Jeyna barely pays attention to where Ren is walking her, she is so disoriented. She's still horrified by how close she came to being killed in the worst way she can imagine. Furthermore, the images of the troopers' blank faces, unseeing eyes swirling in their sockets, are stuck in her mind. She had no idea Ren could do that to someone. It was like he had murdered their souls while leaving the hearts still beating.

She realizes he hasn't taken her to her room when she sees the door belonging to his quarters slide open. He guides her in, towards the couch in the living area. She sits wordlessly, wrapping her arms protectively around herself.

Ren kneels in front of her, and she watches as he removes the helmet to sit it on the floor. She feels distant as his eyes lock on to survey her, transmitting things she can't begin to read. She's too overwhelmed, her brain is trying to check out.

He lifts his hand, moving to touch her cheek the trooper had struck. He hesitates, and she feels the barest ghost of his fingers brushing over the skin.

"They were going to burn me to death," Jeyna says suddenly, in a matter of fact tone. His hand cups her cheek gently, his long fingers reaching back to rest against the sensitive skin behind her ear. She closes her eyes slowly, allowing a moment to wish the material of his glove wasn't between their skin.

"I know," he whispers.

"If it wasn't you, how did you know?" She opens her eyes after the question leaves her to search his gaze.

"I heard your thoughts," he says. "You were screaming at me."

"You could hear them? I didn't know if it would work."

"I always hear your thoughts," he admits, his hand drops from her face as he breaks his stare. She realizes what he's confessed. For him to always hear her thoughts, he must be focusing on her a great deal. Her heart beats a little faster, but she refuses to think more on it. She can't take any other conflicting emotions at the moment.

"Was it Hux?" she asks.

"Probably. But he's smart. A droid delivered the orders to them, the directive came from an anonymous source. I will place a search on the droid, but most likely it's already been destroyed," Ren explains. He stands, and begins pacing the room. The movements resemble a caged predator, all drive and no outlet.

Jeyna feels the tears stinging at her eyes again, even as she tries to blink them back. She is stuck on a ship with someone who is trying to kill her. He will likely not stop until he succeeds. And she feels like there is nothing she can do.

"I can't kill him," Ren spits out suddenly. Whether he's speaking to himself or her, Jeyna isn't sure, as her eyes follow his strides. Back and forth.

"Why not?" she asks timidly. The idea sounds plenty reasonable to her, she thinks, as spiteful hatred for Hux fills her. She prefers the anger over the despondent shock of a few minutes ago.

"The Supreme Leader forbid it," he says, stopping his pacing to clench his fists before ripping the gloves off, throwing them at a wall at random. His energy seems to be rising, turbulence in the air around him. "I have to fight him another way…"

"He forbid you to kill Hux, even though Hux tried to have you killed on Kashyyyk?" Jeyna repeats, her brow furrowing. "How is that fair?"

Ren's eyes dig into hers, intensity making them almost feral. "He views it as a challenge for me. It's his way."

Jeyna frowns. She doesn't say what she wants to say. That it sounds like the Supreme Leader is tormenting Ren, making him play an unfair game. And the game might very well get her killed. "Is he coming after me to interfere with you finding the rest of the map? Does he know what it leads to?" She wonders. Why else would Hux be so determined?

Ren shakes his head. "Doubtful. I believe he's out for my failure, nothing more."

She sighs, her eyes feeling heavy and sore. Her brain tries to work the problem over, but it's running slowly from lack of sleep and an overload of emotions.

"You'll stay here, until I can arrange higher security accommodations for you. It shouldn't take long," Ren says, his pacing resuming at a slower rate. "You'll also have a security detail, around the clock."

Jeyna nods tiredly, closing her eyes for a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose, rubbing small circles. It doesn't do much to relieve the dull ache setting into her head, still sore from being struck.

"You should get some sleep. You seem tired…" Ren suggests. She doesn't move from her seat, opening her eyes to see he's paused in front of her. She holds his gaze, feeling the tears stubbornly pooling at her lashes. She has a sudden urge to touch him, to press herself into his chest and fill all of her senses with him.

His eyes flick away, she sees his jaw clench. He turns away from her, breathing in sharply. She wonders if he's still angry, unable to read his body language.

Suddenly he turns back, pulling her from the couch. She's in his arms, they wrap around her and pull her tight. She immediately remembers the scent of him from Kashyyyk, and she buries her face into his chest to try to memorize it again. The tears fall suddenly, but it feels like relief. She clings to him, fingers clenching the rough material of his shirt, shocked at how badly her body had been craving this closeness.

Her mind is running in a thousand different directions, but she soothes it with him. The thoughts fall away, leaving her sleepy, but content at his embrace.

She feels him shift, his arm moving down to behind her thighs. He picks her up, similar to how he had on Kashyyyk. When he lays her down, it's on his bed. Jeyna watches as he unties her boots, pulling them off her feet one at a time. It feels oddly intimate, her breath catching as she watches his features, half obscured by the unruly dark hair that falls over them.

He tucks her in, as she fights sleep to keep looking at him. His dark, honey toned eyes are beautiful, she decides. They show everything he keeps locked off the rest of his face, and she never wants to look away.

He bends down, his lips hover at her ear. "Sleep," he whispers, and she hears the command echoed in her head. She falls instantly into the peaceful black void.

Much Later

Jeyna wakes up, having managed to sleep without nightmares for a long time. Checking the bed, she notices it looks like Ren never joined her. She wonders where he slept, or if he had slept.

She slides her boots back on, making his bed. Then, she emerges from the sleeping quarters, hoping to find him in the living space. But instead, she's met by a stranger.

The blonde man is sitting on the couch until he spots her. His face can only be described as rough, with a fresh-looking scar marring one eye, discoloring it. An older scar trails from the corner of his mouth across his jaw. He rises, giving her a small smile.

"Miss Torre? Don't be alarmed. I'm Aleck, your new security detail," he introduces himself.

"Where's Ren?" she asks, fumbling sleepily at the unexpected interaction.

"He's been gone for a few hours. I'm to show you to your new living area," he explains. He has a slow, careful way of speaking. "Might you be hungry? We could stop for lunch first."

"Alright…" she agrees, dragging her fingers through her mussed hair in an attempt to look less rumpled.

They walk without speaking to the dining area, and Jeyna pretends to not notice the silence that falls over the large space while she gathers her food. She sits, the corner table she prefers has been left empty. Whether it was intentional or coincidence, she doesn't care. Aleck has also taken food, and she finds herself grateful to not be eating alone. Eventually a quiet murmur fills the room again, though nowhere near the raucous it had been before her entrance. She's reminded of her first time coming to the hall, and it makes her tense.

She surveys Aleck while they eat, noticing the way his eyes move. He looks calm, but his eyes have a way of constantly searching. She takes in his clothes, unable to place them as any occupation she's seen so far on the ship.

"What are you?" she asks, unable to help her curiosity. "I mean, you don't look like a trooper or officer…"

Aleck looks amused, smiling at her slightly. "No. I am…well, I was an operative for the First Order."

"An operative?" she echoes, confused.

"Yes. I was trained to infiltrate and handle threats," he replies. "But that is no longer my purpose."

Jeyna can't help but interpet 'infiltrate and handle threats' to mean the man was an assassin. She chews her lip, wondering if he resents the job he's been given with her. "No longer your purpose, because you've been assigned to me, you mean?" she clarifies.

"Correct," he confirms with an incline of his head. "Quite a lucky reassignment, I might add."

When he sees the confusion intensify on her face, he smiles again, but it seems almost like a wry twisting of his mouth as opposed to a genuine grin. "I was a spy, you see. But my cover with the Resistance was blown. I was no longer a useful operative. Usually in my field, that means retirement."

"Retirement?" Jeyna repeats, not liking the way he says it.

His eyes rove the tables restlessly. "Yes. But Commander Ren spared me. I'm grateful for the second chance."

She understands suddenly. The First Order kills their operatives who can no longer serve in the field. It upsets her, how people can be treated so disposably. She abandons the hopes of finishing her meal, but she had probably taken too much food for that to be done anyway. Dropping her fork, she lets herself finally look further into the room. She can see the faces staring at her.

Aleck seems to sense her discomfort. "Don't worry about them. Not many of them will be brave enough to follow an order regarding you."

Jeyna disagrees with a frown. "The two that tried to kill me last night were fairly brave."

"Yes. But now the others have seen their former associates, lying broken in the medlab. They know what becomes of a man that comes after you," he says. His words make Jeyna realize Ren had chosen not to kill the troopers, in favor of making them living examples to the rest. It makes her sick to her stomach, remembering the noises they made as their minds shattered.

"Can we go now? I don't feel well," she asks in a rush, standing.

"Of course, Miss Torre." Aleck agrees, gesturing for her to lead the way. She wants to correct him, tell him to call her Jeyna. But she is unwilling to speak again as they navigate through the crowd of lunch time diners.

It's only when they reach the elevator that she feels she can breathe properly again. Aleck stops them on a different floor than usual for her, leading her down a narrow, immaculately polished hallway. They stop outside a door with a scanner on the outside.

"This door will only unlock for yourself or the Commander," Aleck explains. "Place your palm on the screen."

Jeyna obeys, setting her hand on the lock and watching it process. It is similar to the scan they did when she arrived on the ship, searching her prints to confirm her identity. The door unlocks, and she sees the new space is a similar layout to Ren's quarters. It is much more spacious than anything she's used to living in, even before the First Order took her.

She hesitates inside the door, taken aback, but Aleck joins her. As the door slides shut, he gestures to the wall mounted comm device.

"Use this to contact me should you want to leave your quarters after hours. I'm stationed directly across the hall, and I am on call at all times. Do not hesitate," he insists. "You can also use it to order meals, a serving droid will deliver. Again, if it is after hours please notify me before opening the door, even for a droid."

Jeyna nods. "You mean I could've avoided lunch with all of them today?" she attempts to joke, but must admit she would've preferred it.

Aleck gives her a reassuring look. "Yes, but I felt it was important to show yourself."

"Oh." she looks away, noting her datapad has been brought to the new quarters. It's sitting on the table by the couch, and she is comforted by that small device. She would be exceedingly bored without it, confined to her quarters with only Aleck as a companion. "I suppose it will just be us while Ren is on Dxun," she says, with a bit of rue.

"I believe he has changed his mind. I was told to prepare to accompany you on the mission," Aleck corrects her.

Jeyna blinks in surprise, before allowing herself a small, victorious smile. At the very least, she'd be allowed to continue her own work. And that was something.