Till there are no stars left in the sky

Part 14

Aurora's mind raced, everything was a blur. This girl, no doubt, sought to kill her. She sought to kill a wounded, unarmed man who was bleeding to death. She would gain Kylo Ren's trust by killing her,but she remembered why she was fighting. "No one else dies today." Her own words rang in her memory. "No," she replied firmly.

"Kill her NOW!" he said through gurgling breaths. "That is an order! You can not leave her alive. She is too dangerous!"

"No," she said again. Her head slumped down as she thought of the man she had killed to avoid detection only moments ago. "No one else dies today." Her voice was low, cracking in defeat. She neared her fallen captor to assess the damage done. She could sense Skywalker making his way down each level in search of his padawan...and her. Aurora knew she must quickly tend to Kylo Ren's injuries, at least to be able to transport him to the medical ward before they once again faced a potentially deadly confrontation. She felt his life force flutter and she dropped to the broken man's side. His breathe came labored and irregular. She slowed her rapidly beating heart and calmed her breath, she had to focus.

"Your disobedience," gurgle, "will have dire consequences ." He half growled, half gasped.

Aurora paused at his words, hurt ebbed at her. She doubted her decision to stay and aid him further once again. There was still time to take the unconscious girl and find Skywalker. She could leave. Gazing at the blood pooling on the floor, she knew he would die if she left him here. She owed him nothing, but somehow felt connected to him. "I just risked my life to save you," she snapped "You need my help. You and I both know you will die if I leave you here, so I strongly recommend you to reconsider your tone the next time you address me."

"Aurora... you must-" Kylo Ren choked out his voice sounding wet. He tilted his head to get a better view of her.

"I will not" She spoke softly, cutting him off. They must both keep quiet or at any moment they may be found by Luke. Suddenly, the masked figure's head lulled to the side, unable to hold its own weight, and he fell onto his back. Only a muffled groan hissed through the badly dented helmet. His chest heaved and his arms flailed fumbling uselessly at the side of his helmet by his neck. She placed her hand on his forearm to ease it down and to stop him from wasting precious energy. At the contact a cold energy flowed into her sending a shiver down her spine. He froze at her touch, seeming to feel the reaction that took place. Aurora then slid her fingers under the edge of his mask to press the release mechanism that would disengage the front plate and allow her to remove the helmet. She gently pulled the armor from his head, letting it tumble freely to the side of his face. His face was pale and clammy, his dark, wavy locks damp and plastered to the sides of his face. Blood trickled where he had been hit with the concussive blow, and his lips were spattered red from coughing up blood. The sight reminded Aurora of her punctured lung resulting from her first battle against the stormtroopers. His jaw was clenched tight, lips pressed together no doubt trying to hold unspeakable pain at bay. The pain radiated throughout his features before emanating from the deep pools of his eyes. Aurora found herself staring into them, unable to look away. They told her so much, a raging storm of emotion. Sadness, rage, defeat, fear, uncertainty, relief, peace, and hate. Most of all he felt hate. He hated himself for his failure, hated the Jedi who defeated him, hated his body for its unwillingness to fight. But he didn't hate her. That struck her; warmth flushed her face at his scrutiny of her. He brushed her mind with his, and she let him in, trying to let her calmness flow into him.

Her eyes traveled down his body taking inventory of his injuries and noting the critical priority of each. They stopped when they fell upon the jagged metal spear that protruded from his side along with the heavy amount of crimson that soaked his clothing. She tenderly peeled the material away from the mangled flesh causing Kylo Ren to writhe with agony. Aurora shuttered. "I have to remove it and cauterize the wound. If I don't you'll bleed out." Nausea threatened to consume her as she contemplated the method in which to stanch the flow. As the only solution occurred to her she paled, unsure if she could manage to perform such a task. She met his gaze thinking to him the gruesome intention unable to speak it out loud. With a deep breath his eyes moved to focus on the ceiling above him.

"I imagine you will take...great pleasure in inflicting this fate upon me after...all I've put you through... So be it. Don't waste time on my...account." His voice shook as he forced the words out.

Tears welled in her eyes as she wrapped her hands around the metal of the impaled railing. "I would not wish to inflict this to anyone. Not even you." She responded shakily. Closing her eyes she sharply pulled the rod free from his body. Before he had time to cry out from pain she threw the piece to the side grasping once more for his weapon. She brought the weapon level with his skin and the gaping hole that pumped blood freely from it, her hands shaking like leaves. She wasn't sure she could go through with it. She thought about backing out, but a black gloved hand encompassed hers and steadied her grip. She thumbed the switch, took a breath and activated the beam, searing and cauterizing flesh. She saw his eyes clamp shut, he tried to arched his back rigidly to escape the pain, but Aurora placed a firm hand on his chest to hold him steady. The last thing he needed was a bigger hole in his torso. A blood curdling scream filled the empty hall and resonated through the nearby chasm. No doubt Skywalker heard that. She must hurry.

He continued to twist violently about in his own painful hell even after she removed the blade from him. As his body bent in on itself facing away from her, she fought down bile as she burned him once more on the other side to stanch the flow of blood. After another wail of torture Aurora felt an iron grip lock around her wrist. Before she could understand what was happening and shield herself, blinding torment surged from his contact flooding into her. His agony thrashed in her mind, surrounding her, threatening to suffocate her. Waves of strain and suffering rolled off him and invaded her, inflicting undiluted sensations of physical pain . She retched, unable to bear the agony, toppling onto her side. Screams filled the air as each surge swept over her like huge swells slamming her into the rocks. Aurora fought to stay conscious through the torrential suffering.

Slowly, a soft and warm presence emerged from the darkness, and she knew they must move to remained undetected by the Jedi. She turned to the gasping man and gathered her strength about her. Prying her throbbing wrist from his grasp, she severed the excruciating connection and put shield around her mind. "We are not in the clear yet. I need you to bear this for a little while longer." She sobbed "Skywalker is coming, he must not find us." Ren's form stilled, tears swelled in his eyes, and he seemed to demand they not fall. Silence engulfed her, and her ears began to ring. How nice it would be to collapse into a heap on the cold floor and drift out of consciousness to wake in a warm bed on a Resistance frigate with everyone telling her everything was going to be alright. Her body was going into shock from her agonizing connection to Kylo Ren and refused to respond to her beckoning. She had to move. "Can you walk? I will help you." She pleaded with him. He remained silent with no acknowledgment of her words. He stared blankly at the ceiling. "Stay with me! Don't you dare give up!" She slapped his cheek and cupped both sides of his face with her hands shaking him. "I've sacrificed too much for you to die on me now!" Tears welled in her eyes, but she did not have the strength to fight them as they rolled freely down her cheek. Hope had eluded her and now seemed lost forever.

In the distance she heard footsteps approaching and snapped her out of her daze. "Please. Please. They will kill you!" She pleaded again. Standing to her feet and wiping the tears from her face she looped her arms under his shoulders. She tugged hard trying to drag his limp body. She only made it a few meters. Her shoulders ached from the stunt she earlier pulled, leaping from the skybridge to and catching herself from such a long fall. Her muscles, pulled or possibly torn, refused to function. Aurora pulled again. Kylo Ren moaned at the motion.

"Girl if you dislocate my arm as well there will be hell to pay." He spoke wryly eyes looking up to stare her down. At his words Aurora couldn't help but chuckle.

"Then walk" She retorted. "You are entirely too heavy for me to drag you." He nodded slowly his compliance. She lay his shoulders down gently coming back around to his side to assist him into a sitting position. After he steadied himself for a moment she wrapped his left arm around her neck. He pushed against her as he slowly stood on his weak legs. "I think you need decreased rations for a while," she said with a smirk. "You could stand to lose a few pounds." He shot her a glare that softened into an appearance of slight amusement. He held to her securely as they both made the painstakingly long walk to the medical ward. They did not speak a word during the journey. Only the sound of ragged breath and short gasps of pain broke the silence when he bared to much of his own weight, letting his injuries get the best of him. Aurora felt relief as the Jedi and his padawan's signatures grew distant from them. They were headed back to the ship she knew and taking with them her chance to leave. She glanced at the broken man beside her and could only hope she wouldn't live to regret her choice. In some ways she already was.

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