This is a continuation of a previous prologue fic called Creatures behind Masks. The story deviates from the interrogation scene and becomes an AU after that. If you haven't read that one this fic won't make a whole lot of sense. There is also Her Armor was as Jewels which is a side story that covers Hux and Phasma and is set in this same storyline. Additionally, Disguised Reality which picks up after Chapter 14 of this fic and details Poe and Finn's interactions.
Note: Until something official comes out and says it, I am operating under the assumption that Rey and Kylo Ren are not related. Though, the story can still be read that way if that's what you're into as the fic doesn't address it at all.
Kylo Ren watched quietly as officer after officer came before Supreme Leader Snoke attempting to dispel the man's wrath over the loss of Starkiller Base. They knelt, trembling on the uneven and cracked red marble floor before the thin, pasty man. The throne room of the supreme leader was as dank and decrepit as the supreme leader himself. Time and neglect had turned the once beautiful space into a hollow shell of its former glory. The shuttering voice of the officer faded and Kylo allowed his mind to wander as he stood. He eyed the damaged room and tried to imagine what the crumbling mosaics and faded frescos must have looked like when they'd been fresh and vibrant. The rest of the complex was really no different. Snoke seemed to place very little importance on the structural integrity of his palace. It baffled the knight but he spent so little time on Korriban that he honestly didn't care past the idle thoughts of his bored mind.
He had already made his report and now stood among the other knights listening to his master wax on about the massive failure of his First Order and of Kylo Ren, himself. Snoke hadn't been happy with the loss of Skywalker or the girl on top of their crushing defeat. Kylo had felt the bruising presence of the other knights weighing on him. No doubt, hoping to witness his downfall both in the eyes of the Supreme Leader and in his position as master. He made no more excuses for his failings. He would not give them the satisfaction. But his inability to complete his mission was not without its gains. Kylo had shown his master the girl. The untrained scavenger who had defeated the master of the Knights of Ren. He'd not had the opportunity to fight her physically but that would come in time. Her mind, however . . . She had the strongest mind that he'd ever encountered outside his master.
Snoke had apparently agreed. "Yet another loss for the order and the knights." He murmured quietly.
Snoke had not seemed angry so much as tired. As if he'd expected such a spectacular failure from his forces and couldn't be bother to even act surprised. Kylo gritted his teeth. He felt again that same dejection that had plagued him since he was a boy. His inability to do anything right. To conform to the expectations of his family and then his master. Perhaps Kylo was destined fit nowhere. To be alone.
He'd banished those dark thoughts in the wake of the gloating and malice that bore down on him from those who were meant to serve him. There was no purpose in dwelling on such things. Kylo had looked up at his master. "She is not lost to us yet. Part of myself remains within her mind." He asserted, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
The supreme leader had paused, his eyes moving slowly over Kylo's kneeling form as he raised a brow. "I can feel your intentions; your wish to commune with this girl… To teach her the ways of the Force. Is the master of my knights ready to take another apprentice?" Snoke inquired, almost gently.
The tone had instantly put Kylo on edge and he hadn't been able to stop himself from grimacing at the question. It had not been his intention for Snoke to pick up on something like that. It was far too intimate a detail as to take an apprentice was to tie yourself to another. He could not help reaching out with the Force towards his first, and as yet only, apprentice. Jecek's presence was almost a void in the ever flowing energy of the Force. He felt his apprentice and took some strength from the steady mind of the other man.
His first apprentice was a powerful warrior who stood above the weak and overconfident rabble that permeated the ranks of the Knights of Ren. Many thought that because they could swing a lightsaber, that they were somehow immune to death. But they were barely more than the padawans they'd been under Skywalker and were too lazy or too stupid to increase their knowledge of the Force. But Jecek . . . He'd always thirsted for more. Had driven himself and honed his power to a lethal edge. One which the other knights kept well away from. Even now, as Kylo pulled away, Jecek was rebuilding his shields and Kylo once again only felt the void. The other knight kept his thoughts and plans close, as Kylo had taught him.
The scavenger was as different from Jecek as night was to day. Kylo could feel her still, her effervescent mind and presence dancing around the edges of his senses. Drawing him to her with her shining light. It made him want to snuff it out. To turn the radiance into poison. He'd felt a glimmer of what that would be like when he'd entered her mind and wallowed in the crushing loneliness that had defined her existence for so long.
That was all but gone now after having been reunited with her comrades in the resistance. But he still felt her fear. Of him and the darkness that he'd used to try and break her. Fear would make her easy to mould but it would eventually need to be dealt with. He'd cure her of her unease and she would welcome the power that came with becoming a knight. His knight.
Kylo had already begun tapping into their weak connection. It had taken much of his strength to plant the seeds of doubt from so far away and to make the thoughts seem as though they were her own. He couldn't allow her to go to Luke Skywalker. Not yet. Not until Kylo had turned her to his cause. It would have to be soon though, lest his uncle track her down first.
His mouth twisted in irritation. None of this should have happened. She should be here on Korribann or on one the many secret planets he kept for training and escape. It was a blow to him that she'd been freed from his own command shuttle but in the end, it didn't matter. Kylo took a steadying breath. Either with or without Snoke's permission, he would find her. But he didn't allow his mind to dwell on his plans for her or the future. He released his thoughts into the Force, erasing them from existence. He couldn't allow Snoke become suspicious of him. Not yet. Not until he was ready.
When the last official had left the throne room, all was silent. Snoke's mood was capricious at best. While his face made nothing clear about his current state of mind, no one wanted to test it. But Kylo had plans that needed to be set into motion. He felt the eyes of a hundred Knights upon him as he stepped away from the loose circle they'd made around the edge of the throne room. Their judgement and gleeful thoughts of his demise should he say the wrong thing itched at his mind but he ignored them.
Kylo Ren came forward and knelt before Snoke. "Supreme leader. I request permission to pursue the scavenger girl," he proclaimed as he looked up at the scarred man.
"This is not the most opportune time for such an excursion," he intoned. Snoke didn't seem surprised but he didn't seem angry either.
Kylo pressed forth. "Master, she has left the resistance and is vulnerable now. I can still find Skywalker."
The Supreme Leader sat back in his throne. "You think she will lead you to him? After she rebuffed you before?" Snoke asked as he watched the knight almost placidly.
The reminder of his defeat irked him. "I intend to try a different tactic this time," Kylo argued. He shoved his own doubts away and kept his resolve firm, even in his own mind. He would do what was necessary to bring the scavenger into the fold.
Snoke laughed, sensing his intentions. "You would parade yourself in front of the resistance?" He asked, his tone mocking.
But Kylo would not allow himself to be deterred. "My mother is not sentimental. She would have very few keepsakes of me. As long as I keep well away from her, any others can be made to forget me. I will stay close to the girl and groom her to be a knight. Eventually she will lead me to Skywalker and I will kill him."
The cavernous room was silent as Snoke regarded him critically. "You are very confident in your abilities. Be careful that they are not misplaced, lest the master of the Knights of Ren loses his position." The supreme leader's voice was deceptively light.
Kylo's face twitched in anger, at the doubt he felt from his master and the glee that saturated the minds of the knights who looked on quietly. They were nothing. He would watch them all all burn before he allowed himself to fail again. He was in her mind, now. There was no escape from him this time. He voiced none of these thoughts, however, as he waited for Snoke's decision.
Snoke broke eye contact with him and waved his hand almost lazily. "Go. Find your scavenger girl. When she is ready, bring her before me."
Kylo bowed his head. "As you command."
He stood and turned to leave, his footsteps echoing in the vast throne room. The thread of jealousy and anger from the other knights rolled over him and he smirked. He knew they had hoped to devour him in the wake of Star Killer base as if he was a hobbled animal surrounded by hungry wolves. But they were merely sheep who followed blindly after the Supreme Leader. He would return with his new apprentice and cement his position within this new order.
Kylo had made it to the entryway when Snoke's voice called out softly, "Be wary, my knight. The light side will call to you. Do not succumb."
Kylo paused for a few seconds. "I will not fail."
The knight left the throne room and the almost overpowering field of dark energies that came when so many dark-side force users were so close to one another. The more powerful the person was with the dark side of the force, the harder it was for other users to be close by. It was why Snoke would not allow them to become true sith. They would destroy each other.
The rest of the palace was just as wretched as the throne room, though there were workers dotted through the hallways repairing the most pressing areas of damage. He did not see many other people as most of the men and women within the First Order actively avoided the palace. The place was usually teeming with knights and while Kylo's temper was fairly legendary, he was far from the only one to take his anger out on physical objects or people.
He stepped around a fallen column as he entered the wing of the palace that housed his quarters. The chambers of the master of the Knights of Ren were close to the throne room and the seat of power within the First Order so he arrived quickly. He entered and closed the door behind him, leaving him truly alone for the first time in days. Kylo nearly slumped back against the doors but even in the privacy of his rooms, he didn't allow that kind of weakness. He stood even straighter as he looked over the lavishly dark furnishings offset by patterned silver wall paper and chrome accents.
He hadn't chosen the décor but he'd eventually come to appreciate the look, especially after the years he'd spent aboard the First Order's Star Destroyers with their cramped and austere sleeping quarters. Hux might like grey metal walls and cold floors but Kylo much preferred luxury.
Kylo's gloves came off first, falling to the floor in small heaps. He walked over to the massive bed and stood before it for a few seconds before reaching up and pressing down on the clasp that held his mask in place. The knight lifted it as he drew in a breath of unfiltered air. He cracked his neck and dropped the helmet onto the bed before looking over at his reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror beside the bathroom.
He looked terrible. Grime and dried sweat clung to his skin, and his clothing was covered in holes, exposing his injuries, most specifically the white wrappings that covered the blaster burn on his side. But that wasn't what made him turn away quickly. His face; especially his eyes. He hated them. They were too expressive and gave him away far more easily than he wished. Snoke had been the one to comment on it and so he'd begun wearing a mask.
But those eyes . . . That weakness. He would need that when he found her. The scavenger, despite her rough upbringing, was a bleeding heart. She would not be able to help herself if she encountered a person in need. And she would cling to anyone who showed her and ounce of kindness in return. He removed all of his clothing, dropping the dark fabric bit by bit on the floor as he walked to the 'fresher. He hadn't bathed in a few days and while no one would dare comment on it, he'd known that his smell had hung in the air during the flight back to Korriban and then during his subsequent reports to the Supreme Leader.
Kylo stepped into the 'fresher and stood there as the mist enveloped him and removed all the dirt and oils that had accumulated on his skin. He went through it twice just to be sure that he'd removed the smell that had clung to him as he wasn't sure when the next time that he'd be able to use a 'fresher would come. His plans were already forming in his mind. It would not take him long to find her, but his next steps would need to be carefully planned and executed. He felt her fear through their connection. She would run from the Resistance.
Straight into the waiting arms of Kylo Ren.
He packed up a few sets of his plainest clothing along with a non-descript blaster that he'd taken off the corpse of Force-sensitive man who'd refused to join the knights. Kylo dressed himself quickly, pulling on a pair of worn boots that he'd been about to throw away. He also pulled a fresh set of his knight's uniform and mask along with his crossguard lightsaber and put them in another bag. He might need them later.
The knight looked around his chambers contemplating if he was forgetting anything, and he once again caught sight of his reflection. Kylo shook his head and pulled an old scarf and a pair of goggles from a trunk, using both to cover his face. It was quite possible that he might spend months or even years building a cover for himself with the girl and potentially her organization. He'd avoid his mother of course and she'd sent him away at a rather young age so very few people would connect the gangly boy he'd been with the knight he was now. He'd been careful over the last decade to keep his mask on when in the company of anyone else, even allies. Kylo would not allow it all to be undone because a storm trooper might recognize him. He swung the bags over his shoulder and walked out of the room.
A darkly cloaked figure waited for him outside.
Kylo didn't even blink as Jecek Ren looked over his clothing. "What are you doing here, apprentice?"
The other knight's head tilted, the swirling design in his ornate mask gleaming even in the low light of the hall.
"I would accompany you on your journey, master." Jecek said patiently.
Kylo sighed. "No. I need you here within the order."
Jecek took a step forward. "I can assi-"
"You will get in my way!" Kylo barked.
The other knight's hands clenched into tight fists by his side. "Why is this girl so important to you?" Jecek asked, his words barely more than a whisper.
Kylo moved closer to his former apprentice and lifted his bare hand. Jecek removed his glove and brought his fingers up until they brushed Kylo's. The bond between master and apprentice allowed their thoughts to be one mind, and Kylo allowed Jecek to move through his plans for their future. Direct transfer was the only way to ensure that Snoke would not pick up on his treasonous thoughts.
Jecek was silent as he processed the information before pulling his hand back and covering his fingers again. "I will do as you ask, master."
Kylo nodded. "I know you will. We will see each other again when game has been won."
Jecek nodded in return and Kylo turned away. His footsteps were light as he made his way out of the his wing and through the palace. The main hanger wasn't far. Any troopers that thought to stop him promptly forgot his very existence and he arrived quickly. He stood with a group of the trooper spies disguised in civilian clothing for a few minutes as he looked around for a vessel. Though his attention was on his mission, he could not help but overhear the thoughts of one of them.
Hux had apparently secretly ordered the destruction of the transport ship that had carried the bridge crew away from the Starkiller Base. There would be no one left alive to tell the supreme leader about the general's or Phasma's mistake.
Kylo shook his head smiling slightly at the slippery man's machinations. She wouldn't thank him for it.
He broke away from them when he found a ship that would suit his purposes and commandeered it easily enough using a data chip signed off on by Kylo Ren. The ship smoothly sailed through the atmosphere and out into space. He hated to lose it but he would have trade it in an outpost for a clean ship that could not be traced back to the First Order. And then it was off to find his lost scavenger.