Hey everyone, me again. This time I promissed myself that I wouldn't make you wait too long. FanFiction is with a bug in which I can't read your reviews in the website, only by email. However, that won't stop me from answering them.
Enjoy the new chapter! (Review pls, I know it sucks that I'm asking for it, but it helps a lot.)
Chapter 3 : Schemes of the Dark
Two weeks after the Battle of Crait...
Kylo was exhausted. He hadn't had one good night of sleep since the assault on Crait. Everytime he closed his eyes, the nightmares would come to haunt him. Visions of him killing his father in cold blood. Visions of the Resistance flagship's bridge blowing up with his mother in it. Visions of his uncle tormenting him on the mineral planet. Visions of her.
He opened his eyes and quickly lashed out of the chair in his bunk, angered that he had almost let himself fall asleep again. He needed rest, and badly, but he knew the suffering he'd endure for the lack of sleep would be less painful than the one he'd had with the nightmares.
He tried to keep his mind busy with something all the time. He'd mostly train lightsaber sequences and aerobical movements. He'd tried meditation, but even that brought the visions back. So, when he wasn't busy torturing himself with physical exercises or with the matters of the First Order, he'd simply walk around the vast corridors of the Supremacy.
The First Order flagship was in complete turmoil. After the Resistance cruiser had rammed itself through hyperspace with the ship, most of the Order's resourcers had been redirected to repairing the enourmous vessel. It wasn't an easy task. Kylo even wondered how Snoke had managed to build this Behemoth.
He passed by a few reconstruction sites, filled with engineers, architects and technicians. They all would stop their work to hail their newly apointed Supreme Leader. Kylo would simply ignore them. He'd always sought power, and now that he had all the power he could ever get, he found it to be boring.
"No, it's not all. You know it." A thought ran through his mind, and he quickly tried to get rid of it. He failed miserably.
This wasn't all indeed. He could have more. He could have her.
"No I couldn't. I can't." He reminded himself. She'd rejected him. After all he had done for her. He had given her comfort when she was sad. He'd shown her the truth behind the ''legendary'' Luke Skywalker. He'd killed his mentor, fought by by side with her against the Praetorian Guard. And when he had seized all the power and offered it to her, she still rejected him. How could she have done that? Wasn't she able to see that he wanted to shape the Galaxy into a better place?
But she had to care so much about those liars in the Resistance. His mother, the pilot, the traitor. Hell, even the BB unit. They were all terrorists, that was very clear. Couldn't she realize they were only using her?
She had so much potential. He'd never seen someone so strong with the Force. To be able to push, pull and manipulate objects with the Force without any prior training was truly impressive. Even his uncle Luke had a long time to even try understanting the Force. He himself, although strong, only started to learn how to properly use it once he was in Luke's Academy. So yes, she was special.
He continued to walk, stormtroopers and officers stepping aside so that their Leader could have a clear path ahead of him. They saluted him, and he simply despised it. How did Snoke find that amusing?
"Because he was a fool." Another thought crossed Ren's mind. And indeed he was. Who did that old man think he was to use him? He was tired of being a pawn. He figured out that Snoke calling him "the new Vader" was nothing more than a mockering instead of a compliment. Vader had been a puppet for the Emperor, and Snoke wanted a puppet for himself. He wanted to be nothing more than a discount Palpatine, and that was his downfall.
Kylo would never be controled again. Now he was in control. Snoke wasn't a good master, but he did leave behind a few good advices. Weakness, properly manipulated, can be a sharp tool. He remembered his pathetic voice of wisdom. And he'd use that to his advantage. Hux wasn't fully buying the idea that a scavanger girl had killed Snoke and all the Praetorian Guards by herself, and honestly, neither did Kylo. But to keep him from questioning, he'd use the General's fear of the Force to make him obey orders.
An officer hailed Kylo, and informed him that Hux was waiting for him in the conference room alonside other high rankers of the First Order. Ren simply dismissed him and headed to the meeting.
Being the Supreme Leader actually required a lot of patience. He knew Snoke wouldn't attend to meetings such as these, but Kylo wanted to make sure he ruled knowing everything around him. Because he still lacked the respect Snoke had, he had to start gaining it, and part of that required him to attend such meetings.
He entered the room, and all the officers stood up, including Hux, although he did it reluctantly.
"Long live the Supreme Leader!" Hux said, and the officers followed him. Kylo simply took his seat, and signaled for the others to do the same.
"Now that you are here, my liege, we may proceed with the managment of the First Order." Hux said, looking at Ren.
Kylo gave an internal sigh, preparing himself mentally for the boredom ahead "What's the status of the fleet?"
"Repairs on the Supremacy continue as scheduled, Supreme Leader. While our flagship is immobile, General Hux has suggested that the Finalizer could lead the fleet for the time being." Captain Edrison Peavey informed. The man was old enough to have served during the reign of the Empire. How Hux outranked him was unknown to Kylo.
"Suggestion accepted. The Finalizer has more specialized artillery than the others Ressurgence Star Destroyers. It shall serve as a good temporary flagship." He said, turning his gaze to Hux. The General was actually surprised that Ren had for once agreed with one of his suggestions.
"What about our goals of galactic conquest?" He asked, already feeling the weight of his eyelids.
Hux activated a hologram that showed the galactic map ahead of them "The Core and the Colonies regions are already under our full control. The Inner Rim is almost submiting, and the Expansion Region is half taken. The Mid and Outer Rim are the ones proving to be more difficult to take, but considering our expectations, they won't last long."
"Captain Peavey, have you had any success finding the Resistance survivors?" Captain Tritt Opan asked. If Hux was the rabid cur, this man was his playing bone. Opan was fully dedicated for Hux, and, although very discreet, Kylo knew the man carried out anything the General asked him to do, so he had to keep an eye out.
The meeting continued, and Kylo found himself unfocused of... whatever they were debating. He only cared about finding her. Once again, he had failed to keep her out of his mind. He had sworn Skywalker that he would destroy her, that he would end the Jedi's legacy. And now he knew that he couldn't do that. He'd said that in a moment of blind anger. He was so focused on his former master, that the words coming out of his mouth didn't seem like his own. Yes, he wanted to eliminate the Resistance, but somehow, couldn't bring himself to do it.
He still had too much of the Light within him. He had to get rid of it. But all his attempts of doing so had failed. Killing Han Solo left him more troubled than ever. Watching the Resistance cruiser's bridge explode left him so shaken that he shot down his TIE Fighter escorts in pure unseen rage. Just like when he ordered all guns to fire at Skywalker. He was being torn apart. He knew the path he was destined to follow, and yet, the pull to the Light never seemed so strong.
And all because of her...
Suddenly, Kylo's surroundings became blurred, and silence fell over him. He looked at the figure of Hux, and he was moving his mouth, but no sound left it. He looked around, unsure of what was happening. He then felt it. A presence. A presence he hadn't felt since...
Kylo looked up, and saw her standing besides Hux. He couldn't believe it. The Bond was still there? He didn't feel anything from her the past two weeks. He'd thought that Snoke's death would make it fade away. But there she was, solid and present like if it was real.
And it was.
He backed his chair a little bit, surprise eminating in the air. She looked at him, eyes widened. She blinked, as if to make sure she was really seeing him. Then her face turned into an angry expression, and she lifted her hand. After that, Kylo was pushed against the wall behind him.
"Supreme Leader?" Hux asked, staring at Kylo. He was now on the floor, panting, unsure of what had just happened. All the officers had their gazes locked on him, confusion in their faces.
Kylo looked again, and she wasn't there anymore.
"This meeting is over. Dismissed." Kylo said, standing up and rushing towards the exit.
"But sir, we haven't discussed about the Dreadnoughts!" Captain Peavey said.
Ren turned rashly "Build them, destroy them. I don't care. The session is done for today!" He then left with a fiery anxiety.
Kylo walked through the corridors as fast as he could towards his chambers. He rammed into stormtroopers that were on his path, not bothering if he would hurt them or not. He kicked a mouse droid, and entered his private quarters. He locked the door, and activated the sound proof system. Now no one from outside could hear him.
He looked around, only to find out he was alone. He turned his head rapidily, trying to find out where she was. and then he felt it. Her light and luminous presence was right behind him. He slowly turned, hoping he was having an illusion for the lack of sleep. Perhaps he was still in the conference room hearing Hux's irritating voice.
But no, this was very real. He looked at her, and saw her doing exactly the same movements as he did. And her emotions were very clear : she was very angry, and with him.
And worst of all, he was actually afraid. The Supreme Leader of the First Order, Master of the Knights of Ren, the famed Jedi Killer, was afraid.
But here he wasn't any of those. Here he was vulnerable. And now he had to deal with her.
He was alone in a room with Rey.
As I'd said before, this chapter was to focus on Kylo's point of view of the situation. I hope you all liked it! Next chapter will focus on their interaction, and how they react to the Force Bond still being present.
As I said before, I can't read the reviews do to some kind of bug , there must be something going on with the website. However, I can read the emails, so :
Slay vega (Guest) : Don't worry, any kind of criticism is welcome, be it good or bad. Thank you for finding my writing interesting and I hope you enjoy where the story is heading.
Mahou (Guest) : Thank you! I hope you love this chapter as well!
Feel free to leave your reviews. I love reading them and they help me to see if you are or not liking the plot. Also, I'll always try my best to answer them!
(P.S. : The chapter hadn't uploaded, so I had to do it again)
See you next time, and remember :
May the Force be with you.
Always.
