Star Wars VIII: Shadows of the Past (7)
#7 of Star Wars
A surprising reunion turns into a shocking betrayal.
"FN-2187." Kylo Ren watched as the former stormtrooper walked into the interrogation room. He was sitting in a white chair with his arms pinned behind his back by plasma resistors. The white walls of the room were littered with windows, but there was nothing on the table in front of him.
"The name's Finn, Ren," he replied. Finn sat down across from the Sith. They were on a capital ship in orbit around D'Qar. They were to wait a day before joining everyone else at Tython. Leia had authorized Finn to interrogate Kylo for any information he could get. Outside of the room, Luke and Ray watched in case Kylo tried to escape. Looking at his face, Finn added,"Nice scar."
"It's a shame, Finn...what happened to your friend," Kylo said, ignoring the previous remark. "I guess even the best pilot in the Resistance can be brought down by the might of the First Order." He wasn't looking at his interrogator, but instead stared at the floor in front of him. Finn's hands clenched into a fist. He was ready to punch him, but Finn remembered that he had an audience behind the blaster-proof glass. Relaxing his hands, he smiled.
"Yeah? I bet the First Order isn't so mighty anymore, now that we captured Snoke's pet. I think..."
"Aren't you supposed to be interrogating me?" Kylo asked, sarcastically. With that, Finn stood up and walked out of the door.
"There wasn't anything he could give us," he said as he passed the two onlookers.
Meanwhile, Leia was on the ship's bridge, talking to an officer. "...And I want each ship to be scanned," she ordered. "Make sure they won't be able to track us like before."
"Yes, General," the officer replied. Another man walked up to Leia.
"General," he said. "You're requested at Hangar 4."
"Let them know I'm on my way," Leia told him. At the hangar, she encountered a crowd of pilots, technicians, and medical staff. All who were standing around a slightly damaged X-Wing. As she drew closer, Leia could see an orange BB unit and a pilot standing next to the ship.
"Heck, Poe, you must be invincible," she heard another pilot say.
"Poe Dameron?" Leia asked as she walked up to the pilot and his droid.
"Yes ma'am," he replied. Surprisingly, he didn't look wounded at all. Neither he nor his suit showed any sign of wear and tear. Only his ship gave proof that he had been in battle.
"Our reports said that your ship had been destroyed."
"Well, General, when I was doing reconnaissance near Ashdeca IV, I was attacked by TIE fighters. After serious damage, I hid in a nearby asteroid field with everything except the life support system turned off. That's probably why my X-Wing appeared offline." The thought-to-be-dead pilot seemed a little fake to Leia. Although she didn't correct him, she did remember that he was near Ashdeca VI not IV. Also, he mentioned taking serious damage, yet his ship looked hardly scratched.
"I see. In any case, I'm happy your back," she said, deciding not to be suspicious of anything.
That night, Kylo Ren lay in a small laser-sealed durasteel cell. There were three guards posted on him, but they had fallen asleep. He still was watched by a swivel turret and bound with resistors. Just before falling asleep himself, he heard buttons being pressed. Turning to the door to his cell, he saw, in the dimly lit hallway, a silhouette unlocking the door.
"What do you want now?" Kylo asked exhaustedly.
"Shhh," the shadow raised its figure. "I'm trying to help you escape. Now be quiet." It was a man's voice. A few more buttons were pushed and a key was inserted, and then the lasers blocking the entrance turned off in a low *VRRR*. Kylo got to his feet and slowly walked out of the cell. Looking around, he noticed the guards. "Knocked them out with this," the unknown man said, holding up a stun rod. "They'll be out for another hour. Now let me get those things off your arms." The man took out a small device and held it against the resistors, which immediately fell off. "There are escape pods one level down. Follow me." Without waiting for a reply, the man started quietly walking around a corner and down some stairs. Kylo followed close behind. Finally, they came to a set of four escape pods. The lighting was better here, and Kylo managed to see his rescuer's face. After seeing it, he quickly shoved the man against a wall and held him up by his throat.
"I remember you," Kylo said in a low voice. "You're that Resistance pilot that I caught on Jakku. The one that was supposedly dead. What was the name...Poe...Dameron?"
"Not anymore. Su...Supreme Leader sent me...ack...to rescue you," Poe strained against the fingers closing around his windpipe. "I'm your...only c-chance to escape."
"And why should I believe you?" Kylo asked. Poe was turning purple at the lack of oxygen.
"Be...cause...without me you'll never...get off...this ship," Poe strained. Kylo stared at him for a few more second, what like years to Poe, before dropping him. Gasping for air, Poe struggled to stand up. Eventually, he made his way to a control console. Typing in passwords and coordinates, he was able to open one pod. The sound of the metal door rising, mixed with the sound of steam, droned out the quiet sound of footsteps drawing closer to the two.
"Poe? Is that you?" Poe and Kylo both turned to see Finn walking slowly toward them before stopping abruptly.
"Finn. Buddy," Poe presented a fake smile as he faced his friend.
"I heard the news that you managed to esc...Poe, who's that with you?" Upon seeing Kylo's face and the escape pod he was climbing into, Finn pulled out a sidearm and started firing at the pod.
"Go!" Poe yelled to Kylo. Immediately, the pod's door began to close. Finn turned his weapon to Poe, who raised his hands above his head.
"Poe, what the heck did you just do!?" There was an alarm the blared as the escape pod shot from the ship. An airlock shut behind it to keep the room pressurized. After that, there was no sound. Both Poe and Finn remained where they were, Finn with his sidearm out and Poe with his hands raised. Suddenly, Poe gave a loud yell and charged at his opponent. Finn was caught off guard as he was sent plummeting to the floor. His blaster fell out of his hand and slid out of reach. Poe started punching like crazy. Blow after blow was sent to Finn's face.
"Aargh!" Finn yelled as he raised his own arms in defense. Having been trained in close combat fighting, he knew how to get out of this situation. Shoving a knee into Poe's stomach, he was able to pry apart his hands and deliver some hits to Poe's face. Finally, he was able to shove his assailant off of him. Scrambling to his feet, Finn quickly grabbed his fallen weapon. Not wanting to kill his friend, he slammed the butt of the weapon against the back of Poe's head, knocking him out.