Chapter One: The Approach
Kylo Ren found himself in a most unexpected and unwelcome position, flat on his back, helmet rolling away in some corner, the hilt of his Lightsaber skittering uselessly across the inlaid stone floor of his opulently designed audience chamber. The sound of the blade powering down gave way to the heaving breaths of his opponent, pinning him to the ground. Rey had returned.
As they dueled, she'd repeated her usual tiring pleas for him to abandon the Dark Side and join her as a dyad on the Light Side, spewing her sad, pathetic visions of him. He had invested most of his life, dedicated himself wholly to cultivating his power, a power that had long been fearsome to even the most skilled Jedi. Why would he turn away now, when his dream to rule as Supreme Leader had been realized, rivals slain and order, his order, being established across the galaxy? Whole systems brought under his control, to mine and exploit as he wished. A constant stream of goods, technology, creatures, and fortunes flowed his way, filling his treasury. His patronage and ruthless enforcement of his will meant complete loyalty, from his closest, most senior officers down to the most humble miners and workers, carefully designed to make his reign perpetual. Uprisings were put down quickly and thoroughly, with all adults being killed. The strong children were conscripted as soldiers for his growing armies or workers to serve him; the smart children as scientists and engineers. For those neither strong nor intelligent, he gave as gifts to his loyalists and let them decide their fates. His lifelong plans were now fully in action, his supremacy not in question.
Not much in question, except from Rey and her small band of rebels. Despite his every attempt to stamp them out, she always managed to lead that scum to safety, to find a remote and protected outpost from which to regroup, recruit, then lead another attack on some critical piece of infrastructure or port of trade. Worst was her habit of attempting to liberate his subjects, more often successfully than he would like to admit. His murderous rage and revenge directed at the leaders of those outposts seemed to make no measurable difference. Perhaps his supremacy was in question, a thought that made his blood boil.
She'd attempted to invade the Imperial Palace yet again, as he knew she would, repeating the effort for the sixth time in as many months. He could nearly predict the day now. He sensed her approach, as always, despite her developing the ability to shut him out from seeing her directly or entering her mind across the distances, telling him her training with Master Luke had proceeded well past dueling and fighting and on to honing her intellect and sense of the Force. He'd done the same as a Jedi apprentice, he knew it well.
Despite his orders to increase security, she'd been more successful than the times before. Day by day, he'd felt her come closer and closer, but none of the patrols had captured her. Now, on the eve of the celebration of the anniversary of his ascendence, to be marked with a military parade of historic proportion displaying his power and control for a gathering of leaders from every planet under his rule, she'd broken through his defenses. The gathering of provisions for the celebrations had opened up numerous opportunities for her to enter with cargo, piles of fine food, the finest wines and distillates, the purest drugs procured from across the galaxy. The guests would be treated to a display of wealth and power that they would not soon forget. Gifts would make them grateful for his generosity, but the endless Storm Trooper battalions and fighter ships would be what cemented their loyalties.
She had taken down one of his Praetorian Guard, confiscating his uniform and weapons. During the change of the guards, he'd felt her presence, much too close, but her disguise was complete. He'd sensed her presence coming nearer long before her arrival, giving him time to don his full armor. He waited for her with determined anticipation, seated on the throne he'd had forged from Mandalorian iron. No one had suspected that the shortest of the guard was the most dangerous intruder in the galaxy. Once the changing of the guard was complete and portals locked, she immediately took down the three guards closest to her, the chain whip blasting open their helmets before they could even react, their blood masked by the red of their uniforms, until it puddled on the stones.
The remaining four guards drew their weapons and attacked together, their blades and blasters repelled by the strength of the red armor and her skill with the chain whip, which greatly extended the reach of her lethal aim. Eventually, one had timed his attack from behind, snagging the whip with his spear and dodging the remainder of it as he pulled it from her hands. But she'd been quick to draw her Lightsaber and repel the others. Now she ducked low, the weapon grazing the vulnerable place on the backs of their knees as two collided after a coordinated attack. She sank her weapon through their armor directly, then rallied as the last pair still standing fired off blasters. As she ran, their shots rang out around the room, setting fire to the banners representing each of the loyal planets, strafing the communication control cluster, and smashing open the cases that held ancient religious talismans he'd confiscated as symbolic tokens of his domination from those who resisted his rule.
Kylo enjoyed letting his guards take her on as he observed. Until she dropped all seven of them one after another, the final pair being killed after she pulled the vibro-voulge from the floor and decapitated one and impaled the last, leaving him to defend himself one-on-one with her. He both admired her ferocity and skill and steeled himself for the challenge of facing her yet again.
He had risen powerfully from the dias and drawn his Lightsaber menacingly. The effort of taking on his guards left her panting and exhausted, and he was well-rested. She would be little threat to him. Channeling the sting of humiliation of their first duel drove his dedication to train every day for hours, ever increasing his skill and power. She, too, had clearly been continuing her formal Jedi combat training since their last encounter. Now she matched him move for move, almost as if she predicted his every strategy. His efforts to silence his mind, to resist her invasion, were no match for her strength. Every attack defended, every vulnerability found, every small error taken advantage of. He was larger, had trained all his life, had the Force coursing through him, and yet she continued to elude his vanquishment, this little pest. Red anger rose within him, making the air vibrate with his energy, his Lightsaber filling the space between them as he launched a violent offensive to bring her down, once and for all.
Author's note: Your review, public or in PM, is most welcomed.