"What's the issue, Hux? I figured you could handle a simple interrogation." Kylo Ren spoke through his mask, as he approached Hux from behind. Quickly Hux turned, a red soaked towel at his nose. His voice was more nasally and sharp than normal.

"She's force-sensitive, Ren. The girl they found on Astoria." Kylo turned his head the closed door. Behind the wall was the woman they picked up but he felt nothing through them. No force sense, no connection. Nothing.

"Are you positive?"

"Well I didn't purposefully break my own nose, did I?" If Kylo wasn't wearing his mask Hux would have seen the Supreme Leader give him an annoyed glare. Kylo sighed to himself and slowly stepped into the room to deal with this himself.

Elle heard the door slide open and suddenly felt a deep, dark, heavy force hit her. Like the wave of an ocean or a gust of wind. She looked up at the man who walked in, cloaked in black with a mask covering his face.

The man stepped in but paused at the door. It slid shut instantly, the sound like a guillotine, he stood so close to it the draft wafted the edge of his cape in a light wave.

There was silence. It was thick, palpable. A tension between the two was dark, foreboding. Elle felt uncomfortable, the hardness of the chair and the cuffs around her wrists now seemed constricting, even torturous. Her breath became heavy. Whoever this was, she assumed the Supreme Leader, he was force-sensitive. But she also felt...something else.

She felt cold. And an ache in her lower belly that she had never felt before.

"It's you..." The mechanical voice spoke, it was soft but the voice diffuser made it seem sinister and harsh.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, hesitantly, careful with her words. The man was silent, still standing at the door. Elle was confused both by his actions and by her feelings. She felt a familiarity, a scent. She felt like she knew him.

Slowly the man turned and pressed a few buttons on a keypad. Elle thought he was about the leave, but then she heard a faint hum quickly disappear. She looked around and noticed the camera up in the corner had powered down.

Elle looked back at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you not afraid?" He asked, Elle tilted her head at this.

"Why would I be afraid?"

"Most people are afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid, just curious." She said honestly.

The man was silent as he stepped forward. He stopped when he was about a foot from her. Elle looked up at him as he knelt down and became face-to-face with her. Or face-to-mask.

"What's your name?" He asked her. Elle was still confused, why did he want to know her name?

"What's your name?" She responded back. Another pause from the man.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" He inquired, though it was less of a question, more of an observation.

"No, I'm sorry."

"But you feel it, don't you?" He asked, his words sharp.

Elle blinked heavily and breathed in and out slowly, "Of course I feel it."

"But you don't know who I am?" She shook her head cautiously. The man stood back up and gently released the clip of his helmet. He took it off and Elle saw a handsome man, with long black hair, and a scar along the left side of his face.

Elle's mouth fell open slightly and she began to feel her heart palpitating erratically.

"I...I don't understand..." She whispered, if only to herself. It was him. The man. The man from her dreams. She didn't understand, she knew he was partially real to her imagination, but not...completely real. And then she smelt it, bergamot. Oranges. Him.

The man grabbed a chair and sat directly in front of her.

"Who are you?" He asked, looking into her eyes as though he might find some kind of answer in them.

"I'm no one."

"What's your name?" He asked softly.

"Elle—My name is Elle."

"And you are with the force, aren't you Elle?"

She hesitated, her name on his lips was confusing her. Nothing was making sense.

"You already know the answer to that."

He made a soft grunt of recognition, nodding his head. "You broke my general's nose without touching him."

"He killed my dog." The man narrowed his eyes at her again.

"I apologize."

"I don't accept it."

"That's okay. Do you want to know why it's okay? Because I have you here, in this room and you can't escape." He spoke with a soft intentionality and a hint of excitement in his voice.

Elle pondered her predicament and bit her tongue, "I know."

"Why were you on Astoria? Were you sent there to protect something?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A silence, again. The man looked as though he was concentrating hard. Elle felt the tiniest little pain in the back of her head for just a moment, then it was gone.

"Why can't I see into your mind?" He asked curiously, dangerously.

"Perhaps you aren't trying hard enough."

"Perhaps you're blocking me out." Then a thought came into his mind. "You've been trained."

It was no question to him. He knew it. Elle thought for a moment and decided to try her own hand in a little mind exploring and attempted to look through him.

The man scrunched his brow and quickly jumped from the chair, grabbing her neck and slamming her head against the back of the chair. Elle let out a muted grunt and tried to focus her vision.

"What do you think you're doing?" He whispered harshly as his fingers tightened around her neck.

"You know exactly what I'm doing…Ben."

He clinched his jaw but his fingers let up, if only a little. "Don't call me that." His breath fell onto her cheek and it was hot. They both felt it suddenly. The dream-like state that could drape over them like a thin blanket, if they let it.

His finger let up from her neck and he traced her jaw slowly. It seemed mindless, unintentional, but without hesitation. She breathed out heavily, her lips pulsed. So close.

"What do I call you then?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

"My name is Kylo Ren." He responded, just as quiet. Then slowly he backed away and sat back in the chair. "You ever try to get into my mind again I will kill you, and don't take that lightly-because I will not hesitate." He was calm, assured, and confident. But he didn't scare her.

"Let me go and I'll never even think about you again." She lied.

Another silence as Kylo thought. His eyes searched her still with an unreadable expression.

"Are you with the Resistance? I would think not given no one has attempted a rescue mission-and someone as connected to the force as you would definitely be in their practically non-existent toolbox of assets. You would be someone to protect." Kylo spoke carefully, trying to pinpoint which words she would react to. But she stayed still, refusing to give herself away.

"No I'm not with the Resistance."

"So you have no one." Elle swallowed. Kylo saw it.

"I have myself." Elle contended.

"No one." He said with finality.

Another silence spread over and Elle thought very deeply about her next response. To test the waters, as they were. She had Poe, but not really, only for one day. She did have herself but she also had someone else. Then she went with it, because it was true.

"No…I have you."

Kylo fell silent, this time because of her. His fist suddenly tightened and he looked as though he was holding himself back. From what, Elle did not know.

Suddenly there was a beeping at the door. Kylo clenched his jaw and walked outside the room. As the door slid shut he quickly, briefly held her gaze.