Chapter 1: Darkness Rises
Malachor
Armitage Hux was not by nature a superstitious man, but cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and a chill settled in his bones as he moved through the dark tunnels beneath Malachor's surface. It was enough to make him question his logical nature, in the face of what felt very much like raw power and fear. He gripped the obsidian stone Supreme Leader Snoke had given to him along with his last commands before he had been slaughtered like a dog.
Hux gritted his teeth, and his mouth curled into a sneer at the thought of his new superior. Kylo Ren would never be his Supreme Leader.
The tunnel widened into a chamber ahead of him, and Hux entered slowly, his gaze drifting back to the entrance as a chill pricked his spine.
He moved forward.
The chamber glowed with a soft red light, and seemingly random objects littered the ground.
But they weren't random. Snoke had told Hux that himself.
He walked past a tablet, keeping a good distance between the object and himself. The hem of his cloak caught on the edge of a battered blade, and pulled tightly.
His stomach turned, and Hux panicked. He grabbed at his cloak and pulled violently. The blade let him go, and he stumbled backwards, tripping over a black book buried in the dirt behind him.
A horrible screeching caused him to cover his ears, but the sound wasn't in the cavern. It was in his head. Hux dropped to the ground and the screeching stopped just as suddenly as it had started. He shivered at the sudden silence in his head. Something warm trickled from his nose, and he wiped the back of his palm across it, revealing blood.
Hux rose to his feet, his legs shaking, and continued on. This time he was careful not to touch anything. On the far side of the chamber, he found what he was looking for.
A black pyramid rimmed in gold lay buried in the dirt. He felt it pulling him like an undercurrent; a dark, sweet pull that promised him power beyond his wildest dreams. Hux followed the pull until he stood at the triangle's base.
Snoke's words seared in his mind, making him unable to forget, even if he wanted to.
Place the stone by the pyramid, and step away. I will do the rest.
Hux stepped forward, and placed the obsidian stone at the base of the pyramid. He stepped away.
The stone began to melt, a dark smoke rising from its surface. The smoke surrounded the pyramid, obscuring it from view. It twisted round and round, moving faster, and growing darker with every passing moment. Suddenly, the smoke disappeared, the pyramid taking it in. It glowed a bright red, and then the voices started.
Hux heard muttering of dozens of voices in his head, their pitch getting louder and more insistent. He tried to block them out, but they shouted and screamed, forcing him to shut his eyes as the pain bloomed in his skull.
The voices cut out, and silence fell around him. Hux opened his eyes to see the smoke returning, swirling around in a funnel right in front of him. Out of the smoke stepped a man in a black robe with a hood over his head. He looked toward Hux, and the general felt a chill travel down his spine.
The man's face was pale, almost opaque, and his eyes were sunken in and rimmed with red. He looked dead, but he moved and Hux could see the rise and fall of his chest beneath his robe as he drew breath.
"General," the hooded man spoke, his voice slow. His eyes pierced Hux as though he weighed him and found him wanting.
Hux took a deep breath, and straightened up, trying not to seem as afraid as he felt. He met the hooded man's red rimmed eyes, and didn't look away.
"Emperor," he greeted carefully.
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The Finalizer
Kylo Ren looked over the documents for the fourth time, scowling at some of the fine print beneath the proposed base build. He raised a brow.
"It says here that the base is going to be built on Manaan? I want to know why."
Silence swept over the room, and all eyes landed on Kylo Ren. The nervous major he had put in charge of logistics visibly swallowed at his query. General Hux stepped forward, between him and the major, his expression one of barely contained loathing.
"Because Corellia is in the midst of a civil war," Hux drawled, his voice loud and slow, as if he were speaking to a child. "Perhaps if you had been paying attention to the briefings, you would already be aware of this."
"I am aware," Kylo growled, rising to stand at his full, impressive height. "I am also aware that this civil war is instigated by a few insurgents with limited combat training. If your men are as prepared as you claim they are, a few insurgents should be nothing to them. Unless, of course, you believe them to be cowardly or unprepared to deal with a few backwater citizens?"
Hux flinched, but didn't back down. "It is a risk I do not think we would be wise to take, Emperor." He flung the title with venom, his lip curling upwards.
Kylo sneered. "The base will be built on Corellia. The location is better, and we have more access to trade across the galaxy." He reached for a pen, and began revising the documents before him. "We will reach out to the local government on Corellia and offer them our support in suppressing the insurgents in exchange for their fealty and new ships for our fleet. See that it's done."
"Emperor Ren -"
He cut off as Kylo squeezed the force around his windpipe. He glared at Hux, squeezing just a bit tighter. "See that it's done, General, or I'll be replacing you with someone who will."
He let go, and Hux gasped. "Now get out of my sight."
The general left with heavy footfalls, and Kylo allowed the meeting to continue. He approved two tariff laws, and sent a weapon blueprint into discussion for their next meeting pending discovery of a stable energy source.
When all pressing matters had been dealt with Kylo Ren found his way back to his quarters on the Finalizer. He could have taken the room that had been reserved for Snoke on his occasional visits, but he chose to keep his own. It was sparsely furnished with only a bed and a high backed chair in the corner. The room was all black and stainless, giving it a very utilitarian feel, but he strangely enjoyed the simplicity. The room was sound proofed, remote, and simple. It was all he needed.
Only once the doors were shut was he able to relax. He removed his cloak and the black long-sleeve shirt he was wearing, leaving his chest bare. He threw them over the chair in the corner, and sat down on the bed to remove his boots.
Kylo Ren's thoughts drifted to her as they often had over the last year. In his mind he saw her staring at him, her dark hair mussed around her face, and a tear rolling down her cheek. In his memories she always left him, but occasionally in his dreams, she took his hand.
"Rey," he whispered harshly, his voice deep and graveled. The scavenger girl who had caused him so much trouble had not only marred his face, but she had refused him and left him to deal with the aftermath of Snoke's murder on his own.
It had taken a great deal of practice to block their strange bond. For many months he still appeared to her, and she to him, until he had finally managed to snuff it out. It was still there, like a loose cord in the back of his mind that never left, but it was dormant, and for that he was grateful. Occasionally, he would feel the scavenger girl tug at the bond between them, testing it to see how much was left, but he never tugged back. The time for bonding between them had ended, and he intended to let the past die.
Kylo Ren shoved the scavenger girl out of his mind, and moved on to more pressing needs. He reached for the holopad he always kept by his bed, and ordered a meal for himself before stripping down and climbing into the shower. The moment the water hit his skin, he cursed.
It was freezing.
"Fucking droids," he snarled as he quickly lathered up with soap and rinsed. He clenched his teeth as he shampooed and rinsed his hair as fast as he could. "You had one job!"
How hard was it to keep the destroyer's systems running anyways? He was fairly certain that a child could do it. He intended to find out exactly which droids were responsible for his lack of hot water and cut them into pieces. Then perhaps he would look into replacing them with children, or something more dependable.
He had almost finished rinsing when the lights went out. They flickered, and then died, leaving Kylo in the dark. He felt the force around him bend unnaturally, a dark presence in it sending chills up his spine. It was something he had never felt before, not even with Snoke. Hundreds of screams echoed in the force, only to be snuffed out all at once. He sucked in a sharp breath as their deaths were painful to his mind.
Kylo closed his eyes, and used the force to guide him in the dark, trying to ignore how tainted it felt. He found his way into the bedroom, and threw on his clothes, summoning his lightsaber into the palm of his hand and lighting it up.
Outside, the hallways of the Finalizer were quiet. Emergency lighting flickered, giving Kylo Ren a dim view of the path before him. He followed the hallway down to the main stairwell, avoiding the elevators. When he entered the stairwell, he was hit with the stench of blood and blaster fire. Several storm troopers lay crumpled against the wall, their armor stained and warped with blaster fire. He didn't think about it, he just kept moving.
Kylo Ren descended silently, his lightsaber humming in his hand, casting a red glow against the walls, and illuminating the scuff of blaster fire. He continued his descent until he reached the main level and control room.
It smelled of smoke before he even opened the door. A fire raged somewhere on the deck below. Flames licked at the bottom of one of the skywalks, and smoke billowed up and into the control room, filling his lungs and limiting his oxygen. Bodies of crew members lay strewn across the floor. Some were shot, while others had had their skulls caved in. Blood was everywhere, and flesh had been blasted off of the crew and stuck to the walls and floor. The bodies of stormtroopers lay scattered amongst his crew as well, having met the same fate as the others. Kylo held back the urge to vomit as he stepped in a pool of blood and something that looked very much like bits of flesh.
Ahead of him a dozen storm troopers appeared into view. They held their blasters ready, and flanked two dark figures. The first Kylo recognized immediately. General Hux stepped over one of the bodies, disgust on his face. Next to him stood a tall figure in a hooded cloak that Kylo had never seen before. The force oozed off of the figure in distorted waves, bending and twisting the very life force around him.
The dark figure turned and laughed, his voice a high cackle that made Kylo's hairs stand on end. Beneath the hood of his cloak, he looked sick. His skin was so pale that it was almost translucent, and his eyes were red.
"Kylo Ren," the hooded man cackled. "I've heard so much about you."
"Who are you?" Kylo demanded. He unconsciously brought his lightsaber into a defensive position, as if the hooded man would strike him at any moment.
The man smiled, but it came out as more of a grimace, and his entire face warped with the effort. "I think you know."
"Tell me," Kylo demanded. He clenched his jaw and stood his ground. The man was silent. "Tell me!"
"He's the Emperor," Hux answered for him. Kylo shifted his gaze to the craven general, who was smirking. "The rightful Emperor."
"Traitor," Kylo hissed. "I am your Emperor."
Hux shook his head. "No."
The hooded man laughed once again, and Kylo turned his gaze back to the stranger. "Join me, Kylo Ren," the man offered. "And I will make you the greatest sith lord the galaxy has ever seen. Greater even than… your grandfather." His smile disappeared, and he fixed Kylo with a hard glare. "Swear your loyalty to me," he demanded. "Call me master, and I will make your name feared throughout the galaxy."
Kylo Ren clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. He channeled the force through him, until he could almost hear it sing with power. "No more masters," he growled.
He felt the force between them shift, and he lunged at the hooded man, swinging his crimson blade wildly.
He never made it.
Kylo felt the force lash out at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. He tumbled through the air, and slid across the blood stained floor.
He rose up and charged the man again, this time throwing his hand out in front of him to manipulate the force to his will.
The hooded man barely moved, and then Kylo's body was on fire.
Lightning coursed through him, burning every inch of his skin, and ripping through his chest. He cried out, and crumpled to the floor, riding out the pain like he had done when Snoke saw fit to punish him.
But this wasn't Snoke, and the pain didn't stop.
Kylo Ren gathered the force to him, and lashed out. The electricity stopped, and he scrambled to his feet.
He reached out with the force, and sent a chair flying towards the hooded man. Before it struck, the man waved a hand to the side, and the chair redirected its course, heading right towards him. Kylo ducked, just in time to avoid taking a blow to the face.
Undeterred, Kylo Ren reached out again, this time ripping one of the control panels from the floor and sending it spinning towards the hooded man. Another wave of his hand, and it was redirected once again, gaining speed as it roared towards him.
He dove to the side, but the control panel clipped his shoulder, ripping it open. Kylo clenched his teeth as pain shot through him. He let out a roar and took half the wall down, trying to pin the man to the ground.
The wall itself disintegrated into dust before it ever touched its target.
The hooded man was too powerful. Kylo couldn't beat him with strength alone. He had to fight smarter. He had to be faster.
He faked another charge, then gathered the force to force to him, using it to move instead of strike. He barely missed the electricity as it crackled through the air around him. He blocked a second strike with his lightsaber, deflecting the lightning away from him as it crackled against his blade.
Kylo felt his lips curl up in a smirk as he collected himself, a plan forming in his mind. He used the force, waiting until the hooded man tried to strike him. He was faster, avoiding most of the lightning, and deflecting the remainder with his blade. He zig-zagged, slowly moving forward, but varying his approach to catch the hooded man off guard.
They moved together back through the control room and out onto the skywalk. Flames licked at Kylo's feet as he moved. He could feel the heat through his clothes, and the smoke came between him and the hooded man. Kylo Ren followed the shadow of the man, noting when the smoke around him brightened with electricity, so he could avoid and deflect.
When he felt he was close enough, he jumped up and forward, using the force to send him further and steady him as he struck. He swung his lightsaber and felt a thrill of success as it sliced through the hooded man. He landed a few feet away, triumph in his veins. He looked back as he clipped his lightsaber to his belt, intending to see the hooded man's body, only to find him standing upright among the smoke with no sign of injury.
Kylo froze, his eyes wide. The hooded man cackled. "Foolish boy."
Lightning ripped through him again, and this time he wasn't fast enough.
Kylo Ren writhed on the skywalk, the flames beneath him licking at his shoulders and sides. He tried not to cry out and failed.
The hooded man approached him, his mouth set in a firm line of concentration, hatred dancing in his eyes. "And now, young Solo," he spat. "You will die."
The pain ripped through his chest, leaving him wishing he were dead. The flames below grew hotter, and Kylo made a choice.
He gathered the force to him once again and rolled sideways. The lightning lost its grasp on him as he fell into the flames below.
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Kylo Ren regained consciousness in hell. Fire ate away at the Finalizer, the heat burning his exposed skin and eyes with its proximity. He saw blood on his hands, and didn't know who it belonged to. His head throbbed and his lungs burned. His body was stiff and painful everywhere.
He needed to move. He needed to find a ship and leave.
It was easier said than done. His legs didn't seem to be responding very well, so he ended up crawling across the Finalizer, away from the fire. Every movement was excruciatingly painful, but he kept going.
When he reached the stairwell, he slid and rolled down, nearly crying out with every bump to his battered body. He knew the Finalizer by memory, and when he reached the hangar, he shed tears of joy.
Kylo Ren forced himself to his feet, using the stairwell as support. He hurt badly, but he was pleased to see that he was not paralyzed. His legs moved at his bidding, but the pain was excruciating. Every step was a battle, but he fought until he was among the First Order's collection of tie fighters. Most were gone, but there were a few left, and he spotted a storm trooper climbing into the nearest one.
"Hey!" he shouted.
The storm trooper turned around to face him, and pulled out his blaster. Kylo blocked his shot, and cut him down in one smooth motion, his body protesting the entire time. He took a deep breath before forcing himself into the tie fighter.
Pain shot through his chest, and he lay on the floor panting until it subsided. He forced himself up once again, his head swimming, and made it to the cockpit. He pressed a few buttons from memory, and let the tie fighter take over from there as he sank down into the pilot's chair. The buttons on the dash were now covered in blood. He didn't know how it got there.
The tie fighter fired up, and autopilot took over, getting him out of the Finalizer with ease. From the outside, the destroyer looked like a star. It was bright, the flames lighting up space like a supernova. Kylo almost would have called it pretty if it hadn't been his ship.
The tie fighter continued its course towards the closest charted planet. Kylo Ren sighed. It was almost over. He would land on the nearest planet, lick his wounds, and plan a counter attack on whatever sort of thing the hooded man was.
He didn't quite make it that far.
The comm system in the tie fighter lit up, and he heard the voice of General Hux on the other end. "Fighter one-seven-four-two this is Hux, do you copy?"
Kylo ignored the general's hail.
"Fighter one-seven-four-two, come is Hux. Do you copy?"
He ignored it again.
The comm went silent, and Kylo focused his attention back on the autopilot screen. He was coming into the planet Eriadu's air space. It was not an ideal place to land, but it would have to do.
The tie fighter shook violently, and Kylo found himself on the floor. A second impact, caused the alarms to go off, and the console to screech.
He felt the tie fighter dip, and then fall. Autopilot was fried.
He pulled himself up, and grasped the manual controls, pulling backwards with all his might. The tie fighter righted itself. Another impact, and it jerked hard to the left. Kylo tried to compensate with his manual controls. Bogeys showed up on his sonar, surrounding the tie fighter. The ship rocked twice more as his enemies tried to bring him down.
The tie fighter spun, sending him crashing into the control panel. The ship dropped uncontrollably, the atmosphere of Eriadu pulling him down. He tried to compensate once again, when he lost the rear of his tie fighter.
The ship dropped, spinning and throwing him around. He hit his head on the ceiling, and everything went black.
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D'Qar
Rey wiped sweat from her brow as she reached through handfuls of brightly colored wires. "Which one do I pull?" she asked.
"Red one's the hyperdrive," a deep voice answered her.
Rey fished the red wire out and pulled it from its socket. "Done!"
She heard some banging around on the deck above her, along with the distinctive ping of metal on metal. A few curse words floated down into the lower level, along with some grunting. Her lips curved up in a smile, and she tried to hold back a laugh.
"Hyperdrive's in!" the voice shouted. "Give it some power! "
Rey plugged in the red wire and situated it back where she had found it. The ship hummed, and her companion whooped in victory.
"Congratulations," Poe grinned as he appeared over the ladder beside her. "The Falcon is the owner of a brand new, highly improved hyperdrive!"
He reached down to her, and Rey took his hand as she climbed up the ladder. He pulled her up and onto the main deck.
Rey wiped grease from her hands onto her pants. "So what do we work on next?"
"My X-wing could use some upgrades," Poe admitted as he leaned against the wall of the Falcon. "And a couple of the other pilots were talking about putting in a new weapons system. You up to it?"
Rey grinned. "Absolutely. You know I want to work."
"Everyone does their part," Poe recited in a falsetto voice that was supposed to imitate Leia's. He laughed and his voice returned to the normal timbre she was used to hearing. "Some people make the disgusting mash we call food, others do the laundry, and we break ships and fix them again."
"Speak for yourself," Rey rolled her eyes. "Of the two of us, you're the only one who's broken anything around here." She gave him a mischievous grin. "And your Leia impression sounds terrible, by the way. You sound like one of those creepy witches from Dathomir, trying to lure unsuspecting travelers onto your planet so you can sacrifice them."
"I worked on that for a week!"
"Well you wasted a week."
"That was… " Poe pursed his lips together. "A solid insult. I'm impressed. When we first started working together, you would barely even talk to me."
"Believe me," Rey laughed as she moved forward and pressed the button to open the lift on the Falcon. "I wish we could have kept it that way."
She took the lift down to the concrete of the Resistance base. Poe followed her.
"Come on now," he teased. "We both know working with me is the best part of your day."
Rey turned to face him, smirking. "You wish. I'd rather sit with Finn and listen to him talk about how perfect Rose is for the hundredth time."
Poe faked gagged and Rey laughed. Her good humor was cut short suddenly as nausea washed over her.
"Rey? Are you alright?"
Rey noticed that she was shaking. Fire singed her veins, and the bond that had been dormant in the back of her mind suddenly opened wide. She was overcome with senses she knew instinctively were not her own. She smelled smoke, and a sudden heat left her short of breath.
"Yes," she lied, feeling a cold sweat break over her brow. "I… I just need to lie down. Too much thinking about Finn and Rose I guess." She tried to laugh, but it came out a strained chuckle.
Poe shot her a look that suggested he didn't quite believe her, but he offered her his arm and led her to her quarters.
She stumbled along, leaning heavily on Poe. Pain ripped at her chest and she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. She sucked in a sharp breath, and closed her eyes.
She saw him for only a moment. Kylo Ren lay sprawled out on the ground, his body twisted in unnatural angles, and blood covering half of his face. He was so still, Rey might have thought he was dead if she couldn't feel his life force. It was in and out like static, a reminder that he was indeed alive, even if his current state suggested otherwise.
He gasped and coughed, blood tinting the corners of his mouth, and she lost him.
When she opened her eyes, they were standing in front of her quarters, and Poe was holding her. Worry creased his brow, and his lips were turned down in a frown.
"You went down," he explained. "Rey, I think I need to take you to a medic. You're not okay."
Rey shook her head. How would she ever explain this to a medic? How could she even explain it to Poe? It wasn't like she could just say 'I'm okay, I'm just bonded to an evil warlord who happens to be the same enemy who's tried to kill us multiple times. He's in pain, but I can feel it too because we're bonded. No big deal.'
Like that would go over well.
It had taken her nearly a year to win the Resistance's trust on D'Qar. If she so much as hinted at her bond to Kylo Ren, she would be on everyone's watchlist by sunrise.
No. Rey would see no medics, and give no explanations.
"Rey - "
"No," she demanded. "I'm fine. I just need to rest."
Poe sighed and carried her inside. He sat her on the tiny mattress that comprised most of her quarters and helped her remove her boots. Another wave of pain hit her and Rey felt the sudden need to vomit. She covered her mouth, and Poe was there with the trash can before she could even ask.
Her head spun and she threw up as Poe held her hair back. "I guess we'll have to fire the cooks now," he joked, though there was no real humor in his voice.
When she was finished, Poe helped clean her up and Rey laid back on her pillow, her head spinning and her body feeling pain that didn't belong to her. Her entire body had broken out in a cold sweat.
"How can I help you?" Poe asked, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "Can I get you some medicine or some ice?"
Rey shook her head. "I need to be alone," she told him simply. "I don't want you to see me like this."
He wanted to argue, she could see it in his eyes, but he didn't. Poe gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll be back to check on you later," he promised.
Rey closed her eyes as the door shut behind him, riding out the pain as best she could
She floated in darkness until fevered dreams took her. She dreamt of the stars and a burning destroyer. She felt him again, all anger and pain. The bond that normally stayed closed between them was open, and Rey tugged at it experimentally.
The stars around her began to spin and she felt the pull of gravity. Kylo Ren sat before her, bruised and bleeding, his hands gripping something tightly. His eyes snapped up to meet hers, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He flew out of his sitting position, and his body crumpled into itself. Rey felt immense pain on the back of her head through the bond. She winced, and tried to fight through it as Kylo Ren disappeared.
Rey felt ice in her veins, then she couldn't breathe. She struggled, feeling as though she was sinking. Her vision started to blur, and she tried to scream.
Breath found its way back into her lungs, and Rey sucked it in greedily. The bond she shared with Kylo Ren was alive, but felt very weak. She tried to tug at it, but there was no consciousness at the other end. It existed, but nothing more. And then her mind was empty again.
She opened her eyes. Poe was sitting on a chair he had pulled up next to her bed. He was halfway asleep, but he jerked forward when he heard her stirring.
"Rey!" he nearly yelled. "How are you feeling?"
Rey shifted from side to side in the bed, and then sat up. Poe moved to keep her steady. "Easy," he cautioned.
Outside she could hear shouting and celebration. Poe swiveled around just as the door flung open and Finn barged in, a wide grin on his face.
"What happened?" Poe asked before Rey could speak.
Finn's eyes lit up as he came to sit on the bed beside Rey. "The First Order has fallen."
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Two Months Later
Rey nibbled at the slice of meat on her plate, having lost her appetite some time ago. Finn elbowed her gently as he ate beside her.
"Don't worry about Poe," he told her between bites. "He's tough. He'll make it to Crait. We'll all make it to Crait."
"It's not just Poe, or moving the base," Rey admitted as she pushed some peas around on her plate. She stopped, and turned her entire body around so she could look directly at her friend. Finn stopped eating, and turned to face her as well.
"Do you ever feel like everything we've done is for nothing?" she asked bluntly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we worked so hard to bring down the First Order, and then someone else does it for us. Then we find out the person that did it for us is worse than Kylo Ren and the First Order could ever be. Now we're back to square one again."
She sighed. "Leia wants to make the galaxy a republic again, but what makes her think that anyone who is elected would be any different? We had a republic once before, and it didn't work."
"Well for starters there wouldn't be any televised executions or gallows in every major city," Finn snorted. "As for the rest, well… you just have to have faith that it'll work and the people will elect someone with their best interests at heart."
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just being too cynical about everything," Rey admitted. "Anyone I know here at the base would have the best interests of the people at heart, and I'm sure there are others out there as well."
Finn nodded, and Rey looked up as Rose came rushing towards them, desperation in her brown eyes.
"It's happening again," she informed them. "Come and see."
Rey rose quickly from her chair, her dinner forgotten. She felt numb. She forced herself to put one foot in front of the other and follow Finn and Rose.
Rose took them down a dark hallway at the back of the base and into the room she'd claimed as her 'technology bunker.' Radios and holopads were lit up, around a small table, their chatter low enough that she couldn't understand any of the words. Rose brought a holopad out from her collection and sat it in the middle of the table, activating it without a word.
A hologram of the hooded man named Sidious who called himself Emperor appeared before them. Rey, Finn, and Rose clambered around the tiny table to get a good view.
"Greetings to the Inner Rim, the Outer Rim, and all the planets in between," Sidious rasped. "I, your Emperor, wish you good fortune and happiness. Together we will build a better galaxy, but there are those who wish to stop us from doing so, those who believe our current galaxy would be more palatable under different leadership."
He paused, and looked straight at his audience. Rey could feel chills down her spine at the gaze of his sunken in eyes and translucent skin.
"There will be no leadership but mine," Sidious growled. "And any who disagree will pay the price for their ignorance."
A man was brought out to kneel before Sidious. He was a human with dark hair and a beard, and he wore fine clothes that hinted at his status. Rey vaguely recognized him. She had seen him on the Resistance base once before, meeting with Leia.
"For the crimes of conspiracy and treason, I sentence you to death," Sidious declared. "Let all take note of the fate that is to befall those who do not serve their Emperor, and plot against the Empire."
The man clutched at his throat, and fell over sideways. He twitched and clawed at his face, his mouth forming a silent scream.
Rey looked away. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks, and she trembled, anger coursing through her.
"I sure hope this plan of the General's works," Rose murmured beside her. "I saw the Emperor's scouts yesterday, and I know they saw me. They know we're here, I just hope they're slow getting word back to their boss."
Rey hoped so too. She doubted that the Emperor would show them any mercy when and if he came for them.
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She found him in her quarters that night. He was hunched over, working on something. It was the first time she'd seen him since the First Order fell.
He didn't acknowledge her until she sat down beside him.
Kylo Ren regarded her for a moment, and Rey almost didn't recognize him. He was gaunt, his cheekbones prominent. Dark circles rimmed his whiskey brown eyes, and he'd grown a beard. His raven hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, as though he'd been working outdoors for quite some time.
"Come to gloat?," he snarled, before turning back to his work.
"No," Rey told him, and found that she meant it. Her eyes followed him, not knowing what he was working on, but watching the way his hands moved. She realized vaguely that he wasn't wearing gloves.
His hands were stained with grease. He briefly brought one up to wipe the sweat from his brow, and only succeeded in rubbing grease across his face.
The words slipped out before she could stop them. "You look terrible."
Kylo Ren glared at her. "I'm sure you would look so much better if you were stranded in the middle of nowhere." His voice dropped with venom.
"What happened?" Rey prodded, ignoring the insult. "I felt your pain. I saw you, but I didn't know about Sidious until after."
He tore his eyes away from her. "Doesn't matter. I'm going to kill him soon."
Rey heard the hint of despair in his tone, and it resonated with her own feelings of hopelessness.
Suddenly Kylo Ren snorted, a sick sort of amusement pulling his lips upwards. "Were your friends disappointed when you told them I wasn't dead?"
Rey crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "I didn't tell them," she admitted. "Only your mother knows."
He scowled at the mention of Leia. "How disappointed she must be…" he mused.
"You're wrong," she told him, bringing her eyes up to meet his again. "She was so relieved that she cried when I told her. I don't think she would be the only one happy to hear you're still alive either. Things are…. they're bad. Worse than before."
His voice came out in a harsh bark and his shoulders shook as he laughed. Rey fought the urge to strike him. "Perhaps if you and your Resistance friends had joined the First Order instead of fighting them, this would have never happened."
He smirked, and Rey's blood boiled. "We have no interest in supporting a tyrant," she countered. "The people should be free to handle their own matters. A republic is the way forward - "
"And look how well a republic worked out for everyone before," Kylo Ren interrupted, giving voice to the same reservations she had spoken of only just a few hours before. He shook his head. "History repeats itself."
"It doesn't have to."
"But it does," he insisted. "And even if it didn't, people don't always agree. They see suffering, If their government is a republic, they argue and vote and argue some more until it's too late to do anything about it. People need guidance. They need a dictator who has their best interests at heart in order to thrive."
Rey rolled her eyes. "You sound insane."
"And you know nothing about politics," Kylo shot back, his eyes narrowing. "You know nothing about what it takes to run a galaxy, or even a planet. You haven't seen how corrupt a republic can be, and how much common people suffer under their rule. You've spent most of your life as a lonely scavenger on a backwater planet. You're naive, Rey."
Rey stood, anger in her veins from his insult. She was about to let him have it when his head jerked to the side, his eyes wide. He reached for his lightsaber, and then he was gone.
"You're a jerk," Rey whispered, but there was no one there to hear her.
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She watched Poe and Finn load up Poe's X-wing, her feelings at war within her.
"We're going to fly straight up past Coruscant and intercept the Empire there," Poe explained. "There are those who are in opposition to the leadership of Emperor Sidious in the Inner Rim, and we're going to try and sway them with a show of power. I think they'll join us and come with us to Crait once they see our ambush is successful."
"And if it's not?" Rey asked, meeting his eyes sternly with her own.
Poe frowned, his brows furrowing. "Then we knew what we signed up for."
"I don't like this. It doesn't feel right."
"We'll be fine," Poe reasoned as he packed the last of his rations into the X-wing. "I'll meet you guys on Crait in no time. You'll see. In the meantime, I need you to take care of this guy."
He walked over to Finn and pulled him into a tight hug. Finn merely scowled.
"I want my favorite former stormtrooper to be in one piece when I get back, alright?"
Rey rolled her eyes. "Finn doesn't need me."
"Yes he does," Poe countered. "Somebody's got to stop him from talking about Rose all the time."
"Shut up," Finn groaned.
Rey found herself laughing in spite of her fears.
Poe let go of Finn and pulled himself into the X-wing. He buckled in and flicked the switch on the ignition upwards.
"See you two on Crait," he waved as the glass top on the X-wing closed over him.
Finn came to stand beside Rey and they both shouted goodbye, but the whine of the engine made it impossible for him to hear them. They stood together until Poe's X-wing took off and disappeared from view.
He didn't look back.
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Rey took a walk outside the base as the evacuation of the Resistance base on D'Qar began. She watched several X-wings cut through the sky above until she couldn't see them anymore. The trickle of evacuating Resistance ships had begun.
"When Leia's ship breaches the atmosphere, I follow," she mumbled, repeating the command she'd been given by the General herself. The Millennium Falcon was larger than most of the Resistance's ships, and far more noticeable, so Rey was to be the last one in the air. She would follow the Resistance to Crait, and keep Leia's ship protected from any unexpected company.
Her nerves were in overdrive because of the move, and also because the force itself seemed to be ill at ease.
Rey decided to take a walk while she was waiting. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind.
She focused on her surroundings as she moved. She took a walk through the forest around the base, breathing in the scent of the trees. She ended up walking for several miles as she waited, until the base was far from her and she could be along to mediate and think.
The force was strong here, and seemed less uncertain. It ebbed and flowed through the forest, and Rey let it flow through her as well. It cleared her mind and unknotted the anxiety in her chest. Here, with the force, she could just be.
She sat in the middle of the forest and began to meditate, wrapping herself more and more in the force, until she couldn't tell where it ended and she began.
She thought of Finn, Poe, and Rose, letting their force signatures flow through her. They were strong and familiar. They helped calm her.
After some time, she let go of their signatures, and allowed the force to guide her meditation instead.
The bond at the back of her mind hummed quietly, the force flowing through her having awakened it. She couldn't see Kylo Ren, but she could feel him. His force signature flowed through her, entwining with hers easily, the balance of them both surprising her.
Rey, the bond between them growled, and then suddenly it was gone.
She forced herself to open her eyes. The sun was setting beyond the tree line, and with a start Rey realized that she had been meditating longer than she had intended.
She ran towards the base through the forest, hoping that she wasn't behind schedule for departure. She covered ground much faster than she had earlier in the day, making it back to the base in very little time.
It was deserted. The Falcon was the only ship left.
Rey cursed quietly as she boarded her ship and began working at the control panel. The engine hummed to life, and she was airborne. She pressed down on the throttle, and the Falcon engaged its thrusters, lifting her up and out of D'Qar's atmosphere.
She emerged in a graveyard.
Ship parts and debris filled the space around her. Bodies floated by the Falcon, some nearly colliding with her windshield. No intact ships were in sight.
Rey panicked.
She reached for her radio, and turned it to the frequency she'd been told to use. "Resistance one, this is the Falcon. Do you copy?"
Silence.
"Resistance one, this is the Falcon. Do you copy?"
There was nothing. Not even the crackle of static that would suggest someone else had their radio on. She was alone.
Rey felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, and she took a deep breath. She closed her eyes as her chest began to heave. She felt for them through the force, looking for any signs of life.
She felt Leia, her signature being the strongest. She felt far away, but she was alive. Rey nearly cried with relief.
Next she felt for Finn and Rose. It was harder to find them. It took every bit of her focus, but finally she was able to feel them too. They had all been on Leia's ship. They had all been taken alive.
Then she felt for Poe. He had been the first to leave, so maybe he'd made it out before the attack. She searched for him through the force, focusing on his signature. She felt nothing.
Maybe he was too far away, she tried to reason with herself. She reached out again, stretching the force as far as she could, and still she couldn't feel him.
The tears fell. She couldn't stop them. Rey wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. Thinking about Poe hurt, and so she decided not to. She thought of Leia, Finn, and Rose instead. They were alive. She knew they were.
Rey was both relieved that her friends were alive, and afraid for their fates. If their new Emperor was involved, which she suspected he was, they would most likely be held for execution. She had time to find them and rescue them, but she wasn't sure how much.
She was about to jump to lightspeed and follow their force signatures, when reality set in. It would have taken several ships to shoot down the entire Resistance, most likely destroyers. The Falcon was fast and she had the force, but even if she managed to catch them, her weapons were not equipped to take on a destroyer, let alone multiple destroyers. If she couldn't catch them before they made landfall, she would have even more problems to deal with. Going in blind and alone was not smart.
Especially without your lightsaber she reminded herself.
She needed help.
Rey tried to think of who she could depend on to help her, and when the answer came to her she was not pleased.
Kylo Ren wanted to kill Emperor Sidious. He had said so himself. If the Empire had taken her friends, their interests were now aligned. He was strong and would make a powerful ally if Rey could sway him to help her.
She sat silently for what felt like hours, trying to compile a list of all the reasons she shouldn't seek him out. When she tired of trying to find excuses, she sighed and closed her eyes.
She tentatively pulled on the bond between them. He didn't respond. She pulled on the bond again, more insistently this time.
Kylo! her mind shouted. Answer me!
What do you want, scavenger? He replied gruffly.
I need your help.
She heard his laughter in her mind, course and masculine. Her first instinct was to lash out at him, but she took a deep breath, letting the anger go.
Sidious attacked the Resistance, she explained. He's taken them captive.
Such a sad story he replied. She could almost imagine his sneer.
I thought you wanted revenge, Rey challenged. Or have you decided that you're too weak to kill Sidious?
She could hear his strangled snarl as if he were sitting next to her and she knew she had him.
I will kill him if it's the very last thing I do, Kylo Ren vowed. I'm on Eriadu. Meet me at the pass on the tallest mountain. You'll know which way to go. Come alone.
He slammed the connection between them shut, and Rey started, nearly falling out of the pilot's chair on the Falcon. She turned to the control panel, biting her lower lip.
She didn't like this. It wasn't a good idea, but what choice did she have? She couldn't save her friends alone, and like it or not, she needed Kylo. With a resigned sense of purpose, she punched in the coordinates to Eriadu, hoping she hadn't just made a huge mistake.
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Eriadu
The planet was like nothing Rey had ever seen. From afar she could barely see its land masses for the smog. Below the smog, most of the planet seemed to be a wasteland. Cities lie in ruin as she flew the Millennium Falcon over them. Trash piled into the streets, and she saw no human life as she passed.
She followed the horizon, finding the tallest landmass she could see and flying towards it. As she got closer, the land beneath her changed from an empty cityscape to lush forests and plateaus. Rey set the Falcon down in the middle of one of the plateaus, facing towards the tallest mountain.
She set out hoping to make the summit before nightfall. Travel across the plateau was easy, and she began to let her guard down. The ground before her slowly began to get more sparsely covered, the terrain becoming steeper with every step. The mountain would be a long and difficult climb, but Rey was certain she could make it.
A scuffle on the rocks behind her caught her attention, and she turned around, ready to fight. She saw nothing. Rey watched carefully, looking for any movement among the grass of the plateau. Again she saw nothing.
She spun around to face a noise on her right, and saw black fur and teeth before she was tackled to the ground. She hit her head on the rocks beneath her and everything went black.
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Rey woke up to screeching and howling all around her. She was in pain, and her head throbbed. Her vision swam into focus, and the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. The second thing, or things, she noticed were the creatures.
Three large apelike creatures surrounded her, their bodies covered in black hair and their teeth large and menacing. They were each about twice her size, but laying down they seemed taller. One of them wrapped its massive hand around her, piercing her side with claws.
Rey tried not to cry out. One of the other creatures bent down to look at her and shrieked. The first creature let her go, and threw its head into the second. They began screeching and bowing up to each other.
The third creature intervened.
With one loud howl, the other two stopped and sat on their haunches. The third creature walked up to her on its knuckles, and regarded her carefully. It sniffed her and growled. She felt the creature grab her and pull her off the ground. It held her up within an inch from its face, yellow eyes tracking her every move.
Rey summoned the force to her as best she could with her throbbing head. She readied herself to attack the creature when it screamed.
Crimson light leaked through its back and cut the creature from top to bottom. The other two charged at the intruder as the creature let Rey go. She fell to the ground, and rolled away.
Kylo Ren decapitated one of the creatures, and swung at the last several times before he was finally able to run it through with his lightsaber.
Rey lay still, trying to get her head to stop swimming when he approached her. The crimson glow of his blade made his face look twisted and angry. He stalked towards her like a wraith in the darkness, and part of her felt a sliver of fear. He stopped less than a foot from her, and regarded her carefully. She saw him disengage his blade as he reached down to help her up.
She hesitated for only a moment before taking his hand.