#stcrpilot

padmé had maintained an exceptionally careful and controlled image of herself. although as senator, she had not embraced the same theatrical level of make-up as she had before, she’d still been made-up: under-eye bags always perfectly covered, brows perfectly fully and plucked, lips glossed modestly. no one had ever really seen her like this, double black eyes from her nose breaking, fresh wound above her brow. it could have been treated, gone by now, most in her position would have done so. but she would not treat it as she had promised her son on the way there. she’d lied to luke, of course, told him that she was going to try and repair a now fragile alliance after the attack on liberation day.

Location: Rose doesn’t know yet!

So far Rose had yet to find anything familiar about this place she was in. It was definitely not Ajan Kloss and it definitely was not a planet she had knowingly visited in the past. But she tried to hold onto General Organa’s wisdom about not losing hope in the darkest of times. Rose may be lost but she was not defeated. 

She had managed to find a small city that was bustling with life. Where there was life, there was likely to be transport ships to sneak abroad and get somewhere more familiar. Rose made her way further into the city limits, being careful to blend in with the crowd as much as possible. So far, no one appeared to take any interest in her and that was just fine. The route she was on led to a marketplace, filled with food stalls and the like along with people trying to get on with their regular lives. There didn’t appear to be any sign of the First Order here, which was a very good thing, but that didn’t mean this was a safe place for a rebel like her to be. 

Through the crowd, she spotted the back of someone’s head that metaphorically slapped her in the face with its familiarity. “Poe?” She whispered as she squinted at the familiar head of black curls. The man in question turned and allowed Rose to get a look at his face. “Poe!” 

the masquerade was only a few days away, rebellion working full force to make use of the opportunity that it gave. iden needed to keep her head down. her encounter with vader had left her more shaken than she was willing to admit, not talking about it beyond the most factual version possible given she’d had no choice but to go to the medbay. the fact that she and dio had both gotten out there... it still doesn’t entirely make sense. a part of her wondered if he had wanted her to get away, or if she’d just really gotten that lucky with her droid’s shock prod. she had been ready to die, whether by his hand, or forcing someone else to do it so that she didn’t risk breaking and giving away any information.

still, iden wondered if it made others more suspicious. there had been rumors, after she’d survived the death star –– that she was secretly force-sensitive, that she’d known ahead of time somehow. people didn’t like what they couldn’t explain.

sitting on top of a supply crate and staring out at the beautiful, endless void of space next to del had forced a painful realization upon iden –– on top of the numerous that she had already endured in the last hours. everything that she had fought for over the course of her entire life had been a lie. the empire that she thought she knew was gone. it cared more about power and control than taking care of its citizens, utilizing fear and destruction and chaos to get it. chaos was one of the many things that it had criticized the rebellion for, and yet now, it was worse. but the truth needed to be out there. someone had to know, even if it meant that the rebels were just going to throw the both of them into sunspot prison for the rest of their lives.

public speaking was something that she had been forced to get comfortable with after the time spent undercover with the dreamers, or so she thought. but there was nothing more nerve wracking than the message that she now had to record, knowing there was a good chance it would be the end of both herself and the last person that she could truly trust.

“this is iden versio of the imperial raider corvus, sending a general distress call to the rebel alliance. we surrender.”

“ Dammit, ”  Rey muttered as they attempted to rev the engines once more with still no success. “ Still nothing, ”  they called out to Poe, who was momentarily blocked from view by the open paneling of the ship,  “ Maybe the issue with with the compressor’s connectors ?  Do we still have those spares lying around ? ”