Chapter 21.

Creeping into the dark and silent room, Rey held her breath as her feet lightly moved across the floor, noticing the empty beds she had passed earlier. She was not expecting Sano to be the only person to stay in the room, though she was not surprised given his attitude since he arrived.

Swallowing hard as the door shut, she used the little light that was offered to her from the hall, reaching her beneath the door. Sneaking to the edge of the bunk Sano claimed, she let the force take over her, not wanting to tune into it in fear that it would distract her before.

Rey allowed the flow to quiet her nerves, and as the force overcame her, she realized the presence in the room was Sano, but he was awake, as if expecting her.

With that, her eyes widened as the light flickered on above her, the dim bulb clinging on to dear life.

Sano filled her view, sitting up in his bed, glaring at her with cold, empty eyes. His fingers drummed against his leg, and Rey's blood ran cold as her eyes trailed down to his other hand that was holding a black and red blaster, pointed directly at her.

Ideas rushed through her head, ten at a time, on how to get out of the situation, thinking of how to conjure up the force to block his shot if her dared to fire, but in the moment, she could not deny that her fear took over, and everything else was blocked out.

"Sano, please." she begged.

"Don't you start. I don't know why you are here, but I could only guess it was you that came looking for something. I know you took the map. But, why would you return?" He asked, almost to himself. He steadily kept the blaster pointed at her as he stood from the bed, stepping closer to her.

"Tell me. Why are you trying to get to Cinnon'Ra?" Sano's hooded and angry gaze scared her just as much as his frigid and emotionless tone.

All Rey could do was stare up at him, her breathing growing heavy, as she felt the cold, hard metal of his blaster touch her through the cloth on her stomach.

She debated mind tricking him, maybe even out-maneuvering him and fighting him off, but she was in the end, weaponless, and he was the one with the big blaster placed directly on her. She couldn't take the chance of moving, or even trying any trick on him, not sure that it would work after trying it on Kylo Ren.

Sano moved the blaster from her abdomen, and pointed it directly at her forehead as he backed her up against the wall. "Tell me!"

Whimpering, Rey shook her head, not having any answer she could possibly give him, and from the corner of her view, she saw the glint of the kyber crystal shine from the hand that held the gun.

The hum was more vibrant than ever, the hunger and pull hitting her harder. Simply being so close to it was satisfying, but her hand twitched for it, her desire aching. Rey wanted to break from it, to shake her head in hopes that the trance would end, but she couldn't.

With a furrowed brow, Sano watched her eyes grow dark as she watched the ring on his finger. Adjusting the gun slightly so he could turn and look at his own hand, Rey noticed his slight distraction and acted on the chance now that the gun was not pointed towards her.

Ducking beneath his arm, she pushed with all her weight to take him to the ground, knocking him over a small chest that lay in front of an empty bed. Sano yelled his frustration, his hand losing the grip he had on the blaster as it slid from his hand and clattered to the floor.

His fist swung to hit her side as she crashed onto him, Sano's hit missing as they both fell to the ground.

Sano quickly bucked beneath her, flipping Rey onto her back as his elbow came down to connect with her cheek, however Rey sensed this and moved her head to the side before she was hit, a swift reminder of the force that beckoned her to use it's will, just as the ring came back into view as he aimed to strike again.

Unwillingly, her mind reached out to Kylo, begging the bond to open, but nothing happened, and distracted by her mind's call, she was hit in the stomach by a large fist that knocked the breath from her.

Wincing as Sano pushed himself off of her, kicking her in the same spot he had previously hit, he stood and she watched as he reached for the blaster and pointed it at her again. He scowled at her, his hand gripping the gun as he towered over her, Rey holding her injured side that was already turning black and blue.

Sano knew he had to make this quick, with all the noise, he was sure someone would have heard by now.

"Listen here, Jedi. I won." Sano spat, the blaster pointed only a couple of inches away from her abdomen. She lifted a weak hand and placed it over his as he gripped the gun tighter.

For a moment, he felt a rush of warmth and peace wash over him, nearly making him question why he was doing this, and the feeling was quickly gone when he felt Rey shudder, peering up at him with tear stained cheeks. He knew then, he had broken her bones with that kick.

Regaining his composure, remembering the challenge, remembering why he was there to begin with and the mission he had to accomplish, he shrugged her small hand off of his, pressed the point of the blaster to her bruised stomach, and fired his weapon.

"Re- Supreme Leader! Where are you going? We haven't gotten the fleet together, we can ready them up i-" Hux began through his comm channel to Kylo Ren, who was piloting his personal ship.

Kylo cursed, muting the general, hissing through his teeth as call beacon came in again.

Here he was, trying to save the same scavenger that refused him, tried to kill him, to end his rule...

Shaking his head, he clenched his teeth as he took off, his ship flying through lightspeed as he weighed his options and came up with a plan.

After some time, Kylo's ship came into view of a small island of the empty planet, Excora. In the dark of the night, he was able to easily spot the base he knew Rey was at. Using the force, he tried to reach out to her again as he attempted numerous times on his way out there, but was unsuccessful once more.

He was about to curse again, but was stopped abruptly as he watched a rouge ship take off from the base, bullets and blaster shots gunning for the rear of it, missing terribly. Kylo quickly moved his ship to the side of the island, out of view from the base but was able to keep watch on the other ship as it reared around and aimed back towards the grounds, shooting it's own retaliation.

Kylo thought for a moment as chaos erupted before him. He could not think of anyone who would be behind this, keeping in mind that he had his own eyes on Hux at all times. In no way could it be a troop from the First order.

Which meant, he thought, the Resistance leader must have angered someone.

He gulped, not having thought of her for quite some time. Kylo knew she was here, just inside that base that this stranger was shooting up...

Moving his ship just a bit, he watched the base, his mind timidly reaching out to feel her presence, and felt it so strongly his breath stopped, nearly able to feel her there with him in his . She was surprised, she was scared, she was trying to run...

''

His thumb slowly fell away from the trigger he was about to pull to fire on the other ship, to stop the fight it started... And then, the visual of Rey bleeding to her death on the floor of his chambers filled his mind.