We Look Up at the Same Stars and See Such Different Things ☆ Kylo Ren

☆ Chapter iv ☆

All I saw was black. Black ceiling, black walls, everywhere I looked was black. I felt like my eyes were open, but maybe they weren't, they couldn't be. Slowly, I regained feeling in my arms and legs. I blinked and looked around once more. My eyes were, in fact, open, for the walls and ceilings were still black. I was in a small, dark room. I glanced up to the only source of dim light in the room, a window. Past the cold glass was nothing but a deep void, dotted with searing stars whose light was stifled by distance. I noticed a warmth on my thigh, and when searching for the source of it my eyes landed on a black gloved hand, almost indistinguishable from the unfamiliar dark clothes I now wore. I traced the arm through the darkness, and I could tell it was Kylo's.

My heart fluttered despite myself. Get it together, Madison! I scolded myself in my head. Suddenly, his hand slipped away. The trail it left tingled on my skin. He slowly stood up from sitting on my cot, and spun on his heel. He motioned his hand and the doors slid open. Bright light overflowed into my room. I sat up and held my hand up to shield my eyes. Kylo was already gone from the doorway. My heart began to race as my memory flooded back. "Where am I?" I whispered. "Where AM I?" I asked, louder this time. I heard wheels scratching towards me, and a robot appeared in the window. I gasped. The technology was incredible; I had never seen anything like it. This droid was far more advanced than any computer back on Earth.

"Hello, Miss Vogel. I am medical droid MDK-12. I am here to check up on you." The droid's voice sounded incredibly human.

"Hi," I said shakily, "uh, hi 12. What happened to me?" This droid was a lot less threatening than the other people/aliens I've met around here.

"You had severe cuts on your arm and burns on your hand. I extracted the glass and wrapped the cuts while you were asleep. You should be careful with your burnt hand." 12 approached me and began unwrapping the gauze around my right hand. The bloody gauze disappeared inside the droid, being replaced with fresh gauze. I cringed as the gauze encircled my burns.

"How did I get burned?" I asked, as 12 continued on, tending to my arm.

"After assessing the wound, I believe that the burn came from heated metal shrapnel that hit your hand. Perhaps when you fired the gun in the TIE fighter."

"Oh," I said, letting that sink in. "hold on. 12, how do you know about what happened in the TIE fighter?" The droid clipped the excess gauze hanging from my forearm and quickly carted to the door.

"Policy." 12 said. It was the most mechanical thing that came out of his mouth so far. He turned and wheeled down the hallway.

"Hey!" I yelled, shuffling my sheets. I threw my covers off and stood from the bed. The edges of my vision got fuzzy as darkness ate at the corners of my sight. Ouch, head rush. I got up too fast. Feeling dehydrated and dizzy, I wobbled to the doorway and grasped the frame. A long hallway loomed on either side of my door. Unlike my room, it was brightly lit. As I stepped out from the room, a stinging pain hit my arm. I looked down and finally noticed I had an IV in. I stepped back into the room to keep from pulling on the needle. Just as I did, I heard footsteps. I backed into the darkness as I quickly peeled away the tape covering the IV. As I yanked the needle from my vein, a group of three armored soldiers marched past my door. I recognized the all-white uniforms. I could only hope that those white helmets obscured their vision as I crept out of my room once again and headed in the opposite direction. I turned back, reading the sign by my room. Medical Holding. Huh.

As I continued down the well-lit hall I began to examine my clothes. Well, they weren't my clothes, they were just the clothes I was in. Black pants hugged my legs, and a black t-shirt hugged my waist. Why were these clothes so tight? My eyes widened as I moved to feel my boobs. I was relieved to find that I was still wearing a bra. Upon further examination I found that it wasn't mine; it was black (of course, everything around here was black) and lacy... sexy, even. I gulped. I didn't even want to look at my panties. As I hoped desperately that my undies were new and didn't belong to some other girl, I came across a large door. A keypad glowed next to it, and red lights framed the polished entryway. It seemed to house something important. Just as I looked away, the doors slid open and a dark figure stormed out. All at once, I was shoved against the wall and strong hands were on my waist. It lasted but a second, but my skin went electric afterward. I looked up and was face to face with Kylo. "Great, just what I need." He rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. I guess I interrupted his dramatic exit.

"Sorry, I was just trying to figure out what was going on. I was looking for the medical dro—" I met his gaze and his face was tense. I stopped talking as I curiously watched him check me out. He didn't even hide it. I guess he didn't need to if he was the big man around here. He seemed to think he owned everything around him. "What are you doing?" I asked, trying to mask the flattery in my tone. I couldn't tell if it worked, for his emotions stayed solid.

"What are you doing, girl? You ran right into me." I was about to interrupt and remind him that he ran into me, but he kept going. The words hung in my throat, caught. "And what are you doing walking around this ship? You are practically my prisoner! And your arm is bleeding!" He turned away from me and set his jaw. Man, the temper on this guy.

"What do you expect me to do? I am scared and confused and away from home! And my arm isn't —" Blood dripped to the floor, and Kylo's hand moved to the wound, where my IV was. He grabbed me tightly and practically dragged me down the hall.

"MDK-12!" His shouts put my nerves on end, and probably did the same to anyone listening. The white shiny droid sped around a corner and peeled into my room as Kylo roughly set me back on the cot.

"Lord Ren!" 12 said with surprise, "you don't typically interact with prisoners alone, sir."

"Fix it," he said, lifting his hand from my arm, "she is bleeding all over the ship. I can't have her making a mess." He slid off his glove and threw it at 12. "And clean this." He stood up straight and confidently walked outside. He disappeared down the hall as 12 lectured me.

"You pulled the needle, making it tear your vein further. This is a big vein, Madison! Lots of blood!" 12 didn't hesitate as he threw a single stitch in my arm and gauze wrapped the wound.

"I haven't gotten hurt this often since I was a kid on the playground. What is up with this galaxy?" I looked at the gauze with distaste. "So, we're in the ocean somewhere? Kylo mentioned we're in a ship?"

"Lord Ren." 12 corrected, "And no, we are on Starkiller Base. We are in space."

Whoa, space. That explains the weird view from the window. I looked at the screen above my bed and gazed at the stars once more. I guess they're closer than I thought. 12 beeped suddenly and produced a pager-like computer from a side slot.

"Lord Ren requests your company at an interview. I can take you there. Come along." 12 headed to the doorway and I followed. Were these butterflies in my stomach out of excitement to see Kylo...or fear?