Darkness At Dawn • Kylo Ren [1]

Ⅱ

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

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In the silence of the ship's storage unit, Ben swiftly got down on his knees and placed his lightsaber on a box to mediate. His mind was clouded with pain and confusion and he wanted it all to go away. His breathing faltered as he tried to clear his mind. He couldn't fight the longing he had for something he couldn't put his finger on.

Ever since Uncle Luke had brought him to the Jedi academy, his thoughts became more clouded every day. He loved the power he possessed and he loved everybody knowing that he was the best because Luke Skywalker was his uncle. The training became more and more difficult as he got older and distractions made his mind more weary. The missions he had gone on only made him want to become more powerful but these feelings were shut down by his uncle.

Ben was constantly reminded about how the dark side of the force could seduce him with the power he could have and he should not fall for it but sometimes, he longed for it.

He felt her walk in and sit near him but his eyes remained closed. "You shouldn't be walking around."

"Am I bothering you?" Her voice was light and soothing, his mind began to clear slightly.

"No." He replied.

"What's troubling you Ben?" She questioned.

"Nothing." He lied. "Just thinking."

Elara sat on her knees beside him, placing her lightsaber beside his. She shut her eyes and placed her hand on his. "It would be much easier to lie to me if I was completely mortal."

His lips tugged up into a smile, knowing she knew him all too well. "I'm worried that Geil will send more bounty hunters after you."

She hummed in response, unable to concentrate on the negative energy he was giving off but more so the positive energy the people around her gave off. "He sold my parents, I should be the one sending bounty hunters after him."

"Be careful with your words Elara, they will blind you into doing what's wrong." Ben whispered to her, opening his eyes.

She turned to face him, her brown hair pulled into a long braid intertwined with yellow yarn. "Your uncle should be meeting us soon."

"I sense his presence on the planet." He responded, his black hair covering a portion of his face as he looked down into his lap.

"Do not be angry with him because he allowed me to go on this mission. I wanted to find my parents in the first place so I should be able to search for them." Elara spoke was ease, trying to calm Ben's bipolar temper. "Everyone else would be on Dathomir hunting for what's left of Death Watch and I'd be with them. The likeliness of us getting attacked by a mob of bounty hunters again is slim to none."

"Alright, I get it." Ben rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a smartass."

"The best pilot in all of Jedi history will not stop." She grinned.

"Don't get cocky now." He stood up, using the force to grab his lightsaber. His emotion changed quickly, a dull frown formed on his lips. "He's here."

"Do not be bitter with him Ben." Elara pleaded as they stepped out of the unit.

Vega, Dez and Palace stood around Master Skywalker and R2-D2 as he took off his cloak and placed it on the passenger table. His features hadn't  changed much since the last time Elara had seen him, his aging face still had the same noble look and his hair hadn't gotten much more greyer.

"Master Skywalker." Elara greeted.

"I heard you had been wounded." He took a step towards her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better now." Elara promised.

Ben peered around the corner , anxious to get the awkward greeting over with. Luke did not look up though, he waited for Ben to make the first move. The sound of his boots clacked against the ship's floor until they came to a stop when he gave his uncle a quick hug.

"Is everyone alright?" Luke questioned, looking around. "We need our full strength if we plan on meeting with Geil Hutt again."

"Master, Geil won't easily tell us were Elara's parents are." Vega pointed out. "And you said before that the Hutt's are immune to the Jedi mind trick."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not worried about Geil, I'm worried about his army of bounty hunters."

Ben muffled a cough.

"Would you like to say something Ben?" Luke asked.

"If you insist." Ben shrugged. "The bounty hunters are easily influenced by mind tricks, they have weak minds and they will be even more weakened if we set off a diversion. What if we arm an explosive on the east wing of the Hutt palace and sneak in while everyone is in a commotion. The bounty hunters will think it's an attack on just the east side."

"I could set off the detonator from inside the ship." Elara piped up.

"How will you know when we are clear from the east wing? Geil cut off all transmission." Dez questioned. "It's a great plan but I don't want to be blown to bits."

"She will know." Luke spoke up, his strong belief in the force making it clear to the padawans.

"I want someone to stay behind with Elara, she doesn't have her full strength if something goes wrong." Ben demanded, though his voice was steady and strong.

"She will have R2." Palace looked down at the droid. "I'm sure he will protect her if anything goes awfully wrong."

Ben bit his lip, trying to shield away his anger. "Alright, let's go then."

Luke walked over to Elara and handed her to detonator. "I have no doubt in you."

The Stella Interfectorem's silver doors opened and Ben, Vega, Dez, Palace and Luke began to walk down the ramp. The docking bay was busy so Elara began to fret, wondering if one of Geil's henchmen had seen Master Skywalker himself lead a group of well trained Jedi towards the Hutt palace. She shut her eyes and breathed in a heavy breath.

"May the force be with you all."