Chapter Text
✩· ˚ .
CH. ONE
“STARLIGHT”
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STANDING obediently in her room, the prisoner of the First Order is afraid.
And — at least mentally — alone.
In a sense, the man in front of her is quite familiar. She had been forewarned of this predicament, and yet she still, in the end, had ultimately chosen it. And cold remorse flooded her senses as she stared the man clad in black who stood in front of her.
"Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connick. We've been expecting you for quite a while now." His face was a calm mask of control, and yet, beyond his pale exterior, she sensed fear. Of this room. Of what was outside of it. And... of her.
"Connix," she corrects. "My name is Kaydel—“ She is interrupted by the man in front of her raising his hand as if to strike her backhandedly across the face.
She flinches, but not before he has turned on his heel and sped away, the blast doors that separated the prisoner from her freedom slamming.
She breathed into the empty room, before speaking cautiously to herself, her hands folded in her lap.
"Armitage Brendol Hux."
His mind had betrayed him, and he had failed.
✧✧✧
On the third hour of her entrapment, the prisoner had made the decision to explore her suite. She would refuse to think of this as a punishment. Optimism was the only thing that she had not been stripped of at this point.
There was a bed, she had noted, in the first few minutes when she had arrived. They had the audacity to suggest she rest in such a place. In one of the corners stood a roughly sanded black armoire, and mirror took the place of wallpaper on the wall opposite the door.
Now, the door was something else. Upon a first glance, it wasn't worth even a once-over. Smooth silver exterior, several stiff, stainless steel buttons along the right side. Seven, to be precise.
However, the prisoner knew fully well how many secure rooms worked. She worked with these sorts of technical operations for a living. And she knew that this door was made precisely so that whomever had her trapped here was the only person to have access to the room she was in. It was a custom model that she didn't fully understand, but she imagined that it was only accessible via retina or print scan.
And she deducted that whoever was keeping her here, didn't want her leaving for a long time.
She found herself in the bathroom, staring into the mirror as if her reflection would reach out, pull her in, and drag her to safety. She leans forward, sighing before turning to face the refresher.
✧✧✧
Combing out her yellow hair meticulously and harshly, the prisoner hummed a tune to herself. She had since removed herself from the refresher and the room that housed it, but after setting the comb down, she slowly returned herself to it, taking inventory of the items around her as she went.
The prisoner stood in front of the blurry and fogged mirror, tracing into the steamy glass surface. A droplet slipped down her face.
She wasn't alone anymore.
✧✧✧
Before the door had even opened, she had known that there was a being waiting just behind it. She wasn't afraid anymore, just hesitant and ready to die for what she knew.
She didn't move from the place where she was, sitting on the bed across from the door, her back to it.
A man entered, his gait calculated and heavy. She assumed he was to be her executioner.
She kept her back facing him.
"You seem to have made yourself at home."
She swallowed, as she listened to the deep mechanical voice, its’ monotone rather frightening. Well, she had made herself at home, hadn't she? "Yes, it appears I have."
"Face me and tell me your name."
She knew it boiled down to this. The interrogation would most likely converge in the form of pleasantries and small talk. He would up the ante later on if she didn't comply. So, she spun and spoke.
"Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix."
The first thing she realized about her captor was that he looked vulnerable. His pale skin was almost transparent, and his jet black hair almost completely washed out his complexion. But his eyes were deep, albeit quite flat and almost bored.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that his signature was completely and utterly... mute. Being no expert in the Force, she wouldn’t pretend that she could read minds or lift rocks, but she could sense emotions. And his — well, his mind was entirely blank.
She thought that she had felt a twinge of surprise in him, but as soon as she picked up on it, it was washed away with that same grey noise once again. Kaydel had no doubt she would crack his stoic exterior soon enough with enough willpower and her own sharp tongue. She was not one to go down without a fight. So she determinedly locked her eyes on the folded accordion pattern that made up his sleeve, and pressed her lips together.
After a few more moments of studying each other, the man continued, his tone demanding and final, "Look me in the eye."
Kaydel's heart pounded angrily.
She did want to look at him. She did not want to give him the satisfaction. She stared defiantly at her bare feet. "I said —" he deadpanned, and he stepped a bit closer, "Look at me." She tore her gaze off of his arm and to his mask, cold and flat and black. He cocked his head to the side upon her doing so, and she had to remind herself that this wasn’t a human. This was a vile and heartless creature.
"Cooperative. I like that in a woman."
Still holding her tongue, Kaydel resisted the urge to snap his neck and show him just how cooperative a woman could be. Instead, she opted for the high road. "The Resistance will not be intimidated by you."
He took a few steps towards her. Kaydel composed herself, resisting the urge to smack him. Why had they sent this provocative man? What methods did the First Order employ on their standard prisoners?
The dark man spoke again, jolting her out of her train of thought. "Funny, that's what the last one said right before he told me the coordinates of the droid." Each word was slow. The way he spoke, it was like ice, cold and hard. But even ice could be melted.
And Kaydel would burn the First Order to the ground even if it killed her. She shifted her weight to her left foot and crossed her arms as if she was addressing a child who had spoken out of place. (If that child happened to be a good two feet taller than her.) "You are not clever. Why am I here?"
Pausing, the man took a step forward, "You do not recognize me."
Resisting the urge to scoff, she crossed her arms, turning towards the window outlook facing the distant planet of Ahch-To. The ship was now in orbit, Kaydel realized as she thought of her response. "Sorry, I don't immediately recognize every criminally insane creature that operates within your tyrannical system. I only have so much brain capacity." The man was unaffected.
The prisoner stayed neutral, her face a mask of stony resilience. She let her arms fall to her sides and turned away.
She exhaled as the man took long, measured steps around her, before making his way past her to a small kitchenette. "There is plenty of food for you to sustain yourself with. The refresher is in the room to the left of the bed, and there are clothes in the closet."
She stood still, a muscle in her neck jumping at the lunacy of it all. Finally, after a pregnant pause of him staring at her, and Kaydel working to find the words she needed to express her disdain, she choked out, "Why?"
The man took a step closer, moving so that he could reach out to touch her if he wanted to.
"Because I made a promise a long time ago. And I intend to break it in the best possible way that I can."
With that, he definitively turned on his heel and exited the premises, the doors closing with a cold whoosh behind him.
Kaydel Ko sat on the bed, preading her hands againer her temple as she shook her head and held back tears.