Chapter Text
“Kriff you! Get off of me!” Rey growled and fought the stormtroopers who reached for her.
She could punch them in their faces if only they didn’t wear their stupid, useless masks.
“Leave this scavenger to us,” Teedo demanded.
“Leave this scavenger to you? When the Crolute claimed no one would give us trouble?” Phasma scoffed. “Why do you think my men responded so swiftly? I trained my stormtroopers to take down any potential threat. You stated that this one is a troublemaker, and here she is disrupting the whole kriffing village and our mission.”
“All the more reason you should hand her over to us.” The militia leader Zuvio menacingly replied. “I promise the punishment will be as painful as possible before we decide what to do with her.”
The captain in the chrome armor looked at Rey as she tried to pull and kick her way away from her captors.
“Should you fail, I’ll skin you alive myself,” Phasma warned Teedo and Zuvio.
Zuvio looked at his men and pulled out a vibroblade, "You heard the lady; make it hurt."
“Fuck-” Rey tried to gasp for air after a knee swiftly landed against her abdomen.
But Rey couldn’t breathe. She didn’t have time to react when a fist came to her face. Rey felt herself fall forward, but she only landed on her knees before she felt the sting of a slap. Rough hands grasped her arms. She barely noticed the heavy chains that now bound her wrists.
The seconds felt like hours before she finally sucked a short breath through her teeth. Her body had already begun to respond to the back-to-back painful blows she was receiving. Her face felt clammy, and the areas she was punched or kicked throbbed in pain, while the rest of her body already felt numb. But nothing prepared her for how the vibroblades burned and tore her skin. Nothing could have prepared her for smelling her charred flesh. Rey ground her teeth, held her breath, and did everything she could not to cry out in pain.
“Where the hell is she?!” Unkar Plutt’s voice echoed through the air. “You low-life scavenger scum. Are you trying to make me lose more money?!” His heavy breaths grew closer. “Outta my way.” The Crolute roughly pushed through the crowd.
Rey closed her eyes before she felt the leather and chains of Plutt’s whip strike her now bare back and arms. She almost grinned to herself. Plutt’s punishment no longer felt as severe as it did years ago. Especially now that Zuvio and his militia had attacked her. But Rey knew she was moments away from passing out. She knew she needed to hold on for as long as possible to delay the inevitable.
But something else caught her attention as she slowly began to lose her sense of hearing due to the ringing in her ears. A new wave of fury had arrived. Everything in her field of vision became fuzzy, and she felt as though she were moving in slow motion. Her eyes fluttered before her face landed in the cool grains of sand below her.
The pathetic band of militia and surrounding stormtroopers flew backward with one angry gesture. The man’s pleated sleeve strained against his muscle as he raised his arm again and focused on the force that surrounded him. Several necks broke within seconds, while others, such as Teedo and Zuvio, tried in vain to gasp for air.
The man in black loved hearing them suffer.
The shining armor of Captain Phasma caught his attention. He should have known better than to leave Phasma in charge.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t in his plan.
“Captain Phasma, what is the meaning of all this?”
“From what I gather, the scavenger tried to disrupt their business. Unkar Plutt said he would lose money, thanks to her." Phasma tilted her head to the side. "You know I trained my stormtroopers to take down anyone who causes a fuss. I simply took control of the situation.” The woman’s filtered voice rang with confidence. She had personally trained the division herself. And while this division ran missions, she usually trained their replacements.
Like a well-oiled machine, the stormtroopers were always in rotation.
Ren and Phasma looked at the battered woman on the ground. Most of her wounds had already cauterized, but medical attention would be necessary for her to survive without lifelong consequences. Phasma looked to the man in charge and then back to the scavenger.
“Sir,” Phasma began but stopped when she watched him wave his leather-clad hand.
Rey’s unconscious body was lifted off the ground, and he walked around her, carefully studying the wounds on her back and arms. The back of her shredded tunic was now stained with blood and smudged with sand. With simple grace, he moved the woman into his arms and carried her to his command shuttle.
There was a familiarity about her that he hadn’t felt for so long but desperately sought.
When he interrogated her earlier in the day, he felt the flicker of light within her, but there was also darkness. He knew she lied about Lor San Tekka, just as he did. Not that it mattered. She had met the old man several times when she was younger. Kylo caught brief flashes of her memories while the stormtroopers held the village at bay. Despite being somewhat frightened, the girl stood her ground. She was stronger than she knew.
Furthermore, he watched as she reached for her quarterstaff. Her melee weapon was only a few inches away, but it drifted to her. Kylo was now sure she didn’t realize what she had just done.
The Force was strong in her but it remained unnoticed by Rey.
With the woman in his arms, Kylo walked up the command shuttle's steep ramp and demanded everyone to leave. The men walked away, both equally confused and afraid. When it came to the dirty work of killing and torturing their enemies, Kylo was very hands-on. When it came to detaining prisoners, he let the stormtroopers handle them.
But this girl was no prisoner. She was something else.
“The girl I heard so much about.”
The modulated voice echoed in Rey’s dream before she jolted awake. She immediately noticed the cooler, less dusty air surrounding her, and the feel of large leather-clad hands carefully holding her. Her eyes widened when she saw the now too-familiar black and silver mask and she winced in pain when she tried to squirm out of his hold.
“Just relax. You’re free of your restraints.” His modulated voice was quieter than before, but it wasn’t enough to soothe or relax her alert mind.
“What happened?” Rey sucked a deep, painful breath through her teeth when he set her on her feet and released his hold on her back and arms. Every little movement and breath ushered a new wave of pain throughout her body and wounds. Her tattered tunic slid forward; she quickly grasped the fabric and held it in place.
“You’ve suffered lacerations to your back and arms.”
He didn’t exactly answer her question. Rey looked around at the dark durasteel walls around them. “Where am I?”
“You’re my guest.”
There was a hint of amusement in the man’s voice.
Frustrated, Rey let out a small sigh, “Who are you?”
The man removed his helmet to reveal raven-black hair and a pale face with a prominent nose and jaw. Constellations of beauty marks decorated his skin. He was quite handsome, unlike anything Rey had witnessed on Jakku. Rey’s lips parted in surprise to see someone so young under the hideous mask. She felt like she knew him, but it couldn’t be true.
“Someone who can help you.” The man’s deep voice was smooth and soothing. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone spoke softly to her.
Rey shook her head and curled her lip in disbelief, “You work for the First Order. You can’t help me.”
“But I can, and I already have.” He countered. “Zuvio, Plutt, and Teedo were hellbent on maiming every inch of your body before they sold you.”
“And why did you stop them?” Rey snapped.
“Why did you release the prisoners?” He countered.
“Why do you think?!” Rey could feel her temper rising again. She fucking hurt all over and wasn’t in the mood for questions.
“Because no one deserves to be treated as property.” The man curtly replied. “That is why I stopped them.”
“But you were going to buy the prisoners!”
The man finally broke eye contact with her when he blinked at Rey’s accusation. “Was I?”
If Rey didn’t know any better, the man’s lip nearly twitched into an amused smile. How could any of this be funny? Rey grew tired of his games. If only she had a chance to kill him and run away. She watched as he cocked his head just the slightest. His amber-colored eyes bore an intensity like none other.
“You would kill me? Without knowing anything about me?”
Her jaw slacked in surprise. Could he read her thoughts? Just as she thought she could read others?
“Why wouldn’t I kill you?” Rey deflected. “I know all about the First Order.”
“You do?” He stepped closer and studied Rey momentarily, “Ah, you do.”
“What do you want from me? I don’t know where Lor San Tekka is.”
This prompted a brief and simple smirk from the man before her. “If I were you, I wouldn’t bother lying again. I know you are trying to hide his last known whereabouts. But I won’t hold that against you for now. I know he'll eventually return. The fact of the matter is, I need your help with another urgent matter. I planned on discussing the matter with you tomorrow, but now that circumstances have changed.”
It was Rey’s turn to smile in disbelief. The man was either insane or stupid.
“I’ll never help the First Order.”
“We’ll see,” he promptly replied. “I don’t exactly work for the First Order.”
“Then why did you arrive with Snoke’s stormtroopers?”
“Former Supreme Leader Snoke is dead. I killed him myself.”
Rey’s blood ran cold, and she forgot to breathe for a moment as the truth washed over her. She’d heard of this man before. Someone known as the Jedi killer. No one knew for sure if Supreme Leader Snoke was truly dead, but Rey could not detect any lies from the man before her.
“Now, do you now know who I am?”
Rey paused and finally answered, “Kylo Ren.”
Her voice was quieter than intended. She wouldn’t exactly say she was afraid of him or his reputation. She was raised on a planet full of nightmares and monsters. But Rey decided to tread carefully and listen to what he had to say. Why else would he agree to help her?
“Why do you think I can help you?”
“To make a long story short, as Supreme Leader and next in line to become Emperor, I am now taking charge of systems and their people in the name of the First Order and, therefore, the Emperor. I am tasked to ensure diplomacy-”
“The First Order doesn’t believe in diplomacy,” Rey interrupted with a hiss.
“No more than the thugs who run the villages on Jakku.” He conceded. “But I can take you away from this planet and help you become more than what this environment expects you to be: a slave until the day you die.”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Because you keep interrupting.” Kylo paused, waiting for Rey to pipe in again. When it was apparent he had made his point, he continued. “Not many people know this, but my grandfather and great-grandmother were slaves on Tatooine: a planet that is similar to Jakku. I simply wish to end slavery as part of my diplomatic mission from the Emperor. What better way to prove my point when I have someone like you by my side? Someone the people of the galaxy can relate to–”
“And the Emperor will let you- wait,” Rey blinked several times. “The Emperor is back? I thought he died?”
“As did the whole galaxy. From what I understand, this is a clone of the Emperor but just as powerful as the original Sheev Palpatine.”
“But why would he allow someone like me by your side?”
When Kylo Ren’s eyes locked on hers again, she felt an odd mix of warmth and cold flow through her body. Almost as if she could trust him, but she knew this man was dangerous. More so than the company he kept.
“The Emperor has taken over my training to help me control my powers. And to train me as his successor. I mentioned I am on a more diplomatic mission than the First Order-”
“They only know of aggressive negotiations.” Rey once again interrupted what felt like a well-rehearsed speech.
“I guess you can say that. Although, aside from this evening, how much hands-on experience have you had with the First Order?” Kylo waited for the answer he already knew: she had none. “The Emperor trusts my decision to approach things differently and has suggested I find a wife. I’m already in charge of several systems, this planet will be under my control as well, and should you accept, yours. You could help ensure fair treatment to the people of this planet and more.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Rey stifled a laugh and winced in pain. “I must have hit my head. Did you just propose marriage?”
“I unofficially proposed marriage to you.”
Dumbfounded, Rey shook her head. “Aside from knowing I’m a scavenger, you don’t know a thing about me.”
“I think I know more about you than the people who enslaved you.” Kylo took a step toward Rey and then another. “I can feel how strong you are. It wasn’t because Lor San Tekka fed you from time to time or that Plutt barely managed to keep you alive that you survived this long. You lived and survived because of who you are. There’s something special about you that you haven’t realized.” He watched Rey’s eyes widen and lightly shook his head, “Or you’ve realized it and have only denied what's inside of you.”
“How could you possibly know this?” Her whisper was barely audible.
It felt as though time had stopped when he delayed an answer.
“Because I can feel it. You have the same power as I do. I can show you the ways of the Force and bring you to power in more ways you could imagine.”
“But I don’t want power.”
“You don’t want to continue to live like this, do you? What do you think will happen if I return you to Plutt?”
Kylo stood less than a foot in front of Rey. He could count the freckles on her face while she contemplated answering him.
“Plutt would sell me to the highest bidder, and I would be on my back for the rest of my days.” Rey nervously swallowed. “How would this,” she gestured between them, “be any different?”
After catching on to her shy hint, Kylo's expression softened just the slightest. “I have no plans on forcing consummation. I have far more important plans that consist of finding Lor San Tekka,” he held up a finger when Rey opened her mouth to protest. The old man wasn’t as important as her. Kylo found what he needed. The hunt for the old hermit would proceed at another time. “I said I’ll let it slide for now. But he holds a vital piece of information that I desperately need. Instead of finding a needle in a haystack, I’ll prioritize teaching you the ways of the Force, but should you join me, under no circumstance can the Emperor know about your training.”
“Why would he care?”
“He will eventually learn of your power and could perceive you as a threat. As for the Emperor, I have other plans for him.” Kylo’s eyebrows dipped as if he were worried about proceeding. “You should know I’m not the most patient man, but I’ll treat you as my equal, and whatever ideas or advice you may have for the planets we will rule over, I’ll listen. I want to help you the way you’ll help me. Or you can go back and live the rest of your days here on Jakku. Waiting for a family that will never return.”
“Oh, well, when you put it like that,” Rey rolled her eyes before flenching in pain again.
“I’ll order a bacta tank to be prepared for you.”
“I haven’t given you my answer.”
Kylo looked at Rey as stoic as ever. If she had the same powers as him, she had trouble reading him. Perhaps it was due to his training, whatever that was. Maybe he could help her.
“Well?” Kylo offered his hand.
Rey looked at the soft yet thick leather that surrounded his fingers. Would it be so wrong to take up his offer? To have a chance of improving her life and maybe helping others?
Tentatively, she placed her hand in his and held her tunic with the other hand.
“I’m Rey.” She studied Kylo momentarily before adding, “You already knew my name, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“The how doesn’t matter,” Kylo replied.
For someone as large and intimidating, he gently tugged on her hand and walked her toward the ramp.
“Now, do you want to see your oppressors and the village burn?” His eyebrows lifted just the slightest when she looked at him. “Let the galaxy know what happens when someone threatens Kylo Ren’s bride. After all, the villagers who called you a fool for helping them don’t deserve to walk away scot-free, don’t you agree?”
Rey looked down the boarding ramp. The morning sun was just beginning to spread across the endless desert. She could see several shadows of stormtroopers below. To Rey, those shadows were more humane than the locals she constantly fought against just to survive. Suddenly, it felt strangely okay to give in to this dark deed just this once. With Plutt and the others finally dead, that’s less vile and scum running around on Jakku. She knew the innocent ones managed to escape when she was beaten senselessly.
“No,” Rey replied a few moments later. “I don’t suppose they do.”
“Captain Phasma, burn down the village. No quarter. No prisoners.”
“Yes, Sir.” Captain Phasmsa robotically replied.
“Lieutenant Tavson, bring the crew back on deck and bring us back to the Finalizer.”
Rey hadn’t noticed Kylo placed his helmet back on until she heard his modulated voice.
“Order my bacta tank to be prepared and tell Captain Peavey our next designation will be Takodana.”
“Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Tavson answered.
In the distance, Rey could hear the blaster firings and the screams of the villagers as they tried to run away. The ship hummed to life, and the loading ramp hissed as it closed. As the ship began its ascent, the slight jolt ushered another ripple of pain through Rey’s battered body.
“Rey,” Kylo tilted his head toward the viewport. “Say goodbye to your past.”
Rey looked out the large viewport before her. They were now in the air, facing Niima Outpost. She watched as flames tore through the battered tents as stormtroopers continued their barrage. Her past was dead, and an uncertain future lay ahead.
The flight from Jakku to the Finalizer didn’t take long. Rey followed Kylo down the ramp after the command shuttle landed. Stormtroopers stood on either side as they walked through the hangar bay. Two men stood at attention at the end of the line of stormtroopers. One man was older with grey hair, while the other had a fiery red that matched the temperish scowl that lay on his face.
“Supreme Leader, I have received your orders for Takadona, and we are ready as soon as you wish it.”
“You may proceed, Captain Peavey.”
“Supreme Leader, that doesn’t look like Lor San Tekka.” The ginger-haired man all but spat out. His lip curled when he looked at Rey. “Who the hell–”
“The old man is hard to trace. If you feel you can track him down, you are more than welcome to fly down to Jakku yourself, General Hux.” Kylo replied without looking at the man and continued walking. “You are dismissed.”
The sound of stormtroopers marching grew distant as Rey followed Kylo through an endless maze of hallways. Once they entered a lift, Rey couldn’t take the silence any longer.
“Who was that man?”
“General Hux is nothing more than a thorn in my side. You needn’t mind him, but watch your back. He is a treacherous snake waiting to strike.”
The lift’s doors suddenly opened, and they walked through a nearly empty hallway. Six cloaked figures stood ahead on either side of another set of doors.
“Sir, your bacta tank is ready as ordered.” One of the men declared. It was a miracle the man could see through the tiny visors across his eyes. He then turned to look at Rey, “This one has more light than shadow.” He tightened his grip on his arm canon.
“Cardo, for the time, the light encompasses the shadow.” Kylo coldly explained. “She is mine to train, and now-”
“Yours to train?” Another man said and studied the pair momentarily. Rey could feel the slightest pressure in her mind. “Fiancè? She’s your fiancè? The mighty Kylo Ren is engaged?” A man named Vicrul amusingly exclaimed.
Kylo escorted Rey through the doors that swiftly closed once they were inside the medical room.
“Oh come on! Can’t you give us a show?” Vicrul called through the doors.
The sudden yelp and thud of a body being thrown against the durasteel walls were followed by the deep chuckles of the other men on the other side. Rey looked at Kylo as he brought his hand back down.
Was this the power he had mentioned earlier?
“The Knights of Ren are my personal guard and enforcers. They will also help you train in combat. I would suggest that you ignore their crude behavior, but I’m sure you are used to the vulgar men of Jakku.”
“My guess is men across the universe are all the same.”
“Not all men.” Kylo looked at a med droid as it approached.
Rey felt a brief cool wave travel through her body. She knew it wasn’t the filtered air of the Star Destroyer. It was Kylo’s response to seeing the droid.
“This is where I leave you. The knights will not have access to my medbay for the time being.”
“Why does that matter?”
“The show they are referring to is the fact you need to strip down to nothing before entering the tank.”
“Oh,” Rey looked at the tank to avoid the lifeless mask looking at her.
“Before you step inside the tank, the med droid will administer a sleeping aid. Once you're inside, you’ll fall into a state of sleep while healing. The droid will also scan your body for measurements, and fresh clothes and food will be available when you awaken. The med droid will alert me when the time comes.”
Rey watched the tall man walk toward the doors. This whole situation felt strange and unusual. She could sense unease from the man who may have saved her life. She almost thanked him, but such simple words felt more foreign than the new star destroyer they stood in.
After the doors sealed shut and she heard the distinct sound of the locks, Rey peered around the room. She looked at the droid as it waited by the bacta tank.
“You’re not going to watch me, are you?” Rey eyed the droid suspiciously.
It only beeped in response. She slowly unbound what remained of her arm wraps and made a small hiss through her teeth when she reached for the material of her tunic behind her neck. Rey held her breath and ripped the remaining piece that stayed stitched together. Most of her breastband was also burned and torn from the attack. Waves of pain ripped across her back as she continued to undress until finally, the dirty rags that she wore daily were a heap of bloody, sandy scraps of cloth on the floor next to her feet.
Rey walked over to the coffin-like fixture and watched as it slid open.
“Now, what do I do?” She asked.
But as bacta began to fill the tank, Rey looked at the oxygen mask. She knew she needed to lie down inside the tank.
A small ripple of fear took over.
She had seen trace amounts of bacta on Jakku before. She always wondered if clean water would resemble the clear liquid used to treat injuries. And now, she was going to be submerged in it?
What if the mask doesn’t work? Would she drown? Would drowning be less painful than being beaten to death?
Rey felt a small but sharp pain in her arm, followed by a slow burn that flowed through the surrounding flesh. Rey looked at the droid who held a needle in one claw-like hand and gestured to the tank with the other. She climbed into the tank, grabbed the oxygen mask, and slid it over her face before crawling into the bacta tank. After the droid pressed a button she could hear and feel the oxygen flow. The air smelt more sterile than anything she had encountered. Groggily, Rey blinked a few times before her vision blurred.
The last thing Rey thought of was the hauntingly sorrowful eyes of Kylo Ren. By the time the warm bacta surrounded her aching flesh, she had already fallen asleep.