As the battle raged outside the shuttle, as Luna and the other Nexu lured the stormtroopers away, Ro'vena hastily donned her TIE pilot helmet. The hollowed out plastoid helmet gave her just a little bit more room to fit in her lekku, but it was still an uncomfortable fit, and she had to resist sucking on the tip that rested just below her chin, as she used to do when she was a child.
With a hasty double check of her new armour, she rushed off to the back of the shuttle, stopping to lift the already loosened floor plate to expose the top of the landing strut. 'Is everyone in one piece?' she asked into the darkness.
'All good!' came Amoya's spritely reply.
'Fenn's not doing well,' came Kai's gruff answer.
Ro'vena leaned down and heard Fenn's quick, shallow breathing. As her eyes adjusted, she could see them gently rocking back and forth in the cramped compartment, and she leaned down to touch their knee comfortingly. 'Deep breaths, buddy,' she smiled at them, but it was little comfort and she knew it. She was on the verge of her first command, and it happened to be in very hostile territory. She was very close to panic herself.
In the darkness somewhere opposite to Fenn, Ka'iulani said, 'it's just for an hour at most. Once things get going, you can take it off.'
Ro'vena heard Fenn's breathing ease, and she noticed that they had been staring at their First Order cap in their hands, wringing it tightly. That was when she realised that they weren't nervous to be back in the field. They were nervous to be back in a First Order uniform. She wasn't privy to the entirety of Fenn's history in the First Order and just knew what she, along with the others, had been told, but she couldn't imagine the scars, both physical and mental, that had scarred the poor human. She mentally cursed herself for not realising the root cause sooner. She tried to reassure them. 'She's right. Once the shooting starts, you can take that off. Grey was never your colour anyway.
She heard the sound of boots coming down the walkway, and Garan stopped beside her, dressed in his stormtrooper garb. 'Coast is clear,' he said tersely. 'Time to go.'
Ro'vena nodded, then lowered herself into the cramped compartment, climbing down the strut to land on the hangar bay floor, quickly follow by Amoya, and then the others, with kinipopo letting out a trill as it landed with a slight thud. She looked about her and found that the hangar was almost completely empty. Luna and the others had done their job extremely well. 'Are the explosives set?' she asked Kai.
'Of course,' he replied, almost affronted. The Bothan turned to look at the TIEs lined up on the racks by the walls. 'Although, if we want a bigger bang-'
'You want a bigger bang, you mean,' she interrupted, squinting at him.
'Kai let out a little prevaricating squeak. 'Either way. It would definitely help.'
'We need to keep a low profile for now,' Ro'vena countered. 'No unnecessary diversions. Now,' she took one last look around. 'Everyone form up. Time to do your best baddie impressions.'
She stood and directed Fenn and Ka'iulani, the two humans in officer uniforms, to the front, Garan, Amoya and Kai in stormtrooper armour behind, and then she and kinipopo taking up the rear. They made their way, as casually as they could manage, to the flight control room that hung over the hangar bay, watching the action below like a star hawk. Inside was chaos as the First Order staff relayed information to others over the comm, tried to assess what had happened in the hangar, and what was happening outside. At first, they went unnoticed, and Ro'vena directed Kinipopo to plug into a security panel. 'Get us directions to a comms tower of some sort,' she told it, and then to Ka'iulani. 'Order us about.'
'With pleasure,' Ka'iulani said haughtily, drawing herself up to her full height, which was admittedly only an inch or two more than Ro'vena herself, but somehow the princess managed to make it look like a full foot. 'Now then, troopers,,' she said with equal measure sternness and urgency, 'you're to first tend to my every need. That means a foot massage, several bunches of Tarkanis grapes, and a nice Alderaanian wine.'
'Yes, sir,' they all said in unison. Ro'vena couldn't help but smirk behind her helmet.
'The finest wines,' Ka'iulani continued grandly, and as she spoke, Ro'vena spotted a lieutenant eyeing them up. She took a small step forward to help hide Kinipopo.
'Make it more angry,' she directed her.
Ka'iulani pointed a finger at her, shaking it furiously. 'Now you, don't talk back to me. You were supposed to bring me a full crate of foie gras. But did I get it? Like fook you did.'
'What is the matter here?' the First Order lieutenant sidled up to them, looking them over. His eyes lingered over Kinipopo, but he said nothing.
Ka'iulani turned to him, and Ro'vena could see that she was flustered, but she hoped that either the lieutenant wouldn't see it, or that he would put it down to the recent battle.
'Just directing my command,' she said grandiosely, if a little shrilly. 'I'm disappointed in their performance earlier.'
'I see,' said the lieutenant. 'And your command has a pilot?'
'My personal pilot,' Ka'iulani replied quickly. A little too quickly for Ro'vena's liking.
'Why does a lieutenant have a personal pilot?' he squinted at her in confusion.
'Why are you questioning me?' Ka'iulani countered. 'Surely you have something better to do? Like find some intruders?'
'Don't take that tone with me, I'm the duty officer here. Everything that happens in this hangar is under my purview. Now explain yourself,' the lieutenant's voice rose with anger, and several officers behind them turned to look.
Not good, Ro'vena thought, but kept her mouth shut. If she were to speak up then that would just create more holes.
'I'll take whatever tone I like,' Ka'iulani continued. 'When my father hears about your despiccable performance, allowing infiltrators to, to infiltrate, not to mention interfering in my own official and personal business, he'll bump you all the way down to sanitation.'
The lieutenant looked caught between paling, and wanting to scowl, and settled for an odd mixture of both that just made him look queasy. 'Father,' he mumbled. 'And who is your father, might I ask?'
'You don't know?' she shrieked, as Kinipopo beeped. 'Don't you know who I am?'
'Uh, no?'
'Good,' Ka'iulani turned to the others. 'Let's go,' and with that, she marched out of the flight control room. As Ro'vena followed her and the others out, she saw the look of dazed confusion on the lieutenant's face turn to anger, but they were saved from whatever he was about to say as a fresh wave of alarms drew his attention away from them.
'Slow down,' Ro'vena muttered to the others, as they walked across the hangar and out. She had no doubt they were being watched from the flight control room still, and their quick pace was sure to draw suspicion. The others slowed. As the hangar blast door opened and closed behind them, they took a quick look around to make sure there were no others in sight, and then they all turned to Kinipopo. 'What did you find out?' she asked.
The BB-series astromech trilled and whistled.
'A hyperwave comm scanner?' Ro'vena repeated, then turned to Fenn. 'Will that do?'
Fenn lifted his gaze from the floor just enough to look pensively at Kinipopo, then nodded.
'Where is it?' Ka'iulani asked her droid. Kinipopo whistled nervously.
'By the command bridge?' Ro'vena blurted out, a little too loudly. 'You sure there's nothing at the other end of the ship? Like in the nearly deserted, barely frequented bowels where there are no senior officers whatsoever? No? Fine,' she sighed. 'Let's go.'
