CHAPTER 32
NO HARM, NO FOUL

THE last thing Raena wanted after the long couple of days she had endured was to be woken by a loud knock on her door. She practically crawled herself out of bed, venturing into the dark room to flip on a light switch. Raena then unlocked her bedroom door and it slid open to reveal a bright-eyed Gerardo. Raena blinked rapidly. "What?" She asked lazily, leaning her back on the door frame and wiping the drool from her chin.

Gerardo raised a brow. "You're wanted at a meeting in fifteen."

"Seriously?" She let out a loud groan, stretching out her arms slowly. Raena was close to asking if the meeting was mandatory, but after realizing this would be another chance to get first-hand information to return to Leia, she decided it was probably best to go. "Okay," she sighed, "I'll be there."

Gerardo nodded his head before leaving to go to the meeting. Raena ran a hand through her tangled hair. As much as she needed a shower right now, she knew there was no time, and the last thing she wanted was to use the communal bathrooms again. Raena turned to close her door again, but not before glancing to see the commander walking past her quarters. His eyes caught her own as the door slid closed.

"This mission is going to kill me," she muttered to herself, "metaphorically, of course."

Raena wrapped her hair in a quick braid, allowing it to dangle across her back. She tugged on a pair of black pants, along with her overused boots. She took a few minutes to put on a red button-up, seeing as she kept mismatching the buttons. Raena thought about wearing her old officer cap, but after deciding that it still looked ridiculous, she finished off her outfit with her regular commanding officer jacket.

She was sure the bags under her eyes were dark and said more about her mood than talking. It seemed that the more she stayed in the First Order, the less sleep she got. Raena walked down a few corridors to the conference room, realizing it to be full already. It wasn't like she was late. Why did it seem like they were all waiting for her?

"Finally," General Hux snapped as Raena entered.

Raena checked the time on the wall. "I'm early," she stated, though it came out as a question.

No one wanted to answer her. Kylo sat at the head of the conference table, slouching in his chair like a small child. Hux stood beside him with his hands behind his back. To Kylo's left sat Captain Phasma, and right next to Phasma was an empty seat. The room was full of lieutenants and sergeants, and Raena walked over to take the empty sit in between Phasma and Gerardo. "I thought you died," Phasma said in her usual electronic voice. Everyone in the room turned to look at the captain.

"Join the club," Raena muttered as she sat down. She looked at the time again. "I believe it's time to start."

Kylo's eyes were trained on her as General Hux began to speak. She didn't want to look, but it was dreadfully hard when all she could feel was his dark eyes resting on her and only her. She gritted her teeth. Raena's vision finally met his, and she narrowed her eyes in his direction. As she did this, Kylo's expression softened, and he turned away. Gerardo watched the exchange with a raised brow, but never questioned it out loud.

"Crait is a desolate planet." Hux's booming voice alerted Raena back to the meeting. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Raena quickly began recording with the comlink in her ear. "It has no spaceports or orbital stations. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean it shouldn't be on our radar. Not only do empty planets make the best hiding spots, but Crait is very much known to the Resistance."

A cadet raised her hand to ask a question. Hux pointed for her to speak. "Excuse me, sir, but what is the importance of Crait to the Resistance?"

The general nodded, flickering his eyes to an awkwardly quiet Kylo for a moment. "Long ago, the early rebellion against the Empire established a secret outpost on the northern portion of Crait. This large outpost still lies on the planet."

The comlink was causing an itch to form in her ear, but Raena ignored it. "So you think that the remaining people left of the Resistance will be fleeing to Crait?" She asked, pretending like she didn't know the truth. "What of their other ships?"

"We blasted them into oblivion," Kylo muttered, slowly turning his head towards Raena again. She swallowed hard.

Gods, she thought, could he be anymore obnoxious?

Kylo's eyes focused on her, and soon she heard his voice inside her head saying, Work with me here.

You lost that privilege when you shoved a light saber in my chest, she responded back. Raena silently questioned how she was communicating with him; she never was able to do it mentally before. She had only been able to hear him in her mind.

Trust me, he argued.

Raena wrinkled her nose. Are you actually an idiot?

Hux furrowed his brow at the two of them staring at each other. Even Pacey, who sat at the other end of the room, noticed the odd tension. Before he could stop himself, Pacey blurted, "Is there something wrong that we don't know about?"

The cadets trained their eyes on the officer and commander. Gerardo thought the tension could be cut with a knife. Hux turned to face Kylo. "Is there something the matter, Ren?"

Raena didn't understand why he was still staring. It was making her hands sweat. Both of their glares were locked. The voices in the room were drowning out, but Raena believed she could still here them. Her narrowed eyes finally looked away, and she laced her fingers on top of the table. She looked so innocent in this situation. After all, she was the victim; not him.

"No," Kylo then replied. "It's nothing."

Raena scratched her ear, turning off the comlink.

God, it was like every word that came out of his mouth was a lie. That's all he did: lie, lie, lie. Just to get what he wanted. Raena thought she knew him well, and she was sure on what he wanted. But she was wrong this time. All Kylo wanted right then was trust, and he would get that in his usual fashion. One way or another, Raena Nhagy would trust him again, and maybe – just maybe – she could cure his soul again, and they could rebuild anew.

•••

Raena didn't know exactly what time it was, but judging from the lack of trainees in the gym, she guessed it was late. She loved using a punching bag to release all the anger she felt that day. It was her only form of relief. The way her fists would pound into the heavy, yet soft, bag caused her to imagine her wildest dreams. Those dreams usually involved Kylo Ren, but his face was the punching bag.

The sweat coating her body ran cold, due to her body overheating. Raena unwrapped the cloth around her fingers as she took a breather. She drank a large gulp of water from the bottle beside her. All she had to do now was stretch, and then she'd take a long shower and go to sleep peacefully. At this hour, there would be no one showering, luckily for her.

Raena laid on one of the mats, spreading her arms out and just doing nothing. Her chest heaved from all the exercise. She looked at the ceiling, seeing nothing but a low ceiling filled with pipes and dented black metal. After a moment of hesitation, Raena turned on her comlink once again. She kept her voice low and her mouth barely moved as she talked. "I'm so tired already," she whispered. "I don't think I was cut out for this. General, if you're listening, I want –"

The gym doors suddenly opened. Raena quickly flipped off the comlink as she sat up, eyeing the person stepping through the entrance. It was Pacey, wearing a white tank that shined bright against his dark skin, and sweat pants that were too long on his legs. Raena had never seen him outside of his uniform. Even when he was a cadet, he would come to training in another version of his uniform.

"Pacey," Raena called, waving her hand towards the male. "What are you doing here this late?"

"I could ask you the same question," Pacey replied through his heavy accent. "Mind if I join?"

Raena put out her hand for him to sit. "Make yourself comfortable, Pace."

He grinned wide, taking the empty mat right beside the assassin. Raena allowed her back to settle against the mat again as she tried lifting her legs to stretch. Pacey lifted his arms to flex his tense limbs, noticing Raena grunting from her stretching pain. "You okay?"

Raena groaned low. "Never better," she replied sarcastically.

Pacey grew a bit tired of hearing her pain-filled grunts as time went on. She clearly hadn't stretched in a long time. "Just let me do it," he sighed.

"Wait," she opened her eyes wide, "what are you –" Pacey was now kneeling at her level, bending her left leg back towards her face without warning. It came out of nowhere, causing Raena to yelp in pain. "GODS, WHAT THE –"

Pacey moved away as quickly as it happened. Raena's leg dropped to the floor with a slam, but she barely felt it. Actually, the more she shook it out, she realized it felt better. No more pain. She stared at Pacey with wide eyes. Before she could yell at him, Raena paused, realizing that Pacey had no malicious intent by the gesture. Besides, they weren't cadets or trainees anymore, competing for higher positions. Things were different now.

Not long after, the two began to laugh. Raena held a hand over her mouth, trying to suppress her giggles. "I was ready to punch you, Pace," she admitted through a fit of chuckles, "but I do feel better. Thanks."

Pacey gave her a curt nod. He smiled, but it soon faded to a serious expression, even as Raena's laughter died down. "Can I ask you something?" He paused. "It's been bothering me for some time today."

"Yeah," she said, "of course."

"Were you really okay at the meeting today?" Pacey looked at her with suspicion. "It just seemed like you and Commander Ren were about to go at it. I could practically picture you lunging over the table to punch him as it happened."

Raena's brow shot up. "Uh – yeah, we're fine." She answered cooly, sitting up from the blue mat below her. "We've never been that close."

Now, Pacey was most definitely suspicious. "Gerardo told me you guys were friends. He saw you last year talking with the commander with no helmet on – which was important at the time, because no one rarely saw him with his helmet off until now."

"We're not close anymore," she responded quickly. Raena shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal. "He ... chose something else over our friendship. It's fine. No harm, no foul."

"Really?"

Raena met Pacey's nervous stare. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to hide the truth that could easily slip from her mouth. "Really, he's just bitter I came back to my officer position after I ... It doesn't matter." Her voice trailed off with good reason. She stood up, standing at the same height as Pacey. "Kylo Ren means nothing to me. I mean, why would he?"