Hatchling Chapter One
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Falling by Julee Cruise
Graduating from the Academy at twenty and getting his first assignment on the prestigious Finalizer with the illustrious General Hux helming it is the second luckiest break that Thanisson has ever got. And this time it is by his own merit and not through his brother's badassery. So far, his stay abroad the Finalizer has been pleasant and far better than his lonesome Academy days.
Hells, by the end of his first day he was invited to go drinking in the Officer's Lounge by the newly-minted Chief Petty Officer Umano. It ended with him going to Umano's room with Captain Phasma for late-night margaritas (which he's pretty certain that they stole from Lieutenant Mitaka's room) and girl-talk. And by girl-talk, he learns that those two have no qualms about being candid about everything. Needless to say, he has been forever traumatized by those two, especially when it comes to even thinking about sex, and he's pretty certain that they're the ones running the First Order Betting Pool.
Stars, I wondered if they were the ones who made those sick sexual bets like Kylo Ren and General Hux—Hells, I puked up my grape-flavored margarita all over Umano's rug at the mere implication of those two together! Thanisson not-so fondly remembers his first (and last) night in Umano's room as he exits the Officer's Lounge with alcohol-flushed cheeks.
I wonder how Mitaka had margaritas. Does he have his own margarita machine? He did mention that his wife is a bartender, so maybe it was a gift from his wife? I wonder what his wife looks like. Probably quiet and a bit skittish like him. He doesn't seem like the type to like bold women. Then again, he doesn't seem like the type to own a margarita machine! Thanisson hiccups slightly and is glad that no one is in the hall to hear his telltale drunken slip. Even though he is forever banned from Umano's room, unless ordered otherwise by General Hux, Umano and Phasma have no problems with drinking with the fresh-faced petty officer in the lounge.
They only drink with me because they want to see the youngest (unless someone has brought a kid or baby on board) person on Finalizer make a drunken fool out of himself. Well, sucks to be them! I was raised on Corellian brandy until Cade's girlfriend pretty much put a stop to that. I think her name was Azlyn or was it Talon? Nope, nope, Talon was that red Twi'lek that tried to get him join some cult. It was Azlyn Rae. I liked her. Wonder whatever happened to her? Although, Thanisson will admit he is a bit tipsy. He really should have not challenged Phasma to a shot contest. Phasma soundly beat him, but his consolation is that she's going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.
Thanisson almost shambles his way to his room and sloppily punches in the codes to his door. The door slides open and he steps right in his dimly lit room. Good thing I preemptively set the lights to about 30% before heading out. He can't really see more than a couple of centimeters in front of him with the lack of light, but he congratulates himself for making it to his tiny refresher without tripping. He pulls off his boots and tosses them near his bed. He then strips out of his clothes and puts them into the laundry basket.
He showers and brushes his teeth, trying to get rid of the telltale stench of alcohol oozing from his pores and mouth. He sobers up slightly and hopes that he remembered to set the alarm for about an hour and thirty minutes earlier than he normally wakes up. He wants to head to medbay in the morning for the much needed medication to get rid of his potential hangover. And medbay is usually quick in giving him what he needs since the doctors know he's drinking buddies with Umano and Phasma. Plus, he wants to grab some fresh caf.
He dries himself with his towel and heads straight to his bed. He feels hot, so he doesn't feel like wearing anything tonight. Besides, who else is going to see me naked? The raven? Wait….why is there a raven on my bed?
Right on his single bed with just the one white pillow and blue sheets is a raven. The raven, perched at the end of his bed, has red eyes and is staring at him. Oh, I'm hallucinating again. It's just like last month when I thought I saw the General holding hands with some blonde radar technician. The barkeep must've added some hallucinogens to the shots or something!
Thanisson just sleepily shrugs and gets into his bed; the imaginary raven doesn't move a centimeter as the blonde gets himself comfortable. Thanisson lets out a yawn and feels his eyes flutter close.
"Hey, raven, would you please turn off the lights." Thanisson jokingly requests before finally going to sleep. He smiles slightly when he thinks he hears the beat of wings. Nighty night, raven.
Goodnight.
Thanisson shifts and groans as he hears his alarm go off like a proton bomb. He wants to curl into himself and just die. Stupid alarm, but stupider me for drinking last night! I solemnly swear to never challenge Captain Phasma to a shot contest ever again! He twists out of his sheets and hurries to silence the near-deafening alarm. He immediately trips over his boots that he didn't bother to put away last night. He lands face-first on the unforgivingly hard floor.
"Ow, lights 30%!" The pitch darkness lessens a bit, but, thankfully, doesn't go completely away. I don't think my hungover eyes could handle the lights at 100%, but at least I can see where the boots are. He quickly scrambles to his room's panel and silences the alarm. Why didn't I ever get around to programming the alarm to be shut down verbally? Oh that's right, I'm like Cade and if I used vocal commands then I would just go right back to sleep! Hold on, did I turn off the lights last night? I don't remember hitting the switch nor verbally commanding it off, but I must've…
He quickly shuffles his way to the 'fresher to do his morning routine and take one-last-getting-rid-of-any-booze-residue-shower. Stars, I hope that Umano doesn't smell the alcohol on me. Then again, she was at the lounge chanting, "Chug, chug, chug!" at me and Phasma, but she does have an appearance to maintain on the bridge. Hells forbid that Mitaka catches any whiff of alcohol on me, he'd lecture the shit out of me even though I am of age!
Thanisson strolls of his 'fresher while rubbing his restless dirty-blonde locks dry with a fluffy white towel; once again, he is completely nude and does not give a damn since there is no one else in the room. He heads to his closet which is only half a meter from his small bed.
"Hey, raven." Thanisson says quickly as he walks by his bed. Then, he halts mid-stride and turns his head to fully acknowledge that a raven is perched at the end of his messy bed. Wait a minute, why is there a raven in my bed? When did he get here? I thought I just imagined the raven last night! Oh shit, what do I do!?
"Uh, haven't we met before? Back on Bakura….wait, your eyes are red. I don't think your eyes were red back then…but they look familiar." Thanisson feels something scratching against his mind; he knows that he has seen those eyes before, but his mind lacks the memory of it. It's the raven from the creepy pyramid; the same one that would've clawed Gunn's pretty face. He frowns at thought of Gunn; he thought they were friends, but she abandoned him with her goonies. He was so glad that when the fall semester started up again that Gunn wasn't in any of his classes. In fact, he can't recall seeing Gunn at all after Bakura.
"Croak." The raven responds with a nostalgic cry. A sharp pain erupts in Thanisson's mind and he clutches the sides of his head. The room dissipates like smoke; he sees the black pyramid back on Bakura. He sees himself with the ash markings covering his entire nude form; his head is lolling to the side and his brown eyes are dilated and look almost black. There is a pale figure with long, black hair kneeling at his feet; his eyes are as red as the raven's. He slips the silver anklet, the same one adorned with rubies and diamonds, onto Thanisson's left ankle. He then quickly stands up and faces the pyramid.
"My eternal gratitude to thee, Bogan, for my betrothed. I will cherish him proper once he has grown, and then I will come back for him, to complete our espousal. Love is the darkest of passions, and we will have Love!"
Thanisson feels it, the darkness, cool and collected like ice, touch his mind like a lover's caress.
Thanisson.
Thanisson…
Thanisson!
CROAK!
Thanisson sits up immediately and feels his lungs heaving like he took a lap around the Finalizer. All he can see is his bed with the raven perched at the end looking at him with his red eyes. Those red eyes are identical to the pale figure's eyes; they tear apart his body to find the fragile soul cowering against his bones. He shivers and breaks out into cold sweat.
Was that a dream? But that was me from four years ago! Was that how I got to the pyramid? Did that strange man carry me there? By his sharp looks, pale skin, and black hair, I would say he was a Nagai. But what was a Nagai doing on Bakura? And why was talking like an Ancient? Was he some kind of method actor that was supposed to play some cultist warrior? Wait a minute, how long was I out? Thanisson scrambles to his room's control panel to check out the chrono.
"It's 1200! OH NO! Umano is going to kill me! Lights 90%!" Thanisson's eyes take about a minute to adjust to the sudden harsh light, but he quickly heads to his closet. He puts his uniform on in a matter of minutes and is just getting his boots on when his pad begins to flash incessantly.
Pfassk, it must be Umano messaging me that she's going to dock my pay for not showing up for my shift! Thanisson picks up his pad and pales instantly. The message is from General Hux. The General Hux. And what's even worse is that the message is ominously written, "Come to my office at 1230."
My first kriff up and I'm probably going to be booted from the ship because of it! He's probably going to give me a well-deserved chew out before jettisoning me into space via airlock! I wonder if Cade will actually pay me now since I am an adult… Thanisson does not look forward to all the running that will entail if he goes back to working for his brother.
"Oh sithspit…getting to Hux's kriffing office takes at least thirty minutes! Hells, I hope the Stormtroopers don't mind if I pushed them out of my way; they should be conditioned for that by now thanks to Kylo Ren…" Thanisson hurries to door but halts to turn his attention to the raven.
"Please, don't misbehave while I'm out!" It's half-joke and half-plead from the harried petty officer. The raven cocks his head in mild confusion. Great, now the raven thinks I'm the crazy one! Thanisson hurries out the door and prays to the Force that the General is in a merciful, non-firing mood today.
It is the second time today that Thanisson feels his lungs heaving like overworked engines; he decided to sprint to Hux's office rather than take the normal thirty-minute walk. He would've gotten to the office in under twenty minutes if not for his misfortune of bumping into Captain Phasma. Actually, bumping in is more of misnomer since, for Thanisson's scrawny body, it was more like he crashed into a durasteel wall going Mach 1. Now, he arrives to the office with barely a minute to spare and his body feeling thoroughly bruised.
I made it; I really need to lift weights and eat more protein because my birdy body is far too fragile for another encounter with Phasma's harden form. Thank the Stars that I didn't run into Kylo Ren; he would've certainly Force-choked me and then diced me with his lightsaber! Now, I empathize with Mitaka's fears about the unstable Force-user. Thanisson quickly brushes off whatever dust and grime he accumulated from his little tumble to the floor. He wants to look quite presentable and much like what a petty officer is expected to be. He gives a courteous tap on the door, inwardly praying that Hux might not be in his office and completely forgot about the appointment today.
"You may enter." Pfassk…damn, I forgot to tidy up my hair! Maybe the General will get a laugh from my wild hair and decide not to fire me…I'm so kriffed! Thanisson enters with his back perfectly straight and his shoulders square, looking like a perfect example of a low-ranking officer. Inwardly, he's curled into a fetal position and rocking himself back and forth like a baby.
"Have a seat, Petty Officer Thanisson." He doesn't sound pissed. But then again, he's the kind of man who is slow to anger. And my brother taught me to fear those kind of men. Thanisson follows the General's polite order and takes his black leather seat. Five seconds pass like five years for Thanisson before the General decides to speak again.
"Thanisson, did you notice anything peculiar in your room?" What? Thanisson has to stop himself from staring dumbly at the General. No comment on my dishevel hair, my absence on today's shift, no thinly-veiled threats about jettisoning me into space? What the kriff!?Oh shit, he's waiting for an answer! Say something, stupid!
"P-Peculiar in what way?" Thanisson wants to punch himself in the face for sounding so bewildered before the steadfast general. Is he insinuating that I have contraband? Or is he trying to tell me that Kylo Ren murdered some poor Stormtrooper and tossed his body in my room, but Sanitation came to clean it all up and he's just making sure that they didn't miss a blood spot? Or is he referring to the raven? Yeah, it's probably the raven.
"The security feed for your hallway, particularly the one outside of your room, experienced a malfunction at exactly 2232 last night. It wasn't until 2245 when the malfunction ceased and the security feed was restored. However, exactly ten minutes before the security feed ceased, a Knight of Ren was walking towards your hallway with a peculiarity." Thanisson wishes that the General would show him the security feed because he's literally having trouble processing and picturing the information. A Knight of Ren? Doesn't he mean Kylo Ren? No, he would've just used his name. Or maybe Kylo Ren is a woman under all that getup…I don't want to think about that anymore! Then again, he, or she, is the Master of the Knights of Ren, so obviously there is more than one Knight of Ren. And considering how little information there is in regards to said Knights, perhaps the General doesn't know which Knight of Ren was stalking towards my room. Or maybe he knows nothing about the Knights of Ren like everyone else on the ship? Nah, I would imagine they're pretty hard to tell apart if they dress like their Master.
"A raven, sir. I found a raven in my room last night, but I thought I was hallucinating it after…having some drinks in the Officer's Lounge. This morning, it turned out it was very real and I kind of collapsed and missed my shift, sir." Thanisson decides to momentarily look down in shame. Okay, I omitted a few details like the shot contest and the trippy vision I had, but those aren't really important. I hope.
"Well, that would explain the black feathers found around the ship. But I did not call you in here to further question the strangeness of last night. I called you in here because Lord Ren has a mission for you." Thanisson feels his heart drop through his stomach and down onto the General's freshly sanitized floor. He feels himself shaking in his boots. Oh no, I'm going to be part of some virgin sacrifice ritual! Calm down, Nat, there's no way that Lord Ren has the au—oh, who am I kidding? He'll do whatever the Hells he wants and all the General can do is give him a stern lecture! I wish I was getting fired instead!
"What does the mission entail, sir?" Thanisson feels the words leave his mouth like a droid with a bad processing unit. He is sincerely wondering if it was too late to quit the First Order and join up with his brother in his highly illegal business. Perhaps, this mission is the General punishing me for my indiscretions? He found out from Umano about my late-night activities and wants to set an example with me. It's not my fault that I seem to be the only one on this damn ship who can hold my own against Phasma and Umano!
"This is all that Lord Ren is willing to give me: you are to spend one standard week on Ziost with Lord Ren and one of his Knights. No one else." Thanisson pales into a deathly shade of white. Isn't Ziost one of those Sith Empire worlds or something? Oh shit, this is what I get for just fake paying attention in Ancient Civilizations class! And I'm going to be alone with Kylo Ren and some random Knight who's probably as temperamental and lightsaber-happy as him. Or worse. I'm obviously going to be sacrificed to the Sith Gods or something. I'm going to die.
"But who will take us there? It's such an out of the way place, sir." Thanisson prays that No one else part is excluding pilots with very functional comlinks and medkits filled with bacta patches.
"Lord Ren will you take there in his personal command shuttle." Is this how it feels when your doctor tells you that have terminal disease and only a month to live? I feel like all of my panic, sadness, anger, and fear are just expanding like a bubble. And once it pops, I'll just die a horrible, horrible death. Thanisson congratulates himself for not breaking down in front of the General. He plans to do that in the privacy of his own room; he hopes that the raven won't judge him for it.
"When will I get back from the mission, sir?" It's more if than when, but I'm still doomed! Thanisson wants to moan and bury his head into his shaking hands.
"It is supposed to last a standard week. I can only hope that Lord Ren believes in punctuality." Thanisson gets this strange, tiny feeling that the General was trying to lighten the grim atmosphere in the room. He doesn't believe that the General is capable of comfort. Like Kylo Ren.
"When am I supposed to leave, sir?" I was planning to write out my will after my first year was over, to see how life aboard the ship was. I guess I can give Phasma and Umano my shampoo since they always complimented me for smelling like peaches and cream, and the rest can go to Cade. Thanisson almost laughs hysterically at his lackluster will. Right now, he looks quite grim.
"Today, at exactly 1500. Lord Ren thought it would be an adequate enough time for you to get your things in order." Thanisson sees General Hux grimace. Even he knows that this is a suicide mission. Or rather a homicide!
"Thank you, sir. It has been a…fleeting pleasure…" Thanisson cannot bring himself to continue speaking. He's a bundle of raw, dejected nerves at this point. I don't want to go!
"Thanisson, there is a way for you not to go on this mission. Would you like to know how?" Thanisson vigorously nods his head, completely forgetting how rude it is to not give your commanding officer a verbal answer.
"I can fake your death." A pregnant silence ensues. Thanisson feels like he's been trapped in a surreal dream where his commanding officer is offering to commit treason in order to spare his subordinate's life.
"Sir?" Thanisson manages to croak out. General Hux looks tense as though he were trying to defuse a bomb.
"Lord Ren will most likely not allow you to refuse this mission, as he'd view it as a personal slight against him. However, if you were dead, then you logically would be unable to undertake the mission. I can have this done within the hour and set you up with a new identity. And considering your own familial connections, I would say that you would fare well in a smuggler's life." Oh, he knows about Cade! Well, it seems like he's thought this through. And it's not like I have any friends that will grieve for me; Umano and Phasma might drink to my memory but they'll get over me. Wait, why would he do this for me? Is this some sort of test of my loyalties?
"Um, sir, what you are suggesting can be considered treasonous. And if found out, high command could use this against you and launch an investigation. Although, K—Lord Ren would most likely respond far more apace and lethally than them. With all due respect, sir." Thanisson can see a spark of mischief, the same spark that he has seen in his brother's eyes when he was about to unleash some hell, flare in the General's watery eyes. Wait a tick, I think his eyes are actually green. No, no, they look blue. I could've sworn I saw some green in there. This is not the time to be pondering the General's true eye color!
"I am well aware of Lord Ren's temperament and of the high command's hauteur. However, I would be quite displeased to find out that Lord Ren killed you during the mission in one of his anger fits. You are one of the few individuals in the Order who possess impressive programming skills and hacking capabilities, while also having a certain older brother who tends to cause trouble for the New Republic." Thanisson swears that he just saw the General's pale lips twitch into a one-second smirk. Holy shit, he totally knows about my brother! But how? When? Where? No, no, I really can't wonder about that now!
"Thank you, sir, for that assessment, but I am more concerned about the consequences if I do accept your gracious offer. I am your subordinate and one of my duties is to follow the orders of my commanding officer while ensuring my commanding officer's wellbeing. If I accepted, your life and your rank could be on the line." Stars, did I just kind of stand up to the General? No, I just reminded him that his life is more important than mine! Granted, there are Generals who could take his place, but I'm pretty certain he's one of the few that can stand up to Kylo Ren. Also, it would be quite a blow for our "unofficial" alliance with the Chiss Ascendancy if Grand Admiral Thrawn was to suddenly lose his friend. Thanisson has to bite his tongue to keep himself from blurting out that last part.
"Oh, I have contingency plans in place if such an event were to occur. But, more importantly, do you accept this mission?" The General expertly waves off Thanisson's concern like Cade does whenever his girlfriend, at the time, asks for a deeper commitment. Thanisson once against bites his tongue to prevent himself from instinctually shouting, "Hells no!"
"Yes, sir." Thanisson isn't sure if he's giving an honest answer since barely a second ago his mind was roiling with rejection. And it appears that the General doubts the validity of my answer too. The General's watery eyes narrow into near-slits, which, for some reason, remind Thanisson of holos of Emperor Palpatine. I wonder if the General would take that as a compliment. Probably not, since being compared to the crazed Sith Lord has as much tact as calling someone a whore.
"It seems that I must reiterate the points that I have made. There is a high chance that you will be killed or at least missing a few limbs by mission's end. You will be alone with Lord Ren and his Knight of Ren, who is completely loyal to him, for a standard week or possibly even longer if Lord Ren is feeling disobedient. I cannot help you once you accept the mission. So, I will ask once more: do you accept this mission?" Thanisson sucks in recycled air, feeling his lungs gloriously expand. He relishes the air in his lungs because Kylo Ren could easily take it away from him.
He exhales.
"Yes, I do accept this mission, sir." Thanisson immediately stands up and leaves without the General's permission. He knows that if he heard one more word out of his commanding officer's mouth he would've rescinded his answer. He heads to his room with one, simple goal in mind: to pack for his mission without crying.
When he reaches his quarters, his eyes are immediately drawn to his bed. He sees the raven on top of his beaten, gray pack; he can see that the normally thin bag is nearly bursting. It clicks suddenly in his mind that the raven packed all his things for him while he was out.
He sucks in recycled air, and feels the air hitch in his throat.
He falls to his knees and cries.
Author's Comments- Hatchling can be considered set in the future of Matt the Friend series, but you don't have to read Matt the Friend to understand what's going on or vice versa. All of this takes place more than a year before the events of TFA because I always thought in the movie that Thanisson looked really young like twenty-one or something, so I went for twenty for this story. There's about an eight-year difference between him and Hux because I like to believe that Hux is actually a lot younger than he looks, and I don't like to take in the actor's age into consideration except when estimating age differences between characters.
Back to Thanisson, I started off with humor, or at least it seemed quite funny to me, and ended it with the poor lad having a bit of a breakdown. I hope that the tone shift wasn't too jarring because I wanted to try my hand at humor but also at juxtaposing that with fear. Let's face it if you were a normal person, at least in Star Wars terms, like Thanisson, you'd be scared shitless too to be left alone with a known telepathic and telekinetic man with a shit ton of issues plus his lackey. But if you read the tags, then you know what's going to happen. But, sadly, Thanisson doesn't and is now a crying mess.