The room was small, plain white walls and floor with a low ceiling. This deep on the ship there were no transparisteel windows, but a few of the holoscreens had been set up with dizzying starscapes. The rest an array of vitals, no doubt connected to the multitudes of tubes and sensors converging on the figure seated in the middle of the room.
"Master." he knelt on one knee, anticipation roiling in his gut. He clamped it down.
A frail wrinkled hand rose from the heavy throne, "Rise," magnanimous Snoke tilted his disfigured head, "What news?"
Kylo raised his head, his new mask glinting in the crisp lights, "Luke Skywalker has revealed himself at last. He joins the Resistance and General Organa on Lothal."
"Lothal?" a deep rumble, considering, "Lothal was long a thorn in the Empire's side, and now houses Jedi sympathizers and traitors. A tempting target-"
"Send me," he interrupted, trying to keep all the desperation out of his voice. Kylo scowled under the safety of his mask, he could not seem too eager, "I have been to the system many times," Governor Bridger was a friend of Organa and Skywalker, "The strong Dark side Force presence would hide our plans," he reasoned, having heard the tales of before he was born, "It would be nothing to catch them unawares," he could finally finish his appointed task.
Snoke paused, his beady eyes boring into the mask as if he could see right through it into those dark deep places inside of him- exposing them, "And what of the girl?"
Kylo's face twitched, the scar running from jaw to forehead burning anew, "She is with Skywalker."
"Then both master and apprentice will share the same fate."
He held himself still, betraying nothing, giving nothing. No, this was too important, too critical, too wanted, "I will complete my task with my own hands."
A slow nod, "Perhaps the time is now," Snoke agreed, motioning toward the holoprojector. The blue grainy form of Hux appeared, his face still sour looking.
"Supreme Leader," the toady bowed, "Preparations are complete. We are ready to strike any target of your choosing."
"Stormtroopers will not be needed for a strike, Hux," Snoke would appear on the other end as disfigured but hale, the machines keeping him alive hidden from all but his apprentice, "But for a distraction."
"My lord?"
"Converge the fleets outside Bastion, let it leak that a strike is being planned. Kylo Ren will lead the assault."
"Yes, my lord." Hux nodded, before blinking out.
Snoke turned his attention back to him, "Go to Lothal. Destroy Skywalker and his apprentice. Once the remains of the Jedi are gone nothing will stop us."
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
The door to his quarters opened silently and then shut behind him. A pause as the sounds of the station fade away behind him to nothing, leaving him alone.
Striding forward, his boots heavy against the floor, Kylo passed those bare essentials he allowed his body without a thought, without a care and reached what is truly important-truly needed. A pedestal, an altar, that holds the final remains of Vader.
So perhaps, not so alone.
The mask had been twisted by the pyre, fitting for it had covered a man twisted. By fire by the Force. By love by hate. By those who would have him become someone-something other than what he was destined to be.
Kylo sat, his gloved hands on his knees, body still. The gaping eye holes of the mask looked back at him, "Grandfather…"
"The task you have appointed me is within our grasp. Skywalker will be destroyed, and with him the Jedi who betrayed you- who betrayed the whole galaxy."
He rose his head a fraction, "I will finish it," a vow, softly spoken, "I will carry your true legacy, " a promise, made many times.
I will succeed where you could not, when the light engulfed you.
The mask was silent, listening.
Kylo hesitated, he had not told the whole truth of his design. Not to Snoke, never to Snoke. But grandfather would understand, would know why, "There is another…"
"An apprentice," a girl, a scavenger, a brilliance, "Powerful. Unlike any I have ever met."
His breath tumbled out, "She could be turned," she could, she would, "I felt it. The Dark in her," a shadow cast by her light as she raised her blade in a snow covered forest, the harsh edge of her mind as it slid into his.
"I could train her," he insisted, "Create a true force to rule the galaxy as you planned."
She would flourish, reaching levels no Jedi ever could, would dare, and no one would oppose him, not the Resistance, not Snoke, not Skywalker. He would surpass all of them.
With her.
He picked up the mask, gently, reverent, the weight comforting and familiar. Kylo leaned down, foreheads touching for a moment before putting the mask back in place. A hushed sentinel to witness his deeds.
"I will not fail you."
The gentle rolling grasslands of Lothal rustled in the warm breeze, far away rock formations dotting the horizon around his ship. Familiar, seen so many times in another life, alien. He turned, the pale spires of the city rising, delicate yet sharp against the sky.
His speeder joined the rest of the inbound traffic to the city center, blending in with the crowd traveling to listen the governor's speech.
The mass was thick here, jostling for the best view. Up on the podium, a middle aged man, black hair with grey streaks and a prominent nose started his speech. Nonsense about the Republic and fighting the First Order like he did the Empire. Bridger was a notorious rebel back then, and still an inspired speaker.
A local bumped into him and apologized without a second look, Kylo smirked, confident in his anonymity. Wearing a mask did come with benefits- no one would recognize him in this rabble with out it. Hiding behind his own face.
A cheer went up, and Bridger stepped back from the podium his arms and words welcoming his old friend.
Skywalker.
Kylo stared as the crowd around him went crazy, his hand reaching for the light saber at his side before drawing away slowly, his fist clenched tight.
He was old- his beard more grey than blond now, his face lined and weary even as he gave a smile. A meager has been finally coming out of hiding.
He was nothing.
He could not even sense him, the old scars of the planet leaving the Force here a tumultuous mix of Dark and Light that even Bridger had trouble navigating and he had lived here most of his life. Least of all for one who was so firmly entrenched in the Light for so long.
It will be your downfall.
But then, he saw it felt it, turned his head just enough and-
Behind Bridger and Skywalker, amidst the aides and lesser officials, his eyes bore across the crowd and fixated on her. All else falling away.
-there she was.
The draw of her. The pull of her being. Running through his veins and pulling the air from his lungs. Blinding in her intensity.
Her head turned towards him, sharp eyes seeking him out.
The Force thrummed between them.
He felt it, like nothing else before.
She consumed him.
A:N Wow! Thank you all for the huge reception! More chapters to come!