Chapter I: The Obsidian Throne

"Please!"

That seemed to be about the only word the recently handless Resistance soldier could utter. At least die with dignity, Arielle Ren thought as she prowled towards the cowering man. He thrashed about pathetically against the wall in in the darkened cave, illuminated only by the two crimson blades of Arielle's saberstaff, and raised his stump in a desperate attempt to protect his face.

"Please!" There it was again, as if begging would save his life. Still, it must have been harrowing to be the last man alive in a cave filled with the still steaming corpses of his friends, surrounded by the faceless stormtroopers of the First Order.

"Please!" The plea had reached a new level of shrillness. Enough. One swift strike and the rebel's head left his body and rolled over to annoy Arielle's feet. She stared into the vacant eyes and wondered what his name had been. Despite having spent the last seven years serving in the Knights of Ren, murder still unsettled Arielle enough that going to sleep was enough of a challenge. Arielle gave the head a kick before turning to face her troops in Griffin Company, who had already stood to attention as she marched past. Reaching the cave entrance, Arielle found Captain Phasma waiting, along with the rest of the troops.

"The Resistance encampment here has been destroyed, General Ren," Captain Phasma reported. Her chrome armour glimmered slightly in the bright light of Daxam IV's twin suns, giving no hint of the injuries she had suffered and fought with for the last few months. Arielle stared at the captain through the darkened slits of her griffin-shaped helmet for a few moments. Although she nor the other knights held no formal rank within the First Order, apart from His Magnanimous Dark Highness, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Phasma and the other members of her company still referred to her as "general". "Send a squad to the Amaxine leaders," Arielle ordered, her voice distorted by the mask, "remind them any hints of Resistance cells are to be eliminated by their own warriors. The First Order does not concern itself with minor groups such as this one."

The Amaxine warriors had been with the First Order since its beginning, but it was becoming apparent that, despite the strength of their fighters, their grip on Daxam IV was tenuous at best. Their leadership had summoned First Order assistance in dealing with the opposition and so, in his all-knowing wisdom, Kylo Ren had sent Arielle and her company of stormtroopers to help. She had been expecting several large-scale squads but had instead found tiny groups of scouts. This was the only the fourth group of rebels that Arielle had dispatched in the last four weeks, and she was desperate to return to some form of civilisation. This planet was cold, miserable, and the sand got everywhere.

Arielle began to make her way to the AAL Transporter parked close to the cave with Phasma falling in at her side. "Supreme Leader Ren made contact," Phasma announced suddenly, and Arielle tilted her head slightly, thankful that her helmet hid the surprise that was no doubt on her face. Phasma took that as permission to continue, "you've been summoned back to the Steadfast to update on our progress here."

Update on progress, my arse. Unless it was about his mother or the scavenger, Kylo Ren had very little interest in the dealings of rebels. No, if Kylo was summoning her, it would be about something important. Arielle wasn't stupid enough to suppose he was simply missing her.

Shaking her head, Arielle halted and turned to face Phasma. "Leave a division of Griffin Company here to root out any remaining rebels. The rest of you will come with me." The captain bowed her head in acknowledgement and Arielle was just about to continue on when Phasma asked, "are you expecting trouble, general?"

Arielle didn't bother to stop as she reached the transport. "With our Supreme Leader, always," she responded. If Kylo was calling her, Arielle could assume there would be some military campaign she was to lead, and she wanted Griffin Company with her. They were dependable and efficient, despite Arielle not caring if they died or not.

Still, appearances had to be maintained.

A Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, the Steadfast served as the First Order's current capital ship, following the destruction of both the Supremacy and the Finalizer. It was also Arielle's least favourite of all of Kylo's flagships, primarily because of who occupied it. Allegiant-General Enric Pryde stood opposite her as Arielle made her formal report in the darkened throne room in the heart of the ship, with his aged face tight with alertness, although Arielle could sense the waves of boredom rolling off him.

This sentiment was shared by everyone else. The new throne room of the Supreme Leader of the First Order was about half the size of the original, with grey-blue lighting engulfing the marble floor. The throne itself was rather simple – a black, stone seat – yet the man who sat upon it was anything but. Kylo Ren sat back on the seat, resting his arms on the sides while one leg was draped over the other. His scarred face was a mask of cold neutrality, one that Arielle found much more menacing than his destroyed helmet.

He sat upon a dais and before him stood Pryde and General Armitage Hux, who made no attempt to hide the sneer on his annoyingly handsome face. If the man hadn't been irksome and, worst, incompetent, Arielle might have liked him. Arielle and Phasma stood opposite them as she gave her report.

"The rebels on Daxam IV should trouble us no more and I left a portion of my troops to ensure the Amaxines maintain order on the planet," Arielle finished. Kylo gave no indication he had heard anything, but that was nothing new, while Hux, still sneering, turned to face the supreme leader.

"We can't rely on those savages to wipe out rebels," Hux said, "we should keep a company of stormtroopers on the planet permanently." Not my stormtroopers, you twerp. Arielle may have agreed with the general in principal, but she would have need for all of Griffin Company, particularly if Kylo was going to redeploy her.

Unmoving, Pryde replied, "leaving troops to supervise the Amaxine warriors would only aggravate them." Pryde's face was made of stone, but his eyes were alight with an intensity which Arielle knew meant danger. The general was too intelligent for his own good and she made sure to be wary of him. Arielle knew for a fact that Kylo would have sent Pryde far away from the room were he not one of the few competent officers. "We do not need the Amaxines to rebel, not when most of the galaxy still opposes us."

At this point, Kylo fixed his eyes upon both of his top generals. "We shall talk of this later." Lazily, he waved his hand, silently dismissing them. Not you, stay, he said to Arielle, mind-to-mind, as had been their secret way of communicating ever since they had met. In fact, Arielle, remembered with a smirk, her very first thing she's ever said to Ben Solo had been, damn, he's cute. Of course, Arielle had had no idea Ben could sense her thoughts and he soon had her nine-year-old self blushing furiously when he had replied, I know.

But that was a long time ago, in a vastly different life and, as Pryde, Hux and Phasma left the room, Kylo's face remined unchanged for her. As she walked towards him, Arielle reached up and lifted her mask off her face, freeing her worn, golden hair that fell to her neck. Arielle had never considered herself exceptionally beautiful, with several little scars marring her pale skin, but she supposed her looks were inconsequential when you strutted about with a metal helmet on. And if Kylo had ever though anything of the matter, Arielle wasn't to know, given he kept his mind shielded.

Even so, Kylo Ren frowned briefly when he beheld her face for the first time in several weeks, taking note of the bags that were starting to form around Arielle's hazel eyes. "You need more sleep," he told her, just like the arrogant varactyl fodder he is. Arielle cursed mentally for letting him see that and half-hoped Kylo was still lingering in her mind.

Dumping her mask at the foot of the throne, Arielle glanced up at him and kept her face unreadable. "If you want me to sleep more," she said, "try telling the rebels to attack during the daytime." In truth, the rebels weren't the problem, but Force-be-damned if Arielle told him the real reason why she was struggling to sleep.

The corners of his mouth jolted up as Kylo lowed his eyes to meet hers. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead strode to one side. "If the resistance cells on Daxam IV have fallen, then most of the Outer Rim is ours," Kylo declared as he looked back at Arielle. "I will want you to take your company and secure Cyrkon and the nearby systems. Make sure their governments know not to oppose the First Order."

Threatening the cesspit government of a reeking rock. Fantastic. Arielle refused to let the distain show and instead asked, "and the usual five per cent of infants to be donated to our glorious cause." One of Pryde's more sickening notions was to have conquered worlds bestow a quota of infants to be raised as stormtroopers. Normally, Arielle found the notion vile, but, in this case, she supposed it was a preferable alternative to growing up on the crime ridden Cyrkon.

The supreme leader nodded curtly as Arielle crept closer to him. He can't decide if I'm an asset or a distraction Arielle thought, but then she noticed the look in his eyes. Worry. "What's wrong," Arielle asked Kylo.

There was enough of a hesitation that Arielle was slightly apprehensive of what he might answer with. "Something is coming," Kylo responded cryptically, "its clouded from me, but its big and it's coming soon." He looked into her eyes again. "Be prepared," Kylo said before striding out, leaving Arielle alone.

We used to be inseparable, now look at us, Arielle thought glumly, so much for being Supreme Leader Kylo Ren's closest confident. Sighing, Arielle used the Force to pull her mask towards her as she strolled over to the exit. Before she left though, Arielle glanced over to the obsidian throne and wondered how satisfying it would be to watch it burn.

What Arielle wouldn't give to be able to decapitate everyone in this room, she did not know. The idea became more and more appealing as she listened to the various drones of the First Order Supreme Council crow on about Outer Rim occupations, increasing recruitment and the various niceties exchanged, all with the usual threats embedded.

Seated in the Steadfast's meeting room, Arielle glanced around at the men and women who were supposedly the leaders of this organisation. While they dressed in immaculate uniforms and talked elegantly enough, all Arielle could see was children snipping at each other. Kylo had once explained to her that he counted on their constant infighting, as it decreased their chances of uniting against him as they were too busy bickering with each other.

Unfortunately, that didn't make these meetings anymore interesting, so, for now, Arielle was forced to sit and try not to murder anyone. She glanced up at the head of the long table and, judging by the vacant eyes of Kylo's face, Arielle was satisfied to see that even he was struggling.

"My current stormtrooper firing program has increased the accuracy of their marksmanship by three per cent," announced General Amret Engell, a blond and wrinkled women, "and I shall endeavour to continually improve."

If stormtrooper blasting was getting any better, Arielle certainly hadn't noticed. As if agreeing with her, General Domaric Quinn chuckled before looking over at Engell. "And I have no doubt that, under your leadership, what few cadets we have will continue to excel." Arielle noticed both Engell and General Bellave Parnadee stiffen at that for, despite the First Order's recent success, there was a crisis surrounding the recruitment. The First Order could invade as many systems at it liked, but it just didn't have enough troops to occupy them. The destruction of Starkiller Base was just the gift that keeps on giving.

Parnadee glared at Quinn. "We must recruit more infants. To this end, I propose that we increase the quota of children we extract from the conquered territories."

"We've been over this," snapped Hux, his temper getting the better of him, "if we force planets to sacrifice too many children, they may decide rebellion is preferable."

"And they will win," replied Parnadee coolly, "if we do not acquire more stormtroopers."

"Perhaps if we expanded the age range of the recruitment program…"

Arielle was extremely pleased when Kylo adjourned the meeting. To think she was only there because, as his "closest confident", His Darkness had decided it was imperative she attend these meetings. Honestly, Arielle was beginning to think he had only made her go so someone else could share his misery. The generals silently departed, and Arielle follows a few moments after, not bothering to wait for Kylo.

If he wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me, Arielle thought as she walked out of the meeting room and down the drab corridors of the star destroyer. She arrived at her quarters and, having previously decided that having a proper key card was pointless, used the Force to unlock the door. They weren't spacious or exquisite, just practical. Small, with a single bed propped up against the side and a desk opposite the doorway with a holonet port. Add in a washroom with room for exercise and Arielle was more than content with what was, effectively, her home. For how long was something Arielle pondered as she stripped off her tight leather suit.

She dumped her helmet on the desk before turning on the Holonet. After being stuck fighting rebels for the last few weeks, Arielle was eager to catch up on everything she had missed. After scouring the net for an hour, Arielle concluded that the First Order now occupied most of the core New Republic worlds, but it was spread thin and, as Pryde had said, most of the galaxy seemed to opposed them. Unfortunately, none of the rebel cells were co-ordinated or united, which, Arielle thought with a scowl, would make her job just that little bit more harder.

Unexpectedly, the interface suddenly switched itself off. "Kriffing hell," Arielle cursed quietly, and she reached over to restart the system. Only then, the screen turned itself on, but the screen was dark with a single line image bisecting it. Arielle would have thought nothing of it, but then it hit her.

Not a wave or a splash, but a tsunami of dark side energy barrelled into her, so much was the pain that Arielle doubled over in pain. Clutching her side, Arielle fought with the agony that leapt through her. And as she was sprawled on the floor, that was when Arielle Ren heard it. Like a clasp of thunder in a storm, the holonet screen gave off a crackling laugh that seemed to echo off all her walls. Arielle couldn't explain it, but in that moment, she knew true, deep fear. The only other time Arielle had been this terrified was the night the temple burned, the night of her vision, and the night she knew everything was changing.

Just like then, in between the spasms of pain that shot through her, Arielle knew everything was going to change again, especially when the laughter ceased, and the words came slithering out.

"At last the work of generations is complete"

Impossible. Arielle knew the voice. The entire kriffing galaxy did.

"The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand."

She'd heard it in visions and old messages. The voice of the Galactic Empire. The founding father of the First Order.

"The day of revenge. The day of the Sith"

Emperor Palpatine. Darth Sidious. It wasn't a pretender or an old recording, not with this amount of the dark side accompanying it. No, this meant one thing. Somehow, Palpatine was back, and Arielle knew it was going to be a long day.

Author's Notes:

Sadly, I do not nor will I ever own Star Wars.

If anyone does read this, do drop a review and tell me how good/bad this is.