The grind of metal on metal caused fresh wails of terror to sweep through the passenger hold. Rey opened her burning eyes. She knew what that sound meant. The transport had docked with its cargo barge. The arrival of several rough-looking crewmembers confirmed as much.
She had hoped that the Resurrection Dust would have begun to wear off before she was forced to move again, but her vision was still blurry and her mind clouded. She did find, however, that when the chain around her neck was yanked, pulling her to her feet, she was a bit steadier on them.
The newly-captured slaves were corralled into a single file line, and escorted off the transport at blaster point. Rey tried to remember which of the crewmen had taken her lightsaber, but all the faces she saw were far too blurry to make note of any distinctive features—all faces, excepting of course, the one that belonged to Eye Patch. She recognized him the moment she started down the transport ramp. He waited just beyond the bottom of the ramp and as the line of prisoners approached he began to separate them, one from the other.
Rey squinted in an attempt to sharpen her focus. Eye Patch sent the first two prisoners, human men, to the left, the next—a theelin woman—he shoved to the right. The next, a young, likely teenaged, twi'lek male he also sent to the right. She watched the group on the left as it grew. So far, these had all been men—strong-looking men at that. Eye Patch was likely separating the ones who could be sold as fighters from the weaker, household sort of servants.
The closer she came to him, the more of his words she overheard. Sometimes, he would simply shove the prisoner one way or the other. At other times, he would seem to think over his decision or ask questions. The line advanced quickly.
"Human or Bimm?" he demanded of the young man directly in front of her.
"Bimm," the man answered quickly.
"Oh that's no good now, is it? Your kind ain't much use on a battlefield," Eye Patch grumbled. "I don't suppose you speak any other languages?"
"Bimmini," the man replied.
Eye Patch scoffed.
"Bimm's is good story-tellers though!" One of the crewmen called out. "I heard Hutts will pay for 'em occasionally."
"Alright. Entertainment then," Eye Patch decided, shoving the young man roughly to the right side.
As Rey stepped forward, he eyed her up and down, and pursed his lips in thought.
"I suppose you'll clean up well enough," he muttered.
"Look at the eyes though!" the same crewmen called out. "Spicehead likely."
"There'll be time enough for her to dry out. Can you dance, girl?"
"Certainly not!" Rey snapped. "I'm trained to… to fight."
Eye Patch gave a hearty chuckle at this.
"Right. See what she looks like cleaned up," he demanded, giving her chain a yank towards the right.
Rey planted her feet. The jerk he gave her neck, made the room spin.
"I said, I can fight," she stated calmly, making eye contact with him.
"Good. That's a skill that'll stand ya in good stead when you're trying to keep the Hutts slimy paws off of ya," he sneered, reaching out to shove her hard to the right.
Rey pivoted, causing Eye Patch to lurch drunkenly forward. She lunged, taking him by surprise, and head-butted him in the face.
Eye Patch screamed in rage and covered his face with his hands as he stumbled back. Rey noted with satisfaction that blood was seeping between his fingers. She hoped she had broken his nose.
"I said I can fight!" she repeated through clenched teeth. She drew a breath and attempted to still her emotions and focus her energy. "You are convinced and will group me with the slaves you are intending to sell to the Knights of Ren."
She had not abandoned the Resistance and thrown herself into danger to be sold to some backplanet Hutt as a dancing girl! The Knights of Ren were likely searching for more acolytes and had stooped to buying them off of slavers.
The other crewmen advanced and seized her by the arms. One of the men hauled back and brought his huge fist crashing down into the side of her face. Her blurry vision exploded with stars.
"Careful! CAREFUL!" Eye Patch yelled, his voice muffled by the fact that he still held his hands over his face. "Mess up her face and she's worth nothing!"
Rey could taste blood in her mouth, and knew that if the crewmen weren't holding her up, she would probably have collapsed on the floor.
"Clean her up and see how she looks, but don't waste any bacta until we know exactly what the Knights are looking for," Eye Patch ordered.
With that, she was dragged away.
It hadn't worked! She had focused her intent and made eye contact and his will had not bent upon hers. He had caved so easily at the tavern! For not the first or the last time, Rey silently cursed the woman Amalia, in her head. It had to be the dust which had so weakened her.
She did not have long to think on it, as she soon heard the rusty yawn of a metal door opening, and was then thrown into a cell. The door slammed shut.
The Theelin woman Rey had seen earlier leaned against the wall watching her. Her purple hair fell in long loose strands from a messy bun that had slipped far down the side of her head.
"That's going to swell shut," the woman said, her voice soft and heavily accented.
Rey reached up to feel the metal collar around her neck, her fingers working to find a bolt or catch.
"That won't work," the woman said sadly. "What's your name?"
"Rey," Rey muttered, her hands falling uselessly to her sides.
"I should have known better," the woman sighed, shaking her head, "Nobody gives anything for free, least of all passage of that rock. I'm Talya."
Ignoring her, Rey attempted to stand only to fall back down as he knees gave way.
"You're sick, aren't you? It's hard coming down off the spice, isn't it?" Talya soothed, crouching beside Rey to help her sit up. "Stars! Look at your face! Did they hit you?"
"Yes," Rey growled.
Bright overhead lights glowed to life as the cell door reopened. Rey's eyes smarted as she squinted against them.
A crewman entered first, followed by a blue-skinned Twi'lek girl in an iron collar. A swath of sheer fabric wrapped around her hips and girdled with a low hanging, ornamental belt, and a second strip of fabric tied around her chest left little to the imagination. She was carrying a bundle of what looked to be rags and a large pitcher.
"Right then ladies, time to inspect the goods—see what we've got to work with here," the crewman sneered.
The light had illuminated the room so that Rey could now see the large basin melded to the floor beside them. The Twi'lek girl opened a tap to begin filling the tub with water, and then poured thick, bubbling foam into to it from her pitcher. Once she had emptied the pitcher, she set it aside and lifted the individual scraps of fabric from the bundle and began to lay them out. She did not make eye contact with either of the prisoners while doing so. Talya hissed slightly under her breath.
These were not rags. These were intended to be clothes, similar to those worn by the Twi'lek girl.
"Start with the ugly one," the crewman demanded. "We'll see if its worth the bacta to fix 'er face."
The Twi'lek girl bobbed her head and approached Rey with downcast eyes. She reached out one slender hand which Rey shoved away.
"Careful with that one—she bites!" the crewman sneered.
"I'll clean myself up. Turn around and go," Rey ordered, again trying to focus her power.
"Have we kidnapped the very Princess of Ka'vec, is that it?" the crewman laughed. "I think not, love. You'll do as I say." He turned impatiently to the Twi'lek girl who stood with her head bowed. "Strip her clothes."
It was at that moment, with her face bruised and swollen, her powers useless, her body weak, and the slave girl reluctantly reaching for her that Rey again felt the dark energy. It was outside of her, it was everywhere and it wanted to be drawn in, it wanted to be used.
She could not restrain the slight gasp that escaped her lips. She had not felt it since Korriban—that power that had so damaged her body, almost killing her. It was always there. Master Luke had said as much, but had also warned her never to take in, to use it again. He needn't have. She was afraid of it, afraid of what it had done to her. Now her anger outweighed her fear, and she exhaled slowly, closing her eyes while opening herself to the Darkness. She could feel it flowing into her, her mind clearing. She opened her eyes as best she could to stare levelly at the smirking crewmen.
"We can do this this easy way—" he began lifting his blaster threateningly.
Rey smiled.
"No. We won't do this at all," she said calmly.
She lifted her hand, but the man had already crossed the room. Rey glanced up at him just in time to see the butt end of his blaster being brought down and then… darkness.
Darkness.
It was as though the blow had forced her through the floor and into a void where she floated comfortably. Her head ached, and her eye still felt swollen, but the weakness in her legs and the burning sensation caused by the dust were gone. She could move her legs and arms, but it felt as though she were moving them through water. She wondered briefly if drawing in the dark force had killed her this time—her body had been so damaged by it after all. Perhaps this was what happened when a dark user became one with the Force. Perhaps they spent eternity drifting in a void of nothingness.
Just as the idea began to scare her, a dull glow caught her attention. The more she focused on it, the closer it came, and then the darkness around her became walls and a floor and a ceiling—a room. A dimly lit room with reflective black walls and glowing strips of red floor lighting.
His voice was quiet at first, barely above a whisper. Yet the harder she listened, the louder it became until she could understand his words.
Kylo Ren paced the length of the room with General Hux trailing slowly behind him.
"There was no one!" Hux seethed. "You were wrong this time, Ren, and I've lost men. Capable men! Sent them into a trap—ON YOUR ORDERS!"
The General was very angry, his face burned almost as red as his hair.
Kylo stopped and turned abruptly to face him.
"I don't like your tone, General," he warned, his voice deceptively calm.
"Sir…" Hux began, visibly swallowing as if trying to keep the rage from his voice. "The First Order MUST maintain discipline and my men are already beginning to question the missions they've been sent on. We do not have the resources to destroy the Resistance and control the Outer Rim planets and conquer Hutt space. We lost two battalions of highly trained soldiers to that trick the Resistance fighters played on Hoth. Supreme Leader Snoke would have never—"
General Hux gagged on his words as Kylo Ren lifted his hand and clenched his fist.
"I… will…not…have…you…"Kylo hissed, stressing each word, "questioning…my…"
He stopped, his lip faltering slightly as he stared directly into her eyes. She saw his own eyes widen, as though he were seeing something that horrified him. The General collapsed to ground, coughing.
He could see her?
She stepped back almost reflexively, as if he could flee, and realized for the first time that her foot was bare—that indeed, both her legs were bare. She wore only the flimsiest swathes of fabric, just as the Twi'lek girl had, and there was a heavy weight around her neck—the iron collar, of course.
Panicking, she took another step back, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to cover as much as she could.
"Get out," Kylo said, his voice a low growl. "Out!"
He turned away from her, casting his eyes to the floor and scowling as though it had mortally offended him. The General wasted no time scrambling to his feet and escaping through the door.
"You can see me, can't you?" Rey asked, her voice sounding small and frightened in that room.
Kylo lifted his head, smirked, and turned to follow General Hux out.
"No," she said. "Stop!"
She ran to catch up to him. This time, the floor stayed solid beneath her feet. She reached him. She was directly behind him, and without thinking, she snatched his arm—and held. He was solid and real. Not like a dream or a vision at all.
Kylo Ren froze, but did not turn around.
"You can see me," she repeated. "I know that you can."
She felt it where she held him—a very faint tremble, a shiver maybe, a reaction to her words.
"You've been blocking me," she realized. "And when you can't block me, you… pretend you can't see me."
"What do you want from me, scavenger?" he growled.
"You left me to die on Korriban," she accused, her voice shaking.
"I did no such thing," he replied. "I was simply upholding my end of the bargain."
"Bargain?"
"You gave me your help in defeating Snoke in order to be returned to your true Master—was that not what you asked of me?" he reminded her.
That had been what she'd asked for, but that was before… before everything that had happened between them—the shyrack cave, the visions in Snoke's chamber... she shook her head slowly.
"I was in no condition to be—"
"Your condition is no concern of mine- was… it was no concern of mine," he corrected himself.
"Look at me!" she demanded. "Turn around and face me, you coward!"
He did as she asked, and when, looking up at him, her eyes met his, she instantly forgot the next insult she had meant to hurl. His words were cruel, his face stoic, but his eyes—his eyes were haunted, and they burned into her.
She dropped his arm, and backed away, not trusting herself to be that close to him. He was a masterful manipulator, she reminded herself.
"I'll ask you again, scavenger, what do you want from me?" His gaze moved from her eyes, to the collar at her neck, and finally, to her barely clad body. "It appears you're in some sort of desperate situation. Where are you?"
"Can't you discover that for yourself?" she taunted. "I mean, up until now you've had no problem digging locations from my head."
"An amusing trick you played on Hoth. How long have you known?" he smirked.
Rey flinched. She hadn't know, of course. It was Master Luke who had guessed. Kylo read her reaction correctly. He smirked and nodded his head.
"I see. You didn't know, did you? Your friends used you without you even realizing it."
"They had to!" she insisted, forgetting her own anger with them in her need to defend them from him. "The First Order is trying to wipe them out—YOU are trying to destroy them."
"If I wanted them destroyed, then rest assured, I would have ended them by now!"
"You nearly wiped all of us out on Crait!" she accused. "If Master Luke hadn't—"
"Yes, nearly, but you were not pursued when you fled."
"What game are you playing at now?" she demanded.
Instead of answering, he clasped his hands lightly behind his back and stared down at her. She felt her face burn, and avoided his eyes.
"Wherever you are now, Rey, you aren't with the Resistance, and they'd of never let you wander off by yourself—you're far too valuable to them. You're a recruitment tool—the newest little Jedi. I wonder if you've seen the other side of the Resistance, the side which General Organa prefers stays hidden."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Don't you?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He lifted his hand, and Rey, conditioned from so many recent blows to the face, flinched away. He froze, his hand merely inches from her swollen cheek, and from the way he pressed his lips together as he studied her, it almost looked as though her reaction had hurt him in some way. "What's happened to you, Rey?" His voice was gentle.
"What's happened to you?" she demanded, daring to glance up at him again. "I thought you wanted to end Snoke for the good of everyone. I thought you had it in you to—"
"To what, Rey? To humble myself? To come back to Master Luke and beg him to forgive me? To join your pitiful Resistance and lick General Organa's boot before she marches over the poor and enslaved for what she deems is the good of all? Is that what you imagined would happen?"
Rey shook her head, though he wasn't far from the truth. She had wasted her time in daydreams on that last day. She had held the image of herself returning with Ben Solo close to her heart. She had been naïve.
"Was that really all you wanted from me? Was I just a tool you used to destroy Snoke?" she asked, her voice raw.
"No," he replied, and his hand moved to gently caress the side of her face. "The Resistance uses you even now. To them you are a tool, but to me you are… you are…" His voice trailed off.
"What?" she asked, hating herself for wanting those words. He was a liar. He was surely taking advantage of the feelings that he sensed in her, and nothing more.
"You need to see them for what they are," he insisted, his hand falling away. "You have to choose for yourself who you will stand beside, and I can feel it, Rey, every time I look at you, I can feel it. You will chose to stand beside me."
She scoffed.
"What am I to you?" she demanded, willing him to finish his thought.
He scowled and turned away, but she caught his arm and pulled, forcing him to face her.
"Kylo!"
He snatched her by both shoulders and his grip was fierce enough to hurt, though he still did not speak.
"What am I to you?" she repeated, staring up at him, determined not to show fear.
"You are my blood arrow," he whispered. His face was dangerously close to hers.
Confused, Rey shook her head.
"I don't—"
When he kissed her, it was with a ferocity that took the air from her lungs, and when he pressed her to himself, her body remembered at once the feel of his, and the heat that came from him, and oh but she wanted to melt! She knew too well that his hands would move to her body in the next instant, and then he would… he would…
It was the prostitute from Ka'vec that saved her from her own weakness. The memory of the woman's smirking visage as she suggested that Kylo Ren likely took her on the floor was enough to freeze whatever flames he had managed to rekindle in her. She shoved him roughly away.
"Your blood arrow, is it? How many of those do you have? I met one on Ka'vec not so long ago!" she spat.
His eyes widened at her words, and she noted with satisfaction the rise and fall of his wide chest as he struggled to catch his breath. He had not expected her to resist him.
"Rey you don't know what—"
"I DO know. I know more than you think I do," she accused.
His fists clenched.
"Where are you?" he demanded. "Tell me where you are. Who is it that did this to you?"
"You don't need to concern yourself with that," she said. She could feel the darkness around her again- almost as though her anger called it to her. "You don't need to try and find me, because I'll find you. I'll find you, and I promise you that when I do, it will not be so that I can stand beside you."
"Rey, I—"
She drew the darkness in and expelled it in almost the same moment. The last thing she saw was his hand shoot up to deflect the blow. The room exploded into darkness and she was once again adrift.
Alone now, Kylo fell back, panting from both the effort of deflecting the final blow and from restraining himself through the entire encounter. Even though she was gone, he could still see her in his mind—her slim, barely-clad form, her swollen and bruised face, the iron collar heavy around her neck.
With a growl of anger and frustration, he snatched the lightsaber from his belt, igniting it mid-stroke to cut through the console beside him. Again and again he slashed, ignoring the sparks that flew until the board was nothing more than a smoking ruin.
In a final burst of anger, he flung the light saber hilt at the far wall, and stabbed the comm button nearest to him.
"HUX!" he screamed.
The General was slow to answer, enraging him all the more.
"Supreme Leader?" he asked at last.
"Prepare my transport!"
