One alteration in time can have far reaching consequences.
Ren sighed as he turned the corner into the interrogation hallway. It had already been a long day, the Resistance had long since obtained the key to finding Luke Skywalker and now it was on his shoulders to find the information to lead the Order in the correct direction. That meant hours of probing the minds of those who they had managed to pick up during the last raid on the carcass of a war field, a trap spectacularly set up. It was exhausting, especially not having been able to pull any pertinent information from anyone's heads thusfar.
The door to the interrogation room slid open, two Stormtroopers marched out, headed in the opposite direction, General Hux following behind, stopping, a bruising streak of red on his left cheek, eyebrow raised, pursed lip.
"We had to give her a tranquilizer, she should be coming out of it soon." Hux said tersely as he positioned himself across from Ren, arms crossed.
"I assume that is why you got involved."
"Unlike the others, she decided to make things difficult."
"Are the others are cooperating?"
"Within reason. They aren't putting up a fight, are being herded without a problem, but they aren't opening up."
"On their own. But this one?"
"She seems to be hell-bent on getting out of here. Managed to crack NP-5834's chest shield."
"And your face."
Hux's lips pursed even more," Yes. Needless to say we have made sure that the restraints are about as tight as possible. You shouldn't have any issues. Just let us know when you need us to escort her back."
"Will do." Ren replied as Hux took his leave. He turned slowly, the door to the interrogation room sliding open, the dark grey a deep contrast to the stark white walls of the hallway. He stepped in, allowing the door to slide shut behind him, before he reached up and slid off his helmet.
He knew who it was. Nomi. His sister who had idolized his every word and action in their youth. He had known since the moment that she had stepped foot onto the battlefield, that she had been near. He'd kept his distance nevertheless. But when the final destruction of the battlefield drew near, he knew that he had to act fast to keep her safe, ordering the retrieval of those they could grab, knowing well that she was within grabbing distance
He knew Snoke would turn up his nose at it, but it had been their agreement since the very beginning. Ren had agreed to go along with everything, under the condition that his sister would remain unscathed. Snoke had agreed, though Ren had always felt that there was something more behind it, knowing the strong likelihood that she was force sensitive, though perhaps not as malleable as he had allowed himself to become.
He was now more set in that belief, with the determination that she had showed trying to escape. Though he wondered if she had discovered any of the abilities that lay deep within her mind. Though he suspected that it was something that his mother had made sure to suppress over the year.
A pang of guilt hit him again. It had been so long since he had thought of the woman. Even in the wake of the slaughter of his father, he had tried to force those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to stay focused on the goal. This was sure to waver his resolve.
The helmet hit the ash, kicking it into the air before slowly settling down on the pedestal, moving in the air as Ren walked past, pulling off his cape and discarding it in the corner along with his gloves.
He took a deep breath as he turned the corner. It had been years since he'd seen her up close. The smattering of freckles across her nose and up each of her cheeks seemed to only grow in the years since he'd seen her last. He could remember the day he said goodbye, knowing that it would be an eternity before he saw her again. It was necessary- his mother had told him- to harness the gift he had. Not knowing the faceless voices that were in his mind, pushing him away from the path that his uncle was so eager to share with him. With all of them.
Her hair had turned into a wild mess, he could only assume from the battle that she had put up. Cheeks still red with anger and expelled energy.
It startled him how much she looked the same, but at the same time looked completely different. The years had been good to her.
He ran his hand through his hair, pushing it backwards out of his face. 20 years. It had been 20 years since the last time he had seen her. He was 10, she was 6. The guilt in his stomach forced him to shift on his feet, second guessing whether pushing into her mind was a good idea. But he had a job to do.