They did not remain on Mustafar for long. As soon as the rest of the knights had arrived, Ben had related to them the tale of Hux's treachery and attempted assassination. And now the time for a swift and lethal counterstrike was upon them. The galaxy was in chaos. It needed order, and Ben knew that he must move quickly to prevent Hux from wreaking further havoc upon already collapsing worlds.
They dropped out of hyperspace, the blue streaks filling his small viewport condensing into trillions of tiny pinpricks in an instant. A black void engulfed them, and he could see nothing but endless, empty space. Ben clenched his jaw in frustration, not liking the idea of his life being placed in the hands of another.
"Is it here?" he asked tightly.
"Yes," answered Valdis, and though their chairs inside the cramped cockpit of the TIE Interceptor were situated back to back, he knew that she was smirking.
Of course he could sense the thousands of lifeforms on board the Finalizer. He had become aware of them as soon as they had arrived at their designated coordinates. But he could not shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap.
"Relax," she added nonchalantly. "If this goes poorly, we'll just fight our way through."
Ben raised a condescending eyebrow and shifted uncomfortably, his long legs crammed beneath the console. "You never were the best pilot."
"Then perhaps you should bring your own ship next time," she shot back, activating her comm unit.
His breaths sound strangely muffled and metallic, reminding him of the long years he had spent hiding behind his mask. Now, he wore a spare helmet and robes lent to him by Morvis, one of his fellow knights. If all went according to plan, his disguise would allow him to slip past the occupants of the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer without being identified, and by the time Hux realized who had infiltrated his ranks, it would be too late.
The first obstacle had already been cleared. Before their departure, Valdis had used her long-range transmitter to contact General Hux himself and had informed him that her current mission had been completed. She had requested permission to return to the Finalizer for reassignment, and he had granted it, providing the necessary coordinates to reach his location. She had said nothing of the mining facility's destruction, feigning ignorance on the matter, and he had not broached the subject, for Kylo Ren was her master. She answered to him only—not Hux—and only time would tell how the deceitful general would choose to inform her of her master's untimely death.
Closing his eyes, Ben reached out with the Force and felt the presences of the other five knights flying alongside them, each inside their own individual starfighters. But theirs were engaged in stealth mode, cloaked and invisible to both the naked eye and to the ship's sensors.
"Attention, Finalizer, this is Valdis Ren, requesting permission to dock."
A momentary pause. His eyes opened.
"Permission granted."
He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but their mission was far from over.
"All right, we're in," she said once she had deactivated her comm.
She refrained from notifying the other knights that they had been cleared, however, for a transmission of any kind might alert the Finalizer to the fact that Valdis was not alone. Instead, she and Ben amplified their positive and triumphant emotions, using them to communicate a much simpler but still effective message to their allies through the Force. They received wordless acknowledgements in turn, and for Ben, they were little more than light thrums, short and direct.
The Star Destroyer's shields were temporarily lowered, and the Interceptor soared toward its massive hangar. Ben waited in silence, hearing nothing but the low hum of the ship and seeing nothing but stars. A fleeting thought crossed his mind, unbidden but not unexpected. It was a common one now, filled with a longing he wished he could deny.
Where was she?
He wondered if she had returned to her beloved Rebellion. She would have left Adamus—that was for certain. She had always been strong and resourceful—and stubborn most of all. Stubborn enough to resist him. Stubborn enough to refuse an offer to rule the entire galaxy…
Towering walls of solid durasteel slid into view, drawing him back to the present. On his right and his left were rows of docked TIE fighters that were stacked on top of each other. Mechanics, pilots, and officers in pristine gray uniforms were going about their designated tasks. Troopers in glistening white armor marched in strictly ordered groups, machine-like in their movements.
Ben took all of this in through the slightly hindered view of his visor as the Interceptor slowly settled onto the black reflective floor. He sensed the others fly into the hangar behind them just before the shields were reactivated, and the knot in his stomach tightened.
"Ready?" asked Valdis, grabbing her helmet and pushing it down over her dark hair.
"Let's go," he responded darkly.
Unbuckling the straps crossed over her chest, she stood and opened the circular hatch above their heads. And immediately, they were greeted by sounds of chaos.
The other five ships had landed, their cloaking devices deactivated, and the personnel were scrambling into action. Stormtroopers drew their blasters and rushed toward them, surrounding the fighters. Valdis climbed out of the Interceptor, Ben following closely behind her, and when his boots met solid ground once more, he found himself staring down the barrels of many weapons.
"Explain yourself!" demanded a First Order officer, approaching Valdis with his pistol aimed directly at her chest.
If possible, she stood even taller, then tilted her head to one side. "Excuse me? Do you not know who I am?"
Her voice was low and grating as it emerged from behind her mask, and the stormtroopers looked at each other uncertainly.
"I am Valdis of the Knights of Ren, under the direct command of the Supreme Leader himself. I have an audience with General Hux. He personally gave me these coordinates."
The officer swallowed nervously, but he was determined to stick to protocol. "I was not informed that multiple vessels would be docking."
"Then you were informed wrongly," she snarled, leaning down until she was inches from his rapidly paling face.
He swallowed again, then unhooked his comlink from his belt. "My apologies. I will contact the general at once and notify him of your arrival."
Ben saw his eyes dart across the hangar and sweep over the other knights. Sweat was beading on the man's temple, and he could feel the fear and suspicion radiating from him. He was going to blow their cover.
Hiss!
No one had seen Valdis' gloved hand drifting steadily toward the hilt of her lightsaber. Its violet blade ignited in an instant, slicing the air and relieving the officer of his head. His body remained standing for a brief moment before awkwardly crumpling onto the floor.
"Would anyone else care to question my authority?" she challenged.
Ben's gloved fingers flexed as he watched the stormtroopers' hovering over the triggers of their weapons. Their polished white helmets swiveled toward each other, anxious and unsure.
"Good," she said firmly. "Now, kindly escort me and my comrades to your superior—before I lose my temper again."
HHHHHHHHHH
The personnel in the hangar bay had offered no further resistance, and a squadron of four soldiers had offered to accompany them to the bridge. Now they were passing through corridor after corridor of impeccable black and gray, small red lights blinking along the slanted walls. Eleven pairs of boots thudded and clicked on the spotless floors. Two stormtroopers walked ahead of them, and two trailed behind. In between, leading the knights, were Ben and Valdis. They walked side by side while the other five followed in their wake—Cassus, Morvis, Tanith, Asra, and Deroph.
Ben knew the Finalizer well, and he knew that they were rapidly nearing their destination. The knot in his stomach continued to tighten, but he converted that fear into anger and hatred, allowing the power of his emotions to fuel his physical strength. Whatever trap Hux might have in store for them, he was prepared to violently dismantle it.
Valdis glanced his way, and he briefly looked back at her. It was almost time.
Minutes later, they were standing before a pair of heavy durasteel doors as they slid open. One of the troopers had activated the adjacent panel and announced that Valdis had arrived, but he had mentioned no others.
"Go ahead," he told her, nodding toward the bridge.
She rewarded him with the slightest incline of her head, then entered the large, open space beyond. Ben and the rest of the knights followed her, but the soldiers did not. They waited in the corridor, and it did not take long for Ben to realize why.
The doors hissed closed behind them and sealed. His gaze swept over the room. There were no technicians or officers. Instead, at least twenty stormtroopers lined the walls, and along the narrow, raised walkway that lead to the vast viewport on far side of the bridge—
Praetorian Guards.
"Welcome, Valdis!" called a familiar, arrogant voice. "And, well, I don't believe you mentioned that the rest of your friends would be joining us."
General Hux delivered his most condescending smirk, quite confident that his many guards would be able to protect him from the Force-wielders.
"A pity," Valdis replied without an ounce of sincerity. "I must have forgotten."
"I think we both know why you're here," he said, his malicious eyes glittering in the semi-darkness. "The question is, how did you find out so quickly?"
"News travels fast."
He sneered. "Stall all you like, but there is only one way that you walk out of this room alive. Swear allegiance to me, your new Supreme Leader, or die. The choice is really a simple one."
"Really?" she scoffed. "I think he might have something to say about that."
She turned toward him, but Ben's burning gaze was focused on Hux as he reached up and disengaged his helmet. With a dull, metallic click, he lifted it from his head and then cast it aside. Now, there was nothing between his dark, vengeful eyes and Hux's pale, frightened ones. The general was at a loss for words. His lips opened and then closed again, quivering uselessly. He looked as if he was seeing a ghost.
"You're supposed to be dead," he croaked finally.
Ben took a single step forward. The stormtroopers aimed their blasters, and the Praetorian Guards activated their weapons. But none of them were able to prevent what he did next. Thrusting out his right hand, he called upon the Force, and it closed around Hux's throat like an iron fist. He choked and spluttered, flailing helplessly as he was lifted into the air and hurtled toward his most hated enemy.
One soldier dared to fire, but Valdis effortlessly deflected the bolt back into his own chest, her purple saber humming. And now Ben held his betrayer aloft in an unbreakable grip. He was breathing hard, his rage reaching its boiling point and his heart thumping loudly in his ears. Blood pumped wildly through his veins, every raw instinct screaming for him to kill, kill, kill.
"I've been waiting a long time to do this," he said, so quietly that only Hux and the knights could hear.
"You…can't," his prey rasped, squirming and fighting to pry the gloved fingers from his throat.
"Give me a reason," Ben snarled through bared teeth.
"Because…" Hux's voice cracked, and he was forced to start again. "Because…if you kill me, everyone will find out who you really are."
Ben blinked, taken aback. "What are you talking about?"
"I know…I know who you are, and there are others on this ship who know. If I die, they will tell the galaxy the truth." A laugh gurgled from his constricted throat. "You're a traitor, Ren—a murderer. It's in your blood."
In his shock, Ben dropped him, and Hux crashed face-first into the floor. He knew—about Snoke—about his parents. He knew everything. And if the galaxy found out, there would be no place left for him. Not with the Rebellion—not with the First Order—nowhere. He would be an outcast, a fugitive, an exile. That could not be allowed to happen.
"Kylo," Valdis had stepped close to him, her voice a whisper, "what should we do with him?"
The knights, of course, knew that truth of his heritage. That was no secret to them, for they too had once been students of the legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. And they knew that he had slain Snoke, though they were not aware of the true reason behind it. Thus, they had become quite accustomed to hiding his secrets from the rest of the galaxy, and this situation was no different in their eyes.
"Get him out of my sight," Ben growled furiously with a wave of his hand.
She nodded and delivered a sharp kick to the general's ribs, causing him to yelp in pain as he rolled onto his back. "Get up! You're coming with me."
As she dragged Hux from the room, Ben turned his back on him. He was disgusted and dismayed by his own lack of foresight. That fool! That vermin! How had he allowed him to turn the tables on him once again? He had effectively reclaimed the title of Supreme Leader, but was he really in control? It certainly did not seem that way.
Ben was distracted from his inner conflict when the Praetorian Guards suddenly knelt before him, their heads bowed, and the stormtroopers followed their example. Hux's threat remained a mystery to them, for it had only reached the ears of Ben and his knights. And it would have to remain that way, or he feared that he would lose the authority that was rapidly becoming all too fragile and threatening to shatter, the broken shards of it slipping from his weakening grasp.
If he did not hold fast to it, all would soon be lost.