ONE

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CHAPTER ONE: ARMOR

CHAPTER ONE: ARMOR

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Blood.

The thick liquid was everywhere. It congealed between the crevices of her fingers, dripped down her forehead and stained her cloak, turning her once pristine, alabaster skin a dark red. The stuff was not hers of course but others. With her cold silver gaze, to anyone else she would look like a monster. One that had emerged from the depths of Wild Space or perhaps the Unknown Regions, something the galaxy had not seen but should no doubt fear.

ELL-1 did not take notice however. It was not a part of her programming.

She piloted the First Order craft into the massive hangar bays of Starkiller Base, watching as several stormtroopers cleared a landing pad for her. As the ramp opened with a menacing hiss and she exited the ship, she could overhear several murmurs over their comms at her appearance. The real reason for their quiet, irritated voices, no doubt, was because she was still dripping the crimson liquid all over the floor and they had to be the ones to clean it up. ELL-1 paid them no mind however.

It was simple. A routine in and out mission. Five targets. A family. Human. Hosnian Prime. Senatorial party. A high-rise skyscraper approximately two hundred feet to the left and a hundred feet higher than the Senate chambers. IQA-11 blaster rifle. Good for long-range targets. Those were the facts. Never mind what they did, that was for the First Order to know and for her to never find out. Shoot to kill. Simple.

She clasped her pale hands behind her back, walking through the busy hallways of Starkiller Base. As she passed each person, they gave the same response to seeing her. The same response everyone on the base gave her, officers and stormtroopers alike.

Fear.

It was well known across the First Order who she was by now. After nearly two years of successful missions, ELL-1 had gained a name and reputation for herself not only within the organization, but across the galaxy.

They called her 'The Hand of the First Order'.

She barely noticed her dark boots leaving behind footprints of red as she continued her way to the turbolifts. There was another name she had been given as well, but this one was spoken only in hushed whispers and behind closed doors. Though, given her current appearance, it suited her nonetheless.

The Red Death.

ELL-1 pressed the correct floor for the bridge of Starkiller Base, keeping her steel-like gaze forward. She didn't understand the complexity of organics and why they chose to give nicknames for that which they could not name themselves. No one outside of the First Order had ever seen her face, and this too was a fear tactic Supreme Leader Snoke used to control the galactic masses.

gray matter. | POE DAMERONWhere stories live. Discover now