Conflicted: A Reylo Fanfic

Trapped

Knowing he had no time to spare and yet deeply reluctant to do so, Kylo released his hold on Rey, falling back with the sudden shift in the Force to land on his backside in his own quarters, rather than amid the fern fronds of Galea. He allowed himself a brief moment to vent the despair he felt at the prospect of losing Rey, then climbed to his feet. Slapping his helmet onto his head, grateful as never before for the obscurity it lent his damnably expressive countenance, he strode firmly and confidently from his chambers.

"Ready my shuttle immediately," he instructed the trooper stationed at all times outside his quarters, his long legs already directing him toward the hangar as his orders were relayed along the appropriate routes.

When he arrived, the fueling hoses were only just being released, and Kylo strode up the open ramp. Closing it immediately behind him, he took a moment to perform the most uncustomary step of checking the craft to ensure his solitude. Settling into the cockpit, he punched the comms to reach General Hux.

"What is it, Ren?"

Kylo grit his teeth in annoyance. He'd never liked the man and his refusal to address him by the honorific due his position as Emperor consistently irked him. Not for the first time, he wondered why he didn't merely replace him and reminded himself of what a colossal mistake that would be, unless he wanted to alert the fledgling Empire to the fact that its Emperor's intentions were perhaps not what everyone expected them to be.

"I am departing," Kylo informed him succinctly.

He could hear the general's slow mind turning this information over, debating whether or not to ask after his plans or timeline or rationale or whatever else he may be curious about. Whether through a sense of long-won deference to his Imperial position or merely exhaustion from the mid-sleep-cycle interruption, Kylo neither knew nor cared, but Hux chose not to pursue any further details.

"Safe travels."

Without another word, Kylo slapped the comms off and turned his focus to the deck officer who still held aloft the two crossed markers that indicated his shuttle was not yet cleared for departure. Gritting his teeth, he ventured out through the Force into the man's mind, attempting to determine what the hold up could be, and was instantly grateful he did. Having learned of the issue, Kylo shifted his attention to the technician fumbling with the emergency transponder at the back of the craft, implanting the sudden conviction that the calibration issue she'd been struggling to resolve had suddenly righted itself, even though it hadn't. He felt her slap shut the cover on the transponder compartment with a deep sense of satisfaction at her cleverness, and a moment later saw the deck officer give him the signal he awaited.

Once he was clear of the command ship, Kylo set the coordinates into the nav system along with an extra command to prevent the computer from reporting this or any further flight plans to the central Imperial database, in violation of standard operating procedure. As soon as the hyperdrive was engaged, he leaned back in his seat and removed his helmet, tossing it aside impatiently. Closing his eyes, he reached out carefully first to Cerisse, finding her in a full rage at her inability to locate the rat caught in her trap. Satisfied, he then searched for Rey. To his horror, he found her thread in his mind weak and frayed, promptly snapping under the pressure of his attempt to follow it. She was fading so much faster than he'd anticipated. He knew exactly how to bring a mind out of the prison of Cerisse's trap, but he'd never actually done it himself, having never found the need. Furthermore, he knew that the deterioration it caused to the victim's mind could prove permanent, should the extraction be delayed overly long. By the standards he was familiar with, Rey should have had at least one standard solar day. But the level of deterioration he already sensed belied that, and he was concerned he might be too late. And, if that damned traitor and his pilot thought to pull one over on him and not show up on Crait, he knew there was no hope for her.