The Dark Side

~25~

Recollections burst free, scampering around her mind in no order or pattern. Flashes of moments with Tekka, seconds with Jempa, even memories of her parents surfaced in a blur as Kylo rifled greedily through her thoughts. Hungrily, the villain searched and scoured her mind, knowing his time was limited. An image of a droid rose in her memories and Kylo seized it eagerly.

*****

Neri'el followed his gaze and nearly jumped. She had completely missed the little circular droid that had climbed through the sand after its master. It was white with orange circles and had little black sensors built in. Two tiny antennas stuck out from its little dome shaped head.

It beeped, sarcastically thanking Poe for introducing it.

"Sorry, buddy," Poe said rolling his eyes, "Tekka, Neri, this is BB-8. He's a sensitive little bugger."

BB-8 let off a bunch of angry loud beeps at this and Neri'el clapped a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter at the little droid.

"What did he say?" Tekka asked curiously.

"He said it's nice to meet you both," Poe replied in a testy voice as he glared at BB-8 who peered innocently up at him.

*****

A scream tore through Neri'el's throat, piercing the air with its shrillness before fading away. She was left choking on her pain, fighting another scream as her mind bent to the will of the Sith Lord.

*****

Poe's smile faded slowly.

"I'm not sure where the map is. I left it with BB-8 on Jakku. He knows where it needs to go. He'll get it to Leia."

Neri'el stared at the man before her.

"You put a lot of faith in that droid," she said slowly.

Poe's dark eyes narrowed slightly.

"He's my friend, Neri'el. He earned that faith. Trust me, he's worth it."

*****

"The droid."

Neri'el's breaths were ragged. She gasped air back into her lungs for a good ten seconds before peering up at Kylo, her hair acting like a curtain for her face. Sweat mixed with tears slowly dripped down her exhausted face as she stared hatefully up at her oppressor.

"He has the map," Kylo Ren said softly.

Neri'el merely glared at him.

"Y-you, you aren't the only one aside from that Poe Dameron who has seen the map!" Kylo Ren snarled, taking a step closer. "YOU ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS YOU SEEM! THIS DROID HAS THE MAP!"

Neri'el took at slow breath.

"I, don't see, what you're getting at," she replied weakly.

Kylo Ren stepped closer to her, his mask inches from her face.

"It means," He leaned closer, "that the Supreme Leader was correct when he said that you were nothing but a distraction!"

Kylo growled in frustration and pulled away. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it.

The rush of heat filled the room, causing Neri'el to wince. Her metal foot gently clicked against the bench she was strapped to as she pulled at her restraints.

Dancing red lights overtook the dark room as Kylo began slashing the walls and floors. His screams of anger, slowly dissolved in the echoing room. Small sparks flew and charred the fabric of Neri'el's robe. She turned her face away as the lightsaber grew nearer and nearer to herself. She could feel the scalding heat, centimeters from her cheek. Her skin stung with pain but she refused to quiver or cry.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to be met with the scarlet beam.

Kylo's hand shook as he held the weapon up to her face. Rage controlled his entire being, resisting the inertia. After a long, tenuous moment, the lightsaber deactivated.

The man slowly clipped the hilt to his belt, never breaking his eye contact with Neri'el.

"Because of your unimportance," he stated robotically, "Snoak has ordered your execution."

Shock filled Neri'el like a mist. It spread through her quickly, overtaking all her senses.

She was going to die.

After all she had been through, everything leading up to this had been for nothing. Nothing whatsoever. She had fought every step of the way. She had struggled to survive.

But it hadn't led to anything.

"So why keep fighting?" A small voice whispered in her mind, "Why keep trying if the end result is already known?"

Kylo Ren watched as the fight slowly faded from Neri'el's green eyes. Their usual brightness dulled as she sagged in her restraints.

She was giving up.

"Your execution shall take place in 12 hours," Kylo Ren finished, thankful that his mask changed his voice so that it stayed even.

Neri'el didn't even look at him when he uttered these last words. She stared blankly at the floor, her mind empty and her resolve, crushed.