Glitter and Gold

Chapter 4

27 ABY – Gan Moradir

One hundred Stormtroopers, her whole battalion, stood before her in black and red body-armor, her sigil on their right shoulders. They were in perfect formation, their blasters in hand. Their eyes – well, the eyes of their helmets were fixed forward, on her. It was silent, for once, as they waited for their orders.

With Hux standing behind her, Vex was glad to know her men knew their place. In private, she didn't mind the banter or questioning. But in front of others such as Hux, it was undermining. It made her look weak before them, listening to the word of those supposedly lower than her.

Vex stood on a raised platform before them, arms crossed over her chest. She wore new clothing she'd commissioned for this purpose. It was similar to her older clothing – tight and dark, making for easy movements and vented to let heat escape; but with armor woven into the cloth. Her burgundy hair was braided and pinned up to stay out of her way, her face painted with dark make-up that framed her eyes and covered her lips. She had been given no mask to hide her features as Kylo Ren did.

"Supreme Leader Snoke has given us our first mission. Now is the time to prove yourself! Prove ourselves! We will carry out his orders to the letter with efficiency and care and secure our place as an elite battalion of the First Order!" Vex called out, voice amplified by a device she held to her mouth.

"Our mission is simple. There is a small group of rebels controlling Gan Moradir. They have taken over the old Imperial base from the days of the Empire. We are to exterminate them and take control for the First order," she explained.

Behind Vex appeared a screen schematic of the city and old Imperial base. Vex turned to the side so she could see it as she spoke. "Unit Alpha will accompany me as I head for the control room. Units Beta and Delta will sweep through the rest of the base and clear it. Unit Echo will form a perimeter outside and make sure there are no surprises from the locals. Unit Coda will stay with the ship and keep watch on outgoing or incoming ships. No-one leaves this rock until we've finished our mission," Vex instructed.

"Am I clear?" she asked. Her battalion called out, thumping their fists against their chest piece. "Make me proud, boys," Vex said. "Report to the boarding ramp. We move in five," she ordered, turning to Hux behind her as the room filled with the sound of tramping boots.

"Did I miss anything?" Vex asked, handing the voice amplifier to Hux.

He looked her up and down, expression dispassionate. "No, Lady Vex. You've done well. I only hope your Stormtroopers are as well-trained as they appear," he said, almost as if the praise pained him.

"They are," Vex promised. "Keep your commlink on, Hux. I want to be able to contact you if this goes sideways," she requested, spinning on her heel to leave.

"As much as I hate to say it, I don't think you'll need my help. I will, of course, be available in case you do," Hux remarked behind her.

"Thank you, Hux!" Vex called out, glancing back but not breaking her stride. Hux lifted his hand to offer a swift salute before heading to the control room.

Vex met Unit Alpha, her oldest troops, on the boarding ramp. "You ready for this?" she asked, stepping close to the unit's commanding officer, SN-2846.

A chuckle was filtered through the mask. "Born ready, Lady Vex. We'll have your back, you know that," he said.

Vex nodded sharply. "I do," she confirmed.

"You are worried." SN-2846 said. It wasn't a question.

She nodded again, her eyes fixed before them. "If I do not please the Supreme Leader…" Vex said quietly. She did not need to finish the sentence. He knew exactly what she meant. He'd seen the scars she'd been given as a result of displeasing her master.

SN-2846 began to reach out to her, hand stilling after a few inches. Unlike the training room, or in private, it would not be looked well upon for him to touch her. She gave a nod, acknowledging the gesture. "Lady Vex, every man in this battalion is loyal only to you. Would lay down their lives for you. We will follow your every order to the letter and ensure you stay in the Supreme Leader's good graces," he said.

The reason for this, SN-2846 left unspoken. Vex knew. To protect her from Snoke's anger. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, before opening them again. "Your loyalty means much to me, SN-2846," she said before stepping away from his side.

Vex moved to the front of the boarding ramp, before her battalion. "My friends, today we will prove our worth to the First Order and the Supreme Leader. I know you will not fail me," she called out to them. Again, they acknowledged her words with a call of their own, and thumped their fists against their chest-pieces. "Lower the ramp!" Vex shouted. The ramp began to lower immediately, so smoothly that they could not feel the movement beneath their feet. The landing pad was clear of life. Vex led her battalion off the ship and onto a planet for the first time in twelve years. She took a moment, soaking in the sun above her head, and the wind whistling through the air, stirring a few stray strands of the hair.

"Let's do this," she said, raising a hand and beckoning them forward.

Vex had completed her first mission successfully. There was a sense of relief thrumming through her that she could not deny, but there was sorrow there, too. Guilt. Vex had killed twenty-three people today. Her battalion altogether had killed more than a hundred. Fifty had been rebels. Fifty had been civilians that had come to the rebels' aid.

An example had been made. Vex had begun to tell her men to spare as many as they could, but then she remembered her master. Remembered what he'd want her to do. Vex had ordered them to be stopped at any means necessary. To use lethal force if necessary. Her men had deemed it necessary. She trusted their judgment.

Fifty innocent civilians had died because they'd stood up to darkness. Vex wished she was that brave.

For her first mission, it had been executed perfectly. Not a single trooper had lost their life today. Minor injuries easily fixed. But there was one blemish upon the day. Vex had been elated as they left the empty old Imperial base, only for a surviving rebel wielding a fucking bowcaster to shoot her.

Caught by surprise, the first projectile pierced her through the shoulder, wringing a cry of surprise from her throat. Her men immediately started shooting, going after him. Vex pressed one hand to her bleeding shoulder, throwing up her other hand to freeze the rebel in place.

"Don't kill him!" she called out, halting her men in place.

"Lady Vex?" one of her commanders asked.

Vex ignored him, striding towards the rebel, the man frozen in fear. "Fool!" she shouted, gritting her teeth as pain radiated up her shoulder and down her arm. Blood spilled from between her fingers. "If you hadn't needed to act the hero, you would have gotten away!" she said, huffing out a bitter laugh.

One of her men came to her side, tying a cloth around her shoulder as a make-shift bandage. "Lady Vex, we need to get you back to the ship so you can be treated," he said.

"Fine," Vex grumbled, turning away. "Stun him and bring him along. I'm sure Kylo Ren would love to torture him," she ordered, stomping in the direction of the ship.

"Yes, ma'am," a chorus of voices echoed behind her.

A small group of her men surrounded Vex – close enough to catch her if she fell, she noted. Despite the pain, despite the blood dripping down her arm, Vex was fine. Irritated.

This wound would be something Snoke would surely notice, and point to as a mistake. Regardless of the impeccable execution of her mission. She'd been wounded, as a Sith lord should not have been. Not by some idiot rebel with a big gun. Vex's hands curled into fists at her sides.

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