Chapter One
"This will begin to make things right."
Poe Dameron looked down at the small leather pouch in his palm, then back up at the old man who placed it there. Lor San Tekka.
"I've travelled to far and seen to much to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force."
"Well, because of you now we have a chance. The General's been after this for a long time," Poe replied, wanting the other man to know how much the little drive meant to the whole Resistance.
"Oh, the General? To me, she's royalty," Tekka smiled, sad and wistful.
"Well, she certainly is that."
The hanging slats serving for a door clattered loudly as a small droid barreled through, followed closely by a young woman.
"Company," was all she said, before gathering up a small pack and darting back outside, blaster in hand. Poe and Tekka followed. Poe lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes. Several First Order transports were headed directly at the village of Tuanul.
"You have to hide," he said to Tekka.
"You have to leave."
Poe stared at the man he spent so long trying to find.
"Go."
The Resistance pilot, motioned for the droid and ran for his ship. Already the First Order's ships were firing on the village. All around him, villagers took up various weapons in preparation for battle. Then the transports touched down and hell broke loose.
"C'mon BB-8, hurry!" Poe shouted to his droid companion, panting.
"Poe!" A voice called out over the sound of battle. "BB!"
"Here, Lys!" Poe called back, rounding the side of their ship. The young woman lowered her blaster and scaled the ladder to the cockpit, Poe hot on her heels. A magnet lowered and attached to BB-8, placing the droid in position.
As Poe revved the engines, a blast shook the ship. Alarms sounded in the cockpit. BB-8 beeped wildly.
"I see 'em!" shouted Lys, leaping to the ground. Darting around to the back of the ship, she groaned.
"Poe, our engines are damaged," she called over her helmet's radio. A shot from their ship blew up a sand dune, sending troopers flying and buying them precious seconds. Poe appeared at her shoulder, and swore, but not at the engines.
Lys followed his line of sight. Villagers were being slaughtered, homes burned to the ground. Poe knelt in front of BB-8, pulling a small information drive out of the leather pouch, "Here take this, its safer with you than with us."
BB-8 beeped and popped open a small drawer. Poe placed the drive in it. "You get as far away from here as you can, you hear me? I'll come back for you."
The droid beeped again, disgruntled, but followed Poe's directions.
"You should go, too," he said to Lys. His companion rolled her eyes.
"Please," Poe tried again.
"Never."
The two sprinted to the nearest dune, blasters raised. Lys took out a trooper, Poe another one. They gradually moved towards the center of Tuanul.
"Freeze," Lys' voice came out in a strangled whisper, crouching behind a low stone wall.
Poe followed without question. He knew to trust his friend's instincts by now. A moment passed and he heard what they hid from. Another ship was landing. Looking up over the wall, he spotted the ship, not a troop transport, something top of the line. It belonged to someone important.
Kylo Ren sat on his shuttle, arms crossed, fingers tapping. Soon. Soon he would have the information he desired. The map to Luke Skywalker. His heart thumped a little harder, his breath came a little quicker. He didn't wait until his ship had completely landed before he was out of his seat and waiting at the ramp.
Lor San Tekka, you will give me what I seek.
The ramp touched down and Kylo Ren strode across the sand. Fire raged, casting everything in strange, dancing shadows. All of the villagers were either dead or held captive in Tuanul's center. Lor San Tekka stood separate, held by two stormtroopers.
Kylo Ren stopped in front of him, "You got old."
"Something far worse happened to you."
"You know what I've come for."
"I know where you come from, before you called yourself Kylo Ren."
Familiar anger began to build in Kylo Ren. He began to pace.
Ren growled, "The map to Skywalker. We know you found it. And now you're going to give it to the First Order."
"The First Order rose from the Dark Side. You did not."
Kylo Ren stepped towards Tekka, "I'll show you the Dark Side."
Tekka remained composed, "You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family."
Kylo Ren sneered under his mask.
"You're so right." Igniting his lightsaber, he struck Los San Tekka down.
A wave of hate washed over Kylo Ren, alerting him to the danger. Instinctively reaching for the Force, Kylo Ren froze a blast from a rifle.
Beyond the quivering bolt of energy, a young man stood. Rooted to the sand by the Force, he could not stop two troopers from taking his rifle and dragging him before Kylo Ren. Even knocked to his knees, the man did not look frightened. A glint of determination flashed from his eyes. Ren crouched down, studying his new captive.
"So, who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?" The man's tone was light hearted, bereft of any fear, bordering on smugness.
"The old man gave it to you."
"Its just very hard to understand you with all the—"
"Search him." Ren commanded, his patience run out.
"—apparatus," the man finished.
Before the troopers could carry out his command, a blaster fired. The trooper to the captive's left fell. Another shot took down the remaining trooper, but more already gathered.
"Find them!" Kylo Ren roared. He struck out with the Force, but felt nothing. The faint smugness coming from the captive was immediately replaced by heart-stopping fear. Ren breathed deeply, enjoying the feeling.
Shortly, a cry was heard, followed by more blaster fire. Three stormtroopers came back into the fire light half dragging, half carrying a young woman. She thrashed, striking at the troopers in anyway possible.
They dropped her beside her companion. She was on her feet in a moment, slamming into the nearest trooper, sending him to the ground. Unfortunately for her, four more replaced him. One caught hold of her long braid and jerked, sending her crashing on her back in the sand. Another trooper placed a foot on her throat. The man growled, moving to get up, but was restrained.
"Was this your idea of a rescue?" Kylo Ren asked, leaning over her. Now that he stood closer, he could sense a faint glimmer of light. He scowled.
"Search them both."
The troopers roughly patted the two down.
"Nothing, sir."
"Put them on board."
Troopers marched the two Resistance members up the ramp and into a transport ship.
"Sir, the villagers?"
"Kill them all," Kylo Ren turned his back on the slaughter, already considering how to extract the desired information from his prisoners.
"Lys," Poe hissed. "Why didn't you run?"
"Why did you try to fight?" She demanded, just as quietly. "Tekka was already dead."
That shut him up for a moment.
"Yes, but now we're both caught."
"Yes." Lys searched their surroundings for the hundredth time. Nothing could help them. They were cuffed and surrounded by stormtroopers.
"Where are you taking us?" Poe asked them.
Silence.
"Where are you taking us?"
More silence.
Lys closed her eyes, ignoring Poe. How did it end up like this?
All to soon, they slowed and the jerk of landing shuddered through the ship. The ramp descended. Troopers dragged Lys out into a massive hangar. Hundreds of ships sat in orderly rows, some loading troops, others unloading supplies.
She caught Poe craning his neck to see everything he could. The black shuttle landed close by. The masked man disembarked, his face immediately turned towards them. Lys shuddered.
Outside of the hanger, they were lead through halls, down in an elevator, and into more endless halls.
"Halt."
The trooper holding Lys' arm jerked her to a stop. A door opened and she was shoved inside. All it held was an upright metal slab fashioned with restraints. The door shut behind them, separating her from Poe.
"Lys!" he shouted from the other side. "Lys!"
His cries got fainter as he was taken away. The trooper wasted no time in placing her in the restraints, then he, too, left.
At first Lys struggled against her bindings, a pair of metal cuffs for her ankles, a pair for her wrists, a leather strap across her chest and thighs. It was futile. They wouldn't budge. She could only wait.
The door sliding open brought her out of her stupor. Four troopers filed in, followed by a man in a officer's uniform and ginger hair.
"Hello," said the officer. "I'm here to ask some questions." Lys did not respond.
The man smiled.
"Where is the map?"
Lys stayed silent. His oily smile grew wider.
"I will ask again. Where is the map?"
Nothing.
"Very well." The officer nodded at a trooper. He approached Lys. She knew what was coming. An armored hand drove into her gut. The air whooshed out of her. Lys went limp, gasping.
"Again."
The fist came for her face. Black spots swam across her vision and the world swayed. Blood pooled in her mouth.
"Now. Where is the map that leads to Luke Skywalker?" The officer stepped up close, peering into Lys' face. She spat at him. The officer swore stumbling back, wiping at his face.
"You'll regret that," he snarled. He snapped his fingers at the troopers, before storming out the door.