Chapter Twenty-Six: Iridescent
In Kylo's fevered flight, he had forgotten a momentous detail and neglected to activate the lock on Rey's door. She discovered the oversight quickly and slipped out into the corridor without pause.
I need a layout terminal first, she thought, scanning the area. This shuttle's big enough to have a few surprises in its berth.
Hope and excitement stirred in her belly, a warmth absent since Ilum. Spying a prospective panel, she didn't realize she was shooting her joy out in brilliant rays, declaring to anything as self-aware, never mind force-sensitive, as a whiskered greeper where she was.
Rey had barely even opened a blueprint file when thunderous steps sounded at the end of the wing. She tapped it closed and looked around wildly, hunting for a side passage.
"Don't bother," Kylo's booming call was brusque, filtered through his restored modulator. "You're practically neon."
She spun on her heel, inching back into a corner and descending into a crouch.
"I can see you slinking," he intoned, stopping a few yards away. "Your elation at my mistake is as blindingly flamboyant as it is foolish."
Rey peeked from over her bent knees, noting the return of his mask. "How can you 'see' me?" She ventured, unwilling to tread out into the hall.
Kylo examined the terminal she'd awakened, checking its action history with an idle swipe. "Through the Force," he said cryptically.
As expected, the girl left her corner, coming into his field of vision. "But how?" She pressed.
He folded his hands behind his back. "Are you asking me to teach you?"
Rey blew bangs from her face. "I'm not neon," she huffed.
Kylo smirked, knowing she couldn't see. "Utterly florescent," he insisted.
Rey frowned, but trudged forward. "Fine. Show me."