Kyber Heart - Poe Dameron

Chapter 3

The hanger of the First Order Star Destroyer known as the Finalizer was bigger than any Nova remembered seeing. It paled in comparison to any hanger the Resistance had – on the ground or on a flagship.

It was large, cold, and uninviting. Everything looked far too pristine. TIE fighters lined the walls, stationed securely until their pilots would have need of them.

Squadrons of stormtroopers milled about with purpose, their striking white armour for once not looking out of place in their surroundings.

Nova dropped her gaze once more as she and Poe were taken down corridors finished in black rather than white or metallic grey – but just as uninviting.

Interestingly enough, she and Poe were put into a cell together. There, they were roughly manoeuvred and shackled into two identical interrogation chairs, facing one another.

There was undoubtably a sick and twisted reason for that.

Once secured, they were left alone with nothing but the darkness and each other for company.

A deep, agitated sigh came from Nova's lips, and she allowed her head to loll backwards. There was no comfortable position for it to rest against the metal of the chair, but she did not care.

She had been in far more uncomfortable positions.

"You okay?"

She found the energy to lift her head again, raising an eyebrow at Poe through the darkness. "Seriously?"

Poe chuckled, casting his eyes up to the ceiling – just as dark as the walls and the floor. "You know what I mean."

"I do," she muttered. She knew exactly what he had meant.

Silence fell, and with it came the first inklings of helplessness.

"Why'd you come with me?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you come with me?" Poe repeated. "I get how important this is to you. Trust me, I do. But it was a one-man job. I would have been fine on my own. I knew the risks and what I could end up in way back when we started this."

"You think I didn't?" she fired back, indignant. "And that's not why I asked to come."

"Then why? Please, just tell me."

Nova sighed again. "I came because of those risks. I actually have some idea of what to expect from this, and how to deal with it. I wasn't about to let you go in blind and alone. This mission should have been mine in the first place."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes."

An uncomfortable tension came with the silence this time – the sort so thick it was almost tangible.

"I'm sorry," Nova muttered shortly. If they really were to be stuck there, to be tortured until death or worse, she would rather they were not angry at each other.

Poe offered a half-smile, doing his best to create some comfort. But it was of little use to either of them. "You know we're on our own now, right? We're beyond reach?"

She nodded. "I know."

---

The torture lasted for hours without respite.

Nova had been able to withstand the first hour or so, even managing a few snide remarks. Until the questions became fewer, and the voltage was turned up. After that, all she could get out were strangled screams. She did her best to hold them down – die silent to deprive them of satisfaction and all that – but there was only so much her body could handle.