This is where I will die.

There were no windows to her cell, only a small padded door leading into an impressively empty corridor. On occasion, and somewhere far away, she would hear a Stormtrooper pass her corridor in a hurry. They were always in a hurry she noticed, as if they were in a permanent state of emergency. She liked to think it was because the Resistance was keeping them on their toes.

The interior of her cell wasn't uncomfortable – minimalist rather. There were people out there who would pay good money to have rooms like this she pondered, tracing her finger over a monochrome table right next to her single bed. The metal wasn't cold to the touch, in fact the entire room was always warm. The air-conditioning on the base was impressive, the First Order didn't spare on luxury.

Garnet's fingers reached the edge of the table, the end of the great monochrome plain, and she closed her eyes in contemplation. Feeling the metal always sent her into a state of euphoria - it reminded her of her trusty x-wing Starfighter.

I deserve this death. I let myself be captured, I didn't even put up much of a fight…

Garnet leaned back on her bed with her eyes closed, the touch of metal still on her fingertips. She threw her hands behind her head for support against the hard frame of the bed.

It may have been weeks that she has been here, at the very least a few days. Time was shapeless in a space where nothing gave it meaning. Her occasional guards, and they were at best occasional appearing once a day to check on her, talked very little to each other and even less so to her. There was no way of knowing what was happening outside. She was for all purposes completely alone with her thoughts. It was beginning to drive her quite mad.

I need to try…I need to find the strength to get out of here, to run away. I need to find my way back to my people, to my family, to him…

The thought of him brought a smile to her lips, however small. If there was one person in the entire world that she would do anything for, it was him.

A part of her only wanted to become a pilot to be closer to him. It was only later that she discovered her talent for flying, her initial and strongest motivation was him. If he was here, with her…maybe they would have escaped by now. Maybe they would be home, sharing the details to their escapade and laughing at how hard it seemed at first to escape. Maybe…

Somewhere in the distance Garnet heard a commotion. At first she thought the guards were coming for her but the noise was different, the sound of footsteps far too soft to be Stormtrooper armour. Momentary panic overtook her. She bolted upright into a sitting position, hands gripping the frame of the bed so tightly her knuckles turned white.

The footsteps stopped outside her cell. A couple of seconds later the door came open without a sound and a great shadow of a man walked in and stood silently, measuring her up with a judging stare, until the door locked back into place.

A couple of awkward minutes passed between them, the man's expression unreadable. Void of any emotion whatsoever.

Garnet couldn't help but notice how tall he was. As he walked in he was forced to bend down to avoid hitting the low door frame. He had a lanky build, like a shapeless willowy tree. Though he wasn't unattractive, she noted and for a second her mind imagined what it would be like to be with a man like him, to be engulfed by him.

"How do we do this?" Garnet was the first to speak, somewhat happy about having someone to talk to – grim he may be. "Do you threaten me? Should I be scared? I've never been interrogated you see."

The man stepped forward, unresponsive to her prodding questions. He pulled out a chair in one smooth motion and in another smooth motion sat down. The dark fabric of his uniform rustled as he carefully pulled at his jacket to straighten it into shape. His dark eyes refocused on her and suddenly she felt naked. There was something about that stare…like he knew your secrets, your darkest thoughts by looking at you alone.

"Be gentle, it's my first time" Garnet feigned worry, folding her arms on the table – the only object separating her from this gloomy man. A muscle in her right hand began to cramp at the way she folded her arms but she tried to ignore that the best she could.

"I'm not here to play with you. Spare me the theatrics."

His hair is a nice colour of red. It's a familiar shade…

"You're not here to play? That's disappointing." The tension in the room brought all of her blood to her face, colouring Garnet a proud shade of red.

"I don't have time to waste on the likes of you. If you value your life at all, you will tell me where your filthy kind is hiding the map." The man leaned forward, closer to Garnet than she ever wanted him to be. However, the small distance gave Garnet an opportunity to study the man a little more. He was not at all unattractive, some might say he was handsome even. But why did he seem so familiar…the red hair, the predatory look of the eyes, the high cheekbones.

"What map?" And in all honesty, Garnet didn't know about a map. She tilted her head ever so slightly to her side, exposing the smooth curve of her neck.

"Do you take me for a fool?" The man's voice hinted of malice as he leaned further in. Garnet bit her lip to calm herself but bit too hard and drew blood. "Do you even know who you're talking to, filth"

"Should I know you? You don't look memorable" snapped back Garnet. She tried to sound as unafraid as she could possibly be but the drops of sweat building up across her forehead told a different story. Whoever this man was, he wasn't someone she should be messing with. Panicked, Garnet tried to remember all she could about the First Order and their leaders but the fear gripped her so hard nothing came to mind.

"General Hux" he hissed. His right hand shot out and grabbed Garnet's face, his thumb and forefinger pushing into the flushed skin of her cheeks. They stared at each other for a moment before he let go of her, in one quick snap of the hand. "You would do well to remember me Garnet. I can make your life here a living hell. I decide your fate."

The droplets of sweat began making their way down her forehead. There was something about the way Hux spoke that left no room for doubt – this man could kill her without so much as a second thought. There was no room for sympathy in his life, no room for regrets, for love – there was the First Order, his only true passion.

Even in a sitting position Hux still loomed over Garnet, his eyes locked her firmly in place. Garnet felt herself to be an animal hunted and trapped somewhere far from home. There was no place to hide, no time to think and nobody to turn to for help. There was only Hux and her, one wrong move, one wrong thought and she will leave this godforsaken planet in pieces. But she really didn't know anything about a map and even if she did, she'd sooner die than tell him. The Resistance was the only family she had left and she would be damned if she betrayed them.

"Choose your next words wisely, Garnet." Hux repeated her name, looking disgusted with the way it sounded.

I was always told Garnet was a pretty name.

"I'd tell you to go to hell Hux, but we're already in it" Her reply was met with a swift blow of the hand to the face. He slapped her so hard she fell flat on her bed. The burning and the stinging reached her a few second later but despite the pain she laughed, a kind of hysterical laugh born of a hopeless situation.

This is no doubt, a beginning of a beautiful friendship.