A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 10: The Fall

Half of me is determined to stay in these little quarters until Skywalker is found. And the other half wants to spend as much time as possible with the Knights of Ren. They aren't the most polite or friendly company, but they're honest and entertaining. Over the next three days, they get more comfortable with me around, and I've figured out the times when the refresher is most likely to be empty.

Ushar, Ap'lek and Vicrul have taken to sparring with me in the gym. I try not to let my body react when they hold me down or straddle me or grab me the wrong way. I usually out maneuver them, unless they use the Force to prevent my punches from landing, or throw my leg away from their guts. It's given me great practice for Rey and Skywalker.

Just as I start to adjust to life on the Buzzard, we get a lead. The ship has been docked at some obscure charging station in orbit around a moon in the outer rim for sixteen hours. The fuel cells are just about finished when Allegiant General Hux contacts the Buzzard and sends coordinates for a planet where Rey and Skywalker's ship is currently docked. Vicrul paces the hull, grumbling with impatience until the fuel cells are fully charged.

It takes less than a minute for Kuruk to get the Buzzard back into hyperspace and toward the planet. I take a seat on the bench in the hull as the Knights get their weapons and gear ready. They're walking back and forth, shouting at each other, grunting with excitement. They seem to enjoy their leisure time, but this is obviously what they live for. A good fight. I can't say I blame them.

Someone sits down a few feet away from me, but I'm distracted by an article I found on the holonet about lightsabers to pay much attention. A gentle pressure comes down on the foot of my boot, a brushing of light weight. I glance down with a frown. Then my heart leaps to my throat. A scream bursts out of my lungs and I kick my foot out before jumping up onto the bench.

A rat! There was a fucking rat on my boot!

Whoever is next to me lets out a high pitched yell, and in a wild moment of panic and adrenaline, I latch onto him and he latches onto me. We watch the rat fly through the air and then scurry back toward us. A rope of a tail drags across the floor and little fangs stick out of its mouth. Our shouts are still echoing around the hull. I lift my feet off the bench seat as the nasty little creature gets closer, and the man holding me stumbles back toward the end of the bench to get away.

I recover first, snapping back into my body like a rubber band. I push the man away from me and pull out my blaster, ending the disgusting little demon's life on the spot. It collapses on the floor in front of the bench with a spray of blood.

My heart is still pounding, and my breath comes shallow and fast. The man next to me clears his throat. I look over to see my hand gripped tight around Cardo's bicep. It was his arms I leapt into. Him that screamed with me and jumped away from the rat. I release my hold on him, and watch his face flush with embarrassment. I imagine mine is even darker than his. There's a thick silence between us as we realize what we both just did.

We sit back down on the bench as a few other knights come running out from our yells. It's only thanks to my voice modulator that they didn't hear a high pitched screech come out of my mouth. They see the bloody lump of ugly brown fur on the floor, and laugh. But Cardo still sits stiffly next to me, catching his breath.

"Don't like rats," He mumbles breathily.

"Yeah." I agree.

After a long moment, he gets up and cleans the rat guts up off the floor and tosses the remains down the trash chute. Without saying anything else, he disappears into the armory. For the first time since coming on this ship, my slip up doesn't scare me. There's no fucking way Cardo is telling a single soul what just happened. A couple of pussies, scared of a rodent.