AUTHOR'S NOTE:
DISCLAIM: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS
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Chapter 15: The Linguist
. . .
They were approached by an usher dressed in red clad, eager but also obviously terrified by the commander's stature, Rey was afraid of creating a scene standing next to Kylo Ren, but no one seemed to truly notice. The small creature lead the two down a specific passage away from the bustling noise of the casino. The hallway was lit by wall lanterns, illuminating the burgundy walls and making a tense atmosphere as they approached a momentous double door adorned in gold.
Rey took short steps behind her companion as he stepped inside, the caution had finally allowed itself to take over as she stepped into the unknown situation.
The room was vast, but reserved. Its structure held large windows to give the room the illusion of a considerable size. Chandeliers of gems, impressive curtains and wall décor choices, and an immensely long table ready to seat at least 2 dozen patrons. A large, holographically lit fireplace furnished a space across the room, beside it were comfortably placed sofas and loveseats.
Men dressed in grey and black suits crowded the outskirts of the vast table with their stately female associates. The other group of indescribably uniformed men sat closely in their seats, dressed in ragged clothes skinned from animals, leather jerkins that were tattered and worn, and each one with a female of different races and equally revealing clothing in outrageous colors.
Rey stepped out from behind Kylo Ren, observing her surroundings, unaware that her surroundings were also observing her.
Grey and black suits halted their chatter, the men in leather ceased their drink, ladies had bracingly sharp daggers in their gazes, ready to fire at the fresh target approaching.
"About time," A burgeoning voice broke the silence, "You're taking a risk to keep us waitin', Kylo Ren."
The voice was deep and gruff, accompanied by a lowborn foreign accent, it was the voice of Tkodas Tar. Kylo Ren didn't need to look and identify the face, but Rey couldn't help it.
The man was massive, even as he sat at the head of the table, he was easily a bigger figure than Kylo Ren. His thick, black beard bled far past his neck, beads of alcohol dribbled off his chin. He wiped them away with his fist, revealing a gaped, yellowed smile as he noticed Rey.
"Didn't realize you brought appetizers already, Commander," His voice echoed in a macabre singsong that made Rey want to shrivel in disgust. "I hope you've brought enough for the rest of the party."
"She's my guest," He spoke calmly, "Pay no mind to her."
The man veered his body over his chair, inspecting Rey better from his perspective, something told her to move away.
"Easy for you to say," He coarsely spoke before sipping something in his glass, the party behind him snickered behind their flagons. Rey felt nauseous in that moment, but swallowed it down. Even though the display made her feel insecure, the words she heard from the vulgar man violated her in a way she hasn't felt since Jakku...
"May we proceed," A voice piped from the crowd of greysuits, Kylo Ren identified the voice without a glance, "The attendance is finally accounted for, let's bloody get on with it."
Rey peered past Kylo Ren to see who spoke, when she met his eyes, a cold wave shook her core and froze the blood in her veins. The man did not speak or use any expression that would cause Rey to be alarmed, but her panic began to rise nonetheless.
With the familiar redhead's command, greysuits and blacksuits alike shifted across the table, finding their seats. The women seated upon laps and arms of chairs rose from their assigned partners, trading kissses and other brief, lewd exchanges that made Rey uncomfortable to watch before leaving the room abruptly.
They found seats with the greysuits, far from the disreputable end that Kylo Ren soon regretted exposing Rey to. The brutes sat in unsettling positions, taking quick glances upon each member in the room as if they were predators scanning the area for their next prey.
Their appearances made them stand out in the luxurious room, as if they were drifters from some foreign planet who barged into the wrong meeting hall. Rey wouldn't have been surprised if any of them mentioned being in Jakku for the past decade or so.
"So," The bearded man spoke confidently, showing his grin to the unamused crowd, "What's the plan then, lads? You've got some hungry mouths to feed, and my men don't like waiting.." His group of scoundrels nodded and murmured in agreement.
"For your services," General Hux began, receiving a file from the man sitting beside him, opening it gently, he read, "Locating Resistance whereabouts, excavating and reporting details, sabotage of the Resistance base and units, and other documentation of loyalty to the First Order, we're offering a safe clearance to your next location and twenty-five thousand credits each, as long as you prove loyalty to the First Order and able to provide... professional service, when requested."
Tkodas Tar said nothing, merely because there was nothing to process. Instead, he only smiled, as if General Hux had delivered a joke and forgotten the punch line to finish it. "Twenty-five?" The smile crept wider, anticipating the next part of Hux's joke, "Last time you offered fifty, where's the rest gone, Schmucks?"
His men agreed aggressively, nodding their heads and occasionally slamming their fists on the wooden table. Rey was dumbfounded. A week ago, she would have had insults thrown in her face by officers with a second of eye contact, now, these very same men are allowing these unprincipled outlaws to use them as their doormat. She glanced to Kylo Ren, hoping to see some form of reaction from him.
Hux began perspire upon his hairline, it occurred Rey that something had gone terribly wrong in this ordeal. "Canto Bight wasn't in our agreement, you misread your instructions and now you'll pay for them." He tone became sharp and cold, a business savvy attack on his part.
The smile hidden behind the fierce man's face quickly faded, an enraged, deeply offended scowl took its place. His lips parted, ready to burst out his next choice of words, "Lyin' bastard!" The glasses of water seemed to shake as the man bellowed through the room, "You took those credits from underneath us!"
The men cried out in an uproar, their anger sent heat waves through the hall and directed toward Hux's perspiring forehead. "Gentlemen," He tried to assuade, again and again he tried.
"They're gonna tear this room apart." Rey was nearly appalled by the sense of willing accommodation from the First Order,
The outrage was spreading heavily, Kylo Ren knew Hux was hopeless to stop the storm from erupting into the room, and he was not ready to put Rey in that danger unarmed. "Forty, then." He spoke freely across the table, beginning the negotiation, the men silenced themselves, and Hux forced an angry glare towards his adversary. "Forty thousand, safe passage to your whereabouts, and your allegiance to the First Order."
Tkodas Tar raised his black, bushy eyebrow upon the masked man, wiping his knuckles on the bottom of his chin, his scraggly beard scratched across the room. As he contemplated this offer, Hux crudely interrupted this suggestion, "Commander Ren withdraw that claim immediately, the bargain is not yours to plea-."
"These men have already assisted the First Order and the Empire on several occasions, their loyalty goes beyond generations and they have proven themselves loyal and worthy of higher compensation. Twenty-five is an insult."
Rey listened to his offer, but the words were grains of sand in a desert, his tone was the key to his offer. It was unsympathetic, submissive, she's never heard such a regretful tone come from his helm. He was feigning approval for armistice, but at cost to his own obedience.
The men had leaned into each other, addressing this new agreement amongst themselves. The greysuits and blacksuits began to murmur discontented with their new strategy. She saw General Hux tear the black gloves from his pasty hands and fling them on the table before him in a huff, then lean to his colleague and state, "Splendid... Fetch the bloody stewards..."
The officer beside him nodded and murmured in accord, he stood from his seat and approached the end of the table, pushing a flapped door open and exiting the room. Rey leaned towards Kylo Ren, whispering close to his helm, in turn, he turned his head halfway to her direction, "What's happening?"
He leaned closer, seemingly adjusting some small dial on his helm, "They're discussing in Rothlang, ancient dialect recognized only by a remote population in the galaxy. They learned this so they can speak freely without listening ears, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. They're infamous for indecisiveness."
Rey shook her head at this and smiled, tuning in to their conversation, "Rothlang?" She eagerly inquired, "I learned Rothlang when I was ten."
Kylo Ren twisted his head completely in her direction, wishing she could read the stunned expression hidden on his face. She had finally stumped him, raising the bar and beating him at something he could not compete with. At last, she knew, there was something to prove... "Rey..." He tried to reason. He saw her smiling lips open, ready to speak, before he could place a hand upon her to stop or to shield her, she spoke.
"Can you understand me?" She spoke freely in the ancient tongue, staring upon the men before her with hopeful reciprocation.
The men returned their attention to Rey, this time, she was unafraid of their intentions. The leader squinted his eyes upon her, replying with his thickened accent, "Can you understand us?"
"Yes," Rey replied, feeling her stature raise higher than the giant himself in the room.
The leader crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair and peering deeply and defining Rey's new ability, "Where the hell did you learn Rothlang, woman?"
"Jakku," She answered simply, "Bandits and outlaws don't have much to offer in exchange for work, but they make great teachers."
A boisterous chuckle escaped his throat, echoing through the room again as he continued, "That they do, lass... What's your name?"
"Rey," She responded, catching the attention of every man and woman, but none dared to interrupt this crucial piece of the conference. "What do they call you?"
"Tkotas Tar, but you can call me whatever your heart desires, my lady..." His dialogue was obviously flirtatious, a wave of stifled chortles and whistles came from the opposite end of the room.
Rey felt an obligation, the lone branch reaching to this difficult party, it was an opportunity to prove her worth. She smiled, bearing through the knot in her stomach.
"Excuse me," General Hux interrupted, taking his sharp glance and directing it towards Rey, his eyes blazing with pent fury, "I hate to interrupt this little chat, but we have a First Order obligation to fulfill and Jakku harlots have no place to raise their voices upon such matters." His words sizzled on Rey's skin, burning a corrosive hole that stung her more than she thought it would.
Rey bit her lip, the resentment she'd built for so long cracked under its weight, readied herself to retort back. Before she could, the sounds of two chairs scuttled into the floor and both Kylo Ren and Tkotas Tar were standing above the table.
Kylo Ren raised his voice against this, adjusting the dial on his helm once again, "Need I remind you to hold your tongue once more?" His voice boomed, shriveling the general in his seat, "Speak to her again with that tone and it'll be the last time you have a tone."
General Hux, although staring at his opponent's cold, expressionless face, cowered before him and lowered his stature. The leader of the brethren released a vulgar expletive across the table in Rothlang before taking his seat, his gaze fixed briefly upon Kylo Ren, then upon Rey as he sat.
"Small men like him have no place at this table," Tkotas explained in the secret language, "We will accept forty, if the small man permits."
She turned to her companion, facing him head on and informing, "They'll accept forty."
Their heads turned in unison, not only Kylo Ren and Rey's, but the room full of eyes and ears awaited General Hux's cringeworthy response, he shriveled his nose in disgust, an entire room plotted against him, eagerly awaiting his submissive response.
Hux licked his lips, snatching the form from the table and forcing it to the officer to his side, who readily opened its contents and prepared to write, "See to the established agreement with The Unseen Brethren, settling upon the exchange of..." His next words spewed from his lips as if they tasted of metal, "Forty-thousand credits for services listed towards the First Order."
Tkotas took the pen and file from the officer and signed the contract, generously writing his signature next to what looked like to Rey the First Order insignia. With his broad fingers, he gently placed the paper pack into its file, taking consideration of each corner as not to wrinkle it. The file was closed and the pen placed meticulously upon the tan package, he slid it deftly back to General Hux, a beaming smile upon his face.
"Pleasure as always, General." He spoke smugly, eager to dangle the leverage he was so unafraid of in front of Hux's nose, "Now where's the bloody food, I'm starved."
Please tell me your thoughts and review as honestly as possible. No Star Wars FanFiction is perfect, unless it's written, sealed, signed, and kissed by George Lucas himself, but I hope this makes at least 1 person happy.
Thanks for reading! Come back for 'Chapter 16: Jakku Flower"