Chapter 16: Victory or Oblivion

Rey still loved Kylo Ren.

She loved Ben Solo too, but he crushed himself away into specks of dust.

It hurt. Oh, it hurt so much.

The tether that remained, it had to be cut.

Kill the corpse of what could have been.

With each lightsaber swing, she delivered upon an unsuspecting boulder under the dark clouds of Exegol, the pain never ceased.

Tear it all away.

Destroy this tether.

Sever the connection.

She trained to the point her muscles screamed for mercy. Rey didn't care once that she was being watched by the Knights of Ren.

Ushar asked Vicrul what the plan was.

"What do we do now, since the Last Jedi rejects her title?"

"Kylo Ren is persistent. He will recover from his injuries and come running for the girl," Vicrul stated. "His feelings for her are our advantage."

"And if he doesn't? We outnumber him."

"He will."

Ushar smirked. "And the Sith will be reborn."

"As Darth Sidious wanted."


Ben Solo didn't want to admit to Poe Dameron that yes, this plan was insane.

He stood in the zero-gravity chamber in the star destroyer. Various stormtroopers struggled to adjust to the lack of gravitational pull.

"How are you even remaining on the floor?" Jannah asked from outside of the chamber. She and Rose were overseeing the controls, observing the simulation through transparisteel.

"It's a force-thing," Rose answered.

Ben maneuvered between the soldiers, correcting their posture, aiding them in finding a footing in balance and using their own internal gravity to move. He was very glad he had the force allowing him to keep his feet on the ground. He stopped before Finn who was clinging to the ceiling for dear life.

"Oh come on!" Finn exclaimed, seeing how Ben was perfectly fine on the floor. "You got an advantage!"

"So do you," Ben said, trying to contain the mischief in his own eyes. "You have the force. Surrender yourself to it and let it carry you."

"If this is how you're teaching me for the first lesson…"

"I am no teacher," Ben stated with a firm tone. "I am merely trying to help you, Finn, considering you're clinging to the ceiling in terror."

Finn sighed. "I did not sign up for this force business." Relaxing his arms, he breathed in and out. And just like that, Finn had his feet firmly planted on the floor. "Whoa." A hint of joy and wonder overcame his face.

Ben wondered if this was the same joy he expressed as a child when the force opened wide for him.

Right now all Ben felt was the door slammed shut. The bond between him and her had not opened for days. What was she doing? Was she even trying to cut herself off again? Or was it something else? Maybe it was the fact that she was on Exegol, evil incarnate with all the spirits of the Sith lingering about, that was muddling their connection.

Ben turned on his heel and returned to the rest of the squad to aid them in regaining their balance in a space with no other pull to balance them. Once that task was done, Finn gave orders for them to draw their blasters and take aim at the projected targets on the wall.

When the simulation was over, Ben left without another word, leaving Finn to give a report to Rose, Jannah, and General Exa.

"Well?" General Exa queried. "How are the troops?"

Finn, wiping sweat off his forehead, grinned. "Well, they're more acquainted with zero gravity. It won't catch them as off guard as the rest."

Rose nodded. "Accessing the gravity systems will also allow us to control which parts of the dreadnought will have gravity and which won't."

Exe seemed placated. "As insane as this plan is, it might work. Good work today Captain."

Finn beamed. "Well, it's really…"

"Kylo Ren, yes, I know. Still, you're a proponent of what he is pushing for. There's a reason we're all standing behind the Resistance. It is an honor to stand with you, Finn. I cannot imagine a scenario where you didn't flee this ship all those months ago."

Neither could Finn.


To hide the fact that the people leading this operation were a deflected stormtrooper and the ousted Supreme Leader was virtually impossible.

Ben sat in the meeting room, leaning on his hand with an intense expression of boredom as General Leia pleaded his case against the newly arrived admiral of assistance from sympathetic systems.

"General Organa you cannot be serious," the admiral said with incredulous disdain. "Kylo Ren as the leader of this whole operation…"

"Admiral, without Kylo Ren we wouldn't even be here now. We would still be planet-side, oblivious to our enemies' plans until too late," Leia said, her tone short and curt. "The troops also favor him as a leader. When Armitage Hux is removed from power it will be much easier to dismantle the First Order with someone much more willing to comply with our terms in charge."

"May I remind you, General Organa, that Kylo Ren has committed various acts of terror and did nothing to stop the destruction of the Hosnian System, he's complicit in that cataclysm by that very nature! And he burned down the Jedi temple and killed the hero Luke Skywalker and nearly wiped out you and the Resistance! Forgive me if I am not willing to let one act of mercy be a good enough reason to allow the former Supreme Leader to handle this entire operation and my troops."

Ben rolled his eyes, a twinge of guilt at those things mentioned in his heart. However, it was not the time to wallow in self-hatred, not with work to be done.

Leia tilted her head in that Leia way when she was about to single-handedly obliterate someone by mere words alone. "Forgive me, Admiral. May you remind me who it was exactly that ordered the destruction of the Hosnian System?"

"General Armitage Hux," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Under which Supreme Leader?"

"Supreme Leader Snoke but that—"

"Exactly. Kylo Ren had nothing to do nor was he involved with such a horrendous act. And if he was, why don't you ask him how he would have dealt with it in that moment?"

Ben was finally able to speak. "Disobeying Snoke is a death sentence for anyone who worked with him. The only reason he is even gone is because of me. I killed Snoke."

The admiral opened his mouth to protest once more but Ben cut him off. "We can waste all our time in the final hours arguing before we make our way to the Hosnian System and stop Hux's plans or you can move your priorities on the battle that lies ahead. You know our plan. You already answered the Resistance's call. Deal with it."

The admiral huffed. "Fine. I shall see you, General Organa… Supreme Leader Ren." With that, he marched out.

Leia rolled her eyes in unison with her son. "He's still nothing compared to Republic Senators."

Ben wondered how he hadn't lost his patience with the stuffy and arrogant admiral.

If Ben could turn back time, he would have destroyed Starkiller Base himself before the Cataclysm.

"I know that I'm not exactly the biggest fan of being in this role either, but still did he have to spend an hour in here whining about it?" Ben grumbled, getting up from his seat and making his way to the doorway. "It's almost time. You should return to planetside in case something goes awry."

"Wait, Ben," Leia stopped him. Ben turned around and Leia was hugging him again. "No matter what happens, I will always be proud of you, my son."

He blinked, eyes stinging. For so long he wanted this. His mother's love and affection. He returned the hug, unsure of how else to express the same sentiment.

"Bring her home."

"I will."

Leia pulled back from the embrace, smiling at her son. "I would say don't be doing anything brash or impulsive but you're too much like Han."

For the first time in perhaps too long, Ben let out a half chuckle. "I guess I am."

As he left the room, he heard that same old saying again.

"May the force be with you."


So much to do. So little time.

In the few sparse days they had, there was one request that Ben asked of Chewie and Lando: to take him back to Pasaana and retrieve his ship. It would be a valuable asset in case something went awry. And knowing how things panned out on Crait, something always did go wrong and it usually involved Ben Solo.

The message was sent. The Finalizer jumped to light-speed.

All Ben Solo could do was wait.

And he was never one for patience.

"So this is your ship?" Lando whistled as he admired the TIE-Silencer in the hangar. "She's a beauty."

Ben glanced at his ship. He wondered if he had pulled the trigger that fateful day on the Resistance, on his mother, if he would be able to bear even using it now.

"It's not as good as the hunk of junk Falcon," Ben remarked. "But it will do."

Lando laughed. "I remember Han admiring other ships that were newer, sleeker, but he always came back to the Falcon."

Ben decided he needed to sit down with Lando after this and ask for more stories about his father.

"Look starfighter," Lando said, pulling up the very old nickname from when Ben was a child. "Leia told me about Rey and how you got to the ruins of the Death Star. I figured it was time you received this."

Ben's eyes widened as Lando took a blaster off his belt. It was an old blaster; it had to have been over twenty years old at least. Ben recognized it far too easily.

Lando presented Han Solo's blaster to him. "You're going to need it."

Swallowing, Ben took the blaster. "Thank you. But, why?"

Lando patted his nephew's shoulder. "Why what?"

"Why? After…" Everything he had done.

Lando sighed. "Han made me promise that one day I would give you that blaster when you needed it, and he knew you would need it. The loss of Han is rough to think about, and I still don't understand, but I see a man that Han would be proud to see. You are your father's son." He let out a chuckle. "And I bet you can pilot just as good as he was."

"I can do better," Ben said, not quite reaching into a smile yet at the heavy memory of his father.

My son is alive.

"Solo, or should I call you Supreme Leader?" Poe called behind Ben. BB-8 rolled over, making beeping noises at Ben.

Ben had a begrudging respect for the hot-shot pilot named Poe Dameron if only because without Poe the Resistance was as good as done for. "Yes, Commander?"

Lando took his leave.

"Permission to blow stuff up at your word?" Poe asked, being rather cheeky.

One day Ben would have to challenge the cocky pilot to put his skills to a real test. "Permission granted Commander."

Poe saluted. "You're… Not half bad as a strategist, Solo." He said it like he was having his teeth pulled.

Ben crossed his arms. "And you're not that annoying."

Poe raised an eyebrow. "I expected nothing less."

Neither of them expected to ever talk about what happened months ago. Ben didn't even know what to say other than an apology he knew Poe would never accept. This minor modicum of respect with quick jabs at each other was probably all they would ever be during this war and thereafter.

"Go kill some Knights of Ren for me," Poe said before walking away towards his ship. BB-8 glanced at Ben then Poe before following Poe towards his x-wing.


Finn stood with Jannah, Rose, and Kaydel at his side in front of the shuttle all wearing the black pristine First Order uniforms. His sub-squad of stormtroopers was at the ready, helms on and all. "Right. Where's Solo—Er Kylo Ren?"

"He's by his TIE-Silencer, Captain," one troop answered.

Finn nodded. "Your orders are to escort me, Connix, and Ren to the bridge of the dreadnought Executioner. We need to get inside the main ship systems and disable the gravitational pull."

"Captain," the entire squad answered with a salute.

Heavy footsteps approached. Finn observed Ben Solo, wearing his imposing cape as per usual, but also a black holster on his thigh with a blaster. He pulled a comlink out of his pocket. "Lieutenant Mitaka, send the message to the Executioner."

"Yes, sir."

Ben looked to Finn, his expression turning dark and intense. "We're going."

Finn swallowed, his back shuddering with the lingering and unnerving chill of that injury he received from Kylo's lightsaber. Finn did not envy the people about to stand in Ben Solo's way.

Up on the bridge, Lieutenant Mitaka steeled himself and nodded to one of the communications officers. "This is Lieutenant Mitaka of the Finalizer. We are transporting the prisoner now."

"Copied that, sir."

The shuttle landed in the docking bay of the large dreadnought Executioner. The stormtroopers got into position. Ben sensed the presence of three Knights of Ren, faint force signatures that were barely noticeable in comparison to Leia or Rey. They would come running. They would tip off Hux, hopefully not before they got to the bridge.

Ben, Finn, and Kaydel stood in the middle of the stormtrooper squad, the tallest positioned near Ben to hide his extreme height. No one paid them much mind as they marched through the halls until they stopped in front of another general.

"Where is the prisoner?" the general demanded.

Ben swept forward in the formation and waved his hand. "You will lead us to the bridge."

The general complied. "I will lead you to the bridge."

With that, the squad was led straight to the bridge. Ben narrowed his eyes, trying to determine where the Knights of Ren were. And where Hux was. The group barged into the bridge. One officer took their blaster and shot at the stormtrooper in front of Finn.

Ben reached out, halting the blast in mid-air before it could even make contact. "I wouldn't try to attack if I were you," he said with a strong glare, sending the bolt at one of the guards square in the abdomen. "Do as we say and no one in this room will get hurt."

Everyone in the room complied, terrified that Kylo Ren was back and making demands they couldn't refuse.

Ben pulled out his comlink. "Commander we're in position. Make your move."

"Roger that Solo."

Finn stepped forward. "Squad into defense formation. Connix?"

Kaydel cracked her knuckles. "Where's the main ship life-support system?"

The squad confiscated the weapons of the scant few guards and communications officers.

Alarms began going off all around them. Ben glanced out the windows as Resistance X-wings began to fire upon attacking TIE-fighters.

Chaos exploded. The rest of the Resistance Fleet was not too far behind.

"Where is Armitage Hux?" Ben demanded to any of the First Order officers in the room.

"He's in the canon bay sir."

A stir in the force. The Knights of Ren knew and they were fast approaching.

With a flourish of his cape, Ben marched out of the bridge. "No one gets in or out of this room," he ordered as he left.

Finn looked over Kaydel's shoulder, pulling his comlink out. "Rose? Jannah?"

"They're deploying more ships. We're in disguise," Jannah answered. "Got a location?"

"Solo is coming to meet you. Get ready for no gravity," Finn replied. "Where is a map of this thing?!"

Kaydel searched through the controls. "Which section do we even want to disable?"

"Everything except our section?" Finn suggested. "I don't know how this works!"

Kaydel scrambled to pick. "Right. I think I found the right section."

Finn glanced at the squad of troopers. "You all might need to grab something."


Poe missed the adrenaline rush of being on his X-wing for far too long. Being in the pilot's seat was as easy as breathing. Staring down the main part of the dreadnought, he noticed smaller First Order ships and even destroyers moving into position at their presence. "BB-8 ready?"

BB-8 chirped back a yes.

"Snap, I will need you to cover me in case something goes wrong on Solo's side."

"Got it, Commander."

"The dreadnought won't be firing on us but the rest of the ships will be," Poe said to the rest of his squad of X-wing fighters.

The voice of Ben Solo came over the comlink. "Commander we're in position. Make your move."

Poe with a sense of relief and dread for what was to come pressed onward. "Copy that Solo. Squad engage! Take out their weapons!"

"Roger!"


Armitage Hux knew something was about to go very wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end the moment he was informed of the shuttle making its transfer of the prisoner, the Jedi girl that Ren was so overly fond of.

"Supreme Leader," Kuruk Ren spoke. "Kylo Ren is on board and has taken over the bridge."

Hux gritted his teeth, raw anger in his hand gripping the handlebar of the overlook of the cannon bay. "Get the other ships in the fleet here now! I want Kylo Ren's head on a spike!" He barked at the lieutenant next to him.

There was no way he was going to let the pathetic Kylo Ren win, not when he was this close to securing victory.

Hux grabbed a blaster, stalking away to get to his personal quarters to a high observation deck. "And find Cardo and Trudgen Ren!"

Kuruk nodded, making his way to the training room to grab his fellow Knights of Ren.


Ben used the force to knock anyone standing in his way against the walls. He reached for his crossguard lightsaber and ignited it, the dark side tugging at his soul once more. He didn't do as the dark side commanded, he commanded the dark.

Reading through the minds of the officers and stormtroopers, he heard many thoughts of disillusionment mirroring that of Jannah and even Finn's thoughts. That spark of rebellion. Of fear. Of internal questioning of morality.

Kylo Ren's vision was brighter.

I don't want to fight in this war anymore.

Why are we even here?

The First Order should be about bringing order not chaos.

Some, however, didn't share the same sentiment.

Hux is right to crush the Resistance in his palm.

He will do what Kylo Ren failed to do.

A new order upon the galaxy is upon us.

Eventually, he found a group of men poised to attack, their thoughts purely like Hux's own. Unrelenting. Closed.

"Kylo Ren!" one snarled.

Ben raised his hand, halting blaster bolts in the air before stalking over and with a flourish of his lightsaber knocking the blaster out of the man's hand. Pointing his saber at the rest, he gave them his ultimatum.

"I don't have time to deal with the lot of you, but be assured that once General Hux is removed, I will have you all personally tracked down and brought before the Resistance. So, I would think twice before continuing to support your so-called new Supreme Leader."

With that he moved right past them and ran right into Rose and Jannah, walking rather conspicuously.

"Oh! Ben! Okay good," Rose said with a sigh of relief. "We think we found the cannon but we'll have to fight our way through a lot of troops.

Jannah eyed the crackling red lightsaber in his grip. Ben disengaged his weapon, sensing her unease and spoke into his comlink. "Disable the gravity now Finn."

"Right!"

Something vibrated all around them as if the entire dreadnought was stilled mid-lightspeed. Ben watched as Rose and Jannah's feet lifted off the ground, Jannah's fluffy hair and Rose's short bangs no longer pulled down by gravity, just floating in all directions. His fingers twitched downwards, pulling them back down to walk.

"Let's go," he said to the two of them. "The Knights of Ren will be waiting for me."

The sight of dozens of First Order officers and stormtroopers trying to gain a foothold on everything would have been amusing if Ben wasn't determined to find the leech, his traitorous knights, and focusing on keeping Rose and Jannah steady with the force.

"Attention all stormtroopers," Finn's voice boomed over the intercom system. "I am FN-2187. I was once one of you."

Ben blocked a blaster shot from one man floating in the air, continuing onward with Rose and Jannah in tow. They reached a wide clearing in the lower ship hangars. Beyond one more hallway was the cannon.

"The First Order took everything from you. Your families. Your home and reduced you to machines of war. I had a friend—" Finn paused mid-speech. Ben knew who Finn was referring to. The sentiment was not lost on him. "Who saw beyond just machines of war and darkness and evil and saw a victim of many circumstances, just like us. She had hope. The Resistance has hope in all of you. You don't have to fight anymore. Build a better future, as your now-overthrown Supreme Leader tried to do over the months since Crait."

It was like a spark was set off. Many of the stormtroopers turned their weapons on their superiors, the loyalists towards the First Order.

"Kylo Ren was right!" One shouted.

"FN-2187 betrayed the First Order and I will too!"

Well, that was unexpected.

A riot broke out between the First Order's own army. Loyalists to Kylo Ren's regime turned on loyalists to Armitage Hux. The lack of gravity pulling them all into the air caused every weapon attack and blaster shot stray in all directions. Ben, Rose, and Jannah maneuvered underneath it all and into a new hallway. Droids and personnel clung to the ceiling and walls, trying to find some semblance of balance.

Upon arriving in the cannon bay, Ben Solo stared in shock at the massive weapon. It was definitely large enough to blow a giant hole in a planet to wipe out any civilization in one go.

The rage.

The disgust.

The guilt.

Memories of Ben's witness to that piercing red-beam cutting across the stars and the sensation of millions all vanishing in the force flashed through his consciousness.

No more.

He turned to Rose and Jannah. "You can deactivate this right? Put it out of use? Make it blow up even?"

Rose nodded. "Yes! We just need to get up to the top."

Ben released the steady hold he had on Rose and Jannah, letting them float towards the ladder attachment on the side. He pushed the floating workers and rogue troopers away from the duo using a tug of the force.

The zing of three lightsabers igniting turned Ben's attention away from the two saboteurs to face Kuruk, Cardo, and Trudgen Ren.

Taking his cross-guard lightsaber out, Ben melded himself into Kylo Ren once again. "How does it feel," he took one step towards them, saber out in front of his chest with a twist of his hand, "to know you will die by my hand?"

"You ran like a coward," Trudgen spat back. His new leg was unsteady still. A new advantage. "You didn't do the bidding the dark anymore. You failed to follow in Lord Ren's footsteps. In Darth Vader's footsteps!"

"Ap'lek was right," Kuruk spoke. "Your pull to the light was far too strong."

"And do you listen to Ushar and Vicrul too?" Ben snapped. "Those fools would rather be slaves to the old ways of the Sith! It's not too late to turn your back on all this."

Cardo's silence was concerning, but Ben couldn't risk reading into his mind.

"Ushar and Vicrul may have the right idea!" Trudgen declared, making Cardo visibly flinch.

"The Sith shan't be resurrected. They're trying with the Last Jedi with that holocron, but who knows, she might have killed them first," Cardo finally spoke. "We aren't like Snoke who pushed ideals of the Sith. We simply are darkness."

Trudgen's stance became more rigid, his red lightsaber tilting away from Ben and towards Cardo. "Always the sentimental philosophical one. You're weak and foolish just like Kylo Ren!" He struck a red blow at Cardo's abdomen.

Ben's temper flared at Cardo collapsing to the floor. "No. You, Ushar, and Vicrul are the weak ones," he growled, waiting for the one moment that Trudgen would turn on him.

Trudgen roared, forcing himself to run at Ben, plunging his blade right at Ben's chest. Ben released his grip on gravity and launched himself into the air, causing Trudgen to stumble forward before he too, lowered his grip on gravity. Trudgen launched himself forward again.

One clash of blades. Ben glared at Trudgen through the hold.

Two clash of blades. Ben pulled out his grandfather's lightsaber and blocked the strike of Kuruk Ren's saber. Surrendering himself to the force, Ben pushed them both back, backflipping in the process. The weightlessness carried him in mid-air.

Two versus one. Ben breathed in and out, his muscles singing from the movements.

Trudgen was flying at him again, but Kuruk flew at Trudgen. The two Knights clashed and relieved Ben for a moment to hear Rose over the comlink.

"The controls for the failsafe are bound by Hux! I can't do anything."

Finn and Poe talked over each other.

"What do we do Solo?"

"Can we blow it up?"

Kuruk threw Trudgen off balance and sent him flying into Ben. Ben parried and pushed back, trying to think.

"Solo?!"

Ben raised his other saber up to apply more pressure to Trudgen's blade. "I'm a bit busy," he said through gritted teeth. He pushed Trudgen off and traded blows until Kuruk tried to attack his flank again. In typical fashion, Ben kicked Kuruk square in the gut, slashing at Trudgen's side right after.

"Find this hangar and blow it up Dameron," Ben ordered into the comlink. "I will open the entry."

"Copy that Solo!"

"Wait we're blowing it up?!"

"Get out of there, Rose, Jannah. Get everyone out!" Ben yelled, twirling around in mid-air and pushing himself off the sidewall of the cannon. "And turn the gravity back on now!"

"On it!" Finn answered.

"You're all fools! All of you." Trudgen roared, realigning himself in mid-air and darting his eyes between Kuruk who was hopelessly suspended in the air and back to Ben. Trudgen eyed the dual lightsabers in his grasp. "You just couldn't let go of that stupid nobody Jedi girl."

Ben's anger shook his knuckles, but he steeled himself, breathing in and out and thinking of all those months ago, in the throne room.

They were nobody.

"No. She's not a nobody. Not to me," Ben said, feeling gravity pull his body down.

The ship shuddered as the gravitational pull knocked hundreds out of thin air.

Ben landed on his feet perfectly, Kuruk and Trudgen not so much. He sprinted towards the control panel. He snuck a glance at Cardo's body, a hint of guilt at the man unmoving for disagreeing with Trudgen's insanity.

Like muscle memory, Ben reached the panel and punched in the codes he knew by heart and the latch began to slowly open.

Trudgen and Kuruk weren't done with him yet.

"It's not too late to walk away from this," Ben said, hoping one of them would listen as Trudgen reached for his lightsaber.

"Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, so stupidly sentimental. You're not of dark yet you use it to your whims," Trudgen sneered, limping forward, his prosthetic leg bent and limp. "Wait until the Sith claim your precious Jedi. There will be nothing left of you."

Ben could have been angered, but he was more tired than anything. Tired of the dictation that light and dark are separate and should be kept separate. That one must chose.

Ben had the choices stripped away from him. Ben didn't know what he wanted to be. Only what he was expected to be to feel like he had some purpose and acceptance in the universe.

Rey reached out to him amidst the darkness in his soul.

Kuruk charged at both him and Trudgen, lightsaber aimed to kill.

Without another word left to even spare, Ben took Anakin's saber and used the force to send it flying right at Kuruk. It plunged straight into his chest, stunning him mid-run. His body collapsed. Ben turned his attention back to Trudgen trying to stand up on one leg.

With a heavy heart, Ben angled his red saber perfectly at the height of Trudgen Ren's neck.

And swung.

Ben gasped out as he looked past the corpse of Trudgen Ren crumbling to the floor.

Her signature. Her presence.

It was her. And yet it wasn't.

The worst part, he could see her surroundings. Their bond had gotten only stronger.

The yearning to touch her. To go to her.

"You…" Rey spoke upon a darkened throne. The shape was easily recognizable from the emperor's own in the Death Star II. A Sith throne. With her scowling golden eyes, she shattered Ben Solo's heart once more. "You're too late, Kylo Ren."

Everything was screaming at Ben to hurry. The beep of the comlink in his pocket was echoing and full of voices. But he could only stare at her.

He said nothing to her. He couldn't really say anything. Everything he did, all his work, his actions, all that screamed to Rey, was a monster. He was a machine with a red lightsaber who had just slaughtered two of his own Knights.

You are a monster.

Yes I am.

All the options left before Ben Solo led to only one: go to her.

The connection ended. Ben sprinted over to Cardo Ren, pulling the young man over on his back.

A giant gash tore through Cardo's armor. The flesh-wound was deep enough that immediate medical attention would be the only thing preventing him from dying. Ben shoved the helmet off the knight's head, revealing the wispy blond hair to accompany the youthful face of a 23-year-old.

Ben was 23 when Luke tried to kill him. Ben was 23 when he killed Ren.

Somehow the number 23 felt cursed.

Ben had to do something. There was no time left for Cardo.

Unless…

"Solo! Rose! I found the cannon's opening. Is everyone out?" Poe shouted over the comlink.

"Ben is still in there dealing with the Knights of Ren," Jannah answered.

"He better hurry then, we have more of the First Order fleet on our tails."

Ben took a chance on the old musings of the Jedi of old. He placed a hand on Cardo's limp shoulder and focused.

Breathe.

Heal.

Ben let the force flow through him and pour into healing the worst part of Cardo's wound.

Cardo groaned in pain and started to move.

"Can you walk? We have to get out of here now," Ben said, short and firm in his tone. Cardo nodded. Pulling him up, Ben pulled Cardo's arm on his shoulder and walked him out. Cardo clutched at his own gut, groaning in pain.

"What…" Cardo tried to question everything but was too blinded by the searing sting.

Ben tugged on the force to help keep his Knight upright. He collected his lightsaber and pushed Cardo to the shelter of the empty hallway.

"Blow it up Poe," Ben muttered into his comlink.

Boom.

It was beautiful, in a way. The flames licked at the air, the sheer force of the explosions from two perfectly aimed shots shook the floor and flickered at Ben's locks. His eyes reflected the reds and oranges and yellows of the carnage. He flinched at the highest impact point, the force keeping debris from even touching Ben and Cardo.

The machine was beyond repair. The explosion happened from the inside, tearing the main body to shreds. Sparks of fried wiring and smoked metal filled the air.

Ben looked up to see the overlook had the transparisteel blown out. Armitage Hux barely stood, observing the damage with an evident fury in his stature. Ben ignited his own lightsaber and stalked across the bay, chasing his target with unrelenting steps.

"I got a good hit on it."

"Where is Hux?"

"Most of the leadership has fallen on the dreadnought."

Ben ignored the conversations being exchanged on his comlink.

"Is Solo okay?"

"We got the other star destroyers to stop firing on us. Where is Solo?"

He followed Hux all the way to Hux's private quarters. It was much more expansive, with windows looking out to the ocean of stars. Both fleets were at a standstill. It was very much the beginning of the end.

"The First Order is finished," Ben spoke, lightsaber still alight with trembling cracks. "And so are your loyal bodyguard traitors."

Hux held a blaster right at Ben with a trembling hand. "You were throwing away everything the First Order stood for! The galaxy needs these ideals! I learned that lesson a long time ago and you would be wise to do the same!"

Kylo Ren reached out with his hand, tightening his fingers in a choking motion. "No, Hux. I was making it better."

Hux gasped for air, his face turning purple. His fingers twitched and squeezed the trigger.

Kylo Ren's temper flared higher as he halted the bolt with the force and redirected it into the wall. It would have been too easy to squeeze all the air out of Hux. It would have been too easy to take his lightsaber and stab it straight into Hux's chest and leave the body on the ground.

Ben Solo released his stranglehold on Hux and cuffed him. He walked away, heading straight for his TIE-Silencer.