Anika can feel her lower lip jut out in a childish pout, but nods anyway. "Okay," she whispers meekly. She forces herself to focus, to resort to approaching the disaster with logic rather than blind panic. "I can do a diagnostic check, identify which systems need repaired…"

"That does us no good, if we try to leave and get hit with another gravitational field like the last," Ren points out, dropping his hands from her shoulders.

"True, but these are brand new engines," Anika says, eyes widening with hope as she realizes something important. "They're capped at 50% output! If we remove the safety constraints-"

"Why is my shuttle's engine power limited!?" Ren demands, indignant. His hands curl into fists again as his agitation seems to return.

"It's-It's a safety parameter, it's just the default protocol for any small shuttles with the new style engines-"

"No one told me," he argues petulantly.

"Most pilots couldn't handle the forces generated-"

"I'm not most pilots," Ren growls.

"Okay, I'm sorry? I didn't personally establish that safety protocol, Sir," Anika insists. "But the point is, we can double the power. Would that help?"

He considers it, the tension easing out of his shoulders, before nodding once. "It should be enough to escape whatever generated the additional gravity. Do you think you can repair the damage?"

She frowns. "Well, it depends… I'm going to need to go outside to assess everything," she admits, trepidation growing.

Is it even safe to go outside? What if they don't have the necessary tools for what she needs to fix? Worse yet…what if a critical piece of equipment is broken? Or what if a krayt dragon is waiting outside to eat me…

Commander Ren squeezes by her to read one of the instrument panels. "Atmospheric sensors say the air is breathable," he shares. "High levels of airborne particulates, probably pollen. There's rebreathers if you are worried."

"Right," Anika says, trying to work up the motivation to head towards the exit. Should she take a weapon? As if I would know what to do with one anyway…

"Come," Ren orders, leading her from the room. "We'll check internal systems first."

Anika accompanies him to the engine room, making note of the repairs needed there. It looks like something is damaged related to venting, and several critical pieces of equipment shut down on emergency measures rather than burn out. That should be easy enough to fix, if she can identify what caused the venting to fail in the first place.

She shares her observations with Ren before they head into the main hold. Anika is nervous to go outside, but straps one of the rebreathers to her belt in case she needs it. Ren doesn't seem too concerned with taking one, dropping down to attempt to coax the lock on the exit hatch to release. When it doesn't want to budge, he stands, lightsaber in hand.

Anika makes a noise, rushing forward. If he bashes the door to get it open, they'll need to repair that as well before the shuttle can be space-worthy. I'd rather not add things to the list…

"With all due respect, Sir, can I try before you break it into pieces?" she ventures.

Minutes Later

Anika tries to focus on what she's doing, the tiny tool barely fitting into the locking mechanism. She's kneeling on the ground, trying to get the lock to release without damaging anything. But Ren is breathing right behind her, hovering over her as she works with his impatience. All she can hear is each inhale and exhale through the mask.

That helmet makes him sound like a Hutt breathing…

"Is that so? Have you heard a lot of Hutts breathing?" Ren snaps.

Anika bites her lip, working faster in a bid to get the door open as quickly as possible to end this awkward conversation. "Um… well, no. I'm sorry, Sir."

"We always seem to end up here, don't we?" the commander taunts. But she hears him pacing away from her, giving her much needed space. "You apologizing for the inappropriate things you think?"

"I'm sorry for always having to say sorry, Sir," she says, turning around to give him a properly apologetic look. I need to think less annoying thoughts, otherwise he's going to leave my ass on this planet…

The commander stares at her from across the hold, dark mask giving away no clues as to his current mood. But when he speaks again, his voice drops into a dangerous tone. "Oh, don't worry about that. I think I quite like the sight of you on your knees, asking for forgiveness."

Her mouth falls open in shock, the tool sliding from her hand to clatter noisily onto the ground. Anika turns around, fumbling to pick it up. Her cheeks are hot as she tries to focus, ignoring the soft sound coming from behind her. Is he… He's laughing! Flipping laughing at me, like this is the funniest thing ever.

Her wounded pride overwhelms her common sense for just a moment. Go ahead, chuckle it up, Hutt helmet.

The thought fills her brain before she can clamp down on it, and Ren's laughter stops. "Watch it. I'd hate to have to delay our repairs, just for the chance to punish you," he threatens.

He might as well have spoken to directly between her thighs, the reaction in her body is so immediate. Anika licks her lips nervously, trying to ignore the arousal now clamoring for attention. "Sorry, Sir…"

Her mind is struggling to interpret his threat of punishment, perverted suggestions wanting to pop up. Not now, ugh…She tries to smother them all down, but Ren makes a noise regardless.

"As entertaining as your over-active imagination is, are we any closer to getting out of this ship?" he demands, drawing closer.

Anika makes a face, thinking that his taunting isn't helping to speed things along. She's about to give up and invite her superior to slice the door open. But she doesn't need to, as one final twist of the tool seems to do the trick. It unclicks, the lock finally releasing.

"Got it!" she announces, standing and dusting her knees off. She hits the control pad, freezing in place as the door slides up. The sight outside is bizarre.

The sky is a pale yellow, but it's nearly blocked by the overgrowth of life around them. They've crashed in some kind of strange, alien forest. Commander Ren starts down the ramp, and Anika trails slowly behind. All around them, unique plants are stretching up well overhead, the dark dirt covered in smaller growths.

The vegetation is an assortment of colors, most bright green, but some blue or even deep purple. If she looks for long enough, Anika can spot every color of the rainbow. The sunlight glitters off the giant petals and tubes that it strikes, refracting into odd patterns. The plants are all in odd shapes, nothing looks like the trees or shrubs she's seen on other worlds. Rather they are surrounded with large, tapering spikes, or gigantic funnels that open up to the sky.

"Where…are we…" she muses, following Ren as he steps down onto the dirt. Nothing surges up from the planet to eat him, so she figures it's safe enough for her.

"I have no idea," Ren replies. "Stay close to me. We don't know what sort of apex predators might live here."

Anika nods, her gaze darting around as she considers that. The nearest plant is moving, and she peers a little bit closer curiously. It's tall, nearly twice her height. The top of it is a vivid orange color, dome shaped and perched upon a meaty stalk. The underside is fluttering, dark pleats vibrating in the air.

"Are those…" she trails off, searching for the right word.

Ren seems to be examining it as well, his mask tilted up towards the structure. "Gills," he supplies. "I believe this is all fungal growth."

Anika wrinkles up her nose. "Like…mushrooms?"

"Exactly like mushrooms. That's probably what the sensors were detecting," Ren answers. "Fungal spores."

"Oh," Anika remarks. "I'm glad we're just breathing in tiny, tiny mushroom babies…"

"If it causes an allergic reaction, we'll have to use the rebreathers," Ren says, shrugging one of his giant shoulders.

"Right," she agrees weakly, commencing checking the exterior of the shuttle. She tries to ignore the banging in her head, focusing on making sure the hull is intact. The commander's nonchalance about the situation is not reassuring, and she really regrets not getting any morning caffa before this horrible experience started.

When Anika moves around to the rear of the ship, she's able to see through the fungal forest that surrounds them a bit more. They've damaged some of the life forms with their descent, scooping a trail out of the growth that she now cranes her neck to look down.

There in the distance, amidst a cluster of overgrown blue fronds, she spots what looks to be another ship. "Do you see that?" she asks Ren.

He pauses near her, mask fixating on the ship in the distance. "Yes. Likely we aren't the only ship that has crashed here."

There is quite a bit of damage to the hull from the crash, but nothing that looks too terrible. That is, until her eyes land on the external part of the alluvial dampeners. They're completely missing, apparently sheered away from the ship during the rough landing.

"Well, Sir. Unless we want ion emission to back up in the hyperdrive and fry it, we aren't going anywhere," Anika sighs. "We need to install new dampeners, and that's not a standard repair part included in a shuttle."

Commander Ren is silent, and Anika feels herself tensing up as she waits for his response. Surely, he's about to throw one of his infamous temper tantrums? She's just told him there's no way for them to get off this planet.

Anika turns slowly, hoping he isn't a moment away from taking his anger out on her. She's surprised to see he appears calm, his mask still turned towards the ship in the distance.

"Could you retrofit scavenged dampeners from another ship?" he asks.

Kriff, why didn't I think of that? Duh. "Yes, if they're the right model! I'm sorry, I should have suggested that myself," Anika confirms.

The commander makes a small, dismissive motion with his hand. "It's alright. These aren't your typical work conditions."

His tone surprises her, something comforting leaking through the vocabulator. She searches the mask, wishing she could see Ren's face. Would she see kindness there, like she heard in his words? He did send me a teddy bear when I was hurt… And chocolates when I lost someone…

Anika feels nervous, but that is hardly unusual. She's always nervous around the commander, always a babbling mess of a subordinate. But this time, it's not due to his fearful presence. Rather, she finds herself wondering… Is there a soft side to Commander Ren? Would he show it to me?

The thought of being treated with tenderness from a man most people feared would murder them…It sends an entirely different kind of thrill racing through her. The mask, the gloves, the head to toe black had always intrigued her for how terrifying it made him seem. But Anika finds herself more interested in what's beneath all that, rather than the scary persona.

Ren shifts suddenly, moving away from her. I'm always forgetting he can read my thoughts… Shit…

"Let's check the wreckage," he suggests.

Later

The ship they spotted from their crash site ends up being much farther than Anika thought. They've been walking for a while, and the humid air is beginning to get to her. She longs to take off the stiff uniform shirt, made even more uncomfortable by the fact that it's damp with sweat. Even her undershirt is soaked. But she doesn't dare to parade around a bunch of mushrooms in her bra.

She shouldn't feel this overheated, she thinks. The humidity might be overbearing, but the temperature itself isn't hot enough that she should feel so flushed. Anika tries to focus, traipsing along behind Commander Ren. He's weaving through the stalks of the fungi, leading them closer to the ship.

The growth is getting denser the farther they get from their own crashed ship. Anika's also picking up on strange noises from the environment around them. Buzzes and creaks, chirps and something like sandpaper scraping. But she can't see any animals moving, her vision obscured with thick blue fronds that flutter in the damp air.

"Watch your step," Ren orders.

Anika looks down at her feet in time to see the ground slope sharply downwards, and when she looks back up, metal meets her eyes. They've arrived at the wreckage.

"This has been here a while," the commander observes, trailing along the side of the ship.

Anika follows, spotting some markings as they approach the back. "Looks like a cargo vessel," she mentions, frowning. Cargo ships probably won't have the parts we need…

They reach the engine exhaust, and she squints to try to see. She has to stand on her tiptoes, craning her head before she can make it out. Anika sighs when her thoughts are confirmed. The dampeners are entirely the wrong size and specification for their own shuttle.

"I don't think I can make those work. We need something that can handle those engines when we crank up the output," she muses.

Ren's rounded the rear of the ship, however, and she trails after him. He raises an arm, pointing out further into the jungle. She narrows her eyes, trying to make out what he's seeing.

"I believe it's another crash site," the commander explains, cocking his head. "It looks like the jungle is growing over something large and metallic."

Anika kind of sees the shape he's referring to, though his eyesight must clearly be better than hers. "This planet might be littered with ships," she replies thoughtfully. "Which I guess is good for us? It's just a matter of finding the right one, and hoping the dampeners are in good shape."

"We can use the ground sensors on our shuttle to scan for wreckage. They should be able to estimate size and shape of the crashed ships, so we can target the best candidates," Ren answers.

Anika nods, agreeing with his logic. But part of her wants to push onwards now, to check the site he's identified. "Why don't we just check that one, though? We're already over here," she points out.

"Haven't you noticed the light getting low?"

She frowns, looking up. The sky has turned a burnt orange shade, rather than the dusty yellow when they'd first emerged from the ship.

"Oh…" That would explain why I was having to squint.

"We should head back before night sets," Ren suggests.

She nods eagerly, noticing the sounds around them are growing louder.

Nightfall

It's almost too dark to see by the time they make it back to their shuttle, the sky tinted red as night takes over the planet. Though the air has cooled down, Anika still feels like her skin is too warm. She attempts to roll up her sleeves as they approach the ramp.

Something large flickers out of the corner of her vision, distracting her. She searches the periphery of the area, able to focus on it when it flashes once again. Whatever it is, it blinks intermittently. A second flash comes from deeper into the jungle, almost like it's responding to the first.

"What are those…?" she wonders aloud, hesitating at the bottom of the ramp.

"Does it matter? Night isn't the time to explore a strange world," Ren remarks, starting up the ramp.

Anika frowns, curious about the lights, but follows him. For all she knows, it might be a trap. Probably some giant alien, using flashing lights to lure in unsuspecting dumbasses. Like me. She enters the shuttle after Ren, deciding she'd better stay close to him and his weapon.

The entire planet is making her feel suspicious. Something about the weird life forms, the creepy noises, even how they ended up crashing there… Anika feels paranoia, like they're in a trap she hasn't fully figured out yet. I can't wait to leave this place. This planet blows.

Unfortunately, it looks like the lights have failed in the main hold. It's pitch black inside, and she only knows Ren has shut the hatch by the sound it makes. The closed door might protect them from anything lurking outside, but it also seems to cut down on air flow. Anika notices immediately, missing the cooler air from outside.

She squints in the dark, unable to make out where the commander is. "You can't…um…see in the dark, can you?" she asks curiously.

"…No, why?" he replies after a moment, sounding suspicious.

"I'm just really overheated, but I didn't want to… um… make things awkward," Anika explains.

"Oh."

She considers that announcing such a thing probably made it more awkward than if she'd just been discreet. But she doesn't care, happily unbuttoning the uniform top and stripping it off. Her skin feels better immediately. The clothing from base was designed to trap heat, insulating against the chilly air on the cold planet. But here, that design had made her skin feel like it was suffocating. The undershirt isn't nearly as oppressive, thankfully.

Anika isn't quite tired yet, her mind still working over what they need to accomplish to get off the planet. But she dreads that she'll eventually need to sleep. The shuttle isn't designed for long flights, neglecting to include a dormitory of any kind. They'll be stuck on the floor.

She furrows her brow when she hears him shuffling through one of the storage bins that's fastened to the wall. A moment later and his lightsaber hisses to life, casting a flickering red glow about the hold. He searches for another moment, using the light of his weapon.

"Here," Ren turns, handing her a blanket and flashlight. "Conserve the flashlight batteries as much as possible. We don't know how long we'll be here."

She nods, but he turns off the lightsaber quickly and she realizes he probably didn't see the motion. "Thank you," she adds awkwardly.

Anika doesn't think she'll need the blanket, but she can use it folded up as a pillow. The row of seats might be long enough to lay down on… And more comfortable than the floor.

"Is it okay if I lay on the seats? I don't know if you wanted to sleep there-" she begins, trying to be considerate. But Ren cuts her off quickly.

"Go ahead. I'm not sleeping."

"What!? Why not?" Anika asks, taken aback.

"I'm not sure if I can trust you," Ren replies evenly. "It's still possible you are the one who sabotaged this shuttle in the first place."

…You have got to be kidding me. Anika drops the blanket to stare into the darkness, narrowing her eyes uselessly. If she can't see Ren, then he can't see her glare. But she makes the face anyway, discontent that he's suspicious of her. They need to be able to trust each other to work together, that much she's sure of.

"Why would I sabotage your ship, and then stick around to be trapped on it when it all goes to hell!?" she asks, frustrated.

"I'm accusing you of being a saboteur, not a good saboteur," Ren growls lowly.

Anika rolls her eyes with a huff. "Can't you just, like, shove into my head and see that I didn't do it? Sir?" she pushes, her heart speeding up when she hears the attitude filling her voice.

She shouldn't speak like that to him, not unless she's asking for a harsh reprimand. But she's so damn annoyed, and too warm, and whatever tiny bit of a filter she'd had is gone.

"I could," Ren hisses. "But I haven't."

"Why not?" Surely that could resolve this issue? What's stopping you from poking around in my skull to find the truth?

Commander Ren is silent for several long moments, before he finally answers. He speaks almost too low for her to hear, despite there only being a few feet of space between them. "…I don't know…"

Anika's eyes scan her black surroundings, wishing she could see him. She can't read his mood at all, can't tell if that quiet answer was threatening or uncertain. For a moment, she thinks about flipping on her flashlight. But what good would that do, while he still hid under the mask?

"Just do it," she breathes. "Just look in my head so we can move on."

Her commander is quiet again, her anxiety building every second he doesn't answer her. She clenches her hands, trying to stop them from trembling. Surely, it isn't that bad, right? Yet she'd heard rumors about what Ren could do, when he was in someone's mind… Please don't hurt me…

"Fine," Ren finally snaps. "But remember you asked for this."

Anika frowns, waiting in suspense. When it happens, she is barely aware at first. But then her mind feels like it's been pulled sharply, and nausea rises at the bizarre sensation. It's like her body is interpreting what's happening in her thoughts as actual movement, triggering vertigo. She staggers back a step to brace against the wall.

Ren's yanking her into her memories, forcing her to replay them. There's that morning… waking up, seeing his flight scheduled. Rushing to the hangar. Checking the navicomputer. Then her thoughts lurch again, and Anika's remembering working on his shuttle. Installing new equipment, updating it. Admiring the new engines, echoes of relief that Commander Ren isn't showing up to watch her work. He spins through her shifts, not finding anything. See, I told you…

Anika pants, overwhelmed at how quickly Ren shuffles through her mind. Days backwards, and he's pinning her against the table in the meeting room. His hand in her hair, forcing her to face him. The arousal replays in her body, nerve endings tense with excitement. Wait, stop…

But Ren doesn't stop, he pursues that sensation. Tracks it backwards through time, connecting it with even older memories that lurk in her brain.

He stumbles over the memories of her fantasies of him. They blur together as Ren doesn't seem to be able to sort them out, they're all a tangled mess. She's played them out in so many ways, her imagination carrying itself away as she dreamed of her commander dominating her, taking her-

No! Not those, no, wait-

It's a messy onslaught. Flashes of desire, images that flicker and fade, all of them living inside her brain. But her body responds like it's real, hot with need as he drags her back through the recollection. He seems to detect it, focusing in on her body, on how thoughts of him affected her-

Fuck! Please, stop!

Ren retreats from her mind so suddenly, she would fall over if it weren't for the wall in back of her. Anika plants her palms on the metal, trying to take deep breaths. Her heart is racing, but she can feel the steady floor beneath her once more. Having him in her mind was disorienting, and embarrassing. Why did I tell him to do that…

The commander is silent, she can barely even hear him breathing. For one long moment, she has the delirious thought that he's left her alone in the ship without her noticing.

"C-Commander?" she ventures hesitantly.

Anika's eyes widen, desperately trying to see despite the lack of light, when she hears a strange sound. It sounds like something mechanical unlatching. She jerks when something heavy thuds onto the floor. What the…? What was that?

Her breathing catches when she hears him take a step, and she realizes Ren is now right in front of her. "Sir…?" she exhales nervously.

She freezes when his fingers trace down her cheek. Ren finds her chin in the dark, gripping to turn her face up. Anika feels like she can barely breathe, uncertain what to make of this situation. Is he mad at what he found? Annoyed? Or is he going to taunt her, and make her apologize again?

Her heart might as well stop when she feels his breath ghost across her skin. It's warm, and that is the only clue she needs to realize he's taken the helmet off. She's been close enough to Ren to feel his breath against her face before, but it had been cool, filtered through the mask. The sensation this time is so much softer…

The leather of his glove slides, tracing to her neck. His thumb strokes her cheek once, slowly. Has she forgotten how to breathe? Anika feels like she's been holding the same lungful of air, paralyzed, for an eternity. But then Commander Ren's hungry lips meet hers, and the neediness of his kiss steals the oxygen from her lungs, too. She's breathless, kissing him back immediately. Who needs air, anyway?