Tim Knispel: Thanks, intriguing is definitley good. You're in school already? I don't start until the 1st...that's not very far away though. sniffles Yay! Can't wait until you update. I don't know how long mine will be, I know it will be over fourteen though, I have thirteen of them already written. It seems like I've disappointed you with not too much J/Z in this fic. Well don't worry, I have at least three other fics coming in the future that are, or are in some way centered around J/Z. Yub yub commander? I love that phrase!! And yes I do love naming the chapters...but all of the sudden I'm drawing blanks for them!! Yikes!
Zoleth: Thanks. As for who he reminds her of... who are your guesses? I'm just curious...
Chapter 8:
Rek
"You're late." The Dark Angel said, arms crossed over her chest, liquid brown eyes glaring as Rek staggered into the large training room.
"Yeah well...normal people don't get up at these hours..." he murmured, rubbing the sleep from his hazel eyes.
"Rek, it's the middle of the day." She said, raising her eyebrows and forcing away the smile that threatened to show. There had been a handful of times that she wished she could have slept late too.
"Well...don't blame me...blame Bastion...it has a different time schedule thing than here does!" he said, thumping down on a padded bench in the corner of the room and running a hand through his already tousled blonde hair.
This time, she did smile; she couldn't help it. Something about Rek's antics highly amused her. She still couldn't place who he reminded her of though...
"I thought we were supposed to be heading for Bilbringi or something today..." He commented leaning back against the wall, hazel eyes observing her.
"Borleias." She corrected him, still standing with her arms crossed over her chest. "And we are en route at the moment. We'll be arriving in a few hours."
He merely let out a groan and sat up straighter, running a hand over his face. He was starting to wake up a bit now.
"What's our mission there, anyway?" he asked sliding over to make room for her on the bench.
"That's why you're here." She explained, tossing a long, thick braid over her shoulder. "I'm supposed to brief you."
"Ok then, shoot." He muttered, prompting a small twinkle in the Dark Angel's brandy eyes. He was learning already that she had a lot of qualities and traits that she had been trained to hide. Her sense of humor was one of them.
"Well, first... Borleias. It's the only inhabited planet in the Pyria System. It's mostly a jungle planet, and the main language there is Basic. But they're causing a problem to us-"
"By 'us' you mean...?" Rek interrupted, merely flashing a cocky smile in response to the glare she directed at him.
"The New Empire." She confirmed, continuing with her explanation. "Borleias is the home of an active New Republic base. Plus, Senator Redit is one of the New Republic's major supporters. Our ships will...bomb the New Republic base."
Rek, who had closed his hazel eyes to absorb the information, noticed her pause. Opening them he saw hesitation. It was the first sign of any reluctance he had seen in her before.
"What exactly are you and I going to be doing?" he questioned, trying not to show that he had seen her moment of weakness.
"A group of our most elite troopers will be accompanying me to the planet's surface. There are a few very influential highly-placed New Republic supporters that need to be...disposed of...including Senator Redit himself."
Rek leaned forward, his hazel eyes widened with his disbelief.
"You're talking about a raid!" he exclaimed. He couldn't take part in this, he couldn't! He wouldn't kill his fellow New Republic citizens! But he couldn't let the New Empire know that either. This was an interesting predicament...
She looked at him, and he thought he saw a quick flash of pain in her liquid brown eyes. Maybe he was just imagining things...
"I know." She said, blinking away any emotion she might have subconsciously betrayed a moment before, "You got a problem with it?"
"No...no, of course not." He stuttered, his mind racing for an acceptable response. "I just...don't really have the right stomach for killing... and plus, wouldn't a raid turn more people away from the New Empire?"
Surprisingly, the Dark Angel merely gave him a knowing look.
"A good question ..." she murmured, her brandy eyes fixed on his face. "But no. The idea is to rule through fear. Fear is a part of everyone's life and if they fear us enough to stop resisting...I think you get it now."
Rek just gave a sickened nod and she continued on. "I was planning to have you stay aboard the Dark Lady, but he- the New Emperor won't permit me. He claims you'll have to learn sometime or another. You can just come along as an observer, or a bodyguard if you like. Leave the real killing to the rest of us."
Rek gave her another small nod and something registered in his mind then. Her eyes seemed to say something to him. The dark orbs seemed to be filled with horrors for a moment, and an unspoken message was clearly conveyed to him, somehow.
You're one of the lucky ones...And he realized something about her. She may have a reputation as a cold-blooded killer, but the Dark Angel really did have a heart somewhere deep inside that dark exterior. And just as suddenly, he realized that he knew more about the actual person behind that hard exterior than probably anyone in the entire galaxy.
Despite her deadly training and physique, the pretty young woman behind the mask was just a young teenager, like him...
As if she had caught hold of his thoughts she straightened, and her eyes flashed violently. She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder again and the brandy orbs fixed him pointedly.
"You can go now...I'll let you know when we arrive." She snapped, turning abruptly and striding from the room with a quickened pace.
Probably back to her quarters, he guessed. She spent most of her time either there, or with him. It was as if she hid from the galaxy in there...
He realized then that she hadn't punished him for his thoughts, as the New Emperor would have and had done countless times.
He realized then, that the Dark Angel had a soft spot for him. He saw the expression in her eyes when she looked at him. She seemed to struggle at something. Maybe it was a struggle against the evil that her Master had planted inside of her...or maybe it was something else...
He shook his head a moment later. Or maybe I just think too much...
He rose and left the room, ignoring the snide glances of the other Imperial officers in the corridor. They were jealous that the Dark Angel paid him so much attention when sealed and locked durasteel doors always shut them out.
Walking down a long corridor, he passed the Dark Angel's door. He merely glanced at it before reaching his own door, as his room was next to hers.
Entering, he made sure his door was shut tightly and locked. He found and turned on a small device that had been hidden in a small door under his sleepcouch that would temporarily jam any devices that attempted to spy on him.
He looked to the far wall of his room for a moment, knowing that she was just beyond it. He often wondered what she did in there, no one ever knew, not even the New Emperor...
He quickly found the box he had hidden the day before and pressed his finger to the latch on the front. It did a quick scan of him and opened.
He reached inside and rummaged through the equipment. He quickly found what he was looking for- a comlink.
He turned it on and was answered almost immediately.
"Fraer Jode, head of New Republic Intelligence here."
"This is Rek reporting in, sir. I have some new information regarding the New Empire's plans."
"Ah, Rek. Haven't heard from you in a while. We were starting to think you were a goner. What have you got?"
Rek sighed as he explained the New Empire's plans for Borleias...
