Chapter I

"Take off that mask. You don't need it."

Han Solo drew closer to him on the narrow metal bridge, his eyes filled with worry.

"What do you think you'll see if I do?" he asked, sounding bolder than he felt.

"The face of my son."

Kylo Ren gasped and sat up as he suddenly woke up. He took a deep breath when he registered his usual surroundings. Ah, that bloody nightmare. It had not happened in a long time. He thought he had managed to leave his past behind after three years of hard training and enduring beyond what he had thought himself capable of. At the time, he had thought murdering Han Solo would help him delve further into the dark side, and so it had. But for months after his father's death, these sort of nightmare still plagued him, a reminder of the fact that Ben Solo had not yet completely dissolved into Kylo Ren. As time had passed, the feeling of guilt had gradually faded, though, leaving him more and more indifferent toward his past.

He walked to the large window of his bedroom and glanced outside. Night and day intertwined, fighting for dominance. Almost dawn, he thought.

A few minutes later he was splashing ice cold water on his face when he heard the door to his chambers opening. Two home droids came in, one bringing him breakfast and the other a fresh set of clothing. He had programmed them so they would attend to his needs as soon as he woke up. Every morning was the same ritual, so he did not pay them any attention as they retired with his used clothing.

As he ate his breakfast at the table in front of the window, watching the sun rise, bathing the new Capital planet in glowing light, it occurred to him that his dream might have been related to Snoke, Supreme Leader of the First Order, summoning him early in the morning, to discuss "something of the utmost importance".

Snoke's mysterious statement had made him anxious. Could it be that Snoke thought Kylo Ren was finally ready to be entrusted with a mission? Although it had been weeks since he had completed his training, Snoke had not yet sent for him.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm down his anxiety. Ever since that fateful day when Kylo Ren had almost been killed by a mere force sensitive girl with no training whatsoever – at least that's what Rey was in the eyes of everyone surrounding him, including Snoke's – he had to put up with his shameful defeat and quietly train, pushing his limits to become what he was now, an accomplished disciple of the Dark Side. It was one of the basic requirements of the dark disciples to be discreet and not stand out while the Sith were still in hiding. He was thus compelled to show his allies that his fiery temper did not get the worst of him anymore. Darth Vader would have surely been proud of what his grandson had achieved. Ren could now easily emulate Vader's calm demeanour and collectedness. Snoke, however, had kept him at a distance, as if he sensed something was wrong with his apprentice's intentions. At least during the last three years Snoke had done his part and completed his training, something that Ren desperately needed.

It had been a frustrating process, but he had learned patience in the meantime. He had learned to wait for the right moment to strike. He had learned to wait for his revenge. It was a co-dependent relationship: just as Snoke was using him for his powers, so was Kylo Ren using Snoke's knowledge of the Dark Side. Becoming the strongest, getting rid of the so-called Supreme Leader and reinstalling the Empire had always been his goals. That was why he had joined Snoke in the first place. It made sense, it was the way of the Sith. Darth Vader had been so close to achieving all that. Unfortunately, Luke Skywalker had not been able to understand his greater purpose and coerced his grandfather to make an unworthy choice. How he hated his uncle! Once he finished with Snoke, nothing would stand between him and the revenge against Skywalker and his new protégées.

Ren cleared his mind of these thoughts, as a protocol droid made its presence known, asking him to report before the Supreme Leader. He pulled his helmet and gloves on and followed the protocol droid.


The new palace hosting the Galactic Senate had been completed just months before. Kylo Ren crossed the lush gardens surrounding it, marvelling at how quickly Snoke had changed strategy after the StarKiller disaster. It seemed that taking action from the shadow of the First Order no longer appealed to their Supreme Leader. He wanted to be more than the leader of a terror organisation. Snoke had stepped into the light under his every day identity, prince of Hasterian, and was now a distinguished member of the Senate. The First Order, which he still ruled as Supreme Leader, had not been dissolved, but its activity had been significantly scaled down. Now and then Kylo's faithful soldiers, the Knights of Ren, had been called to join random attacks against the new Republic and the outposts of the Resistance, but it was all for show, to keep the illusion that the First Order was slowly dissolving. While Snoke had decided to rely more on wisdom than on warfare in order to get where he wanted to, the consolidation of the First Order had continued at sustained pace. The lessons of the former Emperor had finally been put into practice. From the reports he had heard, Snoke's influence in the Senate had been steadily growing, although Kylo Ren was not yet sure how he was planning to overthrow the new Republic and take over.

Perhaps he was about to share some of his plans with Ren this morning.

The protocol droid led Ren to the antechamber of Prince of Hasterian in the Senate building. He invited him to sit down and wait until his master was ready to receive him.

As Kylo Ren sat down, the feeling of anxiety returned to him and he made an effort to stifle it again. Beyond the golden doors he felt the presence of Snoke and one more person, someone very strong with the Force, but whom he could not recognise. A Jedi? Here? He got an immediate answer to his question, as suddenly the ornate double doors opened, and a young man burst into the antechamber. He was tall, blond, unusually handsome and wearing a black attire, much as Ren himself. His blue, blazing eyes fell on the seated Sith apprentice and he smirked, turning to Snoke.

"He's here, Supreme Leader."

"I told you not to call me that in here," came Snoke's cold voice from the room.

"Forgive me, your Highness," he acquiesced, still wearing that smug grimace as Ren bypassed him, removed his helmet and came to bow deeply before Snoke. In person, the Supreme Leader looked as frail, pale and short as usual, nothing like in the image displayed by the menacing hologram Kylo Ren had grown accustomed to see. However, by now the leader of the Knights of Ren knew that the Supreme Leader's cruelty knew no bounds, much as his knowledge of the Dark Arts. He was never to be underestimated.

The other man closed the doors and came to stand at his side, eyeing him with unmasked curiosity.

"Kylo Ren, this is Darth Kai," Snoke said. "I've been training him in the Dark Arts for a while now."

The two men weighed each other coldly. Ren had many questions, but everything became quite clear when Snoke added:

"I have decided to go against Darth Bane's First Rule and train more than one apprentice at one time. I will succeed where Lord Sidius has failed. There need to be more of us if we are to face the Jedis that Luke Skywalker is teaching at the old Jedi temple. He is not to be underestimated. Luke Skywalker is by far the strongest Jedi I have met in my long existence. Even stronger than Yoda at the height of his power. Whenever he falls, he just gets back on his feet and starts over. His resilience makes me worried."

He paused, looking at a spot above the two men before him.

"I have summoned both of you today, as we are now prepared to launch our offensive. Before that however, my daughter is to join us. You will both go to Valeant and bring her here."

"Milord, surely you can find someone more fit for such a simple mission... " Darth Kai interjected, and for the first time Kylo Ren was happy he had been the one to exercise self-control, when Snoke lifted his new apprentice above the ground with one simple gesture cutting off the flow of air to his lungs.

"You will learn to think before you speak once and for all," he said, releasing Kai a few painful minutes later. Ren noticed that Snoke had sounded more like an angry parent than a Dark Lord of the Sith. The Supreme Leader seemed to hold some fondness for his newest apprentice. A wave of profound dislike washed over Ren.

"Yes, your highness," the young man managed, his cheeks burning with humiliation.

Ren cleared his mind and bowed again to his master.

"I will set off immediately, milord," he said curtly, signalling to Darth Kai to follow him.

"Take a star cruiser and have it properly staffed. I want no mistakes during this particular mission." Snoke ordered, turning back to the screen on his desk.


"He's told me all about you, you know," Darth Kai said as soon as they left the palace and were out of Snoke's range. Kylo Ren ignored him completely and walked purposefully back to his quarters where his ship awaited him.

"You failed him so badly that he seriously thought of abandoning you together with the StarKiller. I still think he would have, should he have known that he would encounter me just a few months later. It's too bad it happened this way."

Kylo Ren suddenly whirled on Snoke's apprentice and calmly said: "I understand your frustration well enough, Darth Kai. One of us will have to die when the time comes. However, in the meantime we will have to put up with each other and succeed in our mission, otherwise Snoke will dispose of both of us. You heard him, he no longer wants to rely upon just one apprentice. Not only I, but you as well, are just as disposable to him right now."

Darth Kai went slightly pale and closed the distance between them.

"She is surely an apprentice, or at least Force sensitive. I feel that this mission is a trial for both of us."

"What do you suggest then?" Kylo Ren asked, amused, reading his rival's thoughts all too clearly.

"Isn't it obvious? Once she joins her father, Snoke will not need us anymore. I think they are in conflict somehow and he has to rely on us to bring her here. Instead...let's make it look like we failed and that there was an accident..."

Kylo Ren scoffed and pushed him away. "Let's not do that. Let's leave things to unfold and then we'll see what lies ahead."

Darth Kai cursed under his breath, but followed Kylo Ren to his small ship nonetheless. "In the meantime I guess my enemy's enemy is my friend," he said through gritted teeth loud enough for Ren to hear him.

"Set course for the Finalizer," Kylo Ren ordered the pilot as they stepped onto the command post of the small ship.

Kylo Ren sank into the comfortable co-pilot seat behind the control panel and sighed. He felt Darth Kai still seething behind him. It was going to be a long way to Valeant...