To Try Our Souls: PART I OF 'TO CURSE THE DARKNESS' (Kylo x Reader)

Triage

The claxons continued to blare as the wounded streamed non-stop into the Finalizer's medical bay while the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer escaped from the gravity well of the imploding Starkiller Base. The med bay was bedlam and we were straining to contain the number of troops needing attention when General Hux and two senior staff arrived with a figure clad in black, splayed prone on a repulsor gurney.

"Lieutenant Sharva!" Hux barked at me. "Get over here, you're needed, now!"

"Take over, Ensign Meech," I directed my young colleague as I left our Stormtrooper patient in his care and rushed to Hux's side. Anyone seeing the General and I standing together may have mistaken us for siblings, so similar were our red tresses, but that's where the similarity ended.

Looking down at the gurney the staff had delivered I saw, very unlike Hux's and mine, a head of very thick, dark hair matted into a jagged tear across a cheek, and a body scorched, maimed and hemorrhaging. The man's visage was twisted in a grimace, his eyes shut tightly behind the ventilation mask feeding him a lifeline of oxygenation.

"I'll need to get him undressed so I can ascertainꟷ"

"Not here, you don't," Hux whispered huskily. "He needs to be taken to a private area," he commanded as he dismissed the two men at his side.

I looked at Hux askance. "What, why, General? Forgive me, but I can't leave the triage area," I explained, waving toward the rest of the infirmary. "I have twenty other patients who need me, Sir! Do you not realize we just had a major disaster?" I demanded incredulously.

Hux shoved his finger in my face. "You can, and you will, Lieutenant!" he fumed as I retreated. "Do you know who this is?" he demanded tightly.

I looked again at the patient on the gurney. He'd now turned his head to the side and I was able to see his profile as well as a wound in his right shoulder. What struck me, however, was the helmet next to his hip. It was black and silver with a textured surface, no mouth and narrow eye slits... I inhaled sharply, my hand flying to my face.

"Yes," Hux confirmed, "and you will find an isolated area to administer treatment to him or I will have you summarily brought up on charges of insubordination!" he spat as he turned on his heel and marched out of the med suite.

"Yes, Sir," I saluted solemnly at his retreating figure. "Ensign Meech!" I cried across the infirmary as I tucked the mask discreetly under the patient's cloak. "Please come help me, we need to get this patient to a private area."

Meech rushed to my side and yanked the surgical mask down from his sweaty face. "All of the rooms are occupied, Lieutenant," he reported breathlessly. Frustration overwhelmed me as I neared my limit. I'd been treating troopers for six hours straight and I was running out of patience and energy. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

"Meech, let's get this stretcher out into the hallway," I ordered.

"We're not going to treat him in the hallway, are we, Lieutenant?" he asked in disbelief as we slid the gurney through the automated doors.

"No," I replied, "we're going to treat him in his own room. Grab a trauma cart, burn treatments, and follow me."

As I hauled the burdened gurney down the hallway, I couldn't help staring down at my patient. I could see his jaw was clenched tightly against what must have been an inordinate amount of pain, but he hadn't made so much as a single moan despite the fact that he had suffered multiple wounds located who-only-knew where. I was going to have hours of work ahead of me, and a man's life in my hands – Kylo Ren's life.

I stopped at a directory panel and looked up the location of his quarters which, thankfully, appeared to be situated at the far end of one of the lower levels, giving us the privacy needed to hide his condition from prying eyes and ears. I wasn't sure how much pain the treatment would cause and I couldn't risk anyone hearing him scream.