The Independency: A Star Wars Story

The Connection

      "All your problems will be gone if you just give me information." Kylo knew this was the worst possible time to try and retrieve info from her, but it was worth a shot. Maybe if she was annoyed or upset enough, she would give in. He probed into her mind gently, and without warning, Miscellin whirled around and shoved Kylo hard.

      "How dare you!" Miscellin yelled at him through her tears. She was through with this already. She didn't care what the force band would do to her if she tried to leave, she just need to get out of here. She went right past Kylo and to the door to leave. After a single step out of Kylo's living quarters, Miscellin fell to the floor.

      White. All she saw was white. Her knees scraped along the floor. Pain struck like lightning in every part of her body. Her vision turned from white, to red. She heard someone scream...or was it her? A deep voice behind her said, "You shouldn't have done that." Strong, gentle, and surprisingly soft hands lifted her from the floor and back into the room. Her vision slowly returned, and the pain turned numb. Miscellin couldn't feel her hands.

      "I warned you. I told you leaving me wasn't possible unless I allowed it." Kylo wore a sympathetic expression: he hadn't realized how powerful the force band was. "...I...I will send for a medical droid." Not too long after that, a medical droid entered the room and ran some tests on Miscellin. It gave her a strange substance to drink, then left.

      Miscellin placed the cup to her lips, but did not drink. She could barely hold the cup from how much she was shaking. Kylo put a hand on the bottom of the cup and tilted it up, making Miscellin drink a little. After a few minutes, the substance was gone.

      Miscellin stared at Kylo for a few moments, then she bit her bottom lip and sighed, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I don't have any information. I never wanted to know anything, so if I was captured, my captors wouldn't get anything from me. Search through my mind, I'm not lying."

      Kylo probed into her mind, her thoughts...there was nothing. She truly did not know anything. He had captured someone virtually useless! Kylo suddenly recalled something that General Hux and Miscellin used to do together: they were extraordinary partners when it came to hacking. Miscellin could hack into almost anything, whether it was attack plans, weapon supply costs, or what Leia wanted for dinner. You name it, and Miscellin could do it.

      "Lin, in three hours, I'm going to take you to the command central and you're going to work with Hux. You're going to hack into the rebel database." Kylo spoke authoritatively, practically daring Miscellin to question his orders. Miscellin was taken aback. Did he just call her Lin? No one had the right to call her that. It was her brother's nickname for her.

      "I'm not doing anything for you, and if you call me Lin again, you'll never be able to do anything again." Miscellin tried to stand from the bed(she couldn't stand to be near Kylo anymore), but she ended up falling to her knees again. Kylo bent down to help her back up, but Miscellin moved away. "Don't touch me!" Miscellin snapped at him. "I'm not hacking into the rebel database for you. I'm not betraying them."

      Kylo smacked Miscellin's face hard with the back of his hand, causing her cheek to become red on impact and sting. He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "You will help, or you will die."

      Miscellin simply laughed at this, despite the fear of being hurt again. Who was she to care if she died or not? And besides, he needed her. Armitage Hux was good at hacking, but not as good as her. Kylo would never admit it, but he needed Miscellin now. Sure, she was sure he'd continue to abuse her, but he wasn't going to kill her(not yet, at least).

      When she did not respond to him, Kylo knew Miscellin must have been thinking of something insulting, and he stood up to shove his foot into her ribs. Stabbing pains shot through her left side, but she wasn't going to concern herself with it. Miscellin stood, brainstorming ways to hurt Kylo, but he was quicker.

      With the force, Kylo lifted the dilapidated leader and slammed her into the wall: still, Miscellin tried to fight back. She had perseverance, Kylo would give her that much. She kept going, he could admire that, but what he couldn't admire was a traitor. Again, he bashed her body into the wall with the force. This time, he got close to her and held her against the wall tightly; though, it didn't require much effort to keep her there, she was very weak now.

      If abuse didn't frighten her into submission, then he'd have to try something a bit different. His right hand wandered down to her waistline, and then a little lower around her backside. "If you don't start listening to me, I'll have to do worse than hurt you."

      Miscellin's cheeks darkened to a garnet red, and not because Kylo had slapped her. He wouldn't...would he? Kylo Ren was disgusting on many levels, but he wouldn't ever sexually assault her...would he?

      Kylo had simply delivered an empty threat to Miscellin, he would never wrong a woman in such a way. Sure, he'd killed people before and he'd abused Miscellin, but he had morals! This particular threat was proving to be a very good way to intimidate the girl.

      Slowly, Miscellin moved his hands away from her, but made no attempt to harm him. Her eyes were on the floor. "...fine. Just...just don't do anything." Miscellin was strong, but anytime he made a threat like that, she knew she'd crumble. She couldn't handle it. "You said in three hours, correct? I will be sleeping until then..." Miscellin used the walls to support herself as she tried to walk back out to the loveseat. It was clear she wouldn't make it without help.

      For a quick moment, Kylo felt a pang of guilt and regret. He had practically broken the poor thing! He shook his head, as if that would rid him of the guilt, then picked Miscellin up bridal style and placed her in his bed. It was much more comfortable than the loveseat, and she needed to be comfortable to heal.

      Miscellin almost thanked him for helping her, then remembered that it was Kylo's fault that she was even injured. Once she was in the bed, she curled up into a fetal position, then Kylo pulled the blankets up over her body. Kylo returned to his work desk, and he went about approving plans. Soon enough, Miscellin was asleep.

      In three hours as Kylo had said, he woke Miscellin. He was dressed in his typical black robes, and without thinking, Miscellin said, "I liked you in just your boxers, why'd you have to put on a dress? With hair that long, you'll have people mistaking you for a girl soon." Miscellin half expected Kylo to lash out at her, and she regretted what she said, but all Kylo did was give a small laugh.

      Kylo handed her a black jumpsuit with the First Order logo on the left shoulder, telling Miscellin that she could go into the bathroom to change. She stood from her comfortable spot on the bed, the went into the bathroom to change. She wrinkled her nose in disgust when she saw the logo, but at least she had new clothes.

      When she came out of the bathroom, she couldn't help but make another hair joke, especially since she saw him run a hand through his hair. "You've got hair thicker than a wookie in winter." Kylo walked over to the door to leave with Miscellin, and he raised a brow at the joke. "Which area of body hair are you referring to?" He asked with a wink.

      Miscellin resisted a grin. If he wasn't her enemy and a Sith Lord who kept abusing her, she might enjoy his company. If he wasn't part of the First Order, he might actually be a decent person.

      "Remember earlier when you called me Lin?" Miscellin asked him, and he gave a tiny nod. "I'll let you call me Lin if I can call you Ben." Kylo was momentarily stunned by this. He knew that their names were painful reminders to their pasts...what was she trying to accomplish with this? Miscellin held out her hand: "Deal?"

      After a brief minute, Kylo took a glove off one of his hands, then held out his bare hand to shake Miscellin's. "Deal." He responded. He was slightly crestfallen when their skin was no longer against one anothers: secretly, he had enjoyed her touch.