It's been a while since I last posted, and I apologize for the wait. Work life got out of hand and took over for the longest time. However, everything has quieted down, and I'll be posting more often.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. All I do is play in the sandbox.
The Finalizer…
It had been three days - well five meals at least - since she was captured by the First Order. And it had been four meals since she first heard Poe scream. Rey hadn't even been aware he was onboard. She had so desperately hoped he escaped the station and was safe with the Resistance. But the Force wasn't so keen to answer that prayer. His cries of pain were deafening despite being far away echoes. Rey had no true sense of time other than the meals, but the torture they were putting Poe through seemed to stretch on for hours.
They wanted to do more than just break him and shatter his mind into pieces. It was systematic, precise, and calculated. Information would be plucked from his mind piece by agonizing piece. And this, this was part of the torture too. They were on a First Order Star Destroyer, abundant in cells and interrogation chambers. They wanted Rey close; they wanted her to hear.
It also made it difficult to retaliate whenever they came to question her. The Twi'lek, another Knight of Ren, would sometimes go back to Poe after finishing Rey's interrogation, taking out on him what she couldn't on Rey. Sometimes the threat that she would go to Poe was enough to keep Rey… reserved.
The baby moved and roiled in sympathy at Rey's distress.
Rey tried to sooth her child by shifting within the confines of her torture chair, but pain blossomed across her abdomen. Her injury hadn't recovered from the stun bolt, and a large dark purple bruise was spread across the length of her side.
Her torturers, however, were not willing to give her a chance relax.
"Where is the Resistance hiding?" General Hux asks, slowly walking around the torture chair.
Rey's eyes remain focused on the Twi'lek, ignoring the man in the room. When he asks a second time, a sharp flash of pain fills her mind. Already weakened, Rey lets out a long scream.
A muffled shout comes through the wall of her torture room.
"Rey! Rey!"
Hearing Poe calling out to her drives Rey to fight against the anguish. But it's too much. She's tired, so tired of it all.
The pain eases up and her scream dies off with it. Heavily breathing, Rey lets her head droop off to the side from the chair she is in.
"I don't see why Ren is so interested in you." Hux states coming to a stop in front of Rey.
"Perhaps," The Twi'lek moves to stand before Rey, and taking a fist full of hair yanks Rey's head up. "she's placed some kind of spell upon him. For she's stronger than she's letting on."
The female knight uses her other hand to harshly take hold of Rey's belly. The pain causes Rey to bite her lip to hold back a grunt.
"But with her being with child, her powers will be less than usual."
"Then let us see if she's willing to gamble her child's life." The grin on his face doing nothing to hide his cruelty.
"Very well then."
Before the Knight of Ren can begin attack, Rey quickly shields the child the best she can with the Force. Another scream rips out of Rey's lips as the assault is more agonizing than any of the others. She can feel her child's fear through their Force-bond and realizes that the best way to shield the child is to close off the bond. Rey doesn't hesitate to close it.
"Bitch!"
The hard-physical blow of a punch to her face gives Rey the reassurance she needs, knowing that she'd succeeded at protecting her child. Her world goes black in that sweet surrender of unconsciousness.
In the room next to Rey's, Poe had been in the middle of a one-sided beat down when he'd heard her first screams. When he'd called out to her, the trooper had increased the force of the blows with the baton.
Standing in the corner, Zekk watches the torture session. Hux had clear orders that the two prisoners be interrogated in tandem. From the other room, Zekk feels Alema's amusement and sheer joy from torturing the pregnant Force-user.
When the next scream echoes through the wall, there is a shift in the Force which draws his attention back to the Resistance fighter in the torture chair.
Hearing Rey's scream, which sounded like a final death wail, rallies Poe's strength and some unknown source of energy builds within his battered body. "Rey!"
He fights even harder against the restraints holding his wrists and legs. In an amazing feat, Poe manages to break free and jumps at his interrogator. Knocking the trooper to the floor, the pair wrestle before Poe manages to get the upper hand. Getting a few blows to the trooper's helmet, Poe attempts to pry the baton out of the trooper's hands.
Zekk, at first amazed by the sudden turn of events, quickly uses the Force to render Poe's body prone. With Poe's body now frozen in place, Zekk watches as the trooper slithers out from beneath their captive. Yet, before the trooper can land a fisted blow to Poe's face, Zekk dismisses the trooper from the room.
"Leave us. I'll see to it that he's restrained back within the chair." Zekk calmly tells the interrogator.
"Very well, sir." The trooper nods to the Knight of Ren and departs.
Using the Force, Zekk has Poe's body float till it returns back into the chair. Then he begins the task of restraining Poe, though he adds several new restraints in the process. As he works, Zekk remains silent and every so often looks into the eyes of his prisoner. The man showed no ability or signs of being able to use the Force. Yet, he was somehow able to channel it upon hearing the woman's anguished scream.
Completing his task, Zekk slowly walks around the still Force-frozen Poe. There is something very familiar about the man which has Zekk wondering just who the hell the man is. He knows that he won't get his answers by asking the man; so, Zekk probes the man's mind and discovers the answer to why the man seems so familiar.
"Poe Dameron." A lightly shocked Zekk whispers out, losing some of his control within the Force. Not realizing exactly who the severely injured prisoner was before.
Poe's eyes are able shift towards Zekk's shrouded face, and there is apprehension as to how his enemy knows his name.
Hearing Poe's mind racing to find an answer, Zekk reaches up and pulls back the shroud that covers his face. He can hear the man's surprise, as well as shock and disgust, at seeing him.
"It's been a long time." Zekk tells him.
Suddenly the door hisses behind Zekk. Knowing just who is going to be entering, Zekk uses the Force to send Poe into a state of unconsciousness. Just as Poe's eyes close, the door opens and in comes General Hux and Alema.
"Were you successful at making the scum talk?" Hux walks forwards and glares down at the Poe's unconscious, limp body.
"Nothing, other than the woman's name." Zekk replies, looking directly at the general but keeping Alema in his peripheral vision.
"Perhaps you weren't diligent enough." Alema offers out, walking towards Poe with a sinister grin on her face.
"Stand down, Alema." Zekk growls out, focusing his attention away from Hux and towards the approaching Twi'lek. "I've already dug through his mind. And unlike you, I try not to turn my captives into drooling handicaps."
"Are you questioning my methods, Zekk?" Alema snarls out, a flash of anger showing across her face.
"When you over do it, yes. Or have you forgotten what happened to the Calrissian girl after your last interrogation session." Zekk retorts, showing just as much anger as Alema.
"Enough." Hux yells out, stepping between the bickering pair to face Zekk. "You're dismissed."
"Very well." Zekk nods to the general before walking towards the door. But before he leaves, he turns to look back at the pair. "I'll be sending my report to the Supreme Leader. Try not to turn this prisoner into a non-usable, Alema."
Zekk leaves the room with a smile as he feels Alema's aggravation and anger spike within the Force. He's never really liked the Twi'lek, even during their younger years at Master Skywalker's fledgling academy. But Ben was adamant on bringing her with them, after the temple's destruction, to join Snoke.
After wandering around the ship for several hours, Zekk heads down to the section which houses their diplomatic guests, more-or-less their prisoners. There is one person down there who he'd like to visit.
Reaching the door, Zekk enters the code which is necessary to enter the rooms. A small smile graces his face at the sight before him.
In the center of the room, leaning over the computer terminal, is none other than Danni Quee. Once hailed as the smartest and brightest Republic astrophysicist, she's now one of a small number who are being held by the First Order.
"If you are here to ask if I've completed the new upgrade for the hyperdrive tracking system, you can throw yourself out an airlock." Danni says without even looking up to see who has entered her rooms.
"You'd miss me too much if I did." Zekk replies back with a smirk.
Finally looking up and away from her terminal, Danni lets out a soft snort before returning back to the computer station.
"Did he send you here to scare me into working faster? Sorry to disappoint, but if he wants something then he'd better visit me himself."
Zekk comes up behind Danni and wraps his arms around her waist. "But you like my visits."
Danni stops what she's doing and breaks Zekk's hold around her waist. Then she turns to face him.
"What is it this time?" She asks, crossing her arms. "You only ever visit me when something is troubling you."
Zekk lets out a long sigh and runs his hands down his face. "Our newest prisoner. Poe Dameron."
This latest information takes the scientist by surprise.
"What?"
Through the Force, Zekk can feel not just Danni's surprise but also her concern for the prisoner. This irritates him, seeing as Zekk remembers rumors about Poe Dameron during their stint at the military academy together. He isn't thrilled by the affectionate concern he's feeling from the woman before him.
"You care for him." Zekk deadpans, stepping away from the woman. "Even after all these years?"
Danni lets out a scoff tsk before turning towards the terminal. "We were classmates in Darklighter's Aeronautics class. That's all."
"Nothing else." Zekk mutters, stomping towards the woman once again. "Really? Because if I remember correctly, you and Dameron were suspended by Antilles for engaging in reckless frivolities."
Danni busts out laughing and whirls around. "Did you really believe that rumor was true? Poe had come to me for help on modifying some flight equipment in his academy issued X-wing."
Slowly, Danni moves closer so that she is now toe-to-toe with the man. Gently, she places a hand against his cheek.
"Jealousy isn't a good look on you." She sighs out softly and watches closely as Zekk presses a kiss into her palm.
"I'm not jealous." Zekk whispers out before leaning down. He places a chaste kiss upon Danni's lips before removing her hand from his cheek.
Both are deeply aware that if Hux were to find out about their romantic tryst, then Danni may find herself being tortured by Alema. The only time that the pair have been found out was by Kylo Ren. And that was during Ren entering Zekk's mind to discover information about the Resistance a few months ago. Yet the Supreme Leader didn't punish either one of them. Instead, he turned a blind eye.
The peace of the moment is interrupted by Zekk's commlink going off.
"Yes?" he asks into the small white stick.
"Sir, I was told to inform you if there was trouble with the prisoners in cell blocks H-54 and H-55." The man on the other end fearfully says.
"And what is the trouble?"
"It's the woman, sir. She appears to be in an unusual amount of distress."
"I'll be right there."
~~~~SWR&P~~~~~
The sudden surge of pain pulls Rey out of the oblivion that she had surrendered to earlier. She isn't sure how long she was out, but there is something else that needs her attention now. Another spasm ripples throughout her body. It is so intense that it leaves her gasping for air till it passes.
As the pain begins to lessen, Rey uses the Force to re-initiate the bond with her unborn child. Fear immediately floods through it. Carefully, Rey tries to calm her child but is stopped short by another wave of sheer agony. Unknowingly, she calls out for help with the Force.
'Poe!'
In the other room, Poe startles awake from his Force induced sleep by the sound of Rey's voice.
"Rey." He mumbles out, his one good eye searching for any sign of Rey being in his room.
'Poe! Help us.'
Turning his head, gently, Poe looks to his left and right but sees nothing.
"Rey? Where are you?"
'Help!'
Poe is struck by a surge of overwhelming distress and suffering. Feeling these emotions causes him to flex his body and limbs while letting out a fierce shout. He struggles in the bindings that are holding him to the torture chair, and he can feel a few of them start to give way against his movements.
The hiss of her cell door rings through Rey's ears, but she doesn't focus on it as she tries to ease the pain she is feeling throughout her body. When a pair of hands gently lay themselves over her swollen abdomen, does Rey finally open her eyes.
"Deep breaths." Zekk says softly without looking at her.
"Don't." Rey whimpers.
"I won't hurt either of you. Unlike the others, I don't wish you or your child any ill will."
Zekk's words do nothing to calm Rey, and she tries to struggle against her own restraints. Through the Force she can feel Zekk trying to help slow down the pain rippling across her belly. However, she is weary of his motives and somehow, he is able to pick up on it.
"Like I said before, I won't harm you or your child." Zekk focuses once more on using his own connection with the Force to ease Rey's torment. "You and the child are too important to Ben."
Hearing Zekk's use of Kylo's true name has Rey wondering just who this man is. Again, as if hearing her thoughts, the man answers her unspoken question.
"Yes, I know that Kylo Ren is Ben Solo. Son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Nephew to Master Skywalker. Youngest brother to Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo."
"How?" Rey mumbles out, the pain lessening as Zekk continued to soothe her through the Force.
Zekk removes his hands from Rey's stomach, and leans back on his heels to look up at her.
"I was once a student of Master Skywalker's." Zekk slowly rises up to stand. "When Ben destroyed the academy, I chose to go with him. Unlike everyone else in his family, I didn't judge him or his ties with the Dark Side of the Force. As the father of your child, I don't think you should judge him either."
"It's… it's not his." Rey adamantly tells him.
Before Zekk can reply, his commlink suddenly chirps. Pulling it out of his dark robe, Zekk answers it while moving several feet away from Rey.
"Yes."
"Sir, the male prisoner is awake and has broken out of his restraints once again."
Glancing over at Rey, he has to keep his face neutral at the smirk Rey is giving him. A smirk that causes a sinking feeling within him.
"Stun him, tranq him, something! I want him unconscious till the Supreme Leader returns." Zekk growls out at his commlink.
"Understood sir."
Switching off his commlink, Zekk glares at Rey and marches over to her.
"How is Dameron able to summon the Force?"
"What?"
Zekk takes hold of Rey's jawline with a single hand and squeezes it. "He's never shown to be a Force-Sensitive, nor a Force-user. Yet he's been able to summon it to break free. And you're going to tell me how."
Without hesitation, Zekk forces his mind into Rey's relentlessly. He keeps pushes against her weakened mind until he is able to summon all of Rey's memories of Poe. Each one flashes by quickly as Zekk searches through them, ignoring the sound of Rey's tormented screams while doing so. When he encounters a particular memory from her time on Hapes, the memory quickly turns black. Then, with a bang, Zekk finds himself thrown from her mind.
With the connection broken, Zekk stumbles backwards and lands hard on the floor. He looks up at Rey and sees that she's now unconscious, head drooping forwards. Something palpable hangs between the pair. A presence seemed to be settling between them, almost like a protective barrier. This was what threw him out. The presence coalesces and manifests into being.
"Jacen," Zekk breathes.
The ghost merely nods.
"It's been a long time," the Knight states, slowly rising from the floor.
"Too long from what I've seen." Jacen replies, staring at his former friend. "You should release Rey and Poe."
"Why? She's carrying your brother's child."
Jacen pops an eyebrow at Zekk's comment. "It's not his child. You've seen the proof for yourself; delving into her mind, Zekk."
"That wasn't a true memory. It was a dream that she'd remembered having which her subconscious mixed in with reality." Zekk counters, crossing his arms.
"Are you sure?" A familiar voice says from behind Zekk.
Stepping out from behind the man is the familiar form of yet another one of Zekk's dead friends.
"Anakin."
"Zekk." The young spirit of Anakin Solo says stoically.
"So, what is this?" Zekk asks. "You two are now going to haunt me? I'm surprised that Jaina hasn't shown up yet."
"She's otherwise preoccupied with other matters." Anakin states, finally stopping in front of Rey. He places one of his transparent blue hands against her rounded belly.
"Is it alive?" Jacen asks, not taking his eyes off of Zekk.
"For now, but Rey will need medical care soon." Anakin replies before moving his hand up to Rey's head. "Her mind is a jumbled mess. I'll do what I can."
As Anakin tries to heal the damage done by Zekk, Jacen keeps the living man preoccupied.
"You still have a chance at redemption." Jacen says to the man. "Help them escape."
"Why should I?"
With an almost sad look at his former friend, Jacen reaches out with the Force. Whatever blocks Zekk had raised disappear as the Force helps Jacen reveal to the man why Rey, Poe, and the unborn child are important. He watches closely as Zekk is shown the truth behind it all. The vision that Jacen has shown Zekk now drifts back within the Force and he can tell that the man is now in awe.
"Now you know why you must help them escape."
Zekk, with a few free-flowing tears running down his cheeks, blinks before speaking to Jacen.
"I didn't know. I swear, Jacen. I didn't know about Snoke's plans."
"Ben doesn't know either." Jacen says, giving his friend a sad smile.
"By the Force." Zekk gasps out as he tries to hold back a sob. "Jaina? Snoke planned…"
"Yes."
"Thank the Force that she's gone and one with the Force."
Jacen begins to open his mouth but is stopped by Anakin. The two brothers share a look between them before disappearing back into the Force.
Three days later…
With the revelation that his two dead friends had shared with him still burning deep in his mind, Zekk had searched the First Order archives for any information concerning Snoke. Not just looking for the basic information on the former leader, but on what he'd been up to till his death. He owed it to himself to discover if Snoke was behind Jaina and her master's disappearance and subsequent deaths. Hell, he owed it to the young woman currently in the cell block.
Letting out a sigh, Zekk rubs at his bleary eyes to help them focus on the terminal screen before him. Flashes of the vision he'd received from Jacen comes to life behind his closed eyes. Images of Jaina being not just a Sith, but also being the mother of several Sith children appear. These are followed by images of Rey taking Jaina's place.
"Enough!" Shouts Zekk, flying so fast out of his chair that it topples backwards to the ground.
He clutches the edge of the terminal desk and is taking several deep breaths to calm himself down.
"Shouting at the computers again?"
Zekk whips around and sees Alema standing in the doorway. Keeping his face neutral, Zekk does his best to hide from the Twi'lek what he knows. If Alema were to find out, it would put him and their two prisoners in danger. Ever since Hux left the ship two days ago, Alema has been walking around as if she is the one in charge. However, Kylo Ren's shuttle is expected to arrive sometime within the next 24 hours and it can't come fast enough. If there is one Force-user who Alema fears, it is Kylo Ren.
"What do you want, Alema?" Zekk asks.
"Nothing. Just wandering around when I heard you yell." Alema lies, knowing full-well that she's keeping a close eye on the man. Armitage had told her that he's begun to suspect Zekk of sabotaging the interrogations of their prisoners.
"Anyways," Alema continues, "I believe we need to up the torture on the Resistance scum. Especially the pilot. He is the woman's weakness. We should exploit it to our advantage."
"We will wait for Ren's return before we proceed any further in the interrogations." Zekk glares down at her. "Is that understood?"
Alema hesitates in answering, scowling at Zekk's orders. "Very well."
The Twi'lek leaves, with Zekk keeping his eye on her back. He knows that Alema hates being reined in and denied pleasure from torture. However, he doesn't want to cause any more distress to the woman and the unborn child his master claims as his own. Oh yes, Zekk is well aware of Ben's attempts to seduce the woman to the Dark Side; as well as claiming the child as his own.
Another quick flash from the vision Jacen had shared with him floats to the front of Zekk's mind. This time, Zekk allows himself to become emerged into it and a plan begins to form.
Naboo…
In the days following the attack and loss of Mon Cala, General Organa was able to broker a secret agreement between the Resistance and Queen Fiducia of Naboo. The queen silently agreed to let the Resistance regroup on the opposite side of the planet, away from Theed. However, if the First Order were to discover the Resistance there, Queen Fiducia would not protect them.
Staring up into the night's sky, Leia can't help but think about her birth mother. When Luke had finally discovered who their mother was, they had come to this planet together. They'd visited the mausoleum that the people of Naboo had erected for the former queen turned senator. The pair had even left a small memento each at the foot of the statue.
"What would you do?" Leia whispers into the cool night air. "What advice would you give your daughter?"
The only answer she receives is the sound of the local wildlife and of a gentle breeze rustling through the trees.
"General."
Leia turns slowly, leaning heavily on her cane to see Finn approaching.
"If you ask me again to send you out to find Poe and Rey, the answer is still no."
He comes to a stop and holds out a data-pad. "Connix and Threepio were able to decrypt the message we received earlier today."
"And?"
"And I was told to give you it." Finn replies, still waiting for Leia to take the offered item.
Leia takes the pad and quickly enters in her code before slowly reading the message. It only takes her a couple of minutes to read, and reread, the thing.
"What does it say?" Finn asks, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.
"The First Order have Rey and Poe. They're aboard the Finalizer." Leia replies, turning off the pad and handing it back to Finn.
"We have to get them back before Kylo Ren kills them both." Finn tells her, taking the pad and starts to follow the woman back towards the Fulcrum.
"Kylo Ren isn't onboard the Finalizer. However, he is heading back to his ship." Leia states with assuredly.
"How can you know that?" Finn asks, looking at the general.
"He isn't the only one to receive communiques from the new Emperor of the Imperial Remnant." Leia answers back as she enters the Resistance flag ship.
Inside, Leia finds Hobbie and Wes waiting for her. Before either man can speak, Leia looks directly at the men.
"Prepare the fleet to leave as quick as you can and have your pilots ready to engage."
"Your highness?" Wes asks, giving the woman a confused look.
"We're going to capture Kylo Ren as his shuttle passes Fondor."
Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved. So please leave one.
Selene