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Who: Rey and ~~Hux~~Armitage
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: For S.S. Bloodsport.
When: Monday evening.

Hold on. [The small voice is somewhat muted at first while a communicator is being turned this way and that.] I think we’ll be able to reach others with this -

[With the communicator finally facing the right way, the image of a small girl comes into focus. Her hair is in the same style she will wear when she is older and much of her clothing is similar too.]

Isn’t your name Armitage? Can I call you Armi?

That’s not my name though… [Another voice, this one also younger and uncertain can be heard then and when the communicator shifts there is a 5 year old with sharp blue eyes and orange hair. He’s wearing a fitted uniform of an Imperial officer though the only insignia is an armband around one arm bearing the symbol of the Galactic Empire. He still has some dust on his clothes, a small cut on one cheek but his expression is determined.] I just need to find the Commandant and the fleet before they leave.

Someone will know. [Rey has the simple trust of a child, though recently her trust has been badly shaken. Being left on a remote desert planet will do that to you. However she is three or so years older than her companion and she feels the need to take charge and soothe his worries.]

If anyone can hear, we’re looking for the...Commandant? I’m also looking for Jakku. [Though she really, really doesn’t want to go back there. But her family might come back and look for her.

She takes a deep breath.] I need to go back to Jakku, but I like it better here. Armi has been really nice and I don't see very many kids in the desert.

[The nickname is sticking and there is obviously a growing affection for the small boy.]

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[Han very nearly chokes on his chicken-flavored stick when he sees the video while scrolling through the network--he recognizes that hairstyle on the girl, and the uniform and that bright hair on the boy. Oh, hell, this is one of those--augment malfunctions, isn't it?

He swallows first. Then he turns the feed on, and the first thing both children might see is an old man who might, to one or both of them, look vaguely familiar.]

Think it'd be a little hard getting from here to Jakku. [Which is a junkyard.] Who's this Commandant? I might know him. [Then again, probably not, he's never met Brendol Hux.]

[Rey is cautious of strangers and she frowns a little at his reaction.]

I need to find a way though. [As much as she hates living there.] If my family comes to look for me and I'm not there -

[Well that's just an awful thought that makes her insides squirm.]

Armi will know. I've never met or heard of a Commandant.

[What is he supposed to tell her--your family won't ever come back, and you'll grow up on that desolate junkyard planet all alone? He's not the best father there is, not by a long shot, but Han doesn't want to dash Rey's hopes like this.]

I can look for your family for you. If we can get away from this fleet somehow, anyway, I'm still working on that. [No you're not.]

Commandant's a military rank, and I know a few beings who got up to that point. I just want to know who your friend Armi's looking for, specifically.

[She feels a little like crying every time she thinks of her family. It has been several years since they left her, but she trusts they will come back. They have to, right?]

Would they be in one of these ships? I saw others. [Her heart leaps at the prospect.]

I haven't talked to him much, but - [She lowers her voice.] He's really upset and he has an owie on his cheek.

His name is Commandant Hux, from Arkanis.

[Armitage finally spoke up as he found the resolve. He didn't know who this old man was, he clearly wasn't Imperial, so he didn't think he would actually know anything.]

Who are you?

And it doesn't hurt. [He made a face at Rey's comment, having to insist on that at least.]

[ she'd been busy at the time, attending to newly acquired duties on the iskaulit, but barriss had noted the transmission and any public associated messages afterward. all things considered, the children had been easy to identify, with all she knows hux and has heard of rey, and barriss is still too much the gentle substitute teacher at the temple inside not to be worried about them. about hux especially, in that identifying uniform.

so she seeks them out later, in her usual dark shirt and skirt, her blue hood replaced with a deep purple scarf draped around her head for the day. when she finally finds them wandering, following hux's familiar presence, she pauses some distance from them and gently clears her throat to get their attention. ]

Hello, young ones. Are you doing alright on your own, there?

[Her first reaction is instinctive - she pushes Armitage behind her back and brandishes her little staff. Though the voice is kind, she has found that can be misleading. They don't have much - if anything - to steal, but that might not be what the woman is after.

Simply put, Rey does not take chances.]

Who are you?

[Alright, that is clearly one very tiny Hux. She can only assume the girl isn't actually supposed to be a kid, either. Probably.

Whatever, this is cute. She can roll with this.]

Very smart opinion
Deserts are extremely boring
◝(´◝ω◜｀)◜

They are! Except when someone tries to steal stuff from you. :(

Do you know Jakku?

[Suddenly there was a stranger coming towards them and he stumbled back as Rey pushed him, eyes wide. The Republic had been after them before, he didn't know why, he didn't know if this woman was there to hurt him now because he was lost.

He had to do something but he was frozen in place, trying to look defiant even if he would let Rey do the talking for now.]

[ careful not to step any closer, barriss passively folds her hands in front of her, projecting a distinct feeling of calm in the force. it may not work on everyone, but there's no denying the girl's presence in the force and she knows full well that she can calm down a grown hux with this, so it's worth a shot. ]

I saw your broadcast earlier and wanted to make sure you were both adjusting as well as you could to what is obviously a very strange situation. My name is Barriss. You're Armitage, right? [ yeesh hux, what did you do to deserve that as a baby? she nods at rey. ] Do you come with a name as well?

[At this age, Rey is more sensitive to the Force. She accepts the fluctuations of it naturally and thus the feeling Barriss projects reaches her easily. Slowly, she lowers her staff and pushes back some stray hair, glancing back at Armitage to make sure he's okay.]

How do you know him? He doesn't look like he knows you.

[There is less caution in her tone now.]

I'm Rey.

Yes. I don't know you though. [He didn't feel as on edge but he was still wary of this strange woman even as he stepped out from behind Rey.

He had been taught that he was going to be an Imperial officer, he was going to save the Empire from destruction so he couldn't be afraid or weak now. He stared at Barriss, trying his best not to look afraid.]

Then you have to steal from them first, of course
Never heard of it
What is it?

Well, Rey mentioned your name on the network, earlier. [ and she would never have guessed it in a million years. here, though, barriss does pause a moment. this little child of the empire is going to be surrounded by jedi if he isn't careful and while barriss trusts almost everyone not to behave terribly toward a child, there's no way of knowing how long this change will last.

it feels like her duty to make sure he feels safe here. both of them. whatever she needs to do, these younglings don't deserve to be frightened and confused. ]

But you seem very familiar. You're from Arkanis, aren't you?

[Rey wraps an arm around Armitage's shoulders, giving him support while Barriss addresses him. This woman is interesting to her. Very interesting. She seems different from others that she has encountered. They're usually pretty simple to read whereas Barriss is complex.]

He needs a first aid kit. I want to help his cuts and bruises. [The little boy had been so upset when they first encountered one another. Rey doesn't ever want to see him like that again.]

Edited 2016-10-04 04:33 (UTC)

I wouldn't want to do that unless I had no other choice.

A planet. A desert planet.

Oh? That's very kind of you

Why would you want to go to a planet that's all desert?

[The physical contact is still strange for him but he didn't pull away. He smiled when she mentioned his home planet, nodding eagerly. It wasn't a secret that he was the Commandant's son.]

Are you from Arkanis too? [He didn't move since Rey was holding him in place, rubbing at his cheek smearing dirt and dust from his hand and sleeve.]

Do you know where the Commandant went? [He didn't want to think he had been left behind but he knew no one would come for him if he had been.]

It's not right to take things.

My family left me there. I'm waiting for them to come back.

Sometimes it's fine
Robin Hood does it all the time, and he's a hero

[Wow, okay. Terrible family right there.]

They left you in a desert?
That's rather mean of them

The Commandant's not here, unfortunately.

[ she takes a step toward the two and crouches now, tilting her head to get a better look at hux's injuries. nothing serious, but she knows how she should be able to further soothe them both. ]

But I trust that you can represent him and the Empire well while you're here. Especially once Rey and I get you patched up together. [ her eyes go back to the girl with a smile. ] What do you say, Rey? Do either of you have a room around here?

Who's Robin Hood?

[Something awful happened to cause it, no doubt.]

I dunno. It sounds mean and I don't like being there, but I know they'll come back, so

I'm fine.

But you know him. That's good! [Rey smiles encouragingly for Armitage's sake, secretly hoping and praying he hasn't been left behind too. She'll be okay, she thinks, but he's -

Maybe it's just seeing someone else going through it. That bothers her more than her own experience.]

Huh? [She gives a little bounce, eyes wide.] Do you have a kit? Um... I woke up in the room down here...

[Pulling away from Armitage, she offers him her hand if he wants to take it. Then she leads the way to the room her older self had made her own.]

[Armitage's eyes went wide at her words and he tried to make his expression as serious as possible. She knew his father and he didn't want her to tell him that Armitage had just been a useless disappointment.]

I won't disappoint the Empire, I promise.

[And he would do everything he had to in order to uphold that vow. He looked at Rey, not sure if he had a room but she seemed to know where it was. He took her hand, letting her lead the way without protest.] I tripped when I was running, it was really hard to see.

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