"Is this bad!?" Anika exclaims, concerned. The shaking grows move violent, the walls around them groaning as the entire base is contorted in harsh vibrations. She's never experienced one like this before, unsure if she should be fearful or not.
"Get down!"
Matt squashes her to the ground, his body covering hers and pushing her down beneath him. The full force of the planet's energy hits them, and Anika cries out in fear. She tries to look up, but Matt grabs her head, forcing it down under his chest.
One of the shelving units lets go, the fastening to the wall failing. The shelves tumble, the contents falling around them in a chaotic shower of boxes and supplies. Nothing strikes her where she's sheltered under him. Good thing he's the size of a small shed… She can barely hear herself think over the rumbling.
It's only a moment before the other shelves follow suit. Anika hears Matt grunt sharply when one of the freed metal panels collides with him, before clattering to the floor. She winces with concern for him, hoping he isn't hurt.
When the shaking finally abates, they're surrounded by a messy pile of supplies and collapsed shelves. Matt lets her up, lifting his weight up from where he was practically smashing her into the ground.
"Are you okay?" she asks immediately, twisting around to survey his face. His glasses are askew, barely clinging onto his ears.
"I'm fine," he insists, but his expression is tense.
"I've never felt a quake that bad," Anika mutters.
Matt grabs her hand, pulling her to her feet. "I need you to get to the nearest evac station." He urges her towards the door, helping her step over the junk littering the floor.
"What!? Why?"
They emerge into the hallway, only to hear the sound of a distant alarm blaring. The emergency lights are flashing on the walls. Matt's talking again, but her mind is racing over why the alarms are sounding. She never did bother to learn the different alarm sounds, and wouldn't be able to tell a fire alarm from her alarm clock.
"If we need to evacuate, I want you-Anika!"
Anika is too distracted, looking around at the people stumbling out of rooms further down the hallway. Matt tugs her arm roughly, forcing her to focus back on him.
"Look at me, now," he orders. Her mouth falls open in surprise at his commanding tone, but it succeeds in making her listen. "Get to the nearest evac station. If the planet's lost stability, I need you to be on the first shuttle out of the system. Do you understand?"
"Matt, what the-"
"Do you understand!?" he demands roughly.
Anika stares back into his brown eyes, now nearly hostile with determination. She nods. "Yes…"
"Good. Go." Matt doesn't spare another word, marching away from her and towards the command center. She waits only a moment before turning to head the other way, following his directions.
Later
Anika walks back to her quarters slowly, ruefully rubbing at her elbow. It's quite sore, and likely going to be covered in a bruise in a few hours. She had been one of the first people to arrive at the evac station, but then a second, equally strong quake had hit.
Apparently, that was all it took for others to panic and draw the same conclusions that Matt had. People had swarmed to be close to the emergency shuttles in case evacuation was ordered. Once the large room filled, the ones left in the hall had begun trying to push their way in.
Luckily, she'd ran into Darial's coworker, Jorran. He'd at least helped her stay upright, so she didn't get trampled. But Anika can't help but feel a bit perturbed. Why hadn't Matt accompanied her to the evac station? Where had he run off to?
Whatever the problem was, they announced they had resolved it about an hour after the first quake. The announcement cut through the crowded evac station, diffusing the panicked energy as people began heading back to their workstations or quarters.
But Anika isn't calming down, despite the reassurance from command that the base is perfectly safe. Rather, she has something stuck in her brain. If there had been a malfunction in the super weapon… that wasn't something Matt should be working on. Only the most specialized of engineers worked on the weapon, not just any random technician… So where had he been headed? What was he hiding?
Anika hates it, but her suspicion of Matt grows. Why had he assumed the planet had lost stability, and might need to be evacuated? What did he know, to make him draw that conclusion? Was it possible the quakes had been caused by yet another act of sabotage?
Anika heaves a sigh as she finally reaches her hallway. She tries to stop her current train of thought, an uneasy feeling in her gut. But that train has already left the station.
Why wasn't Matt's device shown on the network in the hangar bay…? He said he was going there… Unless he deleted evidence off both the network and the access log… She shakes her head, not wanting to think that about Matt. But…
What did she really know about him? He didn't want to tell me where he transferred from… And he wouldn't explain where he'd been, when he disappeared for days after the shuttle exploded…
Anika stops in front of her door, sighing. Her attraction to Matt aside, she has to admit it. There is something odd going on with that man, and it doesn't stop at his too-blonde hair.
She opens her door, shuffling into her room as she still rubs at her aching elbow. But she stops when the lights brighten to reveal her teddy bear, hanging from a bar on the light panel. Someone's suspended Mr. Beary with a rope, and Anika's eyes widen when she sees bright paint smeared in messy letters on the wall.
sniTches geT sTiTches
Wow… Is that supposed to intimidate me? Teddy bear violence. What a badass.
Anika crosses the room, rubbing her finger in the paint. It's already dried on, and she groans. The First Order better not deduct from her paycheck for damage to her quarters. She has enough to be anxious about, without having to worry about a short check.
She sighs, plopping down onto her chair. Snitches get stitches…that's so corny and overused. She takes out her datapad, using it to snap pictures of the bear and paint. But she hesitates on who to send them to. Someone knows she ratted out Patty, or at least that seems to be the most likely conclusion. Could she trust her new supervisor?
Anika sits the datapad down and groans with frustration. Apparently, whatever was going on here, didn't end with a single saboteur. Whoever else was in on it was threatening her. This is so beyond anything she wanted to be involved in. She had been perfectly happy, repairing what needed repaired and collecting her salary.
She sighs with defeat, remembering Commander Ren's words. From now on, you come to me with your concerns.
This counted as a concern, right? At the very least, it suggested the problem was far from taken care of. Anika picks the datapad back up, beginning a message to Commander Ren and attaching the photos.
Hi, Commander Ren. You said I should come to you with my concerns, so I felt I should show you what I found in my quarters this evening. My guess is this doesn't end with Patty, something more is going on here. Whoever else is involved must know I told you, and left me that message on the wall. They clearly don't understand rules of capitalization, because they just randomly capitalized the T's and it's going to drive me crazy. They didn't even capitalize the beginning of the sentence, why capitalize the T's?
Anika stops typing when she realizes she's gone completely off track. She sounds like a raving weirdo. She holds the screen, trying to highlight the text to delete it and start over. But a moment later, the "Message Sent" icon flashes on the screen.
Kriff…
Stupid datapad, the screen had been touchy and acting up ever since she dropped the thing in the sink. Anika sets it down, letting her face thud onto her little table. She can't believe she sent a message that stupid to the Commander of the First Order. I am perpetual humiliation, in human form…
She considers messaging Matt, but doesn't bother to reach for her device again. Common sense is telling her she might not be able to trust the man she'd just been locking lips with. There were too many unexplained questions she had about him and his whereabouts. And his hair.
Anika's stomach gives a gurgle, and she realizes how hungry she is. She still hasn't eaten dinner, and she had been starving hours ago when she got out of work. She decides to head to the cantina, or at least Starkiller Base's sad version of a cantina. The food there is marginally better than the cafeteria, and she could use a drink after everything that's happened.
She sorts through the tangled pile of clean clothes she'd dumped on top of the small dresser attached to the wall. Anika never was good with folding… or putting things away… She makes a face as she manages to extract a shirt and pants that match, something other than the uniform she's tired of wearing for the day.
She changes her pants, before pulling the uniform top off over her head. It's at that point that her door slides open, and she freezes, wide eyed, at Commander Ren striding into her quarters.
A moment too late, and he seems to realize what he's walked into. "Shit."
The sound of the commander swearing might actually be amusing to her, if she weren't entirely mortified. Anika's hands slap over her bra, and she turns away in time to see Ren doing the same. He spins around to face her door. Her face is bright red with a blush as she scrambles to find the neck hole of the clean top.
"I'm sorry, I should have knocked-"
"No, no, it's fine, really-"
"That was rude of me to just barge in-"
"Really Sir, no worries!" Anika insists, mentally wishing for death. Where's the event horizon of a black hole when you need it?
She turns back around when the top is covering her, tugging it down and fidgeting nervously. Commander Ren's still facing the doorway, his black-clad back to her. She notes the way his head barely clears the top of the doorway.
"Um, I'm good, now," she mumbles.
She sees his hand raise into the air, gesturing uncertainly. "You're…decent?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly decent," she reassures, cheeks scorching.
Ren turns around, and she stares at the mask. It stares back at her. Oh kriff, not this again… Is he waiting for me to say something? Is he just thinking? Ugh. Why did he come here so fast? I only wanted to warn him… She fidgets anxiously, reminding herself that he could be listening to her thoughts.
The commander unfreezes finally, storming forward to examine the paint on the wall. She squeezes out of his way, shifting back towards the door of her quarters to try to leave space between them. But then the doorway darkens, blocked by a mass of black and metal, and she stops. One of his Knights is hovering there in the opening, and she's unwilling to get any closer to him.
Anika has seen the Knights of Ren from a distance, but in person this one is downright menacing. If she thought Commander Ren's mask was intimidating, then this one's mask is from an actual nightmare. It looks like a black metal skull, but lacking a mouth. His armor is dented and scorched in places. As she stares at him, he tilts his helmet to the side, stepping through her doorway.
Anika quickly retreats back towards Commander Ren, nearly bumping into him. Her room is not big enough to have all of these terrifying, masked men crowding it.
"This paint is already dry," Ren observes. "Likely it was done several hours ago."
Anika tears her eyes away from the Knight to give her Commander a meek nod. "I was probably at work."
"I'll check security feeds, but I doubt we'll find anything," the commander muses, voice rumbling low.
"I'm sure it's fine," Anika says quickly. She hadn't meant to make her commander come investigate personally, and now feels stupid. "I'll be fine, really Sir, I just thought you'd want to know-"
"Your room is clearly not secure," Ren cuts her off harshly. "I'll arrange high security accommodations for you on the executive level. Take tomorrow off work to move your things, the new quarters will be ready by morning."
Anika's mouth falls open as she stares at Commander Ren's mask in shock. The executive level is where the highest officials have their quarters. It's not a place for someone like her, a run of the mill technician. "That's-That's so nice of you, Commander," she stutters out. "But you really don't have to do that, I'll be fine here."
"Ap'lek will stay with you tonight," Ren continues on, as if she hasn't said anything. "He'll make sure whoever did it, doesn't get back into your room."
Anika frowns, stomach sinking. "Who's Ap'lek?"
Ren raises a hand to gesture back with his thumb, at the perfectly still Knight. Anika scrambles to try to refuse the offer.
"Oooh, um, I don't think that's necessary," she stammers. Like I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, with Murder Mountain hulking over me?
"It is necessary. He'll stay in the hall."
Anika stops herself from huffing with disappointment at the commander's decision, nodding instead. 'Oh, okay… Well, I guess we're going to become friends, right Ap'lek?"
She looks to the Knight, the oily cloak that covers his shoulders nearly filling the doorway. She puts a hopeful smile on her face.
Silence.
"Super…" she whispers faintly.
Ten Minutes Later
Commander Ren has stormed off, seeming to be in an even worse mood than he arrived in. She assumes he's left the Knight to guard her, but she would rather not have to check. Unfortunately, she can't just stay in her room all night. Anika can't ignore her stomach growling anymore, she is absolutely starving.
She grabs her datapad to message Darial. It's possible her fancy dinner date with General Hux was cancelled due to the quakes, she thinks. So she invites her to the cantina if she happens to be free, before working up the courage to step out into the hallway.
Ap'lek is standing there, his weapon held at the ready. Anika tries to avoid looking at the sharp blade on it, trying to meet his mask. But that isn't much better, and she ends up looking nervously around the hallway instead.
"So, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, but I haven't really eaten since breakfast," Anika begins. "I am going to get some dinner, before coming back here for the night."
Silence.
"You can…come with? Or you can stay here? Whatever you prefer, really," Anika tries to offer.
Silence. Shocking. Is this even a guy? Or are the Knights of Ren droids with missing vocabulators…
Anika huffs with irritation, giving the Knight an exaggerated shrug. "Okay, so I'm going to…go."
She turns and starts down the hallway, a bit relieved when she doesn't hear him following. Perhaps he'll let her have some privacy, and just lurk around outside her door. That would be ideal, she thinks, turning around to look back at him. But Anika jumps when she sees he's right behind her.
The man moves silently, nothing on him making a sound. Somehow, that makes him even creepier. Anika faces forward again with round eyes, obstinately focusing on getting to the cantina. She pretends she's alone, until the alarmed glances of people passing her in the hall make it impossible.
Nothing to see here, folks, just taking a walk with Murder Mountain…
The cantina is pretty full when she arrives, as it's late enough to be prime drinking hour. Anika has no problem reaching the bar, however, as people skitter out of her way. Ap'lek looms behind her like a homicidal shadow, and nobody wants to be within striking range of him.
She drops down at the bar, able to partially relax when the Knight takes up a position at the end of the row of stools, near the wall. Anika orders food and two drinks. She figures if Darial doesn't show up, the second one can serve as some liquid courage to deal with the walk back to her quarters with Murder Mountain.
She eats her food quickly, finally satiating her hunger, before starting on a drink. She doesn't make it halfway through it before the stool next to her is pulled out. Anika smiles with relief as Darial sits next to her.
"You made it!"
"The dinner was postponed," Darial explains, leaning over the bar to shoot a curious glance towards Ap'lek. "Why is he in the cantina?" she asks in a low voice.
Anika shrugs, not wanting to explain just yet that she's the cause for the Knight's presence. She'd much rather focus on relaxing. "Long story. Here," she says, sliding the second drink towards her friend.
But Darial just stares at the beverage, before shaking her head. "No, thank you."
Anika blinks in confusion. "What?"
"I don't want to drink," Darial says, smiling. "Thank you, though."
"…But you always have a drink with me when we come to the cantina," Anika protests. Her brows crumple when she notices something is off with Darial. But she can't quite place it, something just seems different in the way her friend is holding herself.
Darial only continues to smile, carefully pushing the glass back so it isn't in front of her any longer. "I'm sorry?" she asks.
Anika narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Okay…" She picks up her glass, deciding to down as much of it as she can. She needs something to settle her nerves. She's drinking quickly when Darial speaks again.
"Have you decided to have sexual intercourse with Commander Ren?" she asks, tone lightly conversational.
Anika chokes on a mouthful of the spirits, coughing suddenly at the question. She recovers, wiping the trail of liquid that has spilled down her chin, to give her an incredulous look. "What!?"
Darial looks confused, frowning. "I'm sorry, I just meant to ask if you'll be accepting his reproductive advances?"
Anika opens her mouth to reply, but can't seem to find words. What is up with her…
"Commander Ren is so high up within the First Order, he's very powerful. Surely that makes him appealing?" Darial presses earnestly.
"Why are you talking so weird?" Anika asks bluntly, her face growing disturbed looking. "And since when do you care about how powerful people are? Kriff, is that why you're dating Hux? Because he's high up?"
Darial frowns. "Of course not. I love Armitage."
Anika sits the glass down with a sharp clink on the bar, staring at Darial like she's grown three more heads. "Are you on drugs? Have you been chewing spice?"
"Is it too soon in the progression of a relationship to refer to love?" Darial questions with confusion.
Anika stands up, the bar stool giving a terrible screech as she pushes it back quickly. "I'm…I'm going to go. I can't… deal with whatever…whatever the hell this is," she says, alarmed. Has someone scooped Darial's brain out and scrambled it? What is wrong with her!?
She doesn't even know what to think about her friend's sudden, bizarre behavior. Darial seems to realize she's messed up, standing with a concerned face.
"I'm sorry, I've said something wrong," she tries, reaching out to catch Anika's arm.
"Yes, a lot of somethings," Anika snaps, wiggling free. "You're freaking me out."
"I only meant to encourage you to get the D," Darial says sadly.
"What the fuck!?" Anika spits out.
"You know? Acquire the copulatory organ?" her friend tries again.
If Anika stands there one second longer, her eyeballs are going to pop out of her skull and roll across the floor. She turns, fleeing the cantina as fast as she can.