The Red Squadron came to a grinding halt, floating helplessly above Yavin 4. Their engines had been crippled. Radio communications between the pilots had fallen eerily silent. The group was escorting a Republic Ambassador convoy, but those ships were long gone. After catching a glimpse of the notorious black and silver TIE Interceptor, the convoy bailed for the safety of hyperspace.
Like a firaxa stalking its wounded prey, the deadly TIE approached the Red Leader first. The distinct color and design pattern could be recognized by any Resistance fighter.
This was Kylo Ren's TIE Interceptor and no one was going to survive the encounter.
The Red Leader, Kal Nerro, cursed into his dead comlink. The sound of crackling static would have been preferable. His R5 unit wasn't responding either. His only hope at this point, was that one of the other pilots had a functional communications array. The Resistance needed to be warned about Kylo Ren… and his abilities.
Nerro's X-wing pitched starboard, refusing the pilot's commands. The Red Leader frantically tried every switch and method to bring the old fighter back online. He suppressed thoughts of his wife, worrying that he would never see her cheerful face again.
And then he felt it; a foreign presence invading his mind and sifting through his thoughts.
Nerro clenched his teeth, wincing in pain. The veteran pilot felt as though his eardrums were about to burst. A loud noise rattled the hull of his X-Wing. The entire cockpit appeared to shrink around him, as though the fighter might implode from the stress. The noises were getting louder, rattling his core. In agony, Nerro grabbed at his helmet—trying to pry it off.
"Where is she, pilot?" The mechanical hiss of Kylo Ren's voice echoed in his mind.
Nerro's seatbelt harness tightened, threatening to crush his lungs. His eyes bulged from the pressure. The Resistance pilot shook from head to toe from the torture. Nothing he did could relieve the pain.
"Who?" Nerro gritted out.
"The Jedi. Rey. Where are you hiding her?" Kylo Ren impatiently tunneled into the pilot's mind, digging much deeper. He pushed the pilot to his breaking point before trying a different tactic.
The crushing pressure stopped and the poor Resistance pilot exhaled in relief. With a 'pop' the comlinks re-opened, crackling back to life. Suddenly Nerro could hear the pilots around him, shouting in confusion over each other.
They were alive, he thought. Nerro's throat was dry and he struggled to find his voice. Before he could say anything to his squadron, a shrieking cry came over the comlinks. Over his right shoulder, Kal Nerro saw pilot Van Chijay being violently yanked out of her seat and out of the cockpit.
"Help," she cried before being sucked into the vacuum of space. Her channel went deathly silent, as the young pilot disappeared from view. Nerro's heart skipped a beat.
The pilots on his portside were next. Kylo Ren used his powers to pull them from their X-Wings, one after another.
"No, please! Stop!" The Red Leader yelled with desperation. Turning pale, he felt beyond sick. Kal Nerro closed his eyes, unable to watch as his friends floated into the darkness of space.
The TIE Interceptor maneuvered in a serpentine path, facing Nerro directly. Through tears, the Red Leader could barely make out the dark silhouette of Kylo Ren. Nerro clamped down on the controls to fire rockets and blasters, but they failed him.
"The Jedi, then… name the system," Kylo hissed. The Dark Warrior was growing tired of waiting. Nerro couldn't withstand another cerebral assault. Fortunately, Kylo Ren didn't need to take the pilot alive… he only needed the information.
Like his burning crossguard lightsaber, Kylo Ren sliced his way into the pilot's mind again. This time, the beaten pilot would show him the girl.
Kylo quickly saw a glimmer of Rey, standing off in the distance. She was talking with Leia Organa. She looked different; radiant and hopeful even. But he couldn't make out their conversation. The First Knight slithered deeper. It was the Millennium Falcon taking off with Rey at the controls. The whole Resistance was there watching, feeling energized and optimistic. Fools. He would extinguish that feeling soon enough.
There was something missing though. Kal Nerro had no idea where the Falcon was going. He was merely an observer and hadn't been present when Skywalker's location was discovered.
"I… see," Kylo Ren said, tightening the grip on the controls. "Then you are no use to me."
The black and silver Interceptor swung away from the Red Leader.
Free from the blinding pain, Nerro tried one last time to hail the Resistance. With an ominous roar, the stalking Interceptor came back around and open fired. A flash of green hit Nerro's window and the last of the Red Squadron was eliminated.
Kylo Ren slowly flew past the lifeless bodies and debris field. The incursion into the pilot's mind left him hungry. Catching a glimpse of Rey often did that to him. He reached out with the Force, hoping to find traces of their Bond.
Rey.
He waited for a response, but he couldn't feel her presence. She had been quiet for months. The girl found a way to shield herself—but how? It drove Kylo Ren crazy. It was pointless for her to resist. He reached for her again.
Rey, how many times does this need to happen? Your friends don't need to die, not like this anyway. Come find me. You'll know where. An image flickered in Kylo's mind. It was something special for Rey to see. But still, there was no answer.
This wasn't a surprise and yet it angered the Darksider. Kylo Ren would seek out every Resistance pilot; he'd slaughter every member and sympathizer. Rey would answer eventually, if only to save her friends.
Punching in the coordinates to the Finalizer, Kylo Ren abandoned the Red Squadron's graveyard.
The blue glow of hyperspace allowed the troubled Knight to sit back and think. Taking a deep breath he concentrated on Rey. He held the girl in his arms on Takodana. She felt so right, sleeping against his chest. He had her tied up in the interrogation chamber.
"To be so close… and to fail to recognize you," Kylo Ren grumbled, cursing his own arrogance. He focused on the memory of her face—those freckles, eyes and lips. Everytime he leaned in to speak, she'd turn away and expose her neck. His attention lingered on her collarbone. He was inches from the girl… how could he not remember her?
The girl had resisted his powers. But she was just a scavenger, or so he thought. And in the snow on Starkiller, Rey left him a daily reminder across his face. The girl had marked him forever, leaving no doubt about her true identity.
Rey had his admiration… along with something else. Kylo Ren would never stop looking for her.
A/N: Come say hello on tumblr - my user name is Terapid. I post plenty of artwork. Please check out the rest of this story and the other Reylo fics that I have posted.