Glitter and Gold
Chapter 5
27 ABY – Mid Rim Territories
Vex knelt at the feet of her master's throne, eyes lowered as her injured arm sat stiffly by her side. "The mission was successful, Master. The rebel base was wiped out. We had no casualties on our side and only minor injuries reported," she spoke through gritted teeth. On board her ship, one of her cross-trained troopers/medics had patched the wound – but she'd need further treatment on the Supremacy. She needed real medics for her ship – or at least a few droids.
"You've been injured," Snoke pointed out, lazily gesturing towards her arm. Vex gave a sharp nod. "Pray tell me, child – how did you allow this to happen?" he questioned.
Vex sucked in a deep breath. He made it sound as if it was purposeful, but, of course, the fault did lay with her. "I was leaving the base after we'd cleared it. The moment I was in open air, a surviving rebel jumped up and shot me with a bowcaster. I suppose he hid from my troops until that moment," she explained.
"And you did not see him coming? You did not stop the blast before reaching you?" Snoke said in a disappointed tone.
Vex shook her head. "I did not sense him among all the others, Master. Somehow he escaped my men –"
"So you lay the blame with your troops. With you training them so personally, Vex, I was led to believe they would be as thorough as you." Snoke spoke, sitting back in his throne.
Vex sighed. "They are mere men, Master. They are fallible. Among the seventy-three rebels that inhabited that base, seventy-two were already dead. The last must have slipped away in the chaos." She said.
"Seventy-three? You reported 123 dead." Snoke asked, leaning forward eagerly.
Vex looked down. "Fifty of the casualties were civilians. They tried to come to the rebels' aid. My men were caught by surprise at this – they executed their orders precisely, but that last rebel must have hid during the chaos of that attack," she explained.
A grim smile spread over Snoke's lips. "What orders did you give?"
Vex looked up, catching the milky blue of his eyes with hers. "I ordered they be turned away, with whatever force deemed necessary. My men deemed lethal force necessary."
"Hmmm," Snoke brought his hand up to stroke his chin as he thought. "I feel guilt. Sorrow. They radiate from you, my child," he said.
Vex let out another long breath. "Those people – the civilians – they did not have to die, Master. If they'd just stayed inside their homes and let us do what we had to. If they had not objected, they would still be alive," she said.
"Come closer, my child," Snoke said, outstretching an arm to her. Vex rose on uncertain feet, crossing the few feet of space that divided them. At his feet, she knelt again, lowering her eyes to the floor. His large hand rested on the back of her head. It was not a gentle touch. "Those people of Gan Moradir… they rebelled against the First Order, Vex. Despite the fact that it was their only act of rebellion, they. still. rebelled. You did as you were ordered."
"Then why do I still feel sorrow?" Vex asked in confusion. She still did not dare look up. His grip on her tightened.
Snoke sighed. "Because they do not see reason as you do. When you were a young child, you understood that your place was to obey me and the First Order. You understand that still. Those civilians on that planet did not. My child, you offered them redemption by telling them to go back to their homes. They did not see the mercy you offered them. When they persisted, you had no choice," he purred.
Vex stiffened beneath his grasp. His tone was too kind, too understanding. His hand left the back of her head to catch her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "There will be people everywhere you go that will object to your mission. They will rebel. You must grow used to the idea that feeling sorrow or guilt for them is useless. They have made their choice, Vex. They will die for it," Snoke hissed, his grip on her chin bruising.
"Yes, Master," she whispered. Abruptly, he released her. She nearly lost her balance, but with her good hand planted on the ground, Vex held steady.
"And the Rebel? Why did you not kill him?" Snoke asked. "It seems that killing him would have been more merciful than giving him to Kylo Ren."
"He made me angry." Vex answered honestly.
A smile spread across his misshapen face. "Go on and see a medic. Do not allow them to erase the scar, my child. It will serve you as a reminder of your failure," Snoke ordered in a deceivingly gentle tone.
"Yes, Master," Vex said quickly. She stood and bowed stiffly, the pain of her wound beginning to bleed through her composure.
Once outside Snoke's throne room, SN-2846 snapped to her side from his post waiting outside the door. "You must go to sick bay and be treated," he said.
"I'm going now," she grumbled, glancing at him. He was still wearing the Stormtrooper armor. They weren't allowed to take it off without permission once they were given the armor. "I'm not used to seeing you in that armor." Vex remarked, entering the elevator with SN-2846 at her side. She punched the button for the sick bay's level on the starship.
He glanced towards her, holding his blaster casually in one hand. "Do you think I will be allowed to remove it later, in private?" SN-2846 asked. Vex could hear the flirtatious, teasing tone in her mind, but it was lost through the filters of his mask.
Vex lifted an eyebrow in his direction. "I think it can be arranged," she said coolly. Though she couldn't see it, she could imagine the familiar lopsided smirk that would have sprung to his lips at her words.
At Vex's side, as always, was SN-2486. He'd stood beside her as a doctor cut the blood-soaked sleeve from her shirt, revealing her pale flesh smeared with the crimson substance. His worried thoughts were loud, nearly making her dizzy with their intensity.
When she'd ordered the doctor to leave a scar, Vex had felt him begin to speak. She swung her head to glare at him before the first syllable filtered through the mask, abruptly silencing him. "Wait outside, SN-2486," Vex barked. He hadn't moved at first, simply looking at her through that godawful mask before he'd followed his orders. In peace, the doctor had treated the wound and applied a bacta bandage to both the entrance and exit parts of the wound, and sent her off.
Vex had been quick to head for her quarters afterwards, SN-2846 followed silently. The moment the doors had sealed behind them, she started to peel off the ruined clothing and cast them aside to head for the refresher.
"Do I have your permission to remove my armor?" SN-2846 asked hesitantly, laying his blaster on the closest table. Turning to look back at him, Vex gave a sharp nod before entering the refresher and stepping into the shower. She didn't stay under the spray long, preferring instead to quickly scrub the dirt and blood that caked her skin away. Once she felt clean, Vex climbed out, wrapping herself in a towel.
Standing before the mirror, Vex stared long and hard at herself. Her long burgundy hair appeared almost purple when wet, spilling over her shoulders in disarray. Her skin was pale and unfreckled, from twelve years cooped up on the ship without seeing the sun once. Large, icy-blue eyes framed by long, dark eyelashes; sharp, high cheekbones and plump lips. Vex looked young and innocent at the age of seventeen. She wanted to laugh at the thought.
You only had to look below her neck to know she was no pretty little girl. That pale, perfect skin was painted with scars. Some were thick, corded and an angry red, like the one on her hip and clavicle; and some were thin and white, crisscrossing her skin. The scar Vex had earned today would be an ugly one, puckered and red if she were able to guess. All reminders of her many failures.
Vex left the refresher, digging through her drawers to pull out clothes to sleep in. "'fresher's all yours." she offered, glancing back to SN-2846. His armor was discarded near the door, and he sat on the edge of her bed in a dark shirt and pants. He looked sweaty.
"You saying I reek?" he asked in good humor, eagerly getting up. Vex returned the jest with a half-hearted smile. SN-2846 passed her, gently sliding his hand against her bare back and flashing her a warm look.
Vex dropped the towel once the doors had closed behind him, and tugged on the soft linen clothes she slept in. She slipped into bed, curling into a tight ball under her blankets. The ache in her shoulder intensified as she mistakenly laid on it, causing her to swiftly turn onto her other side.
She exhaled lowly, closing her eyes. When she focused on the pain, she was able to push it down deep inside her using the Force. After a brief moment of agony, the pain completely disappeared. Vex sighed, relaxing into the into the cushiony bed.
Now she could sleep, and it was all she wanted – to leave everything behind. Even the demons that haunted her dreams were preferable to her waking existence. Her imagination couldn't conjure anything more horrifying than what she lived every day.
Not long after she'd begun to doze off, Vex felt SN-2846 slide into bed behind her. He curled his body against hers, pressing a gentle kiss to the peak of her bad shoulder. "Sleep well, Vex," he murmured, settling beside her. Vex shifted to lay on her back, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his damp, shaggy blond hair.
SN-2846, or Sin, as she preferred to call him, was quite handsome in her opinion. Vex wasn't sure who the prime clone who created him was, but there were many like him in her battalion. Vex knew Sin from the others by the scar that crossed his lip – from their very first training session together – as well as the unique lopsided smirk that tugged at the left side of his mouth.
Sin was one of the first ten clones given to Vex four years ago, and they'd immediately clicked. It was the first time Vex had ever been among people her own age, and while she'd formed a close bond with all of the clones from the first batch, her relationship with Sin had always been special. He was her best friend, but as they'd grown older, it had transformed into something else, too.
Vex wasn't entirely sure what love really was, but she thought she just might love Sin.
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