[Kylo]

Finally. He was alone! He grinned wildly at that and ran down the corridor with a bounding stride that made his cloak snap behind him. People saw him, recognized him, and stared, too shocked for him to need to use the Force. He'd deliberately chosen to return to the Finalizer in the same clothing he'd left it, despite the objections of the group. Lando had understood. There were parts of his old identity he wasn't done with.

The ship's vaults remained secure, well-insulated from the battle for now. He dismissed the troopers guarding it. The droids were a little harder to convince, but he got past them as well. The computer that directly controlled access was tougher. He didn't know Hux's personal code and it would take something that high level to get inside.

He tried his own anyway. It didn't work. Hux had deactivated it, of course. Hux wasn't that stupid. But he wasn't all-knowing.

Kylo tried the override he'd had installed into the ship's system two or three years earlier, after an especially bitter feud over the Silencer program. Hux hadn't complained about Kylo's personal ship (he couldn't, after all), but he'd been in control of the implementation of the new model for the rest of the pilots. Hux had won that round between them, delaying the rollout, but Kylo had arranged for a high level backdoor in preparation for an end run he never got around to.

The code worked. The doors opened. Kylo strode inside, letting the Force guide him. What he was looking for was easy enough to find - the crystal sang to him. He retrieved his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. Vader's mask rested next to it as though on display. Kylo wished he had something more protective to transport it in, but the bag with Snoke's things would have to do. He carefully added the mask on top of the two holocrons, data chits, Snoke's ring, and a medallion Snoke had had Kylo take from Tehar.

He paused to look around the vault and see what contraband Hux had stowed here. There were crates and crates of credits in different denominations and currencies. That was no surprise, nor was it illegal. Kylo was sure it was all properly entered in the account books. He picked up a few plaques and dropped them into the bag – not to steal them, but just to make sure the tally was off next time – if there was a next time. The ship was taking a pounding, but still, he refused to hurry.

He recognized most of the other things displayed around the room. There was a headdress bestowed on them after conquering Farnzen. There was a sculpture of a hoofed mammal meant to represent mutual prosperity they'd been gifted on Kraytor after an amicable alliance had been reached. There was a broken knife that symbolized the peace they'd achieved on Bezlid VIII.

There were other things he recalled with less clarity: a tattered book of Oldlaw, a decorated staff of chastisement from somewhere he couldn't name, an illuminated scroll that told the story of their victory on Vappendawdaeshanan, a rather pedestrian shield of the honored 'First Fallen' in battle against the Order on Mindar, and a replica of the skull of the world leader who'd surrendered to them on Pelfork (the old custom of severing the leader's head and presenting one's conqueror with the actual cleansed bone had been discontinued a few centuries earlier, which was fortunate for the leader in question).

None of them were illicit. These were all above-board, without a hint of the corruption Kylo had been looking for. There was also a crate marked "B. Hux" but Kylo ignored it. That Hux had inherited things from his father was perfectly normal.

Still. He unclipped the lightsaber and lit it. He might see nothing here to impugn Hux's character, but many of the items enshrined and celebrated the blood spilt in the First Order's ceaseless conquest of those worlds outside the reach of the New Republic. Kylo had played a role in many of these. He knew very well the cost that had been paid to earn these trophies. He would be congratulated for vandalizing them. Would his mother applaud him? Would Rey?

He leveled the sword at the replica skull, wondering if this was how he should prove himself. He swallowed. He found himself hesitating, pondering that. She hadn't asked for him to prove himself to her. He just … assumed. And Rey? If he needed to prove anything to her, then he didn't want her. Or so he told himself.

He lowered the sword, but the blade still crackled with life. He, Hux, and others had worked hard to stitch together a network of worlds which supported the Order. Sometimes people had died in the process. Sometimes they had not. But there was no good to be found in destroying their accomplishments. He clicked off the lightsaber and replaced it on his belt. He had what he'd come for. Now it was time to leave.