A/N: Long time no see! I'm sorry about the delay in updating, but I have been suffering from writer's block in the form of procrastination and lack of motivation. I hope to write a few chapters in quick succession to make up for it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Kylo sat next to Sanya's bed in the infirmary, where she had been laying unconscious for almost four days. The medical staff had been able to formulate an antidote to whatever poison had been injected into her system, and she had physically been able to recover. Her continuing unconsciousness was worrying him though. He had refrained from reaching out with his mind in fear of not being able to reach her. The possibility that she was gone was too much for him to handle. The medical staff had assured him that everything was alright and that she would likely wake up soon, but their reassurance had done nothing to relieve his anxiety.
Kylo was brought out of his anxious state by a beep at his wrist. He reached down and pushed the button on his com-link to receive the incoming transmission. Supreme Leader Snoke's raspy voice emanated from the device.
"Kylo Ren. I require your presence. Come to the audience chamber."
Kylo stood from his seat next to Sanya's bedside to leave. Before walking away, he bent over and placed a light kiss on her forehead. He then grabbed his helmet from the bedside table and placed it on his head, making his way out of the infirmary and down the hall.
When he came to the door of the audience chamber, he was greeted by the sight of General Hux coming from the opposite hallway. He sneered at the man from behind his mask, but didn't say anything. Supreme Leader wouldn't approve of him harming Hux, no matter what the man had done. He turned to go through the door, pushing ahead of Hux. Kylo made his way to the center of the room and kneeled before the large empty chair in front of him. The dark room was filled with a glowing light as the hologram of Snoke filled the empty chair.
"Supreme Leader," both men acknowledged to the large image.
Snoke nodded slightly at the men before him and began to speak.
"The building of our super weapon is progressing. General Hux, I want you to make your way to the station to oversee the construction effort."
Hux bowed his head in obedience before responding.
"Yes Supreme Leader. I will ensure that it is completed as soon as possible."
Snoke waved his hand in the direction of the door.
"You are dismissed General. Leave once you have put your affairs in order."
Hux bowed again before turning and making his way out of the audience chamber. Kylo seethed inwardly as the man left. There would be no chance to confront him, but the fact that Hux was leaving was a small comfort to him.
"What is it that angers you so, my apprentice?" Snoke asked, sensing Kylo's anger towards Hux.
Kylo returned his attention to the hologram before him, carefully choosing his words.
"The girl that I captured, Sanya, was attacked four days ago in her cell. She was assaulted and poisoned. I suspect General Hux is behind it. He has a personal grudge against her family."
Snoke raised his hand to his chin, pondering the situation his apprentice was in. The girl Ren had been tasked to convert to the dark side had a hold on his heart. He could sense the man's deep feelings for her.
"You need to focus on the situation at hand, Ren. This attack has made the girl weak. She will see you as her savior. You must use this to your advantage. Bring her over to our side. Show her how to protect herself and use her powers to serve her own advantage. Bring out that inner darkness you sense in her. However, if you fail to bring it out, you must know that she will need to be eliminated."
Kylo nodded in response to his master's command. His face twisted in worry, and he was glad he was wearing his mask. Snoke waved in the direction of the door as he had with Hux, signaling that Kylo was dismissed. The hologram faded from view, and Snoke's large form disappeared. Kylo stood from his kneeled position and walked out of the audience chamber.
As he entered the hallway, Kylo pondered what he should do. Snoke wanted him to focus on his task, but he also had responsibility with his knights. As first knight, he needed to show occasional interest in order to keep his command in place. Making a quick decision, he deviated from his routine of the past four days of sitting at Sanya's side. He made his way down the hallway to the training area.
Entering the room, he observed his group of fighters sparring in pairs. As soon as they noticed his presence, they stopped sparring and turned their attention to him. Kylo looked over the assembled group and noticed that two of the knights were missing.
"Where are Knights Dykon and Myok?"
Kylo's second in command, Bal Torra stepped forward. The orange Twi-lek bowed his head in respect before responding.
"Dykon is in the infirmary. She was injured earlier today during training. A blow landed too hard on her arm and broke it. Myok was escorting her there, he should be returning soon."
Kylo nodded and returned his attention to the other knights before him.
"As you were."
The knights bowed their heads before returning to their sparring. Kylo watched them as they sparred for a few minutes. His attention was drawn to the door when it opened and Xander Myok walked into the training room. He bowed his head in respect to his master before picking up a staff and beginning to spar with the knight that was free from sparring Bal Torra.
Kylo turned his face to Bal, who was standing next to him.
"I leave them in your hands. I have other duties to attend to. For the foreseeable future, I would like you to oversee their training. I have a task assigned from Supreme Leader, and I cannot be in two places at once."
Bal Torra nodded in response. Kylo turned and left the training room, leaving his knights to their training. He made his way down the hallway back to the infirmary. When he entered, he noticed that the bed next to Sanya was occupied by his missing knight.
"I heard you were injured in combat Camry," he said to the blue skinned woman reclining on the bed.
Kylo was glad that his mask altered his voice to hide his concern. Camry Dykon was an old friend of his, but he was still her superior.
They had known each other as children, as her father had served as a representative of Pantora in the new Senate his mother was part of. When the First Order had begun to emerge, Camry's father had been convinced that they were a stronger force and left the Senate, pledging his alliance to the First Order. When Kylo was put in charge of the Knights of Ren, he had recruited Camry. She still treated him like he was Ben Solo occasionally, so Kylo kept his distance as much as possible.
Kylo reached up and removed his helmet from his head. He placed it back where it had been sitting earlier on the bedside table near Sanya's bed. He sat down on the chair between the two beds and focused his attention on Camry.
"I missed blocking a blow from Torra's staff and it hit my arm fairly hard. He is very strong so it broke my arm. The medical staff said that with some time in a bacta tank, I should be able to return to training in a week."
Kylo shook his head at her.
"You need to work on your defensive skills Camry. It has always been a weakness of yours."
Camry nodded in response to her master's criticism. She turned to look at the unconscious woman on the bed next to her.
"That's her isn't it? She's the one you've been pining for the past ten years."
Kylo rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze to Sanya.
"I have not been pining. I was searching for her. I love her and I wanted to find her."
Camry shook her head and stood up slowly from her bed.
"You were pining. I can tell. Anyway, I'll leave you two alone."
She bowed her head slightly before walking away from her bed to the staff desk to speak to a staff member. Kylo watched her walk away before refocusing on Sanya again.
There didn't seem to be any change in her condition since he had left her bedside earlier. Kylo reached out and took her smaller hand in his. He didn't know how long he would be able to watch her stay in this state. Closing his eyes, he decided that it was time he tried other methods. He reached out with his mind through the force and called for her.
Sanya? I need to know that you are alright. I need you to wake up.
Kylo focused on transferring some of his strength into her mind and body. He was rewarded soon enough when he felt a warm presence appear. He opened his eyes and scanned Sanya's face hopefully.
Sanya's eyes slowly fluttered open and she blinked a few times at the light in the infirmary. Kylo let go of her hand and moved his hand to the side of her face, encouraging her to look at him.
"Sanya? Can you hear me?" he asked as a sense of relief washed over him.
Sanya looked around the room slowly, taking in her surroundings. She focused on Kylo's face in front of her.
"Where am I? What happened?" she asked in confusion.
"You were attacked and poisoned. I felt your fear and pain, so I went to investigate. I found you unconscious on the floor in your room. Do you remember anything?"
Sanya sighed as she thought back to the last thing she could remember.
"I remember Hux coming to my room. He was angry. Something about my father killing his father and him wanting revenge. When I responded, he hit me and knocked me down. He raised his blaster to kill me. I remember being so afraid. I couldn't control the power that was fueled by my fear and it lashed out in his direction. The last thing I remember is being stunned by a trooper."
Kylo felt his quelled anger at Hux from earlier building up again. His anger flowed through him and he could feel the force sparking around him. The medical equipment around him began to go haywire from the energy he was expelling. He was quickly brought back to reality by the pressure of a hand on his.
"Hey. Calm down. I'll be alright. It's over," Sanya said quietly, trying to soothe his anger.
Kylo felt her calming influence wash over him and his rage started to dissipate. He focused his attention on her face. She was smiling slightly at him, putting on a brave face to calm his nerves.
"I'm sorry it took this much to get your attention," Sanya joked lightly.
Kylo tilted his head in confusion at her statement.
"What do you mean?"
Sanya's smile faded slightly and her expression turned serious.
"You were ignoring me. We need to talkā¦"
Kylo shook his head at her and interrupted her by returning his hand to her face.
"Not now Sanya. Once you are fully healed, we will discuss things. You need to rest and recover."
He stood slightly from his seat and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead for the second time that day. Sanya sighed and nodded in agreement. She reached her hand up and placed it on his face like he had done to her. She softly brushed her thumb across his cheek.
"You promise?" she asked softly.
Kylo nodded in response. Sanya smiled at him and leet her hand drift back down to the bed. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep. Kylo sat by her side in quiet contemplation.
What was he going to do?
A/N: There was originally going to be more to this chapter, but I didn't want to squish too much into one chapter. As a result, the following chapter will probably be short. I wanted to include the Knights of Ren, so I added them into this chapter. You will be seeing some of them a little bit more later. I hope to update again later today or sometime tomorrow. Please review!
