The heavy blast doors of the training room flew wide open, revealing Kylo's tall figure standing in the dark. His back was turned to his apprentice, and he was putting his weight on his two fists clenched on a control panel. His hood and cape were lying around on the floor, near his left foot. A deadly silence had filled the room, sometimes disrupted by Kylo's loud breathing.
Teebasha stared at him, expecting him to say something. Curiously, he did not even seem to be aware of her presence in the room, although he had heard the doors opening. The young woman came to the conclusion that something concerned him so much that he forgot about his surroundings.
"Poe Dameron is gone, Master."
Her voice echoed through the room as though she had just spoken loudly in a place of worship. It startled Kylo, although he did not show any sign of his surprise. He slowly turned his head on the side, without really facing her.
"Good," he whispered.
Teebasha pursed her lips as he turned back to the control panel. She crossed her arms over her chest and slammed her heel on the floor, making a deafening sound. It was enough to catch her mentor's attention; Kylo turned back to her just like he did a few seconds earlier.
"Some things need to be clarified," she scolded, mentally closing the doors behind her. She took a few steps forward and stopped again. "What was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you reveal your most important information to the enemy?"
Kylo took a deep breath and stood upright. He eventually spun on his heels to face his apprentice, crossing his arms against his chest, imitating her. He pressed his kidneys against the machine and stared at her through his mask.
"It's complicated," he declared in a surprisingly calm voice.
"I guess that's another explanation you owe me."
Heaving a long sigh, the tall man started to pace up and down, staring at his feet. Although Teebasha could feel him boiling from the inside, he was calm on the outside. It was so unusual coming from him.
"I haven't forgotten about my promise, Varn. I know I still have to tell you precisely why I came to you to ask you to become my apprentice. But what happened today is linked to it," he spoke in a low yet soft voice. "Sit down, please."
Teebasha's eyes lingered on him for a few seconds. Feeling that he was about to lose patience, she walked over to the chair used for questioning hostages. Since it was not a chair that was made to be sat on, she sat on one of its arms, avoiding the restraints. She rested her left ankle on top of her right one, keeping her arms crossed.
Kylo stopped walking and faced her, standing a few feet away from her. He locked the doors and made sure nobody else could hear them talking. He took a deep breath and eventually revealed the secret he had been keeping for himself all this time.
"I'm secretly working with the Resistance."
The young woman stared at him with round eyes; it sounded so absurd that she could help but snigger. Her mentor frowned under his helmet, a bit taken aback by her reaction.
"The Resistance?" she repeated in a chuckle. "I'm afraid you've gone completely crazy, Ren."
"This is not a joke, Varn," he snapped.
She understood from the tone in his voice that it was serious. Her smile faded as it came to her mind. But how could it be? Kylo Ren was undeniably one of the cruellest and the most feared figure in the Galaxy. People did not care about Snoke, most of the time they had not even heard of him. They hardly remembered General Hux's name. The only name that came out of everyone's lips when the First Order was mentioned was 'Kylo Ren'. It was hard to even imagine him as a supporter of the Resistance.
Teebasha frowned as she looked down at her feet. She still could not see how it could be related to her presence aboard the starship. Feeling her confusion, Kylo revealed another detail, turning his back to her once again.
"Only Han Solo knew."
"Why did you kill him, then? Apparently, he was your father, wasn't he?"
A sigh resonated under his heavy helmet. He let his arms fall, as he stared into space. His apprentice watched him silently, awaiting for any further clarification.
"Yes, he was," Kylo muttered in a trembling voice. "It was the only way I could use to get closer to Snoke and earn his trust. Then it would be easier to overthrow him."
"So, you really want to overthrow Supreme Leader Snoke?"
Kylo nodded and sighed again.
"I really was attracted to the Dark side at first. I met Snoke, and I was seduced by his vision of power. Especially his vision of the Force, which was completely different from all the things my Master had taught me about it," he explained. "I was young and naïve. My new training began, and I was delighted to learn all those new things. But one day, I understood that I was merely a pawn in his game."
"What do you mean?"
The tall figure spun round, and Teebasha rose from the arm of the chair, letting her arms fall and brush against her sides. For a moment, she wished he would remove his helmet, so she could make sure he was not testing her. After all, her training was not over yet, and she knew she had to pass many tests.
"Supreme Leader Snoke uses me for my powers. I know that when he achieves everything he's planned, he will execute me. He is much stronger than I am, but I know things he has never been taught. I have learnt things about the light side. My Master was a Jedi."
"A Jedi?" she repeated incredulously. "But I thought they had disappeared around a century ago."
"Oh no, they never fully disappeared. I have almost never been defeated during fights. I lost only one of them in my life. The one that left me crippled. Snoke's despised me since that day."
"But… There's something I don't understand. If you know more about the Force than Snoke does, how come you haven't overthrown him yet?"
"I've rarely seen him face to face. And I know I'm not strong enough yet. I'm waiting until my training is over. Only then, I will act. But that's only if I'm alone."
Teebasha frowned and crossed her arms again. She looked down for a moment, trying to gather all the new information in her head. After a few seconds, she eventually glanced at her mentor.
"Is that why you need me?"
Kylo nodded slowly. He walked up to her, their faces only a few inches apart.
"There are only two people I knew were strong enough to help me," he whispered. "You, and Rey."
"Rey?"
"A scavenger from Jakku who joined the Resistance. She's the one who defeated me."
"Is it her who shot you in the side?"
"No. I got shot by a friend of Han's. Then I went to fight. First, I got rid of Rey's companion. Then, I fought against her. She was convinced I was trying to kill her, but the only thing I tried to do was to catch her off guard. She is Force-sensitive, even more than you are. But she refused to be my apprentice. She was ready to give in, but she refrained."
"So, I was your second choice."
"Exactly. But don't take that as an insult. You're powerful. I'm sure you learnt quicker than she would have. If I need you, it's because I know that we can defeat him easily if we work hard enough. Both of us. That's why our training is so intensive."
Teebasha started to pace up and down, gulping. She was lost in her thoughts, attempting to guess what was true and what was false. It could not be true. Kylo Ren could not be a supporter of the Resistance. Otherwise, Snoke would have already wiped him out.
A lopsided grin appeared on Teebasha's face as she faced her mentor.
"You are lying. You don't work for the Resistance. You're only testing me. I'm not going to let you trap me."
Kylo was speechless. He stared at her for long seconds, before shaking his head.
"Varn, I am not testing you. Maybe I said it wrong. I am not really working for them. They don't know I want to join their cause, you were there to see Dameron's reaction. I want to join them secretly, but I don't know how."
"So, you've done nothing for the Resistance so far."
"I didn't know how. I needed to know where to find them. That's why I looked for the map that led to Luke Skywalker."
The young woman walked over to the chair to sit back on its arm. She tapped her feet on the cold ground and kept her chin up to talk to her mentor.
"He was your Master, wasn't he?"
"Yes."
"And you wanted his help to destroy Snoke?"
"Yes."
She snickered and shook her head.
"This is so absurd. I can't believe you."
"Listen, Varn. I know you didn't join us for our policy. You didn't care about that, and you didn't care about the Resistance either for that matter. But I know you hate our policy. You hate the values of the First Order."
"Well, maybe I'm going to get killed for that, but yes, I hate all that. I hate the fact that you kill for your own entertainment."
Kylo's clanky steps sounded closer and closer. He grabbed her by the shoulders, which made her face turn pale all of a sudden. She tried to see his eyes through the helmet, but quickly gave up. A drop of sweat crashed on her collar bone, as he remained silent. Teebasha was shaking uncontrollably.
"I am tired of killing," Kylo whispered in a shaky voice. "I don't want to do that anymore."
"How can I make sure that you're not trying to trap me?"
"I know it's hard to believe me. But I beg you to help me. I want to get rid of the First Order. I want to join the Resistance and fight the Dark side. I want to get back to my family."
The young woman breathed heavily, torn apart between the will to help him exterminate Supreme Leader Snoke, and the will to resist him. Kylo let out a sob and immediately let go of her; he crossed the room to get to a dark corner to hide. He waited until he would regain his composure.
"What's your plan, then, Master?"
Teebasha's soft voice struck his ears like a caress. His limbs were trembling as he tried desperately to hold back his tears and his anger. Without turning around, he answered her question as clearly as he could.
"I would like to reach the base of the Resistance. I want to talk to General Organa."
"She's your mother, isn't she?"
Kylo nodded hesitantly.
"But with FN-2187 and Rey on their side, and even Poe Dameron, they won't let me approach it. That's why we need to organise a meeting somewhere, in a neutral place."
"How are you going to do it?" Teebasha insisted.
"I'll give you the precise location of their base. They're about to move it somewhere else, but they haven't done it yet. We must act fast. I'll find you a shuttle that won't let them know you're with the First Order."
"I guess I can't really go with a TIE Fighter."
Kylo paced up and down, pondering over their plan. He knew where he could find a starship. That was not the hardest thing to do.
"Then, you'll find their base. I guess you have a certain intuition for that, after all, you found Vonar Horle. Once you get in, ask for either General Organa or Luke Skywalker."
"Luke Skywalker?" Teebasha repeated. "Are you sure he's the right person I should talk to?"
"I don't know. They will decide. Anyway, you must find a way to talk in private with one of them, or even both. Tell them everything you know about my intentions. Of course, you will mention that you come on my behalf."
Teebasha nodded at everything he said. Kylo kept walking in a circle, his arms crossed against his torso.
"You'll have to negotiate for a meeting. If they need a reason to accept, tell them that I need to talk to them in private, and that I won't carry any weapon."
"Yes, Master."
"Do you have any question?"
"No, Master. But I haven't accepted yet. Let me think about it, please. I want to make sure this isn't some sort of trap, and that I'm not risking my life."
She stood up and hurried up to the blast doors, which she opened with a wave of the hand. Without a word, she exited the room and let the doors close behind her. She clenched her fists, still unsure about the meaning of all those revelations. She crossed the corridors that led to her room, and locked herself inside it.
