The Cruellest Thing

The Plan

When the sun set they retreated into the shuttle or rather what was left of it. It wasn't exactly safe but at least it would be harder for feral beasts to sneak up on them.

After a couple of hours of staring at each other Rose started to get slightly sick, only then she realised that she hadn't eaten all day.

"I'm just getting a ration bar," she said when she slid her hand into one of her pockets. Hux sat up a little straighter and followed her every movement with his eyes.

Rose had to use her teeth to pry the wrapping open, finally she took a bite and chewed slowly. The taste was bland, the bar itself was sticky and stringy.

After she had eaten it, she wasn't hungry anymore, but her throat was once more parched. As if on cue he pulled his canteen out of the backpack and took a gulp.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, perhaps she could sleep for a bit and forget about her thirst. But it proved difficult to relax while feeling Hux' stare on her. She shifted from right to left and back. Then she gave up. Luckily it was quite dim in the cockpit already and she could only see his contours.

He touched his chest, for a moment he wasn't looking at her. He yawed and wiped across his face. He had to guard her all night long, and would be tired in the morning. Perhaps she could try to steal the blaster from him?

A low growl rang out and Hux pressed his left hand on his stomach. He reached again for the canteen.

Rose twisted her mouth, he had seen her eating the ration bar. But he probably felt that it was below him to eat resistance ration bars. She gulped, her mouth was completely dry.

"Care for a trade?" she asked and pulled another ration bar out of her pocket and pointed it towards the canteen.

After a few seconds he nodded. He kept her at gunpoint and handed her the water. She handed him the bar.

Rose wiped the bottle opening with her sleeve and took a big gulp. The water was warm, but it was still a relief. She drank a little more and when she put the canteen down, she noticed that Hux had already wolfed down the bar.

She screwed the canteen shut and handed it back. She settled again against the wall and softly touched her right arm.

A loud crow woke her up. Judging from the way Hux jerked up, too, she knew that he had fallen asleep. Damn, she had missed the opportunity. Wings flapped and the crowing stopped.

It was bright outside. Hux checked something on his wrist, presumably his wrist holo. He frowned.

"I could still try to fix my long range comm," said Rose. "Or do you still think your rescue party is only running a little late?"

Hux rubbed his temple; he looked even paler than the day before.

"We have to get some water anyway. We might as well check if there are any traces of the wings."

"Wings? What are you going on about?"

"I can use the fuel injector chips to replace the fried ones in the comm panel. The debris should be somewhere."

"How do you even know that they aren't burnt out?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't know, okay. But what else is there? Either we wait until we get eaten by the local wildlife or we do something."

He frowned, visibly uneasy. "If this is some trick ..."

She didn't deign to answer. She just crossed her arms and stared at him.