The column of crisp, snowy Stormtroopers filed from the ominous black-winged ship in double-time. Once they'd cleared the ramp, they peeled off left and right, forming an imposing corridor. There was a thick moment of complete silence, and Dela glanced at her grandmother's weathered face. The old woman kept her eyes on the Stormtroopers. "I love you, Dela," she said very softly.

Dela's heart clenched and her gut twisted in horror. She'd lived with her grandmother for eighteen of her twenty years, and this was the first time she'd ever heard her say those words. Of course, she knew the love was there, but it just wasn't something that either of them had ever spoken. Until now. She wanted to return the sentiment, but she saw her grandmother's eyes grow wide with fear and turned her own attention back to the scene unfolding before them.

A dark figure appeared and descended from the ship with purposeful strides. He was clad in black from head to toe, the tails of his long cloak billowing out behind him, deep hood drawn over his head, face concealed behind a black metallic mask. Unlike the troopers who had preceded him, his journey down the ramp was all but silent, yet when the soles of his boots came to rest on the soil of Dela's planet, she felt the atmosphere surge with a powerful and dreadful force like nothing she'd ever felt before. The fine hairs on her arms and at the back of her neck stood at attention as the tingle of goosebumps rippled across her skin. "Kylo Ren," she whispered to herself.

"Shhh," her grandmother reprimanded, taking Dela's smooth hand into her gnarled one. "Stay silent and clear your mind, child."

"Clear my mind?" Dela whispered. "How am I supposed to - ?"

"Be still and do as I say!" hissed the older woman as she tightened her grip on Dela's hand. "Do not look at him."

Instinctively, Dela glanced at Kylo Ren and felt the blood drain from her face. He had waded into the small gathering of curious onlookers, two of his Stormtroopers flanking him, but his progress had come to an abrupt halt about twenty meters away. He was motionless, save the ends of his cloak swirling in the gentle updraft created by the ship's silently idling engines. His hooded head was turned to the right, in the direction that Dela and her grandmother stood, and was slightly cocked to one side in a position that suggested curiosity and interest. Despite being obscured by the sleek, black metal of his mask, Dela could feel his gaze on her, and despite her grandmother's insistent tug on her hand, she could not force herself to look away.

Kylo Ren remained where he was, but slowly raised one arm and beckoned Dela with his black-gloved hand. She started to take a step, but her grandmother now had both hands wrapped around her arm, fighting to keep her by her side. "Dela!" she pleaded through clenched teeth. "No!"

Dela stopped, obeying her grandmother but still entranced by Kylo Ren's spell. When he saw that his summon had been thwarted, he reached his hand out with more determination, slowly opening and closing his fingers, and Dela felt, for the first time, the seductive power of the Dark Side. The surprise of it made her gasp. She'd been expecting pain, but had instead felt an intense sensation of ecstasy ripple through the most sensitive areas of her body. The feeling subsided as Kylo Ren's arm relaxed, but when he reached out again, it came back twice as strong, concentrated deep inside of her, and she couldn't help the wanton moan that the sensation drew from her throat. Desperately she tore free from her grandmother's grasp and made her way to the source of her pleasure. The crowd of people about her were nothing. The ship, the Stormtroopers, the stars above and the soil below were all nothing. She even lost all awareness of her own self. She didn't care if he meant to kill her, if he meant to kill them all. Life as she'd experienced it up until that point seemed a hazy distant dream. It wasn't real. He was real. He was everything. She had to be near him. With him.

Up close he was as much a mystery as from a distance. There was no way to decipher the being beneath the mask at all. But Dela could feel the powerful draw of his aura pulsing in the air around them. She was out of breath, though she could not understand why.

"What is your name?" Kylo Ren inquired. His was a deep, liquid voice, laced with the raspy, robotic influence of the his mask's breathing mechanism.

"I'm called Dela," replied Dela softly. Her own breathing was starting to regulate now, and though she still found herself intrigued by the presence of the infamous leader of the First Order, she felt as though she were emerging from a fog. The people in the crowd came back into focus, the white armour of the Stormtroopers stood out against the mundane colors of her planet. She was aware of her grandmother standing stooped and worried off to her left.

"Dela," repeated Kylo Ren as though he were tasting the name for the first time and had found it exquisite.

A moment of silence hung between them, the onlookers dared not stir or make a sound, and Dela felt herself returning even more to normal. Fear began to rise up where there had once been desire and intrigue. What had happened to her? She glanced down at the ground, where her sandaled feet were smudged with mud. She took a step backward, eager now to retreat, desperate to return to her grandmother's side. Leave, she thought, wishing she somehow had even a fraction of the power of Kylo Ren so that she could will him to do her bidding. Leave us alone. Go back to wherever it is you came from. She took another step. Then another. He wasn't stopping her, so she turned to flee and ran right into two Stormtroopers who had closed in to block her path.

"Ah, ah, ahhh," childed Kylo Ren as the troopers each took hold of one of her elbows and spun her around to face him again. He raised his head and seemed to survey the rest of the people around them, then brought his masked face close to hers. "Your wish is my command, fair Dela," he said. "I shall leave your planet in peace. But you are coming with me."

"No!" Dela struggled in the grasp of the Stormtroopers, but they seemed to hardly notice.

Kylo Ren straightened up, took one last appraising glance at the planet he'd decided to spare, then turned on his heel, the tail of his black cloak fluttering behind him, and walked back through the assembly of Stormtroopers, up the ramp, and into his ship.

Dela, struggling with all of her might, was dragged along the same route and as she was escorted up the ramp, the rest of the Stormtroopers closed ranks and filed in behind her, their staccato steps all but drowning out her grandmother's feeble, distant cries.