Chapter 2: Secrets

Ren:

The pirate's footsteps were light as they tread softly behind me. Listening to her footsteps, I could also sense her struggle to keep up with my long strides as I felt the pain that lanced through her body at every motion. They were going to have to put a bacta patch on her wounds if they wanted her alive by the time her audience with Master Snoke ended. Still, this would weaken her enough that it would be easier for the Supreme Leader to see into her mind.

Despite my best efforts, even with her wounded and her Force abilities dampened, I had barely been able to graze the surface of her mind. Still, despite her walls, despite her Force signature being dampened beneath the cuffs, there was something about it that called to me. There was something so familiar about her, yet, other than my father and the occasional Resistance band, I couldn't remember meeting a pirate. Even so, I couldn't push the thought out of my mind that we were connected somehow.

I touched her mind once more as I took a familiar route through the ship to the bridge between the Supremacy and the Finalizer. Her walls were weaker now, not crumbling, but thinner, as if she had built them that way. Almost easily, I slipped into her mind, only to find it an endless pool of calm water. She was meditating. Now and then, worry would rise in her, only to be extinguished with a calming breath. The pirate was still in pain from her wounds, but she was imagining swimming in a smooth pool of water.

The young captain acknowledged my presence in her mind but did nothing to push me out. She was conserving her energy for what she knew was coming. Acknowledging me but doing nothing seemed even more off-putting than the mental battle she had raged on me earlier, and I slipped back out of her mind to focus on my own mental barriers. She was a powerful force sensitive, and seemingly well trained, yes, but Snoke would tear her apart for information, nonetheless.

We reached Snoke's chamber on the Supremacy not a few moments later. The crimson armor and imposing weaponry of the Praetorian guard gleamed as they opened the chamber doors and followed us inside, taking post by the door. Behind me, I could feel Captain Dare meet the eyes of Snoke from across the room, already refusing to back down.

"Ah, Captain Dare...how nice of you to join us." Snoke drawled, a smile spreading across his wrinkled features. "I've been waiting to meet you."

I knelt in the usual position of respect. Captain Dare was forced to her knees just in front of me and to the right.

"The pleasure is all mine." She mustered, even as I felt the pain that jolted through her body. "It is you I must thank for the invitation."

Snoke laughed, low and dangerous, but appeared genuinely amused. Genuinely curious. He summoned me with a gesture to rise and take my place at his left side. I did so, all the time thinking that this was the position for an execution, not an interrogation. It would seem I would find out momentarily.

"Uncuff her, she is our guest aboard this ship." The stormtroopers followed his orders without question, before leaving the room with the gesture of a hand.

Dare stood, her face steely, changing only to grimace slightly at the pain of rising to her feet. She rubbed her left wrist slightly but appeared unbothered by the mechanical right. Snoke placed his hand out, never losing the stare of the pirate, and I placed her lightsaber in his long, outstretched fingers. The captain made no move to fight or flee, but instead stood, patiently awaiting Snoke's next move.

"I've heard tales of the Jedi pirate. The young girl who overthrew the Kingship's former leader and rose from nothing." Snoke appraised the craftsmanship of the lightsaber, as I had done myself, finding it to be riddled with her Force signature rather than inherited, but carefully constructed. "A Jedi of your abilities is hard to find these days. I must know who your master is."

"I'm very sorry to disappoint you. But I am no Jedi. And I have no master." The girl said in a matter-of-fact tone. Her gaze unwavering, her Force signature purely a blank slate under scrutiny.

Snoke ignited the lightsaber, the noise nearly enough to make me jump as I seemed to be so drawn to analyzing her. From the corner of my eye, I watched him admire the violet glow of the blade, and I too admired it.

"Interesting color for a Kyber crystal. Violet crystals are made so by Jedi who channel the dark side of the Force. Such a delicate balance - dark and light." Snoke said, and I understood now why he had taken so much interest in her. If she was as strong in the Force as I was beginning to witness and had the potential to be swayed to the darkside, she could make a powerful ally. "I'll ask you once more. Who is helping you?"

"I'll tell you once more." Dare said, standing her ground. "No one."

Snoke's power began to ebb and flow around us in a way that made my stomach turn. Its dark tendrils reached for her, but, even though I knew she could feel it, she seemed unperturbed by its presence.

"Then I'm afraid this is going to hurt." Snoke said with a slight grin.

I watched as he began his invasion of her mind, her very being. Even within the first few seconds she was already lasting longer than most I had ever seen. In fact, she was holding up quite fiercely against him. But she had wasted precious energy on my efforts to enter her thoughts. Seconds passed and she began to breathe heavily as Snoke put more force behind his efforts. Her own Force signature flared and fired as she defended against his attacks.

She was losing her grip against him. I saw the tell-tale signs that I felt in myself in Snoke's regular invasions of my consciousness.

The Captain gritted and bared her teeth as her defenses began to weaken. She was strong. Anyone else, including myself, would be incapacitated by now from such an attack from Snoke. The pirate sunk to her knees and screwed her eyes shut. I watched blood trickle from her nose and drip to the black marble floor. She cried out as Snoke delved further into her mind. I sneaked a glance at him to find he even looked a little frustrated if not fascinated by her strength.

I looked back to find Dare's hands were on the floor in front of her to hold her up. By now I couldn't imagine the pain she was in. I had never lasted so long. With one last battle cry, she finally slumped to the floor, and, suddenly, Snoke stopped.

I looked over at him, not even bothering to hide my interest now. He appeared to be almost in awe – or as close as he could get to it. A smile crept over his face as he evaluated the girl, before glancing over to me, studying me for a moment, then back to the girl. Dare was still breathing heavily from the floor, although she was strong enough to glare a look that could kill at the Supreme Leader.

"Fascinating…" Snoke said, awe in his voice. He glanced at me, then the pirate again. "Very fascinating."

He chuckled a bit gleefully.

"Well, Captain." He said a moment later. "We can arrange for your freedom. That is, as long as you can hold up the agreement I believe you and General Hux discussed. Of course, we will have to work out…other details. Arrange for a meeting with your crew and the Kyber as soon as possible. I would advise against any funny business. You will be held in our officer's quarters until then."

I watched as the notorious criminal got to her knees, then slowly to her feet, lips pressed into a scowl as she stared down Snoke before giving me a slightly...kinder glance.

She opened a compartment on her mechanical arm and typed in a comm code.

"This is Captain Dare speaking. Meet me at Tattooine's racing field outside of Toshi Station with the Kyber. 12 Galactic travel time. Long live the Kingship. Dare out."

A hologram appeared a moment later of a masked and hooded figure.

"Copy. 12 outside Toshi Station. Please advise on behavior, Captain."

"Friend not foe. Exchange. Long live."

"Long live the Pirate Lord. Long live the Kingship."

And, with that, her exchange was over. Snoke called a Praetorian guard to guide her to her fancy prison. She walked out, battered, bruised, and likely feeling more exposed than she had ever been. I overheard them take her to room 284-BRC and took a mental note. With one last glance over her shoulder, our gazes met, before she disappeared through the gargantuan doors and beyond my sight.