Lord Kylo Ren knew instantly once he had stepped off of his command shuttle that the Resistance wasn't on Hoth, nor had they been for years. It wasn't until he felt the nervous energy radiating from the Stormtoopers, however, did Ren realize the extent of Hux's treachery.
He and his Knights had fought for days in freezing temperatures and blinding snowstorms. Battling physical exhaustion, broken bones, and burning frostbite. They were able to stand their ground relatively unscathed until the third wave of Stormtrooper troops landed on the ice planet.
That battle in itself lasted an entire day cycle. When it was all said and done, Ren had lost three of his Knights, and sustained various annoying wounds around his beaten body. It took hours for him to round up what was left of his men and limp back to his shuttle.
All Ren could think about as his personal ship gimped its way through space towards the Finalizer, was getting back to Reyna. Her safety was his only concern. As the shuttle moved closer and closer, however, he knew she was anything but. Ren focused all of his energy into tracking her emotions. At first, he felt benign apprehension waving off of her Force signature. That apprehension grew quickly, though, into fear. A few moments later that fear blossomed into full blown panic, and then…nothing.
When he had made it to Hux's quarters and saw Reyna, standing naked with her swollen face drenched in dark blood, Ren wanted nothing more than to tear apart the Galaxy. He wasn't even able to fully comprehend the power she was wielding through his frenzied hatred. He wanted everything to burn. Hux's death was the only thing he focused on as he ignited his saber and used the Force to call the ginger man's body toward him.
Ren blinked at the broken girl in front of him through the smudged glass visor of his mask. Her split lips were moving, but he was unable to register her words through the piercing shrill of rage enveloping his skull. His eyes pulled to her outstretched arm and he growled angrily as he noticed deep rope burns and black bruises marring the flesh of her wrist and forearm. Ren turned his attention back to the General and used the Force to squeeze his neck even tighter, causing Hux's face to turn a vibrant shade of purple.
Rey inched towards Ren tentatively as if she were approaching a rabid wolf. She repeated her words slowly, for a third time, raising her voice as loudly as her parched throat would allow.
"Master…please, allow me…I want to kill him."
"Did he touch you?" Ren spat suddenly before he could let her repeated words sink into his brain.
Rey brushed the black leather covering Ren's wrist with her fingertips and stroked her fingers up the hand encasing the hilt of his unstable lightsaber.
"He did," she answered with a nod, "I know you're angry, Master…but I need to do this."
Ren's dark eyes darted from Rey to Hux, and back again. He wanted nothing more than to rip the General apart, to make the man drown in his own blood while being flayed like an animal. This wasn't his kill, however, Reyna deserved to exact her revenge.
Rey gently grasped at the erratic saber's hilt and let out a sigh of relief when Ren let the spitting weapon slip from his hand into hers. Rey's thin arm shook slightly from the extra weight being placed upon her weakening limb. She hadn't anticipated his lightsaber to be so heavy.
Noticing that the girl's strength was faltering, Ren released his Force hold on Hux, causing the General to land in a sputtering mess on his knees. He wanted the ginger to slowly suffer in atonement, but Ren knew that Rey was badly injured and needed swift intervention.
"Do it," his robotic voice urged her, "kill him."
"Yes, Master," the girl murmured before lifting Ren's saber in both of her shaking hands and swinging it down rapidly towards the screaming General.
Ren watched the girl with brimming pride as she severed the ginger's head cleanly from his square shoulders without any hesitation. Turning her to the Darkside wouldn't be such a difficult task after all.
Rey extinguished the red saber and spun her body around to face Ren. She lifted her one functioning eye towards his masked face and let out three excruciatingly slow breaths before dropping towards the floor in an unconscious heap.
"No, no, no, no, NO," Ren screamed as he dove onto the floor and caught his Reyna before her body reached the hard stone.
"Stay with me…you're going to be alright...just stay with me," he encouraged the sleeping girl before tearing what was left of his shredded robes from his shoulders and wrapping it around Rey's naked and bloodied body.
Ren pulled himself up slowly with the girl cradled softly against his chest. He placed his gloved hand as gently as he could manage against her head to stop any unnecessary movement and headed as quickly as possible out of General Hux's living quarters and into the ship, towards the Medbay.
Lord Ren stood, utterly useless and weak, in front of a glass wall. Staring at the slip of a girl lying motionless on a sterile medical gurney with liquid filled tubes piercing her arms and a breathing mask covering her mouth and nose. Lord Ren had never felt so completely helpless. For once in his miserable life, he couldn't solve a problem through rage or violence. He could tear apart the ship, bit by bit, piece by piece, but it wouldn't change the fact that it seemed as if Reyna was once again about to slip through his fingers.
"Ahem….? Lord Ren…? I..I have her medical tests back, would you care to discuss?"
Ren turned his masked face towards the young female Doctor clutching a datapad with white knuckles. He could feel the woman's uneasiness and he swallowed back the vicious words that were dying to fly from his lips.
"Speak," his mechanical voice bit harshly.
Clearing her throat, the doctor tapped her finger upon the screen of her datapad and began to give her dissertation of Rey's status.
"Well, first off, we are currently treating an infection that has moved into her bloodstream. The good news is that her body is responding well to the treatment and I feel confident that we will be able to eradicate the infection fairly quickly. There is a more pressing matter, though. She has quite a severe skull fracture at her temporal bone. Surgery is needed to remove the shattered bone fragments. I will have to replace that bone with a metal plate. At this point, we have no way of knowing how severe the damage to her brain is. She may have permanent damage, or none at all. It's too soon to know. Once I have completed the surgery, we will suspend her in a bacta tank for at least a couple of days. If everything goes as expected, and barring any brain damage, she should be healed well enough to leave the Medbey in a week's time."
"She…she will live?" Ren asked, dumbfounded.
"I will make sure of it, Lord Ren. It's a good thing you found her when you did…I don't believe her heart could have continued to sustain her for long in that state," she Doctor said with a small grin.
Lord Ren turned back to the glass partition and let out a full sigh of relief. For whatever reason, the Maker had deemed fit to bestow the masked man yet another gift.
Supreme Leader Snoke strummed his fingers on the arms of his stone throne in complete annoyance.
"I'm in a difficult position Kylo Ren," the gigantic hologram droned, "you do realize this?"
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Ren offered through his robotic voice box.
"I've lost an important member of the First Order…one that will not be easily replaced. His death was warranted, however…and it seems that without General Hux's unscrupulous behavior, we might not have recognized the true potential of your little…pet…so quickly."
"She is powerful, Supreme Leader."
"More powerful than you, Kylo Ren?" The Supreme Leader asked with a smirk.
Ren stood motionless, knowing full well that the giant figure towering over him wasn't expecting an answer.
"When will she be released by the Medbay?"
"They are removing her from the bacta tank tomorrow. If all goes well, she will be discharged within a few days," Ren stated with just a hint of optimism in his voice.
"Hmmm…her training will begin immediately after she is released."
"Supreme Leader, she will not be…"
"SILENCE!" The hologram bellowed, causing the transmission of his ghastly form to waver, "she will begin her training immediately, Kylo Ren."
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Ren said with a quick nod of his mask.
"Good…I will call upon you soon for a report. Now leave," the deformed specter commanded.
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Ren acknowledged before turning and walking briskly from the large chamber, wanting to get back to the Medbay as quickly as his legs could carry him.
A/N...ok, so Rey will live...but she's in bad shape...and now Snoke is VERY interested in her. This can't be good. Again, thank you for reading...I will see you tomorrow with another update, my Lovelies!