DO YOU FEEL LIKE A YOUNG GOD?

Even though things were a lot quieter and more eerie on Naboo with so many behind the quarantined glass, Effie much preferred to be out and free rather than infected and contained. Besides visiting Snoke and Kylo and occasionally assisting Phasma with some investigating, she didn’t have much to do lately. As much as she wished she could be of better assistance, research and scientific knowledge simply wasn’t her thing, and it had left her to wandering around aimlessly, thinking of what she would do if both of her mentors were to perish from this disease. It left her without purpose, which aggravated her. 

As she walked away from the visitation area, turning to emerge to the outdoors once again, her eyes caught sight of an incredibly familiar girl. Her features were soft and her hair cascaded in waves down her back facing away from Effie, as if she were a walking pixie. Effie stared in surprise for a moment, racking her mind to remember who she was and how she knew her. When she couldn’t come to a proper conclusion, she let out a huff, then strode towards the other female. “Hey, what’s your name? You look familiar as a dead star.”

this whole situation made henri wish that he had grown up differently. he could only imagine how much more helpful he would have been if he’d actually been given the chance to go to school; he’d always had a mind for science, and probably could have helped one of the teams find a cure––or whatever. he didn’t know what, exactly, he’d be able to do, but it would be a hell of a lot better than sitting around, twiddling his thumbs. “i mean, i suppose they’re goin’ to have to test it out or somethin’,” he said slowly. truth to be told, he had no idea what they’d do. “heard someone say that this whole thing happened before. that’s probably what they’re looking for––some documents or cures from the past or whatever.”

Effie nodded slowly at his words, though she still couldn’t comprehend how testing out a cure would work. Didn’t that mean putting the already sickened at further risk? Sure, it could possibly save them, but it could also just kill them quicker. Which, maybe, wouldn’t be so bad, depending on what kind of cure they’d be able to test. If death was inevitable, why not quicken the process at least? “This happened before?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise, crossing her arms over her chest. “Wow. I wonder how many people died...and yeah, I mean, if they found a cure for it before, couldn’t they just replicate it or something?” She was sure it was much more complicated than that, but she was never very good with the specifics of science. Not this much. “It’s gonna be pretty strange on Naboo if all those people in quarantine just suddenly disappear...”

“You try and succeed unlike most on this utterly ridiculous planet” The blonde reassured and then gave a low huff as she stared forward for a moment “Though I’m not up to jumping to helping anyone fast, not after what happened…” she said lowly, referring to what had happened with Kylo and the electrocution “Even those I considered comrades at one point” she said going back to her unreadable and fixed expression as she thought about what just would potentially happen if Hux and Ren were to die. “And you think that I do? I’m no doctor here” she mused, gesturing for the girl to follow her, her tone a little lighter.

Effie beamed at the Captain’s words, nodding as they were spoken. Sure, she’d been a bit pessimistic when she’d first arrived, but now she was determined to make the most of it. Even in shitty situations like the one they were all faced with now. Her face fell slightly when Phasma referred to her comrades, and she really wished she could somehow get Kylo and Phasma to reconcile. After all, she cared for them both now, and they would only be stronger if they got past their issue and moved along. “Just think of it as working for the sake of the First Order,” Effie emphasized, hoping it would encourage her to put all of her energy into finding the cure. With a small chuckle, she followed the Captain, though she wasn’t even quite sure where they were going. “I heard something about an underground laboratory? That sounds intriguing...”

an unfamiliar presence hovers at the corner of wedge’s peripherals. he glances up after putting a few papers down in their appropriate places. definitely not someone who’s familiar to him, which almost makes him raise an eyebrow. still, not his place to judge anything here. if she is first order, then now’s really not the moment for her to try and kill him. so if that ends up being the result of all this, wedge will be well and truly surprised in the seconds before his death. “well, we’ll find out if i suddenly catch this virus and die, since i was the first one kicking up all the dust in here.”

there is a lot of dust. wedge has already been coughing a little, which is really not helping his nerves.

when she asks about the papers, wedge blinks and looks down at them. “that’s a good question,” he finally says. “i haven’t read through them too much yet. i’ve just been organizing them by what seems useful. there’s a lot of casual mentions of the virus, but not too much that actually matters. you’d think scientific study would require a lot less extra bullshit, but who am i to judge?” his eyes move back to the papers, scanning through a few lines. “i’m just a pilot. this isn’t my thing.”

Effie let out a brief chuckle at his comment, shaking her head. “I highly doubt it would be the cause, since I doubt all those people in quarantine came down here and were exposed to all this dust themselves.” From the looks of this place, it hadn’t looked like anyone had been down here in years, which was almost creepy. But there was just a lot of books and papers and folders, information that Effie truly could think of no use for, unless they somehow contained a mystical formula that would automatically heal all of the infected people. She had no idea what she was doing, and it was made clear as she sighed, setting down the pages in her own hands. His explanation brought a small smile to her lips, as she was relieved he seemed to not exactly know how to go about this whole thing either. Probably not a good sign in terms of finding a cure quicker, but good in terms of being able to relate. “No, you’re right. Why do they make it all so hard to understand? I’m pretty sure I’m of no use here,” Effie admitted with a frustrated sigh. But her attention turned up at the mention of being a pilot. Now he was the second one she’d encountered. “A pilot, huh? Do you know a dude by the name of Gael? He’s a pilot too, and a prideful one, at that.”

This was Effie’s second time visiting the quarantined area, and she’d hoped to find Snoke, as she still hadn’t spoken to him since he’d been infected. She wanted to check in and see how he was doing, what he thought of the whole situation, but he clearly wasn’t one to lurk near the glass. He was probably in his room or off somewhere else, but she figured he would come around at some point. So she lingered around for a bit, her eyes drifting over the others walking back and forth or laying around inside the constricted area, with little to do. Then her eyes settled on a blue-skinned man, standing out quite clearly from the others. She hadn’t seen him before, but she could sense the force within him - another force user? Perhaps he knew Kylo or Snoke, even if neither had mentioned any other force users to her recently. Curiously, she walked towards him, then placed a hand on the glass near the area where he stood. “Hello,” Effie greeted casually, offering him a smile. Then she noticed his bright red eyes, and her own widened in awe. “Whoa! You have really cool eyes, man. That’s...natural, right?” She hoped they weren’t bloodshot from the disease or something, and hopefully she hadn’t accidentally offended him if they were.

ah. here was the addict again, though this time around, it didn’t look like she was as high as she’d been when henri had first met her. that was good. it was much easier for him to talk to other people without distractions. “also nothing,” he said with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. he didn’t know what to do in this situation––but on the other hand, he didn’t really want to do anything. he didn’t know who was sick, but he hadn’t made many friends in naboo anyway. so what was the point? he didn’t think he could do much to help anyway. “don’t really know much about medicine or anythin’,” he admitted slowly. “don’t know what to do.” 

She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion at his response, expecting more than a simple agreement to her own words. He wasn’t involved in this whole thing either? Well, at least she wasn’t the only one. “I don’t know if anyone really knows what they’re doing,” She pointed out with a sigh that matched his own, folding her hands lazily in her lap. “Even the medics haven’t heard of this disease before, so...who knows if they’ll find a cure, or what.” She wanted them to - it still made her cringe at the idea of the people suffering in there, knowing this could be the end for them. It must be awful. “I don’t know what to do either. I told the Captain I’d help her look for the cure, but I have no idea how to find a cure...how do you even search for something like that? Isn’t it ridiculously complicated and difficult? And how would they even know if it truly worked?”

Phasma wanted all of them dead, at least those that had caused her a problem. In her eyes on the strongest were meant to survive and the fact they had gotten sick was their own problem…..But then there was Andromeda, she had seen her girl behind the glass and the Captain had become angry. If she could, she would only save the girl that in her own twisted way, she loved. “I’d end up killing them and beating the virus to it.” The blonde chuckled, before then going to speak- in a way she almost wanted to thank Effie for what she had done with freeing the restraints, but Phasma just couldn’t thank people. It wan’t her. “You are doing an acceptable job, it pleases me to see you healthy. You are one of the only ones I tolerate” she said in her unreadable tone, yet it was one of the best compliments the Captain could give. “I am tasked with helping look for a cure, care to accompany me?”

At the Captain’s comment, Effie let out a slight chuckle, even if part of her knew that Phasma wasn’t at all joking. She knew she wouldn’t hesitate if it came down to it, being in the moment. She smiled at Phasma’s praise, aware that her words were somehow an offhand compliment. “Well, thanks, I try,” Effie joked, lifting her shoulders before letting them drop again. She wasn’t sure just how much help she could be considering how little she knew about the planet and her own surroundings now, but she didn’t have anything else to do. Besides, she wanted Kylo and Snoke to be freed somehow, before death got to them first. She still had hopes for her plan, and if it worked out, maybe Phasma would be able to join them. “Yeah, sure. You might have to guide me though, because I’m warning you now, I have basically no idea what I’m doing.”

hearing effie on the other side of the wall caused ben to look up from his lowered stance, both relieved and ashamed that she was here visiting. luckily it meant that she had not contracted the virus herself, and with her force strengths, she could be a strong asset to the others who were searching for the cure. but it also meant that she could no longer easily assist in taking down snoke, even if there was a slight chance that the disease would do that for them. her offer was definitely something to consider, as certainly there were many things that ben could do with here, anything that could somehow help his symptoms or at least make the time spent locked up in here any more enjoyable. he chewed on his lower lip for a few moments, then cleared his throat, feeling the uncomfortable sensation as he did so. the sickness was not just any other enemy, it was worse. “…painkillers…would be great, if you could manage it,” he responded finally with a small nod of gratuity in her direction. “…and, if you’re able to…perhaps some liquor? whatever you can get your hands on, i trust your taste.” it was doubtful that the alcohol would help heal him in any way, but it would definitely put his mind a bit more at ease. besides, it wasn’t as if he had much else to do here, with the plans he’d been working on previously being brought to a halt. “thank you…i’d appreciate it greatly. and any other updates you may find over time - if you could keep me informed as best as possible, please do.” he offered her a weak smile of thanks before another cough erupted from his chest, to which he quickly added, “pardon me…”

She could pick up on his hesitance, though she wasn’t quite sure why he was hesitating; if the roles were reversed, Effie would be asking for plenty of things to keep her comfortable. But then he finally spoke, and she nodded quickly, remembering the bottle of painkillers she’d managed to snatch along with the other drugs she still kept in her suite. His request for alcohol caused a small scoff to escape her, but a smile managed to form on her lips regardless. “Making me buy you drinks now, are you, Ren?” She teased, hoping it would help lighten the mood a bit. But then she nodded again, assuring him that she would retrieve it for him. “Sure, I’m pretty positive I can manage that...I’ll try to bring over as much as I can at once, maybe it’ll help take your mind off things. In fact, I might try some myself,” Effie added with a small shrug. She hadn’t really been one to drink, but she was willing to do so if it meant helping Kylo relax a bit through all of the stress he was still under, probably more so now because of the disease. If the pills didn’t work for him, the liquor probably could. Besides, the alcohol wouldn’t affect his immune system, would it? “I’ll keep you updated, for sure...Phasma’s looking for the cure as well, so I’m going to help her out. We’ll make sure you get out of there as soon as possible, alright?” She placed a hand over the glass, smiling hopefully at him. “Just hang in there. How are you feeling, anyway? I mean...obviously pretty shitty I’m assuming, but what symptoms do you have?”

it was in that moment that rey considered quarantine to not be the worst option. effie was now a thick wall away from her, while she had ben and hux and the others on her side. she would be unable to get to them now. standing slowly, rey glared at her, her fists still balling, even though they trembled at all the energy it took to clench them so hard. “what’s best for me. you suddenly care what’s best for me?” she scoffed, storming forward and hitting the glass hard with her palm. it only exerted her more, but she needed effie to know how insanely angry she was with her. “how dare you give ben those pills. how DARE you. the second i’m out of here, you will regret your actions. you cannot run from it. i’ve said it before and i meant it: i’m going to kill you. maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but nothing will change that, nothing.”

When she hit the glass, Effie pulled her head back slightly, but kept herself planted firmly on the ground. She rolled her eyes at Rey’s dramatic action, forever unamused by her antics and the way she always made it seem like Effie was out to ruin her life. Truthfully, Effie couldn’t care less. But she figured offering her two cents of advice would be better than saying anything else that would surely start an argument with the girl. It seemed like that was happening anyway, not to her surprise. But as Rey brought up the pills, Effie sighed, aware that the effects of the medication had not been too well on Kylo. “I was trying to help him with his stress,” She snapped back in defense, before muttering under her breath, “probably most of it caused by you.” But she kept her arms crossed over her chest, refusing to apologize for something that she didn’t see recognize as her fault. “It’s not my fault he didn’t take the right dosage, or he reacted weirdly to them. But sure, if that’s another reason you want to add to your ridiculous list of justifications for killing me, then go right ahead.” Effie knew the Jedi wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t; her words had become empty threats, and it only made Effie shake her head in disapproval. “Good luck getting out of there alive, anyway.”