Author Babbles: Hey all! Sorry for a filler chapter, it's going to get crazy in the next one. That I can promise you!

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kuppcake: A supportive team is super important but... how long with they keep supporting her and her new... friend? Thanks for reviewing!

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Ashlyn woke up in a cold sweat, her breathing laboured as she gasped trying to inhale precious oxygen that burned her lungs. She was in a panic as her heart thudded against her chest, the room dimly lit from the early morning light. Her nightmare came back again, the fiery launch bay. Except this time, this time was much worse. This time she could feel the burning flames on her skin and the pain of the person trapped on the ship. It was awful and terrifying.

She attempted to catch her breath as she fought her way back to reality. For once, she actually wished she had been in the nothingness with Kylo Ren. At least if she wanted to, she could send a Rathtar after him for some entertainment.

'Are you all right?' The voice in her head startled her as she jumped slightly. It took her a moment to register who was speaking, even though there was really only one answer.

'Yeah…' She replied faintly. 'Bad dream.'

'I know.' Of course he did, he said Ashlyn was very loud when she thought or panicked or did practically anything. 'Unfortunately, there isn't too much I can do about that. Force visions happen whether we want them to or not.'

Ashlyn bit her lip. 'So someone is going to die?'

'Perhaps.' That didn't make her feel any better and soon Ashlyn began to think of the blonde haired boy again. The one she saw get sick and die, her little brother that was taken from her so suddenly. 'Come to the training room.'

'I have to work on the reactor.'

'Less excuses, get moving.' He said, causing Ashlyn to have second thoughts before ultimately groaning and removing herself from her warm bed. She grabbed her jumper and put her boots on. At least, no one was really up this early in the morning to see this catastrophe waiting to happen.

To her dismay, Sid was awake and sipping on some very strong coffee as he headed towards his office. The two met in the maintenance bay hallway, Sid eyeing her over his cup of coffee. "You're up early."

There was no use in lying to Sid, she figured. "Commander Ren requested my presence in the training room. Hopefully, I won't be there too long and back ready to work."

Sid shrugged, honestly happy that he didn't have to lie to Ash today about the StarKiller plans. "He's the Commander, whatever he says goes."

She narrowed her eyes. "No argument?"

"None." He said simply. "Just be careful."

Ash's glare softened as she smiled. "Always." She said, noticing even though his cup hid the smile, Sid's eyes gave him away. Ash walked passed Sid, leaving him in the maintenance bay and headed for the training room.

Kylo Ren was already there waiting for her, his helmet off and resting out of the way. He was aligning three metal balls on the floor, each varying in size from small to large. Ashlyn wandered into the room, staring at him curiously as he stood up straight. "So much for me training only at night." She commented.

"This isn't training." He retorted. "Okay, it's a little bit of training. Think of it more as a distraction."

Ash grinned. "Distraction?"

"It's the best way to move forward from a Force Vision." Kylo admitted.

Ashlyn nodded, looking down at the metal balls now. "Are we playing catch?" She asked.

"It's an experiment." He confessed, sitting down in front of the balls and motioning for Ash to sit across from him. Just like yesterday, she obeyed and sat down. This time however, with less resistance as she did. "Let's see if you're ready to levitate objects."

She scoffed. "You're mad. It's only my second day."

Kylo Ren had a cheeky grin on his face. "Your point?"

Ash tried her hardest to keep a stern tone, even though the smile on her face gave her away. "Alright, I'll try it but, I have to be back to work by the afternoon."

"I make no promises." He said dryly; they were done when he said they were. Granted, in a way this was more to help Ashlyn forget the nightmare she had earlier. Kylo Ren would make the excuse that surely, this was also benefiting him. He'd never admit it was for her.

Ashlyn made a face at the three orbs before her. "Alright, do I just wave my hand or something?"

Kylo Ren chuckled, causing Ashlyn to frown in displeasure as he made fun of her. "No, it's not just about waving your hand." He explained with a grin. "It's more than that."

"Then enlighten me, oh wise one." She huffed slightly.

He took the challenge and gracefully raised his right hand slightly. The metal orbs began to levitate with ease and slowly floated around the space between them, rotating and moving through one another. "It's not about moving the object." He said. "It's about feeling the life force around the object, the living Force is all around us. Everything is connected by its energy but, only some can harness that energy and use it to their whim." The orbs continued to levitate with ease as he spoke. "You need to feel it and learn to balance within it." Slowly, the orbs gently floated back down to the ground and in their original starting position. Kylo Ren looked at Ashlyn, nodding at the orbs. "Now you try."

She pursed her lips. "But how?"

He rolled his eyes at her lack of faith. "Remember how I told you not to think yesterday? Do the same thing except this time I only want you to focus on moving the balls. Forget everything else exists for a moment. You need to feel it. Use your emotion and what you're feeling to move the ball."

So Ashlyn trusted Kylo Ren once more and attempted what she thought was impossible. It was. The metal balls didn't budge and for the next three hours she kept trying and grew more and more frustrated. Levitation was a lot harder than just feeling the existence of the Force. Ash also didn't really understand how to feel the space around an object and no matter how hard Kylo Ren tried to explain it, it didn't click right away.

After the first three hours and Ashlyn began to give up, a miracle happened. One orb moved ever so slightly. At first, neither one was sure they had seen it. Yet upon confirmation they determined the orb did move a centimeter to the right of its starting position. This caused Ashlyn's mood to change drastically, now she was overcome with joy. However, she was still focused on moving the orb that the excessive emotion now filling her caused the orb to shoot out of control and land on the far side of the room.

The two turned their heads sharply in the direction where the orb rocketed to. Both stared in disbelief before bursting into unanimous laughter. "Well, that's one way to do it." Kylo Ren said, still grinning brightly as he looked back at Ashlyn. There it was again, that genuine and bright smile. That same smile he had seen once before on the night StarKiller froze and immediately couldn't get enough of. By the stars, he'd give anything to see it again but knew the possibility was so rare.

Ash immediately noticed he was staring, her smile faltered only slightly as she brushed her red hair behind her ears. "Did I do it wrong?" She asked sheepishly.

"Not exactly." He said. "I suppose our next lesson should be control."

Ash simply laughed. The two found themselves doing that a lot that day and like Kylo Ren had intended, this was the much needed distraction Ashlyn needed.

For the next few weeks, Ashlyn was hard at work on the new StarKiller project. The project itself was really beginning to develop and take shape. However, that was Sid's fear as everything came together. He didn't want to have to explain the function of what they were building. In fact, that was the last thing he ever wanted to deal with. He would bide his time accordingly and protect his team for as long as possible. Yet, it wouldn't be long now before the truth came to the surface.

Although, the ones in charge seemed less concerned about the upset the new plans caused and focused more on keeping the base up and running. Except for General Hux. He had other obligations on his plate on top of keeping the base functioning. He should have been ecstatic over the base being back on schedule; the star mechanic was making everything easy!

Okay, no, Ashlyn Novafall was making things difficult now. Not directly, of course. He also blamed Commander Ren for the added stress on his life. He didn't dislike Ash, in fact, he found her company rather amusing when he was in her presence. Yet, Supreme Leader gave him specific instructions. If things were out of place while Kylo Ren trained Ash, he was to end it immediately. Well, things were slowly falling out of place.

He noticed Kylo Ren and Ashlyn were arguing less and becoming more complacent around each other. Normally, this wouldn't warrant a second glance. However, knowing how their early interactions went, this was a cause for panic. And Armitage Hux was panicking. Which is why he called Captain Phasma to his office, someone he trusted and had known for years prior to becoming General of this god forsaken rock.

"Can you at least tell me what is happening?" Phasma asked, eyeing Hux as he sat at his desk, his hand in his hands as he groaned. "You never call me to a private meeting like this unless Kylo Ren has done something completely impulsive and irreversible or everything is breaking on StarKiller. Which is it?"

He shifted in his seat, his gloved hands running through his bright red hair as he exhaled harshly through his nostrils. "A bit of both, honestly." Phasma waited patiently for him to continue. "I have to monitor the training between Ren and Ms. Novafall. If anything seems out of place or any signs of treason, I must dispose of it quickly."

"The Supreme Leader seems paranoid, no?" It was more rhetorical than anything. "If there's any sign of treason, you'll have to end Ms. Novafall, won't you?"

"Which means the weapon won't be completed as quickly as I'd like." He explained dryly. "At first, I thought siding with Kylo Ren would be beneficial in the long run. He'd get what he wanted and I'd ultimately get what I wanted. Now it's becoming increasingly complicated."

Phasma pursed her lips, nodding slowly in understanding before asking. "So what do you plan to do then? Have you witnessed any of their training?"

"Not yet." Hux admitted. "I've been unsuccessful at finding a relevant excuse to watch their progress."

"I assume saying 'Let me watch so I can see if you're betraying us' is not a viable excuse then?" Phasma grinned slightly, receiving a look from Hux.

"If only it were that easy, I don't have a purpose to intervene on their training-" Then it clicked in his head, an idea. "But I know someone who can."

Phasma was quick to catch on. "I will not be dragged into this."

"You're not being dragged into anything. You're assisting in uncovering any evidence of treason. That's simply proving your loyalty to the cause." He tried to reason, only to receive a glare in return. "Besides, you're more likely to be in their training areas anyway. I'm sure you can also give your own personal touch of wisdom in some of the training."

"I'm not a Force user." Phasma said dryly.

"No, however you do know a thing or two about combat. I trust Ash will find learning combat from you a little easier than from him."

Phasma's glare remained, however, her brown quirked slightly. "Are you saying my sparring methods are easy?"

"I'm saying Kylo Ren is a little too ruthless in his."

That was something they both could agree on. "Fine." Phasma relented. "I will see what I can find out. But, I will not lie to Kylo that I want to help Ashlyn. He'll grow more suspicious if I simply butt in."

"Your help is appreciated." Hux said, sincerity lacing in his words just enough to show even a little bit of gratitude to the Captain of the Storm Troopers. Phasma simply waved him off, grabbing her chrome helmet and dismissing herself. Phasma knew Hux would do the same for her, they had an understanding. In fact, the three of them did. However, sometimes Kylo Ren needed to be checked back in line and the only two who could do that was Hux and herself.

Ashlyn was slightly concerned at the concept that she was almost a little too reluctant to head back to working on StarKiller. What had gotten into her lately? Was she actually enjoying Kylo Ren's company? That couldn't be it, she would never admit that that was actually even a possibility. How could that be? There had to be some other possible notion as to why Ashlyn felt a sense of reluctancy at leaving the smirking dark haired jerk.

Yet, a single and utterly disgusting thought began to linger in the back of her headspace. Once she prayed he would never become wise to. What if, and that was a big what if, the two of them could be friends? What was stopping them from actually enjoying each other's company besides the need to constantly torture one another? Okay, maybe that was a good enough reason. In fact, that was probably as good of a reason as Ashlyn needed.

But something still lingered there. A very dormant feeling that made Ashlyn want to scream out in denial and disgust. Ashlyn Novafall was beginning to like Kylo Ren. It was a very miniscule feeling but enough to cause a complete and total meltdown in her mind. One that didn't go unnoticed by the subject of conversation.

Their new so-called tolerance for one another had also not gone unnoticed by Sid. He would stay quiet and bide his time for now; waiting for a more opportune moment to present the case to Ashlyn. As grateful as he was that Ashlyn was distracted and not unwrapping the facade of what StarKiller was turning into, he was still very protective of his star mechanic. He had every reason to be, which was why when he messaged Ashlyn Novafall to meet him at his office, he knew it truly was for a good cause.

Ash hurried to the maintenance bay after her morning session with Kylo Ren, she was feeling guilty about missing her morning work that when she wandered into Sid's office, she couldn't help but blurt out her guilt. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't come to work this morning. I had an-" She paused, not knowing how to word it and also knowing Sid didn't know too much of the situation at all.

"Commander Ren needed to speak with you, I know." Sid said. "You told me." He motioned to the chair in front of him. Ash took a moment before sitting down. "You two seem close."

Ash scoffed. "He's forcing me to train with something I don't want anything to do with. If that's your definition of 'seeming close' then I don't know what to tell you."

"While I'm glad your relationship-" Ash visibly flinched at the term. "Is improving and he no longer means to kill you. I still want you to be careful, Ash." Sid said.

"Sid, I'm fine. Everything's fine. Commander Ren isn't going to hurt me."

Sid's lips curled into a half smile. "I need you to remember something. You're not a permanent member of StarKiller and being so means you still have a lot to learn about the politics here. That being said, I need to remind you of who Kylo Ren is. He's known to turn in an instance, his anger is unmatched. If he wanted to, Ash, he could kill you. Do you not remember your first encounter?"

"If he was such a danger then why did you convince me to stay." Ash retorted. "Why wouldn't you just let me leave during my first week here like I had asked."

Sid sighed. "Selfishness, I guess. I didn't want to lose another worker because of him. You had and still have such potential, I didn't want to lose that." Sid paused, licking his lips before adding. "I didn't know it would get this bad."

Ashlyn bit her lip, surely Sid had everything wrong. Granted, she had been thinking about her companionship with Kylo Ren just moments before her meeting with Sid. Was a mutual understanding between the two so wrong? Perhaps it really was. "I'll keep my guard up." She said, not really sure if she had actually meant it or was just appeasing Sid.

Either way, Sid seemed pleased. "Just looking out for ya, kid."

Ash smiled. "I'm not as fragile as everyone seems to think."

He smirked. "No, you just have a target on your head."

"Apparently." She agreed with a laugh.

"Commander Ren." Her voice was commanding, even without her chrome helmet. Phasma had her helmet tucked under her arm as she entered the training room. She was pretty relieved finding him here, above all over places he could be storming about, here was neutral territory. In fact, it was moreso her comfort zone. "I need to speak with you."

He gave her a curious look. "Did Hux break something?"

Phasma quirked an amused smile. "No, he did not. He has however informed me that you will be training the mechanic in the ways if the Force."

Kylo Ren stiffened slightly. "Indeed." He wasn't a very trusting person. Yet, if anyone could get him to trust even just a little, that was Phasma.

"I wish to assist you."

He scoffed. "How could you assist?"

She wanted so badly to roll her eyes at his reply. "I'm sure you will be teaching her combat, as per your own trainings." Phasma said. "I want to assist in training her hand-to-hand combat. I can train her with the most optimal techniques."

Kylo narrowed his eyes. "I can teach her myself."

"You'll probably scare her, Ren." Phasma was brutally honest, which had a hand in why Kylo Ren trusted her. "Your methods are slightly-" She thought of a word. "Intense."

"She'll have to face me eventually."

Phasma nodded. "Of course, however, I'm sure you don't want to lose her as your apprentice just yet. Let me train her with basic procedures and drills, you can of course supervise. Once she passes my command, you can take over."

Kylo Ren sighed. "Hux put you up to this, didn't he? He doesn't trust me to train her properly?" He began to grow angry. Not enough to lash out, it wasn't exactly Phasma's fault this was happening anyway.

"He's more concerned you'll lose his star mechanic." Phasma said. "He believes everything is riding on StarKiller and Ms. Novafall. Personally, I've never even met the girl and I'm already sick of hearing of her."

Ren smirked. "She's quite nauseating."

Phasma quirked a knowing brow. "Is that why you seem to spend so much time with her?"

His face was stone, giving little to no emotion as he clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "I'm training her." He restated.

"Of course you are."

The two stood silently, their face off could only be won by one person and one person alone and they both knew that. "Fine." Kylo Ren waved his hand dismissively. "She'll probably be happy to train with someone other than me for a few days."

She grinned. "In two days I'll train her then."

"Why not tomorrow?"

Phasma folded her arms over her chest disapprovingly. "You may not care for a First Order holiday, however, the rest of this base does."

He groaned as he remembered. "Empire Day?"

"I'm surprised, I figured you of all people would relish in Empire Day."

"I don't care for holidays." He said dryly. "They distract people from their work and slows productivity."

She shook her head. "While I agree with you there, the crew deserves the day off. Let them enjoy it." Phasma turned to leave. "Have your apprentice be ready to be sore. And try not to be late, I do not care for lateness." Without another word, Phasma left Kylo Ren alone in the training room before he could change his mind all together. At least, General Hux would be pleased.

Final Thought: Thanks again for reading, guys! Remember to review!