RED | KYLO REN

One

Aboard Starkiller Base was the daughter of Captain Phasma, Artemis. She didn't work closely with the elite of the ship. She was a technician, she was quite good at her craft, but she was trained to be one. Like almost everyone, she went to the academy and trained in a specialty at a young age. But unlike most, she had few choices while most had none. When it came to what she'd be, her mother allowed her to enroll in a program she thought fit. Artemis never had a taste for war, she felt sick at the sight of blood. She also suffered severe anxiety and couldn't handle the violence she would be  exposed to. In other words: she was weak. That's what her mother called her.

So she enrolled to be a technician or possibly an engineer. She didn't get to see the action and live a rather repetitive life. She used to travel with her mother, though she didn't really know her, Phasma tried to check up on her and give her the best life.

Artemis sat at a work bench near the hangar. She muttered as she tweaked around on a BB unit. She scoffed at the droid.

"You need to be more careful." She scolded the droid, it responded with a series of beeps. "Oh were you? Because if that was true, you wouldn't be having me fixing you." The droid replied with a sadder beep. "Stay away from Commander Ren, you'll live longer that way." The droid beeped again. "Really? Poor you. I am sorry you have to deal with him regularly."

675 approached Artemis. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and had very round eyes. He was friends with Artemis, they bonded at the academy after he was subjected to a rough punishment for questioning his master. Artemis comforted him and that was a start of a beautiful friendship. She was very outnumbered when it came to working in her field.... In many fields among the First Order she was outnumbered.

"Artie!" He greeted with a smirk, showing off his dimples.

"Hey," She beamed back. He was in the program since birth, not knowing his real name or family, only his number. Artemis had a number, 642, but only higher-ups or people who didn't know her would call her by her number. Even her mother had to call her by her number in public. "What are you doing here? Isn't right now your lunch break?" She scanned her watch, pulling back the stiff fabric to read the time. She always hated her uniform, a dark gray, it had a stiff high collar and boxy. Even her trousers were stiff. Her hair was pulled into a tight low bun, something all women have to wear while on duty. She had that hair style her entire life, knowing how to prefect it in seconds.

"I ate my lunch quickly." 675 gasped at the droid. "Woah! You're working on Commander Ren's droid!"

"Yeah, he broke it." She muttered, her emotions betraying her. She wasn't allowed to talk terrible of any superior, but she had many words for Ren.

675 poked the droid, Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. He didn't seem fazed by it. "Do you know what it means to be trusted with one of his possessions? You better not fuck it up."

"Thank you, I wasn't worried until now!" She growled. She sighed and looked at the droid, it started beeping excitedly.

"Oh, you're basically untouchable. Your mom is in his circle. She'd protect you."

She snorted. "Captain Phasma only cares about one thing: the First Order. I've always been in second place. She'd sacrifice me if it was best for the Order." It was the truth, not even 675 could deny it.

"This took a dark turn." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Artemis rolled her eyes playfully at him before finishing up on the droid. "Anyways, I heard there's a new guy joining us." He beamed.

"A new guy? Why didn't I hear anything about it?"

"You have... Just now." He replied playfully.

"You know what I mean!" She sighed. "How did you hear it?"

"I overheard our Technical Sergeant talking to someone..."

"So you eavesdropped? Who do you think he'll be assigned to?"

"You," He replied honestly. "You have the best track record. It's most likely going to be you."

"I'm a terrible teacher!"

"I know," He smiled evilly. "It will be so fun to watch."

"Shut up!" She shoved him while giggling. "If I'm given him, I'm going to try and get out of it. I'll suggest you."

"Yeah, I don't think that'll go over well with Sergeant 6780."

She frowned as she cleaned the droid of grease. "You're right. He hates it when we protest."

"I have to go- oh! Are you coming to the cantina tonight?"

"Probably not tonight. Raincheck."

He nodded his head with a frown and left her alone to her devices. Artemis patted the droid and got up from her chair to stretch. She watched the droid roll off the table and race down the hall, happily beeping.

She shook her head at the small robot. She wiped down her hands before fixing her bun. When she was nearly finished, she heard heavy footsteps coming down the corridor. She didn't think much of it, the halls got a lot of traffic around lunch time.

She was about to open her holopad to report that she finished the BB unit. But the voice was madly familiar. She perked up and waited. She noticed a tall, lanky gentleman enter, Sergeant 6780. She stood up straighter, he was talking into a comm-link. He touched it with the tip of his finger and gave her his full attention. He was always nice to her because he knew who her mother was.

She bowed. "Hello, sir." She greeted politely.

"Ah, Technician 642!" He greeted back as if he was surprised. "I have great news. We are receiving a new technician. Your job is to guide him around to his tasks and answer any questions he has, got it?"

"Y-yes, sir." She nodded her head frantically from nervousness.

"I wanted to make sure he had the best technician to help navigate him." He pat her on the back, making her flinch, but he didn't notice and if he did, he chose to ignore it. "You get back to work. I'll send you more details on him tonight." He exited the room before she could reply.

She just stood there for a moment with her jaw hanging. Why wasn't she told now?