That Lightsaber, It Belongs to Me

With the release of The Last Jedi fast approaching, I thought I’d recap what we know about Kylo Ren so far — from The Force Awakens and leaks from The Last Jedi, interviews with cast and crew, fan theories, and fan art. As theories are confirmed or dropped, I’ll be revising my own thinking, along with this series of posts, which reveal some of the inspiration and theories behind the fan fiction on this site. Kylo has a lot of enemies he’s facing and he’ll need to defeat every one if he’s to survive, so let’s get started.

JEDI KILLER

Jedi Killer concepts by Christian Alzmann

The mysterious First Order warrior is introduced in The Force Awakens as a commander of a strike force, striding down the ramp of his bat-like command shuttle. He’s intent on seizing the map that will show the whereabouts of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. We don’t know what the dark warrior’s motives are, but we assume it’s to kill Skywalker. We assume he’s hunting down any surviving Jedi, and Luke poses a special threat to the First Order. In the preliminary concept art, Kylo Ren was originally dubbed the Jedi Killer and looked more machine than human — a black plastoid grim reaper. But as time when on and the character was given a name, he was more refined and clearly human. From what’s been leaked about The Last Jedi, I believe Kylo’s hunting Luke not to kill him but to stop him — from doing what, I have a couple of theories — but I think Ren’s main objective is to acquire ancient artifacts and through them power, not to control the galaxy but the universe. Could it be that Luke’s intent on destroying these artifacts? More about that later.

A NEW DARK-SIDE USER

Kylo Ren’s heavy black garments cover him from head to toe, concealing every inch of him, concealing his identity, along with the helmet that distorts his voice. For a closer look at Ren’s garments, click here for that story. He’s a faceless menace whose humanity has been smothered. He’s a monster, and his monk-like robes suggest he belongs to an order outside of the military. That order, we learn, is the Knights of Ren. For my take on who the Knights are, click here. Many people are tempted to call him a Sith due to his powerful Force abilities and allegiance to the dark side, but according to Pablo Hidalgo in The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary, “Kylo Ren is no Jedi, nor is he a Sith. He is the archetype of a new generation of dark side users that have emerged to fill the void left by the Siths’ demise.” (p. 24)

LOR SAN TEKKA

But, despite his dark disguise, Lor San Tekka knows who Kylo Ren is, even though the enforcer’s true name is forbidden to be spoken within the First Order. We only see Ren without his helmet in the presence of Supreme Leader Snoke and General Hux — and later when all hell breaks loose on Starkiller Base. So, it’s likely that no other officers and no troopers know Ren’s true identity, but Lor San Tekka in the Jakku village of Tuanal knows. He’s a member of the Church of the Force who’s traveled far. He knows the man beneath the black shroud. And Ren remembers his captive from long ago, perhaps more than he’s consciously aware. There’s a dark and unfortunate history between them. For that story, click here. “Look at how old you’ve become,” he tells San Tekka in disgust. The old man counters with hope. He remembers under the disguise the youth he knew and perhaps loved and tries reach out to him. “I know where you come from,” he tells the enforcer. “The First Order arose from the dark side. You did not.”

In The Force Awakens novelization by Alan Dean Foster, the encounter is described as this: “ Ren spoke first, without hesitation, as if he had anticipated this meeting for some time. ‘The great soldier of fortune — captured at last.” (p. 20). When San Tekka continues to evade Ren’s search for the map, Ren says in the novel, “Don’t turn a simple transaction into a tragedy for these people….Hasn’t your presence here done enough for them already?” San Tekka replies, “I made my peace with these folk and this place long ago.” (p. 20-21).

So, San Tekka is not an innocent. He was a mercenary once, selling his services as a warrior. The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary paints the old man as a desert sage, retired from a life of exploration and adventure. He’s a font of obscure information and wears a Chain of Wisdom around his neck. “As the Empire toppled, retreating Imperial officials destroyed records that would have been vital to the New Republic’s attempts at galactic reconstruction. New Republic bureaucrats turned instead to firsthand accounts from well-travelled locals to fill in the gaps.” (p. 14) Hence, this was the most recent role San Tekka played…until Kylo Ren executed him in cold blood.

ACOLYTES OF THE BEYOND

As a follower of the Church of the Force, the old man was a worshiper of Jedi ideals and believed one day the Jedi would return. “In his travels, Lor San Tekka uncovered much of the history of the Jedi Knights that the Galactic Empire had tried so hard to erase. Others now seek him out for his knowledge of Jedi secrets.” And this, I believe, is why Kylo Ren has sought him out — not only for the map to Skywalker (who is another font of esoteric knowledge) — but to harvest the ancient wisdom locked up in San Tekka’s mind. Ren also hopes to recover any Jedi artifacts the old man may have stumbled upon.

What are these artifacts? We don’t know yet, but we know some of them will feature in The Last Jedi. Director Rian Johnson is all about focusing on the past, digging up relics and showcasing an aspect of the Force we’ve never seen before. One of these relics is Luke’s red kyber crystal shard which he keeps locked in a box and later wears around his neck. It’s said to have belonged to an ancient Jedi. Luke is rumored to keep other relics in his backpack, including an ancient compass, along with a lightning rod — a weapon used by the Jedi of old, possibly like a cattle prod. There are also books of precious Jedi lore kept on the island of Ahch-To, home of the original Jedi Temple and Luke Skywalker’s refuge for many years.

I also suspect Kylo Ren’s been on the hunt for Darth Vader’s effects, specifically his lightsaber. He may believe that the shard of crystal Luke now has belonged to Vader. We know Ren acquired Vader’s melted helmet and enshrined it, feeling its residual dark side power imbued with it. It would make sense for Ben Solo to attach himself to the movement known as the Acolytes of the Beyond, a group of non-Force-sensitives who operated as dark side fanatics worshiping fallen Sith, featured in the Aftermath novels by Chuck Wendig. They purchased Sith artifacts and destroyed them. In doing so, they believed they were returning the objects of power to the dark lords in death. By Kylo Ren’s time, the Acolytes were keeping the artifacts they recovered and using them in uprisings against the New Republic. Ren may have made use of Acolyte cells scattered throughout the galaxy to recover some of Vader’s personal things. Foremost on his list would be Vader’s lightsaber. We assume it was destroyed when the second Death Star exploded, but who knows? Click here for a story involving featuring the Acolytes.

Next time, we’ll continue looking at Kylo’s past and more specifically, his family ties.

@MyKyloRen    29 September 2017

________________________________

Foster, A. D. (2015). The Force Awakens. New York: Del Rey.

Hidalgo, P. (2015). Star Wars: The Force Awakens: the visual dictionary. New York : DK/Penguin Random House.

Szostak, P. (2015). The art of Star Wars, The Force Awakens. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

On the Knights of Ren

There’s a theory floating around the Star Wars fandom I find fascinating. It delves into the origins of the Knights of Ren, the secret paramilitary order Kylo Ren commands under Supreme Leader Snoke. The theory — and it’s a convincing one — focuses on the name Ren, Ben Solo’s assumed name and it’s ultimate reference to one of the franchise’s most beloved (yet widely unknown) characters. Ren is, as the theory goes, a corruption of Revan (R’en) and the Knights of Ren are a New Republic version of the Old Republic Revanites, or the Order of Revan.

Ok. Even if you grew up with Star Wars like I did and consider yourself a huge fan, it’s safe to say you’ve never heard of Revan if you haven’t played the Star Wars multi-player, choose-your-own-adventure online games Knights of the Old Republic or The Old Republic: The Shadow of Revan. For those who have, Revan is an old favorite and the fandom continues to petition the franchise to make a movie about him. Revan won the 2015 Black Series Fan Choice (for action figure development) at San Diego Comic Con, and his figure was released in late 2016 and widely available in early 2017. Revan’s story is about the tragedy of manipulation, the corruption of ambition, and the ultimate triumph of love (if you chose the Light side conclusion to the game, that is).

So, who was Revan and the cult who followed him? The Order of Revan, “a secret society known as the Revanites hides deep in the jungles of Dromund Kaas. Composed of members throughout Imperial Society — from esteemed Sith to enterprising slaves — the Revanite cult worships the teachings of the legendary Jedi Revan…. Revan wielded the dual philosophies of Sith passion and Jedi tranquility to conquer his enemies: he even nearly assassinated the Sith Emperor. Today, the Revanites secretly follow the path forged by Revan and await his return….”¹

Now, you might be asking yourself, why would a cult of Revan — a Jedi — develop among the Sith? We’re still talking ancient history here — over 3,500 years before Luke and his band of rebels destroyed the first Death Star and Vader went spinning off into space. At that point, there were definitely more than two Sith (a master and an apprentice), as suspected by the Jedi in The Phantom Menace. The Sith Empire controlled a good chunk of the galaxy and was a huge threat to the Old Republic. Revan was captured by the Sith, his mind overcome and controlled by the powerful Emperor until he was turned into the Dark Lord Revan and sent back to the Republic as a weapon. Revan nearly destroyed the Republic until the Jedi captured him again, erased his memories, and turned him back against the Sith.

He was ultimately imprisoned again by the Sith when he went looking for answers after nightmares of his former life started seeping through his broken memory and he followed his nose into Sith space. But this time he wasn’t captured by the Emperor but by a faction that opposed the mighty ruler. You can see where this is going.  Revan, knowing the threat the Emperor still posed to the Republic, led the charge against him and failed when his ally, the Sith Lord Scourge, turned on him (never trust a Sith. Seriously). The Emperor overwhelmed Revan, put the powerful Jedi in stasis, and fed off Revan’s essence for 300 years, probing his mind for the Republic’s weaknesses.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if this legendary Emperor — who had the ability to suck the living Force from a planet — were Snoke? Snoke is, after all, experiencing difficulty with his corporeal form. It seems logical that he would want to find a new body and with it immortality through the manipulation of the Force. But, that’s a theory for another post.

Now, why do I think the Knights are followers of Revan? Knights implies an order and a code of conduct. Based on their attire, they’re clearly a war band — heavy armor, helmets, and a plethora of hand-to-hand combat weapons. They’re also masked — a trademark of Revan. The traditional and rather medieval-looking weapons they yield also implies they aren’t Force-users. Only their leader, Kylo Ren, fights with a lightsaber (at least as far as we’ve seen).

As for Kylo, we can make an educated guess as to why he might be a follower of the ancient Jedi-turned-Sith-turned-Jedi. Kylo’s “ability to use the Force grants him many impressive combat skills, but Kylo Ren is no Jedi, nor is he a Sith. He is the archetype of a new generation of dark side users that have emerged to fill the void left by the Sith’s demise….The Supreme Leader believes Ren to be the ideal embodiment of the Force, a focal point, of both light and dark side ability.”²

Snoke reprimands his apprentice every time Kylo is seduced by the Light. In order for the for the leader of the Knights to remain ruthless in battle and interrogation tactics, Snoke needs to keep Kylo mean through “reminders” (i.e., torture). But in the novelization when Kylo confirms that it is his master’s teachings that keep him strong, Snoke demures. “It is far more than that. It is where you are from. What you are made of. The dark side — and the light.”³ The Supreme Leader needs Kylo’s Light side skills as well as the Dark. Without the two, Snoke’s power is incomplete.

Revan realized the same thing. “Revan devoured knowledge with an insatiable appetite under many Jedi Masters….Revan’s determination and pride sparked concern among the Jedi Council.”⁴ After he defeated the Mandalorians and chased them from Republic space, he discovered ancient Sith knowledge when he strayed into the Sith Empire. Desire to gain this knowledge was the start of his downfall. I believe it was Kylo’s as well. In my fanfic, young Ben Solo is on a scavenger hunt for Jedi and Sith holocrons and data files. He voraciously reads and practices what he finds.

But this passion for knowledge of both sides of the Force was not fueled by the influence of the Dark side. Both Revan and Ben could be classified as Gray Jedi. They left the Jedi Order to follow their own path and what they believed in — that balance had to be maintained between the two, that neither the Jedi nor Sith understood the Force in its totality. Unfortunately, both were preyed upon powerful Dark side users while they undertook their quests to study the Force.

“While Gray Jedi believed that the Force did indeed have inherently Light and Dark sides, they recognized that these aspects could not be separated without negative consequences. If the Dark Side and the Sith were to gain dominance, life would become self-destructive and be extinguished. However, if the Light Side and the Jedi Order’s quest for peace were allowed to come to pass, the galaxy would fall to lethargy, apathy, and eventually fade and die. Both Light and Dark were part of the Force, and all aspects of the Force had to be studied and respected.”⁵

So, if the Knights of Ren are followers of Revan, who believed in the balance of the Force, what happened to tip them over the Dark side? Snoke, of course, who needs them as a special ops strike team. And it would make sense that the Knights Kylo commands is only one faction of a much larger order, spread throughout the galaxy. But before Snoke dragged Ben Solo away by the scruff of the neck, it makes sense that Padawan Solo believed in his own code, which set him at odds with his uncle and Master:

Flowing through all, there is balance.

There is no peace without a passion to create.

There is no passion without peace to guide.

Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act.

Power blinds without the serenity to see.

There is freedom in life.

There is purpose in death.

The Force is all things and I am the Force.

(One version of the Gray Jedi Code)⁶

 

Compare this to the Jedi and Sith Codes:

 

It’s time for the Jedi to end. Time to bring balance to the Force.

@MyKyloRen     14 July 2017

__________________________

¹Ryan, I. et al. (2012). Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Epic Conflict. New York: DK Publishing, p. 304.

²Hidalgo, P. (2015). Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, p. 24.

³Foster, A. D. (2015). Star Wars: The Force Awakens. New York: Del Rey, p. 139.

⁴Ryan, I. et al. (2012). Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Epic Conflict. New York: DK Publishing, p. 73.

⁵http://swfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Gray_Jedi_Code

⁶ibid.

Hux in Flux

“What you don’t see, what the galaxy doesn’t see, what the New Republic refuses to see is the endless suffering brought about by the end of the Empire!” The young man with hair as fiery as his speech paused, chin up, letting the hisses rise and fall in the market-square crowd like a wave. He’d been taught from an early age to ignore the ignorant and the waves they created.

“Waves,” his father the Commandant had once said, “have a way of smashing themselves into oblivion on the shore.”

Captain Armitage Hux pushed a button on his podium and called up a series of 3D images — all ghostly blue and agonising to see. Children on planet after planet, city after city, even farm after farm — orphaned, desperate, dirty, starving, crippled, burned, or dead. Scrawny women slinking through the bombed-out shells of buildings, scavenging for scraps to eat, selling their bodies for food and shelter from the bitter cold or scorching heat, for water. Vast tracts of arable land spoiled for generations by chemical and biological warfare.

After the first dozen imaged flickered by, the crowd began to settle, riveted by the devastation, but Hux let the holoshow continue as he returned to his speech. It wasn’t the first the 25-year-old officer had given and it wouldn’t be the last. He relished any opportunity to hone his oratory skills and promote the cause.

The squadron backing him, though civilian to all appearances so as not to spark any civil unrest, wore the same grey coats of the First Order as he did, but beneath the facade they were all armed and on point for dissenters. One couldn’t have disorder at a First Order rally. It simply wouldn’t do.

But the crowd on the streets of this Outer Rim world for the most part lifted their faces to him, genuinely interested in what he had to say. They had felt the pangs of food and water shortages, soaring unemployment, and rising crime rates. They wanted change and they wanted it now.

There was one tall young man in the audience, standing off to the side — silent and watching like some ancient obelisk. He had longish waves of dark hair and wore a pleated knee-length brigandine of smoke grey, leather pants, and black boots. A military type, Hux thought. Well, good.

“The only thing,” Hux continued, holding up an emphatic finger, “that will put an end to the misery of these people is order!” He pointed at an image of a starving child, crying and clinging to the hand of her dead mother. “The only way this little girl will get food in her belly and the medical care she needs is through the establishment of an authority that has the power to regulate food consumption and re-establish the supply lines throughout the galaxy. An authority that has the power to restore a health-care system not just to the rich and famous but to the lowliest farm-hand on Lothal!”

He paused, drawing in a deep breath and letting his gaze sweep the far reaches of the crowd. He was about to make his most important point.

“You know first-hand the reach of the New Republic falls short of this world.” He gestured expansively. “Where are your boards of light and power to keep the grids consistently online? Where is your public works to ensure an uninterruptible and safe water supply? Where are your fire brigades, hospitals, and schools?…All run by volunteers!” This last word he said as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. He let his voice drop a notch. “Volunteers are all noble, well, and good, but you can’t rely on them like your government in a crisis.” He smiled inwardly as a murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. He thought he saw the dark-haired young man nod, almost imperceptibly.

Hux thanked the people of the town, shut off the projector, and stepped off the platform. Instantly, he was surrounded by a small group of listeners, all asking questions while the First Order team handed out brochures and flyers. Hux worked his way through the crowd, answering questions and shaking hands, until he stood before the tall “obelisk.”

“It’ll be decades before that kind of relief can be brought to the people through government,” said the obelisk.

Ben Solo wasn’t sure he like the man’s gaze. There was something…unhinged…about it. But Hux nodded readily enough. The New Republic Senate was a quagmire of debates and standoffs. While everyone argued about the correct course of action or inaction, nothing was getting done. The people — especially those in the Outer Rim — were suffering. Ben knew it weighed heavily on his mother’s shoulders.

“There’s another way,” Ben told him, meeting the young officer’s gaze with the same intensity. “Send an elite quad in — one that can cut through the gangs and cartels to deliver relief to the suffering.”

Hux folded his arms behind his back. “That would still require government backing and equipment, not to mention trained personnel and supplies.”

Ben shook his head. “I can get you the supplies and the manpower.”

“And you are….?” Hux suddenly became aware of seven others, dressed in similar attire, standing behind the dark-haired man.

“We’re the Knights of Ren.”

Armitage Hux also became aware of the weapon at their leader’s belt. The design was ancient, but he knew a lightsaber when he saw one. “Where did you get the kyber crystal for your saber?” he drawled.

Ben Solo ignored him. “Do you want our help or not?”

“Very well,” Hux returned, handing Solo a datapad. “Tell me how I can contact you.”

He watched the former Jedi tap in a code and stride away with his brethren in tow. When they were out of earshot, he took out his comlink and activated it. “Red Blade 9.” Static on the other end, then a deep voice told him to proceed. Hux didn’t miss a beat, his gaze following Ben Solo through the crowd. “I have another one for Project Harvester.”

 

@MyKyloRen    26 January 2017

Ripples in the Force

Padawan Ben Solo stood on the terrace of a secluded resort on the outskirts of Capital City, gazing across the tidal marsh to the waving grasslands beyond. Behind him, a clutch of tourists sat sipping exotic drinks overlooking Lothal’s inland sea. But Ben’s eyes were drawn to the endless swirls and ripples the wind stirred in the long sedges instead of the predictable pattern of the waves. There was nothing new to learn in the surf. The waves were mind-numbing, like Jedi meditation. Yet out there, on the landward side, he keenly felt a presence. The Jedi had left behind their temples. And those who had hunted them had followed, leaving their own ripples in the Force.

They still hunted.

“It doesn’t seem like the Empire was ever here,” he said without turning around.

Dr. Amanda Snoke came up behind her fifteen-year-old charge and handed him a glass of chilled muja juice. He’d been in her custody as a ward of the state ever since he had caused the death of a young boy at age ten. It had been ruled an accident and Ben had been permitted reprieves to see his parents and train with his uncle, but Amanda was his primary guardian during his eight-year sentence. Although only thirty-three, she’d become a renowned psychologist not long after earning her degree for her work in understanding the development of force-sensitive children.

“Yes,” she agreed, joining Ben at the railing. She glanced over at the rounded, white towers hugging the coastline to their left. The mines and refineries — even the Imperial Command Center — had been torn down or converted into luxury residences and civic buildings. The smoke, toxic gas, and dust had long ago been filtered from the atmosphere.

“But my grandfather was here,” Ben went on, his voice distant and pensive. “I feel his presence.”

Amanda’s rosy cheeks dimpled in a smile. Han and Leia had not revealed the identity of Ben’s maternal grandfather to their son, but Amanda believed that such a revelation was essential to the young Jedi’s growth. To understand who he was and what he could become, he needed a clear understanding of the power that coursed through his blood. She’d shared the little family secret with him a few months prior to his fifteenth birthday. He talked of Darth Vader — in private — as his grandfather, but there was still a shadow of doubt in his mind. He couldn’t quite believe how a scrawny kid who had been bullied at school and shadowed by bounty hunters could be the offshoot of one of the most powerful Sith the galaxy had ever known.

So, she’d brought Ben to this frontier world of vanishing farms to celebrate his birthday away from prying eyes and to see him off down a promising path to a new life.

“Speaking of your grandfather,” she said with gentle enthusiasm, “I have some test results to share with you.” She took a small datapad from a pocket and swiped through a few screens. “Here. This top line is the DNA profile of Darth Vader and the middle is Anakin Skywalker’s. The bottom is yours.” She overlaid the top two sequences for an exact match. Next, she laid Ben’s on top and pointed out unique areas of correlation. “There’s no doubt that you are his descendant.”

Ben didn’t need the course he’d taken in advanced genetics to see the near match. It was obvious, right down to the midi-chlorian levels.

“But,” Amanda continued with growing excitement, “what’s truly interesting is how far back in time this profile goes.”

Ben tore his gaze from the display to look up at her. “How far?”

“About 10,000 standard years.” She tapped the display and brought up another screen of tabulated data and charts. “Through your mother’s line, you are the descendant of one of the most powerful Force-users in history — a man who understood both the Light and the Dark. A man named Revan who lived 4,000 years ago.”

Ben looked up again. “I’ve never heard of him.”

Revan, Knights of the Old Republic

“The records the Jedi Council kept on him in the Coruscant archives were lost with the destruction of the temple. But his name and story have survived — sometimes intact, sometimes corrupted — on other worlds. We’ve been able to piece a lot of it back together. Including a copy of his extensive medical records.” She handed him the datapad and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Take a look through the files whenever you want. It’s a little birthday gift to you.” She kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled awkwardly. “Thanks.” He thumbed through a few preliminary screens. “You never told me where you came from. I mean, you said you sort of grew up and went to university here” — he gestured at the expansive city nearby — “but I get the sense this isn’t where your people are from.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“In your mind,” he went on, looking at her intently now, “I see flashes of a gray-brown planet — a place where buildings stand untouched by war, but life, sound, and color are washed away. It’s like the Force doesn’t exist there.”

“Curious,” she returned evenly but with a smile. “Well, this isn’t a world of much color, is it?” She swept a hand at the brown grasslands in front of them. “I’ll tell you the story of my world someday, but right now I’d like you to meet some of friends. They’re part of an ancient order known as the Knights of Ren.”

As she walked him through the tranquil halls of the resort to the glass-domed dining area, she didn’t tell him her people came from beyond the regions of known space.

She didn’t tell him that she’d known Revan…personally.

She didn’t tell him that the lovely human body she occupied was one in tens of thousands she’d inhabited over the millennia.

@MyKyloRen   17 January 2017

Backstabbers

Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, held up the pyramid-shaped vessel in great reverence. “The flames of her fire have died,” he told the clan of seven warriors gathered around him.

“But they have not gone out,” they intoned in answer and lifted their helmeted heads to the dark skies as one.

Ren added his voice to theirs, raising the blood-red vessel high above his head. “They shall be kindled again!” He brought it to his forehead and rested it there a moment’s contemplation, bringing the ritual to a close. As the men stood down, awaiting their leader’s orders, Ren wrapped the holocron in its black shroud and tucked it into the shielded container. This he carefully stowed in its ritual alcove on board the small freighter they’d brought down half a kilometer from Niima Outpost.

Before leaving the ship to guard-droids, he removed the ritual mask of the secret order and secured the identity-concealing black metal helmet upon his head. Outside with his men again, he said tersely, “Move out.” No further orders were needed. They knew what they had returned to Jakku for.

The girl.

A different one this time.

Not a clone, like all the others grown in the laboratory beneath Carbon Ridge. The transfer would be unique this time — as dangerous and unpredictable as its recipient, one that was not in stasis but conscious and strong in the Force. A ripple of excitement passed through their ranks as they made their way across the midnight desert toward the trading post.

Lightning flickered on the horizon.

They hadn’t gone a quarter of the distance when Ren brought his men to a halt. The dusty air was rife with the earthy smell of rain and the reptilian-like stench of a Kyuzo clovoc — a warrior clan. The Kyuzo were nowhere in sight yet, but he knew they were just over the ridge, some eyeing the Knights with bright golden eyes, others with insect-like compound eyes. Through the Force, he could see them in their wide-brimmed helms — a hundred maybe in the traditional armor of the clovoc. He knew who their leader was. The Acolytes of the Beyond had given him that much information, as well as the clan’s coordinates.

The Knights had come for the girl, but Ren had come for a particularly desirable artifact — one of Darth Vader’s most prized possessions. One that dangled from the belt of Zuvio, the Kyuzo constable of Niima Outpost. One Zuvio meant to trade to Lor San Tekka over in the village of Tuanal in a sweet deal. Zuvio was tracking Ren through slitted eyes. A shiver ran up his spine. He motioned his warriors to fan out.

Ren let them come. He could feel them circling like wolves, closing in on his small band. The Knights were outnumbered more than ten to one, but Ren sensed neither fear nor hesitation in his men. They stood in a circle back to back, hands gripping blasters, rifles, and servo-pikes. Ren unclipped his lightsaber from his belt.

“That’s far enough!” Zuvio called out of the darkness through an interpreter droid. “You’re not welcome here.”

Ren said nothing for a long moment, letting the not-so-distant thunder speak for him. At last he said with a sneer, “You know what I’ve come for.”

Zuvio didn’t hesitate. “I do. And you’ll have to fight all of us to get it. So you might was well turn around and get back in your ship. If you set foot on Jakku again, you’re dead men.”

“We’ll see.” Ren ignited his fiery lightsaber and gave it a spin.

In the next instant, the clan didn’t know what hit it. They ran at the small band of intruders, alien battle cries drowned by the crashing peel of thunder.

Or was it?

The vanguard of Kyuzo warriors fell in a wide circular swath as if they were toys and some huge invisible hand had knocked them all down. Their charge came to a halt as the rearguard stopped cold, stunned. They’d never seen so many of their brothers leveled like sheaves of grain — without being touched. The rain came down in sheets. In the center of the ring, the Knights stood motionless. As did Zuvio. The constable watched in horror as one of his warriors screamed and convulsed in the deepening puddles.

“See to your man,” Kylo Ren called to Zuvio as the remainder of the Kyuzo fled into the night, spooked by an invisible force.

The constable turned to stare in disbelief at his writhing clansman. Had he been hit by lightning? The warrior was in agony and dying, but not fast enough. Zuvio didn’t feel the tug at his belt as the lightsaber clipped there flew away in a Force-summons and into Ren’s outstretched hand. Zuvio was intent on ending his brother’s misery. The constable raised his pike over his head, ready to strike a killing blow when a crackly flame emerged from his chest. Zuvio shrieked.

Ren blinked. He wasn’t sure what he’d just seen. With the artifact firmly in his grasp, he’d meant to retreat, but there she was in front of him…and Zuvio had meant to kill her. Ren had acted on pure instinct — shoving his blade through the Kyuzo’s armor and on through the resistance of the rib cage. When the constable crumpled at his feet, the young woman had quickly staggered to her own, staring in horror. She took several steps back.

He recognized the scavenger, although she must have been just shy of twenty now. He blinked again and moved towards her as if in a dream. The day was bright. The girl — a five-year-old — reached out a thin arm to him and cried, “Come back!” In another blink, she was gone. Vanished. Back into the Force, surely. Ren stood alone with his knights in the pouring rain.

He looked down at the coveted lightsaber in his left hand and ignited the blue blade.

It was Kenobi’s all right. He extinguished it and clipped it to his belt.

“Forget the girl,” he told his men, hefting Zuvio’s cooling body over his shoulder. “We have what we need.”

@MyKyloRen   6 December 2016

The Dead-Enders

“What is it you’re looking for?” Unkar Plutt’s meaty hands dropped to rest on his hips as he sized up the pair in front of him. The young man was draped all in black. Plutt thought it strange for Jakku’s scorching climate, but there was something even stranger about the man’s gaze. A slight shiver went up the junkboss’s spine.

“We represent the Acolytes of the Beyond. We deal in Imperial artifacts,” the man is black said, flexing his knuckles. His eyes flicked to the table of salvaged scraps Unkar had on display. “But we’re not interested in that garbage. We’re looking for the big stuff.”

The hulking Crolute snorted. “There’s a whole graveyard of ships that way.” Plutt waved a plump hand in the general direction. “A mess of TIEs, A-wings, and a star destroyer, but they’ve been picked pretty clean. Unless of course you want to haul the ships away. In that case –” he rummaged behind his counter and held up a datapad, “– I’ve got the salvage permit here. Make me an offer.”

The human male took a step closer and sneered. “We’re not interested in rotting ships.” He started to raise a hand towards the Crolute, but the young man’s eyes went wide with surprise. Kylo Ren turned just as the girl spoke up.

“If they’re looking for the caves beneath Carbon Ridge, I can show them.” She looked to be about seventeen and lythe as a cat.

Ren’s eyes sought hers. She’d been listening and her mind was particularly bright. But her gaze was fixed on Plutt.

The junkboss grinned — inasmuch as his species could. “You won’t find the place without a guide,” he told Ren and the tall woman shadowing the dark lord. “And you’d be dead under a rockslide before you knew what hit you. Rey here is the best. You can have her for a hundred credits.”

Rey squared her shoulders. “I want six portions,” she told Plutt in no uncertain terms. “Ten if they find what they’re looking for.” She folded her arms.

The Crolute’s round mouth fell open, but before he could express his outrage, the woman interjected, “Of course, Rey. And you’d be welcome to come back to our ship to share a celebratory dinner. You look as if you haven’t eaten real food in months.” She smiled a sweet smile as she pulled a silky wrap over her blonde hair.

“I haven’t,” Rey grumbled. “He sees to that.” She shot Plutt a withering look. Half-turning to the visitors, she said, “Follow my speeder.”

Ren watched her hurry off then pulled up his hood.

“Is that a lightsaber?” Plutt pointed a fat finger at the weapon clipped to Ren’s belt. “I’ve always wanted to see one of those.” His expression hardened. “Are you some kind of Jedi?”

The dark lord turned on him, eyes narrowing. “It’s a flashlight.” When Plutt shook his head and opened his mouth to argue, Ren waved a hand before the Crolute’s face. “You’ll forget you ever saw it,” he suggested with a sneer.

Plutt’s bloated features went slack. “I’ll forget I ever saw it,” he parroted back.

Amanda Snoke let out a laugh and hooked her arm in Ren’s. “That trick never ceases to amuse me. Come on, let’s follow the girl.”

Out beyond the Goazon Badlands, Rey’s speeder slowed and banked hard to the left, following the path of a ravine to the base of the ridge. Ren tailed her in the two-man speeder and came to a halt when she stopped and dismounted beside a stepped rock formation. The feature was a natural one, carved by a watershed that had evaporated a millennium ago. She used it to climb to a narrow ledge that commanded a view of the canyon. She turned and waited for her customers to catch up. Kylo Ren, unaffected by the heat, was the first to reach her.

“You see that cave over there?” she said, pointing to a large, vaulted opening a quarter kilometer down the canyon. She was careful to keep her head down below a jagged outcrop. Ren nodded as Amanda came up behind him. “It’s guarded by the Dead-Enders. They’re white-beards with crazy eyes. Some say they’re stormtroopers left behind after the Battle of Jakku. They ran out of power packs for their blasters years ago, but I wouldn’t want to mess with them.” She squinted up at him against the setting sun. “Twenty credits gets you in the back door of the place — even they don’t know it exists — or you can take your chances with them.”

“I didn’t think Niima Outpost still used credits,” Amanda mused, giving Rey a wry smile.

Rey shrugged. “They still take them in Tuanal and they’ve got some things I need.”

Ren stood watching the three scruffy old men pace about the entrance to the cave. He had no doubt he could subdue them with little effort, but there was no telling what forces lingered inside. The place was likely booby trapped. He reached into his robes, brought out a credit chip, and programmed in the amount with his thumb. Amanda raised an eyebrow at him.

He handed the chip to Rey with a smirk. “I like the way you think, scavenger.”

As their fingers touched, both of them blinked. A barrage of images flashed through Ren’s mind, including one of a little girl straining against a Unkar Plutt’s grasp and crying out for someone to “Come back!” Ren gave his head a shake to clear it. Rey stared at him, overwhelmed by the vision of a tall boy with a mop of dark hair. The boy started to run, reaching out to her.

Rey recovered first, pocketing the credit chip. “The cave’s just around the bend,” she nearly stammered.

Amanda Snoke eyed the exchange with lifted chin, a peculiar brightness filling her pupils. She took Ren’s hand and intertwined her fingers in his as the girl led them down a path barely visible among the jumble of crags. They came to a narrow opening in the rock face as the shadows deepened and stretched along the canyon wall.

“I think you’ll just fit,” Rey told Ren, measuring his stature against her memories of the abandoned passageways, “but you’ll have to duck and crawl. I don’t know what this place was,” she said before backing away, “but it gives me the creeps. I’ll wait with the speeders. We need to be out of here before dark.”

Ren watched her go, puzzling out the familiarity of her walk and the way she squinted up at him. He felt Amanda tug at his collar and lay her palms on his chest.

“If this place is the old Imperial laboratory,” she murmured, pulling his chin to her and holding it between thumb and forefinger, “we’ll make it so again.”

@MyKyloRen   15 November 2016

In the Dark of the Knight

Jakku.

Even from high orbit, there was something familiar about the place. But then all desert worlds were much the same, with their stunted and limited life forms and endless seas of baking sand. Kylo Ren resented leading the First Order’s special forces to the surface of this desert world, for it meant donning his full regalia and bearing up to the oppressive heat of the northern hemisphere’s summer. But there was no other way. His oath to the Knights of Ren demanded the dress code, and he didn’t trust the troopers to successfully carry out the mission under Captain Phasma. At least the planet had finally rotated their target into the night side where the temperature was now forty degrees cooler.

He stood for a moment in his battle attire – the charcoal-grey padded jerkin and black pants tucked into black buckled boots – remembering the day he took the oath as leader of the Knights, remembering the sting.

“Kylo, Knight of Ren,” the blonde Mandalorian woman shrouded in brick-red intoned, “the truth is written in blood. Only you” – she held up one hand and then the other, mimicking the balancing arms of a scale – “Master of the Dark and the Light, are the embodiment of strength and power. Only you are worthy of rebirth.”

With a lift of her chin, she motioned him forward from the line of nine knights who stood with heads bowed before her dais. Without hesitation, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa stepped forward and knelt on one knee before her, eyes raised to meet her gaze. She reached down and cupped his face in her hands.

“Those who wield the Force are forever changed by it. True power can only come through those who are beaten upon its forge and embrace their transformation. Those who falter and slip to either Side will be dragged down by their own weakness.”

As she let him go, her sharpened fingernail drew a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. He didn’t flinch. She help up her arms and motioned for two attendants, bearing ritual garments, to step forward and await her further command.

“The Knights of Ren,” she went on, eyeing the prospective leader before her, “the elite force of the First Order, is charged with protecting the Supreme Leader and carrying out the special and most dangerous operations of the Order. This charge may require you to lay down your life to fulfill your duty. This do you swear?”

“I swear,” Kylo answered, feeling the blood drip off his chin.

“You must walk this path of Ren alone – neither Jedi nor Sith – the path to power. This do you swear?”

“I swear.”

She motioned him to stand and hold out his arms. He did so as an attendant drew the dark, sleeveless robe over his shoulders.

“Should you grow weak and falter,” she decreed, “you will lay down your life to the one who rises up to seize your mantle. This do you swear?”

“I swear.”

She nodded again to the attendant, who drew a wide, black belt about Kylo’s waist and secured it firmly in place.

“No leader shall weaken himself or allow his knights to weaken their power by lying with other beings. This do you swear?”

“I swear.”

At her motion, the second attendant stepped forward and arranged a hooded cowl about Kylo’s shoulders.

“Those who wield the Force are forever bound to serve it. You will shoulder this burden for life. This do you swear?”

“I swear.”

He knew what was coming next, yet he was forbidden to brace for it. His total submission was required.

“And this is so you’ll remember your oath.” She slapped him so hard across the face that the impression of her hand formed in red on his pale skin.

After a moment, the buzz in his head cleared and he answered dutifully, “I shall remember.”

The last part of the ceremonial dress, she completed herself. She bent forward, kissed

the reddening welt on his cheek and placed a helmet specially forged for him over his head. With a click, she locked it into place.

“With the Mask of Ren, you are no longer a man but an icon, a shaper of history.” She drew the voluminous black hood over it. “Yet you shall never forget your place at my feet as my pupil, Kylo Ren.”

Ren inclined his head. “Yes, my master.”

Supreme Leader Amanda Snoke stepped back, admiring her charge, and smiled.

 

 

 

@MyKyloRen    9 August 2016