hadn't thought about food, but the growling in her stomach welcomed the announcement all the same. She exited her pod and filed out with the rest of the conscripts. The place was silent except for the hum of the air filters and the sound of their echoing footsteps. Beyond the officers and medical droid, she had yet to converse with anyone else. Her mission depended on her ability to gather intelligence. It was her hope that the mess hall would provide some opportunities to socialise with the others. Looking around for a friendly face, her eyes were drawn a tall male with messy short blond hair, a prominent nose and glasses. She could only see him in profile, but he looked non-threatening enough. His garishly orange utility vest made him stand out from the black and grey surroundings. Making her way over to stand next to him, she desperately tried to come up with a conversational ice-breaker.
"Err, um, are you in engineering too?" Rey cringed at her stilted delivery.
"I'm a Radar Technician," he replied, keeping his back to her, in a rich deep voice that sounded somewhat familiar to her ears.
"Do you have a name?" She questioned, feeling suspicion gnawing at her.
The tall man hesitated to reply.
"We don't have names here," he stated, "My identification code is MT-1983."
Rey heaved out a sigh of exasperation. Clearing her mind, she attempted to read his surface thoughts, but to her surprise, she came up blank. There was nothing emanating from him at all. For a sliver of a second, she thought she felt a familiar energy passing between them, only for the sensation to be over as soon as it began. She tried to get a better look at him, but he had begun to walk away and was quickly lost to her in the crowd. Grabbing her modest food rations, Rey scarfed them down without attempting to talk to anyone else. Afterwards, she returned to her pod. Her first work shift was due to start in six hours and she was tired. There was a nagging feeling of déjà vu in the back of her mind regarding her brief encounter with MT-1983. However, sleep claimed her before she could dwell too long on it.
This story in no way reflects what I expect to see in Episode VIII (except for the Reylo! ;-)). It is intended only as a fun diversion while we wait for 8 to arrive.
This isn't really a Matt, the Radar Technician fic as such, the story will be much broader than that (MT-1983 = Matt + Adam Driver's year of birth, btw). But I loved that SNL sketch and the character fitted in with the plot of this story.
I do not own any of the characters or anything at all Star Wars related, except for a whole lot of merchandise and Kylo Ren Pop Vinyls! (Ka-ching Disney!)
I have part of the story written, so hopefully I'll be able to post regular (probably weekly) updates.
Thank you for taking the time to read this fanfic and please do leave a review. All constructive criticism is gratefully received. - Mrs. P