As Kylo Ren and his men stepped into the facility, the first thing that they noticed was the silence. The building wasn't abandoned in the way that ruins are. It wasn't old or decaying. It was clean, perfectly intact, like everyone had just gotten up and left everything exactly as it was. Like they were running away from something, someone, and they had been.
Lights buzzed brightly overhead as they made their way deeper into the lab. Consoles blinked with half finished commands, doors stood ajar that clearly shouldn't be open, equipment lay scattered like it was dropped mid task. The people who had had run this play, they didn't shut anything down, they didn't clean up before they left. They simply ran away.
Stormtroopers followed cautiously behind the black clad figures at the front of the detachment. Their rifles were raised, ready and waiting for if something just happened to catch them by surprise. As far as they could tell, there was anything here that had any interest in coming near them, but they could never be too careful.
The sound of boots echoed off of sterile floors, floors that still smelled faintly of antiseptic, but there was something else. Something wrong. Something sour. The faint tinge of rot. Kylo walked at the front, silent and observant, his body language unreadable as he turned down the first hallway. There were metal engraved name plates next to every door. The only issue was, there were no names. Only numbers.
Experiment 276 read the first one, and below it in red etched print was the word that would change this operation in ways that none of them expected.
The knights exchanged glances, awaiting the command to proceed. After a long moment Kylo nodded and stepped aside, allowing them to take the lead and open the door. What was inside was something that none of them were prepared for. The room was shrouded in darkness, the only light source inside a flickering yellow bulb that illuminated almost nothing. They scanned the space, having to squint to focus in the darkness. Suddenly something moved.
One of the stormtroopers gagged inside of his helmet. The creature that occupied the cell moved itself towards them, creeping into the light. It was like nothing any of them had ever seen before. It was clear that the creature had once been somewhat human. But not anymore. Its limbs were wrong, to long and bent at unnatural angles that didn't make sense. Its yellowing skin was stretched thin and uneven, discolored, split open in some places. Its jaw hung slack, unable to close its mouth even if it tried to, and saliva dripped down its face as it made a wet, broken, guttural sound.
It was clear that the creature was incapable of speech, of thought. It knew nothing but pain and suffering. It contorted, trying to move closer to them, trying to reach for them, making low desperate pleading noises that disturbed even the knights. They had seen the horrors of the universe. Wars, famine, death. This was worse. The trooper closest to the door turned, pulling his helmet up enough to allow himself to wretch in pure disgust. Kylo knew what had to be done, all of them did. They could not leave this creature to suffer, even they wouldn't allow such atrocities.
Kylo took a step back, waving for the troopers to put the poor thing out of its misery. They understood without any further instruction. One trooper lifted his blaster and for a moment the creature stilled, as if it knew, as if it understood and accepted its fate. He fired and it was done.
Quick and clean. It wasn't brutal, it was mercy. Silence fell heavy over the lot of them as they all took a moment to process what they had just seen. Kylo turned and waved a hand. "Proceed" and off they went further into the corridor once more.
Room by room, door by door, each one was worse than the last. Some of the creatures dragged themselves across the floor towards them with limbs that barely functioned, others couldn't move at all. Some were fused with what looked to be machines to keep them alive, some fused to each other. Some could do nothing but breathe in broken shallow rhythms, eyes rolling wildly in faces that no longer held any structure.
Each one's door was marked in the same way.
And behind each of those door, a creature that should have never lived in the first place. The troopers stopped looking after the third room, unable to handle the monstrosities within. By the tenth even knights were weary to continue, by the 15th no one hesitated when Kylo gave the order. They knew they had to end it, all of it. They would give mercy where it hadn't been given. When they finally made it to the end of the last corridor they noticed a shift. There was something different about the last room.
The lights weren't dim here, they were sterile and white. The walls weren't scratched or dented, they were clean and untouched. No sounds came from behind the final door. No groans of agony or shaky breathing. Just silence. Kuruk stepped forward, glancing at the name plate that sat beside it. He paused. "This one's different." And he was right.
This one was clean and shiny, and there was no red lettering er he'd into the metal like all the others. Kylo approached, curious.
This was new. And after everything they had seen they weren't sure whether success would mean better or worse. The knights shifted, tightening formation behind Kylo as they awaited his next move. Kylo's voice remained calm. "Open it." The door hissed as it slid open, slow and deliberate. Each and every man held their breath, bracing for what was to come.
The room was well lit. White floors, white walls, everything perfectly clean and intact. That's when they noticed her. Sat in the corner was a female, she turned as soon as she heard them enter and looked at the group with big wide dark eyes. She was not what they had been expecting, not even a little bit. Stark white hair spilled over her shoulders, bright against warm tan skin. She blinked up at them with long white lashes, her pale brows knitting together in pure confusion. And the one thing that none of them could ignore, two large white ears protruding from the top of her head.
Words, full coherent words. Her voice was quiet, but she sounded hopeful, not afraid in the slightest. She pushed herself up off the ground quickly, stumbling a bit as she hurried towards them. The sudden movement caused the troopers to raise their blasters. A white oversized shirt slipped off of one shoulder as she moved, the fabric hitting her mid thigh and when she turned, a tail, white and just as furry as her ears. She stopped feet away from them and knelt, calmly, neatly as if she had done it a thousand times before.
She placed her hands gently in her lap and looked back up at them expectantly, her expression soft and careful. "Hi" she spoke softly, her voice sweet and her tone calm. None of them moved, unsure of how to react to whatever it was that she was doing. She tilted her head, seeming confused by their lack of response. "I stayed in my spot. I didn't think you were coming back. I've been waiting long." Her fingers twisted in her shirt but she kept her posture perfect and straight. "I'm ready, please." She leaned forward a bit, her ears flattening against her head as if she was waiting for them to do something.
The men exchanged glances. After a moment of no movement she huffed quietly, more to herself than to them, seeming to be growing aggravated. "I said I'm ready, please" she repeated, a bit more firm this time, leaning harder in their direction. "Ready for what?" Cardo chimed in, curiosity getting the better of him. She gave a confused look, as if they were supposed to know exactly what she was talking about. "My exam. I sit still, I get a reward." Again no one spoke. "Are you new?"
Realization hit them that she thought they were the scientists coming to run tests, that things were still as they had once been. Trudgen set his vibroclever against his shoulder and squatted to her level. He was quiet for a moment, seemingly taking in her appearance before he asked simply "what do you get if you sit still?" She blinked at him a few times, like the answer was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. Her ears twitched. "...Food," she paused "-or water. I can be good for either." She said it as if she was desperate for both. Trudgen nodded in response. "And when's the last time they brought you a reward?" There was a long moment of silence, as if she needed time to think, to calculate. "After the last exam." She said matter of factly. Trudgen nodded once again. "And when's was your last exam?" She didn't seem to like that question, her head dipping and her eyes fixating on the floor as she nervously adjusted her stance. "Before it went quiet."
None of them knew how long that was, how many days she had been alone waiting for someone, anyone, to come. However long it was, it was enough to have her willing to do just about anything to get her reward. "We aren't here to test you." Kylo explained simply. She didn't like that answer, not one bit. Her sweet face twisted into something more like a glare, her eyes shifting back up to the men standing in her cell that she now knew had nothing to offer. "Then why are you here?"
They didn't know how to respond, and telling her that they were there to kill her surely wouldn't have made the situation any better. "This facility. They were creating something we cannot allow to exist. They were making weapons." This confused her. Kylo turned, glancing once more at the name plate next to the door before his stare returned to her. "So far, you seem to be the only one." She shook her head almost immediately. "I am not a weapon." The word seemed foreign in her tongue, like this was her first time hearing it. "I am a success." She corrected, making it clear that this title was important to her, that she was proud of it.
Kylo did the only thing he could think to do, he pushed, reaching into the force. Not hard, not aggressively, just enough to see what he could find inside that head of hers. Her ears twitched harder now, she could feel what he was doing, but to his surprise there was nothing. It was strange, it wasn't like she was resisting, it was like there just simply nothing there to find. No entry point, not access, just nothing. Kylo hummed in agreement with her previous statement. "Yes. It seems you are."
Trudgen stood and stepped back from the girl, turning away from her to face Kylo fully. "We can't." For the first time inside of this god forsaken place, Kylo was unsure. With every other creature the answer had been obvious. Killing them was a kindness, but her, he didn't know what to do with her. For the first time since the beginning of the interaction she stood, stepping closer. She fixated on the leather gloved hand that hung at Kylo's side, squinting at it like if she looked hard enough she might be able to see right through. Then she did something none of them expected, she reached out and took hold of his hand. It was much larger than her own, and she pulled it to her face, examining, studying. Slowly she tried to pry the fabric away from his skin, seemingly attempting to get a look at what was underneath. "Are you a person?"
The room went completely still. No one was ever bold enough to touch Kylo, but the girl didn't seem to understand that. The supreme leader looked down at where her hands held onto his own, and before he could fully process, his decision was already made. "She comes with us-" Trudgen let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Relief washing over him. He didn't know if he could have watched them kill her. He was a brute, a killer, a warrior, but killing innocent creatures that posed no threat was something he had never agreed with. "But she doesn't leave your sight." The comment was directed at the knights. Kylo trusted them most, and he knew if she suddenly did pose some kind of threat, they would handle it swiftly and without hesitation.
The girls ears perked at his words. She didn't know what he meant. "Go?" She questioned, suddenly seeming much more nervous than she had before. The word sounded uncertain, like it wasn't something she had ever been allowed to say before. "No go. I can't go." Her eyes flicked past the group and settled onto the darkness of the hallway behind. "I'm not allowed out there." "You are now." One of the knights commented, clearly trying to be reassuring but that wasn't how she saw it. She shook her head, hard, protesting. "No" the time she said it with more certainty. "I'm not allowed." She glanced around the cell, it was familiar, it was hers, it was safe, and she didn't want to leave.
"This is my spot. This is where I go. Not out there." She wasn't telling them now, she was warning them. "You have to come with us. We won't hurt you." Vicrul encouraged, stepping towards her. She coward. Her fists balled at her sides and she stamped her foot, hard, just like a real bunny. "This is my spot." She grumbled. The knights were glad in this moment that they wore masks so she couldn't see them struggling to hold in their laughter. "You will have a new spot now." Kylo reached the same hand she had grabbed just moments before out for her, but she didn't take hold of it. After a while she seemed to soften, anger melting into something else, fear. "If I go out there, I won't know what to do."
"We will show you. Just come." She seemed to freeze there for what felt like an eternity, contemplating, thoughts racing. Again. "No." Kylo sighed and turned, heading for the door, giving the knights the go ahead to get her out by any means necessary. Cardo approached without hesitation, grabbing her before she was able to bolt away from him. She gasped softly, her hands immediately grabbing onto him, pure instinct. She clung to him harder with every step he took towards the opening and shoved her face against his shoulder as they exited into the hall, shielding herself as much as she could. It was like she was afraid of what was beyond, that much was obvious to them all.
"...My spot." She whimpered, one last time, her ears flattening completely in defeat. She went stiff in Cardo grip. No fight, no struggling, just complete stillness. They thundered there way back through the building, towards the same entrance that they had first come in. Behind them, the door to her cell slid shut, and for the first time in her life, she was somewhere she had never been meant to go.
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