Ginger Gears

Burnt Cables

The first thing he noticed was the burning pain searing through him from the back of his head down to his left leg. He groaned. The smell of burnt cables made him almost cough. Had he been in a shuttle crash? No, wait... Starkiller. The next thing he noticed was that someone was pulling, no, dragging him.

He looked up and saw a masked individual in white camouflage gear. Had one of the Stormtroopers came back? No, no, that wasn't First Order gear. This was non-regulatory gear... nobody else was supposed to be on Starkiller but his soldiers. Who- Rebels!

He felt the monomolecular blade on his right wrist, they hadn't disarmed him. He wouldn't let himself be taken prisoner, they would torture him, force him to build weapons for them. He gritted his teeth. No, he would not allow that.

He pressed the release button with his little finger and the blade slid into his hand. He gathered all his remaining strength, grabbed his captor by the right arm and drove the blade into their shoulder. She- yes, she, it was a female voice... screamed and let go of him. She fell on the floor clutching the wound. Dark red blood ran down the white suit. He struggled to get on his feet. He reached for the blaster in his holster, but it was empty.

No matter, he would finish her off with his blade. He gritted his teeth and limbed towards her.

She looked up, her mask had small blood splashes on it. "You look like shit, Hux."

He froze. It couldn't be, she couldn't be here. But it was her voice! The blade dropped out of his hand. He fell on his knees and bent over her. He pulled the mask down... There they were, the beautiful eyes he thought he would never see again. He choked up. "Rose! Rose, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you." This wasn't possible! This wasn't happening!

She reached up with her left hand and cupped his cheek. "It's alright. I- I just wanted to save you. Turns out that I'm not cut out for the hero stuff."

He bent down and kissed her, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I thought I would never see you again," he whispered as he covered her face with small pecks. His face gently touched hers. Despite everything he felt safe, this- this was how it must feel to return home. The warmth, the gentle touch...

She ran her hand through his hair. "So soft, how can it be so soft and warm?"

Slowly his mind started to work again. Why was she here? How could she possibly be on this planet? She was wearing Rebel gear... he cupped her cheek and caressed it with his thumb. "By the stars, you are a rebel." He could hear his voice crack.

Suddenly everything made sense – her willingness to work with him, her inexplicable interest in him. The pain in his leg was nothing compared to the pain spreading out in his chest. She had only pretended to like him.

She put her hand on his, holding his hand in place. "I am." Her eyes were wet, her lips trembled a little.

"Of course you are. Why else would you bother with me? I'm such a fool..." A single sob escaped his lips. He really was pathetic, weak.

She blinked the tears away. Then she smiled, she was undoubtedly in pain but she smiled. "Why do you think I did come up here? I wanted to save you."

There it was again, the gleam in her eye. He froze. Did- did she really tell the truth? Could it be? Another earthquake rocked the planet. Either way, he wasn't about to let her die here.

He helped her up, she grimaced and pressed her hand on her wound.

"Can you walk?" she asked. Despite the cold there was a film of sweat on her face.