Kylo dropped the lightsabers on the table in his chamber. He sat down in an attempt to relax; in front of him sits the melted helmet of his grandfather whom he worships and talks to—the closest to family he ever has in the Star Destroyer.
He does not talk to it—like he usually does—and then he reflected on the feeling that he had when he was in the room with the intruder. He recalled the sensation that he had felt in that room, he presumed that it stemmed from the girl whose connection with the Force is so strong that it reminds him of Rey's, but this one's stronger.
In the back of his mind, the way she moved flashed before his eyes. He saw how reckless she can be at some point in the fight. Kylo judged that her abilities are still raw, untamed, and she lacked proper training—it's as if she only taught herself a few things, which seemed to be the case. Although her style and strategy were shoddy—compared to Kylo's caliber—she exhibited impressive swings and lunges yet she is just begging to be trained, he could see it in her.
Recalling it again, the feeling was familiar to him; but he cannot exactly point out where in his memories it first manifested to him. He attempted to meditate on it, only for that one voice to reach him out again in the silence—present yet invisible—immediately, he became distracted by the voice.
Ben… where are you?
It rung again, it may be happening inside his head but in his perspective it feels surreal; the voice's emotion could draw anybody, in this case, it's Kylo. It allured him easily, it seemed to tell him that it wants him to find where it's coming, it is as if he knows whose voice it is.
I can't find you…
Whenever he hears it, he finds himself heavily breathing and his chest beating hard, his eyes wander too much looking for that person, almost as if it was out there to reach out to him but cannot. There is this sense of wanting, loss, and sadness in that voice.
Kylo tried to calm himself down in order to stop the voice before he could actually meditate. In his mind, all he could remember was the image of his father, Han Solo, reaching out to touch him in his congealed expression before falling into the white abyss; then it starts from there backwards, he recalls the feeling of entering Rey's mind—which was somehow similar to what he did to the pilot but failed—and then way back to the time when all he could see was rubble: the night that he destroyed the remnants of the Jedi Temple of his uncle and former mentor, Luke Skywalker.
"What is this? It's something… warm," Kylo muttered to himself.
He realized—and denied shortly after—that he has never forgotten. He made himself not forget—serving as a reminder that it was the necessary means that would complete his training.
Finally, the voice vanished and he was able to meditate. The silence was his ally. It helped him relax. The soft billowing of the air helped him reach a certain degree of tranquility despite the kind of surroundings he puts himself in.
In the cell block, it was dead silent. However, metal walls do not block out all the noise. In her cell, the pilot remains in the same position as she was for a few minutes; she fiddles with the straps of her coat out of boredom and then her eyes wandered to the corner of the room—turns out Kylo didn't take everything. Her damaged mask was left in the corner of her cell.
"Oh no," she murmured then crawled on all fours towards the corner where her mask is, she picked it up and checked the graze, the blaster's impact has left a gaping hole on the bottom corner. "Damn it…"
She deducted that the Stormtroopers—known to lack empathy for anybody at all—must have thrown it into her cell like it was something disposable when she was unconscious. She tested if the mask would still work, she fitted it but found the exposed portion of her left jaw and cheek from where the damage is.
She sighed and muttered to herself, "Nice, I guess there's no point in using this,"
The girl set down the damaged helmet on her bed and smacked her lips. She stood up and walked to the door, knocked and hoped that the Stormtroopers on guard would listen to her.
"Hey, can I have a drink? I'm thirsty,"
They do not verbally respond, though their attention was caught when she knocked on the door and started talking and asking for a drink. They returned to their position only for her to ask again.
"I said, I'm parched. Don't pretend that you can't hear me, I know he stationed you there," she said, then another knock follows but she does not speak further, indicating she has given up.
She sat down with a sigh of defeat, bowing her head and resting her elbows on her knees. Fighting the thirst, she slowed down her breathing and tried to ignore it. Eventually, the door whirred open. She acknowledged it with a scoff under her nose but she does not move a muscle.
"I guess you're here to torture me?" she said with the snark she has left.
"If you call a questioning torture then I suppose so," it was Kylo who entered her cell.
"That depends on your methods," she finally tilted up her head to face him, a towering black figure standing by the door of her little cell.
He remained standing there and noticed the mask sitting on her bed. He already has taken a good look on her face—fair skin protected by her hunter's garbs, soulful brown eyes, and a familiar vexed expression on her face.
"Who are you, really?"
"I'm a bounty hunter that landed into your Star Destroyer's hangar," she sarcastically replied, knowing full well that that answer was not what Kylo was expecting.
"A bounty hunter," Kylo echoed.
Jamis gives a small smirk and slight raise of the eyebrow, "I guess I look the part and do the part, sure,"
"Who are you?" Kylo asked again, this time in a firm and stern tone of speaking.
She looked at him for a brief moment, she smirked and looked away, "I'm pretty sure you know already—I'm sure you've known from the moment you entered my mind with your tricks,"
Jamis, that's her name. A familiar one too. He thought. He needn't to ask her again only for her to say it out loud.
"Do you know who I am?"
For Jamis, it sounded like a conceited question. Conceited but necessary. She felt like it was some sort of test. She kept her gaze at him and tried to fish whatever feeling she can get from him. He was attempting to intimidate her with the intention to know how far do her limits go; after all, this is not the first time he's invoked fear on his captives—this isn't the first time he has attempted to enter their minds either.
"No, but I do know what they call you," she looks away as to recall the name they call him, "Ren, was it? 'Master Ren' if I'm not mistaken,"
"Kylo Ren," he reiterates.
"Pleasure," she sarcastically returns the pleasantries.
Her sarcasm almost reminds him of his late father's smugness—he wasn't expecting any flashback, but her attitude was the trigger to remind him. Truly, there is something about this girl.
Kylo takes a deep breath, his fists noticeably clenched as the sound of the leather squeaked as it tightened, and takes a few steps forward to the center of the cell to send Jamis the signal that it is becoming serious—from her slouched posture, her back straightened as he got too close, and then she waited for whatever questions he may have up his sleeve.
"Let me cut to the chase. What kind of bounty hunter uses dual lightsabers—let alone, a lightsaber—and can use the Force?"
"The unusual kind,"
"Where did you get them—the lightsabers?"
"It was a prize, from one of my contracts in Felucia,"
She is lying! He angrily thought.
"I am not playing games with you, bounty hunter, tell me what I want to hear from you!" he snarled.
"Then make this easier for me, Master Ren," her voice seemed to have raised in volume and her tone quickly changed from the laidback tone to a serious, firm one. "Start asking the real questions."
She's not easily shaken, Kylo thought, her resilience is impressive.
"You didn't steal these lightsabers from one of your hunting targets, did you?"
At this rate, Jamis knows it's pointless to hiss and snarl at Kylo with her snark, he will not leave until she answers his questions.
"No, they really are mine—I made them," she firmly answered.
"You're not really a bounty hunter, are you?"
"I am a bounty hunter," Jamis said with clenched teeth, snarling.
He believed her. He can tell that she is a bounty hunter—it just so happened that her methods are unusual from the standard bounty hunter category. She is a rare bounty hunter indeed, and he realized that she could be of use to him—if she only warmed up to him.
"You know, for a bounty hunter—you have a shoddy way of fighting," he bluntly remarked.
"What?"
"In the hangar, your style resembles that of a Padawan," Kylo taunted. "I could teach you to fight better."
"I've heard stories of you Sith Lords—kill the former master, take his place then find an apprentice, only to be killed by that apprentice or kill him if he does not serve your benefit anymore,"
"And where did a little bounty hunter like you hear those kinds of stories?"
She did not answer. She looked away from him, avoiding the question.
"Right, let's try this again, Jamis," he whispered casually.
He gently hovered his hand near her temple, he is attempting to reach into her mind again. This time, the images, the memories, and the thoughts in her mind are as vivid as he sees her in front of him. He sees her as a girl—a young girl wielding a lightsaber, learning how to fight, and learning how to connect with the Force. He sees her in her worst fears realized—fire, rubble, and death surrounding a defenseless, young Jamis who is not strong enough to prevent the catastrophe and can only flee the scene. He sees her trying to harden herself in the harsh and unfair world of bounty hunters—a world wherein it is all about being ahead and on top, it is all about making a name for yourself in order to earn some respect, a world of isolation and greed, a place where you can trust no one but yourself. He has seen those things up to the moment that their lightsabers collided—the moment that her greatest desire, the thing that she is lacking, has manifested and he has seen it.
"Pain, sadness… hate, there it is… a power that withholds so much potential," Kylo muttered.
"Get out of my head!" Jamis said through clenched teeth.
To counter it, she dared herself to enter his mind in the process. Alas, there she caught a glimpse of this treacherous, young Sith. A boy. A scared, insecure, young boy torn between two worlds that he cannot decide which to enter. A little boy undecided on which path to take that would guarantee his future.
Kylo himself was taken aback at what she did, so much so that he has released himself from the Force penetration of her mind.
"Just returning the favor," vexed, Jamis hissed.
"Huh, impressive," Kylo hissed back, "But I really think you need a mentor to refine your fighting style,"
"What makes you think I can trust you?"
"I suppose your thoughts did the exposition for me,"
"I can do fine by myself,"
"Really?" he said in a manner of confirming her claim. "You are a rogue—as you always have been—you've lost everything that's the closest to having your training completed, you yourself are incomplete. Your want to learn more about the Jedi way seems to contradict you being fine by yourself."
He got her there. She was speechless. Jamis has gotten her guard—both physically and mentally—down by Kylo Ren. He may brutish and full of tantrums, but he is clever and that is one of the things that make him so lethal.
"But I can teach you much better things than the Jedi could… far better," he pressed.
Kylo walked to the door and opened it, but before he would step outside, he turned back to her, "Think about it, Jamis, if you would accept my offer to teach you, you'll be able to learn more than just the Jedi way or the rogue training you have undergone, even more than the bounty hunters have taught you."
They exchanged glances with one another before Kylo left the cell.
"You can't even help yourself, Kylo, why bother helping me?" she muttered, but only to herself.
She sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, and meditated again. Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Kylo was talking to the Stormtroopers.
"Relocate her to a chamber by tomorrow," he commanded them, then comes Hux walking towards Kylo.
"Are you softening up to a girl again? Are you going to let your guard down again just because some woman bested you?"
"I am not softening up," Kylo reassured as he strode out of the cell block and Hux followed.
"Oh, really? You don't call entitling the girl to a chamber just because she's uncomfortable softening up?"
"Be careful with your words, General, you may use them on your subordinates—but not to me,"
"You may be as well be careful with her, Ren," Hux warned, not receiving any feedback from Kylo as he has exited the cell block.