After the Peroenians ambushed them, they took turns hitting Kylo until he had no energy to get back up. Even then, they punched him still, making him bleed more. One of the thugs pressed his hand into Rey's neck, keeping her still in the long grass, with her cheek smudged into the dirt. At the same time, the other thugs kept hitting Kylo. It was their mutual punishment for being Force users. Outlanders. Scum.
She smelt the dirt and his blood and remembered how Kylo had looked at her on Ossus. With such fascination, and she'd felt it within him, deeper than ever. The jagged crack, the call to the light within. Growing with every strike of his lightsaber to hers, and every battle fought.
Perhaps that was why she had captured him.
Rey wrestled against the tight grip of her captor. He spat at her in return, commanding her in his language to stay. They wanted her to watch and learn the lesson. Kill a Peroenian, as Kylo had, and they would hurt in return. Rey winced.
"Stop—" she panted, feeling every blow they gave to him, "stop it."
The Peroenian holding her chuckled. The thugs called him Cole. He had been the first one she had seen. He'd smirked and bragged and set his four thugs on them. Rey had dodged, dived and ducked just as she had on Jakku. It usually got her out of scrapes. But they'd been quicker.
"Enough," Cole ordered eventually.
Perhaps they thought Rey was precious to Kylo.
Maybe they thought he was precious to her.
Cole straightened up, letting Rey go. He gestured to Ren's unconscious form. "Beat him any more, we'll have lost a good bounty," he said in Basic. "They'll pay more to have the Master of the Knights of Ren alive."
Rey glanced over her shoulder at the trees behind them. She had let her lightsaber fall from her palm when she'd seen the lightning-quick first punch they'd laid on Kylo while one of their own screamed above, carried off by a Brintak.
They cuffed her, and two of the thugs carried Kylo's unconscious body towards their ship. Cole led the way. Over the hill, down into the next shallow valley was a small transporter, designed before the First Order, before the Empire. Hauling Kylo's body into the loading bay, they bundled Rey inside it next, pushing her up the ramp into the loading bay.
"Stay there," Cole ordered, shoving her against the wall of the ship. He slammed a button. The ramp closed with a hiss of steam as Cole climbed a ladder towards the cockpit.
The ship pulled up into the air. The remaining four Peroenians had stayed in the loading bay, keeping an eye on their cargo. Rey sank down to the floor, sitting with her knees tucked to her chest. She kept her head bowed. Two of the thugs muttered as they examined Ren's unconscious body, idly patting him down. One of them paused.
Rey glanced up.
He had his hand at the belt around Ren's robes.
The second thug frowned.
"What is it?"
There was a click. The first thug held in his hand a tracker. "Still activated," he spat.
"Don't know why the surprise," replied the second thug. "He's a precious catch."
The first thug deactivated the tracker, throwing it over his shoulder.
"We'd better get a lot of credits for the little bastard."
Rey studied the cramped space. There were crates of off-planet food and spice, weaponry as well, blaster pistols and rifles. Rey waited until the four Peroenians were gathered together, laughing over jokes with their backs to her. She and Ren were classed as nothing more than more cargo, just like those damn crates.
Quietly turning her right hand, she summoned the Force. The tracker flew into her palm. Breathing a sigh of relief, she shoved it under her shirt, onto the waistband of her trousers. She leaned back against the ship's wall, closing her eyes.
She knew why she could never hate her life on Jakku, however much she tried.
It had taught her how to survive.
The planet of Odessen was a cascade of blue and white. Poe Dameron, looking down upon it, sighed.
"Gotta hope this is the one, BB-8," he said. His droid's beeps were optimistic, and Poe smiled in spite of himself. He switched on the comms unit. "Okay guys, Odessen. Follow me, we'll land on the west side and spread out from there. You copy?"
"Copy Black Leader," came the replies, and their call signs. Snap, Jess, Karé.
Their landing was swift and easy, BB-8 beeping not to be left behind as Poe climbed out of his ship.
The undergrowth here was tall, waist-high. Poe ran his fingers over the blades. They were wet with morning dew and in the air, the lingering scent of recent rain.
"Hello, planet number five," Jess said brightly, setting her blaster.
"Odessen," Snap said, reading the data before him. "I've got to admit, there's not much recent information I could find about this place. Apparently it's got some nasty wildlife, so look out for that on the scanners."
Poe nodded, taking in the landscape. There was an odd feel to this rock. It was different, somehow, to the ones they'd visited before.
Far beyond the trees, Poe saw the silhouette of mountain ranges. He heard too, the distant rush of ocean water.
He rolled his shoulders, gesturing.
"Jess, you're with me. We'll go north from here. Snap, Karé, you go east. BB-8, stay with the wings, okay? We'll be back, buddy," Poe added hurriedly, at BB-8's mournful beep. BB-8 beeped reluctantly. Giving the droid a wave, Poe headed through the long grass.
Jess jogged to fall into step with him, looking over the scanner in her hands.
"Check comms."
"On it."
Poe pushed forward, brushing through the undergrowth.
"You got any signs of life yet?" he called back.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Jess examining the scanner. Her eyebrows dipped into a frown. "None whatsoever. Despite what Snap said, there seems to be nothing here - no, wait a second. I think I'm getting a faint signal."
Poe hurried back to Jess' side, his eyes reading the data on the scanner.
"Where?"
"About... half a klick north of here," Jess said, sticking out her arm, tilting it left as she followed the map. Poe grinned.
"C'mon."
Jess managed to keep silent for at least ten minutes. Shoving her way through the high grass, both of them coming to the end of a forest, she grinned up at Poe.
"Been thinking. Interesting that Black Squadron volunteered to do this search."
"We're reconnaissance, Jess. Plus it was a favour to the General. We've got a war to win, and we can't pour all our resources into one search."
"Finn seemed pretty relieved when you volunteered—"
Poe whirled around, raising a finger. "Hey."
Jess shrugged. Her brown eyes twinkled. "Just saying, cap." Her voice dropped to a whisper, her tone singsong, as he turned around. "As is everyone on base…"
Poe shook his head, failing to hide his grin. Black Squadron were the best pilots in the galaxy, but they sure couldn't keep their noses out of other people's business. Trained too well to never be at least curious.
He paused. The silence of the planet seemed to reverberate here, like a heartbeat beneath his feet and inside his head.
A slow, lingering heartbeat.
Poe retreated, finding Jess' eyes. She quirked an eyebrow.
"Cap? Poe?"
He nodded to the scanner still in her hands. "Check that signal again."
"It's still reading half a klick away – wait,"—she knocked the scanner against her palm—"We've been walking a lot longer than… I'm sure we have… No, we should be at least halfway by now."
Poe pointed west. "We need to go this way."
"What?" Jess shouted after his retreating form. "Poe, the signal – Poe!"
"Don't you feel that?" Poe said, turning on his heel to face her. "That – hum - inside your head—"
"That's just the air, Poe, c'mon—"
"It's not the atmosphere, Jess."
Poe broke into a jog, edging further towards the forest. "It's something else," he muttered, and he stepped into the trees.
He crouched, pressing his hand into the earth. He felt the dirt under his palm.
Slowly, he cracked a smile. It felt warm, like the duracrete on D'Qar.
Warm with the near-constant throbbing work of machinery. Ships and scanners, holodecks and comms units.
Jess' shadow fell over his face. Glancing at him, she followed his lead, pressing her palm to the ground. She frowned.
Poe's smile widened. "You feel that?"
"Yeah... That's super weird."
Rising to his feet, Poe tilted his head towards the intricate path winding between the trees. "C'mon."
They walked through the leaves and dry earth. With every metre they covered, the temperature climbed.
Their saliva felt sticky, the roofs of their mouths dry.
Poe wiped his sweat from his brow as they got closer to the edge of the trees.
His vision swam.
That constant sound, that heartbeat, had swelled. The same rhythm, over and over, in his ears and his head, running through his whole body. Poe slid his hand into his holster, retrieving his blaster.
Jess's hand flung out, stopping him in his path.
"What the hell—?" she whispered.
Poe blinked. His eyes refocused, following the direction of Jess' gaze.
A dark concrete structure stood before them.
Carved into the base of a mountain, it had high walls and two sharp slopes at either side. The concrete was crumbling before their eyes, moss enveloping the grey. The green of its reptilian vines seemed to be the only thing holding the structure up.
Jess rubbed her ear. "That sound," she said, "it's gone."
Poe nodded dumbly.
"Uh-huh. Got your blaster?"
"For sure."
Holding his pistol in one hand, he crept forward.
The mouth of the structure was unlit.
Water rushed distantly, but the stone floor was damp.
Jess swept her torch left to right. Gaps in the stone led to the sight of rushing ocean tides. Their breath formed clouds in the increasing cold.
"An ocean underneath stone," Poe muttered.
Jess shivered visibly. "What is this place?"
Together, they turned a corner into another wide path. With her torch, Jess led the way. Her light picked up discarded technology, ancient and cumbersome. Comms units that made up the weight of a whole backpack; wood utensils, chipped. Rusted metal, with cracked stones in their centre. He peered closer at them. Not stones. Crystals.
"Copy, Black Squadron, copy." Jess sighed, tapping the comm unit against her palm. Her torch flickered, snapping on and off, flooding the dark with long-lit shadows. "Snap, Karé, come in. You there?"
"Supreme Leader, my news is grave." The voice was a distance away, echoing down the corridor. Poe jumped to his feet.
Jess followed as he hurried down the corridor towards the sound.
Getting closer, Poe slowed. The voice, human, was scratchy, garbled in places.
"What news?"
He paused at the echoing second voice.
It was unlike the first. It was full-bodied, a low growl more belonging to a creature than a human.
Ducking low, Poe moved forward, beckoning for Jess to follow. His hold on his blaster tightened as he straightened, continuing towards the end of the corridor.
A medium-sized shuttle stood dormant in the middle of the corridor, its wings folded inwards. It looked small underneath the high square arched ceiling. Poe's palms itched. He took a breath, running his eyes over it. He knew an Imperial design when he saw it.
The ramp underneath its belly was open.
A trap.
Whoever had this in their possession, they knew of their presence.
Poe ran forward and up the ramp. Slowing, he slipped through the corridors of the ship.
Luxurious red seating was covered in dust. Marble patterned tables were scratched with age.
The design had to be of the Clone Wars, if not older.
"… We were unable to find an exact—" The voice crackled with a harsh hiss, "location for Kylo Ren and the girl before his tracker was deactivated. But we know the planet. He is on Giaca. There is a slave presence there, it's most likely it was traders who deactivated the signal."
"I see."
The sound came from a chamber ahead, the entrance of which was an empty archway. Poe dropped to a crouch. He tilted his head against the cold metal of the ship's wall, straining to listen. He felt Jess beside him, her hand on his forearm. He slid his fingers between hers, squeezing tightly before letting go.
"We must retrieve Kylo Ren from Giaca as soon as we are able. My resources here are… depleted. How long before the First Order is ready to fight again? I recognise your last loss to the Resistance damaged us severely." The voice was a taunt. Poe's blood ran cold, then boiling hot. His body trembled with anger.
The First Order was here. On Odessen. He charged his blaster, holding it up. He counted his breaths as he listened.
"As long as the Resistance knows nothing of Ren's location," the holo crackled, "we have all the time in the galaxy. We will amass enough firepower to take every last planet in the known systems, including Giaca. Then we shall strike on D'Qar."
"Very well, General Hux. When Kylo Ren is retrieved, you shall have permission to kill the scavenger. How you do it is your decision, but kill her and kill her quickly."
Jess hurried to the other side of the entrance, her blaster ready. Poe peered into the room.
A full-figured holo of a man stood in the middle of the room. General Hux was stiff-collared with slicked-back hair, shockingly red, and he wore the uniform of the First Order with sick pride. The technology was old, and his face was ill-defined. All that could be seen was permanent scorn and narrowed eyes.
"Are you sure, sir? The girl could be a valuable prisoner for the First Order."
Before the holo, there stood a creature almost human. Poe's breath stilled for a moment.
Snoke.
Black robes covered his form, but his head was bald, scarred and sliced. When he moved, he walked slowly, as if walking itself was laborious. Snoke waved a dismissive hand as it continued to talk. "She has become a distraction. Distractions must be eliminated."
The male in the holo nodded once. "It shall be done, Supreme Leader."
The holo flickered and died.
Poe stood, taking a hard breath. He caught Jess's eye. She nodded.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he sprang forward, running quickly into the room, aiming at Snoke. A single bolt from his pistol, shot towards the creature. Snoke spun around, staring into Poe's eyes. The hollow of his right cheek was carved away, showing muscle and sinew and the white of bone.
The bolt hovered in mid-air.
The second bolt, from Jess, coming in from the left, stopped dead too.
"So this is what has been left of the Resistance."
There were shadows underneath the hollow, aged eyes. Exhaustion permeated Snoke's face.
His mouth curved with a gruesome smile. "And what you see before you is what has been left of the First Order. I have spent much to avoid the eyes of your petty little rebellion."
He raised his hand. His forefinger and middle finger were pressed together. Poe stumbled back, trying to run, but suddenly—he was trapped, his body caught and trembling in a frozen moment. He heard Jess, gasping with coming tears.
Snoke's gruesome smile widened. He tilted his head and softly pressed his fingers to Poe's forehead. Time caught up to his body; Poe slumped forward, falling to his knees. His throat swallowed up with gasps, harsh and drawn out.
"Jess?" he gasped. Snoke—Poe's vision swam again, the room before him blurring as he shook his head, trying to right himself—circled around them, his robes gliding over the cold metal floor.
"Don't bother. You shall soon forget you were ever here."
"Poe…" Jess choked. "I can't stop him—"
Poe looked at her. Tears glimmered in her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. Poe squeezed his eyes tight, reaching up, cupping her face.
Snoke—
Hux—
The girl, Rey— she was in danger, they were going to— going to…
"Hold on—" he panted, sinking his fingers into Jess' hair. It was soft underneath his palms, like Dramassian silk—no, no, he had to remember! Hux. The girl, Rey. Snoke, on Odessen, the First Order. "Say it, we've got to remember. Snoke, Hux, Rey—"
"Snoke, Hux, Rey," Jess chanted under her breath, like a prayer. Poe pressed his forehead to hers. Think, think. Remember. She had the air of D'Qar in her hair and her skin. Odessen— Odessen—
BB-8 beeped happily, rolling towards Poe as he and Jess appeared into the clearing from the undergrowth. Snap and Karé jogged up to meet them.
"You get any success?" Karé asked. "We searched, but couldn't find any damn thing. Save for a nasty pack of shade stalkers, so we got out of there. Wexley, ever think our luck's running out?"
"Not for men of action like us," Snap replied, throwing her a wink. Karé rolled her eyes.
"We found nothing," Poe said. "Followed a path and found a dead end. C'mon. We need to report back to base."
"Let's stop off at Maizie's on the way, I'm starving," Karé threw over her shoulder, hurrying towards her X-wing. Poe laughed as BB-8 rolled ahead of him towards his ship.
"Whatever you say, Karé."