The ship landed in Carannia in the morning, accompanied by a dozen of TIE-Fighters and a few shuttles. Cylindrical towers, illuminated by vibrant golden lights rose in front of them, while the mountains lined the horizon.
Athena stepped onto her home planet. After Kylo Ren had instructed to visit her home planet to continue her formation, Athena and General Hux had agreed to convey a meeting with the ORA to inform them of their peace agreement and to set the course of their further negotiations. The entire board and most of its leaders would meet on the planet under the truce Athena had struck between the ORA and the First Order. Even the ones with ties to the Republic had agreed to it.
"My lady, how good to have you back," an old man with dark skin and white hair greeted the delegation from the First Order. He wore fine clothing, soft shiny fabrics with intricate embroideries.
A line of nobles, servants and guards filled the street in front of them, leading to the great assembly house.
"Duke Weehlo. The pleasure is mine," Athena beamed at him, falling back easily to her old role.
"The ORA-council is waiting for you in the great assembly house. We have received your message. It is a miracle you provided us. A miracle," the old duke repeated.
Kylo Ren stepped out behind her, immediately making any chit-chat in the background stop.
"Ahh, Kylo Ren. Welcome to Serenno," Duke Wheelo greeted him, bowing multiple times.
"Thank you, Duke," Kylo answered short-spoken. His helmet made his appearance all the more menacing, but the duke was a professional, putting on a façade of warm politeness.
The small delegation from the First Order and a couple noblemen and women walked to the great assembly house.
"What an honor, my lord. In such difficult political times, it is important to maintain good relationships, don't you think? It's all so tragic. The Resistance, the centrists in the senate… at least the ORA has provided us orientation. Isn't countess Athena a beacon of light?" the Duke brabbled. Kylo Ren simply ignored him, while Athena continued the polite conversation. Athena felt at ease. Those were her troops surrounding them, her people. The familiar surrounding helped her push away the image of the horrors she had shortly committed.
The group stopped.
"Let me bring you to the palace first, my dear," Wheelo proposed, watching Kylo Ren nervously. Kylo Ren was unreadable under his mask.
"Your palace is ready for you and…" the silence implied his true question.
"Commander Kylo Ren will have one of our guest quarters," Athena ordered. Some of the servants with the green uniform of House Serenno hurried away, preparing everything for their arrival. The countess didn't even look to Kylo for his approval. She was in charge here. Since he didn't protest, both changed path to her family's palace.
Bright golden round towers were characteristic for the palace, with multiple balconies giving view over the green hills and the city of Carannia. The green emblem of her House crowned the top of the palace. Athena wondered what Kylo thought about the bright walls and marble statues.
The young woman walked Kylo to the guest rooms. He looked completely out of place with his black armor and helmet in the light surroundings. So did she, Athena thought sadly.
"Is that to your liking, master?" she asked politely, behaving like the perfect hostess.
"Yes. I want to see the library first," he ordered.
Athena's heart skipped a beat. The library? She stared at her with open mouth. Why in the Force's name would he want to visit the library?
With a quick nod, Athena sent the servants and guards away. Reluctantly, she looked back to Kylo Ren.
"I don't understand…" she muttered.
"You will see," his tone left no room for disagreement, his voice transferred through the mask.
With quick steps, Athena walked Kylo Ren to the ancient library of house Serenno, fearing for what torment he had chosen now.
Seconds later, the master and his apprentice stood in a large wooden library, golden wood being warmed by the sunlight. Electronic Archives were perfectly arranged next to the books. Athena stood right behind Kylo, staring at the familiar place.
"This is where you go in your mind when you fight me off," Kylo said softly with curiosity in his voice, opening the clasps of his helmet. His long, soft hair fell in waves to his shoulders, his dark brown eyes finding her violet ones.
"Don't tell me I have to destroy it too," she said tonelessly. Immediately, Kyl stepped closer to her, making her raise her head. He cupped her cheek, as if to calm her.
"No, you don't."
"It's only a matter of time until the First Order destroys everything good anyways," Athena answered bitterly.
Kyo's lips twitched. "You forget yourself."
His features grew softer again, as he saw the pain in her eyes. He was truly… upset. Athena's grief affected him.
"When I was young, the Supreme Leader approached me. He offered me true power, everything I ever wanted. All I had to do was to kill the other Jedis in the temple. A necessary step to cut ties to the past and to become who I am meant to be. That's the reason I made you kill that woman," he explained quietly. Athena still looked up to him, biting her lip as if she held back her anger.
"That woman? Her name was Senator Jasmina Durbar. She was honorable and brave. Do you even remember all the people you've killed? Did it really make you stronger to kill the other Jedis?" she snapped at him.
"Jasmina didn't know the names of the stormtroopers she murdered. The Resistance slaughters so many of them we can barely keep up the count," he argued.
"The stormtroopers have no names because you kidnap children and force them to become soldiers and they die because you send them into battle."
"A necessary sacrifice for discipline and order. May I remind you that you are now part of the First Order itself?" Kylo asked with annoyance.
"You know I didn't join it because I share its convictions," she said cooly, but he could see the guilt in her eyes.
"I know. You are quite the idealist, fighting for freedom and democracy," Kylo sneered, as if he mocked her for those beliefs.
"At least I do have some kind of moral compass, as broken as it may be at times. I killed a woman who chose to fight with the Resistance. In a war. You are stripping people of their choices, oppressing the helpless and killing innocents."
Kylo let out his breath between his clenched teeth. "You're lying to yourself, Serenno. You're not better than me. You like being my apprentice. You like become more powerful and you loved killing."
Athena shook her head in defiance, her shoulders dropping. "You're right," she muttered.
Somehow, her words managed to touch something inside him. Her desperation, her struggle with the darkness around her. He shouldn't be corrupting her like this. A part of him didn't want to extinguish that light he still felt inside her. Kylo was too far gone to return, but Athena…
No. He needed to stay focused.
"Let us turn to your task. There is something here you fear," he explained, changing the subject. "Let the Force guide you, Serenno. Find it."
Athena straightened her back and took a deep breath, thankful for the distraction. She envisioned herself, sitting on the chair right in the middle of the room, her legs crossed, and her head buried in her books. She was maybe 16, already far in her training to become a skilled politician. Right now, she was studying for a history test. Channeling the Force, she shared her vision with Kylo Ren.
"We need to leave, honey," her father showed up, interrupting her reading. Violet eyes looked up sleepily, dark shadows under them. A tall man with equally astounding violet eyes grabbed her hands softly as he fell to his knees in front of her, tears in his eyes.
"Your mother… I am sorry, Nana," he whispered.
"What happened?" Athena asked sensing something terrible had occurred.
"The Republic has her. Her ties with the Empire… they found enough evidence to convict her," her father explained. "They want to make an example of her."
Tears started to dwell in her eyes.
"My mother died a few later in a prison cell on Coruscant. I've never seen her again. I did not have the influence I possess today…"
"The Republic could not have been swayed, not even by you, apprentice. Your mother sympathized with the Empire and was the daughter of a Sith Lord. What did you expect?" Kylo confronted her.
Athena shook her head, as to free herself from those memories. "The Republic cannot be fixed," she muttered.
"There is something else here," she admitted. With long steps, she walked behind on of the shelves, taking a dark wooden box from it.
"After my mother got taken… I changed my name to Toussaint and never thought about using the Force again. It felt like a curse. I did everything I could to become powerful, to protect me and my father. I hid this in plain sight," she explained, opening the box and showing the content to Ren. Kylo took out the object inside it, curiosity in his dark eyes.
A light saber, the curved hilt adapting to Kylo's grip.
Kylo marveled at the Sith weapon in its hand. His intuition had told him clearly that they needed to visit this place full of memories for his apprentice. He knew there was something else hidden behind the peaceful facade. The knight of Ren did not expect such a valuable object right in the open of the Serenno library.
Athena placed the box back on the shelve again. With insecurity displaying on her face, she looked up to Kylo, waiting for him to tell her what to do. Something that felt completely out of place for her character.
"It belongs to you, apprentice. I will show you how to install a new kyber crystal if you want to. At least you don't have to fight with a Jedi weapon any longer," Kylo shrugged. He placed the weapon back into her hands.
Hesitantly, Athena ignited it, holding the flaming red light away from him and the shelves. As opposed to Kylo's cracked cyber crystal which ignited a raw, unstable energy, Athena's light saber looked light and sophisticated.
"Much better," Kylo approved.
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter!
We learn a bit more about Athena's past and Kylo is having some regrets.
I think it's difficult to tell from the movies why exactly Kylo turned to the Dark Side, but I think he was so brainwashed by Snoke/Palpatine that he believes what he does is right (or at least to a certain extend).
Count Dooku on the other hand left the Jedi because he resented the corruption of the Republic, which was in its core an idealistic motivation, but led to his downfall to the Dark Side. In my opinion the Separatists weren't entirely wrong either but corrupted by the Sith, as they were trying to leave the Republic peacefully in the beginning. A lot of planets resulted in being collateral damage and I believe most of them just fought for their own survival and interest, just like Athena and her parents in my story, so maybe you've have noticed some parallels between her and Dooku.
I like to explore the idea that the Republic had many faults which lead to the rising of the First Order, which of course doesn't justify its actions. I also think it's interesting to think about how the Republic should have been more resilient against the rise of authoritarian regimes.
But I don't want to bore you with my opinions on Star Wars politics haha :D
There is some smut coming in the next chapters... ;)