Kylo allowed the med droid to float around his body as he folded his legs in front of him on the bed. The droid shuddered as it moved to scan his side, and a smirk pulled at his lips as it let out a noise akin to a nervous whine.

He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, sensing the familiar presence of the Padawans. Rey's felt like a fuzzy presence in the back of his mind. They were too close to the First Order base for Kylo to risk running. He did not know what kind of cannons the base boasted, but they could easily shoot down the Millennium Falcon, even with the ship's modified shields.

The med droid zoomed away as quickly as possible to a nearby staff member. Kylo straightened his back and glanced at Kilnetel. "Why is this necessary?"

The Twi'lek shrugged and waved her green hand in the air dismissively. "Can't have members of the First Order be in poor physical condition, can we?"

"I said I would come with you. I didn't say I would join the First Order." Kylo crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes flicking to his lightsaber lying on a table. "I was never an official member of the First Order as a Knight of Ren, and I never will be."

The medical staff member, a shorter than average female Kaminoan, cut off Kilnetel's retort and smiled amiably at Kylo before she looked down at her datapad. "There's a fairly severe injury in your left side."

Kylo felt the medical member with the Force, sensing her honest, caring nature. He could not fathom how kind people ended up working for the organization responsible for millions of deaths. He pressed his hand against his left side, feeling the ache he had been ignoring with the Force. "I've scarred there several times, and a piece of metal recently lodged in me."

The Kaminoan gave a nod and tapped on the datapad. "The droid detected that the wound was further irritated by your recent fighting. We have a bacta injection that can accelerate internal healing. It will require you sleep for a good twelve hours, but most are finding sleep preferable to an extended stay in the bacta tanks."

"Ren needs to be in top shape quickly. I can give him the injection later after I take him through some details." Kilnetel flashed a pretty smile to the Kaminoan. "Don't worry. I have medical training, and this way you don't have to take any responsibility for injecting our great asset."

The staff member hesitated for a moment, and Kylo sensed the Force thick in the air before she gave a quick nod. "Of course. I'll have the syringe and solution sent to your quarters, Admiral."

Kylo's eyebrows shot up as several objections came to mind. He decided he could fight the injection later and blurted, "Admiral? You're in command of the Navy?"

"We'll have plenty of time to talk later, Ren. Follow me."

She turned to the door, and Kylo let out a slow breath. He snatched his lightsaber from the table as he trailed after Kilnetel. "You do know you can't keep me here long. You couldn't even hold my Padawan for longer than an hour."

The Twi'lek spun sharply mid-step, and her green hand shot behind Kylo's belt before he could realize what she was doing. She removed as quickly and held up a small tracker. She passed it to her metal hand, and Kylo flinched involuntarily as it broke into pieces.

The metal fist suddenly lashed out and smashed against Kylo's face. He collapsed heavily onto the metal floor. The right side of his face throbbed, and as he brought his hand up touch it gingerly, he noticed dark liquid drip onto the black glove.

"The kriff, Kilnetel!"

A green leg appeared in Kylo's line of vision, and he pulled himself to his knees. He pressed his gloved hand over his nose. It pulsed with his heartbeat, and he tasted blood as it reached his lips. The Dark Side pulled eagerly at the pain.

"That was for General Hux." Kilnetel crouched down in front of Kylo, and her eyes raked over him. "Shame to mark your face further, but I do admit it is rather attractive. Unfortunately, you're too valuable to the cause to do much more."

She reached out her real hand, but Kylo shoved it away with the Force. "Touch me again, and I'll finish what my wife started."

Kilnetel hesitated for a moment before she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, at first you were an ugly little obstacle. But then I noticed how uncomfortable you got with any public attention." A smirk pulled at her lips, and her eyes remained on his biceps for longer than appropriate. "It was so easy to divert any probes for Force sensitivity."

Kylo began pulling on the Force to stop his bleeding nose as he stood. "And why are you telling me this?"

The Twi'lek gave a small shrug and got to her feet, raising an eyebrow at Kylo. "Just to point out that you Jedi aren't as observant as you think you are. Now, I have a few things to show you."

Kylo started to argue but thought better of it. Rey would come for him, and he could overpower Kilnetel. But while he had the semi-welcome of the First Order, he might as well gather as much information about it as possible.

Kilnetel lead him through a maze of identical hallways. Officers did double-takes as they passed him, and Kylo answered their stares with a cold look. Internally, the Dark preened at the flinches and looks of fear that passed over their faces. He could crush their throats, crack their skulls, or do multitudes of horrible things to end their lives in a heartbeat. They were smart to be afraid of him.

He trailed the Twi'lek into a room full of screens displaying views of several planets. They walked past two black screens to stand in front of another showing a picture of several Twi'leks picking their way through a street of dilapidated buildings. Kylo's eyes flicked to the adjacent screen to show another picture of famished crops. "What is this?"

"Ryloth, my home world." Kilnetel's usually flirty tone was flat and soft. "The Reformed Republic is sworn to assist those in the alliance. Do you see what help they are to my people?"

Kylo looked to face her, reading anger mixed with sorrow from the Twi'lek. "You were a Senator. You were well placed to petition resources for Ryloth."

"And I did. It's why I became a Senator." Kilnetel turned with a flash of anger in her eyes. "They helped. For a time. But the planet is struggling. Drought has ravaged most of the landscape. The Republic deemed it a waste of resources. They decided that those who could pay for a shuttle could relocate to Kiros and form a colony near the Togruta." She gave a bitter bark of a laugh. "But many Twi'lek are farmers that only have enough to support themselves, not pay for a shuttle. Some families were desperate enough to leave to sell themselves into slavery. Others stayed." She gestured toward a third screen that depicted a suspended hose spraying water onto a field full of burgeoning green crops. "But the First Order sent help. In return, I offered my services."

Kylo stared at the screens silently. The Jedi had not been informed of Ryloth's predicament, for it was not a matter of violence. It was a matter of blatant disregard for a population's culture and for those too poor to leave an inhospitable planet. The Jedi – kriff, even the members of Finn's Stormtrooper program – could have volunteered to get the Twi'leks off-planet or assist in crop growing. But he had been too busy training new Padawans to notice a dying planet.

"There are several other planets experiencing similar problems. The Reformed Republic isn't a perfect system, no matter how hard Skywalker worked to create it." Kilnetel's green hand slipped onto Kylo's shoulder, and for once, he did not shake her off. "Why, even you know that. You just want to help, but no one ever trusted you." Her hand moved to his upper arm, and he finally ripped his eyes away from the view of the Twi'leks among the ruined buildings. "I see this has been a lot of information for you to take in. I think we should give you that injection, and I can finish showing you why you're here after you've slept."

Kylo followed Kilnetel numbly back into the hall and finally pulled his arm away from her grip. "Why was it necessary to break Hux out, then?"

The Twi'lek let out a long breath. "The Reformed Republic has attacked outposts built by the First Order that were attempts to make peace." A scowl twisted her dark green lips. "The Republic refuses to deal with the Order, but your uncle and wife might be more willing to negotiate now that you're here."

Rey closed her eyes and felt out for Kylo's familiar presence. Her probe met intense dark energy from the First Order's base, and she squeezed her eyes tightly. She could sense her husband's faint signature in the Force through the Dark. "There's something on that planet."

Finn's fingers brushed her knee, and she opened her eyes to watch him place a large bacta patch over her injured knee. She silently cursed Eeth's horns, for every time the injury began to get better, she managed to reopen it further. "We're all a little too beat up to be very effective at sneaking in."

Jessika's head poked around Sonzy's frame, where the Togruta was wrapping the arm she had stuck through the Force barrier. "I don't think we have much of a choice. From what I've read of the account at Snoke's base, that energy – or whatever that is – feels a lot like what was described. Master Ren's in trouble."

Teela slipped through the door to the cockpit and brushed some dust from her deep green skin. "The X-Wings are docking in the freight hold. What's the plan for getting Master Ren and finally taking down the First Order?"

Finn glanced at Jessika as he straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. "You said you saw Ren kill Hux?"

At the Padawan's nod, Rey flinched internally. Kylo hated taking life. He felt the loss in the Force more than he usually let on, not to mention it reminded him of being Snoke's pawn. The Resistance's attack upon Snoke's base had been a difficult day for him in more ways than one.

"They don't have their strategist anymore." Finn ran a hand over his face. "Sure, they probably have others, but Hux was brilliant. If we can manage to surprise them, to do something that they wouldn't expect the Jedi to do, we can catch them off-guard. They won't be able to adapt fast enough."

A door to Rey's left slid up, and Poe ducked through it, followed by Kaydel. "Does crashing an X-Wing into their base count as catching them off-guard?"

A loud boom sounded several floors above Kylo, and he lowered his head as dust fell from the ceiling. He remained close to the open door of Kilnetel's quarters, watching the Twi'lek reach for a box on a low table. The floor underneath him shook, and Kilnetel's comm chirped with two panicked voices overlapping each.

"We'll skip the injection."

Kylo stumbled before he caught his footing at Kilnetel's surprising strength when she snatched his arm. He made her hand to relinquish his arm with the Force. "I can walk on my own."

He barely caught Kilnetel's eyes roll as her metal hand clamped around his arm again. She pulled him through a door at the end of a nearby hall, and Kylo nearly tripped as she pulled him down a staircase.

The burst of dark energy hit him in waves as they descended the second flight of stairs. The Dark within him yearned for more of it, and Kylo pulled on his damaged bond to Rey to help push it down. "What is that?"

"You don't recognize it? I suppose being away from the Dark has taken you out of practice."

The stairs ended and opened into a small chamber with a high ceiling. In the middle, a black metallic box rested on a pedestal. Eeth knelt before it, his head thrown back. A silent expression of pain contorted his tattooed face. Kylo froze by the archway and threw Kilnetel to the side with the Force.

The Dark Side pulsed heavily within the room as he stepped inside. It seemed to weigh on his shoulders and seep into his heart, and he felt as if he would never feel the Light again as he moved to Eeth.

His former Padawan's eyes were closed, and Kylo sensed the Force flow thick between him and the box. He whirled to face Kilnetel. "What is this? What are you doing to him?"

A door slid over the archway as Kilnetel pulled herself to her feet. "Contrary to your merry band of Jedi's belief, you did not destroy the Supreme Leader. Merely his physical form." She stepped toward him languidly. "I'm sure you of all people can understand how uncomfortable it is to be trapped in a box."

Kylo looked back to Eeth and shook his head as the realization dawned on him. "No. He's just a boy. Snoke can't just take his body."

Kilnetel shrugged and stopped in front of Kylo, her green hand resting on his chest. "You're right. You are the Master, after all. Despite the extensive Force modifications, he is too young and inexperienced. But he's not entirely useless. The Supreme Leader can use his power to help with the transition."

Kylo's eyes flicked to Eeth's frozen form. "Transition? But you said – "

"He can't be used." Kilnetel gave a pretty smile. "But your power far exceeds his. And the Supreme Leader does much prefer a human body over a Zabrak."

Kylo raised his hand to shove the Twi'lek away from him, but her own fingers gripped his shirt tightly and pulled him close. Her lips met his in a vicious kiss that he immediately pushed away. Kilnetel grinned, and Kylo felt the Force push him backwards. His back hit the pedestal hard, and the air rushed out of his lungs.

Eeth slumped to the floor, and Kylo lashed out with the Force futilely as clouds of black smoke shot from the box and wrapped around his body.

"Goodbye, Kylo Ren."

AN: I tried making this much longer to avoid yet another cliffhanger (SORRY), but I really wanted to get this update up. Thank you all for your continued support!