The Other Solo

Chapter 37

Starkiller Base

The sound of TIE fighters scream in the distance awakening Rey abruptly. She looks down to see she is confined by a restraining rig. Sensing she's not alone she looks up to find Kylo Ren sitting in front of her.

"Where am I?" She asks trembling.

"You're my guest." Kylo Ren answers in his mechanical voice.

Beads of sweat form on her face even though the room is freezing. "Where are the others?"

"You mean the murders, traitors and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear that I have no idea."

Rey stares at him as he speaks, anger and rage well within her.

"You still want to kill me." He is intrigued by her.

Defiant she replies, "That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask."

After a moment, Ren reaches up and clicks his mask open. Steadily he rises while at the same time removing his mask.

Rey can't believe her eyes. A young man stands before her, not deformed but handsome with familiar features. He feels her curiosity and confusion. She watches as he sets the helmet down.

He moves to her side towering over her. "Tell me about the droid."

"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator..." She tries to sound unintimidated and keeps her eyes fixed ahead.

"He's carrying a section of a navigational chart. We have the rest recovered from the archives of the Empire..."

She jumps at his words and they lock eyes.

"We need the last piece. And somehow you convinced the droid to show it to you."

Rey looks forward again, tears welling in her eyes. She left BB-8 in the woods. What has happened to him?

"You. A scavenger." Distain drips from Kylo Ren's words.

Rey is stunned by what he says. How did he know who she was?  Fear rises in her.

"You know I can take what ever I want." He looks over her greedily like scavengers fighting over rations.

She gasps has he reaches out to her, his head almost touching hers. He's probing her mind and she can feel it. Flashes of her memories are shared between the two, almost intimately. She tries to block him out but he pushes harder and pain follows.

"You're so lonely... so afraid to leave." He grins knowing he is touching a nerve. " At night desperate to sleep... you imagine an ocean. I see it. I see the island..."

Tears flow freely down her face as she tries to resist.

"And Han Solo..." He contiues spitting with disgust. " You feel like he's the father you never had. He would have disappointed you."

The thought of Han, Chewie and Finn comes up and she feels an energy, a fierceness rise.

"Get out of my head."

He moves in front of her, hand still raised. "I know you've seen the map. It's in there... And now you'll give it to me."

Rey leans forward trying to block him from going any further.

"Don't be afraid. I feel it too." He continues cockily.

"I'm not giving you anything."

"We'll see." He peers at her and she maintains eye contact.