Lose Control

Chapter 4

First Order's Base

The world was dark when Skurn blinked back into consciousness; she could feel a blindfold tied around her head a bit too securely, as she tried to figure out where she was. Well, somewhere with the First Order obviously, that's who had captured her after all. But clearly she wasn't on that ship anymore, the ground felt too solid and there wasn't that slight humming of the engine. She tried to reach up and take the blindfold off only to finally notice the cold restraints around he wrists... panic shot through her for a moment and she gave a growl of frustration when she failed to yank her hands free.

A dark laugh came from across the room along with the sound of a door opening. "Did you really think you'd escape that easily? Be glad I don't have you in a less comfortable situation like your friend."

"I don't have friends!" She hissed, turning her head in the direction of his voice. "Let alone the man you're referring to... freaking jerk."

Skurn hadn't even heard the other person cross the room until he spoke again. "That was sarcasm, bounty hunter."

"I have a name." She muttered and struggled once more to escape.

The blindfold was removed and she blinked a few times before seeing Kylo Ren standing in front of her. The Sith tossed the fabric aside and looked down at her lightsaber he'd taken from her. "Do you know who owned this before you?"

"Of course I do." She didn't understand why she was being questioned on this topic. "It's Darth Vader's."

Anger seemed to waver in the air for a moment. "How did you get this?"

"I stole it... what's it to you?" A scowl crossed her face.

"Everything." He put it back on his belt beside his own lightsaber. "Do you know why you were spared?"

"I'm not with the Resistance if that's what you thought. I don't know anything about their plans." Irritation laced her words and she felt a painful tug of energy in her head.

Kylo tilted his head to the side a bit. "Are you that blind to the truth? You have the power to be a powerful Sith... I can sense the Force flowing through you yet the only thing you have done with it is suppress it and inflict the power into pain on yourself!"

Skurn hid her fear at his sudden shouting, what was he talking about? That pain she felt, why would it be self-inflicted? She wouldn't hurt herself! She glared at him in frustration at being captured. "Your point?"

"There is someone very interested in your abilities... if you could learn to use them. All you need to do is agree to work for the First Order."

She stared coldly at him for a few moments before speaking. "How much do I get paid?"

Skurn could almost sense the smirk under that helmet as he took a half step closer. "The highest possible price... You get to stay alive."

"That's not a price. I work for credits not life. Joining you means running a risk of dying, therefore you cannot guarantee that I will stay alive." Pressure fell on her throat with an invisible hand and she gave a choked noise.

Kylo lowered his hand as her eyes started to close. "Rethink that offer bounty hunter. If you do not make this deal you won't be leaving this room alive, at least joining the First Order will mean an army at your back and power... a better chance at survival."

"I can survive fine without your army and Jedi powers." Zeh Skurn rasped weakly, still trying to catch her breath.

"And how do you plan to do that while restrained and helpless? I will ask you once more... Join the First Order or die painfully." Kylo hissed at her and placed a hand on his lightsaber. "If I were you, I would choose my next words very carefully."

As much as she didn't want to give in like a coward, Skurn knew that saying no and rejecting the offer would mean certain death. Curse this Sith, he had her cornered and he knew it. She sent him a poisonous glare, anger surging through her and making the room blur as pain wracked her mind... was she passing out again? Doing it on the ship was embarrassing enough; she didn't want it to happen now!

With a shake of her head she managed to block out the pain long enough to speak, though it sounded like a growl through her clenched teeth. "W-when do I start?"

Kylo dropped his hand from his weapon and turned to leave. "Once I finish with the Resistance pilot, Poe. It shouldn't take too long... When I get back I expect you to have freed yourself."

Hadn't he said that was the point of her restraints, so she couldn't? What did he expect the metal to do, pry itself open so she could walk free? Oh, wait, he was an insane Sith Lord who thought she could do that... so of course he did. Wonderful, she was now working for a mad man without getting paid and possibly going to die. How in the entire galaxy had this managed to happen?

"I'm going to die at the hands of the galaxy's craziest freaking psychopath..." Zeh Skurn muttered under her breath before once again trying to squeeze her hands free... if she could get one out without breaking the bones too badly she should be able to grab the blaster at her side and break open the other one.

After getting free, well, obviously she couldn't just run. That would mean death. But Skurn planned to leave this place as soon as she could, no one got away without paying her for killing or stealing, though for the First Order she could guess the prior was the reason she was here. Hopefully this job wouldn't take too long either, the longer she stayed the more she could be drawn into this war between the First Order and Resistance... and no matter how 'powerful' a Sith claimed she was, Skurn didn't want to die over something she wasn't concerned about.