Commander's New Clothes

Chapter Two: There is Much to be Done

I jumped awake at the sound of a blaster being shot and someone screaming. I bolted out of my hut and saw a giant black ship in the distance and a sea of white pouring out of it. And despite knowing exactly what they were, I began running toward it.

I stood at the back of the crowd and watched as the stormtroopers assembled into rows before us. I couldn't even count how many there were. My eyes wandered over the crowd of them, their white uniforms glistening, brand new and ready to be christened with blood.

After a while, the stormtroopers split in the middle and made a walkway between them. The crowd of my people went silent, frozen in fear for whatever was to come next.

Smoke began to pour out of the ship. When it cleared, we saw him. A large figure, head to toe in black, a black hood pulled over his head and a black mask. He took in the crowd of us. He slowly descended the ramp from the ship and walked down the path the stormtroopers had made for him.

I had only heard of him a few times before. A terrifying man behind a sea of black fabric and a mask. Kylo Ren, commander of the First Order.

"I'll make this simple," came the modulated voice, words clipped and full of anger. He began to weave his way through the crowd, looking us up and down, clearly trying to instill fear in us. It was working.

"We know you've had luck contacting the Resistance." He stopped directly in front of me. I searched his mask for some human feature and then quickly looked down. It was like staring into a black hole.

"We know that you've aided them," he said, still standing directly in front of me. "And now you'll tell us everything you know."

I titled my head up ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of him. He looked me up and down once more and began his slow pace around us.

"Well," he said, and then loudly, "I'm waiting."

The silent crowd grew even more silent, not even the sound of breathing or the ruffling of clothing filled the air around us.

"Speak!" he barked and we all jumped back.

The silence continued. I knew that if no one said anything soon, things would only get worse.

"We know nothing," I said quietly. For a moment, I thought he didn't hear me. But then he began to take those long, slow strides toward me.

He got so close to me I could touch his face if I wanted. If he even had a face. I wasn't convinced he was anything more than a machine, made for nothing but evil.

"Speak up, girl," he said, looking down at me. I thought I was tall, but he was absolutely towering. Between that and the way he called me "girl", I felt like a helpless child.

"We don't know anything," I said, a little louder. I kept my head down. "We seldom get visitors here.

"I see why," he said harshly, looking around. In a quick blur, his black ropes whipped around and he yielded a red lightsaber. It was brighter than even the sun, and had two smaller blades coming out of the side near the handle.

The crowd shrieked in fear and dropped to the ground, terrified. I don't know what made me feel so brave, but I was the only one who remained standing.

"You're a liar," he growled at me.

"I-" I began, until my bottom teeth knocked into my upper and my face shot up to meet his gaze.

His hand was in front of my face, as if he had grabbed my chin and pulled my face up without even touching me.

"I won't sit here and listen to your lies!" he yelled. He turned out to face the crowd.