Allegiance | Kylo Ren

LXIII

I boarded the ship with my heart pounding. This was my first mission without Kylo at my side. I stood at the back of the ship, in our usual spot, but his absence almost left me cold. The other troopers lined up obediently in their usual spots, not one of them giving me a second glance as I stood solo in the commander's spot.

I couldn't see Malia anywhere, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. It was very possible that she had been sorted onto one of the other ships, too. I made a mental note to search for her once we arrived.

When we landed and the ramp lowered, I was met by silence. Kylo's absence was making more of an impact on me than I had predicted; as the troopers departed towards the target site, I caught myself staring at the spot where he would have stood.

"Stay close." I whispered to myself. I felt childish as the words left my lips, but they brought me some sort of strange comfort.

When the last trooper had deplaned, I made my exit. Quickly, I scanned the landscape. The scene was completely flat, and almost entirely open. Troopers were kicking down doors of mud houses, pushing aside protesting villagers and ransacking their homes in search of anything that indicated loyalty to the Resistance.

I caught sight of an unusually small trooper making their way towards a house on the other end of the village. Instinctively, I wanted to go help Malia, but she seemed to be in no immediate danger and therefore did not need my help.

Instead, I followed suit, selecting a small hut to my left. I pushed the door open, addressing the terrified family huddled together inside.

"We're here to search for any ties to the Resistance." I kept my voice formal and assertive, trying to keep from being too aggressive. "Please wait outside while I search your home."

The father of the family pulled his child closer to his chest and nodded wordlessly, taking his wife's hand and leading them outside. When they were gone, I began my search through the tiny house, emptying baskets and overturning boxes, scanning their contents. Nothing seemed suspicious; they were all standard possessions, typical of a family from this region. Satisfied with my search, I returned outside.

"All clear." I gave a curt nod to the family, and they hurried back inside.

As they went, I noticed a nasty-looking scrape along the mother's forearm. I held out my hand to stop her, and she let out a nervous gasp, watching me with wide eyes.

"Let me see your arm." I ordered, taking her wrist in my hand and examining it. The cut was unclean, scabbing in places but not evenly as it should have been. "This looks like it may be infected. Clean it off with a sanitized rag and bind it tightly so nothing else gets in it while it heals."

She nodded feverishly, looking as if she were about to pass out. "Thank you." She mumbled quietly, pulling her arm gently out of my grasp. I gave her a quick nod and turned to assess the mission status.

It seemed that the other troopers were leaving with similar results; the night stayed quiet, with no cries of alarm or shots fired. As more of us came up empty-handed, we stood outside and cast anxious glances at each other.

What now?

It seemed that we had all expected to find something, to come up with an excuse to burn the town to the ground like we did with all traitorous establishments. But we hadn't; the village was clean.

I caught a few troopers watching me expectantly, and I began to wonder if they wanted something from me.

"Should we light it up?" I overheard one trooper musing aloud, glancing around for a second opinion.

"Wait until we've all finished, and then we will decide." I said loudly, earning a few turned heads.

There's no need to burn a village that has done nothing wrong.

When every trooper had finished their search and returned to their posts outside, I decided to push my luck and decide the village's fate.

"Alright, troopers, we're all clear—back to the ships!" I raised my voice to give the order and watched them uncertainly, praying that they listened to me and didn't resist.

There was a pause. Then the troopers began to line up and board the ships, as if they had been given the order from a captain. I let loose a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, a small spark of pride in my chest at having successfully issued an order.

I followed them up the ramp and into the belly of the ship, lifting my chin slightly as I passed them and assumed my place at the back.

Is this what it feels like to be Kylo? I wondered. This isn't so bad.

The ramp began to rise and the engines roared to life. I found myself relieved that no battle had been started tonight—the lack of bloodshed had been a pleasant change. Not every city we visited needed to be destroyed, and leaving this village virtually untouched had proved that the First Order was more than a mere wrecking ball of an organization.