The Balance: A Star Wars Story

Chapter II: Stowaway

Rey's eyes shot open. Her breath was as steady as his, but opposite. There he was, lying next to her. Kylo Ren. Ben Solo.

Ben.

She didn't move. Was she dreaming? There was light shinning in on his face through the dust filled room. One ray was lighting up his left side of his face. She stared into his eyes, and he stared back. She was both afraid and shocked. How long had he been there? Was he even there?

They stared at each other, wondering what the other was thinking. After a long while, she blinked and he disappeared. 

Thinking it was some sort of mind trick to take her off guard, Ray shot up and called her saber to her hand, igniting it. She was now out of bed, slowly turning in a circle. She felt the room out with the Force to see if she was in any danger. She wasn't. 

He was gone. 

Rey placed her hand on the bed and felt the warmth where he had been.

*******

Kylo gasped and sat up. She was gone. How long had she been there? He didn't know. Seconds, minutes, hours? He had laid still all night just watching her sleep. She was dreaming peaceful dreams. About wandering through the forest. She had been so peaceful. 

Until she'd seen him.

The moment her eyes opened he felt flushed. Not that he was angry, but he was almost embarrassed.

He had been lying beside her in his sleeping robes. No one ever saw him in anything less than the black drapes he wore as Supreme Leader, not even in the training room where Kylo so often went to blow off steam. Kylo sat on the edge of his bed. The spot where Rey had been was warm, and he couldn't leave it.

"Why? After all of these months... why are we connecting again?"  Kylo thought. "Why now?" 

It made no sense. She had been just as surprised as he was. 

Rather than thinking about it too much, he got up and dressed himself. He tried to push the events of the night out of his mind. He had to get to the command tower soon. Today was the day The First Order loaded fuel from the nearby planet Kyrel, and he needed to be present to oversee operations.

His position as Supreme Leader was deliberately more hands on than Snoke's had been. Kylo wanted to know everything about The First Order. All commands were to come from him. Not Hux, but him.

He was late, but no one would question him. No one ever questioned him. He hadn't realized how long he had been trapped in his thoughts, but it was late morning.

Before he reached the tower he received a call from one of the commanding officers.

"My Lord," the commander said. "We've come across something in the hangar that you will find... interesting."

"I'm on my way."

Trying to push the events from the night as far back into his mind as possible, Kylo made his way to the open hangar where several fuel freighters had just docked. Silence fell when he entered the room, and everyone stiffened.

"Well?" Kylo barked at the commander.

"My Lord, we've found a stowaway," said Commander Skieth.

With those words Kylo felt the presence of a small being cowering at the end of the trooper line. She stood no higher than the thighs of the troopers who were holding her. Brown curly hair fell past her shoulders, and she had green eyes. She was barefoot.

Kylo clenched his jaw. He had felt fear from others before. But now, for the first time in his life, he felt fear and wanted to help. 

Help. Him. Kylo Ren, helping some stowaway that was too poor to even own a pair of boots? He pushed the feeling aside.

"Bring the girl and follow me," he commanded. She shuddered at his voice, and there was a pang in his stomach.

Two troopers grabbed the arms of the child and ushered her down the hallway, up the lift, and into the interrogation room.

The room was filled with devices that would make anyone talk, but Kylo had no reason to use them. He used the Force to get what he wanted out of people.

"Leave us. Don't wait," said Kylo. He turned and watched as the doors closed be hind the troopers until they were out of his sights and feelings. 

"Why are you here?" He asked as he slowly spun around in a half circle to face the girl. She was filthy. Her rags were ripped and she was shaking. He was surprised she wasn't in tears. He could sense her fear growing.

"Why are you here?" He was now pacing back and fourth in front of her at a slow pace, making eye contact. "Do you know what we do to stowaways?"

Her eyes were pure and innocent. This made the darkness in him ignite. "Answer me!" He barked.

She looked down. She was holding something in her hands. Kylo didn't sense it as a threat, so he didn't acknowledge her actions.

"Have it your way," he said, then spoke into his command link. "Come get the girl and put her in a holding cell until we..."

"Escape," she whispered.

Kylo looked at the child now. And felt that same feeling he felt when he first saw her. She was no more than eight years old. Terrified, dirty, hungry, sad, and hopeless. She was hopeless. 

A voice came over his link. "What was that, my Lord?" 

Kylo blinked. "Stay at your post, I'll escort her down."

The child looked up at him. She didn't say anything. He turned around to walk out the doors and she followed him without any hesitation.

He knew what he had to do.

There was liberty in power. No one questioned him. They didn't dare. The First Order, and The Empire before it, had always relied on fear to control the galaxy. That wouldn't stop with him. 

Kylo silently walked to the north end of the ship, followed by a shadow. No one noticed she was following him because his presence commanded all of their attention. Guards stiffened as he turned the corner and walked down the end of a long hall.

When he came to a stop in front of a door, he punched in his clearance code and walked inside. She moved as he moved without hesitation.