Across the Galaxy
A/N: This is the Sequel to White Knights and Dark Apprentices.
Many thanks to BlackRoseRaven for betaing this story!
Chapter One
It was almost dawn.
Kylo Ren opened his eyes and took a deep breath. No dream that night. Things had definitely been improving since Rey had come to his side.
For a moment more he laid quietly on the bed, beside his beloved, contemplating her sleeping form. Her naked back was turned to him, but she was almost glued to his warm body, like always. Their deep connection told him she was sleeping soundly. Focusing a bit, he could tell what she was dreaming of: a tiny island in the middle of a quiet and vast lake. He knew the place well: it was not far from their current dwellings. On the island there was a castle, surrounded by beautiful gardens. His grandmother's house on Naboo. Her dream was beautiful and Kylo knew she would not wake up if he left now.
He stood up carefully and looked out the window at the immensity of the lake. He could barely perceive the green shores on the other side. Every morning fog persisted on the surface of the lake until the first bold rays of light chased it away. But today he had no time to linger in contemplation. He had to leave before Rey woke up.
He grabbed his clothes and his lightsaber and headed out swiftly to their ship. There was no one in sight and Ren was relieved. No one could know where he was heading to, and whom he was going to meet.
He took off, and went into hyperdrive a few minutes later.
It was certainly a very risky move on his side to go and meet the newly declared Emperor and Leader of the First Order without even Rey knowing about it. But there was no way either Rey or Deanna would have agreed to it. Since their narrow escape from the First Order's grip almost six months ago, neither of them wanted anything to do with the First Order even if Snoke was no more, and both were afraid of Darth Kai's retaliation. The new Emperor had been scanning and raking through the Galaxy trying to find the three of them. He had not spared any efforts to find them. He'd sent troops, and probes, and ships, he'd promised lavish ransoms for any information regarding their whereabouts, he'd used infamous bounty hunters and he had even ventured his ships into the Outer Rim.
The princess' first thought was to take them away to the Lagorian system, which was still controlled by the Republic. On Lagos they had abandoned the First Order ship they had stolen when running away. Then they had continued their journey to one of the moons orbiting the Luna Sea. They had remained there for two months, but when the First Order took over the entire system, they had been forced to take flight again. Kylo had then considered that it was better to take shelter in a place where Darth Kai would not have thought of looking for them. It was dangerous, but it proved safer than trying to get as far as possible from Moraband.
They had thus taken shelter on Naboo, which had been under the control of the First Order for a long time, and even hosted First Order troops. They had travelled as commoners and it had been fairly easy for the three force users to fool the random checks of the stormtroopers. Kylo Ren was extremely gifted at controlling the weak-minded.
Kylo had been to Naboo a few times as a child and their old house was uninhabited. The lake area had always been very isolated despite its beauty; it was so far away from any city that it had always remained a mere holiday spot for the people of Naboo.
And he had been right: they had been safe there for many weeks. The problem was, Kylo was not ready to spend his life as a fugitive. He had worked hard and sacrificed almost everything to become the next Leader of the Galaxy. He was not ready to give that up, and leave the First Order in the hands of someone he considered unworthy of his Darth Vader's legacy. Darth Kai was still vulnerable and Kylo was not willing to let him be the sole winner in Snoke's demise, irrespective of the costs. Kylo had to fulfill his grandfather's legacy. As far as he was concerned, there was no one who would stand in his way.
"Milord, Kylo Ren is asking for permission to land."
A young lieutenant stood uncertainly by the large doors leading to the command center inside the ancient Sith palace on Moraband.
The room, adjacent to the throne chamber, was buzzing with activity, from the large screens displaying various information, to the personnel and droids running around to execute their tasks. The young Emperor sat behind his desk in the command room, surrounded by a group of high ranking officers. For a moment all the chatter halted. Darth Kai, already aware of the other man's presence on the orbit of the planet, smirked knowingly and addressed to the officer: "Permission granted. Send someone to bring him to the throne room."
"Yes, milord."
The officer disappeared ,and Kai switched the images on his screen watching the other Sith Lord's ship enter the turbulent atmosphere of the planet. Ren had reached through the Force to him just moments before, making his presence known.
Six months of assiduous searching through the Galaxy, and the man flies right back to Moraband, as if nothing had happened. As if Kai would not have his head on a plate at the first chance he got.
True to his promise, Kai had raked the Galaxy trying to find the other two Sith and the Jedi padawan turned Sith apprentice, but they had been skillful enough to avoid any contact with the First Order.
"Now, this is a surprise," he muttered, shaking his head.
Darth Kai was sure Kylo must have had a very good reason to take such a risk in order to meet with him.
The First Order was still at war, six months after Snoke's death. Darth Kai had chosen to go to open war with the remains of the Republic still supported by Leia Organa's Resistance, and had gained a lot of territory, pushing the Resistance headquarters further and further towards the Outer Rim and making more and more planets bow to the First Order and accept his rule. Darth Kai thought his master's plan to gain power from within the ranks of the Republic was a tactic for different times, times of peace, when one had to choose more subtler strategies in order to be effective. But in the demise of the Empire and of the New Republic, given the chaos and the rise of Independents and warlords, as far as he was concerned the only way to rule was by fear, at least until the Galaxy came completely under his control. So far his strategy had worked against the Resistance. That is, until General Hux had found an opportune moment to rebel and claim the leadership of the First Order for himself. The General had first spread rumors among the troops that Darth Kai had been the one to murder Snoke. Then he had withdrawn the Forces under his direct command from a vital battle against the Resistance. Moreover, a few months before, Hux had started conducting random attacks on the largest part of the First Order fleet, the one which had kept its allegiance to Darth Kai, encouraged by the new impetus his victories and his vision had brought to the Order. Hux was not alone in his endeavor to bring Kai down and claim the throne as his own. He had been supported by various warlords depending on their interests. Kai had so far managed to stifle their attempts at independence, but he did not know for how long the odds would be in his favor. While the general's rebellion had no real chance of succeeding, Hux's actions had nonetheless put immense strain on Darth Kai's already limited armed forces and supplies. Hux truly was a nuisance.
The only good news so far was that the Jedi had not made any move. In fact, Darth Kai was not sure whether this was entirely good news or just the silence before the storm. The Sith lord was sure that after his narrow escape, Jamie Kenobi had reunited with his master. However, what they were planning remained shredded in mystery. With so many enemies to deal with at the moment, Kai preferred it that way.
The young Emperor stood and walked into the adjacent chamber, where he found his former rival surrounded by stormtroopers, their weapons at the ready. Darth Kai gestured, and the stormtroopers saluted and exited. They stood alone, facing each other in silence for a moment.
He has changed, Kylo thought instinctively.
Darth Kai did not wear his weapons. He was dressed in a dark blue velvet attire which looked expensive and suited his strong stature, making him appear both elegant and imposing. His hair was longer than before, golden curls framing his handsome face. He looked composed and confident, but showed less of his trademark arrogance.
"I gather that you are here to negotiate your surrender?" Darth Kai broke the silence.
"I'm here to establish the terms of our alliance. Nothing else," Kylo replied, evenly, and took off his mask.
Kai raised an eyebrow at him: "Is that so? Something tells me that you are here on your own. Deanna would never agree to you coming here."
Kylo smirked. "Of course she would never agree. She does not care about the future of the Empire despite it being her inheritance. But I do."
"So you're here for the good of the Empire? Why don't you cut to the chase, Ren, you must be well aware that your only usefulness to me is the fact that you know Deanna's location."
Kylo stifled his anger at Kai's words. He knew this was not going to be easy.
"I'm not here to sell Deanna," he retorted. "And you're completely wrong about my usefulness. In fact, I came here to offer my help to get the Empire under control. My place is at the heart of the Empire. I know what is going on, Kai. I know Hux's actions are extremely disruptive for our forces. And it is just a matter of time before the Jedi resurface. Let me help you to build a strong Empire. Let's be allies, not foes."
For a moment, Darth Kai looked stunned. Then he let out a genuine laugh.
"So you've come to claim a piece of the cake, Ren. I must admit, you're pretty brave. A little reckless, but brave nonetheless."
"You can't do this on your own, Kai. One man is not enough to keep this Galaxy under control. You're learning that now as well. Can't you see that what Plagueis had been working on for almost an eternity can crumble in a second if you make the tiniest mistake? Why do you think he needed us?"
Kai tilted his head, still amused.
"Plagueis was an old man and he needed to pass on his legacy," he dismissed Ren's arguments. "So what are you really proposing Ren?"
"Let me handle Hux and his troops. I know how he thinks, it will be easy to destroy him. Let me help you wipe out the Resistance. In return, let me return here to my rightful place. We will finally have peace in the Galaxy."
"I don't need you, Ren. I have everything under control," Kai snapped.
Ren inclined his head in mock surrender.
"Very well, I see you are not at all concerned with Hux or the Resistance. In that case I guess when the time comes you'll be able to confront both Jedi on your own. You will also be able to wipe out all the Jedi legacy, when Rey is the only one who knows where the first Jedi temple is. And most of all, you don't have the slightest concern that my remaining Knights are just waiting for my signal to take down all your men in the key positions."
While Kai's expression did not change, Kylo felt through the force his brief moment of hesitation.
"You know where to find me in case your change your mind. Here's a token of my sincerity."
With that, Ren turned around and walked out, his black cloak billowing behind him. Kai processed the piece of information he had left behind through the Force: Deanna was on Naboo.
Ridiculously close, while his troops had been searching as far as the Outer Rim.
He returned to the command room, settling behind his screen, watching as Ren got into his ship.
"What should we do about Kylo Ren, milord?" one officer asked. "He's leaving the planet."
"Let him go," Kai replied, resting back in his chair.
He had a difficult decision to make.