Chapter 4: Capturing the Crystal of Aantonaii
The resistance fighter runs, panting, down the long white hallway. He's moving as fast as he can, but with blaster wounds on his leg, shoulder, and hip, that's not very fast.
He's slowed down by that, and the heavy metallic case he's clutching to his chest. It's sealed shut—he doesn't even have the access code to it. All he knows is that it contains something the General desperately wants to keep away from the First Order. That fact alone motivates him onwards…through his pain… and fear.
As he struggles forward with a slight limp and with quick, labored breaths, he hears them behind him.
*click, click, click*
The pace of his heart quickens as he can hear sound of their thick, black boots on the pristine white floors coming gradually closer.
*click, click, click*
Three, no four, pairs of footsteps are following behind him. They are walking briskly but not running. They don't need to. They have him, and they know it. The resistance fighter knows it too; they're just playing with him now. Like predators with their prey…
The fighter gives a jump when he suddenly hears a loud electric crackle pierce the near silence then settle to a low, steady hum.
He hears another crackle.
Then another, then another.
The electric humming behind him grows louder as they get closer.
He knows what that sound is… lightsabers.
He's only seen one once before, a few years ago on Yavin 4. But he remembers it with perfect clarity… the imposing, black clad figure with a mask, the long, red blade with two tiny flames jutting out each side at the base, the steading electric hum interrupted only by the screams of his fellow fighters, his friends… how easily he deflected their blasters and cut them down with cold precision.
The resistance fighter knows he shouldn't but he can't help himself. As he stumbles forward, he slows down just a moment to glance briefly behind him.
His head snaps back in front of him.
It's him. And three others just like him. All of them in black robes and masks.
That's when the reality sets in.
This is the day. His last day. He will never see his wife and little girl on Corellia again. A deep longing crushes down on him. He wishes he could hold them in his arms one last time…
Kylo Ren leads the others with strong, purposeful strides. They follow behind him closely—Mei Ren, Silo Ren, and Baal Ren.
They've found it, finally, thanks to Silo. The Crystal of Aantonaii, Darth Sidious's prized possession. It's said that every Dark Lord since Darth Bane has channeled its power, inevitably infusing it with their own as a consequence. This one artifact contains the raw power of a hundred Sith Lords… it is absolutely essential to their mission.
It hadn't been on Deveron. He sensed that the moment he walked off the ship. Rey must have given it to the General a few days earlier.
He had betrayed her location for nothing.
The rebel outfit on Deveron was small, so he saw no utility in chasing after them. Capturing the crystal was more important than snuffing out the lives of a handful of rebels. At least, that's what he told the commanding officer.
Several days later, they got lucky. For the past two years, Silo has been posing as a resistance pilot, feeding the First Order valuable information about the rebellion's plans and locations. He received intel that an important item retrieved by the Jedi girl had made its way to a tiny rebel base located in an out of the way fuel port in Bespin, on its way to a more secure location. He had to break his cover to reveal this to the other Knights, but it was worth it. Necessary. They need that crystal.
The resistance fighter trips a little as he rushes through the automatic door onto the landing deck. The air on this planet is crisp and dry. The brown sky is dark with heavy clouds.
This is it. The rendezvous point. But no one is coming… he knows that. He saw the rebellion's transports—all of them—go up in flames just a few minutes ago.
There's nowhere else to run.
The resistance fighter staggers to the end of the landing deck and looks over the edge. There's another deck below… way below. It's a long way down. Even if he did jump, it would accomplish nothing. They would simply retrieve the case from his limp, mangled body.
He takes a few desperate gasps of air before turning around.
Kylo Ren walks out onto the landing deck, directly towards the panicked fighter. His knights fan out behind him, Mei circling to his right and Silo and Baal to his left. They take their positions, blocking off the fighter from the most of the landing deck, cornering him. They stand silently, lightsabers still humming.
The fighter gulps and, for the first time, gets a good look at them. There are four, just as he thought. They are all tall and imposing, though the leader towers above the rest. He can't tell what species they are with their masks on, but they all look humanoid.
Each of them wields a lightsaber. The leader and one of the figures to the left carry long red sabers, but the two others have something different. Their sabers are double sided with one side glowing blue and the other glowing red.
Kylo Ren stops several feet in front of the fighter.
He stands there for a few moments, what feels like a lifetime to the fighter, staring him down. Kylo can feel the dark energy of the crystal calling out to him from the case… he hears the faint sound of screaming in his head.
The fighter cowers and trembles before him… he wants to close his eyes, to turn his head down, but he is determined to die an honorable death. With effort, he tries to catch his breath, clutching the case in his arms manically and doing his best to gaze straight up into his pursuer's masked face.
Kylo Ren cocks his head to the side. "You're a brave one, aren't you?" He asks in a low, distorted voice.
Then it all happens so fast. Before the fighter even registers the action, Kylo's arm shoots forward with his hand extended and Force-commands the case to him. It flies right out of the fighter's arms, pulling him forward and knocking him down to his knees. With the case now in his hands, he turns around to hand it to Silo, who walks up to retrieve it. Silo then walks directly off the landing deck through the automatic doors as they close behind him. He's taking the crystal straight to the command ship. Now. They've waited too long to get their hands on this artifact. Kylo won't take any chances with its security.
He looks down at the fighter cowering on his knees a few paces ahead of him…
It's time, the fighter thinks to himself. It will all be over soon.
For a second, he thinks he's hearing things, but then he's not so sure. Is that… a freighter approaching…?
The Millennium Falcon descends swiftly from the thick, brown clouds and begins to slow down as it approaches the landing deck… slow down, but not stop.
As the ship glides by, a solitary form drops from the bottom of it and lands directly between Kylo Ren and the resistance fighter.
It's Rey.
She stands tall to face him. He towers over her, but she doesn't look scared. She looks angry.
"You're not taking anymore lives today." She looks at him coldly.
It does not take much effort to read her emotions. They're burning wild and uncontrolled.
She. Is. Infuriated. At him.
She feels betrayed… even, hurt? Like he broke some unspoken trust between them.
Kylo expected as much from her. He's been relieved their Force bond hasn't brought them together since he gave up her location on Deveron. He knew that decision wouldn't go over well… but what did she expect him to do? She had the crystal. He wanted it. She knew that. What… was he supposed to just ignore her coordinates flashing dimly on a side panel of the Falcon? Surely, she's not that naïve…
Then he notices it. And when he does, he feels the pit of his stomach drop.
She's unarmed. Completely unarmed.
No lightsaber. No blaster. No quarterstaff. Not even a stick.
And she's confronting him and two of his knights… his best knights. Unarmed.
He has a bad feeling. This is not going to end well… for him.
Kylo can hear Mei and Baal approaching behind him, circling closer to Rey, lightsabers drawn.
For a moment, Kylo considers Force-knocking both Rey and the fighter off the edge to the lower deck. He's certain she wouldn't die from the impact… not with her power and nimble reflexes.
But before he can act, both Mei and Baal charge at her, lightsabers drawn.
Closing her eyes, Rey raises her arms on either side of her, palms extended outwards, each one facing one of the charging knights. In a second, both of them fly far back into the air, hitting the hard surface with a thud and then sliding to crash into the wall at the other end of the deck, their lightsabers clattering out of their hands.
It's just him now. He can feel the knights clamoring to their feet far behind him, watching to see what he will do…
He's frozen still with indecision.
She's looking directly into his eyes, almost as she can see him through his mask. She still doesn't look at all scared. Instead, there's a hint of a challenge in her eyes… "Come and get me," she seems to be saying to him.
So he does.
He twirls the lightsaber once by his side, then lunges at her. She tucks and rolls, dodging the saber and repositioning herself to the other side of him. She looks up at him, crouching, one leg extended out, one arm back and the other in front of her, fingertips lightly touching the surface of the deck.
He brings the lightsaber down hard directly on top of her, but she leaps slightly to his left, somersaulting over his head and landing back where she started behind him.
He turns around. She's growing more powerful…
Again, he slashes at her— one, two, three, four— with precise, powerful swings. As he advances, she dodges his blows, to the right, to the left, then the right again. As he pushes her to the edge of the deck, she tucks and rolls again to reposition herself behind him, then back flips away from him as he charges at her.
He misses again.
Mei and Baal are silently watching from the back of the deck. Kylo can feel their eyes on him.
Rey's standing just ahead of him. She has a smug glint in her eye, as though she's taunting him.
Kylo feels rage well up inside of him. He focuses on it as it burns hotter in his chest. For just a moment, he closes his eyes to channel it. Then he bursts forward towards her.
As much as he's grown to hate the Force, he loves this feeling. At least in the moment. White, hot control. And power.
Rapidly twirling his lightsaber a couple of times at his side, as though he's charging it, he aims a hard, fast swing at her core. She ducks reflexively, just in time to miss the blow though the heat of his lightsaber singes the tip of her bun.
Without skipping a beat, he raises his blade over his head and brings it down on her like a hammer.
In a panic, Rey barrels her head, her whole body, into his core, knocking him back a step, throwing off his aim. She moves to tuck and roll a to his left, but he catches her upper arm and pulls her up in front of him, clutching her tightly.
Good. She looks scared now.
In one swift motion, he raises his lightsaber overhead in preparation to strike.
She looks up at him with wide eyes.
He hesitates.
He tightens his grip as she looks at him… waiting for him to make his decision.
Then, before Kylo knows what's happening, Rey reaches out and calls Mei Ren's lightsaber out of her hand directly into hers, switching it on. Rey looks down at it surprised… like she's never seen a two-sided lightsaber before.
Rey rears back, and gives a violent kick right into Kylo's stomach, loosening his grip.
Mei snatches Baal's lightsaber from him, switching it on and charging at Rey.
Rey catches Kylo's next blow with one end of her lightsaber, then ducks and moves to the right before striking at him with the other side.
He deftly leans away from the blow, and moves to strike back, but Mei strikes first. She spins hard into precise hit, locking lightsabers with Rey, knocking her backwards. Rey pushes forward, fending off Mei's saber before sliding to the side and swinging the opposite side of her weapon towards her body for a blow. She hits the side of Mei's waist.
Mei lets outs a small cry, then whips her saber towards Rey. Before it hits, Rey steps forward to catch her, locking the center of her lightsaber to the base of Mei's. She thrusts forward, knocking Mei back, then delivers a strong kick to the center of her chest.
Mei flies back, landing not far behind Kylo. He walks back to help her up.
With one swift motion, Rey extends her free hand towards the two and Force-slams them back several feet. Then she turns to run towards the resistance fighter, still crouching stunned at the edge of the deck. She grabs her commlink and asks Chewie "You're in position right?"
He baws in assent.
Right as she gets to the edge, she stoops down and grips the fighter's arm, pulling him up and over with her.
They don't fall far. Straight onto the Falcon hovering below. Rey pulls the fighter down with her into an opening on top of the ship. It jerks forward as it powers up, then shoots away into the clouds.
Kylo Ren stands, breathing heavily as he watches the Falcon disappear.
For a few seconds, everything is silent, even the air. Then he hears the click of Mei's mask.
"What was that?" She asks in raging disbelief.
He removes his mask to face her, but doesn't say anything.
"What was that!?" She repeats in an emphatic shout.
"What do you mean?" He asks, breaking eye contact.
She glares at him.
"You," she starts, "You were pulling your punches with that girl. And now that little scavenger piece of trash has made off with my lightsaber!" She's seething.
She turns back and walks towards the deck entrance, her shoulders stiff and hunched over. She whips back around, eyes shooting like daggers into his.
"Lord Dagon was right. You are not ready," she says shaking her head. Baal Ren walks up behind her, still in his mask. He tilts his head, not sure what he's walked into.
"You're letting your feelings for that girl interfere with our sacred calling, your sacred responsibility. A true leader of the Knights wouldn't sink so far into the Light as to love someone. After what I just saw…" she trails off into a scoff, shaking her head. "How are supposed to lead us, the Jedi killer who can't kill the last Jedi? You know that's where this has end. You know that, right?"
She steps forward, looking up at him intently.
"You're going to have to kill her."
He looks downward, considering this for a moment. Then he turns away abruptly, walking towards the deck entrance.
Mei follows closely behind him. Baal follows her.
"You cannot walk away from that fact, Kylo," Mei calls after him.
"If you can't bring yourself to do your duty, to do what needs to be done, your life will mean nothing, just like your grandfather's."
Kylo Ren's light saber crackles to life. With several swift, violent swings, he slashes into the control center next to the landing deck entrance, destroying it in fiery bursts of red and orange.
He clicks his light saber back off.
He turns and steps towards Mei, piercing eyes dead-locked on hers.
"You want to talk about a life meaning nothing…? My life, your life, Baal's, Silo's, Snoke's, Lord Dagon's, all of those lives will mean nothing if we don't complete what we started, what they started."
She looks into his eyes suspiciously, attempting to probe his mind. He rebuffs her easily.
"Don't test me. Don't challenge me. And don't question me," he intones coldly, calmly. "I am the Chosen One. I delivered you from the folly of the Jedi. I brought you before Snoke. I set you on this course, this precious mission that now defines your existence."
He leans in a little closer to her. "You really ought to show more appreciation," he says in a low, menacing tone. He looks over to Baal. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Baal stands awkwardly for a moment, then takes a knee and bows before Kylo.
He looks back to Mei. She eyes Kylo with reservation and a hint of resentment.
"Mei," he says softly. "We're too close to the end to let ourselves cave in, to fall apart. I still need you. I need your loyalty. The other Knights respect you."
Mei looks down, considering his words. Then her eyes snap back up at him.
"Don't disappoint me. Don't disappoint us." Her words sound like a warning.
She bends her knee and bows with Baal.
Kylo looks down at both of them for a moment, then turns to silently walk away from them.
Thoughts of betrayal, distrust, and mutiny plague him for the rest of the day. They hang over him like a dark cloud.
His hold over them is loosening, he thinks as he walks to his quarters that night. They're nowhere near as strong in the Force as he is, but they can still sense it, especially Mei… he isn't as devoted to the cause as he once was. In truth, he isn't devoted to it at all. He's only devoted to his own mission, his birthright and burden as the only living descendent of Anakin Skywalker. But he can't let them know that…
He's so close. They have the Crystal of Aantonaii. They only lack one final Sith artifact, and two more of the others. He doesn't have to hold them together for long. Just long enough…
His thoughts drift to the landing deck on Bespin earlier. What was she thinking, dropping in unarmed and outnumbered after the battle had already been lost? Even his father never did anything that foolhardy.
But Rey isn't stupid.
She's a survivor. She wouldn't be so casual in throwing away her life.
His pace along the smooth grey floor slows as the realization hits him—she wasn't risking her life.
She wasn't risking her life because she knew he wouldn't kill her.
He begins to feel uneasy.
What if she did it on purpose, as a calculated move to undermine his position with the Knights? Revenge for betraying her location on Deveron? What if she had looked into his mind that night on the Falcon, and saw his fear… his fear that the Knights would turn on him? And then, knowing his feelings for her…
He grows more unsettled as he considers these possibilities.
This Force bond… it's a very dangerous thing. Especially right now. He has to conceal so much from everyone around him, including people who can probe his mind, sense his weaknesses. He must conceal much more from her. And she's getting better at getting his guard down…
Kylo stops to key in the code to his quarters. Once he enters, he clicks off his new mask and sets it on a column near the door. He sinks onto his bed and hunches over, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together. He stares into nothing, still lost in his paranoia.
Suddenly, his thoughts halt to a dead stop. For a moment, he holds his breath without realizing it, then exhales carefully.
He's been dreading this since Deveron.
He turns his head to the right. She sits on his bed next to him, legs crossed, head bowed, and eyes closed. Her hands rest gently in front of her.
He senses her emotions. They aren't at all what he expected. He doesn't sense anger from her anymore. Just exhaustion, in her body and her mind, especially her mind. Something's eluding her… frustrating her…
For a minute, she doesn't even acknowledge his presence. She just sits calmly with a straight back, head bowed and eyes closed. He starts to wonder if she's really there…
Eventually, she takes her hand and tentatively extends it to the cover on his bed. She presses down on it softly, then moves along feeling the thick, course fabric.
She looks up at him. Their lock eyes briefly. Then, she unfolds her legs and stands up. She looks around with a little wonder in her eyes. She walks forward, taking in her surroundings. She strolls around his quarters, looking at his washing station, his closet, his mask resting on the column, a few of his belongings scattered across his desk, every so often reaching out to touch something… just to see if she can.
He watches her, intensely uncomfortable. He is extremely unaccustomed to this kind of invasion of his space.
Finally, she sits down on a chair next to his desk and looks at him from across the room.
"The Force-bond is growing stronger," she says in a calm, steady tone.
He looks back at her wordless.
She turns to his desk and dislodges a writing utensil from its stand.
Suddenly he stands up, as if he's about to march over and snatch it from her hand. But he stops himself.
She twirls it around a couple of times in her fingers.
"Months ago," she says still twirling, absently, "I couldn't do this through the Force bond. I couldn't see your surroundings, touch them, interact with them. Now I can." She looks back up at him. "And so can you."
Silence hangs thick in the air as the implications of this new development begin to sink in for both of them.
"Master Skywalker once told me the Force is an intelligence," She continues. "It's living, it thinks… and it's always working towards the same goal—achieving balance."
"I wouldn't put too much stock into what Luke has told you." He interjects coldly, taking a seat once more.
"Do you really believe that?" She asks looking into him. "Do you really believe he's wrong?" She can sense that he doesn't.
She sighs and looks away from him, curling one leg up to her chest in the chair.
"When you healed me in the cave," she starts softly. "You didn't do that by yourself. You channeled my power too; I felt it."
He doesn't challenge her. He knows she's right.
"Why is the Force doing this?" She asks, almost exasperated.
He doesn't answer her. Instead he stares off in the distance, thinking.
"Why now? Why us? Is it just us?"
"As far as I know." He says in a neutral tone, looking down.
He can feel her growing impatient with him.
"Don't these questions ever cross your mind!?" She blurts out, frustrated.
His head snaps up. "Of course they do," he says forcefully as he looks directly into her eyes. "But I don't try to answer them because it's pointless. The Force is an intelligence… but it doesn't care if any of us understand it. It does whatever it wants, causing chaos and destroying lives through those who wield it. It's cold, inhuman. It doesn't care how it achieves its goal as long as it is achieved. I've stopped trying to make sense of it…"
She looks down, taking in his words thoughtfully. She begins to shake her head.
"That's not my experience with the Force at all," she says with conviction. "I think it seeks balance in order to make people's lives better. And our bond is part of that… The Force doing this for a reason. It means something. And we're meant to figure it out. Together."
He freezes. His eyes drift towards the ceiling, quickly reviewing the day's events in his mind. He can't help but let out a short, stifled laugh. What she just said… that's quite possibly the last thing he ever expected to come out of her mouth.
He turns and looks at her intently. What is she up to…?
He tries to reach into her mind, but she holds him at bay, then flings him off. She's getting better at keeping him out.
"You don't trust me?" She asks with a slight hint of sarcasm.
He breaks eye contact with her. Of course he doesn't; and she doesn't trust him. So why suggest this?
As if she senses the question in his mind, she gets up and walks over to sit next to him on his bed. Looking at him, she says with intensity, "I am tired… I am tired of being ignorant. I am tired of not knowing why this power awakened inside of me and why it's growing. I'm tired of having no clue whatsoever as to why we're connected. I'm just tired, Ben."
He can feel himself flinch in annoyance. He hates it when she calls him that.
She exhales heavily, looking down. Her shoulders slump.
Then, she adjusts herself on the bed to face her body towards him, and leans in closer to his face.
His upper body stiffens as he tries to ignore her hand on his thigh.
"I need your help," She says quietly.
"And why should I?" He replies, eyes narrowing.
"Because," she continues. "Maybe if we can understand it, we can start to control it." She raises a knowing eyebrow.
That's a good point.
But this is a very bad idea. A very bad idea…
What other choice is there… when neither of them can stop from invading each other's space at random?
He looks back at her. He doesn't say anything, but she can feel him relenting. She draws away from him, sitting back on her feet on his bed.
"Thank you." The words barely escape before she disappears before his eyes.
He lets out a large exhale of relief. He lies back on the matt, finally allowing his mind to relax.
He has that feeling at the pit of his stomach again, the same one he had on the landing deck today.
This is not going to end well… for him. Or her.