Kylo Ren stopped his vehicle well away from the village. His car had used to be a convertible, and he appreciated its sharp outline, similar to his own. It was painted black, equipped with four-wheel drive, desert tires, bull bars, and rifles, stationary in the front and mobile in the back. His car was easily outweighed by any truck, or even a close-combat vehicle, but it was fast and swift, and between his hands, it was deadly.
Two war troopers, pawns of the First Order's chessboard, pulled their bikes up alongside the black car. Kylo Ren read the fear in their eyes. It was dark out; they were concerned about an ambush. How pathetic. Kylo Ren gave a slight wave with his gloved hand. His voice modified by his helmet's modulator, he ordered, "Wait here."
"Yes, m-my Lord," stuttered the first one, loading his sawn-off shotgun.
Beneath his mask, Kylo Ren rolled his eyes. He raised his hood over his helmet, and clenched his fist on the handle of his weapon. Then he struck out into the night, towards Tuanul's lights.
The buzz at the base of his skull became more pronounced as he drew closer to the village. There was not just human life in this place; there was water. Shutting his eyes, Kylo Ren managed to muffle the feeling. The village was quiet. No one was expecting an attack, especially not from a lone raider in the middle of the night.
He strode further into the village. A man had fallen asleep next to a fire pit, leaning against a rusty staff, his only weapon.
With one swift move, Kylo Ren grabbed the man's throat. He gasped in surprise, but no sound passed his lips. He looked at his attacker with terror; he knew he was already dead. Kylo Ren's gloved hand tightened around his throat, and the peasant struggled weakly, breathless, his feet dragging across the ground.
"Where is Lor San Tekka?" Ren asked, slightly tilting his head.
A gurgling sound escaped the man's lips, and Ren eased his grip.
"Where is he?"
"The hut - the blue hut." That was all the man managed to answer before collapsing on the ground as Ren released him.
Kylo looked at the man on the ground. He was coughing and spitting, eyes ready to pop out of his skull, legs shaking.
"Sound the alarm. Gather the whole village. I want every man, woman, and child here in three minutes. Those who try to hide shall feel my wrath."
The dark lord spun around, sending up a spray of sand onto the crumpled man who burst into a coughing fit. As he walked towards the blue hut, he kept an eye on the man to make sure his orders where followed. The peasant stood up, staggered a little, and then started banging his staff against a metal tool, whose noise immediately launched a panic among the villagers. Most of them still half asleep, they crawled out of their miserable huts, trailers and wrecked cabins in a scramble.
The sudden bustle buzzed deep inside Kylo's skull, similar to a swarm of bees. Everything turned into vibrations. But Kylo Ren had been well taught by his Lord and Master, and he knew how to decode the information that would have transmitted as a continuous hum of unintelligible noise to anyone else. Between the buzzing, he could sense a quiet man waiting behind the blue plastic tarp of a hut.
Kylo Ren threw it open.
Lor San Tekka was standing there, straight and tall in spite of his old age. He stared defiantly at the dark lord.
"Look how old you've become," Kylo said matter-of-factly, his calm tone contrasting with the village's agitation.
The old man, with striking blue eyes and a face marked with wrinkles, didn't seem scared at all. His gaze was pitying.
"Something far worse has happened to you."
"You know what I've come for."
"I know where you come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren."
Kylo Ren's fist clenched on his weapon's handle. With a swift move of his wrist, he ignited the blade. It was a massive weapon, fueled by an engine that scented the air with the smell of gasoline, and radiated scorching heat. Lor San Tekka backed away. Kylo Ren took a step towards him.
"The Resistance. You provide them water, shelter, and defy the First Order. Where is the pilot?"
Lor San Tekka raised his chin.
"The First Order rose from evil. You did not. You cannot deny the truth that is your family."
They stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"You're so right. But it doesn't matter. The pilot was hiding here; his dog has been observed wandering around the village. Where is he?"
"I won't tell you. You'll have to kill me."
Kylo Ren's voice, amplified by his mask, stroke with the fire saber [did you mean to change the name from lightsaber to fire saber?].
"So be it."
The old man's eyes glazed as he collapsed on the ground. His clothes caught fire. Mindless of the burning flames, Kylo Ren grabbed the old man by the scruff of his neck and dragged his body out of the hut.
Screams and whimpers arose when the gathered villagers recognized the burned corpse of their leader.
Kylo Ren gave a strong kick to a brazier, spreading red coals across the sand. Everybody gasped.
"This is the fate of anyone who commits treason towards the First Order; for anyone who supports the Resistance. The Baron Lor San Tekka is hereby stripped of his title, and – effective immediately - this village in seized by the Order. Troops of the Order will come to take possession of the well tomorrow."
Inside his skull, pulses signaled the locations of the fugitives. One was hiding, alone, behind some rocks. A pair with a child was running east. Three adults, hoping to escape him, were walking north.
A lone man, behind him.
Kylo Ren swung and his blade, burning hot, hissed through the air. The man behind him screamed in pain and fell to his knees, dropping his machete to hold his side. Blood stained the sand around him.
"Those who disobey will be executed. Those trying to resist will be executed. Those who stand against me will be executed. Surrender to the First Order, or die."
Frightened murmurs rose from the small crowd.
Kylo Ren turned on his heel, dragging the corpse in his wake. The sickening smell of burned flesh would linger for some time.
Once back to his vehicle, he instructed the War Troopers to keep watch over the village for the rest of the night, and to shoot those who tried to run. He didn't worry that the troopers would be outnumbered and killed: their possible loss would ultimately be insignificant to the First Order's huge numbers, but he doubted any in the village would risk the consequences. These miserable peasants knew better.
As for the handful of them who had run away… they were staggering, on foot, in the darkness. Darkness was nothing to him, who could see through it as if it was broad daylight. An unusual ability, one that also came with sharp hearing and a peculiar buzz at the base of his skull when he sensed a presence. Hunting down the missing villagers would be at worst a minor inconvenience. It was the pilot, Poe Dameron that he wanted. His presence, and that of the orange dog which followed him everywhere, were now invisible to Kylo Ren. That man could lead him to Leia Organa, the figurehead of the Resistance.
Just the thought of her filled Kylo with hate. He would find the dog, and that god forsaken pilot along with him, and then at last, his mother.
Kylo Ren got into his car and fired up the engine. They couldn't escape from him.
The first thing Rey noticed when she woke up was that the dog was gone. She sat up, suddenly worried that Unkar might have kidnapped him. But a familiar headache reassured her; the dog wasn't far. She stretched her sore arms. The dog was sleeping, curled up on the opposite side of the knocked over storage tank Rey had converted into her home. She had drilled holes into the rusty metal of the hull, and the morning light shining through them drew a delicate pattern on the opposite wall. Rey crawled to the hatchway, previously a circular lid meant to fill the tank with…well, whatever this tank was once filled with. A homemade handle now allowed Rey to operate it from the inside.
She crawled out and carefully checked her surroundings. Everything was quiet. Her bike was secured in its rightful place. The wagon was still loaded with yesterday's stock.
Nobody had stolen from her, but she didn't really need to verify that; if anyone had been close to her place, she would have sensed it. She filled a bowl with water and it didn't take long before the dog crawled out of the tank for a drink. Rey scratched between his ears.
"What shall we name you? Fluffy? Or how about a name to freak out your enemies? Evil Lord of Death?"
She laughed. Evil Lord of Death was wagging his tail and licking her face. He was far from being a monstrous beast.
Rey swallowed a portion of tasteless protein, and offered the other half to the dog. She didn't want to know what the portions were made of. Then she unlocked the chain that secured her bike, checked that the wagon was still well attached, and told the dog to hop on.
"Let's go, get in. And stay still."
She had considered keeping him inside until her return, but she knew animals had to get out and she didn't feel like locking him up. Not to mention she was even more worried to leave him outside her hideout; he could ran away, or be captured and roasted on the spot. The best - or the least worse - option was to keep an eye on him at all times.
Rey lived outside of Niima. Human presence gave her terrible headaches and caused an unbearable ringing in her ears. She could only find peace and quiet away from everything, and everyone. And she was certainly not going to keep that dog much longer. She had to find a solution: tomorrow, she'd bring him back to Lor San Tekka. Somewhere, a lost traveller must be looking for their dog, and if no one was, then he would be happier in the village anyway…and she would feel better knowing him far away from Unkar Plutt's henchmen.
Dawn broke over Niima, but the village was still asleep when Rey's motorbike drew near its walls. The person on guard duty was a woman with scars on her arms and her face hidden under a patched up mask. She aimed at Rey from her improvised turret. Rey removed her cowl and goggles, and the woman waved her in. Rey drove slowly to the village's main building, the only concrete structure in an entanglement of barrels, sheet metal, and plastic tarps.
A very fat man seemed busy among an accumulation of various items. He was so large and his skin was so oily, he looked like some kind of monstrous fish that had escaped from the sea. A tumor deformed his neck and his goiter bounced like jelly when he turned around.
"Rey. How did your trip go?"
"I found the shipwreck, Unkar. I brought you back a sample."
She gave a tilt of her chin towards the wagon. Unkar leaned over his counter and froze when he saw the dog. Rey noticed it, but didn't react, waiting for what would happen next. Unkar Plutt stepped back behind the counter.
"What you've brought me today is worth...Hmm…Two portions for the whole."
Rey choked. "They're worth at least two portions each!"
"What about the dog, hmm?"
Rey stepped back and frowned. "What about him?"
"I'll pay for him. Sixty portions."
And matching his words with action, Unkar laid cases of portions on the counter…along with jugs of water that made Rey's throat go dry.
But she tangled her fingers in the dog's fur, and shook her head.
"The dog is not for sale. Let's talk about the shipwreck."
Unkar acted busy and turned his back on Rey, but she came closer to the counter and raised her voice to be heard over the noise he was making.
"There is a stranded ship, one day away from here. No more gas in the bunkers, and unfortunately everything available for scavenging has already been taken, but with the proper tools there's still a lot to salvage. Cables, too."
Unkar came closer to her. He was wearing some sort of greasy overalls over his bare skin and Rey grimaced with disgust. She struggled to stay still when he leaned towards her and blew his rotten breath in her face.
"Then you'll be leading the journey tomorrow, two hours before dawn. I'll pick a team to go with you."
"I want ten portions per piece we'll bring back from there. Otherwise I'm not going."
Unkar seemed startled for a moment then burst out laughing, and gave her a nasty look as he came even closer.
"You'll get twelve portions for the whole trip, not one more. And if you refuse the deal, I'll have your toes ripped off one by one with this little tool, until you tell me where the ship lays. Understood?"
In his right hand, he waved a rusty pair of pliers.
Rey bit her tongue. "Fine."
Unkar put the pliers away.
"You forget who you are, kid. And who you belong to. Be careful, or you'll get yourself in trouble."
Rey turned away, her cheeks burning. She belonged to Plutt, she was well aware of that. She even had a mark on the calf as proof. Ever since she was a little girl, she had had to earn her food and water by exchanging supplies she scavenged here and there. Later, she found out about her ability; she could see in the dark, she sensed people, she could smell wells. She had become a scout after that, always moving ahead to detect ambushes. She had seen combat, she had been beaten hard, yet she was still here. In Niima, no one would have harmed her; they all knew how precious she was to the Baron Plutt. Yet he owned the right of life and death over her. If he decided to break her bones - or snip off her toes - no one would try to stop him.
Rey walked away and wiped a burning hot tear from her cheek. She unloaded her wagon, careful not to cut her fingers on the metal sheets. Then she carried it all, swearing and sweating, as Unkar looked on without making a move to help. When the equipment was all piled up under Unkar's roof, he laid out the agreed portions for the delivery on the counter. Rey grabbed them without checking the quantity and shoved them into her pouch.
She climbed on her motorbike without looking back at Unkar, and the dog hopped into the empty wagon. She didn't see Unkar stare at the dog with greedy eyes. She didn't see him wave to two of his henchmen. She didn't see them nod and part to circle her. Yet as she passed the village's ramparts, she knew she was being followed, and that there were now four of them. She couldn't see or hear them, but she sensed their presence, two from the north and two from the south, approaching fast. She sped up, seeking a boulder, a shelter, anything. But this part of the desert was only sand dunes, stretching as far as the eye could see. The mountains were too far away; in a moment, they would be on her.
Two quads suddenly jumped over the top of nearby dunes, spraying sand with a thunderous roar. Rey braked hard and turned her bike into a skid that almost upset the wagon. The dog landed on the floor but immediately scrambled to his feet, shaking himself to get rid of the sand. Jumping to the ground, the young girl grabbed her staff and held it in a defensive posture. The dog bared his fangs, fur rising along his neck.
"Fluffy Evil Lord of Death, now is the time to show me what you can do," Rey hissed from between clenched teeth. Then she charged.
The fight was swift, messy, and brutal. There were four of them, two men and two women. One of the women had a mechanical arm that she flung around violently. The other hid her face behind a mask of leather and iron spikes, gripping a machete in each hand. Rey dodged a baton strike from one of the men, a 250-pound thug, and whacked at his knees with all her strength until he fell. Then she clubbed the back of his neck with her staff, and the man collapsed with a loud noise.
Rey was breathless, her senses sharp. The headache that plagued her every day became her strongest asset. She knew where her opponents stood without actually seeing them; she could feel their movements without having to look.
Meanwhile, the dog was barking loudly but he didn't attack. If she had been in the mood for humor, Rey would have said something sarcastic about this orange animal that brought her nothing but trouble, but a blade hissed by her ear and she felt the painful bite of metal on her shoulder.
She swung her staff instinctively and felt it hit the soft flesh of the woman behind her, who screamed. Rey turned around and hit her over the head as hard as she could. There was a horrible crack. The body collapsed on the ground and blood stained the sand in a growing puddle. Rey picked up the machete and faced the two remaining thugs. One of them was struggling to contain the dog who was fighting desperately inside a net. The other, the woman with the mechanical arm, was out of breath. She stepped back and Rey realized that things were not going the way they had planned. She managed to catch her breath to speak.
"You shouldn't attack me. I belong to Unkar Plutt. He'll have you dismembered when he'll find out you tried to kill me."
The woman's chest rose as she started to laugh.
"You think Unkar is your protector, huh? He's the one who sent us, you fool."
Rey gasped, stunned. Unkar? But he kept saying he needed her and her ability, and she knew how worthy she was to him. What could explain such a change of mind?
She clenched her fists on her weapons. "Did Unkar warn you I was going to kill you?"
The woman looked at her partner, busy kicking the dog in the net. Rey felt she was on the right track. She continued. "Of course not. He told you it would be easy. Release the dog and leave now."
As she spoke, she kicked the corpse behind her with her heel. The soft flesh quivered.
Suddenly, the man screamed. The dog had bitten his calf to the bone. Instinctively, he dropped the net and the animal ran free, his muzzle red with blood. He had ripped a piece of flesh off the man's leg.
"Fuck!" the man yelled. "I'm out of here."
The woman didn't seem so sure. Her head swiveled between the man, Rey, and the growling dog. The man hopped on his quad and started the engine without a second look. Fluffy-Evil-Lord-of-Death barked after him.
Only then did the henchwoman swear between her clenched teeth, and start backing up to the other quad. She pointed her finger at Rey.
"You won't get away with this."
"I'm sure," Rey said. "Come back anytime."
A moment later, the woman was out of sight.
As the adrenaline left her veins, Rey's leg failed her. She fell onto the ground on her knees at first, and then let herself slide onto her the back, splaying her arms. She was sweating and her throat burned.
Unkar had sent his henchmen after her. They must have been mercenaries; no one in Niima would have agreed to such a job…and she actually had never seen them before. The dog came to lick her face and she rose onto her elbows.
"They were after you, Fluffy Evil Lord of Death. I wonder what's so special about you?"
As an answer, Fluffy happily wagged his tail. Rey stood up and shook off the sand. She searched the two bodies for any useful items, then came back to her bike, legs shaking. She was exhausted.
She adjusted her goggles and gazed at the empty horizon.
Unkar owes me an explanation, she thought.
