Chapter 26

If someone had asked Rypo what she felt a week ago, she would have told them nothing. Now, her thoughts were full of chaos. Doubt on what path to take was first and foremost, but also confusion as to what was truly going on. Curiosity, as much as she hated it, also lingered at the edge of her thoughts. She had portrayed disgust at the idea of lust, but the rush of what the girl had felt towards Master Kylo kept returning.

It was not that Rypo found Master Kylo desirable. She didn't. Some distant memory of the girl she had once been insisted that he was most certainly not her type. However, the lust had been a good feeling, and Rypo had not felt anything that was good in a very long time.

She had forgotten what it was like.

Rypo gripped her hands tightly, wishing the gloves were off so she could distract herself with the pain of her nails in her palm. Enough. She had to complete her mission to inform the remaining knights of what she had learned regarding both the girl and Master Kylo's strange behavior. The Knights of Ren were gathered in a boardroom to hear her report, and she still hadn't decided how to handle this.

Telling the truth was certainly a betrayal of Master Kylo, but was betraying Master Kylo the same as betraying the First Order? Furthermore, what of the theories she and Teva developed on their return?

Banto had asked for their report when they returned, but they declined giving him a private audience to their findings on their leader. Now Banto was the only one they waited on. Teva sat to her left, as he always did at such gatherings. Jun'Pon and Hama-Ki sat across from them, and Nighwitch sat at the foot of the table, leaving the seat at the head open for Banto.

They had their helmets and armor on, as was custom, and the room was silent. The banter she occasionally shared with Teva on missions was frowned upon. Of course, removing their helmets was as well. They were trained to be emotionless tools for the First Order. Rypo bit her lip as she considered whether she should insist on more protocol with Teva, but she knew she wouldn't.

The door to the boardroom opened, and Banto came in, taking his seat.

Banto broke the silence. "Knights of Ren, you heard my concerns regarding Master and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren's actions of late, particularly regarding his interest in converting the new Jedi, a girl named Rey. Knights Rypo and Teva were sent to Coruscant to observe this development and report back what they learned." Banto turned to Rypo. "Report."

Rypo took a deep breath and let it out carefully, thankful that the helmet hid the uncertainty in her expression. "We arrived at Coruscant without complications. As we left the starport, we discovered a Resistance member named Rose Tico following us," Rypo said. "I glanced at her mind and saw that she was acquainted with both the girl Rey and Master Kylo. We abducted her and returned her to our ship for further investigation."

She paused, hesitant to continue. "This Tico had memories of Master Kylo surprising her in the hallway before going together to meet with the girl Rey, who was with the traitor FN-2187 and a man named Poe Dameron, who was known to Tico as the current leader of the Resistance. Master Kylo met them on friendly terms, though he and FN-2187 apparently had some initial tension. He had a porg, which is some type of bird, with him that he believed to be a pet of Rey's, and when she denied it, he asked to keep it for himself. He had named it Growlie."

Rypo looked around the room without turning her head, wishing not for the first time that she could see their reactions when providing a report. No one commented or interrupted on the mention of a pet porg. She continued.

"Kylo Ren then accompanied these four Resistance members to a Coruscant library, where they searched for texts on the force and shared historical knowledge of force users with the group. During this time he told them of our existence as the Knights of Ren and warned them to stay away from us for their own safety."

Rypo heard a modulated gasp from across the table, but she could not tell if it was from Jun'Pon or Hama-Ki. Neither of them spoke, though she gave them time to. After a few seconds, Banto gestured at her. "Go on, Rypo."

"Following the library, Kylo Ren had dinner with the Resistance group, where he primarily discussed politics with Dameron. During this discussion, Master Kylo's spoken values did not betray the values of the First Order. However, Tico had noted that Master Kylo was highly distracted by the girl Rey. Following dinner, he said he was spending the night with this Rey. That was Tico's experience with Master Kylo. I meant to investigate her knowledge of Rey's relationship with Master Kylo and the events from the Supremacy, but Tico had sent out a force projection warning Rey of our arrival when we abducted her. Rey, Master Kylo, and the traitor FN-2187 arrived before I could scan further."

"Master Kylo put his companions into a force sleep and declared we had risked his mission. I asked permission to scan Rey's mind. He granted it, but her mind was shielded. Master Kylo offered to crack her shield for me. I accepted, and when I checked again, I found… lustful images of Master Kylo in Rey's mind. Master Kylo presented this as evidence that the girl could be swayed away from the light side of the force and asked us to leave. We returned Tico to him at his request before we left. Thus ends my report."

Rypo resisted the urge to sigh in relief at its conclusion. She had shared the facts of what she had found and nothing more. All their theories were better left unsaid for the moment, at least.

"Thank you, Rypo. Teva, do you have anything to add?" Banto asked.

Teva's head turned to Rypo, and he was silent for a long moment. Rypo wished she could see his face to get some idea of what he was thinking. Would he share his suspicion that Master Kylo and the girl had been working together?

"This girl Rey was holding Master Kylo's lightsaber when they arrived to rescue their friend. She showed no fear of Master Kylo or wielding a tool of the dark side. It is my conclusion that Master Kylo has succeeded in earning this girl's trust and that she has conflict within her heart. That is all I have to say."

A thrill ran down Rypo's back at the knowledge that she and Teva were keeping their suspicions from the rest of the knights, and she wondered at the sensation as she realized she liked it, though she shouldn't.

"You have heard their report. Questions?" Banto asked.

Jun'Pon turned to face Rypo. "You said you searched Rey's mind. What did you find of Supreme Leader Snoke's demise?"

Rypo's heart pounded as she thought out what words to use. "I was unable to learn more than her desire for Master Kylo." There. She had answered the question without admitting her own weakness in backing away too soon or that she had likely been duped. She frowned beneath her mask as she realized she was protecting Master Kylo and this girl. Why was she protecting them? For the First Order? Because Teva was also protecting them?

"Disappointing," Jun'Pon said in a voice that was deep despite the modulation. "I would have liked to know how she managed it. Did I hear you say that she was able to maintain a mental shield while unconscious?"

Rypo nodded and said, "She was definitely powerful. Master Kylo is the only other human force user I have known with that capability."

"Does that mean Master Kylo is training the girl?" asked Nighwitch, leaning on her elbows at the foot of the table.

"Doing so certainly would be an effective way of earning her trust," said Rypo. She had not considered the possibility before, but it made perfect sense, especially considering Teva's theory that the two had affection for each other.

"Earning her trust, yes, but also honing a weapon for the Resistance," Jun'Pon said. "It is an act of betrayal against the First Order, as was divulging knowledge of our existence to the leader of the Resistance."

"Only if we are actively at war with the Resistance, and we are currently under a ceasefire ordered by Master Kylo, who is our Supreme Leader, for the exact purpose of working out a peace treaty. If he is not to negotiate terms with the Resistance, than who?" Nighwitch countered. "Our objective is to provide order, not destruction. We are not the Empire!"

"But we are the Knights of Ren, and we do not go around flirting with the enemy to meet our objectives!" Jon'Pon said.

The force crackled in the room between them, and Rypo saw Teva discreetly free his lightsaber from its holster under the table.

"Enough," Banto said. "Calm yourselves. Emotion is weakness. If you have forgotten, my underlying concern is that Master Kylo has become too emotionally vulnerable to serve as our leader. Hux had left a substantial detailed report of his suspicions regarding Master Kylo. Obviously, there's his parentage. I think everyone here knows he was born from and raised with the enemy."

He paused to face everyone in the room before he continued, even though none of them could meet eyes due to the helmets. "Hux wrote that Master Kylo has consistently ignored orders where this girl Rey was concerned. He brought back the girl instead of the droid when searching for the Skywalker map. He fought her outside Starkiller Base instead of checking for sabotage, dooming our greatest weapon. Need I even mention that it was under her presence that Master Kylo witnessed Supreme Leader Snoke's death? What if he could have prevented it and chose not to because of the girl?"

He waited for that to sink in. Rypo squirmed, wondering if Banto suspected as she and Teva did. Banto continued. "And now, instead of hunting her down and destroying her before she can cause more harm, he is buying her presents, adopting animals for her, getting to know her friends, and quite possibly even training her. And, of course, there is his murder of Hux. Hux was an excellent general. It was not strategy or the First Order's well-being that drove that decision."

Hama-Ki leaned forward and spoke quietly, but everyone faced her with rapt attention. Though her force talent was small, she was the eldest of them by several decades and usually the one to settle disputes with her wisdom. "Banto speaks truly. Master Kylo has been erratic. However, he has always been erratic, which is part of why Supreme Leader Snoke monitored him so closely. Even knowing this, Supreme Leader Snoke still made him our master and ordered us to trust and follow him in his stead."

She copied Banto's tactic now and paused to face everyone in the room in turn before continuing. "Master Kylo has trained everyone in this room, and he has always spoken loudly against the chaos of the Republic. Though he may err where his personal connections are concerned, I believe he is still the best person for the role of Supreme Leader. Furthermore, regarding the death of Hux, it was well known that Hux desired to rule and had no respect for Master Kylo. He would have sought to topple Master Kylo sooner or later in his hunger for power."

"And what of Master Kylo? Does he not also hunger for power?" Banto challenged.

Rypo surprised herself by shaking her head, and she was not alone. Hama-Ki, Teva, and Nighwitch also shook their heads.

Teva spoke, "Master Kylo rules because someone must rule, and there is no one else he trusts with the task. He shared his power with us when he needed help. He let me and Rypo live, though we had interfered with his plans and revealed we were investigating him."

"He may trust the girl enough," Rypo said, thinking on what she had seen and realizing something she was terrified to voice. All heads turned abruptly to her. "What if the reason he's with her and training her is to make her his queen?"

"An interesting theory, Rypo," said Hama-Ki. "It could explain his actions of late, and that presents a much more unsettling issue. I trust Master Kylo to lead us, but what of this girl? She is an unknown."

"We cannot allow a jedi to lead the First Order," Banto said.

"She's not a jedi," Teva said. "At least, not like in the history books. Her comfort with Master Kylo's blade and her lust for him both speak to conflict within."

Hama-Ki nodded. "I do not think Master Kylo would be drawn to a person who is all light. He hated Skywalker more than Snoke did. We will have to wait and see where this leads."

Banto nodded at the head of the table. "Hama-Ki speaks with wisdom, as always. We will monitor the situation. Now, please report on your divisions. Jun'Pon, what is the status of stormtrooper and officer recruitment efforts?"

Rypo settled back in her chair, thankful to have the discussion over for now. Next to her, Teva clipped his lightsaber back and patted her gently on the knee before returning his hand to his own lap. Much of the tension left her at his reassuring touch, and she wondered yet again that she felt better with him around.


Another necessary insight into what's going on for the "villains".

Glad y'all seemed to like the lotion scene so much in the previous chapter. I do appreciate the feedback. I'm writing this for fun, but I'm also honing my writing skills with it, and it's useful to know when breaking the rules works or doesn't work for readers.

Please review!