Point of Light

Chapter Twelve: Monster

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Point of Light

Chapter Twelve – Monster

Unlike Finn and Rose, Poe had not opted to spend his first outing in the recreation area but instead the academy center where senior cadets were meant to be polished and groomed for active duty. His specific location was in the combat training chambers, the shooting range.

Initially, Rey wondered about that, since it seemed like a bad idea to allow a prisoner to visit a room full of blasters, especially the hot headed Poe Dameron. But then Kylo explained that the training center only had practice blasters, with harmless built-in settings that reduced the laser fire to little more than a sting should it make contact with an organic.

He led her into the heart of the Fellfire, characteristically silent as he walked, his thoughts guarded though his aching pain was still throbbing at her through the Force, even after their brief embrace in his shuttle.

The guilt he was projecting was almost unbearable and she could only wonder at what he was anguishing over. Was he finally regretting all the innocent people he'd killed over the years? Did he regret nearly killing Finn? Was it about Han or Luke? She wished he would talk to her about it, knowing all too well how hard it was to keep things bottled up and festering, though she didn't want to nag him about it either, sensing that he would tell her when he was ready.

Why the Force was allowing her to feel his guilt so substantially was a mystery though. Unless, she guessed, it was to make her aware of it for some reason. But then, just as she told him, although she wanted to help him, she didn't know how. If only she could take his pain and wish it away. On the other hand, this guilt he was feeling, perhaps it was a good thing, a step in the right direction.

If that was the case, she wouldn't be helping him any if she could somehow make it disappear. She sent him a miserable glance, one that he did not acknowledge as he forged onward down the hall. She would need to let him suffer through it, even if that meant suffering along with him.

"This is it," Kylo announced as he stepped up to a pair of double-doors that quickly yielded to his presence. By all appearances, he looked completely placid and stable, but inside, Rey knew he was still hurting, a mangled mess of emotion that threatened to burst forth at any moment.

With him in such a state, she wondered if visiting Poe was even still a good idea, knowing how much the pilot seemed to aggravate him. Deciding it was too late to back out now, she followed him into the training center and was instantly bombarded by the clamor of blaster fire hitting targets, mock explosions and drill officers shouting commands. Soldiers without white armor, cadets she guessed, filled the area and were either shooting at targets to her left or rolling and diving in drills on courses to her right.

It seemed like chaos and Rey wondered how in the world she was supposed to carry out a conversation during her visit with all the noise, yet Kylo marched onward through the chamber as if he were in a tranquil forest. Several paths diverged from their walkway, but he kept focused straight ahead as they passed one shooting lane after another until converging on one in particular that was conspicuously surrounded by a squad of fully armored troopers.

Poe soon came into view as she got closer, and although he didn't notice her approach right away, BB-8 quickly did and began beeping furiously and bumping his leg to alert him. Rey couldn't help but smile at the little droid, giving him a nod of a greeting before Poe turned to see her and pulled off the hearing protection he had been wearing. "Rey!" he exclaimed and pushed passed his guard of troopers to give her a quick hug, something she wasn't entirely uncomfortable with but was all too aware of the vein of agitation rolling off of Kylo. "You're not dead! What about Finn and Rose, are they ok?"