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.
Kylo was brought out of his deliberations by the jolt of the shuttle as the Finalizer's tractor beam brought the shuttle into the hangar bay. He went to join his Knights, who stood as he approached, ready to follow his lead. They braced themselves as the shuttle docked and the boarding ramp lowered once more. The mass of raven-garbed soldiers of the dark side departed the shuttle, and Captain Peavey and General Hux were awaiting them in the hangar. Kylo inwardly grimaced, but he stayed expressionless.
"Captain," Kylo said in greeting, stopping less than a metre from him, and although Peavey did not alter his footing or stance from his respectful military pose, his head did lean back slightly. Nervous apprehension as a result of being in such proximity to Kylo's presence, whose focus was purely on him.
"Sir, Allegiant General Pryde wishes for an update."
Kylo managed to keep the disdain from his face and voice as he nodded his acknowledgement.
"I'll speak to the Allegiant General in my private quarters."
Kylo's dark-clad figure strode from the hangar to his quarters without another word to his Knights or General Hux. Two troopers stood to attention outside his door, having been on guard. Despite the room behind the doors being his inner private sanctum, there was very little personal value about the place, no belongings from his past life. It was cold and sterile. A pair of consoles and a desk with a lone chair were all that furnished the room. When the door shut behind him, Kylo stood, head resting upon the door, and just for a moment, he closed his eyes. A moment's meditation was all he needed; however, he would be denied. The hologram communicator buzzed into life, and immediately, he straightened to report his findings to the man who believed himself his master.
"What did you find on a Malachor, Ren?"
"Just the temple, Allegiant General. No artefacts, no relics. Just rubble."
Kylo could see through the hologram Pryde's hand tightened around the handles of his seat; he was not pleased. The thin grimace upon his face melted back into a falsely pleasant line, and he waved a hand dismissively.
"No matter. Go to Kijimi, a bounty hunter with connections to Crimson Dawn, has come to our spy's attention."
Crimson Dawn was a name Kylo was familiar with; his father had carried out the Kessel run (one of his favoured stories) for their one-time leader, Dryden Vos. The particulars regarding the exact amount of par-secs it had taken his father was always a bone of contention; no one ever seemed to know the correct value. Twelve, twelve par-secs, his father always had seemed to be shouting. His momentary lapse into memories was just that, a mere moment one Pryde did not even notice.
"Yes, Allegiant General."
The hologram cut out, and Kylo was alone. He reopened the communicator, and Captain Peavey stood to attention.
"Our orders are to travel to Kijimi, Captain."
Peavey's hologram nodded, which was sufficient for Kylo to know the order would be relayed. He went to the refresher and splashed cold water on his face from the dispenser, attempting to wash away Malachor's foreboding presence on his person. Removing his belt, tunic and boots, he lay on his bed and wished for a dreamless sleep.
"We've passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now, but this is your fight."
A familiar voice, Luke's voice, whispers.
Luke Skywalker stands next to R2-D2. The sky around him burns shades of orange, yellow and red and behind him, a Jedi training temple burns.
Kylo feels his father's hand upon his face and then watches as his father falls into the abyss below.
"Your journey nears its end," a sinister voice now whispers, and a flash of blue light reveals a fleet of Imperial cruisers filling the vastness of space as blue fire leaps between them.
A powerful red laser of an unseen weapon obliterates the surface of a planet.
Shrieks, whispers and screams and then the sound of a lightsaber igniting; a fiery red lightsaber but behind that saber is Rey. Her hand twitches, and the saber becomes a double-pronged staff.
A maniacal evil laugh cackles.
Kylo woke with a start and sat upright on his bed. He was panting, and he was damp with sweat. His hair clung about his face, and his heart pounded against his chest. In his horror, his lightsaber had been drawn to his hand in his sleep. He stared into its angry red bolt, its familiar weight calming him. It wasn't just a dream or a nightmare; it was a vision, but was it of the future? He'd learnt before that such visions were not always as they seemed. The future was so challenging to see clearly. There were too many possibilities; the future was always in motion. He extinguished his saber and ran a hand through his damp hair, then went to the refresher to wash the cold sweat from his face. He stared at his reflection in the mirror above the water dispenser. He shuddered with staggered breaths. Could he see weakness behind his eyes? Fear? He watched the conflicting emotions flitting across his face as he attempted to regain control. He couldn't shake the image of Rey, but it wasn't Rey. It was some creature wearing her face. Some soulless, cold demon had replaced the girl he knew and had spoken to through their bond and aboard the Supremacy. Kylo had wanted her to turn once, to join him in the dark so that they could rule the galaxy together side by side. What he'd seen in the vision, however, he did not want- never that. Then there was that laugh. He could swear he could still hear it echoing about the room. His head turned to the side as he listened and felt within the Force, then looked up to the ceiling of his quarters; something from his vision seemingly still lingered about him. A pensive knock on his chamber door broke his concentration.
"Sir?"
He paced over to the door angrily and pressed the button to open it. A nervous stormtrooper jumped back slightly from where he'd been standing.
"What?" Kylo snapped curtly.
"Captain Peavey wished you to be informed we have arrived at Kijimi," the stormtrooper managed to blurt out.
"Prepare my ship," Kylo responded before abruptly shutting the door.
-X-
General Hux stood in the shuttle bay observing the Knights waiting to board Ren's shuttle as hangar workers readied the ship. The Knights of Ren unnecessary fanatics of an archaic mythical ideal. Hux hated the Knights of Ren almost as much as he loathed Ren, himself-their leader. They did not follow the rules or structure of the First Order, just as their leader didn't. At least under Snoke, the Knights had been in the shadows as Snoke had been, useful but mostly unseen. Kylo Ren, however, had never been that wise. General Hux felt mildly grateful to Ren and the girl for ridding the First Order of Snoke. He knew Ren was involved; he wasn't stupid. The girl wasn't that powerful. She'd had help- Ren's help, and he'd informed Allegiant General Pryde of such suspicions. Allegiant General Pryde was precisely the sort of man who should be in charge of the First Order, not these Force-sensitives of some old dying religion. Pryde was a man of science a military strategist, and he was as ruthless as he was affable. Hux approached Ren, hands clasped behind his back, the stance of model military perfection.
"Keep in contact, Ren. Allegiant General Pryde will want an update on your return."