Star Wars Ep VIII : The New Empire

Chapter 15: You Again

"You," Rey huffed warily as she pointed her bright blue lightsaber at Kylo Ren's chest. "Don't try anything."

Kylo blinked up at her disorientedly. He remained sitting against the control panel desk, his long legs jumbled out in front of him. He was clearly in a state of shock to see her standing before him.

The two stared at each other for several silent moments before Rey slowly lowered her lightsaber to her side, unengaging it with the assumption that the situation was not hostile.

Rey tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the sides of Kylo's neck appeared to be matted with dried blood, trailing down from his ears. His temples also looked purplish, bruised.

"How...did you find me?" Kylo blurted. He seemed to notice the line of her gaze, as he scowled and rubbed a hand against one side of his neck. He observed the dried blood that was now smeared across his palm. He fixated on his hand as if in a shocked stupor.

"You attacked me," Rey snapped, stepping towards him. "You broke into my head, and I felt...I felt your presence, so strongly that I could sense it lightyears away. From that I was able to track down your location," she explained, her face growing red. "Was that your way of trying to contact me? By trying to kill me?"

Kylo's dark eyes flickered back up to hers, his now trembling hand still held before him. His gaze was darkly serious, but not angry. "That was not me," he said slowly.

"What? That doesn't make any sense."

Kylo ignored her puzzlement. "How did you get here? Who are you with?" He asked, alarm flashing across his features.

"I came here alone, I overrode your security system to dock my ship to yours," she explained quickly. "Why did you contact me?"

"I didn't," he urged.

"What do you mean?"

"It was Snoke," Kylo said, his voice quieting. His eyes searched her face for recognition.

Rey squinted at the floor, taking a moment to think. "How did Snoke get into my mind?"

"He didn't, he broke into mine," Kylo stated, shifting his weight on the ground as he sat. Rey noticed he flinched as he did so. "Perhaps because our minds are, well, bonded, you felt it too," he postulated.

Rey closely observed Kylo's exhausted expression, the blood, the bruised sides of his forehead. It seemed that he had experienced something far more intense, more painful than she had. "So, what you felt because of what Snoke did...that transferred to me?" She questioned.

He nodded slowly, closing his eyes as if to rest momentarily.

"How do you know it was Snoke? I thought you weren't working with him anymore."

Kylo opened his eyes and looked abruptly up at her, shaking his head. "I'm not," he said, searching her eyes. "How did you know that?"

"Well...Leia told me," Rey said cautiously, watching his expression. He stared at Rey for a silent moment, his eyebrows subtly raising. She sensed that he was about to inquire more about this, but then he frowned, shifting his gaze as if suddenly realizing something.

"Where are we? How far are we from the Drodoc system?" He asked, a note of apprehension in his voice.

"The what?" Rey asked, confused.

Kylo ignored her and turned his body. He slowly, awkwardly stood, gripping the edge of the control board for support to pull himself upright. Rey observed that his strained movements suggested that he was very weak. Kylo began to survey the control screens as he hunched over the desk.