Mother ~ The Sequel to Breeder

13

Kylo Ren's POV

The scavenger girl was powerless to resist my abilities and quickly submitted when I pushed her into unconsciousness. She weighed very little- probably from malnutrition on whatever impoverished planet she came from- and I didn't even need to use the Force to carry her.

"What about the droid?" a Stormtrooper asked.

"Forget it. We have everything we need."

Well, not everything I need.

I stopped to examine the chaos our arrival had brought. All manner of aliens and droids scurried outside Maz Kanata's castle, one of the towers blown to rubble, troopers cutting down the riffraff with blasters. The screams of pain and calls for mercy didn't faze me anymore, the bodies accumulating on the forest floor little more than bloody throw rugs, but- in this one specific instance- my pulse jumped whenever I thought I saw someone who looked like Astrid facing down an armed Stormtrooper.

My soldiers were under strict orders to keep their eyes peeled for women who looked like Astrid as well as any human children, but I couldn't relinquish the fear that one of these trigger-happy morons would fuck up my plans.

Look at you, worried about some stupid little girl- pathetic.

I could hear my grandfather's voice echoing inside my brain, making my chest twist in shame. I hoped I might find Astrid here because Maz was a known Resistance sympathizer, but I had no tangible proof that this is where General Organa sent her when she evacuated the rebel base. I'd allowed myself to hope, and that was my first mistake.

"Commander Ren!" a Stormtrooper called at me from inside my ship. "X-wings are arriving; we need to get out of here!"

Realizing he was right, I snarled, wishing I could blast every single treasonous rebel out of the sky, but I had to secure the girl; she was my only hope of finding Luke Skywalker.

Just as I turned my back on Maz Kanata's castle, I felt it- felt her. Even if I wanted to keep walking up that ramp into my ship, I couldn't, Astrid's pull on me as sticky as honey and twice as sweet. I knew then that I'd never escape her vortex, never free myself from the memory of her. If I wanted to be free of the eternal longing she provoked in me, I needed to make her mine again, now.

Abruptly about-facing, I hurried back down the ramp, ignoring the Stormtrooper shouting for me to return to the ship. Scanning the crowd with my eyes peeled, I finally found her. She was over a hundred feet away, but her wild, curly brown hair was unmistakable. The way the wind whipped it around her face brought me back to the hours we shared on the surface of Starkiller Base, my cloak wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the snow.

And, in her arms, was a small, black-haired boy I knew could only be my son. The sight of them nearly knocked the wind out of me, and I staggered, hand clutching at my chest, trying to alleviate the agony she evoked in me.

Then, as though she could feel my eyes on her, Astrid turned to face me, her grip tightening on her child- our child. She didn't react, and I realized it was due to my mask; she didn't recognize me.

After a moment of hesitation, I reached under the chin of the mask I crafted to resemble Darth Vader's. Once a method to heal the wounds Snoke inflicted on my face as punishment for helping Astrid escape, it was now an extension of my body. It had been years since anyone saw me without it- I even avoided my reflection in the mirror- but, for the first time, I removed the helmet, letting it rest against my thigh, fingers clenched tightly around the edge of the neck hole, the wind whipping my hair around my face.

Even from this distance, I could see her skin go white when she caught sight of me, her mouth falling open in disbelief. But she didn't come to me. I don't know why, but I assumed she would, assumed she secretly wished we could be together again after all this time apart.

So stupid, after all she did to escape, you thought she'd return to you willingly?

Gritting my teeth, I held out my hand, reaching out for her in the Force. After half a beat of futile effort, I remembered she was immune to my powers, and- it appeared- so was our son. That didn't surprise me considering he'd surely inherited Force-sensitivity from the both of us.

Slamming my arm down, I snarled, taking another two steps close to Astrid. In the distance, I could just make out a smirk; she enjoyed seeing me fail to reclaim her. She assumed I wouldn't cut through the dozens of people who stood between us to get my hands on her, wouldn't dare jeopardize my mission just for her and our child. But she underestimated me, underestimated my convictions.

"Mommy, mommy!"

My ears keyed in on the squealing, high-pitched voices. To Astrid's left, two children sprinted towards her, accompanied by... Chewbacca?

If he's here, then Han Solo can't be far behind.

An idea suddenly hit me- a sick, twisted idea that only a truly desperate man with no morals would consider. And unfortunately for Astrid, I was just that man.

I held out my hand again, reaching through the Force, this time latching onto one of Astrid's older children. Thankfully, unlike his mother, he was not immune to my abilities, and he immediately fell unconscious, just like the scavenger, and I pulled his limp body towards me.

"Farrow!" Astrid shrieked.

She attempted to chase down her son, but I was too fast for her. Chewbacca held onto the older boy as well as my child, and I hated seeing that filthy traitor with his paws on my son, but I knew he'd be returned to me soon enough. Before long, both he and Astrid would be in my possession again.

Floating the stolen boy onto my ship, I reascended the ramp, only to hear someone shout my name, or rather, my old name. Pausing, I turned slowly on my heel, eyes narrowing as they landed on a ghost.

"Ben!" the old man repeated, the world cutting as deep as any lightsaber.

I regarded Han Solo coldly, even as he wielded his smuggling partner's bowcaster, pointing it straight at my chest. I didn't flinch, and, eventually, he lowered it. I didn't know if he was too afraid of hitting my hostage to take the shot, or he if still naively harbored some affection for the man he thought I was. Either way, it didn't bother me; I could stop any attack that old fool sent my way.

The ramp slowly closed behind me as Astrid sprinted up the hill towards my ship, Han Solo reaching out to embrace her as she bawled for her stolen son. The sight of them together- him clutching her sobbing body as though he had the right to touch her- lit a fury in me unlike any rage I could recall. This was not the vexation I felt towards an incompetent soldier or engineer; this anger was darker, more virulent.

Feeling her penetrating stare on me, I quickly donned my helmet, sealing the world out again, retreating back into the cold, inner world of Kylo Ren, where I belonged. Astrid kept her unblinking eyes on the inscrutable facade of my mask until the ramp clicked into place.

It pained me to leave her on this planet, to return to Starkiller Base, but I knew I'd see her again soon. If she wanted her son returned safely, she'd have to join me willingly.