Today was the day. KC-3998 had not slept the whole night, due to the excitement coursing through her veins. She watched the digital clock implanted near the doorway of her quarters as the minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. The moment the clock struck five, she was carefully putting her Stormtrooper armour on, wanting to make sure every detail was perfect. She couldn't accept her new promotion if anything was out of line. She knew she should wait for the announcement in a week to find out if she would be made a Corporal, but the wait was killing her. Captain Phasma would collect her breakfast in half an hour before the rest of the troops, just as she always had. Being one of the only other female officers not based in an all-female unit, the pair had always had a high amount of respect for each other. She was sure Phasma would tell her whether she had been promoted. Or she would at least be able to tell from her reaction. She opened the door to her quarters, which was comprised of a bed, desk and chair. She could hold almost all her possessions in her arms. Not that it mattered. All she needed was to have the right items to make her an effective Stormtrooper. As she made her way down the long black corridors of the base, doubt started to creep into her mind. She was one of the youngest to ever graduate from being a cadet, not mention one of the best gunners in years, but she was no perfect Stormtrooper. She had made rash decisions in simulations which led to the death of her unit, her battlefield tactics were limited, and she lacked experience. But she wasn't asking to become a Captain or a Sergeant, only a Corporal. She just needed a chance. She needed Captain Phasma to take a chance on her. Her thoughts were cut off when she suddenly collided with a figure when she had been rounding a corner. Her heart sunk when she realised it was none other than the Captain she had been looking for. She cringed when she saw the Captain's breakfast was now splattered against her armour, her tray slamming on the floor. Even with Phasma's helmet on, KC could tell the older woman was glaring at her.
"Look on the bright side. I probably just saved you from getting food poisoning" KC announced, watching as Phasma tried to brush off the gruel covering her otherwise spotless armour.
"I'm eternally grateful" Phasma retorted, as KC was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes.
"I'll get you a new tray. I'll even get that weird blue sauce you like-" KC suggested, as she went to walk past Phasma.
"You didn't get the job" Phasma blurted out, making KC stop in her tracks.
"What?" KC questioned, whipping her head back around.
"I'm guessing that's why you were up this early. To find out if you're being made Corporal?" Phasma stated.
"I…I don't understand…why not? What did I do wrong?" KC frowned.
"Nothing. You were at the top of all your classes as a Cadet, all your missions so far have been successful, and your one of the only Stormtroopers in my unit that doesn't irritate me" Phasma explained.
"Am I missing the punchline here?" KC retorted, crossing her arms.
"You're too young. You lack experience" Captain Phasma told her, as KC gritted her teeth together.
"How am I supposed to gain experience if you won't give me the chance to actually get it?" KC insisted, angrily.
"Watch your tone, KC-3998" The Captain warned.
"Captain, please. I know I can do this. I just need you to give me a chance" KC pleaded.
"The decision has already been made. Maybe in a few years you'll be ready-" Phasma began, but KC cut her off.
"Years?! I'm ready now, Phasma! I'm not a child anymore!" KC shouted, balling her hands into fists.
"You're certainly acting like a child" Phasma retorted, as KC took a deep breath.
"I understand your decision, Captain. I apologise for the outburst" KC mumbled, a moment later.
"I don't expect it to happen again, KC-3998. Or you'll find yourself being recommended for re-education" Phasma warned her, as she visibly flinched.
With that Phasma picked up the metal tray on the floor, and shoved it towards KC, who almost fell back at the impact. KC stayed where she stood for a few minutes, trying to figure out how everything had suddenly come crashing around her.
"I'm not a child anymore…yeah…good one, KC" She growled, as she stormed towards the canteen.
She let out a groan when she saw the kitchen had closed the shutters, clearly not expecting anyone else at the early time of the morning. In the next hour, the room would be streaming with Stormtroopers, who all expected her to be boasting about her new promotion. Maybe Captain Phasma was right. She wasn't ready to lead anyone yet; she couldn't even keep her own emotions in order. There was no way the older woman would recommend her for promotion now. She had screwed everything up. Feeling panic course through her, she suddenly felt too hot in her armour and ripped off her helmet. She would be sanctioned if anyone saw her without her helmet, but what did it matter. In a fit of anger, she threw the helmet away from her, enjoying the loud thud as it collided with the floor. Before she knew what she was doing, she grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it into a wall. Seeing red, she repeated this motion over and over until the legs of the chair had completely snapped off. Marching forward, she kicked a nearby table off from the floor, as it crashed onto its side and almost fell apart. Usually, she would have laughed at the shoddy workmanship of the First Order, but all she felt at that moment was anger. KC had just picked up another chair, ready to destroy it, when she spotted a figure in her peripheral vision. Her mouth fell open when she realised who it was and dropped the chair to the ground instantly. Kylo Ren. He made no movement apart from tilting his head slightly, seeming to wait to see what she would do next.
"I could feel your anger from the other side of the base" He announced, his voice distorted by his mask.
KC didn't know how to respond to his comment, feeling incredibly vulnerable under his gaze. She wanted to rush across the room and put her helmet back on, as she felt a blush growing over her face.
"I…I'll report myself, Commander. This was…" KC trailed off, not sure how to describe the destruction around her.
"Interesting" Kylo Ren stated, making her frown.
"Sir?" She questioned, confused as to why he didn't seem angrier.
"What's your name?" He requested.
"KC-3998" She answered, hoping he would forget the name quickly.
"Clean up this mess. There's no need for it to be reported" He informed her, as her forehead wrinkled.
"But…I broke property of the First Order. I should at least be sanctioned" KC pointed out, feeling stupid the moment the words left her lips.
"There's nothing wrong with a little chaos" Kylo Ren replied.
"…Thank you, Commander" KC nodded, not wanting to get herself in any more trouble.
She quickly rushed over to where her helmet was lying on the floor and crouched down to pick it up. Suddenly she felt a strange pressure in her head, as she scrunched her eyes shut from the pain. It felt like something was clawing around in her skull. She whipped her head around to see Kylo Ren had yet to move, seeming almost to be in a trance. Once he had been caught staring, he quickly turned on his heel and began to walk out of the room, leaving KC even more confused. Had he tried to use the Force on her? It felt like he had been searching for something in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if he had found what he was looking for.
"What's wrong with you?" A male voice questioned, bringing KC out of her thoughts.
A few hours had passed, and the canteen was now packed with Stormtroopers. KC had only just managed to clear up the mess before the first Stomtrooper entered, who luckily didn't seem to question what she was doing there so early. She had been thinking about her earlier encounter with the Commander, neglecting her breakfast.
"Nice to see you too, FN" KC mumbled, looking up at the Stormtrooper who had sat opposite her.
"Okay, there's definitely something wrong with you. You never call me that in public" FN-2187 pointed out.
"I didn't get the job" KC shrugged, digging her spoon into the gruel they were serving for breakfast.
"What? Why not?" He frowned; eyes wide.
"Not enough experience" KC sighed, resting her head on her hand.
"…Maybe next year. You'll be nineteen-" FN-2187 began, but she cut him off.
"It'll be the same. I've royally pissed off Phasma" KC informed him.
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think" FN insisted.
"I basically threw her breakfast all over her armour" KC confessed, as FN's mouth fell open and stayed like that for a few seconds.
"Right…that is pretty bad" FN murmured, as he began eating his breakfast.
"Then I wrecked the canteen" KC admitted.
"What?! What would you have done if someone had seen you?" FN cried.
"They did. Kylo Ren to be specific" KC replied, as FN spat out his food, almost choking as he did so.
"And your head is still attached to your shoulders?" FN gaped.
"It was weird…he almost seemed impressed" KC frowned.
"Well, he does have a history of tantrums. Maybe your kindred spirits" FN teased, as KC rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't a tantrum! Just a…fit of anger. It wasn't even that bad really. Barely any damage" KC shrugged, as they heard a large bang from behind her.
She turned to see the table she had flipped over earlier had cracked in the middle, as numerous breakfast trays dropped to the floor in a mess.
"Like I said…'barely' any damage" KC mumbled, making FN laugh.
"Is it really so bad not getting the promotion? Now you can stick around with us regular troopers" FN pointed out.
"C'mon, FN. Don't you want to see more? Do more? Are you really going to be happy just doing simulations for the rest of your life?" KC insisted.
"Maybe" FN shrugged, tucking back into his breakfast.
"I want more than that" KC told him.
"Well, you know what they say. Be careful what you wish for" FN told her, with a mouthful of food, as she chuckled fondly.
The next morning, she performed the same routine and was out of her quarters early in the morning. She hoped to see Captain Phasma again, wanting to apologise for her behaviour the day before. She wanted the older woman's respect back. She was embarrassed to admit it, but she had always craved it. She thought she would be in luck when she saw the intimidating woman marching down the corridor and called out to her.
"Captain!" KC announced, frowning as Phasma walked right past her.
"Captain Phasma, wait!" KC insisted as she began to rush after her.
She was far shorter than Phasma and found it difficult to keep up with her superior. Still, Phasma made no sign she even knew KC was there.
"I'm sorry about yesterday, I…I just wanted the promotion so bad. But you were right…I'm not ready and…you're not even listening, are you?" KC sighed, as Phasma went down a different hallway, not slowing down in her pace.
KC leant against the wall, as she realised just how badly she may have affected her reputation. She pushed back off the wall and was about to walk back to her quarters when she realised where Phasma had been heading. The only thing down the black corridor was Kylo Ren's quarters. KC frowned as she wondered why Phasma had been going there, as she knew how much the Captain hated him. She thought he was nothing more than an irritating child and wasn't afraid to show it. She would never have approached him on her own accord. KC suddenly got a bad feeling about the whole situation and found herself following Phasma before she could stop herself. She stayed quiet and hid out of sight, so not to let on that she was following her superior. She came to a halt when she rounded the last corner and saw a fight occurring only a few metres away. Kylo Ren was pushed up against a nearby wall by three Stormtroopers, all of which were holding onto his arms. It seemed he would be able to easily defeat his attackers, as he used the Force to send one of them flying onto their back, hearing a sickening snap, and turned to the other two. When he saw Captain Phasma approach, he seemed to think she would assist him as she pulled out her blaster. However, KC could see from the position she was holding it, the blast would hit Kylo Ren and not his attackers. Grabbing the knife, she hid inside the sleeve of her armour, she threw it towards her superior as it reached its target. They let out a masculine cry, as they looked down to see the blade had lodged itself through their wrist. With a sickening realisation, KC realised that the person in the armour wasn't Phasma. Kylo Ren's head snapped to look at her for a moment before he grabbed his lightsaber from his hip. He quickly cut into his nearest attacker, cutting their arm clean off and using the force on the other Stormtrooper. KC rushed forward as the imposter in Captain Phasma's armour removed the knife from their wrist with a scream. Kylo slammed his lightsaber through the attacker whose arm he had cut off and threw his body to the ground. Taking a step forward, it seemed he was about to do the same to the imposter when KC suddenly grabbed the knife from their hand. She grabbed the back of the imposter's head and pushed the blade into their neck, as blood spattered onto their silver armour. As she pulled the blade out, some blood sprayed onto her white helmet, obscuring her vision. Kylo stared at her in shock, as the imposter's body fell to the ground. The pair stood there for a few seconds, panting before KC spoke up.
"You're welcome" She announced, wiping away some of the blood on her helmet.
"KC-3998?" He frowned, as she was surprised, he seemed to remember her from voice alone.
Her sight was still too obscured by blood, and with little thought, she removed her helmet. KC could swear she saw Ren's lips twitch into a smile for just a second, as she brushed some hair out of her face. He seemed impressed once again.
"That one's still alive" KC stated, pointing to the unconscious Stormtrooper on the ground.
"Not for long" Kylo Ren growled, twisting around his grip on his lightsaber.
He stormed over and sunk the powerful weapon into the Stormtrooper's back, who let out a cry, which was cut off as Ren twisted the lightsaber. KC was looking at the weapon in awe, as he turned around and the red light disintegrated with a whooshing sound.
"I guess you're really glad you didn't send me off for re-education now" KC smirked.
"Maybe I knew this would happen…it was all a part of some elaborate scheme" Kylo Ren exclaimed, as he crouched down beside the imposter's body.
"Was it?" KC queried, as she crouched down on the opposite side of the body.
She heard what she could only describe as an amused sound escape from his lips, as it was distorted by his mask. KC was about to speak again when she remembered who was talking to. The Commander Kylo Ren. Her superior. And there she was conversing with him like they were old friends. Her eyes widened when she felt the pressure in her mind again, as her eyes snapped up to the man opposite her. She gave him a questioning look, as this time he didn't try to hide the fact that he was using the Force to search her mind. Seeming to not find what he was looking for again, he turned to the body at their feet. Ripping off their helmet, KC watched as he tilted his head.
"I don't recognise this man" Kylo Ren stated.
"Yeah, like you know everyone who works at this base" KC scoffed, as he looked up at her, as she was pretty sure he was raising an eyebrow.
"Seriously?" She questioned, in shock.
"It's important to know who is loyal to the First Order and who isn't" Kylo Ren replied.
"But everyone here is loyal" KC frowned.
"To a degree," Kylo Ren mumbled.
"…What category do I fall into?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Stay on task, KC-3998. This man doesn't belong here. He's not apart of the First Order" Kylo Ren explained.
"And he tried to kill you…" KC's eyes widened.
"He's a part of the Resistance" Kylo Ren announced.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! Star Wars is my new hyper fixation, specifically Kylo Ren, and I thought it would be interesting to have female Stormtrooper. Do you guys want my OC to be Force-sensitive? I'm 50/50 at the moment. Also FN-2187 is Finn from the movies in case anyone is confused. Please leave a review:)