Chapter 34 - Cat and Mouse
A/N - Second of two chappies for you all tonight! This one was a lot of fun to write, but there's still much more story to tell! Enjoy, my Reylo Lovelies! Please vote and comment! Thank you to all for reading! It means so much to me!
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Vitka stormed through the corridors of the Finalizer, barely able to contain her rage and frustration. Upon hearing that the Supreme Leader was the victim of an assassination attempt – and had barely survived, she concluded her business on Yavin-4 and made her way back to the Finalizer to see him for herself.
Upon arriving, she was bombarded with stories about the Jedi Girl who had saved not only his life, but the life of the three First Order Officers that were with him. And not only that, they were saying that the Supreme Leader had made her his, and that they were staying together in his quarters.
Vitka seethed – overwhelming jealously coursing through her. If this were true, it would explain his edict for the Knights not to hurt the girl. He had wanted the girl this whole time! Despite the fact that Kylo had never once made any advances toward her, Vitka felt as if she had been played for a fool.
Vitka had dreamed of being the 2nd in command, and of leading by Kylo's side – as well as in his bed. But it was not too late. This little mouse would not usurp her – would not take everything she had worked so hard for, away, in the blink of an eye. She was on the hunt. She knew the Jedi Girl was still on board, and when she found her....
***
Rey made her way through the halls of the ship with Lt.Tiga by her side. After visiting so many different decks and places on board, she was starting to get an idea of how big the ship actually was. The sheer number of canteens they passed was mind boggling.
"And how many staff are on board?" She asked him.
"It varies. It can range from between 15,000 – 23,000 depending on the number of Troopers on board – and that depends upon whether we're on any special missions, etc." He paused. "But the Ascendancy – our new flagship – will staff up to 40,000!" He told her excitedly. "Its positively gigantic! But sleeker, faster and more modern than this ship."
Rey remembered Ben briefly mentioning something about the new ship.
"But, I saved the absolute best area of the ship for last." He gushed. "We have a huge entertainment complex complete with a 4D video theater, a games center and a PIF facility. Wait till you see it – it'll blow your mind!"
She laughed at his excited enthusiasm. "Sorry, but what exactly is a PIF facility?"
"Oh, sorry! It's a Personal Immersive Fantasy system. You go in, and program a fantasy that you'd like to experience – say, atmospheric diving – and you get to live it! Its pretty amazing."
His excitement was actually amusing to watch. "Wow, that actually does sound pretty amazing! Sure, I'd love to see the entertainment – "
"Hello little mouse." A patronizing, smooth as silk voice sing-songed nearby. Rey turned to see a Knight of Ren standing closely behind her. "So, we meet again little mouse."
Rey's eyes widened as she recognized the female Knight that had been on Onderon. Her expression softened, and she began to explain. "About that...".
"No need to explain." The Knight continued to sing song. "I see you're no longer running from the First Order." The Knight removed her helmet to reveal a relatively pretty female with almost snow white skin, and midnight black long hair. Her eyes were the brightest, most vivid shade of blue that Rey had ever seen. She was almost captivated by them, to the extent that she nearly missed what the Knight said next. "But, perhaps you should be." She droned out in a low voice.
Rey took a step back, suddenly unsure of this woman. Reaching out, she could feel overwhelming anger and hatred flowing off of her towards Rey. What the hell? "Excuse me?" Rey asked.
The Knight smiled back at her evilly. "I said... perhaps you should still be running. You might want to start – right now."
Confused, Rey asked her. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Of course." The Knight told her. "My name is Vitka Ren. You deserve to know the name of the person that's going to kill you."
Rey's mouth fell open in shock as Tiga stepped in between the two women. "Now, I'm not sure what's going on here, but the Supreme –"
"You dare to interfere?!" She screamed at him. "You insolent little gnat!"
Rey put her hand on Tiga's arm and shook her head at him when he glanced over to her.
"Get out of my way!" She screamed, while flicking her hand. Tiga went flying sideways, knocking into the wall. Rey just gaped at the crazed woman, before rushing over to Tiga to make sure he was okay. He was unconscious, but she could feel a pulse. As she moved to face the Knight again, she could hear the distinct humming of a light saber as it ignited.
***
Kylo was in his third meeting of the day with two of his Generals and three other superior officers, when he suddenly felt a prickle of unease. He cocked his head slightly and tried to reach out. It has to be something with Rey. He thought. It wasn't long before he felt his adrenaline spike, followed by a thread of fear that began flowing through him. Reaching out through the bond, he prodded her. Rey? When there was no response, he asked again. Rey? Sweetheart, what's going on? Met with continued silence, he abruptly stood up, startling the Officers in the room, and hit the comm button on a nearby desk. "Get me Tiga, now!"
He waited several heartbeats, his breathing starting to speed up, while the Generals and officers just watched him silently, their expressions wary. Holding out his hand, he gave them an apologetic look. "This will hopefully just be a moment."
Worry began to eat at him. He had thought he felt one of his Knights come on board about an hour ago, but usually they contacted him immediately when they did. He fervently hoped that this had nothing to do with the Knight. Closing his eyes, he reached out, and could now clearly feel Vitka's presence, causing his anger to immediately spike.
There was a crackle of static on the comm. "Sir, he's not responding Sir. Sorry, Sir."
Kylo hissed in frustration. "What is his location?"
Another several heartbeats went by. "He's on Deck 22 in Zone E4"
"Thank –"
"Sir, we've just had a report of a disturbance in that zone. The reports indicate that its one of your Knights, and...and your... your...."
Kylo's blood ran cold and he roared his fury as he practically ran from the room.
***
Rey thanked the stars that she had decided to clip her saber to her belt when she left Ben's quarters today. She had actually debated leaving it behind, in case it made anyone nervous, but reasoned that she was the one in unfamiliar and potentially unfriendly territory. Little did she know how right she was.
Looking at Vitka Ren smiling evilly at her, skin aglow from the red hue of the saber that she was swinging menacingly, Rey couldn't help but wonder how the hell she got to this point. The day had started so well.... Sighing, she ignited one of the blades of her saber and got into her battle stance.
Vitka's smile grew even larger as she saw the Jedi Girl call her saber to hand and ignite it. "Good." She said. "We wouldn't want this to end too quickly. I want your death to be slow – by a hundred little cuts."
Rey slowly circled around the Knight, noticing that a number of First Order staff were watching from a distance, concern clearly showing on their faces. She was pretty sure that this scuffle had probably been reported, and that reinforcements would be along shortly. She really didn't want to kill Ben's Knight, and so needed to stall for time. "Could you perhaps enlighten me as to why you want to kill me so badly?"
"It's quite simple really." Vitka was back to her smooth sing-song, and suddenly lunged at Rey, aiming a strike at her midsection, which Rey easily blocked. "I've worked too long and hard to be Mistress of the Knights of Ren. I'm certainly not going to let you just walk in and take it from me."
Mistress? Of the Knights of Ren? What the hell did that mean? Rey puzzled. And why does she hate me for it?
Sensing her confusion, Vitka cackled with glee, as the two continued to circle one another. "Ahhh I see he hasn't told you yet." She whirled again, attempting to strike Rey in the shoulder, but Rey successfully dodged it. "He'll be asking you to join the Knights shortly." Smirking, she continued, smugly. "Well, I mean, he was going to.... But unfortunately you won't be around for that to happen." Jabbing forward, she almost poked Rey in the shoulder, but she was able to bat it away.
"Let me get this straight. You want to kill me because you think the Supreme Leader wants me to join the Knights of Ren?" Rey began laughing – truly laughing at the Knight. Unfortunately that only served to infuriate her even more, and Rey had to block and dodge several more strikes. "Did you ever think that maybe I'd refuse?"
"Refuse? Refuse? Please, this entire ship knows that you're sleeping with him!" Rey could see that the Knight was quickly becoming irrational, her strikes starting to become wilder and more dangerous, but Rey continued, easily blocking them all. "You! A piece of Jedi filth from the Resistance! How could he stoop to take you into his bed?" She looked at Rey with utter disgust. "Why else if not to make you the Mistress of Ren?"
Rey spun around to block yet another strike, finally losing her temper at the now deranged Knight. "Maybe because he loves me?!" At that, the Knight stopped dead and just stared at Rey for a heartbeat before raising her saber, and roaring as she charged.
It was now clearly a battle, rather than a game, with Vitka swinging erratically, in attempt to hit Rey in any way possible. Rey was tiring, both physically and mentally, as she became more and more frustrated with the situation. She really didn't want to hurt the Knight, but now figured that she was probably not going to have a choice. Her blocks became more forceful, and she herself started to swing at the Knight, attempting to strike her without killing her, trying to end the altercation.
Vitka couldn't believe that this little mouse had evaded her for so long. Enough was enough! She drew on all of her hatred of the girl to increase her focus and power in the Force, and began a renewed attack. Her blows now came faster than before as she felt a bump in her energy, fueled by her darkness and the Force. Suddenly, her efforts paid off as the girl faltered on her right ankle and stumbled. This allowed Vitka to land a hard blow on the girl's upper left arm, cutting almost to the bone before the girl could push back with her saber. Feeling certain victory pulsing through her Vitka spun her saber for the death blow.
Rey could feel the Knight's energy surge as she charged toward her and began striking with renewed strength and vigour. She had to dodge one of the blows suddenly, and rolled on her bruised right ankle. The pain caused her to lose her balance, and broke her focus for just a second, but it was enough to give the Knight an opening. She cried out as she felt the blade slice through her left bicep just as she brought her saber up to block it. However, the sudden pain helped to sharpen her focus, and she could almost see the series of events that were about to happen as she watched the Knight's saber swing down toward her head. Feeling the Force flow through her, Rey ignited the 2nd blade on her saber, briefly noting the Knight's eyes flare wide in surprise, before she twisted the blade upward in a sweeping arc, slicing a deep gash into her right thigh and cutting off the knight's saber hand as well. The Knight's saber clattered to the floor as she screamed loudly and her leg gave out beneath her.
Rey watched the Knight fall, and took in the carnage all around that she had caused. There was blood everywhere – some of it her own. Her stomach lurched and she wobbled on her feet, as she finally noticed the torrent of blood running down her arm and dripping from her fingers. Her vision began to cloud just as she heard Ben's desperate roar – seemingly from far away. She could feel her legs begin to give out and Ben's arms scoop her up, catching her just as she began to crumple.
***
Kylo's heart was beating out of his chest as he rode the lift to Deck 22. Please let her be all right. He thought to himself. Gods, I hope she has her saber! Vitka was particularly vicious, as she had a taste for wanton killing, and he knew she held a grudge against Rey for slipping through her fingers on Onderon. Trying to reach her through their Master-Apprentice bond, he called out to her. Vitka! I know you're on board. What are you doing?! He was met with complete silence, and growled. If Vitka had gone after Rey, despite his orders there would be hell to pay. He clenched his fists to control his anger and let out a long exhale to clear his head. Rey would be proud of him. When the doors opened, he raced down the halls to E4.
As he approached he could see that the corridor was blocked by staff and Stormtroopers alike, watching the scene with fascinated horror. All stayed a good distance away from the confrontation. Even the Stormtroopers knew they were no match for two Force wielders armed with lightsabers – especially when one of them was a Knight of Ren, who were the most deadly of all. "Move!" Kylo yelled, and used the Force to nudge several of them out of the way as he ran through them.
It all happened so fast that he didn't even have time to react, but as it played over and over in his mind later, he'd think it was in slow motion. All he could recall was terror - stark, sheer, terror at the scene that played out in front of him. When the two combatants came into sight, he could see Rey twist to dodge one of Vitka's strikes and falter on her right ankle, allowing Vitka to land a vicious slash across Rey's arm. His sharp intake of breath didn't even get a chance to leave his lungs in the loud roar he had intended. Instead, he heard Rey's shriek of pain, followed by the flare of her 2nd blade as it ignited just in time and tore a path upward through Vitka's thigh and farther, removing her hand just as she was about to cleave Rey's head from her body. He saw Vitka fall and continued running toward Rey as he shouted her name. She began to sway on her feet and he literally dove to catch her before she hit the ground.
"Rey... Rey... answer me Sweetheart." He prodded frantically as he gently set her on the ground and began checking her over for injuries other than the gash in her arm, but there was so much blood he couldn't tell. He noted that the onlookers were now all around him, and someone handed him a strip of cloth over his shoulder.
"Here, use this as a tourniquet. I think its only her arm." Grabbing the fabric he looked over his shoulder to see a familiar female face. One of the nurses from MedBay maybe? She was in casual clothing and so was likely off duty, but his brain seemed sluggish and couldn't form any coherent thoughts. "Sir, here, let me do it then please. She's bleeding very badly. The cut must have severed an artery, but the heat failed to cauterize it."
He handed the strip back to her but didn't move away from Rey to give the nurse enough room to work. She not too gently nudged him out of the way, and efficiently tied the tourniquet. "Okay, get her to MedBay. I'm guessing she'll need surgery to repair the artery. A lot of stitches at the very least." Looking over at Vitka, she told him. "I'll see to other one."
That seemed to snap him out of his stupor, as he lifted Rey up in his arms again. He looked over at Vitka who was watching him with hateful eyes. His intent was unmistakable, and as he spoke he could see her face twist even further in hatred. "No. Let her bleed out for all I care. She did this on her own – brought it on herself."
The nurse's eyes flared for just a second before she cast them down toward the ground, upset at being told not to give aid to someone in need – even someone who was in the wrong. "Yes.... Sir."
Rey had begun to come to, and overhearing this grasped Ben's arm with her right hand. "Ben. No. Don't do that. She doesn't deserve to die like that."
His gaze registered shock, but relief that she was awake. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth flattened into a hard line as he gave her a brief nod, calling to a nearby Stormtrooper as he began walking quickly toward the lift. "Trooper. Take the other one to the detention block and throw her in one of the Force restricting cells. Send medical personnel to attend to her there. If she bleeds out in the meantime – that's on her. She's a traitor, and is to be treated as such."
Sensing the nurse's unease with his previous order, he nodded to her and asked, "Come to MedBay with me please? Rey is familiar with you I think, and will be more comfortable with you assisting her."
She glanced back at the Knight who was being carried away by several Stormtroopers, relieved that he had agreed to give her at least some treatment. Turning towards the Supreme Leader she gave him a small smile, and followed along. "Of course Sir. It would be my privilege to assist Lady Rey."
Looking down at Rey he told her. "That's all I'm willing to give. She meant to kill you – despite express orders to the contrary. Those actions declare her to be a traitor. She is no longer one of my Knights."
Rey gave him a brief nod, leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes.
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