Huxloween: The Thirty Night Trial

Day 7: Ghosts

It had stopped raining by noon, and the night's campsite was dry. This was a huge relief to Hux, who hadn't taken too well to a night in wet fur.

So they were cooking dinner, preparing their bedrolls, and waiting for the next trial.

Hux finished his stew and cupped his caf in his hands. The steam invigorated him and helped drive out the lingering cold. He looked up when Kylo cursed. "Grandfather?" the Knight sputtered.

There was a pale, ghostly figure sitting daintily on a log. Kylo must be seeing someone different, because this was Hux's stepmother. "Milady?" he asked. "May I inquire as to your presence?"

"I was called to check up on you, boy," Maratelle Hux sneered. "Why the Force spirits are bothering with a little bastard like you is beyond me. Perhaps to stop you holding back the Knight of Ren. You always were useless."

The cruel words washed over Hux. He'd heard them often enough from his father's wife, and then from his father, and his father's officers. From pretty much everyone.

He hadn't actually minded too much when Lady Hux died. Commandant Brendol Hux was old-fashioned enough to believe in having an heir and a spare. Maratelle had only provided the one heir, Brendol Junior, now lost to them, leaving Armitage Hux the spare, and in his brother's absence, heir. It had stopped Brendol throwing him out at least.

He leaned back, ignoring the petulant spirit as she harangued him about all his many, many shortcomings. The cracks about Bren Jr hurt, but other than that…

Just hot air from a woman long dead.

Kylo stared. His grandfather wasn't in the iconic death's-head helmet, imposing armour and heavy cape, but Jedi robes. He looked…young. "How?" he choked.

Vader perched on the fallen log and leaned forward. "Ben…Kylo. I've been called by the spirits of the Trial to speak to you. Now listen."

"But…" Kylo hesitated. "Before, you've always been…" He made a vague gesture, trying to convey the image of a Sith.

Vader sighed. "That wasn't me. You've been deceived, and I've been kept away from you." The ghost tried to take Kylo's hand, but went straight through it instead.

"You told me to embrace the Dark," Kylo cried. "But…you look Jedi…"

"Kylo!" Vader said sharply. "Kylo, listen. I don't know how long I have. Embracing the Dark was the worst mistake I ever made. It enslaved me in its power and drove me to commit the most heinous deeds imaginable. I've heard you crying out against the call to the Light, but that very call is what's keeping you free. I don't expect you do be able to reject the Dark utterly; I won't demand that of you. But use it wisely. As much as it gives, it takes a hundredfold. The Light gives without such demands. It only asks that you preserve life, and the balance of justice. It's not going to destroy you."

"But it hurts," Kylo whimpered. "I feel torn apart."

"That's the Dark," Vader explained gently. "It wants you for itself. It's not easy to resist, but it's worse to give in. Take it from one who knows."

"But you were so strong," Kylo whispered.

Vader sighed again. "Yeah, I was strong. I had a Master who supported me, a Padawan who looked up to me, a wife who loved me. And I threw it away. I let fear drive me to seek power, and I lost myself. That's not something I would wish on anyone, especially not my own flesh and blood."

"I don't understand," Kylo wailed. "How do I know this is true? This is meant to be a trial! How do I know you're not the deception?"

Vader smiled sadly. "Ask the Force. Not that Snoke. After all, if I am real, he wouldn't want to admit it. And I would point out that if you were still apprenticed under my Luke I would recommend not asking him either. If you must ask, ask someone who has no vested interest in your alignment."

Kylo bowed his head. "I will meditate upon this," he promised.

Vader smiled more genuinely. "That's all I can ask."

With that, the spirit faded.