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I sprint through the halls of the ship, claws and wings flickering around my form. There is sound here, so I know I'm awake, but I need to see... I need to see...
I collide with someone, and land skidding, digging my claws into the ground. I turn, and it's Ren. For a moment we stare at each other, some feral terror connecting us. Then he smiles, more of a baring of the teeth.
"The creature." He says. "Apparently you are not invincible."
"You only wish you were as strong as me." I snarl, my shifting state making the sound harsh, deep. An echo of a roar. It makes Ren's smile drop, and he gives me a once-over before spinning on his heel and leaving.
The scar was a black line down his face, covered in a fine mesh of stitches, but it stretched from temple to neck. A massive gouge in his skin.
I keep running.
~~~
The bridge is mostly empty when I enter, a few technicians glancing up at me in disinterest before returning to their work. In the main window, I see the swirling blues and blacks of hyperspace, and on the map are two dots. Once has the combined codes of the Destroyer fleet, and the other is the serial number for the Rebellion ship. A path has been plotted behind, and I sway slightly on my feet as the time checks out.
I shattered my wing - my arm. Broke my foot. Those are wounds that even for me can take weeks to heal. I woke up an hour later.
The pulsing beacons take up my vision. Hux's words repeat in my mind. We are so close. So close to finishing this once and for all.
I step back, and someone touches me on the back. I twist rapidly, and Hux leaps back, his hands tugging back. He takes in the wild eyes and defensive stance, and approaches again.
"Breathe, Shade."
"I healed..." I manage. "In one hour." I flex my hands, staring at my skin, my nails. "That does not happen. I do not-"
"Hey. You healed. That is a good thing. That is not something to panic about."
"But-"
"What are your concerns?" Hux grabs me by the shoulders, holding me fast, grounding me. "What has you so terrified?"
"If I can heal so fast, what is stopping Snoke from putting me into the thick of battle as an invincible, reusable weapon?" I can't even say it aloud.
"How is that any different from how he treats you now?"
"I am the Swift Knife. The Shade. I arrive from the shadows, perform the killing blow, and vanish away. If he knew I could regenerate so fast, then I would become his Sword, his Starkiller base." I can imagine it now, facing off with the entire Rebellion fleet, their lasers unable to hurt me, having to resort to suicide-crashing me into the ground, only for me to stand up minutes later, limbs and wings rebuilding themselves before their very eyes.
Oh gods, it would hurt.
We have to end this.
"He's not going to send you away. We are going to keep you safe."
"We need to destroy the Rebellion." I gasp. "Now."
As if I predicted it, a siren calls out for just a moment, warning of rapid deceleration of the Destroyer. A moment later, we drop from Hyperspace, and the Rebellion fleet is just ahead, tiny and small.
Then a great shadow pulls overhead, and I look up to see the massive wings of the Supremacy, crossing over all visible space above the Finalizer.
