Chapter Four

Shadows of Hate

The long, sleek, black-and-red TIE whisper screamed out of the dark Coruscant sky and into a docking bay in the First Order Capitol. The rear of the starfighter whipped sideways as it came to an abrupt halt and settled to the floor. The top hatch sprung open.

Kylo Ren clambered out of the starfighter and leapt to the ground. Nearby stormtroopers rushed to stand in orderly rows. They raised their fists in the air as the Supreme Leader passed between them. Kylo paid them little mind. He had no time for pomp and formality today.

A gaggle of officers emerged from the blast doors leading into the docking bay. Kylo pointed at the highest-ranking one.

"Where are the Knights of Ren?" he demanded.

"They just arrived," the officer said. "Their ship is in Docking Bay Ninety-four."

Kylo pushed past her brusquely and stalked away.

The Knights of Ren sat in the dimly lit interior of the Knife 9. Solonny and Hattaska Ren were talking quietly. Jaedec, Ott, and Lorl sat around a crate, playing sabacc. Kuruk brooded in a corner.

The Knights looked up as the boarding ramp of the Knife 9 descended and Kylo Ren stomped into the ship. They knelt before him.

"Rise," Kylo said.

The Knights did so. Solonny Ren eyed their master.

"Hello, Kylo," she said.

Kylo nodded slightly, acknowledging her greeting without returning it himself.

Solonny stepped towards him.

"Aww, did you hurt yourself?" she asked, caressing the inflamed veins on his cheek with her gloved hand. Kylo flinched away from her touch minutely.

"S-s-so skittish," Solonny said as she crept behind him, her fingers playing over his shoulders. "I remember when you begged for my touch. . . Kylo."

Kylo fought to keep his face expressionless. "I require the services of Albrekh," he said tonelessly.

"He's in the back," Hattaska said. He led Kylo to the rear of the ship, where a grubby, long-eared alien sat at a work table. The metalsmith looked up, his eyes hidden by electrogoggles.

Kylo brought a bag out of his robes and poured the broken shards of his mask onto the table. He and the Knights watched in silence as Albrekh reassembled the fragments with his grubby fingers and hammered them into place. As the Symeong applied molten red sarrassian iron to solder the pieces together, he murmured bitter nothings to himself.

Finally, the job was done. Albrekh turned the finished helmet to face Kylo Ren. Kylo picked it up and placed it gingerly over his head. Immediately, he felt more in control. He turned to the Knights of Ren.

"Report on your hunt for the scavenger," he said, his voice distorted by the mask.

"She has proven to be most elusive," Solonny replied. "But we had a recent break on Kuat. We're certain we can find her."

Kylo said, "Good. Remember your orders; I want her alive."

"Don't worry," Solonny said. "We won't hurt your girlfriend. Much."

Kylo studied her a moment and then left, his dark cape swirling after him.

On an upper floor of 500 Republica, a high-end apartment building in the Federal District of Coruscant, was a grand, spacious chamber. Inside, a trickle of water ran through an indoor fountain. Ornate drapes hung from the walls. A throne-like, swiveling chair faced the dark skyline of Coruscant, visible through a massive window running the length of the room. This sumptuous private suite had once housed a Centrist politician who had fled to the Outer Rim after his corruption and graft were exposed. It now belonged to an even less savory occupant.

Chancellor Hux removed his greatcoat and cape, folded the garments, and placed them neatly over the back of an intricately carved wooden chair. On the accompanying desk, he set his peaked black cap. Hux walked to the edge of his quarters and caught himself in a full-length mirror. He gingerly touched a streak of grey hair. Hux considered it a mark of his devotion to the First Order; the product of unceasing stress, of long days and longer nights spent planning strategy and giving orders. His was the true work, done while the Supreme Leader wasted his time hunting for myths in the Outer Rim.

Hux peered into a glass case set on the wall. It contained several items, including a holocron, a Jedi star compass, and other trinkets of less rarity. The object in his collection which he prized the most, however, rested upon a pedestal in the center of the display case: a shining, electrum-plated lightsaber hilt. Hux gazed at the weapon enviously.

A thought occurred to the Chancellor. He removed several gold coins from his trouser pocket and placed one on the table. Hux extended his hand and concentrated on moving the coin with the Force. It didn't budge. Hux's face reddened from the strain.

"Nnngh!" he groaned.

"Has all been well in my absence?" a distorted voice said.

Startled, Hux looked up at a dark form standing in the shadows of the room.

"Supreme Leader," Hux said with as much composure as he could muster. "You've returned. If I'd known—"

Kylo cut him off. "I don't need grand displays and processions. Or titles. Chancellor." He stepped into the light. The cracks in his mask seemed to glow blood-red.

"I sense. . . unease about my appearance, Hux."

"About the mask?" Hux responded rather stiffly. "No sir. Well done."

"My Knights tell me the girl was within your grasp," Kylo rumbled.

Hux snapped, "Apparently your Knights took it upon themselves to deal with my Admiral's failure."

"And how should I address your failure?" Kylo asked.

Hux turned whiter and took a small step back.

Kylo matched his movement. "She's beloved, isn't she?"

"Belief is the solace of peasants. The people cling to folklore, but they fear the First Order."

"They fear me," Kylo Ren said. "Soon I will command the Force in ways unseen since the Ancients. The ability to destroy a planet will be. . . insignificant."

Hux regarded him with mixed fear and awe. "The power described in the Sith texts. You've found it?"

"It is within my reach," said Kylo. "With what I've seen on Mustafar, the First Order is about to become a true Empire."

"What are your orders?" asked Chancellor Hux.

Kylo Ren placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. "Find the Resistance," he boomed. "Wipe them out, and prepare to crush any worlds that defy us."

"And the girl?"

"Leave her to me."

Kylo Ren stood in his quarters in the First Order Capitol. While his chamber on the Supremacy had been shadowy and gray, his new room was a stark white cathedral of angular walls and pointed spires. Bright light shone from wall panels, contrasting with the dark, starry sky visible through a diamond-shaped viewport. Near the center of the chamber, Darth Vader's helmet lay on a low stand.

Kylo reached across the stars with his mind.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, in an alcove covered in instrument panels and exposed mechanical parts, Rey sat reading. She looked up from the book as she sensed the presence of another mind touching hers. The Jedi-in-training dropped her text and stood up. Her surroundings seemed to darken and fall away as Kylo Ren snapped into view before her.

He spoke first. His voice seemed to echo. "I knew you couldn't keep me out forever. Our bond is too strong."

"I'm not trying to keep you out," Rey retorted. "Are you still searching for power?"

"Yes. Soon I will be stronger than Darth Vader."

"You don't have to do this," Rey said. "I feel the light in you, Ben."

"I must find what I seek," Kylo said. "You don't understand why yet. But you will. Soon."

"What will you do then? Do you still want to kill me?"

"No. I have other plans," said Kylo. "I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it. Why didn't you?"

Rey answered his question with another. "You could have killed me. Why didn't you?"

"You can't hide, Rey," Kylo whispered. "Not from me."

"I see through the cracks in your mask," Rey said fiercely. "You're haunted. You can't stop seeing what you did to your father."

"I'm haunted by more than that," Kylo responded, stepping forward. "Do you still count the days since your parents left? Such pain in you. Such anger. I don't want to have to kill you." He was close enough to touch. Rey stepped back, but cold metal dug into her back, stopping her.

"I've seen the future," Kylo continued. "You're going to come to me, and I'm going to turn you to the dark side. When I offer you my hand again. . . you'll take it."

"We'll see," hissed Rey.

"Yes," Kylo said. "We will."

Kylo disappeared. Rey found herself staring through the doorway of the nook into an empty corridor. She shivered slightly.

Kylo Ren lowered himself into the cockpit of his starfighter. A probe droid, unit designation VX-20, settled into a data dock set over the Supreme Leader's right shoulder.

"Set a course for Remnicore," he commanded.

VX-20 beeped affirmation.

Hux watched Kylo's TIE whisper fly towards the stars. His lip curled. "Goodbye, Ren," he said coldly.