*a/n…I'm well aware that Kylo Ren was not on the bridge during the dreadnought attack and Hux lead it from the Finalizer, but I'm taking some creative liberties here. Sue me. Also, speaking of creative liberties.. if you don't know the Legends stories, you may be a bit confused throughout this chapter. I'm incorporating a character that I adore but has not (and probably will not) ever be considered 'canon'. Enjoy!!*
The job of Kylo Ren's advisor is clearly just a ploy for him to keep his eye on Stella, rather than allowing her access to the ship by herself. She rolls her eyes, fully convinced that he used some Jedi mind trick to get her to agree to this. She stares at her appearance in the full length mirror of her bedroom, fluffing her hair up a bit. If they want to call her a whore, she is going to own it. She pulls a tube of blood red lipstick from her purse and swipes it over her lips, smacking them together. With a grin, she blows her reflection a kiss. This looks more like the Stella she knows. Instead of the ridiculous skirt and pumps, she is wearing a pair of skin tight black pants and black knee high combat boots. They have a small heel on them, much to her dismay, but even she has to admit they look amazing paired with a simple black tank top and her first order jacket.
Kylo Ren exits his suite, helmet firmly in place, just in time to see Stella making her way through the corridor. She spins around to show off her appearance, smirking confidently as he observes her.
"If I had known that all I had to do to get rid of those shoes was punch someone, I wouldn't have waited a week."
He grabs her wrist, yanking the girl into his quarters. Her eyes narrow as she looks up at the silver slits of his mask. His fists clench and release at his sides, imagining himself pouncing on her right there and smudging that damn lipstick. In a flash, he pins Stella back against the wall, holding her wrists above her head in one hand and tilting her chin up to face him with the other. She makes no attempt to struggle away, shocked by his sudden actions. His mask leers down at her just inches from her face."I will not tolerate your little comments while I am in the presence of my subordinates. You will do exactly as I say today. And you will only refer to me as Commander. Am I clear?" In her time here, she has almost forgotten how truly frightening this man can be. She swallows hard, nodding silently. "I want to hear an answer." He purrs, dragging his thumb over her jawline. "Am I clear?"
"Y-yes commander." She stammers, finally finding her voice.
"Good girl." He drops her wrists, turning on his heel and striding out of the suite. She glares at the back of his head, smoothing out her jacket and following behind him. Kylo grins to himself beneath the helmet. It's about time she learned her place.
Stella remains a few paces behind him, taking note of how quickly everyone avoids her eyes now. She jutts her chin out, proudly, pretending it is because of her right hook and not the black clad monster in front of her.
"Stella," Hux greets her far too cheerfully as they descend on the ship's main bridge. "Done beating up my employees?" His lips twitch into a faint smirk.
"No promises, General." She mirrors his expression, ignoring the indignant huff from Kylo Ren.
The ships lurch out of light speed, propelling the very uncoordinated and not used to this kind of movement girl off of her feet. She stumbles forward, into Hux. He barely reacts, very aware of the onlooking command bridge. As she corrects her stance, finding her footing and mumbling a hushed "sorry" to the general, she quickly retreats to Kylo Ren's side. He stares out the ships windows, eyeing the fleeing resistance ships.
"The two of you seem rather well acquainted." His eyes remain locked forward as his voice rumbles through the helmet.
"Are we really doing this again?" Stella groans, propping a hand on her hip. "Starkiller Base. That's all I'm going to say." He tilts his head, eyes boring into her through their mask. "Uh.. commander." She corrects, slinking away from him.
"Tell Captain Canaday to prime his dreadnought." Hux bellows through the bridge. Stella's head jerks toward him, eyes widening. "Incinerate their base, destroy their transports, and obliterate their fleet."
Kylo grips her shoulder tightly, allowing the tendrils of his power to snap their way into her mind. She winces at the intrusion, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Her thoughts play out the scene in front of them, down to Hux's exact words. He watches in her mind until he's satisfied with the knowledge and releases her. She peers up at him as though waiting for him to give the General some warning.
"General," A female officer calls, startling Stella out of her thoughts. "Resistance ship approaching. Guns and shields in attack mode."
Hux marches to her screen, furrowing his brows as he examines the small blip inching across. "A single light fighter?" He turns toward Stella in search of some explanation. Before she can open her mouth to speak, the grip on her shoulder tightens.
"Stay quiet." Ren's deep voice pulses through her mind. She feins confusion, shrugging at Hux. As he returns his attention to the screen, she twists her head sharply toward Kylo, rolling her shoulders to jerk away from his grasp.
"Why aren't you telling him? You can stop this!" She hisses, keeping her voice just above a whisper.
"Stay. Quiet." He repeats, out loud this time, punctuating each word harshly.
"This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic fleet." Poe's voice echoes through the loudspeaker. "I have an urgent communique for General Hugs." (Despite her frustration with Kylo, Stella can't help but stifle a laugh at the name.)
"Patch him through." Hux orders, clasping his hands behind his back and taking a commanding stance. "This is General Hux of the First Order. The Republic is no more. Your fleet are Rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess there will be no terms, there will be no surren-"
"Hi, I'm holding for General Hugs?" Poe interrupts. Ren snickers beneath his mask, enjoying this far more than he should. Stella rolls her eyes. Men.
"This is Hux." He heavily emphasizes the X sound as he begins pacing. "You and your friends are doomed. We will wipe your filth from the galaxy!"
"Ok I'll hold."
"Hello?" Hux raises a brow, eyeing a First Order officer as he frantically tries to find the error in this communication. "Can he hear me?" He snaps, becoming increasingly irritated.
"I believe he's tooling with you, General." Kylo interjects, smugly.
"Look, I can't hold forever. If you reach him, tell him Leia has an urgent message for him about his mother."
The rage and confusion building up inside of Hux begins to show on his usually pale face. Redness flushed his cheeks as a snarl twitches across his lips. "Open fire!" He slams his fist against a control panel, barking out orders.
Stella squeaks, clasping her hands over her mouth as the X Wing blasts at full speed toward the First Order's war ship. She tries to turn away from the large window, only to be stopped by Kylo Ren. His rough gloves scratch the back of her neck as he holds her head forward, facing the destruction. She flinches at the sight of ships carrying real people, no longer fictional characters, exploding in front of her eyes. Tears begin welling up as the bombers are destroyed one by one. Her mind races, disgusted by the creature beside her. He knew this would happen and said nothing. She swallows the hardening lump in the back of her throat, a fresh wave of terror pulsing through her veins.
Just before the final bomber releases its supply, effectively vaporizing the Dreadnought, Ren stalks out of the bridge, yanking his horrified advisor behind him.
"How are you so heartless?!" She shrieks, allowing the flood of tears to roll down her cheeks as the pair come to a halt in front of a line of cylindrical elevators. His shoulders visibly tense. "You saw what was coming in my mind. You let your own men die! For what?! To see Hux humiliated?!"
Keeping his back to her, he presses the elevator button. "I have been lenient with your outbursts so far, Stella. Do not test me." His deadpan tone only frustrates her more. "You're dismissed for the day." Without a second glance, he disappears into the upper levels of the Supremacy.
She grinds her teeth, jaw twitching with fury as she bites back any further comments. Whirling around, Stella storms away from him and directly to her quarters. "I can't do this." She casts her eyes upward, yelling to whatever brought her to this hell, the moment she is alone inside. "I'm not strong enough for this." She collapses against her bed, burying her face against the pillow as sobs rifle through her. "Please.." She whimpers. "Please just send me home."
"Is that what you honestly want?" A female voice rings out through the room she had assumed was empty. Stella freezes, lifting her head painstakingly slow from the pillow. She gulps as a distorted, almost glowing, red haired woman leans against her bookshelf.
"Who.. wha..?" Stella blinks rapidly, her skin whitening as she eyes the apparition. "Who are you?"
"The reason you are here." The woman shrugs nonchalantly.
"That's not much of an answer." She mumbles, pursing her lips and hugging her arms tightly around herself. "Are you going to send me home? What was the point of all this?"
The woman sighs, tossing her vibrant hair over her shoulder. "I didn't think you would be the type to give up so easily."
"Again, not an answer!" The volume of Stella's voice raises as she grows frustrated.
"My name is Mara Jade Skywalker. Your world has essentially dismissed my existence, so I'm not surprised to hear you have no knowledge of me." She begins. As if in a dream, the walls around them begin to melt away and reveal a new set of surroundings. "Much like my nephew, I was seduced by the darkside."
Stella jumps to her feet, beginning to feel a bit too 'Christmas Carol' for her tastes, and watches the scene play out in front of her.
Her violet lightsaber, a mirror image of the crystal Stella found on her car, pulses electricity through the air as she impales a dark skinned creature bearing a white crystal on its head. Mara drops the lifeless body to the ground and exhales deeply.
"Master.." Her lyrical voice calls out, though her lips never move. "Dequc is finished." She is met with only silence. Again, she closes her eyes, reaching out into the force. The image of Emperor Palpatine falling to his demise at the hands of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader flashes in her mind and her eyes fly open. "You will kill Luke Skywalker." His gravelly voice croaks out, reverberating through their Force link.
Mara falls to her knees, traumatized at the sight of her master's death. Agony rips through her as she clenches her fists tightly at her sides, pounding them against the ground. She will destroy Luke Skywalker.
A flash of light shoots between Stella and the apparition, just enough to pull her from the memory. "I thought Palpatine only had one apprentice." She shakes her head.
"The stories change over time as they were passed through your world, however I wasn't his apprentice, Stella. I was his assassin. His prized killer."
"But you didn't kill Luke.." Her forehead creases, confusion written across her face.
"No. His presence alone was enough to pull me back to the light. I married him." Mara smiles warmly, her emerald eyes sparkling with delight at the memory.
Stella drags a hand through her hair, still trying to process what is happening. As if being thrown into a different galaxy wasn't enough. A realization dawns on her. "You're a force ghost. Kylo killed you when he destroyed the temple, didn't he.." It comes out as more of a statement than a question. "That's the real reason Luke went off to die alone." Mara simply nods. She bites her bottom lip. "Can we skip ahead to how any of this remotely involves me? And how I can go home?"
Mara exhales deeply. "Who, in all of the stories you have seen in your world, is the person that stands out prominently in your mind?"
Stella lifts her shoulders in a half shrug. "Padme, I guess."
"Why?"
"Because she would have done anything to save Anakin and wasn't some damsel in distress."
The copper haired woman nods, stepping closer to Stella. "You share Padme's fighting spirit. Ben can be saved. And Rey, despite her best efforts, will not be the one to do it. She would let him die. I'm asking you to help my nephew."
"What?!" Practically jumping away from the ghost in front of her, Stella's brows shoot to her hairline. "Oh come on. That's not... I can't.. I'm not even.." she gestures with her hands, mirroring Kylo's stance while using the force. "What about my family?"
"I never said this would be an easy task."
Stella chokes back a new flood of tears. "What if I fail?"
"Don't give up on him just yet, Stella. Or yourself."