Ben awoke to a wave of nausea. Keeping his eyes closed, he became vaguely aware of lying on a hard surface. As the feelings of sickness began to subside, Ben became more and more aware of his surroundings. Ben could hear sizzling cracks of an electronic beam, which minimized the prisoner's use of the Force*, from around his wrists and ankles; he was lying in a diagonal position; and aside from the silence, the only noise was the sound of somebody breathing nearby.
Not daring to let in too much light yet, Ben partially opened his eyes. This small movement was enough to alert the Stormtrooper standing guard over Ben.
"Tell General Hux he's awake," the Stormtrooper spoke into a receiver.
Ben closed his eyes again. He was most likely on a Star Destroyer, probably the Finalizer. Whatever his captor had in mind for him, it certainly wouldn't be a welcoming party.
By the time the door swung open to the sound of boots, Ben made another effort to open his eyes. There stood Hux, wearing a smirk that showed he was pleased with how the situation had played out.
"Welcome home," Hux sneered, taking a seat in a nearby chair as two Stormtroopers flanked each side of the general.
"I'm honored to be back," Ben looked down at the slab he was on, the same one that held Rey a few years ago (albeit with a few modifications), and said, "And you gave me a seat of high honor as well. How thoughtful,"
Hux made a small gesture with his finger. One of the Stormtroopers came forward and smacked the butt of his blaster upside Ben's face.
"Mind your manners," Hux warned, "Or you will have more than one slash across that face,"
Fighting against the pain that stretched from his chin to his cheek, Ben raised his head. "What do you want me to say?"
Hux stood up. "Something useful," he said, walking over to Ben and leering into this face. "We did not bring you back here for mere formalities. What we need is information on the Jedi girl,"
The mention of Rey brought Ben to a higher level of awareness. He leaned forward as far as the restraints would allow. "What have you done with her?" he asked, remembering how Captain Phasma had avoided the question when he'd asked it at the pub.
"You should know better than to ask questions such as that," Hux said. "If we had her, we wouldn't be having this conversation now, would we?"
Ben leaned back. So he was nothing to the First Order, now that he had changed his allegiance. Ben had regained too much light to join the Empire, but he was still considered too dark to be a part of the Resistance. It seemed there truly was no place for him.
"Why should I tell you anything?" Ben asked, a hint of forlornness in his voice. Hux picked up on this verbal shift, his lips twisting into a thin smile.
"Because then we will consider extending your life," he answered. "As a sympathizer to the Rebellion, you have no place among the First Order. But at the same time, to extinguish someone with your power would be wasteful,"
"Then why bother killing Rey?" Ben asked. "Why not spare her?"
"She's too far manipulated into the Jedi way of life," Hux said. "Your story is different. We know the struggles you face. Perhaps, one way or another, we can convince you to see the error of your ways,"
"So that's all the First Order considers me to be," Ben said. "A weapon to do their bidding,"
Hux walked behind the chair he'd sat in and placed his hands on the rim. "Don't tell me you enjoy a life on the run," he said. "Jumping from planet to planet, trying to escape the First Order like you're some kind of low-life vermin. A man of your stature must surely miss power and prestige. After all, it's in your blood,"
"You don't know a thing about me," Ben said, "What I've been through,"
"Perhaps not," Hux said. "But I know who you were, and what you are capable of," Hux nodded at one of the Stormtroopers. "Bring it forward," The Stormtrooper complied, bringing a covered object sitting in the corner of the room to the chair by Hux.
In one quick flick of the wrist, Hux removed the sheet that covered the object, revealing the mask of Kylo Ren.
The pain that shot through Ben's head was excruciating. Remnants of Kylo Ren's hate burned through Ben like a wildfire.
"That pain does not have to be directed at you, you know," Hux said. "Embrace what one was, and then unleash that pain upon others who deserve it. The great Darth Vader unified the galaxy in ways nobody dreamed possible. So I ask, why would you waste the rest of your life sympathizing with those who wish to destroy what he once started?"
[*Similar to what held Obi-Wan in Episode II.]
[July 2017 update: I've written a one-shot spinoff on what happened to Ben, titled "The Vision in His Arms"]
