Obsessed nerd chasing a plot bunny here. I've been reading more TFA fanfic than breathing air lately, lol. I'm planning this story to be Kylo Ren/OC but that might change as I go along. Please leave a review if you would like to read more! -Scarlet

C-1: Survey

As I sat facing the short snouted, blue skinned, horned alien before me, I decided it definitely wasn't my people skills that got me chosen for this mission. The awkward silence was filled with occasional snorts and my own desperate throat clearing. Eventually, my host made some excuse of checking on the crew and left me alone in the small observation deck of the cruiser.

I am accustomed to space. My people are a nomadic group of humans that study and catalog various phenomena for privatized research organizations. Our employers are usually from the Republic or other wealthy scientists, even some from the First Order. If the pay is good, we stop at nothing to complete our missions. Today, however, I was assigned a different type of mission: real estate.

My family belongs to the caste of diplomats. I've been trained my whole life for this type of work; I'm supposed to know what to say and when to say it. Key word: supposed to.

I raked my fingertips across my face, feeling the empty void in my stomach expand with each lightyear we put between us and the fleet. My fleet. Even the thought of living on the surface of a planet made my head spin.

"Representative Caltrel, we will soon enter the planet's atmosphere." My host, Javvik, had returned with a friendly snort. I thanked him while I gathered my things—canisters for air, water, and dirt samples and my imager.

A small team of Javvik's crew accompanied us as we departed the landing zone in a small freight speeder. The crew members, who hailed from various species across the galaxy (most of which I'd never seen in my life), held short-range blasters which made my nerves skyrocket. A lazy, warm breeze swept in some cloud cover as my host explained a few preliminaries about the planet. The sun facing side of the planet enjoyed temperate climates for 20-year cycles while the opposite side lay in devastating winter. He explained that it would be necessary to live in the temperate areas of the planet—for humans, that is.

Soon enough, we reached the perfect spot for some vegetation samples. Trees were scattered around a large lake that seemed to have swallowed up part of the forest. It was breathtaking actually, even though the clouds made me feel slightly claustrophobic.

I started an air analysis on my imager while I gathered some other samples from around the lake. Javvik stood nearby impatiently, and I could tell that his clients usually weren't so thorough. His usual buyers were miners or businessmen, not home hunters.

My eye caught the crew members when they began to stir and raise their weapons. Javvik shouted something in a language I supposed most of them knew, and the crew began to quiet. I continued my work.

Then, a few minutes later, I felt the entire ground lurch from some kind of impact. I caught my balance and whipped my head toward Javvik, who was just as slack jawed as I was. Following his line of vision, I looked across the lake—there was something rising from the murky water. My eyes narrowed. A warhead?

I heard the crackle of a loud voice over a speaker not a few seconds later. "This is the First Order. You are not cleared for this area. Leave immediately."

I nearly tripped over myself in my mad dash toward Javvik. He was barking something else to his crew. "We—we have to go," I breathed, my lungs heaving.

"There's been a misunderstanding," Javvik rumbled, worry in his yellow eyes. He turned toward the origin of the announcement and shouted in a weak voice, "I own the deed to this planet!"

Another order echoed from within the forest, closer this time. "This is your second and final warning. Clear the area now."

"Mr. Javvik." My knuckles were white on the strap of my shoulder bag. "We have to go."

He was conflicted, and delaying. I glanced around at the restless crew as they waited for their next cue.

A blast of red shot out from the trees and struck a crew member who had his weapon held ready. The alien squealed with pain and dropped his blaster, clutching his burnt arm. My heart leapt into my throat as I tore off in the direction of the speeder. I saw Javvik in my peripheral vision, hobbling after me.

The exchange of fire began almost immediately, filling the air with the sounds of high pitched discharges and scorching impacts. A tree ahead of me caught ablaze and I heard myself scream a curse. In what seemed like forever, I finally reached the speeder.

No sooner after I'd glanced at the complex controls that I had no ability to use, I felt a searing bolt of electricity hit my back. My body convulsed, teeth grinding, and then dropped limply to the metal floor of the speeder. Directly in my line of vision, I saw Javvik on the ground too, face blank and eyes full of fear. I wanted to scream, cry, or maybe die.

Voices drew near us, speaking through the static of respirators.

"These are the last, sir," said the first.

"Good job." I felt the ship dip to the side as two sets of white boots entered my limited vision of the deck. "We have to take one of them for questioning," the second continued.

"Which one?"

The second voice gave a dry laugh. "Isn't it obvious?"

I watched as the barrel of a blaster was placed against Javvik's head. If I had been able to, I would have screamed with all my might before I blacked out.