"Supreme Leader!"

Kylo opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, frowning down at the individual that dared to rouse him from his thoughts. The memories of the past faded, the open fields and scent of death replaced by the black plasteel hall that he was seated in. It was uncomfortable to sit in, even after twelve months sitting in it for any extended period of time still made his back strained and arms sore. Yet, he persevered because this throne was more than a chair: It was the only remnant of their former leader. To remove it or alter it in any way was to show himself weak.

He shifted his hand from his cheek to instead place it atop the arm-rest, shifting slowly up into a straighter posture in his throne as he levelled his gaze on the source of the voice. Even in the bleak halls, bathed in the low light he could make out the auburn-haired man standing before him. The side-burns were as obvious as the long black coat worn atop his uniform, signalling his rank.

"What is it, Hux?"

Even after the change in leader and his own ascension, he had kept Hux in his place as General. He knew how much he coveted the rank of Grand Marshal almost as much as Kylo's own position as Supreme Leader. Even now he could sense his seething hatred, the man bristling at the fact he wasn't addressed by his rank. But there was nothing he could do about this disrespect now: Once, in the past, he would have been able to correct him or voice his disapproval. It brought Kylo no shortage of amusement to see his rival squirm and seethe, it was one of the only enjoyments he had left.

"The resistance, in collaboration with local militia, have ousted our forces from Manaan. The leaders we had stationed there are dead." Kylo closed his eyes, a slow breath leaving his nostrils in frustration at the news.

"And the Fleet posted there?" Kylo asked.

"Mass casualties, my…lord. But the flagship Arbitrator and two other cruisers escaped, they are currently en-route to rejoin the main fleet." Hux answered.

Clenching his left hand to a fist, Kylo's brow furrowed in silent fury.

"Have the Admiral in-charge of the invasion brought to me and punished, his incompetence will be dealt with."

"Then I want you to gather two invasion forces. One to be sent to Dantooine, the other to support our forces in the invasion of Onderon."

#

Hux shook his head, the tactical incompetence of their leader bewildering him. He himself was no Grand Admiral Thrawn, but these new orders were a disaster waiting to happen. For over a year he had bowed his head, vocally agreeing despite how much he despised the orders. He'd seen what had happened to the others that spoke out, and more then once he'd been throttled or thrown about like a rag-doll.

But now, he couldn't hold his tongue any longer. Not after this.

"Why?"

He stepped forward, shaking his head in disgust. "So, you can waste more of our forces on this half-hearted campaign and play mystic?"

The supreme leader slammed his clenched fist down on the arm-rest, rising slightly from the throne to glower at him. Hux felt a cold chill run through him at the prospect of courting the simmering fury that he so often tried to avoid.

"Because I commanded it!"

"We command more capital ships than any star-system, our Troopers are highly trained and prepared to fight in any conditions. Our weapons are up to date, and our equipment doubly so. But, if you keep sending our troops out in random directions and scattering our fleet on foolish campaigns we will get nowhere." Hux raised up a hand with palm flat and faced in the Supreme leaders direction. "Together, we are an unbreakable blade…but that blade shatters if you fracture it and scatter its shards to the wind." He spread his fingers to emphasize this, waving them up and down as he lowered his hand back to his side. He hoped the analogy might, finally, drill some sense into their Supreme leader.

"We would be less scattered if our General wouldn't divert our resources from key campaigns to spend on foolish personal errands. Just like Chandrilla"

Hux felt like the breath had been knocked out of him with a punch, the shock of the dismissal appalling even to his own standards.

"I will not apologize for sending reinforcements to assist a Grand Admiral!"

"A disgraced and demoted Admiral who couldn't even handle a simple attack." Hux grit his teeth, stomping his foot and stepping forward as the supreme leader crushed his last ounce of patience.

"GRAND Admiral Sloane was sent on a suicide mission at your order and incompetence! If you had allowed us the chance to actually perform reconnaissance, allowed HER the chance to do her job and not rely on outdated intelligence, she might still be alive!" There were few people in the First Order military that Hux could say he truly cared for, most were merely a number amidst a sea of faces and armour. But the Grand Admiral had been different. He'd known her since he was a child, dragged off into the unknown regions at the tail end of the Galactic Civil War. She had seen his potential, guided him and advised him to become the commander he was today. Without her, he never would have gotten this far. And this foolish campaign of their new supreme leader would have burnt out within its first month.

For her to have died because of poor intelligence and the impatience of their leader was an insult to the woman she was. But even someone as skilled and smart as she had been could not predict everything, least of all a trap laid by the resistance. She had lasted longer than anyone else could have, taken down ships, but by the time Hux' forces had arrived it was too late.

Kylo merely shook his head in dismissal at the woman.

"Death is failure, I thought Phasma would have taught you that."

Hux recalled the sight of Phasma's charred, armoured form being pulled from the wreckage of the explosion aboard the former Supreme Leaders Super Start Destroyer before they had sent their forces to Crait. The medical staff had done all in their power to try to save her, but it was to no avail.

"And since Captain Phasma's passing, our troops have been without a proper leader." Hux approached the throne. "Our men are questioning you, they are growing restless without a proper leader. I am doing all I can just to ensure they don't mutiny!"

"Mutiny!? Why would they Mutiny? We have won every battle save Manaan and Chandrilla."

"And yet we are losing this war!" Hux roared, approaching the throne of the supreme leader, disgust on his face. "We are bleeding men, ships, supplies and credits! Our resources are diminishing, all the while this fledgeling resistance has slowly been replenishing itself and gaining support since Crait! If we don't find some way to refocus our forces and make a cut into the Core the First Order will burn!" Kylo slowly rose from the throne, yet Hux was undeterred.

"You need to stop these expeditions to these out of the way, worthless planets with no strategic value! We need to gather our forces and cut a path through the weaker worlds to the galactic core. Not waste our time on worlds like…" He pulled up his datapad, going through the most recent departures in the last month. One name stood out among all the others. "Korriban! You sent a force of star three destroyers to an out of the way desert to play archaeologist!? What do you hope to find on a dead wor-"

The breath left his throat as he felt an invisible hand wrap tightly about his throat, hoisting him up into the air. He gasped, hands reaching up to his throat as he flailed feebly in an attempt to free himself.

"Moraband…is the key I need to save the First Order, and finally win us this war."

The grip only tightened with every world, Hux gasping vainly for air that never came. He could feel his consciousness quickly leaving him, his neck cracking under the pressure the Supreme Leader applied through the strange magic he wielded. He knew little about this "Force", only what it felt like to be abused by it.

#

Kylo had never liked Hux.

The man was a fool with an overinflated sense of self-worth who had proven, countless times, to be an incompetent threat. The only reason he hadn't snapped his neck and thrown him into the void was because, loathe as he was to admit it, he needed him. The man commanded influence and respect, enough that he could keep the troopers in line and the rest of the admirals in check.

He had thought that he had been sufficiently cowed into submission after his last attempts at speaking out of turn to him. In the past six months, he had become quieter and rarely if ever spoke out of turn unless Kylo asked his opinion. Which, given his incompetence, was rarely. He allowed the occasional back-handed compliment if alone, but most of the time he had responded to his words with a clear demonstration of his power. Usually choking him, but occasionally he'd thrown him into a wall or console if he had become particularly grating.

But this latest outburst proved that Hux' attitude needed to be corrected more severely. He wasn't going to kill him, if only because he was still unfortunately necessary. But, a more permanent injury to the man could finally help him understand his place in the First Order was never going to change. Hux was never going to be Supreme Leader, that honour belonged to himself alone!

The door to his chambers opening caught his attention, his telekinetic grip on Hux' neck fading.

"How dare you enter without my permission!" He roared, summoning his lightsabre to his hand. With a press of the button, the fiery and unstable blades of his weapon ignited. He raised the tri-pointed weapon forward, the longest blade pointing at the fool who dared interrupt him.

A distorted, synthesized chuckle came from the other side of the door. "Correction. We were summoned… We're just running a bit late, Kylo" A lone figure walked through the door, his features were obscured by a black helmet reminiscent of the one Kylo himself used to wear. The figures hands raised up as he entered, or rather casually strolled into, the throne room. "Or perhaps I should say, Supreme Leader Ren?"

#

Silence hung over the vast room, the only sound coming from the low hum of the lightsabre held in Kylo's hand. He remained transfixed, unable to move due to the shock of what had happened. Or rather, the person that just walked inside. Even Hux, gasping feebly for breath as he was, appeared shocked by the appearance of the masked figure.

The figures mask was more akin to an ancient warrior helmets of old then Kylo's own, but it's colouration and overall design mimicked the Supreme leaders old head-piece. Robes were similar as well, but in-place of the cloak was a long flowing trenchcoat whose coat tails were tattered and frayed, fluttering about behind him on some manner of invisible breeze and making the masked man appear almost like a ghost come back from the dead. Kylo quickly recognized the forces work in his coats theatrical display, sensing the others use of it for such a trivial piece of showmanship.

Then again, Marka had always had a habit of showing off even back then. Some habits died hard.

"What's the matter Kylo? Loth-cat got your tongue?" Marka lowered his hands with a chuckle as he stepped forwards, lowering his guard as he approached the supreme leader. Kylo's eyes went to the hand reaching out for his shoulder, only to narrow angrily at the approaching limb. Stepping back, he swung his blade at the offending appendage. Marka tore his hand back just in time with a backwards step, narrowly missing the deadly burn of the lightsabers kiss.

"Where were you?" Kylo hissed, anger replacing shock at the sight of his former comrade. He remembered every moment the Knights, HIS knights, had let him face alone: His crippling defeat at Starkiller base, his humiliation at the hands of Skywalker, and the sad state of the first order now. "Where the hell were you!?" His scream echoed around the throne rooms chamber, his hands trembling as they held the fiery blade at his once-friend.

"Kylo…Kylo. What are you doing? That's no way to greet an old friend." Marka's voice softened behind the filter, slowly approaching him with hands raised. "We came a long way back here to see you, and the first thing you do is start screaming like you've seen a ghost." He felt the gloved hand of Marka rest on his sleeve, swapping his gaze to the offending limb. Nobody dared touch the supreme leader! To do so lead to a swift end of the foolish parties life. Yet, he felt no anger as Marka gripped his wrist and his desire to attack slowly faded the more the other spoke. "Who am I Kylo?"

The question made the Supreme leader stare into the visor, as if hoping to meet his fellow Knights gaze for an answer. All that greeted him was the darkness of the lens, which seemed to go on for an eternity. "Kylo, who am I?"

"Marka. You're Marka Ren."

"And have I ever lied to you?" Kylo shook his head, averting his gaze down with a nervous sigh.

"No, you haven't…."

Marka's hand patted Kylo's wrist in congratulations, the Supreme leader deactivating his weapon with a heavy breath.

"That's right. You can trust us Kylo."

"Us?"

"You didn't think I'd come back alone did you, old friend?" Marka asked with an amused chuckle. He let loose a sharp whistle, sounding more like a distorted crackle against the filter of his helmet.

#

"We are not Dogs to be summoned, Marka." A cloaked figure growled, his voice equally as filtered as Marka's own. He tapped the base of his staff against the durasteel floor as he entered the Supreme leaders abode, hobbling slowly towards the left. He placed both hands on the staff to steady himself as he straightened his back, his stance leaning more on the right foot over the left.

"And yet you come when I call Cassius, how curious." Cassius' grip on his staff tightened at Marka's barb, growling as he situated himself further upright. He tensed as something flew past his right shoulder, shifting quickly into a ready stance with staff at the ready.

"Marka is merely attempting to get under your skin and aggravate you Cassius, as usual you fall for his trap." Another masked voice spoke as a small black and red ID10 Seeker droid floated before the stave-wielding knight. Its primary lens zoomed in on the surprised warrior as if in silent judgement.

"I'm not the one hiding behind a droid Draxx!" The seeker droid chittered in binary, offended by the Knights words as it flew back to the door.

"Don't mistake my caution for cowardice Cassius, I merely wanted to survey the surroundings before I stepped into a possible trap: The Supremacy houses several safeguards to deal with intruders without utilizing troopers. The Throne room, doubly so. Even I am not aware of all the secret defensive measures of this room." Draxx held out his right arm as he stepped in, the seeker landing on his wrist gently as he stepped into the room. His left hand, covered in a make-shift metal gauntlet that housed countless monitors and readings, reached out to softly pat the droid on the head. The mechanical creature nuzzled the hand in turn, as if it could somehow feel the gesture. "And please, lower your voice. You're upsetting Zeke."

A scoff emanated from behind Draxx, another cloaked figure walking into the throne room carrying a bow-caster. They were flanked by a taller masked figure, who carried with them what appeared to be a make-shift metal cleaver in their right hand. They rested the flat edge of the weapon on their shoulder, carrying the large weapon with ease.

"Cassius has a point. If you learned to look with your eyes and not your monitors, maybe you could start relying more on yourself Draxx." The bowcaster wielder hissed, resting the weapon over his shoulder and onto his back via it's sling.

"And if it wasn't for my technological prowess, you and your fellow knights would not have made it passed the first Star Destroyer Sethan." Drax sighed. "The force and skill can only take one so far in the physical realm."

"Short-sighted as always." Sethan hissed, standing against the corner wall alongside the taller figure. He shifted his helmet-clad head upwards to look at the taller figure. "Brutus, what do you think?"

Brutus, the taller figure, placed the blade down against the wall next to him. After which, he grunted and crossed his arms. "See? Brutus agrees with me." Drax shook his head, pressing his free hand to the temple of his mask in silent frustration.

One final figure walked into the throne room, masked and robed as the others. However, their form was slightly shorter then the others around them. They walked in silence towards Marka and Kylo, their motion quicker then the others as they neared the supreme leader. Stopping short of Kylo and their masked comrade, the figure fell to their knee in a reverent bow.

"Supreme Leader Ren." The masked figures filtered voice carried a more feminine tone then the others, revealing the figures gender beneath the form- obscuring attire, speaking with a calm detachment compared to her more emotional counterparts. "Nothing brings me more joy then being in your presence once more." She raised her head, glancing briefly to Marka and then to the other Knights. "Even if some of us have forgotten standard protocol and courtesy in our exile." One by one, the knights removed themselves from the wall and dropped to a knee as well, with Cassius trembling as he did in an attempt to not fall over. Marka was the last, stepping back from Kylo and dropping to his knee, bowing his head with the others.

"On your feet, Talon." Kylo said, gesturing for her to stand. The woman gracefully stood before the Supreme leader, giving a final bow of her head. Kylo's gaze, once one of confusion and anger, slowly softened.

#

"While this reunion is heartwarming, I believe the Supreme Leader asked you a question: Where have you been?" Hux' hiss didn't carry with it the same threat or commanding tenor as normal, indicating he had just been heavily suffocated. Likely a result of speaking out of turn. "The last report we were given, the Knights were all killed on a mission before the destruction of Starkiller base."

"Reports of our demise were pre-mature General Hux." Talon spared only a cursory glance toward the General as she spoke, focusing her gaze solely on Kylo. He was the one that had asked about them. "As you know, we were sent out to scout out specific areas for Holocrons and artefacts. Dark and Light both. Meanwhile, you were to hunt for Skywalker and prepare Starkiller Base for the war to come."

"Supreme Leader Snoke sent us to Moraband, accompanied by a company of storm troopers and two of Snokes Praetorian guards." Kylo's gaze rested on her, captivated and curious. She felt her heart flutter as he looked at her like that: It made her feel like the most important person in the room to him. She was grateful for the helmet, or else it might betray her joy at this moment.

"Why didn't you contact us then?"

"We were betrayed." Talon clenched her fist as Marka interrupted, tearing Kylo's gaze from her to the man at his side. "The soldiers and Praetorians turned on us the moment we were out of the shuttle. It's a small miracle that we survived, but luckily we were able to escape into the ruins. After that, it was simple divide and conquer. I lost my lightsabers in that mess though, and the guards destroyed the ship once things turned against them." He chuckled. "The Supreme leader had them rig it to explode, how paranoid is that?"

"Unfortunately, that left us stranded on that rock with no way home and no way to contact the fleet." Talon interjected, returning Kylo's focus to her. "Until one day…"