A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 23: The Order

Vicrul looks nervous. A message from the Supreme Leader sounds normal though. Kuruk has been in contact with him- he's their master. But I believe Kuruk doesn't allow anyone in the cockpit. It must be private and serious. And why would I need to see?

In a matter of seconds, my helmet is back on my head and I'm yanking my pants up my legs. Vicrul rips his blindfold off and pulls on a pair of pants before rushing out the blastdoor with me on his heels. His pounding footsteps up the stairs to the cockpit seem to echo in the small space.

We skid to a stop. My eyes go straight to Kuruk, his face set in a hard expression, almost devoid of blood.

"What?!" Vicrul is panting.

Kuruk silently turns to the control panel. First, he shuts the door behind us. Then he presses a button and stands back. The projector shines up into the room. Unlike my projector, which only shows messages in blue-scale, this one is full color and crystal clear. A figure comes into view from the knees up. The Supreme Leader, clothed in black with the red cracks in his helmet shining. His hands are balled into fists, and I can see his chest rising with rapid breath.

A red glow fills the screen as a cross lightsaber finds its way to his hand and ignites. He seems to stomp his foot when he does it. I glance at Vicrul who's pursing his lips and frowning deeply over his narrowed eyes. The Knights' master then turns his back on the screen and starts slashing through the control panel wall in the background. Both Vicrul and Kuruk flinch away.

I bite my lip as hard as I can, but a snort still escapes my throat. Kuruk whips his head toward me. "Is something funny?"

I shake my head no. Both of these men are visibly nervous, and I remember one of them mentioning something about getting tortured or punished by their master. That stirs all kinds of angry emotions in my gut. But seeing his rage like this... I force myself to breathe so I don't start laughing. He looks like a child having a tantrum. And why did he have to start the message like this? It makes him seem like a real drama queen. Immature and uncontrolled.

The Supreme Leader finally puts the lightsaber away and turns back to face us, the wall behind him melting and sparking. "You have let those two escape again." Then there's a long pause before he goes on. "They must be killed. I need that artifact." Another pause. I roll my eyes. If he would get off his fucking throne and do something for himself, maybe it wouldn't take so long. Unless he's not nearly as skilled as people say he is...

The helmeted man lets out an audible breath through his voice modulator. "All six of you are facing hours of torture as it is. If you continue to fail, It will only get worse." His helmet turns to the side before looking back at the recording lens. "The Mandalorian has already forfeited his life with your continued failures. You will kill him as soon as the mission is complete."

The projection disappears.

Vicrul and Kuruk both turn their attention to me. I swallow, my mouth going from held tight with amusement to held tight with trepidation.

"Fuck," Vicrul grunts.

My chest holds tight over the burning flame in it. "So, you have to try to kill me when we complete the mission."

Kuruk's eyes drop and his frown deepens. Vicrul looks into my visor with his own deep frown. "There's no try. There's six of us. And you don't have any Force powers."

My eyes flash between the two men. "No. I'm not dying by the hands of the Knights of Ren. Especially not under the orders of the fucking Supreme Leader. So, try all you want. You won't succeed."

Kuruk sighs, and it looks like a hundred pounds gets put on his shoulders as he does it. "He'll kill us if we don't."

"We could fake her death?" Vicrul suggests half-heartedly.