Hunted

XXXIX. The Birth

"Supreme Leader," Hux's voice was remarkably amiable considering the news he was about to deliver, "It appears our Kylo Ren--"

"Has been taken, yes," Snoke's perceptive eyes watched Hux with suspicion.

It didn't seem as though Hux was surprised that Snoke already knew. His arms were behind his back, hands clasped together as he replied with mock sincerity, "Of course we had hoped for better from him, I believe the way forward is clear now."

"Is it?" Snoke seethed from atop his throne.

"My Lord although it gives me no great pleasure to say this, it appears the Resistance was more than prepared for Kylo Ren's arrival, they apprehended and somehow managed to overpower him within an hour of his arrival on D'Qar. I feel--"

"It is that GIRL," Snoke's voice shook the room with it's venom.

"Yes, Supreme Leader, it's as I feared. We do not know whether he was taken willingly or by force because he was so adamant about going alone. All we know is that he has disappeared and it has been hours since we last heard from him, therefore there can only be one assumption."

Snoke waved his hand dismissively and looked down at Hux, "Whether they took him or he went of his own free will, our next course of action remains the same."

Hux's hungry eyes looked up at the hologram like a doting child with its father. His expression was one of cautious optimism, and Snoke finally said the words he had been hinting towards.

"Withdraw the troops back on board and prepare the serum. We will wait out the month's time for it to take effect, then when you are ready we will strike hard and end this once and for all. I myself will journey to the Finalizer to attend this invasion."

The red-haired man's eyes widened in understanding and he hastily bowed down on one knee, "M-My Lord," he stuttered.

"Yes... I've left this alone for too long in the hands of others. It is time I came in person to set right this chain of events."

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Transporting Kylo back to the base had been a hurried and nerve-racking excursion. They moved as one huge group, Kylo still sedated and being carried between Finn and one of the orderlies. Upon getting him into the base itself they had rushed him down the hallways to the medical bay, where immediately Dr. Kalonia set up a constant stream of sedation into his bloodstream, explaining that they would have to essentially put him in a coma for the amount of time it would take to transfuse his blood, as well as to keep him from waking up. The hustle and bustle of the room was overwhelming as the doctor barked out orders to her team and they grappled with Kylo's robes to strip him of the unnecessary layers and don his body in the traditional hospital gown. After completing that task they strapped him into the bed they had laid out for him as tightly as they dared.

Serela turned away from the sight of his long, pale body stretched out on the metal bed, each of his climbs encased in an elaborate set of restraints. His dark, shaggy hair spread out on the starched white pillow beneath his head, the lanky strands still greasy from sweating inside his helmet.

She and the other three observers stood back from the hubbub, trying to watch without being an encumbrance to the process. Serela observed it all with tearful eyes, trying not to get in the way but wanting to stand beside the bed and clutch his hand in hers as proof that it was really him; he was real and he was here at last.

All of her thoughts and concerns seemed to fly at her at once. Worried about Kylo, about Poe, about everything, Serela grabbed Finn's arm and asked him, "Where is Poe now?"