After taking my first life, I felt dirty.

I felt corrupted.

I felt...powerful.

I felt...good.

I was rooted in the same spot by the viewport for the entire return to base. The Troopers stayed on the enlisted deck, and Vegas and Bach were probably in their quarters. I was grateful for the privacy. Distant stars blurred by as we hurled through hyperspace. My eyes tracked sightlessly over the blue glare, free of the slight distortion caused by my helmet.

"You're the talk of the town."

Vegas had managed to sneak up on me once again. He had placed his helmet next to mine on the conference table. He came close to me with a smirk on his face. His armor clinked as he leaned against the viewport, standing a few centimeters taller than me.

"The Troopers are all betting you're Bach's replacement."

I released the breath I was holding. "That would be crazy..."

He maintained relentless eye contact. "Do you want that?" he asked pointedly.

My heart stuttered. "I mean..."

He raised his eyebrows in challenge.

"Yes," I stated confidently.

He smirked, conveying his approval. I glanced away, suddenly self-conscious. My feet subconsciously slid a few centimeters away from him. If he noticed, he didn't mention it.

The stars snapped into place as we came out of hyperspace. I savored our final moments in space before we began our descent into the atmosphere.

"You like the stars," Vegas murmured.

I nodded, my eyes flickering to his face. "I do. I was born in space."

"Me, too."

I looked over at him with questions in my eyes. He crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the viewport.

"My parents were traders. I was taken from them five years ago. Too old to be a conscript, too young to be a volunteer."

I blinked at him, not brave enough to ask how old he was exactly. He looked older than me, but he couldn't have been. He's extremely talented.

"I'm from a nomadic fleet," I offered.

"Mhm. Andromeda Fleet," he said.

My eyes fell to my feet when I remembered just how much he knew about me. He ducked his head, trying to catch my eye. His next question was spoken as if it was forbidden.

"Do you miss it?"

I pressed my lips together, knowing that a lie was coming. "Sometimes."

Vegas didn't seem to mind the turbulence as I retreated to the safety of the table. I placed my helmet on my head as Stormtroopers began to mill into the room, murmuring excitedly to each other. Though my feet ached, I stood when Ren stepped off the speed lift from the upper deck. When I heard Vegas' sudden breath of surprise, I looked over my shoulder.

An entire battalion of Stormtroopers whizzed by as we pulled into the hangar bay. As we touched down, I could see their unit leaders standing in the grid-like rows between them. Their battalion commander stood at the front with Captain Phasma and the base commander, a red-haired General whom I immediately recognized from my training. The two of them vanished from sight as they approached the lowering ramp.

"What does this mean?" I breathed, glancing over at Vegas.

He frowned. "Something really good, or something really bad."

Judging by the expression of pure rage on General Hux's face, it was the latter. He stood at the bottom of the ramp as we descended.

"Ren," he snapped in greeting. "Do you know the extent of the political circus you've unleashed?"

"Not now, Hux," he stated calmly.

As soon as possible, Ren veered away from him, his cloak whipping behind him. Vegas and I walked double time to keep up, with Hux and Phasma trailing behind us.

"What were you thinking?" Hux hurled after him. "Your likeness is on every news broadcast in the New Republic!"

"I must report to the Supreme Leader immediately," Ren said over his shoulder.

He laughed in a high-pitched, somewhat unhinged voice. "Did you even hear what I said? The Supreme Leader is furious with you!"

I nearly ran headlong into him when he suddenly halted and whirled around. He stepped forward to stare directly into Hux's face, the heat of his glare somehow permeating through the mask. At least half a meter separated the two men, but their faces were centimeters apart.

"Stay out of my business," Ren growled menacingly.

Hux's stoic expression implied that he had been in this very situation before. Backing down without a fight, he turned and muttered something venomous to Phasma.

Ren left straightaway.

Captain Phasma motioned to me before I could join him. Her voice was exasperated as she gestured to the command shuttle. "How many casualties, 38?"

"None, ma'am." I shook my head. "No one was hurt."

She lowered her hand in surprise.

Hux fixed his eyes on me with an indignant look, his arms behind his back. He was unusually young for a General. "Only a fool relies on luck, Trooper," he said sternly. "Remember that."

"Caltrel!" Vegas called behind me.

I jogged to catch up with them.

In silence, we boarded a speed lift I had never seen before. It descended deep into the ground, deeper than any of the floors I had access to. The air around us seemed to grow colder and heavier. As we stepped off, I marveled at the largest communication chamber I had ever laid eyes on. It was dimly lit, with twelve identical holocoms in a ring across the room. In the center sat the largest holocom I had ever seen.

I gasped when it flickered to life.

The Supreme Leader was a scarred and elderly man. He sat on a throne with one hand clutching its armrest and one settled in his lap. Ren stepped forward and sank to one knee, his cape pooling on the ground behind him. Copying Vegas, I dropped to my knees and sat on my heels. I lowered my face toward the cold ground.

Suddenly, I heard the hiss of a respirator decompressing.

My head shot up.

Ren's helmet wobbled on the ground beside him. His back was facing me without a sliver of his face showing. My eyes hungrily traced over his long black hair, glowing silver in the faint light of the hologram. I stared without blinking, utterly transfixed.

"My young apprentice," the Supreme Leader boomed, his voice rumbling the stone beneath my fingers. "Who is with you?"

My breath hitched when I heard Ren's voice, raw and unfiltered.

"Corporal Vegas and Corporal Caltrel."

"Mm." The Supreme Leader settled back into his throne. "The girl."

My hands shook as my heart hammered in my ears. He knows of me.

"Master, forgive my directness but there is something I must tell you..." Ren looked up at the towering hologram. "Luke Skywalker is alive."

His mangled brow furrowed. "What? Impossible," he breathed. "You witnessed his death firsthand, Lord Ren."

"I thought I did, Master," he said with a slight waver. "I just discovered the existence of a map that leads to his location."

A long, breathless pause.

"Where is this map?" the voice boomed.

Ren meekly ducked his head. "I don't know."

"Mm." The Supreme Leader laced his fingers and closed his eyes. Everything was still for a long moment. "I must meditate on these things. To see if what you have uncovered is true."

"Thank you, Master," he said, softer. "I trust in your wisdom and guidance."

He hummed skeptically. "I sense the disquiet this has caused in your mind, Kylo Ren. Set these matters aside and focus on your training."

Ren bowed his head.

"Yes, Master. Forgive me."

After a moment, the holocom faded, casting the room back into shadows. I glimpsed pale skin as he twisted to pick up his helmet. Though I hadn't seen his eyes, my mind imagined them, glimmering like jewels in the darkness.

Back on the speedlift, I stood with my numb hands clasped in front of me. Far too much had happened in a single day. Right across from me, Vegas seemed to take it all in stride.

"Lord Ren," he began, testing the waters. "Luke Skywalker, the Rebellion hero?"

"Yes," he said distractedly. "More importantly...the last Jedi."

My eyes widened.

When Vegas departed in the direction of his quarters, he took the last shred of my energy with him. I walked silently and tiredly behind Ren, grateful that his quarters were coming up soon. He stopped at the door. If I had breathed a single word as I passed him, I would've missed what he murmured for my ears only.

"You impressed me today."

I froze.

"Come to my quarters later."

"Yes, sir," I breathed.

After his door swooshed shut, I remained exactly where I stood for a full minute.