Chapter 8
When she opened her eyes again the floor was moving, or rather she was being dragged across the floor. Zheth twisted out of the grip on the back of her collar before staggering to her feet to see Kylo Ren looking down on her, his lightsaber drawn and new scrapes on his face from where his helmet was ripped off his head. The only thing she could actually focus on completely however was the fact she was still alive.
"Hurry up, the ship won't last much longer." Ren ordered before walking again, obviously not liking this retreat.
She limped after him, the pain faded a bit after getting her breath back, though it was still painful. Her body was still shaking and she stumbled after him several times, trying to keep up as Kylo strode ahead. The two Jedi were obviously still on their trail judging by his drawn weapon and glances at the halls, he was still ready to fight. And the next attack came a few minutes of tense walking later as Rey came into sight and engaged Kylo into another fight, great, wasn't this what Hux had told her to keep Ren away from? Oh well, too late now. Zheth held up her arm before firing a wire from a compartment on the wrist piece, it was supposed to be a grappling gun but it would also work to tie up the Jedi's hands as well.
"Master!" Rey called out as Kylo knocked the lightsaber from her bound hands.
A strong shove from the male force user slammed her into the wall, though the jerky movement also flung Rey to the side as she used the Force to grab her lightsaber. Zheth stood back up and felt the wire go limp and the chord was cut, she glared at Luke as he approached, seemingly unharmed from his previous fight.
"Hux needs you alive and well Ren... you need to leave." She glanced back at the black robed man. "Like you said, the ship won't last much longer."
"And neither will you." Kylo responded, still in an attack position, anger burning his gaze.
"I'm going to die anyway Lord Ren, but the First Order still needs you. Don't be stupid and prove Ginger right... got it?" She grinned. "Besides, what type of bounty hunter would I be if I couldn't hold off a few Jedi?"
The fury radiating off of him was powerful but he did as she said, after a few more strikes at Rey and Luke, before leaving her to take care of the two Jedi. Unfortunately despite her words Zheth knew she could never take on two Jedi, she would never be as great as her mentor was, he could've fought them both off. Predator started backing away, her blaster raised to fire at them, before the man raised his hand and made her fly down the hallway before rolling to a stop. She tried to rise once more only to find she was unable to move as Luke continued walking in her direction; Rey appeared to have left to fight Kylo.
"You should've taken my advice and chosen a different path." Luke responded as his green lightsaber hovered over her chest.
Confusion swept through her for a moment before she actually took the time to study his face... this was the same Jedi she'd met as a child. She scowled, flickering her gaze to his lightsaber as it dipped closer to her armor, which wouldn't do anything against his weapon. She heard more people running her way and laid her head back on the floor, perhaps she would've lived if she had taken his advice as a child then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation, she doubted it... if anything she would've died as a child.
A laugh escaped her. "Go ahead, finish it then. You should've let me die in that fire."
The green blade started burning and she screamed as it sank deeper. Zheth felt the invisible force preventing her movement fade and scrambled away, causing the lightsaber to cut a long burning mark into her torso. She pressed herself up against the corner, trapped and unable to fight. Predator watched as the others came into sight, glaring at each of them as the Finalizer gave an ominous moan and now noticeable tilt as the Star Destroyer began crashing towards whatever planet happened to be below them.
"Get back to the Falcon." Luke ordered, retracting his lightsaber as he walked off.
"Is Rey there?" Finn questioned, keeping a watchful eye on Zheth.
"Yes."
Dread filled her as Chewie approached, she was dying already but she didn't exactly want to be torn limb from limb. The Wookie held Han in its grasp however so she was faintly assured she wouldn't be strangled or anything.
"What about her? She knows where they're taking Leia." Poe obviously didn't like stating the fact but he did anyway.
"Leave the bounty hunter." Luke snapped, not looking back.
To her surprise Poe actually glared at the Jedi. "You can't know that for sure. General Organa could be held hostage anywhere in the galaxy soon enough, we need information!"
Zheth gave a yelp as he hauled her to her feet and pushed her from beside. As much as she didn't want to crash with the ship... she wasn't sure becoming a prisoner was the best option either. Not that she had a choice anymore. A coughing fit took over, though this time it was from the blood starting to build in her lungs from the lightsaber and where the metal air duct had crushed her ribs to puncture into her lungs. Predator felt Poe grab her injured arm to keep her walking, she glared at him but didn't try escaping... it would only bring more pain onto her battered form.
Once they were on the smuggling ship she had her hand forced behind her back and bound with the same wire Luke had cut with his lightsaber. Zheth slumped onto the ground and glared at Poe before rasping out a comment. "You're really good at tying me up Hot Shot, I bet you love doing this sort of thing all the time."
His dark gaze remained unchanged. "Shut up scum."
"Make me." She gave a sharp yelp as he lunged and grabbed the collar of her armor.
"You killed someone important to General Organa and everyone on this ship. I would stay quiet if I was in your position." He released her and walked away to sit beside Finn.
Zheth stayed silent for a moment, letting him cool off a bit as she glanced over to where Chewie was staring at Han on a medical bed. "He isn't dead. I haven't killed anyone... Surprised your Jedi friend didn't know that."
"He doesn't have a pulse, explain that!" Finn pulled Poe back onto the chair as the pilot jumped back to his feet.
"Side pocket, you'll find the answer... I would get it myself but I'm a bit tied up at the moment." She gave a cough that brought up a bit more blood. "I'll eat one myself if you don't believe me."
Finn walked over to her and, to her relief, gently took out the small container with the pills in them. "What do they do?"
"Slow the breathing and pulse down just enough to mimic death, or one will at least, take more than that too close together and... death." Zheth knew she was speaking too much, she needed to save her breath; another cough wracked her body.
"Chewie, did you hear that?" Finn questioned before tossing the cylinder to Poe to inspect.
The Wookie gave another growling sound that sounded just a bit hopeful before falling silent again. Zheth felt her bones shift as she curled into a ball, trying to stop the blood from seeping out of her body, though it wasn't working too well and she could feel the crimson liquid seeping through her hands. Her eyes closed but she stayed conscious as the ship continued to fly towards the Resistance base, someone started working on her wounds near the end of the flight but she didn't find the strength to actually bother finding out who it was. Not that it would matter, soon enough they would probably reopen the wounds trying to get answer she couldn't really give, and wouldn't give if she had them.
The pain of being thrown into a cell jolted her fully awake again and she rolled over to see the entire gang staring down at her. She gave a cough but didn't bother trying to stand up again and stayed put on the cold floor. A few minutes of silence passed between them before the group began leaving, first the Jedi Luke, then Rey, Chewie, Finn, and Poe. His look of disappointment as he left burned into her memory dragging up forgotten things, the fight they had, missions they had gone on, just how strong their friendship had become... each one stung. Finally, even BB-8 rolled away and left her to face Han, his face hiding any emotions.
"I knew you couldn't kill me." A smug expression crossed his face before he frowned. "What will they do to Leia? Is she okay?"
"S-she's safe." Another coughing fit shook her and she clenched her teeth until it passed. "They need her alive and well to get what they want."
He relaxed a bit. "Good... At least there's a chance to save her."
"If you can actually f-find out where t-the First Order has taken her."
"We will when you tell us." Han replied.
"I'll stay alive longer... until I speak." A shiver passed through her and she closed her eyes halfway as darkness coated her vision. "Though death... could be more welcome."
Han was silent but she knew he was still there, she hadn't heard him walk away. Was he waiting for her to die? She doubted it; he didn't seem like the type of man to put a dying prisoner through the misery of a slow death. As if proving her thoughts right, Zheth heard the door open and felt Han examing her ribs before moving to the marks on her throat and head. While his touch hurt, she couldn't exactly fight him off in her condition and wasn't about to attempt it while her wrists were bound.
"I'll get a medical droid down here, some of those are pretty bad, Kid." Han stood back up, his footsteps retreating towards the door.
Zheth gave a strangled cough. "W-why bother...? Y-your Jedi f-friend will just... just do more damage... u-until I t-tell him where L-Leia is."
"I've known Luke for years, he won't torture you for anything." Han responded in defense of the absent man.
"He-he gives m-me... a-a b-bad feel-feeling." Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke, unsure if the feeling was from her bad history with Luke or from the recent events.
Either way it didn't matter. No one here saw Luke as an enemy; the idiotic nerfherders probably made him their new leader... at least until Leia was rescued.Then again, even after her possibly rescue he might still have influence over them. Zheth felt her will power fading at the thought before allowing her mind to fall into unconsciousness; she didn't want to wake up in a place run by that Jedi. She felt there was something a bit off about him... though it was probably due to her viewpoint admittedly. Not that it mattered, she would be dead or forced back into life soon enough.
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