Chapter 50: Renege
Ben was struggling to get a handle on the situation. He honestly hadn't thought this far. Were there even wrist restraints in the fighter? Of course there were. He was the First Order's resident interrogator and torturer, after all.
Or had been.
Ben didn't quite know how to act like that again, he had changed so much, and it terrified him.
An unexpected weight fell into his lap as he fumbled around for the restraints he knew were in the overhead. His fingers finally closed around the metal cuffs, and he looked down, startled to see Rey's lightsaber resting on his legs.
"Keep it safe for me, Ben."
His eyes flew to Rey's face, and watched her in silence as she pulled back her hair into a haphazard bun.
"Won't want it getting lost amidst all the other relics, now would I?"
Ben could do nothing but look at her, his heart gripped in fear. She could see it, of course, and with a brave face that only Rey could muster, she stuck out her arms for the restraints to be strapped on. He didn't move.
Rey pursed her lips and huffed, "Come on, we don't have all day."
Her words were stern, but her tone was gentle.
Ben reluctantly slipped the cuffs onto her wrists, and activated them just as begrudgingly. He winced when they hummed to life, knowing that they would administer quite the jolt if she struggled at all.
He told her this in stuttering consonants and choked vowels, not quite able to speak for the way in which his heart was lodged in his throat. Rey seemed to understand, however, and carefully leaned forward to caress his cheek with her knuckles, before facing her hatch.
"Remember," she said, her chipper tone clearly a fabrication, "Kylo Ren."
"Kylo Ren," Ben echoed, finally able to muster coherent speech, and was assaulted by memories of repeating after Snoke once long ago, when he first to up the mantle.
Kylo Ren. Master of the Knights of Ren.
Sighing shakily, he clipped her saber to his belt as well, and opened his hatch to drop to the flight deck. Hux only raised a brow in greeting, and Ben inclined his head in return, keeping his features as schooled as he could manage as he walked around to Rey's hatch. Apathy was key…Apathy was key…
Though Ben sorely doubted he would be able to remain such for long.
With an air of old testiness, he flung open her hatch, and lifted her out by her upper arms, careful to make sure he did not hurt her, but rough enough to give the appearance of manhandling. Rey's tiny nod before he pulled her from the cockpit was all he needed to get through this initial phase…He hoped.
"Well, well," Hux drawled as Ben ushered Rey forward with a hand on her back, "Are you sure those mere cuffs are enough, Ren? And I see you gained a new trophy weapon. Delightful."
Nothing about his tone indicated taking any joy from this situation. If anything, Ben was somewhat surprised to hear exhaustion in the usually blasé General's tone, and…pity?
"Adequate enough," Ben answered stiffly, pulling a small, self-assured smirk.
Rey pushed back slightly on his hand and he could take the hint, shoving her a little harder but still making sure his hold on her back was more guiding than forceful. At least it would fool the others.
Hux did not look satisfied.
"And her Force abilities? Certainly, she can't hold a lightsaber now, but she got out of confinement before with the aid of the Force."
"That won't be a problem."
How the frack was he going to explain away this? Ben would not have her in a neural collar, he would not be able to withstand doing that…Not that.
"Oh?"
Ben brought her to a rest before Hux, and Rey did not meet the General's eyes. Instead, she slumped her shoulders as if beaten and broken, and let her head hang. Hux appraised her for a moment, honest astonishment on his face, before he laughed.
"What in the name of the stars above did you do to her, Ren? Surely this is not the same creature you brought in the first time around!"
"As I said, General," Ben spoke measuredly, with a decidedly bored yet threatening tone. It was a kind he had used many times with his Knights, "Adequate enough restraint."
Best to let the man imagine. Ben hoped it would be enough.
Rey rocked back against his hand. To their audience, the movement would have appeared to be a shudder. To Ben, it was reassurance, and perhaps a bit of glee for him going along with her act.
"Well then, I'll let my men take her to be processed for the cells-"
"Processed?" Ben barely managed to keep his voice steady, and in the same cautionary intonation he had used before where Rey was concerned.
"Simple protocol for a prisoner of war," Hux smirked, hallway leering at Rey in a way that riled Ben to no end, "She'll be decontaminated, redressed, left to stew a bit, the usual. Then the formal interrogations that we do here can take place."
Hux gestured to the squad around him, and it took conscious effort on Ben's part to not snap right there as Rey was yanked out his reach. His insides churned terribly when he caught her wincing, the action of having been pulled from him so roughly causing a reaction in the cuffs. Rey, however, did not break with the stance and mannerism she had adopted, and Ben watched her be marched away till she was out of sight, sickly awe lancing through his gut.
What she was doing was something incredible. Foolish, audacious, even suicidal. But incredible.
Now, it was just Hux and himself standing in the hangar, and though Ben didn't like the man very much, it was better than being completely alone. At least with the General around, he could be reminded how to act like Kylo Ren.
"How you managed that, Ren, I'll never know. But Supreme Leader Snoke will be pleased with at least some progress."
"Quite," Ben fixed Hux with a disinterested stare, "Unfortunately, bringing her in made pursuing Luke impossible-"
"Oh I don't doubt it," Hux snorted, "Besides the obvious logistical nightmare of subduing two live Jedi, it comes as no surprise to me that you opted for the girl instead of the man you were initially ordered to kill."
Ben could feel the blood in his veins freeze, and his heartrate increase.
Hux sighed in exasperation, "I suppose I'll never understand you Sith- or Darksiders, whatever- and your infatuation with those of equal if not more power than yourself. Either way, at least you managed to bring her in, neatly packaged an all."
Ben cleared his throat with false annoyance, "Infatuation, Hux?"
The redhead laughed, but oddly enough it was not a mocking sound, "Yes, infatuation. You're at least intrigued by the girl, this much is plain. You go to great lengths to try and persuade her to switch sides. While I will admit, an extra strong-arm lightsaber would be useful, it is not a necessity, yet you chase her as if it were."
"General-" Ben made for anger, but it came out as defensive.
"At ease, Ren," Hux shook his head, "I, quite frankly, couldn't give a flying frack over the politics involved in your wayward Force religion. My chief concern is the furthering of this empire-"
Ben could not believe what he was hearing. The aloof General had never spoken with such candidness before.
"-In all truth," Hux sneered, "I'm somewhat glad for the self-destructive nature of your kind. It means I won't have to deal with those two degenerates any longer…If the reports are true and they truly are dead?"
Ben nodded in affirmation, not trusting himself to speak.
"Fantastic," Hux sighed in relief, and shrugged when Ben looked at him in perplexity, "While I wouldn't put it past her to have been responsible, I'm not entirely sure you didn't have anything to do with it."
"That would be a matter of opinion, General," Ben muttered, his gut twisting.
Hux just laughed and gestured for Ben to follow him.
"Well, I am pleased either way. Now I won't have to deal with any deaths amongst my men just because two ingrates 'got bored'."
They turned several corners, and came to the corridor that branched off between dormitories and Detention.
Hux turned towards Detention, but paused and turned back to Ben, a smirk firmly on his lips.
"Oh, and, there's a gift for you from Supreme Leader Snoke in your chambers-" At least now the mocking tone so trademark of General Hux was back in place.
Ben was not sure what unnerved him most; being back on Korriban with Rey in tow, or General Hux behaving like a human being. Hux's odd chattiness certainly threw Ben when it came to being Kylo Ren.
"-Apparently he felt your gear needed completing. Anyway, a messenger will be along to inform you when we have done our part with the girl."
Ben was sorely tempted to follow Hux as he turned and walked down to the Detention level, but he knew that if he set foot in that direction while Rey was still being…Processed…He would most like rip every door off its hinge or slide to get to her. Against every instinct in his gut, he bit his tongue and turned to head to his chambers. Her lightsaber was a heavy weight on his belt. He knew he did not exude the tenuous rage that he once had, but he hoped the purpose with which he stalked to is room would be adequately intimidating enough for the troops to keep their usual distance.
He all but fell into the familiar stone chamber when the door was open wide enough for him to squeeze through, and he shut it just as quickly, heavily exhaling the tremendous breath he'd been holding from the crossroads till now. Ben's vision blurred over as he slumped onto his bed, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He inhaled a shuddering breath that hitched in his throat and choked him. Again, and again.
Swallowing hard, Ben righted himself and stared unseeingly at the cold stone masonry of the mausoleum-esque temple that doubled as a section of the base.
Home, he thought bitterly.
Home, and the only part that he'd ever found 'home' in was being dragged through the Detention level. For him.
Ben knew that Rey would tenaciously plough through whatever she needed to do. She had been like that as a youngling, perfectly understanding everything that was told to her, and following her own heart anyway. It had come as no surprise to Ben that she showed the same trait as a grown woman. He smiled slightly at the thought, taking comfort in the fact that her stubbornness still extended to include him.
Inconceivable, that Rey returned even an inkling of his feelings for her. Yet she did, and she was risking her life for his.
Ben sighed, and pushed himself off the end of the bed to pace the room. That was when a black shape on his bedside footlocker caught his eye. Taking it in his hands, he turned it over again and again, not quite registering what it was past the buzzing mess that was his current state of mind. When he did realise what it was, however, he dropped it as if burned, and watched it rock back and forth on the bedspread, it's visor socket almost jeering at him in its expressionlessness.
A helmet.
A near replica of his past one, in fact. Now Hux's words made perfect sense, Ben mused bitterly.
Snoke had presented him with his original helmet after the attack on Yavin Four, insisting it would help him separate himself from that life. Ben had readily agreed back then, eager to distance himself as much as possible. That mask had quickly become his safety net, as well as his prison. Ben needed it to hide himself, both from the people around him, as well as himself. Now…
Now he was somewhat repulsed by it an all it represented, but perhaps it would be of some use. Kylo Ren had never really been without his mask before Rey came along, it would help to regress back to it for the time he would need to embody that aimless ruthlessness again.
He wasn't sure how long he spent standing there, just staring at the sightless helmet, and lost in the incomprehensible din that wracked his mind. The pain of waiting on served to amplify the echo that was left in his mind whenever the bond between himself and Rey was cut off in this manner. It was akin to an itch that one could never scratch, or a headache that couldn't be soothed…Perhaps even a high-pitched whirr that always teased the edges of hearing, but never quite invaded nor ebbed.
On further thought, Ben decided that all of those, and more, would be better alternatives to the absence that taunted his mind.
Mercifully, a knock on his door provided an adequate distraction.
Ben all but tore it open, to find a vaguely harassed officer standing at attention.
"Your prisoner is ready, sir. Cell thirty-four-"
Ben was out of the door and walking before it had even begun to slide closed once more, and the officer had to almost jog to keep up.
"-We've taken the usual steps to prepare her for you, sir, as per your typical mandate-"
Oh Force, no.
Ben walked faster and his breath was coming short. The officer had slunk away, his words trailing off, as he no doubt saw what was akin to a murderous expression etched on Ben's face.
His typical mandate…
His typical-
When he reached the cell, he was stopped by another officer. This one cowed under the glare Ben shot him as he shakily handed over an envelope.
"Her personal effects. Just a necklace."
Ben took the package without a word, and the officer scuttled off, along with the two Stormtroopers who had originally been guarding the cell. While he waited for the hermetic door to open, Ben tipped the make-shift kyber crystal necklace out onto his palm. He had found many little shards like that one, but only one piece big enough to function as a focusing crystal. Why she would make a trinket out of his…Ben swallowed the dryness in his throat, and before he knew what he was doing, he hastily pulled the twine around his neck, and tucked the crystal under his tunic.
Then he stared straight ahead till the heavy door slid open, and he could enter the cell. The resounding clunk behind him indicated it had automatically shut once more.
His typical mandate.
Sure enough, when his eyes adjusted, Rey was strapped to one of those Force-damned interrogation pallets.
She disarmed him by throwing him a bright smile, though Ben could see it falter. Without any further hesitation, he strode forward and hastily pulled her out of the restraints, tucking her against his chest and running his hands up and down her back. As he held her, Ben silently thanked the Force and any other power out there that such chambers as these had no monitors or recorders in them.
Rey's hands were clenched in his tunic over his shoulders, and her head was nestled under his chin when they found peace in each other's closeness, and simply stood as they were.
"Did they hurt you at all?" he breathed, relieved that she had not looked any different to when he had seen her vanish into the halls, bar for simple grey robes instead of her combat ones.
She only shook her head against him, her voice otherwise muffled by his clothes.
He let her be, content to just hold her while she sorted through her own thoughts, trembling slightly in his embrace. He wasn't a fool. He knew she was doing her best to put on a fearless front, and it was not an easy thing to do.
After a few moments of gently rubbing circles into her back, Ben turned his head to kiss her hair, and that was when she let herself crumble ever so slightly. Rey's breathing was ragged, and Ben could feel the anxiety in her stance.
"You don't have to be brave now, Rey. It's just us."
"I know," she mumbled into his chest, still trying to keep her voice light, "But it's good practice."
Ben squeezed her closer, resting his cheek atop her head, and flicking his eyes around the room.
The chair, a bunk, and a refresher station. He hoped she'd be satisfied that he would be alright soon, so that he could devise a way to get her out of this damned place. Ben only dreaded what it would be required to prove that Snoke was appeased. Soon enough, Rey calmed in his arms, and took on an air far more tranquil than Ben could ever hope to be. He pulled her to sit on the bunk then, letting her shift and curl up against his side till she was comfortable before wrapping his arms around her shoulders once more.
Now it was just a game of waiting. Waiting for open-ended orders, or an ultimatum…Ben didn't quite know which of the two would be worse. Snoke enjoyed playing games.
It didn't take very long for the start of his answer to come, and Rey managed to kick him off the bunk for him to correct himself just before Hux entered. The General regarded Rey's now free, but still seemingly-fragile form on the bunk where she now lay, facing the wall, and huddled with her knees near her chest. Ben struggled to suppress a whimsical smirk at her actions. She was sharp witted and quick, there was no denying it. He could not imagine being on this woman's bad side during a true fight, for he would surely come off second best, fair and square.
His whimsical musings did not last long before Hux told him that Snoke called an audience. This was no shock to Ben, and he grimly accepted his fate, following the General out with one last glance at Rey before the doors closed.
Damn her, but she actually managed to peek over her shoulder and give him another encouraging nod.
Perhaps, Ben thought as he came to the choice of corridors again, that mask truly would prove useful. There was no escaping the dread that had begun to well within him, icy and leaden. Snoke was not easy to fool, and Ben was hardly a master of deceit. He would need all that he could get to supplement what Rey had taught him. Even then, it was a risky deal…
He let Hux carry on, and walked to his chambers first to fetch the helmet.
