Star Wars: Episode IX - The New Order

Audrey

Kylo's P.O.V.

"Ben?" She says with tears streaming down her face. She looks at me with utter shock. I don't know what to do so I look at her expressionless. I look away from her and up at the stormtroopers. "Stand her up." The two troopers grabs both of her arms and lifts her up and then let go of her. I look at her. "Take us to your living quarters." She looks at me still confused but obeys my request.

After about 5 minutes of walking we get to a little cabin. Perfect size for one person. She walks into the cabin with the troopers and I following her, but right before the troopers go in, I stop them. "Wait here and guard." I turn around and close the door. Her house is very simple and small. Not much furniture, but enough just for her. She turns around and looks at me. "Ben? Is it really you?"

I look at the ground ashamed of what I did 6 years ago. "Yes."

"What happened after you..." She trails off. I know what she was about to say, and I'm glad she didn't. "I turned." I say quietly.

"Well obviously. I know you go by a new name."

I lift my head and look at her. Her brown chocolate hair goes a little bit below her shoulders. I forgot how tall she was. She's still 6 foot. Almost as tall as me. I remember the freckles she has all over her face, I'll never forget those. Her blue but also green eyes stare, waiting for me to say something. "And you? What did you do?"

"I joined the rebel fleet and then I came here and decided to live on my own for awhile."

"How long have you been here?"

"About two years now."

"Hmm."

There's an awkward silence because neither of us know what to say. But she eventually breaks the silence. "You wanna know how I survived that night?"

I don't say anything and look back at the ground regretting what I did.

She continues, "When you... when you stabbed me, you missed. You hit right in between my torso and my leg so your lightsaber didn't hit any major vital organs. You hit me so fast, you didn't even notice. You didn't even care. And then Luke found me and realized that I was still alive and used the force to help me. He helped the wound but not a lot so he had to take me to a rebel base that was close by and then they kept me there until I was healed. After that I didn't have anywhere else to go so I just stayed with them."

I look up at her. "Luke knew about you?"

"Yeah. I guess he didn't tell you because he knew you'd come after me. Well, that didn't really help."

"Yeah. He's dead by the way."

"I know. I felt it."

"Do you still use the force?"

"No, not since that night."

"Oh."

"But when you did stab me, at least I got a cool scar out of it." She pulls down the side of her pants just a bit to show the scar. I look at it but only for a second. I don't want be reminded of it than I already have to be.

A moment goes by and she looks at me and sighs. "Ben, I know you're here not to just visit me and say hello, so what do you want?"

"I need to know where the Resistance Base is."

"I can't help you. The last time I knew where they were is when they were on D'Qar. I haven't heard from anybody since."

"Audrey, I know you. You have an idea about where they are. You're always so full of ideas."

"Maybe, but not about where they are."

"Hmm." I look around.

"You won't find anything. I haven't even spoke with anybody connected to the Resistance since I've been living here. But why do you want to know where they are. I mean, yes, you are the Leader of the First Order, but I sense a different reason."

"There is no other reason."

"Maybe that's what you want to believe."

She grabs my arm and closes her eyes in one swift move. I shrug her hand off of my arm and she opens her eyes. She looks at me and narrows her eyes. "You're right, I do have an idea. It's a girl. You have mixed feelings. You don't hate her. You don't love her. It's something else." I stare at her knowing that she's right. She pauses. "It's passion. Not a good or bad passion. You haven't figured that out yet."

She takes a couple steps towards me and looks closer at my eyes. "Or have you?"

"No." I say quietly denying it.

"You can't hide your feelings... Kylo Ren." She pauses, "That's a poor excuse for a name." I glare at her and about to say a comeback but the door opens and a stormtrooper barges in. I turn around and yell, "What did I say-"

"-Sir, the hacker has succeeded. He found the Resistance." I nod. "Go and take her with you," I say pointing at Audrey. The stormtrooper passes me and towards her. He grabs her hands and cuffs them together. "Why are you making me a hostage, you found the Resistance now let me go." She says.

"No. We might need you." I look at the trooper. "Now go." The trooper pulls her out of the cabin with me following.

When we get to the ship the trooper carries her on board. I'm about to go on with them but a trooper with a red shoulder pad stops me. "Sir, what should we do with the villagers?" I inhale air to speak but my surroundings stop and it goes silent. I look to my left and she's standing about 10 feet away from me. I didn't connect us, she did. She's looking at me but not glaring at me for once. What is she thinking? I'm about to go into her mind when she gets a worried face then turns around quickly and fades away. "Sir?" I look at the confused trooper, "The villagers?"

I take a deep breath. "Let them be." I say quietly.

"But, sir-"

"-I said, Let. Them. Be!"

The trooper nods and signals the other troopers to be at ease. They take the guns away from the villagers' heads. I turn around and go on the ship. I go to the control panel where the pilot is. "To the Resistance Base and notify every ship to go to go there too." He looks up at me while in his seat. "Sir, we still don't know where it is?"

"What?" I say angrily.

"The hacker wants his money first."

I sigh. "Fine. Get me to Crait now."

He nods and lifts up the ship off the ground. I walk back to the where all the passengers are. I look around. It's just Audrey. The Captain and the trooper must of went on a different ship. I sit on the seat across from Audrey. She glares at me.
"What?" I ask.

"This will only hurt you in the end. You don't know what you're doing."

"And you do?"

"No, but I know it's not going go the way you think."

I look away from her. She always had this way of seeing right through people, even me. But I need to do this. I need to destroy the Resistance. I need to become what I'm really meant to be. If I have to, I'll destroy Rey too. At least that's what I keep telling myself to hide myself from the truth.