Chapter 2
Training for the best
"Start again."
Kylo Ren's voice was heard as Arya fell to the ground.
"You can do better than that, so show me." he says with his hands behind his back.
The young girl ignites her lightsaber once more and rushes towards her master, who dodges her attacks with ease. As Arya's body leans forward, Kylo Ren makes a light force push over her apprentice's back, causing her to fall again. Out of breath, the girl remained on the ground.
"You should consider yourself lucky that I'm using up all my patience for you to the point where I have none left for the others."
Kylo Ren remains standing, looking down at her apprentice. He's been training young Arya for five years, during which time he's not exactly sparing her during these sessions.
"I've chosen to approach learning with you in a way that doesn't rely on pain. I'm not a Sith, so I won't train you the way they would." he explains.
With some difficulty, Arya manages to get to her feet. Her master turns to look at her.
"You're not weak, unlike those in your family." he says with a calm voice.
"You know nothing about my family!" replies the young apprentice.
"I know enough. I know what your father did to his people, and I also know why you were alone in that cave despite your status. You've been rejected."
These words echoed in Arya's head and she hurled herself, full of anger, at her master. He easily avoids the lightsaber with a half-turn.
"Why so much anger? You know I'm right."
Arya turns to attack again but once again comes up empty.
"Anger can be a weapon, but you have to master it, not the other way around." Kylo says looking at Arya.
Grabbing her lightsaber in reverse grip with her left hand, Arya takes note of what her master has told her and attacks in a much more orderly but still rapid fashion. Kylo finds it harder to dodge her attacks, and his tunic is even sliced open at one point. Suddenly, he ignites his lightsaber to counter his apprentice's, otherwise the attack would have reached him.
"Far better." he says before pushing Arya away with his saber. "Now we can get down to business."
Kylo Ren begins to attack his apprentice, rather lightly and far from what he's capable of doing, yet Arya finds it hard to counter. She does her best and still manages to keep up. After an exchange of strikes, Kylo manages a sweep that knocks Arya off her feet. She rises to her feet and punches the ground.
"Sorry master but... none of this makes any sense. The Jedi are dead, I wouldn't have to face an enemy of your stature, so why all this?"
"That's where you're wrong."
Kylo Ren crouches down to face his apprentice.
"Firstly, it's impossible to know if all the Jedi are dead. Secondly, you need to be prepared for any eventuality, which includes facing me if I'm turned against you."
Arya looks at her master's face, not answering.
"I offered you my hand to make you strong, not to protect you. Only you can do that."
Giving Arya a hand, she accepts it and Kylo helps her to her feet.
"If you can stand up to me, nothing will beat you."
Arya exudes a slight smile, which is rather rare for her, and gets back into position, ready to fight to the best of her ability. Kylo Ren does the same, and the two exchange lightsaber strikes once more. Arya seems more confident and her master has to give more than the minimum to face her. He keeps the advantage, but Arya is ingenious and her attacks are fluid, fast and precise. She puts her master's advice into practice perfectly, which makes him happy inside. At the end of a fairly intense but rather rapid fight, she knocks him down, pointing her saber at him.
"I've won!" she says, almost without realizing the feat.
"Never claim victory until you're sure your opponent is out of the picture."
And before she could even react to this remark, Arya was subjected to a force push from her master. Thrown backwards, she hit the wall and immediately faints. After a while, her eyes open, although her vision remains blurred.
"Wh-What happened?"
"You fainted after practice, it was my fault." he says, feeling sorry for himself.
"How long was I out?"
"Almost three hours."
Arya's eyes open wide as she rubs the back of her head.
"Don't worry, you don't have a bump. I should have toned it down."
"It's all right, Master, I have to be ready for any eventuality." Arya says, echoing her master's words.
She got up without too much trouble and retrieved her saber.
"Have you been standing there all this time?" she asks.
"Yes, it's the least I could do."
Arya smiles slightly, but hides it.
"You must be hungry and thirsty, go and get yourself something to eat." Kylo says.
"Aren't you coming, master?" replies the young apprentice.
He shakes his head.
"We're done for the day."
And with that, he left the room, leaving Arya alone with her thoughts for a moment.
A few days later, Kylo Ren summoned the White Storm to Starkiller Base. The soldiers got there as quickly as possible, leaving the Servitor for a while.
"This guy doesn't waste any time. We've been assigned to him for barely three days and we've already been summoned." Corny says.
"Shh, we owe him our respect. He's our Supreme Leader's apprentice." replies Dorvaas.
Corny simply mumbles under his helmet in response. Shortly afterwards, Dorvaas unlocks a door using an encrypted key given to him before coming. The door opens onto a strangely empty meeting room, with only Kylo Ren and Arya inside. The eight members of the White Storm enter one by one before they stand facing the oval table, opposite the two force users.
"Good, I see you're on time." Kylo starts. "I finally have an important mission for you, which will serve as a test to see if you're worthy of being under my direct orders."
Kylo Ren steps forward and presses a button on the table. A hologram appears above the central transmitter.
"This is Chandrilla. You should know that this planet is home to the capital of the New Republic, and that's where your mission's objective lies."
But this planet was not only the birthplace of the New Republic and the home world of Chancellor Mon Mothma, it was also the world on which Kylo Ren was born.
"You'll head for the capital, Hanna City, to find out all kinds of useful information about the First Order's enemies. It's primarily an infiltration mission, but if the situation calls for it... you'll clean up the mess. If necessary, further orders will be sent to you on site. All clear?"
Everyone responded in unison and affirmatively.
"Following orders isn't a problem for you, as far as I can see. That's good, because as cogs in the First Order, you have to do as you're told so as not to jam the machine. You'll be a tiny part of a system that's beyond you, but the small parts are often the most important."
Listening to their new commander's speech, every Stormtrooper is speechless under their helmets. Everyone was aware of the responsibility that this mission entailed, among all those they had accomplished alone or together. Nothing could match not only the privilege of being in direct contact with Snoke's right-hand man, but also the pressure that goes with it.
"Finally, it goes without saying that I've somehow deprived you of an important detail. You won't be exactly alone out there... my apprentice will be following you."
These words echoed in young Arya's head, her reaction making it clear that her master had not told her about this. Nonetheless, she did her best to remain formal until she could discuss the matter alone with the principal concerned.
"That's all, you can go and get ready before departure." finish Kylo Ren.
"Yes, Sir!" each soldier's voice was one.
The White Storm leaves the room, leaving only the master and his apprentice behind. Arya wasted no time in leaving her posture to confront Kylo.
"Master, what is the meaning of all this? You know I work alone, you trust me enough to send me on missions without any support, and I always come back, so why change that?" the young woman says in confusion.
"Precisely to change your habits, to see how you adapt to change." replies her master.
This answer didn't seem to suit Arya.
"They'll only slow me down, and if they try my patience, I can't guarantee they'll all come back..." she threatens.
"These men have been entrusted to serve me because they're people I trust, so if you hurt even one of them, or worse, if you kill one of them, I'll take care of you personally." replies Kylo Ren in an even more threatening tone.
Arya simply crossed her arms and left the room without adding anything. All her life, she's always looked down on others. Her trust had been abused too many times, and the only person to pull her out of it was the mysterious black-clad warrior who is now her master. That's why today, she sees Kylo Ren as the only trustworthy person in her life, and in a way takes revenge on others for her harsh past, even if her master does everything to get her out of this vicious circle.
Arya walks silently along the corridors of Starkiller Base. She didn't need her master to tell her where to go; when it came to taking a ship to leave the ice planet, she knew which hangar to go to. She enters the gigantic hangar and sees members of the White Storm standing by an AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport.
"Do you really travel... in this thing?" she says pointing at the ship.
"It's not very comfortable, but it's what we use. Brains modified this one so that it could enter hyperspace." replies Dorvaas to the young woman.
Arya looks the ship up and down, inspecting it with disgust.
"Well, don't expect me to travel in this flying coffin."
"Surely your master's Upsilon-class command shuttle must be much more comfortable to travel in. Oh, man, I'd love to work on a ship like that." Brains says
Dorvaas takes a step forward to approach Arya, but the latter responds by taking a step backwards. Seeing this reaction, the sergeant moves back.
"No worries, I can see you need a lot of personal space, I can understand that." he responds with understanding and empathy.
Arya raises an eyebrow.
"But from what I could see, your master wants you to come and unfortunately, this ship is the only ride." he continues.
"And frankly, it's not that bad. This ship is designed for twenty soldiers, but with you we'll only be nine, so we can give you your own space."
Cyclops' voice is suddenly heard as Arya tilts her head to one side, seeing him cleaning his blaster.
"And in fact, there will only be eight of you, since I'll be in the cockpit." Brains rectifies.
"You see, you'll have more than half the ship to yourself." Dorvaas says to Arya.
The young apprentice remains pensive for a moment before taking a step forward and heading for the troop transport's access ramp.
"But it still looks like a flying coffin, and if I die in it, I'll haunt your souls." she says in a tone almost colder than the outside temperature.
"Come on everyone, let's get on board." concludes Dorvaas.
All the soldiers climb aboard and the ship takes off, leaving the hangar and then the atmosphere of Starkiller Base.
"I enter Chandrilla's coordinates." says Brains inside the very small cockpit.
After that, the troop transporter enters light speed. In the troops' section of the ship, Arya stands by the access ramp, fiddling with the hilt of her lightsaber in her hands. Dorvaas emerges from the command area under the cockpit and watches from a distance.
"Don't worry, she doesn't look evil." Reaper says suddenly.
"You think you understand her?" replies the sergeant.
"She and I are both women. She's going through a complicated period in her life, and I think her childhood wasn't a gentle one either. We just have to stay off her back and everything will be fine."
Dorvaas merely nods.
"She's not wrong." Doc joins the discussion. "She just doesn't trust us, which doesn't mean she blames us for anything."
Arya continues to stay in her corner, keeping a discreet eye on her mission partners. Suddenly, Corny puts his hands behind his head and falls backwards.
"Well, you can wake me up when we get there."
The door behind him opened, causing him to fall as he leaned back.
"You'll have to put off your nap for a while, we're already here."
Brains had just left the cockpit, and shortly afterwards the transporter emerged from hyperspace.
"For kriff's sake!" exclaims Corny. "Why do I feel like everyone's picking on me?"
But Corny's words remained in the wind.
"You don't have to be in the cockpit anymore?" Cyclops asks to Brains.
"And feel as cramped as if I were in a trash compactor? No, thanks. The ship can be piloted from here via this console." he says taking place there. "It's a tricky task for many, but I can land us with no problem."
Dorvaas nods and everyone stands up.
"Don't be fooled by the pressure of this mission, it's still infiltration like we've done dozens of times before. We pick up anything that might be important and leave, it's as simple as that."
Everyone puts on their helmets. Arya, meanwhile, is still watching them from the corner of her eye, still sitting on the ground.
"And if we have to deal with retaliation, you know what you have to do. Don't forget our motto: we will die only if we are forgotten!"
"Only if we are forgotten!" they all respond in unison.
Arya stands up but pays little attention to what's happening next to her. She knows what her master expects of her and she doesn't intend to disappoint him, as usual. Brains manages to land the ship on the outskirts of Chandrilla's capital in the middle of a light forest, hiding the troop transport well enough.
"And here we are, guys."
He opens the ramp and Arya steps out first, observing the surroundings and the ambient temperature.
"It's always more pleasant than the base..." she murmurs to herself.
Dorvaas left just after, followed by his men. Each took the minimum required since they shouldn't have to fight.
"We're about 3 klicks from Hanna City." Brains says looking at his tablet.
"A bit of walking will do us good, come on guys!" Dorvaas says.
The small squad set off, while Arya had already begun to move forward and was about ten meters ahead of the line led by Dorvaas. No wonder, she wanted to get this mission over with quickly, and if she could do it alone, she certainly wouldn't mind...