Allegiance | Kylo Ren

LXXXVIII

The base was eerily familiar—nothing had changed at all. The morning alarm for the troopers had yet to go off, so the hallways were empty. I crept through the corridors silently, holding my breath as I checked around every corner. It almost seemed too easy as I made my way to the barracks where I had lived for as long as I could remember, punching in the access code and hearing the door slide open with a hiss.

Inside, the troopers filled their beds, barely anyone moving. I paced noiselessly to my former bed, glancing down at the face of the trooper who now occupied it. He was a young boy, no older than fifteen. He slept peacefully as I silently slid open his drawer and pulled out his armor. I pulled it on piece by piece, cringing at every small sound I made as I did so. Before pulling on the helmet, I cast one last glance at the boy. My heart stopped.

He was watching me.

I froze in place, the helmet held above my head, staring in alarm as he gazed at me with sleepy eyes. After a moment, he sighed and closed his eyes again, apparently deciding that this was some sort of dream, and it wasn't worth investigating. I exhaled silently, pulling on the helmet and leaving the barracks as quickly as I could.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I made my way down the corridor towards the control rooms.

"Okay, Poe, I've got the armor." I whispered.

"Great! Do you know how to get to the control room?"

"Yes, I'm on my way there now." I was still cautious as I went, knowing that even a trooper walking about this early in the morning would be suspicious. "I don't think I'll be able to go in until the morning alarm has sounded, though. It'll be too risky."

"That's fine, the alarm should go off any moment according to the information we have. Just be ready to go in as soon as it does."

My footsteps echoed around the halls as I hurried towards the double doors I had passed so many times before. When I reached them, I hovered outside, waiting anxiously for the alarm to sound. The moment it did, I slipped inside the control room. There was nobody inside yet, but that was expected—and welcome. When they did arrive, it wouldn't seem too strange to have a trooper inside.

"Alright, locate the main computer." Poe instructed through the earpiece.

I scanned the room. The walls were lined with computers, none of them seeming to be any more significant than the rest. "How do I know which one that is?"

"Well, it probably looks important."

"They all look the same!" I hissed.

"Hang on, I'm getting word from Kylo—Ben, sorry, from Ben." There was a pause. "He says it's the one directly across from you when you first enter the room."

I retraced my steps to stand in front of the doors, my eyes falling easily on the computer Ben had indicated. I sighed in gratitude, approaching the computer and pressing the button to turn it on.

"Now what?"

Poe repeated a passcode sent by Ben, and I punched it in easily, grinning as the screen flickered to life.

"Now, look for a file called security."

I glanced over my shoulder before scanning the screen, knowing that my time was running out.

"Found it."

"Open it."

"Okay, what next?"

"Look for any information on firewalls."

That was harder to find. I found myself reading and rereading the information on the screen, unfamiliar with most of the technical jargon. At last, I found a piece on antivirus programming.

"Found it."

"Open it, and read out any codes you see."

My foot twitched as I began to hear voices outside, indicating that the base was waking up. I read off a few codes, scrolling down the page halfway before the doors opened behind me. I quickly closed out of the program and spun around, trying to act nonchalant. A guard stood in the doorway, looking confused when he spotted me.

"Trooper, what are you doing in here?"

I heard Poe swear through the earpiece.

"I was sent to ask about the recent security changes to the system." I lied quickly.

"Sent by who?"

Shit.

"I didn't catch his name, I was only following orders."

The guard narrowed his eyes at me, obviously not convinced. But then he shrugged. "I get that. It's difficult to keep track of all the people giving orders around here."

"Exactly." I agreed, biting my lip to keep back a sigh of relief.

Poe gave a cheer in my ear.

"What did you need to know?" The guard approached me, eying the live computer screen.

"Just what changes were made—nobody was here when I arrived, so I tried to figure it out for myself, but I'm not great at using computers."

"It's alright, these systems can be confusing." The guard seemed to be completely taken by my lie. He scrolled through the system until he reached the page that I had just closed out of. "Here's the information, although I'm still not sure why you need it."

"Nor am I." I forced a laugh. "Why were these put in place again?"

"Well, when Kylo Ren left, they decided to reinforce the security in case he decided to try and help the Resistance hack in."

"That makes sense." I mused, trying desperately to memorize the few codes I had missed before. "Alright, I think I've got everything I need. Thanks for your help."

He nodded, closing out of the security page. I turned on my heel to leave, satisfied that I could remember the combinations. I just needed to get back to where I could read them to Poe without being overheard, and before I forgot them.

The door swung open before I could leave, though, and my heart stopped for the second time that morning as I caught a glimpse of who was behind it.

General Hux stood outside the door, a sour expression across his sharp features and his pale eyes fixed directly on me.