Theodosia

Chapter 21

"Where were you? You're an hour late!"

Theo bristled slightly. She had been hoping for a small reprieve from any form of admonishment so early in the morning. But work was never too early for the likes of Hux. She had just walked unto the bridge for her morning duty after a whole fumble of jumping out of bed and getting dressed while cursing all the way through.

Had she sacrificed her precious sleep in order to be with Kylo? Yes. Had she fallen asleep in his arms like it was the safest feeling in the entire galaxy? Definitely. Was she starting to regret it now that the general was currently shouting, not helping her headache in the slightest?

Maybe. It had been worth it. It was a moment of weakness; she'd admit to that. But maybe it was because they had been spending too much time together? She had read that love was formed from prolonged exposure to someone.

"Attachments are forbidden," Qui Gon had told her back in the temple and for the first time, she was glad the Jedi master could not reach her because she doubted he'd be happy with her decision. But she had found out that Qui-Gon had broken that rule a long time ago for a librarian he once loved. He had recalled her fondly, but she couldn't recall the name at the top of her head...Something like Tahl-

"Commander Hale," someone said sternly, and she blinked.

She looked up at Hux. Had he been talking this whole time? Shit, she needed sleep. The engineers and technicians around them were giving her side glances, looking alarmed.

"Huh?" she startled back into action, ignoring the way her head pounded from the lack of rest. "Oh, um, yes, sir."

She didn't know what she was saying yes to. But if it meant saving her sleep-deprived ass, she was willing to take the risk. Apparently vexed by her, Hux shook his head and turned back to the consoles.

"Go do it then, Commander," he dismissed.

She glanced over to her right; Captain Phasma was beside her.

"Captain," she greeted quietly. "If you don't mind me asking, what did I just agree to?"

"You'll be training the FN squad with me today," the older woman replied. Theo had to hide her groan of misery. Of course, she thought, physical exercise!

"Now?"

The captain didn't reply as she turned to exit the bridge. Following begrudgingly, she made her way to the courtyard where the Stormtroopers were already in line for their morning training. The next hour was spent carrying out the daily routines they went through.

Phasma had split the group, her having the majority of the Stormtroopers while Theo trained her own unit of Stormtroopers.

"Come on, troopers! Aim!" she found herself shouting, trying to encourage the troop. She rubbed at her pounding head, having drunk two cups of coffee to keep her going, but to no avail. She sunk down on the floor with a groan. 

She regretted not accepting Kylo's offer to get her a day off. Lucky bastard was able to sleep in because he was still under medical leave. She, on the other hand-

She tried not to sigh in frustration when the Stormtroopers only hit about half of their intended targets. 

"Imagine the targets are -" she stopped. She couldn't say bad guys, could she? Since they were the bad guys-

"A hundred credits to whoever hits all their targets," she finally declared, her sleep-addled mind thinking that was a brilliant idea as not only were the Stormtroopers more motivated, but there was a definite improvement in their shots.