A Star Wars TFA Prequel: "Why Aren't You Scared of Me?"

Hillucinations

"You okay, Hux?" Phasma says behind me. I look back. Hux has fallen behind. He's usually up front when we walk, but now it's me who's leading as we make our way down the narrow service corridor. I stop and wait for Hux to catch up. He wipes at his eyes.

"Is it the heat?" I ask him. We're almost at the Engineering wing, where the warp core is. The heat is definitely coming from there and becoming more intense the closer we get.

"We need to get some water," Phasma says.

"We will, once we figure out what's wrong with the core."

Phasma nods and we continue on. The heat intensifies with every step forward, making it hard to breathe. I reach the service door to the Engineering room first. There's a keypad on the wall.

"Phasma..." I turn around but Phasma and Hux are not there. They've fallen behind again and I see Phasma rubbing Hux's back as though to comfort him. Something's wrong. I want to go talk to them, but I have to deal with the warp core, somehow, before we're all dead. I don't know anything about engineering or how I'll figure out the problem. But I have to try. I punch in the default passcode for door clearance and the indicator light turns green. The door swishes open and a heat blasts out from the room. I raise my hand to my face.

Once the initial wave of heat passes the temperature becomes more bearable and I step through the doors. The room opens up into a large area with a round open space at the center that drops down to the warp core. A banister surrounds the drop. I walk up to it and look down. The core pulsates with a blue light below, heat coming up from it. I wipe sweat off my forehead and look around the room. There are buttons and consoles and monitoring equipment everywhere. I have no idea where to start.

I jump back when I feel something touch my arm. I turn to see Phasma with a worried expression on her face.

"Come and see this," she yells over the loud hum of the warp core. I follow her to one of the control panels near the door. She shows me the monitor, but I can't make any sense of it.

"The warp drive is on standby," Phasma continues. "It shouldn't even be on at all, we're not going anywhere. I think it's been on standby for days and that's why the core is overheating."

"Can you shut it down?" I ask.

"I don't have admin access."

"Who would?"

"Maybe Caleb?"

"Ren!" Hux yells, running to the banister at the edge of the steep drop to the warp core. He climbs up on its edge and my stomach tightens.

"Holy Galaxies!" Phasma runs to him and grabs his shirt before he goes over the edge. I reach him a second later and grab him, too. He tries to push us off. "Phasma, Ren fell! We have to get down there!"

"I'm right here." I try to pull Hux back over to safety but he's fighting too hard.

"Let me go!" he yells.

"Hux, stop. What are you doing?"

"Phasma, help me. We have to find Ren."

Phasma tries to turn his face so he'd look at me. "Ren's right here-"

"No! he fell! I saw him." Hux keeps struggling. "Please..."

"Phasma, help me," I say, holding Hux back with all my strength. She tries to unclamp his fingers from the banister, but can't seem to get his hands free of it.

"Stop!" Hux yells. "We have to get down there. There's a ladder-"

"Hux, I'm right here," I yell back. Then I remember that I can use my Force powers. I lock him in a Force hold and Phasma pries his fingers from the banister. We all fall back onto the ground.

"No..." Hux says, his face crumpling. I lift his chin so he'd look at me. I try to search his mind. His eyes are glazed over and his mind seems lost. I put my hand onto his forehead.

"What's wrong with him?" Phasma asks.

I try to search his thoughts but his emotions are too overwhelmed and I can't get past them. I let go of his forehead and free him of my Force hold too. Hux's shoulders collapse forward and he breathes heavily, covering his face with his hands.

"Hux, it's okay, everything's fine, I didn't fall." I suddenly realize I could try using my Force manipulation. "Listen to me," I command, setting my hands onto his shoulders. "I didn't fall into the warp drive. Ren, didn't fall into the warp drive. He caught onto the ladder and climbed back out. He's fine. You helped him up yourself and you're both safe. He's with you right now, he's talking to you. Look up."

Hux lowers his hands from his face. His breathing slows. I lift his chin. "Look at me," I say. He does, but he doesn't seem to see me. "I think he's drugged," I say to Phasma, but I'm not sure if she can hear me. She says something in response but I don't hear her either. We're too close to the warp core. She motions to the control panel then gets up and goes over to it.

"Hux," I try again. "It's me... " I rest my forehead against his and focus. "The Force be with you Hux. Come on, fight against this."

"Ren?" Hux says.

"Yes?" I pull back and for a second he sees me and relaxes, then his eyes open wide and fill with fear again.

"No!" he cries out. I grab him before he can get up and run to the banister again.

"Go to sleep Hux."

"No."

"Go to sleep!" I command with as much power as I can. "And don't wake up until I tell you to."

Hux's eyes flutter closed and he collapses into my arms.