A/N: A big thanks to SirenBanshee. You are one amazing beta!
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"Jaken," he commanded the nearest Guard. "Get all weapons out of the small training hall. I'll be interrogating our visitor there."
"Sir!" Jaken saluted and took off.
Phasma let out a small huff and Kylo glanced at her.
"I was wondering how to protect you in a storage room, sir," she stated honestly. "If he's really a rogue Knight, he's a force to be reckoned with."
"I won't even give him the chance," Kylo growled, feeling his anger grow again.
Phasma didn't reply and they quickly made their way to the room in which they had imprisoned Rogue. Two Guards were stationed at the door.
"Open up," Kylo ordered.
Rogue was sitting on a stack of canned supplies, his posture still uncaring. Now that Kylo knew who he was, however, he realised it could all just be an act. He narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Rogue," he greeted. "Or should I call you Elias?"
"Ah," Rogue answered with an unpleasant grin. "I see they talked. Are they dead yet?"
Kylo didn't answer but merely stepped to the side. "Drag him out."
Rogue let out a deep sigh but allowed himself to be grabbed by each arm and pulled to the small training hall. Jaken was waiting for them by the entrance.
Kylo was surprised by how much work his Guard had done in what little time he'd given them. The training hall was entirely stripped. He nodded at Jaken in acknowledgement and told him to continue to guard the door.
Once inside, on Kylo's command, the Guard released Rogue and took position in the four corners. Phasma stayed close by his side.
"Is this to be my execution?" Rogue mocked.
Kylo could see the tension in him though. It seemed that living outside the First Order had eroded his mask.
"Before you pull out your saber, however," Rogue continued, "I have a little message for you."
"A message?" Kylo echoed, indignant.
"Well, not really a message, since it's something I did myself," Rogue continued. "So more like a slice of information?"
"Get on with it."
Rogue grinned. "Impatient much?"
Kylo took a menacing step forward and Rogue threw up his hands.
"Alright, I get it. Let's just say that a certain family of five has found a happy new life."
It took Kylo a moment to process the words. "Soma?" he muttered.
Rogue smiled widely, confirming Kylo's words.
"You're one of Maz's?" Kylo barked, eyes narrowed.
He took another step forward. Maz had promised to stay out of his operations. She had promised not to send another spy, yet she sent a rogue Knight?
"Oh, no," Rogue laughed, catching Kylo by surprise. "She tried. She tried hard, but I'd served a master for long enough. I didn't get out just to change Snoke for another master, albeit a friendlier one."
"So you are a rogue Knight," Kylo questioned.
"Defecting is the best thing I've ever done," Rogue confirmed.
"How?"
"How I defected?" Rogue laughed again. "It was ridiculously easy, really. I walked up to a transport, told the pilot I had orders to go to the planet they were going to, and that was that. I got off, switched clothes and disappeared."
Kylo stared at him, incredulous.
"Difficult to believe, huh?" Rogue commented with a shrug. "I survived by joining the underground fighting scene. Close-quarters combat has always been my strength. Took me no time at all to rise to the top. Earned good money too.
"That's where Maz found me. That little woman has some sass. Frowned at me big-time when I kept refusing to join her spy group." He shook his head slightly. "She kept coming back. Eventually, I managed to step out of the fighting rings and became one of the underground bosses. I had connections on several planets by then. I agreed to help Maz out from time to time in exchange for information. I've been sheltering and relocating discovered spies ever since.
"So, no," he finished, "I don't report to her and never will."
"You give this information up so easily," Kylo said, feeling wary about the entire situation.
"I see no need to keep it secret," Rogue answered. "Silence isn't going to stop you from killing me."
"How very practical," Kylo sneered, feeling like he'd lost control over the situation. "You've forgotten to mention one thing though."
"Oh?"
"How you found our Base."
"Oh. Maz, of course. Although I don't report to her, I did inform her about the information Daze and Quicksilver gave me." He tilted his head, assessing. "Her answer was 'Oh, so that's what he's doing over there.' Odd, isn't it? She already knows where you're at, but the Resistance does not."
Kylo turned to Phasma. "You know who to check," he growled.
"I definitely do," Phasma answered, grim.
"Ah. It seems you already know who the spy among you is."
"That is none of your concern," Kylo snapped. He assessed Rogue. "If you had it so good in your position as boss. If defecting was the best thing you'd ever done. Why are you here?"
Rogue let out a short, barked laugh. "Curiosity."
"Curiosity?" Kylo repeated. No matter how hard he tried, he felt like he couldn't quite grasp Rogue. "You risked your life out of curiosity?"
The former Knight shrugged. "Life was getting boring."
"Right." Kylo assessed Rogue again, on edge, before exploding. "I've had enough of this!" he yelled, Force-slamming Rogue against the far wall and holding him up with an invisible hand around his neck. "What is it you hope to achieve!?"
Rogue choked, a hand at his throat. Kylo loosened his grip a bit.
"Learn," Rogue managed to say.
Despite everything, there was still no fear to be seen in the man's face or countenance, only massive discomfort. It was like he had long accepted to go down with whatever happened.
"So you think that by barging in here, you earn the right to be taught?" Kylo growled.
"One can try," Rogue answered, hoarse from the lack of oxygen.
Kylo released him and the man dropped to the floor, coughing and heaving big breaths. He looked around the room before turning towards Phasma.
"This room can be guarded well enough, I guess?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then this is where he stays," he said. "Get him something to sleep on."
"Yes, sir."
"I was a Knight once," Rogue said behind them.
Kylo looked at him over his shoulder. Rogue was leaning against the wall, still trying to regulate his breath.
"I remember the Force," Rogue continued. "Always have, even though it's gone now. The idea that maybe… How could I not come?"
Walking out of the room, Kylo pretended to ignore the man's last words as well as the sliver of pain that had been in Rogue's voice when he uttered them. It had been the first sign of any emotion other than contempt and mockery.
Once back in his office, he dragged a hand across his face and started pacing. The situation was impossible. The security of his Base had been compromised. A man who had already betrayed the First Order once had returned on a spark of hope. Two of his Knights had been planning to elope. How to deal with the situation?
"Get me Jessy," he ground out.
"Sir?"
"I will pluck it out of her head. I have no time for mercy."
"Yes, sir."
Phasma spoke briefly into her comm. Kylo kept pacing while they waited for Jessy to arrive. Eventually, the door hissed open and Jessy stepped through, her helmet under her arm.
"Sir," she started.
Kylo bodily slammed her against the wall as soon as the door was closed again and the Guard outside was shut out. The helmet clattered to the ground.
"Was it you?" he bellowed in her face.
"I have nothing to do with this Rogue, sir," she squeaked, obviously scared. "I have never seen him, nor communicated with him. I don't know, sir."
"He learned this location from Maz," Kylo offered. He could hear how his tone turned vicious but he hardly cared. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
"No, sir! I swear, I haven't."
Kylo huffed and plunged into her mind. He muffled her pained screech with his hand, but was then surprised by her surrender. She opened her mind completely to him.
"I have nothing to hide."
The thought sounded clear in his ears. For a split second, he halted his search, confused by Jessy's behaviour. Then, he decided he didn't care, that it could be a ruse, and continued searching.
He found nothing.
When he let her go, Jessy slumped to the ground. Blood was dripping from her nose. She pulled off an arm guard so she could wipe it on her bodysuit before replacing it.
"Then who?"
"I don't know, sir," she answered. Her voice shook.
"Contact Maz. Now."
"Yes, sir." There was a moment of silence. "A message has been sent out, sir. I don't know how long before- Ah. I'll ask her immediately, sir."
Kylo stared at Jessy who was obviously concentrating. He figured it wasn't easy after he'd rummaged in her mind earlier. His eyes narrowed as Jessy winced.
"Sir." She sounded hesitant. "Maz is, uhm, unhappy with how I sound, sir. I tried to tell her it's okay but she wouldn't hear it. She said she would use 'other means' so she can, uhm, 'properly shout at you'. I'm sorry, sir."
Kylo and Phasma shared a glance.
"Get out," Kylo commanded Jessy.
The Guard wobbled as she got to her feet.
"Sir," Phasma spoke up. "Her state will be noticed. The schedules are being adapted to the current situation. Some Guards are going off-duty again so they are fresh later today. I suggest Jessy goes off-duty for now as well."
He gave her a dismissive nod before commanding Jessy to get out again. He trusted Phasma's judgement on the matter, but it was hardly his highest priority.
"Ben?" Rey's voice suddenly sounded in his head. "What's going on? Maz is livid. She's commanding we communicate."
"Just a moment," he thought at her before turning towards Jessy who was picking up her helmet. "Now!" he snapped at her.
She flinched and hurried out. Kylo let out a breath before turning his attention back to Rey.
"I need to talk to Maz," he said. "My surroundings."
"Okay," she answered, sounding unsure.
"You treacherous, rotten boy!" Maz yelled as soon as she came into view. "You attacked Jessy! She chose to stay, and this is how you treat her? You second-rate, vicious excuse of a human being! You-"
"I have a breach!" he yelled over her, taking an enraged step forward. "And you are the one who told them where to find me."
Maz halted her barrage of insults and tilted her head to the side. She seemed to be thinking and ignored Rey's angered 'You did what?'.
"Monik actually came to find you?" she eventually asked.
Kylo ignored the question. "How do you know the location of this Base?" he barked.
"That's why you beat up Jessy," Maz said. "Tssk, she really is trustworthy. You should not beat up people on assumptions."
"Why would I beat her up if I can just as easily go through her mind?"
"You are cruel when you get angry, Kylo Ren."
"And you," Kylo said, his anger peaking again, "are avoiding my question. Who. Is. Your. Spy?"
"There's no spy," Maz said, composed. "Not a permanent one, that is. I have a couple of your pilots reporting back to me. They usually offer me nothing more but material distribution, flight routes, and the occasional hint of a trade that could offer me good profit. One of them, however, passed by your door. His information was as basic as it always is, but I managed to piece together some puzzle pieces."
"So you decided it was a good idea to give this information to Rogue?" he snapped.
"Rogue? Is that how he calls himself now?" Maz chuckled. "Fitting."
"Stop deflecting," Kylo snapped.
"Yes, I gave it to Rogue," she said. "I told him to keep it to himself. He's trustworthy that way. I knew he was having some trouble with two-" she halted, squinting at him.
"I know about two of my Knights wanting to elope," he ground out.
"Rogue told you?"
"No, they did so themselves."
"Interesting."
"Disturbing."
Maz laughed and Kylo dragged a hand through his hair.
"So Rogue essentially did the same as you did; he puzzled together some of the information he had and came this way."
"Did you kill him? Did you kill your Knights?"
"Neither. Not yet, that is."
"If an old woman may give you some advice, I wouldn't. For Monik, or Rogue, to come back to the First Order tells me you have something he really, really wants. He essentially risked his life. And those other two. Rogue knows his trade. If they had wanted to leave, even from your facility, they would have disappeared. That they stayed, and offered up the information about wanting to leave, means you have changed their minds. They could be strong allies, all three of them, if you handle this well."
Kylo sighed. "Have you given the location of this Base to anyone else?"
"No, I have not. I will swear to that."
"Good," Kylo said. "Keep it that way." He looked to Rey, who was watching the both of them with confusion. "I will explain it all to you later, okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "I believe in you, Ben," she stated before letting go of their connection.