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Masquerade [ Ft. Banks & November ]

Phasma was not about to let him sulk it out and fuck this up.
Unfortunately, now he had the woman second guessing herself, the steps they had taken. Should they have simply killed everyone they had come into contact with? That air officer couldn't possibly have been bright enough to expect them to be from the First Order. He hadn't even heard of the First Order. It wasn't possible. They couldn't possibly have been found out, right? Right. Coercing herself through her own moments of doubt plagued within this conversation, the woman shook her head softly. What is wrong with you Phasma. No one truly knew who the fuck either of them were, even more so out of uniform. In no way did the woman without her uniform simply look like a stormtrooper and he didn't look like some mass murderer. They were simply. .Well, they were simply the Stillwaters.

Why didn't we change that name.

The comm buzzing out as she placed the ship in a steady float, her eyes glancing upward at the sound of it rattling again almost forcing her to be reminded that this thing could just drop out of the sky at any time. Perhaps that would be helpful. Looking down just in time to catch his own eyes go up to the ceiling, raising a brow softly at the sudden shift of his vision, though deciding it best to disregard it for now, " I don't think it will be hard to find him, " What would be hard would be making sure he didn't choke on what he had done so gracefully before. Three times could help, hm? Anything better than the first time was getting better, and if it took them narrowing in on Dipka to make it personal, then it was fine with her.

Again she swore she could see an idea working over his face, narrowing her eyes just slightly as the sentence started off in a way that one would naturally respond with an immediate no. The further he got into not actually explaining what he wanted, the closer the woman got to a no. Why was this beginning to sound like something else. Or was it actually what she thought it was and he was terrible at asking, and drowning himself even further in the process. It was right at the end that she noticed her eyebrows had raised, blinking softly because none of that had led to where he ended his question. " W- what, " Was he asking for. . No? He couldn't have been. . Right, think of a color. So he meant that thing he did? Jedi thing? The pure confusion on her face changed, almost in a blink the blonde began laughing immediately, closing her eyes and inhaling only to find herself laughing again, hand moving over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

" Absolutely unbelievable. " From her perspective, he had damn near asked for her to do exactly that, for her to make the time they were spending waiting and use it in a different, nonproductive fashion. " Are you trying to do that thing or are you trying to have sex with me. " Shaking her head softly, the woman found the faint curious nature within her deciding that if it kept him from completely screwing up, it couldn't be awful. . Right? " Fine, I'll do it. "
 
"Okay, look." A certain calmness came into his voice as he stood up and closed in on her. "Right now, we both need -"

He'd cooked up a sales pitch in the few seconds between devising his scheme and actually doing it. He wasn't sure it was a good one, but it was... cohesive, and he could deliver it without the mask. Something about the congested hierarchy in the Order. How difficult climbing the ranks had to be for a woman officer (he was still weighing saying this out loud). How valuable he could be as an ally - as a friend, even.

Before he could go through his routine, she'd already agreed to it.

"I... what?" Kylo licked his lips and raised his eyebrows. She'd just had to mention sex, didn't she? He had a vivid mental image of her stark naked and writhing in his lap, his hands gripping the crevices of her back, his fingertips playing along her spine like a harp, the twitches in her generous bottom lip and the startled expressions in her eyes and the curling of her toes, all responses to his skillful play, and then -

Ugh. He needed to stop that. He wasn't sure whether it was a genuine attraction, or just his general fascination with her, or being on a tin can with (mostly) men for the last few months. Either way, it wasn't exactly the time.

"I wouldn't need to try to have sex with you. I'd just offer you the opportunity, and you'd do it." Fine, being bellicose in the face of her sexual... whatever was like second nature for him. He could deal with the external almost automatically. It was the internal that was bothering him now. "But try and focus, all right?"

He was already in front of her, so he raised his hand to her temple. "I'd like you to.... picture... this stupid outfit I'm wearing. Picture it as some other color besides white and orange. And I'm going to find out what that color is. Snoke has told me that I'm too rough when I try this. That I try to dominate instead of... mirror. So you're going to feel a very gentle touch in your mind."

Kylo took a deep breath... and then he paused.

"By the way, I might have been lying about... how much this would hurt. It tends to hurt the more you resist, so... just be... very relaxed. You're just... doing a magic trick with your handsome friend."

Why did he need to even talk about pain out loud? Still, he was about as calming as he could manage. His fingers tough the tip of her temple (no tingling sensations or starbursts on contact with her skin, thankfully he hadn't gone THAT overboard yet) and begun... no, he couldn't DIG this time.

He showed Phasma her own mind. And eavesdropped.
 
Though she had agreed, Phasma did take into consideration the way he closed the distance between them with excuses stacked up high and ready to unload, whether she had agreed out of genuine curiosity or because she wanted to avoid all that together, she would never tell. However, when he looked at her as though he were hungry, it almost made her reconsider, only for the look of genuine surprise to cross her face at his response, her expression purely 'Oh?' He was just full of surprises, it was amusing to her that he was so hidden. Then again, that could very well have been her doing. Nodding her head softly when he told her to try and focus, thumbing through her mind for any simple color, brown eyes following his hand as it hovered near the side of her face.

The instruction was simple, almost a bit too easy for the circumstance, eyes snapping upward when he so blatantly admitted to being a liar about the pain, a small portion of her had figured that it wasn't some delicate trip. She had saw the way that man writhed without him having to touch him, and even if he had given her some promise of being far more gentle, she didn't completely trust that he could just make this a painless process. Reminding herself that she had agreed to this, her bright eyes shifted over his face just in time for her to feel the initial touch of his finger, inhaling sharply when the sensation hit. Her fingers curled, not nearing to close into a fist, pupils dilating, her skin faintly ridged with a chill, the first picture in her mind was her first time seeing the outfit. Goose. The solid form that was once Kylo Ren shrank, forming the very bird who held an almost uncannily unhappy expression. Black.

Again, the image shifted, the goose rising back to the male in a black one piece, the orange belt needing to be thrown away as well. . . And red. The orange growing dark, fading into red, breathing out softly. It was there her mind did what anyone's normally would, associating images and sights with other things. The images fell and the red pooled into blood, the Force stricken man slipping through her mind, silently tasting the slight metallic taste with her tongue from where she had bit down. Her fingers were beginning to close slightly, growing closer and closer to fists, though her mind went on, revealing the less than Phasma reaction she had in watching him earlier, further back into the time she had spent examining herself in the mirror while getting dressed, and deeper into her practice simulation from this morning.

It was right at this moment, that the woman's fists were clenched completely, the color leaving her knuckles as the sharp pain seemed to move down the back of her neck, diving through her spine. Her hand immediately slapped his palm away, eyes dropping from his face now and down to her still clenched fist, slowly releasing it as she realized she had been holding her breath when the pain severed her thoughts, breathing out now as she heard the sound of the comm buzzing to life again. " You two are clear to land! "
 
Kylo staggered backwards, and a few emotions clashed for supremacy on his face as his back bumped into the console.

"Black and... pink? No, it was red. It was red." Well, that had to be the first thing, didn't it? This was the first time he'd been able to get into someone's mind, not a weird wiggling act that felt like balancing a pen in the palm of his hand, but complete entry, with every corner of her thoughts, memories, and being open to him.

That was incredible. Incredible didn't even describe it. It was perfection and it felt... it felt good. Speaking of perfection, he felt (and with an incredible intensity) the flush of arousal Phasma had felt when he stepped over the security guard, gotten glimpses of her in the mirror this morning, a little "jumpy" in her memory but perfectly clear, and the ambiguity of his being stuck on handsome was... well, much less ambiguous now.

He saw himself as she saw him. Which wasn't entirely flattering, but beneath the layers of condescension...

"Ah." He kept his mouth shut beyond that. Even he wasn't stupid enough to crow out the details of his findings, right there in front of her face. "I didn't mean for it to... sting at the end. It was really... abrupt. But you're fine, right?"

Before he could get any sort of answer, the comm came on. He didn't even want to know what that meant, or even if they were as clear as the man said. It was possible this was another way to catch them, but there was something about the man's tone...

Either that air traffic controller was a master liar, or it really was a situation on the ground that had been cleared up. "That is excellent to hear," Kylo panted, "we're sending you our approach vector now, try and keep the skies clear for us."

He slumped to the ground, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. Now he had... that memory and those images. Someone detached from the situation would think it was a dream come true for him.

Force choke a dozen more Chandrilans and she'll be all yours. And you're actually good at that! And she finds you somewhat attractive when you're not talking!

But really, it was a separate set of issues. How did you breach something like that? Did you even try?

"I was just thinking... should we... trade somehow? Maybe there's something about me that you'd like to know."

He looked over at the readings. "Nothing that takes longer than a couple minutes, though. Or we could just settle here in silence."

There wasn't really a way to confirm or deny what - and how much - he'd seen inside her head. Well... he supposed she could just ask him.

As if this day couldn't get more uncomfortable.
 
Well this. . This was just. . Her face felt hot, unable to doubt that there was a blush against her cheekbones, chest rising and falling softly as her eyes danced over nearly everything that wasn't him. She didn't need him to announce what he had seen, the thoughts having poured so easily that the woman had seen them lazily slide by, though her body almost held her from controlling them. Keeping them from creeping around like a slow moving projector video, feeling the retreat of her welled eyes as she closed them faintly, seeming ignoring his weak attempt at an apology. He was a liar, after all. He probably didn't give a shit. While the last bit of it had sent such an unpleasant feeling through her skin, she did not feel any sympathy for those who had felt worse in that situation. Did that make her cynical? Probably.

Breathing well enough that her cheeks retreated to a soft pink, she had almost forgotten about wishing she had her helmet until now, hands gripping the steering wheel as she opened her eyes. She had experienced beyond more than she expected from the Force today, that was for damn sure. Ok Phasma, get it together. She had been hit harder than that, it had just never been a mental thing. Eyes still avoiding the dark haired male on the floor, her nails tapped faintly against her palms, the ship shifting with the surprisingly softest sound she had ever heard come out of this thing, the whirr filling the silence until he began speaking again. Phasma wondered, curiously, if he could read her mind now, her mind telling him to shut up. Trade? Trade? The chilly expression was slowly returning to her face, lightly uncrossing her legs as she finally spoke, " What did you. . Never mind, let's not even get into that. " Phasma knew immediately that she could not handle having her mind played right back to her right now, not with the pile of awkward sitting in her lap as it was. They did not train me for any of this.

Perhaps this all was in the grand scheme of things, the guiding eyes of the Supreme Leader. . Without a doubt, she absolutely hoped not. Phasma was far beyond deciding to place this incident behind her, in the back of her head until they got this mission over with. Actually, forever. Yes, forever was nice. Ignoring the heat she knew was disappearing from her inner thighs, the woman guided the ship in silence, their arrival and landing almost expertly faster than their first, shifting the material down her legs now as she stood. None of this is going in my report. No, again reminding herself that forgetting was the easiest thing to do, Misses Asa Stillwater breathed out softly before turning to look at him, " Ready? "
 
The ambiguity was infuriating. Kylo sat in the speeder and pouted. What did he... what? He supposed that he could go on another voyage inside Phasma's head, but he'd barely pulled it off with her cooperation, and she'd give him a bloody nose at the least.

He supposed he was overdue a little ambiguity after all that. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten anything out of the bargain. His mind had a very brief conversation with itself over the ethics of getting a tent over the images he'd stolen from Phasma's head.

But his mind eventually decided that he'd already butchered women and children, and getting a bit of a stiffy from his co-worker wasn't a problem. He remembered (it was his memory now) the subtle cocking of her hips as she walked, the vulnerability of her thoughts in the mirror, and... well. There wasn't a bit of anything going on there.

He couldn't let himself really relax like that. Not wearing something this tight. Then there'd be a situation where...

He groaned to himself, putting his head in his hands before he could even finish the thought. No more thinking of her at all. Think of Asa Stillwater.

He was still doing that when they arrived at the Capitol building. The scan had been rather tense and tedious, but it had passed without incident as well. So disappeared the last chance there was some sort of trap or mistake in place. They were probably just discovering the bodies, just calling someone who would call someone else to make a preliminary investigation and... it was all so pathetic.

The two of them walked up the stairs, got scanned in again and the door and surveyed the main receiving room. Well, this was nice. Kylo had imagined a social party for some reason, but the government was more or less in session. In the distance there was a debate over the blockade, other aides were scurrying around delivering papers back and forth.

Millions of man-hours going into making one fucking decision. How could any sort of war machine function like this? He had some observations, but they'd have to wait for some other time. There were probably worse places to turn to his companion and give a speech on how much he loved fascism, but he couldn't think of any.

He stalked through the crowd and peered through the floor - people were talking, but nobody was paying attention. The high chair that overlooked the Senate was empty. Kylo tapped one sweaty looking aide on the shoulder.

"Uh, is Governor Arquardt -"

"He's in transit," he said, barely looking up. "Going to be making an announcement in an hour."

Kylo sighed dramatically. Of course he was. He spun to Phasma.

"I have WONDERFUL news to share with you, my love."
 
A small portion of her was thankful for the knowledge that at least there was potential to feel something if he decided to go snooping, knowing entirely what could happen for being aggressive toward someone of a higher rank. But what if she didn't feel anything? What happened if he did it and heard another set of thoughts in her core. What if he heard something that made is ego inflate. Oh. . Oh this was awful. The thought made her stomach flip, just hearing it now as he tried his hardest to be smooth about it, So I heard you think I'm sexy. One hand momentarily settling over her stomach, Phasma shook her head softly, slowly as though telling that wicked thought to bury itself and die. Much like how she wanted to.

Moving through security with the thoughtful reminder that she had left the gun in the ship, the blonde let her eyes follow the all but running aides once they reached the receiving room, taking in the sight of Resistance saved government. Not for long. How many of these stacks of papers and running aides would be there to protect them from the First Order? How many times had they gone over needing to find better ways to handle the blockade, one arguing in favor of this while another disagreeing. There were better ways to go about this, both she and Kylo knew this. It was entertaining to see the before of something like this, the buzz of aids dancing around in almost intentional beats, the woman somehow found herself with a stack of papers. Being mistaken for someone else in the aide's flurry of movement, her brown eyes caught Kylo just in time for him to spin so delicately to her and announce that he had good news. Blinking softly, her hand guided the papers into a trash chute, the calm expression on her face almost amusing as she clearly couldn't have cared less the importance of the forms.

" Do tell. "
 
"The Governor," he said, the irritation clear in his voice, "is in transit. It's going to be about an hour before he's here." He took the blonde by the arm and started to amble down the hall. He ignored the stack of papers she'd thrown away, making a note of respect for her extraordinary comic timing. "I want to get through the security detail and get my hands on him before he does anything else."

He didn't shout this, but he didn't hide his voice either. There was a din of people trying to be heard over each other, and figured some small percentage of them were trying to get the Governor's ear. It wasn't a crime or anything, was it?

"We need a quiet way to do that." They couldn't just casually kill anyone unlucky enough to meet them, not here of all places. Best case scenario, he'd retire to an office flanked by two guards. They could use the ID, huff Dipka's name over and over, and do what they had to do. Ideally.

But while they waited. "I didn't expect it to be so crowded. It's a room full of people, and I don't want to socialize with any of them. Would you like to... ply the time somehow? Find drinks? "

He supposed slipping into a closet and letting him crawl between her legs was an impossibility. And how careful of him to talk about the pain of socializing with... them. He was likely part of the them as far as she was concerned. Maybe he was Most of Them.
 
The tone he took was immediately telling that there was yet another set back, at least this one wasn't providing any great deal of stress, it just meant avoiding bodies sweating for another being in the worst way. And avoid being handed anything else, which really wasn't a true hassle for her. Another soft bite placed against her bottom lip, half of her mind having been expecting that sensation to tingle up through her skin again, there was an inaudible sigh of relief that settled her paranoia. That still didn't hide the embarrassment from before.

Killing people and leaving far too many alive in the same building was sloppy, unless the intention was to send a message. The level of high alert they would be sitting in almost made her skin crawl, her eyes moving over the open space before nodding toward a door near the end of the hallway, " There, " Though they hadn't completely began guarding the door, a set of men in uniforms stood talking among themselves, just as unconcerned about the decision-making as they were. Turning her head and raising a brow softly at the way he so lightly attempted to make it sound like he wanted to be chatty with anyone here at all, Phasma decided against vocalizing such a thing, instead thankful for the offer of drinks. " Lead the way. "

While Phasma hadn't necessarily planned on asking anything about what had happened or what he had seen, there was another underlying question. " Did you learn anything from doing that to me or were you just being kindly invasive? "
 
Doubtlessly Phasma had meant the comment as a one off statement, a business like expression to keep him focused on the task ahead. It was the sort of thing a handler would say. But something about her phrasing froze him, had him staring off into the middle distance.

Now the Supreme Leader's voice was echoing in his head.

The task is difficult because you choose for it to be difficult. Do you ever wonder why you do that so often?

This was an air conditioned room, but his mouth felt like it was on fire. He swallowed, keeping his voice low and looking at Phasma out of the corner of his eye as he spoke.

"The first time I wore... that mask. There was a task I needed to do, and I needed to protect myself from my own weakness. I was doing something terrible. Not to strangers but to people I'd... slept with, ate with, people who loved me. People I loved in return. It was something I understood intellectually, something that had to be done, but my body... wouldn't start shaking. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I remember being curled up in a ball in a bathroom crying, because my stomach was so cramped that I physically couldn't move. I was... just a kid, really."

He almost started to explain why the mask helped with that. But she was sure to understand that part of it.

"Kylo Ren is... how my body obeys my mind. If that makes sense. I... am... empathic." He made a sound like air being let out of a hose. "I've spent the entire trip obsessed with how you'd feel about everything I... said and did. And it's not just because you're... the most amazing woman I've ever met." That bit physically pained him to say out loud, and yet he felt like he owed her some sort of payment for the intimate tour of her quarters. "Enough time, I would have felt the same way about... Admiral Fedorre, or that greasy air traffic controller, or the security guard I killed a couple of hours ago."

"I'd gotten so used to cutting that part of me off that I never stopped to think about when it might be useful. The reason I've failed so much is that... it's not a skill Kylo Ren is capable of. Not yet, anyway."

He made brief contact with Phasma's eyes. Was this going to come off as a bunch of psychological babble? "All of that's to say, I can finish this mission now with 100 percent certainty. I think. Thank you for asking."
 
Her question hadn't been meant to hit any specific nerves, simply figuring if he was going to be that far into her mind without initially hurting her, she was curious if it had helped his difficulty dealing the task at hand. Of course she had no idea what difficulty he was dealing with from having far more expectations than anyone ever could. Between the Supreme Leader pushing him out carefully into the spotlight, that only lead the First Order to follow along with expectations, something she had only somewhat had to deal with on a seemingly lesser scale. Turning her head lightly when he began his story, although she didn't ask for it, she didn't seem to mind, listening with simple focus to tune out the ones around her. It was odd to her that he felt the need to explain himself, explain his actions to her as though she were anything more than an escort for him today. Granted, never had she simply sold herself short in that fashion, but it almost felt as though she mentally needed to in this circumstance.

What he said next caught her off guard, naturally as things like that weren't directed toward her, especially not out in the open. How would it have ever happened, naturally aware that her domineering nature kept people away from her and kept her again at a comfortable distance from her own emotions. Stormtroopers weren't supposed to hold emotions, as numerous failures had been had when ones thought it made sense to hold on to feelings, and others. Empathy was not an option. Phasma watched the wince on his face when he admitted another sign of emotion, this one more than some deep reflection into his past, Phasma turned her vision away from him now, eyes following another aide off to find something that another had said was missing. " What do you mean you can't find them? I just gave them to you. " She overheard, shaking her head faintly just in time for him to turn to her and announce that he was absolutely sure he would be able to complete the task at hand tonight.

" Let's stop making all of this uncomfortable, hm? " Phasma spoke now, offering a faint smile that was surprisingly genuine. " You've seen my thoughts now, and know things about me that I'm never going to just admit. " Now they were even, at least for now until they were stuck in another situation that left them both uncomfortable.
 
Was it even possible to stop making things uncomfortable? This had easily been the most uncomfortable day he'd had in... years and years. Kylo pinched his nose and grunted a little at his own emotional diarrhea. How much of that had he meant?

Maybe some of it. But he'd really wished he could take the entire conversation back.

"I could not possibly agree more. No more admitting anything, from either of us." He started to add more depth of detail there but... he felt like he'd stuck his hand in a pile of sewage. "Anyway, I've got an idea."

He started moving towards the guards, something resembling a cheerful expression on his face. Was this... a good idea? Neither of them were professional spies, but of course, Snoke knew that when he ordered them to do this. They were mostly going off.... things they'd seen other people do an intelligent inferences.

He closed in on them with a wave. "You guys are on the Governor's detail, right?"

"You guys are not supposed to be back here."

"Listen, I know. I just started working for Senator Dipka, and he's gonna kill me if -"

"Okay," one of them growled, holding up a hand. "you need to know that we don't get between him and Senator Anybody, because if we start doing favors for one, we've gotta do favors for everybody -"

"I know, I know, that's... listen, I want to make everybody's job easier. My wife is working for Senator Rittora, and I don't want to bog you down in details, but we're both representing our own coalitions. If we do it in his room, five minutes, he comes out with a deal and everybody's agreed to it. If he goes out there by himself, he gets swarmed by thirty different people and you guys are standing up, working for hours."

"God above." The guard pulled his hair and held a hand out. "You got IDs?"

"Yeah, yeah sure." Kylo handed both ID's to the guard, who scanned it with a skeptical frown.

"Okay, this says that your wife works for Dipka too."

Kylo looked him dead in the eye and stretched his arms out. "Politics. Do you want the detailed breakdown of how that happened, or -"

"No no no, it's fine." The guy looked around and sighed. "If I let you back there you've gotta keep quiet and... you're not going to have any kind of congress in the Governor's office."

"Absolutely not!" Kylo let out a harsh, forced bark of a chuckle as he pushed past the guard. "I'm pretty sure I'll never get to sleep with her or anyone else ever again the longer this goes on."

He gripped his hand on the door and mumbled to Phasma. "That was easy."

"What was that?"

"No, nothing." He opened the door and turned back with a queasy smile. "Politics... nerd joke thing. You wouldn't get it."
 
That was easier said than done of course, because if another situation presented itself and left them vulnerable, what were either of them to do. Frankly, Phasma was tired of feeling vulnerable in front of someone she had only heard rumors that were probably far too stretched out. Whether they were true or not, didn't necessarily matter, as those alone were what helped her thinking of him so fearfully in their initial meeting, or perhaps she herself had decided it best not to enter this situation with the intention to shove air into his ego. There was no telling how many of the few women there were took it upon themselves to make it known of their presence near the mysterious Jedi in a mask. When this was all said and done, they would go their seperate ways and continue on with their lives. They would silently pass one another in the Gauntlet and no further conversation or mention of this would ever happen again, right.

Right? Right.

Silently reassuring herself of such a thing while he was worried about whether or not his quickly thought up scheme would work, her pretty eyes ventured to the guard who spoke first, noticing the faint sign of annoyance that crossed his expression. Annoyance at the interruption, annoyed at the fluster of this Resistance bullshit. Judging by the looks on their faces, they would rather be at home with their families, avoiding the way their world had become thanks to the First Order blockade. Curiously, she was amazed at how things worked when their planet was being guarded so heavily, stopping any flow of traffic, ultimately starving them out of their resources. Oh well, it would all be over soon, offering the guard a gentle smile when he glanced her way, only to proceed in letting Kylo carry on with his lie. Moving through the door just short of him making such a comment, the woman definitely didn't want to have this plan go to shit so close to the end. Thankful when the door closed behind them, deciding against commenting on his latest remark, another something that probably he wasn't used to with his mask off.

" You would think they would want to be earlier to these things, to get them over with as quickly as possible. " Moving to the window, her eyes carefully roamed the edge, fingers tracing over a button to dim them just slightly, preventing any potential onlookers from any other buildings. " You still owe me a drink. " It was now almost in his husband duties to get her one, once all of this was said and done.
 
"You're on duty," he said gruffly, turning his back to her and fiddling with the bookshelf. It wasn't technically in the parameters of the mission, but he was curious about... secret compartments and panels in a room like this. He was pretty sure Phasma wasn't carrying a weapon on her anymore, and he didn't want to make some error that ruined everything. Not when success was so close.

The bookshelf was a bit dusty - and there weren't any conspicuous looking tomes that seemed to have more or less traffic than the others (aside from a biography of Mon Mothma that would have been too obvious to hold secrets of any kind). All an excellent sign there was nothing important to look for, at least on this side of the room.

He turned around, and Phasma was giving him a very level look, as if the routine about duty wasn't quite getting through to her.

"What are the chances that someone in his position, with so much responsibility, would carry a stockade of liquor around?" He considered his journey inside the capital - the aides rushing back and forth, the announcements over the loudspeaker, the gits making speeches "for the record" that nobody was paying attention to...

All right then. The chances were excellent.

Kylo threw open his hands and started checking the governor's desk, opening the panels and rifling through the inside. "Well, here's a blaster pistol. Try to squeeze that on you somewhere."

He flipped it to her, and his eyes brightened when he saw a little bottle of brandy... but his expression dimmed again when he noticed that there weren't any glasses to go with it. "Our friend doesn't know how to share."

He sighed and passed the bottle up to her. If she was as hard as she acted all the time, she wouldn't make him look for something to cut it with. "I don't want any. I actually don't know how you can drink right now. And if all that wasn't enough, I'm not sure drinking would make me better or worse at this... thing. I should probably leave it alone."

He slid the panel shut and took a seat in front of the governor's chair. Finally, he'd decided to say what was on his mind since he'd arrived. "This is just the worst place. We drove into the most important digital security facility on the planet, we talked our way past the Governor's personal guard, and now we're sitting in his office, drinking his booze. This didn't even take an entire day. We've just barely missed lunch. There comes a stage where you lose all sympathy for a people, and I think we've passed it."

He mumbled the phrase "culturally flaccid" to himself and sniffed at a Chonometer with the local time, hanging up on the wall.
 
Moving to the door despite the grumpy expression so easily plastered on his face, because really, what were the chances, watching as each reason screamed at him mentally, only for him to start going through the Governor's things. The woman tilted her head faintly at the pistol, catching it now and rolling her eyes when he told her squeeze it on her somewhere. " Because I have plenty of space to just stick this thing anywhere. " Momentarily deciding if one were eavesdropping, that would have given off far more than the wrong impression to anyone, reminding herself that if it did become necessary, putting it where the other pistol had been just seemed impractical. Sexy, but extremely impractical.

Of course, he had completely missed what she was talking about.

Why was that not at all surprising. Remember who you're talking to Phasma. A soft sigh followed by a sharp roll of her eyes, the woman catching another object tossed in her general direction. Taking the flask now, the blonde made the easier decision that if he was going to be pouty and completely miss what she had said, she would simply keep it to herself for later, instead placing this against her thigh, held down by the holster. " Well, hopefully you never run into a situation where you have to do that thing while drunk, " What an unfortunate situation that could turn into. Dead bodies everywhere or just another embarrassing story for later.

Leaning her back against the wall beside the door, the woman almost laughed at how disappointed he sounded by the nature of their trip, arms folding over her chest lightly. " So you went from absolutely loathing having to come to being upset that it's almost done? " If she didn't know any better, she'd say he liked the time away from the Gauntlet. " It's not like we have to leave immediately. I'm sure we could wait around long enough to watch the domino effect, hm? " Quite frankly, that could be entertaining and make all these terribly uncomfortable moments worthwhile. Then again, that did mean leaving them both in these outfits for a little while longer, and remaining the happily married Stillwaters. Before she had time to truly think the matter through, the woman heard the shuffle of men outside, nearly indistinct conversation turning to firm voices of military men straightening up in preparation to actually do their jobs.
 
"What, are you serious?" Kylo bunched his shoulders around his neck like he was tightening a cloak. "A disciplinarian like you is suggesting an absence without leave? There are branches of the military that take that kind of thing very seriously."

He felt his voice cracking by the end of his sentence. Honestly, he felt ripped in two different directions there. On one hand, they could probably pull it off - certainly Snoke had larger concerns, and Admiral Fedorre was worried that one or both of them would eat hi m one day while he was walking the halls. He'd probably be glad to get rid of them, and yet...

He rubbed his thumb into his palm. It wasn't entirely fair. He'd packed the Commander up emotionally, for better or for worse. Or he was at least trying to. Now she was volunteering herself for fraternization. Now it felt like he was doing laps in his own mind, lugging emotional machinery in and out.

He almost wanted to cut all of that off for his own protection.

"And, I think -"

Before he could finish, there were shuffles and noises from outside the door. He wiggled a couple of fingers at Phasma and pushed her towards the door. And a few seconds later, Arquardt himself entered, wearing a tight gold jacket and a white cotton vest. He had the look of someone who was very handsome in his youth, but hard habits were starting to catch up with him - his stomach was starting to fold over his waist and wisps of grey were cropping up in his sandy blonde hair. He looked them over and folded his arms over his chest like a Gravball referee. "I'll tell you right now, this isn't the place. And certainly not inside my own damned -"

"Wait, wait -" Kylo popped up from the chair and put on a soothing voice. "It was either us or thirty people knocking down your door. We spent the last couple hours trying to make this as easy as possible, so just hear us out."

The Governor massaged his (rapidly thinnng) head and waved his men away, shutting the door behind him. "Fine. Explain to me exactly what -"

Before he could finish, Phasma slammed her hand over his mouth and took a grip on his shoulder, slowly pressing her leg into the back of his kneecap and forcing the man downwards. Kylo (only taking a second to appreciate how quickly she'd subdued him) rubbed his hands together as if dissipating the last of his nervousness and stepped forward, letting his fingers get right on top of the man's temple. Steady hands. Light touch. Open mind. Eavesdropping.

And by the Force, don't fuck this up.


...


He hadn't fucked it up.

Kylo collapsed onto the co-pilots seat of the little beige ship and leaned back, spreading his legs and groaning. Things had gone perfectly, barring some congestion on the way to the airfield. It was actually a wonder how much one determined man could fucking ruin the defenses of an entire planet. By the time he'd gone to the local HoloNet to announce the stand-down, he'd disabled all the planetary shields, put the Capitol under martial law, scrambled the logistics co-ordination devices. If anything, Kylo had done too good of a job convincing him to tear everything out by the root.

He looked up into the atmosphere - there were already a few Star Destroyers looking to take advantage of the lapse in security, not to mention a few larger freighters. There's be a thousand heavy boots on the throat of Chandrila before they even knew what was going on. Maybe not everywhere... but everywhere important.

"What do they even make here? You know what, forget that I asked. I don't want to get to know Chandrila that intimately." But speaking of which... Kylo chewed his lip and looked out of the window at the hundreds of little points lining the sky above them. "On reflection... I'm not completely against watching the dominoes."

He'd started to add some conversation about how fine he'd be if she wanted to go back, but for once, he just let the thought hang in the air.
 
It was always amusing to her to watch someone complain, then complain at a potential solution to the situation, like a child. I want the candy, but don't just give it to me. It was merely an idea and he had almost shriveled up into a cocoon, though a part of her did understand it. Why would anyone want to simply linger on the planet that had offered them such stress, physically and emotionally. Having to pretend that either of them made career choices that left them social and not killing people the instant they said a wrong answer. Namely being reminded of that air traffic officer, she had nearly grimaced at the thought of his tongue sticking out at her. Though straightening her face and tucking her hands politely behind her back, the initial sight of the man was almost as amusing as the moment she'd seen her dearest husband in his outfit earlier.

So tacky really was a thing on Chandrila. A very esteemed, prided thing.

Her actions thereafter were steady, calm in closing the distance once the door closed and bringing him just as quietly to his knees. The less stress within the situation, the better as it seemed, and again, Phasma felt no remorse in watching the Governor start the process of having his mind thumbed through. On the contrary, there it was, that soft tingling in her thighs again. .

Getting back to the ship had gone swimmingly, almost making this mission worth the turmoil after the Governor had succumb to the invasion of his mind. With a gun in his back and a forceful grip against him, he certainly was not trying to relax himself through the process. Then again, in his predicament of realizing that the First Order had come to claim his planet so inexpectedly, well one may be a little surprised. The engine beginning to whirr softly as they sat on the airfield, the blonde letting her eyes dance up to see the familiar signs of a siege. It almost felt weird seeing it from the ground perspective, wondering just how many people noticed the black dots grow nearer and nearer. His question snapped her out of her daydream, and though he had answered for himself, the true answer was, " Gold and white ensembles for men. "

Though neither of them had been to the Resistance planet, she was sure there was easily some place for them to comfortably watch the destruction unfold, smiling softly as he reminded her again of the child - candy struggle. Well, I wouldn't mind being given candy. Knowing that whatever they decided, flying back without getting in contact with First Order ships could prove to be a messy situation, the engine still humming. " That's not a real 'Yes, I want to sit and watch. ' you know. " But she would accept it none the less, eyes venturing out toward the city that the Capitol boasted. There had to be some simple place there to watch the madness unfold, the engine stopping as softly as it could before Phasma moved now, mind set on the speeder.
 
"Oh. Did you notice that? That's one of the things I enjoy about you, you're so observant."

Did he sound a little petulant? Probably. But usually he was aware that he sounded like a sour kid. Here he just felt like he was being honest. There were distinct differences between being pleased to have something and wanting something and asking for it. He knew those little lines, he'd studied them well in himself and others.

Here was something he hadn't exactly expected about the Chandrila affair. Once he'd actually finished the job, he felt more relaxed than he had in ages. It couldn't just be accredited to just the mask. He'd been working on the probe for so long and so diligently, that he felt a fresh sense of freedom. He could improve on this, perfect it, use it as a wedge to open up other challenges. He tapped his fingers together and drummed the dashboard.

She was already moving, hovering in low orbit through the city. Even now, Hanna City was already facing a spreading chaos, like the spreading edges of a burning sheet of paper. A couple of old Imperial buildings had been reclaimed years ago, painted over with symbols of the Rebellion and a generation of graffiti. How ironic. He wondered what would happen to those in a few hours.

These people couldn't even put on a united front for a riot. There were protestors out storming businesses because of the President's actions (why), there were counter-protestors that were protecting the buildings, counter-protestors that he assumed were fine with the occupation (after a year of a blockade without a hint of assistance from the Republic), the military police caught between the two, but trying to disperse everyone without violence.

"I like that spot." He put a hand over Phasma's shoulder and pointed to a hill on a public park Despite the central location, there were only a couple using it as a place to gawk - most people were either closer to the action or were staying at home and waiting for this to blow over. They'd be able to look in one direction and see storefronts burning... and look into the other and see the tangled coral reefs of the Silver Sea in the distance. "Put it down there. Maybe we could sit on top of the ship. Less chance anybody tries, you know, talking to us."

After all this? At best he'd be waving one of the spare blasters at them. At worst, well... he'd get a jump start on Phasma's body count.

He finally let her go and started rummaging through the sloop for... binoculars, or anything else with entertainment value. "The only thing we're missing is a fancy meal. I swear if someone down there is having a picnic, we're going to rob them."
 
Numerous times she had ran over the thought of him being a stormtrooper. None of this would have happened the way it had and she probably would have planted a fist in his throat a long time ago. Again, she felt that sudden urge to do so when his sarcasm began trickling up, ignoring him the way she would if fear Admiral Fedorre had tried to be cute. The ship glided over the city, all it would take was a simple pull up and an announcement into the comm to say they were returning to the Gauntlet and they would both be back to their lives and under inspection. Her eyes roamed the city streets, watching the movement of people as some filtered out into the street, the news hitting some like a ton of bricks. Had they been waiting for the Resistance to come save them? Please.

While Phasma wasn't entirely looking for somewhere to land, as a very reasonable part of her had no faith in him wanting to sit and watch the first hour or two of Chandrila come apart at the seams. Phasma had never witnessed the moments prior to an attack, or to a claim of a territory, only arriving on the ships that corralled the inhabitants and fought back when things got a bit. . Tricky. Blinking softly in surprise when he spoke up and finally settled on staying, settling into the grass at the center of the hill, " I don't think anyone's going to be that worried about talking to us this time. Really. " The familiar sound of resurgent vessels almost acting like music around them, it was an odd contrast between the Stillwaters and the couple a short distance away. While their expressions were that of shock and fear, Phasma's own was an odd calm, shifting to the back of the ship and up the rungs of the ladder to the roof.

Well, this was as good a time as being in her chambers alone, settling comfortably on the roof to again hear shattering of glass somewhere within the distance as she slid the flask out from between her thighs. " Are you going to keep being a crybaby or drink? " Please. . Please choose the drink.
 
He sucked on his teeth and considered it for a second. That wasn’t crying, that was… envisioning a potential future…

Fine. He understood the interpretation. He’d found an extremely standard-issue survival case stowed away with a cheap but functional pair of electrobinoculars, but unless he wanted to do some weird and time consuming things with the hypospray, this was the best time he was likely to have.

Which honestly, wasn’t so bad. He felt a tinge of excitment as his shoes ting tinged across the floor and carried him up the ladder.

“Considering the insane circumstances and my overwhelming success, I don’t like you questioning my attitude. So I’m canceling my usual ladies first rule.”

He closed in on her, watching the curves in her back and neck as his footsteps grew closer. Kylo ripped the bottle out of her hand and looked down on her, a cool smirk showing across his face as he unscrewed Arquardt’s brandy and pushed it across his lips.

Tasting amazing, but it burned so fucking much. He coughed, almost sending it spilling across the ship before he composed himself and titled his head back, downing it with two long gulps and a shudder before handing it back towards her.

“Don’t you dare make fun of me for that.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and put on a low, accented voice with a familiar monotone. “When I was a cadet, we drank fermented piss and used old motor oil as a chaser.”
 
It was crying, and he was a crybaby, that was all there was to it really. Head turning back to him as she heard him move across the metal ship, noticing now the bits and pieces that caused the thing to rattle in the first place. She definitely was going to mention shoving this thing out to be used as target practice later on down the line, shaking her head to keep herself from standing and getting to work on this ship instead of relaxing and enjoying Chandrila's organized destruction. Perhaps it wasn't exactly normal to just sit around and find amusement within watching the early stages of a planet unfolding the way this one so swiftly was. Neither of them had to admit to enjoying it, but it was almost like saying it made everything worth it.

Raising her brow softly when he took the flask from her hand, the woman bit her bottom lip softly when he began the faintest of chokes, keeping herself from laughing at him just in time for him to scold her as though he knew she was going to. Taking the metal, only now seeing that it was engraved, flask into her hand, the arm sliding around her waist caught her off guard, skin finding the faintest chill and goosebumps to creep over her skin. Shit. There it was again. Though instead of basking in what embarassment this could have provided, the woman found herself taking her own drink, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

" It's so warm. Why did you pretend this tasted good? " That's what you get for putting it by your thighs Phasma, a hot brandy that nearly burned on the way down. Laughing softly at his remark, the blonde shook her head and handed him back the flask, light eyes moving away from the city's steadily growing rampant streets before moving back to him, " Proud of your work? " Speaking of the mess he had made just from reaching into a man's mind. Keeping Ardquardt stiff beneath the slow creep of Kylo sifting through his mind, she had wondered at what point it had started to pain the man, and why it had taken her own so long to genuinely hurt her. Perhaps it was simply because he was aiming to be gentle, aiming to only find one thing and instead seeing several others, several personal thoughts that she was beyond thankful he hadn't simply seen. Seeing her with little clothing was one thing, but a part of her found if the circumstances came to it, Phasma would much rather have him tell her. Turning her head again just in time to watch one of numerous Resistance etched buildings begin to collapse, the sound of rubble began to rumble within the air, tilting her head softly, " Let's make a bet. Four buildings go down before we leave. "

 
"How was I supposed to know whether it was good or not? It's an engraved flask, an important person owns it, and he probably spends much more of his time drinking during the day than I do."

Especially considering what he had to face every day. All Kylo had was people trying to kill him once in a while. A good deal more straightforward.

"I'd rather suck the thing down and make a straight face than - actually, how do you know it's good? Maybe he knows better than both of us."

He gave her waist another squeeze as he took the flask out of her hands, his fingertips brushing against her knuckles as he took another pull. He couldn't blame his boldness on the alcohol, obviously. It was a thrill of victory, and the warmth of her body against his hip, and the way she smelled - something like... well, sea water and smoke and cheap soap.

Maybe there'd be room to blame the Governor's brandy later, depending on how this went.

"I am proud of my work, because..." He winced and passed her the flask again. His eyes narrowed as he tasted the memory on his tongue. "He really hated it. I felt completely inside him. He was trying to get away from me and he couldn't. He was trying to get away from you and he couldn't. I almost thought I could get away with something... a little nastier, but I would have hrown a fit if I'd messed up there. But he couldn't shut me out anymore than he could have... turned his own brain off."

He licked his lips, still feeling the liquor stinging his cheeks. Maybe he'd had it too fast or something.

"Either way, I didn't need to, I had every access code, every password, every clearance, every personal -" He stopped here and held his hand up. "He'd broken a finger when he was a kid and he thought about that pain every day since, and so... getting his compliance was child's play."

Arquardt had given him a particularly vicious look, but he hadn't minded. Made it a little better actually. He pointed a foot towards the crumbling building. "That building's a fluke. People aren't going to intentionally bring down buildings they're inside. They're our enemies and we're crushing them underfoot, but they're not SO stupid. So I'll take your bet."

He stopped for a minute, and then abruptly gave her a hard slap on the hip. "You didn't mention what I get when I win. We could just name things seperately, in which case I'd love to -"

Before he could finish, there was a loud explosion in the distance to their west. Kylo grabbed the binoculars and frowned. "Now, does a burned out husk count as DOWN? And are we counting Fedorre slating something from orbit for the hell of it?"

Good questions, Kylo thought, his frown deepening.

The sort of questions you ask before you make a wager.
 
Raising her shoulders softly as he did for once have a good point in regards to the alcohol they had essentially stolen, she truly couldn't complain too much more since he had found it for her in the first place. Still, a little ice wouldn't have hurt it. " Fine, maybe it is good and I'm just complaining about his choice in alcohol. " Whether it was the alcohol coaxing her into being all the more comfortable with both him being so close to her and his arm being around her waist, feeling his fingers grazing over her hip. The sensation was starting to become normal, inwardly admitting to it being wanted and even more so that it was wanted on more than just her hip and traces of her skin. Another time. Though even with that thought she couldn't be sure.

" One would assume he'd just surrender since he clearly wasn't that fond of his job. " But then again, when you had the Resistance pressuring you to be more than you truly were, one could merely sit and suffer. When instead, all he had to do was surrender. Surrender himself to the First Order, as they should have done several months ago. Taking another drink, carefully though quickly to avoid actually taking it, the woman listened to him explain the deep roots that he had swept through to get the aging man to break. " Do you enjoy being that deep in someone else's head? " Obviously being inside of his own mind was a mess, but was it enjoyable to force his way into someone else's, to learn their lives and their wants, what made them tick and what they enjoyed? Had he enjoyed what glimpses he had gotten from hers?

Grinning softly when he accepted her bet with no real limitations, only to catch it afterward, the blonde jumped lightly against him when his hand collided with her hip, merely out of it being unexpected. . And well, the tingle sending another faint bolt of electricity up her spine. The explosion drawing both their attention, Phasma watched the once tall structure fall into a pile of smoke, ash, and rubble, speaking now in regards to their little wager. " Only explosions made on the planet, not from the Gauntlet. And no, it has to be destroyed and blasted down, it can't crumble to bits later. That's cheating. " Turning her head now, there was still an important question at hand, looking him in the eyes as she asked, " What do you want if you win? "
 
"No, he hated his job, but..." He wriggled his free hand and waited for the words to come to him. "It was a noble kind of hatred. There are plenty of people who will do a job they hate if they think they're the only ones who can do it right." She was in the service, no doubt she knew that type as much as anyone. "So being in that situation, it was almost a relief to him. Like... I imagine dying would be. It's out of your hands. No more thinking about it."

He really needed to move his hand, as comfortable as it was - he could already feel the subtle signs of how much he was thrilling her with his hands, even if she wasn't wildly expressive, and that gave him another rush. He leaned in close, touching the small of her back (feeling his vivid fantasy from earlier in the day almost coming to life for him), sharing the memory of Arquardt with her. At least, his perspective on it.

"Do you remember... the simulation room?" Maybe it wasn't wise to casually bring up her memories as a point of comparison here, but it was the most accurate picture, and he knew it because she knew it. "And that brief moment where it dawns on him that he's completely at your mercy and his body is completely... responsive to you? You move your arms, he flinches. You tighten your legs, he curls up. You move your eyes in a certain way... almost like sex, except there's no mutual anything, just a..."

He pulled back and gave her a small smile. "It's like that. Except with their entire inner life instead of their body. So. Yes. I enjoyed being that deep."

He listened to her reaction and the terms of the bet. All those things made it easier. Especially because of a little detail she was forgetting...

He liked his chances of winning, actually. And he already had a prize in mind.

"I want to kiss you. I mean..." He waggled his head from side to side, as if there was something else he could have possibly said here. "I obviously want to kiss you. But where that kiss goes should probably be a surprise. Except to say..."

He looked away from her for a second, licking his lips before returning her eye contact. "It absolutely will not be on your lips. And I don't want to hear you call me unimaginative either."

He leaned back on his hands, looking her up and down, a hard tent between his legs already pushing these ugly pants outwards. There was no amount of respect for creative stipulations that was worth any delay there. "There is such a thing as being too clever for your own good. Pass me that flask?"
 
Arquardt's situation was easy to understand, his succumbing to the battle that was tearing around in his mind, she didn't feel sorry for him, rather simply agreed with his decision. His ease after his mental battle had been won, she could feel it in the way his body no longer seemed tense against her grip, he no longer seemed to resist. Death was curious to her in that way, but she supposed she would be the same when it came to the inevitable, if no way out were available. It was when he mentioned the simulation room that her brow just slightly raised, amber eyes moving over his face as though judging the nature of him bringing up such a thing.

But, she couldn't find herself angry. Why, Phasma had let him get that far in, whether she would simply admit it or not. Her mind had slipped down as though it wasn't being watched, and fell through and thought more than simply the color. At least his example had made sense, whether it was to her expense or not, the conversation returning to it's light nature as he mentioned his conditions for the bet. I'll give you something you can be deep in. At that exact moment, Phasma knew the alcohol had attempted to cling on to what little food she had left in her stomach only to toy with the rest of her senses in a replacement for that, smiling faintly to herself. The conditions on his end of the bet were almost as predictable as she expected them to be, though she showed no sign of protesting his end, " You don't have to win a bet for that. " Bless that brandy.

But, it was too late, and that was his end of the bet if he won. While Phasma had yet to simply tell him her own, it made her smile that he seemed so smug with himself, finding that it was probably going to be a lot better for him if he won. The sound of another building collapsing under fire emerged, Phasma turning her head to watch the building drop, holding up two fingers to the count of buildings destroyed by First Order stormtroopers and not Fedorre flaunting his abilities from within the Gauntlet. Turning now, the woman raised a brow at the clearly comfortable male beside her, handing him the flask as she spoke, " I have to disagree. "
 
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