Their decisions, much to Kylo's dismay, led to a lot of paperwork. First, he had to catch up on the things Derek hadn't deemed urgent in the past two weeks, then the requested information started trickling in.
Now that Rey no longer had the research team to keep an eye on in the mornings, she'd decided to try and help him with all the paperwork. He'd tried to tell her it wasn't necessary given that she clearly hated it just as much as he did, but she'd insisted. If he were honest, he was happy for the help.
Derek, on the other hand, seemed to go half-crazy because of it. For now, all Rey mostly did was write up summaries of reports so Kylo wouldn't have to read through them entirely, but her knowledge of the First Order was still patchy. She tended to ask question after question. Derek didn't seem to do well with the constant switching between the report he was working on with Kylo, and the one Rey was trying to comprehend. He didn't complain about it though. He probably understood that it would be beneficial in the long run.
The sheer amount of documents that were needed to get the construction of the new buildings officially started was astonishing. Kylo couldn't remember it being that bad the last time around but eventually came to the conclusion he had probably just repressed the memory.
Apart from the paperwork, several meetings with the different teams were necessary before the actual construction could happen. They were added to the calendar for when Kylo returned to the Supremacy. Thomas, of course, would come along.
That calendar was something Kylo looked at with dread. Derek had presented him a list of all the requests that needed to be dealt with, where the requesters were from, and what the topic to discuss would be about.
It had Kylo sigh with exasperation. Apparently, most were about internal squabbles with the people involved high-ranked enough that nobody else but Kylo could offer a solution. Squabbles about trade routes, land ownership, political discussions, jurisdiction issues—which were the polar opposite of the land ownership issues—and one insult that had led to two of their largest ships being on no-speaking terms with each other. They had been stationed on opposite ends of the galaxy as a temporary solution, but it was an unseemly and completely unacceptable issue.
There were also a few high-ranked officials who were imprisoned and awaiting sentence for corruption or attempting to cause an uprising with Kylo's continued absence from the public as an excuse. The list went on and on, and Derek predicted that, once word got out that Kylo would return to the Supremacy, more requests would come flooding in.
Kylo really wasn't looking forward to his stay at the Supremacy. It was clear that the two week minimum Derek had mentioned would mean he'd be hosting people from morning until evening and he honestly didn't think he would survive that without losing his patience. Rey had laughed at that statement and had promised to appear in front of him and do silly dances if ever she felt his temper rise too high.
In the end, Kylo had set a maximum of four weeks for his stay and promised Derek that he would return to the Supremacy more frequently after, if only for a few days at a time.
The issue of the Trainees' graduation was, luckily, quickly settled. As requested, Ember had posed the issue to the Knights as an open question and some had offered solutions similar to the one Kylo and Rey had had in mind. The test by three Knights had been unanimously accepted.
With little further discussion, they'd decided to have two of the trainees take the standard knowledge tests—which Derek needed to find in the data from Base Z—and have their graduation fights not long after Kylo returned. They would ask the newly arrived Knights to be the ones to conduct the fights. They wouldn't know the trainees and it would serve to make them feel included from the get-go.
Most of the Guard would follow Kylo to the Supremacy, the need for protection of the base much lower without Kylo there. It had caused a bit of an argument where Kylo had claimed that Rey demanded and equal amount of protection as him, Phasma dryly pointing out there weren't enough Guard for that but also obviously upset about it, and Rey trying to convince them both that no protection by Guard was needed at all given that the base was filled with Knights.
A compromise had eventually been found in which there was minimal protection for the Base, and that Rey, who'd accepted it with an eye roll, would continue to have a Guard by her side. Kylo planned on heavily imprinting on Ember the importance of making sure Rey was happy and safe while he was away. He'd do that when Rey couldn't hear it though. She'd glare at him and let him know that she could take care of herself, thank you very much. It would most likely also end with him sporting a few nasty bruises after the next sparring session. Rey had progressed magnificently, to the point where they were equally matched.
Before Kylo actually departed for the Supremacy though, and the Knights could depart for their own missions around the galaxy and according to the tight schedule communications had set up, Rey would have her requested obstacle course throughout the base.
The route and number of people were about the same as Quicksilver's test about a year ago. There were more Knights along the way because Rey wanted to make sure that she could make it through even if there were any untrained Force sensitives at the Resistance base. It wasn't completely unthinkable that there were people there completely unaware of their connection.
There were also some added sections where she would have to pass by the Guard using Shadow's techniques instead of tricking them with the Force. These Guard would keep the Force shield in their helmets on while the others along the way would temporarily turn it off.
Rey was nervous but Kylo could feel her determination alongside it. It was of a sharp kind, the type that doesn't allow failure. Kylo merely placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, knowing there was nothing to say. He believed in her as she believed in herself but, like she was still nervous, he still felt the need to wish her good luck.
"Everyone is in place, Miss Rey," Phasma said from the side. "Whenever you're ready."
Rey took a deep breath and looked up at Kylo. He smiled at her and nodded. After another squeeze of her shoulder he let go and Rey set off. He would take a different route and wait for her on the other end. Still, he couldn't resist tracking her through the base.
She seemed to take the first hurdle without much issue. The same could be said for the second. She paused briefly at the third but then smoothed past that one as well.
When they arrived at the point of arrival, Ember tilted her head at them in question.
"She's arriving at the first Shadow-stage," Kylo informed her and Phasma.
"Already?" Ember asked.
"She must have trained extensively," Phasma added. "She's going about as fast as Knight Quicksilver went, isn't she?"
"Faster," Kylo answered. "She's been using the Force much longer than Quicksilver had at that point. He had the added difficulty that he was doing something consciously that he'd been doing on instinct before. Rey learned a new trick, in a manner of speaking. This part though, this will be harder for her."
He could sense it, both in how she slowed down and by the apprehension in their bond. He knew Rey was far less secure in her shadowing technique than she was in mind-tricking someone. After all, she'd performed her first mind trick on instinct back when she'd been his prisoner.
It was a tense few minutes before Kylo was flooded with a sense of relief.
"She made it past," he notified the others.
"Good," Phasma said, which Ember echoed with a firm nod.
It took Rey twenty seven minutes to traverse the entire route they'd set out. There was one tense moment where Phasma got a message but it changed halfway to the Guard asking whether they were allowed to put their Force shield back on. Both Ember and Kylo chuckled as they heard Phasma answer a negative in a tone that sounded a lot like resignation.
When Rey eventually did arrive, Kylo opened his arms with a wide grin and Rey jumped right into them. He twirled her around for good measure.
"I did it!" she joyfully exclaimed, her eyes bright with triumph. "There was this one that seemed to want to report me but-"
"You told him to ask me if he could put his shield back on," Phasma said with a sigh.
"I did," Rey confirmed. Her face fell. "Does that mean I failed?"
Phasma shook her head. "No. If we hadn't known you were on your way, nobody would have taken notice of the false alarm. It happens more often than you think. You have no idea how often some of the droids get mistaken at the Supremacy."
"Seriously?" Ember asked, echoing Kylo's thoughts.
"Seriously," Phasma dryly admitted.
"You did it," Kylo repeated to Rey. "My clever, little sandcat."
He squeezed her closer as she was still firmly in his arms and her legs were still wrapped around his waist. She giggled in his ear with joy before pulling back and planting a quick kiss on his lips. With one hand supporting her thigh, he placed the other behind her head and pulled her in for another, more thorough one.
"Must you," Ember complained. "Have you no decency?"
"You are in no position to tell me what to do," Kylo told Ember once he pulled away from Rey.
"Pulling rank on me now? For this?" Ember turned to Phasma. "Good luck with them; I'm out of here."
"You get used to it," Phasma said in response.
Rey wriggled a little so Kylo put her down. "I should go tell Quicksilver and Shadow that I succeeded," she enthused, practically bouncing on her feet.
Kylo hummed, amused by her exuberance. "Come on," he said, setting off towards Building K where he knew Quicksilver and Shadow were waiting in the Knights' common room. "They no doubt want to know exactly how it went." He leaned in closer. "Erifred is also making your favourite dishes for dinner tonight."
"Really?" Rey exclaimed.
"I never doubted you would succeed, Sandcat," Kylo answered.
He smiled as she grabbed his hand, intertwined their fingers, and pulled him down for another, short kiss. "You're the best," she said after.
Behind them, Phasma sighed. Rey turned and stuck out her tongue.
Two days later, Kylo left for the Supremacy. The Knights would leave in the two days following.
After seeing Rey every single day for so long and constantly having her by his side, Kylo was acutely aware of their separation. The Supremacy almost felt alien to him. He'd forgotten how important rank was within the system of the First Order. Well, not entirely forgotten its importance, but how it felt to walk through a tightly populated ship where everybody took care of the right protocols upon seeing him. People greeted him left and right. Some walked out of the elevator or opted to take the next one when he needed one. Everybody stepped to the side to let him pass. Troopers saluted. Some people scurried away once they spotted him, thinking he wouldn't notice.
The rules at the Knights' base were familial, as he'd wished it, but it made the change all the more visceral. He wondered if it was something he should try to change, or if it was something that was necessary for the organisation to run as smoothly as it did. Would loosening the rules of rank help against corruption, or only promote it?
His only solace was that he could still talk to Rey across their bond. She still sat in his office in the mornings and they still slept together, but there was a slight time difference between the ship and the base, making their time together shorter. And it was not the same as actually being together. Similar, but not the same.
Rey huffed that the Base was almost eery with the Force Knights and most of the Guard gone. At least Flock had been returned to his former self. Kylo knew the little droid really did help Rey to stave off her loneliness. She'd also seduced her own Guard into sparring sessions, both with and without the use of the Force. Phasma had merely commented that she wasn't allowed to damage her Guard and had left it at that.
Eventually, while Kylo was certain he was going to go batshit crazy from the tedious meetings and petty issues he couldn't believe required his attention, the day came that Rey left for the Resistance.