Till there are no stars left in the sky

Part 9

The days came and went and made way for the weeks to pass. Day after day, life seemed to flow in the same routine. Aurora was awoken by some alarm she didn't set that blared until she got out of bed, as if someone was watching her to make sure she got up. About fifteen minutes later, she guessed, breakfast arrived, brought to her each time by the same black and orange R2-Q5 droid. The little droid always emitted high pitched squeals upon entering her room as if it was happy to see her. Aurora spoke to the droid who would interject with high pitched beeps that seemed to correlate with the feelings Aurora was trying to relay. She talked mostly of stories of back home. This helped her keep her focus on why she was here enduring this training; she wished to bring an end to the First Order. Whenever she told a funny story, the droid would respond in high pitched shrills, as if laughing. Aurora began to make distinguishments between the beeps and blips coming from her little friend. She could almost understand what it was saying, or maybe she just told herself that to satisfy her longing for companionship. The droid never stayed long, only the length of the given meal, which Aurora happily stretched out as long as she could.

After breakfast she was to study the endless volumes of Empire History, war tactics, certain Jedi meditation archives, pilot manuals, and swordsmanship tutorials sent to her. Her favorite, unsurprisingly, were the swordsmanship tutorials. Each tutorial ended with a hologram demonstrating each technique, which she could pause and view in 360 degrees by walking around it. She would read and study for hours, which never seemed to bother her because there was nothing else for her to do.

After studies came physical endurance; she was trained by one of the upper generals named Gaige who was several years Kylo Ren's elder, though he seemed remarkably young to be a general. His well built, broad shoulders made way into muscles like thick cord found wherever skin crept through the fabric of his uniform at his neck and flowing down his arms. He had a handsome but rugged face marred by the angry, jagged scar that ran from the left side of his face from brow to chin. His deep, green eyes were always distant, focusing on the task at hand. Aurora felt safe around him, despite him consistently working her well past her physical capabilities. Each session began with long distance runs that warmed them up for agility courses consisting of obstacles ranging from hurling a three foot pile of sandbags to scrambling over twenty foot walls . Gaige taught her the proper way in which to roll out of a long fall in order to minimize impact by utilizing her downward momentum to move her forward. This would be useful in her escape.

After agility, they went right into high intensity weight training. In the short time Aurora had been training, her strength gains astonished her. She was lifting weights she never imagined being able to lift when she worked on her farm back home. Home. The memory came with a slight sting, though it seemed less biting than usual. She felt her planet's destruction drift further from her memory with each passing day. Her mother's face, though still vivid, seemed to be missing details as well. Aurora couldn't remember if her mother had one dimple or two. Or did she even have them at all? Her mind had been so consumed with her training lately that she felt her previous life was but a distant memory. It was almost like a dream she could swear was real but the details became vague over time.

Though he had a very firm hand, Gaige's patience knew no bounds. He always kept his cool, no matter how long it took her to grasp a concept and never raised his voice. He never conversed about anything other than training, which Aurora deducted must have been his orders. Though, without ever having a meaningful conversation, he reminded her of her older brother. She felt an odd, non-romantic attachment to him.

At the conclusion of her time with Gaige, Aurora was escorted back to her room for meal time. At times, she was even allowed the absence of handcuffs, though this was rare. Lunch came as a short-lived reprieve as she was soon on to the next part of her training that happened to be both her favorite and least favorite part of her day. Kylo Ren would meet her in the training hall, always in the center ring where they had their first duel. Unlike her first time here, his cold, expressionless mask remained on his head, which made it easier for Aurora to dislike him. His tactics perfectly complemented his appearance: relentless, harsh and overwhelming. Her previous accomplishment of their first duel was long in the past and nowhere in the near future. The second her hand touched a weapon, she was the target of an endless barrage of strikes she had no hope of blocking, but she did the best she could. The on a good day she would deflect about half of his attacks. No matter how well she did in her training with Gaige, it had no effect on her defense with Kylo Ren. Through the force she could feel his anger flow from him in torrents, harsh at first but then would temper down as the assault continued. It almost felt, in some strange way, that he used these sessions not just to push her limits but to vent the many unspoken burdens that weighed on him each day, as if a small fraction of his unguarded emotion flowed into her. She was sure he was unaware because he would not allow such a "weakness" to exist in him. He was powerful and would not tolerate any crack or flaw that would undermine his authority in any way. She didn't understand it at first, but as time went on she knew these brief emotions reflected on his day to day situations.

At the end of each session he would berate her about weakness she exhibited, which always made Aurora feel like a child being scolded, things she had been learning and what to focus her studies on next. If she was still in good physical conditioning, he would show teach her to hone her skills with The Force. She was only able to participate in this about half the time. The other times, Aurora was subject to fractures that were inflicted on her by Kylo Ren during their duels. He was careful to use just enough power to fracture, not break, her bones, for which she was grateful, but he still inflicted enough damage to leave bruises and several trips to the infirmary.

On one occasion his precision erred as he lunged toward her small frame, and she was to slow to dodge to the side. He didn't pull up from his attack, and the blunt end of his saber jabbed her sharply in the ribs with an audible crack that sent her quickly to the ground in pain. She remembered that day well because despite his cruelty, which on a different day would lead him to walk out, leaving her there for someone else to collect, he walked to her and knelt beside her. He then taught her to control her pain, to lessen its effect on her body. Aurora couldn't grasp the discipline behind his words just then, but he opened his mind to her once again and, to her shock and disbelief, consumed parts of her pain. She could feel waves of agony flowing off her. The sharp intake of breath that hissed from his mask was the only thing that suggested he felt the pain that drained from her. She focused on sealing off the rest of the pain to no avail as he led her to the infirmary. Aurora had since harnessed that skill, and what a useful tool it was. However, since Kylo Ren learned of her feat their fencing sessions lengthened dramatically.

Dinner was always the last scheduled engagement on her agenda. After that, her evening was always uninterrupted. She was allowed to spend that time however she wished, within the confinement of her room, or course. Her favorite activity was watching the stars from her view port. She was always intrigued when a new planet would come into view. She would daydream about daring escapes to leave this station and all of its terrible memories behind her. She lived and fought through every day for that chance. That would be the day she took vengeance on Kylo Ren and the First Order . Then she would leave and never look back on this dreadful place. The thought excited her, but somewhere in the deepest part of her it also brought a bite of sadness she couldn't explain. Here on this ship she knew the expectations of her, her role. She felt at peace with the force that flowed through her and didn't despise the darkness that strengthened her and her resolve. When she left this place, where would she go? Would any place take her in, or would they isolate her because of her power? A smug smiled played on her face for a moment. No, they would have to take her in; she would make sure of it. Dark whispers in her head enticed her with the idea that she would strike fear into anyone who would try to cast her out. "Fear is a powerful weapon," it told her. Quickly, she shook her head, pushing the thought away. She wouldn't terrorize anyone. That wasn't who she was; why she had considered it?

Looking back at the stars she came to the conclusion that she could simply hide who she was, be less than she was. She would be accepted, she hoped as she sighed and slid from the ledge of the window making her way to bed. Before closing her eyes she made a small etching on the wall with the sharp end of a screw she had twisted out of the console to the bathroom. She had been making these etches since her first day in this room, one for each day she had spent here. She counted seventy of these marks, which meant she had been here over two and a half months. Aurora didn't know if that felt like a long time or no time at all as she fell into a sound sleep.

/w