Allegiance | Kylo Ren

XLVI

I don't know how much time had passed before I was able to struggle back into consciousness. My eyes opened slowly, testing the waters for sensitivity to light. Surprisingly, there was none. I sat up slowly, a frown creasing my features.

I was in a bed in a small room; my armor was gone, leaving me in my black base layers. Light filtered through a small window above the bed, giving just enough light for me to examine my surroundings. The room was small, but not small enough to be considered cell-like. There were two doors; one led to a bathroom, and I assumed the other was an exit, but I wasn't stupid enough to test it. I knew it would be locked. A simple chair sat in the corner.

I blinked as I looked around, trying to remember how I had gotten here. I had been running through the forest, and then there was the explosion, and then there was the girl...

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. Two familiar Resistance fighters entered—the girl and the pilot.

"You're awake." The girl observed as she spotted me sitting up. I gave her an incredulous look but did not speak, waiting for her to say something more intelligent before I would grant her a response.

I saw her eyes trace over the scar on my face, the one she had left when she split my skin open with a flick of her lightsaber. My glare darkened as I recalled the memory, and she shifted uncomfortably under my stare, knowing exactly what I was thinking.

The pilot crossed his arms and leaned against the door behind her. "I have to say I was a bit surprised when we took off your helmet. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't... you."

I glared at him, still refusing to speak, but mildly offended by his words.

He raised his eyebrows at my refusal to respond. "I'm Poe, and this is Rey. I'm sure you already know that we're with the Resistance."

"Why am I here?" I demanded at last, my voice icy.

Poe's dark eyes searched my face. "I thought you might have worked that out for yourself."

I curled my lip in a sneer at his snarky tone, my disgust for these rebels growing by the second.

Rey must have sensed my disdain, because she took a step forward with a quick glance at Poe over her shoulder. "We want this war to end. It's been going on for far too long. Too many lives have been lost, on both your side and ours."

"So why have you brought me here?" I kept my mind guarded, knowing that she was strong with the Force and could likely read my thoughts like Kylo could.

"We need the First Order to listen to us."

"What, and you think I'm going to listen to you?" I was still confused, and annoyed. "I'm not sure who you think I am, but I'm just a trooper—I don't exactly hold much power in the Order."

Rey opened her mouth to respond, but Poe interrupted. "No, not you—Kylo Ren."

I stared at him, silently hoping he would elaborate, because the pieces weren't fitting together for me.

He rolled his eyes at my lack of understanding, and I burned with resentment, glancing around to see if there was anything within reach that I could throw at him. There wasn't.

"It's been noticed by several Resistance fighters that at several of our last interactions with the First Order, there has been a single Stormtrooper that Ren favors. He keeps it close, taking extra risks to keep it safe. Clearly it has some kind of importance to him, or else he would let it die like any other trooper. And, as it turns out, that trooper is you."

"So you want to use me as leverage?" I raised my eyebrows. "How do you think that's going to work out for you?"

"If things go as planned, we'll use you as a bargaining piece to arrange a truce so our leaders can discuss the future, and hopefully the end, of the war." Rey explained. "Once that has happened, we will return you unharmed."

"And if the First Order refuses to arrange this truce?" I gave a darkly knowing smile. "Then you'll have to kill me to maintain your power play. That won't go over so well for Kylo. He doesn't care for it much when people kill his friends."

Rey and Poe exchanged a glance. "We're hoping it won't come to that."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "You should probably come up with a back-up plan. I'm not nearly as important as you seem to think I am." The words tasted sour as they left my mouth. The truth was, I was important. I was Kylo's strongest connection, his only friend, and I knew that he would fight to get me back. But I couldn't let them know that—it would only confirm their idea that they knew Kylo's greatest weakness.

There was another knock on the door. I dragged my eyes away from the pilot and the girl to see who it was, and at once I felt my muscles tense angrily.

It was the traitor.