A/N: thank you everyone who has read and reviewed. Thanks to Figbassist75, TolkienScholar, Cyres Thomas Harkwood, Imjane, and ckorkows. Thank you to all you fabulous other peeps too for helping me out. Ty to my BETA HMSWeasley

Chapter 14

35 ABY

The surface of Moraband came into view as Galibran finished his scan of the land and gently descended the Ghost down through the clouds. The uninhabited planet stretched before them with a rust colored surface. Nox's eyes observed large pyramid shaped temples that jutted out from the barren ground. Long strips of rubbled statues lead up to each pyramid.

"Kylo," she said into the comm. "Where should we land?"

He had been up in the Phantom meditating for a while now. Nox tried not to laugh at the words Kylo and meditate being used together. In order to find the temple they needed, Kylo had been given specific instructions by Snoke to meditate. The temple would call to him.

Galibran kept the ship above the pyramids, taking in the view. If it could be called a view. Nothing grew on the surface, and there were deep canyons that had what looked like abandoned dwellings built into them. The view kept repeating itself, long strips of barren land, then canyons and pyramids.

"The Sith were not creative in their architecture," Bazine smirked at Nox, but her friend didn't respond.

The land's rust colored terrain kept flashing in Nox's mind as if she had been there before. Her mind bounced around trying to remember when she had seen it. Then, she saw Kylo screaming at Rey as a temple wall exploded.

Nox breathed in. This is where it will happen. This is where Rey will die. Not wanting to create scenarios of how Rey would get sent to this planet, she pushed the thought away. Ignoring Bazine's inquisitive eyes, she spoke into the comm,. "Anytime now."

"Shut up," was all he hissed back.

Up in the Phantom, Kylo's mind tried to block out Nox's insistent need to bother him. He listened to his breath in his mask, the sound of the blood pumping in his veins, all connecting him to the Force. He had never been good at meditating. He didn't have the patience for it, but he couldn't leave this task up to Nox. She was more incapable of sitting still than he was. He took a deep breath annoyed at her for interrupting his thoughts, even if this time it was his fault.

He needed to not think. Relax. Breathe. Listen to the planet, the pyramids below, the call of the Sith. He felt his shoulders relax and once again his mind began to go blank. Before his eyes he could see a mist swirling around him in darkness.

A lightsaber ignited straight through his shocked father's torso.

Kylo shot his eyes open in a panic. His mind was slipping into memories. He punched the arm rest on the chair, and with another deep breath, tried to connect to the Force once more.

"He is taking too long," Nox huffed, excusing herself to the Phantom.

Quietly, she approached the ladder and could feel the cold essence of the dark side slithering up. Apprehensively, she followed it to Kylo. She stood silently behind him and sat on the floor. With her hand extended out, she quieted her mind and lent him her power. She wanted to land quickly. All this waiting was giving her too much time to think about Rey. The girl shouldn't mean this much to her.

Kylo felt her presence in the room and gritted his teeth until he felt her power join with his. It filled him like a breath of air after being submerged for too long. A sensation of peace surrounded him as their souls connected. His shoulders relaxed and his mind slipped into a vacant state. All he heard was his breath as he disappeared into the stillness of his mind.

On the surface of Moraband, Kylo could see himself. All around him were destroyed statues of the ancient Sith. The air was cold and dust filled his lungs. He took a step forward and before him appeared a pyramid. It was on top of a hill looking down over a canyon. Above it, a bright light began to shimmer. The top twisted open, and he could see small ships begin to pour out, darting through the air. A loud explosion rang through his ears. Then another. His eyes snapped open. He was seeing the present. They were under attack.

"What the hell was that?" Gal shouted as several small, rounded ships with three square like wings came jutting out front and surrounded them. "I thought it was uninhabited. Get to the turrets people! Now!"

Nox scurried over to Kylo, pushing him out of the seat in the Phantom. Knowing she was better at shooting than he, he acquiesced to her. Below Bazine took a hold of the ventral turret as Gruss controlled the dorsal ones above. Galibran activated the front cannons.

As Gruss ascended, he could see over a dozen ships coming from all sides. He began to turn the turret around shooting at what he could see, with an excited growl.

"Where did they come from?" Galibran squawked.

"The temple," Kylo replied. "We should stay clear of it."

The Ghost was large and hard to maneuver against these smaller ships, so Galibran dove it quickly down to get closer to the surface. His eyes scanned the area looking for a get away, when his eyes settled down on the canyons. With a hard turn the whole ship swerved to the side and nosedived. The canyon barely fit them as the Ghost grazed its metal edges against the abandoned dwellings adorning the walls.

The odd shaped ships followed them down. A few skirted the top edge of the canyon, as the rest funnelled in behind. Gruss and Nox took the opportunity to shoot up on the ships above them. The ones behind them began to gain speed, getting close to the back, too close for Nox's comfort.

As the ships blasted towards the Ghost, Galibran tried to dodge and weave, crashing the sides of his ship into the rock carved dwellings next to them. Several of the buildings began to detach and pour into the canyon onto the Ghost and luckily on the attacking ships as well. The collapsing structures gave way to a few giant boulders that rolled down towards them, forcing Galibran to fly down, even more. Bazine screeched as she saw the ground beneath her feet whirling dangerously close by. "Pull up!"

"I have it under control!" Galibran yelled back as he swerved up the ship, again just barely missing more falling boulders. "I need to get out of here. I'm gonna call this the Moraband maneuver ladies. Detach the Phantom and we will both fly out of this canyon. Hopefully they will follow. We can bring them back down with us. You take out what follows me. I take out what follows you."

Nox grumbled an agreement, not the most confident in her piloting skills. The Phantom's two inhabitants felt the couplings loosen as they were released from the Ghost. Kylo gripped the chair behind her as she sped out of the canyon. She watched as the Ghost soared back out and just as they hoped, the ships divided their brood and followed them both. The Ghost made a large arch above the canyons and she did her best to mirror it. Then the Ghost turned quickly back towards Phantom. Nox let the Phantom unleash all its firepower on the ships tailing the Ghost. Several went spinning off in fireballs towards the ground.

The Ghost responded in similar fashion blasting ships all around the small shuttle. Nox looked frantically ahead as her ship sped rapidly towards the larger Ghost. Just before they collided, she dove it down back into the canyon. With a large blast from its front cannons, the Ghost finished off the last remaining ships.

A triumphant scream came from the Ghost as it did a victory spin over canyon. It was echoed by a strange cheer from the Phantom. Nox, who was shaking from the adrenaline, stared agape at the cheering Kylo. He quickly caught himself in mid whoop and silenced himself as she lifted the Phantom back up to join the Ghost.

"I'm settling down by the pyramid ahead," Galibran said. " Kylo can meditate from the surface. I don't want another surprise."

"Sounds good," Nox smirked looking at Kylo who still had on his mask. He was still silent but nodded to her in agreement.

The Ghost began its landing descent as to Nox's horror, she saw a large blue blast slice through the sky and slam in the ship. The blast sent an electrical charge scattering over the ship in waves of blue lightning. The Ghost began careening uncontrollably towards the ground, spinning faster and faster as gravity took hold. Then, with a loud crunch, the freighter smashed into the rust colored dirt, skidding past statues and boulders, until it came to a stop by the pyramid's base.

Nox swerved around and saw the large cannon on top of the pyramid. She swiftly dove the ship down, keeping her eye on the cannon. She landed behind a crumbled statue only a few meters from the crashed Ghost.

"Gal!" she screamed jumping from the Phantom. " Baz! Gruss! Someone answer me dammit!"

She and Kylo hurried to the crash site. She started towards the door but then had to dodge out of the way, just in time, as it was blasted open from the inside. The three Knights stumbled out hacking for breath from the charge they set off.

"Are you okay?" Nox asked rushing to Bazine.

She nodded coughing.

"What shot us?" Galibran asked as they made their way away from the smoke.

"The pyramid has a cannon of some kind," Kylo stated pointing up.

"Had to be an ion cannon," Galibran huffed. "from the way it fried our systems."

"But everyone's gone," Gruss said in confusion. Then his eyes grew wide in excitement. "Are there dead witch ladies here, too?"

Kylo ignored him and looked at Bazine. "Can you scan for droids?"

"The Ghost is not turning back on," Gal spat glaring at the pyramid. "We can't scan. We can't call. We can't fly!"

"You can fix it," Kylo replied, shaking his head. "You have to."

"What part of fried systems don't you understand?"

With a scream Kylo gripped Galibran by the collar. "Do you want to tell the Supreme Leader we have failed again? Then be my guest!"

"We have no choice!" Galibran growled. "The ship is down."

Kylo threw Galibran to the ground and stormed over to the Phantom. This was his chance to remedy all his poor choices with his dealings with Rey. The last thing he wanted to do was tell the Supreme Leader that he couldn't finish his mission, again. Just as important, he didn't want for Hux to find out.

As he approached the Phantom he stopped moving. Standing in front of the ship was his father with a large charred hole in his abdomen. His eyes were full of tears, as he reached out towards Kylo.

"Ben, I wanted to help you," Han wheezed as he stumbled towards his son, his tears beginning to change hue to deep red.

Kylo stood frozen in fear. The planet around him had gone dark and all he could see was his dead father. He shook his head violently as his father raised a blaster pistol pointing it at Kylo.

"You failed us," Han gurgled as blood began to trickle from his mouth as well.

Kylo needed to destroy what he saw. It was unnatural. It was wrong. The fury in Kylo shot out through a scream as he ignited his crackling red saber and ran out towards his father. He swung down his saber and was immediately blocked by a yelling Nox. Her saber pushed his back as he looked around, his eyes dramatically darting from side to side.

"It's not real!" she shouted. "Trust me!"

Kylo shook and watched the grisly image of his father melt away. He dropped his saber and slid down, falling on his knees.

The rest of the Knights had been watching in shock and confusion, as Kylo almost attacked the Phantom with his light saber, for no reason. Nox walked slowly to him, her voice calm, her hand extended out uneasily, as if he was a scared animal. "It's not real."

He nodded, his hands still shaking from fear as she helped him up. "All of you," she announced, supporting his unsteady form. "I hate to say this, but I will have to be your eyes. Understood?"

They all met her gaze and nodded. Kylo was breathing hard and ripped off his mask throwing it to the ground, then gripped hard at his hands pulling off his gloves. With a firm grip, he slid his hand hard around her exposed arm. He had to touch something real. Something of flesh and blood.

"Let's all get in the Phantom." Nox instructed and the Knights quietly squeezed into the shuttle. " Kylo?"

He nodded, more composed once they were inside, his hand now holding her wrist.

"Hail the First Order," she ordered him. Her face made it clear that she wasn't taking any of his nonsense now. "We are going to need help."

Defeated, Kylo sent a distress message to General Hux.

oOoOoOo

Poe Dameron and Finn looked up at the projected coordinates in front of General Leia Organa.

"You trust this informant?" she asked, looking them over as well.

"Yes, ma'am," Poe said with confidence. "They have been very helpful. Expensive but haven't steered me wrong yet."

General Organa nodded slowly. "They are sure the Knights of Ren are there?"

"Yes, ma'am," Poe replied then hesitantly added. "They also sent a warning for Rey."

Finn looked over quickly at the mention of Rey.

The General's eyes, squinted, showing more of her age. "How do they know who she is?"

Poe smirked. "You'd be surprised the information they can find."

The General didn't look amused. "What was the warning?"

Poe dropped his informal tone and stood up straight. "To be wary of Kylo Ren and not get compromised by him. He can manipulate minds easily into following the wrong path. Rey should be guarded of her emotions and thoughts at all times if she does find herself in contact with him. But it is best to avoid interaction with him at all costs."

The General nodded, thinking for a moment. She saw her son and Han. It pained her knowing how similar they were. Both having a talent for convincing women, specifically, to trust them.

"You can tell her yourself. She will be here any day now with Luke," she said quietly as her eyes returned to the map hovering between them. "What could possibly be this dark side artifact they are seeking? Does the informant know?"

Poe shook his head.

"Very well. Prepare to depart once my brother has seen this."

Poe nodded, and both he and Finn headed out of the control room.

"Did they say...why they thought that could happen?" Finn asked, trying to seem casual. "Her falling for him? You know why a perfectly lovely girl would fall in love with a psychopath who likes to attack her and invade her mind?"

Poe was fighting a smile as Finn had lost all composure by the end of his little rant. "Woah there buddy. I didn't say anything about love."

If you wish to see any art from the story, character designs and scenes...etc, go to:

Galya4 dot deviantart dot com