"I come in peace."
Kylo announces the words with grave solemnity and an expression that he hopes conveys humility. He even goes so far as to coat his delivery with a heavy dose of suggestion in the Force. But still . . . no one believes him . . . not even the weak minded in attendance. His reputation precedes him into the room. The First Order's fake news, deception, brutality, and ultimatums are coming back to haunt him. Transparency will gain him little at this point. No one trusts him.
In fact, the traitor standing opposite him is overtly incredulous. General Finn crosses his arms and stares him down. The Force tells Kylo that his foe is seething. Indignant, too.
He glances coolly towards Dameron, who refuses to meet his eyes. Yes, this is definitely a setup. Given the animosity between the First Order and the Republic, that's no surprise. But there's no benefit in calling Dameron out. The Chancellor is the closest thing Kylo has to an ally at this point. He can't afford to alienate him.
Across the room, General Finn is doing enough angry emoting for three men. The guy is like a bull rancor, snarling and testy, with barely contained violence that threatens to unleash at any moment. Kylo is taken aback by how truly Dark Rey's friend has become. Kylo remembers resolve and courage from him in the Starkiller woods. It was nothing like the bitter hatred the traitor now projects. General Finn is very unbalanced, he perceives. And having been that guy himself a few times, Kylo knows that makes his foe especially dangerous.
Hoping to tamp down the tension, Kylo calmly repeats himself. "I come in peace and in the spirit of cooperation."
The traitor sneers back, "Why should we believe that?"
"We have a ceasefire."
"Which you broke stealing Rey!"
"I didn't break the ceasefire. Those were not my men. But you were meant to believe they were my men. Darth Sidious seeks to stoke discord among us. He fears our combined efforts. And he wanted Rey for a hostage." FN-2187 knows all of this already courtesy of Dameron, but if he wants to rehearse the lines for their audience, Kylo will play along.
"You mean you need our help," the traitor jeers smugly.
"I am seeking an alliance. It will benefit us both." Kylo is trying to sound reasonable and strategic, to be agreeable without being conciliatory, to move past the blame game for the past and focus on the mutual present threat. He is determined to keep his cool, even if others do not.
But FN-2187 is not through with his premeditated grandstanding. He gestures to the posse of ex-stormtrooper brethren he has assembled for this occasion. "Do you recognize any of these men and women?"
"No. Should I?"
"They once fought for the First Order. Like I once fought for the First Order. We were all anonymous slaves to your ambitions!" the traitor accuses. "Stolen from our homes or designated by cruel social welfare programs to be raised as child soldiers!"
"Yes." Kylo won't deny it. He's already admitted as much in the ceasefire agreement. "I opened the records on the stormtrooper program. It has been reformed as promised. Currently, the trooper program is an all-volunteer force."
"An all-volunteer force of brainwashed, programmed people who don't know any better than to re-enlist! They think they owe everything to the First Order, when in fact it has stolen everything from them!"
Kylo keeps trying to be patient. He knows he needs to keep his temper in check. Still, an exasperated sigh slips out. Political stunts like this remind him of his mother, and that's not a good thing. "The matter was settled in the ceasefire agreement." How is any of this relevant at this point?
FN-2187 hisses, "That agreement settled nothing!"
"Maybe not for you personally, but it settled this issue between the Republic and the First Order. The war is over!" Did he say that emphatically enough? Kylo wants to shut down the traitor's performance. He and the rest of the Republic leadership need to move past their petty personal grudges for the good of the galaxy. "The Rim is free and we are at peace. Move on, General. The rest of us have. There is a new conflict brewing."
But FN-2187 won't let the issue go, and Dameron appears unwilling to intercede with his colleague. Being something of an expert on anger, Kylo watches his foe's twisted jaw and heaving shoulders and sees the guy is still winding up, not settling down. Sure enough, the enemy general complains, "Easy for you to move on, Ren, since you think you've won."
Won? Won? Hardly. "None of us has won anything so long as Palpatine lurks in the shadows. That's why I am here." Is the traitor getting the hint? He's here to discuss an alliance, not to rehash old hurts already settled in the ceasefire agreement.
"You can't blame everything on Darth Sidious!"
"I'm not. But your personal situation—and the situation of your crowd of buddies there—is the fault of Sheev Palpatine." Kylo shifts to address the phalanx of ex-troopers currently sullenly staring him down. "Do you hear me? I am sorry that you too have been victimized by Darth Sidious under his guise as Snoke. We all were duped! The First Order was only ever his comeback plot. He didn't give a damn about any of the politics! You and everyone else in the Rim were just his means to destabilize the Republic and to justify the excess of Starkiller Base." This isn't about him, but Kylo adds bitterly, "If it makes you feel any better, you weren't the only ones used."
Anger is a contagious energy that jumps quickly from one person to the next. And by now, it has jumped from the traitor to him. Kylo can feel himself getting worked up, and he knows that's a mistake. Giving these people the full fist clenching Kylo Ren is what they are expecting, and it helps to validate their victimhood. The traitor wants a public reckoning so the Republic can feel morally superior. But FN-2187 is focused on the wrong villain, and that's why he's here. "Darth Sidious is to blame and he's a threat to us all! Focus on that, General."
The traitor smirks and trolls him. "I forget . . . you're the hero now come to save us all."
Fuck this guy for his sarcasm. Kylo nods back coolly. "That's right. But if the Republic would rather lose to Darth Sidious, that's your choice."
Finally, Dameron pipes up. "Now, let's not be hasty—" he begins.
Just as his best buddy hollers back, "I will never trust you or any other Sith!"
Kylo shrugs. "Like I said, it's your choice." He knew this meeting was a bad idea. Kylo now turns on heel to head for the door. Enough of this. He didn't come here for this. And truthfully, he doesn't think he needs the Republic's help. If anything, negotiating with these righteous fools complicates matters.
"Whoa! Ren, hold up!" It's the Chancellor rushing to his side.
"Why are you even here?" the traitor yells after him. "Why did you come? Why did you show your face where you're not welcome? Everyone hates you here, Ren!"
Kylo pauses and half turns. With a withering look at his determined heckler, he answers, "I came for Rey. She cares about the Republic and she cares about you." He even says the traitor's name aloud publicly for the first time, "Finn," spitting the word out. Hoping he doesn't sound like the lovesick fool he is, Kylo somewhat sheepishly adds, "What Rey cares about matters to me."
Again, he's aiming for truth. And some balance, too. But it's the wrong thing to say to FN-2187 who apparently fancies himself something of a jilted lover. "Don't you dare say her name to me," he growls.
Whatever. Kylo turns back around and resumes walking out. He nods to Plagueis and Astral who have stood silently watching thus far. "Let's go."
"We're not done yet!" the traitor calls after them.
Kylo doesn't break stride. He ignores flustered Dameron who struggles to keep up as he sputters for them not to leave so soon.
Again, the traitor calls, "We're not done yet!"
"I'm done," Kylo mutters. He's almost to the door when he hears the sound of a lightsaber igniting.
Fuck!
Kylo whirls. Sure enough, the petulant traitor has followed him. He's standing five meters away with a lit lightsaber. It's Rey's sword.
Kylo immediately orders to Plagueis, "Get Astral out of here."
But his stalwart grandmother squares her shoulders, steps forward, and announces, "I'm not going anywhere. If that young man is going to kill you, he's going to have to kill me too." For as usual, gallant old Lady Vader—who has no Force and is only part of the family by marriage—is the most Skywalker of all of them. And truthfully, Kylo loves her for that.
Beside Astral, the Muun flashes a wry grin. "This is where the fun begins."
But this isn't fun. Kylo is extremely annoyed that the traitor is demanding a rematch now of all times. This guy is so . . . so . . . himself. Look at him raging like a caged rathtar. It's disconcerting. Kylo doesn't know whether to feel sorry for the traitor or to laugh at him. He really wants to laugh at this poseur. But if he does, what does that say about himself?
Kylo settles for glowering. He points to the blue sword the traitor inexpertly brandishes. "That lightsaber belongs to me! It's Rey's."
"Come and take it!" FN-2187 taunts.
The Muun enters the fray now to call dibs. "I gave that sword to Rey. If it belongs to anyone, it belongs to me." Extending a giant, skeletal hand, Plagueis commands quietly in a voice so deep and Dark it makes Kylo want to squirm, "Hand it over, son."
Everyone who matters in the room knows that Darth Plagueis the Wise could easily pluck that sword with the Force. But he doesn't. He's giving the traitor a chance to surrender it of his own accord.
FN-2187 declines.
"Why does he get a sword and I don't?" Kylo complains to Dameron. And wait, that came out like a whine. But really, this is a double standard.
"Come and take it, Ren! Come and take it!" the traitor sneers. He's practically dancing as he bounces around like a prizefighter anticipating the first punch. He's hopped up on adrenaline and hate, Kylo knows from personal experience.
He looks to Plagueis questioningly. Then to Dameron. "Are we doing this? Really?" This is not what he came for. A duel pretty much defeats the unity he was hoping to broker.
"Oh, we're doing this!" the traitor affirms as he clumsily attempts a spin. The guy nearly takes his head off in the process. Astral winces at the sight. But Kylo is again tempted to laugh.
"I am unarmed." He holds up his gloved palms to display them to the room. "I surrendered my weapon because I come in peace."
"Take yours back from grandma and light it up, Ren! This. Is. On!" the traitor hollers.
Kylo looks again to Dameron, hoping he will step up and shut this down. "Is this on?" Kylo practically begs him to intervene. Because is this really what the Republic wants from him—more violence?
The Chancellor gives a sheepish, unconvincing shrug. "Not what I planned, but I guess so."
Not what he planned? Kylo knows a setup when he sees one. He glares. "Is this payback for the trooper on my ship who took a shot at you?"
Dameron looks to his best friend and pretends to consider. "Finn was a trooper. So yeah, I guess there is some symmetry here. Your guy tries to kill me, and my guy tries to kill you."
"Then let's consider this stunt over now and call it even. We have things to discuss," Kylo snaps. "We're wasting time."
"Light your sword, Ren!" General Finn again issues his challenge. The traitor might be in over his head, but he doesn't lack for confidence. Is he going to raise Rey's sword to eye level and peer down it like a bombsight? Because that's going too far. Kylo draws the line there. That's his signature move and the traitor doesn't get to make it his own.
"Light your sword, Ren!"
Kylo shakes his head and stands his ground. "Why are we doing this? What does this prove?" Exasperated, he vents to Plagueis. "This isn't even a fair fight." That's not a diss, that's the truth.
"I don't know . . . " the old Master muses aloud. "Finn here has the Force. Not as much as you do, but some."
"He has no training," Kylo points out.
Again, FN-2187 heckles him. "Light that sword, Ren! You have to get through me to get to the negotiating table!"
"Fine." Annoyed Kylo immediately freezes the traitor with the Force. As FN-2187 struggles in vain against the invisible hold, Kylo grabs his sword back from Astral, lights it, and marches forward to hold it to the traitor's throat. "I win," he declares to the room of onlookers. "You yield, and are spared in the interest of peace and cooperation. You got the fight you asked for, and you lost," Kylo gloats. The belittling words come out ugly and personal, like he intends. Because this conflict is only superficially about politics and stormtroopers, Kylo suspects. It's mostly about Rey.
Just look at the flaring nostrils and the seething eyes of his foe. The body language betrays what the Force strongly projects: this guy fucking hates him. The traitor's fury at his quick humiliation is intense. If this pretender were a threat, Kylo would take notice. But he's not, so Kylo delights in toying with him a bit. He tightens the Force hold. It's imperceptible to the crowd, but very apparent to the gasping loser Finn.
Kylo pointedly looks to Dameron and then to the rest of the witnesses. "Is everyone happy now?" His dominance having been demonstrated, Kylo turns off this sword and releases the traitor. Again looking to Dameron to assert his leadership, Kylo growls, "Let's move on."
And that's when the traitor springs into action with a leap and a swing. The blue blur of Rey's lightsaber comes arcing straight for Kylo's head.
He leaps back, his Force-attuned reflexes kicking in. Suddenly, he's weaving and dodging a series of slashing attacks and stabbing thrusts. The traitor is out to kill. This isn't a stunt taking on the old boss for his ex-trooper buddies to witness. This is blind lust for vengeance. It's the sicko mode of the Dark Side.
Three more swings and Kylo again freezes the traitor in the Force. "We're doing this? We're really doing this?" he rasps at his immobilized attacker. "Then someone call a medic," Kylo taunts. "He's going to need one." Again, Kylo releases the traitor from the Force hold. He lights his own sword and the battle is joined. And thus begins the aggrieved rematch from the Starkiller woods.
FN-2187 isn't half bad for a newbie with no training. He is quick on his feet with a powerful swing. But he uses the saber like it's a cudgel to pound an adversary, and that makes his moves more befitting a broadsword than the weightless rapier of a lightsaber. But whatever. He started this, and Kylo intends to finish it.
The audience is silent with rapt attention, except of course for the Muun. Plagueis is treating this contest like it's a podrace that he's betting on. And in this case, apparently, he's betting on the traitor. "Concentrate," the former Sith urges. "Use the Force, Finn."
Stung, Kylo turns to glare at Plagueis. "Whose side are you on?" Then, he leaps back from the traitor's latest charge and bats away his blade in the nick of time.
Snoke who isn't Snoke shrugs. "You said it yourself—it's not a fair fight. I think I should give him some coaching. You know, to even up the odds."
"Since when do you care about fairness?" Kylo huffs as he jumps to avoid a vicious saber swipe aimed at his ankles. If these first few sparring passes are any indication, this is some next level shit from the traitor. Kylo is kind of . . . impressed? This guy has more Force than he realized.
"It's not fairness, it's strategy," the Muun explains his treachery. "Mind you, you can't win."
"Watch me."
"Seriously, my boy. You can't win. I forbid it. Because if you kill him, you have just killed our chance at an alliance. And if he kills you—"
"Not a chance!"
"—then we will all be in trouble. For who will save us then?" the Muun bemoans in dramatic fashion while keeping an utterly straight face. "Fighting him is like fighting Rey. You fight to a draw, you each make a good showing, and we collectively exhale and move on."
"I'm trying to move on," Kylo growls through gritted teeth, "but he won't let us. And now, I'm going to have to kill him-"
"I forbid you to kill him."
"Yes-don't kill him!" Dameron yelps.
Just as miffed General Finn boasts, "You can't kill me! I may not be trained, but you'll find I'm full of surprises!" He punctuates this bravado with a lunge from the right.
"Last time, I gave you a new spine. This time, maybe I'll give you a new arm," Kylo warns as he slashes at the traitor's shoulder unsuccessfully.
"I don't care if I die, so long as you die with me!" the Republic hero retorts. Dark eyes flashing, General Finn declares, "I will destroy you!" with maximum menace.
And hey—that's a line Kylo himself would use. His clumsy opponent has been taking notes on trash talk. Should he be flattered? He doesn't feel flattered. This is getting a little too familiar actually . . .
The Muun must see it too because he muses thoughtfully, "You know, he reminds me of you . . ."
"Me? Me?" Kylo takes instant offense at the comparison. "He does not!"
"Does too," Plagueis declares.
Spectating Dameron weighs in. "Yeah . . . I see that . . ."
"The Hell you do!" Kylo rasps. But yeah, he kinda sees it as well. And that's unsettling. Because does he come off this out of control? This reckless? Geez, he hopes not.
"Let him swing a bit. It will help him get it out of his system. Don't use any freezes or pushes. Just fight with the sword to make it more fair," Plagueis tells him. The Muun next turns to his impromptu student. "Now then, Finn. Listen closely to my words: let the Force flow through you."
Kylo snorts. "The Force is with me! I fight for balance!"
"Yes, yes, but let him have his day. You stole half the galaxy, you stole the girl he wanted, and you left him for dead on the Starkiller. He's angry. Feel all that hate flowing through him?"
"Yes." Lots and lots of hate. General FN-2187 is Dark and trending Darker by the moment. This is the danger that Kylo sensed when the First Order delegation first landed on Coruscant.
"Good. That hate makes you powerful. It makes you stronger. Let it sharpen your senses and focus your power, Finn."
Panting FN-2187 blinks and abruptly steps back to disengage. He looks from him to Plagueis, and then back again. Then he chokes, "This is the Dark Side?"
"Asking for a friend?" Kylo jeers.
The traitor looks horrified as he demands again, "Is this the Dark Side?" His eyes are wide and his mouth is a round 'oh' of trepidation.
"Well, naturally," the Muun answers. "You're the aggressor motivated by grievance. Yes, I'd say this is solidly Sith."
Kylo sees where this is going. He immediately affirms, "Sith, for certain," with his trademark sly smirk.
"Oh. Wait." The traitor suddenly loses focus and starts second guessing himself. He lowers Rey's sword.
"Well, what do you think?" Kylo thoroughly enjoys the guy's fluster. "How does the Dark Side feel? Like it? Do you want more? You do want more, don't you?"
General Finn fumes in obvious confusion. But he remains silent.
"I think he's shy," Plagueis chuckles.
"He's not shy, he's scared," Kylo accuses. "Scared to be the bad guy. Well, listen up, Darth Trooper, Dark power doesn't make you the bad guy necessarily any more than Light power makes you the good guy."
FN-2187 shakes his head and spouts the traditional Jedi view. "This power corrupts!"
"Power doesn't always corrupt," Plagueis contends.
"Right," Kylo agrees, adding his own spin to the topic: "Mostly, power reveals."
Rey's friend is the picture of consternation. He stands apart, sword down as warily he asks again, "Is this the Dark Side?"
"Scared?" Kylo laughs at the fool ex-trooper who looks so earnestly aghast.
"Hell, yeah. Scared of becoming you!"
Like that's even possible. "You won't become Kylo Ren," the Muun assures the traitor.
"He couldn't even if he tried," Kylo crows.
"That is true. But Finn, you have plenty of potential. I could make Lord Finn out of you. Now this time sink a little lower into your lunges and mind your grip. Swing from the shoulder, not from the elbow. Now, let's begin again," Plagueis instructs, nodding to him now like this is merely a practice session for two trainees to spar a bit. "Come at Ren from the left. He's sloppy on the left."
"Am not!" Kylo objects.
"Are too," Plagueis insists. "I saw it when I watched you with Rey on Zakuul. She has terrible footwork, by the way. Once we rescue her, we must remedy that situation."
Kylo is not sure exactly how he got roped into this trial-by-combat duel that he is not allowed to win, but he is unexpectedly having fun now. With one gloved hand he beckons to his skittish opponent. "Come at me, Darth Traitor. Forget his advice, I'll be the one to teach you a lesson."
But FN-2187 has a different objective in mind. "I fight for the Republic and for the Jedi!" he says with noticeably shaky resolve.
Kylo raises an eyebrow. "Not with the Dark Side, you don't."
"Wrong, wrong, wrong," Plagueis corrects him. "Let him use the Dark Side, like you use the Light Side. Henceforth all Force users must learn to wield both sides of the Force and how to pull back before they go to extremes. So use your aggressive feelings, Finn. And swing from the left. He's sloppy on the left."
"Maybe we shouldn't do this . . ." Again, FN-2187 hesitates.
The Muun is having none of it. "Oh, you can't back down now. Give the people a show. Everyone loves a handsome hero with a laser sword. Now then, use the power the Force has bestowed upon you, Finn. Release your anger and give in to Darkness."
"But I'm no Sith!" the increasingly spooked traitor wails.
"Neither are we," Plagueis answers calmly, "Not anymore. Killing the last Sith is why we are here seeking your help."
"Uh . . . " The traitor again looks flummoxed and uncertain. He thinks a moment before settling on, "I won't enable your revenge! In the powerplay of Sith versus Sith, we all lose! The Republic refuses to be drawn into your fights!"
Kylo perceives immediately the traitor's good guy inhibitions. He turns to the Muun to suggest, "I think he would prefer for you to phrase your teaching the Jedi way. Then, he'll listen."
Yep, that's it. For again, the Republic general proclaims, "I fight for the Republic and for the Jedi!"
Plagueis responds with a sniff. "I don't phrase things the Jedi way. You'll have to do that. You're the trained Jedi."
Oh, come on. Kylo points out to the Muun, "I'm not the one currently crossdressing as Luke Skywalker."
Watching Lady Vader suppresses a giggle, but says nothing.
Even Chancellor Dameron cracks a smile, albeit briefly.
But the stalwart traitor doesn't so much as blink. He's too consumed with his revenge.
"Just do it," Kylo complains testily to Plagueis, "or this is never going to end because I can't kill him."
"Alright," the old wizard harrumphs. "I'll do it in the interest of the balance of the Force. How does this Jedi teaching go? Feed me the lines. I don't know the lingo."
Kylo lapses into the terminology he learned from his uncle. "Justice. The Jedi call revenge justice. Because it's not personal payback, it's more like objective societal payback."
"Riiiiiight." Plagueis turns back to the wavering enemy general and advises, "So my young friend, today you're bringing Kylo Ren to justice for his many crimes."
"But he can't be happy about it. Motivation matters for the Jedi," Kylo recalls his early teaching.
"Okay, got that, Finn? This isn't about you. You don't want to do this, but you are called to do it on behalf of the greater good. For peace and justice and democracy and hearts and flowers and rainbows and however the rest of the Jedi happy talk goes," the Muun decides.
Kylo smirks over at Plagueis. "Are you sure you're not a trained Jedi?"
"I'm positive. Trust it to the Jedi to create a moral philosophy in which only those who do not want power are deemed fit to use it. Translate that back to reality, and we are left with a mindset where all power is, and will always be, deemed illegitimate."
That sounds about right. "You are a Jedi!" Kylo accuses the Muun with heavy sarcasm. "It took my uncle years of exile to figure that part out." There is something delightfully absurd about the irony of him and Plagueis being the ones to school the Republic hero General Finn on the ways of the Jedi. Does this guy even know he's being trolled or is he too worked up and committed to care?
"No emotions. The key is no emotions," Kylo now adds some more of Luke Skywalker's sketchy wisdom.
"Oh yes, I forgot." The Muun tells his new protégé, "One must be cold and unwavering. Dispassionate. Principled." Then Plagueis turns back to him to ask with true curiosity, "I've always wondered if emotions are forbidden, then what is all that 'trust your feelings' and 'search your feelings' stuff?"
Kylo himself never understood. "I think it's more about acting on instinct and seeking insight than actual feelings. But don't ask me. Very little of my uncle's training made sense. Mostly, he told me to 'breathe', to 'let go', and to 'be in the moment', which was useless." Pretty much everything about Luke Skywalker was useless, in his opinion.
The Muun frowns. "The Light Side is the equal to the Dark Side. There has to be more to it than that."
"Oh, there is compassion and empathy and kindness and compromise. But those aren't very useful in battle." Kylo gleefully turns to his opponent now and warns, "You're going to need to tamp down that hate, General, before you become more Apprentice than Padawan."
"Too late for that," the amused Muun judges.
Is anyone in the room besides them understanding the Force talk going on? The metaphysics of power are not exactly common knowledge these days. Kylo wonders a moment at what the Republic onlookers think of this wacky duel. And what do they think of General Finn who suddenly has lost his focus, afraid that he will need to become like Kylo Ren in order to kill him?
Just to troll the guy further, Kylo smugly reproves, "A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never attack."
"That's not how Rey does it," the traitor grumbles.
"So true," Kylo purrs with a knowing look. "She's my girl and that means she'll never be a Jedi."
That innuendo functions as the goad that he intends. General Finn's mouth settles into a grim line of determination. He starts swinging again in earnest. The fight resumes.
The traitor flails away with maximum effort. But he's tiring and that makes this fight especially dangerous. Kylo has to be careful not to hurt the guy. It actually takes a lot of concentration. Usually, you are trying to wound and maim your adversary. All Dark training is to win, not to fight to a stalemate.
The watching Muun frowns anew. His baritone carries above the sound of the clashing sabers. "You know, Finn, the Jedi prided themselves as peacemakers . . . as negotiators."
"He can't do that with a sword." Kylo takes the cue to point out yet again how the traitor fails to fulfill the ideals he purports to uphold.
"Good point. Well, Finn? Are we done?" Plagueis calls. "Shall we disengage and talk? You've each beat on your chests a bit, no? Let's call it a draw."
But the Republic general refuses the face-saving exit he is being offered. Instead, he doubles down. "We're doing this!"
"Oh, very well," Plagueis agrees a little too quickly. "Go ahead, take a few more swings at Ren. This time, I'll help you. Join me, my new Apprentice, and we'll be a team," he leers ominously like this is some Dark Side recruitment speech.
The traitor does a double take at the Muun. "I'm no Sith!" he wants everyone to know. "I'm no Sith!"
"That's fine," the Muun's voice drips with patronization. "I'll shoot the lightning while you stab at him with your . . . er . . . dispassionate zeal for justice."
"You're laughing at me!" the traitor huffs.
"I'm laughing at how ridiculous this all is. We former Sith came in peace only to be attacked by a novice Jedi who doesn't want to negotiate. Ironic, no? Don't you see how these roles are terribly limiting? The Force cannot be segmented this way. Light and Dark each have their strengths and purposes. Finn, you should embrace them both. Do not fear the Dark Side. And you, Kylo Ren, must continue to heed the call to the Light."
Well, sure. But for now, Kylo plans on indulging in a little Dark Side glee. Just to rattle the traitor some more, he observes offhand to Plagueis, "You know, I bet Darth Sidious will want him for my replacement."
"What did you say?" FN-2187's eyes grow wide.
"That's an excellent point," Plagueis approves, taking up the argument. The Muun is never slow on the uptake. "Finn here does genuinely hate you. And the general is well placed in the Republic. What better way to gain a window into the Republic?"
"I am not a Sith!" the wannabe Jedi howls loudly.
Plagueis warms to his theme. He solicits Kylo, "How would you do it? Hypothetically speaking, of course."
Kylo answers with the obvious strategic ploy. "Sidious has Rey. He can offer him Rey."
"Happily ever after . . . that's a good hook."
Kylo adds, "He'll promise revenge on me and the First Order."
"Well, naturally."
Smirking hard, Kylo predicts, "Finn here won't be able to resist because he'll think he's doing the right thing rescuing Rey and restoring the Rim to the Republic. He'll think he's a hero when in fact, he's a chump."
"I'll never be you!" Finn howls indignantly.
"Take it from me, the worst career move ever is being the Apprentice."
"I'll never be you!"
"You're halfway him already," the Muun muses with a straight face. He shakes that ugly misshapen head of his as he worries, "My, my what would General Organa think? Dameron," Plagueis coyly invites the Chancellor, "you knew her well-do you have a view?"
"I know what Luke Skywalker would think," Kylo inserts himself. "He'd refuse to train him like he refused to train Rey. There's too much Dark Side in you, General. Too much fear . . . too much anger."
"I don't want to be you!"
"Then don't let your anger and bitterness consume you," Plagueis answers calmly. "Give up the fight and let's talk. Turn off the sword, General. Stand down. We've all witnessed your considerable courage. Let's call it a draw."
Dameron agrees. Finally, the Chancellor steps forward. "Finn, that's enough. Let's talk."
As FN-2187 appears to consider the suggestion, the Muun turns to him. "When this is all over, will you train him? He needs a teacher."
"Rey is going to train me," the traitor objects.
"Then you'd best help us get her back," Kylo peevishly retorts. And then, just to irk the shit out of the traitor by claiming some moral authority of his own, Kylo makes a big show of extinguishing his sword first as he announces, "I will not fight you. I came in peace." Somewhere in Force heaven, he hopes Luke Skywalker is watching to see how his famous example is mocked. But maybe . . . just maybe . . . if everyone in the galaxy is playing against type—himself, the traitor, and Plagueis each keep muddling their respective sides-then perhaps things are moving closer to balance. One thing is for certain—things seem very fluid in the Force currently. Dark is Light and Light is Dark today.
Dameron keeps talking his buddy down under his breath. "Finn, stand down. Let's talk."
"You know I don't trust Ren," the wavering traitor answers.
"None of us do. But he's right that Darth Sidious is a threat. Come on, Finn, turn it off. I said you could do your thing. But it's over now. You made your point. Now, let's hear them out."
"I will never trust Ren!"
"Yeah, none of us do. But they say politics makes strange bedfellows . . ."
It's an unfortunate idiom at the wrong moment. Listening Kylo squints in distaste. He's not fucking the traitor, he's looking for an alliance. The stormtrooper general is clearly thinking along the same lines because he sneers back his contemptuous rejection. "Ren's not my type."
Things are about to spiral down again when Astral pipes up. His quiet grandmother now comes out with one of those pithy statements of truth that she makes from time to time. "This is survival, Gentlemen. You might not like each other or trust one another, but that doesn't matter." Turning to the Republic's famous bromance of Chancellor Dameron and General Finn, Lady Vader tells it like it is in her crisp Coruscant accent: "I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of time or of choice."
"Yes, we do," the traitor snaps back. And damn that guy for being so rude to an old lady.
Dameron dutifully doubles down on his friend's sentiment, even as he looks and sounds far less confident. "We do."
"You just think you do," his grandmother reasons calmly. "Darth Sidious will be coming for you and for the Republic. You will face him sooner or later. If you turn us down, you will do it on your own without a Jedi protector. That is ill advised. Conventional warfare will not defeat him."
The troubled Chancellor looks to his general. "There's Finn. He has the Force. He's our Jedi guy."
Kylo can't resist a scathing jeer. "We all see how ready he is."
The traitor bristles. "I can learn! I'll find Rey's books. I'll get ready."
"You won't find those books. I burned them," Plagueis shoots down that idea. "Young man, I honor your ambition. I quite like your intensity. But at best, you will end up dead, just another martyr on a long list. And at worst, your raw talent might earn you the open Apprentice spot. Ren is right—Sheev will be salivating at the chance to use you for his own aims."
"I'll die before I'll join Darth Sidious!" General Finn declares. He's big on grand pronouncements of virtue, which Kylo finds tedious. It's very Luke Skywalker.
Kylo now neatly undercuts the traitor's bluster with a knowing look. "You might wish you had died rather than be the Apprentice." That statement seems to get through. For the traitor is terrified of the Dark Side, which he perceives as a slippery slope to personal ruin. Finally, FN-2187 turns his sword off.
The entire room exhales a collective sigh of relief for him.
At last, they are getting somewhere. But while the traitor might no longer be aggressive with his sword, he is plenty aggressive with his tone. Still fuming, he demands, "Alright, give us your pitch. Let's say we make an alliance—then, how do we do this? What's your plan?"
Dameron jumps in to improvise the obvious starting point: "We find where Sidious hides and we go grab Rey while those two go do their big duel to the death for Dark Side bragging rights."
"It's not that simple." Kylo delivers the bad news. "We need to wait him out or draw him out. Palpatine is untouchable in the Maw."
"The Maw?" FN-2187 blinks.
"The Maw," Kylo confirms. "Darth Sidious hides in the Maw."
"The Maw as in the Kessel Run Maw?" flyboy Dameron gapes. "Sidious and Rey are in the Maw?" The Chancellor exchanges astonished, disbelieving looks with his general. A murmur of shock goes around the room at the incredible news. "How is that even possible? The G-forces alone collapse anything inside a black hole."
"All things are possible in the Force," Plagueis intones with grave reverence.
Dameron meets the Muun's eyes and nods slowly. For he has no rebuttal to that sentiment at this point. Because if pissed off goddesses, demigod Skywalkers, and zombie Sith Emperors are possible, then anything is possible in the Force.
"I guess that would be a good place to hide . . ." the Chancellor considers aloud.
"We need a ruse. A good ruse," Kylo begins. "Palpatine will be expecting a rescue attempt, so we will need to think hard." But if anyone knows sly subterfuge, it's the crafty Muun who taught young Darth Sidious all he knows. Kylo is suddenly very glad that Plagueis is on Team Skywalker.
"Wait a minute," the traitor complains. "Even if we do get to Sidious, how do we avoid what happened at Exogol? What's to stop him from Force shapeshifting or whatever it's called back into a new clone?"
Kylo answers honestly. "Nothing."
"Then, I don't like these odds," Dameron states flatly. He looks to Plagueis. "He beat you sixty years ago. He escaped Vader and Luke thirty years ago. And he killed Rey and beat Ren on Exogol. So, what makes you two think you will succeed this time?"
What indeed, Kylo thinks silently. Dameron might be an asshole, but he's an astute asshole. And he has just neatly articulated Kylo's own fear.
There is an uncomfortably long silence before Plagueis is the one to answer: "The Force is with us."
The traitor groans aloud and face palms.
The Chancellor scowls. "I knew you were going to say that . . ."
"Do not underestimate the power of the Force," the Muun warns sternly. He challenges the skeptical Republic duo, "Did you like the odds at Crait? Did you like the odds against the Starkiller Base? Was it reasonable for a desert hotrod pilot to climb into an X-wing for the first time and blow up a Death Star?" When no one has any easy answers to those rhetorical questions, Plagueis continues and he gets uncomfortably personal. "Would anyone have expected the half-trained kid Ben Solo to beat his murderous Jedi Master uncle in a duel?"
Kylo shifts his weight. He's still upset at those memories to this day. Does anyone notice? He hopes not.
"Why in any of those extreme mismatches did the underdog win or at least survive to fight another day? Because the Force was with them," Plagueis delivers the punchline. "And the Force will be with us in our endeavor."
Force layman Dameron is clearly unconvinced. He re-raises his earlier point. "Look, no disrespect to the Force and all, but where was the Force the last three times your family tried to kill Darth Sidious?"
Kylo has wondered this same point himself. He glances to the Muun.
"We were the right people with the wrong motives before."
"You're going to have to explain that line," the traitor drawls.
"Getting scared again?" Kylo jeers, just to piss his rival off.
General FN-2187 shoots him a death glare. "If this is a suicide mission, I'd like to know. Unlike you, I don't view my troops as expendable."
Kylo hasn't viewed stormtroopers as expendable since he returned to power after Zakuul. Manpower, like fuel and ships, has been in short supply at the First Order ever since Exogol. But of course, he pretends otherwise to the Republic.
Plagueis now starts explaining his balance thesis with real world examples. "Back when I was fighting Sheev, it was to maintain my position as the Sith Master so I could be the one to rule the galaxy when I collapsed the Old Republic. I was a self-interested Dark Side proponent. The Force did not reward me. Hence, I lost."
The ex-stormtrooper nods along. "Alright, then what about Vader's big toss on the second Death Star? He was saving his kid, right? What's wrong with that? Especially when that kid is a magical Skywalker? Why didn't the Force give Vader the win for turning back to the good side?"
"Saving Luke Skywalker wasn't a win, it was a loss. Vader was supposed to survive to balance the Force," Plagueis answers.
"Yeah, I guess he was the original Chosen One . . . " Dameron supposes.
"Indeed," the Muun agrees. "The sacrifice should have been in reverse. Skywalker should have died so his father could live. Instead, Skywalker lived to attempt to bring back the Jedi. That was a move away from balance." Plagueis glances over at his grandmother now with concern. "I'm sorry, Astral. Is this upsetting you?"
Astral flashes a wan smile. "It's been a long time now, but I mourn my husband every day. For the great man he was that few will ever know . . . and for the loss to all in the galaxy who suffered and died in the wars in his wake. Darth Vader wanted to hold the galaxy together. Had he lived, we would never be in this position now."
The Chancellor and his general are overtly unimpressed by this eulogy of Darth Vader. Dameron coughs and tactfully decides, "Yeah, okay . . . if you say so. Then what about you and Rey? Why did you fail?"
That question is for him. Warming to Plagueis' theme, Kylo answers, "We were fighting with each other as much as we were fighting Sidious. Had we won, I'm not sure what would have happened . . . maybe balance, maybe not . . ."
The Muun offers his opinion. "Rey was dead set on reviving the Jedi Order even after you revived her. She stormed out of Zakuul with a zealot's determination. As did you, I recall."
Kylo sighs, "That's true." Rey ran back to the Republic and he set off to reassemble the First Order. It was a low point in their relationship, and a low point in their quest for balance.
"What's the answer?" the testy traitor prods. "Why did you and Rey fail?"
Plagueis puts his own spin on Exogol now. "Dark and Light allied for convenience against Darth Sidious. There wasn't a true meeting of the minds between them until later."
Dameron squints as he puzzles. "So that wasn't good enough for the Force? Is that it?"
"Apparently not. But things are different now. Our family is finally on the same side," Plagueis assures everyone.
The traitor clearly doesn't share the Muun's optimistic appraisal of the situation. "You're saying that because Ren and Rey are together and seeking this balance concept, it's happily-ever-after for them and for the rest of us?"
Plagueis nods. As ridiculous as that logic sounds, Kylo has never seen the Muun more serious. "The Skywalkers are aligned at long last. The time is ripe for success."
"That's it? That's all you got?" FN-2187 is underwhelmed.
Astral again speaks up. "That's a lot, General. If history is any indication, so go the Skywalkers, so goes the galaxy."
Dameron now summarizes, "So . . . the Force is with us and the Skywalkers are with us. That's it, basically? That's your whole strategy?"
"Did I mention that I'm immortal?" the Muun offers.
"I guess that's good . . . I'm not really sure," Dameron sounds befuddled by the whole concept.
"He can also raise the dead," Kylo reveals, adding from experience, "It's convenient."
"If you say so . . ." Dameron looks to his best friend general. "None of this is giving me much confidence," he confesses, "but I don't see how we can refuse. Do you?" he asks the traitor point blank before the room full of witnesses.
"We don't need a plan today, we just need your agreement," Kylo inserts himself before the hater traitor can pile on more of his negativity.
But General FN-2187 shakes his head. He's not going for it. "There's nothing to agree to if there isn't a plan. Come back to us with your plan—and it had better be a good one—and we will consider it. I'm not willing to commit to anything in principle. I want specifics."
"Understood," Plagueis immediately agrees.
"If the Republic agrees to fight—and it's a big 'if,'" the traitor adds, "we fight alongside you, not under you. No Republic troops will be under First Order command," he says in a voice that is final.
"Fine," Kylo accepts. "It will be the same for our forces." There's no way he's letting his troopers serve under the command of this asshole. He doesn't trust General Finn, especially after how things kicked off today. Knowing him, he'd probably attempt to turn the campaign against Darth Sidious into the stormtrooper rebellion he never got started during the war.
"We're done." FN-2187 nods to his friend the Chancellor and stalks from the room.
Dameron's eyes follow him as Plagueis takes the dismissal and promises, "We'll be in touch."
"Bring us a good plan," the Chancellor mutters. "I can't sell Finn on fear alone. Because if we're going to lose anyway, he would rather lose independently than compromise his values and lose allied with the First Order."
"Understood," Plagueis nods.
The Chancellor keeps explaining softly, in something on a non-apology apology for his friend's actions. "He wants to die for what he believes is right . . ."
"Don't we all?" Kylo sighs. "I've already died once for this cause."
And that exchange abruptly ends the meeting. All the lead up of melodrama, Force, and swordplay lasts far longer than the actual discussion of an alliance. It's endlessly frustrating. Can no one on the Republic side see the urgency of the situation? There isn't time for all this posturing. This is a crisis, but apparently the Republic has been living from crisis to crisis for so long that the word no longer has any meaning.
Dameron is clearly ready to fight alongside the First Order, Kylo assesses, but his buddy traitor wants better odds. Is FN-2187 secretly hoping that the First Order and Darth Sidious will fight it out so that the Republic can take on the eventual victor? Because the ex-stormtrooper is many things, but he's no coward. Bad odds have never stopped him before. But maybe, Kylo thinks, his motivation is partly spite. Like a child who quits a game before he loses, the traitor just wants to be a spoiler—if he can't win, he will make sure others cannot win either. Whatever the reason for his reluctance, FN-2187 is the Republic's gatekeeper to an alliance and Dameron's convenient political cover for a decision either way.
That unfortunate reality puts Kylo in a very bad mood. He stomps ahead of Astral and Plagueis in a pouty huff of black robes as the First Order delegation withdraws.
No one says a word until they're in private on their departing ship. That's when Astral tries to look on the bright side. "They didn't say no."
"We don't need them," Kylo grumbles as he plops down in a seat in a dejected sprawl.
Plagueis disagrees. "We do need the Republic. They can't help us with Sheev, but they can help with his fleet. And the value of a unified galaxy is not to be dismissed. You could use some goodwill, my boy."
"Everyone hates me . . . " He used to be proud of that status, but lately he only sees its downsides.
"It was the same with your grandfather," Astral commiserates. "People couldn't see past the headlines to the real man, and the full context of his actions was rarely known. It was easy to hate the faceless man in a mask. I'm glad you dropped the mask, Lord Ren."
"I sort of miss that mask," he murmurs grumpily. "It made it easier to ignore the haters." He eyes Plagueis lumbering down into the seat across from him and complains, "What was all the Star Forge talk on the way in? Where did THAT come from?"
"Lady Abeloth has the Forge."
"Whhaaat?" Kylo gasps. He thought the Muun was bluffing with that reference to Sith lore. Apparently not. Kylo peers across at the Muun with an expression that demands an explanation.
"I told you—she promises power for her rescue. Specifically, she promises the Star Forge. It's why countless Sith pursued her to their deaths—she holds the key to conquest. Unlimited power and unlimited resources are at your command once you liberate the beguiling lady in the Maw."
Kylo groans. Things just got harder . . . if that's even possible. "I thought that thing was some mythical Dark fairytale."
"It is real," the Muun confirms. "When she first called to me decades ago, she promised me the Forge."
"Why did you resist?"
"I was tempted," Plagueis admits, "very tempted. But all along I planned to collapse the Republic, not to conquer it. I didn't think I needed the Forge. It would have required me to completely rework my plans already in motion. And, I distrusted her . . . "
"So . . . you're saying Lady Abeloth has the Star Forge—the fabled infinite source of weaponry-and she's helping Darth Sidious . . . "
"It must be where he got the Final Order fleet," Astral surmises.
"Yeah . . . I think you're right . . . I guess we should assume he's got another Final Order fleet by now," Kylo adds glumly.
"Yes," the Muun confirms the bad news.
Kylo exchanges looks with Astral. He is seriously irked to be learning this now. "Got any other important secrets you need to tell me?"
"Yes," Plagueis answers simply. "But be patient. All in good time, Apprentice."
"I don't like the sound of that." And he doesn't like being kept in the dark by his friend, or mentor, or Master, or ally, or great-grandfather-in-the-Force, or whatever his relationship to Plagueis is.
"Trust in the Force," the Muun counsels him like he just counseled the Republic.
"I guess that's pretty much all I can do now," Kylo harrumphs. He shoots the Muun a look that his senior officers know to fear. But it occurs to him that this Star Forge problem might be the solution to their attack plan. "Like you said, we need a good ruse," he begins.
Plagueis grunts. "Remember what you told me about this meeting being a trap when we arrived?"
Kylo nods and recalls, "Spring the trap."
"That's our ruse. Lady Abeloth wants to lure me to the Maw. She's promising me Rey in return. It's a trap to maneuver me to confront Sheev again. Only this time, Sheev will fight with her help presumably."
Kylo's eyes narrow. "The goddess calls to you again?"
"Yes." Plagueis is grim. "She's back to her old tricks. It's transparent manipulation, but she has all the leverage. So, I will take the bait."
Kylo is ready to take the goddess' bait as well. He'll come to the Maw for Rey as requested. And he will liberate the treacherous goddess if it will earn him the Star Forge to use against Darth Sidious. "I'm going with you."
That provokes Plagueis. "No! I forbid it. If I fail, you must remain."
Kylo is not about to be left behind. "I'm going with you. I can't let you get all the glory." He phrases it flippantly, but he is very serious. If Plagueis can earn him safe passage into that black hole, it's just the he needs chance to help Rey. "I can help ensure that Palpatine does not escape again," he argues.
"Escape is not his plan." The old Dark Master looks resigned and weary a brief moment before he wags a warning finger. "I must face him. Alone."
"I'm going with you."
His persistence earns him a stern look. "We had a deal. I get Sheev Palpatine. You agreed in exchange for my credits to fund your war."
That's true, but that deal was before Darth Sidious had Rey. And before Rey was pregnant. Kylo feels like he will be failing her if he sits by safely on the sidelines. Moreover, he's certain that Rey would come to his aid if the roles were reversed. Frustrated, he hisses out, "This deal is getting worse all the time . . ."
"Apprentice," the Muun rumbles back softly, "my fate lies along a different path from yours. I'm a broken old man who has nothing left to lose but my pride. But you are the Supreme Leader of the First Order. You must remain to rule the Rim. I rule nothing . . . I have never ruled anything actually . . . " Plagueis laments with a self-effacing shrug. The Muun appears wistful briefly before he resumes his stern lecture. "There will be chaos if you're lost in the Maw. It will be civil war without end. Plus, someone needs to be left alive to teach that Republic general the Force."
Who cares about the traitor? "That one will never call me Master," Kylo grumbles. But boy, would it be fun to discipline him with Force lightning.
"It doesn't matter what he calls you. You must pass on what you have learned, Kylo Ren. On this, all depends. Someone must keep the faith for balance—someone who can teach your child the truth of the Force when they emerge in twenty years' time as Sheev's latest Apprentice sent to kill you."
That's a sobering thought. He will be Vader all over again and not in a way he likes. Kylo meets the Muun's gaze. He's more dispirited now than ever. "You already think we're going to lose . . . "
Plagueis looks away and sighs. "I thought we would win once before. I was wrong. I have been wrong more times than I have been right in life," he confesses.
An uncomfortable silence falls. Kylo hurries to break it. "So . . . the traitor general is important—"
"He really does remind me of you."
"Because of his Darkness today?"
"No. It's not his Force that impressed me. It was his heart. That one has a stout heart like you do. It's no wonder that Rey cares for you both."
Kylo makes a face. As far as he's concerned, he has nothing in common with the traitor.
"Well, I don't like him and I don't think you should train him," Astral speaks up tartly. "That Republic general is beneath you, Lord Ren."
Despondent as he is, Kylo smiles. Force bless this partisan old lady who is the first and only person in his life who thinks unequivocally good of him.
And that leads him to ask himself 'what would Darth Vader do in this circumstance?' Kylo has no doubt that his fearsome grandsire would head straight for the Maw for his lady. So again, he tells the Muun, "I'm going with you."
In a sepulchral voice befitting the Dark aegis of Darth Plagueis the Wise, the Muun now warns, "Do not make me discipline you, Apprentice."
That's when Kylo fesses up: "Actually, I think I have to come. I think Lady Abeloth is calling to me too."