They were family. They were an order unto themselves, dedicated to the ways of the old Sith, the last beacon of hope and salvation in a galaxy tearing itself apart. That is what I believed. Then it started to change, or rather, started to show its true nature.
They were the Knights of Ren.
"What do you mean, he's been injured? By what?" General Hux smirks at me like he can't wait to tell me what he is about to say. Practiced it in the mirror and everything.
"Not by what, but who. A girl, a scavenger from Jakku he took in a crazed attempt to get the map." His smirk turns into a gloating sneer, elated by my confusion.
"His injuries could only have been dealt by a skilled apprentice, what the hell happened on Starkiller Base?" I frowned, crossed my arms and felt the other Knights grumble their sentiments.
"It is highly classified and investigations are still underway." Same old dismissal, a glorified 'go away.' If I did not know any better, Hux was just as embarrassed of his failure as Kylo.
Hux finally slithered away after a few more minutes of banter, still pissed off and cranky as usual. Kylo was still in the medical bay, having already been healed but the medics were overly paranoid. It was not every day that one of the Knights of Ren, let alone the leader, came in close to unconsciousness. People were starting to grumble, doubting their power. That would not do. It was time to figure out what the hell happened.
"Master Ren." I knocked once on the door, the droids hovering in the air and close by turned to face me before Kylo looked up. Not a formal title, but one out of respect. His dark eyes were black as coal against the paleness of his skin, and the most striking addition to his features was a long angry red scar that traveled the length of his throat to the tip of his forehead. The energy rolling off him in waves sent a small shiver through the Force, his emotions were tumultuous, almost tense but there was something else there...was it...clarity?
"Have you felt it? The new awakening in the Force?" He wasted no time with formalities.
"Yes, its is very unsettling." I answered, and the others agreed.
"There will be a new Jedi trained by Skywalker, a young girl from Jakku named Rey." He spat the name with every ounce of resentment he could muster.
"Was she the one who did this to you?" In response, Kylo gave a low guttural frustrated growl. Now my curiosity was spiked, this girl, this Rey, must be very powerful naturally to take on Kylo Ren and win. Not since, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
"The last of my training with Snoke begins today. I leave you in charge of the Knights until then, and when I return, Skywalker and his new apprentice will suffer." His voice was oddly quiet through the threat, he even smiled to himself at the thought.
"We shall carry on the mission of locating Skywalker." I give a simple bow, and he nods at me in dismissal. I pause, trying to think if anything else needs to be said. Should I tell him to be careful? Would he even listen?
"Oh, and Han Solo is dead." Satisfaction drips in every word.
"I heard. Good."
And that is all that needs to be said.
"Through me you go into a city of weeping; through me you go into eternal pain; through me you go amongst the lost people"
-Dante Alighieri, The Inferno
The other Knights form a tight circle around me as we gathered inside the meeting room. Safe and away from the First Order and listening ears. At that moment, Kylo was on his way to the Supreme Leader and would not be seen again for a long time. In his absence they all felt lost, but I was slowly learning how to fill the gap.
"How do we get the map? All of our informants within the Resistance have been rooted out by now. Their replacements are not yet trusted well enough to have access to such information." One of the Knights voiced his concerns.
"One of us will have to sneak in, and take it." I opened my eyes, ignoring the pounding headache crushing against my skull and greymatter. They always came and went, sometimes for days or only a few minutes. They were all silent, unsure of who would want to set out on such a foolish errand.
Slowly, I raised my hand up to the mask, and took it off so I could breathe freely. It felt strange feeling the stale filtered air against my skin.
"I will go." I sighed, and relief relaxed the tension in the room. I stared out of the floor to ceiling window, overlooking the home planet of the First Order. In the glass I could see my own faded reflection. I had almost forgotten what I looked like and was not at all surprised by the dark bags under my eyes the color of bruises or the hollowness of my cheeks, sunken in and waxy like a living corpse. Stress had deteriorated my once round face, sleepless nights had left me awake over worry for Kylo Ren. I pulled the hood of my robe up, but left the mask at my side. I would have to change soon, take on the part of a Resistance sympathiser.
Everyone else had failed Kylo, but I would not. If need be, I would strike down Rey for him, leave the path open to Skywalker. There would be no other servant as worthy as I.
I could not just show up on D'Qar, my unexpected presence would be felt immediately by Leia Organa. First, I had to be taken to a planet with Resistance allies. Then, I could travel to the headquarters of the Resistance and find the map. Sounds easy enough. Before all of that, I had to change.
It was not that hard to find some clothing a rebel fighter would wear, we had many left over from dispatched prisoners. I put on a pair of plain dark brown woolen trousers with worn out leather boots that looked ancient. Over that I put on a long sleeve and high collared shirt, and threw a thick scarf around my head and neck. I had to hide my lightsaber inside the pack tied at my waist, instead I strapped a blaster to my hip.
"You look foolish." A shadow was cast in the doorway. I stiffened and turned around, not a all surprised to find Hux there.
"Then I have succeeded. What is it that you want?"
"There has been some slight changes to your mission." Already I can tell what I am about to hear will irritate me. I wish I had the hilt of my lightsaber at my side to grasp for comfort.
"When you infiltrate the Resistance Headquarters, you will send an alert through the tracker in your pack so the First Order can arrive and wipe out everyone inside and on the planet."
"The Resistance is not a target by the Knights, Skywalker is." I huffed in irritation. Not like I wasn't up for a good old fashioned massacre, but it seemed oddly wasteful. Hux was just angry that they had made him look like an idiot, as if he had learned nothing from the Death Star. A cat liking his wounds.
"That may sound like treason to some." He kept his arms folded behind his back, ramrod straight.
"Are you doubting the loyalty of the Knights of Ren? Do you question us?"
"Well, at least I do not blindly follow a half baked Sith Lord that was defeated by a scavenger. Besides, if we wipe out the Resistance and General Leia, then we won't have to go looking for Skywalker. He will come to us." With that, he turned around and walked away, knowing I would not argue any more.
He was right, and this new plan was more effective. That damned Hux, sticking his nose where it does not belong. I stomped my way over to the hangar where my transportation was waiting, seething over the interference. One of the Knights must have broken ranks, went and squealed to Hux. Now I had a traitor to deal with. I would stubbornly obey, now that the First Order was involved and disobeying would be high treason. But that did not stop a small, guttural voice inside my head from harboring dissent. It was not reason, or pride.
It was something I had not ever felt before, but I let it stay there and fester.
A/N: *writes a new story when i have a bunch of other fics that need updating* hi everyone, this is my first try at a star wars fic, ive been planning on writing some for ages but was never really ~inspired~ until i saw the new movie. i intend to keep the chapters short so i will be able to update more and let the story naturally breathe. this takes place in between 7 and 8, and since we dont know a whole lot about the knights of ren (or whats gonna happen in 8 lolol) im going on inferences
oh and this is a kylorenxoc story, but not in a traditional sense (the love is obsession ie bellatrix and voldemort, harley quinn and the joker, etc. etc.), i want to keep kylo ren in character as much as possible while making the oc feel like an actual character from the story so let me know what you think
and dante's inferno quotes cause its awesome and currently reading