The Sound of Silence

This planet was amiable enough. Temperate of climate, at least in this region. I understood now why this place was once a popular retreat for members of the now obliterated Republic. I found myself scowling at their memory, even as I stalked forward towards my welcome party.

Hux’s Stormtroopers had rounded up most of the staff and guests of the bath house already and were awaiting my orders on how to proceed. I paused before the group, taking in the fear rolling off them in great, delicious waves. This is why Snoke had me complete my training, why I banished all notions towards the Light. Instilling fear in my enemies, that was my great gift.

“Sir,” one Trooper stepped towards me. “There are still others inside, including the leader of the establishment.”

The owner and operator of the bath house was our official target, one General Hux was most eager to acquire. The Troopers knew their orders were to bring in this person alive for questioning.

“What shall we do with these prisoners here, Sir?” The Trooper continued, hands on his blaster.
I reached out into the amassed captives with the Force. I was greeted overwhelmingly by fear, with mixed in anger and hatred. There were people in this group loyal to either the Resistance or the defunct Republic. But who could say which of those captured were these lecherous fiends?

“Eliminate them,” I ordered coldly. “I’ll head the search for the Resistance sympathizer myself.”

I strode away, the sounds of orders being barked and blasters firing becoming fainter as I moved through the blasted remains of the entrance.

The warm, aromatic smells of the bath house filled my helmet most unpleasantly. Hux’s Stormtroopers were sweeping the area, searching the premises for the ally of the Resistance. But I was there for different reasons. Supreme Leader Snoke had given me a more pertinent mission. We had felt a disturbance in the Force coming from this area. It was my duty to find this new Force-user and bring them under the protection of the First Order before they could fall into the hands of the Resistance, and therefore, Luke Skywalker.

I closed my eyes and reached out for any sign of the Force-user. It made the most logical sense that they would be hidden here, under the watchful eye of the Resistance sympathizer. I just hoped that we were not too late, and the Force-user hadn’t already been passed off into the hands of the dreaded Resistance. Supreme Leader Snoke was not about to allow another potential Jedi come under their power.

I felt a flicker of energy as I probed the space around me. They were here, and close. I broke away from the Storm Troopers as they began firing indiscriminately at the stragglers. I could feel the fear beginning to form in the Force-user, and I grinned inwardly. Fear was something Snoke and I could work with, so long as we could capture this person before they made an escape. I drew my saber, stalking through the chaos, my focus completely attuned to the other person on this pathetic planet who felt the Force. I could feel their fear and panic, the strength of their emotions resonating in my chest. Who was this person who affected the Force so strongly? The draw to the light was especially strong here, but I forced those thoughts away easily. Snoke needed this person, and so did I. We would need the support to destroy the Resistance and the Jedi, once and for all.

I rounded a corner, a flash of movement just in my periphery drawing my attention further down the hallway. Amongst the blaster fire and the hum of my drawn saber, I heard a door slamming. I paced confidently down the hall, the aura of the Force-user growing stronger and stronger. I wondered if they could feel my presence as strongly as I felt theirs. I came to the only door in the area, and sliced it open with my saber. Whoever it was I was looking for, I would find them in here. The room, on the surface, looked empty and still. But I could feel the fear rolling off my target. Good, this person should fear me. The silence in the room was only broken by the crackling of my saber as I slowly searched the room. They were in here, I knew it. I could feel it.

I sensed two people in the room, but only one was the person I wanted. The other was disposable, but which was which? There was more apparent fear coming from one person, and more mild annoyance coming from the other.

There was movement behind me and someone crashed into my back. Big mistake. I threw the attacker over my shoulder, slamming them onto the floor. It was a man, and he wheezed as all the air left his lungs as his back was crushed. I grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him up so he was eye level. I searched his mind briefly, but found no evidence of the Force within it. I jabbed my saber through his chest, holding it there as the man writhed in agony. For a moment, I saw my father’s face, but I blinked it away. The man was dead before he hit the floor.

There was a shadow of movement coming from beneath a draped table, followed by a quiet scuffing noise. There. I swung my saber at the table, slicing it clear in two. Someone stood, unflinching, next to the broken remains of the table. It was a girl, thin in stature, but strong. Her clothes, emblazoned with the number fourteen, were in disarray, and her bare feet were covered in dirt. She stared at me in wonder, her eyes bright under the red glow of my saber. I could feel the Force flowing through her as her fear dissipated.

This was my target? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Again with the girls being Force-sensitive? This one seemed already less impressive than the scavenger, since at least Rey had the sense to fight back. This one stood gawking like a child, though I could tell from the curvature of her body that she had long since left childhood behind.

“You’re with the First Order,” She said, her voice tinged with excitement. “You’re the one they’ve been talking about.”

I took several steps towards her, taking care to step over the lifeless body of her companion.

“Who’s been talking about?” I inquired, my grip tightening on my saber. I could make her talk if she refused to answer me.

“Mistress,” She answered immediately. “And some of the guests. They were worried you would come. They knew he’d come looking for-“

She stopped speaking abruptly, her body tensing as she shook her head. She remained silent.

“Do you know who I am, girl?” I growled, irritation rising.

The girl let out a shaky breath.

“Kylo Ren,” She answered breathily. “Master of the Knights of Ren and right-hand to Supreme Leader Snoke, of the First Order.”

Impressed as I was, I needed to get more from this girl. And get her to safety.

“And do you know what I do to those who defy the First Order?” I hissed.

The girl’s eyes shifted poignantly to the corpse, and I sensed a glimmer of delight grow within her before to turned her focus back to me. She didn’t elaborate further from that sideways glance. I grit my teeth in anger.

“Tell me where your ‘mistress’ is hiding,” I growled. “Or meet the same fate.”

“Her office is on the top floor,” She said immediately. “I can take you up the service lift to get you there more directly.”

And with that, she brushed past me, pausing only to spit on the man I had dispatched, and hurried into the hallway. I guess I had no other choice than to follow her.

The halls were quiet and littered with bodies, most of them dressed similarly to my escort, though each had a different number. Did this bath house run on slave labor? If only the Resistance knew one of their financiers was active in the slave trade. They wouldn’t feel so superior then. The girl’s feet were soon stained by blood, and she often slipped and slid on the gore. After her sixth slip, I grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her along beside me. She hissed in pain at the strength of my grip

“It’s just around this corner,” She directed. “I have the security cipher.”

Once we were facing the lift, I threw the girl’s arm away from me. She was thrown off balance, and she slammed painfully into the metal door of the lift. She groaned in pain, but recovered quickly, sliding a card produced from the pocket of her pants over a security panel.

“It only fits one person,” She explained. “So you’ll have to go alone.”

She held out the card to me without looking at me directly.

“You’ll need this to get through the next check point. After that, I’m sure your weapon will be enough.”

With that, she backed up against the wall, her neck bent and her eyes downcast. She clasped her hands together in front of her and stood stock still. I couldn’t leave her there where she was so vulnerable. If Hux’s incompetent Stormtroopers came along and saw her alive, they would mow her down without realizing her worth. The service elevator looked like it would barely fit me, but that was inconsequential. This girl was coming with me. I grabbed her roughly by the arm and shoved her into the service elevator before squeezing in myself. She seemed shocked and uncomfortable, but she didn’t vocalize any protest.

Once the door shut, the ride to the top floor was agonizing. The floral and herbal smells from the bath floor dissipated, replaced by the smell of blood and sweat. During this time, I was able to get a better look at my captive. She was pressed against my chest, and I could feel her short, shallow breaths. Her face was smudged with dirt, along with her clothes. She had pale, blond hair that was tied back messily, her neck peppered with bruises of various shades, which was curious. Did those have anything to do with the man she seemed so pleased to see dead?
The lift shuddered to a stop, the door sliding open. The girl toppled into the hallway, falling backwards and rolling to a stop. She was on her feet again before I could even react, even darting around a corner before I could freeze her to where she stood.

There was one, staccato blaster fire, followed by a shrill, feminine scream.

Shit.

I raced out of the lift and around the blind corner. The room opened up immediately into a modest office area. The servant girl was standing beside a vacant desk, looking down in horror at something out of my view. I could smell the sharp, metallic scent of blood, along with the singularly unique odor of burning flesh. I charged towards the desk, slicing through it angrily once the smoking corpse of the bath house mistress came into view. In her hand was a blaster, which she had used to shoot herself point-blank in the head.

Rage filled me to the point of dizziness. The Resistance had won again, all their secrets and information dying with their coward accomplice. I slammed my saber into the remaining pieces of the desk, the walls, the windows, anything within my reach. I roared in fury, anticipating the retribution I would receive at the hands of Snoke. Not to mention how moody and obnoxious Hux would be now that his target had just eliminated itself. We were desperate for information on the Resistance now that they had possession of Rey and Skywalker. This was one of our last leads.

The girl looked on, her face blank and composed as she stared down at the body of her mistress. Seeing her stand there, shoulders slumped and eyes clouded in confusion caused a certain level of clarity to wash over me.

“You,” I growled, the girl turning to look at me in alarm. “You said she knew we were coming.”

She stared blankly at me.

“What else do you know? What more did they tell you? You’re with the Resistance!” I hissed.
“What? No-“ She began, but with a wave of my hand I rendered her unconscious.

Her limp frame crumpled to the floor with a satisfying thud. I couldn’t leave her here to her fate. Her potential knowledge of the Resistance made her even more valuable to the First Order, on top of her Force sensitivity. I sighed loudly to myself. Time to face the music.

I collected the girl’s unconscious form, holding her protectively to my chest as I stormed through the bath house. Hux may be furious with me, but Snoke would be pleased. I successfully kept this girl out of the hands of the Resistance, and, hopefully, that would be enough.