Images flashed behind Kiarie's eyelids as she lay against a cold hard surface. She saw StarKiller as it exploded and the only man she had ever loved was murdered by his own mother. The General was responsible for her own son's death whether she wanted to admit it or not. Images of the Knights destroying the rebel scum with her in the Ilum system. Images of Snoke's hologram in the throne room when he had gifted her to the Knights as a slave. Images of the Knights angry and terrifying as they removed her from the Finalizer for the last time. The sight of five Knights kneeling to her as one held her tight, letting her know that they had chosen her over Snoke. That their loyalties truly lied with her and had lied with Kylo.
Images of the last weeks living on the Buzzard with the Knights, free of the First Order and free of Snoke. They had all known the time would come when they would have to deal with Snoke and they had tried to make contingencies for when that time came. He would figure it out eventually that Kiarie was no prisoner and was actually leading the Knights as they destroyed every part of the Resistance they could find.
The trip to Batuu. It played on repeat between all the other images. The Knights had taken heavy fire. She knew at least one had to have been injured. They had stopped to refill on food and supplies when Kiarie had flushed out a Resistance outpost. The Knights engaged but it had been a set up. The Knights didn't know this because they had all been quickly separated from each other and her. The Resistance had been waiting. They had somehow guessed the Knights' next move. They knew they would be on Batuu and they knew they would engage any Resistance allies that they found.
Kiarie had fought with everything she had but they had a Force user of their own. She had not been even close to Kiarie's level in skill but she was enough of a distraction that Kiarie had faltered in her confidence. Blindsided and knocked unconscious from behind Kiarie had been taken from her family. From her Knights.
She knew this much as she fought to bring her mind to the land of consciousness. She couldn't feel the Knights. She couldn't sense them anywhere near her. Over the last month she and the Knights had become attuned to each other in a new way. All their time being spent in such close quarters did that to you when you were Force sensitive. She could tell the second one of their moods shifted. And they could sense her moods easier, her wall on her mind was lowered more often than not now. Vicrul had been able to push completely into her mind with little resistance while they had been meditating in a meadow last week.
They had landed the Buzzard on the unpopulated side of a planet in the outer rim and had spent the day next to a river. Kiarie had the idea to just take a day to relax and do some training in the open air, so they did. They ate lunch by the river and some of the guys even went for a swim. Kiarie had no idea how to swim since she grew up in a desert so she had stayed on the shore. The Knights had laughed and played chicken on each other's shoulders in the water. Kiarie had never seen them so carefree, it had made her smile as she watched the large scary men act like children. A tear slipped out of her eye as she remembered that day that was just a week ago but felt like it was months ago now. A sharp sting spread through her cheek as she realized she had been struck in the face by someone. Kiarie fought harder to bring herself out of her mind.
"Wake up." A man's voice demanded.
"You guys knocked her out pretty hard. I don't think slapping her will help." Another voice said.
Kiarie recognized the second voice but had trouble placing it. More tears slipped from her eyes as she fought the hold the darkness held on her mind. Kiarie was finally able to open her eyes and found herself strapped to an integration table similar to those Kylo used on prisoners. Kiarie looked around and immediately recognized the Jedi, the pilot and the traitor. Three other men were in the room who she had never seen before.
"Good." One of the men she didn't recognize moved closer. "Now bitch you're going to answer some questions we have."
The Jedi spoke up. "There's no reason to call her a bitch."
"Oh I'm sorry has she not led the Knights of Ren in killing thousands in the last month? Is she not Kylo Ren's personal whore on a leash?" The man snapped at the Jedi.
The Jedi looked to the pilot who shrugged and the traitor shrugged as well. Kiarie found her voice and hissed at the man. "I'm no whore you asshole. And you killed millions on Star Killer. Including Kylo Ren. So, fuck you."
"Ah, she has claws. Good, this will make it easier." Another man came forward. "You're going to tell us everything we need to know about the First Order so we can take them down. We know your Knights went running back to Snoke when we took you. They just left you there."
"You're lying." Kiarie spit at the man. "I'll never believe you."
The Jedi approached you. "Kiarie, we can help you. This can go a couple ways. The best is for you to give us the information and we take down the First Order. You can join the Resistance. We know Kylo manipulated you. It's okay. We can help you."
"Fuck you! You killed Kylo! The Resistance killed him when they blew up StarKiller." Kiarie fought against her restraints but she was unable to summon the Force.
"No. Kylo is still alive. He made it off of StarKiller." The pilot stepped forward. "He's alive."
"You're a liar." Kiarie couldn't even think to give herself hope. She knew they were all liars. "The Knights will hunt you down. They'll find me and decapitate all of you."
"They can't find you. We have Force blockers on you and you're underground." The last unknown man stepped forward. "You're all alone little girl."
"You have gravely underestimated the Knights then." Kiaire laughed.
"Kiarie, my name is Rey. I know you want to fight us but we can be allies if you help us stop the First Order."
"Rey? The scavenger?" Kiarie's blood boiled. The Knights had told her all about the scavenger named Rey. "You're the reason Kylo was on StarKiller! You're why he's dead." Kiarie hocked a wad of spit onto Rey's face and pulled viciously at her restraints. She could feel the Force but barely and it wasn't enough to get herself free.
One of the men slapped Kiarie across the face. "Nasty bitch."
Kiarie's lips curled up in a snarl as she tasted the blood in her mouth. "Fuck you."
"I don't fuck Sith trash," the man snapped back.
Kiarie scoffed. "You're all lucky Kylo is dead because if he was alive there's not a planet he wouldn't tear apart to find me."
"Like I said," the pilot approached and pulled out a holodisk, "he's alive." An image came up of Kylo walking around a village with the Knights in tow.
"You were abandoned. By everyone." The traitor came forward and looked at Kiarie with sympathy.
"That could be from anytime." Kiarie looked at the images as they played on the holodisk.
"Look at his face, I gave him that scar on StarKiller." Rey responded. "He lived. So the question you should be asking is, why did he let you think he was dead for a month? Why were you off with the Knights instead of with him?"
"I still don't believe you. You're trying to trick me." Kiarie was shocked and confused. She had no idea what to do.
"Help up take down the First Order and we'll let you go, you don't have to join the Resistance. You can go off on your own and live your life." Rey looked at Kiarie with sympathy.
"No. She's killed thousands of people simply because one person in the village was a Resistance supporter." The pilot argued.
"Poe, we've killed people too and we're going to kill more. If we can take down the First Order then their lives weren't taken in vain." Rey countered.
Kiarie stopped listening as the six people in the room started to argue her fate. Kylo was supposedly alive. How could that be? It had been a month. He hadn't contacted the Knights on the Buzzard. How was that possible? Had he abandoned her? Was he hurt and unable to contact her? Kiarie's mind ran a mile a minute. But wait, the Knights were with him in the holo. Did that mean they knew the entire time? None of it made any sense.
"STOP!" Kiarie yelled, getting the room to go completely silent. Kiarie was close to panicking and needed to be alone with her thoughts. "GET OUT!"
The men and Rey looked at Kiarie and turned to leave. Maybe giving her time to her thoughts was what she needed to be convinced. The men left first and Rey stayed behind to have a moment with Kiarie.
"I want to tell you something." Rey started. "Kylo Ren is not what you think he is. He is not a good man. He can never love or be trusted."
"How would you know?" Kiarie snapped.
"He asked me to join him. To take his hand. More than once." Rey looked at Kiarie with pity as the tears started to fall from Kiarie's eyes.
"You're a liar. You're all liars. Kylo is dead."
"No. He's alive. And he abandoned you. I don't know why but it might be because of me and I'm sorry if that is the reason. I'll never join him, I'll never take his hand. But you need to know he offered it to me. On StarKiller and then through the Force." Rey stood in front of Kiarie with a frown on her face.
Kiarie's eyes widened. "What do you mean through the Force?!"
"We.. We have a connection I can't explain. We can see each other through the Force even when we're far away from each other." Rey paused. "I can tell you love him. But he doesn't love you. He doesn't know how to. You're more powerful than I am that is clear. So why does he want me to take his hand?"
"You're lying. Kylo wouldn't betray me for a scavenger!" Kiarie couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes.
Rey sighed. "I may be a scavenger but I'm also a Jedi, you can be a Jedi too."
"No. I can't. I don't want to be a Jedi." Kiarie spit the word.
Rey sighed again. "Kiarie, help us take him down. He's insane. He's a murderer. He'll never love you."
"Get. Out." Kiarie leaned back and closed her eyes.
Rey took one last look at Kiarie before exiting the cell. Kiarie was left alone to her own thoughts. She pushed out in the Force and tried to find anyone. She reached and reached. Her forehead beaded with sweat as she concentrated. Surely if Kylo was alive she could find him in the Force. No Force blockers could stop her, could they? She was powerful, more powerful than Rey. Rey had even admitted it. Kiarie grunted out loud as she pushed out with her mind. It was painful with the Force blockers on her. If she could get them off then maybe she had a chance. She was about to give up after almost two hours of trying when something flickered in the Force. She felt someone. She didn't know who, but she felt them. Kiarie had no idea if they were even a Knight or a Jedi. She also had no idea how long she had been missing already. How soon had the Knights given up the search? Were they still searching? As quickly as Kiarie had felt someone in the Force they were gone and she was left alone in her mind and in her cell.
Ap'lek POV-
I sat on the Buzzard as we headed for Batuu. Kylo wanted to go and see if there were any clues we had missed. Like we didn't spend the two days it took to fix the Buzzard looking for clues. But whatever Master wants he gets, right? I was concentrating on trying to reach Kiarie with our connection and wasn't getting anywhere. It was pissing me off. Our connection had worked at a distance before so why couldn't I even find her in the Force now? I could always find her. After the first day she had entered my mind she had never left. Our minds lived inside of each other. I couldn't explain it and neither could she.
It had killed me to cut her out for less than a day while we got her off the Finalizer but it had been necessary to protect her. And I would always protect her. So having her gone from my mind was torture. Whoever took her had to have force blockers on her. That was the only thing that made sense. Kiarie was a great fighter but with her Force drained and blocked I wondered how well she would fare in a hand to hand fight.
"Ap'lek, you good brother?" Cardo sat down next to me.
I looked over at him and glared. No I wasn't fucking good. I was fucking devestated. It was like having a part of my soul ripped out. I stared at Cardo for a moment before standing up and walking away. I went to one of the old cells we used for storage and slammed the door behind me. I picked up old ship parts and broken weapons and just started throwing shit. I broke anything I could get my hands on while I growled in a rage of heartache and frustration.
The door to the cell opened slowly and then closed. I turned around to find Trudgen standing just inside the cell. "What?" I snapped at him.
"You gonna tell me what the hell is going through your mind right now?" Trudgen crossed his arms and let out a deep frustrated breath.
"Nothing is going through my mind." I snapped.
"I doubt that. Look we're all upset but you have to keep it together." Trudgen leaned back against the cell wall.
"You don't get it! Nothing is in my mind and that's the problem. I can't sense her. I can't feel her. I can't find her in the Force! It's like she's just fucking gone!" I screamed at Trudgen and through a piece of scrap metal so hard it stuck in the wall. "It's like she just fucking vanished, like she's dead!"
Trudgen took a step towards me and spoke in a low voice. "I know you and her have some kind of connection I can't explain. I see it when you two talk in each other's minds. Master won't like it."
"Master can get fucked." I hissed.
"Can he now?"
I turned and saw Kylo standing in the doorway staring at me with a blank expression. I immediately felt regret. I hadn't meant it. I was just so worked up and Trudgen was getting on my nerves. I just wanted to find Kiarie and bring her home safe. "Master-"
"Trudgen leave." Kylo cut me off.
Trudgen patted my shoulder and shook his head before exiting the cell and leaving me with Kylo. "Master I apologize. I didn't mean it. I'm just so angry."
"I know. You sometimes forget I can feel your emotions better than the others. You're more attuned with the Force than they are." Kylo paused and looked at the steel stuck in the wall. "What has you so worked up?"
"I can't sense her at all."
"And have you been able to sense each other before?" Kylo stood with his arms crossed over his chest while he stared at the floor, pushing an old ship part with his shoe.
I knew not to tell Kylo everything so I gave him a half truth. "Since StarKiller we've all spent all of our time together. We haven't spent a single night apart. We meditated together. All of us. We can all sense her in the Force better now. She took down her wall when she was around us. Letting us all into her mind, all the time. And she lived in ours. The connection grew stronger everyday. Now she's gone. I can't find her anywhere." I paused and looked over at Kylo who looked like he was thinking really hard. "It's just frustrating."
"So you all lived in close quarters for a month thinking you were all each other had and you grew closer." Kylo didn't need to phrase it as a question, he knew that's exactly what had happened. Minus the previous connection Kiarie and I shared that was stronger than what her and the other five Knights had combined.
"Yes," I replied with a huff. "We have to find her Master. It's all our fault she's gone."
"We will find her. I don't know how. But we will." Kylo uncrossed his arms and looked like he wanted to say more but we felt the ship drop out of lightspeed. We were at Batuu.
We exited the Buzzard and headed down the street where the fight had taken place. Kuruk and Ushar stayed back with the ship so we wouldn't get sabotaged again. Kylo led the way and reached out in the Force to try to detect her or any part of her. We walked the streets for an hour when I felt my skin crawl as we passed a pawn shop.
"Master wait?" I called out through the comms in our helmets.
"What is it-" Kylo cut himself off. He felt it too.
He stormed past me and into the pawn shop. I followed directly behind him and the other Knights stood watch outside. Kylo walked directly to the shop owner and yanked him across the country with one hand by his collar. "You have a lightsaber here! Where is it?"
"What? I don't have any lightsabers! Please let me go." The shop owner struggled against Kylo's grip but couldn't get free.
"I know it's here you can hand it over or I'll tear this whole fucking shop apart." Kylo looked over his shoulder at me. "Ap'lek."
I moved to start searching the shop when a young boy, maybe eighteen, came out of the back. "Hey! Let him go!" The boy moved to grab a blaster and Kylo pulled the boy across the room with the Force gripping him by the neck.
"Where's the lightsaber kid?" Kylo growled through his mask.
"I don't know what you're talking about." The kid looked everywhere except Kylo's mask. He was lying.
I started tearing the shop apart and I wasn't being gentle. "I'll destroy this entire shop unless you tell him, kid. Where's the lightsaber?!" I pushed over a display case and tore through the drawers of another. I smashed everything within the first ten feet of the door.
"Okay, just stop!" The kid cried out.
Kylo let him go but kept a firm grip on the old man. I paused my destruction as the kid went to a safe in the corner and put his thumb on the scanner. The boy reached inside and pulled out a long double hilt saber. Kiarie's saber. I rushed forward and snatched the kid by the throat before Kylo could get to him. I snatched the saber from his hands. "Where!?"
"What?" The kid shook as I pulled his face an inch from my reaper mask. I could taste his fear.
"Where did you get this!?"
"I bought it yesterday. A local guy came in said he found it in an alley." The kid closed his eyes trying to avoid looking at my mask. "That's all I know I swear."
I turned with the kid in my hand and tossed him to Kylo. Kylo let go of the old man and grabbed the kid. He went into his mind and took the images of whoever had sold Kiarie's saber to the shop. The kid screamed and pulled against Kylo's hold while the old man plopped down on the floor and watched in horror. When Kylo had what he needed he threw the kid to the ground and called Kiarie's saber from my hand to his. Turning quickly he exited the shop and headed north down the road.
The Knights and I followed him to the alley where Kiarie had been taken. A bar sat against it. Kylo moved to the back door of the bar and went in. I followed him along with Vicrul, while Trudgen and Cardo waited outside. Kylo moved through the back of the bar to the kitchen area, ignoring all protests from employees. He stopped in the kitchen and pointed to one man by the ovens. Vicrul shot forward and grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and dragged him back outside. Vicrul tossed the man to the dirt ground and the Knights circled him. He didn't say a word as he looked up at the Knights. We all exuded fearful and angry energy. The man shook slightly in fear as Kylo entered the circle and crouched down to the man's level.
Kylo pulled out the saber and showed it to him. "Where did you get this?"
"I found it in the dumpster." The man pointed behind Kylo to a large dumpster. "There was a fight a few days ago. I watched part of it and then when I took out the trash later it was in the dumpster I swear, I didn't steal it."
Kylo held his palm out to the man's head. "I'm going to have a look and see if you're lying. It will only hurt if you resist. So I suggest you don't fight it." Kylo took the man's memories. He only winced since he chose not to put up a fight. Kylo quickly got what he needed and stood up. He moved past the man and the Knights in a furious rage. He took out his own saber and cut the dumpster into pieces.
"Go." I said to the man and he scampered away like a rat.
Kylo walked out of the alley and headed back for the ship. We followed silently as people jumped out of our way. I could feel Kylo's rage at whatever the man's mind had shown him. Once on board Kylo retreated to his cabin, leaving the Knights in the common area clueless. We had her saber and that was it. It was a clue but not a good enough one. It was also one the Knights had missed because the cook had taken it. It was an hour before Kylo came back out to the common area.
"Kuruk, set a course for Kijimi." Kylo sat down at one of the tables and took off his helmet.
Kuruk ran to the cockpit and set the course, taking us off Batuu and putting us at lightspeed within minutes. I'd never seen him move so fast. I looked over to Kylo who was rubbing his face against his hands. "Master?"
"I know they're not the only people behind it but two of the men who took her are Kijimi spice runners." Kylo punched the table hard, cracking the surface.
"How do you know?" Vicrul asked cautiously.
"I recognized two of them and they had the gang's symbol on their jackets." Kylo stood up and started pacing.
"What if they were hired and she's not on Kijimi?" Ushar asked.
"Then we'll find out who hired them. I know the Resistance is involved somehow." Kylo continued his pacing and was getting more pissed off.
I stood up and walked out of the common area. I retreated to my cabin to rest until we got to Kijimi. There was nothing I could do right now. When I entered my cabin I laid down on my bed pulling my helmet off and tossing it across the room. I pressed the back of my head into the pillow and closed my eyes. I tried to find her again. I had to see if I could reach her. I found each of the Knights in the Force, then I found Kylo. I reached past all of them and tried to call out to her through our connection. My brow started to sweat but I felt cold. I felt cold and darkness. I thought her name over and over, calling out to her wherever she was. Something shifted and I concentrated on one spot in the Force. It felt different. Like it was her but like she was behind a thick wall. It had to be something else.
"Ap'lek!"
It was her, she was alive.
Third person POV-
Kiarie didn't know how long she had been in this cell. She was strapped to the table still. Rey had come in a few times to let her off to use the toilet and try to feed her but Kiarie refused to eat. She took the bathroom breaks because her bladder was killing her but other than that she didn't do anything else. She didn't try to escape. She didn't put up a fight.
Kiarie's mind had been consumed for the last day with thoughts of Kylo's supposed betrayal. She had tried to fight the Force blockers and find the Knights in the Force but it was impossible.
Kiarie closed her eyes hoping she could get some sleep. She took deep calming breaths after a long day of being told to turn against the First Order. Honestly Kiarie was starting to consider it. Hux was gone so she had no loyalty to any high ranking officers. The Finalizer crew was already dead, so no worries about those she had worked close with. She had no loyalty to Snoke, that fucking deformed monster. But Kylo was still out there. Had he really abandoned her. Had he traded her in for the scavenger. That's what one of the men had said today.
But what about the Knights, she had loyalty to them. But maybe they didn't actually have loyalty to her. It had never made sense to her. Why would they ask her to lead them? They were able to hide things from her she knew that now. What else were they hiding? Maybe it was all an act to get her away from Kylo. Or maybe it was all Kylo's idea. Maybe he didn't want her anymore. The lack of food and water was confusing her mind but she would refuse anything they offered her. It could easily be poisoned and she didn't want to die that way.
Kiarie quieted her mind and tried to meditate to calm her worried mind. She wasn't concentrating on anything when she felt a flicker of someone. She assumed it was the Jedi since she was so close. Kiarie decided to reach out in the Force and used all the strength she had to push past the blockers. The flicker grew stronger before it grew familiar. It was him. She felt him pushing towards her. It was like an invisible tow cable being tossed to her and she grabbed it with every part of her mind.
"Ap'lek!"
"Kiarie!" His voice came through like he was right in front of her. "Are you okay?"
"NO! Is Kylo alive?"
"Yes. Snoke lied. And he told him we were all dead!" Ap'lek's voice was filled with relief.
"I'm strapped to a table. The scavenger is here, so is the traitor trooper and the pilot who tried to take me from the Finalizer!"
"Do you know what planet you're on?"
"No. I haven't left this room since I woke up yesterday. How many days has it been?"
"Four. We will find you. Nothing will stop us."
"Ap'lek, I need you-" Kiarie cut herself off. "Someone's coming in." The second the door to the cell opened the connection was lost. "No! Fuck!" Kiarie screamed out loud.
"Hello to you too." Rey entered.
"Fuck you." Kiarie hissed.
"I wanted to let you know I'm leaving" Rey sighed.
"Why would I give a shit if you're leaving?"
"Because you'll be left with all men when you have to do your business." Rey let out a small laugh.
"Honey, I live on a prison ship with six large beastly Knights of Ren." Kiarie rolled her yes. "I'll be fine."
"Okay then. I think you really need to consider turning on the First Order. We can help you." Rey tried one last time. She didn't know what would happen to Kiarie once she left. She knew Leia had not approved the mission. Poe had gone against orders. He wanted the Knights for slaughtering the people in the Ilum system and to get to them he had to get to her first.
"No." Kiarie glared at the girl in front of her. "And you better stay away from Kylo, or when I get out of her I'll run you through with your own fucking saber."
"You know. I really hoped you would see reason. But you're too dark. Too far gone. I sense the light in Kylo. I don't sense any in you." Rey smirked as she looked Kiarie up and down. "I'll just have to convince him to come back to the light. Be Ben again. Then we won't need you at all." Rey's lips curled up in an evil grin.
Kiarie lunged forward and tried to break her restraints but there was no way she could. "You leave him the fuck alone. Kylo is perfect the way he is. I accept him exactly as he is."
"Well maybe i'll convince him you died and he needs to come to the light. I'm sure I can manipulate him in some way. You may be stronger in the Force than me, but you can't deny I'm far prettier." Rey laughed and walked out of the cell.
"Fucking Bitch!" Kiarie yelled after her.
The men had come into her cell multiple times a day trying to convince her to fold against Kylo Ren and the First Order. Kiarie refused every time. The men had grown frustrated and had even tried beating her into submission which only made Kiarie laugh like an insane person. Now it had been days since anyone had come into the cell. Kiarie had soiled herself by now. She was weak from dehydration and starvation. Unable to connect to Ap'lek again in the Force due to her weakened condition when her restraints were removed she couldn't put up any kind of fight. A man she had never seen before and Poe, the pilot, dragged her out of the cell and to one with a cot and a small bathroom. A fresh set of clothes sat on the cot.
"Get cleaned up. I'll be back for you soon. I have someone I want you to see." Poe set Kiarie down on the bathroom floor.
Kiarie waited for them to leave before falling to her side on the floor. She tried to find the strength to get up and after a few minutes she found it. Her wrists each had one cuff with blue lights. She knew these were what was blocking her powers. She also figured they were water proof since she was going to shower with them on. Kiarie pulled off her soiled combat clothes and crawled into the shower. Turning on the water the freezing cold temperature shocked her awake until she got the temperature warm but not too warm. She took a minute to taste the water. The odds of the shower water being poisoned were near impossible. Once she couldn't taste any heavy metals she climbed up to her feet holding onto the wall. Kiarie opened her mouth and drank slowly. Taking in a little at a time so she wouldn't vomit it all back up.
Kiarie stood in the shower letting the water hide her tears as she cried thinking about Kylo and the Knights. She hadn't stopped thinking about them. Kylo had thought her and the Knights dead. It all made sense. The Knights and Kylo hadn't plotted against her. It had all been Snoke. And when Kiarie got out of this somehow, Snoke's life would end at her hands. For all the torture he put the Knights through, for everything he had done to Kylo, and what he has now done to her. Snoke's last breath would be taken by Kiarie's hands.
Kiarie washed every part of her and when her legs grew tired she moved out of the shower with a full belly of water that she had slowly drunk. She could feel it slosh around inside of her as she walked slowly, trying not to jar herself. She found a towel on the sink and wrapped herself up drying off before walking slowly to the cot and picking up the clothes. It was a pair of basic black leggings, a pair of black panties and a black t-shirt. Kiarie grabbed her bra that she had been in for days and put it back on. She wouldn't walk around or sit around in that thin shirt with no bra.
Once she was dressed she laid down on the bed but now sooner had her head hit the pillow then there was a knock on the door. "Are you decent?"
"Yes." Kiarie answered.
The door slid open and Poe walked in. "Stand up." Kiarie stood up and Poe placed a second set of cuffs on her wrists locking them together. "Walk." Poe pushed her towards the door.
Poe pushed her down a hallway with several doors on either side. "How long have I been here?"
"Be quiet." Poe snapped.
"Fucking hell." Kiarie mumbled. "You at least answer my one question, it's not like I'm even putting up a fight right now. Even though I'm pretty sure I could kick your fucking ass cuffs or not." Kiarie sighed. "Dick"
"Quiet!" Poe shouted and pushed Kiarie harder down the hallway.
The hallway ended and they stepped into a large open room. A table sat near the center with several men sitting at it discussing something. Poe pushed her forward until she was a couple feet from the end of the table that had no chair. The men all turned to look at her. The man at the end of the table farthest from Kiarie stood up and walked over. He circled Kiarie and gripped her chin in his hand looking in her eyes and taking in all her features.
"Why is she so thin?" The man asked in an accent Kiarie had never heard before.
"She refuses to eat. I'm not going to bother forcing her." Poe replied with disgust in his voice.
"Hmm. Well she is of no use to me, dead and unhealthy." The man sat on the end of the table directly in front of her. "I'll give you half the discussed amount considering her condition."
"No. The full amount. She's the apprentice to Kylo Ren and close with the Knights of Ren. You can ransom her back to them for three times the agreed upon amount." Poe spoke in an angry tone.
"Not if she is dead. Which she looks to almost be." The man looked Kiarie up and down again. "Two thirds. Final offer. You want to be rid of her so bad, you called me but I can just leave her here if you like."
Poe groaned in frustration. He turned to one of the men that had been in Kiarie's cell as the buyer walked back to the other side of the table. "Poe just fucking take it. Ren's doesn't want her back. He made it clear in his last message. Pawn her off before they figure it out. Then they can decide her fate. She doesn't mean anything to Ren or the Knights anymore you know that."
Kiarie turned and faced the men speaking about her. Her breath caught in her throat as they continued to talk, not noticing her watching and listening.
"I know that but I want the full amount. General Organa won't let me back in the Resistance after this. I'm on my own. I need money to survive." Poe answered the man.
"Come back with us to Kijimi. You can be a spice runner again. Let's unload this unwanted bitch and move on. The last message we sent was completely ignored and before that Ren literally laughed in our face. He won't pay the ransom. Let Dooku figure that out on his own." Poe's friend pleaded with him as Kiarie listened. Her stomach turned at the realization that Kylo was offered a ransom for her and refused to pay it.
"Fuck!" Poe hissed under his breath. "I almost feel bad for her. She had so much faith in him and he really is just abandoning her to the enemy. He wouldn't even negotiate." Poe turned and saw Kiarie look away quickly. "Fine. Try to get three quarters."
The spice runner nodded and walked up next to Kiarie. "We'll take three quarters. I think that's more than fair."
The buyer mulled it over for a minute. "Fine. Zander, collect my property and transfer the credits. I'm headed to the ship."
A man stood up and walked over to the spice runner and shook his hand before pulling out a datapad and transferring credits. Kiarie stared in shock. She had been captured by the Resistance and Kijimi spice runners and now was being sold to some man named Dooku who thought he could ransom her back to Kylo. But Kylo had already written her off. Zander grabbed her arm and began pulling her away from the spice runner and Poe.
"Wait!" Kiarie turned back to the spice runner and looked into his eyes with pleading. "How long have I been here. Please I need to know."
"Why?" He scoffed.
"Please for my own sanity. Please." Kiarie let a tear fall hoping to sway the man.
He sighed and gave her a look of pity. "Eleven days."
Kiarie's legs gave out. She'd been held captive for eleven days. "How many days since Rey left. Please." More desperate tears flowed from her eyes.
"Seven." The spice runner answered her and then turned to walk away leaving Kiarie on the ground on her knees.
Kiarie felt herself hauled up by her armpits. She was too weak to walk. Too heartbroken to move an inch. When she collapsed again she heard Zander yell to someone who came over and picked her up. She was tossed over a large shoulder and carried from the room. She didn't fight it. She had no fight left to give. Kylo had abandoned her. She hadn't been able to connect to Ap'lek in a week. It was like being abandoned twice. Her mind swirled with anger, regret, sadness, and numbness. She was becoming numb to it all. What would this man Dooku do once he found out Kylo didn't want her? That he had laughed at the idea of paying to get Kiarie back. Did the Knights know? Did they know their Master had abandoned his apprentice to the enemy? It didn't seem right.
Kiarie knew she was powerful. It was the whole reason Kylo took her on as an apprentice in the first place. He wouldn't let the Resistance keep her. Would he? Had Snoke corrupted him more. Was he trading her for the Jedi? For Rey?
Kiarie was tossed down onto a steel chair and strapped into a harness. Dooku walked over and stood in front of her. "You will make a fine addition to my collection girl. You are Force sensitive?" Kiarie nodded. "Good, we will assess your abilities after we get some nutrients in you. If your master does not want to pay for you I have plans of my own for you. I'm sure you won't like them but I know I will." Dooku reached forward and tucked a stray hair behind Kiarie's ear and let his cold fingers brush her cheek. Kiarie's body lurched forward and her stomach emptied all the water she had drank in the shower. It splashed all over Dooku's robes and her own legs.
Kiarie sat up once the heaving stopped. That's when the first blow came. A powerful backhand right across her face. Her lip split and her mouth filled with blood from her teeth biting her cheek. Another backhand across the other cheek and she thought for sure she would black out.
"If you decide to be difficult I can make this a most painful experience, girl." Dooku snapped as he hit her one last time.