Chapter Four: Spared
Rey had lost consciousness before she'd succeeded, but her display had saved her life. Kylo Ren was intrigued. The Knights of Ren, stationed throughout the galaxy in an obvious bid to divide their powers and ensure they wouldn't overthrow Snoke, had no female among their ranks. Force wielders were rare; all who wouldn't fall in line had been exterminated. The girl was the first strong enough to be sensed across the stars in a long time.
He hefted her to the ship's small, emergency med-bay, depositing her with petty vindictiveness on the floor instead of a bed. Activating a pair of medical droids, he gestured wordlessly in her direction before vacating the room, sealing its door with a locked encryption code.
Kylo departed, eager to scour the computer's database. Hux's spies had uncovered a trove of information on his mother's ragtag band of vigilantes, and mentions of Rey were sure to be among the collective. The general was too cunning and callous not to utilize such a force-sensitive tool in every covert undertaking, however clumsy and novice she might be.
He vaguely wondered why the girl hadn't come up in briefings as an operative before, but it was fleeting as he sat down in front of an access panel. Pulling up the latest additions to the archives, Kylo began reading. He scrolled through an update on Starkiller Base. It had been destroyed. He blinked, processing, and skimmed over the details. His absence wasn't noted. Estimates of lost fighters, supply stockpiles, personnel—a rallying point for escapees—he scanned it all with growing disinterest.
Hux's pet project was no more. Snoke had wasted his time giving the man any executive control. Kylo stopped reading, irritated the Order propaganda machine had omitted the source of the sabotage. Shouldn't apprehending the person responsible for such a blow, the one who'd made them all flee, be too important for censorship?
Without further regard to the base, Kylo opened a new file and continued searching for intelligence reports. He was impatient for answers and looked with a far more critical eye. Spying a promising document, his seat became an unconscious hunch as he absorbed its first paragraph.
He would use everything he found against the girl the next time he invaded her skull. She would succumb in minutes, begging for leniency.
Yes, perhaps begging would be even better than her fear.