In Time Gone By...

~ 5 ~

The dreams came and went, cropping up again when it seemed like it was getting better. Typical really... Bailee tried her hardest not to let them infect her work too deeply, her life, and did so successfully most of the time. But they were still there in the back of her mind sometimes, eating away at her. 

Still, regardless of all of that, of all that had happened before, there were things to get on with, and thank stars there were. It wasn't that she wanted work to consume everything, certainly not like the general let it. But it worked well enough as a distraction. 

Speaking of the general, he hadn't questioned her any further on any of it, not that he was expected to. He continued on as usual, civil enough and never having enough time to stop. In a way, that suited her, business as usual, because despite all of the fears, the images playing on an incessant loop, there wasn't a single person who could understand. 

Certainly, no one knew about her past life, especially not the general, but not even Grace. A friend though she was there was no telling what could happen if she did: so loyal to the Order, academy bred, in fact, and it wasn't worth the worrying over. Besides, knowing her best friend, even if she didn't immediately turn her in, she was sure to let it slip to someone she shouldn't, bless her. 

Some battles, in the grand scheme of things, were easier to just fight alone. 

If anyone was going to tell them, tell the general, it would be her. It was a constant battle, back and forth in her head, and she was sure to crack sooner or later.

She pushed these lonely thoughts aside as she set up in one of the meeting rooms, sitting at the end of the table and trying to connect her datapad to the projections around the room. All of the other documents were perfectly grouped together and ready, but, alas, she had never been an expert at technology when it packed in. 

Her mutterings and curses were interrupted by the opening of the door, letting in, annoyingly, Kylo Ren. He looked to her, standing in the doorway, then made his way along the gleaming table. 

"Bailee Latt." he said as he walked, a chill growing closer as he did so, darkness descending. "Good morning."  

She looked back down at her datapad. "Sir..."

He stopped by her side, looking down on her, studying her it seemed. 

"You're early, sir," she muttered in the silence, fiddling with the screen built into the table. "For the strategist meeting. It's not for another 15 minutes."

He smiled a little, but not smugly. "I know, I was just nearby and thought I'd stop off early." 

"I see." Her response was not enthusiastic nor particularly interested. And not just because she was focused on what she was doing. He had hardly left a good impression in their first meeting so she stayed appropriately cautious. 

They were quiet for a moment, Ren swivelling boredly in one of the seats beside her, creaking whenever it turned a certain way. She grit her teeth and continued on struggling, noting that he was watching everything she was doing. 

"Need a hand?" 

"Nope." 

He nodded lightly and kept on swivelling, hands folded on his lap. Again they were quiet, save from the creaking, a growing frustration filling the space between them, especially as she didn't have the authority to tell him to stop. 

The chair stilled. "Apologies." 

"Hm?" 

"For being irritating." 

She furrowed her eyebrows in a slight shock at having any kind of apology then nodded. "Surprised you even noticed..." 

"I was getting a lot of very creative insults through the old," He tapped his head. "Wavelengths."