Chapter Five~ The Resistance

Alarms were blaring through the halls, making it impossible to hear anything else. Someone was hauling her by the arm, to the escape pods, they said. A sudden quake shook the planet, causing them to topple sideways. Norra fumbled against a wall to push herself up, slipping when the ground rocked again. As she leaned against a wall, she got a sudden flash of pain, not hers. It was a phantom pain in her gut, there and gone in less than a second. Something echoed through the air, not the siren, but something else. It sounded like a scream. Of pain. Of frustration. Of failure.

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Norra awoke with a gasp, sweating profusely. It took her a moment to come to terms with her surroundings. She was still on board the Finalizer, in her room, all alone. The pain she had felt was still there, the way one would remember anything. Fuzzy, not quite as potent, but the memory there nonetheless. Once she calmed down considerably, Norra slumped forward, face in her hands. She'd been having these dreams for two weeks now, and they were driving her mad. She hadn't had a good night's sleep since the night she and Kylo...Ben, had had dinner together. They had spoken of many things, mostly about her, though she had managed to pry a little information regarding his childhood from him. It was like pulling teeth. Many times through the evening, she had to wait with an expectant look on her face while he stared down at his food and tried not to look at her for a few moments. Once he did, he would sigh, and finish the telling of whatever tale had managed to come up.

And, he had let slip some information about the plans the First Order had, which included a creation much like the Death Star from years ago. Only this one was much bigger, built into a planet. It had been the brain child of Snoke, who had spent years trying to recreate what had been done, only with certain measures in place to make sure something like what happened to the Death Star didn't happen again.

It was called Star Killer. He didn't elaborate as to why that was, saying that she'd get to see for herself. This gave her pause. If it was anything like the Death Star then it was made with one intention...

To destroy.

The thought made her angry. Norra jumped out of bed, pacing across the floor of her room, running her hands through her hair as she did. There had to be a way to stop this. Kylo Ren may have been a heartless killer, but Ben Solo was not. She saw it in his eyes. The things he had done haunted him. Maybe she could get him to see reason.

That thought stopped her in her tracks.

No... Snoke had him too deep in his grip for simple words from her to change his mind. There was something, a deep-seated fear of disappointing his master that made him do whatever Snoke told him to, even at the expense of his own sanity. What she needed...what would keep him from spiraling even farther than he already had, was for he himself to see the truth. Norra's sigh came harshly as she flopped onto the sofa. There was a crick in her neck from sleeping awkwardly. One hand on the back of her neck, she moved her head in a circle to try to work it out. The data pad on the table in front of her read 2:57 a.m. She wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight. Instead, she picked up the pad and skimmed through the files that were on it.

Obviously, it was nothing classified or even really that important. No, the only information on that pad were plans for the wedding that Snoke was intent on happening in the next month. Norra had had an appointment with the dressmaker two days prior, giving her a rough idea of how she wanted the dress to be made. She wanted to go with a traditional Ophuchi style: light, flowing material that barely touched the ground in the front, only to lengthen into a train behind her. The bodice would be fitted to the top of her hips before becoming loose. But there was a problem. Most Ophuchian brides didn't wear shoes during their nuptials. In fact, most of the attendants didn't. The reason being that most weddings took place in the summertime, after the spring storms had passed, when the grass was lush and green. It was a way of connecting with the roots of the people, with the whole planet. A type of support system, if you will.

That wouldn't be able to happen here. They would be married on the Finalizer in front of thousands of officers, Storm Troopers, and other personnel. It was enough to make her tear up. She would have no traditional dances, no feast, no showering of love from family and friends. Only the cold stares of every man and woman on this Maker-forsaken ship. It would be a simple ceremony, and then everyone else would go back to work, and the two of them would be sent off to the prepared suite for...

Norra shook her head. Heat rose to her face, causing her cheeks to burn. Her mother had only glossed over the general idea of what would come on the wedding night. It had taken her using a data pad to look up what actually happened. The whole thing made her squirm. She had no idea if she would be able to just...lay with Kylo Ren.

Ben.

Her mind corrected itself. To her, in private, he was not the leader of the Knights of Ren, the most feared man in the systems. He was just Ben. At least, that's who she hoped she was going to be marrying. If it ended up that her intuition was wrong and it was all a farce to trick her into agreeing to marry him, then she would be in deep, deep Bantha shit. She hoped that the gentle, caring man that she had been spending time with was the one that she continued to see when they were together. She understood that he wasn't able to be like that in public. He did have a reputation after all. He was Kylo Ren to everyone else, as much as she hated it. Every time she wandered the ship and managed to cross paths with him, he was a completely different person. He kept his helmet on and usually only gave her a curt nod if he saw her, which it seemed he always did. In fact, it was almost as if he knew she was coming before she even saw him, looking in the direction she was coming when she rounded a corner or a door opened. Then again, she supposed she could thank the Force for that. As he said, apparently, he could feel her loud thoughts, making him aware of her presence before he even physically saw her.

Unfortunately, they hadn't had another moment to be in private since the night after she punched Hux in the nose, causing him to fall into the pool.

Norra tossed the pad back onto the table, unable to focus much on the details of this wedding she was supposed to be planning. Running her hands over her face, she groaned. Her mother should have been there to help her. But thanks to the previous debacle with her father, she was unable to even speak to her. Her father had apparently forbidden any kind of contact for fear of angering Kylo Ren. There was no one for her to talk to. What few friends she had on Ophuchi had their own lives. Her mother and sisters were not allowed to talk to her. And there was no one on this fucking ship that she could even remotely connect with. The only other woman she had spoken to at all so far was Captain Phasma, and she wasn't exactly chatty. The closest person she had talked to that she like to do so with, besides Ben, was one certain Trooper who had been mopping the barracks when she wandered into them. He had been kind enough to explain where she needed to go (she had been looking for the library she had been told they had, which ended up being a letdown as it was nothing but military history), and ended up guiding her to it. FN-something or another.

There was no telling when she'd be able to see her family again, and no one for her to connect with here. Maybe the next time they went down to a planet, she could find a market or something. Her father had not been able to lock her finances, as she had completely control of them. Over her 24 years, he had been steadily adding credits into an account under her name, to be accessed when she became of age at 16. He had only stopped when he was kicked off the ship. In those eight years since gaining control of it, she had used very little of it and as such, had quite a substantial amount saved up. Then again, she was supposed to become the wife of the most powerful man in the galaxy...did that mean she gained access to his finances as well?

Did he even have finances?

Or did the First Order just take whatever they needed from whoever they wanted, whenever they needed or wanted it?

This question troubled her greatly. She had been raised on the usual labor for currency, currency or barter for goods, and so on. As far as she knew, no one in the Storm Trooper ranks got paid. If anyone did, it was just the officers.

Norra shoved herself to her feet and started pacing around the room. She had too much energy right this moment. And she'd basically stayed in her rooms for the majority of the time she'd been there, and it was making her crazy. She needed a way to get her energy out. She stopped pacing.

A thought occurred to her.

There were training areas on the ship. Not just the pool she had been using (which she had dutifully avoided for reasons), but actual areas for the people onboard to train and gain experience with various weapons and fighting techniques. Maybe she could go and work out a bit. Calm her mind and wear out her body enough for her to sleep for a few more hours. With a slight huff, she spun on her heel and moved to her chest of drawers. She had packed a multitude of different outfits when her mother told she was leaving, as she never knew what she was going to need. One such outfits was a pair of soft, stretchy pants and a sleeveless tunic. She tied her long hair in a braid and quickly searched the data pad for the map of the Finalizer.

The trip there was not long, as it was only a few floors down and took up a whole quadrant of floor. The training area was huge, rivaling the arenas that they had for sporting events on Ophuchi. Taking in the many training weapons and machines, she settled on doing something simple.

)0(

She was going to drive him crazy. At the rate she was going of not sleeping, he would lose his mind. It didn't matter where on the ship she was, how far apart the two of them were, whenever she had a strong emotion of any kind, he could sense it. And whatever it was that was keeping her up, whatever was causing her to wake up in a panic, it had to stop. He already didn't sleep much as it was, but this was maddening.

Kylo stalked his way towards the training floor, intent on taking out some pent-up irritation on the training dummies. No one sparred with him anymore. They all knew better by now. There was a reason he was the leader of the Knights. It didn't help matters when he was angry. Anything that stood in his way was free game. They had repaired or replaced many a dummy and equipment during those times.

He had just gotten to a side area, shrugging out of his sweater that he wore under his tunic, and unclipped his saber from the holster on his belt. Rolling the muscles of his arms and back, he started going through the motions. He knew that basics were good to practice on a regular basis. Without basics, you could lose your balance too easily, or leave yourself wide open to an attack. The heat from the saber radiated against his skin any time it came close to his body, and would have singed hairs if he wasn't careful (something he learned early on in his training).

Kylo had already been there for a good while when he heard it. The thump, thump, thump of wood on padded wood. At first, he ignored it, thinking to be just a Trooper out for a late night (or early morning) training regimen. Until he remembered something. The thought made him listen closer. The few grunts he did hear were distinctly feminine, and unmodulated by a helmet. The Troopers never went anywhere without their complete suits on. Curious, he deactivated the lightsaber and followed the noises. It didn't take him long to find the source. There stood Norra. Well, not so much stood as moved back and forth in a series of attacks and retreats. Each new turn was done in a different pattern, as if she had long been working with these simple routines.

"What are you doing in here?" his voice echoed a little in the large open space.

Norra's response was to spin around, brandishing the wooden training saber in her hand, towards his voice. Kylo took in her appearance. Her shirt was cut short, exposing the bottom part of her midriff and arms. Her round cheeks were flushed from exertion, and she was breathing a little hard. She blinked at him, realizing who it was, and then her face became even redder.

"Oh, hi..." she squeaked, lowering the training saber in front of her, both hands still on it.

"Hi," came his slightly amused response.

"Um...I didn't realize anyone else would be down here this early."

"They usually aren't. Mostly because this is my training area."

Norra's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know-" she rambled, dropping the saber completely and clasping her hands in front of her like it had burned her. "I thought it was just the main one. It's so big in here, that I didn't think..."

He didn't answer, just examined her as he moved towards her. She lowered her eyes, taking a step back at his approach. Kylo stopped in front of her, looked down at her for a moment, just long enough for her to get curious and look up at him. Once she had, his eyes dropped to the wooden stick on the floor, and he stooped to pick it up. He tested it in his hands. It was balanced well enough, not too long or too heavy for someone of her size and stature.

"Where'd you learn how to fight?" Taken aback, she gaped at him for a second, trying to get her thoughts in order. He glanced up at her before returning his gaze to the object in his hand. "Someone had to have taught you. Those were the basic forms that Jedi have used for hundreds of years."

Norra gulped. "My mother insisted that I learn. She found an old man that was willing to teach me when I was younger. He never told me what I was learning, just trained me."

"What was his name?"

Lowering her eyes, she murmured, "I don't know. He only told me to call him Master."

"Hmm," he nodded thoughtfully, still looking over the wood. Running his hand along the curve, he felt her eyes on him. Finally, he looked back at her. "Show me what you've got," he tossed the saber back into her hands.

She managed to catch it, though clumsily. "What?" she asked him, astonished.

He moved away from her, setting his own saber down on a bench and picked up another training one from the rack beside it. "You were doing well enough against the training dummy. Let's see how you hold your own against someone who's been working at it for a while." Norra blinked at him, unbelieving of the words that were coming out of his mouth. He held up the wooden saber, settling into a beginner's stance. When she didn't immediately do the same, he grinned inwardly.

Kylo launched himself at her, swinging the wood at her head. Norra managed to duck and roll, finally coming back to her senses. Her hands fumbled for a second to get the right grip, which gave him enough time to turn and advance on her again. She barely got the saber up in time to block his downward strike. The impact jarred her, rattling her teeth and nearly making her arms go numb. By the Maker, it had been way too long since she'd last sparred with anyone.

"You can do better than that," he taunted.

Norra steeled herself, pushing hard to stand against his greater strength, forcing him backwards. In the same movement, she spun, bringing her weapon up, only to change its course at the last second and managing to get a hit on the meat of his shoulder. When they separated, Kylo twirled the wood in his hands, flicking his hair out of his face as he did. How did he fight at all with how long his hair was? The thought distracted her enough that, when he swung, she didn't bring her weapon up in time and was hit squarely in the ribs. The blow knocked the wind out of her, and she crumpled to the ground. He advanced on her again, going for another hit.

He stopped when he saw her drop the weapon and throw her arm up to defend her head, flinching away. Something made him stop. He could hear her gasping roughly as she grabbed at her torso. Blinking, his years of harsh training by Snoke was trying to figure out why he hadn't struck down his opponent yet, ending the fight permanently. He came back to himself suddenly. Eyes widening, he dropped the saber and knelt down beside her quickly, trying to assess the damage. He cringed when she flinched away from his hands.

"I'm sorry!" he told her, holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture, showing that he had no weapon. "Are you alright?"

She groaned, tears welling up in her eyes at the pain. "I don't know."

Kylo hung his head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't intend to hurt you. I got caught up and-"

"No, no..." she managed to roll from her crouched position onto her butt, wincing harshly as she did. "I should have been paying more attention. It's been a long time since I've sparred with anyone. Master left when I was fifteen, and no one else around knew how to fight at all, not even my father."

Sighing, he held out a hand again. "Let me see."

"I'm alright." She insisted, despite the salty liquid on her cheeks. She quickly dashed them away with the back of her hand. Norra made to get up, him following. She wasn't able to straighten up, though. When she tried, she winced in greater pain and would have fallen back down if he hadn't surged forward and caught her.

Cradling her against his chest, he guided her over to the bench where he had set his lightsaber. Norra's face went scarlet when she realized offhandedly that he hadn't been wearing a shirt the entire time. Ben helped her sit, then knelt in front of her, watching her with a furrowed brow. "How bad?"

"I'm fine, really. I'm just gonna head back to my rooms and-"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by him reaching forward and gently lifting the hem of her shirt. A hiss passed his lips. The place where he had hit was already turning a dark, angry red color from the blood rising to the surface. "Damn it," he grimaced to himself in empathy. He remembered the many times he had gotten bruised and bloodied from his years of training. Looking back at her, he opened his mouth.

Norra put her hand over it. "If you say you're sorry one more time, I'm going to hit you over the head with one of those." She gestured with her head to where they weapons lay discarded. "I'm-"

Shaking his head to dislodge her hand, Ben pointed a finger at her rather severely. "Do not say you're fine. I hit you really hard. There's a possibility that I cracked a rib, multiple even, if not broke them. We need to get you to the med bay."

"No!" she protested quite loudly. Her face was suddenly a mask of anxiety. "No med bay. I am ok. I don't think any extreme damage was done. You just bruised me."

He leveled her with a hard look. "And how would you know?" she didn't answer. "Exactly." Sighing, he sat back on his heels, thinking. "Fine. No med bay. But I do want a bot to come look you over. Can you deal with that?" When she nodded, he shook his head at her. "Alright. Let me go get my things. I'll be right back." He stood, turned to walk away, stopped, then turned back to her with a finger pointing at her. "Don't move."

With a huff that turned into a grimace, she said, "Wouldn't dream of it." In the quiet of the room, she could almost hear his bootsteps. For a tall as he was, he walked silently. It was like a big cat stalking through the woods around her home. If he hadn't have said anything, Norra never would have known he was there. She wrapped her arm around her torso again, leaning over her knees, trying to ease some of the pain with pressure. It didn't work. The subtle shift in the air to her left was the only indication that Ben had returned. Glancing up, she tried to give him a smile to put his mind at ease. It must not have worked, because his frown deepened as he reached beside her to grab his weapon.

"Can you walk?" he asked, clipping it to his belt.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded the affirmative, making to stand. However, the pain of injury he had caused made her stoop and stumble when she took a step.

Ben caught her across the shoulders, sighing heavily. "You are impossible." He used the comm on his belt to call for a medbot to meet them in her rooms. Norra started to say something when he reached down like the first night in the observation deck and swept her legs up. The movement was so quick, she barely had time to register it before he was already walking out of the room.

"Ben, I'm fine!" she hissed, squirming to be let down. He ignored her, only shifting his grip so that she didn't fall. "You don't have to carry me the whole way back, I can walk fine."

"I don't care what you say, I can tell you're in pain and I am going to carry you all the way back," he snarked.

Norra huffed at him, knowing there was no way to get out of it. He had too strong of a grip and she was pretty much helpless at this point. So, she just settled into him, head against his shoulder, forehead nearly touching his jaw. He had her tap the pad on the wall to the turbolift with her left hand, and stepped in. So far, they hadn't seen anyone else. As early as it was, there were only going to be a few people out on patrols. Most of those that were awake would be on the command deck, steering and keeping watch of the monitors. There was silence in the lift, broken only once by Norra grunting softly as she tried to hide how much pain she was in. He looked down at her, chin brushing against her flyaway hairs as she was looking at the door. Very pointedly not at him. What he could see of her face was drawn into a pout, brow creased and chin jutting out. She was being grumpy and it made him chuckle lightly. When she looked up at him to figure out what he was laughing at, the look on her face only made him do so harder. Realizing that it was her that made him laugh, she 'hmph'ed at him and sharply turned back to the door. It finally opened a moment later and he continued on his path. On the way down the hall, they did pass a few people, most of whom stared openly at the two of them.

The door to her rooms 'whoosh'ed open, granting him access. His long legs made crossing the floor into the next room a short trip, and he deposited her on the bed as gently as he could. A groan slipped past her lips. She muttered a few curses under her breath. The sound upturned his lips.

"Such language," he admonished. "What would your mother say?"

"Probably that it was warranted." Norra gave him a look that could have curdled milk. He didn't get a chance to say anything else before the door beeped. He got up to open it, letting in the droid who was carrying some sort of small machine.

"I am here to examine the patient." Came the robotic voice.

"She's over here." He directed it over to her bed, following after it when it rolled forward on rubber wheels.

"What is the injury?"

"Training mishap," she shot a look at Ben, "Took a hit to the ribs."

The droid said nothing else, only took hold of her arm in one claw and raised it over her head, causing her to hiss loudly, unable to stop herself. The device in its other hand beeped as it came online. A blue beam lit up her skin over the forming bruise, slowly scanning the area. After a few moments, it beeped again and the droid released her and straightened up. They waited with bated breath as it seemed to be analyzing whatever data the device created.

"There is a hairline fracture in the fourth rib. As well as three others that's were bruised. Recommended course of action: two weeks of rest, cold compresses for twenty minutes every hour to minimize swelling." A compartment opened up on its chest, exposing a small cubby. Said space housed another claw, which extended out with a bottle. "Medication for pain, to be taken orally every 6 hours as needed. Take care not to operate any kind of heavy machinery until you are aware of how the medication affects you." The bot backed up once she had taken the bottle, and turned to Ben. "Were there any other injuries?"

Norra opened her mouth. "His shou-"

He shook his head, waving the bot off. "No, you are dismissed." There was no argument as it disappeared from the room.

Norra could hear the door open and close. "You really should have let it take a look at your shoulder, too." When she finally looked up from examining the pills in the bottle, she was greeted with crossed arms and a stern face. "What?" she asked, confused.

The face seemed to soften a little. He motioned with his chin to the drugs. "You need to go ahead and take those, then you need to get some sleep." She rolled her eyes at him, muttering under her breath. "What was that?" One of his eyebrows raised, daring her to repeat what she had just said.

"I said 'I'm not tired'."

Ben lifted one hand to his face, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He let out a harsh sigh. "Please, I really need you to go to sleep."

With a look of bewilderment, she hesitated to ask, "Why?" He didn't answer, just stood there rubbing the ridge of his brow. "Ben?" Still no answer. "Ben, why do you need me to go to sle-"

"Because when you don't sleep, neither do I!" he instantly regretted his words when she shied away. Squeezing his eyes shut, he told her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" There was a grunt behind him. A hand on his arm stopped his progress and pulled him back around to face her. "What do you mean 'you don't sleep'?" her eyes searched for an explanation in his.

"You shouldn't be standing up right now." He shook off her arm, then grabbed her by the shoulder to guide her back to the bed. "You need to rest."

"No," she ground out in irritation. With some difficulty, she got out of his hold, stepped back and insisted, "Tell me what you meant."

There was a moment of complete quiet. Hesitation colored his face. Finally, he hung his head. "I don't know why..." he started, the stopped, pressing his lips together. "For some reason, whenever you get woken up in the middle of the night, the fear that is in you wakes me up. I told you, your thoughts scream at me. Your emotions are part of that, too. So, when you're in distress, I feel it from wherever I am."

Norra's eyes widened in realization. "That's how you knew when my father was attacking me." Reaching behind her, she stumbled towards the bed. He managed to get ahold of her before she tripped and helped her lower herself down onto the mattress. She was suddenly pale. "Why are you able to feel me like that?"

Ben shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that if I don't get some sleep, there are going to end up being issues."

He meant it as a joke, but the thought horrified her. "By the Maker. Ben," her free hand went to his cheek. The sudden contact made him flinch, but he immediately relaxed into her palm. "Why didn't you tell me sooner."

"I didn't know what it was myself at first. Once I figured it out, I didn't want to bother you with it. I thought I could find a way to block the connection." His eyes slid closed, words were soft, almost as if he were ashamed of it. She noticed for the first time the dark circles under his eyes.

Norra shook her head. "You should have let me know what was going on. I could have done something."

"Like what?"

"I...I don't know. Maybe I could have gone to medical and gotten some sleeping pills."

Eyes shooting open, he gripped her knee in one hand, held onto her wrist with the other. "No. You don't need to be taking medication just for my sake."

"Well...what can we do?" her voice had gone low. "I need to sleep. And you really need to sleep. I can't keep you up like this, not if it's going to start affecting your mood and health. Is there...is there a way for me to keep it under control, that way it doesn't get to you and you can get some rest?"

"I'd honestly prefer that you actually slept more as well." He thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps...but it would take a lot of training. Most Force users start their training young to keep other people out of their head and get into others."

A frown etched its way into her features. "But I'm not a Force user."

"Are you sure? Most people don't have a mind strong enough to just throw everything they feel into the universe. Have you ever had something happen around you that you couldn't explain?"

"I've never..." she trailed off, trying to think back. Something was niggling at her mind, something deep in the recesses of her memory that she couldn't quite bring to light. "I don't think so."

Ben gave a thoughtful nod. "Well, at the very least we should train you to keep your thoughts to yourself. Can't have my wife-to-be just giving out information."

Wife-to-be...was he finally warming up to the idea that they were going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future? "Right." Suddenly, she felt her eyes start to droop. "When do we start?"

"Not tonight," the hand that held her wrist moved up her arm softly, coming to rest on her shoulder. "Right now, you need to rest. And so do I. We can start tomorrow. Meet me in the observation room in the morning. Around 10 or so."

Norra gave him a small smile. "It's a date, then." A yawn pushed its way out. "Oooooh, well, it seems like it's time for me to get back to bed." She touched his face again, something that he seemed to becoming used to, if not enjoying. "You get some rest, too. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Ben nodded. But he didn't move. There was indecision in his eyes as they scanned her face. She was about to ask him if he was ok when he started moving. It was slow, giving her time to move away, and when she didn't, he gently pressed his lips to her forehead. He moved to rest his cheek against hers. Norra felt like her heart was about to break the rest of her ribs, it was beating so hard. His other hand reached up to stroke the other side of her face.

"Goodnight. Sleep well."

Suddenly it was like a switch had been flipped. She felt herself droop forward, as she had been leaning towards him. But he caught her and gently guided her to lay back onto her pillow. Once she was down, he removed her boots and found a blanket at the bottom of her bed to cover her with. The last thing she knew as she fought to keep her eyes open was Ben brushing the flyaway hairs away from her forehead. She almost thought she heard humming coming from him as the darkness finally pulled her under.

)0(

"What news do you have for me, my young Ren?" Snoke's voice echoed through the large room over the holo.

"Master..." He had replaced his helmet before the meeting that morning. "I believe N...Telnorra-"

"The girl? Your bride," he sneered. "What of her?"

"I believe she may be Force sensitive...if not a user."

Snoke suddenly sat forward in his giant chair. "Oh? Well, that is very interesting news. How, may I ask, have you come to this conclusion?"

Kylo was suddenly hesitant. Did he really want his master knowing that they had such a connection? "Her mind is exceedingly loud."

"Loud? How so?"

"When she is in the same room with me, her thoughts and feelings come as clearly as if I were purposely reading her. She is untrained in any sort of mental exercises, which could be a disadvantage to us if something were to happen and the Resistance were to get their hands on her." His modulated voice became quieter at the last part, the thought suddenly hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"Well, then, we must make sure that doesn't happen. You must train her. In time, she may become a strong Force reader, a boon to our efforts. Perhaps even a spy for us to infiltrate the Resistance." The thought made Snoke chuckle. The door behind Kylo suddenly whooshed open. Hux's energy swept through the room, much to his chagrin. He stopped and knelt beside Kylo "Ah, General. What delightful news might you have for me today."

"We have located the missing piece of the map, Supreme Leader." The weasel had a smirk on his face.

"My, my. Today is a good day, indeed. Where is it?"

"On Jakku, sir. I have a brigade ready to depart within the hour."

"Wonderful," he sat back in his seat. "Go, the both of you. Retrieve the map.

Kylo Ren bowed his head, they stood from their kneeling position and quickly turned on their heels. There was much to do.

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Waking came slowly to Norra, gently. There was no sudden rush of fear and anxiety to yank her from her dreamscape. Little by little, she rose from a memory of home, eyes opening and looking at the ceiling blearily for a moment, confused as to why she was not sitting under her favorite Jogan fruit tree. Instead of the warmth of the sun shining down through the boughs of the tree, she was surrounded by cold grey metal. Instead of grass beneath her, there was only a simple mattress. After a while, she was able to fully wake and realize where she actually was. A yawn had her mouth gaping, and started to stretch. At least, until she had her arm over her head and then brought it back down with a yelp. Her hand flew to her side, and she hissed when she felt it press against the bruise on her ribcage.

"Mmh, kriff!" she muttered to herself. Everything came flooding back at the same time. The nightmare, going down to the training area, fighting with Ben, and then getting hurt. When she remembered what he had told her about not sleeping, she flopped back down with a huff. She happened to glance over at her datapad just then...it was 9:43. "Kriff!" she flew out of the bed, instantly regretting it as she fell to the floor in pain. Spotting the bottle on the nightstand beside her, she grabbed it, and popped the cap on it. They were made with bacta, so they should be able to speed up the healing process. Managing to stand, she made it over to her counter where there was a pitcher of water and a glass. Once she swallowed the tablets, she leaned against the counter. It was going to be a long day.

Ben hadn't told her how to dress, but she assumed they were going to be working more mentally than physically, so she settled on wearing a pair of loose, stretchy, dark green pants and a similarly colored shirt that hugged her body, but was loose enough to not restrict movement. She forwent her usual nice shoes for a pair of comfortable flats. Getting her clothing on was a little harder than she would have liked, as putting any pressure on her ribs caused them to flair with pain. There was already a light sheen of sweat on her skin once she had gotten done, and she was panting a little.

But it wasn't enough to stop her. Straightening up with some difficulty, she forced herself to breathe and take one step, then another. Soon, she was, little by little, on her way to the observation deck. She expected Ben to be waiting on her, but she wasn't expecting him to be wearing his full getup.

"You're late." His voice came through the helmet, robotic and unnerving.

Norra rolled her eyes. "You said 10 or so, not 10 on the dot. So, I'm a few minutes late, so what?"

He continued to look at her, not moving his hands from behind his back. Taking a few steps forward to stand right in front of her. "Tardiness will not be accepted during your training."

She stared at him, confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't wake up until just a little while ago. Someone didn't give me enough time to set an alarm before sending me to sleep.

"Regardless of reason, you are to be here on time, or not at all."

"Why are you being like this?"

A sound came through the helmet, she thought it sounded like a sigh. "Like what?"

"This! You're being all...Kylo Ren."

"I am Kylo Ren."

"No, you are not!" her voice rose a little. "Maybe out there, with everyone else, but not here. Not with me. You're being different."

"How am I different?" his head cocked to the side.

"You just are. The Ben I know is not this." She gestured to his outfit. The movement made her wince, but she ignored it...so did he. Then it clicked. "Something happened..." she murmured. "What happened, Ben?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. This is me."

Surging forward despite the pain, she reached up and put her hands on either side of his mask. There was a strange smell about him, clinging to his clothing. It was almost like something burnt. "Stop it. Take this off."

Kylo grabbed her wrists, pulled them away from his mask and took a step forward. "This is something you will have to get used to, seeing as you and I are soon to be bound in marriage." His voice was low, nearly a whisper.

Yanking her hands away, she stepped back. "No. I'm not. I agreed to work with Ben, not be lorded over by Kylo. I will not be a plaything for you to pull whichever way you please."

With that, she spun around and marched out of the room. He didn't follow. Good, she thought. I can't deal with this right now. She made it to the turbolift without meeting anyone else. She fidgeted with the end of her braid. She hadn't bothered to do anything with her hair after falling asleep on it. The door opened on a random floor and she was somewhat surprised to see a couple of Stormtroopers standing there waiting for it. They instantly snapped to attention and moved to the side to let her pass. Dropping her eyes, she shuffled past them and down the hall. She didn't really know where she was going.

Then she heard it.

Screaming.

Breaking into a run, she followed the sounds of a man in pain all the way to the end of the hall. She had to make a sudden stop, causing her to slide on the slick floor as she finally passed the door it was coming from. She could feel the pain and anger emanating from inside, it tore at her like a wild animal in her gut. Norra suddenly felt short of breath, mouth becoming dry. There was something important on the other side of that door.

The screaming stopped.

A moment later, the door whooshed open and one of the officers exited with a Stormtrooper in tow. When he saw her standing there, he stopped short and saluted her. "My lady. What are you doing here?"

"What was that? Who's screaming?"

"Nothing for you to worry about ma'am. Just a Resistance prisoner from Jakku. We are attempting to extract information."

"Attempting?" she gulped a little.

"Yes. Unfortunately, he is being extremely uncooperative." With that, he spun on his heel and marched away.

Norra's gaze was drawn to the door. It had been left open. There, facing her, was a dark-haired man strapped into a restraint system. He was breathing heavily, head drooping as blood oozed from his mouth. Without thinking, she started forward. She was so transfixed on the man that she didn't notice the Stormtrooper until he stepped in front of her.

"This area is off limits to civilians."

For some reason, this made her angry. Puffing up, as much as it hurt, she leveled him with a glare. "I am the intended of your Lord Ren. I am hardly a civilian. Let me through." She took a step to the right, only for him to follow her, blaster raised to his chest. "You either let me through, or you go find Lord Ren and explain to him how you were interfering with keeping the prisoner alive."

"Ma'am?"

"Look at him! You have obviously tortured him. How long has it been since they returned from Jakku?"

"About ten hours, ma'am."

"He's probably severely dehydrated. Go and fetch a canteen." When he hesitated, she raised her voice. "Now!" Apparently fearing that her temper was as bad as her fiancé, he did as he was told. She grinned to herself a little as she watched him scurry away. A groan reminded her why she was there in the first place. Looking around, she found a rag by the door and grabbed it as she passed. The man was lifting his head now, eyes a little bleary. "Hey?" he jumped, trying to get away from her. "No, no, no, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Who are you?" his brows furrowed. Looking her up and down, he seemed to get even more confused. "I didn't know they had women on in the first order, let alone pretty ones." When she stopped and stared at him in disbelief, he gave her a smirk. "For real, though, are you really engaged to Ren?" She didn't answer, just looked at him skeptically. "I heard you talking to the guard."

"Um...yeah, I am. My name is Telnorra Okenda. I'm a dignitary's daughter from Ophuchi." Norra reached up to wipe some of the blood off his face.

"Ah, so a political marriage. Odd, I would have thought that Ren would be opposed to getting married."

"He is," she said flatly.

"Is that why you're down here? To get back at him for trapping you here?"

"It wasn't him that trapped me. It was my father and his master. All he did was make a deal with me to make things work in our favor."

"You actually made a deal with that monster?"

Before she could answer, a voice from the door made her spin around. "What are you doing in here?!" Kylo's voice was low, but dangerous. Behind him was the Trooper she had sent out for water, as well as another officer. This one looked meaner and gruffer.

"I was just-" He didn't let her finish. Instead, he surged forward and seized her arm in a vicelike grip, dragging her out of the room roughly. With his long legs, she was having difficulty keeping up with him, nearly tripping and falling every so often as she had to basically run to do so. "Ben! Slow down!" she called, trying to pull on him a little. It didn't work very well considering the pain she was in from her cracked and bruised ribs and the fact that he had grabbed her bad side. He didn't listen to her, either. Just kept moving quickly through the halls.

Finally, they stopped at a door, which she noticed with a start was her rooms. He tapped the pad on the side of the door and dragged her inside. Once he had passed the threshold, he all but slung her around to face him, causing her to yelp in pain as he grabbed her other arm. The door closed behind him.

"What the hell where you thinking?"

The modulation of his voice did nothing but irritate her. Attempting to pull herself free, she smacked him in the chest, saying, "I was being a human being. Something you seem to have forgotten how to do! Let go of me!" He didn't. Instead, he shook her, as if trying to shake some sense into her. "OW! Ben, let go, you're hurting me!"

The phrase seemed to do something at least, as he released her and reached up to undo his helmet. As soon as it was loose, he yanked it off. She took a couple steps back. The look in his eyes was murderous. He raised a hand, pointing a finger at her. "You are to stay away from him. Do you understand me?"

Swatting at his hand to get it out of her face, she scoffed, "Why? You afraid I'll turn and go join the Resistance?"

With a roar, he spun around, chucking his helmet at the wall. It left a good-sized dent in the metal. He yanked his gloves off as well, throwing them to the ground. When he turned back around, he saw her, arms raised to her chest with hands in fists, ready to defend herself. She was shaking. The sight made him stop. Fear. He saw it in her eyes, felt it coming from her in waves. For the first time since they'd met, Norra was afraid of him. That realization rocked him a bit. It was enough to make him stop moving, breaths coming harsh. "Norra..." this time he spoke softer. He took a step forward, only to feel a stab of guilt as she backed away from him. "Norra, I'm..." the word caught in his throat, his head hung in shame. He took a few breaths, trying to push down the anger that had bubbled to the surface.

Something touched his face, causing him to jerk away, eyes flying open. Norra's own eyes were wide. When he started to say something again, she put her hand over his mouth, the other going to the side of his face. The breath that came next was a shuddering one. Even being untrained in the ways of the Force, Norra could feel the pain, the weight on his heart. "Ben..." her right hand moved from his mouth to the other cheek, "What happened?

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not. What happened on Jakku?" No words were forthcoming. She pushed some hair out of his eyes. "Ben-"

"I killed someone."

She had to stop herself from a biting remark of How is that anything unusual? This had to have been different. Or maybe he didn't actually, personally kill all the people he had been accused of doing so. The guilt that was pulling his head low, it was something she hadn't seen before. "Who was it?"

"Someone I knew...someone from another life. He...he told me that I can't deny the truth that is my family. And I cut him down in front of a whole village, then turned and gave the order for them to be killed too."

So much blood. Who knew how many people he had ordered to be wiped out? Who knew how many people had actually died at his hand? "Was he a friend of your parents?"

She was surprised to hear a sniffle come from him. Not a loud one, just barely loud enough for her to hear. He nodded. "At one time, he was a dignitary that my mother had dealings with. He would come over to our house often."

"Ben..."

"The prisoner was right. I am a monster." He started to straighten up and turn away from her, but her grip on his face tightened just enough to keep him in place, despite the pain it caused in her ribs.

"Stop it."

His hands shot up and grabbed her wrists, roughly, but not hurting. "Why are you still here?! Why aren't you running away just like everyone else?! I kill people, Telnorra. I lord over people who have no chance of fighting against me, and make them do what I want, whether out of fear, or by forcing my way into their minds. So, why? Why haven't you gotten as far away from me as possible? Is it your father?" She didn't answer him. "Fine, I'll send you somewhere he will never find you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" she asked. Norra knew he was losing steam. "What does it matter why I am still here? Isn't it just enough that I am?" Ben sagged against her hands, pressing them closer to his face as he went down to his knees. She stayed standing, knowing that she would have a hard time getting back up if she mirrored the movement. "I am not running because there is nothing to run from."

A sardonic huff escaped him. "Just then you were ready to fight me. The fear in your eyes...Norra-"

"Shh," she tilted her face to put her forehead against his. It was a little difficult, but manageable given how much taller than her he was. "I'm not afraid of you, Ben. Kylo Ren, on the other hand, he scares me to death. But I know that's not who you really are. Now, we made a deal. We shook on it, remember? I for one am not going back on it."

She could feel him swallowing hard, trying to speak past a lump in his throat. "You shouldn't make deals with the devil," he murmured, the warmth of his breath fanning over her face.

"What devil?" she grinned softly. "The only thing I see before me is a man, one I care for quite a bit, and I will not let him wallow in this self-misery." `Ben's head fell rest against her sternum, arms slowly moving to wrap around her hips. One of her hands brushed through the thick, black locks atop his head, nails scratching ever so slightly on his scalp. She could feel the wavering sigh that escaped his lips against the softness of her belly. The feeling made her tense up a little, a tingle running up her spine. In a split-second decision, Norra laid her head on top of his, the same way he had done to her when her father had attacked her. They stayed like that for a few minutes, him reveling in the feeling of one of her hands running through his hair and the other gently stroking his cheek with the thumb. She made no comment on the warm, wet spot forming on her shirt between her breasts. With a small sniffle, Norra turned her head to press her lips against his hair. "It's ok, Ben."

It may have been the affirmation, or maybe it was the use of his name after all the drama of the last hour, but something clicked. He surged up, causing her to almost fall over, if he had not suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. Once she was steady, she stared up at him in confusion. He hesitated, eyes darting over her face, lips parted like he wanted to say something. Ben's hands drifted from her shoulders to her face, the pads of his hands a bit rough against her cheekbones. A question sat on the edge of her tongue, ready to be spoken.

Ben lowered his face to hers. The movement was extremely hesitant, giving her time, once again, to move away from him. When she didn't, he pressed his lips to hers, ever so gently. Even as slow as he moved, Norra was still surprised, but she didn't move or push him away. One of her hands went to his side, the other to his sleeved arm. After a moment of shock, Norra raised up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips more firmly to his. His right hand slipped around to the back of her head, his left to her back, pulling her closer. The warmth of his body enveloped her, surrounding her like a thick blanket.

After a few breathless moments, they broke apart but pressing their foreheads together, giving each other a chance to regain oxygen. The splayed fingers of his hand on her back and the one cupping the back of her head felt as if they were burning her, though not in a painful way. She heard him trying to swallow around a lump in his throat. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Norra reached up to touch his face, but stopped short with a wince as her arm raised to her shoulder level.

Ben shot back. "Are you ok?"

With a huff, she lowered herself back to the soles of her feet. "I'm fine. I took the bacta pills earlier. I'm just sore."

"You should rest." He started to move away and pull her towards her sofa.

"Bah," she waved him off. "It's just a cracked rib. Nothing I can die from." Norra pulled on his hand, turning him back around. She didn't give him a chance to say anything as she raised herself up as high as she could go and kissed him once again. "You worry too much," she told him as she set herself back down and moved around him to the couch.

"I worry the perfect amount," he groused. "You're the one who doesn't take your injuries seriously."

Norra shrugged, pulling him to sit beside her. Once he sat, she kicked off her flats and curled her feet under her, leaning to the side against him. She could feel him stiffen up, but eventually relaxed into the couch, putting an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer.

They fell asleep like that.

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A/N: Woot woot! I have been fighting with this chapter forEVER! We finally get a kiss! GAH! I'm so excited. We are finally into the first of the sequel trilogy. Stay tuned for more!

Ta-ta for now my lovelies, Read and Review!

AcaicaDawn