The Cruellest Thing

The End

When she came to, the first thing she felt was a splitting headache. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes: a harsh light right above her made her squint. For a moment she was confused as to where she was, but then she remembered her flight and the strange black droid.

She buried her face in her hands, dread and despair slowly sinking in. They'd got her. She was no doubt prisoner of the First Order, kept in a cage on one of the countless star destroyers. Waiting to be interrogated or tortured.

Rose took a deep breath. Calm down, she told herself. She had to keep a cool head. She could still fix this ... somehow. She cracked an eye open and waited until she got used to the light, then she sat up. Only now she realised that she had been lying on a metallic bed with a thin mattress. She looked around: she was in a small room, nothing besides the bed and a toilet. The dark floor had been wax-polished to the point where she could almost see herself as a blurred reflection. The walls were painted in black, and so was the door.

She slowly got up and limped closer to the door: it was a metallic sliding door with no handles. She checked for panels or any access point, but there was nothing.

She chewed on her lips. The wires to the door had to run through the wall. The question was how she could get to them. She returned to the bed and sat down, holding her right arm. Dull pain was spreading out from her broken bone. The splint was gone, so was the rag that had held it. She was still wearing her dirty overalls. Her bones hadn't been mended. Had she been out for only a couple of hours? Or hadn't they bothered to clean her up because her fate was sealed?

Before she could muse further on the topic the door slid open and a tall man entered. It took her a moment to recognize him, but when she did, she felt a lump form in her throat: Hux was wearing an impeccable uniform, polished boots, of course he was also clean shaved and his hair had been slicked back. His face seemed harsh and square. All softness was gone. He had apparently shed it like snakeskin.

A cold, merciless sadist, she thought with a shudder. This was the man who had killed billions, casually ordered her friends to death and he looked every bit the part. How could've she forgotten? What had she ever seen in him? She pressed her lips to a thin line and stared at him.

"Supreme Leader Ren is keen to get the location of your base," Hux said in a neutral voice. "Tell us and we'll let you clean up properly and get you medical attention."

"You know that I won't talk," she said. She couldn't keep the fear out of her voice.

He looked around as if he wanted to make sure that nobody was watching them, then he stepped closer and sat down next to her. "Please talk. Nobody can withstand Ren. We can compensate you-"

"Do you think I want to be tortured?" she snapped. "I'm no hero, I'm scared shitless. But I owe it to my sister and my friends to try."

"It's pointless," he said and for a moment there was worry apparent on his face.

"No, it's pointless to try to convince me to sell out. If- if you would've just let me kill myself on the planet-" she broke off. She pulled herself together and looked him straight in the eye. "If you have any respect for me whatsoever you'll leave your dagger here so I can finish the job before Ren tears through my mind."

He gulped and got up. "I can't do that."

She thought about telling him that Ren would also know what they had done on the planet, what Hux had told her. She glanced at Hux, the smooth, cold Hux she had forgotten about. And for a moment she wished they were still on the planet, holding each other in the darkness. Kissing and caressing each other in silence.