03 | eden's elite

"THIS INFORMATION IS VITAL. THANK YOU."

VELCHEN, EDEN-

The planet of Eden was a place that Kyra absolutely despised. It was a place full of dripping and lavish riches, a place where the lowest of the low and the richest of the rich (more often than not these two groups being the same people) could run away from all of their problems.

It was a planet filled with glittering and fake beauty, everything artificially sculpted down to the bone to look like a pristine and perfect palace. Gold and silver seemed to line every building and every sign that Kyra came across as she took a taxi across the main city, Velchen, to her desired location. Kyra hated every second that she stared at the dazzling view, every second she spent staring out at the riches of this planet, a second of her time wasted.

But she was here for a mission- and a solo one at that.

Her mother had assigned her the mission of gathering more intel from a source on Eden, a mercenary who seemed to always play on the wrong side of the tracks for the right people. Those people being the Resistance and individual fighter cell groups like Kyra and Alora, that was.

But unfortunately for Kyra, there was only one place to meet with this informant- and it was at the most lavish Empire party of the year, a fundraiser to bring in more money from the elite and powerful. The young woman was sure that the "fundraiser" itself would have no problem getting millions upon millions of credits towards the Empire, the lavish higher-ups wanting to maintain their status and power within the galaxy. And if the Empire was the way to go to ensure they stayed in their comfortable little bubbles, well, then they would do whatever it took.

Hearing  the taxi roar to a stop, the droid in the front requesting payment, Kyra shook herself out of the disgust that was so obviously evident inside of her eyes, dropping a couple of credits into the droid's hand before sliding out of the transport. She took a deep breath in as she pushed back the delicately curled dark locks of hair that had been arranged into a sort of half up half down fashion. Her hair was rather heavy in that moment, the curls that were up swirling around the top of her head a large weight, a moon clip being fastened to the intricate design, small stars speckled throughout the smaller curls at the top of her head. 

In fact, her entire outfit was rather heavy as she moved up the large set of stairs that would lead her to the fundraiser. Kyra was dressed up in a sparkling silver dress that extended all the way to the floor, a large slit riding up to about her knee on the left side offering the young woman some freedom. Her back was left free to the wind, the glittering dress offering no protection from the cool chilly breeze that blew through the Edonian city. A matching bracelet and clutch were the accompaniments to the dress, fully setting in stone the appearance of one of the upper elite that Eden was so renowned for.

Oh, and one couldn't forget about the rather large four inch heels that were placed on Kyra's feet, the ink black shoes speckled with silver to represent the stars in the night sky.

She looked like the entire sky at midnight, ablaze like a bright star that would always guide the way home for any lost traveler in the galaxy. Kyra looked like the true daughter of a princess like her mother was (and still technically continued to be) in that moment, and she had never hated anything more with a passion than her attire on that cursed planet.

Finding herself at the top of the stairs, Kyra took a final deep breath in before grabbing the small invitation that she had "received" from their informant, getting it scanned by one of the security men at the doors before proceeding. They had done no security checks on her,Kyra convincing them both that there really was no need for them to convince a young woman like her for any weapons.

Oh, how naive they were.

Stepping foot into the party, Kyra found herself in an even more lavish atmosphere than the one she had been in outside. Everything in here was ruby red and onyx black, small increments of a grey that reminded the young woman of the standard Empire uniforms blended in with the party atmosphere. The Empire's presence was obvious here, from the color palette to the many higher ups inside of the regime just waltzing around like this was no big deal- like there wasn't an infiltrator in their ranks.

It all baffled the young Ceydea, Kyra unable to comprehend how all of this could exist inside of a galaxy that was filled with so much pain and suffering. Here these people were, acting as if there was nothing wrong, that death and despair didn't round every corner outside of this party and this planet. And Kyra hated every second of it.

Scanning the party, Kyra tried to find any viable exits in case of a hasty escape, only finding a dance floor in the center of the ballroom that had many Empire couples and lavish residents of Eden already ballroom dancing inside, the soft music in the background an encouragement to their prancing. Kyra, however, was looking for something else.

A someone.

That someone being named Bex Elin.

"Bex." Kyra spotted the woman in their designated meeting place inside of the party, the familiar curled mop of hair that her mother described coming into view rather quickly. Watching the mercenary turn around, the woman gave Kyra a once over (with some admiration and what Kyra wanted to say was a bit of longing and surprise in her eyes) before fully recognizing who stood in front of her- a princess and a star walking the earth.

"Fallon." The young woman held out her hand for Kyra to shake, the mercenary a whole lot younger than she had expected. Bex had come dripping in a sweet golden honey dress, contrasting with Kyra's silver quite nicely. Her short pixie cut curls were unkempt, long dangling gold earrings displaying a sense of wealth and nobility. She looked like a ray of the sun, walking straight out of the bright shine with a radiant (and obviously fake) smile plastered on her face. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You know, there are whispers of what you can do across the galaxy. I'd wanna see that in action sometime."

Giving a small smile as Kyra plucked a champagne flute off of a passerby droid, she laughed as she took a sip, eyeing the crowd as she did so. She was ensuring that their conversation would fall on no ears but their own- because if that would happen, disasters would only ensue. They had to appear as if they were two fledgelings in the elite world of Eden, drowning in riches that their families had provided for them. Both women knew the truth about what they were doing, and what pretend world that they were living in.

They were playing a game of charades, and luckily, neither of them had gotten caught yet.

"Come out into the world, and I'll give you a run for your money, Bex." The young woman teased, earning a hearty laugh from the mercenary by her side. Raising her champagne flute as greeting at an Empire general and his wife who passed by her with a rather large smile on his face (which slightly disgusted the young Ceydea), Kyra continued to try and smile as they whispered their words of the conversation. "All pleasantries aside, you do know what I'm here for. And I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of this party and off of this planet as quickly as possible." Turning to finish her small flute, Kyra placed the glass on another waiter's tray, watching them pass by quickly.

"Eden most certainly isn't for everyone." Bex agreed, reaching into her own clutch that shone a deep gold, a small black hard drive being handed over between their hands, the exchange over almost as quickly as it had begun. "There's all the information I could get from the Empire databases on what you wanted. Although I'm not too sure what you two want with the Jedi." She whispered, her voice dropping a couple of octaves as they spoke.

"More than you could possibly know." Kyra whispered back, trying to conceal the fact that her mother hadn't told her what information exactly she had been looking for. It was a surprise that it was about the Jedi, but the young woman knew that whatever her mother was after- for whatever reason, it meant that it was important.

Well, important enough to risk Kyra being out in the open and frollicking around at an Empire party.

"Thank you so much, Bex." Kyra reached out to squeeze the other young woman's hand, seeing a small and genuine smile sprout on the mercenary's face as Bex watched Kyra slip the drive into her clutch, now safely in the hands of her client. "This is going to help turn the galaxy onto the right path. The darkness that has been plaguing us will be extinguished because of this."

"Well, that is the hope." The young mercenary winked, squeezing Kyra's hand back as she gave a cheekier smile. "After all, I wouldn't be putting my ass on the line for you two idiots if there wasn't something to come out of it at the end of the day." Bex sighed, smoothing down the front edges of her dress as she plastered on the fake smile she was so accustomed to wearing while upon Eden. "Well, if you ever need anymore intel again, or any sort of help out there, just call me. You know my channel."

Kyra watched as the young woman waltzed away and melted back in the crowd, already most likely starting to gather more intel from the drunken party goers and Empire elite for her to use against them. Looking deep into her clutch, Kyra stared back down at the hard drive, a heavy exhale releasing itself from her mouth.

"What's in there that's so possibly important?" A voice from behind Kyra questioned, the startled young woman turning around to see a rather familiar Resistance pilot peeking over her shoulder, almost about the same height as her in her heels. It was the one that she had encountered on Batuu- the one that knew about her secret that she was hiding from the entire galaxy.

Oh, this party couldn't get possibly worse.

"That, I'm afraid-" Kyra pushed another piece of her curled hair out of her face as  the clutch clasped shut, a peeved look already coming to mold her expression into one of annoyance. "Is none of your concern, now is it?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow as she tried to figure out a way out of the conversation. There wasn't an exit nearby, and she would have to cut through the crowds of dancing Edonians to escape. "But a question for you, how did you find me here?  And how did you get an invitation?"

"Well, unlike you, I'm an open book. A certain little orange friend of yours might've helped me get a lead on your location." The young Resistance pilot smiled, a sparkle in his eyes that intrigued Kyra igniting as he turned to stand in front of her. "Goes by the name of Maz Kanata?"

"Still doesn't explain how you got here, pilot."

"Well, you have your secrets, I suppose I can keep mine, Space Girl." Poe retorted, coming up with a nickname for the young woman, seeing a surprised look fall upon her face. "What? You didn't think that I would notice the fact that you literally came dressed up here as the night sky? I might be dumb enough to let you get away from me once, but I'm not a dunce." He gave Kyra a once over, a little but entranced by her outfit. The sparkling silver dress made her look like a fiery shooting star, like one of the ones that his mother had pointed out to him while flying across the galaxy together when he was learning how to pilot an X-Wing.

The music behind them began a slow and steady song, Kyra's eyes still focused on the dance floor and the possible opportunities to escape, not focused on the conversation at hand. But, before she knew what was going on around her, Poe had pulled her in close, dragging her to the dance floor before she could even protest.  It was a way to keep the young woman within his sights, the Resistance pilot supposed, and it forced a conversation between them.

Immediately, his hand found its place wrapped around the small of her back, the other locked tightly embraced with her free hand. Her other one was placed upon his shoulder, the young woman looking annoyed as they began to dance to the music that was playing softly behind them.

"What are you doing here?" The words escaped Kyra's lips through gritted teeth, a fake smile plastered on her face as her hands were interlinked with the Resistance pilot's. If he made any sort of mistake, said anything that was against the carefully crafted personality that Kyra had created for herself- her cover would be blown. All of the lies about the riches and relations to higher ups in the Empire would come toppling down on her- and most likely lead to her death.

"Last I heard, it wasn't illegal to get out into the world." The pilot snidely commented, seeing the young woman roll her eyes. "Besides, Space Girl, you're quite an interesting person yourself." He kept in tempo with the beat as he spoke, following the moves of all of the other Empire-sympathizers and elite around him. He tried to maintain eye contact with the young woman as they danced, somewhat entranced by her dark eyes that almost reminded him of the dark skies in which the stars hung in.

"Is that so?" Kyra arched an eyebrow, somewhat amused at the information that she was being given about herself. There was nothing (in her mind at least) that was all too special about her. In this part of the galaxy- well, in most parts of the galaxy- she was a nobody. A whisper and a rumor, someone who wasn't even supposed to exist.

She was like a fairytale that mothers would tell their children at night to keep hope aflame in their hearts, speaking of a savior and someone special enough to stop the Empire and the Sith. A legend, a superhero in her own right, created to save the day and turn the galaxy back on its original path of light, straying away from the darkness that had consumed them like a monstrous shadow of desperation and fear.

"Of course." He cracked a small smile as he watched the young woman grow curious, dancing on rhythm with the music that was playing in the background. Poe had to give her one thing- the young woman was a good dance partner- one of the better ones he had ever been with, in fact.  Pulling her in closer, Poe tried to keep the next pieces of information close between them two. "Part of the duo Soterios, a Force sensitive individual, and a lightsaber wielder- quite uncommon to see in these parts."

Her plastered on smile sort of falling, Kyra felt the music swell, indicating a spin, letting the Resistance pilot lead her as the world became blurry and spun in front of her. "What do you want from me?" She asked as her free hand reconnected with his, her eyes turning away from him as she continued to dance through the center of the ballroom floor.

Keeping her eyes on the situation around her, the young woman tried to remain calm. She could feel the familiarity of her lightsaber hilt strapped against her left leg in case of a need of a weapon, a blaster pressed against the back of her dress, hidden just below the backless portion of her sparkling silver dress. Both weapons were there and ready if needed- but Kyra wasn't too sure yet if it was necessary.

"Your help." There was a slight desperation inside of Poe's voice, as if he had to get this conversation right. He had to get her to come with him, to help revitalize the Resistance and help them defeat the Empire. "I know you already do so in the shadows. There's no way that you couldn't. There are missions from your history and the Resistance's history that overlap too many times for it to be a coincidence."

"What if they are only that, just coincidences?" Kyra questioned, feeling her partner and her glide across the floor, moving at quite a quick pace as the tempo continued to rise. "And besides, Vivus and I are doing just fine without your help. We don't need the Resistance to come and fight our battles for us. We have our own plans and our own needs, and those come before the Resistance's, pilot."

Hearing a sigh escape the young man's lips, Kyra gave an exaggerated eye roll as her fake smile fell off of her face, the interaction growing a tad more annoying with every second. She knew the rules that had been laid out by her and her mother- they didn't need anyone else to help them. The two of them knew what they had to do, and they did it just fine. The Resistance didn't need to stick their nose into their business.

Kyra had thought Batuu was bad enough, but this? This was much worse. Waltzing and galavanting around on Eden with a Resistance member attached to her waist was quite possibly the worst thing in the world. She was here to grab the hard drive of information from Bex and get the hell out- ensuring that her identity wouldn't be exposed to the world longer than it needed to be. And, of course, like last time, this Resistance pilot was storming in and screwing everything up for her.

"Please, the name's Poe Dameron." The young pilot sighed, deciding to give a name to the face that had been tracking Kyra down. "I figure if we're this close and personal-" He made a small gesture with his head to indicate the fact that they were dance partners, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he did so. "Might as well call me by my name and not by Resistance pilot, or you."

There was a pause as the two continued dancing, Poe looking at Kyra expectantly. The young woman, who was almost too far off into her thoughts about the young man and her new judgements about him now that he had given his name, looked back at him, seeing his expression. Kyra let out a small laugh when she saw the look on his face, shaking her head as they continued to waltz.

"Oh, Poe, you didn't just expect me to give you my name back in return?" She asked, clicking her tongue in an almost teasing manner. Her eyes moving away from where they had fallen upon Poe, Kyra watched the room around her, trying to seize herself an opportunity to escape and meld back into the shadows. The song was nearing its end, which meant that her freedom was close at hand. "See, Dameron, that sort of information has to be earned. And I'm afraid that tracking a girl halfway across a galaxy isn't going to get you-"

Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes fell upon someone watching her dance from the shadows. Their eyes glowed a soft yellow, their figure dark and cloaked in the corner of the room. Kyra could only see their hands, which were folded calmly in front of their body, and the bare outline of their face.

But it didn't take long for the woman to figure out exactly who that person was.

Luke Skywalker.

Swallowing a breath of air, Kyra tried not to choke on the now ever present fear that she was feeling in her body, hearing the song's final crescendo begin. She had to remain calm, to trust herself and the disguise that she had built for herself- both in the present and in the Force. Dropping her hands from Poe's hold, Kyra quickly tried to turn away from him, her eyes tearing themselves away from where she saw the Sith lord father of hers watching her from the corner.

She could swear that she could still feel his beaded light brown and gold eyes staring into her, almost sensing as if something wasn't right with the young woman. Kyra wasn't sure how long she could hold up her facade in the face of the intimidating figure, especially given the already frustrating and exhausting conversation taking place in front of her with the Resistance pilot.

All Kyra knew was that she had to get out of the Edonidan party.

Now.

Moving to turn away from Poe, Kyra tried to find a new place for her to meld back into the crowds, never to be seen by Luke or Poe again. But, unfortunately for her, the young Resistance pilot grabbed her right upper arm as she whirled around in an attempt to escape, curious as to why she was trying to leave so soon. "Hey, where are you going? The song-" Poe stopped, seeing the fear in Kyra's eyes as she looked past him and into a dark corner of the ballroom of the Edonian building, the young man turning to try and see what she was looking at.

Noting that Poe was turning to try and find out what had made her so afraid, so nervous in that moment, Kyra took it as her opportunity to escape the encounter that she was in. She wrenched his hand off of her arm, giving one last look back as she walked off of the ballroom floor, blending back into the crowds of the elite.

Feeling her heart pound in her chest, Kyra tried to shrink herself down and make herself seem like a nobody once again, snatching another champagne flute off of a nearby server's tray. She started to drink the alcohol in rather large inclements to calm her racing mind, finding that there was nothing to ease her anxiety in that moment.

Sure, she had her lightsaber and weapons, but against a Sith Lord? Those two weapons combined would mean nothing. The man would probably tear her to shreds before she could even ignite the ice pale blue blade that had fallen into her hands. And Kyra most certainly did not want to risk her own life- and a confrontation with a Sith Lord- today.

Daring to look back behind her, now deep in the crowd, Kyra could barely make out the abandoned Poe on the dance floor, unable to find the man that she had been so scared by. The Resistance pilot was left empty-handed with a cold trail again, and the young woman could see a hint of frustration build in his eyes as he couldn't find the woman that was shimmering like a bright star inside of the crowd.

Kyra gave a small exhale of relief as she had shaken the Resistance pilot that seemed so keen on following her like a puppy begging for treats from their master, trying to entice her to the Resistance instead of a dog begging for treats. Now all she had to do was avoid a conversation with her father- if he was even pursuing her.

Looking around the room, Kyra tried to see if she could spot Bex inside of the crowd again, hoping a familiar face would guide her way towards the exits. But, unfortunately for the young woman, Bex was as good as gone. She would have to figure out her own way out of here- and not make it too obvious that she was trying to leave.

Giving a final gulp of her drink, the young Ceydea left it on one of the floating tables near the front of the party, accidentally stumbling into one of the royals as she did so. Kyra apologized to the man as she watched him mumble curses as her, the young woman not caring who she hurt as long as she escaped. She would never have to see any of these people again anyways.

Kyra could see her freedom now as she weaved throughout the crowds, the cool breeze breaking through the stuffy Empire party's atmosphere, the room thick with tension as she tried to escape. Shoving her way through the final groupings of Edonians and Empire personnel, she burst out of the party, feeling the fresh air fill up her lungs, instantly calming her nerves. All of her facades dropped away immediately, the young woman on a mission to save the galaxy coming back to light, the fake riches and royalty story that she had portrayed for the evening shed- along with any protection from the Force. Scrambling down the stairs, clutch held tightly, Kyra tried to keep some composure as she saw another taxi transport waiting outside the building- almost as if it was waiting for her.

"Hey! Put your hands up and freeze!" A voice called out from the top of the stairs, someone finally catching onto the fact that maybe someone that wasn't allowed to be in the party was escaping. "In the name of the Empire I order you to freeze!" They threatened, Kyra groaning as she thought about her options at this very moment.

If the man stalled her for long enough, her father could come out here and find her, effectively ruining any sort of plans her and her mother had for their futures and the galaxy. But if she fought back- either with the Force or her blaster that was itching to be used, Kyra would make more of a commotion at the party.

Honestly, all things considered, neither one was a good look for the young Ceydea.

But considering one left with her life and one left with her inevitable capture and confrontation with her father, Kyra knew what she had to do. Quickly reaching for the blaster in the back of her dress with one hand, the young woman watched as the security personnel began to fire shots at her and her escape car. Feeling the cold grip of a blaster in her hand, she pulled, hard, revealing her own weapon to fight back.

Shots were fired in the exchange, Kyra out to more immobilize than kill- which seemed to be the exact opposite of what the Empire was doing. Continuing to fire off shots, the young woman was able to get one of the security guards down- a small success considering what came next.

An excellently timed shot took her blaster straight out of her hand, the young woman basically weaponless ( because the lightsaber would be way too obvious and too hard to access in this moment) as she stared down the enemy. And the enemy wasted no time to fire again, a dead center shot aimed for Kyra's heart.

There was no time to react in that moment other than with pure instinct. Closing her eyes and reaching out with her right hand, Kyra felt the familiar tug and hum of the Force as all her defenses lowered, the young Ceydea just telling the mythical force to freeze the time of the blaster, to let her live with the opportunity to escape.

Hearing no shot come straight for her, Kyra opened her eyes again, seeing the laser red blaster shot frozen in space, leaving a perplexed security personnel man up at the top of the stairs. Another movement of her hand led the security man to unconsciousness, a little trick she had been told to use by Maz coming in handy in that moment.

The young woman could now escape, opting for that option as she wrenched open the door to the transport, rattling off the location of where her ship was inside of the Edonian docking bays. Kyra wanted to get out of this wretched place as soon as possible, especially with the ruckus she had just caused.

The transport jolted off with a quick start, Kyra giving one last look to the outside of the  party she had left in ruins, a blaster shot still frozen in time and two Empire men immobilized. People were starting to take notice, Stormtroopers being called in from close by on Eden, a dark figure lurking in the shadows of their presence, observing the shot stuck in time.

As Kyra fled the scene, her father finally figured out that a Force user who was supposed to be dead was very much, in fact, alive.

And he would do whatever it took to find them.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

hello hello everyone and welcome back!!

I know I just updated this book, but honestly, I've had this idea in my brain for a while and it was too good just not to share!

the whole party scene was something I've never done / explored like this in a book, so I figured that it was worth a shot!

also, you might've seen some familiar faces pop up in this one! the first was bex elin, my new rey oc !! this whole planet was actually made up for her story so I hope y'all enjoy it a lot and go check that one out hehe

alrighty, I think that's everything, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one!!