Kylo Ren, in full uniform, mask and hood on, knocked on the door to General Hux’s brother’s room. It was still shocking that Hux had a brother whom he wanted to help. But he was willing to give it a try.
Disheveled and lacking sleep, Techie slunk out of bed and staggered over to the door, typing in the unlock code and watching it whoosh open with glassy, red-rimmed eyes. He hadn’t slept in close to five cycles now, and at any moment he was liable to be knocked over by a stray breeze of recycled air.
When he sees who it is at the door, Techie freezes.
Kylo stared at the man, frozen as well for a moment. The man did not look well, and something inside of him made him feel… Bad for the boy.
“General Hux expressed a wish for us to become acquainted,” he finally said. “Is it a bad time?”
“Ah, n-no,” he replies, unfocused gaze drifting around a spot somewhere behind Ren. “You can…come inside.” Techie shifts to press himself against the doorway, a rather nonsensical way of letting him pass.
Kylo hesitated but entered the room and looked around. He then reached out to take his helmet off. “I do not mean to intimidate you,” he said. “The General told me about your general background. I hope you’re settling in nicely?”
Techie closes the door and stumbles over to sit on the edge of his bed. “Oh, th-thank you… It’s kind of you to ask, Commander Ren.”
For a moment, he debates on whether he should be totally honest. The other techs are cold to him, he doesn’t have any friends yet, and his horrible nightmares keep him up all night.
Techie hesitates for too long; the silence turns awkward.
He let the silence stretch for a while before sighing. “There is no need to be this formal. I do apologize if I was harsh to you earlier, my wish here is to make you feel safe on the Finalizer. Please do not be afraid of me.”
“It isn’t you,” Techie confesses. “Everything is scary to me. I’m in a new place, and getting adjusted is hard. I used to live in constant terror, and I don’t….know how to switch that off!”
He hangs his head and rubs at his eyes with his palms, they’re even more red around the rims, and the dark bags more pronounced.
He looked at the man in silence for a long moment before he spoke again.
“Do you want me to teach you? I could help you learn how to meditate. It allows a person to sleep in peace, to relax, to center on here and now, and drive the fears away.”
His eyes widen with sudden hope. There’s thinly veiled anxiety on his face, as though what he’s about to agree to do will leave him defenseless. “I… Th-thank you,” Techie breathes. “What sh-should I, um, do?”
TechieHux 