A/N:
Longest chapter so far. I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think.
If you'd like to ask questions off of ff net you can find me at tumblr at itsdetachableDOTtumblrDOTcom
I use the tag "a little unsteady fic" for story ramblings and odd things
Special thanks to:
StatsGrandma57
Hux and Mir were arguing, again. They'd been doing so on and off since leaving Takodana and it grated on Kylo's nerves. He'd ventured out to grab a few packets of food from the conservator and then holed up inside the sleeper berth again, but he couldn't avoid their voices even there. Sneaking his senses out to touch on their minds when they were too preoccupied to notice, he'd gleaned some information from their wayward had come to understand what it was that aggravated Hux; he'd realized the former guard had used them as much as they'd used him. Kylo wondered if he should tell Hux about what he'd read while skimming the surface of Mir's thoughts, about the suggestion there that Mir had always planned to come to The Citadel as soon as Hux had approached him about the escape plan, that the time was close that he would disappear entirely now that they are there.
He decided not to. It wasn't of any concern to him, and Hux could deal with that however he wanted to when the time came. Kylo had far more important matters on his mind, such as the procurement of a ship that would take him further, and finding out where it was that his father was being held.
Steps sounded in the corridor outside the room.
"Come with me," Hux hissed as he passed by the sleeper berth's open door and headed for the airlock.
Kylo didn't want to go with him, but following Hux was preferable to staying in the ship with Mir. He was so frightened of Kylo at that point that his panic crept in at the edges of Kylo's awareness without Kylo needing to feel it out, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't ignore it. It wouldn't have bothered him quite so much if it didn't waken his only anxiety.
So he rose from where the bed he'd been sitting and followed Hux outside. It was more than a bit unexpected, Hux leaving the safety of the ship. Though he seemed as unaffected as ever, Kylo could feel his unease rise as they exited the ship and headed out of the docking bay. He kept to the shadows, glancing uneasily at others as they passed. Mir had been right in saying that most people at the Citadel avoided noticing each other - almost no one looked their way, and most kept together in tight groups.
"Mir has arranged a meeting with the buyer at an exchange shop on this level," Hux said as he led the way towards the main entrance. His step was quick and he looked horribly uneasy at being out from within the safety of the ship.
"You don't trust him," Kylo said quietly, looking at Hux from the corner of his eye, "and you left him alone on the ship?"
"He doesn't want the ship," Hux answered tensely. His limp became more apparent when he got nervous, Kylo noted.
He wondered if he had any tells such as that, now.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Hux asked. They'd left the bay and entered the main floor of the citadel. Multiple rows of massive floodlights hung from the ceiling above them, but many were either broken or dimmed from age and the lighting was questionable. Hux kept them in the shadows, far from prying eyes. Kylo couldn't understand why he bothered, he doubted that anyone could recognize them anymore. They'd changed out of their drab prison garb once on the new ship, putting on mismatched clothes that the Rodian's crew had left aboard. No matter how how straight-backed Hux's walk would be no one would mistake him for a former General of the First Order dressed in stained gray slacks and bulky khaki pilot jacket.
"West." Kylo responded, refusing to admit he had no idea where to go on from this point.
"If you want help you'll have to do better than pulling a random direction out of your arse," Hux snorted.
"What if I don't want help?" Kylo responded.
Hux stayed quiet. When he spoke again, finally, there was a chill edge to his voice.
"The exchange shop is at the end of this street," Hux said. Kylo could see it ahead of them, a large shop front decked with flickering illuminated signs. A steady stream of clients of all species headed in and out through the front doors. "The buyer has arranged for a one on one pick up there, so hang back a bit."
Kylo nodded, and began to lag behind as they neared. He kept his attention on Hux, assuming that the other man only grow more agitated as they approached the crowd in front of the shop. Touching on Hux's thoughts, he was surprised to find that it was quite the opposite. Hux felt confident with Kylo backing him up, he felt safe. In all honestly it felt awkward to Kylo - it was quite a difference from their days on the Finalizer, where his feelings ranged rather towards irritated and resigned or just plain frustrated whenever Kylo was around. Kylo wasn't sure when that change had happened, sometime towards the last month's of the war? He had an idea why, though he preferred not to dwell on it.
Instead he focused on his surroundings, skimming the thoughts of the people he passed to gauge the threat level. Given a clear purpose to focus on was a welcome change, and he let himself detach from the heavy thoughts of previous days, thoughts of escape, of saving his father. While there were few people in the streets, there was a mass congregated within several yards around the exchange shop door. There were plenty of minds to scan, so many emotions swirling all around him. Some of those he passed opened easily to his gentle probing, revealing themselves easily. There was little to be worried about, as they all seemed focused on their own problems; everyone seemed to believe they'd either been swindled, or that they'd overpaid. Hux moved ahead, threading among the crowd at the door to enter, and Kylo hung back as asked, following his progress with his senses instead. If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that he was slightly concerned about Hux heading in alone. He wasn't quite sure how much of Hux's hyperawareness was from the stresses of the recent days, and how much of it was from somewhere deeper, but it was uncharacteristic of him either way. What he could read of Hux's mind was slightly reassuring - though agitated he was fully in control of himself. Kylo really shouldn't have expected anything less of him.
Deciding that he'd held back long enough, Kylo headed for the door finally. A large group of roughly dressed human exited the door as he walked up, and he stepped aside to avoid being trampled, scanning their thoughts as he did so. None of them were thinking anything interesting, as far as he could tell, and he moved to head in when a sudden stray thought caught his attention
...almost as bad as those damn chimneys...
An image, grainy and unwillingly remembered by the one who thought it, reached him in combination with the words: Dusty purple ground under a harsh and unforgiving sun, and hills of black and blue shining with painful brilliance beyond. Kylo jerked to a stop midway through the door. An aquatic creature behind him croaked in protest, shoving him with a spongy and moist arm, but he ignored it, casting around with single-minded purpose. One of the humans that had just left, he realized, and he shoved the amphibian out of his way and dashed back out onto the street.
The humans were walking in a loose pack a few yards down the way. They looked haggard, their clothes dirty and tattered, horribly mismatched, and the blasters at their side dirty and rusted. They were obviously an inexperienced group, as a few of them were talking too loudly and cheerfully about their payout. Already a couple of figures had begun to shadow them, keeping to recesses among the various buildings and crude walls. Kylo hurried after the group, keeping to the shadows himself. He could read the thoughts that sat at the forefront of their minds easily enough, but he needed to scan deeper to find what he needed, needed to feel out who held that memory he'd snagged.
Thoughts became easier to pinpoint as he neared. The men at the back had nothing on their mind but money and drinking, a woman at the front was focused on actually trying to keep track of who held the credit chip, and one man lagging towards the back was... was anxious, Kylo could feel that he found the dim lighting uncomfortable, reminiscent of something horrible. Drawing closer, Kylo could see odd shaped scars around the man's neck, ruddy bumps standing out against his pale skin. Reaching out with the Force, he touched the man's mind and tapped into a wordless stream of nervousness, anxious near-thoughts bumping around inside the man's head.
It was him. It had to be him. Kylo waited for them to near a gap between buildings, then focused on the Force.. He'd always been able to use the Force with precision when he actually put his mind to it, and he did so just then. Reaching out a tendril, he grabbed the loose end if one of the man's bootlaces and pulled hard, tripping him neatly. Most of the group continued on, though one stopped to help.
"I'm fine, my fucking shoelace came undone. I'll catch up to you."
The man hunched down over his boot as the other left, and Kylo stepped up to him quietly, keeping an eye on the group as it headed on. No one turned back to look, and the man didn't seem to notice him until Kylo was practically on top of him.
"Hey, who-who're you?" The man stuttered, rising to his feet sharply. He was a good six inches shorter than Kylo and looked up at him with anxious eyes.
"You have information I need," Kylo said coolly, glancing around. The shadowy figures had left after the main group and while a few people were on the street, none were paying attention to him or the man.
"Look I don't know wha-"
Kylo grabbed the man by the collar of his worn jacket and yanked him bodily into the gap between the shops. It felt good, using his physical strength, to find that thanks to his self-imposed routines during his time locked away he hadn't lost much of it. He threw the man against one of the walls and stared him down.
"Where is it, the planet you were on," Kylo said, trying to keep his voice steady.
"I don't know what you're talking about," The man said hastily, backed up against the wall. HIs eyes were wide, panicked, his hands scrabbling against the wall he was pressed against.
"The planet with the cylinders… The chimneys," Kylo snapped. The man shuddered at the word, and Kylo continued, "The blue and black hills, where is it?"
"No, n-no," The man shook, avoiding looking at Kylo. "I don't.. I don't know what you're talking about, please."
He lied. Kylie could feel it, but scanning the man's thoughts did nothing but bring up more images of dusty purple ground underfoot, black and blue hills growing and shrinking. Looking up at something large and hulking and dark, backlit by the noon sun. Chains, and darkness. Nothing concrete, abstract fear and anxiety and panic.
Kylo gritted his teeth, scowling at the useless waste of flesh before him.
"I was hoping you'd tell me willingly," He hissed through gritted teeth. "But you leave me no choice."
The man whimpered, and in desperation attempted to make a dash for it. Kylo pulled him back with the Force, slammed him back against the wall again. No words escaped the man this time, but a formless moan of terror escaped his lips.
"Now, you will show me," Kylo said,, and cupped his hand to the man's temple. The man's wordless moan turned into a wordless scream as Kylo tore into his mind, carelessly ripping through any memories that were useless to him. The man struggled, shrieked, beneath the power of the Force, but Kylo pressed forward, searching for anything that might help point the way to his father.
Stars in the dark moonless sky, he could see them clearer now, and the sun, large and white and tinged with blue. He could see the man escaping from a field of metal cylinders - cells, for the… the workers? No, the slaves, multitudes of them. The man was one of so many, forced to chip away at the hard and unyielding faces of the two toned hills, mining… the man didn't know what they mined. And THEY, they oversaw all - who were they? No matter, Kylo passed that, more concerned with finding where the planet was. He'd deal with the rest later.
His breath was ragged in his throat, but it felt distant. His head had begun to sting again, pulsing pangs, but he pushed it away from him, focused on pulling apart the mind before him. His body shook, the pain was coming yet he pressed on, undeterred - the man had escaped, somehow. Somehow.
The man, he'd ended up on Bakura before joining this group of small time smugglers - but how did he get there? And from where? Kylo growled in wordless frustration. The man screeched in pain. From where?
And then, a glimpse. Half a glimpse really. A second or two shot of the controls of a very old and very battered ship, and on the the front screen a hyperspace jump plotted out. He could see it. He could… he replayed it, over and over and over... He could find it now…
Kylo released the man, staggering back. His head ached dangerously, the pangs resounding within his skull, and he reeled with the sudden awareness of pain. He hadn't noticed it rising, hadn't noticed anything really, so deeply had he thrust himself into the other man's mind. He took a step back, then another, nearly falling as he leaned against the wall at his back. His body didn't feel weary, nor did his mind, but the pain was sending body-wracking shudders through out him, and it was threatening to grow further, piercing at his temples. He wasn't going to pass out, he told himself, clenching his fists and struggling to to fight down the pain.
At his feet the man lay slumped, moaning and sobbing.
"What is this?"
Hux's voice was icy, too controlled. Kylo looked towards the street to find Hux eyeing him with a cold look of disapproval.
"He had information I needed," Kylo gasped, straightening up. Hux scowled down at the man as if he were a load of trash that someone had forgotten to dispose of.
"Did you get it?" He asked irritably, and Kylo nodded. "Good."
Hux lifted his blaster and shot the man in the head. His aim was impeccable. At that close a distance the force of the blast split the man's head open like an overripe melon. Kylo stared down at the bits of gore that dotted the toes of his boots.
"Let's go," Hux put the blaster back in its holster and walked off. Kylo followed. In his head he was repeating that memory, retracing the track across the starmap. He could plot it out, once they returned to the ship. He was so close now.
"You will take the ship," Hux said suddenly.
"I…" Kylo paused, puzzled. "I know where we should go…"
"You," Hux reiterated firmly. Kylo looked at him, the emphasis not lost on him. Hux had seemed like he'd wanted to help earlier, had he changed his mind? Hux wasn't elaborating. Kylo frowned, and attempted to scan his thoughts to find out.
"Stop that," Hux snapped, glaring at him. His force of will was strong as ever in regards to mind reading, blocking Kylo's first attempt, though Kylo knew he could easily break through if he tried. Hux looked disapproving, again, "If you want to know what I'm thinking, then use your words. You're not mute."
Kylo frowned, and purposely pushed into Hux's thoughts again. The other man came to a sharp stop and faced him. Hux was doing a decent job with redirecting his thoughts, mostly to ideas of how idiotic and annoying and frustrating Kylo was. Kylo was tempted to force his way deeper, and even the stabs of pain in his head weren't enough to temper his impulse.
"Go ahead then, do it." Hux said, and though his tone was cool there was a sharp edge to it. "Weren't you about to keel over back there in the alleyway? I assume it was from the pain, and I imagine it hasn't faded all that much yet. So go on, let's see what happens first: you find what you're looking for among my thoughts, or you pass out from the excruciating pain brought on by your own stupidity. It wouldn't be the first time."
"Shut up," Kylo snapped, drawing his mind back from Hux's. The pain was pulsing dangerously in his head. "What changed your mind?"
"I hadn't made up my mind in the first place," Hux said, starting down the street again. Kylo followed in step, no longer inclined to push his way into Hux's thoughts. So Hux didn't want to come along, that was fine. Kylo didn't need him, after all. And if he felt a little anxious about it, it was only because it had been a long time since he'd been alone. Despite himself he'd gotten used to having others around.
"Very well," Kylo said, unable to keep a hint of anger from his voice. They were nearing the docking bay doors. "What about Mir?"
"Mir," Hux sneered,"Is no doubt long gone by now."
Kylo sensed his irritation, tinged with disappointment, without needing to feel for it.
Hux slowed his pace as they neared the bay doors, finally coming to a stop just outside them. Kylo stopped as well, though he refused to look at the other man. He could sense that Hux was on the edge of saying something. A fond farewell? That would be beyond ridiculous. Kylo looked at Hux finally, unwilling to waste any more time.
"Spit it out then," He growled. He couldn't help but notice how Hux was looking at him, uncertainly. It was an alien look on him, that animal wariness, and it only irritated Kylo all the more.
Hux didn't trust him.
The realization hit him harder than he would've expected it to. Hux had never really trusted him before, after all. No, that was not quite right. He may have been loathe to share information with Kylo, may not have trusted him not to go behind his back and do things his own way, but that was something different. This distrust, Kylo could feel it bordering on fear. Maybe he shouldn't have found it surprising, not after the betrayal at the end of the war, but he'd somehow never considered that he himself was on the list of untrustworthy people that Hux had assembled in his own mind.
"I… overheard something interesting back there," Hux said suddenly, hesitantly, his voice low.
"What was it?" Kylo asked, irked that Hux trusted him so little that he didn't tell him right away, that he still was unsure whether to tell Kylo what he'd learned. He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, but failed horribly.
"A deal was being made, to deliver a load of weaponry to an outpost near Gree," Hux said, "An outpost of supposed mercenaries led by a… rather imposing tall woman in a rigidly militaristic fashion."
"Is that what you heard?" Kylo asked. He didn't need to ask who this mystery woman could possibly be.
"Not those words exactly, but why be needlessly vulgar," Hux's lips quirked into a grin.
"And how will you get there without a ship?" Kylo asked, feeling the anxiety creep back up on him. Hux would leave, and he'd be alone again. He'd be alone, and so would Hux. That was a new thought, that Hux would be on his own. Somehow Kylo found it unwelcome. Hux probably preferred it, however, Kylo thought, preferred relying on no one but himself, preferred being around others who didn't know him, didn't know how to use him.
"I have enough credits to buy passage," Hux said, "Even after the charge to refuel the ship."
He eyed Kylo curiously then, as if he could sense Kylo's unease.
"I know how to handle myself, Ren," Hux said, and he looked somewhat amused. "I think you've forgotten that."
"I haven't forgotten anything," Kylo snapped back. He shot Hux a dark look. "Go then."
Kylo turned away and started heading for ship. Hux had planned to split apart, Kylo couldn't help but think, no matter how Hux had acted, he'd always planned to leave. The thought was distressing. It shouldn't have been, just as Hux's distrust of him shouldn't have been surprising. When had they ever trusted each other? When had they ever not used each other? He could tell that despite all that, Hux had expected something different in their parting. He could feel it in the other man's thoughts as he left, regret could it be? A mental distaste for how the situation played out. Hux had wanted this moment to go differently, but Kylo was never one to give others what they wanted.
Even so, he expected Hux to stop him, and he would've given him a few more moments, if only to ease his own anxiety at the thought that he'd soon be alone again. Hux didn't, and Kylo headed onwards without looking back.
All the lights on the ship were on. Kylo was sure of it because he checked them all twice, even the tiny lights in the back of the supply hatches. Kylo sat at the control panel, legs folded awkwardly, eyes fixed on the streak of stars outside the windows. The ship was oppressively empty behind him, and the silence of it pressed painfully on his mind.
He was close now, he reminded himself for the hundredth time since he'd gotten on the ship. His father was growing nearer. At least, the planet he was on grew nearer. He'd thought about meditating, reaching out with his senses along the pathways of the Force to search for his father's familiar presence. Each time he'd settled down to it, however, his mind balked at it. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't help but think -
What if he'd been wrong?
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those doubts. If his dream hadn't been touching on his father, why would the hills and the land he saw in the dreams match so well with what he'd seen in the memories of the man at the Citadel?
His father was alive. How, Kylo couldn't even begin to guess, but he was.
A control on the ship's console began flashing. He pulled up the route and found the ship positioned to exit hyperspace. Closing the route again, he eagerly watched as the ship transitioned back to realspace, searching for the planet he was headed for.
The sun at the center of the system he entered blazed into sight as soon as the ship entered realspace, an impossibly bright white mass at one corner of the windows. He had to look away from it, squinting to see past the glare it created. Turning to the controls, he isolated the side of the window facing the sun and adjusted the tinting on it until he could see without spots in his eyes. The planetary system stretched before him, the planets lit clearly by the superbright sun. There were four planets in the system, one in an orbit so near the sun it only showed as a dark spot in front of the sun's brilliance. Two planets orbited near each other farther out, icy and surrounded by natural satellites. The planet he was looking for was on the cusp of just right, almost too near the sun to be habitable.
Kylo steered for it, and watched intently as the planet grew in view. It was a large planet, with vast swathes of dark ground cut through with rivers and lakes of bright green. The poles were covered in thick, swirling clouds, while the rest of the planet was nearly cloudless, only a spare few wisps tearing away from the poles. Kylo set the ship's sensors to work, and soon they were returning information - most of the planet was uninhabitated, at least on the surface, however as he neared the sensors began picking up a settlement on the night side of the planet.
That had to be it. What had his father said, they leave at night? Kylo remembered that hulking form from the man's memories, and though he had little fear that he'd be able to take on whoever it was keeping the slaves, he found himself glad to think that he wouldn't need to toe the threshold of his Force powers again so soon after the last time.
Setting the ship on its course towards the planet, he went in back to prepare for the landing. He had no idea what to expect once on the ground, and wasn't sure what to take with him. He'd prefer to get in and get out as quickly as possible, but depending on the state his father was in that would either be easy or difficult. He took two blasters and slung their holsters across his shoulders. He would've preferred his lightsaber, yes, but that had been taken from him. The memory was dangerous and full of venom; they'd had to rip it from his hands, even after they'd incapacitated him. They might as well had taken his arms… It had been a while since he'd thought of his lightsaber. He'd thought of it much during the first few weeks of his imprisonment, but as it had never done him any good he'd forced himself to forget. Now, remembering again, the ache sprang up inside him, the loss suddenly as sharp and real as it had been the moment it had been taken from him.
They'd been through much together.
Frowning, he headed back to the bridge to take another look at the sensor readings. The ship was speedy, and nearing the final trajectory to break in through the atmosphere. Kylo turned the autopilot off and took the controls himself. It had been a while since he'd last piloted a ship, but he easily slipped back into the role. Clearing his mind, he focused on the controls and the ship itself, guiding it down in a rapid descent to an area just south of the settlement. He settled the ship on a relatively flat piece of ground, the landing kicking up large clouds of dust.
Kylo exited the ship to find the world outside a mesmerizing blend of dark and glitter, the stars above reflecting in odd streaks of reflective material in the ground and in the hills that rose before him. The air was chilly, much colder than he'd expected, and he shuddered as he set off. Tentatively, he sent out his senses towards the settlement. The multitude of presences he was met with was staggering for such an out of the way world - hundreds upon hundreds, spread across a valley seated directly between three high ridges. Kylo headed at a steady pace towards the valley, finding the trek exhilarating, freeing. He hadn't been allowed much at all at the prison, banned from almost all the facilities granted to the other inmates, and it had been ages since he'd been able to truly exert himself. The starry night sky spun above him; he found himself reaching the edges of the settlement much sooner than he'd expected. Taking the last rise of a low hill, he stopped at the crest to get his bearings.
Before him was the field of cylinders. The holding cells. They were all crude, some old and battered, others new and still somewhat shiny. The starlight glinted off of them, setting the dark valley glittering almost like a mirror of the sky above. With no moon in the sky it was difficult to make out the layout before him, but the Force was not letting him down. Though he couldn't quite see it, he knew all the same how the alleyways wound between the cells. Surprisingly, he could find no evidence of a fence, of any sort of guard shacks. There were the cells, and nothing beside them.
Cautiously, he headed down the side of the hill and approached the first cell. Once again, Kylo reached out with his senses to find where his father was. The amount of presences around him was throwing him off, or maybe it was the lack of practice, but as he headed through between the cells he felt a call from further in. A tug, right at the back of his mind. He headed past the first and second lines of cells and headed for the center of the settlement. Around him he could feel those inside the cells, some lay asleep, others moving restlessly about. Some cells held many, some held a few, but everywhere he could feel multitudes of various races and species trapped inside them. He paid them little attention other than a cursory sweep; his father's presence grew stronger as he went, calling to him much more poignantly than before. He started to jog towards it, skirting around larger cells and casting about to find the proper direction.
Ahead of him, a cell began to glitter brighter in the darkness, like a beacon. Eagerly, he dashed up to it, finally close enough to confirm that yes, his father was there. His father was inside. His father…
Kylo slowed to a dead halt a few paces from the cell. His father.
The last time he'd seen his father, he'd killed him.
Or, at least attempted to, if his father was here alive then he hadn't succeeded.
Kylo took a step forward -
Finish what you've started
-and jerked back, spun around, eyes widening as he struggled to take in his surroundings. The cold hiss still lingered in his mind, echoing around his skull, sending shivers down his spine. His breath came in gasps, the darkness was overpowering, but it was only his mind. It was only his mind. It couldn't be… No, Rey had defeated Snoke, he was dead, Kylo had felt when his master died. It was only his mind, and that was something he could fight. Getting himself under control once more, he turned back slowly to face the cell once more. Warily, he took a step towards it, waiting for that voice to return, but it didn't, and his next step came more confidently. It was only his own unease, after all. Nothing more. And he would admit, that after having traveled across most of the galaxy, he stood in front of the cell with no idea in mind of how to face his father, how to explain the inevitable questions he would ask -
Why had he tried to kill him?
Why, now, did he try to save him?
Kylo wasn't sure he had the answers himself. There was something deep inside of him, however, some nostalgia he hadn't realized he still carried within him, that was eager to see his father again. That was waiting for that moment with bated breath. A low excitement bubbled beneath his skin. Kylo stepped up to the cell and placed a hand on its metal side. It was ice cold beneath his skin, made of something like ship metal. No, it was ship metal. As he focused on it, the whole of it came into view; the cylinder was made of pieces of ship metal, beaten and soldered into place. They, whoever they were that created this place and enslaved these people, must have scavenged from old ships or used ones that had been caught while obtaining new slaves, to create these holding cells. The walls were thick, unable to be broken through by an average person, and as far as Kylo could tell there were no doors on ground level. A large square window was cut into the roof of the structure, but it had a grate locked onto it, and Kylo could not feel any ladder or rope nearby. There would be no easy way of getting his father out. Or rather, there wouldn't have been an easy way, except that he had the power of the Force to use, and having gotten so close to completing his journey he was becoming impatient. He could poke around more, find a way to get the window grate open and a line to let down, but that would take more time than he was willing to spend.
No, instead he felt with the Force for a piece of metal in the wall that seemed less secure than others, and got to work on it. It didn't take all that long, really, once he truly focused. The various pieces of metal that made up the walls did not solder uniformly and the seams were weak. He pulled at the metal piece, and shortly it wrenched itself free, ripping apart from the other pieces with a loud screech. Kylo almost laughed; it had felt easy, certainly easier than anything he'd done with the Force the past few days. Even the implant in his head wasn't reacting, not yet anyhow. Happily, ecstatic with the flow of the Force, he pulled at another piece, then another, ripping them off as layers on an onion and discarding them haphazardly on the ground behind him. Voices had started up when the first piece came off, and Kylo could feel the rising agitation of those inside as he continued to rip a hole through the cell's wall.
Suddenly enough, the last piece came free, and facing him was a dark hole. Past it, he could feel the presences of a handful of different people… and his father.
Should he enter? Should he stand outside and wait?
Now that the time had finally come he was once again doubtful, uncertain. The elation of pulling apart the cell wall drained away from him, leaving him cold in the chilled air. His father would have questions. He wouldn't have answers.
A figure stood at the hole suddenly. Kylo didn't need to feel to know who it was; he took a step back, suddenly overwhelmed by what could happen. He took another step back, then another, his foot hitting one of the metal sheets he'd pulled off of the cell wall. The figure stepped out of the hole - his father - stepped into the open. The starlight was strong but dim but even so he could see his father's eyes widen at the sight of him.
"Ben?" His father's voice shook slightly, uncertain. It sounded weaker than in his dreams.
"I... I have a ship," Kylo said, his heart beating so fast and loud he could barely hear himself. "We should go. Come on."
He didn't move. Neither did his father.
"You…" his father looked surprised. "You came here for me?"
"We have to go," Kylo said, shrinking back from that gaze, too warm and too hopeful. "Come on."
Others were now exiting from behind his father, climbing out of the hole, humans and non-humans alike. They could do whatever they wanted, but Kylo wanted to be gone from the place. He was suddenly regretting it, regretting it all, escaping prison and coming here and saving his father, it was all suddenly too much for him. He should've stayed locked up, it was horrible and demeaning but he'd gotten used to it and it was something and it was familiar and that was so much better than the unknown he was standing before.
"All right," His father said, took a step towards him. He seemed as shocked and uncertain as Kylo felt. Kylo handed him a blaster, and wordlessly motioned for him to follow.
The other escaped slaves milled around uncertainly as they left; Kylo had thought they might take the chance to follow, to escape, but none seemed inclined to do so. Some even went back inside the cell. It was unsettling. Kylo focused on getting his father back to the ship instead of wondering on that, wondering if it had been anyone else opening that cell, if his father would've taken the chance to escape, or if he would've done the same as the others, lay back to sleep.
Their going was slower than Kylo would've liked. His father had said they left at night and Kylo could only assume that meant they returned at dawn. He could've asked, but the trek was rough on the older man, and Kylo didn't want to wear him out even more by talking. He eyed the rising color in the west, wondering if there would be any sign of the mysterious beings before they arrived. He would have preferred that to the possibility of actually having to talk to his father. Now that the man was with him, Kylo couldn't help but feel a rise in uneasiness, as if that panicked beast in his mind had multiplied and there was now a pack of them waiting in those dark recesses for any sign of weakness. He would not allow himself to break down in front of his father, he told himself firmly. It was a lie, and he knew it. All it needed was time, and the right catalyst.
The time wasn't then, and the catalyst was not there. He would keep his head until they got to the ship at least, that much he was sure of. He paused often, allowing his father to keep up, but he rarely looked at him. He couldn't. Once was enough, to see that disbelief in his eyes, the appreciation, the…
"We're almost there," Kylo said, turning towards his father. He'd sensed something ahead of them, like flies in a spider's web the presences sent shudders across the Force and to him. He pulled out his blaster, and watched as his father readied his own. "There are presences near the ship."
"Right," his father replied, hefting the blaster. It was still strange to hear his voice, and so close at that. Kylo watched as the older man adjusted his grip on the blaster, waited for him to look certain about it before heading on.
They climbed the last low hill slowly, and crouched near the top. Looking over the rise, Kylo could see figures near his ship. They were hulking, oddly shaped creatures, and in the near-morning light he could make out only some of their features. Something like heads, insect-shaped with multitudes of faceted eyes. Their bodies made up most of their bulk, though he was unable to see their form beneath the masses of dark cloaks they were. They moved on four insect-like legs, and had four arms as well, two thin and delicate looking with fine fingers, and two brutish and thick ending in scorpion's claws.
"Bastards," Han - his father - said. Kylo shuddered at the sudden shot of familiarity.
"B...blasters should work, right?" Kylo asked. Why was he uncertain? Why was he there? What was he doing there?
"They should," Han replied, taking aim. "I'll take the one on the right, you take the other one. Aim for one of the larger eyes, they're more sensitive than the others."
Kylo nodded, relieved to be able to focus on something once more. The beasts in his mind growled softly, but he ignored them and aimed the blaster. Han shot first; The bolt caught the creature in one of its large eyes, and it spun around shrieking. The other creature faced the hill, and with surprising speed and dexterity dashed towards its, pulling a staff-shaped weapon out from under its cloaks. Kylo shot at it, multiple times, knocking it back a few steps and sending it rolling onto the ground. Han was less impulsive with his shots, taking aim and waiting for the first creature to turn back to them before shooting it in the face again. It staggered but neither turned nor fell, and Han followed up with a volley of shots that sent it crashing to the ground.
The second creature had rolled over under the assault from Kylo's weapon, and he paused then, cursing, as it seemed that their back was better armored than their head or front. It stumbled to its feet after a moment, then whipped around to face them. Kylo could feel the weapon in the creature's hands about to discharge, and he ducked behind the rise of the hill, pulling his father down with him. The top of the hill shook as the weapon's blast hit it, glowing fissures spreading down from the tip through the hardened stone.
"It's coming up the hill," Kylo said to Han.
"Around the sides then, come on," Han said, shoving him towards the bottom.
"No," Kylo said, "I can stop the weapon blast, and you shoot it down. We can't have it alerting any others to follow us."
Han looked uncertain, but there was no time to argue. Kylo turned back to face the top of the hill, and Han readied his blaster.
The creature appeared over the rise. For a split second Kylo couldn't remember, was he seeing this? Was he in the memories of that ragged man on Bespin again? He got his wits about him just in time, throwing a hand up as the creature discharged its staff-shaped weapon again. The blast was both hotter and stronger than a blaster bolt, more concentrated, and Kylo struggled at the beginning to contain it. The web he cast around it with the Force shuddered as the blast's energy pushed against it, but Kylo would not let it break. It wasn't a matter of strength, it was a matter of focus, and if he needed to do nothing but focus on that blast that was what he would do. For that first second that was what he did, his mind nothing but the force and the blast, the web holding it back. Once he contained it, however, he found it easier to draw back, to refocus part of his senses on the world again.
His father was blasting away, and the creature was shrieking in pain. In a few more moments it was over.
"Come on," Han - his - father - said, and touched a hand to his shoulder. "There'll be more coming now that it's morning. Let's go."
Kylo nodded, and followed him around the base of the hill, holding the blast back until they got to the far side. The sound of cracking stone reached them once the blast tore free and collided with the ground, and Han jerked to look back, eyeing the hill warily.
The ship waited silently for them to approach. Kylo could sense another parked across the other hill, a smaller craft most likely used for short distances. He couldn't feel any more of the creatures around, and hopefully the ones that were on their way in would not notice their ship leaving. Walking up to his ship, he reached out to touch the inside panel at the airlock and lower the ramp. He motioned for his father to enter first, then followed him inside, and the ramp pulled up behind them.