Jamis continued to stalk through the halls, depending on her senses while she searches for a trace of Kylo's tracks—but she can't seem to do so—and she does so while passing by watchful and judgmental eyes from the crew and the Stormtroopers.
Over the course of their training, the crew has gotten used to Jamis's presence, they have also acknowledged her growing skill, making her formidable and respected as if she were in a military rank—but not everyone seem to have given their ounce of respect for her.
Jamis was coincidentally going to pass by Hux and a couple of lieutenants by the entryway of the bridge. She did not pay much attention to the three of them but her eye has caught with the lieutenants', they briefly nodded at her while she made a slight downward tilt at them, then she ignored Hux and kept going. Internally enraged and baffled, Hux dismissed the two lieutenants and they returned to their stations in the bridge, then he watched Jamis walk away into the distance.
"How laughable," Hux snarled under his breath, "My own men saluting to that stray scavenger. He has indirectly led my men to praise the wench like a general behind my back and her influence supported it." he chided as he strode back to the bridge.
Kylo had hid himself in one of his sanctuaries—no, not the room that had his grandfather's skull—but a secret room that no one else knows but him, the architect, and the engineer of his Star Destroyer. Considering that the architect, the engineer, and their workers are not the least bit Force-sensitive, Kylo has somehow shrouded the room with all the Force he can gather within himself and place it upon the room, both on the inside and the outside. He has discovered this upon himself and has not fully disclosed it to anybody—not even to Snoke—and decided that he must master it by himself without any sort of guide. Thinking that if he hid in this concealed room, Jamis would not find him and she would admit defeat, and then he would reveal himself and the room; he started to assume if it would just encourage her to be trained more or will it just discourage her. For the time being, he meditated until he slowly felt memories—old ones—rush into his mind.
Ben, come on, you're thinking about it too much!
It was familiar. He can somehow place the voice but not the face as it was obscure whenever he tried to materialize it.
"I wonder where he is?"
Jamis used her bounty hunter instincts as she searched for the slightest clues of his whereabouts, little pieces of clues that could somehow lead her to him, but alas, there was nothing much of help until she tried to focus.
Focus.
She told herself.
Focus.
She told her mind.
Focus.
Without hesitation, she began heading towards a particular pattern of directions without even stopping—she only stops for a brief period of time when she encounters forks or intersection that may have muddled her sense of direction.
He's close… I can somehow sense it… is this the Force he was telling me about? She thought.
Nevertheless, she continued on, the energy pulsating within her grew stronger as she strode. When she felt she was close to her goal, she was puzzled as she closed her eyes again to feel the Force and saw a door.
The door.
She followed it, mapped it all out in her mind, and not long enough she finally found it—the door was surging with so much Force that it overwhelmed her. Jamis wondered if this was all of his work, if the imprint of the Force on that door was his handiwork—considering that she had seen his prowess in combat—and if she could ever at least make an opening enough for her to push herself in.
"Okay, this is definitely not my level of Force," she told herself as she rolled her eyes with vexation.
Jamis loosened her shoulders, raised her hands with palms open mid-air, and then projected with all her might to tear down this wall of power that he had concealed himself with.
This is definitely, definitely not like moving rocks or metal platforms! Her subconscious screamed as she struggled.
On the other side, there sat Kylo, patiently waiting and sensing her presence just outside the room and he could feel her frustration gradually turning into anger, this finally signified how much the Force resonates with her—if what he assumed was really true, if she was as strong as he thought she would be.
Beads of sweat trickled down Jamis's temples and neck, indeed, the door was nothing short of difficult, it had required her full strength and concentration if she ever wanted an opening. Kylo could feel all her effort exerting on the other side and he was just sitting there in full anticipation, but he has equipped himself with the right amount of expectation so he would not disappoint himself.
Don't overthink it… A voice instructed Jamis, and she obeyed.
She finally tore down the wall that Kylo had built, it was no more, she gave herself some time to relax before she could actually open the door. Shortly after, she finally opened the door and Kylo straightened his back as he sat.
"Impressive," Kylo commented smugly.
"How does this became vital to my training?" Jamis heaved, she stepped in to the room and confronted the young lord.
"This task would signify whether how much the Force resonates with you," Kylo leaned forward, "And it seems that it has quite the connection with you."
Jamis tried to grasp the concept of his message—she only had an inkling.
"Okay, so what next? I assume this time you'd want me to use my mind,"
"Clever," he commented, "But I suppose this would require more energy from you."
"It sure will on a daily basis," muttered Jamis.
Kylo explained to her what she could be possibly doing next. He explained to her how the Force clings to beings like them and how they were able to wield it. Jamis felt like she has heard this somewhere before although she could not place her finger in it. Even after that feat earlier, she doubts her capability to use the Force. She wanted to ask Kylo the question why does her power with the Force only come in occasionally, like that time in the hangar.
"It only comes in—no, it kicks in—when I feel…" she sighed in frustration, lost in looking for the word, "What's the right word for it?"
"Angry? Agitated?"
"Err… close enough," she muttered as she gave up looking for the accurate word. "It just kicks in when I feel that way, I guess 'threatened' could be another word."
Kylo understood what it meant fully. As a matter of fact, he has not forgotten his uncle's teachings to him, even with that chip on his shoulder he still cannot bury it in his memory. It has always been there. He cannot remove it in him. Somehow, he has felt the same way Jamis has but this only happened when he was younger. He remembered when he did not know how to control the Force and letting his feelings connect with it, which of course brought him to his frustration, and it led to Luke being more determined to teach his nephew the right way to do it—without letting his negative feelings get the best of him.
"Have you ever felt that way?" Jamis said out of the blue, but not in an intruding way.
Kylo was startled by the question, "Y-Yes… I have,"
"I see… Well, what do I practice next?"
"You will learn how to wield the Force and letting it flow through you completely,"
Kylo stood up, now he towers over Jamis with his height again, and when Jamis sensed that nothing was happening, she spread her arms and shrugged, waiting for something to happen.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" chided Kylo.
Jamis scoffed, "What happened to the 'I'll teach you how to wield the Force and let it flow in you' thing?"
Impatient, impatient, impatient. He chided again in his mind.
"You will have to await my instructions, give me time to prepare your next lesson,"
Then Kylo strode exiting the room, with Jamis following suit by his tail, and again the room was concealed from the mere eyes of those who are not sensitive with the Force. Shortly after the light-hearted training segment—for a change—Jamis retreated to her room and washed up before changing into much drier clothes. In her room, she was surprised to see that some of her things from her freighter ship have been transferred to her quarters. A silver protocol droid just entered her room shortly after she started to wonder who brought her things inside.
The droid, ever so politely, acknowledges her presence and introduced itself—like it always does to anybody and everybody in the ship—to Jamis as her droid-in-waiting, much like a handmaid, but a genderless, silvery, sentient droid. It introduced itself specifically as TC-846 and while it is genderless and does not identify itself with any, it had quite a feminine tone of voice, perhaps to give Jamis a sense of hospitality.
"Did they order you to bring these?" asked Jamis.
TC-846 leaned to its side, over Jamis's shoulder, and spotted the set of clothes on her bed, then it straightened up to answer her, "No, Miss, they did not send me to retrieve your things and send them in here. Perhaps it was another droid who did,"
"Perhaps," Jamis agreed, half-heartedly, sensing that it was neither TC-846 or some other droid prior, although she shrugged off the thought.
"Do you need me for something, Miss? Your bath? Or perhaps, some refreshments to replenish your energy?"
"No, I'm fine, TC. Thank you,"
"I see. If you don't mind, Miss, I will just shut down temporarily,"
"Go ahead."
It stood on one side of the room, the yellow glow behind its eyes died out, it stood still and stiff until Jamis would trigger it to reactivate. Jamis decided to put away her clothes and then lie down for a while, to recharge after that grueling task. Eventually, she fell asleep, as her body desperately craved for rest. Then her dreams caved in. They were quick and fleeting, not long enough for her to register in her subconsciousness, but some of the images were familiar—and one thing always seemed to repeat.
Trust them—your feelings. They can never go wrong with what they want you to see.
Waking up in cold sweat and gasping for breath, Jamis sprung up from bed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The sound of her gasp had woken up TC-846.
"Oh, uh… err, is there something wrong, Mistress?"
"I… I am fine, TC." she reassured.
"You seem to be in quite a distress, do you want me to check on your vital signs? I am equipped with the basic medical specifications designed to accommodate minor to mid-range health problems to any organic, living organism." the droid chattered on as Jamis ignored it halfway.
"No need, please. Thank you for your concern,"
"As a matter of fact, Mistress Jamis, it is in my programming to serve and accommodate my masters' needs."
"I'm sure you do."
Jamis took her jacket and decided to check on the Stellar Wind. The halls were unusually empty, as they were always bustling with fleet captains, Stormtroopers, and the occasional General Hux. Clutching together the side of her jacket to cover her chest as the chill within the ship tend to bite, she quickened her pace, hastily and eagerly walking to pass by the doorless entryway to the bridge; she sensed Kylo and Hux's presence, apparently both of them are brainstorming again, but she continued on. Of course, he would have sensed her pass by—and so he did—his shift of attention from Hux's briefing to the sound of Jamis's footsteps disturbed Hux himself. The general rolled his eyes as he saw Kylo slightly turn his head to the direction of the entryway.
"Something caught your mind, Ren?"
"Nothing." Kylo said firmly.
"So can we continue on with the briefing? I am not done yet,"
Kylo turned away from the direction of the entryway and resumed planning with Hux who was really indulged with the idea of further eradicating the Rebellion and at the same time searching for Luke Skywalker. While this may sound like a hopeless—if not ambitious—plan for either of them, their fixation cannot be wavered. They were so dead-set in doing this that, even to Jamis, it sounds like a fruitless plan.
"They're not going to make it," Jamis muttered to herself. "The Rebellion—although small—is relentless when it comes to being on their feet."
Jamis is not wrong.