Too indecisive. Too much of that Force nonsense. Too naive. Too restrained. Too sentimental. Nothing to do with the First Order except being Snoke's stupid pet. Undeserving.
General Armitage Hux, officially second-in-command of The First Order, could rattle out a whole list of attributes he despised about the latest Supreme Leader. The last one was probably what irked him the most. In the present situation however, it seemed to receive strong contentions by a couple of the other traits. It took all his self-control to not expressly air his distaste for Ren's decision on what to do with Chandrila. Or more specifically, with the Resistance scum that were now convened on the planet. A mole he had planted on the planet had informed him that some of the more influential members of the Senate were willing to surrender the leftover Resistance to the Order, on the condition that Chandrila is recognized to be neutral in the emerging conflict. Hux trusted his mole; he didn't necessarily trust the Senate, especially of a planet known to be strongly Republican in its leanings all this while, and which gave birth to the New Republic.
As warranted by the chain of command, Hux conveyed the information to his superior, Ren. If they were to mobilize now, there might be a chance they would be in time to reach Chandrila, neutralize the Resistance and possibly the planet's capital as well. A direct attack on Chandrila would raze the confidence of the Republic remnants to the ground, making demands for a surrender more plausible.
Ren had dismissed his suggestion without actually listening to them. Or perhaps he did. Hux noticed a shadow on Ren's face upon hearing the words Resistance and Chandrila strung together in the same sentence. But the Supreme Leader returned to his usual mask of passive indifference (which he seemed to reward Hux more so than anyone else on the Finalizer with) as he shook his head and turned down the idea.
"But Supreme Leader," Hux insisted, his tone getting a bit more obtuse. He could barely hide his irritation. "Our enemies are clearly there. All we have to do is pick them off."
"If what your mole said is true, then Chandrila is not yet our enemy," Ren answered, clearly uninterested. "There is no need to attack a city which can be a future economic partner."
"Are we really thinking about that?" Hux sneered back.
Ren's response was to turn to the new member of the triumvirate on-board the First Order's new flagship, the Finalizer: Captain Peavey. He was formerly Hux's acting officer; following the death of Captain Phasma, Ren promoted Peavey to replace her position. He knew how much Peavey disliked Hux, and vice-versa - making Peavey a good choice as the third anchor in the new leadership. "Captain, what are your thoughts?"
Peavey glanced over quickly at Hux before turning back to Ren. "We are trying to rebuild after D'Qar. The damages done to the Supremacy cost too much. Not to mention the squadrons and ships that we've lost."
"Then it's settled then. We leave Chandrila alone." Ren eyed Hux carefully. "Any objections, General?"
Hux glowered, but wordlessly saluted Ren before he stomped away to return to the bridge. With the meeting dismissed, Kylo Ren got up to leave the room. Peavey leapt up from his seat to stand and salute the Supreme Leader, but the latter merely signaled to him to be at ease.
"In my absence, Captain Peavey, I appoint you acting officer," Kylo declared. They walked out of the room together. "General Hux will adhere to your orders. If he protests, tell him that the orders came from me."
Peavey frowned slightly at the Supreme Leader's words. "Pardon me for asking, Supreme Leader. But are you going away somewhere?"
"Yes. I am going to meet my Knights. I shan't be away for long. Have the hangar prepare my ship. I won't be needing escorts."
His acting officer bowed his head in acknowledgment. "As you wish, Supreme Leader."
The trip to Chandrila ended up taking a whole day. After leaving the mausoleum, Rey, Finn and Poe headed back to the Falcon whereas Commander D'Arcy requested for a bit more time to "work the senators". When the three of them reached their ship, they found their resident Wookie and Rey's co-pilot, Chewbacca, fixing up the Falcon, with assistance from Rose Tico. Rose couldn't understand anything Chewie said, but the Wookie didn't seem to take offense. In fact, he seemed to enjoy her company, which was probably less intrusive than the stray Porgs they have running around on board.
Rose's round face lit up the moment she saw Finn. The former Stormtrooper returned her grin with one of his own.
"What are the both of you up to? We just left you for a few hours!" Finn peered at what Chewie was servicing. The Wookie spoke as if to shoo him away. "Yeah okay I get it, I'll move away. Hey!"
Rey noticed the fuel tanks near the Falcon. "Did we get more fuel or something?"
"Yeah!" Rose answered enthusiastically, peering behind Chewie to talk to her. "Nien Nunb went looking for supplies, he got us some food and fuel as well. Should be enough to last us for some time." Her face clouded over with worry as she looked at Rey and then Finn. "Did everything go well in the city? The three of you were away for so long. And where's the Commander?"
Finn jumped in to answer, and the two budding lovebirds got caught up in their conversation. Rey took the chance to head back into the Falcon. Most of the Resistance had returned from wherever in Chandrila they went, and she said her hi and hellos to them before heading to the cockpit. With the exception of the droids, Finn, and Rose, all of the Resistance members took turns to pilot the Falcon. She and Chewie had flown them into Chandrila; Poe and Lieutenant Connick were assigned to fly them out.
She had expected the next flying team to already be in the cockpit. Lieutenant Connick was nowhere in sight, but Poe had already settled into the pilot seat. When he saw her, he waved her over.
"Care to fly this thing with me?" he asked with an easy grin.
Rey merely smiled as she shook her head. She settled into the seat at the back as she replied, "I team with Chewie."
"Chewie's really something, isn't he. I try my best but there are times I don't understand him. But I don't want to let him know."
Rey kept her smile even as she took out something from her bag. "I know he's a Wookie. But I think he'll appreciate it if you can pick up a bit of his language."
Poe chuckled at her retort, before noticing what she was twirling in her hands. She heard him sigh exasperatedly before he spoke again, "I'm always seeing you with that thing, day and night."
Rey held up the two broken pieces of the lightsaber, the remnants of an incident onboard the First Order's dreadnought Supremacy a few months back. "This? Yeah I know... I'm generally good at fixing things, but no matter what I do, I can't fix this." She gave a hollow laugh. "It's kind of strange to use a blaster nowadays. But this lightsaber just refuses to fix itself, no matter what I do."
Just then, Lieutenant Connick walked in, with Commander D'Arcy. Both women looked excited, so Rey and Poe figured out there must be some good news for the Resistance effort. They were not disappointed.
Most of the Senators in attendance at the funeral had affirmed their personal support for the Resistance's efforts. But almost none was able to step forward with firm assistance, especially since the Chandrila Senate was officially divided in the planet's commitment to the cause. Some of the senators, including the junior senator who had so irked Poe, commented that there is suspicion that First Order sympathizers have infiltrated the Senate house. Their decision to offer a funerary procession for Leia was an attempt to hold the Resistance on Chandrila long enough for the First Order to swoop in and detain them.
"But I managed to speak with the former Chancellor Mon Mothma," Commander D'Arcy continued with a fond smile. "A good friend of Leia... I trust her as I would trust Leia. Mon Mothma is of course too old and too ill to join us in our fight. But believe it or not, she has a squadron on standby, in the event that Leia ever needed help and the Republic is too cowardly to act."
Poe raised an eyebrow at the revelation. "And where are we to find this secret squadron?"
Lieutenant Connick had already gone to key in the coordinates while Commander D'Arcy spoke. She turned to look at Poe from her co-pilot seat, "You'll see."
It was a long flight to the Outer Rim, but he felt like he needed to be here on this planet. He had parked his ship at the entrance of the imposing tower, and was glad he did. The air was terrible, and the heat... But what would he expect from a planet made of lava waterways and volcanic rocks? Everytime he heard the lava crash against the rocks, he shuddered. Then his mind would replay what he had seen in his dream. From the second time he had the dream, he did some research, looked through the imperial archives. Eventually he located a scene in his dream to be the raging planet of Mustafar. He took it as a sign.
Thank you, Grandfather... He silently thanked as he walked into the foreboding obsidian structure once known to be the private castle of Darth Vader.
It felt surreal to be in the castle grounds. He had only heard of it, of how Vader built it himself on the site of his greatest defeat. He glanced up at the remains of the two forked towers jutting out from the castle. It was said that they tune the Dark side of the Force. He had brought along the charred remains of Vader's helmet with him. Perhaps here he could once again commune with his grandfather, at the site where he was the strongest.
He walked into the castle with a sense of trepidation. Dark energy circulated within the castle's walls, he could feel it. He should be exuberant, to be in the proximity of so much darkness that could resolve his conflict once and for all. Instead the conflict in him churned even more. He wanted to embrace the energy, but he felt himself resisting it.
He stood in the middle of the empty reception hall, all its furniture (if there was any) now invariably looted, destroyed or fed to the lava that nourished the planet. What a shame. He set down Vader's helmet remains on the floor. Since he returned to the Finalizer, he had continuously implored the mask, to show him again the path he needed to take. But there was nothing. Perhaps here the relic could be replenished, and he could find the answer he seek.
He sensed new presence behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with two masked figures. One of them proceeded to remove its mask, revealing the face of a young woman framed by a shock of auburn hair. He watched as she shrugged apologetically, "The others are not as keen to have an audience with you." She eyed him carefully. "They're displeased at your failure to protect Supreme Leader Snoke... And your new rank."
"I can imagine," he replied simply. His gaze left hers to focus on the other person behind her. "Caedus."
The masked figure nodded to him respectfully, but said nothing. The young woman gave the masked man a reassuring smile before she remarked to the one who had summoned them, gesturing to their surroundings, "You've chosen a very interesting place to meet us. Anyway Kylo, as you requested." She held out a small urn in one hand. "The ashes of Han Solo." Her other gloved palm revealed the broken shards of a blue crystal. "The only remnants I could find of that lightsaber on the Supremacy."
Kylo picked one of the crystal shards up to examine it. To his and his guests' surprise, it began to glow with a soft blue light.
"It's calling out to you," the woman said, bemused. "I see now why you asked for it. But the ashes? A new prized collection?"
"I have my own uses for it," Kylo answered cautiously.
The woman didn't look convinced, but she decided not to press the matter further. "If you say so. In any case, Kylo, Caedus and I request our leave. Other things are waiting for us to collect them. Relics, resources... children..."
Kylo's soft answer surprised her. "No more, Caerra."
Caerra frowned. "What do you mean?"
"No more children," Kylo repeated himself. Caerra thought she detected the barest trace of a tremor in his voice as he said those words. "The First Order military will rebuild itself, but there is no more need for children to be taken into the system."
Caerra and Caedus looked at each other. Caedus signaled something to her, and she duly directed it back to the Supreme Leader of the First Order. "You've gone soft, Kylo Ren."
There was no contempt or malice in her voice. If anything, she (and Caedus) sounded relieved, but also genuinely surprised. She walked up to him and peered up at his face. Kylo shifted uncomfortably.
Caerra shrugged as she took a step back, preparing to leave. When she spoke again, her voice was strong but kind. "Kylo, Caedus and I are Acquisitors. Insignificant amongst the Knights of Ren. Whether or not you are with or against the Order is of no concern to us." She paused before bringing the reality of the situation back to him. "But the others are Snoke's Shadow Assassins. They're already doubting your story about Snoke's death. They wouldn't take to you with as much magnanimity."
"Your loyalty, and Caedus's, are enough for me," Kylo responded to her calmly. Caerra and Caedus bowed, and then headed back onto their ship. Kylo waited for their ship to fly into Mustafar's sky and into hyperspace before turning his attention back to his latest acquisition.
He must have been too caught up with what Caerra had told him to not have noticed what was happening. The Kyber crystal shards in his hand were glowing. No, it wasn't just glowing, it was vibrating, as if reacting towards something. His eyes ticked over towards Vader's helmet still on the ground, and he saw that it too was vibrating. Could it be...?
He knelt down to reach out for the helmet. Both the helmet and crystal shards vibrated even more violently as they came closer to one another. Kylo's eyes suddenly widened as he realized that he was wrong. The helmet and crystals weren't synergizing their energies; they were resisting, trying to destroy each other. The next thing he saw was a bright light, and a blast sent him reeling out of the castle towards his ship.