Even Stars Can Die

Past, Present, Future

It felt as if time stopped as she watched him walk around the camp and interact with the people around him. Some of the people responded to him eagerly while others looked wary, no doubt still remembering him as he was in the First Order.

Tenaega swallowed the lump forming in her throat and tried to lock away the pain in her chest when she looked at him, seeing him smile for the first time, seeing him speak softly and calmly, something she never saw him do before. She shook her head, physically trying to clear her mind as she continued to study him, planning her next move. Though her main focus was on Ben, she was also looking for Rey, but hadn't been able to find her.

She ducked back behind the tree again when she thought someone might have been looking her way, her heart rate accelerating dramatically. Her plan wouldn't work if she was discovered first. She was greatly outnumbered, which meant she had to make the first move, taking them by surprise.

As quietly as she could, Tenaega removed her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, taking deep breaths and preparing for her attack. Before she had time to change her mind, she raced from her spot behind the tree and began slicing down anyone in her path.

Screams and yells erupted as soon as she began her ambush, unsuspecting people becoming victim to her strength. Tenaega barely noticed the people she was killing, her main focus being Ben. Her skill proved to be her only asset against the number of people she was facing, but she could handle it, she had to get to him.

With her saber in one hand and a blaster in another, she destroyed anyone who came running, loving the thrill of it, the way her arm trembled when she cut through someone's chest. blood already oozing through their wounds. She shot blindly with her blaster while her saber was still lodged in a body, not caring who she hit, not caring who she killed.

Tenaega had always been like this in battles and even in petty fights as a teenager. She loved the power that filled her, the blind rage that helped her to obliterate anyone against her. That was something that she and Kylo used to have in common, both seeking the taste of blood and the thrill of death.

But as he charged towards her without recognizing who she was, bright blue lightsaber in hand, Tenaega knew with certainty that she was no longer looking at Kylo Ren, that the person she thought she was in love with was gone, replaced by the weak man he was now. Ben Solo.

"Tenaega?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, watching her as she absentmindedly shot the person she had strangling on the ground with the Force, not noticing that the man was already dead.

"Look at you," she spat with a sneer, voice dripping with venom as she slowly approached him. "Look how weak you've become."

Keeping a wary eye on her, Ben crouched next to a body on the ground, checking to see if the person was still alive. He wasn't.

"Tens, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're left alone, just like you did to me."

They circled each other, each with lightsaber in hand, the red glow from Tenaega's casting a wicked gleam across her face. Everyone else on the base stopped where they stood, watching them, waiting for Ben to give an order. Ben looked at her with a pained expression, realization of why she was there dawning on him.

"Tenaega, I'm- I'm sorry, but-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear what you have to say. I came here to kill all the people you abandoned me for and make you watch before I kill you."

At the last word, Tenaega lunged at him, hoping to catch him off guard, but he countered her attack, the sparks from their crossed lightsabers making a pale purple color in the surrounding air. She couldn't help but be distracted by the way the light illuminated his face, making his features exaggerated and more noticeable.

"Tens, I had to leave, I was going to come back for you, save you too, bring you to the light!"

With a snarl, Tenaega pushed him away and took a few steps back, panting and trying to force away the tears starting to fill her eyes, trying to regain her composure and muster the strength to do what she went there to do.

"It's not too late for you," he slowly walked towards her with his hands up, expression soft, pleading. "The Darkside of the Force, it has lost its power. You could let go, move on from your past, come to the light."

Her heart raced as he drew nearer, extinguishing his saber and approaching her with open arms. She felt as if her feet were glued to the ground, her eyes locked on Ben's, seeing the peace that rested there. His eyes no longer contained the anguish, the hurt, the desperation they used to have when she looked at him. Those eyes were what she loved most about him, she saw them in herself, felt the same things he did.

She clamped a hand to her mouth as a sob escaped her lips. They had trained together, fought together, felt alone together. But now Tenaega was the only one who felt alone and Ben, Ben was happy.

A piercing scream was ripped from her chest as she went at him again, wanting to rid herself of this pain, this loneliness, all the hurt he caused her. But Ben was ready for that.

Before she had time to think, Tenaega was pinned to the ground by Ben's hand, the Force making it impossible for her to move. She continued screaming and thrashing as Resistance members appeared to put cuffs around her hands, Ben still holding her still with his invisible power.

She spat and yelped and lashed out, much like a captured tiger, as two men dragged her away, holding her tightly as she struggled. All the while, Ben stood there, maintaining eye contact with Tenaega as she cursed his name, fighting to get away, just wanting to kill.

"Put her in the holding facility," he finally looked away from her, quickly batting away the tears that had escaped onto his face. "Make sure she's heavily guarded, obviously she's stronger now than I thought she was." He gestured sadly to the bodies covering the ground, trying to block out the sobs and cries he heard around him.

Tenaega's actions, everything she had just said and done, terrified Ben to his core. That anguish, the pain that was evident in her eyes and in her words, all reminded Ben of himself, reminded him of the horrors of his past, the past that Tenaega was a part of.

But now, it seemed she was now part of his future as well.