She was up out of her seat in a flash. Yet she was not attempting escape. To his surprise, he realised that she was now leaning forward, her hands pinned his forearms to his chair. He reluctantly looked up, this subordinate position was most unwelcome and he attempted to stand up as well. But she was so strong and when he eventually brought himself to look up into her eyes he understood why. She was absolutely incandescent with rage.
"I WILL NEVER JOIN YOU!" she shouted. Her rage poured over him rendering him paralysed.
"I can teach you" he entreated, once more he was simultaneously dazzled and jealous of her raw talent with the Force. He was almost desperate to cultivate it, bending her to his will.
"I don't need anything from you", she spat the words at him. She furiously released him, disgust clear on her face. Just the merest physical contact with him filled her with revulsion. He was utterly transfixed, she was almost glowing as the Force flowed through her. Then just as suddenly as it began, it was over. She turned and left. Her Force hold dissipated and he stood, shouting after her.
"Where are you going?"
"Without shields we are dead", she called back over her shoulder, then she was gone.
It was not hard to locate the engine room. It was hot work as she struggled to repair the basic functions of the ship. There were numerous small fires dotted around which filled the air with acrid smoke. She fashioned a mask torn form her arm wrappings and worked harder than she had ever worked before in her life. The manual activities calmed her. Only occasionally did she allow her thoughts to dwell on all that had happened, and what could possibly lay ahead. Thinking about that madman caused her chest to tighten, how was she going to survive him? But despite that, she was focussed on her repairs and worked in relative tranquillity.
This was in extreme contrast with the mood of the man on the bridge. She had rejected his attempt to enter her mind again, showing her natural mastery of the Force. He needed to harness her power and use it to serve him. The possibility of allowing her to train as a Jedi was abhorrent, nor could he allow her to embrace the Dark Side as his rival. She had already proved herself a worthy opponent and that was without any training. If she turned to the Dark Side without being loyal to him then he knew that Supreme Leader Snoke would discard him in an instant, in favour of her. That could not be allowed to happen, not after all he had done, all of the sacrifices he had made. He felt a sharp pain as he momentarily replayed his last moments with … no, he could not allow himself to even think of it for as much as a second. His thoughts returned to the scavenger. He simply could not comprehend any possible reason for such resistance. He had glimpsed enough of her life on Jakku to see that it had been a relentlessly tough and solitary existence. Surely she could see that he was offering her so much more. However, thinking about the girl caused his anger to burn when he considered that she was the one that saved both their lives in the asteroid belt. And also, just to add insult to injury, she was down there right now toiling in the engine room ensuring their survival again. Correction, he knew that it was her survival that she was interested in protecting. He felt quite certain that if the opportunity presented itself, she would push him out of the nearest airlock without hesitation. He snarled with impotent rage, ignited his lightsabre and set about furiously slashing and smashing his way along the corridor.
It was impossible for her to tell precisely how long she had been struggling down in the engine room. But eventually, she had to rest. Both basic life support and the shields were now steady, so she set off in search of food. Passing through a corridor near the bridge she gasped at the fused and twisted remains of panelling. She could detect the smell of melted circuitry and wondered what had caused such carnage. She placed a hand over a particularly scorched section of wall and was abruptly caught in vision of the red lightsabre. She could see how furious he was as he blindly destroyed everything in sight. Quickly, she withdrew her hand, confused. Why did this keep happening to her? First Luke Skywalker's lightsabre had triggered an onslaught of someone else's memories, and now this? This impossible situation weighed heavily on her young shoulders. However, if she could find food then that would at least be a small consolation.