Allegiance | Kylo Ren

LVII

I stayed with Mason for the rest of the day, assuming my usual position as his assistant in minor medical procedures. It felt good to be back at his side, and I found myself smiling more than usual.

When his shift ended and he had signed out, he took my hand and led me out of the wing.

"Want to come back to my room?" He pressed a kiss to my cheek. "You could tell me about the past few days, and what happened while you were gone."

I blinked, pleasantly surprised by how good that idea sounded. "Definitely."

Mason's fingers intertwined with mine as I followed him down a corridor in the opposite direction of the trooper barracks. The halls were quiet, as it was past curfew for troopers and most workers.

As we turned a corner, though, I had to sidestep into Mason to avoid crashing head-on into General Hux. My eyes widened as I recognized the red-haired general, suddenly very conscious that I was out of bed past curfew and in the entirely wrong section of the base.

"General." I gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

His cool gaze swept over Mason and me, lingering for a moment on our hands. "Good evening."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Mason cleared his throat. "Have a good night, General." He pulled gently on my hand, indicating that we should leave.

An idea popped into my mind. "Actually, General Hux, do you have a moment?"

Mason flashed me a confused glance as I pulled my fingers from his and turned to face the general. I gestured for him to go ahead. I would catch up. He gave me a strange look before turning and disappearing down the hallway.

Hux stared at me for a moment before giving a small huff. "What is it, CL-1823?"

"My name is Calia," I corrected him briefly. "And I wanted to ask you something about the new rules concerning trooper promotions."

His pale eyes flickered with annoyance, but he stayed quiet, waiting for me to continue.

"I've heard that the graduation age has been lowered to sixteen," I was careful in selecting each word, very aware that if I offended Hux this would be the last chance I had to ask him this. "And the ban on first-years on missions has been lifted. I was wondering if you could explain why?"

Hux gazed at me evenly. "That is none of your concern."

"With all due respect, sir, I believe it is. As an active trooper, I find myself at risk of being impacted by the mistakes of inexperienced troopers. I believe that having first- and second-years in the field is dangerous for not only them, but for everyone." My voice was formal.

The general's eye twitched. "I am sorry that you feel that way."

"Is there any chance of changing the rules back to the way they were, or at least at finding some kind of compromise in the middle?"

"No." His voice was curt. "The rule changes are final."

"May I ask why?" I was growing frustrated by his rigidness.

"Like I said, that is none of your concern. Please allow those in charge of the trooper training program to do their jobs. You are free to your opinions, but there is no need to share them. Goodnight, CL-1823." With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

I glared at his back, fuming. If I had anything on me, I would have thrown it at him. With an angry growl, I spun around and made my way to the door Mason had disappeared into, knocking on it harder than what was necessary.

He answered it cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"I hate him." I hissed, balling my hands into fists. "He's so... ugh, I don't know. He's so awful."

Mason watched me with a wry smile on his lips. "What did he do?"

"Well, first of all," I found myself pacing the room. "He refuses to call me by my name. He knows that it's Calia, but he insists on addressing me as CL-1823."

"What did you want to talk to him about?" Mason crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

"The rule changes in the trooper program. But he wouldn't listen to me! He dismissed me like I was nothing!"

Mason's eyebrows rose. "Rule changes?"

I stopped pacing and stared at him. "Yes, they changed the graduation age and are letting first-years go on missions now."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is!" I threw my hands into the air. "But he doesn't seem to care."

"Have you talked to Ren about it?"

"He doesn't have much power over the trooper program." I explained. "Otherwise he would have done something about it."

Mason hummed quietly. Now that I had stopped moving, he took the opportunity to place his hands on my shoulders. "Well, I know that you'll find a way to do something about it."

I frowned, deep in thought. "The thing is, I don't know what I can do."

He chuckled softly. "You'll think of something."

I gazed into his soft green eyes, warmed by his undying support. After a moment, I leaned my forehead against his chest with my arms limp at my sides, suddenly drained of all energy. He laughed again, patting my head.

"Do you want to tell me about your time with the Resistance?" He prompted quietly.

"I'm tired." I mumbled. I quickly located his bed and flopped onto it, wondering why everyone else's beds seemed to be so much softer than those in the trooper barracks.

"Okay, you don't have to." He smiled down at me softly, small crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. "Do you want to borrow some clothes to sleep in?"

I let my eyes fall shut and smiled, nodding sleepily. The room was quiet except for the quiet shuffling of clothes being shifted. A pile of folded clothes landed on my stomach, startling me.

"Can I stay here tonight?" My words were slurred.

"I assumed you were." The bed dipped as Mason settled down next to me.

"Good." I heaved myself forward into a sitting position, setting the loaned clothes aside and pulling off my top.

Shivers ran down my spine as Mason's fingers traced small circles against my bare skin, and I unconsciously leaned into his touch. His lips met the spot between my shoulder blades, and I let out a soft sigh. Twisting around to face him, I pulled his lips to mine and pushed him onto his back, straddling his waist as I deepened the kiss.

"I thought you were tired?" He teased quietly.

"Not anymore." I kissed him again.