Chapter Text
Kylo Ren was waiting impatiently for the landing ramp of his command shuttle to lower to the ground. At last. At last he would get what he had been seeking for so long.
With this thought in his mind, he walked down the ramp and headed towards the nearest group of stormtroopers. He didn’t even care about the battle raging around him.
“Sir” he was addressed by a commander who was jogging towards him. “The droid and the girl have been spotted. They are fleeing west, into the woods.”
“Leave them to me” Ren ordered with a slight nod.
He turned and walked in said direction, starting his search. Or rather, his hunt. He greatly enjoyed being so close to his goal. The droid had the map, the map that would lead him to Luke Skywalker.
At last.
***
It was ridiculously easy to trace that scavenger – and thief, as far as the droid was concerned. He could feel the Force surround him and direct him towards her.
He activated his lightsaber when he was just meters away. It was better to be careful, even if his opponent was inferior to him. He circled a projecting rock and entered a ravine. She was waiting at the other end, blaster raised. She had heard him, and now that she could also see him, she started shooting immediately.
Of course it was easy for Ren to deflect the blaster bolts with his lightsaber. He didn’t even slow down. He thought he could almost smell the fear of the scavenger when she climbed a rock to escape him. He followed her effortlessly. She turned and kept on firing uselessly at him. While he repelled all the blaster shots with his saber, he raised his free left hand and let her freeze using the Force. She was instantly immobilised, as if bound by invisible fetters.
“So you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about” he stated slightly amused. Of course he had hardly heard anything about her. He only knew that she had dared to help FN-2187 – that traitor! – to keep their stormtroopers from catching the droid he sought so desperately. And that they had done this using the Millennium Falcon. Of all the kriffing ships in the galaxy it had to be the Falcon.
Even though that wasn’t much, it had been enough to gain his attention. He recognised boldness when he saw it. And even though the theft of the droid was infuriating, he also liked the courage of this person. There was something about her…
He approached and started circling her. Now that he was taking a closer look at her, he slowly realised something else. There was much more he liked about her. Her looks. He had stopped caring about these kinds of things a long time ago. And now… He deactivated his lightsaber. Any intention to raise the weapon against her had vanished.
Rey was trembling. Even though she knew it was to no avail, she was fighting the invisible bonds with all her strength. She wouldn’t give up, never. Not even when facing the most terrifying enemy. And this dark warrior was a truly demonic opponent. He was tall and strong, clad in black, flowing robes giving him an almost ethereal appearance. But the worst thing was his mask, a metallic grimace in place of a face, partly hidden under the shadows of a similarly black hood. This had to be none other than Kylo Ren himself, one of the most powerful members of the First Order. Finn had told her about him. He had said that even General Hux had to obey him.
She shivered at the thought. But she would not give in.
He wasn’t after her anyway. He wanted BB-8 and she was the key to finding the droid. She was aware of that, as much as she was aware of the danger this put her in. As if he had guessed her thought, he addressed her again.
“The droid. Where is it?” he asked insistently. His voice was distorted by the mask. He probably wanted it to sound more menacing.
She was determined to not give him a single word. She wasn’t even sure if she was able to speak. Probably not. He would know that, so why did he even bother to ask?
He raised his right hand. What was he…
Before she could complete the thought she felt a dull pressure impacting her head. It felt as if her skull was pressed together from the outside, and at the same time almost bursting from the inside. It didn’t hurt, but she still felt like she was shaking with pain. She slowly realised that it was Ren. He was in her head and there was nothing she could do about it.
She was brave, she would never tell him where the droid was voluntarily. So he would extract the whereabouts of that little pile of scrap from her head, just as he had done with the Resistance pilot. He entered her mind with all his might. She wasn’t prepared, and the vehemence of his attack made her shiver.
He was rummaging through her mind, and blurry pictures turned into more shaped figures. There! What was that?
“You’ve seen the map!” he said with surprise. Her gaze became even more horrified than before.
At this moment two stormtroopers emerged from the thicket.
“Sir, the Resistance! We need more troops!”, one of them informed him.
He hesitated for a moment. If it was the way he thought, they would spare themselves a lot of time and expense. The droid could be hidden anywhere. And he had already made up his mind anyway.
“Retreat your troops, Commander” Ren answered, and with a glance towards the girl he added: “We’ve got what we need.”
He summoned the Force around him once more, and with but a wave of his hand, he let the scavenger fall into his arms unconsciously. He could have let the stormtroopers drag her back to the shuttle, and that was what he would normally have done. But not with her. She was too important.
So he carried her himself, all the way to the shuttle, up the ramp and into the ship. He was so pleased with himself that he didn’t notice the old man named Han Solo, watching him from afar.
***
While the last few stormtroopers fled into the roomy interior of the command shuttle and the landing ramp was closing behind them, Kylo Ren laid the girl down on one of the emergency beds in the stern of the ship. The transport was not very big, only used for short transfers, so this was the only comfort there was.
None of the stormtroopers paid attention to him, standing there and looking at the unconscious person on the cot. They were tired from the fight, and glad that the shuttle would leave Takodana any moment and bring them back to the Finalizer.
Kylo Ren however felt more alive than ever. He felt drunk with success. Or at least he thought that it was a success. But there was something else, raising his pulse and making the blood rush in his ears. Now that he had the time and leisure to, he felt curiosity arise. He examined the young scavenger. She was a few years younger than him. Her skin was flawless and smooth, a few freckles were scattered around her nose. Some strands of her dark brown hair had fallen and were framing her face. She was slender, almost delicate, but she wasn’t weak, least of all for a woman. Everything about her attracted him, and he had to fight the urge to touch her.
Anger arose in him. How could he even allow this kind of thought? This kind of emotion. Of course he had been in love, once, when he was but a boy. In another time. In another life. But that wasn’t him anymore. He, Kylo Ren, was called to higher things. The Supreme Leader had given him the life that he deserved. There was no place for affection or love in this life. These kinds of feelings were something he had abandoned and eliminated long ago. They were a weakness. He wouldn’t allow for weakness. He was striving for strength. Discipline. Power.
No one could be allowed to put him off from following his path.
He turned angrily and stepped to the landing ramp of his shuttle. A slight vibration had told him that they had arrived at the star destroyer. Only seconds later the ramp started lowering. He turned to his commander.
“The prisoner. Make sure she is transferred to Starkiller Base. And commander…” He had already turned away, but then remembered something else. “No one touches her. I will be interrogating her in person. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir” the commander confirmed immediately, and he beckoned two stormtroopers to put them in charge of this.
Meanwhile Kylo Ren was already crossing the hangar, more rushed than usual.
He had to make sure that he could get a moment of calmness and meditation. Urgently.