The Force isn't black and white

by sailorcrisp

"The Sith Empire is no more. The Sith are extinct, ending with the death of Darth Vader. The Republic was reinstated and is now under threat by the First Order. The Jedi are gone save one broken Jedi. Seems like the Force is trying to find a balance don't you think?"

1. Chapter 1

"Ah, to what do I have the pleasure for this call…." He trails off, seeing the familiar masked hooded figure. "My Lord…?"

"Have you forgotten me so quickly Lord Scourge?" The hooded figure asked. "Of course not. I did not expect to see you wearing that mask or those robes again after so long. I almost thought you would never wear them again." Scourge replies.

"It has crossed my mind a few times I must admit. But after… recent developments, I have decided I have been hiding for too long and I feel it is time to come back and remind this First Order of what the dark side truly is. This Knights of Ren group is… troublesome and needs to be destroyed. The galaxy is not protected with this… cult in charge. The empire that Darth Sidious created based on our glorious past has dwindled to a fraction of its original might. With Darth Vader gone, the last of the new Sith Order following Bane's Rule of Two is no more. You and I are the last of our kind, presuming you haven't taken any apprentices of course."

Scourge nods in agreement. "As per your instructions, I have set up some Sith and Imperial colonies in wild space over time. I have created- along with other Sith still alive at the time, an academy. We do have some successors to the original Lords and Darths that came with me. Not as many force sensitives here as there was in the unknown regions at first. We had to encourage procreation among the Sith in the hopes we get more force sensitive candidates… as well as "escorting" others from the unknown regions discreetly."

The masked figure nods in understanding. "I suppose it could not be helped. The galaxy- or at least the core worlds- are vulnerable. Even more so than during the Treaty of Coruscant. The colonies and empire that you have built is all that can protect them from any threat."

"We. My Lord. We built this empire. We are responsible for the Sith surviving. We are responsible for the rebuilding of our Empire. You may have not stayed with us the whole duration, but it was your plan. You designed this strategy and it worked. We survived. The Jedi are all but extinct, the Sith following Darth Bane's new order are extinct. You kept our order alive."

The masked figure stays silent for a few moments, Scourge patiently waits for a response. "You give me too much credit Scourge." Scourge swore he could see a smirk through that mask. "Lord Scourge, how would you feel about taking a little….expedition down to the core worlds?"

"What did you have in mind my Lord?"

"I have no problem taking care of the Knights of Ren by myself, but I thought you might enjoy the exercise. And perhaps, have a small fleet on standby in the Outer Rim."
Scourge cocks his head in confusion. "An invasion Lord Kallig? I thought you had no interest for such things anymore?"

"No. No invasion. Just a surprise party if need be. I have been in slumber for too long. I have seen the galaxy crumble. This First Order needs to be disbanded and the Jedi Order reinstated, along with a re-establishment of the Republic. The capital of the New Republic has been destroyed. All that is left of the faction that birthed the New Republic is called 'The Resistance'. If getting rid of that cult doesn't destabilise the First Order as quickly as I would like, I would like you to bring in the fleet to help speed things along. I am quite curious to see how strong our Imperial forces actually are. You could call it a test run or skirmish."

Scourge smiles and relaxes his stance. "I am looking forward to our reunion Lord Kallig. I am sure the troops will be excited to see a glimpse of the core worlds and the origins of our Empire. They will not disappoint you. Do you require any additional Sith?"

"No. Just any you deem appropriate to supervise on the command vessels, should they be ambushed."

"Understood my Lord. Where will we meet?"

"On the moon of Yavin 4. I will send you coordinates. Oh and Scourge" the hooded figure takes off the mask and all that can be seen are yellow eyes. "I haven't been called Kallig for a long time. Last I checked, I was a member of the Dark Council and had another title did I not?"

Scourge pales, if that is even possible for a Sith pureblood. "My apologies my Lord, I meant no disrespect, I saw your mask and I assumed-" He gets cut off by a wave of the hand from Kallig. "The council does not exist. You have nothing to fear from me. I was attempting humour, but I obviously failed." The smirk drops. "Under Darth Zash, I was Lord Kallig. Darth Imperius is who succeeded Darth Thanaton. Darth Imperius is who met Lana Beniko- the former advisor to Darth Arkous. Darth Imperius is who got the Emperor- Lord Vitiate's attention. However… after my time with the Minister of Sith Intelligence and my experiences with the Emperor as the Commander and the Outlander, I feel that titles do not mean much anymore. However, you may call me with whatever title you wish. "

"Yes my Lord."

"Well then. I look forward to seeing you in person. May the Force serve you well Lord Scourge."

"And you my Lord." Scourge replies with a bow and ends the transmission.

Kallig sighs and leans back on the chair. "Query: Master, why have you decided to wear your Sith robes? I thought you said you would never wear them again and that your identity died with L- erh hem, the... Minister of Sith Intelligence." HK-55 asks arriving at the door to the cockpit. His query was met with silence. "Master?"

"Circumstances change HK. Also, I am not obliged to answer you as I am your master. You would do well to remember that in the future." Kallig states without turning.

"Observation: Oh master, you're sounding more like your old self! Eager anticipation: I can't wait to destroy meatbags like in the old days. Perhaps not as exciting or challenging as destroying Republic troops or Jedi, but it will be enough for a warm up." HK says while walking around in… well what you would call a droid equivalent of excitement. Kallig closes their eyes hoping HK leaves. 'I really am not in the mood for repairing that droid.'

HK finally stops moving around. 'Oh thank the Force' Kallig thinks, about to let out a sigh of relief until HK speaks again. "Afterthought: Master, although I am eagerly anticipating this glorious bloodbath, I just realised it is not in your character to change your mind. You don't break promises. You said your life as a Sith Lord and your identity died a long time ago. Statement: I need to know if you are damaged master so I can help you achieve peak performance master."

Kallig grips the arms of the chair tighter and tighter until HK's last statement in which the Sith Lord's eyes fly open and something snaps inside. Kallig immediately stands up and turns to HK, eyes glowing in the old familiar feeling of the dark side. " I am perfectly fine droid. Unfortunately, it seems the galaxy can't survive without my help, so in order to make sure the Jedi do not go extinct, I must take matters into my own hands. She would not have wanted me to sit by in the corner of the galaxy watching it all fall apart when we both know I could do something about it. That is why HK. I have not broken a promise…. I am finally fulfilling it."

Kallig hears the faintest whisper in their ear, a voice of someone long ago and for a brief second sees a person with blonde hair, glowing eyes and armour smiling at the Sith Lord. Kallig snaps their eyes shut and turns away from HK. "We will start training tomorrow to see if you need any fine tuning. But for now, leave me." the Sith Lord commands and hears it walk away saying "Statement: Very well master". Once the droid is out of earshot, Kallig collapses onto the chair and breaks into sobs.

Rey was busy cleaning her staff when she felt a disturbance in the force. The intensity and suddenness of it made her drop the staff and drop to her knees. She put her hands on her head in an attempt to contain… well whatever it was. 'It feels like a mixture of 'anger, loss, fear, despair and…. Longing? Or resignation?' Rey thought to herself. 'Whoever this is, they are definitely strong in the force.' She slowly gets back to her feet.

"I must find Master Skywalker!"

Rey runs outside only to find Skywalker on the ground. She quickly runs and crouches next to him. "Master!?" Luke lifts his head "I'm ok Rey. The disturbance in the force caught me off guard. It was quite intense… Now I know how old Ben felt…" He trailed off. Rey looked at him in confusion. "Old Ben?" Luke realised his mistake "Oh yes, sorry Rey. It is what I called him growing up. His name was Obi Wan Kenobi. He was one of the last Jedi and gave me the lightsaber you carry with you now." Rey nods in understanding. "Do you think we should look for the source of that disturbance?" Luke contemplates the question. "I don't feel it is necessary, however, if you want to investigate, you can. Just be wary as those emotions you felt can lead to the dark side."

"I understand Master."

A young woman was hunched over fiddling around with blaster pieces and engine parts when she noticed a shadow behind her. She quickly turned around and relaxed when she realised who it was. "Oh Rey, you startled me. How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry Xanthi. I didn't mean to interrupt or startle you. I was looking for someone." Xanthi looks at her in confusion "As far as I know, it's only you, me and Jedi Skywalker on this island- oh and my protocol droid of course."

"Yes that's what I thought too… It's just...well...Nevermind." Rey is about to walk off when Xanthi frowns at her "Wait!" Rey stops. "I might not be a Jedi, but I did grow up hearing about the Force and the Jedi and Sith- in secret of course- but nonetheless, I do have an idea about those things. I might be somewhat of an crazy engineer and average pilot" gesturing to her crash landed ship "But it doesn't mean I don't know anything about the history before the First Order and the Galactic Empire."

Rey looks at her in surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I assumed no one understanding the Jedi had survived, The truth is I felt a disturbance in the Force. Someone seemed to be in… Pain? I couldn't quite put my finger on which emotion it was. It was quite powerful and I wanted to search the island in case someone else is here." Xanthi shakes her head "Nah, if anyone else was here, I'd know about it. I had my droid put scanners up just in case. I would like to keep my two Jedi friends alive as long as I can you know." she ends with a smile.

Rey returns an appreciative smile. She notices the blaster pieces on the ground and remembers something. "Since I'm here…. Would you mind teaching me how to aim a blaster properly? I may not always have a lightsaber handy and the last time I used a blaster I missed most shots." Rey mumbles. Xanthi bursts out laughing "Of course! I may not be the best pilot around, but I am decent enough with a blaster. Just let me put it back together and we'll be on our way."

"How did you end up here anyway? I've been meaning to ask, but I always got sidetracked." Rey asks. "Well it's quite simple really…. I was just cruising along…. Didn't see the debris… should've had my deflector shield on and the next thing I know, I crash landed here. Jedi Skywalker was already here at that time. I decided that the place had nice scenery, was quiet, had nice weather and had a Jedi on it, so I thought it'd be a good place to set up camp for a while… Not that I had a choice since I have no parts to replace on my ship. But hey, the location could've been worse." Rey laughs "Yes that is true… It could've been Jakku!" They both laugh continuing their walk to the training ground.

"Query: Master, that female Jedi has been coming close to our ship several times. When can I eliminate her?"
"No HK, she and her Master are to be kept alive. They are the only hope the Republic have left. Our concern is the First Order. Keeping yourself hidden should be your main objective at this time. Understood?"

"Resignation: *sigh* Yes Master."

Xanthi was walking around thinking of the blaster training she had with Rey. "I almost forgot how fun it can be to have company" she thinks out loud. It's been about 3 days since she last laughed and before that….She couldn't remember. She was brought out of her musings when an alert started sounding. A constant beeping was coming from her scanner. 'Someone tripped the perimeter?' she thought to herself. When she checked the camera, she swore and ran as fast as she could to her ship. There, in the camera, were soldiers in white and black armour.

"HK."

"Query: Yes Master?"

"It seems like it the time has finally arrived. How would you like to eliminate a few "meatbags"?"

Xanthi runs as fast as she could to the cave. "Rey! Rey! Where are you?" Luke immediately appears concern written on his face "What's wrong?"
"First Order troops are here! They tripped my perimeter alarm. You two need to get away now!"

Luke has a solemn look on his face. "Get back to your ship. It's too late for us."
"What? No!"

"Yes, this is my fight. I have been hiding for too long and now it's time for me to face my failures. Now go."

They look at each other, the choices warring in their minds being seen through their eyes. Finally Xanthi breaks eye contact and nods leaving the cave. As she's walking to the ship she hears someone yell out. "Halt! Identify yourself!" Xanthi freezes. 'Oh great' she thinks. As she turns, she quickly lifts and discharges her blaster hitting the trooper straight in the chest. She didn't expect 3 more troopers, with one actually paying attention and fired- thankfully due to her reflexes- only ended up hitting her in the arm. Suddenly Rey rushes behind them with a battle cry, cutting them down with her lightsaber.
"Are you alright? How bad is your arm?" Rey asks upon closer inspection. "It's fine Rey… I've had worse… much worse" she mutters the last part low enough so Rey couldn't hear her. "I'll be fine, my ship is over there. You should help Master Skywalker, the First Order already tripped the perimeter. I told him to run, but he refused."

Rey's eyes widened in fear. "I better go! Send a distress beacon if you're able!" and with that, she runs back towards the cave. Xanthi watches until she's out of sight before walking back to her ship.

"Frustrated statement: Master, how long must I keep up this act?" Kallig turns, a smirk visible until the mask in falls in place. "No more acting HK. Time to fill your quota of meatbags. I assume that will greatly improve your mood?"

"Anticipation: Oh yes, very much so Master." Kallig nods. "Good. Let's get them before Scourge takes away all the fun."

"Fall back!" Luke yells. Rey finishes off one of- what she presumes to be- the Knights of Ren with a strike to the heart. As she turns to run, she sees another First Order trooper. "Surrender!" he shouts, pointing his blaster at her. She rolls her eyes. "I don't have time for this" she mutters to herself and force pushes him into the wall. She meets up with Luke, only to find they're in a section with no way out. "Oh no…" Rey turns to Luke, "What do we do now?"

Luke doesn't answer. "There's nowhere left to go Jedi. It's time to finish what Darth Vader started and complete Grandmaster Snoke's training." Kylo Ren states, walking into the last section of the cave. He extends a hand to Rey. "Come with me. You have so much potential, you could even rule the First Order. I could teach you more than the Jedi ever could!"

Rey looks at him with fury in her eyes "No! I would never join you, you murderer!" and runs towards him with her lightsaber raised. "No! Rey!" Luke cries out. "That's what he wants! Don't give in to your anger! He'll turn it against you! Stop!"

Rey ignores him and tries to strike Kylo down but is blocked by his own lightsaber. She tries another strike but is again blocked. Her anger is clouding her judgement and doesn't sense the danger of being too close to Kylo Ren and why he is only blocking and not attacking until it is too late. Rey twirls, putting more force behind her strike, trying to strike him on the shoulder, but is once again blocked and then pushed back with his lightsaber, but also with the force, resulting in Rey slightly losing her footing, but it was enough for Kylo Ren and sensing the opportunity, fired force lightning at her. Rey, being too close, didn't have time to block the attack and felt it in full force causing her to be flown back and lose consciousness when she hit the ground. "Rey!" Luke cries out.

Kylo turns to Luke, "It is over Jedi Skywalker."

"Halt! Identify yourself! I repeat, ident-" the trooper starts choking and claws at his throat, only to be tossed like a rag doll into the wall. They stop as they hear a female voice crying out in rage. "Come HK, we are close." They encounter two more troopers, with what Kallig assumes to be another member of the Knights of Ren. Kallig lifts the two troopers with the force snapping their necks in a very swift manner. "I am still a Sith Assassin after all." Kallig states shrugging to HK, the Knight of Ren, none the wiser. "Admiration: You never lost your touch master. You almost put my assassination skills to shame." Kallig walks up to the knight and waits for them to turn around. "I have heard interesting things about your group. I would like you to demonstrate. Knight."

"Now Jedi Skywalker, where were we?" Kylo Ren asks, lifting his saber in a fighting stance. Luke looks hard at him searching through his eyes and eventually releases a breath. "It seems I have no choice but to fight you. It seems like Ben is truly dead." Luke says sadly. He slowly removes his lightsaber from his waistband, and holding it up in a ready stance, with the bright green blade illuminating him. As Kylo was about to charge, a cry of someone in pain was heard and then pleading, which was getting louder and louder. "What is that? You! Go now!" Kylo Ren snarls pointing at the troopers and another knight, only to see one limping backwards as if it was backing away from someone. Before anyone could ask, he collapsed to his knees, choking. "Pl-Please-e, M-Mercy… No-Not like…..this-s…" He begged. Immediately, he could breathe and collapsed on all fours taking large gulps of air. As he lifted his body up to a kneeling stance, he was greeted with a blaster bolt to his chest and he fell to the ground lifeless.

All conscious members in the cave could then hear a robotic voice saying "Observation: I am somewhat disappointed Master. They are nothing like the ones we fought in the war. These meatbags are no match for us."

Finally, a droid and a dark hooded figure walk into view. "Statement: It appears we have found them Master." HK-55 points his rifle at them. "Request: May I eliminate these meatbags now Master?" Kylo Ren had enough. "What is the meaning of this!? Who are you? You are not a Jedi, of that I am certain. What business do you have here?" Kylo demands pointing his saber at them.

The hooded figure seemingly ignores his question and instead asks "Are you injured, Master Jedi?" Luke looks at the hooded figure confused, as those robes are not of the Jedi, definitely not that of the Knights of Ren, but not quite... Sith either- or at least not of the Sith he has encountered- although the presence he felt was somewhat reminiscent to that of Darth Vader. He nods slowly, wondering if this is a trick "I am fine. But the more important question is who are you? You're not part of the First Order are you?"

The hooded figure remains silent, their attention on the unconscious form of Rey. "Analysis: Master, the scan shows that her injuries are minor." The figure nods. "Very good HK. Now I kindly suggest you all leave this cave now, save the Master Jedi and his apprentice of course." If anyone could see through masks, they would've seen an incredulous look on Kylo Ren's face. "What? How dare you? Do you even know who I am? Enough of this, I will destroy you and then Skywalker!" and with that, he charged at the hooded figure. Before anyone knew what was happening, Kylo was immediately thrown against the wall, although it appeared that the hooded figure hadn't moved a muscle. Again, Luke thought, reminiscent of Vader on Cloud City.

"I wish you wouldn't do that…" the hooded figure said in an exasperated tone. "If any of you value your lives, you will leave now. Otherwise I will not hesitate to destroy you." The knights remained, but all force users could sense their unease. "Well what are you waiting for? Destroy them!" Kylo screamed out. The hooded figure let out a sigh. "Request granted HK. Only ones not to injure are the Jedi and Kylo Ren. Understood?"
"Affirmation: Understood Master. DIE MEATBAGS!" HK-55 shouts out firing his blaster rifle with accurate precision.

The hooded figure raised their hands unleashing force lightning at the Knights of Ren. Luke closed his eyes, remembering his first hand experience with force lightning at the hands of the Emperor, their screams not so different from his own at the time. The figure sensed him before anything else and spun around igniting their lightsaber in time to block Kylo Ren's strike. The surprise was felt by all that saw this. The hooded figure was amused. "What? You've never seen a lightsaber before?" and with that, twirled the double bladed saber, pushing Kylo back. "What? But how…? Only Jedi and Sith have lightsabers with a blade like that… All but one are extinct. And that design...and a purple blade? Who are you?"

The hooded figure regards him for a moment before lifting the hood, revealing a dark coloured ominous mask. "You may call me Lord Kallig. I was also known as Darth Imperius if you must know."

"You lie! Darth Vader was the last of the Sith! I will destroy you!" Kylo yells out trying to strike, only for it to be blocked again by Kallig and force pushed away again. "I'm sure your master will be very interested in this information, and for that reason alone I am allowing only you to live. I suggest you ask him for more... accurate history of the Sith." And without moving, to Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker's horror, the surviving knights levitated into the air clawing at their throats for air. "This is the power of the dark side. Not your pitiful Knights of Ren band. I will personally see to it that you are no more. I am quite looking forward to meeting your "all-powerful" Grandmaster Snoke." With that you could hear throats being crushed and bodies landing with a lifeless thud. "I suggest you leave before I change my mind and go after Snoke now." Kylo quickly looks at his former fellow knights then at Luke and then at Kallig and runs off.

"Well HK, how did that feel?"

"Satisfaction: If I had an emotion chip, I would be jumping for joy."

Kallig chuckled and looked at Luke who seemed unsure whether to attack, or grab Rey and run. "You have nothing to fear from me Master Jedi. I only want to keep you and Rey safe. The Jedi were not meant to be wiped out. When you created the academy, I assumed the Jedi Order would be reformed. I did not anticipate there would be a traitor, nor a new dark force present."

At that moment, Rey woke up to see all the bodies strewn across the cave as well as the masked figure next to Luke. "What's going on? Who are you?" She demanded, groggily getting to her feet.

"I suppose this will be easier to explain- and you would be more likely to listen- if I take off this mask I suppose." Kallig takes off the mask, revealing- to Luke's surprise- a normal young face. No scars or marking of dark side use, nor the piercing yellow eyes he witnessed on the Emperor. But it was Rey was responded first "What is this? But how? But you… It can't be… "

"Xanthi?"

A/N: The site isn't breaking the paragraphs and saving them the way I would like. So I apologise for the messy look. This is a test to see if I should continue, or redo it as a one-shot only. Feedback is always welcome, but no flames please.