What was that… Why was Darial being so weird? Anika realizes she's practically running back to her room, but she doesn't slow down. She can't shake the feeling like something was terribly wrong with Darial, though her friend had physically looked fine. But how she'd been talking was so very unlike her.

She stops when she gets to the door to her quarters, shuffling out of the way when Ap'lek catches her attention. He's apparently had no trouble keeping up with her frantic escape from the cantina, looming right behind her. He steps by her to enter her quarters now.

Anika follows, speechless as the Knight of Ren checks her room and refresher. When no one jumps out to murder her or any innocent stuffed animals, he strides back to the exit. She watches him step back out into the hall, the door sliding closed behind him. Good riddens, Murder Mountain…

Alone, she thumps down onto the bed. There has to be some explanation for how she was acting… Anika considers spice more seriously, or perhaps snuff. But Darial had always been very responsible, not the type of person to party it up with drugs. Frustrated, Anika grabs her datapad to message Jorran, inquiring if Darial was acting abnormal during her shift in the medbay.

Anika has to fight the urge to message Commander Ren yet again as she waits for Jorran to reply. What would I even say? My friend is acting weird? That's hardly a problem I can bother the commander with… I can't just annoy him every time something odd happens…

She briefly considers Matt before making a face. She doesn't want to message him, either. Not since her earlier suspicions that her fellow technician might be hiding quite a few secrets from her. Anika realizes she doesn't have anyone else to go to. She doesn't really have any other friends within the First Order. Having a problem she can't run to Darial with only makes her feel so much more alone.

Her datapad dings, and Anika opens up the reply from Jorran. According to him, Darial had been acting fine at work.

Okay, so… I'll just see if Darial is back to herself tomorrow. And if not, I'll just… She groans, unable to complete the thought. What would she do?

Anika rolls over, smashing her face into the pillow. Right now, it seems like her tried and true approach to problem solving is going to be her answer for tonight. Fuck this. I'm ignoring my problems and going to sleep.

Morning

Anika wakes up to three messages, and makes a face as she opens the first one. It's from Darial.

I'm sorry if I seemed strange last night. Are you coming to breakfast this morning? Please give me a chance to explain.

Anika feels partially relieved. Darial sounds normal enough in the message, at least. She could use some caffa before moving her stuff into her new quarters, and hopefully Darial would explain everything over their usual Muja muffins. If her friend was herself again, and done inquiring about Commander Ren's copulatory organ, Anika might even venture to get some advice from her regarding Matt.

She checks the second message, seeing it's from, lo and behold, Matt.

I'll be gone for a few days. Not dead.

Anika frowns, feeling torn. On one hand…It's almost sweet of Matt to message her so she won't worry. But on the other hand… He's disappearing again, after the unexplained quakes. Is it possible they are another act of sabotage? But why sabotage the entire base, if the goal was just to eliminate Commander Ren?

Anika's brow crumples as she considers just how little Matt had known about repairs. Perhaps his job as a technician was just a cover. But a cover for what…

The third message contains information on her new quarters on the executive level. Anika navigates away from her inbox, deciding to check her work schedule before jumping in the shower. She'd been assigned to clear Commander Ren's shuttle for use today, before he'd told her to take the day off.

She lurches off her bed when she sees the shift has been removed from the schedule, along with a note in the system. Ren has overridden the need for equipment checks, and the shuttle is scheduled for a mission… today.

Minutes Later

Anika's ran halfway to the hangar before she realizes the buttons on her shirt are off by one. She had gotten dressed in such a haste that she messed them up, but she doesn't want to delay long enough to fix them. If she hurries, she can hopefully double check the navicomputer before the commander takes the shuttle.

Why didn't I just tell him about the flight plan!? Ugh I hope he hasn't left already. She really doesn't want to be blamed if there is a problem with the commander's brand new shuttle.

Anika hurries into the bay, relieved to see the ship still sitting there. She rushes forward, climbing the loading ramp only to pause at the sound of the bay door opening again. She creeps backwards a step, leaning to peer around the edge of the metal hull.

General Hux strides into the room, an officer at his side. A small number of stormtroopers swarm in behind him, moving along the side of the bay to form a loosely huddled group. Hux turns around, speaking to someone coming through the door.

Anika freezes at the sight of Commander Ren entering the space, realizing immediately that his helmet isn't on. It's held in his hand, and for the briefest moment she can almost see his face. But then he turns, and all she can make out for sure is that his hair is dark. It's as black as the suit he wears, and long, almost skimming his shoulders.

She gulps nervously, retreating into the shuttle and heading towards the cockpit. Please don't be mad at me Commander, I just need to make sure your ship is fine…

The navigation computer takes forever to boot up, and she fidgets anxiously. There's no way she'll be able to sneak back out of the hangar, so she's going to have to explain herself. Why is this thing taking so long to start up… She just updated the system, it's a brand new processor… It shouldn't be taking this long.

Come on, come on… Anika fights the urge to slap her hand into the screen, shooting nervous glances back towards the loading ramp. The computer finally turns on, and she swears aloud when she sees the random flight plan is back. What the…

Anika straightens, frowning. She's going to have to tell Ren that he can't take the shuttle, at least not until they can figure out what the bug is in the system. She turns to leave the cockpit, stepping through the hatch. But she stops there, at the sight of the Commander standing in the hold.

She almost feels a twinge of regret at the realization he's put his helmet on once more, his face hidden before she got a chance to see it. But then she notices his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Commander Ren looks furious, and he takes a step closer as she blinks at him.

I can't tell him the truth, that will just piss him off more… Anika hates herself right about now. The past version of her, that had neglected to warn the commander that something was off with his ship, is a real jerk.

"Um," Anika stutters. "I can explain."

"Please. Do," Ren growls.

"I saw you were taking the shuttle on a mission, and I just wanted to…to…" she trails off when she can visibly see his chest heaving, the muscles of his arms clenching, even through the heavy material of his suit. Holy boma beast, I'm going to die…

He looms closer, and Commander Ren has never intimidated her this much before. She can feel his rage, and it somehow makes him appear even more terrifyingly large. Anika struggles to pull in her breath, but it's like Ren's temper has sucked the oxygen from the room.

"You wanted to what?" he prompts her. "Sabotage it first?"

Her eyes widen in horror at the accusation. "What!? NO, Sir!"

One large step and he's upon her, his large hand curling around her throat and pulling her closer. Anika stumbles in his grasp, rising up on her tiptoes and fighting the urge to claw at his wrist. Resisting would do absolutely no good, and she tries to comply as he forces her to come within inches of his mask.

"It would be so clever of you," Ren breathes, voice a low rumble. "I'd be so distracted with your lust, your foolish little urges…Why would I look beyond the arousal in your body to see anything else? Clever…It's you, isn't it?"

Anika shakes her head frantically, before fighting to form words. You're giving me entirely too much credit, I really am just a horny idiot. "No, Sir, I swear to you, that's not it! Please, I needed to check because there was an unauthorized flight plan in the nav computer!"

Commander Ren is silent for a moment, before the leather around her throat relaxes slightly. "Continue," he snaps.

"Yesterday, I noticed it and cleared it out. I was going to double check the system today to make sure that fixed it, but you cancelled my shift," she babbles quickly, nearly incoherent. "But then I saw you're taking it on a mission. And I just needed to make sure it was gone, because I didn't want you to take the ship if there was anything wrong with it!"

"And did that fix it?" Ren prompts coolly.

Anika shakes her head. "No, Sir, it was still in the computer when I rebooted it."

His hand drops from her neck. She tries to settle her nerves as the commander steps into the cockpit, entering his credentials into the computer. A moment later, a noise of irritation filters through the mask. He steps back through the hatch, jerking a thumb towards the navigation station.

"Do you have any idea why a brand new navicomputer would have that kind of error, technician?" he demands.

She licks her lips, reluctant to say the word. "Um…" Sabotage…

No sooner has the word formed in her thoughts, than the main hatch slams closed. Ren's head whirls towards the noise, and he storms towards the now sealed exit. Anika watches him attempt to pry it open with alarm, only to jump when the hatch behind her follows suit.

There is a mechanical sound as the door to the cockpit locks itself closed. They are now stuck in the shuttle's main hold, locked out from the hangar and cockpit alike. Ren's head slowly turns towards her as the ship begins vibrating, the engines starting up. Oh, fuck…

"Move!" he orders, stomping back towards the cockpit. She jumps out of his way so he can approach the door, attempting to force it open to gain access.

The engines lurch to life, and Anika fumbles to stay on her feet as the ship moves suddenly. She grabs onto a hand hold on the metal wall, mind panicking. Her alarm only grows when Ren pulls out his lightsaber, the red beam crackling to life in the small space. Anika pulls herself back farther, staring with fear at the notorious weapon.

Her grip on the handle tightens as they pick up speed, and she realizes they must have left the hangar behind. Where are they going? She hadn't even bothered to look up what the coordinates led to on the flight plan, she has no idea… But whatever the problem is, it is a lot worse than what she had initially noticed. The ship is on full auto-pilot, meaning that system must be hacked as well.

Commander Ren bashes the hatch, rewarded when the broken, sparking door finally slides open to grant them access to the cockpit. The window greets them with a view of the black expanse of space, stretching ahead of the ship.

The commander throws himself at the controls, only to snarl in frustration a second later. "I can't disable auto pilot, I'm locked out," he snaps.

Anika's ears prick to the sound of the hyperdrive initiating, and a moment later she is nearly thrown down when they jump to lightspeed. The ship stabilizes as the blur of hyperspace fills the view, and she's able to find her footing again.

Ren moves from where he was holding on to the pilot's seat for balance, approaching the navigation computer. "Can you bypass the login credentials?" he asks. "It's locked me out of everything."

Anika nods. "I can, but-but that won't do any good, if we're stuck on autopilot. It's going to complete the set course-"

"I need control of my ship back," Ren growls. "Can you get me that?"

She shakes her head, still clinging onto the handle despite the fact that their flight is now smooth. This…this can't be happening. Where are we even going? A black hole? A hypergiant? The unknown regions? Kriff, this is all my fault… This can't be happening…

"Anika."

She's pulled from her thoughts by the way the Commander's tone has changed. It's somehow softer, despite the harsh vocabulator of the helmet. She focuses on him, on the black space where Ren's eyes lurk behind his mask.

"This is happening, and I need your help," he tries again, his tone suggesting forced patience. "I need control of the ship. How do we accomplish that?"

"Well…I can break the autopiloting system, but that will trigger a reboot if done while it's in use," Anika suggests tentatively. "We probably don't want to try that while in hyperspace."

"Will it reboot to default manual piloting?" Ren questions.

She nods. "Yes, Sir."

"Then get ready. As soon as we drop from lightspeed, I want you to try it."

Not Much Later

Anika wakes up with a groan, her head burning and aching. She blinks, her eyes focusing on the metal ceiling of the ship's main hold. The lights up there are flickering erratically, and it only makes her headache worse. She winces her eyelids back closed, confusion taking over her thoughts. Why is she laying on the floor?

"Are you okay?"

Anika's eyes snap back open at Commander Ren's voice, and she turns her head to see him kneeling beside her. His hand is stretched out, but he slowly retracts it to his side.

"What happened?" she asks, shifting uncomfortably. One of the bolts from the floor is digging into her back, and she pushes herself up into a seated position. She feels woozy for a moment before recovering.

"I thought you might have been seriously injured, but you seem to be fine," Ren explains slowly. "I think you just passed out during the crash."

Crash…!?

Anika's head throbs, her memories resurfacing in a rush. They'd exited hyperspace and rebooted the ship, successfully getting control back. But something had gone wrong… They'd dropped from lightspeed too close to a planet, some unnamed globe of neon greens and brilliant blue. Despite Ren's attempt at changing their course, they had been pulled in.

"What was that?" she asks, confused. "What made us crash?"

"The gravity in orbit was much stronger than it should have been. It dragged us in," Ren answers, standing. "…Yet here on the surface, it seems typical for a planet this size."

He extends a hand, and Anika hesitates for only a second before taking it. The commander helps her up, his free hand hovering behind her back for a moment as she wobbles on her feet. But the dizziness is retreating, despite the throb in her head. Did she bump it when she passed out?

"…That sounds unnatural," she comments.

If the gravitational pull was strong enough to overpower our engines, we shouldn't even be standing right now… This makes no sense.

Ren's mask inclines in a slight nod. "I agree. It would appear our course here was designed for us to crash land on whatever this world is."

"I've read about theoretical gravity well weapons…Something like that could be to blame, but…" Anika looks away from the commander, realizing his words imply he doesn't know their location either. "You don't know where we are?"

"No. We won't be able to get into the navicomputer until we restore full power," Ren explains. "The ship suffered some damage during the crash, only life support systems are running. Not that it will do us any good."

"What do you mean?" she asks quickly. The longer she's conscious, the more her sense of dread is growing. Can't he have any good news to share!?

"We can't get a signal out, I've already tried. Something is blocking emergency transmissions," Ren answers.

"How long have I been passed out!?" Anika asks.

"A few minutes. I was about to help you regain consciousness, when you came to on your own."

"Did you check the relay system!?" she presses, mind jumping quickly between thoughts.

"Not yet."

She darts by Commander Ren, headed into the communications room, mind a flurry of panic and attempts at problem solving. The relay system looks fine upon inspection, and she turns to see Ren watching her conclude her investigation from the hatch.

"I don't understand why our emergency call isn't getting sent," Anika mutters. "The system seems fine…"

"Perhaps whoever wanted us to crash, also didn't want us to be rescued," Ren suggests.

Anika drags her eyes away from the commander, focusing on the metal floor between them. This can't be happening… Her chest feels tight, the familiar feeling that warns her when one of her bouts of anxiety is about to paralyze her lungs. This isn't… I can't…Nope nope…Nope…

"Anika, I need you to remain calm," Commander Ren orders quietly.

"…Nope…Nope," she mutters, shaking her head. I am NOT stuck on some backwater planet with a broken ship and a grumpy Commander Ren, NOPE!

"Denial isn't going to help," he retorts, as if reading her thoughts.

But denial and sleep are my favorite coping mechanisms. Nope, nope, nope… Anika vaguely realizes that she's flirting with hysterics, her heart racing like it can run away from the situation. Commander Ren's chest heaves with a buzz from the mask, suggesting he's sighed.

She stiffens as he comes forward, capturing her shoulders in a firm grip. Her gaze flickers over the mask, unsure where to focus. When Ren speaks again, it's slowly and deliberately, as if he is holding back irritation.

"You are stuck on some backwater planet. Our ship is broken. But I will be considerably less grumpy if you stop loudly chanting 'Nope' in your head."