Chapter 8: Reunions

Yavin IV

"You said you saw your mother?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow. Rey couldn't tell just how much or how little her master believed her, but she said. "Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but...I just know. I know it's her. I can feel it. That look, in her eyes...and she called out to me." Rey nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I'm sure. It is her."

"Interesting..." Sudema muttered. "...do you not have any memories of your mother?"

Rey shook her head. "No. I...I don't remember much about my early childhood. Just..." Rey sighed. "...being left behind on Jakku while a ship flew away, leaving me there. I can't really remember my parent's faces, until now when I saw my mother in my visions." She turned to look at Luke: "Why do you think I'm seeing her now?"

"You've only just been taught the ways of the Force." Luke gently reminded his student. "And clearly, you have a strong emotional attachment to the family you never really knew. Now that you're learning how to hone your affinity for the Force, it's giving you something of what you've always sought: answers and insight regarding your family."

"But I still don't know anything about them." Rey noted bitterly. "Including why they abandoned me..."

"Those answers may make themselves known in time." Firmus Revan noted matter-of-factly. "Take a bit of advice from an older Force user: it's a bad idea to rush these sorts of things. Letting events run their natural course is often a better path."

"But I need to know!" Rey said, with more anger than she had intended. "I need to know. I'm willing to leave my past on Jakku behind. I'm willing to stop waiting for a family that I know is never going to come for me. But I still need to know. I need to know why I was left behind. Once I know that, I can move on."

"Be careful, Rey." Luke warned. "That attachment to the truth you have could end up hindering you. Attachments can lead to obsessions, and those don't do Jedi any favors."

Rey turned to Luke. "When your father told you who he was, were you not determined to learn all that you could? And then to redeem him? Well, this is that for me. I can't move on without this knowledge. I just can't. If I try I'll always be wondering. And I don't want that."

Luke was all set to say something else when he frowned. "We're not alone."

"What?"

"Someone else is out there, waiting for us. I didn't sense them at first, because they've been using the Force to mask their presence. And the fact that this planet is saturated with the Dark Side doubtlessly helped them."

"Knights of Ren?" Rey asked, quickly catching on to the fact that whoever was with them now were of the Dark Side.

"Maybe." Luke admitted. He drew his lightsaber. "Be ready for combat." He turned to the Revan siblings. "Can we count on your help?" The two nodded, and Luke cautiously exited the temple to investigate.

Looking around, Luke was not surprised to see a dark figure emerge from the underbrush. Then another. And another. And another after that. Within moments, Luke was surrounded by a small army of Knights of Ren who had come out of the jungle and formed a semi-circle against him. He couldn't tell exactly how many there were, but it seemed to be close to forty at least.

"You shouldn't have come out of hiding." The lead Knight of Ren said simply as he drew from his belt a black lightsaber hilt. "The Supreme Leader sensed your presence."

"Took him a while." Luke said with a grimace. "Perhaps your master's not as powerful as you think."

"It doesn't matter that you prolonged the inevitable." A bloodshine blade spat out of the black hilt, followed by dozens of others along with a few other blades of different colors, and a few more mundane melee weapons lined with cortosis so as to stand up to lightsaber blades. Slowly but purposefully, the Knights of Ren closed in.

"I do think it only fair to warn you all..."

The two Revan siblings stepped outside the temple, each of them drawing their own lightsaber hilt.

"...that I am not alone. And that the Force is strong with my friends."

Out of Firmus Revan's hilt was a blade the color of the summer sky, a magnificent sound of lightsaber blade springing to life, that was echoed by the fountain of forest green light from Luke's hilt, and then Firmus' sister Sudema, who's own lightsaber sang orange-bronze as the fiery colored blade burst forth.

And there they were; three of the most powerful Force users of their generation, and indeed of any generation, all standing as one against the dozens of Knights of Ren confronting them. And then, those three Force users became four when Luke's Padawan Rey stepped forwards, double-bladed lightsaber hilt in her hands. Out of each end shot a blade identical in color to her master's. The lead Knight of Ren's eyes widened in surprise behind his helmet when he saw Rey's face.

"The girl..." he turned to his fellows. "Take her alive. Kill the other three."

In three blinding bursts of speed Luke and the Revan siblings were off, zipping into the horde of Knights of Ren, who were ill-prepared for what was coming towards them. Arcs and slashes of green, cyan-blue, and orange-bronze cleaved every which way, and Knights of Ren fell without resistance. For her part, Rey didn't have the speed of the other three, but she still ran in, twirling her double-bladed lightsaber to block blaster bolts fired at her by two Knights of Ren who carried hold-out blasters in the hand opposite their sword-arms. She actually managed to send one blaster bolt back into the shooter, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to cry out in pain as he fell down clutching at his shoulder area. His fellow moved in to cover him, striking with his lightsaber. Rey blocked his opening strike. In that moment, it sunk into Rey fully that she was no longer fighting training droids or visions in a Jedi trial, rather she was fighting a Knight of Ren. A real, true, follower of the Dark Side of the Force who was as alive as she was, and who would not show her any mercy if she came up short.

Rey only had a brief moment to let this sink in before the Knight of Ren broke the saber-lock and struck out with his lightsaber again, Rey narrowly dodging the attack. At that point, basic survival instinct and the training Luke and the holocrons had drilled into her took over, and she thought of nothing but surviving the battle. There would be time to think about the rest later.

Keeping her saber-staff close to her, Rey blocked her foe's attacks as they came, parrying the increasingly aggressive strikes from her foe, who seemed to sense that she was inexperienced and vulnerable. Each attack seemed more invigorated than the last, more aggressive and savage. But Rey's defenses held firm, and finally she was able to land a twirling strike that nailed the Knight of Ren in his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and Rey followed it up with a strike across the torso, and then twirled her double saber again before driving it through the Knight of Ren.

The Knight of Ren gasped in shock and made a pitiful, gurgling noise as the lightsaber blade burned through at least one vital organ. Wincing in pain, Rey pulled the lightsaber blade out, and the Knight of Ren collapsed lifeless on the ground.

It hadn't been the first time Rey had killed a man, but even so, the vicious spearing of someone on her lightsaber blade aroused feelings of unease inside her. She felt...well, truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt exactly. Just that she didn't enjoy the feeling.

Worry about that later. Rey scolded herself as she narrowly ducked under a lightsaber blade aimed at her neck, the Knight of Ren evidently not heeding his leader's order to take her alive. Making note of this, Rey decided to not hold back herself, and after a bit of an exchange of blows, Rey finally managed to overcome her foe and drive him steadily back. Finally, she cut his lightsaber hand off. The Knight of Ren screamed as his severed hand fell to the floor. He tried to reclaim his saber with his free hand, but Rey blasted him back with a Force push, pleasantly surprised that she was actually able to knock him through the air with it. Lifting and blasting around objects was one thing, but she'd not counted on being good enough to blast another Force user through the air, even if he was no more than a neophyte.

Another Knight of Ren charged her, and Rey bucked him over her shoulder and head, sending him crashing into the ground. Stabbing down with her double-saber, Rey drove a green blade into his chest and again experienced a feeling she didn't love. Pulling the blade out, she spun around to confront another Knight of Ren, this one with two lightsabers, one red and one that was actually silver. His helmet was near-identical to Kylo Ren's, and he had a tattered black cape attached to one shoulder pauldron.

"Thank you for thinning our herd of the weak and undeserving." He readied his twin blades. "But let us see if you can handle a true blademaster, girl."

Rey blocked each of the blades on one of her double-saber's, but from there her opponent's acrobatic and erratic attacks from dual blades rapidly overwhelmed her and pushed her back. From her studies under Luke and the holocrons, Rey quickly identified him as using Ataru, and using it well. So well, in fact, that Rey found herself getting driven back more and more until finally, she tripped and fell backwards over the headless corpse of a Knight of Ren. Rey nearly dropped her double saber, but managed to catch it in her hands. A good thing too, because the dual-wielding Knight of Ren was pouncing on her, lightsabers spinning.

Deciding to stick with what she was supposed to be specializing in, Rey outstretched a hand and called on the Force to not fail her in such a critical moment. It didn't. The Knight of Ren was sent through the air like he'd been shot out of a turbo-laser cannon, also dropping his lightsabers as he got blasted backwards.

Satisfied that he was out of her hair and also with her display of power, Rey forced herself back up. A Knight of Ren tried to run at her from behind, seeing that she was still regaining her bearings. A flaming flash of orange later and his head was gone, bouncing when it hit the floor as his body twisted and collapsed, the red flame of his lightsaber winking out as the hilt fell to the ground. Whipping around, Rey tried to find Sudema but couldn't make her out amidst the battle, instead just seeing a white blur that carried a fiery orange one, which left behind a trail of bodies as it went.

The whole affair didn't last much longer. The Knights of Ren had clearly not expected the added assistance of the Revan siblings, and their numbers, even as they had been, were not near good enough to handle three Force users of such stature at a time. The trio weren't even cutting loose with their Force power and still they were carving a swath, their saber skills alone being good enough for it. Though, one Knight of Ren tried to blast Luke with all the Force Lightning he had him. This backfired when Luke caught the lightning on his lightsaber before absorbing it into his living hand, and redirecting it more powerful than it had been seconds ago. The Knight of Ren got turned to ash and dust on the floor the moment said lightning got returned to him.

A burst of powerful telekinetic energy was unleashed from somewhere in the crowd, sending over half-a-dozen Knights of Ren flying. As their bodies hit the floor, Rey moved out of the way of one as he landed. She aimed the tip of one of her blades at his throat to discourage him from trying anything. The source of the Force Repulse, Firmus Revan, strode forwards. With one hand he lifted up the Knights of Ren's leader in a telekinetic strangle-hold and had him hover right in front of him.

"Enjoy this while you can, Jedi." The Knight of Ren spat defiantly as he struggled to get in air. "...S-s-Supreme Leader...won't ma-make...the same mis-mistake twice. He'll be ready for you two next time. He'll send as many Knights of Ren as he needs to."

"We'll be ready." Firmus Revan said simply before pulling the Knight of Ren into his lightsaber blade. The cyan-blue light burned a large hole in the area where the Knight of Ren's heart was, killing him instantly. As his body hit the floor, Luke frowned and said: "You shouldn't have done that."

"He was a Knight of Ren."

"He had been defeated and disarmed."

"We had no means of holding him prisoner, and I was not going to let him simply walk away." Firmus turned to Luke to look at him directly: "We are not Jedi, Master Skywalker. We respect your way of doing things, but they are not identical to our ways. Those who attack us with lethal intent are not guaranteed any mercy or safety."

"I understand." Luke said. "But I still don't like it."

"You don't have to." Firmus Revan said, though his tone was even and calm rather than hostile or defiant. Rey could not sense any anger in the man either, nor could she sense any great resentment in Luke. She smiled. The two men might not agree with one another completely, but they still respected one another immensely, that much was clear to her.

But, the display also alerted Rey to the fact that they still had at least one Knight of Ren alive, still at her mercy.

"Who are you?" Rey demanded. "What's your name?"

"Amaxas Ren." The Knight of Ren answered nervously, his tone noticeably lacking any spite or malice or defiance. Rey took that as a hopeful sign. "I...I...really don't want to die..."

"Neither do we, but it didn't stop you from attacking us." Sudema Revan pointed out. "Why should we spare you?"

"Because I'm unarmed and defeated?" He asked, even though Firmus Revan's killing of Amaxas Ren's leader had already made it clear that that was not reason enough for the Revans to let him go. Aware of this, he added: "...and because I know where the Supreme Leader is."

"You do?"

Amaxas Ren nodded. "We've all been trained by him to some extent. But...no Knight of Ren has ever said anything, have they?"

Luke shook his head. "No, the New Republic never did get any location out of any Knight of Ren. I assume you will be the exception?"

Amaxas Ren nodded again. "I am. And I know you can sense that I'm telling the truth. I'm not powerful enough to conceal it from you. So when I say I can tell you where the Supreme Leader is, you'll know I mean it."

Rey turned to Luke. "Master...if that's true...we could fight the Supreme Leader and overthrow him. Then the Knights of Ren won't have a leader!"

"Unless another rises to take their place." Luke noted with a frown. "I don't like it. Going after the Supreme Leader personally and trying to assassinate him?" He shook his head. "Too risky. Even if the Revan siblings were willing to back us, there's no guarantee we could do it. I don't know just how powerful Snoke actually is. For all I know, he could be more powerful than all of us put together, a weakling in disguise, or something in the middle. Even if the latter possibilities, he'd be surrounded by countless Knights of Ren. No. I'm sorry, but we can't risk a direct attack on him just yet...but, that doesn't mean knowing his location isn't helpful." He turned to look at Amaxas Ren. "Where is he?"

"Dromund Kaas."

Luke frowned deeply. Rey could sense frustration inside him, namely frustration at having not thought of the possibility sooner. Her knowledge on Galactic history still somewhat limited even after all of her lessons with Luke, Rey asked: "What is Dromund Kaas?"

"A planet in the Outer Rim territories. The Esstran Sector, specifically. It has a long, sordid history, having been a seat of power for some iterations of the Sith Order. I'm not surprised if Snoke decided to set himself up there."

"We should let the Resistance know."

"We will. But remember, we also need to go to Vjun."

"I know, Master Skywalker."

"But, before we do even that, we need to meet with the Resistance. We'll take Amaxas Ren prisoner with us." He turned to the Revan siblings. "Is there any way we can keep in contact with you?"

Firmus Revan nodded. "We will hail you as needed. In the meantime, you may wish to go to the Resistance as soon as possible. They may send more Knights of Ren here if you stay too long."

"Agreed." Luke said, before turning back to Rey: "Get him up and keep an eye on him. We're leaving this planet."

Dantooine

General Hux oversaw the burning village without so much as a blink or a raised eyebrow. Utterly dispassionate in the face of what his Storm and Flametroopers had done, but then he had wanted this outcome as a means of convincing Dantooine's people (and the Galaxy as a whole), of the foolishness in standing up to the First Order. So really, there was no reason for him to be upset. All was going according to plan.

"Have Dantooine's people learned to cooperate yet?" General Hux asked the lead Stormtrooper present, his red shoulder pauldron denoting his rank.

"Some of them have bent knee to the First Order, yes. Others remain...'resistant'."

"Too bad...for them. Very well, keep pushing. Either they'll come to their senses, or they'll die."

"Yes sir..."

"Something on your mind, Officer?" Hux asked, sensing the reluctance in the Stormtrooper Officer's tone.

"Well, uh...I..." The Stormtrooper Officer seemed to hesitate, before saying: "...with respect, General, I think we may be going at this all wrong."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, General, I mean..." The Stormtrooper Officer fell silent and began again: "What I mean, General, is that maybe this approach doesn't work very well: maybe in torching these villages and killing so many people, we're just giving them more reason to resist us, not less. I mean, if it were my family and neighbors, I'd want revenge against whoever killed them. I would be more likely to fight back...sir."

"I see..." General Hux said. "...so, what you're saying is, you'd fight against the First Order?"

"No, General, that's not what I said..."

"Well, perhaps you're right." General Hux conceded. "Push these wretches too hard, and we'll have nothing to make use of later." He nodded. "Very well. We'll ease up the pressure then. Consolidate our power here and give them time to lick their wounds and reflect on what resisting the First Order has cost them. They rise up again, we'll crush them again. In the meantime, I think forced labor will keep their wills broken." Hux nodded. "Round up everyone we've since taken. I want them laboring away for the First Order before the week's out."

"Yes, General."

As the Stormtrooper Officer went off to carry out these new orders, General Hux went off to meet with a particular First Order scientist who was also on Dantooine at the moment, and also firmly in Hux's pocket. His name was Ulys Fyyar.

Ulys Fyyar was a somewhat young man of ultimately vague age who was the only child of the late Galak Fyyar, who had been a member of the Imperial Remnant and then after that an affiliate of the future First Order, though he was never truly a full member, having not fled into the Unknown Regions the way most of the remnants of the Empire had after Jakku. Instead, he had stayed behind and helped a Dark Jedi in his own doomed-to-fail efforts against the New Republic and Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order. He had died in 12 ABY as a consequence along with that Dark Jedi, but not before fathering a son, who unlike his father made the wise decision to lend his inherited genius to the First Order.

Like his father before him, Ulys Fyyar was a scientist and weapons-designer by trade. And he was one that General Hux had taken an interest in for not just that reason, but one other: he hated Force Users almost as much as Hux did. It was, after all, a Dark Jedi who had recruited his father into the misguided cause that had gotten both of them killed, and another Force user who had done the killing. It was very easy for Hux to turn that bitterness into a full-blown hatred for Force users of all stripes.

And now, General Hux had gone to check up on Ulys Fyyar's efforts against said Force Users.

"Ulys...what do you have for me today?"

"Mostly good news." The First Order scientist replied simply. He wore a uniform similar to that of his General, though his badge was obviously denoting of lower station. He also shunned both Hux's coat and his hat, preferring to keep his head bare, as he complained that the feeling of objects on his head was uncomfortable and distracted him while working. He had just a bit of a goatee, but it was faint. Like his father, he had fair skin and brown hair.

Ulys led Hux into the temporary workshop he'd set up while on Dantooine. The place was a mess as far as Hux was concerned, but Ulys always seemed to be able to tell where everything was. One such thing was the first of what Hux and Ulys hoped would be many; a large humanoid droid that stood roughly twice the height of the average human. Though not all of the armor plating had been fitted onto it, the pieces that had been were all a glossy black. The exposed circuits and wires were many and looked quite elaborate to General Hux's eyes (but then he'd never been an engineer and suspected that someone like Ulys would find it decidedly less convoluted). The head looked blatantly like the helmets of Shadow Stormtroopers (or just "Shadowtroopers") from the Palpatine Empire era, but it was indeed that, a head, not a helmet for a living soldier. Strewn about were different weapons, as only some of the droid's armament had been fitted into it.

"I give you, the first 'Purge Trooper'." Ulys said simply. "Not yet finished, but I'm getting there. The armor-plating is not just duranium, but also cortosis, so as to resist lightsaber blades. Their feet are magnetized in such a way that Force users should not be able to easily move them with their telekinesis, if at all. And of course, they'll be equipped with blasters, missiles, and even a few extra weapons as well."

"Purge Troopers, you said?"

Ulys nodded. "Yes. Named them after one of the elite Imperial trooper types from Palpatine's Empire."

"You say the can resist telekinesis, but what about other powers? The Jedi and Knights of Ren have many other ways to use the Force, you know."

"Yes, yes, of course I know. Fret not; I've taken some of them into account. As Droids, they will be immune to Mind tricks, and their processors and artificial limbs will be such, that not even the Force user's vaunted speed will be too fast for them to track. Force users who try to manipulate the environment or the weather against them will find their alloy tough enough to take most unfavorable weather conditions, and heat-resistant in the case of fire. Finally, I am even working on a means by which they can absorb energy, and maybe even redirect it or use it to super-charge themselves. This would protect them from particularly energy-based Force attacks, such as Force Lightning."

"See to it that that gets done." General Hux said harshly. "I'll not have my secret weapon against the Knights of Ren be as vulnerable to electricity as any other droid."

"It's a difficult thing to pull off, even for me." Ulys defended. "Also, do you recall saying that you wished for them to have a full-body force-field like the ones used by the Separatist's Destroyer Droids?"

Hux nodded. "I do. The Jedi of the Republic-era feared those droids for a reason."

"Yes, well, I need to be blunt with you: these droids I'm working on cannot be built cheaply. We've already invested an exorbitant sum just to get me everything I need for this one here. Once we go into mass-production, the cost will become outrageous. Adding the full-body shields of the Destroyer Droids will only make it moreso. So, I felt it necessary to cut corners and give them a smaller energy shield they can activate over one wrist."

"I did not give you permission to do that."

"You will when I show you the amount of credits saved."

"Money is no object."

"It is when we're not currently the dominant power in the Galaxy, and have already invested huge sums into creating our fleets and arsenals for our men. And, lest I not forget, Starkiller Base." Ulys put extra emphasis on that last one, to highlight what a catastrophic waste of resources it's destruction had meant for the First Order. "We simply don't have bottomless pockets as you seem to believe." He made a grimace. "Unless you intend to start imposing taxations on trade routes?"

General Hux shook his head. "No, no, of course not."

"Here's the proof..." Ulys handed General Hux a datapad. He took one look at it and frowned at the listed price for the amount of full-body energy shields needed for an army of Purge Troopers.

"Per Droid?" Hux demanded, disgust filling his tone. Ulys nodded. "Really?" Ulys nodded again.

Scowling, Hux threw the datapad away. "Fine, fine! So be it! But if these droids prove a failure because you 'cut corners', you'll lose more than your position."

"Spare me the empty threats, General. I'm the best man for this job and you damn well know it."

"Don't test me, Ulys. Your last name makes you valuable, but not irreplaceable. Remember that."

"I'll keep it in mind." Ulys said without batting an eye before adding: "Anyway...I have everything I need to finish this first Purge Trooper. Once it's done, I'll test out it's weapon and armor systems. Then I'll make a few copies once you get me the necessary resources, and then I'll send those prototypes out to hunt some Jedi."

Hux shook his head. "No, don't do that. The Jedi are too scattered right now, and I don't want Snoke or his Knights of Ren learning of their existence. I'll get you what you need, but I want a full army for when, or if, I move against Snoke. We'll worry about using them to kill Jedi and other Force users later. After we get rid of the Knights of Ren."

"I got in this to kill Jedi."

"And you will, but right now, The Knights of Ren are currently the largest, most wide-spread, and most powerful collection of Force users. They need to be the main priority for now."

"Fair enough." Ulys conceded with a nod. "But you better make sure they never find out, because it will be some time before I can get an army of these things ready, or even just a few."

"I know. Don't worry; I keep winning victories for Snoke and the First Order, I'll stay in his good graces. We'll go from there."

The Resistance Fleet

Suffice to say, when Luke and Leia reunited for the first time in many years, there was quite a bit of emotion to be had. At first, the shock of looking one another in the eye, face-to-face, was such that it rooted both of them in place and left them both speechless. A mix of emotions had welled up inside each of them, long suppressed feelings of hurt, pain, love, and friendship all coming to the forefront. Neither one managed to keep back the tears, and after the initial shock ended, they were embracing one another tightly.

"I'm sorry about Han." Luke said softly, the first thing he managed to say and the only thing he thought he could say.

"I know..." Leia said just as softly, the tears now coming uncontrollably as she thought about that too.

"I shouldn't have left. I should never have left..."

"There's nothing you could have done." Leia affirmed, continuing to hug her brother tightly. "Ben made his choice. We couldn't make it for him."

"I know. But I could have stopped him."

"Stop him now." Leia said firmly, looking her brother dead in the eyes and making it clear with both that look and her tone that she was quite serious, and recognizing that, son or not, Kylo Ren needed to answer for everything he'd done.

Luke nodded. "I will. And so will my Padawan." Luke stepped to one side to indicate Rey. She smiled upon seeing Leia again and embraced her.

"It's good to see you again, Rey."

"You as well, General Organa."

Leia smiled warmly. "Please..." she said gently, like the kind grandmother Rey had never known or had. "...call me 'Leia'."

Rey nodded. "Okay, Leia."

Leia turned to look back at Luke, wiping some of the tears out of her eyes as she did. "I take it your choosing now to come isn't an accident?"

Luke shook his head. "No. I came out of exile because my hand was forced. Leia, Ben has been collecting Sith Holocrons. And he may be using their knowledge to build another super weapon called 'The Mass Shadow Generator'."

"Mass Shadow Generator?"

Luke nodded. "A super weapon from the Mandalorian Wars that ended that war...and all life on a planet. That was over a thousand years ago. Think of how much more dangerous a new one could be."

"How do you know he's making one?"

"Revan's Force Ghost told me. He was the one who came up with the idea and ordered it used on the Mandalorians to end the war."

"Sounds like an extremist."

"Well, Revan used his to end a war against the Mandalorians over a mostly uninhabited planet. I doubt Ben will be so restrained in his usage of a Mass Shadow Generator if he builds one. We all know what the First Order did with Starkiller Base. They'll not hesitate to do it again with the Mass Shadow Generator."

Leia frowned. "This is...troubling. What information do you have on this weapon?"

Both Luke and Rey produced the evidence each of them had collected from Yavin IV and Coruscant respectively. "This is everything. Take it to the other leaders and scientists in the Resistance. They all need to analyze it and learn everything they can. If Ben makes a new Mass Shadow Generator before we can stop him, then we need to be prepared to destroy it quickly."

Leia nodded. "I agree. But I do think we should get everyone together for this. I want them all to know at once, and I want you to be the one to tell them."

"Very well. But we can't dawdle on this. I don't know how far along Ben is in making a new Mass Shadow Generator. For all I know, he's already well on his way to completing it."

Rattatak

After going to Ord Mantell to assess the First Order's "progress" there, General Hux next went to the planet Rattatak, as he had intended. Upon arriving, he was pleased to see that already, labor camps had been set up, and First Order Stormtroopers were leading along large lines of people of all ages that were chained together. Occasionally, the Stormtroopers would slam their rifle into a man or woman's back or shoot at their feet as incentive for them to walk faster, a sight that Hux gave a nod of approval to.

Most of the slave labor was being done to mine the natural resources that seemed to be in abundance on Rattatak (another reason Hux felt the planet was valuable to the First Order). Ores and metals that could be converted into more armor for ships and soldiers both, as well as possibly fuel sources too, once the excavation drills were fully set up and began doing their job. In the meantime, the slaves would help construct said excavation drills when they weren't mining for the resources.

A Rattataki representative approached General Hux and bowed "We are most grateful to receive your visit, General Hux of the First Order."

Hux nodded. The man in front of him was overall human in physiology, but he was an alien. Unlike most members of Palpatine's Empire, Hux had no great grudge or vendetta against non-humans, but that was out of pragmatism, not egalitarianism. If an alien fought and killed and died for the First Order or else proved their worth and usefulness in some other way, well then, who was he to turn down their assistance? Again, he was in no way egalitarian or concerned with "equal rights" or any of that other nonsense the moral crusaders in the New Republic were always going on about, but he was not an impractical man either, and in his mind, turning down assistance from aliens who were competent was impracticality and stupidity at it's finest.

"I understand you had something...'special' for me?" Hux asked with a raised eyebrow. The native nodded vigorously. "Most definitely, great General. Follow me."

General Hux was led down a hallway that seemed to have been carved into a mountain. Indeed, past the stone hallway was a large, spacious interior that did indeed feel like a hollowed out mountain in size. And within the arena of this spacious cave, was an all-out fight to the death.

Everywhere General Hux looked, gladiators, mercenaries, and assassins of all types were shooting, stabbing, and just plain tearing one another to pieces. A Nikto drove a vibro-knife into some fool Gamorrean's neck, only to be cut down with contempt by a Twi'lek swordsman. Another Twi'lek drove a force-pike through a droid, spearing it and hoisting it aloft before a lucky throwing dagger hit her in the back and caused her to fall over. Another Nikto in purple opted to fight dirty by bringing a blaster rifle to what was clearly chiefly a melee brawl, but it did him little good when an Assassin Droid decided to fight fire with fire by putting a blaster bolt clean through his forehead.

And so on it went. Men, women, aliens, and droids all battling to the death as General Hux's host explained: "We know you seek great warriors. Well, our planet is one that forges them through constant trials. We are accustomed to violence, General. I trust you will see the truth of this down below."

"Yes, your warriors certainly have a talent for butchering one another in rapid succession." Hux noted in a sarcastic deadpan. "But I favor professional soldiers who are well-drilled, follow orders unfailingly, and fight cohesively. All I see down below are rabble and animals. Somewhat talented rabble and animals, but rabble and animals none-the-less."

"Scorn not their motley appearances, General." The host said. "Some of them could serve you well as assassins or bodyguards, if not front-line soldiers."

"We'll see." General Hux said, though he was clearly unconvinced. Nevertheless, he reasoned that he might possibly get a decent enough hitman out of the spectacle, and in any event, he had nothing better to do at present, so he decided to see if any of these warriors would be worthy of serving him. His initial assessment didn't change overmuch though; most of them were, as far as he was concerned, not worth his attention at all. But, a select few did stand out to him as potential assets:

A Rodian gunslinger who used a pair of blasters expertly the way a painter had his brush or a musician with his instrument. Blaster bolts flew every which way, cutting down scores of other gladiators.

A human male clad in the fatigues of an obscure assassin order wielded quarterstaff and vibrosword in tandem, humiliating, battering, and skewering several other men who tried to gang up on him, impaling one with an axe on his sword and tripping another with a sweep of the staff before driving it into the man's face to knock him out. The third and fourth men, each armed with a pair of knives, were similarly overcome easily.

A Trandoshan brute who was unusually large for his species grabbed a droid and tore it's head clean off before savagely biting into the machine's circuits. A man stabbed him in the back with a vibroblade, but the Trandoshan just whipped around and effortlessly snapped the man's neck with one clawed hand. Bellowing with rage, the Trandoshan bowled over a trio of Duros brothers before beating an unlucky mercenary to death with his bare hands before he had a chance to shoot him.

The Assassin Droid who had killed the Nikto bi-sected a Zabrak with a slice of a wrist-mounted blade while it continued to use it's blaster to gun down other gladiators.

And finally, a Bith of all things, threw explosives with reckless abandon, blowing away the last of the gladiators that were not the other champions. When the dust settled, only those five remained. They were all set to turn on one another before General Hux called out: "STOP!" The Gladiators halted immediately and turned to look up at him. "I've seen enough." He nodded. "I believe I could find some use for you all."

However, no sooner did Hux say this did the Bith's neck suddenly snap seemingly on it's own. As his corpse fell to the ground, the other four whipped around. The Rodian and Assassin Droid opened fire, but a red lightsaber blade sprang to life to meet the shots as they came, sending two back at the Rodian, one of which took one of his blasters out of his hand, and the other hit him in the side and brought him down. The Assassin Droid was staggered by the deflected shots sent it's way, before the source of the red blade crushed it into scrap with telekinesis. The Trandoshan charged the figure and lost his head for his troubles. That just left the human assassin.

"STOP!" General Hux ordered, knowing full well who it was. Sure enough, Kylo Ren looked up at General Hux and smiled coldly.

"Hello, General."

"I was going to make use of these men."

"Well, from the looks of it you still have two, if you get the Rodian medical attention in time."

Hux frowned. No sooner was he back in his life was Kylo Ren readily reminding General Hux why he hated both him and Force users in general.

"What are you doing here, Kylo Ren?" General Hux demanded.

"Seeking you out." Kylo Ren answered simply. "The Supreme Leader wants us leading the offensive against the rest of the Galaxy. And that is what we will do. Together."

Hux frowned. Kylo Ren's emphasizing that they would be working together was to his ears, a promise by Kylo that he would be watching him closely. Which would make it even harder than before for him to plot against Snoke and the Knights of Ren.

Get those Purge Troopers built, Ulys. Hux thought. And make it fast.

Deciding to keep up appearances for now, General Hux said: "So...I take it you completed your training under Snoke?"

Kylo Ren nodded. "Indeed I did. I am now far more than I was before." It was true. Kylo Ren's power had grown immensely since Snoke had finished his training, and his lightsaber skills had also improved significantly. He was confident that, going forward, he would have no difficulty from fools using weapons they knew nothing about and neophyte Force users, injured or not. Remembering that he'd had to work for his near-victory against Rey and even his victory against her friend filled Kylo Ren with shame, and he was determined to make up for those humiliations.

"I look forward to our working together again, General." Kylo Ren said in a mocking tone. "With any luck, it will go better than it did with your, heh, 'pet project'."

Author's Notes: Usual bits of Star Wars Trivia:

1. The "Heart of the Guardian" and "Mantle of the Force" lightsaber crystals are available in the Yavin IV space-station for Knights of the Old Republic. Their colors are indeed (respectively) orange-bronze and cyan-blue (which really just looks the same as any other blue lightsaber). Their abilities were elaborated on in the Jedi Academy sourcebook for the Star Wars RPG, and since Revan may or may not have used them depending on how you play KotoR, I thought it only right to let his descendants have them as the crystals that power their lightsabers.

2. Silver lightsabers do exist in both Legends (Corran Horn and the Imperial Knights in Star Wars: Legacy), and Disney's continuity (the elderly Jedi who's lightsaber hilt is concealed in a walking stick, and who helped Ahsoka try and find her lightsaber after it was stolen).

3. Ataru is Lightsaber Form IV. Yoda and Qui-Gon's form of choice (at least in Legends anyway), but was also used by Obi-Wan in TPM (makes sense, as he was Qui-Gon's student), and sometimes by Luke and Anakin (including whenever they dual-wielded). Not every dual-wielder uses Ataru, but it is a common enough occurrence.

4. Dromund Kaas is of course the dreary jungle world capital of the Sith Empire in Star Wars: The Old Republic and affiliated stories. Figured it was a good place to set up Snoke. I am aware that he will probably get an official "lair" in The Last Jedi, but I can easily make it so that that is a "secondary base" planet. Don't see why Snoke can't have more than one planet under his control. So until he gets an official planet, Dromund Kaas will be his base of operations, and I'll move the action to the "other planet" as needed.

5. Galak Fyyar is a major villain in the video game Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast. Like his descendant in this story, he's an Imperial scientist villain who uses his brainpower to help the Big Bad of the game, including by making Cortosis battle armor (much like how the villain here plans to reinforce Hux's Anti-Force Droids and troopers with Cortosis armor).

6. The Purge Troopers Ulys makes are based off of the ones from The Force Unleashed video game, not the Disney-Canon Purge Troopers, who are a different type of Imperial soldier and are not droids. However, in respects to Disney's canon, I do reference the latter here, the idea being that they are where Ulys got the idea for what he'd name his creations. But again, said creations are based on the Purge Troopers in TFU (who were badass, but also some of the most annoying enemies in the game!)

And yes, I took a light shot at The Phantom Menace. Truth be told, I actually don't hate the SW Prequels, though TPM is definitely the weakest of the three by a solid margin, and not just because of Jar-Jar. Still, even that Star Wars movie is one I like portions of, and I don't mind the overall story despite my jab at it in this chapter. It's just not as exciting as the stories in the other SW films (unless you count the Holiday, Droid, and Ewok specials, which make TPM look like TESB).

And double yes, I was inspired by the 2003 Clone Wars cartoon for the scene on Rattatak, which is where the gladiator match episode takes place. The second Clone Wars cartoon may have more story and depth and characterization to it, but I still love the original's animation, action scenes, and just overall being a grand old time. Thought I'd celebrate it here.