"S-Sir, I have reason to believe someone accessed the hangar your ship was in, the night before it exploded," Anika says quickly.
"I checked the access log myself," Ren replies, his tone dismissive.
"They would have altered the log," Anika insists. "To cover their…tracks…" She trails off when she literally feels the commander's mood shift, his patience apparently worn off. That's not good…
"What evidence do you have for that theory?" he snaps.
"I-I checked the network, to see which devices were connected in the bay and compared it to the access log," Anika explains. "And there was a device recorded twice, both last night after you left, and the night before the mission."
Commander Ren's head tilts slowly to the side, as if he is intrigued. He steps back into her space, forcing her to once again peer up into the mask. "And did this device belong to someone missing from the hangar access log?"
Anika nods. "I downloaded the information, in case you wanted proof-"
"Who was it?" Ren cuts her off abruptly.
"My supervisor, Patty," she answers.
Somehow, he manages to grow even more terrifying, as tension creeps into his posture, turning it predatory. "I never suspected a tech…" he growls, the mask adding a deep vibration to the sound.
She gulps, unsure what to say. She'd really like to excuse herself from his presence, as quickly as possible. But he's still blocking her from the door.
"Well, it kind of makes sense though, doesn't it?" Anika mumbles, unable to stop herself from trying to defuse the anger puffing up Ren's chest.
His mask fixates on her face, and she can feel that he's staring at her, hard. "How does that make sense?"
"B-Because if you want someone to sabotage equipment, a tech would know how to do it?" Anika rambles nervously. "And techs are practically invisible-no one ever notices us, so we'd never be suspected first if something were to go wrong-"
"Stop."
She falls silent, dropping her gaze to stare down at the toes of her boots. She lets her hair fall down to partially shield her face. The lack of sound makes her painfully aware of how noisy her breathing can be.
Anika attempts to soften her own exhales, only to notice the commander's breathing is anything but calm. He sounds like he's more than halfway to a temper tantrum. Kriff, please don't pull out your lightsaber… She has seen too much of the damage he can inflict with that thing, and she is standing entirely too close to him if it were to appear.
"Why did you think to check the network access?" Ren asks tersely.
"I-I just thought that perhaps the guilty party would have deleted evidence, and it occurred to me there was a second way to see who all was in the hangar," Anika answers, her eyes still locked onto her scuffed up boots.
"Clever. However, that doesn't answer my question," the Commander hisses.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't understand-"
She's cut off when Ren reaches out, his leather-clad fingers slipping through her hair. She freezes as he pushes it back from her face, his touch trailing along her scalp. Backwards, until he reaches the crown of her head.
Anika gasps when he sinks his fingers into her strands, pulling slowly but firmly. He forces her to lift her chin, to meet his mask once more with her startled eyes. Her cheeks warm with a blush as part of her thrills at the vulnerable position he now holds her in, her hair caught in his fist. Why do I like this… What is wrong with me…
"You look at me when we are speaking," Ren says quietly.
"Yes, Sir," she replies immediately.
She presses herself back when he steps even closer, the edge of the table digging into her thighs. But there isn't enough space, and the commander is practically up against her. Jolts shoot up her spine at his proximity, that wriggle of arousal only growing.
"Why were you investigating who was in the hangar prior to the shuttle explosion? Did someone order you to do that?" he clarifies.
"N-no," Anika breathes.
His free hand comes to her neck, tracing lightly over the exposed skin there. It's not aggressive, he doesn't attempt to grip her throat. Rather it's light enough to be a tease, like some small reminder of how weak she is. Her arousal surges in response, and Anika realizes he's turning her on intentionally. This is some sort of twisted game he's playing. What have I gotten myself into…
"Is that a lie?" the Commander asks. "Did someone give you an order?"
"No," she insists. "No one told me to investigate."
His fingers in her hair relent their hold, gently combing through the remainder of her locks to drop free. "If you're not lying, then why do you feel so excited?"
"I don't," Anika rebuts quickly, mortified. She wants to drop her gaze again, but keeps it locked obediently on the silver trim of his mask. "I'm not excited, I'm scared. You're scaring me."
"Now, that is a lie," Ren purrs.
Again, the mask distorts his voice. But there's no mistaking it. That's as close to flirtatious as a robot is ever going to sound.
"Why did you take it upon yourself to check?" he pushes.
"I was worried," Anika admits. "About a-a friend."
"Who?"
"…Matt," she answers. "He's my coworker."
Commander Ren steps back suddenly, and it's like the air that has been missing rushes back around her. Anika takes a full breath for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
"Explain," he orders.
"Matt said he was examining the shuttle for signs of sabotage last night. Then he wasn't at work this morning, and when I checked the schedule for the week, he isn't on it anywhere. Someone's taken him off the schedule, Commander Ren."
A noise issues from the helmet, something like a huff. "I'm sure that's an oversight."
Anika makes a noise of disagreement, emboldened by her concern for Matt. "I don't think so, Sir. He hasn't answered my messages all day-"
"He could be busy."
She falters, trying her hardest not to glare at the mask. The commander is dismissing her very real worry about Matt. "Sure, he could be busy. But either someone also deleted him from the hangar access logs, to hide his presence there. Or, he never made it to examine the shuttle. Don't you see? Something could have happened to him!"
"He's fine," Ren insists.
Anika tries, but fails to hold back her anger. "Commander, I apologize for arguing, but- If Patty was up to something she shouldn't have been, who knows what she would do to stop someone from finding-"
Ren cuts her off with a hand lifted into the air. One second the frantic words are blurting out of her mouth, the next they're gone. It's like he's hushed her voice, stealing away any sound. She is left to stare at him, agape in shock at his power.
"Your friend is fine. You will have to trust me on that," Ren growls, lowering his hand. "He'll be back on the regular schedule soon."
Does he know where Matt is? He must, to say that… Anika feels slightly reassured, if not irritated that Ren simply hadn't told her sooner. Of course, it really wasn't any of her business, as a lowly technician. But she was already involved, and it could have avoided her pushing the issue.
"Send me the information you copied to your datapad," Ren says. "You are dismissed."
Anika nods, squeezing passed him to make for the door. She has to try twice before the locking mechanism will respond to the panel control, finally releasing the door to slide open. But Ren stops her before she can exit.
"Anika?"
A chill shoots up her spine at the sound of her name, spoken in the commander's voice. She turns back to him, hesitantly testing out her vocal cords. To her relief, she can speak again. "Yes, Sir?"
"No more independent investigations," Ren orders. "From now on, you come to me with your concerns. Do you understand?"
She nods meekly, taking it as a sign to leave when the commander turns his back to her. Anika scurries out of the meeting room, finding Darial waiting for her in the command center. Thankfully, General Hux seems to have found something better to do with his time than leer at pretty girls. He's nowhere to be seen. Probably off oil slicking his hair…
"How did it go?" Darial asks, her eyebrows knitting together in concern when she sees Anika's face.
"Not now," Anika hisses, grabbing her friend's hand to tow her from the area.
Minutes Later
Darial is silent for a long time after Anika finishes explaining what happened in the meeting room. She's reclined on Anika's bed, face contemplative.
"So, Matt must be working for Commander Ren, then. It's probably secret, and that's why he's missing from the schedule," Darial says thoughtfully. "At least now you don't have to worry that he's dead."
"Right. Instead I can worry about the fact that I'm relatively sure Commander Ren wants to seduce me," Anika retorts. "It was so weird…"
"It sounded like a sexy interrogation," Darial quips. "Hmm, who do we know that used to fantasize about those?"
Anika's eyes widen before she admits that's exactly what it had felt like. Exactly like one of my sexy interrogation fantasies… Oh…my…
"Fucking fuck, Darial," she breathes, letting herself drop down onto the mattress.
"Eloquent," Darial remarks sarcastically.
"Do you think that's what he's doing? Like some odd…foreplay…type thing?" Anika asks wildly.
Her friend tries to fight the smile from breaking out on her face, and fails. Darial chokes down laughter, managing to turn it into a cough. "I think it's very possible that is exactly what he's doing."
"I can't believe you're laughing about this," Anika growls in frustration, flopping down over Darial's legs. Her eyes land immediately on the teddy bear, half fallen over on her table. It's shiny plastic eyes meet hers, which is more than she can say for the man who sent it to her.
"I told you how many times to stop daydreaming about the commander?"
"Are you really 'I told you so' ing this situation?"
"Yes! Yes, I am!" Darial exclaims, nudging her leg into Anika's side. "You've gotten his attention, and now you either have to woman up and tell him to space himself, or…"
"You can't be suggesting-"
"Jorran said he's actually kind of hot," Darial interrupts.
"Jorran says every man with a pulse and an erection is hot," Anika snaps back, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought that was your type as well," Darial retorts.
"Well as long as underneath Ren's helmet, there isn't some redheaded ferret, half drowned in hair gel," Anika says challengingly.
Darial's eyes narrow dangerously, before she grabs the pillow from the head of the bed and whips it at Anika's head. Anika manages to deflect it, and the poor pillow thumps to the floor instead.
"Hey! I could have a concussion still, you know-"
Darial snorts with derision at the attempted guilt trip. "I quite like the way the General styles his hair. If I'm going to be seeing him more, I don't want you making snide remarks."
Anika's mouth drops open. "I-You-What- Hux!? You want to see Hux more?"
Darial's face grows self-conscious, and she drops her eyes down to the sheets of the bed, picking at them nervously. "He asked me to attend a diplomatic dinner with him."
"How much is he paying you?"
"Anika!"
"He's a schutta," Anika insists. "You know his reputation, right?"
"He's always been nice to me, and he assured me he'll be a gentleman," Darial replies.
"I'm sure he'll be very gentlemanly, helping you out of your clothes and everything."
Darial gives a defeated, exaggerated sigh. "Whatever. Just give me a chance to give him a chance, okay?"
Anika makes a noncommittal noise that is half groan, half irritated wail.
Days Later
It's been days since Anika's seen Matt, but she has to settle for trusting the commander. She hopes he's safe, wherever he is. She hasn't had a great deal of time to worry about it, since she received yet another switch in work assignments. It's been keeping her more than busy.
The commander's new shuttle needs equipment installed, and he's apparently requested Anika handle it personally. She was informed by her new supervisor, who was promoted to replace Patty. Her former boss's whereabouts are unknown, and nobody seems too keen to ask questions. Anika tries not to think about where the woman ended up. But if she had attempted to kill Commander Ren, it's probably somewhere worse than even Anika's imagination can fathom.
Every day she slinks into the hangar, only to relax when yet another shift passes without the commander himself being present. She's free to work on his shuttle in solitude, running diagnostics and installing relay systems. She occupies her wait time by checking out the top of the line engines, though she doesn't know enough about them to dare to poke around much. She's cross-trained in a lot of things, but engine maintenance isn't one.
Anika's about to call it a day, her shift winding down and her stomach growling for dinner. The navigation computer updates are about finished, and she just wants to check that the nav charts have been fully updated before leaving the hangar.
She's packing up her toolkit when it beeps, catching her attention. Anika furrows her brows when she sees a flight plan is already loaded into the system. Huh…
She examines it, beyond confused. Why would a flight plan already be in the system? The shuttle hasn't even departed the hangar yet, and she seriously doubts Commander Ren has already planned a mission in it. Surely he'd wait for her to clear it for use?
Anika frowns, torn. Something seems off, but she's reluctant to run to the commander about it. How sinister could a harmless flight plan be? I should tell him… He told me to come to him with my concerns…
But the memory of Ren's massive frame looming over her is too recent. Just remembering the way he'd held her, his hand caressing her throat, causes her nerves to dance with excitement. Does she really want to have another meeting with him? No, not when avoiding the issue altogether seems so much more my style…
I'm sure it's just a bug or something. I'll clear the flight plan out, and if it's back when I reboot the system tomorrow… I'll say something then. Yeah. That's fine.
Anika clears the flight plan out of the nav computer, shutting it down for the night. Then she hurries out of the hangar, shuffling around in her bag to find her commlink. Darial's hot date with the General is this evening, and Anika wants to see her friend off to it. Or troll her relentlessly, same difference. She sends a message off to see if she has time to drop into Darial's quarters before she leaves.
She's barely looking where she's going as she walks through base, when she hears Matt's voice.
"Hey, you kicked my wrench!"
Anika looks up as a stormtrooper passes her, bumping roughly into her shoulder. Matt's kneeling on the ground next to an open panel, his face indignant as he stares down at the floor. Anika follows his gaze, spotting the wrench.
She's surprised to see Matt, figuring she would have gotten a message from him as soon as he was able to reply. But clearly he hadn't bothered, and had left her messages ignored. Seeing him working like normal makes her stomach sink, the possibility of his rejection stinging.
Had he not answered her messages because he didn't want to speak to her? Was it his way of backing out of whatever happened between them?
She picks the wrench up, hearing Matt grumble under his breath. "Jerkface."
"Welcome back," she greets him coolly, walking over to hand him the tool.
Matt looks up, the scowl relaxing from his features. "Thanks." He takes the wrench, only to toss it into his toolbox.
Anika shifts her weight from foot to foot, unsure what else she should say. Perhaps she shouldn't ask where he's been, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to prod him. "Long time, no talk."
Matt pushes his glasses up his long nose, his eyes meeting hers briefly before darting away again. "I was busy."
"Were your datapad and commlink also broken?" Anika cringes at the tone her voice comes out in, something accusatory. And yet, she does have a right to call him out, doesn't she? He's left her messages unanswered for days. If he was back to regular duty, he could have at least sent a quick reply…
Matt stands, rubbing at the back of his neck as he still avoids looking at her. "I'm sorry?"
She narrows her eyes. "Sorry for what?"
Matt finally catches her glare, and he looks genuinely perplexed. "For…not answering your messages?"
"Very good," Anika retorts, tone snarky. "I'm glad you're alive and all that."
She moves to stride passed him, her pride taking over. She knows she's being immature, but something about the way he isn't even trying to explain himself feels like a slight to her. He could at least feed me some excuse for where he was. He isn't even bothering to do that.
Matt reaches out to grab onto her arm, halting her before she can storm off. "I know you're mad."
Anika whirls on him. "Mad? Why would I be mad?"
He drops his hand, huffing a sigh of frustration. "Because you were worried about me, and because you think I owe you an explanation. But I can't give you one, and I'm not going to lie to make it seem like I can."
She frowns, dropping her gaze from his soft brown eyes, and his honest expression. He's managed to make her indignant anger vanish, and now Anika just feels slightly embarrassed. Was she really that easy to read?
"How…how did you know I was worried?" she argues petulantly, in a last-ditch attempt to keep from caving to his puppy eyes. Damn you for being so cute… You're making it really hard to be mad at you…
"Because you like me," Matt states matter-of-factly.
Oh, nope, there it is again. Yeah, I'm still pissed. "Okay, I like you? My mistake. Clearly I shouldn't bother wasting my time liking someone who doesn't even reply to my messages! You know I was scared someone murdered you? And you come back to work and don't even message to say 'Hey, Anika, no worries, I'm alive' and that's really rude-"
"I like you too."
She is stopped mid-rant by his confession. She stares at Matt, taken aback by the blunt way he's admitted his feelings. His eyes are surprisingly confident, even as his cheeks are once again tinged pink with a blush.
"You…do?" she asks dumbly. Matt nods, gaze locked on hers. She sighs, unable to stop her eyes from travelling down to his lips. She remembers how good it had felt to kiss him. She finds him so attractive, in the tallest, strangest of ways.
She looks away, spotting the door to a storage unit a few feet down the hall. I swore I wasn't going to do that again… Oh, hell.
Anika grabs Matt's orange vest, attempting to tow him across the hallway. She's relieved when he complies, obediently following where she leads. The door opens for them as they approach, and she pulls him through, smacking her free hand onto the control once they're inside.
The door slides closed behind them, leaving them alone in the small storage space. Anika catches the nervous look on Matt's face for just a moment before she stands on her tiptoes. She snakes her arms around his neck, urging him down to her so she can press her lips to his. She keeps the kiss light, aware of the way Matt's body tenses against hers.
After only a moment, she pulls away to give him an out. "If you're not comfortable-"
Matt's arm loops around her waist, pulling her back against him. Her eyes flutter closed when his soft lips capture hers again, hungry but hesitant. She can tell by his kiss that he's not the most experienced, but he seems to learn from her quickly. His kisses are sweet, gentle with restraint.
Anika feels a rush of longing for him the longer they kiss. He's different from anyone she's kissed before. There's something there, straining for more, even as he holds back. In fact, her hands are the first to roam. She lets her palm slide down from his neck, over his chest. She can feel muscle through the material of his baggy top, and she traces downwards to his toned stomach. Woah…
Matt's tongue slips against her lower lip, capturing her full attention. She parts her lips, brushing against his tongue with her own. It's like a switch flipping, his trepidation falls away as he presses into her mouth to taste her. She swirls the tip of her tongue around his, inviting him in further.
Anika feels a lurch in her belly, turned on when Matt's hand finds her throat. He holds her softly, keeping her face tilted up to his. His thumb rests against her pulse, and Anika's mind reminds her how Commander Ren's leather glove had felt there.
A moan escapes her. She isn't sure if it's from the thought of the commander, or Matt deepening the kiss even more. Either way, his mouth pulls her from the memory of the commander. Her thoughts are hazy as she clings onto Matt, fighting to balance on her tiptoes against his tall body.
She likes that he isn't rushing past this, that he isn't cutting their kiss short. Other men would already be fighting to pull her clothes off, but Matt lingers at her mouth, content with her lips.
I want him… I want all of him… Anika breaks away from his mouth to nuzzle under his jaw, kissing his neck. His skin is hot against her lips, the pale flesh tinged with blush that disappears under his collar. She likes listening to his breath catching, the little noises he traps in his throat as she covers his skin with her affections.
Anika tugs at his shirt, fumbling with halfhearted attention at the buttons before giving up. She sucks gently on his earlobe instead, a hand falling to the button of his pants. I wonder if he'll let me… Her mind is filled with her desire, picturing what she can do if Matt lets her undo his pants.
She's distracted by the sudden, loud rumble. She pulls away in alarm, looking around the supply room as the shelves lining the periphery tremble. A box topples from where it was sitting near the edge, spilling plastic meal cards all over the floor when it lands. As soon as it started, the shaking stops.
"What the fuck…" Anika mutters, taken aback.
Matt doesn't even seem to care. "It's just a quake…" he mumbles, distracted sounding. "A fluctuation in the weapon's magnetic field…"
"Is that what causes those?" Anika asks. She had just assumed the planet was prone to seismic activity, but could it be the weapon they'd built on it that was to blame?
Matt doesn't seem like he wants to humor her curiosity, pulling her face back to his impatiently. A moment later, and she forgets what she was curious about anyway. He's growing more confident by the second, his tongue darting between her lips to tease hers.
But his hands are now both confined to her waist, settled there as if he's unsure he should explore more. Touch me, touch me anywhere. Touch me everywhere, fuck….
She moans when he dares to nip at her lip with his teeth, and then it's like he heard her thoughts. Matt's hands drift slowly, roving down over her hips. His grip drags against the fabric of her pants, drifting back up to lift the bottom of her shirt. Yes…
Unfortunately, Matt freezes when the shaking starts again. It's different this time, the floor rocking underneath them. It's stronger than before, she can actually hear it now. A noise like something roaring towards them.
"That actually is a quake," Matt says, voice surprised. Anika pulls away to search his face, but he doesn't meet her eyes. He looks alarmed, entirely focused on the noise that is growing louder. The floor shakes harder, and Anika reaches out to grab onto Matt's arms for balance. The planet beneath their base sounds like it's trying to rip itself into pieces.