*A/N.. Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm extremely excited about this story and I'm so thrilled that you are enjoying it too. Here's a nice long chapter to say thanks!*
Kylo Ren briskly walks to the door of his chambers, only pausing for a moment for Stella to catch up behind him. She tugs at the elastic band around his wrist, snapping it against her skin over and over; A nervous habit, he assumes. The pair make their way a short distance down the hall, opposite the way she came, to a set of blaster doors. Her brows raise, unsure of his intentions as he enters a code and opens the doors. The room is small, but larger than her minuscule cell; about the size of the one bedroom apartment she calls home back in her world. Deep mahogany floors cover the span of the room, darkened by the contrasting cream toned walls and hideous navy blue couch in the center of the room. The sight of an actual bed in an adjacent room, blankets tucked precisely over the mattress, almost makes her swoon. Her gaze continues mapping out the entirety of the space, stopping on a large window near what she assumes to be the kitchenette.
Her cool blue eyes brighten in awe of the incredible sight in front of her. The inky black of the galaxy, decorated with shining stars and the incredible colors of planets she has never heard of cause her jaw to slack open. "This is… wow.." She rests a hand against the cold window, unable to form a coherent sentence.
He tilts his head, curiously. "Does it differ that much from where you're from?" If nothing else, the girl is an intriguing distraction.
"Are you kidding?" She whips her head around, grinning ear to ear. "In my world we can barely get passed our moon." A soft chuckle leaves her lips as she returns her attention to the view outside the ship.
He moves to stand next to her, admiring the scene from a different point of view for the first time. The serene look on his features quickly disappears, however, as he shakes his head and stomps back to the entrance of the room. "Well, as you are no longer a prisoner in this ship, these will be your living quarters." He nods sharply, turning on his heel and exits the apartment, leaving Stella alone to process his words.
She manages to tear her eyes away from the window just in time to see the doors shut behind him. The corners of her mouth lift into a smile, excitement flooding her body as she begins to explore the room. Having already seen most of main living room and small kitchenette, she hurries into the bedroom and flings herself against the bed, reveling in the feeling of the soft mattress and warm blankets against her skin. She leans up on her elbows, scanning the bedroom. A closet, a dresser, and empty bookshelf line the otherwise empty walls. She perks up quickly, diving off the bed and into the next set of doors.
"Oh thank god!" She exclaims, pumping her fist in the air at the sight of a real bathroom and a shower inside. Without another thought she begins pressing buttons and turning knobs, cursing at the complicated technology, until the water is exactly the way she likes it. Stella peels away her grimey clothes and steps into the water, sighing in relief as the warmth cascades over her skin. She relaxes her shoulders, feeling the tension release almost instantly and simply stands under the water for a few minutes, enjoying the sensation. Her fingertips trail over the line of bottles in the shower as she reads each one.
'I guess they probably don't have Redken products here.' She giggles, dousing her head in shampoo.
After scrubbing herself from head to toe, finally feeling human once more, she steps out of the shower and wraps herself in a fluffy towel. Her eyes fall on the tiled floor of the bathroom. The clothes she was wearing are not where she left them; tossed haphazardly on the floor.
"Weird.." she murmurs, poking her head out the door and peering around. A droid zips around the room, her clothes in tow. "Excuse me. I need those!" Embarrassment flushes her cheeks as she tugs the towel tighter. The little robot beeps unintelligibly at her and bolts out of the room. A loud groan escapes her throat as she is left alone once again.
Stella trudges into the bedroom and begins scouring the closet and dresser drawers for something to wear. Inside the closet hangs a black pencil skirt, white button up blouse and a black jacket, embellished with the first order symbol; A pair of black pumps rest on the floor. Her brows shoot up and she scoffs. "Oh, he is out of his damn mind if he thinks I'm going to wear that." Mumbling under her breath about how much she hates skirts, she moves on to the dresser. The top drawer contains everything she needs to curl up and go to sleep. She slips the black nightgown over her head, toweling her hair until it's remotely dry and slides under the covers of her bed. Within seconds of hitting the pillow, Stella falls into a dreamless, deep sleep.
Morning comes too quickly for her liking and she tugs the blanket over her head as the little droid from last night whizzes through the room once again. "Five more minutes." She grumbles, her words muffled by the pillow. She allows herself to slip back into a light slumber for another hour or so, not that she has any idea about the time anyway. When she wakes for the second time, the aroma of coffee engulfs her senses, and for a brief moment she is sure she's back home. Stella flings the blankets off of herself, jerking upright, only to be met with the same room she fell asleep in last night. Her face drops into her hands, rubbing her palms against her eyes and gulping back the lump forming in her throat. "This is home now, Stel." She mumbles, inhaling deeply. "You aren't going back."
She lifts her head, realizing the smell of coffee wasn't just in her mind and crawls out of the bed. The cold of the wood floor against her bare feet sends a chill over her body as she makes her way into the main room. Steam rises from the rim of a black (she stifles a laugh at their dedication to the color scheme on this ship.) mug on the kitchen counter. Next to the mug, Stella notices a plate of breakfast waiting for her as well as her own freshly washed clothes and the purse she almost forgot she owned. Ignoring the meal, her hands go directly for the bag and begin digging inside. Everything is still there. Her makeup, planner, wallet, even her cellphone. "Thank you!" She mouths to no one in particular, hurrying to the bathroom with her clothes and makeup.
Stella pulls on her black ripped jeans and teal tank top, foregoing the hooded sweatshirt. 'Not entirely the same outfit I've worn for the last week.' She thinks with a smirk. She smooths out her naturally straight hair with her hands, and applies a little bit of the makeup that was in her bag. With a flick of her wrist, she draws her usual winged liner on each eye and smiles at her appearance in the mirror. Not too bad. She shrugs, unsure why she's even bothering to do all of this. Instinctively, she shoves her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.
The first knock on her door goes unnoticed. She is sure she didn't really hear anything and goes back to the kitchen to eat. Who would be at her door anyway? Kylo would just barge in. Her face twists in irritation at the thought. The second knock is a bit louder, startling her as she stuffs a piece of a muffin in her mouth. With a raised brow, she opens the door to find the lieutenant from the base standing at attention.
"Hello?" She covers her mouth with her hand to hide the mouthful of food.
"General Hux has sent for you, miss." His voice is less than authoritative. How he managed to work his way up through the first order military is beyond her.
Silently she nods and follows the man through the never ending maze of halls that is the Supremacy. The ship seems to be the polar opposite of the expectations planted in her mind from the films. Rather than black walls and dimly lit corridors, it looks more like a typical office space or military base; albeit still very different from any office or base she has ever seen. The Command Bridge, she instantly recognizes it from the massive windows overlooking the odd shape of the crafts wings, is filled with countless officers diligently working. General Hux, his red hair gleaming in the less than flattering lighting, pauses as his lieutenant escorts the girl inside. Stella nods a quiet hello to the man, mentally debating if she should salute him or not.
"Miss..." Hux prompts.
"Oh, uh. Tompkins. Stella Tompkins."
"Miss Tompkins," his hands claps firmly behind his back, shoulders squaring in true military fashion. "Your, shall we say, origins have been explained to me however your motives for remaining on my ship have yet to be mentioned."
"My motives?" She snorts, in the least ladylike fashion possible. "Survival. Plain and simple."
"Hmm." He hums, circling her.
"Do you really have a cat?" She blurts out the question she's been dying to ask since meeting him. He pauses, raising a brow. "There's rumors, I guess, where I'm from that you have a cat. An orange tabby named Millicent. I only ask because I have always had cats and I love them! Actually," she pulls her phone from her pocket and holds it up, showing the lock screen. "See? That's Binx. My baby."
He glances back and forth between her and the strange device in her hands, before grabbing it from her and inspecting it. "What is this? Some kind of customized datapad?"
"Kind of. It's my smartphone. I can send messages on it and photos and play games, listen to music, you name it. My sister practically lives on hers. I can't believe it's not dead. I'm lucky I never turned it on after the movie, I guess!" Her voice cracks a little as she reaches over to the phone, unlocking it with her thumbprint and leaning over him to look at the battery life. "47%. It'll die soon enough. Then there goes any connection to home." Stella's eyes drop, sadness radiating off of her as she quickly locks the device to save the remaining battery.
Looking up from the small electronic, he taps his finger on his lips. The girl, though odd and completely disrespectful to his ranking, tugs at his heartstrings. "I'm certain there is a technician on the ship who could find a way to keep this charged. I'd hate for you to lose the images of 'your baby'" Despite his hard expression, Stella is certain she hears a playful tone in his voice. "I would be quite upset to not see my Millicent again."
Her eyes light up at his confirmation of the cat. "She is real? Can I meet her?" She bounces on her toes.
"Star." Kylo Ren's harsh, modified voice growls over her shoulder. She winces at the sound, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Hux stiffens, pocketing the phone and winking subtly at Stella.
"Ren." He casts a dark glare at the man.
"General, I hope Stella hasn't been bothering you." It's clear to Stella that Kylo Ren knows very well that she didn't come here on her own.
"Not at all." He eyes the girl fondly, knowing exactly how it will affect Kylo. "I happen to agree with your assessment of her. She will be an excellent resource."
Kylo Ren grips her forearm, yanking her out of the command bridge.
"Ow! What the fuck?" She yelps, attempting to jerk away from him.
"There's no need for you to associate with him." Kylo spits, dragging her through the halls. He is perfectly content to ignore the fleeting stares of his subordinates, but Stella is mortified.
"And there's no need for you to pull my damn arm out of its socket because you're jealous of him!" She retorts, mocking his tone. "You pawned me off on Hux just a couple days ago to go off and get sliced up by a girl and now that I've maybe made a friend on this stupid ship, you're jealous?!"
He remains silent, loosening his grip just enough for her to pull her arm away. She crosses her arms over her chest, huffing indignantly as she walks just a few paces behind.
He halts in front of her door, turning to her and waiting for her to enter the code. Stella rolls her eyes at his lame attempt to make her feel secure. She knows damn well he knows the lock code. The doors fly open and he makes his way inside. Grumbling a smart ass "sure come on in." under her breath, she enters and drops onto her couch, arms crossing over herself again . His hands clasped either side of his helmet, unlatching it and pulling it off of his head.
"You could have warned me about that whole 'getting sliced up' thing, you know." He leers down at her, pointing to the scar across his cheek. Stella purses her lips, strongly considering punching the smug bastard in the stomach.
"You pawned me off on Hux. I believe we already covered that." She scoffs, disgusted with herself for still finding him attractive.
"You'll be starting a job tomorrow, my Star." He tucks the helmet under his arm, changing the subject. His sudden mood swings leave her dizzy and annoyed. "Your uniform is in the closet. I'll send for you in the morning."