The Dark Side

~21~

Hux turned towards his men and began giving orders right away. Two were to guard the door, while the other two were to stay by Neri'el at all times. 

Hux himself stood off to the side watching Neri'el squirm uncomfortably between her newly assigned sentinels, with a self-satisfied smirk.

Loud sirens wailed through the rooms and hallways, echoing down the ship. They filled every empty room with high pitched screams.

Bright red lights flashed in the corners of the room that Neri'el was held captive in.

She winced and sat down on the floor, covering her ears. The faint screeches of the sirens echoed in her eardrums. She pressed her hands harder against her ears and closed her eyes.

She had to sort out her thoughts.

Poe was in danger. That was for certain. He must have been the one to kill that storm trooper and steal their identity. But that security was gone now. He had to know he was a wanted man.

Neri'el felt her heart sink.

If he didn't have a plan, if he couldn't save her, they would both be killed. After being tortured for information.

A soft groan escaped the girl's lips and she leaned her head back against the plain black wall. Her hair tickled the sides of her face and she nervously began to knot her fingers. Worry was eating away at her stomach. Everything was a tossup now. Anything could happen.

"Hey," a voice nervous voice said above her.

Neri'el jerked back to life and looked up. Her lips parted in surprise as she saw her blue friend from the med bay.

"Astrid! What, what are you doing here?" Neri'el asked her voice turning from surprised to worried, "What about Olga-"

"Olga doesn't know I'm here," Astrid interrupted as she nervously rubbed her arm. She glanced across the room at Hux who was glaring at her suspiciously. She lowered her voice as she spoke to Neri'el.

"And I'm pretty sure, General Hux didn't believe my story about coming to make sure you were coping without your meds," she whispered. Her vibrant green eyes darted to her left and she gently pulled Neri'el up.

"What-?"

"Turn around," Astrid said through gritted teeth.

Neri'el obeyed and squatted down in front of Astrid, her back to the door.

The blue skinned girl pulled out a blood pressure cuff and gently tugged Neri'el's arm towards her. Neri'el didn't fight her as Astrid slipped the rubber belt around the crook of her arm. Astrid began to slowly squeeze the little red ball, tightening the band around Neri'el's arm.

Neri'el chanced a look over her shoulder at General Hux and saw him talking to another trooper.

"Why did you come?" Neri'el asked in a low voice, her eyes staying on the ginger before flicking towards her friend.

Astrid's green eyes were full of determination as she looked back towards Neri'el. Her normal bubbly nature and ditzy composure had vanished. It seemed she had aged a century in a day.

"I came to say thank you."

Neri'el's heart warmed but her nerves stayed taut. She stares at Astrid.

"I wasn't going to let him hurt anyone else because of me," she replied softly.

Astrid shot her a strange look, her bottom lip pouted slightly out as she studied the blonde in front of her. She was clearly waiting for an explanation but Neri'el wasn't going to waste their precious time on it. A far more pressing question needed answered.

"Did they catch the intruder yet?" She whispered.

But Astrid was too busy staring up at the soldier on Neri'el's right to answer. She narrowed her green eyes at the man who shifted uncomfortably. The tightening on Neri'el's arm was beginning to hurt.

"Astrid-"

"I heard you," the girl replied huffily as she finally looked away.

The storm trooper sighed in relief but neither Neri'el nor Astrid noticed.

"What I heard," Astrid said in a voice barely above a whisper as she took off the band off of Neri'el's arm, "was that the trooper not only escaped ten other troopers, but also Kylo Ren himself!"

Neri'el forced herself not to smile.

The trooper beside her shifted his weight and coughed.

Astrid ignored him, her skin glowing as she kept talking.

"I-I just knew he was special, Neri'el! I knew something was up with that trooper that brought you in! He-he-" she broke off an odd look filling her eyes. Her face filled with horror before she quickly recovered.

"What-?" Neri'el began trying to look back but Astrid stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't forget to come down and visit once next week too!" She said through gritted teeth, still staring over Neri'el's shoulder. She smiled falsely at the girl and released her before slowly standing and striding past her towards the doorway.

"If that's the end of the alarms, General, I best be off to my duties!" she said chipperly to a suspicious looking Hux.

"Yes, I suppose so," Hux replied frostily, turning his eyes on the girl before him.

Neri'el created a mask for her emotions and watched him through cool eyes. In her peripheral vision, she saw Astrid glance back at her once more before leaving.

"Get over here, prisoner," Hux said slowly. He nodded to the trooper beside her. "Take her back to the interrogation room, trooper."

The trooper nodded and roughly pushed the girl forwards.

Neri'el stumbled slightly but recovered herself and held her head high as she walked past General Hux.

The man turned his head slowly, watching her carefully as she exited the room.