Chapter II: Lords, Knights and Leaders
Although its usual calm appearance suggested otherwise, the Steadfast was in complete uproar as Arielle Ren raced her way through the corridors, aiming towards Kylo Ren's quarters. The stormtroopers may have remained in their positions and going about their usual business, but she could hear their whispers and murmurs, not to mention their thoughts were practically screaming at Arielle as she swept past.
The Emperor? How did he survive? Probably some kid playing about. Dark magic? Impossible. Imposter. Ren won't last long now…
So, as it turned out, the entire galaxy had heard that damned message from the kriffing Emperor, which almost certainly meant factions of the First Order would be considering Sheev Palpatine as their rightful leader. So, Arielle had a resurrected Sith Lord, an unknown number of officers potentially considering treason, plus whatever else arose from this mess to deal with.
How Palpatine returned was no concern of Arielle's, it wouldn't change the fact that he was back. It was the fact that he was back that she knew she needed to focus on. His return presented opportunities, and Arielle knew she would have to move quickly.
Immediately after the message had ended, the dark side presence attacking her had recoiled and slithered away. But just as that pain went away, another had sprung up as a second force entered her mind. My quarters. Now. Judging by the gravelly tone of Kylo Ren's voice, Arielle guessed he had also felt the presence.
So, after she pulled on her leather and helmet, Arielle had made her way to Kylo's chambers, which was thankfully not too far away from her own quarters. Five minutes later, she found herself marching in front of the private rooms of the supreme leader. The guards didn't bother stopping Arielle as she entered. Although, she had been there before, the design never failed to surprise her.
The room was rectangular but, instead of being the usual grey or black, was coloured pure white. There were numerous desks with devices scattered about, but the room gave the overall impression of a laboratory rather than a personal chamber. Apart from, Arielle noted as she came down the stair, the obsidian pillar that the charred helmet of Darth Vader rested upon. The dark side surrounding the scorched mask was alluring and seemed to whisper promises of revenge. Arielle had decided a long ago that it was better to just ignore it.
Besides, anything she felt from Vader's helmet was pretty much negated by the fury that was radiating from his grandson. Kylo Ren was stood over it, as if he were trying to will the mask into talking to him. As Arielle entered, Kylo looked up sharply.
"Did you feel it?" he snapped as she approached.
"Massive annoying dark side surge that hurt like hell?" Arielle replied blandly, "obviously." Perhaps sarcasm wasn't needed right now, but she was feeling just a little too frustrated to care. "If that actually was Emperor Palpatine – and I have very little doubt of that – then we need to handle this crisis carefully and quickly before it gets out of hand."
Kylo nodded and gestured over to a nearby desk which was littered with tattered scrolls and holocrons. "Snoke's collection and records of the Sith," he said by way of explaining. "You're right, if Palpatine truly is back, we need to find and eliminate him. I won't tolerate any threat to my throne, especially," Kylo's voice morphed into a snarl, "old men who by all rights should be dead."
Glancing at the assortment of relics, Arielle said, "what are they going to tell us? Or do you think Snoke casually left the location of Emperor Palpatine lying about?"
Kylo snatched up one of the holocrons. "You've got to start somewhere," he answered and then switched the triangular holocrons on, causing a projection of a hooded Muun to appear who started to chatter away in their native language, a language that Arielle had no understanding of.
"Surely you need to speak to the council?" she inquired.
Kylo paused and looked up from the holocron. He indicated his commlink, which was lying on a desk to the far side of the room. It was flashing red, but it wasn't making a noise.
"Hux, Pryde and Quinn have already been in contact," he said sullenly, "I gave them all the same promise of an emergency meeting when convenient for their supreme leader. They aren't very patient though."
"So, you put your best generals and admirals on silent?"
"They'll get their meeting when Palpatine is dead again," Kylo said as he resumed to the holocron.
Sighing, Arielle picked up one of the scrolls and examined it. It was ancient and, by the feel of it, had been touched by several long-dead Sith lords. But, as she unrolled it, Arielle audibly groaned. The words and letters were completely unrecognisable, and she realised the language was that of the Sith. Is it too much to ask for anything to be written in basic!
"By any chance," Arielle called over to Kylo, "do you speak ancient Sith?"
Funnily enough, he didn't, so Arielle had to bring in a protocol droid to decipher the scroll, which ended up just being about some nonsense about passion and chains. Most of the relics were similarly unhelpful containing a multiload of information about lightsabers, rules, wayfinders, lanvaroks and, five hours later, Arielle began to have to physically slap herself to stay awake, something that made Kylo glance over in concern.
"Anything?" he called over eventually, shutting down another holocron. Arielle rubbed her eyes before answering.
"There's mentions of a Star Forge and the Sith home world of Moraband, or…" she squinted down at the ragged manuscript, "Korriban, it can't make up its mind what the planet's called."
At the mention of the Sith world, Kylo got up and took a look at the manuscript himself. "It would make sense if Palpatine was operating out of an ancient Sith hideout," he muttered, almost to himself, "but is it too obvious? Surely he wouldn't be hiding there…"
"Why can't we just try and find Palps in the Force?" Arielle blurted out as she let off a yawn, to which Kylo levelled a cold stare at her. Arielle looked up and answered with a flat gaze of her own. "What?" she demanded, "we've been at this for hours."
Kylo shook his head and examined the manuscript again. "I wasn't aware my merciless enforcer was up past her bedtime," he said coolly.
"You're the one who wants me to sleep more."
He chuckled at that, albeit a hollow, grated version of the laughter she had once known. There had been a time when all she'd yeaned for what to hear Ben Solo's laughter, but Arielle Ren's plans for the future were dramatically different than what her younger self's dreams had been.
"I tried using the Force to mediate and locate the Emperor while I was waiting for you," Kylo explained, "I figured, after that dark side wave and the galaxy-wide message, he'd be easy to sense but it's as if he's clouded himself." He shook his head, and Arielle recalled how hard it was for him to admit weakness, both then and now.
Don't suggest it. Do not suggest it. Don't-! "What if we both tried together?" Arielle suggested. What the kriff?! You're supposed to be-!
Ignoring her inner thoughts, Arielle got up and sat in a meditating position. Even though she knew she was not particularly good at the practice, finding Palpatine was a priority, even if it did give Kylo a chance to sense her thoughts – especially ones that she would very much like to keep hidden.
"This won't work," he grumbled, yet Kylo still sat down opposite Arielle. The pair gazed into each other's eyes before shutting them tightly.
Straightening her back, Arielle breathed in and out, giving herself to the Force. She drew on her anger, fear, and pain, as was the way of the dark side. The only way to see clearly, Arielle thought with a smile, is to gouge out your eyes. And on that thought, she focused on Darth Sidious.
As she expected, it took a while to get in sync with the Force, but when it started to kick in, it kicked hard. At first, it was gentle, filled with the usual nonsense Arielle had came to expect from these Force-linked meditations. Silhouettes and heads with no faces all skulked around grey grass and suns with no light. But then she heard the laughter and the hiss of electrical bolts hurling around her. Flashes of lightning and thunderous applause began to echo in Arielle's mind. She saw yellow eyes – filled with evil, she thought – and a blinding explosion in a pit with no end. A shadow emerged and she breathed heavily as it flew towards her. But then it was gone, replaced by a brimming tank with a crumbling human body inside and then streaks of deep crimson dissolving into clouds of grey and gold. She saw luminous vines of fire gliding in and out of the vortex before the sensation became too vivid and Arielle opened her eyes with a gasp of air. Across from her, Kylo did the same.
They stayed like that for a moment, catching their breath and contemplating what they had just experienced. "What the hell was that?" breathed Arielle, as she considered what she had just witnessed. The shadow, lightning and the red storm made no sense to her, nor did she recognise it from anything she'd ever seen before. But while Arielle's face was one of confusion, Kylo's was of contemplation, his eyes empty.
"The Blood Net," he said softly as his eyes came back into focus.
"The what?"
But Kylo was already moving towards his holonet port, and his figures were typing as if he were in a frenzy. An image of a swirling red maelstrom flashed on screen which, Arielle was noted with excitement, resembled the vortex from their meditation.
Arielle strode over and read the description on the screen: "The Red Honeycomb Zone, colloquially known as the Blood Net, is a debatably safe line of passage that allows access through the Galactic Barrier and into the Unknown Regions…" she looked up at Kylo, who had a look of fierce determination spread across his face, "are you trying to say Sheev is hiding out there?"
"No," Kylo said, "but one of the older holocrons I found made a Sith Lord calling himself Darth Felkor, who makes numerous references to a Sith Citadel on the planet Exegol, which is supposedly located just beyond the Blood Net. If the vison is pointing us in this direction, then Exegol is surely where Palpatine." He grimaced suddenly. "Although how to navigate the zone is going to be problematic…"
He trailed off, but something he had said reminded Arielle sharply of something. Sith Citadel. Exegol. She darted back to one of the earlier records she had looked through while Kylo observed her wit, his eyebrows raised. There it is. Arielle grinned as she passed the document over to Kylo.
"Wayfinders," she clarified as he skimmed through it, "according to this, the ancient Sith used them to find their way to Exegol. You want to find a way to navigate this honeycomb area," Arielle smirked, "well luckily for us, there are at least two such devices."
"One for the master," Kylo finished studying it and rolled the record up tightly, "and one for the apprentice. If my grandfather had it, he would have kept it with the rest of his arcana at his castle on Mustafar. I will travel to the fortress ruins and, if this Wayfinder exists, I'll procure it."
He Force-pulled his cape from a nearby desk and fastened it to his shoulders. "Palpatine's message will no doubt cause some officers to revaluate where their loyalties stand. See to it they don't forget." From the casualness of his voice, Kylo could have been talking about last night's dinner. "In my absence, you will serve as supreme leader in my place."
Say what? Arielle stood dumbfounded for a moment before regaining her composure. "As you wish, my lord Ren," Arielle said as she bowed dutifully, fighting hard to keep any malicious smirks off of her face.
"Do not disappoint me," Kylo said darkly before he sauntered out of the room.
Supreme leader. Even if it were only going to be for a day or two, it would be more than enough time to plant a few seeds that would advance her plans. So many surprises today, Arielle thought, before wondering if being the First Order's ruler meant she was entitled to a lie in.
"Supreme Leader Ren's doing what?!"
Arielle Ren lounged on the obsidian throne of the supreme leader of the First Order, her legs draped on the armrests while her back leant against the other. She regarded the two generals standing just beyond the dais with a look of mild contempt, one they saw as Arielle had removed her mask for this meeting, showing off every inch of her ashen, defaced skin.
Although the scars were nothing as conspicuous as Kylo's, they were enough to draw attention: a jagged short one just above her right eyebrow, and deep, purplish one below her ear among several minor ones, although Arielle's favourite was the twin claw marks that slashed across her left cheek, courtesy of a Nexu after Snoke had become displeased with her.
The moral from her early years under Snoke's tutorship had been not to annoy him.
Admittingly, it was not a lesson that Arielle had learnt very well.
Perhaps if she had, she wouldn't currently be trying to vex two of the men who she needed right now. As Kylo was off hunting Wayfinders, it fell to Arielle to deal with the officers of the Supreme Council. As she had decided against a formal meeting, she had instead summoned Hux and Pryde to the throne room, where they could act as intermediates, which severely reduced the chance of any haughty council member losing their head.
Hux may be a pretty face, but all he did was talk crink. By contrast, Pryde had all the brains, even if he was miserable to look at. But Arielle was certain that neither was especially happy to see a young woman such as herself sprawling on the throne, even if it were only temporary. Hence why she kept her lightsaber visible on her belt, just in case they needed reminding exactly what manner of monster she was.
"This is absurd," Hux whinged, "the First Order has more pressing concerns than chasing phantom emperors."
"So, what would you have our leader do, general?" Arielle said nonchalantly, "the entire galaxy heard a message promising revenge. His Supremacy is more than aware that there are those in our ranks who would welcome the return of the emperor with open arms."
She let her gaze drift over briefly to Pryde who, Arielle had researched prior to this meeting, had served Palpatine in the Galactic Empire. To his credit, the allegiant-general only met her gaze and stared right back at her, completely unyielding. Arielle turned away first. Hux didn't appear to notice.
"Then he should be here," said Hux irritably, "not off on a wild goose chase. Ren –"
"Supreme Leader Ren," snapped Arielle, "you forget your niceties, general. You also appear to have forgotten I can choke the air out of you anytime I wish." She raised her hand menacingly as if to do just that, and Hux stiffened. The memory she'd glimpsed inside his head of Snoke throwing Hux about came to mind, and Arielle gave him a simper similar to that of a predator circling its prey. All too easy.
"Allegiant-general," Arielle said as she turned to Pryde, "your colleague does raise a valuable point in that the entire galaxy heard this message and is likely trembling in fear of the potential fallout. Our glorious leader wants you to arrange to have our remaining capital star destroyers ready to assemble at a moment's notice."
Pryde grimaced slightly. "My lady, would it really be wise to muster all our destroyers into one fleet. Surely that would leave our already-tenuous grip on some our conquered territories vulnerable?"
Yes, that's exactly the point, you womp rat. "His Grace is concerned that our forces are spread too thin," lied Arielle smoothly, "He has foreseen that there is a danger that our oppressed citizens will see this as their last chance to rebel before the Emperor enslaves them again."
Although Arielle could sense the scepticism rising from him, Pryde nonetheless still gave an effortless bow. "It will be done, my lady," he said, ever the obedient servant, although it remained to be seen who he would ultimately remain loyal to. Arielle had her suspicions.
She could feel the disbelief that Hux wanted to voice, but Arielle dismissed them unceremoniously. As she watched the pair of them marched out of the throne room, Arielle found herself having a twinge of worry. Having the mighty First Order's generals serve at her whim certainly had its appeal, but Arielle knew she would have to be careful not to give to many suspicious commands, lest one officer decided to tell tales on her to Kylo.
Stretching her limbs out, Arielle made to stand up when her commlink suddenly sprang into life. She answered it and knew any chance of a peaceful afternoon she could spend scheming was gone when she heard Kylo Ren's pronounced voice. Although it seemed as normal as it had been yesterday, Arielle could have sworn there was a hint of doubt in that usual dominating tone, as if Kylo was suddenly uncertain of something. Or someone.
"Summon the Knights of Ren to the Steadfast, I have an assignment for them."
"Or how about "hello"," Arielle answered, while the inside of her head fell into turmoil. The Knights of Ren? Why those bastards all of a sudden? Didn't he get the Wayfinder? Maybe to track Palpatine then?
"Did you get the Wayfinder?" she asked.
"That and more. I'll return soon. Kylo out." And the communication cut off.
Arielle exhaled. Honestly, are all men as tetchy as Hux, Pryde and Kylo Ren?
A dark chill swept through the area as the Night Buzzard, the transport and home of the Knights of Ren, entered the Steadfast's hanger and aggressively touched down, meters in front of where Arielle and Kylo stood waiting. The vessel's door opened with a hiss and Arielle did her best not to grimace as six shadow-clad figures trudged down the ramp and came to a halt before Kylo. Almost as one, the knights – a hollow title really – bowed their heads to their master.
Kylo had no more love for these up jumped murderers and pirates than Arielle did, but the skill of the Knights of Ren when it came to tracking was renowned. A means to an end, Kylo had whispered to her on their way down to the hanger. Arielle didn't dispute their loyalty or skill; she just abhorred the faction that had made the last few years of her life a misery.
Although Snoke had tutored both Arielle and Kylo, the dark lord had focused his efforts of the Skywalker heir, leaving the tagalong's training to the Knights of Ren. And from the moment she took the name of Arielle Ren, her fellow knights had made sure that her position within their ranks had been that of scum. Physical and mental beratements became part of her daily life and fed into her growing connection to the dark side.
All for a purpose, Arielle had hissed to herself on the worst days. And as she grew older and stronger, Arielle began to sense the knights' rising fear of her, especially after she had forged her double-bladed lightsaber. By the time of Kylo Ren's ascension, she remained a pariah within the knights, but the most ruthless and cunning of all the them, or at least, that's what Kylo had said when he formerly inducted her into the First Order's inner circle to act as his enforcer and confident.
Arielle had not seen or heard anything of the Knights of Ren, until today. Clearly, today was going to suck.
Kylo regarded the knights with an emotionless mask. "As you once served Supreme Leader Snoke," he said, "I expect you all to serve me just as capably."
He waited for them to answer, but Arielle couldn't help but add, "we don't need to remind you of the penalty for disobedience."
Compose yourself, Kylo commanded in Arielle's mind, we need them.
Ap'lek Ren stepped forward, apparently the designated spokesperson of the group. "We will serve," he declared in a hushed voice, "what is our bidding, master?"
"The scavenger Jedi," Kylo answered, and it seemed all the stormtroopers parading around the hanger seemed to tense, and even the knights stiffened slightly. It would seem the scavenger Jedi who bested the supreme leader was rapidly gaining fame. "The time has come at last to extinguish the Jedi forever."
Kylo had already explained the details of his confrontation with Darth Sidious to Arielle prior to this meeting. Palpatine's return, the Final Order fleet, and that little nugget of galaxy-shredding information about Rey had resulted in a slightly more intense coffee break than Arielle had anticipated.
She had always found the so-called scavenger Jedi to be an otherwise uninteresting itch that Kylo would soon scratch, regardless of the fascination he seemed to be developing for her. But Palpatine's claim that Rey was his granddaughter had caused Arielle to find herself suddenly re-evaluating the girl.
"I want her alive," Kylo continued to the Knights of Ren, "and brought to me within the next few cycles. Unless your reputation has been exaggerated, this shouldn't pose a problem."
Ap'lek shrugged. "It will be done, my lord," he said.
Kylo nodded and then beckoned forward a stormtrooper carrying a container. "As for the other matter," Kylo said as he took the case, "I want it saw to immediately."
Arielle thought she saw Albrekh, the money-like forger for the knights, looking down from the top of the Night Buzzard's ramp as the knights all turned and retreated back into the ship, followed by Kylo. She watched the ramp shut before sauntering away, having duties to perform. As she paced down the corridors towards Captain Phasma's barracks, Arielle wondered how Kylo's reforged mask would look. Not too pretty, I'll bet.
Phasma turned her head towards Arielle, who, two days after the Knights of Ren had returned, was slouching against the pristine wall of the stormtrooper captain's office. "No, general, I've not yet fought with the scavenger Jedi," she said, "I assume that she will be Griffin Company's target."
The captain was without her helmet and, on the few occasions that Arielle had seen her like this, she had always been astounded by Phasma's physical beauty. Her short, blond hair was gorgeous, and the stern look on Phasma's face was unsettled by the deep blue of her eyes. But there was an air of violence about her that, in Arielle's opinion, warped Phasma from beautiful to mesmerising.
Or perhaps that was the burn marks that sat below her left eye, a partying gift from her showdown with the rogue stormtrooper aboard the Supremacy.
"Correct, captain," Arielle answered, "I want the company ready to mobilise as soon as we receive word that the Knights of Ren have located her."
Phasma's face was unchanged as she nodded, but Arielle sensed a revulsion forming in the captain's mind. "Something to add," Arielle said carefully, "speak freely."
A moment passed as Phasma considered her words. "The Knights of Ren," she said evenly, though Arielle suspected she would sneer if she could, "are a heretical and anarchic gang that have no place in the First Order."
"Myself and our supreme leader are members of said gang," Arielle retorted, even as her respect for the captain grew.
"Both of you have fought on the front lines besides the First Order troops," Phasma countered, "the other Knights of Ren are thugs to hide in the shadows. Supreme Leader Ren should have abolished the group months ago, but instead he let them fester. They are rats that represent the chaos that the First Order should be abolishing."
"That almost sounds like treason, captain."
"Forgive me, general, but you instructed me to speak freely," Phasma reminded her.
That earned a snigger from Arielle. "Indeed, I did," the dark sider replied, "I will consider your words carefully…" And if I could, I would certainly act on them. "…But for now, make sure the company is prepared."
Phasma inclined her head and Arielle stood up and prepared to leave, only for her commlink to blink into life. She answered it, and the distorted voice of Kylo Ren's mask emerged.
"Agent Ren, have Captain Phasma prepare Griffin Company."
Arielle looked up to Phasma and nodded her head, causing the captain to bow once more before marching out into the barracks.
"Already done, my liege," Arielle spoke into the comm, "has the scavenger girl been located?"
"The Jedi and a small team of rebels are on Pasaana. You and I shall lead the knights and stormtroopers to deal with them. Be at the hanger in ten."
The comm shut off and Arielle was already moving. Like Phasma, Arielle had never fought with Rey, or even any of her friends that seemed to give the First Order so much of a headache. This was going to be interesting.