I'd like to take a moment and thank Darksidefan5 for all their help with not just this chapter, but with the whole story itself.
Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars but Disney and George Lucas do. I just play in their sandbox, causing mayhem and chaos.
Several hours after fleeing from Hapes and the First Order, the Resistance had made its way to the Wookie home-world of Kashyyyk. Knowing of a safe place to land, Chewbacca had settled the Millennium Falcon down near the familiar beach that is close to the remains of Kachirho. After the long subjection by the Imperials and the freedom that came after the New Republic liberated the planet, it was deemed, by the new chief, that the Wookies would build a new city elsewhere. Very few Wookies remained, making it a suitable sanctuary for the Resistance.
In the dark of the night, Rey is seated on a fallen tree's trunk. Her face is upturned towards the shimmering of the star filled sky. Behind her, she can hear the laughter and stories of Poe being shared around the pyre that Chewie and Finn built earlier that evening. She'd been down there when Chewie and another Wookie had lit the wooden pyre; but once Leia suggested that they share their memories of Poe, Rey had to leave. She needed space away from everyone and solitude to face her emotions surrounding Poe's death. That is what led her to where she is now; sitting on a tree trunk, looking up at the stars while clutching Poe's ring.
"You look like you could use some company."
Rey turns in time to see Leia is only a few feet from her, her approach having been silent. The older woman carefully settles herself down, and rests her cane next to her leg. The pair sit in silence; one staring at the younger woman while the other looks out across the lake.
It wasn't lost on the general that Rey was avoiding the others, or that she was still wearing Poe's shirt after having been sent to change while they were still in hyperspace. Even now, watching as Rey holds Poe's ring tight in her hand as it rests over her heart, Leia can't help but believe that something took place between Poe and Rey. Especially since Rey was projecting the sense of deep loss, the feeling that Leia knows all too well.
"The others were surprised that you didn't want to stay and reminisce," Leia says.
It was a few moments before Rey spoke.
"You weren't?"
Leia ignores Rey's question. "You know, when I first met Poe, he was playing hide and seek with his parents. Though neither of his parents realized they were playing his game."
Leia chuckles and continues. "He was barely a year old, hadn't really ever said his first word. And yet he had managed to crawl away from the picnic blanket while his parents were otherwise occupied."
Rey's face reddened at the insinuation.
"Not quite like that," Leia assured Rey, amused at the girl's reaction. "Han, Chewie, Luke, and I had arrived at their home on Chandrila just in time to help search. They were frantic and snapping at each other for losing their son."
"Where did you find him?"
"He was hiding, asleep, in a crop of Vizian Berry bushes his grandparents were growing. It was actually pretty adorable. Han and Luke didn't want to risk waking him in an attempt to pick him up, so they had Chewie do it. Big mistake on Chewie's part. Poe woke up halfway during the move, and before Chewie could bring Poe closer to his body, the little shit squealed with joy and managed to wiggle out of Chewie's hold. By the time the rest of us arrived, Poe was dangling upside down while Chewie held on to one of his little ankles. Mind you, Poe was laughing and wiggling around while hanging upside down. When Kes was able to take hold of Poe, the little terror gave us all another shock by yelling out his first word, fly."
Leia watches as a smile blooms on Rey's face and is very pleased to hear Rey let out a few chuckles of her own. She's happy to see the young woman smile and laugh again.
"I think it was from that point onward that Kes and Shara realized just how much of a handful Poe would become. And yes, as Poe got older his penchant for causing trouble grew. After Shara's death, Poe actually became more proactive on staying out of trouble. Knowing the risks of being in the Resistance, Poe still has a knack for finding trouble." Leia states, her emotions flowing freely into the Force.
Rey feels Leia's sadness, fondness, and longing echo out. She turns to face the older woman next to her and places a comforting hand on Leia's shoulder. Before Rey can ask about how Poe's mother died, she notices Leia's eyes focus on the belt at her waist.
"You built a new lightsaber?" Leia asks, gesturing to the silver cylinder. "May I?"
Rey doesn't hesitate on retrieving the lightsaber from her waist; then she offers it out to Leia.
"I didn't build it. It was given to me by Tenel Ka."
Hearing this news, Leia gives Rey a questioning look before reaching out for the lightsaber. As soon as her fingers wrap around the silver hilt, she gasps out in surprise.
"Jacen." Leia chokes out with tears escaping her eyes. "How?"
"Tenel Ka told me that he'd given it to her when she passed it to me. There is something special about this lightsaber."
"It was the first lightsaber that Jacen built and would complete his training with. Luke would have the young trainees build a lightsaber to use during their training. Once they completed the training, they would build a second one and destroy the first one to symbolize them becoming Knights. Unlike Anakin, who kept his first lightsaber but modified it constantly. I thought Jacen destroyed his."
Leia wipes at the few tears that are rolling down her cheeks. "I thought I'd lost everything of my children's when Hosnian Prime was destroyed."
"Then you should keep it." Rey suggests, releasing the lightsaber hilt into Leia's grasp. "When I touched it for the first time, I saw several images through the Force. What was he like, Jacen?"
Whatever Leia was about to tell Rey is lost as the thundering sound of engine comes overhead before a ship shrieks past them. Rey quickly gets to her feet as she watches the ship bank sharply before heading towards them at a slower rate of speed. Slowly the ship begins a landing cycle upon the beach, not too far from where the Falcon is parked.
"He's late." Leia states as she carefully rises to her feet next to Rey. "We'd better go and make sure that Dash is alive. Knowing him, he's probably bleeding on the floor while BB-8 flies his ship."
Rey doesn't hesitate for a moment and quickly climbs down from the tall tree trunk, using the exposed roots as a ladder to the forest floor. She gets halfway across the beach by the time the ramp has lowered completely on to the sand. A harsh gasp escapes from her throat as two sets of limping legs come down the ramp till both persons are visible. The owner of the first pair is that of the old smuggler, but the owner of the second pair takes Rey by surprise.
"Poe!"
Looking out to the beach for that familiar voice, Poe's eyes soon find Rey running towards them. A smile forms on his face and his breathing begins to pick up at seeing her running towards him.
"Go on, kid. I'll bet she'll give you one hell of a welcome home." Dash groans out as he removes his arm from around Poe's shoulders. If it wasn't for this pilot, Dash would have become a prisoner of the First Order or dead. He clutches at his other arm, which is in a sling after having the bone broken.
Poe doesn't wait a single moment and tries to run with his left leg causing a harsh limp in his gait. Yet he doesn't let this hinder him reaching Rey. He lets out a laugh as Rey launches herself at him once she is only a few feet in front of him. Falling backwards, Poe lets his arms go around Rey and holds her tight against him. The sandy beach doesn't jar Poe's injuries as much as he thought it would, but he isn't going to complain.
"You're alive." Rey mumbles out as she presses her face into the side of Poe's neck.
"Of course, I am. It'll take more than an old woman with a grudge to kill me." Poe jokes as he gently uses both hands to lift Rey's face up so that he can look at her. "Did you miss me?"
Rey's reply swallowed up by the passionate kiss Poe places against her lips. She allows their kiss to deepen to the point where neither one is paying attention to the world around them. Even when BB-8 beeps out at the pair before circling the pair lying on the sandy beach, they are too focused on each other.
Leia, having reached the scene, lets out a few soft chuckles at the rather public display of affection. She then turns to Dash, taking stock of her friend's injuries
"It's not as bad as it…" Dash starts, but her skeptical look forces him to change his tune. "Okay. I could use some bacta if you have any. The kid there used a good majority of what I had stocked in Outrider."
"Of course." Leia replies. "How bad was Poe injured?"
"When Tenel Ka discovered that her father knew who Rey's attacker was, she'd kidnapped the man before he could hightail it back to the First Order. He was a First Order spy and point of contact for Ta'a Chume to keep in touch with them, by the way. She'd given that spy a good beat down before switching him to take Poe's place. By the time she was able to sneak Poe on to my ship, the kid already had a broken femur in his left leg. He also had a concussion, a possible herniated disk in the middle of his upper back bone, and busted knuckles. Tenel Ka was able to set the femur back into place, with help from the Force, but there were the tears in the muscles to be repaired around the break. Hell, that kid should have spent two days in a bacta tank for treatment."
"He may find himself in one before we leave." Leia comments, looking back over to where Poe and Rey are. She lets out a snort as she hears Rey reprimand Poe for not sending word to her that he was still alive. "I'm sure Chewie knows someone here who will let us use one."
"Leia." Dash's voice turns serious. "I owe that kid a life debt. Back on Hapes, I was taking a beating from one of those fanatics from Ren's followers. If it wasn't for Poe and his droid, I'd have died at that bitch's hands. But that isn't the worst of it all. Hapes is now under First Order occupation, and Kylo Ren has taken Tenel Ka as his political prisoner."
"Damn." Leia mutters out. "That means he'll be able to control the whole Consortium and have access to their shipyard to restock his fleet."
Dash shuffles to stand in front of Leia and reaches out his one good arm to place his hand over hers. "With Kylo now having that shipyard there is nothing stopping him from conquering the whole galaxy. Leia, what is left of the Resistance needs to go underground. I can't personally offer shelter to any of you now that Outrider has been flagged by the First Order, but I am sure that Karrde and Terrik would help you go somewhere safe. I know a place- "
"No. I can't jeopardize their families, Dash. Wedge and the rest of what remains of Rogue Squadron hid their families to keep them safe. I can't ask them to shelter us as well. Besides, Lando's daughter offered us the use of their smuggling bunkers on Tatooine for now."
"Lando's got a kid too?" Dash asks, surprised to hear about the fellow smuggler even having a family.
"Adopted daughter. Her name is Kyleen, or at least that is what she calls herself currently. She's more slippery than Lando ever was."
By this time during Leia and Dash's conversation, Poe and Rey had gotten up from their spot on the beach and made their way over to them.
"General."
"At least I didn't have to break you out of jail again." Leia teases. "It's good to see you alive, Poe."
"Well, I better get out of here." Dash states to the three of them. "I don't know if my ship has a tracker on it or not. It's been fun, kid. And sweetheart, come find me once you're done with the pilot. I'd love to show you how us smugglers have a good time."
Rey's face turns dark red at Dash's innuendo and the cheeky wink he gives her. However, her embarrassment dissipates slightly as she feels Poe's arm possessively wrap itself around her waist, his hand settling low against her hip.
"Not a chance old timer." Poe sternly tells the smuggler.
"We'll see kid." Dash replies before nodding to Leia and heads back into his ship. Even though he'd asked for bacta, Dash knows that he still has a secret stash of the stuff hidden away in his favorite compartment within the small kitchenette his ship has.
With the Outrider having left the planet, Leia looks over at Poe and Rey. She gives the pair a knowing grin at seeing that Poe hasn't removed his hand from Rey's hip. Then she begins to walk back towards the campsite where everyone else is, but not before telling Rey to take Poe to the Falcon to treat his half-healed wounds with bacta.
The pair follow Leia towards the small group near what is supposed to be Poe's funeral pyre. Getting closer, Finn is the first to see who it is that is limping next to Rey. He doesn't waste a single moment shouting Poe's name before running over to give Poe a manly hug. The rest of the rescue group surround their comrade and share in the happiness of his return to them. Before it can go much further, Leia quickly sends everyone off and sees to it that Poe and Rey reach the Falcon. With the pair continuing on, Leia sees about asking Chewie for help in retrieving bacta from the Wookies.
Upon entering the Falcon, Rey ushers Poe towards one of the rooms.
"Nice shirt by the way. It looks good on you." Poe mumbles, trying to suppress a groan of pain. All of the movement is causing the muscles in his left leg to scream in protest.
"It was all that was salvaged of the room before Ta'a Chume had your things destroyed." Rey says softly. She presses the button that opens the door to the crew quarters, and helps Poe inside.
"Well, I won't be missing those damn clothes one bit. I don't know about you, but what the Hapans call clothing isn't very practical." Poe chuckles out as he lowers himself onto the bunk, letting out a sharp groan of pain.
A small, awkward silence fills the air between them.
"I should give this back to you." Rey finally says, breaking the silence. She carefully removes the necklace that holds Poe's ring from around her neck and holds it out for him to take.
Poe reaches out to take the necklace from Rey. However, instead of placing back around his own neck he places it back on Rey.
"Till I'm back to being 100 percent, keep it safe for me." He tells her softly while taking hold of her hands. "Rey, BB-8 told me about your marriage to Isolder during my partial recovery aboard Outrider. Why did you do it?"
"You were supposed to be released and exiled from ever stepping foot on Hapes again if I did marry him. It was to keep you safe." Rey retorts, trying hard not to allow the building of tears to show. But they did.
"But it didn't." Poe pulls Rey into an embrace, which she allows. After pressing a kiss against her forehead, Poe continues on speaking while tightening his arms around Rey.
"Please don't do that ever again, Rey. Don't sacrifice your life for mine. When BB-8 told me what you'd done, my mind couldn't focus properly. Even though I was bedridden for the first three days after my jail break, the thought of you having to share a bed with him… letting him…" Poe shudders at the idea of the Prince of Hapes having carnal knowledge of Rey.
Rey, knowing what Poe it was that Poe was trying to say, tries to alleviate his stress about it. Which she can feel rolling off of Poe in waves through the Force.
"But he-"
"It had me wanting to go back in to that Nexu den and try to save you from that fate. To beat the shit out of him. To blow up that forsaken throne room. Anything that would have secured your release from that prison he'd tricked you in to." Poe practically growls out before a few tears made their way down his cheeks.
Just as Rey opens her mouth, a swift knock on the door causes Rey to pull out of Poe's arms. Slowly, she makes her way to the door and pushes the button that releases the door. Standing on the other side is Finn and Chewbacca, who has a large rucksack of bacta pads and materials upon his back. Rey lets them in, but quickly slips out of the room before Poe can notice her absence. However, he did notice and his shoulders slump in response to her departure.
"Hey Poe." Finn says. "Leia didn't specify how much you'd need, so we brought pretty much everything"
Poe snorts and allows the pair to see to his half-healed wounds. Once a line of heavy painkillers begins flowing through his veins, Poe only has to wait a few minutes before his world turns into nothing but a blissful black for a while.
When he finally wakes from sleep, Poe is surprised to hear the hum of hyperspace filling the room.
"Good of you to join us, Poe." Leia says from the chair at his bedside. "You've been asleep for nearly two days."
"Sorry." Poe winces at how dry his throat is while moving to lean his back against the metal wall.
"Drink?" Leia retrieves a water filled Bota bag from the rucksack that Chewie was given by his fellow Wookies back on Kashyyyk. She hands it to him and watches as Poe takes small sips from it.
"Where are we headed now?" Poe croaks out at having moisture back in his throat.
"We're about three days away from Tatooine. We'll be staying in a few smuggling bunkers that an old friend of mine had made in the Jundland Wastes. It's only temporary till we can find a safe place to build another base."
Poe nods then opens his mouth to ask another question, but Leia beats him to it.
"No, Rey hasn't been in to see you. Not that I know of at least."
"She's avoiding me then." Poe lets out a sigh and one of his hands begin to rub at the back of his neck.
"Give her some time, Poe. She thought you were dead for several days and now you are back to being alive. Then add to it that she's been experiencing all sorts of things that she's never really had to deal with before. She needs to process everything and to do that, it takes time."
"It's my fault, Leia." Poe states, dropping his head into his hands.
"What do you mean?"
"She never would have had to marry that man if I hadn't-"
"Don't you go blaming yourself for that Poe." Leia harshly says, striking the bottom of her cane against the metal floor. "It isn't your fault, or hers. The fault lies with Ta'a Chume and her schemes. She played you all, including her son, into a game of her own making."
"But that doesn't change the fact that Rey had to… to… consummate the marriage. She wouldn't have had to do that if I'd been more vigilant during the whole trip."
"How about you tell me everything that happened." Leia suggests, reaching out to Poe with the Force to gently help reduce his guilt.
It takes roughly two hours for Poe to explain everything to Leia. He started with the flight, and the nightmares the pair were having. Then he moved on to their meeting of Tenel Ka, which Leia busts out in laughter when Poe tells her of Tenel Ka appearing out of nowhere and abrupt departures. Leia confesses that the young woman has always been like that, even as a young child. He continued on and when he reaches the part where he killed one of Ren's Knights, who happened to be a woman close to his own age by his estimate. Leia places a comforting hand on Poe's leg.
"If you hadn't killed her, she'd have killed Dash. And while I am not a fan of his flirtations, he is a good friend and ally to have." Leia remarks.
Shifting slowly to swing his feet out of the bunk, Poe grimaces as he finally feels the catheter line. Leia gives a slight chuckle at his grimace before getting out of the chair and heads for the door.
"If it is bothering you that much, just head to the refresher and gently pull it out."
Not needing another word to be said, Poe slowly gets on his feet and notices right away that there isn't any pain coming from his left leg. Leia begins to chuckle again, and Poe looks up to find her standing in the doorway.
"The bacta we were given by the Wookies had a few of their own natural additives to it. Gives it a bit of a kick from what I've heard." Leia gives him a wink before heading into the hallway.
Now being alone, Poe takes a deep breath and slowly begins walking. He leaves the room and heads for the refresher. Once inside he removes the catheter and takes his time on relieving himself. With that completed, Poe heads over to the small sink and begins cleaning his hands with anti-bacterial gel. However, he glances up at the dull mirror that sits above the sink. As he stares at himself a sudden wave of anger hits him. Before he's realized what he's done, Poe sees the cracks in the mirror and then he notices his fist pressed against it.
"Kriff!" Poe shouts out in pain and pulls his fist away from the mirror. He cradles his injured fist to his chest, steps out of the refresher, and bumps right into something big and hairy.
Chewbacca had heard the yell as he was walking by the refresher. Now, the Wookie can see just who it is that yelled out in pain.
"Sorry, Chewie." Poe says as he promptly tries to squeeze by.
However, the Wookie lets out a series of roars before reaching out to pull Poe towards the crew's quarters. Once inside, Chewbacca begins working on removing the shards of mirror from Poe's hand and spreading a thick layer of bacta gel on it before wrapping it up. He doesn't care if this male human and Rey are having a disagreement, he's already had to deal with Han and Leia's arguments. If he has to lock Rey and this male in a room together, like he did with Han and Leia, then he was going to do that. Human courting rituals are so complicated.
~~~~SW~~~~
Later on, close to what would be considered nighttime hours, Rey leaves the cockpit. Chewie, BB-8, and Finn had agreed to take over keeping watch on their hyperspace flight so that she could rest. So far, she's locked herself away in the cockpit for the past 48 hours as Poe slept, and then for another 8 hours in an attempt to avoid having to speak with him.
As she walks to her bunk, Rey contemplates everything that has happened to her since Jakku and she can't help but feel overwhelmed by it all. Hurrying her steps, Rey is wanting nothing but to hide away, to her room that once belonged to Han Solo. She doesn't run into anyone, for which she is thankful for. But it's another story once she steps foot into her room. Seated on her bunk is none other than Poe, and there is no way for her to escape since he looked right at her when she stepped through the door.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine, Poe."
Silence grows between the pair, neither one moving from where they are. The underlying tension beneath the silence is palpable, and it doesn't take long for Poe to become frustrated by Rey's lack of communication. He'd hoped that by waiting for Rey in her room that perhaps she may speak to him upon her arrival. Maybe he was wrong.
"I was debriefed by Leia about what all took place on Hapes."
"Good."
"She said that you'd been debriefed as well."
"Yes."
"But that you didn't give her much information on what happened to you."
"There's nothing to tell." Rey wraps her arms around herself, looking down at the floor so that she doesn't have to look at Poe. She's tired, not just physically but emotionally as well. All she wants to do is crawl into her bunk and sleep.
"Bantha shit, Rey." Poe growls out as he stands up.
It isn't lost on him that Rey's body language is telling him that she doesn't want to deal with this right now. However, he isn't going to just give up. So, he begins to pace the length of the room to help ease his own emotional discourse that is running through his veins.
"You went ahead and married Isolder after I'd told you to just leave. It was a stupid thing to do, reckless even. It could have cost the Resistance a possible victory over the First Order. It could have cost you your own freedom. You'd have been stuck there on Hapes, being used by that piece of-"
Rey's temper flares at hearing Poe reprimanding of her actions.
"I did what I thought was right!" Rey shouts at him, stepping in front of Poe so that he stops his pacing. "I couldn't just abandon you to die! No one deserves to be let behind! Or even killed for a crime that they didn't commit! Poe, if I didn't marry Isolder then you would be dead right now!"
"You don't know that, Rey!" Poe shouts back. "Tenel Ka could have saved me like she did if you had left."
Poe expects Rey to disagree, to yell at him even more. What he doesn't expect is for her to suddenly burst into angry tears
"Maybe she could, maybe she couldn't. Poe, you didn't deserve to die for a crime you didn't commit! After they brought in and burned that dead body, I was placed under house arrest because I attempted to attack the Queen Mother. Then I attempted to escape, twice. They used tranquilizer darts to subdue me both times. They even had these lizards, Ysalamir, to create a dead zone in the Force. That way I couldn't use it, couldn't tap into it. Then on the third day, Isolder tried to force me to consummate the marriage!"
Poe's face goes white at hearing this information and gently places his hands upon Rey's shoulders. Swallowing a lump that had built in his throat, he cautiously attempts to ask a question. Fearing to hear what the answer may end up being.
"Did… Did he… Was he successful?"
"No. I fought him. Fought so hard that his guards had to use the darts, once again, to keep me from causing too much damage. After that, he learned not to physically push for it. But it didn't stop him from using the lack of consummation to threaten my safety. So, the marriage was never consummated." Rey mumbles out the last sentence before a harsh sob rips itself out of her throat.
"Rey, I'm sorry. So sorry." Poe softly tells her as he pulls her into a hug, tucking her head against his shoulder. He starts rubbing a hand up and down her back while placing little kisses into her hair. "You're safe, now. I've got you, and I always will."
Rey allows herself to unwrap her arms from around herself. One of her hands clutch at the front of Poe's shirt while the other clutches at the fabric on his back. She has no energy to fight the emotional release, and presses her face deeper into Poe's shoulder. Rey eventually cries herself out of tears, but doesn't leave the safety of Poe's arms.
"Thank you." Rey softly whispers as her body lets out a shudder of exhaustion. Then she slowly leans back and turns her head so that she can look at Poe.
"Everyone needs to break down once in a while, Rey." Poe whispers before pressing a kiss against her forehead. "It's not healthy to hold it all in. Now, I suggest you get some sleep. You look exhausted."
Poe moves to break their embrace but is surprised when Rey doesn't release him. He looks at her with confused eyes, not sure what to make of Rey's unwillingness to let go of his shirt. She looks him directly in the eyes and he sees something in her eyes that he's never really seen before, fear. If she asks him for something, he isn't sure if he'll be able to say no and walk out that door. And of course, Rey asks him for something.
"Stay with me? Please?"
"Okay."
~~~SW~~~~
After a month and a half long occupation of the Hapes Consortium, Kylo Ren is standing in his personal room aboard his flagship, Finalizer, looking out of the window. He'd been on the bridge earlier, having to listen to Hux complain about the Hapans being hard to manage and the loss of resources at having to keep the star system in check. Then the smug bastard had commented on his inability to locate the remains of the Resistance. However, Kylo Ren had sent out the Knights of Ren within hours of securing the surrender of the Hapes Consortium to find the Resistance.
Within two weeks, one of his Knights brought back a young woman with whom Kylo Ren knows very well. It only took three days to break the girls' spirit and another day for a Knight to torture the information he needed out of her. So, he'd sent another Knight to investigate the information.
"Were they there?" Kylo asks, watching the reflection in the window as the Knight bows.
"They are, my lord." The cloaked male replies, slowly rising at Kylo's instance. "The information Knight Rar was able to pull from the Calrissian girl was correct. They are on Tatooine, hiding in her father's smuggling bunkers."
"But there is something else…" Kylo states, turning away from the window to look directly at the Knight. "Tell me."
"Not far from the bunkers I encountered a disturbance in the Force. It came from a small hovel near the top of a canyon, not far from the hidden bunkers."
"Show me." Kylo Ren states as he takes off a black glove from one of his hands. He offers the hand out to his Knight. "Now!"
The Knight removes his own glove from one of his hands and places it into the Supreme Leader's offered hand. Slowly, the Knight uses the Force to meld their minds together. Images of canyons and deserts fill both of their minds before it focuses on one canyon in particular. There are a few doors open to the bunkers, which interests Kylo since the outer casing of said doors look like large stones that blend perfectly with the surround stone.
"Show me the hovel."
At his master's insistence, the Knight shifts the images to the small hovel he'd discovered near the top of the canyon, several hundreds of meters away from the bunkers. They enter using one of the open windows and see a small kitchenette with a long bunk against the far wall, near a short hallway. As they move through the small home, the Force allows them to hear small bits and pieces of conversations. Once such conversation, Kylo immediately recognizes as his dead uncle speaking with an unknown man about someone who fought in the Clone Wars.
As they enter a small room, the Force comes alive and they can feel very strong, powerful emotions lapping over them. Kylo pushes deeper into his Knights' memory and suddenly two ghost figures appear upon the sleeping pallet on the floor, having a heated kissing session. Both figures Kylo Ren recognizes immediately and rage builds within him at the sight of them together. The rage is so powerful that it breaks the meld that he and his Knight are sharing.
"My lord." The Knight gasps out, opening his eyes and concluding that he is now on his knees before his master.
"Get out. Get out!" Kylo Ren screams at the man kneeling before him.
Quickly the Knight gets to his feet and just about runs out of the room. Behind him, he can hear the hiss of a lightsaber igniting. With the door closing behind him, the Knight leans against the corridor's wall, facing the now closed door. Sounds of destruction can still be heard coming from within, but with some muffling.
"He didn't like what he saw did he, Zekk?" A female voice says from close by.
"No, he didn't. Alema"
"Then perhaps I should wait before I tell him."
"Tell me what?" Kylo Ren steps out of his now demolished room, glaring down at the female knight.
"The local inhabitants of Dathomir are attacking what ground troops we have there to keep them in line. Hux is handling the situation the best he can, but our troops weren't prepared for their type of warfare. Doesn't help matters any when they're also using Rancors in their attacks." Alema confidently states. Out of most of the Knights of Ren, she truly doesn't fear her master.
"Then it's time that I paid them a visit. Have General Hux deploy twelve garrisons of troops and see to it that my shuttle is made ready." Kylo states, now glaring away from Alema and towards the male knight, Zekk.
"Yes, Master Ren." Zekk quickly heads off to complete the tasks given to him.
"Keep an eye on General Hux while I am away."
"Of course, my lord. What should be done about the Calrissian girl?"
"She's earned herself a reprieve for now. No more torture sessions till I return."
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Selene