Kylo woke on his own bed, and saw that it was close to midnight. He groaned, knowing he would not be able to go back to sleep now. As he began recounting everything that had happened he practically jumped out of bed and furiously began pacing. Things were not going how they should. He was not acting how he wanted — how he should be acting.
Kylo could feel his anger bubbling like lava beneath the surface and quickly exited his room. He walked as calmly as he could, but he felt as though he might explode any second. He got to the closest training room, and could hear people inside despite the late hour.
The doors opened and the officers that had been sparring in the room stood at attention as they recognized him.
"Out."
Not wanting to be caught in the wrath of the Supreme Leader, the officers wasted no time exiting. Once the door closed behind them Kylo headed to a punching bag in the corner and started going at it with such a ferocity that anyone watching might have thought he was fighting his worst enemy. As his knuckles began to split, Kylo slowed his attack. An anxiousness in him grew and despite being physically tired he was not completely spent. He sat down in front of the punching bag and closed his eyes. Kylo reached out with the force and detached the bag from the ceiling. He then proceeded to throw it across the room, but before it crashed against the wall he stopped it. Over and over he flung and stopped the bag, while his thoughts and emotions slowly started to balance.
General Hux is in one of many control rooms watching Ren fling a punching bag around through the monitor. Hux is pretty confident that Ren dosen't know he's being surveilled. He has a select team who keeps an eye on the Supreme Leader and watches his every move. Hux has been hoping to catch Ren doing something damning, but so far there has been nothing. He's been focused on his work and as calm as Hux has ever seen him. He can't even remember the last time Ren threw one of his tantrums. But yesterday he suddenly cancelled his meetings and locked himself in his room, which regrettably Hux has not managed to get cameras into. And then today he storms into a training room, beats the crap out of a punching bag and begins to throw it around without moving a muscle. The small show of power reminds Hux of Ren's deadly nature and a small warning goes off in his head, telling Hux to be extremely cautious as he moves forward. The Supreme Leader is a strong opponent, but he's easily angered and often lets his emotions take over. Hux decides it might be time to put his next phase into place.
Hux stands up and begins putting his gloves back on while Ren reattaches the bag to the ceiling when without warning Ren's eyes pop open and his head snaps towards the camera.
"Crap crap craaaap." A captain sitting at the controls across the room looks up alarmed and Hux waves him off with a stiff expression. There is nothing he can do but wait to see how the Supreme Leader would react. Staring right into the hidden camera in the wall, Ren flicks his hand and the punching bag explodes, right before the screen blacks out.
Kylo watches sparks shoot out from the camera he crushed. Pieces of it fall to the floor as Kylo thinks, I'll deal with Hux later. He gets to his feet and heads back to his rooms to shower.
While he felt a lot calmer, Kylo still had a lot to think about, and Hux was the least of his worries. He needed to find a way back to his old self — the way he used to be before Rey came into the picture. The way he was before he killed his dad, and before his mom died. But as he got out of the shower he realized that if there's anything he's learned from his life so far, it's that you can't change the past. All you can do is move forward in the direction you choose. That's the problem Kylo now faced. He however, had no clue what direction he wanted to go.
Kylo was getting dressed when someone knocked on the door.
"What!?" He barked.
"Uh, General Hux would like to see you sir." Kylo rubbed his face in irritation and said, "I'll be there in a minute." What does that imbecilic man want from me now?
Hux rubbed his hands against his coat as he and a few of his officers waited for Ren. He knew the Supreme Leader was going to be impatient with him when he arrived, but he hoped his news would distract Ren from his insubordinate behavior for the time being.
About half an hour after Ren blew up the punching bag, Hux received word that one of his bounty hunters had spotted that scavenger girl and wanted to get on the situation immediately. Once Ren arrived, they would contact Netal for a rundown.
Hux was actually very interested in this meeting as his search has been going for months, but he's barely learned anything about that piece of rebel scum. According to scavengers on Jakku she was a no one, who got her work done and lived in an abandoned AT-AT. And yet somehow she must have been in contact with the traitor FN-2187, and she traveled with that rebel hero Han Solo. She managed to escape from her cell and then proceeded to defeat Ren and escape before Starkiller Base was destroyed. Later she then showed up on the Supreme Leader's ship while her rebel friends where being killed, managed to once again overpower Ren and kill the former Supreme Leader and then save her friends from Crait. Whom they haven't spotted or heard of since. In summary she was a giant frustrating mystery, and now she just shows up on Jakku. Which either means she's being reckless or the rebels are planning something.
Hux heard the door slide open behind him and turned to see the Supreme Leader march in.
"What is it Hux?" Hux refrained from rolling his eyes at Ren's refusal to use his title and proceeded to fill him in on what he knows so far.
Kylo clenched his teeth together as he struggled to keep his face impassive. His mind moved fast as he tried to make a decision. Should he allow them to take Rey in or should he somehow figure out a way for her to escape and why would he want her to escape?
"Who is your contact?"
"Bazine Netal."
"The one who alerted us to the BB-8 unit's presence at Takodana?" Hux nodded sharply, "We are making contact with her now." At his words a hologram appeared in the middle of the room.
They turned to see Netal before them.
"Supreme Leader, General." She nodded in greeting.
"Netal. What's the situation?" Hux replied.
"I've been stationed in Jakku with some undercover troops for a few months. Thus far there has been no sign of the girl or any clue that she has contacted anyone here. But then today, one of my troops noticed an unmarked ship land. The girl and a man we've been unable to identify exited. We've been tracking them through the market, and at this point all they've done is look at wares. We are waiting for your orders."
Kylo wanted to groan but refrained as he thought through his options. He first wondered who the unidentified man was as they had all the remaining Resistance members tagged. But what he was truly curious about was Rey's presence on Jakku. She had no reason to return, and they couldn't be there for parts as there were thousands of other places they could go.
"Have they purchased anything?" Asked Hux.
"Only some food and water." Replied Netal.
Kylo watched as Hux rubbed his chin and turned to face him.
"What do you want to do Supreme Leader? I suggest we continue to watch her, unless she attempts to leave. In that case we would apprehend her, and bring her here for questioning." Kylo thought this through, and nodded.
"Let's do that. Except I want to get to Jakku. She's managed to escape before and we need as much manpower as we can get."
Kylo could tell Hux agreed with this assessment as he turned back to Netal.
"You heard the Supreme Leader. Watch her closely, and wait for our arrival. If she attempts to leave before then, do everything in your power to stop her." Kylo didn't miss the our in Hux's command but made no comment. He couldn't risk raising Hux's suspicions. Especially if he did something stupid. Which he didn't plan on. For now anyways.
Netal signed off and as they prepared to go to Jakku, Kylo only had one thought. What was she thinking?
What was I thinking? Rey asked herself as she attempted to causally browse the market stalls. She had made the decision to go to Jakku on an emotional whim, and as she struggled to place the people following her, she truly regretted it. Poe had been confused and worried about her request, but had allowed her to go. He was in no place to stop her anyways. She brought Carson with her, as she hoped he wouldn't be recognizable. He was to get back to the ship if anything happened, but Rey could tell that the people following her — who she guessed were either bounty hunters or Imperial spies — were not trying to capture her. She figured they wanted to see what she was up to, and in all honesty she had no idea what she was doing.
"What are you looking for?" Rey turned to Carson and struggled with a response. Her excuse for coming was that she needed some parts for her ship, but she wasn't planning on buying anything.
"There's uh, I had some parts in my old hideout I was hoping to grab." Carson nodded trustingly, and responded, "I noticed that we're being followed and I thought we should split up? Maybe you could go to your hideout and I could stay here and keep an eye on things?" Rey felt it would be irresponsible to leave Carson by himself, but she also wanted to be alone. And it's not like the choices she had made in getting here have been responsible. She needed to think through what she's done and figure out how she's going to get them out of this mess. But she also needed to keep Carson safe and ah! Why didn't I think this through?
Slowly she nodded and said, "Ok. I'll go and see if anything is still there and you stay here. But please be careful. Remember what we taught you." Carson nodded seriously and Rey put her hand on his arm.
"We can't lose you, okay?" Carson grinned cheekily and patted her hand.
"I can handle myself. You're the one I'm worried about." Rey laughed and squeezed his arm before turning around.
"Be safe Rey." She noted something in his tone, but did not to dwell on it as she smiled at him over her shoulder.
"I'm going to test our signal around 900 feet. Be ready." He nodded and she went on her way.
Kylo, Hux and some troops picked for the mission landed on the outskirts of Jakku.
"Alright. We'll split up. Hux you take the left of the market, I'll take the right. Netal and a few of her crew will search the ship on our cue. Don't engage with the targets unless they engage first. We're stunning only. Keep your comms on, and blend in. Report anything suspicious. It's about a mile to the market. Got it?"
A few of them nodded as they finalized their disguises. They all wore ragged clothes in different variations of tan, brown and navy. Kylo felt off-kilter in his light colored clothes, but knew that wearing all black would be too noticeable. Their loose clothing helped conceal advanced weaponry, while on the outside they carried more common weapons that wouldn't bring as much attention, like staffs, small handguns and knives in their belts.
They began leaving the ship in small groups and pairs at different intervals. Kylo and Hux were among the last to leave and Kylo could feel Hux eyeing him suspiciously.
"Be careful out there." Kylo turned towards him with a raised eyebrow and said, "You too Hux." And walked out.
Kylo was making his way through the market when he saw Rey talking to someone he assumed was the man they were unable to identify. Keeping an eye on them he made his way closer. The man with Rey was tall and gangly, with short blond hair and hard to miss dimples. Kylo tried to mentally store the man's noticeable characteristics for the future.
As he stationed himself beside a stall he saw Rey put her hand on the man's arm. He stiffened as he watched them smiling at each other. As Rey turned to go he refused to dwell on what he could only describe as uncharitable thoughts towards the mystery man who was currently smiling at Rey's back.
Carefully watching his surroundings, Kylo nodded towards a hidden troop a few stalls down. He then started behind Rey, being careful to be on the lookout for quick hiding places. She began making her way towards the emptier edges of the market, and Kylo struggled with what to do. She wasn't going towards the shipyard, but if she got further away from the market it would be harder for Kylo to hide.
Making up his mind he continued after her and hoped she wasn't going too far out.
Rey could feel herself being followed, but didn't turn around as she knew she could handle herself once she got to the AT-AT. As she walked, she wished she knew what had happened to her speeder. It was more than likely that someone had taken it apart and sold the valuable pieces. When she built the speeder, she had never imagined that she would have been using it for so long. Almost every time she went out scavenging, or was going to sleep at night she told herself it wasn't going to last. That she was going to see her parents again and everything would change. And she was right. Everything had changed. Just not as she was expecting.
Finally her old hideout came into view, and Rey pulled her handgun out of its holster as she got closer. Reaching out with her senses she found that there were no life forms inside. She got to the massive machine, and saw that her makeshift door was already gone. Stepping inside, she took in her old home. Anything useful was missing, but her own personal touches were still there. Before she could get too sentimental, she sensed the person following her getting close. She found a crevice to hide behind and waited.
Whoever was following her was being very careful, and they edged inside with a knife in hand. She could tell it was a man, but couldn't see his face as most of his head was covered with a helmet and cloth. He wasn't close enough to fire at, and she mentally egged him forward. Before he got fully into the small room however, he stopped in front of the wall covered with her tally marks.
Kylo could tell that Rey was waiting for him inside the AT-AT and decided the only thing to do was to go in. As he carefully entered the room one of the first things he noticed was the dry, shriveled flowers. He imagined Rey taking care of them, and he could see them slowly dying once she left. There was some odd symbolism in that somewhere, but once again Kylo refused to think too much of it. The next thing that he noticed however was the wall. It was covered in thousands of scratches. He felt himself holding his breath as he reached out to trace a scratch in the wall. They were in uniform lines, silver under the black paint and they were many. He took his helmet off as he stood before the wall and ran his hands through his hair. He could practically feel the time Rey must have spent scratching these into the wall. The time she must have spent watching them multiply as she still held out hope that someone would return for her.
It took Rey less than a second to recognize Ben. As he stood before her wall, she oddly felt like crying. She was sure he recognized the marks for what they were, and she slid onto the ground as she continued to silently watch him. Rey took a sharp breath as he touched the last scratch before turning to take in more of the room. She felt as if she was in a different world when she realized he wasn't wearing his usual black. He had on tan robes, much like most other men wore here. Something about this moment felt novel to her, and as he turned to look at the rest of the room Rey felt the urge to explain it all to him. To tell him why she had that trinket, what she imagined when she wore that helmet. But instead she quietly observed him, waiting until he eventually noticed her.
Kylo picked up the helmet sitting on the ground and recognized it as a Rebellion fighter helmet. He used to play with a similar one when he was younger and with memories playing through his head he dropped the helmet as if it had burned him. It hit the ground loudly and he heard a sharp gasp from behind a wall. Walking closer he saw Rey sitting in the corner looking up at him, holding a handgun. Before either of them could say anything, a loud bang came from outside accompanied by a mumbled curse.