Rey paced the small apartment, dreading the unknown number of hours Kylo would be gone. She regretted that she didn't ask for some way to listen in on his progress, though, she supposed, it was probably for the best that she stayed as far removed from the battle as possible. What if he's fighting Finn? Or Poe? Or Rose? "I can't think like that," she said shaking her head.

Her heart nearly burst out of her chest when the doors opened behind her with a hiss. "Ben?" she called, hopeful that he called off the attack. Her face fell when she saw his political advisor enter the room instead. "What do you want?" Rey sneered. She hadn't meant to come off so harshly, but even with her dulled force senses, she suspected the twi'lek's sudden appearance wasn't good.

"Hello Rey," Eyal spoke gently. She moved lazily into the room, toying with a figure perched on a shelf. "I am happy to speak with you under better circumstances."

"I have nothing to say to you," Rey spat through gritted teeth. Her body tensed defensively when she registered the vibroblade strapped across her back.

"Oh, Rey," Eyal said, clicking her tongue. Her wide eyes were warm as she rested a hand on Rey's face. "You do not have to speak if you do not wish."

Rey took a step back to remove the woman's hold. "Then why are you here?"

"I am here to talk, but if you do not wish to talk then there is nothing I can do."

"You mean you're not going to torture me if I say no?" Rey asked eyeing her suspiciously.

Eyal laughed and touched her arm, sliding her hand down to meet Rey's. She squeezed her hand lightly and winked, leading her to the couch.

Rey's feet moved for her, acting against her better judgment to pull her hand away and run.

"If you do not wish to speak, then let us have a drink. We will toast to your new apprenticeship."

"I'm not a fan of drinking." Rey was being unnecessarily stubborn but refused to let her guard down.

"But you look so stressed. Surely the Supreme Leader is not working you so hard so soon?" she soothed. "Come," she said with a wink. "It will be a long night for you if you do not find a way to relax. I will make you a drink and rub your body."

Rey's throat constricted. "Ex- Excuse me?"

Eyal laughed knowingly. "Oh, forgive me. There are still phrases in Common that give me trouble," she said as she moved to make them drinks. "You are sore, no? So, I will rub your sore muscles."

"I think you mean a massage," Rey choked out. She suddenly found herself very warm and removed the outer part of her clothing, revealing a modest, but form-fitted shirt underneath.

"Yes! How silly of me. So, you will have a drink, then?"

"Fine," Rey surrendered. She was entranced by the way Eyal's hips swayed as she moved, with her supple skin, and her eyes hungrily trailed her figure from top to bottom. Rey supposed some of her compliance was due to Eyal's resemblance to an ex-girlfriend on Jakku, and she also surmised that Eyal wouldn't take no for an answer. Better to get it over with, she thought.

Eyal turned around in time to catch Rey taking in her body but pretended not to see. "Here you are," she said sitting down next to Rey, their knees brushing. "Let us toast. To the Order, to your apprenticeship, and to new friends." Eyal delicately tapped Rey's glass and took a drink.

Rey followed begrudgingly and took a cautious sip of the green liquid. "Wow, that's actually pretty good!"

"When you have served politicians for as long as I, you learn how to make a good drink."

Rey glared at Eyal and slammed her drink on the table, sloshing drops of green over the side. "You're just trying to get me drunk so I'll talk to you!" she accused.

Eyal's laugh was buoyant, entirely disarming, if not patronizing. "Rey, you would only tell the Supreme Leader when he returns, so what would be the point in that? Regardless, getting you to drunkenly agree to a press conference would not work since you would simply refuse when you were sober again. I came here for business, but I stay for the company."

Rey hated to admit it, but the woman was right. Yet the nagging suspicion refused to go away. It's probably just because she reminds me of Tali, she laughed to herself.

"What amuses you?"

"Nothing," Rey said, her cheeks flushed. She picked up the glass and took another nervous sip and then a hearty gulp. "So-"

"Turn around and I will rub your body," Eyal interrupted. She relished at the panic in Rey's eyes and corrected herself, "Massage."

"Really, I'm so fine though. No muscle soreness here and –" Her breath caught as Eyal's hands wrapped around her waist and forcefully turned her around.

"That is much better," she breathed into Rey's ear. "You must not forget your drink, young Rey." Eyal grasped Rey's hand and brought it to her mouth, all but forcing her to take a drink. "Mmm, you are so well-behaved, Rey." But before Rey could protest, Eyal massaged her fingers into her shoulders.

Rey cleared her throat and attempted to speak coherently. "You say you've been in politics a long time. Who have you worked for?"

"Many names and many faces. Sometimes the name belongs to the face, but most often it does not."

"Right." Whatever that means. A troubling mixture of arousal and discomfort bubbled inside of her, but she felt incapable of protesting. Though Eyal hadn't said a cross word, she held an unmistakable air of menacing control.

"Do I remind you of someone?" Eyal asked.

"No! Why would you?" she squeaked nervously.

"Working with politicians has also given me the ability to tell when someone is lying." She moved her hands down Rey's back, kneading with intensity.

Rey was terrified at the heat building in her cunt as Eyal's hands moved lower. "You know, I'm not so sure about this massage," Rey protested, her throat bone dry. She attempted to move away, but Eyal's strong hands held her back.

"Who do I remind you of, Rey?" she asked huskily.

Rey took a few hurried sips, the helplessness of her situation settling in. "Um... My ex-girlfriend."

"Oh! Who would have known?" Eyal wrapped her arms around Rey from behind and began rubbing her thighs.

Rey lost her breath when she felt Eyal's breasts press into her back.

"Finish your drink," Eyal instructed, her deft fingers working their way up Rey's inner thighs.

Unsure of what drove her to acquiesce, Rey chugged the remainder of her drink obediently. Eyal's hands inched closer to Rey's cunt, her thighs parting subconsciously, eliciting a small moan of pleasure that escaped from Rey's lips. "Wait," she said, shaking her head. "No." Rey tried to push Eyal's hands back, but her arms were heavy. Eyal released her hold on Rey and watched her struggle with amusement. Suddenly, the glass felt heavy in her hand and it slipped from her fingers, shattering loudly on the floor. Rey blinked, noticing how hard it was to keep her eyes open. "What the fuck?" Her words sounded distant, like echoes in a cave. "What did you do... to me?"

Eyal turned Rey's head and pushed her tongue between lips that parted too easily. "I am going to enjoy the look on your boyfriend's face when I tell him General Swan gave you to the Hutts after you tried to escape."

"N- No!" Rey stammered, willing her body to move.

"Do you know how much you are worth? How many people want a piece of you?" Eyal gently caressed Rey's head like she was an animal with an expensive coat.

Rey's mind swam with static. "Piece?"

"If you are lucky, you will be killed. But there are other buyers like me who likely have many creative ways to make use of you." Eyal laid Rey flat on her back and straddled her, placing her hands on either side of her face.

Rey flinched as Eyal's bracelets clinked beside her ear, their quiet purple glow invading her clouded vision. "Ben will... Ben will kill you," she slurred.

"He will never know of my involvement. I do not take risks unless they are well-calculated. And I have done my research on you."

"Collar... Off... Kill you..."

"It is too bad that you will not get the chance to remove the collar. How does it feel knowing you will be a slave for the remainder of your miserable existence? Does it make you angry? Although I suppose it is not much different from your existence here." She shook out the buns in Rey's hair and ran her fingers through. "Mmm, so soft. You will make someone very happy. But perhaps you can make me happy first."

"Tell Ben... Collar off... Tell Ben..."

Eyal leaned in close. "If you ever tell him about this, I can promise you two things. The first is that I will kill you. For as long as I am alive, you will never sleep for fear that I will be waiting for my moment to strike. Believe me, I am very good at what I do."

"Kill you... He will."

"To kill me he must find me, and I am excellent at disappearing." She planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. "The second is that I will tell him how much you wanted this," she said kissing her again.

"No," she said into Eyal's lips. "I don't...want this."

Eyal smirked and worked her hand into Rey's pants. "It matters not. He will always have that doubt. Now tell me, what about me most reminds you of Tali?"

"Ung!" Rey grunted in surprise as she felt her fingers caress her folds. She knows... From Jakku...

"Is it my lips?" she asked, roughly kissing Rey. "Or my ass? I saw you staring at it earlier." She grabbed Rey's wrist with her free hand and brought it to her ass. "I like it when you touch me, Rey. The more you touch, the more there is for me to tell."

"Ngh..."

"What was that? I cannot understand you when you mumble," she said snarkily.

"No!" Rey yelled as loud as she could, kicking Eyal in the stomach with the little remaining control she still had over her body.

Eyal doubled over on the ground, both hands gripping her stomach as she heaved for air. "You bastard," she groaned shakily.

Rey counted herself lucky for getting in a good strike, but she still had nowhere to run. She wracked her brain to recall some crucial detail, a hidden weapon or secret exit, but she stood helpless, swaying back and forth. "Shit," she muttered as she watched Eyal withdraw the vibroblade from her back.

"Dead or alive," she grunted as she stepped forward. "I gave you a choice."

Comm... Rey thought finally. If she could just find a way past her.

Without warning, Eyal lunged forward, giving Rey only seconds to dodge. Her mind fogged, she overcorrected and crashed to the floor, a jarring pain stealing through her shoulder. Comm... Just need... The comm...

Eyal raised the sword high above her head, readying her strike. They locked eyes and Eyal's face wore a sinister grin. She brought the blade down without mercy, intending to split her head clean open. Rey closed her eyes and prepared for the blow, but a loud explosion sent tremors through the deck. The blade landed with a dull thud on the metal floor just inches away from her head.

"Rah!" Eyal screamed, bringing her sword about for a final attack, but another explosion wracked the ship, sending Eyal toppling to the ground in a heap.

Rey blinked against the drowsiness that threatened to consume her. "Eyal?" she asked weakly. She crawled forward and saw the twi'lek unconscious on the floor. A line of blood contrasted sharply against blue skin as it trailed its way down her lekku. Rey reached a hesitant hand out for the hilt of the sword that lay limp in Eyal's hand.

The hilt provided an anchor for her wandering mind, tethering her to consciousness. Rey pressed the end of the blade to the ground to steady herself, wobbling into a crouch. Her head pounded with a piercing noise, ceaseless and shrill. Only... She took a moment to breathe and registered what must be the ship's alarm system. We were... attacked, she realized. They... they were... attacked. She heard another explosion, more distant this time, and roused her brain into a panic. Attack... Not safe. Have to get... out. Comm... Comm is out.

She clumsily made her way over to the comm and tried to speak coherently. "Hul- hullo? This is... Um... Rey."

"What the bloody hell do you want? We're under attack!"

"I can... help. Lemme help." Rey gripped the edges of the console for stability. "Lemme out 'n' I'll help." The phrase came out as one rushed word. Eyal's threats sounded in her mind so that she was too afraid to ask for help.

"We have things- Shit! -under control here. Our orders are to keep you locked up until the Supreme Leader returns."

"Fuck!" Rey yelled, pushing herself from the console. Desperately, she tried various codes on the keypad next to the door to no avail. Explosions wracked the base with increasing intensity, and she chided herself for accepting the drink. "Fuckin' shtupid." She turned her head at the sounds of a rousing Eyal'bibe. Before she reached full consciousness, Rey dragged her body to the bathroom and ran a set of cuffs through an exposed pipe on the sink. She had barely clicked the set of restraints onto her ankles when Eyal fully regained her senses and spat in her face. "Dirty fucking scavenger!" she screeched.

Rey ignored the stream of obscenities from Eyal, allowing them to fade into the background of her mind along with the alarm and explosions. She experienced a strange sense of calm as she examined the living room. Collar, she thought weakly tugging at it. Escape. She opened Eyal's bag and emptied it of its contents. Among mostly useless items, she found 250 credits, a medpac, and Eyal's encrypted holotablet. "Dammit," she whispered, hoping to find tools instead. She used the medpac on herself, hoping it would diminish the effects of the drugs. She sat against a wall, the cold metal cooling her body. So hot, she thought. She closed her eyes and waited for the medpac to take effect. There was some relief, her mind less fogged. She felt so comfortable with her eyes closed. Colorful patterns danced before her eyes and her breathing slowed. So warm... Her body seemed to melt into the floor, growing heavy. So tired...

BANG! Rey jolted awake in horror as a fighter pilot smashed into the bedroom wall, all but bursting through the reinforced glass entirely. The ship fell away and left cracks spreading steadily like a string of webs.

"Get up! Fuck you, get up!" Eyal screamed from the bathroom, just within eyesight of Rey. She pulled the cuffs against the pipes in a desperate attempt to break free. "I am not going to be sucked into space because you fucking fell asleep!"

Rey's head pounded and she was ready to snap. She glared at Eyal and that's when she noticed them: the bracelets rattling on her wrist in her struggle. Rey lumbered over to her captive, removed the bracelets, and resumed her escape attempt with renewed hope. She fit as many of her new clothes as she could into Eyal's empty bag and added the credits and tablet. Even in her altered state, the instincts that were so central to her life on Jakku broke through the fog enough to prepare for the unknown ahead.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing? That is my fucking tablet! Rey!"

"I hope you... die... onthiship," she said with eerie calmness before closing the bathroom door. As a last-minute thought, Rey grabbed the electronic key to the cuffs and slipped it in her bag. "Fuck her," she said with a shudder.

The medpac had cleared her mind enough to formulate a plan. "One thing... left. Collar..." She snapped open the larger of the two bracelets, the purple light abruptly extinguished, exposing the various wires inside. She hoped the tiny parts were small enough to access the electrical framework of the collar. After some careful fiddling, she had a makeshift splicer. It was rough, but she didn't have time to proof it for safety; a safe splicer wouldn't do her much good if she was blasted into space. She felt horizontally along the collar and stopped when she touched a seam, moving her fingers vertically until they ran over a small hole.

Delicately, she brought a thin metal rod and shifted it across the surface of the collar searching for the hole. "Dammit," she muttered through gritted teeth. Her body hummed with frustration. "So close..." She was to the point of tears, hyperventilating at the infuriating guessing game. "Fuck!" she screamed when she finally felt the metal slide into the hole. A small panel opened with a click and she brought the splicer to the collar. It would either short circuit the collar, causing it to release, or it would electrocute her. She took a deep breath and pressed the splicer to the exposed circuitry. The panel erupted in a shower of sparks and the collar dropped heavily to the floor.

Rey nearly lost her footing as she felt her connection to the force flow unobstructed. She drew on its power to lessen the effects of the toxin, gaining greater clarity and mobility. She donned the cloak from the training room to cover the bag and the vibroblade and approached the keypad by the door. She counted on the lie of her turn to the dark side to grant her safe passage, and a backpack and vibroblade were sure to give her away. After several failed tries with the splicer, Rey heard a strained hum and the doors opened. Her stomach twisted into knots and she felt a pang in her heart as she stepped into the corridor.

"Freedom."