The Sound of Silence

I waited impatiently outside of the interrogation cell. Meditation was impossible, because the sounds of Jami’s screams of pain and agony prevented anyone from reaching even a shallow meditative state. Not to mention the unstable flux of Jami’s Force signature, which was writhing and twisting in equal anguish with it’s owner. Leave it Hux to take his time with this one. Only the most important find since the scavenger, and Hux was going to beat her into something useless to the Supreme Leader. But Snoke had sanctioned this, so whatever happened was on Hux.

The door slid open, and a couple of Stormtroopers marched out of the room. Blood spattered their uniforms, dripping in places and dried in others. The pair saluted me before continuing on their way. I rose from where I was sitting, my legs stiff and cramped from sitting for so long, and walked uncomfortably into the room. A few other Troopers were finishing up inside, one holding a tablet and taking some final notes. Once it noticed I was there, the note-taker saluted and left without a word, leaving me with two Troopers and the prisoner.

Upon seeing Jami, I gave a single order.

“Leave,” I said calmly and evenly. “Now.”

The Troopers excused themselves quickly, leaving me alone with Jami. She was still strapped to the chair. Her hair hung loose and wild, matted sporadically with blood. Her clothes were thrown in a bloodied heap across the room, leaving her barely covered. She had numerous superficial wounds, but nothing that seemed immediately life threatening. In spite of this fact, Jami’s body trembled from the shock, lacking the strength to even hold up her own head. Her breath came in gurgling gasps, causing her to cough and spit onto the floor.

I released the clasps holding Jami to the chair, and she dropped to the floor. She cried out in pain. I bent down to help her to her feet, but my gloved hand was swatted away.

“Don’t touch me!” Jami spat.

She crawled away from me, scooting backwards until her back met the wall. Drawing her knees to her chest, she hugged them close to herself and rested her forehead on the tops of her knees. She was making a mess of the place; it would take hours for the room to be properly cleaned and sanitized. I felt my frustration with Jami grow. It couldn’t have been so terrible; Hux didn’t even take care of her personally. He was up in the command center, watching from a distance. Jami’s shuddering sob pulled me from my own thoughts.

Was she…crying? How pathetic.

“….3534,” Jami was mumbling between sobs. “UT-2816. DY-4731.”

She was rambling off Storm Trooper ID numbers? Maybe that helped her focus and get through the interrogation. Whatever works I suppose. Just hope Hux was satisfied now that he’s delayed Jami’s training for a period.

I walked over to the intercom system on the wall, leaving Jami to her own bizarre devices.

“Get a clean-up crew in Interrogation Room Five,” I growled into the mic. “And a medical team.”

“Yes, sir.” Someone responded. I began to walk out of the room, but paused at the door.

“BG-3534. UT-2816. DY-4731. QK-2965. SC-4542.” Jami was chanting, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Pain, fear, and rage rolled off her as she listed each Trooper who had done this to her in turn.

“You can think about killing those brainless buffoons all you want,” I explained. “But they were just following orders. That’s all they know how to do: obey. If you want to dispatch the real person who did this to you, then your chantings are misguided.”

Jami didn’t move from where she sat rocking, but ceased speaking immediately. She was silent for so long I thought she may not ever answer.

“Who?” She rasped, finally.

Oh, this would be so satisfying. Training her while her express goal was to kill my enemy within the First Order.

“General Hux,” I answered with a satisfied grin, though it was hidden behind my mask. “Commander of this ship.”

And with renewed confidence in my eventual victory, I walked out the door.
~~~
It took nearly a week for Jami to be recovered enough to begin her preliminary training, much to Snoke’s displeasure. Hux’s interrogation only proved to confirm the information I extracted and set Hux further back on his quest to regain Snoke’s favor. My own redemption was boosted by my overwhelming success on both my mission to acquire Jami for the First Order, and Hux’s mission to garner information on the whereabouts of the Resistance.

I watched her from across the command center. Jami Obarel. She looked different in the Knights of Ren clothes Snoke had provided. They almost didn’t suit her, at least from behind. Her back was turned to me, and she stood close to General Hux, who was gesturing at various things and people around the room. Her physical proximity to Hux displeased me, even though her delicate hands were interlocked firmly together behind her back. There was a measured distance between them, and any time Hux tried to close it, Jami increased it. That’s what happens when you torture someone for information they had already freely given to the most powerful man in the room. Suddenly, Jami turned away from whatever Hux was showing her to look back at me. A little slow, but she eventually sensed my proximity.

Hux turned when he realized Jami was no longer listening, eyeing me with disgust. I paced towards the pair, directing all my fury at the general.

“General Hux.” I said, bored.

“Kylo Ren.” Hux returned without even trying to hide his distain.

“Master Ren.” Jami said pleasantly, lowering her head.

She looked at me expectantly, since this was the first time I had spoken to her since her interrogation. I was thankful for my mask.

“You begin your training today,” I said. “We begin now. If you’ll excuse us, General.”

Hux narrowed his eyes at me but turned away without making a scene. Jami seemed more than eager to follow my brisk walk out of the command center.

The Supreme Leader had placed me in charge of Jami’s preliminary training. Today, I was bringing Jami to the make-shift temple and introducer her to the Force, and the Dark Side of it. She knew nothing of the Force, aside from her own powers, but she seemed to attribute those to her own volition, rather than a gift from the Force. I would have to start from the very beginning.

Jami trailed behind me in silence. I could hear the slight limp in her gait as her footfalls echoed off the walls of the ship.

“What did Hux want?” I asked irritatedly.

“I’m not sure,” Jami answered immediately. “I wasn’t really listening to him. I’m sorry.”

“And why is that?” I pressed. She didn’t need to be sorry about ignoring Hux. I had made it one of my personal goals: ignore Hux forever.

“I simply wasn’t interested in what he had to say,” Jami explained, her voice casual. “The Supreme Leader made it clear who I am to answer to, and it’s not General Hux.”

I smiled to myself, in spite of Jami missing my true question. Perhaps training Jami wouldn’t be as taxing as I thought. She is already completely obedient to the Supreme Leader, and, in a sense, me. Plus, Jami’s pretty adept at reading Snoke’s impressions of his two most devoted servants, and Jami clearly wants to be on the winning side.

My private sanctuary, where I did most of my training and meditation, served as a make-shift temple and training area. My more personal areas, however, would remain off-limits. I opened the door to the sanctuary and Jami followed me inside.

“What do you know of the Force?” I asked once Jami was seated across from me on the floor of the sanctuary.

Jami shrugged, but said nothing. I sighed to myself. I guess I would have to start from the beginning.

“The Force,” I explained, my mind dredging up memories of my past. “Is an energy that connects all living things in the galaxy, able to be used and manipulated by those sensitive to its power. You are one of those who can feel and use the Force. Your blood confirms it.”

Jami looked confused. “My blood?”

I nodded. There was enough of the stuff splattered all over the walls and floor of the interrogation room to provide a decent blood sample. Her midichlorian count was elevated to be sure, but not as highly as mine, nor Darth Vader’s. But she should grow into a strong user of the Force.

“Long ago, all Force users were joined together,” I continued. “Under the false pretense that self-contemplation and passivity were the superior method of controlling the Force. It was only after one enlightened user realized the true potential of the Force was the true nature and power of the Force revealed: the Dark Side over the Light. Power lies in darkness, weakness must dwell in the light.”

The power of the dark side lies in the user’s emotions and willingness to turn to violence to solve problems. The passive nature of the Jedi has proven to be their downfall time and again, from the first schism that created the Sith and the Jedi, to when my grandfather destroyed nearly all the Jedi and their pathetic Senate, to when I destroyed the New Jedi Order and Snoke obliterated the Republic. The Dark Side reigned supreme, crushing the Light beneath its all-power heel.

“The more in tune with your emotions,” I finished. “The more powerful with the Force you will become. It is my duty to teach you to embrace and harness your most powerful emotions and allow them to direct the Force to your will.”

Jami’s eyes sparkled in dark delight. I was glad suddenly, a foreign feeling of happy anticipation warming my chest. Perhaps breaking the Rule of Two, the rule created long ago that limited the number of Dark Side Force users to two - Master and Apprentice - was the smart move after all. It was due to this rule that Darth Vader was defeated in the first place. His Master underestimated him and it proved to be their downfall. Snoke and I would not make the same mistake with Jami.

“The Dark Side will feel, at first,” I explained. “Like a flickering flame. If you feed it, it will grow strong and true. It will give you strength and guidance.”

“Master Ren?” Jami cut in.

I felt my anger bubbling in my chest. I clenched my fists.

“What?” I spat. Jami visibly flinched.

“Why is the Supreme Leader having you train me?” Jami asked, her voice quiet. “I’m just some bath house servant, and I’m not even good at that. I’ve given the First Order all the information I know, so why keep me around? Because I can see the Force or something? The First Order has the Supreme Leader for that, and it has you. Why do you even need me?”

I sighed to myself.

“The First Order exists to banish disorder,” I growled. “And promote progress. Such a stability is deeply steeped in the Dark Side of the Force, beginning with the Galactic Empire, reduced to anarchy and chaos by the Rebel Alliance and their useless Republic. It is our task to restore order to the Galaxy.”

Jami stared at the floor, her brow furrowed in frustration. She still wasn’t understanding her place in all this.

“The reason you were stuck in that bath house was because the Resistance, the newest threat to our cause, wanted you there. They knew of your abilities and wanted to suppress you. They already had their savior, the girl who came to your bath house all those months ago. Rey.”

The name tasted sour in my mouth. The scavenger of Jakku had left her mark on me already. I hungered for the opportunity to return the favor.

“So they kept you there,” I continued. “And allowed you to suffer. Because their great saviors weren’t ready for you. They underestimated you. The Supreme Leader understands your power. He guided me to you, and I rescued you. We see you for your true value, not as a pawn to be set aside and sacrificed later. Don’t you want to punish them for all they have done to you?”

I felt the sudden spike in energy in Jami. Her eyes were clouded, her shoulders slumped, fists clenched.

“Yes,” Jami said through gritted teeth. “And learning about this Force stuff will help me?”

I nodded.

“I will teach you the ways of the Force,” I replied, my thoughts flashing briefly to that snowy scape, and the battle with Rey. “And together we can destroy those responsible for your internment, and everyone who ever wronged you.”

Jami raised her gaze, her eyes locked with mine as if she could see through my mask. Anger, betrayal, hatred, fear. They flowed through Jami and jumbled together into a tumultuous storm of emotions.

And at the center, the flickering flame.

Jami was ours.