Fandom Star Wars: Loose Threads [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

It didn’t surprise Kylo in the least that Skye considered his actions to be wrong. Her question assumed as much. Kylo couldn’t say that each individual action was good, but he wasn’t looking at each action. He was looking at the broader scope, and through that, he was certain of what he was doing, was right.

“Yes. I am doing what is right. The Jedi and the Republic had thousands of years to make things right, and they never have.”

Snoke had helped him to see the larger picture that his mother missed, when it came to politics. Helped him to see how useless the Jedi were, how they never did anything about actual crimes. Their passivity had allowed the slave trade to continue, had allowed pirates to harass people unchecked – unless they came into the Core, of course.

The Empire wasn’t given a chance. “Why do you think supporting a system like that is for the best? Why do you think the Jedi are the best option, that a Republic, is the best option, when it can’t solve easy problems or enforce its rulings across its territory?” And it never had.

Kylo could see clearly the error of the Jedi across the generations, the error of the Republic. It was all in support of the Core. That was all that mattered. General Hux imagined a truly ordered regime with a strict hierarchy and known laws; he was an idealist, but it was something that Kylo thought was worth pursuing. The Empire had pursued it, but was taken down too soon.

Kylo sought to finish that – to put things right, as Darth Vader had tried to do, before he let sentiment sway him. Before he forgot the greater good to something more selfish.

~***~

Though the ship may be the Millennium Falcon, it was obvious to Kay that it needed a lot of work. “I can do this, I can do this,” she heard the strange murmuring as she slid into the co-pilot’s seat. It earned a moment’s look, and Kay shrugged.

“I do actually know how to pilot just about anything,” she offered, but wouldn’t elaborate as she looked at the console in front of her, while Rey was getting it started. It moved with a lurch, bumped, and then went sideways. “Let me!” Kay couldn’t quite allow for that to continue, and as she reached across, the woman pushed her back.

“I know what I’m doing!”

“I doubt that.” She settled back in her own seat, and let the stranger see if she could figure it out.

Thankfully, she was able to get them up into the air, and Kay began to flick a few of the switches on the console, “You’ll want to stay low to better deal with their tracking,” since Finn was struggling to hit them. “They can’t track nearly as well the closer a target is to the ground. I’ll figure coordinates to get us into lightspeed so we can escape them.” Already, she was going through the information in the navigation system.

She was going to have to bypass a few things, but with Rey piloting, she could manage that.

Assuming they didn’t get blown out of the air.

 

[witchingly]

Skye listened to Kylo, she took in what he said about everything, the ideology he currently believed in, and why he was where he was. Why he did what he did. It still wasn't something she was willing to accept, though.

Skye had never been overly fond of getting involved in politics, but this was bigger than that. She knew the difference between right and wrong, and the First Order had done more bad than good. She didn't doubt that would change.

"No system is perfect," Skye pointed out to him, lifting her legs to sit cross-legged on the platform that acted as a resting place for her. She didn't want to believe in an organisation that chose to murder innocents, destroy whole planets, and torture prisoners.

In the moment though, Skye opted against saying that. On any given day, she would have happily argued about it with Kylo but she felt that she may benefit from pretending to take his words in. Maybe it would buy her some time if he thought his words could sway her somehow.

Wasn't that what he was doing? Surely nobody would bother explaining all of this to a prisoner that was intended to be killed. And she was no ordinary prisoner either.

Figuring a change of topic was needed, Skye spoke up after a moment of silence. "When are your reinforcements going to get here?" She wondered if they had till morning. Niima Outpost might be her only chance at escaping, because she certainly wasn't going to get away while they were here.

~***~

Finn felt the ship going lower and through his window, he could see that they were closer to the ground. Good move.

Finn took control of the guns again and began to fire. There were a lot of near misses — and the seat moving around the way it did didn't help much — but he began to get the hang of it, slowly. Eventually, after focusing on his scanner, one of the shots finally hit and Finn watched as one of the TIE fighters went down and crashed in the sandy dunes.

Finn was a little amazed at himself in that moment. "I'm getting pretty good at this," he murmured, not to anyone in particular. So it hadn't been just beginner's luck after all.

Since he got one, Finn felt like he could get the other too, and if he managed that, their problems would fade, for the time being. It wouldn't be long before something else came their way since now not only were Finn and Kay escapees, they were helping the resistance, with BB-8 and the map on board.

With a bit of newfound confidence, Finn controlled the guns once more, wanting to finish this off once and for all. Before he got much of a start though, he realised that they'd been shot at — specifically, the ships canon had been shot at.

Finn continued trying to move it to aim, but to no avail. "The canon's stuck!" He called up to the two women in the cockpit. "I can't move it. We're gonna have to lose him." Finn didn't know what else they could do at this point.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘No system is perfect.’

How many times had he endured hearing that from Leia as the Senate threatened to break her will? How many times had he heard it from others, who refused to do anything about the system? Because they were afraid of change, or alternatives? He despised that phrase, as much as he despised statements of tradition, or other empty words that were just full of fear.

He loathed hearing it from Skye, and he scoffed to hear it then, folding his arms over his chest as he stared her down for it. As she got comfortable on the floor.

“Before morning.”

Likely, before nightfall. The Order would figure it all out soon enough and be there to pick him up. Hux could delay however long he liked, but even Hux would want to leave Jakku. He couldn’t do that until he had Kylo Ren back on the ship.

“They may have found Poe by now.”

Regardless, he didn’t need to go searching for Poe. Everything was right in front of him. He’d leave Poe to the wasteland, but Skye, it seemed, had no plans of being left behind. She still refused to offer him anything of use.

~***~

Some TIEs started to fall, before the gun got stuck. Rey was told to shake the remainder, and it was at that time which Kay finally just pulled some of the hanging parts down. Rey looked startled, “What was that for?”

“Bypass. If BB-8 is willing to provide the coordinates for the Resistance, we can jump to lightspeed.” They’d lose the TIE that way, that was certain.

Rey looked back to the droid, who seemed concerned about proceeding, given who was with them – two First Order individuals. “But your base has plenty of soldiers, right? They could handle them.”

BB-8 sounded uncertain, but eventually, rolled forward and plugged into the console, transmitting the coordinates for the Resistance base on D’qar into the Falcon, just as Rey lifted the ship up towards the atmosphere.

The TIE’s attempts to strike them would fail as all the stars around them turned to white lines of light.

 

[witchingly]

Skye could feel Kylo looking at her but she continued to look up at the ceiling, head back and her head leaning against the wall behind her.

He answered her question and she could feel plans slipping away from her mind. They wouldn't get to Niima Outpost then. It didn't seem like she had much around here that could help her and she didn't want to put these innocent people in danger.

When he mentioned Poe, Skye scoffed. He was likely saying it to rattle her. In any case, if they had him, she'd find out later, and that'd be a problem she could solve when she was faced with it. For now, she was going to pretend none of that was a possibility. It was easier that way.

"Why are we waiting here then?" Skye asked, looking back at Kylo now. She remembered what happened the last time they rounded up innocents. Skye didn't know how many more people were around here, but this woman and her two kids were enough to make her want to leave.

"These innocent people are going to wind up like the ones from last night," Skye told him, crossing her arms. "If you want to do the right thing then let's leave from here so nobody else needs to get hurt."

And if his people were as close as he implied they were, then it shouldn't be a problem, right?

~***~

Finn could hear some of the talk from up top, and from what he gathered, they were going to jump to lightspeed. They were going to the Resistance.

Finn definitely did not think things would come to this when he helped Poe escape. He thought they could go their separate ways and Finn wouldn't have to be involved in any kind of war, but the moment they arrived, Finn knew they wouldn't just be given the benefit of the doubt. Not him, nor Kay.

They'd have to worry about that once they reached though. For now, they escaped one problem, and Finn watched as the stars changed, turning to strips of white light.

Since it was safe to leave his position, he got up and climbed the ladder before moving to the cockpit. It seemed to be the place where everyone was assembled, BB-8 included.

"That was...some good work," Finn said in a rather awkward manner. He wasn't sure what else to say. As if to try and erase that sentence from everyone's minds, Finn turned to the woman who sat beside Kay. "We never really got your name."

"Oh, I'm Rey," she introduced herself, and then looked between him and Kay expectantly.

"Finn," he gestured to himself briefly before nodding to his partner in crime. Though if he called her that, he was sure he'd get a proper slap this time around. "This is Kay."

After a moment of silence, Finn looked at Kay once more. "What do we do now?" After getting to the Resistance, they weren't going to just let them go. They would know where the base after that. Things weren't going to be easy for them at all.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo didn’t need to read Skye’s mind to understand why she wanted to move. For one, movement would of course put more distance between him and the Order. Or it had the potential to, depending on the direction they were coming from. It would also put distance between themselves and this family. She wanted to have a chance to do something stupid and not risk this family.

“No.” Kylo stated flatly.

“There is no point to leaving now and enduring further heat. They,” he gestured casually, cruelly, towards the doorway through which the woman had gone, “are also leverage. If you attempt to run, they will see the consequences of that.” Mother and children, he knew no one else mattered, even if there were others. He kept his voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry.

The last thing either of them needed was a reaction, which could end with them dying prematurely, unnecessarily.

If a bit of mercy held Skye in line, so be it. It was a weakness so many in the Resistance held, and one that could easily be exploited, again, and again. They would always come for what they loved, or attempt to protect the innocents, at the cost of their own lives or their own agendas. If Poe had just run, he may have made it away – but no. He had to fire.

“That, or perhaps you prefer the thought of the Order seeing this place first and checking in on them, without us here?” The thought of torture and interrogation, followed by certain death, all to locate Kylo Ren. It was unlikely, the tracker in his belt would prevent that – unless Hux felt like delaying.

Hux could be terribly spiteful.

~***~

They moved into lightspeed without any hiccups, but Kay could hardly relax as BB-8 rolled a bit aways from the console. She knew where this was taking her. She knew what that meant. She was going to be thrown into a cell. ‘You could have….’ A pointless thought now. She could have done many things.

Introductions began as Finn showed back up. Rey was the name of the woman who had found BB-8, and once again she was introduced as Kay. It felt weird. She didn’t much like it, but she supposed, she never would. It wasn’t who she wanted to be.

Finn was at a loss.

“I’d suggest taking a nap.” What else was there to do but wait? “When we arrive at the rebel base, I’m certain we’ll be taken prisoner while the high command determines what to do with us. You’ll likely be released,” she wouldn’t. She’d been an admiral. She’d have to betray information on the Order before they’d even consider releasing her.

Rey’s brows knit together, “We’ll vouch for you. Both of you,” Rey stated immediately. “You helped BB-8, that has to count for something.”

‘Not compared to what I’ve done to get here.’ Kay didn’t note that, just relaxed back in her seat. There was nothing to do but wait for the inevitable.

Rey frowned. “Couldn’t we just…leave BB-8? I need to get back to Jakku, anyway.” Not let the Resistance take them?

“I’m not going back to Jakku,” Kay stated. “Not that I prefer a cell.” But capture by the Order wasn’t any better. “You shouldn’t, either. Not for a few days, anyways. Let the Order clear out.”

 

[witchingly]

Skye wasn't sure why she expected any other answer from Kylo. Maybe part of her had hoped that he would be willing to cooperate but he quickly brought to light all the things that could go wrong — for him, not her — if they were to leave this place any sooner than necessary.

He made a point though. Even if they left, the First Order would come across this place in their search for them and Skye didn't want to think about what would happen to them after that. Even if they chose to give away that information, there was no guarantee that their lives would be spared.

Skye decided not to argue further about the choice of leaving the establishment. They would have to just wait till his people came.

Still, she couldn't stay quiet for very long. Especially since she had no ideas on how to escape. Kylo wasn't going to sit by and let her just walk out with the excuse of needing air or finding some place for them to get food — even if she was hungry.

"Can you at least promise that they won't be harmed then?" Skye asked after a moment of giving it some thought.

Asking for a promise may have seemed like a childish request when faced with someone like Kylo Ren, but Skye thought of no other way to ensure their safety, and if anything, she felt like at least it was one step in the right direction. Or, it would be if he stuck to that promise, and that's something she'd eventually get to see.

"If you do, I'll come without much resistance," Skye offered in addition. She'd go with them. That didn't mean she would give them anything else. It was already becoming pretty clear that she wasn't going to get out of this very easily so she'd have to think of other solutions. Even if it had to be aboard the Finalizer.

~***~

Finn didn't think he could take a nap at this point. There was too much going on in his head, and he could still feel adrenaline coursing through his veins. Not that he wanted to put it to any use at the moment, given everything they'd just been through, but it did make it hard to relax.

He looked between the two women as they spoke. Kay was right. They'd be taken as prisoner, without question, till they could explain themselves.

"We did help Poe escape," Finn said, looking to Kay. "I mean..." Kay had more or less been forced into it, but they didn't need to know the specifics. In technical terms, Kay helped them all get off the ship, Poe included.

It didn't help that Poe was not around to vouch for that but he supposed they'd have to figure that part out later.

"We helped BB-8 too. It should count for something." Finn sounded unsure of himself, even if he was agreeing with Rey.

It didn't seem like they had much else of a choice right now anyway. He'd always been curious what it would be like, being among the Resistance. Seeing their base. He didn't think he'd be getting there as an ally but he was glad it was on these terms, rather than in his stormtrooper uniform.

"Do you think they'll let us leave?" Finn asked, looking to Kay since she was the only one on the same boat as him. Rey was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Well, so had Kay, but that's what got her in this boat.

"Provided they believe our story, I mean." Being former First Order and finding out where the Rebel Base was? Finn doubted they'd be allowed to leave after gaining that chunk of helpful information.

 

[Lucyfer]

The consideration of the family was enough for Skye Ruana to stay put. That much was clear as she tried to ask for a promise. It had only been implied that it would be better for the family, if they stayed. To this, however, he gave an easy nod. He knew that asking her for information for their safety would not work. She’d see them all massacred before she gave anything up.

‘Perhaps she needs that lesson.’ Perhaps then, she might understand there was no difference. Simply because the Resistance wasn’t actively killing innocents, didn’t mean they weren’t condemning them by supporting the New Republic. Not only due to the First Order; the existence of the New Republic condemned and harmed plenty on its own.

So, Kylo nodded, “So long as you come along with no fuss, I will make it clear this family helped to hold you here,” that they had supported him in the situation, and did not need to perish like the others.

Then they could return to the ship. Kylo would see her back to a cell, and from her, or Poe if they found him, he would eventually rip out the location of the map that could lead him to Luke Skywalker.

And if he couldn’t do it…Snoke could. He didn’t want to have to admit that kind of defeat, but he knew his time was limited.

Just as the thought occurred, he heard the shriek of TIEs overhead.

~***~

If Poe ever made it to the Resistance, if he lived, Kay couldn’t imagine he’d have anything nice to say about her. Perhaps about Finn. Plenty about Finn. Kay had to hope that Poe didn’t live, for her own sake. It still wouldn’t be enough. The Resistance would want information. An actual betrayal.

She didn’t think she could do that.

It was one thing to be forced at gunpoint to help one prisoner out. It was another thing to start talking about Starkiller. Even if she disagreed with it.

Finn was naïve. Hopeful. Traits of idealism that she had hoped he’d cling to, traits that offered her no hope here. “You don’t understand how this works,” she told him, “Imagine if the Order captured General Organa.” She didn’t know if such a thing would benefit him, to realize the situation or not, but she thought it might help put it in perspective.

“They won’t let any of us go. Not at first. We’ll be shot out of the sky if we try to run,” and maybe they could. “Maybe they’ll let you go eventually, Rey.”

“But—I need to get back!”

“What’s so important on Jakku?” Kay could only imagine maybe a baby. Rey looked young, but it was possible.

Rey’s lips thinned in a line as she pursed them together, before she exhaled, “I’m waiting for someone to come back. If I’m not there….”

 

[witchingly]

Skye felt a little relief, at least, upon hearing Kylo agree to the promise. It's a start. If the promise went through maybe she could attempt negotiation in the future. And it would prove that it wasn't impossible to try and talk to Kylo Ren.

Well, their whole journey in Jakku proved that, but they'd been alone and nobody had been watching. She didn't think it would be the same when they had the likes of Armitage Hux watching over them.

Skye was about to say something about food — since she was still quite hungry — but before she got the chance, she heard the TIE fighters above. Her head lifted, eyes cast to the ceiling as though she could see through it, and after one glance toward Kylo, she got up and walked out from underneath their shelter.

Skye squinted as she looked around, the sudden bright light hardly welcoming. She was sure the woman inside and her children were bound to come out and see what was happening too. Or maybe they wouldn't. It'd be a good way to stay safe, at least.

Turning back, Skye knew she had limited options. To run now would be foolish, not just for herself, but for a bunch of innocents as well, and Kylo knew that it affected her. Now she wished she hadn't said anything in regards to them but she knew it would have made no difference. At least this way she could guarantee some lives were saved.

"Want to put your helmet back on?" She called out to him before turning back as the TIE fighters came to land mere feet away from the small establishment.

~***~

Finn tried to look at things from Kay's perspective, in the way that she tried to explain it to him. He began to understand, but he was still hopeful that perhaps things could go along another way. "But the First Order's different, and the Resistance is different," Finn said with a small shrug.

In truth, he didn't know how different, but he knew they couldn't work in the same manner. He didn't know much but if they were the good guys, then they wouldn't treat Finn and Kay the way the Order would treat defectors.

Maybe that was something they'd just have to see for themselves.

At the moment, Rey was more interested in getting back to Jakku — which, he still didn't understand, but considering they found her there, it made sense. She probably had family back there, and she had never asked for this.

"I'm sure you'll get to go back," Finn said, feeling confident about that at least. "BB-8 can't vouch for us much but he was with you this whole time. He'll speak for you and you can leave," he said as he settled down in the back, behind the two women.

BB-8 beeped, and Finn liked to think it was in agreement, though he couldn't be 100% sure.

"How long till we get there anyway?" Finn asked. Sitting and waiting was worse than arriving and meeting their fate. He'd rather get it done with.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren did not move as quickly outside as Skye did. He had anticipated those in the house to come back this way, and he was not disappointed. It was the mother leading, and Kylo held up a hand, “Stay inside.” If they were seen, they might be killed anyways. It was better for their sake not to be seen.

The mother didn’t argue, even if he heard the children whine about wanting to see the ships. He put his helmet on before heading outside, hearing Skye call back about that as he came under the sun. It was terribly hot again, but at least with the helmet on, not so dry. Not that he enjoyed this much better.

The TIEs were already swinging back around to find a landing spot, and a transport wasn’t far behind them. Kylo intended to reach out to place a hand over the upper arm of Skye’s right arm, to make it appear that she was being held. It’d be better than letting her appear to be moving freely, at least, for the others.

She didn’t need freedom of movement to cause harm if she wanted to, given the Force.

The TIEs would soon land, and the shuttle not long after them, though they were approached by one of the TIE fighters – another poor soul all in black on Jakku. “Commander Ren,” the man greeted. “We found your TIE crashed on the desert. We’ve taken it up for repairs.”

“And Dameron? The traitors?”

“Negative, sir. There was a sighting of the traitors at Niima outpost, but no Dameron. The traitors were not apprehended, they escaped on a freighter.”

Kylo could feel that rage curdling in his gut. He would reach back to shove Skye towards the TIE fighter, irritated that a freighter, of all things, should escape the Order. “Bind her, and return her to her cell.” He didn’t care if she went in the TIE or the shuttle right then.

~***~

Kay bit back the comment that Finn’s deduction was obvious. The Order and the Resistance didn’t work together, because the Resistance was worse. Unreasonable. Foolish. She didn’t say it, in part because she wanted to at least try and accept that Finn could be right. The Resistance could fail at torture, interrogation, or dealing with prisoners. Why not? They considered the Resistance was inept.

Maybe she could get a pedicure.

The delusions wouldn’t hold and she could only sigh. Even though BB-8 was optimistic – definitely for Rey, who gave the droid a smile, before looking at the coordinates and lightspeed information. “Looks like we’re about…twenty minutes or so until we get there.”

BB-8 sounded excited to get back, his excitement almost making his beeping hard to translate. He was so full of hope that the map he had, would bring them closer to Luke. Closer to victory against the First Order.

Kay didn’t bother translating it for Finn, just leaned back in her chair and moved her arm over her eyes.

“Wait, the Luke Skywalker?” Rey paused BB-8, “He’s real? The Jedi are real?” Affirmative beeps.

Well, at least two people were happy.

 

[witchingly]

It was odd seeing Kylo with his helmet back on. He was almost a different person without it. Regardless, he had a job to do, and he didn't take it off because she asked. It was hot, but they'd soon be off this planet. And then... who knew.

Skye walked ahead with Kylo, glancing back to make sure the woman and her children remained indoors. If they weren't seen, at the very least, the small establishment would be ignored and nobody would be harmed.

She looked forward in time to see one of his men walking toward them. Probably to give updates. Skye listened as he explained that they found no sign of Poe. That was good. Skye knew he wasn't dead, and if they hadn't found him, then that meant he would find a way back to the Resistance somehow. Hopefully with BB-8. He had to have been here on Jakku but if he left, then at least Skye didn't have to worry so much about BB-8 being found by the First Order. The map, for the time being, was safe.

And it also allowed Skye to be vague but truthful with her answers, once the interrogation resumed. She couldn't tell them what she didn't know. And with Poe not on board, they had nothing they could hold against her, as leverage.

Skye sensed the anger within Kylo at the mention of the two traitors. Right. The woman and trooper who helped them escape. Well, one helped, the other didn't have much of a choice. Regardless, they were off Jakku too now, it seemed. Good for them.

In any case, for the time being, she allowed herself to be taken forward, her hands bound, before she was pushed into the shuttle. She was going back on that big ship and from there... well, she had no idea where things would go.

~***~

Rey spent some time talking to BB-8 — most of which Finn didn't understand since he had yet to learn how to speak droid. Kay seemed to want to rest, or maybe think about their next move — her next move. Finn didn't think she'd be considering him in whatever she did next, which was understandable.

He ought to think about it as well, but since he didn't know what to expect, he figured there was no point in doing so. Instead, Finn took the time to explore the rest of the ship.

It was pretty big, and he didn't understand why it would abandoned in the middle of Jakku with no flyer. Kay seemed to know something about it, but then again, maybe most ships had the same controls when it came to flying. He couldn't tell since he wasn't anywhere close to being able to pilot any ship.

There was a lot of dusty junk, and Finn didn't want to poke around and mess something up that he wasn't supposed to, so he eventually decided to just sit down somewhere and nap, like Kay had suggested they do earlier. Unfortunately, he wasted a lot of time milling around so just as he closed his eyes, he felt a shift in their movement.

A slight jerk made his eyes open, and he sat up straighter. They were out of lightspeed now, which meant they were arriving at their destination.

Rubbing whatever sleep had almost come from his eyes, Finn walked back to the cockpit and came to stand behind Rey and Kay, so he could look out and see what they were dealing with.

The closer they got, the more he became aware that this was unlike anything he'd ever seen. And it certainly wasn't anything like the First Order.

"This is the Resistance," Rey said, though not like it was a question. More like she was amazed by the setup. Finn was too, admittedly. There were people milling about, though many people took notice of their ship quite soon.

"They're not shooting," Finn pointed out and looked to Kay. "That's good, right?" Of course, Finn had no clue that to some, this ship was a familiar sight, which meant it was probably stirring up a lot of confusion down there.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren stepped onto the shuttle ahead of Skye and went to the cockpit, rather than linger with the grouping of Stormtroopers that had been sent, just in case. He contemplated taking over the ship, but opted against it.

He would observe its flight up to through the viewport, and it’s return to the hangar. His command to see Skye back to her cell held, but he wouldn’t join her immediately. No food, nor water, would be taken to her. She would be isolated once more.

General Hux required his attention first, in the matter of the lost traitors – and so did Snoke.

It was not a pleasant meeting.

Snoke understood that Starkiller was at risk immediately with the loss of Admiral Faraday. “Supreme Leader, if we use it now, we’ll have nothing to worry about. The systems will fall in line once they understand the strength of the First Order.” Armitage insisted.

Kylo considered arguing, but he knew the pointlessness of it. He could remind them of how ineffective Alderaan had truly been – of how it had led to more people signing up with the Rebel Alliance, but he knew better than to contradict Snoke, and so he remained silent.

Fear, also, had its place.

And Snoke considered for several moments, before he shook his head. “No. We need the map to Skywalker first,” he answered, and let his gaze shift to Kylo Ren, “You have a prisoner?”

“Yes, Supreme Leader. Skye Ruana,” he hesitated only a moment in offering the name. He could feel Hux looking at him, even if the mask obscured the act. Kylo hadn’t indicated he knew the prisoner before. “A former padawan of Luke Skywalker.”

There was a rumble of dark laughter from Snoke and the hologram pulled back in its seat, amused, “A challenge for you at last, it would seem. Get the information from her. If you cannot…you will bring her to me.”

It was the last thing Kylo wanted to do. Such would certainly be a death sentence, though already he could imagine that unfolding regardless. Snoke was wary of any pulls to the light, as he ought to be. Kylo knew he ought to be more guarded against falling off his own path, as well. “I understand, Supreme Leader.”

“Good.” Snoke’s tone adapted its cold familiarity, “You are both dismissed.”

Nothing passed between himself and Hux as the hologram faded, and they both walked to the exit, their strides evenly matched, until they parted ways so Kylo could resume his job of trying to get the information of the map.

~***~

The minutes slipped by. Kay heard the chatter of BB-8 and Rey, and the sound of movement from further within the ship as Finn dug through things. It was only too short for her. Not that any longer would have really helped.

She’d rather get this done and over with. Thrown and a cell, and have her fate spelled out to her sooner than later.

As she let her arm drop from her eyes and looked out the viewport, she saw what appeared to her to be a mess of disorganized buildings and no sense of uniform and hierarchy in the attire of those scurrying about. She saw a few orange jumpsuits which she knew meant an x-wing pilot – but that was about it.

The utter chaos was baffling.

It was a miracle any of them got anything done.

BB-8 chimed that the droid would go out first to let them know the situation, “Good plan,” Rey agreed, and noted the way that Kay seemed to briefly stiffen as she saw someone outside of the ship. She dared to place a hand on her shoulder, but it was immediately brushed off.

A harsh look was what she got for the gesture. “Are you okay?” It was the stupidest question in the world to Kay.

“No.” She saw Leia Organa out there, approaching, no doubt expecting her scoundrel husband in the ship.

BB-8 would likely be just as appreciated, though, and she rose from her seat, with Rey, as Rey pressed a few buttons to open the door and roll down the ramp.

True to their word, BB-8 went rolling down the ramp, trilling out beeps about the information, about the capture of Poe, about the First Order traitors, and about Rey, as it came to a rest at Leia’s feet.

 

[witchingly]

There wasn't much Skye could do or say when she was on the shuttle. She remained in silence, in bounds once more, till they got to the Finalizer. She didn't expect to have an audience with Kylo Ren again so soon. He probably had other matters to attend to. After all, they lost one prisoner, and had two traitors. Along with that, they didn't acquire the location of the map.

Things weren't going so smoothly for him. Not for the time being at least.

Skye was taken down the very same corridor as last time, toward her cell. She made note of the block since she remembered it while coming out the last time. As she neared her room though, she became alert and kept an eye out.

Close by, on a platform, Skye saw her blaster, and along with it, her lightsaber. A sole trooper stood there to guard it, and he'd likely be the one to remain outside her cell. She vaguely wondered if this was the same one that had been on duty when the escape plan went into action, or if that one had been... taken care of. It wasn't any of their mistakes, but the First Order didn't exactly have a forgiving nature.

Knowing where her weapons were put Skye's mind at ease a little. In the event of an escape, she'd be able to arm herself at least, so even if she got stranded, she wouldn't be forced to surrender.

For now though, she was strapped back in and forced to wait. She didn't know how much time passed by before Kylo came back, to resume the interrogation he started not that long ago. The question remained the same, but instead of diving right into that, Skye posed a different question.

"Get into any trouble?" She asked him curiously.

~***~

Finn agreed with the plan. BB-8 was the only familiar one to the Resistance, among them all, so it'd be better to see a friendly face. It would minimise hostility. At least, immediate hostility.

Finn looked over to Kay as Rey attempted to see if the woman was doing okay. He could understand this part at least. Rey hadn't done anything wrong, but Finn and Kay served the wrong side. And while Finn chose to leave, Kay had been forced to, and he could see how that might not sit well with many people in the Resistance.

Still, nobody knew that she hadn't had a choice in any of this. They could just say that she helped willingly and it might make things a little easier.

That was what Finn intended to say, anyway, if they were given a chance to speak. For the moment, BB-8 was taking care of that, and it wasn't long after that the beeping stopped, and there was a call aimed at them asking them to step out.

Rey went first, a stranger, but still someone innocent in all of this. Finn decided to go next, and as soon as he stepped down, he witnessed a number of people surrounding the ship, many of them with their blasters out and aimed at the group.

Out of instinct, Finn's hands raised defensively. He didn't want to seem like he posed any threat, and he looked back to Kay for some reassurance before looking ahead at the other people there. "We're unarmed," he called out, figuring it was better to make that clear right off the bat.

Leia Organa stood at the front of them all, eyeing the three strangers, contemplating what to do first. Or rather, who to speak to first. She eventually let her gaze settle on Rey, and Finn understood what that meant. Till it was their turn to talk, they were going to be treated as prisoners.

Fair enough.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren walked into the cell, and he was met with a question immediately. Skye seemed to want to be chattier than before, and Kylo briefly considered answering. He wasn’t in any trouble – not yet. That could change quickly, and he knew just how it would change.

‘You.’

If he didn’t get the answer he needed.

If he proved to be too weak.

So this time, he didn’t indulge conversation. As he came around ahead of her bound form, he reached out once again with the Force, and pulled at her thoughts again, hoping the immediate reversion to that tactic would off-balance her. To pull something out about the map, even if he knew without directing her thoughts towards it, verbally, it would be a dig.

And he didn’t have time for a dig before she was likely to close her mind to him. Still, he’d come to the conclusion that the only way he was going to get it out of her was to tire her out. Exhaust her physically, and mentally. Allow her no sleep, and no food, and eventually, the thought would come through of where they’d left that damned map on Jakku.

Phasma’s troopers had found nothing in a skim over the village.

Nothing was turning up in Niima, either.

~***~

Kay followed them out last, and the number of blasters pointed did not surprise her. Unlike Finn, she didn’t raise her arms in surrender, but she kept her gaze ahead, and focused on Leia.

Leia herself was relatively silent in those moments of assessment, before her gaze fell on Rey. There was a silent urging for the girl to speak, though even Rey seemed quite uncomfortable under all the blasters. “Where did you acquire this ship?” Leia asked her, calm, almost gentle.

“Oh! Um. We stole it. It belonged to Unkar Plutt, and he got it from someone else before,” the name was slipping her mind in the moment, “We don’t think the Order’s tracking it,” she added, thinking that was more Leia’s concern.

A smile teased on Leia’s lips, but didn’t quite manifest. “I don’t think so, either,” she agreed, before she allowed her attention to shift to the two that BB-8 indicated were of the Order. She recognized Faraday – how could she not? The First Order was notorious for promoting its youth quickly. Armitage Hux was a general at 24, ten years ago. Faraday rose to admiral at 28 – just that year.

And now she was here, and far from happy, although the man with her seemed less displeased. “You two helped Poe Dameron and Skye Ruana escape from the Order?” Leia inquired, although it was obvious the pair were no longer with them. “How, and why?”

“TIE Fighters, and because Poe put a blaster to my head,” perhaps Finn had been willing to lie on her behalf, but Kay still hadn’t shaken her loyalties. Not to mention, something told her lying to Leia would not be the smartest move.

This was the one woman who tore down the Empire. “He chose this.” She would speak on Finn’s behalf, though. And let him conclude with whatever he desired.

 

[witchingly]

Skye was expecting an answer. Any kind of answer, or just for him to speak, even if it was to reply with the question she knew he had on his mind.

What she didn't expect was for him to reach out with the Force. It was sudden, it caught her off guard, and she mentally cursed herself for being so lax. Just because they'd been playing this game for a while now didn't mean she could afford to let her guard down like that. If anything, she should be more alert because they'd be more desperate to get the information they sought.

The sudden pull was strong, and resisting became a little harder since he surprised her with it, but it wasn't impossible. She just had to try hard.

Considering the fact that Skye was already pretty exhausted from the heat and the fact that she had no food in her system, her resistance wouldn't hold for very long, and she had the sinking feeling that Kylo knew this.

Skye figured giving him something might not be of any harm, as long as she worded it properly. Maybe that would get him to ease up on her.

On the contrary, he might think whatever he was doing was working and he may just keep at it. It was a bargain, but Skye knew that if this kept up, he'd break her eventually. And if he didn't, someone else would.

Skye couldn't afford to give out so much.

Sill doing her best, and straining against his attempts despite the pain, Skye spoke. "It's not on Jakku." That's what everyone believed, wasn't it? Up until she realised that Poe wasn't dead, it was what she believed too.

Now she believed differently.

~***~

Coming face to face with Leia Organa was different than Finn expected it to be. He vaguely wondered if she knew who Kay was. She probably did, since Kay, unlike him, was not a stormtrooper. She'd been an admiral. Of course Leia would do her due diligence.

He stayed quiet as Rey explained how they got their ship, but as soon as that was done, Leia had turned to him and Kay, and he knew the questions would come. What she asked first had a simple answer that Finn intended to give her, but as he opened his mouth to do so, Kay intercepted.

Finn's gaze shot to Kay as soon as she revealed that she was forced into doing this. Well there goes one plan. He realised that maybe lying wasn't a good idea but he also didn't want to put Kay in any more trouble than he already did.

But if everyone was telling the truth...

"I did choose to do what I did," Finn agreed, looking away from Kay and at Leia now. "It was the right thing to do and... I also needed a pilot." And Poe Dameron was apparently one hell of a pilot.

"I thought we'd get far away from there but Poe wanted to land on Jakku, to find BB-8," he explained, nodding to the droid who beeped a few times. Finn didn't understand, but he had a feeling he was still in mourning. "The TIE fighter we stole crashed and I found Poe's jacket," he gestured to it, for emphasis, "but I never found him."

That made it clear that he didn't know whether he was alive or dead — but so far, Finn had been assuming the worst since most of the evidence pointed that way.

 

[Lucyfer]

Skye was weakening. That much was obvious. Kylo could hear her thoughts spinning as she contemplated how to address the matter. They were, after all, at the surface. Her guards came back up, but he pressed for more, for the lies she’d try to convince him of in order to buy more time.

This time, she cried out that the information wasn’t on Jakku. “Liar!” The accusation was thrown angrily and he closed his fist, intent to cut off her air while still trying to focus on pulling thoughts. That was more difficult than it should have been. “I don’t want to hear what’s in your throat. I want to hear what’s in your mind. Open it, let me see the truth for myself!”

The demand offered little room for negotiation. Even if she could have, Skye would first have to free herself from the chokehold, which may be possible through the use of the Force.

Perhaps this was some answer to Skye’s question about whether or not he was in trouble, at least. He wasn’t there yet – but the threat lingered heavy over his head, and he was now acting on those fears.

~***~

Leia listened to Finn’s telling of the events with a more sympathetic ear, though her expression remained carefully stoic as he told it, indicating the TIE crashed and Poe was separated from him – from his jacket, even. It remained possible that Poe was alive, and Leia wouldn’t be surprised if he was. He’d come back from worse.

Not to mention, she’d just know. Just as she’d know about Skye. “The other?” Leia’s gaze shifted to the former Admiral.

She shrugged. “I ejected from the TIE early when I realized it was going to crash. She may have crashed or she may have found her way out. I didn’t search for her.” She hadn’t searched for Finn, either. They’d just come together, “We walked to Niima outpost on Jakku. BB-8 identified his jacket, and we were thrown into an escape together when the Order attacked the Outpost, no doubt because of us.”

“Not BB-8?”

“The Order didn’t know about BB-8 last I knew,” not that he had what they were looking for, or even his existence.

Leia considered this, then nodded and glanced back, “Please see Finn and Admiral Faraday to a cell. See that they have food, water, and something for their burns,” evident enough on Faraday, not so much on Finn. “I will speak with them further, later.”

Kay didn’t protest the title. It was too much energy, “Rey,” Leia spoke to her as rebels moved forward to escort the First Order members. “We need to talk.” Because Rey now knew where the rebel base was, and Rey was in the midst of this…like it or not.

 

[witchingly]

Skye became more aware of Kylo's anger. He was displaying it more than he had on the shuttle, when they'd been picked up, which more or less told Skye what had happened between then and now, while Skye had been left alone in this cell. A lot of things had messed up for them. Kylo couldn't afford to fail.

It's not like anything would have happened to him if he didn't get answers. Or maybe it would. Skye wasn't sure how things worked around here.

Briefly, Skye contemplated fabricating a thought. Something that would show him that she might not be wrong. That the map really wasn't on Jakku. For all she knew, that was the truth. If Poe's absence meant anything, it was that he was likely on his way back to the Resistance with BB-8 already.

But how could she convince him of that? How could she convince him that right now, even she didn't know the full truth.

First she had to get of the hold he had on her. It was getting harder to breathe, and Skye ached to claw at her throat, as though it would help, but her arms were stuck to her sides. With some amount of concentration, and instead of concealing her thoughts, she used the Force to break away from his grasp.

Skye was panting, and she knew that if he tried that again, she might not be able to break free with how weak she already was from the heat on Jakku, but despite struggling to catch her breath now, Skye spoke. "I'm... not... lying," she insisted, her head bowed but her eyes lifted to look at him.

~***~

Finn couldn't read Leia's expression when he spoke about Poe. He wasn't here, obviously, so Finn was still convinced that he might not be alive. But he felt like it would affect Leia more, perhaps, to know that something had happened to her best pilot. Something he couldn't come back from.

Instead of asking though, Finn stayed quiet as Leia questioned Kay about the other prisoner, Skye. He realised that he was the first one who came to learn about the map to Luke Skywalker being with BB-8 and he hadn't made that clear till they crossed paths on Jakku.

Since BB-8 was here now, back with the Resistance, it was less likely that the First Order would get their hands on the map now. They could continue to scour Jakku as much as they wanted.

When they were told to be taken to a cell, Finn didn't resist. He nodded to the general and then turned around as some of those with blasters led Kay and him to another part of the base. He made note of the fact that they weren't bound, which was another huge difference from the First Order, but the blasters weren't lowered either. That much Finn could understand. It was a precaution.

Kay and Finn were put into a shared cell, that was fortunately big enough to hold them, and for a few moments, they were left alone, till two people came back not long after with some food and water.

Finn didn't hesitate to dive in. The dirty water he drank from that trough back on Jakku hadn't nearly been enough and at least he knew this food wasn't contaminated, so he began to scarf his food down.

In between, he glanced over to Kay and slowed his movements as he noticed her untouched food. "Aren't you going to eat?"

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren could feel the renewed struggles as oxygen was deprived from Skye. He could also sense the growing exhaustion in her, just as easily. He meant to press further, but Skye did break free of his hold on her. His focus broke as he lost his grip, and he stood there, glaring at her from behind his mask.

“Then show me.”

Kylo would know what it meant if he just blindly trusted her, and she had lied to him. Not only for himself, but for her. “Your word is meaningless at this point. You’ll do anything you can to protect that information. If you want to prove you’re not lying, then show me where it is. Show me how you know it isn’t on Jakku.”

He didn’t reach forward again immediately to try and pull it from her mind. He gave her breathing room for the moment, but added, “If you continue to refuse, if you continue to fight, then Supreme Leader Snoke will get involved.” As much a warning as it was a threat. Kylo didn’t want that to happen to her.

He still hoped she’d see the flaws of the Jedi.

~***~

Kay offered no fight as she was led to the cell. She considered it, but she was outnumbered with guns, and she had an idea they were all set to stun – so she’d end up in a cell either way. It was better to just follow along at this point.

The cell was one she shared with Finn, and she took a seat on the bench, noting the way it was so brightly lit. There wasn’t much so far as amenities went, but it was certainly more than would ever be offered in the Order.

They didn’t exactly hold prisoners, so much as they held future people to be executed, or sent to a labor camp, depending on whether or not they needed to make an example of them.

Food and water was brought. So was ointment for any burns they may have received on Jakku. Kay didn’t reach for any of it, but stayed seated, and let Finn claim his plate and his cup. It was something she noticed, and she couldn’t help the dull stare she sent his way, “It could be poisoned, Finn. Or laced with drugs that make speaking the truth easier,” not that she’d been lying thus far, but she didn’t want to be brought into an interrogation for actual First Order information under the influence of anything. “You’re too trusting.”

 

[witchingly]

Skye took a few moments to catch her breath, relieved that Kylo even gave her that. If she didn't have some time to breathe, she may not have been able to pull off what she had in mind to do next.

Kylo demanded that she show him the truth, and Skye couldn't think of any other way to mislead him. Lying through her words wouldn't be enough. But then again, it wasn't really lying. Or maybe she was just trying to convince herself of that fact.

"Fine," she said finally after a short while. Instead of using her strength to resist him, she was going to use her strength to show him one thing. The only thing that would matter. That, when paired with her words, may paint a clearer picture for him. And would hopefully get him to believe her.

"Try again," she told him, lifting her head to look at him properly. She hated staring at that mask, but that was the least of her concerns right now. What was important was making a scene that was believable enough. She didn't have contact with Poe after she crash landed on Jakku and that was made obvious enough, which meant she had to find a way to simply twist what had already happened.

And when he looked, Kylo found find something brief. Something small, but hopefully enough. In any case, it involved Skye as she was being rescued by Poe, with the help of the stormtrooper and the admiral who had been forced into her position.

Maybe it wouldn't be a clear picture, but there would be voices, hints. A plan to meet up at Niima Outpost and find the ship that held the map. If he were to question how the ship had the map, then she had an answer, but she wouldn't dive into the details unless he asked.

"Your men already told you they saw a ship leaving," Skye told him, trying to reinforce the thought, make it seem more real. "But since Poe wasn't on it, I can't say where it's gone. Which means I don't know where the map is. But it isn't on Jakku." Like she'd told him.

~***~

As Kay explained to Finn why she wasn't touching what they gave them, he paused, his hand stopping halfway toward the glass of water in front of him. He hadn't considered that. But they wouldn't actually poison the food, would they?

"I think it's okay," Finn assured Kay. "I mean, I feel fine," he added with a shrug, taking another bite of the food.

He noticed the few burns she'd suffered from the Jakku heat and he nodded to the ointment. "At least use that. It can't harm you as much as poisoned food would." Well, in truth, he didn't know much about poison or how it could be used, but he was 90% sure that the Resistance wouldn't do that to them.

And it further strengthened his belief that they were the better side. Finn still didn't know if he wanted to pick a side at all, but he knew he wasn't going back to the First Order, even if he had that choice. He was a traitor. If he went back, he'd be killed without question.

Hell, they'd do that if they saw him anywhere because he defected. He hadn't even been a good trooper to begin with.

"Seriously," Finn tried again, now that he was done eating. "Nothing's going to happen to you," he gestured to her untouched food and water.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo reached out for the information, and what he saw wasn’t exactly convincing to him, although he didn’t know how that could be. “A ship,” he’d have every ship on Niima Outpost torn to shreds. He would make sure of that, because he didn’t know which ship it was, “and yet you were wasting your time with Lor San Tekka, far from any ships with any information,” Kylo reminded, staring coldly at her.

But how could she be lying in her thoughts?

He didn’t know, but the information didn’t mesh well with what he did know, and that was that Lor San Tekka had once held the information. “What did you obtain from Lor San Tekka? Why didn’t you all just leave on this ship at Niima Outpost?” Why not meet there? It must have been a ship belonging to Lor San Tekka, right?

Yes, Kylo definitely needed more information, though he was certain of one thing: if there was a ship, then the destination had to be the rebel base. Which would be another piece he’d need to obtain from Skye. They could at least go there next, and try to get the ship, and the information, before it could be used.

Or at least, follow the path after it had been used. Certainly, someone left behind would know where Luke was.

~***~

Finn remained wholly convinced the food was good for him. He dug in, ate and drank everything, while Kay remained unconvinced. She was thirsty, certainly. Hunger would follow that, although the pangs of hunger hadn’t hit just yet. ‘Starvation is a slow death.’ Poison would be generous – if there wasn’t the risk of being made to speak.

Finn did seem fine, though. It wasn’t as if they’d specified one plate or another for each individual. “There are slow poisons,” Kay noted, “There are also poisons that do worse than kill.” She drew her legs up to her chest and folded her arms across them.

Sleep would take away the burn pains.

Sleep would take away the thirst, the hunger – at least, until she woke up.

“Poisons that you can get just by touching a substance,” she’d heard of poisonous plants troopers encountered and foolishly got on themselves after removing their uniforms without properly wiping them down.

Still, her eyes went to the water. It’d be hard to poison water without it being noticed. A slight change in color, or flavor, were hard to mask in water.

And so, slowly, she unfolded herself once more and forced stiff limbs to move towards the cup. “You can have the food,” he seemed ravenous, “if I die of poison I’ll haunt you.” She went back to what she was claiming as her corner, sat back down, and gave the water a tentative sip.

 

[witchingly]

"We don't always go blindly into every task," Skye told Kylo as he began to question the 'truth' he'd been shown. There were several plot holes, certainly, but hopefully none that she couldn't find an explanation for.

"We had a backup plan in case things would go wrong. And they did, as you know," she reminded him. "We agreed that the information needed to be safe, so one of us, if not both of us, could reach it and take it back whenever we were given the chance." Not totally a lie. The map was with BB-8 instead of on a ship, but she wasn't going to put a target on the droid's back on the off chance that he wasn't with the Resistance right now.

"I didn't get there. And neither did Poe," Skye told him. "So it's hard to tell where the ship could be right now." Also not a lie, completely. She wasn't referring to a ship though, she was referring to BB-8. She had no confirmation of his whereabouts, but the further she guided them away from him and the map, the better.

Until they found out what she'd been doing this whole time and decided to take their anger out on her.

She'd just deal with that when the problem arose. If it arose.

~***~

Finn listened as Kay explained how there were various types of poisons, and how they performed differently. It was a vast amount of knowledge that she had, and Finn supposed he should have known it too, but he'd never had any need to.

In any case, the Resistance didn't seem like the type of people to poison their prisoners. Especially not valuable ones. At the very least, he knew they'd want to talk more to Kay, a former Admiral in the First Order. She had plenty of information that they'd want.

Whether she'd give it to them was another question, but the fact remained that she was valuable. They wouldn't get rid of her so easily, and without question.

Regardless, he knew he wasn't going to change her mind, until she saw for herself that consuming the food had done nothing to harm him, so when she offered him the food, he shrugged and took it. He was hungry, but he also left half of it aside, in case she changed her mind later.

She changed her mind about the water after all, so it wasn't impossible.

After a moment of silence, Finn spoke up again. "Assuming they let us go," he said, wanting to entertain that possibility, even if for just a while. "What are you going to do?" He didn't know what he would do, but now was as good a time as any to start thinking about it, rather than think about all the bad things that could happen to them after all of this.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo could definitely see plenty of the plot holes. The first being there was no point to meeting Lor San Tekka, and it was a glaring plot hole that stood out to him. Leia was on a time limit. He would still make sure that every single ship was searched, but this part nagged at him.

“Why meet Lor San Tekka at all?” Kylo asked, “I know how quickly Leia wants to find her brother.” His atrocious uncle. And on the heels of that, “Where is the ship bound? Where is the Resistance?”

These things, of course, were more important to him. If the ship had left, or if the information had left Jakku, then he had to follow that trail. The Resistanc was the most likely place, or at least, where Skye was meant to go, if there was a meet-up that wasn’t the base.

He wouldn’t wait for the answers – not before acting.

He couldn’t waste time with the matter of ships, anyways, and so before she would even begin to speak, he cut across the room and moved around her once again to the door, where he spoke briefly with the Stormtrooper outside. “Tell General Hux to organize the troopers and pull every ship in Niima outpost into our hangars. We need to search them – and arrest every ship owner. They may be in league with the Resistance.”

More innocents condemned.

Kylo would walk back around after he’d delivered that, the door whooshing behind him, before he came to stand in front of Skye again, looking for the information about locations.

~***~

The water didn’t taste tainted. It was a small reassurance for Kay, enough for her to continue drinking the water, though slowly. Sip, by sip. Finn ate half of the other meal. She noticed that, but wouldn’t immediately go to claim the rest.

She didn’t have much of an appetite anyways.

She wasn’t sure that she ever would.

Certainly not if she had to think about the future. It was an inevitable thought process, that led back to one thought: she should have let Poe Dameron shoot her. Her future without the First Order was death anyways, so far as she was concerned. She would likely remain a prisoner of the Resistance until the end, before she was turned over to the New Republic, and given a legal sentencing.

Even if she got out 30 or 40 years later – assuming she wasn’t executed on the spot – what life was left? All her time spent reading holonovels, and she’d never fathomed a life without the Order.

She wanted to be the heroine in those stories…with the Order. To bring peace and stability through the galaxy, to do what was right, whatever means necessary. Now she’d proven herself a coward at best, and at worst, a villain. Much as she wanted to blame Finn, she couldn’t. She was the one who chose to run, rather than stand her ground, or do something clever.

Still, she couldn’t make herself be kind. “Perhaps you’ve had years to think about this, but I intended to live and die in the Order. So why don’t you just tell me what grand dreams your future holds?”

 

[witchingly]

"Because he had the information," Skye answered Kylo as he asked more questions. She was doing her best to keep up with the information so it wouldn't lead to any horrible consequences earlier. There wasn't much Kylo could do about a ship that was no longer on Jakku, which at least bought her some time. By the time he found out the truth, she'd hopefully be off of this ship.

If she could manage that, of course. She doubted she'd get lucky a second time.

"Getting it to the ship was a last minute move, in case things went wrong," Skye explained further. "As for where it was going..."

Skye hesitated. It may have seemed like she was unwilling to give up the information but truthfully, she was trying to come up with a convincing enough lie. That, and she hoped he'd believe it without having to take another peek at her mind.

Before she had the chance to say anything, Kylo was off, asking for the ships on Jakku to be brought in and strip searched. That would take up a bunch of their time. Of course, she wasn't going to be in a very good standing if they found out she made them waste hours of their time for nothing but she did say that the ship had left. If he wanted to continue checking all the ships that were still on Jakku, that was on him.

He returned, standing in front of her once more, and she knew he expected more answers. "Nobody else down there knows about any of this," she told him, not wanting more innocent lives taken. "I told you already, that ship left Jakku, with the information. But not to go to the Resistance." She had a brief moment to think, when Kylo was giving out orders, but she figured it was believable.

"Poe and I were meant to use that information ourselves," she said, after a short pause. "To find Luke. The less we travelled around to get that information to the Resistance, the more chances we had of finding him before that information landed in the wrong hands."

~***~

Finn supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that Kay wouldn't warm up to him that quickly. She'd been nice to him in the past — the only one to have been nice to him, in fact. Perhaps even now, it was more than he could have ever expected from someone of the First Order. If he'd been here with Hux or Phasma... Finn didn't even want to think about what kind of situation he'd be in.

"I don't have any," Finn admitted, because he didn't want to lie to her, and he understood her anger. He blamed himself for it.

If only she hadn't walked in on them. Then none of this would have happened. Maybe he'd still end up in a cell, but Kay wouldn't have suffered for it.

"Not yet, anyway," Finn continued with a small shrug. He leaned back against the wall, now a little more satisfied since he'd eaten and was adequately hydrated. He still thought Kay should at least tend to her burns but he wasn't going to push it. "I just knew I couldn't be there anymore. I couldn't be a Stormtrooper anymore."

He knew he'd told her that, and that was his reasoning for getting them into this whole mess in the first place, but it was the truth.

"You don't need to answer if you don't want to," Finn said to Kay after a moment of silence. "But... Why do you believe in the Order?"

It never totally made sense to Finn. He had his own thoughts when he wasn't supposed to, that was different. But Kay had always stood out, compared to other Officers in the First Order. She could certainly handle matters quickly, and efficiently, but despite that, she was kind and thoughtful. Forgiving.

Maybe not right now but she had been, in the past. She gave him more chances than he deserved. It just didn't fit.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Right, you’re going to leave a ship without a watcher on a planet known for stripping ships for scrap. I highly doubt that,” Kylo stated as he came back around. “Even if you are that stupid,” which was possible, this was the Resistance. His mother may be intelligent, but that didn’t mean every officer in her employ was, “we don’t need rumors spreading about what we’re looking for.”

That was why the village had to perish.

If all of Niima Outpost had to go, so be it.

The ship, of course, was going to Luke. Kylo couldn’t say he was terribly surprised to learn this fact, but it was a nuisance. “It will return to the Resistance,” of that much, though, he was certain. “Tell me where the Resistance is.” She wouldn’t. They’d go back around and around to him trying to pull it from her, because she wouldn’t open with that information, either.

He’d succeed, or they’d go to Snoke.

In either case, they would get the information, and they’d have to debate targets for Starkiller. The Hosnian System remained their primary target so far as sending a message, but it would be better to eliminate the Resistance all at once and Kylo knew they wouldn’t be there.

No, the Resistance always favored wild, Outer Rim worlds.

~***~

Finn didn’t have any ideas, either. That relaxed Kay, a little. It showed that it was more of a reaction, not something plotted out. Finn hadn’t been sure of what was for him after the Order, simply that it didn’t work with him anymore. He had hope of finding something…and he would. Kay had that hope for him, bitterly held though it was.

Whatever had happened on Jakku impacted Finn – enough that it shook his entire faith in the Order.

It hadn’t done that for her, and when Finn asked why she believed in it, she felt her heart break, just a little, that the question even had to be asked. That Finn had never understood. Perhaps they should teach more about the history of the galaxy. “There was an Old Republic, before the New Republic. This Old Republic supposedly stood for everyone, and was going to protect everyone, but that wasn’t the truth. It colonized worlds far from what they call the Core, and it enslaved entire species – for generation upon generation. It replaced entire species across the galaxy, it wrecked ecosystems and worlds to better the lives of those in the Core…and those other planets still believed that the Core was looking out for them. They fell on their knees to try and get into the good graces of the Core, they let their planets be torn apart and they lost their sense of worth to better the Core.”

She swallowed. “There was a war. The Clone Wars some call it, but it was started by a party known as Separatists. Those who didn’t want to be a part of the Republic any longer. They weren’t allowed to just leave peacefully – and the Republic used it as an excuse to attack those planets, and to strip them even further of their resources since they had gone against them. Then came the Empire, and that was finally starting to provide Order to the galaxy, finally starting to divide it up in a fashion that could work with sectors and moffs, oversight that was equal over all. It wasn’t given the time to flourish, to become something more, it was taken down in less than three decades,” she sighed, “and so we came. I know we’ve done similar atrocities, but the we were going to do better.”

She almost sounded desperate to believe it.

She was desperate to believe it. “We had a plan for the future governance of the galaxy that would eliminate the noise of the Senate, and disempower the Core so that real work could be done. So that no more pirates would roam and take advantage of the worlds the Core doesn’t care about, so that everyone could end up equally protected and equally benefited by a truly united system – not this mess of noise that always favors the Core. We were going to save the galaxy!”

 

[witchingly]

"I never said we left it without a watcher," Skye pointed out. She knew it would be a stupid thing to do because that would only ensure that some random person would have the information. But Skye also didn't want to do anything to put BB-8 in the line of fire, on the off chance that he was still on Jakku.

"It doesn't matter anyway because it's gone now," Skye said after a moment. There was no way for him to track the ship because they didn't even know what ship it was. And Skye didn't even know if BB-8 had actually been on it or not but she'd take any out she got.

But that information wasn't enough. Now that Skye was somewhat cooperating, Kylo wanted more. And unfortunately this wasn't something she could make a convincing enough lie about. It was a question that had a direct answer. It was just a location.

But that wasn't so easy to give away, considering her allegiance.

Skye had recovered a little, enough to be able to resist further mind probing, should Kylo attempt it, but she knew she wouldn't last very long.

"You know I can't do that," she told him, when he asked her to give him the location of the Resistance. She couldn't, and she wouldn't. If he had to take her to Snoke... SKye would figure out what to do when that happened. But she wasn't going to volunteer that kind of information just because he asked.

"Seems like you have enough on your plate already," she pointed out. "Why don't you deal with that first?"

~***~

Finn listened as Kay began to explain the history of it all. He realised he didn't know that much about it, but he was glad that Kay was willing to share. He realised her version of the story may be a bit one-sided, since she was merely answering a question that he asked.

Now he wished to ask that to someone from the Resistance just to see what response he'd get.

Since that wasn't possible at this very moment, he instead took in everything Kay told him. In words, it didn't sound so bad. It sounded like something the Galaxy needed. But for someone who'd been a part of that regime, who'd seen and experienced what it was like to work for people trying to enforce that regime, Finn knew that it only sounded pretty good, but the reality was much more harsh. Much more cruel.

"Do you believe that the First Order will succeed with all of that?" Finn asked further, since she didn't seem to be against this line of questioning. She could tell him to shut up at any moment, and he'd do it without question, but as long as she was willing to speak, he had things he was curious about. It told him a lot more about her, as a person.

"It's a system that kills innocents, tortures people, and engages in a large amount of violence." Among other things, but Finn decided to keep that brief. "Is all of that really okay, for something we assume will be successful in the long run?"

Who was to say the Galaxy would be better off after it all? The Resistance could just as easily perform in similar manners but so far, they'd been treated with a degree of respect, they'd been given food and water and even medication, and Finn had a feeling they wouldn't be stuck in a cell for very long either.