Into the Darkness

6

We walk down a long path in a grand room. Hux stands a few paces behind me as the hologram of Snoke appears.

"Eira. Soldier of the Resistance." Snoke says.

"Supreme Leader." I simply say.

"General, take the cuffs of her. I want her to be comfortable while we speak." This all puzzles me more than I can explain. Why are the showing me so much kindness? I turn to Hux, he gives me a pleading look to behave as he unlocks the cuffs. I turn back to Snoke. "I assume you have many questions about what's happening."

"Yes, I do indeed." Snoke nods.

"You may believe you have been kidnapped, but I believe that is not the case. Eira, we have saved you from the people who have been lying to you your entire life." I give him a look of pure confusion.

"How so?" He chuckles.

"Your father's death. Your mother's death. The Resistance's distrust in you. You never questioned any of these things?" I shake my head. "We did not murder your parents, dear Eira. The Resistance did." This hits me like a punch in the stomach. He must be lying. The Resistance told me that the First Order assassinated my parents. This cannot be.

"You're lying." Snoke shakes his head.

"I speak only the truth. Your parents had begun to lose hope in the Resistance and gain it in the First Order. The Resistance found out about their sudden shift in trust and took them out before they could switch sides. They kept you and pinned the blame on the First Order. They needed someone with a passionate hate for us. They decided you would be that person." I stumble back a bit, Hux subtly places a comforting hand on the small of my back.

"This cannot be." I look up at Snoke.

"Show her the proof, General. Make your decision then, Eira. Choose a side, you will be welcomed if you decide on our's."

...

Hux and I stand in a small room with large screens on the wall. A pristine black table and chairs sit in the middle of the room. Hux pulls out the keys to my cuffs.

"Don't attack me, alright?" He says. The metal falls from my wrists, I rub my raw skin. Hux pulls up a video on screen. "Be strong, Eira." He presses the play button.

Standing beside a cliff on D'Qar are my parents. They're speaking with one another, though no audio comes through. After a few moments, the camera angle shifts. Something slinks through the trees, careful not to rustle any branches. A man emerges from the forest and pulls out a rifle. He wears the colors of a rebel, their emblem plastered on his sleeve. He takes aim and quickly shoots both of my parents in the head.

I cover my mouth with my hand at the sight of my parent's murder. The assassin's arm falls limp, the rifle hangs loose in his hand. He pulls down the mask he wears over his face.

"Pause it." I say. Hux stops the video, I walk forward and zoom in on the assassin's face. My best friend and life long love's face fills the screen, Poe Dameron.

At that moment, any feelings, any love that I ever felt for him vanishes. It's replaced by a feeling of indescribable hatred and betrayal. My one goal in life has shifted from destroying the First Order to destroying Poe Dameron. There's only one way to do so. My face hardens as I look over at Hux.

"I want to join the First Order." I say. For the first time since I arrived here, the General smiles.