Iberis is not a hero. She's not some great fighter who is gifted and skilled, who will conquer the First Order and bring peace to the galaxy. That's not her in the slightest. She's just a mediocre pilot with good intentions, who joined the Resistance to try and help the fight in any way she could.
Right now, as she leans outside the stone house where Poe is getting the map to Luke Skywalker from Lor San Tekka, she gets a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she looks up at the sky, her senses become justified as she sees the dreaded image of the dark ship, like an evil black bird looming in the air.
"Dammit," she groans, just as BB-8 goes rolling through the beads, shrieking a warning to his master, Iberis pounds on the outside wall. "Poe, hurry!" she exclaims and grabs the pistol, which is on her waist. She's rubbish with weapons- Poe only gave it to her for absolute protection, and he said to let him do all the shooting. Now she sees all of the ships, belonging to the New Order, descending on this little town.
Poe comes running out a second later, Lor San Tekka, in tow. Iberis joins his side just as the older man instructs for the two of them to leave. Iberis can see their X-Wings still stationary, and with a final goodbye to the older man, she and Poe begin running again, and that's when all hell breaks loose. Some stormtroopers come streaming out of their ships and start firing on the villagers. She's seen the violence that the First Order is capable of on the attacks against the Resistance, but used against helpless villagers, her heart breaks for these people.
"Focus, Ibie!" Poe shouts at her as he notices her slowing her pace. He knows her well and knows when she's not entirely focused on their task, but he always manages to bring her back.
They've reached their X-Wings and her old, but very loyal, droid, R3-Y2 is waiting patiently for her. He begins beeping widely and hopping, scared of the fighting that's ensued. He's a sweet bucket of bolts, and she wouldn't trade him for the world.
"It's okay, R3!" she screams as R3 gets hoisted into the X-Wing. Just as she gets into the cockpit, the stormtroopers see them and hit Poe's ship, but luckily BB-8 is saved from the blast. When they caught her, they hit R3 directly. The explosion is so powerful Iberis is blown back and lands on the ground with a hard thud.
When she pushes herself up, she sees nothing but fire engulfing the wings and cockpit. "R3!" she cries, but it's too late for the little robot who was completely blown up by the blast.
Poe is on his knees beside his ruined ship, instructing BB-8 to get as far away from here as it can go. The droid has the map hidden away, with the fate of the galaxy is now on it. It's far safer with BB-8 than it'll be with either of them.
"I promise I'll come to you!" Poe promises BB-8, who beeps in agreement then begins rolling away.
Poe runs and skids to a stop beside a wall, his rifle balanced on the broken wall, and aiming at the stormtroopers. Iberis joins his side just as another ship descends to the ground. The door opens, more stormtroopers come rushing out, who then are followed by a cloaked figure.
Iberis swallows hard and bites her bottom lip. The feeling of dread fills her stomach again as she stares at this figure. She has a secret: A secret which is harbored by Han Solo and General Leia Organa too. The secret is the tall, dark figure who is now interrogating Lor San Tekka, who calls himself Kylo Ren. That's not his real name, but the one he chose to adopt. One time he was a childhood friend of hers, but now he's twisted and morphed into something evil.
Iberis is shaken out of her thoughts when Ren grows furious with Lor San Tekka and strikes him down violently, causing screams to erupt from the captured villagers. Poe shoots at Ren and then darts over the wall, running full force at the cloaked man.
"Poe, wait!" Iberis yells and launches herself over the wall too, but a second later, both the pilots are frozen mid-step. She's never felt like this before, but she knows who caused it. Ren instructs two stormtroopers to bring Poe over to him, but Iberis is still frozen.
The sound of Poe's beating fills the air, and she groans and tries desperately to move, but the force is far too strong for her to overcome. She is facing the ground, and her hair forms a dark curtain, obscuring her face. She hears Poe make a stupid comment about talking first; then, Ren tells his men to put him on the ship. She listens to the sound of heavy footsteps once again, and suddenly her invisible barrier disappears, and she falls to the ground.
"Ow," she mumbles as she clutches her ribcage. One of them cracked from the earlier impact, and the sudden landing made her painfully aware of it.
"You... I didn't think I'd ever see you again." A low voice replies. When she looks up, all she sees is the black, terrifying mask. The voice is unfamiliar and cold, and it is certainly not her friend.
She begins trembling, and she wants to hit herself for looking so weak. She refuses to look at the mask anymore, instead choosing to look at Kylo's black boots.
"You're with the Resistance. I should have guessed," he scorns. "Put her on the ship with the other pilot." He instructs two stormtroopers, which immediately grab her roughly by the arms and drag her quickly to the ramp.
A Captain, clad in silver with a red cape, then approaches Ren. "What about the villagers?" she asks.
"Kill them all," he replies quickly, and the troopers begin firing, not ten seconds later.
Poe begins struggling, so does Iberis. "No, no, please don't do this. Kylo, don't!" she screams. She vigorously kicks at the stormtroopers holding her and manages to make contact with one of their heads. The trooper is thrown off balance and topples over the ramp. The stormtrooper throws her to the floor, smashing the butt of his rifle on her jaw. The last thing she sees is Kylo Ren looking at her, his head tilted as he watches her.
Her childhood friend is long gone. And now she's in the hands of a monster who most likely wishes her dead.
The cell she is in is cold, small, and dark. She has a wicked headache, a heavy heart, and a lot of anger in her body.
In the center of the room lies a chair with restraints and harnesses, which frightens her. She sits on a small metal seat tucked away in the corner, clutching her ribcage. Her broken rib is sore, her jaw swollen and bruised from the stormtrooper. She has no idea where Poe is- or Kylo Ren, for that matter. He's the one who wanted her on the ship in the first place, but now she's alone.
A noise at the door makes her jump. Two stormtroopers enter the cell and immediately lock the door behind them. She recognizes the two, who had dragged her on the ship from Jakku. The one she kicked in the head is approaching her.
"You're part of the Resistance, yes or no?" he asks.
She doesn't respond, only looks at the floor. The stormtrooper nudges her with the gun, growing angry. "Answer me." He barks.
She again offers no answer, which only agitates the stormtrooper more. She had humiliated the man once, but she won't do it again. He grabs her by her hair and drags her off the bench before throwing her across the room. He has no time for uncooperative Resistance scum.
"We'll get answers out of you one way or another, hold her up." He instructs to his companion, who quickly obliges. He walks over, takes her two arms, and pulls her off the floor. Iberis lets out a groan but decides to fight back. She throws her head back and hits the stormtrooper in the helmet. It probably hurts her more than him, but it does make him lose his balance. She can rip her arms away, but she hears a shot from a blaster before she feels it in her leg. She lets out a cry as her leg buckles, and she falls to the ground. The trooper kicks her in the leg before his companion grabs her and resumes the earlier position.
"Stop fighting, girl." The trooper commands.
She rolls her eyes and huffs. "Not a girl," she grumbles.
"What did you say?" the interrogator asks her.
"Nothing." She responds bitterly.
His fists tighten, and he grows angry. "You will answer my questions." He spits out.
"No, I will not. I will not answer you. I do not answer faceless numbers." She growls. She knows what she said is harsh and mean, but it will aggravate the trooper and make him forget about questioning her- and it works. The soldier does not hesitate to drop his gun, and he smashes her in the face with his fist. Her nose begins gushing blood, and her knees buckle, but the trooper holding her keeps her upright.
Her attacker doesn't stop. Another hit to her already cracked rib, one to her stomach and another on the wound in her leg. She feels like she can't breathe. He hits her jaw again and a harsh jab to her lung. She's choking, and blood and saliva drip out of her mouth. He doesn't ask her any more questions, only continues his furious beating. This beating is no longer about getting information; this is payback for making him look weak.
She counts her lucky stars when the door opens.
"LF8910, stop."
The fists suddenly stop, but Iberis doesn't lookup. The trooper holding her also let's go, and she slumps to the ground, her body screaming in pain. She's still coughing, and blood splatters the floor, as does a tooth.
"Leave us," the voice instructs. Iberis lets out a small sigh when she recognizes it. She's not happy that he's here, but at least the beating stopped. She hears the cell door slide open, then closes again. "Sit up," Ren instructs.
She's trembling, her mouth still bleeding. "I can't." she chokes out. The evil man leans forward and slips his hand under her shoulders before sliding her upright against the wall. He pulls her legs out so she can have some balance, before resuming a kneeling position directly opposite her.
"Where's Poe?" she gasps out.
"None of your concern." He answers.
She chews on her bottom lip and watches him for several moments before finally speaking again, softly. "Do you still have the same face under that mask?"
"You have not seen my face in years." He replies bitterly.
"Doesn't mean I don't remember it," she says but then pauses. Kylo tilts his head, waiting for her to continue. She flicks her hair back and stares him directly in the face when she finally continues speaking. "Ben."
He stands immediately and begins circling her, like a predator inspecting his prey. "THAT is not my name," he growls.
"Yes, it is," she persists, trying to push herself up so she can look at him directly. Her leg won't let her stand, but she does manage to sit on her knees. "Your name is Ben. We were born the same year. Your mother is Leia, and your father is Han Solo. We were friends, don't you remember, Ben?" she begs. She's crying now; the tears are cutting a pathway through the blood smeared on her face. "Please, remember me. Remember us!"
He walks over to her and kneels so quickly she doesn't have time to lean back. He grabs her swollen chin, and she has to bite her lip to keep from crying out. "I am not Ben. He is not my father. You are not my friend. Ben is dead. You are too. You sided with them," the word is so bitter coming out of his mouth that Iberis can almost taste the vinegar. "You sealed your fate." He whispers.
He slips his arm behind her waist, the other under her knee, and picks her up so swiftly she can't protest. And then he places her in the dreaded chair before locking her in place.
"What about your mother!? Leia Organa. You couldn't have forgotten her. She loved you so much. Don't you remember? Or did they take her from you too?" she yells as he tightens the harness around her waist. He is silent, and his hands stop, for only a moment, before locking the tight belt in place. He doesn't answer her.
"You are close to Leia and the Resistance, and you have information that I could use, and you will give it to me." He orders and stands up. The mask is concealing his voice, and she frowns.
She drops her head before speaking again. "You haven't said my name once this entire time." She whispers.
Again, he reaches forward, lifting her chin before leaning so close to her that she can see her reflection in his mask. "That's because it means nothing to me anymore."
A/N: Hello! I had this story written over four years ago, however, I decided to go back and rewrite it and edit it before releasing it back into the world!
