—Chapter 21: Torment—
Sharna and Simeon Ren took a shuttle back to the Finalizer to collect Hux's hostage. Sharna didn't like being treated like a gofer, but she was grateful not to have been ordered to oversee recruitment. She wanted to stay where the action was, and her instincts told her that the action would follow the girl. Why Faris had felt it was necessary to send Simeon along with her, however, she had no idea. It wasn't as if hostage transfer was difficult work, even if the hostage was a Jedi. The fact that Simeon was sent along as well made her even less satisfied with this assignment—not only was she being given a Padawan's job, but Faris had felt it required her to have help. That Simeon was so utterly useless made his "help" that much more insulting.
Sharna Ren approached the door to Hux's personal quarters and ordered the stormtroopers standing outside to let them in. To their credit, they did not question her authority to enter. The door slid open with a hiss, and Sharna stepped inside, Simeon ever at her heels.
Sharna took a moment to take in the state of Hux's chambers. Utilitarian, everything in its proper place… She noted the only decorative touches in the room were in the form of First Order propaganda posters, military artifacts and the like. I'll say this for him, he really appreciates order, thought Sharna. Not much of a personality beyond that though…
Rey's head had been drooping uncomfortably from where her body was suspended at a forward angle above the floor. At the sound of the door opening, she craned her neck slowly upwards to take in her visitors.
Noting her puffy eyes and moist cheeks, Sharna Ren could only look upon her hostage with disdain. "Well, Jedi, we're here to collect you. Cooperate with us, and maybe I'll think twice about running you through."
Rey said nothing. All she did in response was to try to work some kinks out of her neck as she prepared to be transferred. Without offering any emotion or form of resistance, she allowed herself to be handled.
"Terrific, good chat," said Sharna, rolling her eyes under her mask. She triggered the release that bound Rey's legs to the base of the harness, and they swung lazily forward under Rey's body until they dusted the floor of Hux's chambers. Her center of gravity now over her feet, Rey's arms could be freed. Sharna pulled some binders from a clip at her waist and approached the restraints on Rey's right side. "Get the other arm," she ordered Simeon, who swiftly obeyed.
After Rey's right arm was liberated, Sharna took a step toward Rey's middle to meet Simeon, who was still fiddling with Rey's left restraint. As she planted her foot in front of Rey, she felt something. Giving no outward indication that she had noticed anything, she glanced surreptitiously to the floor, nudging the item with her toe. On the ground, nearly invisible against the onyx tile, sat a single black glove, identical to the sort worn by all the Knights of Ren.
So that's how it is. My, this is getting interesting.
She looked at Simeon, who was still struggling with the harness. "Come on, Simeon, give me her wrist. Let's get this skinny bitch back to Faris before she bores me to death." After fastening Rey's left wrist into the other side of the binders, she impatiently tugged and dragged Rey toward the door, paying no heed to Rey's awkward stumblings as she was forced to suddenly re-engage the muscles in her legs after their hours-long bondage.
As Sharna Ren turned to leave, her eyes caught the only other object in Hux's quarters that didn't appear to be in its proper place. Across the room, atop the finely polished and utterly unadorned desk, sat something that she hadn't noticed when she'd scanned the room upon entering—the one thing in the whole room that would have held any actual interest for her: a lightsaber. That it had somehow escaped her initial attention confused and rankled her.
Sharna scowled. Hux's disdain for the Force was evident in his every arrogant and presumptuous gesture. She found it mildly offensive that Hux should be in possession of a Jedi's lightsaber, even if she was the enemy. This was a trophy he didn't deserve.
Her attention snapped back to her comrade. "Well, we've kept our most Supreme Leader waiting long enough. It's time we brought him his prize. Why don't you get a head start and I'll catch up. I want to snoop through Hux's stuff a little before I go," she said with a smirk. Her reputation included a penchant for malicious mischief, and in this instance that reputation worked in her favor, lending credibility to her ruse. Even if it didn't, she didn't believe for an instant that Simeon had the wherewithal to protest.
Simeon Ren exhaled a long breath out through his mask, but he took Rey and left, as instructed. Although she and Simeon were technically equals, he was so passive she found it easy to order him around. Once they were safely out the door and she was alone again, she called the saber into her hand.
But it didn't obey.
What the hell? Irritated, Sharna Ren stormed up to the desk and snatched the saber up from its surface. Prepared to dismiss it immediately as a piece of Jedi trash, there was small sting in her pride as she was forced to concede a measure of respect upon looking it over.
Impressive… she thought. I mean, it looks like it was built in a shed, but it's solidly constructed; clearly a modified sword hilt, but repurposed quite expertly. She flicked it on, letting it hum in her grasp for a few seconds before giving it a twirl. Good balance… elegant, if distinctly homemade. She furrowed her brow, considering. And an odd color… She extinguished the weapon and tucked it into her belt, hiding it under her cloak at the small of her back.
She thought it best to collect Kylo's glove as well. Summoning it into her hand from across the room, there was a touch of relief that her abilities in that area hadn't totally abandoned her. She chalked her earlier failure up to a stubborn kyber crystal.
Slipping the glove into a hidden pocket on the inside of her cloak, Sharna Ren intended to keep its existence hidden indefinitely—she didn't want Hux to find it there later and begin asking questions. Having information her comrades didn't have had always served her well, kept her competitive. Sharna Ren had a lot of secrets.
In keeping with her original story, and also for the sheer pleasure she took in disrespecting Hux, she went ahead and snooped through his desk and wardrobe, too.
Finding absolutely nothing surprising about the meticulously ordered contents of either piece of furniture, she decided she'd fiddled around enough. It was time to meet Simeon in the hangar to board their shuttle back to the Supremacy II. As she walked, she contemplated the knowledge that Kylo Ren was likely on his way here for the girl, and a plan took shape in her mind.
—
Poe glanced reflexively at the radar. The beacon that had been given to Rey indicated that the Finalizer was headed galactic-westward from Kamino. Ben had guessed it would come to rest in the Unknown Regions, as that had been a favorite haunt of Snoke's. By the time it appeared that Rey's signal had actually dropped out of hyperspace, the Millennium Falcon had been headed in that direction for two hours.
"According to the beacon, the Finalizer is just coreward of the edge of the Unknown Regions, galactic-north of Rakata Prime," Poe announced. "At this speed, we should be there in a few hours."
Chewbacca huffed his agreement with Poe, then lifted his arms behind his head and leaned back in his copilot's seat to relax a little.
Poe stood. "You get some rest, buddy. I'll be in the back." Stepping out of the cockpit, Poe worked his way back toward the lounge where he knew Finn would be anxiously fidgeting at the dejarik table. Finn's eyes darted up to him expectantly. BB-8, who had been keeping a watchful eye on the troubled Finn, whirled around expectantly, hoping Poe's presence would succeed at lifting Finn's spirits where his own had not.
Straightening in his seat, Finn asked, "You input the coordinates? How long?"
"A few hours. Nothing we can do now but wait."
Finn nodded quickly, his knee bouncing up and down nervously. Poe sighed, aware that his best friend was needing reassurance, but being momentarily distracted by what he wasn't seeing. "Where's, uh, where's Ben?" he asked.
"I think he's around the corner, toward the cargo bay," answered Finn.
Poe nodded and walked off in search of their brooding companion. Rounding a corner, Poe found himself in the repair bay. The cargo bay lay just beyond, but Poe didn't need to go that far to find Ben. Poe located him just fore of the hold, standing in a corner looking down at something. Creasing his brows quizzically, Poe approached Ben and proceeded to question him. "What are you doing? Find something?"
Ben was slow to respond. With a sigh, he looked up from the floor and took a step back, allowing Poe to see what was nestled in the corner that had so fully consumed his attention.
"A storage cubby?" Poe was doubtful of the interest value such a space could hold.
"It's a service access," Ben said simply. "I used to hide in there. When I was a kid."
Poe had forgotten that this was, after all, Ben's father's ship. Kylo Ren of the First Order had been a child once, and had apparently spent his time on this ship crawling around in the access ports. Looking at him now, the tall, menacing figure with the power of life and death at his fingers, it seemed almost comical. How had this demon of a man ever been a child?
This humanizing line of conversation struck Poe as enormously off-putting, and he wanted nothing more to do with it. Time to change the subject. "So it's a few hours before we get to the Finalizer—it's just outside the Unknown Regions. By the time we get there, the rest of the Resistance will have already reached Arkanis."
Ben simply hummed in reply, his eyes never leaving the service access.
Unable to bear anymore of Ben's catatonic reminiscing, Poe walked back toward the lounge.
Ben was grateful Poe hadn't stuck around—he was regretting having divulged any details about his childhood to him. That Poe knew anything about him that wasn't already common knowledge made him uncomfortable. He cursed his momentary weakness.
"Master Ben, I do hope you're not thinking about crawling around in there again."
Ben jumped slightly at the unexpected noise—he had thought he had been left alone. He recognized the voice as that of C-3PO, and instantly, he was in another time. He froze, as if he'd been caught in some transgression.
"I say, you're quite a bit bigger than you were back in those days. I don't believe I'd be able to get you out of there this time."
Ben had recovered his senses, and turned his head slowly over his shoulder to regard the protocol droid. C-3PO, upon meeting the gaze of his former master, suddenly jerked upright, as though horrified he'd made some misstep, and contritely scurried off.
Ben sighed and stepped away from the tiny service access, burying his head in his hands. Though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was that had him feeling so out of sorts, he knew this was more than he could bear. The confluence of events that had gotten him to where he was right now… this was not a thing he felt ready to handle.
His pulse throbbed in his ears. Too fast, too loud. He focused on his breathing. In, and out. He released a long breath into his hands. The warm air passed through his fingers, still covering his face. It felt moist on his palms. No, not his palms. His palm. His right hand only. His stomach dropped. Slowly pulling his hands from his face, Ben opened his care-worn eyes and stared at his hands, horror descending upon him as he realized where he'd been when he had removed one of his gloves and carelessly let it fall to the floor.
Ben's mind raced. Maybe they won't find it, he thought, but he knew those hopes were probably in vain—Hux at least would recognize that the glove wasn't one of his own, and would get suspicious. He tried to figure out what the First Order could do with the knowledge that he and Rey shared a Force connection and could go so far as to pass objects back and forth through space. They would naturally want to look for any homing devices—they'll know we're coming. How big a deal was that? Even if the First Order didn't know that there was a rescue effort underway, they might have assumed that anyway. Does this development actually change anything?
Ben couldn't decide if this was going to complicate things that much or not, and if so, how. He hated to admit it, but this was something he probably needed to tell the others.
—
Sharna and Simeon Ren had escorted Rey to a holding cell on the Supremacy II and were awaiting the arrival of the Supreme Leader and General Hux. The Jedi, who was now strapped back into a formal interrogation chair, hadn't said a word the entire time, and the last thing Sharna wanted to do was talk to Simeon. If it weren't so unbecoming, she would have been pacing with boredom.
Finally, and with little fanfare, Faris Ren and General Hux entered the holding cell. "Supreme Leader," greeted Sharna with a shallow bow.
Ignoring Sharna, Faris Ren simply looked Rey up and down disapprovingly. "This is the Jedi? She doesn't look like much. Lorim really wasn't able to get anything out of her? He's more useless than I'd imagined."
Hux knew better than to let his guard down around Rey. "I would caution you against underestimating her, my lord. It was with her help that Kylo Ren was able to dispose of Supreme Leader Snoke."
Sharna Ren waited patiently for Faris to begin his interrogation. She wanted to do a little interrogating of her own, but believed she would have more luck if the Jedi were already preoccupied with trying to fend off Faris. She knew what Faris would be looking for—Sharna would be poking around elsewhere.
Rey looked Faris Ren resolutely in his eyes as he raised his hand to her face. Summoning the Force to her to defend against his intrusion, her face took on a stern and tenacious cast. Faris's brows knitted together as he redoubled his efforts.
Unbeknownst to Faris, Sharna had also begun her assault on Rey. Faris would be looking for the location of the Resistance stronghold. Sharna didn't care about that—she had no fear of the Resistance, at least not yet. What she wanted to know about was Kylo Ren. About the Jedi herself. What were their intentions? Surely Kylo Ren hadn't aligned himself with the Resistance. He must be playing at something else, preparing to retake control of the First Order. She would be damned if she would tolerate another competitor over the rewards she had earned time and again through her cunning and strategic genius.
Amazingly, she was unable to learn anything whatsoever from the Jedi's mind.
"I don't believe it," huffed Faris Ren, lowering his hand in agonized defeat. He growled, "This rebel whelp's mind is nothing. It's a black box." He looked Rey over, appraising her with begrudging respect as she lay perspiring in her restraints. "How could she know anything of Force Immunity… to have attained this level of skill?"
Hux, confused and agitated, looked from Faris to Rey and back to Faris. "What do you mean?" he shouted. "Can't you read her mind? Where is the base? What have you learned?" The look on his face said it all—he felt betrayed that his Force-wielding pawn was unable to do the one thing Hux had thought he would be good for.
Faris shook his head. "Force Immunity is a guard against Dark influence. I cannot penetrate her mind as long as she has her shield up."
Hux was indignant. "Well, torture her then!" he screamed. "Do something! They can't just be allowed to remain hidden! They must be destroyed!"
Faris Ren turned his attention to Hux and silenced him with an invisible vise to his throat. "You presume to give me orders, General?"
Hux clawed at his neck, eyes bulging with shock and fury. Hux's next words would have earned him a quick death had he been allowed to continue speaking, so it was an odd sort of luck that he'd been rendered temporarily mute.
"We don't have time for this now. At this moment, our attention should be on Arkanis and Corellia," Faris declared, releasing Hux from his psychic grip and calmly exiting the detention cell. Sharna and Simeon followed behind him. "We need to make contact with Prarathi and Lorim Ren. Finding whatever hole the Resistance is hiding in can wait." Faris departed without looking back, a besieged Hux fuming in his wake.
The doors to the cell slid shut behind them as they left, leaving Hux alone with Rey, panting and brimming with pent up rage. He watched the doors close with wide eyes, then turned to Rey.
"You bitch," he spat. "You're going to tell me where that base is, or I'm going to cut you to pieces. I don't need some worthless mystic to get what I want from you, I'm perfectly willing to use more traditional methods." With that, he stormed up to her and slapped her in the face, leaving her left cheek red and swollen.
Rey flinched at the sudden physical force, and glared back at him. She could tell Hux was serious. She had to think quickly or he might actually make good on his threats.
"You will release me from these restraints and allow me to leave," she said, summoning all the concentration she could in her compromised state.
Hux was undeterred by her attempt. "I'm not some weak-minded fool. That's not going to work on me. I will get you to talk. Any other time, I might have been satisfied just to punish you for the sheer number of new recruits and dead clones you cost me today, but I'm afraid I need to get some information before I can kill you. Now, where is the base?" and he punched her in the face hard enough that Rey's vision darkened and flashed with spots of light. The pain in her eye socket was so severe she was pretty sure Hux had fractured that part of her skull.
She steeled herself for what she knew was ahead of her. This is nothing compared to what I've done, she thought.
Rey's head was pounding, making it difficult to think. Bound as she was, she couldn't use the Force to manipulate Hux physically, and she was unable to affect him mentally. Her face hurt, and Hux continued his verbal and physical assault upon her. She wasn't even certain that answering his questions directly would grant her any reprieve—she could feel his enjoyment at just beating her up.
Rey needed help. Her left eye was already swollen shut from the punch to the face she had received, but she closed her other eye and tried her best to center herself, retreating from what was happening around her. Reaching out through the Force, she tugged on the threads that connected her to Ben.
—
Poe was sitting in the lounge, his head reclined against the seat cushion. He stared up at the ceiling, contemplating their next move. In just another hour or two, they would reach the Finalizer, and Rey. Finn was still nervously bouncing his knee up and down as he lay slumped over the dejarik table. Ben had yet to emerge from the repair bay.
Chewbacca announced his presence with a low growl. Finn, still unable to understand Wookiee, expectantly flicked his eyes from Chewie to Poe, who had jerked his head forward to acknowledge their friend. "You heard from the Resistance? What's the word?"
Chewie responded with a series of glottal utterances, and Poe nodded his head. "Thanks, Chewie." Turning to Finn, Poe translated. "He says the engagement at Arkanis is going pretty well. Our forces arrived to find the First Order having barely gotten started. They had deployed all of their ground shuttles but found none had returned yet. They're hoping to steal the recruitment ships, but will destroy them if necessary."
"So, no kids stolen yet. That's something." Finn sighed, glad for the relatively good news, but nonetheless despondent. "We should be there to help. We should be anywhere to help. But we're nowhere. We're hours from anything."
"Yeah, we're pretty much going to miss this one," agreed Poe. Chewie huffed.
Without any sound to have foretold his arrival, Ben appeared in the doorway. Finn sat up straight and leveled his eyes on him curiously. Ben just stared back.
"Dammit, I hate when you just barge into a room and moodily stare at people. What? What is it?" urged Poe.
Ben took a step further into the lounge. "It's likely that they already know we're coming. The element of surprise we thought we might enjoy is probably compromised."
Poe's brows creased with concern. "How would they know? Did they find the beacon on Rey? Did you just talk to her or something?"
Ben shook his head. Poe thought he detected a trace of shame on Ben's normally smug face. Poe's eyes narrowed. "What do you know?" he asked suspiciously.
Ben held up his hands, revealing one bare and one gloved palm.
Poe stood up, red-faced and irate. "You kriffing idiot!" he shouted. Finn took a moment longer to figure out what had Poe so angry, but it finally dawned on him what the problem was. His face sunk with the realization. Chewbacca observed morosely.
"Just like that, you blow our cover!? I can't believe what a fool you are!" Poe continued to scream at Ben.
Ben, to his credit, just stood there taking the verbal onslaught with relative calm. The look on his face acknowledged his misstep. He understood what he might have cost them.
Poe continued hurling insults at Ben and pacing madly around the lounge for another minute. When it looked like he had started to get things out of his system, Ben took a step towards him.
"I know it was stupid, but let's try to be calm. It's possible this changes nothing. For all we know, they've been preparing for a rescue mission all along. They would have been stupid not to consider it."
Finn looked on incredulously at the unlikely role-reversal playing out before him—the two men in front of him were arguing, and it was he with the reputation for sudden, destructive fits of rage who was calling on the other to remain calm.
Before Finn could get used to this new Ben, the relative calm was replaced with wide-eyed frenzy. It was so startling that even Poe had to stop and reassess things.
Ben was losing his mind. He was screaming, clutching at his head, and furiously pacing the room, paying no heed to whatever, or whomever, was in his path. As soon as Poe realized Ben's outburst was unrelated to what they had just been arguing about, he governed his own outrage and attempted to reassert himself into Ben's attention.
"Whoa, whoa, what the hell is the matter with you?" asked Poe, arms raised defensively against Ben's manic onslaught.
Ben's pacing slackened, but he continued his raving as he fixed his wide-eyed stare on Poe. "Rey!" he howled, and fell to his hands and knees. "It's Rey!"
Finn dropped to the ground in front of Ben, desperate to understand the nature of Rey's situation, but Ben wouldn't calm down enough to answer any questions. Poe stepped forward in an attempt to take charge. Gripping Ben by both shoulders, Poe shook him hard and called for him to get control. When these efforts failed to produce the desired effect, Poe slapped him right across the face.
Ben continued staring into space in front of him, his pupils dilated, moaning and breathing heavily. His tirade, however, had diminished.
Poe shook him once more. "Get a hold of yourself!" he yelled. "Rey's in trouble, we get it! But running around screaming isn't going to help. Get a grip and focus!"
Ben's eyes recentered on Poe, and his gasping abated somewhat. Panting, he sat up a little straighter. "They're torturing her… I can feel it. What they're doing to her… I can feel everything," he said, his voice cracking.
"Is there anything you can do? If you tried to see her now, would you be able to help her?" Poe wondered inwardly if Ben could summon the concentration necessary to even do such a thing, but talking, at least, had a pacifying effect. If Poe could keep Ben focused on helping Rey rather than on what was being done to Rey, they could get somewhere.
Ben breathed unsteadily. "I don't know. If she's being tortured, she's not alone. I don't know if my presence would put her in more danger or less."
"Well, I don't know what else we can try from here. Can you give it a shot? Focus!" urged Poe.
"Do it for her," said Finn, placing an encouraging hand on Ben's shoulder. "Just, maybe take your other glove off first."
Ben looked at him, nodding as he pulled off his remaining glove and shifted his weight back onto his knees. Ben sucked in a long intake of breath and closed his eyes, which had started to bleed.
—
Sharna Ren knew it was only a matter of time before Kylo would appear, and her mind was going in circles trying to strategize a way to turn this knowledge to her advantage. Having put Hux in his place, Faris was on his way to the bridge to oversee the recruitment operations. She followed closely behind, wanting to be sure she was current on what was happening planetside as she looked for opportunities to advance her position.
At Faris Ren's approach, the doors to the bridge slid open and the crew turned their attention toward the intrusion. The new Supreme Leader's face was not well known at this point, but of the three darkly dressed individuals who entered, they made the logical assumption that the one who wasn't wearing a mask was probably the one toward whom they should direct their deference.
"Supreme Leader," effused the bridge commander. "Welcome. How may I be of service?"
"What is the situation with the recruitment effort at Arkanis?" inquired Faris. Sharna listened closely.
"My lord, things at Arkanis are grim," replied the commander. "Our forces were intercepted by the Resistance. Though we destroyed many of their vessels in defense of our operations, the Liska was destroyed by their bombers, and the Taiga was stolen."
Faris quivered with rage at this news. "And at Corellia?"
The officer stood a little taller. "I am pleased to report that the operation at Corellia has gone much more smoothly, my lord." The commander was tremendously relieved at having been able to change the subject to something less likely to see him executed, and was happy to elaborate. "Lorim Ren reported that the mission went off with no rebel interference, and only token resistance from the locals. Both the Gashel and the Bevel are on their way back to Kamino, fully loaded, and over twelve hundred new adult conscripts are being detained on Corellia."
"Good. I'm pleased we were able to keep at least one secret from the Resistance," muttered Faris.
Sharna had come to her decision. It was time to pull the trigger. "My lord, please allow me to escort you back to your chambers. Surely Simeon Ren can oversee things from here and alert you should anything further require your attention." Simeon directed his gaze back to Sharna. She suspected he was irritated at being asked to complete a bridge lieutenant's job, but you'd never know it through the mask. So much the better for her.
Faris nodded. "Agreed. Simeon, alert me the moment our forces arrive at Kamino." Simeon bowed reverently, indicating his compliance.
Is that idiot a deaf-mute or something? Weirdo never talks… thought Sharna. In all the years she'd known him, she had never even seen him wield his lightsaber—he just kept it clipped to his belt like it was decoration. Whatever. Simeon was not her concern. She would get Faris back to his quarters, and then things would fall into place.
—
Hux's knuckles were aching, and he had learned nothing whatsoever about the Resistance from Ren's wastrel as she lay bleeding in front of him. He was feeling a little better though—taking his frustrations out on his captive had helped clear his head somewhat. He was losing patience with her tight lips, however, bloodied though they were.
"Well, you filthy scavenger, I've just about grown tired of using merely my hands to torment you. Unless you start telling me something I want to hear, I'll have no choice but to leave and come back with something to help motivate some answers out of you."
Rey was thoroughly battered. Through shallow meditation, she had been able to withstand the physical abuse well enough that she could keep quiet about anything that held value to Hux, but she knew her body would not be the same as it was. What little vanity she ever possessed was being cast aside as she mourned the loss of her original bone structure.
"Still nothing? My word, you are stubborn. I'm actually feeling some guilt for having maligned Kylo Ren to our dearly departed Supreme Leader Snoke for his failure to pull the map from your mind. You truly are a tough nut to crack." He regarded her with a small measure of respect, but it quickly passed as he considered his next move. "Do you even have any bones left for me to break?" He took a threatening step towards her, cocking his arm, preparing to strike her again. Before he could release the tension stored in his muscles, he froze as his eyes took in what surely must have been some insane hallucination.
Kylo Ren was there, standing just to the left of the scavenger, holding her hand in its restraint. He was looking her over with a pained expression on his face.
Hux must have made some noise, because Kylo Ren's attention was pulled away from the girl. Kylo turned to face him, murder in his eyes. Hux staggered backward, struck dumb from the sight. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the monstrous specter in front of him.
"You…" was all Kylo said, voice dripping with venom. Without breaking physical contact, he shifted his weight, and his right arm flew out toward Hux, who found himself being struck with what felt like a durasteel bat to his entire body. He was hurled backward into the detention cell door, cracking his head against the metal surface and crumpling in a heap against the floor.
Dazed and physically stunned, Hux could barely summon the presence of mind to reach for the door release. Kylo had not advanced on him—he remained rooted in place at the girl's side. However, he made a move like he was preparing a second assault. Hux could hear his broken ribs crack as he scrabbled to his hands and knees, literally crawling out of the cell, hollering to the guards to seal the door behind him. They must have already known something was amiss, because they complied without missing a beat.
Hux vomited where he knelt, barely choking out the word "Ren" before blacking out and collapsing into the puddle he had just made.