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Her arms were pinned at either side of the rig, bound by steel and leather restraints, poising her upright uncomfortably in a manner that had her relying on her arms to hold herself to the broad, angled table she’d been placed on. Nevertheless, her face was at ease in deep sleep, though not for long. It was impossible to say exactly what woke her, yet, ripped suddenly from sleep, Rey parted momentarily from the slab as her muscles seized, jolting her from a place of rest, albeit poor and dreamless, and into the vision of the slick shale holding cell they’d allowed her. Her large, frightened eyes racked the room for details, brow knitting in frustration at the sight of her restraints. She drew in a sharp breath as sweat began to present at her temple.
Her pulse had only begun to rest when her eyes fell on the face of the other’s mask as he crouched, predator-like, in the dim light of the room, the deep pits of his helmet allowing her only an approximation of whether or not the eyes it obscured were trained on her fear-stricken visage. She couldn't help but squeeze her fists, testing her range of motion, a futile effort, as she was quickly becoming lucid enough to be painfully aware that there was currently no viable exit route for her. She could taste metal and something burnt in the air as she struggled to gulp down her panic with how thirsty she was and how dry her mouth had suddenly grown. Scowling to herself at her helplessness, she lifted her eyes to her captor’s false face and it’s abysmal slots that mimicked a cold gaze.
“Where am I?” She asked, fear evident in her voice as she grated her teeth together to soothe the panic that rose in her during the pause that followed.
“You’re my guest.” His voice was mechanical and monotonous through his mask, but his actual intonation wasn’t much different. He didn’t move from his position, not so much as a stir, giving her a fixed view of his battle-weathered mock visage in the odd, warm light of the steel blue chamber.
“Where are the others?” she rushed to ask, watching him shift his weight from foot to foot and shake his head ever so slightly in disbelief as he countered her reply. She was bathed in dread by the words that followed.
“You mean the murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends?” His tone was slow and careful, lacking any pleasant cadence; instead, each of these titles were punctuated by a deliberate pause. Rey’s lower lip parted from her top one and quivered slightly as she considered his utterance, setting her jaw with his next words, attempting to meet the level of success achieved by Ren’s mask in protecting the integrity of his emotions by briefly assuming a guise of calamity at the reassurance of her friends’ safety. She nevertheless maintained a thousand-yard stare.
“You’ll be relieved to hear that I have no idea.” He paused, if only briefly. “You still want to kill me.” He noted in a deadpan fashion, cocking his head. If there was any thread of emotion in his words, it was a kind of sick amusement, like a predator playing games with it’s prey. His voice was a low, menacing hiss through the mass of metal and voice modulating equipment obscuring his face.
“That happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask,” She retorted, spitting the words at him with the venom and malice of a cornered mouse, primed to attack by a mortal fear, and put against a wall with nothing to lose. It was a dangerous position for both of them, but Rey’s fear kept her from doing anything, not even allowing herself to ease her strained muscles by relaxing against the head of his table.
Meanwhile, Ren stirred a bit in a contemplative, then, almost nod-like manner, silently considering her before he placed either gloved hand at the sides of his mask’s posterior, unlatching and removing the apparatus with a soft hiss. He rose to his full height, maintaining inches on her regardless of the height at which she’d been fixed above the ground, and removed his sallet to reveal his face. Rey braced herself, sure that whatever sight waited for her beneath his armour would appear as heinous and depraved as the atrocities committed both at his hand and by his command.
Yet, to her shock, his boldness allowed free a head of neat, near shoulder length waves of slate black, pushed carefully out of the way of his long face, which was complete with a set of dull, wide umber eyes and a persistent pout. His gaze was rather brooding as he stared the girl down, allowing her to take inventory of his features, which she did, eyes narrowed in surprise and morbid curiosity as they scanned his broad figure. He was much younger and less monstrous looking than she’d expected, his features somehow soft, regardless of his strong nose and the almost gaunt level of definition in his cheekbones. He advanced her, rounding the perimeter of her range of motion as he placed his helmet down on a table with a loud, yet, muffled metallic thud, a swirl of ash rising in the motion’s wake. Rey quickly re-assigned her eyes forward to avoid his cold, scrutinizing gaze, training them on a lighted control on the room’s far wall that grew fuzzier and further from her as tears pricked at her eyes.
“Tell me about the droid.” His voice was impossibly bass-rich and resonant, over too soon for Rey’s own liking. When she realized it was her turn in conversation, she drew in a sharp breath and began to explain the nature and model of the droid she’d acquired back on Jakku.
“He’s a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator-”
“He’s carrying a section of a navigational chart,” He cut her short, turning his face away from hers and lifting his chin as he spoke. “We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the empire, but we need the last piece, and somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you.” He nodded towards her, eyes seemingly fixed on nowhere in particular and momentarily glazed over with a mess of disdain and perplexion. Rey’s own were noticeably wet now.
“You.” His expression was reminiscent of disgust. “... A scavenger.”
The girl’s gaze relayed the room in an attempt to look at anything but him, trying to make sense of his knowledge of these things (in addition to other secrets she’d yet to discover herself.) Yet, somehow neither of them could figure out why exactly the droid had chosen to follow her in the first place. She stared up at him with expectant fear and watched his eyes survey her body before fear averted them.
“You know I can take whatever I want,” he remarked, an amused spark in his eyes as terror and trepidation crossed her face. Closing the gap between them by drawing even closer, his large, gloved hand snapped into position at the side of her head, causing her features to contort in pain as he began to press her mind for information. She began recoiling in an attempt to evade his touch, but it was an effort for naught; there was nowhere to go. Apart from the pain, something passed in between them, hanging in the stale atmosphere in the chamber; like a prickle of live electricity. His open palm rose towards her, looming at the edge of her vision as she tore her gaze from him defiantly while he pressed persistently for allowance into her mind.
“You’re so lonely,” he remarked, the pads of his fingers twitching slightly as he began to loosen her mind and it’s defenses, pulling free information and emotions. His head was bowed and eyes closed in concentration as he slackened the knot of her thoughts. Her expression soured independently of her as the fortress of her mind came under siege, eyes wrenching shut and forcing a couple of tears to roll down her damp cheeks as he spoke.
“So afraid to leave.” His words stung, and the corners of Rey’s mouth pulled away from her as she hissed momentarily in pain. Her body seized and shook of it’s own accord as he watched her, carefully, pressing his hand deeper into her psyche as his gaze fell over her convulsing body. Ren was unable to suppress a slight, surprised smile as his eyes snapped back up to her slight features, his eyebrows following suit curiously. “At night, desperate to sleep.” His words were pointed and painful, causing her to draw a shaky breath. He rubbed his lips together and continued. “You imagine an ocean. I see it- I see the island…” Tears continued to run tracks down her face as she shook under his hand.
“...And Han Solo.” He shook his head ever so slightly. “You feel like he’s the father you never had. He would’ve disappointed you,” he said this in an almost deliberately nonchalant manner, his gaze falling on something far away, as did hers as she struggled through the agony, eyes fierce and determined, yet soft as she drew in a hiccuped, sudden breath and spoke.
“Get out of my head,” she demanded, causing him to lean quickly forwards, aggressively, before retreating, arm still extended towards her.
“I know you’ve seen the map,” he said, his open palm tugging her face forwards from where it’d been wrenched away from his own. “It’s in there, and now you’ll give it to me.” Pain promptly crossed Rey’s face, muscles tensing as she clenched her teeth and attempted to fight the pain that coaxed her to surrender, mind and body, but she was persistently defiant still, despite being unsure where her endurance was coming from. Kylo’s head tilted slowly toward her as an almost conflicted look graced his features. “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.” Determination crossed Rey’s face in a sudden bout of strength, eyes narrowing at him as her brows knit stubbornly.
“I’m not giving you anything,” she forced the words past her clenched teeth with a slight shake of her head.
“We’ll see.” Regardless of her strength, he appeared neutral, skeptical, for a moment before glowering at her, looking deeply into her eyes with a malicious expression. His hold on her forced her to meet his gaze, yet her confidence was unaffected by his efforts, her strength seemingly suddenly bottomless. Ren’s own expression began to falter as he found himself rejected from passage deeper into her mind. Her confidence doubled as she fought to maintain this lack of violation, her will strong enough to make her a fair opponent, even to one Kylo Ren. The struggle between them became visible and audible as Rey began to tear away at Ren’s defenses, suddenly permeating his mind much to her own amazement. Her eyebrows pulled down, towards each other, eyes wide open and glaring as she began to pull the pieces together despite the ample effort it’d take. Her face was awash in determination and confusion as she came, suddenly, into knowing.
“You…” Her voice was low and hostile as she drew in a shaky breath, her sudden knowledge overflowing from between her teeth like venom. “...You’re afraid...That you will never be as strong as Darth Vader.” As she spoke, the weariness shed from her voice, her words tearing through the tethers of his grip on her as he ripped away from her, his chest trembling in anger and shock.