Kylo Ren awoke with a start. He gasped for air as he sat up in his bed, sweat trickling down his pale and lithe form. There was a change in the air.
Something was different. Something was wrong. Or right?
The intercom in his room on the First Order's alternate base beeped before a message came through. "Forgive my interruption, but a small craft has been intercepted in the loading bay that requires your attention." It was Phasma. Intercoming him at midnight for god's sake.
Anger brewed in Kylo's chest as he threw the sheets damp with his sweat onto the floor. "And how exactly does this require my attention, Captain?" He called out to her in a terse tone and stood up.
She cleared her throat. "It contains a package. A package addressed to you."
Kylo's hand froze as he slipped his black tunic over his head. He narrowed his eyes. "And what is it, Captain?"
A pause lingered in the air before Captain Phasma answered, "A young female human, sir. She lies dormant in a stasis chamber."
"Alert General Hux. This could be an attack from the Resistance. I will be at the loading bay shortly." He carefully picked up his dark helmet and put it on over his wavy black locks.
"Very well, sir."
Running his tongue over his teeth, Kylo tensed. "Oh, and Captain?"
He could practically hear her swallow her anxiety down. "Yes, sir?"
Kylo picked up his light saber from his bedside table and roughly held it in his grip. "If you bother me at this hour for trivial matters such as this again, there will be consequences."
Phasma answered quickly, afraid to upset the young but frightening man further, "I apologize, it will not happen again."
Kylo did not dignify her with a response. He simply clipped his saber to his belt and strode from his quarters, dark cape billowing behind his broad and squared shoulders.
There was a crowd of Stormtroopers clustered around the unfamiliar craft in the loading bay. As soon as they spotted their menacing superior enter the room, they scattered. Outside of the nondescript ship was a small stasis chamber sitting on the floor. Captain Phasma stood beside it in full uniform.
Kylo approached. With every step he took he felt the force coming from the stasis pod pulsing stronger and stronger. He ignored it. "You will lead me to the captains of the ship for interrogation."
She stood with her hands clutched behind her back. "The ship was on autopilot. There were no beings inside except for the female in stasis."
He could sense the force trying to drag his eyes to the female laying in the chamber sitting below him, but he clenched his jaw and did not dignify it with a glance. "And why, pray tell, does this female belong to me?"
Phasma handed him a chip card. "This was the only other item of interest on the ship. I attempted to play it but it would not operate for me."
Kylo took it roughly from her hand, bringing it closer to his tinted helmet to examine. The side of it had been engraved with his name. He cocked a single dark brow at it before briskly turning away. "Touch nothing in my absence." His voice sounded deep and metallic through the helmet and echoed through the room.
Turning into one of the offices, Kylo grabbed the nearest droid and shoved the chip card into the reader. Within a few moments a video hologram appeared.
Now glowing on the ground before him was a human female, the one in the stasis chamber most likely, with long hair rippling onto the floor around her and pale skin. A thin nightgown clung to her petite frame revealing the curve of her rounded hip down to her thin waist, then back up over her rounded breasts as she laid on her side seemingly in sleep. Her eyes were closed and her plump lips were slightly parted.
He slid the door to the office shut using the force. It hit the opposite side so hard it caused sparks to fly out from the control panel. Kylo's eyes raked over her form as a deep male voice started to speak.
"You do not know who I am, nor do you know the female delivered to you in the stasis chamber. I however, have heard a great deal about you. I have a proposition for you, Knight of Ren, that I hope you will accept.
"I have spent my years trying to gain the powers that you, and others like you, possess. In that I have failed, however my work was not for naught. My extensive testing and research had led me to a woman whom was sensitive to the force. She could not wield it; only amplify it to others around her who could. I thought I could use her to bring power to myself, but it was futile.
"I kidnapped that woman, Knight, and took her DNA before I killed her."
Kylo listened to the old voice explain the origins of the slumbering female hologram on the floor. He remained frozen in his place standing before her.
"After hundreds of unsuccessful attempts, combining that woman's unique ability with others I found over time, Ivenka was eventually born. She is the culmination of my life's work. Bred to bare all of the genetic traits I sought, she is a powerful tribute to perfection and strength.
"I was wrong to believe I could gain the powers of the force for my own use. Only those whom already possess it can be brought to greater heights.
"Ivenka will amplify your powers a hundredfold. Your range will be farther. Your limits will be extended. Your mastery will be terrifying. You will become a legend, Knight of Ren. All-powerful.
"Mate her, and this opportunity will be yours."
The voice paused before continuing. "Check her mind if you will, read her memories and see that I am not lying. She has been trained extensively in her craft. This is no trick.
"You must be wondering why I have bestowed this opportunity upon you, Kylo Ren. My reasoning is simple. The universe is stuck in balance. I have been following your progress, examining your soul, perhaps. The fate of the universe is determined by the most powerful wildcard. That is you. I wish only to tip the scales.
"And what is this price for this gift? Kill your master, Supreme Leader Snoke. Kill him with the aid of Ivenka and your debt to me will be fulfilled.
"Goodbye, Mister Solo. Do not disappoint me."
The hologram of the girl disappeared as the droid playing the message spontaneously exploded. Kylo threw his hand up and repelled the shrapnel headed towards him so that it flung backward into the wall. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists at his sides, mulling over this new information.
How could this be real? It was impossible, surely. A force sensitive female who can magnify his powers?
A dark smirk showed on his face under the mask.
He would be great. The greatest Darth the universe had ever seen. He would finish his grandfather's work. Surpass it, even. He would never lose a battle to a Jakku scavenger brat again. All would cower before him.
But to kill his master? The only reason he had gotten this far was because of the grace of Snoke's guidance. If discovered he would be killed for treason.
Unless he succeeded.
The flame for power ignited in his chest.
Kylo was still skeptical of the man's claims. The only thing he could do was to examine the girl's mind as the stranger had suggested before he got ahead of himself.
Steeling his nerves, he mentally slid the now broken door back open. As he exited the room his was unsure of what he hoped to discover.