Star Wars IX- The Rise of Skywalker

Chapter 5- Visions

Kylo sat upon the bunk within the small private quarters of his Upsilon-class command shuttle. Its vast wings stood out from the other shuttles, marking it as his command shuttle, appearing like a dark, grim bird of prey among smaller, more minor birds. This shuttle was designed to protect its valuable passengers by having advanced sensors and armour that other shuttles did not. Beyond the doors were all six of his Knights. Like Kylo, his Knights were dressed in long black robes all with individual black and chrome style masks and weapons. Masks had been Kylo's armour, hiding his emotions and who he'd once been from the galaxy. After Luke had tried to murder him, Kylo had sought the Knights out. All were Force-sensitive, and when Kylo had brought them before Snoke, Snoke had been most pleased. All went by their Knights of Ren name; the one they'd been born with dropped and forgotten as they'd forged themselves a place in the dark just as Kylo had.

Vicrul Ren was the Harvester, favouring a long metal staff, his helmet plain but for a single narrow slit for sigh. Ap'lek Ren was the Monk, a master strategist and manipulator. Ap'lek shrouded himself with his vast cowl that went down to his knees but also with smoke screens, and he favoured his blackened poleaxe. Ap'lek's mask, never visible, was a mould of his square, hard-featured face. Ushar Ren was a merciless humanoid, and his mask showed that by having a snout. He favoured his big double-ended club. Kuruk Ren was the sniper, preferring a blaster and a bow. The mask Kuruk wore was a sheet of flat checkered metal, featureless except for the wide slit across the top for sight.

The Rogue, Trudgen Ren, was humanoid, a Trandoshan, favouring a massive sword akin to a cleaver and a hood from which the mask was barely visible. Kylo knew, however, that the mask was a patchwork of those he'd defeated, primarily based on the helmet of a death trooper. Cardo Ren was best at hand-to-hand combat and was the Knights of Ren's armourer. As the Armoury, Cardo was accomplished in every type of weapon, and he carried many of them. He favoured his wicked-looking mace and a blaster with weighted tips to be used as a shield and weapon. The front of his mask jutted out into a point so that it could be used in hand-to-hand combat, rendering an opponent useless with one forward thrust of his head. Kylo couldn't hear anything beyond the closed door of his Knights. They rarely spoke. He couldn't make out even the slightest movement or breathe from them. Like religious zealots of an age long past their commitment to Snoke and now the unseen malice directing them was something Kylo did not honestly share. He'd always been able to keep his true intentions from Snoke, who believed his power to be so great within the dark that he could not be betrayed. How wrong he'd been. Beyond where his Knights sat, he could make out the sounds of the pilot and co-pilot as they muttered amongst themselves regarding their mission and flight back to the Finalizer.

What Kylo and his Knights had discovered on Malachor disturbed him greatly. Malachor had instilled its deathly, malevolent essence into Kylo as soon as the boarding ramp to the shuttle had lowered. He could feel it in the air around him as the wind whipped beneath his cowl. Its cold purpose settled deep into his bones. Malachor was a dark, evil planet, a Sith planet home to the once favoured apprentice of the Emperor, Darth Maul. Malachor had a smooth black surface, like a frozen lake of carbonite. The surface of that black ocean was occasionally broken by small pyramids and narrow spires that reached for the skies around a large crater. Malachor was a barren, dead world devoid of life, but beneath its frozen surface within the hole was the remains of a massive pyramid, an ancient Sith temple. Should a particular artefact be found, opened, and returned to Malachor, that temple would become a powerful weapon that could destroy all life. The temple had been made from a giant slab of obsidian; its once smooth black steps showed hieroglyph etchings carved onto the surface. Hieroglyphs Kylo could not read but recognised. Within the crater and the surrounding area were the ashen, petrified figures of dead Sith and Jedi. The victims of the temple's activation during the Great Scourge. The temple, however, had been decimated long ago, its structure remaining vaguely intact but having imploded and crumpled in on itself. Whatever had stood here was no longer of any use. Kylo thought he'd known the Dark side. Was one with it. He was wrong. He may be a monster and a murderer, but what he sensed on that planet and what he sensed growing within the Force was pure evil. He could still feel the effect of the planet upon his soul as though dark spidery fingers were tracing the outside of his skull, yet he could sense nothing disturbing his Knights. They seemed utterly at ease.