"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep."

"Five more minutes," Rey mumbled, rolling over and adjusting her pillow. "It's still dark outside. I won't be able to see anything…" She trailed off, falling back into her dream.

I wish my bed was this soft at home…

Wait.

An iron fist clamped over her heart as she remembered the events of the last few days, abruptly shaking her from sleep. The lightsaber, being sold to the First Order, her disastrous escape attempt, the throne room, the twisted face of Snoke. Kylo Ren. Just thinking his name gave her chills, and she clutched the blanket closer to her.

Maybe if I keep my eyes closed this will all just be a nightmare. I'll wake up and be back home on Jakku, with Plutt and the other scavengers. None of it is real.

Even as she thought it, she knew it was useless. And, if she was being honest with herself, a small part of her was glad of the challenge she now faced. It had to be better here than trading scraps on Jakku. If only there was some way to ensure that her family wouldn't come back for her while she was gone.

Rey sighed. She knew she couldn't hide in this bed forever. And the beeping was really starting to get on her nerves. She opened her eyes.

The room was a small one, barely bigger than the cell she was kept in earlier. It was clearly in a medical wing of some sort, the walls and floor a sterile, dull grey. The only furniture was the narrow bed on which she was currently lying, and a bulky monitor next to her, which continued to beep steadily. A long, clear tube ran from her left arm to an IV bag supplying her body with nutrients and fluid. Near one side of the room was a chair, bolted to the ground. Apparently someone mentioned to the medical staff what happened to unsecured chairs in her presence.

Gingerly, Rey sat up, feeling herself over for the bruising and cuts from fights and falls of the last few days. To her amazement, she was completely healed, her skin smooth and unbroken. As a matter of fact, she felt better than she had in years, like she had finally gotten a good night of sleep after years of insomnia. With all thoughts of Kylo Ren behind her for the time being, she swung her legs over the edge of the bunk, slowly releasing herself from the IV and the blankets surrounding her.

As her feet hit the polished floor and the IV tube swung away from her arm, the monitor next to her began to beep more insistently, getting louder with every passing second.

Rey looked around frantically trying to quiet the machine before someone came to find the source of the noise. "Shhhh, shhhh," she hissed at the monitor. "Just shut up before you get me in trouble again." She lowered herself to the floor beside it, fingers already busy at work on the closed panels below the screen.

"Well, this looks a lot like the old Star Destroyer control panels on Jakku," she murmured "so if I can just pry this bit up..." The shining metal began to bend under her fingers. "It should…" she grunted at the monitor "pop right off!"

With a loud clang the panel fell from the base, screws and washers flying everywhere. The symphony of cacophony was completed by the increased and more insistent chirping of the protesting machine. It was like the room was screaming at her.

There went her plans of remaining under the radar.

How much time did she have? Two minutes? Three? Would someone take her back to that tiny cell? Would she be knocked out again? Would they take her back to Snoke?

Her breathing was coming out in short gasps, the room suddenly impossibly small.

Control yourself, Rey. You cannot change the past, but you can avoid making the same mistakes.

How? It's too loud in here. It's too small. I can't think.

Breathe, child.

Breathe. She could do that.

Rey closed her eyes, letting her consciousness drift away from her tired body. She counted to ten over and over, letting the rhythm of the numbers soothe her.

Mistakes… what had she done wrong? Her mind flitted over the last few days, the disasters and betrayals which lead to this very moment. What connected them all? She remembered fighting both Plutt and the stormtroopers, and the strength her anger had given her. She remembered tasting the fear in Kylo Ren, and enjoying it.

Not anger, Rey. To act in fear or anger is not our way. You must learn to control your emotions, or you are lost.

Rey blinked, sitting up.

Idiot, she thought to herself. Screw the damned plate back on.

Taking a dive under the narrow bed, she began collecting the various hardware scattered around the room.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

From under the bed, she froze, listening.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

Footsteps, in the hallway. Frantically, Rey shuffled out from under the bed and raced to place the cover back onto the machine, trying to ignore the increase of her heartbeat and the monitor's beeping.

Click.

Two screws left.

Click.

Her fumbling fingers shook as she screwed in the last one.

Click.

She jumped into the bed, trying to smooth her mussed hair.

The door swung open, mere seconds after Rey had thrown the blanket over herself and closed her eyes. Surrounded by its sterile warmth, engulfed in darkness, she tried to control her erratic breathing.

She tried to think through the scenario in her head, still hoping to find a way out without being tortured or imprisoned again. Two sets of footsteps had approached, and both were standing silently by the open (she assumed) door. Were they waiting for something?

It was a few long moments before one of them spoke. Rey could almost swear they were listening to the sound of her heart, it was beating so loudly.

"That's the girl?" The man's voice was mechanic. A stormtrooper. "Little thing, isn't she? You'd think she was seven feet tall from the stories they're telling about her."

Stories? That couldn't be good.

The other person, a woman, spoke in a softer tone. Rey mentally tried to put a face with the new voice. "She came in with nearly half her ribs broken." There was a short pause. "They wouldn't say what happened, only that she was to be treated immediately and sent to work."

Rey supposed that explains the intensity of the pain.

The trooper spoke again. "I'll be waking her up now, to take her into interrogation."

Almost immediately, the woman answered, her voice louder and more commanding.

"You will do no such thing! The girl is my charge, and until I am satisfied with her recovery you will simply have to find some other poor soul to torture."

"Captain, I – "

"What part of no have you misunderstood?" Rey could almost feel the annoyance radiating off of the woman. "I am perfectly capable of attending to her. She has been brutally beaten and what she needs now is rest and food. I will be attending to her, understood?"

Another pause.

"Yes." She hadn't known it was possible for a stormtrooper to sound so meek.

There were footsteps, and then the door closed, leaving Rey and the unknown woman alone in her tiny room.

"Alright, love, he's gone. You can sit up now."

Opening her eyes in shock, Rey saw a short, middle-aged woman peering at her through a thick pair of glasses. She wore the light grey of a medical officer, a color which very nearly matched the wisps of hair poking out from under her hat.

Rey opened her mouth, then closed it again. The woman looked at her kindly, then moved to the monitor, her fingers tapping lightly on the controls. The beeping finally stopped, replaced with a low hum.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but we'll do a bit of a check-up on you first." The woman turned around to face Rey again. "Stand up, arms at your side." Seeing the hesitation on the younger woman's face, she added, "I won't hurt you."

Forcing herself to stand, questions running through her mind, Rey stiffly did as the woman instructed. She opened her mouth again, trying to formulate the right sentence. "I'm sorry, I – I wasn't expecting you – "

The woman laughed, dark eyes sparkling behind her spectacles. "Not all of us wear the helmet, you know. Turn around." Her hands quickly traced the outline of Rey's spine and ribs, then gently prodded her shoulders. "I must say, it's nice to finally meet you. Conversing is nicer than watching a person sleep." She twisted Rey's head back and forth, testing the function of her neck. "I am Captain Asou, head of the health ward in this particular quadrant."

"How long have I been here?"

The Captain sighed, her fingers hesitating. "About ten rotations. You were awfully broken when they brought you in here. I wasn't sure you'd make it, little thing that you are."

Rey must have stiffened, because Asou gently pat her back as she sat her back down on the bed. The woman continued. "They wouldn't say anything about what happened. But, the Supreme Leader himself sent word that I was to treat you myself, and that no harm was to come to you." She gingerly sat down as well, smoothing the rumpled bedclothes.

It was a lot to take in at once. Rey could remember the crunching of her bones and the taste of blood in her mouth, and the thought that Snoke wanted to heal her seemed preposterous.

"Why me?"

Another gentle pat on her shoulder. "I've learned not to ask questions, love."

Captain Asou pulled Rey to her feet, giving her one last concerned glance before snapping back into business mode. "It seems that there's nothing more I can do for you here." She briskly walked toward the door, shoes tapping on the smooth surface. "I'll walk you to your new chambers."

"I can't stay here?" Rey tried to keep her voice from cracking. She choked instead.

"Keeping you here for as long as I did was pushing the patience of the Supreme Leader, but I can take you to your room. You'll be safe there." When Rey hesitated, she stretched out a hand. "I can't wait forever, though."

With a heavy sigh, Rey took the arm offered to her and stepped out of the doorway. Outside her tiny room, the halls seemed cavernous and dark, bringing back memories of pain and two dark, beady eyes staring at her out of a malformed skull.

"Come along, it's not far."

Two rights. A long hallway, and then a left before the metal stairs. Everything looked the same, and it must have been in the middle of the night on the base, as they saw few other people on the short walk. Finally, they walked down another hallway with identical black doors lining both sides. Metal plates in front of them listed two letters and four numbers: TN 0779, TN 0780, TN 0781…

Finally, they stopped in front of a door labelled TN 0812.

"There's been a chip implanted into your wrist. You can use that to open your door." Instructed Asou, pulling up Rey's sleeve to show her the small lump on her left forearm. "This will give you access to the common areas on the base, as well as wherever you've been assigned."

"Where have I been assigned?" she asked as the doorway slid open.

The older woman looked up at her briefly, eyes showing… Was that pity?

"The TN numbers are the throne room servants. You'll be a personal attendant to the Supreme Leader and the Knights of Ren." She shoved Rey into her room. "There will be more information in the morning. Try to get some sleep, TN 0812."

With those final words she was gone, the heavy door clanging shut, drowning out Rey's last words.

"That's not my name."

It would be a long time before she slept that night.

Hello! Sorry for the long absence. School has been...difficult, and this has been sort of put aside. I'll get another update out as soon as I can, but until then I hope you enjoy this one!