Sith training is an on again, off again task for a Master and an Apprentice whose lives are perpetually at war. For per necessity, there are frequent interruptions.
This is not typical of the Sith. Darth Sidious had been trained over a ten-year period on Mygeeto before he was turned loose to scuttle the Old Republic. Darth Maul had been trained since early childhood to be an efficient fighting machine. But Kylo Ren is now fifteen years an Apprentice and still half-trained in the ways of the Shadow Force. And though he is in constant contact with his Master, it has been several years since Kylo has engaged in serious training. So now that the opportunity has arisen once again, both teacher and student dedicate themselves to the task.
It has the predictable result: pain.
And this time, his Master does not force Kylo to suffer through it. For, as it turns out, Darth Plagueis is training another student as well.
Partway through their first training session one afternoon, Milo interrupts with a visitor. It's the scavenger girl. And she looks like she's wearing Milo's clothes.
"Welcome." Snoke waves her forward into the cavernous training room and then favors her with a courtly bow. They are deep underground his Master's stronghold in the private level that is Darth Plagueis' lair. Down here are his Master's quarters, his beloved library, his laboratory, his office and a large training room. This is the domain of the Sith, and there are no lurkers about other than Milo and the captive Resistance girl. First Order uniforms are seldom seen in these exclusive areas, for ingress and egress requires the highest level of permission: access to this entire level is locked with the Force.
"My Apprentice has had a mishap with a saber." Snoke gestures to the deep scorch mark on Kylo's right forearm. It's visible because he is out of his uniform and mask. Kylo trains in a simple black t-shirt and pants. "Heal him."
The girl looks at the mark and then at him.
"No." She flat out refuses. "I'm not healing that monster." Kylo can't hide his shock at this reply. The scavenger girl is actually refusing a request from Supreme Leader Snoke. What's more, she has the brazenness to be indignant about it. "Why should I?"
His Master is in a good mood today, for he enjoys teaching. And, really, given the Starkiller disaster, Snoke has been surprisingly even-tempered of late. And so he is patient with this wretched Resistance girl.
"Apprentice," the Muun chuckles in that grave way of his as he raises one eyebrow. "It seems that you have made a bad first impression. And here I thought the Light was merciful."
The girl does not take the hint. She maintains her obstinate posture scowling up at him. Her head cocked to the side, and her chin lifted. Yes, this girl definitely reminds him of Leia Organa.
"This is not a request, my dear," Snoke informs her mildly. "Do it."
The foolish scavenger must not realize how rare second chances are from Snoke. She doubles down on her refusal. "No."
His Master responds with a flourish of his graceful Muun fingers that shoots a single bolt of Force lightning off to the side. Yes, his Master is in a very good mood today. Normally, his demonstrations of power are not of the harmless variety. This girl probably has no idea how much mercy she is being shown today. "Do not force me to punish you, my dear," Snoke drawls slowly, the menace in his words and not in his quiet tone. "Neither of us would enjoy that."
The lightning and the warning have the desired effect. The girl musters a shaky concentration and heals the saber graze with the Force. Snoke stands over her to watch, then inspects the results. They are not perfect, and Kylo will still need a bacta patch to fully erase the mark, but the girl has talent. There's no denying it.
And, oh, Kylo thinks to himself. Her Light had felt so good. So good. He glances up to catch a fleeting knowing glance from the Muun. His Master had seen how much he had enjoyed that. It is humiliating.
But the Muun makes no comment. His Master simply nods his satisfaction to the girl. "My dear, there is only one question for which you may answer no. And even then, my patience will have its limits."
Kylo watches as Rey pales visibly. And remembering his Master kissing this girl awake, he thinks he knows the question. And for a moment, he feels sorry for her.
Snoke is a veritable professor of the Dark Side, but this time Kylo's training sessions keep coming back to dueling techniques. They both know it's only a matter of time before his uncle is flushed out of hiding. And thanks to his Master poking around in Rey's memories while she lay asleep and unaware, they have the map to the Last Jedi's place of exile on Ahch-To. But even though Kylo had been ready to set out to face his uncle, Snoke had sternly forbade it.
As usual, Darth Plagueis had been brutally honest. "I won't send you there to be slaughtered. I have invested too much time in you for such a foolhardy risk. If the untrained scavenger girl can best you in a duel, then you are no match for the Jedi. Your skills are lacking, Apprentice."
And Kylo has to admit to this truth. All Sith are a product of their times, Snoke has taught him. And so the Sith of the Late Republic and the Empire had perfected the art of dueling in regular combat against the Jedi. His grandfather had dueled Tyranus in the Clone Wars on multiple occasions, as had Kenobi met Maul. And Vader had spent years hunting down Jedi after the Purge. But Kylo? He uses his saber mostly in combat raids against blaster fire. And save his uncle, there are no saber wielding enemies for Kylo to polish his skills on. He had never actually crossed swords with a true enemy until Rey. And then he had been soundly defeated.
And though Kylo likes to think that he will meet his uncle on his own terms at a time and place of his own choosing, he knows that is unlikely to be the case. Especially in the aftermath of the death of Han Solo. His father had been his uncle's closest friend for decades until that night the teenaged Ben Solo had slaughtered his classmates at the Jedi Academy. And while seeking revenge is not the Jedi way, Kylo has no illusions that between killing his father and destroying the Hosnia System, Luke Skywalker is anything but very, very angry.
And, well, there is a fine line between justice and vengeance.
So, yes, saber skills are the focus of his training. And Snoke is a very good teacher. For while Kylo has rarely seen his decrepit Master wield a sword, Plagueis has extensive knowledge of even obscure lightsaber combat forms. And sabers too. The Muun likes the archaic crossguard Sith saber Kylo favors, but he also knows the modern single blade and the double bladed saberstaff too. His Master has a large cache of weapons amassed over the years and so Kylo simply chooses a similar replacement for the saber Rey had destroyed.
Bits and pieces of his mentor's past dribble out during his instruction. Recollections of prior duels, assessments of past opponents, tips on how to get out of a tight spot, and strategies for when to use Force tricks in a duel. It's an ever-shifting murky mosaic of information from which there can be only one conclusion: through the years, Darth Plagueis the Wise has crossed swords with more than a few opponents. Including, Kylo increasingly suspects, Luke Skywalker.
No matter how powerful you become in the Force, saber skills matter, Snoke schools Kylo. Even Yoda was known to duel with the Sith. His Master cautions that there is no such thing as a Sith who can't swing a sword. Because those Sith are dead Sith.
All this saber work has the predictable result: more injuries. And that means more Rey.
When Kylo next sees her, she's a completely different person. The haphazard ponytail and Milo's old clothes are gone. The young woman who heals the blistering saber graze on his right shoulder wears a long-sleeved pale blue dress. Her hair is expertly arranged in shiny waves that tumble over her shoulders. She's wearing makeup and her fingernails are painted pale pink. All in all, this Rey is the furthest thing from the grimy desert rat he had captured on Takodana.
As she leans over him to inspect his shoulder, he breathes in her faint perfume. She smells like flowers and vanilla. Like beauty mixed with warm comforting things. And then she concentrates and her healing Light Side power washes over his mind. The sight of her, the smell of her and the feel of her power are just perfect. And for those brief few seconds of interaction, all is right in the universe as far as Kylo Ren is concerned. Because Rey and her Light are here to make it all better. Her Light balances his Darkness and there is harmony.
Day after day, he sees her. Slowly, she begins to thaw a bit towards him. Even greeting him with a ghost of a smile sometimes. But the progression is halting. Two steps forward, one step back. It helps that Snoke no longer stands over her watching. And more and more, the pattern becomes for Rey to heal him at the end of his daily training session. Sometimes, there are multiple wounds and she spends twenty or thirty minutes alone in his company. At first, their interaction is politely distant. Businesslike and formal. But it too begins to thaw slowly and Rey lets down her guard.
She probably still hates him, he knows. But now she also feels the tiniest bit sorry for him.
"Why do you do this?" she asks one day as she leans over him sitting on the ground. "Why do you want to train to be a Sith?" The question catches him off-guard, for he had been admiring her profile at the time.
He thinks a moment. "I have a long answer to that question, Rey. But the short answer is power. My family is born to rule the galaxy. It is my duty and my birthright."
"Who is your family?" she asks, clearly curious.
"I am a Skywalker," he tells her proudly. And it's a secret few are privy to. Why he is moved to tell this Resistance girl the truth is anyone's guess. But he's glad he tells her. She's a Force-user, he's a Force-user. It seems right to have this out in the open. Plus, his Master had said transparency would help to earn her trust.
"You're a Skywalker?" Rey breathes out the famous name in near awe. "Skywalker as in Luke Skywalker?" Her eyes are shining up at him and her face is soft and luminous. Childlike in her obvious hero worship of his uncle.
"Yes, Rey." He says her name aloud for the first time and it feels good on his lips. He's begun to think of her as Rey now and not just 'the girl' or 'the scavenger.' "I am a Skywalker. Like my mother, my grandfather and my great-grandmother before me."
Her eyes narrow. She looks dubious. "But isn't Luke Skywalker the Jedi who brought down the Empire? Who killed the Emperor and Darth Vader?"
"Yes," Kylo confirms since that is close enough to the truth. And then he tells her solemnly, "The Force is strong in my family. We Skywalkers have been both Jedi and Sith. But no matter which side we choose, we matter."
"Oh," Rey says in a small voice. "I never had a family. And I have never mattered." She looks sheepish now and her next words are barely a whisper as she shrugs. "I'm no one."
It's the first time he has ever seen this fierce girl uncertain of herself. And it prompts him to rally her. "Rey," he catches her eye to give her a level look. "You can heal with the Force. If for that reason alone, you are not no one." His words provoke the first genuine smile he's seen from her. And it occurs to him that her smile might just be as dazzling as her Light.
It quickly becomes Rey's habit to greet him with a question when she comes to heal him. And these are not the commonplace inquiries of inane small talk. Rey is direct. These are premeditated, probing asks. At first, her questions annoy him. Kylo is not used to be on the receiving end of an interrogation unless it's from his Master. But he comes to look forward to what Rey will surprise him with each time they meet.
He clearly intrigues her. And that in turn intrigues him. Kylo is used to people being frightened of him. Not being interested in him. And so, to honor her bravery, he keeps telling her the truth. Even a few truths that would make Hux gape in disbelief.
Is your name really Ben?
Yes.
Then why are you called Kylo Ren?
It is tradition for a Sith to take on a new name when he is initiated into Darkness.
Why aren't you Darth Ren? Like Darth Vader?
Darth is the formal title of a Sith Lord. You have to earn it. When I finally complete my training, I will receive my title.
Is that when you stop being an Apprentice?
No, I will always be the Apprentice. Darth Plagueis will always be my Master.
Oh.
There are no non-material conversations with Rey, he learns. And perhaps that's a legacy of this abandoned girl's upbringing, he thinks. For he remembers how solitary her life has been up until she found the droid. She's probably never spoken at length to anyone. Kylo is not much of a talker himself, so he understands. He might be an emotional Sith, but he does not vent his emotions with words. Usually, he does it with violence.
Her matter of fact demeanor is not eager to please, and Kylo likes that too. Hux might surround himself with suck ups that fawn over his words, but Kylo needs no such ego stroking. He's a Sith so he can face the truth in all things, including himself. And having people dislike you comes with the territory. He doesn't take rejection personally. Other people's fear is a testament to his power.
Plus, this girl has quiet confidence. That too appeals. His terrorist-turned-politician-turned-general mother has a confrontational streak that is tiresome. And so argumentative women have long been a turn-off for Kylo Ren as a result. But that doesn't mean he likes his girls meek.
You knew Han Solo before you killed him, didn't you? You talked about him on the Starkiller. He wasn't just an ordinary Resistance fighter.
Yes.
How did you know him?
He was my father.
Your father? You killed your own father? Why?
He deserved it.
I liked Han Solo. You were lucky enough to have him as a father and you killed him? You really are a monster.
You don't know my family. Killing each other is what we do.
Every time he sees her now, Rey is dressed like a cross between a holonet actress ingénue and a princess. She's a lovely mix of fresh and pretty meets poised and regal. It is so jarring to see the warrior girl who had marked his face and bared her teeth at him looking so feminine. But he has to admit that her newfound beauty and her Light have become the bright spot in his day.
Rey's girly makeover smacks of Darth Plagueis, for Kylo knows that the wily Sith likes nothing more than to transform and to mold a person. So the gangly runaway Jedi padawan becomes the galaxy's masked and feared warrior. And the ragamuffin desert throwaway becomes a beguiling princess of the Light. There is always much more than meets the eye where Snoke is concerned. His Master delights in these sorts of secret ironies.
Are you the young boy who destroyed it all? Han Solo said that Luke Skywalker was training a new generation of Jedi and one boy turned against him and destroyed it all. Was that you?
Yes.
Why?
I was a terrible Jedi.
Obviously.
Two can play at this game, and so Kylo begins to ask his own questions. He might have briefly seen into this girl's mind, but he doesn't really know her. And if she is going to pry out his secrets, he will return the favor in kind. He's a bit curious now and she doesn't seem to mind.
What do you do all day?
Mostly, I read the First Order propaganda and the history books Milo gives me. I, uh, don't have a lot of formal education.
What else?
I eat lunch with Milo. I have terrible table manners apparently. Milo tells me I can't eat dinner with the Supreme Leader until they improve.
Which is why they remain hopelessly terrible, right?
How did you guess?
Milo is sharp. He's not fooled.
Yes, I know.
As the Apprentice, Kylo interacts with his Master in a way few others do. And now Rey has entered into that select group. Rey's training seems to be one part finishing school and remedial education with Milo, and one part Force training with Snoke. But still, she is the closest thing to an equal that Kylo has encountered in many long years.
Maybe he should be jealous of Rey, but he doesn't mind having her around. For living in close quarters, he cannot help but notice her Light shining out at his mind's eye even when she's not healing. This woman's Force imprint is enormous, he thinks. And when he sees her in person, it's like a halo around an angel. Winking at him with a quiet come hither lure. While of course he resists, it's comforting just to know it is there.
Are you going to try to escape?
I already have.
Did he catch you?
Milo did. He caught me trying to hotwire a door.
They are all locked with the Force. You can't bypass that mechanically.
Yes, I know that now.
What did Snoke do?
He said that if I could break the Force lock, I was free to go.
You'll never do it. They are locked with a Dark Side spell. A Jedi can't break that.
I'm still trying.
Where would you go if you escaped?
I don't know.
You wouldn't go running back to the Resistance?
I don't know. Maybe.
Sith training is a grueling ordeal, designed to wear you down. And so injuries tend to increase over time. A body pushed beyond its limits does not bounce back to full strength, and neither does a mind overtaxed with concentration. And with extreme fatigue, both Kylo's reflexes and his accuracy dim.
"You are sloppy tonight," Snoke observes with distaste. "You can do better."
Kylo looks over the pile of twenty training droids that he has run through in the past hour. It would be an impressive tally for all but the stickler Darth Plagueis. Kylo has a nasty blaster graze across his midsection to show for all this carnage. He hadn't been able to freeze the blaster shot in time so he had turned to the side to take a glancing hit rather than absorb the full energy of the shot.
"Go," his irritated Master waves him away dismissively. "Go and find the girl. Get her to heal you." And then his Master heads off for his office, probably to start the day. They have trained overnight this time and it is almost morning. But night and day have very little meaning to his Master since he does not sleep.
Where is Rey? After wandering around practically every room, Kylo finally follows her Force imprint to find her. She's asleep on his Master's colossal bed. The sight arrests him, for Rey is beautiful lying there in quiet slumber. She is the Flaming June curled up and lost in dreams, her pink negligee flowing and enticingly sheer. All her dusky tresses spread about her head and spilling off the pillow. She looks so young, he sees, and so innocent. Relaxed in sleep with her lips slightly parted. Waiting here for the Master of Evil, for the most powerful Sith ever to live, to return to the bed he doesn't sleep in and no doubt claim her for his own.
Until now, Kylo hadn't given any thought to where Rey sleeps. But now he knows unequivocally that Rey sleeps with the Devil, that she is the Light seduced by Darkness, a modern day Persephone trapped in the Underworld lair of Darth Plagueis the Wise.
It is a time-honored tradition that to the victor go the spoils of war. But standing here, confronted with the truth of the situation, is uncomfortable. For something about the way this girl has been treated makes Kylo feel ashamed.
For Kylo had been the one to insist that Hux put her onboard the Starkiller shuttle to be delivered into the greedy hands of the Quasimodo Sith. He had assumed that his Master would simply kill her. And, really, she would have died on the Starkiller anyway. But he had never expected this. In fifteen years, he has never known his Master to keep a woman.
Is hers a fate worse than death? Surely not. The girl is fed and clothed and treated better than any First Order prisoner has been. But still . . . this bothers him.
Maybe it shouldn't. He's a Sith Apprentice and he has no illusions about the lengths his Master will go to for the cause of ruling the galaxy. For power is everything to a Sith. But this untrained girl doesn't stand in the way of their ambitions. Yes, he understands that his Master keeps her alive to develop and use her healing powers. It makes sense to keep her in a prison cell. But this . . . this doesn't make sense to him. And it seems uncharacteristically gratuitous for old Darth Plagueis. But, apparently, there is special satisfaction in debauching the Light.
Whatever else this orphan scavenger girl is, she is innocent. She took pity on a lost droid and tried to return it to its owner. And in the process, she ended up at the center of a galactic civil war. It's a story not unlike his uncle's tale from decades past. Only the Last Jedi hidden on Tatooine had been a Skywalker waiting to be called to his destiny. But Rey? She is just a girl. A hard scrabble survivor. She had said it herself-she is no one.
A no one with the Force who can heal with a touch.
A no one his Master coveted enough to meet her shuttle on the landing platform.
A no one his Master has laid claim to in no uncertain terms.
Yes, she's a potential enemy Skywalker might train. And yes, she had taken up arms against him but only after he had hunted her and later killed her friends. Kylo been the aggressor all along. His Master had determined that Rey was not a threat, so he let her live. And this, then, must be part of why she lives. So she can warm the bed of Supreme Leader Snoke.
Kylo wrinkles his face in distaste. He can't shake the feeling that there's something here he doesn't understand.
He stares at her minutes longer. Unwilling to disturb her. Then he turns and walks out. He'll find a bacta patch tonight.