Even Stars Can Die

Seemingly Heartless

"That's not the way I like to do things,"

Her voice was icy, filling the already freezing room with her harsh tone, the man in front of her seeming to wince at her words, writhing on the uneven stone floor. 

"Please, Tenaega, just give me more time, I can bring him to you, just let me go!"

Her joyless laugh echoed off the walls, shaking her head as she leaned closer to the man and pressed her sleek knife closer to his throat.  Her other hand reached out to pat his cheek, humiliating him even further.

Tenaega knew full well that the man below her was utterly useless, that she had wasted her time with him.  She should have known that she'd have to take care of this task herself. 

"Tell me where he is, scum." She briefly touched his face with the cool, flat edge of the knife, the warmth of his skin causing the silver to fog up.  "Or I'll use this blade on your pretty little neck after I get rid of your family."

"He's in Ajan Kloss, on one of the moons." His bloodshot eyes were bulging in fear, cold sweat coating his pores. "But I don't know which one."

Satisfied with his answer, Tenaega stood up and sheathed her knife in the leather holster strapped to her thigh, now towering over the pathetic man below her. Now that she knew which planet he was on, she could figure out the rest.  I got him.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" She cooed at him, starting to make her way out of the building, heading to the cracked door where streams of light were breaking through, barely brightening the dull stones. 

"He has friends, powerful friends," his voice cracked as he called after her, watching her warily as she stopped inches away from the door, turning around to look at him.  "He's training people, more that are like him."

"That's what makes this so much more fun." Tenaega smiled at him deceivingly as she slowly walked back to where he was still kneeling on the floor.  "The more Jedi I get to kill, the better."

The man's mouth dropped open in a silent scream, his eyes already beginning to dim as Tenaega sliced through him with her lightsaber, its red light matching the color of his blood seeping through his clothes.  With a smirk, she twisted the hilt slightly, digging it into him just a little bit deeper before ripping it out of him entirely, the smell of burning fabric and blood mixing with the musty smell of the stone room. 

The heels on her tall boots clicked across the uneven ground as she exited the building, stepping into wilting sunshine as she left the man's mangled body behind.  She got the information she had come for, and now she could finally finish what she started. 

For almost three years now, Tenaega had been hunting Kylo Ren, the man who now called himself Ben Solo.  He had abandoned her, left Tenaega for some girl, left because he was being called to the light. How pathetic. 

But now Tenaega could show him what he had given up on, the potential that he threw away, all because of some stupid, poorly trained Jedi. 

With hardly any thought, she removed her blaster from her belt of weapons and shot at the people who were rushing towards her as she made her way to her ship, not even thinking twice as she pulled the trigger, ignoring the sound of their bodies dropping to the ground.  A small, satisfied sigh escaped her as she boarded her old, rundown TIE fighter, plopping in the seat and putting in the coordinates for the Cademimu sector in the Outer Rim. 

She expertly started its engine and began her trip back out of this snowy, desolated system she was in, happy to leave behind what once was a great city.  Yawning, Tenaega fiddled with the controls and jolted to lightspeed once she was out of the planet's atmosphere, ignoring the fact that she was slowly becoming nervous, the foreign feeling creeping up behind her, reminding her of past emotions, weak emotions. 

Tenaega wasn't the same person she was before Kylo left.  Back then, when Kylo was training her, Tenaega had been timid, afraid to test her power, terrified of upsetting him and not wanting to disappoint the First Order.  But now all of that was gone; the First Order had been dismantled and obliterated by the Resistance and Kylo Ren was now Ben Solo once more. 

Both the First Order and Kylo Ren had disappointed her, so Tenaega was now on her own, fighting for herself instead of for others.  She had spent so long being broken; first being abandoned by her family, then eventually by Kylo when his obsession with a girl named Rey took over him.

A faint mumbling coming from the communication system in the TIE Fighter broke the silence surrounding her, tearing Tenaega from her thoughts. 

"Tens, do you copy?"

"Yes Hugo, I copy.  And I know where he is: in the Cademimu sector."

"So, I guess you're finally going to take care of him,"

She smiled to herself, the sound of Hugo's voice never failing to brighten her seemingly always dark mood.  "I'm on my way now.  Are you sure you don't want to join me? It could be fun you know, killing the man who screwed us over."

He chuckled, his laugh making a crackling sound through the system.  "Not this time, Tenaega.  Just make sure you get back to me in one piece."

"Roger that, 'trooper."

"Hey, and be careful, ok?"

"Signing off, Hugo, I'll contact you later."

Taking a deep breath, she cut the line in between her and Hugo before making the final jump to reach the planet and its moons. 

Once all of this was over, once she had gotten rid of the man who had hurt her most, Tenaega could finally let go, move on from the pain of the past.  She could spend the rest of her days running around and doing whatever she wanted; she and Hugo could become like some sort of bounty hunters, using their skills that very few still had. 

Hugo could pretend he never was a StormTrooper for the First Order and Tenaega could pretend she was never abandoned by the people she loved, over and over again.

Something was pulling Tenaega towards one of the moons in the system, something strong, rebuilding a connection, a feeling she hadn't felt in years.  And she knew, that's where he was. 

I'm coming for you Kylo, I'm fucking coming for you.