Chapter 2
Two standard lunar months ago
Kylo Ren was not a patient man. Being sociable was not one of his strong traits either, but here he was sitting at the bar in a cantina of questionable hygiene, buried in the lower levels of Coruscant, waiting for her.
He was very much aware of every dingy character in the room. An irritating group of humanoids were hustled together around tables in the middle of the room, laughing obnoxiously, slamming drinks and arguing over credits lost. A couple of shadier characters had preferred the darker more secluded areas of the cantina, shrinking away from prying eyes. A Hutt was nestled in a corner crunching on the bones of his latest meal and what seemed like the local drunkard had just taken residence two seats away from Ren.
Clothed discretely in his dark robe and hood, form slightly hunched over a drink, he listened and waited. Nobody was interested in him, he made sure of that with a little nudge from the Force.
Well, almost nobody…
"Want me to get you anythin' else?" the bartender addressed him with a smirk and an annoying twinkle in his eyes.
"No."
"How 'bout I arrange for some company?"
"No," he sniffed in contempt.
"Care for some..."
"Nyxx. I said no."
The bartender undeterred leaned it slightly, pinning him with a pair of bright clever eyes amongst the heavy charcoal outlining them.
"Who you waitin' for there, Ben?"
Kylo Ren would have normally bashed his head against the bar if it were anybody else. But he was the only friend left from a time long ago, when fellowship and trust came easy and the Force was used for different purposes.
"You'll sense her when she comes," he muttered, sipping from his drink.
As if on cue, the door opened with a bang and a familiar warmth brushed his consciousness. He turned slightly, his face still hidden under the shade of his hood and glanced at Rey as she smoothly made her way amongst the tables and the gaping patrons. He cursed under his breath.
This girl needs to learn to hide herself better.
She sat a few of seats further down from him, radiating her presence and signaling for a drink.
"Duty calls," Nyxx moved away with a knowing wink.
Kylo Ren studied her from the corner of his eyes, taking in the smile and lightness of her gestures.
So fragile looking…
But he knew better.
Nyxx was already making conversation with her with that brazen way of his, tattooed arms resting on the bar. She shook her head in response to a question and snapped something back with a narrowing of her eyes.
Good girl.
Time to intervene.
She had to admit. This was far from what she expected when Kylo Ren reached out to her through their bond. Which had startled her enough, by the way, to bang her head on the panel hanging from Poe's X wing. A thought had manifested itself in her mind, which she immediately recognized as his. A time, a place and a sense of urgency. It disappeared so quickly, that she was left momentarily questioning her sanity and wondering if her imagination had been playing tricks on her.
Obviously his grasp on the bond was evolving.
It didn't seem like the bond obeyed her wishes, however because Kylo Ren was nowhere to be seen as she entered the crowded cantina. She scrunched her nose at the stale smell and smoke filling her senses and made her way to the bar.
She waved at the bartender all the while looking around for him.
Where in the Force could he be?
"Don't strain yourself too hard" the bartender said, interrupting her search. "Whoever it is you're searchin' for, will find you soon enough".
"Aren't you supposed to be serving drinks and minding your own business?" she answered back, slightly unnerved by his brashness.
"My business might be very similar to yours, honey, for all you know," he pressed on with a smile on his eyes.
Definitely the wrong place to meet
Rey felt rather than saw the shadow passing behind her, but his rumbled voice resonated deep in her core in a very familiar way.
"Follow me".
And she did.
Her eyes set on his broad shoulders, she easily caught up to his tense stride as he cut through the stifling crowd. They quietly slipped through the back door into a damp corridor. Grasping her lightly by the elbow he led her through a narrow door to an empty storage room.
Rey couldn't help but wonder why his behavior was so secretive. An imposing figure such as him always dragged attention at his wake, but somehow not a single soul had glanced their way this whole time.
And what was she supposed to do now.
Do I draw my lightsaber?
She stood there staring at Kylo Ren, under what must have been the only ray of light in the room simmering through a crack in the wall, wishing she could drag this man away from his shadows and into the sun.
He approached, removed his hood and stopped a foot away from her. The thin line between darkness and light a barrier he did not wish to cross.
His hair is longer.
And the scar was healing, barely visible since the last time she had seen him.
Since I deserted him…
"General Hux is planning the assassination of General Organa," he spoke. His deep voice bringing her out of her thoughts. "He will succeed because two of my knights have been tasked to do it."
What?
"How is that possible?" she exclaimed. "You are the Supreme Leader now. Aren't they under your jurisdiction?"
"And why, as Supreme Leader, wouldn't I want the Resistance General and sister to Luke Skywalker dead?" He bit back, eyes focused intensely on her.
Rey seldom found herself in a spot unable to snap back a quick retort. This was one of them.
"Why are you telling me this?" She asked in a low voice laced with concern, unable to stop herself from stepping closer to him. She could sense his anguish and conflict swiveling around him like a haze.
"You know why…" he answered, her proximity causing him to look away.
"Do you know when? How…?"
"Not yet." His words were laconic. His demeanor apprehensive. Maybe even frigid. Nothing about him reminded Rey of the man who had offered her the galaxy in a trembling hand. His eyes were trained on some spot on the wall avoiding hers at all cost. "Tell her she must switch ships taking with her the most trusting personel. Divide the remaining members of the Resistance between the two spaceships and always keep moving. She must not under any circumstances transmit her coordinates to anybody outside her ship. Understand?"
Loud and clear
"Yes," she clipped back, her face assuming a similar rigidity to his.
He reached for her hand setting a small object in her palm. He curled his warm fingers around hers engulfing it completely.
"This is a black kyber crystal. It belonged to Snoke. It will enhance her force sensitivity and attune it to the Dark side. She'll sense my knights when they come for her."
"It doesn't sound very reliable," she objected with a frown.
"It isn't. She can't hold on to it forever. But she won't need to."
He stepped away pulling his hood over his head.
"You'll have to stay in touch and inform me," she rushed to say. "Through the bond, I mean."
He's leaving already?
Ren held her gaze for a moment or two. Brown eyes locked on hazel. His hesitation like a tide touching the rim of her mind. And then it withdrew.
Without another word he slipped silently through the door and swiftly disappeared.