"When your ID number is called, step forward!" General Hux cried, pacing back and forth in front of massive rows and rows of storm troopers. It felt good to finally be in charge of something for the first time in a while.
Captain Phasma stood next to Hux, examining her soldiers proudly as they stood uniform in the large, white-washed, echoing drill hall. Only the best of their divisions had been chosen. Though none of them had any idea what all of this was for, they had all done well. They had all gone through rigorous tests and challenges, and had been narrowed down many times- and now, after even more tests, they would narrow it down even further.
Their Resistance spy was to be chosen today, and they were going to do this thoroughly and properly.
Captain Phasma stepped forward, holding a clipboard. One by one, she called out their numbers.
"RB-0101."
A trooper stepped forward.
"AC-1567."
Another one.
"ME-1124."
And another.
"And FN-2191."
The last trooper stepped forward. This was it, the last four candidates.
"Those of you who's number was not called, you are dismissed," General Hux announced. In sync, the twenty-or so-other storm troopers turned and marched off, leaving the four others looking desolate.
"Congratulations, you four," Captain Phasma addressed the remaining soldiers. "You've made it to the final test."
"But it will not be an easy one," Hux added. "Please, come with us."
Hux and Phasma escorted the four troopers to a small, private room. Just like the drill hall, this office was white-washed, but also housed four chairs sat ceremoniously in a row.
"Please, sit," Hux said, now in a more calm tone. Just like he said, the four of them sat down.
"You may remove your helmets," Captain Phasma instructed. Apprehensively, the troopers removed their helmets- they weren't usually allowed to under normal circumstances. They looked at eachother curiously.
"RB-0101," Phasma said. The trooper stood. He was a young man with pale skin and light, sandy hair that stuck out a little bit from the plastic hood worn underneath their helmets.
"Captain," he replied, monotone.
"AC-1567," Phasma once again called out. AC-1567 stood up. A young woman with tan skin- who looked to be wearing armour that was too big for her- was to become the face of this storm trooper.
"Captain," she replied as well.
"ME-1124."
Once again, a third trooper rose. This woman looked a bit older than the rest, but no less fierce. If anything, she looked more vicious than the others- which was only one reason to be afraid of her. This woman topped all previous records when it came to combat, so everyone knew to steer clear of her.
"Captain," she barked, so loud and sharp that the scidish RB-0101 jumped. Yup, she was ruthless.
"And FN-2191," Phasma finished. Finally, the last trooper stood up. A tall young man with pale skin but dark hair stood up straight and tall.
"Captain," he replied.
Phasma nodded. One of these storm troopers were going to carry out one of the most important missions in First Order history- and now, her and Hux had to figure out which one.
"Good," Hux began. "Now that you're all present, you will learn what your last test is. But first, you must get to know eachother."
"This part of the test consists of nothing too difficult," Phasma started. "General Hux and I will leave this room. You four must stay. We will lock the door behind us, and you must get to know each other."
The four troopers nodded incoherently. This doesn't seem too hard, they thought.
"For how long?" AC-1567 spoke up.
"For an hour," Hux answered.
"What's the point of it?" Asked ME-1124.
Hux sighed. "Well, I suppose you should know what this has been leading up to." He stood up tall and professional, looking around cautiously, as if someone might be listening.
"One of you will be sent to the Resistance as a spy," he explained, lowering his voice. The four storm troopers squirmed uneasily at hearing the name Resistance.
"These tests have been designed for us to find one of you who will most properly do the job."
They nodded.
"But this is a top secret mission," Hux stated, more serious this time, putting lots of emphasis on "top secret". "If you breathe a word of this to anyone, you will be executed for treason," Hux threatened, his voice getting involuntarily louder. "Is that understood?!"
"Yes, General," they responded in chorus.
"Good," Phasma said. "Since you all understand, phase one of your test will now begin."
She and Hux headed out of the room. Without a word, they closed the door, locking it behind them.
Surprised and unknowing, the four remaining troopers looked at eachother, confused.
"Is this really it?" FN-2191 asked. "Seems easy to me."
"Well if it's so easy, then let's get started," ME-1124 demanded. Knowing not to get on her bad side, they all started chatting. This first phase seemed easy, because it was. But this was only the first phase. There were more to come.
The hour passed by uneventfully. When Hux and Phasma returned, they were delighted to find their four storm troopers chatting gleefully and getting to know one another.
The storm troopers were dismissed for the night. They went back to their respective quarters, but not without being one again threatened by General Hux. You will be executed.
Hux and Phasma remained in the room, discussing the days to come.
"Phase one is complete," Phasma announced.
"Good," Hux replied, smiling pleasingly. "Now for phase two."
Phase two was a bit different. Their four candidates would have no idea what was happening. Phase two was about surveillance. Their four storm troopers would be monitored for a few days; this was to prove their trustworthiness. If they could make it through without breaking the news of their mission, then they would pass.
But the consequences for blowing it were yet to be decided, but it would definitely result in death.
So the first day went by normally. It was actually very boring for Hux, since he was the one who had to stare blankly at security monitors for hours on end. But all four subjects went through the first day perfectly.
The second day was the same, with only a few bumps along the way. Captain Phasma had watch that time, and she was positive that ME-1124 said something to another trooper in her division, but the audio was (quite conveniently) scrambled at that moment, so nothing could be done about it.
The third day was when things started to go downhill. It was Hux's turn again, and this time, he caught ME-1124 chatting with one of her fellow troopers.
She was in her quarters with the same suspect from the day before: ME-1234. They were both alone, and supposedly safe.
"What were you gone for yesterday?" ME-1234 asked.
"I shouldn't tell you this," ME-1124 began, lowering her voice. "There's a secret mission."
ME-1234 smiled like a teenager talking gossip. "Really? Why are you involved?"
ME-1124 smirked, covering her mouth as she whispered something to her comrade.
Too much said.
Execute.
One less candidate.
Execute.
One day closer to the end of the Resistance.
Execute.
Hux's blood boiled. His face turned a bright red. Grabbing his blaster from its holster, he booked it out of the security room, not paying the other candidates any mind.
He shot down the corridors, running through corps of storm troopers and groups of officers.
Execute, execute, execute, was the only thing going through his head. He must have looked like an insane asylum escapee, running ramped through the halls with the largest scowl ever tearing across his face.
He came to ME division's female quarters. Kicking down the door, he winded his way through the rows and rows of beds, bloodshot eyes darting back and forth like a lion seeking its prey.
Then he saw them. His eyes locked onto them, knowing he would be the last person to see these two alive. But that bothered him not one bit.
"Traitor," he whispered under his breath through gritted teeth.
Holding up his blaster without a second thought, he pulled the trigger twice- shooting both ME-1124 and ME-1234, sending an array of armour, flesh and blood onto the opposing wall.
Slowly, cautiously, he snuck around to where they were both sitting- now laying on the floor, a pool of blood increasing in size around them. If they weren't both dead, they would be soon.
ME-1124 stared up at Hux with what little power she had left. Her sharp blue eyes shone vividly against her ever-paler getting skin. She opened her mouth to say something, only to get a blaster bolt to the head. Hux yelped as blood splattered across the room in all directions.
Growling, he removed his trench coat- which was now soaked, and let it fall into the pool of blood that grew to engulf his feet aswell. He walked out of the pool of blood, and rushed over to the intercom panel, leaving bloody footprints in his midst.
"Send a sanitation crew to this area," Hux ordered to whoever was on the other end.
"Right away, sir," they replied.
Hux sat in the room for a moment, shaken by what he'd done. He looked at the splayed, bloody, congealed bodies of ME-1124 and ME-1234. No, he'd get over it soon enough.
Phasma's not going to be happy, he thought. Though she might be upset, Hux was not. In his eyes, he stopped somethings that could have turned into a catastrophe. He was the real hero!
The sanitation crew came and cleaned up the mess, surprisingly not too stunned by the bloody crime scene- it was just a part of the job.
Before they left, Hux stopped them. He berated them, making it a point for them to "never mention this to anyone. Or else."
One of Rey's favourite things was to wake up before the sun and sit in front of the large window, watching it rise as it casts warm, orange light across the gorgeous valley.
As she improved, she was removed from the many machines. Though her condition was on the fence, everyone knew she would be fine. She was improving markedly every day.
By now, she could get up and walk around. Since she was a little unstable on her left foot (because it was so weak), she used her staff mostly for support, which gave her a reason to hold on to it.
Finn and Poe came in to visit her every day. Occasionally, Leia would too. But never Luke, not since he fled the last time. But Rey was alright with that, because Finn and Poe always came bearing giant smiles and fun stories to tell, which always brightened up her day.
One morning, while she sat in front of the magnificent window to watch, in awe, the sun rise, Finn came in earlier than usual.
"Hey, Rey," he ambled, smiling as usual.
She turned and smiled back. "Finn!" She exclaimed. She was always so happy to see him! "Where's Poe?" She asked.
Finn sighed, a little downhearted.
"He's on a recon mission, right now," Finn explained. "The General's on the lookout for a new base."
Rey raised an eyebrow. "A new base? Why?"
"The First Order knows we're here," he said. "They know where we are."
"Oh," Rey sighed. "So when will he be back?" She asked.
"They just left," Finn said. Excitedly, he pointed out the window as a half dozen X-Wings flew into the sky. "See? There they go!"
Rey chuckled and waved, even though she knew they wouldn't see her. Again, she sat back and stared out the window longingly. Slowly, the sun started to rise over the horizon. Finn took a spot on the floor beside her.
Rey sighed. "I want to go outside," she said quietly and sadly. Finn looked at her in pity.
"Haven't you been outside yet? Even I have!" He said happily, trying to raise her spirits.
"No," she began. "Before I left to find Luke Skywalker, I spent all of my time with you."
Finn blushed. She spent all of her time with him? She could have gone out to get a sense of the land, of the Millenium Falcon, but instead she chose to stay inside, in the cold, underground base, as Finn lay comatose in his bed. A completely selfless act.
But that was Rey. She had a heart, even if she didn't always show it.
Finn thought for a moment.
"Would you like to go outside with me?" He asked shyly. Rey turned to Finn, beaming from ear to ear.
"Can we?!" She basically yelled, before jumping up and grabbing her staff, skipping (avoiding putting weight on her ankle) out of her medical ward room. Finn laughed, quickly getting up to go chase after her.
"Wait up!" He called, but she was already down the hall. Finn had to run as fast as he could to catch up with her, finally meeting her at the exit, where she had to stop and wait for Finn.
For an injured girl, she sure can run fast. For the moment, her ankle didn't bother her. Her pure excitement canceled out all pain.
Phase two went by quickly. The other three candidates made it through with flying colours. But now came phase three.
The final phase.
General Hux and Captain Phasma sat in the small, whitewashed room again, waiting for RB-0101, AC-1567, and FN-2191 to show up. As they sat, they discussed the full mission.
"We'll send the spy to D'Qar via an escape pod," Hux explained. "Their story will be that they escaped the First Order."
Phasma nodded. "They'll take pity, like they did with FN-2187."
As they chatted, their remaining troopers showed up. Like usual, they sat in their chairs- one less than before. They removed their helmets and started talking to eachother as they awaited news of the final phase. The last test was going well- they were growing close to each other.
Hux had been looking forward to the final phase the most. This would prove how they would react to having to kill someone that they were close to.
Yes- for the final phase, they had to kill one another.
If everything went according to plan, only one candidate would remain victorious. This would be their spy.
Hux stood to address the storm troopers.
"Congratulations on making it this far," he began. "You've all done exceptionally well, and have made the First Order proud."
The three of them smiled and nodded delightfully, looking at eachother happily and proudly.
"What a shame that only one of you will leave this room alive."
As they gasped, their looks of happiness vanished and were replaced with looks of shock and horror. Did Hux just say what they thought he said?
"In this room, there is one blaster. Mine," Hux stated, removing his black pistol from its holster and laying it on the table. "In it, there are two bolts left."
The troopers stared at eachother in awe. They couldn't kill each other, they'd grown so close lately! Exactly like the plan went.
"Once again, Phasma and I will leave and lock the door. You three will have to stay and fight to the death," he stated, smiling menacingly. This is going to be fun.
Just like he said, he and Phasma left the room promptly, locking the door behind them and leaving the pistol on the table.
AC-1567 couldn't believe what she heard. She couldn't kill her new friends! She started to panic, taking deep breaths as she stared, terrified, at the innocent looking pistol.
"We can't kill eachother," she pleaded. "We won't."
"This is what they want," RB-0101 said. "They want us to freak, because it'll show how weak we are."
RB-0101 wasn't going to go down without a fight. Angrily, he stood up and marched over to the pistol.
FN-2191 wasn't surprised in the least. He expected something like this. Because it was so weird that they were allowed to get to know eachother, he knew it must have been leading up to something- but he never imagined something of this caliber.
RB-0101 grabbed ahold of the pistol. He whipped around and pointed it straight at AC-1567's face. She screamed, staring at the muzzle that was floating directly in front of her face.
"Please, RB," she pleaded. "Don't do this."
"I don't want to," he replied. "Believe me, this is the last thing I want to do. But we have no choice." He clicked the safety off and gripped the trigger.
FN-2191 didn't care to listen to their carrying-on. Angrily, he lashed out from his chair, seizing the pistol from RB's hands. Both AC and RB gasped.
"Shut up," FN exclaimed.
"FN, don't do this buddy," RB coaxed. But FN didn't listen.
Almost unthinkingly, as though everything froze around him, he pulled the trigger hard, sending a large red bolt into RB's chest, which sent him flying into the wall.
AC screamed. "FN, please!" She protested. But she could do nothing to stop him. He whipped around and held the pistol in front of her face again, the heat from the previous shot radiating off of it. Just like he did RB, he pulled the trigger once more, which flew his counterpart back into her chair with enough energy to send her crashing onto the floor, chair and all.
It was done. They were both dead. It was that quick.
FN-2191 was the victor.