The ship was looming over the orbit of Lothal, Jamis recognized the planet as soon as she saw it by her window, then she retreated to a warm bath to calm her nerves. It has been three days since Kylo told her of what he saw when their hands connected, in over a bit of time she also formed the habit of fidgeting her fingers—as if to stretch them out to reduce the stress and the nervousness within—and looking at them, thinking about what he could possibly have seen and what he is avoiding to tell her.
She only told him that he was doing a good job in keeping his promise, his end of the bargain, they are beginning to tie the loose ends on both sides.
'Is it really easier for you to put a catch in every deal you make with me than just asking me to keep on working for you?'
That statement rang in her mind, something that she—with her classic combination of smug and snark that is hard to miss—once said to a smuggler boss, a couple of years back.
Staring up at the ceiling, she let her thoughts run loose, daydreaming of the day she will fly away in the Stellar Wind out of the hangar and into another planet, almost immediately bumping into a gang leader who wants someone dead; the thought that had been dangling in her mind is the possible catch in Kylo's deal—surely, he cannot just let her go because she had completed her training under his supervision, she had dealt with numerous crooks and gangsters, she knew them well enough to know their patterns of trickery and deception when it comes to advertising their propositions.
Jamis was sure of her assumption because she can feel it from Kylo, there is something that he wants to say but is reluctant, it is as if he is avoiding something the moment he opens his mouth, a slight alteration of their deal is not a stretch and she has a way of making both ends meet—one way or another.
"Wait, that's a bad idea," she told herself, widening her eyes at the mental reminder that she is facing a Sith Lord—someone whom one does not simply take lightly.
She took her time in washing herself, savoring every drop and ripple hugging each inch of her body, the water's embrace relaxed her so much that she almost fell asleep in the tub.
Meanwhile, in the conference room, Kylo pressed the button of a beacon and its light began to blink, the few lieutenants and commanders personally summoned by Kylo shift in their seats much to their awkward discomfort and fear of Kylo's unpredictable wrath episodes; Kylo put the remote away in his pocket just before Hux marches in the room.
"May we begin our report?" Hux began, quite excited and confident.
A captain of the scouting fleet swallowed the nervous lump dangling in his throat and spoke, "My fleet was able to detect the Rebels within their radar, they are not far."
"Where are they?"
"They are still in the planet of D'Qar,"
"But our communications intelligence reported that they have been sending transmissions to their other allies across the galaxy, they are hopeless," the commander of the communications intelligence added.
"Any updates? Recent activities other than sending distress signals?"
"No, there aren't anything… new to report. Although our intelligence did deduce that they have been sending distress signals hoping for aid, they're hopeless—nobody's going to help them right away."
"Are you sure about that, General?"
All heads turn to the door, Jamis let herself in the conference room. It was quite an entrance and she was dressed to kill: long robe, a short tactical top, armguards, armor pads on her shoulders, and a belt that holds the mid-section of her robe.
She took the seat across Kylo's end and sat in a not-so-formal way, she sat like she was in a cantina booth couch. Every man in the conference room is taken aback by the posture, the attitude, and the confident aura exuded by this one woman that none of them spoke in reaction to her question addressed to Hux. This is a woman who must not be taken lightly, who has known her trade from a young age, and has dealt with enough crooks to harden her spirit rather than break or discourage it.
"I beg your pardon?!" Hux snapped wildly.
"I said, are you sure about your diagnosis, General?" calmly, Jamis spoke, repeating her question.
The leaders then turn their heads to Hux, awaiting a response, when the silence became any less brief, Jamis added, "From my knowledge and observation, the Rebels are not stagnant workers—while they do rely on the responses of their allies, they do not rely on that alone, they generate other options for survival."
"And where, pray tell, do you get this kind of information?" Hux snarled.
Jamis slightly shrugged, her tone of voice rings with a lingering sarcasm, "I've bumped into more Rebels than you ever could personally."
This annoyed Hux. His nostrils flared and the fists behind his back clenched. He marched up to her as he spat words at her.
"You arrogant, insolent fool! You think you're so smart because you grew up in the streets, that you've dealt with all kinds of scum every day of your life to know their ways, and that you call yourself a hunter who does the dirty work for her master when you are, in fact, their hunting hound—is that it, woman? You have no command in this ship!"
Jamis sensed Hux's approach as threatening, so with every sentence as he inched closer to her, her hand was searching for her lightsaber clipped onto her belt, when her fingertips felt the cold metal they rested there just by the grip of the hilt. At his last sentence, Hux raised his voice, the tone of anger and great vexation was evident but he began to choke in the middle of his momentum. Jamis, oddly calm with a straight face, had propped her arm up with her elbow, motioned her fingers to clench but leaving the palm open as if holding something, and her eyes had a glint of ferociousness in them. She was Force-choking Hux.
"Your perception in bounty hunters is disturbing, General. I reckon you change that,"
Hux gurgled and gasped for air, clawing at his neck trying to free himself from Jamis's invisible grasp. The sight of the general choking at the mercy of this Force-sensitive bounty hunter doubled the commanders' collective discomfort. Another Kylo, they thought.
Jamis prompted herself to stop choking the poor man. She loosened up and slowly leaned back to her seat, returning to her laidback position. She gestured everyone in the conference to continue. She attentively listened and behaved like a good girl.
"A-As I was saying, Lord Ren," the communications commander cleared his throat, "The Rebels are sending distress signals but they are not being answered to."
"Like I said, they're hopeless," Hux pushed his assumption.
"Only small federations are replying to them, but they're of no significant help—they cannot supply them with enough machinery even if they wanted to." The communications commander added.
"What are the odds that we may encounter them in space and not on land?" Kylo asked in the general direction, hoping for a reply from any of them.
"Likely, m'lord, but aren't they still on the lookout for Skywalker?" a fleet commander answered.
The whole time Jamis had been staring at the floor while she listened, but at the mention of Skywalker's name, her ears pricked and her eyes shot up, looking first at the commander and then to Kylo.
Skywalker? What do they know?
"They most certainly are, given that the droid and that girl are in possession of the map, they're perhaps charting their transports to wherever he is." Kylo snarled.
"I guess the smaller federations are not much of a problem to you. They usually just send out emissaries to deal with the Rebels, in this case, General Leia Organa. Don't waste your time in a goose chase," Jamis finally broke her silence and everyone turns their attention to her. "Now, about those odds."
"Go on," Kylo squinted his eyes, intrigued.
"Facing them in space is nothing more than a little dogfight—but it may thin out their numbers if that's what you're aiming for. But the real question is: what are the odds that they will be sending a quarter of the fleet to retrieve Skywalker? Surely, they will send only one person or a small team of three to five persons in a single transport—they wouldn't want that much attention from you now, do they?"
"No, but you are right about thinning their numbers, nothing but a meager task that our fleet can handle."
"What of Skywalker, the Jedi Master? Are you partaking in the manhunt as well?"
Kylo pressed his lips together, she got him there, she sensed it from the moment he mentioned Skywalker, a droid and that girl who possesses the map—he has some unfinished business with those three, she presumed. Kylo did not reply to that question.
"If you don't want to draw so much attention to yourself, then don't go all out, that way they won't see you coming—they'll put up a fight but they are vulnerable nonetheless. Subtlety is key."
"Why are you so worried about our manpower and approach? We are clearly capable of fending off the Rebels," Hux butts in.
"Quiet, ginger," Jamis spat, then she pointed her finger at Kylo, "What value is of Skywalker?"
Kylo felt his heart skip a beat and firmly, he said, "Everything."
I've been busy looking for jobs because I wanna buy things. It's hard but I know I'll get there somehow.