Sully's own mind was worse than torture.

Of course they'd talked about torture in the resistance. There had been formal discussions about what to do - how to hold out. Then there had been the quieter moments of uncertainty - her asking Poe if he'd ever been captured. How he would prefer to be tortured. What he would do.

Sometimes he indulged her, but often he would try to steer her attention to something else. He knew almost as well as she did how her brain worked. Though, that wasn't really saying much.

Sully had always struggled with uninvited thoughts. Not evil or anything. Just...unwanted.

When Phasma had finished her methodical punishments, Sully tried her hardest to meditate - to empty her mind. It was the one thing that always held her back in her force abilities - the art of not thinking.

She knew that Kylo Ren could attempt to probe her mind at any time, whether he was in the room or not, and she didn't want to give him anything. But she couldn't keep her barriers up all the time - which meant she needed to control her thoughts. But the more she tried not to think about thing, the more those things she shouldn't be thinking about popped into her mind.

Don't think about the location of the ship.

Don't think about the Skywalker rumors.

Don't think about the next mission.

She strengthened her walls.

The other problem that she ran into was that she couldn't let herself fall asleep and risk revealing something. Sleep deprivation wasn't anything new, but it also meant that every time she passed out from pain was a risk. So, when others would be praying for the sweet release of unconsciousness to force a stop to all the misery, she was gritting her teeth and hoping against all hope that she would stay awake.

And so it was that her own mind was inflicting the true torture - and every moment without rest, it just got worse. She didn't know how long it was before Kylo Ren came back to talk to her again. When he entered, his mask was already removed and his expression was smug and self-assured.

"I hear you've been awake for a while." He said, eyeing the bloody tools on the table dispassionately.

"Sorry to disappoint." She murmured, thought it was lacking her usual fire.

"Resistance to sleep deprivation." He continued. "Is that something you learn in Matukai training?"

So he'd been doing some research. She didn't answer.

"Your mind," he continued. "It's noisy."

"You're telling me." She replied, trying to keep a poker face. When he didn't respond right away and continued to study her sweaty face, she realized something. "Noisy, but indiscernible, huh?" She continued, smirking. "Now that is something I learned in training."

He wasn't pleased.

"Matukai." He mused. "Master of her body...but not of her mind."

"And yet you still haven't made any progress." She challenged back.

"Can you heal, too?" He asked, studying her body analytically.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear." Sully responded, schooling her expression. A triumphant smirk tugged at his lips.

"I thought so." He replied. "And what brings a Matukai to join the resistance?"

"Truth." She answered forcefully. "And justice."

"Whose truth?" He spat back distastefully. "The Jedi's?"

"It doesn't matter." She responded. "Truth is truth."

A quick breath escaped his nostrils and she couldn't tell if it was frustration or amusement.

"And I suppose they've told you the truth about me?" He asked, distaste still written all over his face.

"No." She answered, "Your name doesn't even come up."

The slight purse of his lips indicated that he didn't like that. It wasn't true, of course, but she was enjoying toying with him. He was clearly holding back his ander, knowing that she'd feel victorious if she saw it.

"You'll see the Supreme Leader soon. You should get some rest." He told her tauntingly. He turned to walk out.

"Commander, shall I continue?" Phasma asked him, appearing in the door. She was far too eager to inflict pain on Sully.

"Having a bad day, Phasma?" Sully murmured, knowing it would irritate her to call her by her name. The thought occurred to her that she shouldn't be provoking the woman who was about to torture her, but she didn't care. The pain would give her something to focus on - channeling the force through her body to help withstand the pain and stitch the fibers of her skin slowly back together.

"Don't bother." Kylo Ren replied, not bothering to look back. "Leave her to her thoughts."

Phasma hesitated, unsure what was happening, but obeyed nonetheless by enclosing Sully back in the dark room, alone. All humor left Sully's face and she couldn't help it: throwing her head back against the plank, she let out a frustrated scream. She didn't see the satisfied smirk on Kylo Ren's face as he continued down the hallway, her scream fading behind metal walls and corridors.

"Release her." A masked Kylo Ren commanded. He'd been gone a long time again. Snoke must have a pretty busy schedule, Sully thought. She hadn't fallen asleep still, but she'd come close many times - especially without the pain to keep her stimulated.

When Phasma had the stormtroopers release her, she immediately fell to the floor. She'd been prepared to stumble and tried her hardest to stay upright, but she'd just been still too long, and she was just too tired. She gritted her teeth as she stared at Kylo Ren's boots and then grunted as the stormtroopers heaved her back up by her arms. They began to drag her out of the room and down the wall and she struggled, trying to plant her feet.

"I have legs, you know." She growled defiantly. The entire party stopped as she finally managed to successfully plant her feet. Kylo Ren turned back to face them, his shoulders tense with irritation, and nodded at the stormtroopers. They let go of her, and she adjusted herself, following Ren and Phasma willingly with the stormtroopers trailing close behind.

They stopped at a lift and Ren ordered the stormtroopers to stay behind. He pulled his cape back a bit to flash his lightsaber hilt at Sully as a reminder. She followed him and stood between him and Phasma, her head held high.

"Any last words?" Phasma asked, and though she couldn't see her face, Sully could hear the smug satisfaction in her voice. She had a few last words alright. This woman had killed so many people she knew. Had tortured her for…

"How long have I been here?" She asked. If her 'last words' surprised Phasma, she couldn't tell. But she got her own surprise when Phasma actually answered.

"Three days." She said in a bored tone, having deemed it safe to tell her. A secret smile pulled at the Sully's mouth as the lift doors slid open.

She'd held out long enough.

The resistance was Sully's life - her family. She knew them better than she knew anything else in this world. And she knew there'd be no sign of them by now. General Organa was the shrewdest person she'd ever known. Organa kept track of what people knew - nothing Sully knew was too compromising, and if it was, Organa would have changed the truth of it by now.

The ship would be gone. The next mission would be cancelled. Standard procedures would have been changed. She was useless to the First Order now. It was both a big relief and a big problem.

When they entered the dark room, Phasma stood at attention outside and Ren prodded Sully along. She stopped in her tracks when she saw movement on the other side of the room. The man in the chair was easily three stories tall, looming over them. Ren placed a hand on her back and shoved her forward before forcing her to her knees. She was surprised when he kneeled next to her. She'd never bowed to anybody. Well, until now.

"So this is the rebel Matukai?" the man (though he could hardly be called that) mused. "It has been a long time since we've encountered a Force Adept as strong as you."

She said nothing, but continued to look him in the eye even though she knew she wasn't supposed to.

"Who trained you?" He asked, though it came out more like a command.

"With all due respect, I know why I'm here." She replied, her voice firm and clear. "If you're planning to take what you want, why don't you just try it and we can skip the conversation."

A whoosh sounded out and a red glow caught the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see that Ren had ignited her lightsaber, but wasn't pointing it at her. A warning.

"Very well," Snoke said after a moment, an evil glint in his eye, "if you want to skip to the hard part."

A snarky remark rose to her tongue, but before she could voice it, she felt the slimy tentacles of his mind charge into hers. She cried out and felt the urge to put up her strongest barriers, but she resisted, instead letting him push through easily. He poked around inside her mind for only a minute or two before pulling out. Sully collapsed to the ground, her hair forming a blanket over her face.

"I have all I need." Snoke announced after a moment. He sounded displeased. "She isn't nearly as strong as you made her out to be. Next time, don't waste my time. If you can't even handle a Force Adept, how do you expect to fare against Skywalker?"

"Yes, Master." Ren said after a moment. His voice was clearer now. He'd taken off his mask at some point. Snoke didn't reply, and when Sully peeked through her eyelashes, he was gone.

A projection. Of course.

"Get up." Ren commanded, barely contained fury in his voice. One of Sully's eyes popped open and she smirked spitefully at him. He grabbed her by her bicep and jerked her to her feet. She cringed as he dragged her out of the room, his fingers digging into her arm hard enough to draw blood. She stumbled along behind him, trying to avoid the still-ignited lightsaber that was in his other hand. When the got into the lift, he shoved her against the wall and placed it across her neck. She could feel the heat rolling off of it. She glanced out the doors as they were closing - Phasma must have scurried away at some point. Not that it mattered. She wouldn't be any help.

"Nice try." He told her between clenched teeth. "Making me look like a fool in there. But the joke is on you - the First Order has no use for you now."

"Good." She growled back, her voice deathly serious for the first time since she arrived on the ship. She glanced down at the lightsaber blade. "Are you going to use that, or do I need to walk into it?" She asked, eyes narrow.

He stayed there for another few moments, studying her. She felt his mind begin to push into hers and she shut him out - hard. His jaw shifted angrily.

"Can't even handle a Force Adept?" She said in a low voice, using Snoke's cutting words. She braced herself for the lightsaber to make contact, but it didn't.

"I know what you want." He said coolly after a moment. "But it's not going to be a quick death for you."

Sully was grinding her teeth, angry that he could read her without even using the force.

"I could cut your arm off right now." He said, his voice dropping an octave. "Think you could heal that Matukai?"

The lift doors slid open and he stepped back. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to follow through on his threat, but when the pain came to her arm, it wasn't from a lightsaber, but from his iron grip. He dragged her down another corridor that looked the same as all the others and stopped to command a door open. He shoved her to the ground inside and she immediately clambered to her feet. She dove for the door, but it closed between them at the last moment.

"No!" She screamed fiercely, pounding on the door. "I'm done. Let me go or kill me, but I'm done! Do you hear me?"

The door didn't open back up.

"Get up." Kylo Ren commanded when he appeared in the doorway again. The room she'd been locked in was not the same room she'd been tortured in. It was like a closet with a cot in it. She was sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest - she refused to sit on the cot; refused to accept this place as her room.

"Don't you want to drag me?" She asked, not bothering to look up at him. She could tell by his voice that he wasn't wearing his mask.

"Get up." He repeated, his voice dangerously low. Her head whipped up to give him a challenging look. His expression didn't waver and after a moment, she stood. He stepped to the side, and she brushed past him.

"Lead the way." She murmured spitefully. The room he led her to was a training room of sorts, with matted floors and racks of weapons along the wall. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she thought of all the ways she could kill Kylo Ren with them. Why had he brought her here?

"You'll train here with me." He told her. She scoffed to cover the depth of her confusion.

"Train for what? I'm not going to be some First Order traitor." She spat.

"You're not training for anything." He replied, giving her a look of disdain. "You're here to fight me. You're the only one who fights using the Force. You'll help me to stay conditioned."

She stared at him for a minute.

"As nice as it sounds to beat you into the floor everyday, I'm not going to help you get stronger." She said, eyes narrowed. She turned to walk out and heard his lightsaber ignite. She stopped and turned with a sigh.

"Go ahead. I'm not helping." She told him, her spine straightening.

"You don't have a choice." He said, approaching her.

"Of course I do. If you don't like my choice, you can just kill me." She responded calmly.

"You won't go that easily." He said confidently. Before she could respond, he swung the lightsaber in a long arc at the height of her chest. She didn't have time to step away from it, but her Force instinct kicked in and she threw herself into a backbend before dropping all the way to the floor and hooking her foot around the back of his knees. Ren fell backwards, but the hand that wasn't holding his lightsaber caught him and he kicked his legs up, flipping over in a sloppy one-handed handspring until he was on his feet again.

"Survival is in your blood." He told her, walking over to the wall to grab something.

It was her wan-shen. She stared longingly at it, if only because it was all that was familiar on this ship - her only friend. Kylo Ren's eyebrows raised in an unspoken question as he held it out for her. Could she do it? What kind of damage would her compliance bring on the resistance? On her friends?

But he wouldn't be the only one getting stronger. She would get better, too. And she would be learning him as a fighter. Discerning his weaknesses. And when the timing was right - when he was lulled into complacency - she could destroy him. Her hand wrapped around her wan-shen.