Kylo Ren stood in the elevator of Allegiant General Pryde's Dreadnought, Pryde wanted an update, and so like he had so many times before, on the Supremacy, Kylo was making his way to the throne room. Kylo saw the grand chamber and its occupants as the elevator opened with a hiss. Unlike the one on the Supremacy, this throne room was not swathed in red fabric. Nothing covered the floor-to-ceiling viewing bays, the blackness of space scattered with stars was visible panoramically but was interjected with structural posts, red Sith troopers and Kylo's Knights.
Opposite the elevator, Allegiant General Pryde stood by the throne and on the throne sat a person, a person wearing Kylo's helmet! Except it wasn't his helmet, not precisely. Red borders like bleeding wounds were dispersed across its surface. The visible cracks of Sarrissan iron, Kylo realised, holding the pieces together; the pieces of his mask that he'd left shattered upon the floor of the Supremacy after Snoke had chided him cruelly. Around the masked man, Kylo could almost see an ominous phantom haze. Kylo paused in the elevator. The dark shadow in the Force he'd felt in his chambers on Malachor was here, forcing its wicked, mysterious will upon him with spidery fingers. He could feel it almost crushing the breath from his chest. The whispered promises were so loud he was sure others could hear them. He stepped out of the elevator and walked forward, embracing his fear, feeding off it like he did pain and anger. These feelings made him strong.
"Ren," Pryde spoke as though nothing strange was occurring, as though this were a simple meeting of colleagues. "What did you find on Kijimi?"
The figure wearing the helmet did not speak; he simply surveyed him with interest. Kylo maintained his composure as though nothing was untoward and responded.
"A bounty hunter named Zorii Bliss met with the Resistance. When we arrived, they had gone, departed together. None of the patrons who frequented the bar heard or saw anything worth telling us. Captain Peavey has the bounty hunters' transport details and has informed our spy network that the First Order is looking for it. We'll find it soon."
"How disappointing," Pryde simpered.
The helmeted figure extended a long pale finger from beneath a flowing sleeve, and Pryde bent to hear what was said before he continued speaking to Kylo.
"I'm sure you've been aware that although I give the orders, I am not the creator of them. Allow me to introduce to you Letan Nex, dark acolyte, to the essence of our illustrious leader, Emperor Palpatine."
Kylo's eyes shifted to the man seated on the throne, but he made no other movement and spoke no words. The shock within him he held along with his breath as he watched as the man in his mask stood and walked towards him. His exposed hands, the only part of him that Kylo could see, were translucently pale. The skin was so paper-thin it showed the veins beneath, and the outline of the bones and knuckles was evident. Kylo could see that beneath the dark clothing and heavy cloak, the man was wraith thin. Barely concealed beneath his dark robe was a belt attached to which were two lightsabers; Darth Sidious had wielded two lightsabers though he rarely used them, preferring his corruptive Force lightning. Within the helmet, the man spoke; his voice was hideous and familiar, a rasping, arid sound that grated on Kylo's mind.
"At last, my boy, Kylo Ren. Traitor to your master Supreme Leader Snoke and heir to Lord Vader. Snoke was foolish arrogant within the dark not to see your inevitable betrayal. Snoke's weakness was his inability to see your intention was always to replace him. You've grown powerful since you murdered him. No need to hide the truth and your desires, your strength. I see all."
The man extended his fingers and probed Kylo's mind, not entirely, but enough. Kylo felt what this acolyte was doing and managed to place barriers around some of his mind, but not enough and not quickly enough. As a youth, Tai had always told him that he'd hid much of himself locked away tightly. Here, he hid those feelings and memories he needed to keep secret. Not even Snoke had been able to probe him, to sift around his thoughts. No matter how Kylo fought it, he could not block all of himself from this dark enforcer; the strain was excruciating, causing him to quiver with the exertion.
"I feel your fear; you cannot hide it from me. I feel your conflict. You feel the call to the light, but the dark is stronger and can give you all you desire. You know this; you see through the Jedi's lies. Ah! Lord Vader's helmet. You have such a desire to be as powerful as he was. A weakness I easily manipulated."
Kylo's eyes shot to the man's hidden face at this revelation.
"It has always been my presence pulling you towards the dark side. Foolish child, it was I you heard when you begged your grandfather for guidance." The figure cackled evilly, "I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head."
Kylo felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach. His breath caught in his throat as the weight of what this spectre told him sunk in. It had never been Anakin, Darth Vader within the helmet, who'd shown him the power of the dark side. Never Anakin, who'd spoken clearly of his path when he felt conflicted. The probing abruptly stopped, but the barriers Kylo had created he kept in place.
"Everything Snoke did was on my instruction, precisely as I had planned; everything Snoke taught you, everything you believed was according to my design."
Kylo ignited his lightsaber, taking a furious step forward, staring venomously down the spitting red hilt at the demon before him.
"I killed Snoke! I'll kill you."
He had been used, as his father had said, for his power, a puppet on Darth Sidious' string. Everything he'd done, everything he'd believed was for a lie. The masked creature Nex reached a hand outwards and shot blue fire at Kylo, knocking him to the ground and throwing him back towards the elevator.
"Anger! Hatred! Good, it makes you strong. It was I who showed you your path to finish Vader's true purpose. It was I who showed you your destiny: a mighty Skywalker, the last Skywalker, to stand at my side. Fully embrace the dark, my young apprentice," Letan almost purred with promise and self-satisfaction.
Kylo rolled onto all fours, struggling to pick himself off the floor; it was an effort. Snoke had regularly used such powers on him to force his submission or to punish him, but the agony coursing through his veins now was unlike any he'd felt before. His breath shuddered from his chest from the effort, but he managed slowly to get to his feet. Mustering all his strength, keeping what element of pride he could, he stood. Head held high, chin raised, his mouth a thin line of stubbornness, he stared callously at the man- Nex, in a statement of acceptance of whatever was to come.
"Such strength, you will be a true replacement of your grandfather. Kneel before your true master!"
Kylo remained standing, refusing to follow Nex's demands, using his physical pain to regain control. That was, however, until Nex extended his hand towards him once more, palm out utilising the dark power of the Force, and Kylo felt his body gripped by invisible hands. No one had ever managed to control him before- no one!
"You are no match for me, my young apprentice. Now kneel!" Nex growled.
Kylo felt his body forced down towards the floor. He tried to resist, gritting his teeth and willing his muscles to stay standing, but they began to burn furiously as Kylo and the man attempting to control him battled. Kylo could feel his bones vibrating on the verge of splintering or fracturing, so reluctantly, he submitted. Kneeling on the floor, he glowered indignantly up at the man.
"This is your destiny, Ren, as it was your grandfather's before you," the grating voice implied.
Kylo felt the hold released and was able to breathe more easily. He eyed the troopers, his Knights, about the room before turning back to Letan Nex with the evil presence of Palpatine squatting within him. He considered the options in front of him, but only one would ensure his survival. He bowed his head.
"What is your bidding, my master?" Kylo said his words sour with disdain.
The helmeted figure cackled that same hideous laugh Kylo had heard in his nightmare and returned to the throne satisfied. As far as Letan Nex was concerned, Kylo was kneeling and would follow orders. Either Palpatine's apparition hadn't noticed Kylo's scorn, or he didn't care.
"The girl, Rey. It is time she learnt her place in this story."
Kylo lifted his head abruptly, utterly surprised at the request.
"You have compassion for her. I see it; you will bring her to me so that I may be restored to my full power."
Kylo's face failed to hold back the questions that immediately rushed to the forefront of his mind. How could Rey resurrect Palatine, Darth Sidious? He was the most powerful Sith that had ever existed, an unnatural manipulator of the Force. She was a blinding flame within the light.
"She is my progeny, created by my will, my manipulation of the Force. You will help me so that she will turn to the dark side and resurrect me. She will stand at your side and mine, and then I shall bring about the downfall of the Galaxy."
Kylo's mind was ragged with feelings of utter confusion. Her strength, her abilities, that presence that he'd felt when he'd entered her mind awakening the Force, the abandonment by her parents; it all made sense. Kylo silently considered before responding as though he'd considered nothing at all.
"I will do whatever you ask, my master. I will do what must be done."
"Good. Travel to Endor, the girl travels there now to the moon Kef-Bir. Bring her to me." Letan Nex's voice became deep with satisfaction.
-X-
On the bridge of the Finalizer, Kylo stood with Captain Peavey, observing the fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. A legion beyond number. They would soon head to Endor, but Palpatine's aid desired the entire First Order to see the destructive power of his army, an army that had been growing beyond measure in the unknown regions. Ship after ship after ship jumped from light speed, and blue lightning streaked the space around those ships like a nebula.
Kylo had seen this; in his vision, he should not have been so stunned by what he saw now, but it instilled dread in him that settled deep in his gut. Part of his vision had become a reality. What more of it could do the same?
The fleet sat outside Kijimi, the planet which would be the example to all that evil forces had returned, forces the Resistance could not hope to overcome. Kylo had once disagreed with his superior, Snoke, about the destruction of entire planets and whole systems, but he knew better than to disagree with the Contingency and their leader, Letan Nex.
-X-
General Hux stood in awe from a viewing gallery aboard the Finalizer at the marvellous army entering the space around Kijimi. Scientific and military prowess that he could only have dreamed of. The idea of the planet being torn asunder did not concern him. What did, however, was the man making the order, the man behind everything, if a man is what you could call him. Hux had been ignorant that a Force user imbued with the essence of the illustrious Emperor Palpatine was heading the First Order. That everything the First Order had done was by his whim. This turn of events mildly conflicted him. The First Order had been about science, power, organisation, bringing planets with no leadership under one controlling body as Palpatine had done. Policing the Galaxy and ridding it of its scum- scavengers, bounty hunters, slavers and smugglers. A mythical Force user pulling all the strings was not the future Hux had envisioned, but for now, he could revel in what it had given them — an army which could not possibly be defeated.
The Star Destroyers took position around the whole of Kijimi and fired mercilessly at the planet. Unlike Starkiller base, planet Kijimi's evisceration would not be quick; it would not be immediate. The inhabitants would suffer before they ultimately died, with their world so ravaged and broken. He watched as the earth was scorched with bursts of energy, large fragments breaking off and exploding into the atmosphere, creating a crater field around a rock. Kijimi could no longer be called a planet; its integrity was destroyed. It was only a matter of time before it became a dead crater at the centre of an asteroid ring. It was glorious. A fitting end, Hux felt. Kijimi was a criminal planet and not one worth saving. The inhabitants had chosen to live there to avoid all civilised society and rules. The First Order would restore justice and order to the Galaxy.
On Batuu, General Leia Organa suddenly sat, a great disturbance in the Force one she'd hoped never to feel again, one that was far too familiar with had caused her a momentary misbalance, as though thousands of voices had cried out only to become silent immediately. A planet had been destroyed, Leia knew.
She turned to Commander D'Acy, "Check the systems; I fear the worst has happened. Tell Admiral Statura and Admiral Nunb we are evacuating immediately for our next allied planet and get hold of Commander Dameron so he knows where to go."
"Which planet, General?" Commander D'Acy asked.
Leia considered, but only for a moment, "Yavin Four."