Till there are no stars left in the sky

Part 3

The shock that registered across her face intrigued him, it was not the reaction he had anticipated. He saw anger and hate flare when her eyes snapped open into life but only after they fell on him. Those two emotions would be a great asset to him in the future, but for now he needed to heed his master's wisdom to ensure her conversion. There was still much he didn't know about her. Such mystery added to his excitement. She would tell him what he wanted to know. He was wise and could be patient., and he enjoyed a game of wits, which is exactly what would take place.

He could sense her stubbornness, loyalty, strength, and wisdom when they had first captured her. Her stubbornness caused her to endure hours of his interrogation techniques at a time, revealing very little. He could us the force to gain information, but each successful extraction led only to more questions. He saw flashes of the brightly lit, well grown land of her home planet, Lossenova. A house at the edge of a field. A boy, who must have been a brother, smiling in the sunlight on a nearby lake. Her father seemed to be missing from her life from early on, though any further digging caused her to fight beyond almost his ability to control her. This always angered him, and consequently, a few loyal stormtroopers paid the price. She was strong with the force . This was immediately apparent by her ability to resist his power, even if just by a little. If she knew as much then she was a master of deceit. Unlikely, but he would not be played the fool.

Despite all he had learned, she only seemed to be more of a mystery to him. That was all about to come to a close. He would unravel her, willing or not, and he would gauge her usefulness. Deep down he silently hoped her value would be of use to him, for her sake... He cleared his mind back to the task at hand "Will you comply? I will not ask or extend this courtesy again. I suggest you heed my advice."

Aurora's mind began to race. Her demeanor went from surprised to apprehensive laced with confusion. What would he ask of her now? She spent her whole life on Lossenova. It was all she knew. Everything else was just part of a galaxy far far away, things she only heard about in stories her mother used to tell.

The thought of her mother, now dead, brought a jab of pain in her chest which gave way to anger. She began to think of ways to insult him and refute his offer to her. Her lips parted in disgust to let him know exactly how she felt when it occurred to her that she didn't have anything to hide. Her stubbornness had gotten the best of her. It was clear that he intended to claw and dig his way around her mind until he got what he thought she was hiding. If she gave in to his requests, she could buy herself some valuable time. Time was all she had anymore. To live just a little longer. She let herself even dream as far as to hope for the possibility of escape. But where she would go? It didn't matter. Anywhere but here. She could probably fly one of those funny spaceships. How hard could that be? The desire to live grew in her by the second. Mixed emotions flooded her mind. She wanted to live, and giving that monster what he wanted seemed to be her best bet, but how could she betray all the billions of lives he ended...she ended. She swore revenge. She would give in a little now so she could live another day to fight against the First Order and everything it stood for!

She stared at the floor not wanting to see the smug stance and satisfaction that would no doubt roll off of him in waves as she responded "What is it you wanted so badly to know that you had me..." A heavy tear rolled down her face "ME" she said louder " slaughter my entire planet as if they were nothing!?"

"Mind your tone." Kylo Ren warned in a low growling voice through the mask "You don't want to test my patience."

Aurora looked up from the floor, expecting to meet his glare, only to find the tall dark figure turned away from her, hands balled into fists. She decided her best chance of survival required her to control her emotions and be forthcoming. "What do you want from me?" She manages, trying to fight the emotion from creeping into her voice.

"Tell me, what do you know of the force, other than what have seen here?" Her eyes locked on his back, eyebrows knit together as she searched for anything she knew about the force.

Back home the force was an old legend. She was told stories of the Jedi who aspired for greatness and obedience, while fables of the Dark Side were nothing but twisted bedtime stories to scare naughty children. At least, that's what she thought.

"Well?" his voice cut into her concentration

"Well..." she stammered, "Myths and legend really, stories. I never thought they were real."

Kylo Ren scoffed "And do I seem myth or legend to you?"

"No" She answered.

"And you never in all your dealings heard of any real Jedi? The resistance never mentioned one of their biggest attack plans was to find Luke Skywalker? "

"I don't know anyone in the resistance. I worked in agriculture, I- I worked in a field. I have never met anyone who wasn't born on Lossenova."

It was all true, she told herself. She just decided to keep to herself that her brother spoke of such things. Michael 's job was to sell the crops that her and others harvested.His job was dangerous. He would spend most of his time in the bigger ports delivering supplies, which was brimming with outlaws and other rough space travelers. It was not a good place for women. She always believed his stories to be ridiculous. The kind made up to draw attention to one's self. It created a pain in her chest to think about his smile, how his sandy brown hair was always a mess, the way he ran his fingers through it when he told of the pilots he had met like he couldn't believe it himself. He once told of a pilot, and his droid, who was buying rations for a trip he was taking to the outskirts of First Order territory. He recalled how the two would converse back and forth almost nonstop. Michael had overheard the pilot mention Luke Skywalker's name to his little round companion, and it floored him. He spoke of nothing else for the next several days. Luke Skywalker, Aurora thought...was it possible that he was real? Could he be as powerful as the tales made him to be? If so, he was certainly more powerful than this half man/ half monster in front of her, right?

"He is real", Kylo Ren said with disdain. Aurora snapped out of her thoughts, taken aback by the idea he could have heard them. "He is one of the last Jedi left. The rest were weak, and I destroyed them." The arrogance in his tone made her sick. She thought she may hurl, but she worked to keep the instinct to heave at bay. "Why?" she managed not to betray her disgust. He turned quickly now to face her. She felt the defiance in him and knew wouldn't be dignified with a response. He walked swiftly towards her causing her to recoil, awaiting the pain he would now impose on her. He studied her face for a brief moment, her slender face, dark curling hair, unkempt and neglected since her time here. Her eyes were glazed with fear and emotion and nearly hid the purple tinge in her gray pupils. It was then he turned and marched to the door, his heavy boots thudding with each step.

"That is all I wish to know today. Remember, you are my guest. As such you should try and rest. You may find what is in store tomorrow quite daunting." With that the door slid open, and he walked past two guards positioned on either side of the door, no doubt anticipating her attempted escape. Now she needed to come up with a plan.