Chapter 13: Recaptured and Questioning Loyalties
Kylo stood in stunned shock. What was it that made both his wife and baby defy him at every turn? He had thought that Briana had wanted a father. It seemed as if she hated what kind of a father he was and wanted nothing to do with him. "Turn on the tractor beam. I don't want my daughter escaping me again," Kylo ordered Hux.
"As you wish, Supreme Leader. Do you wish us to restrain or stun her?" Hux asked.
"You can restrain her, but I don't wish her to be stunned," Kylo said as Hux turned to one of the techs and ordered the tractor beam turned on. Kylo stood and waited. It was only a matter of moments before Briana's x-wing came back into the hangar. He felt her shock through the Force and the look of betrayal in her eyes as she came out of her ship and the stormtroopers put the binders on her wrists was nearly his undoing.
Father, please! Don't do this! Briana thought at him through the Force.
Kylo closed his eyes in an attempt to block his girl's anguish. "Take her to my quarters. If she escapes, your life will be forfeit," Kylo ordered Hux. Hux had seen Kylo end many different lives, so he knew Kylo was serious about ending his life if Briana escaped.
Briana stood next to Armitage Hux on the lift that carried her back to her father's quarters. "May I ask you something, General?" Briana asked after a long stretch of silence.
"Is there a reason I should answer any questions by rebel scum?" Hux asked, refusing to look at her.
"Just call it morbid curiosity, I guess. But I guess my question is this; why do you let Kylo Ren threaten you like that? Why don't you just leave? You can join the resistance. My grandmother, General Organa could use a man like you," Briana said.
"I have been in the First Order since your father destroyed Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy. Do you really think the resistance would welcome me after that?" Hux asked.
"I honestly don't know, but if I tell them you helped me, they might. Grandmother, Uncle Luke, and my mother would believe me," Briana said.
"I didn't say I'd help you," Hux said, with a small grin.
"No, but you want to. You hate it when my father orders you to kill someone, don't you?" Briana asked.
"In all honesty, yes. But your father will kill me," Hux said, his stubbornness breaking.
"No, he won't. If you let me go and come with me, we in the resistance can help you. We can protect you. I've been protected by them all my life," Briana said.
"I believe you, but it is too late for me," Hux said as they stepped off the lift and he led her to the door leading into Kylo's chambers.
"All right, but if you change your mind, let me know. I'll be here," Briana said as he opened the door and Briana stepped in.