Rebel with a Cause √

e i g h t

Meeting. Sitting. Waiting. Training.

It's all you ever did.

Or ever seem to do.

Kylo was right, you were getting stronger with the Force. This wasn't a good thing to you. For some reason you just knew Kylo like no other person did. You knew what he liked, what he didn't like. You knew he had the same thing for breakfast in the morning everyday. You even knew he could do calligraphy, and had a calligraphy set in his bedroom. It was kind of disturbing that he felt like a close friend. But knowing him like this was a burden, if you posed any threat to Kylo....

But sometimes there were moments when he'd look at you, and he'd have this great pain in his eyes, and your heart would ache for him. But because it was business as usual, you shut those feelings out.

You sat at your desk and tried your best to force him out of your thoughts. These files were of the utmost importance after all, the First Order was building something. What it was? Honestly you didn't know. The files didn't describe the weapon in depth, only that it was something of great power and even greater potential.

This wasn't going to be a Death Star.
Not even a new Starkiller Base.
No, it was going to be something even greater.

Feeling a disturbance within the Force, you glanced to the side. Expecting a gray, metal wall, In it's place instead stood Kylo Ren, you were once again connected by the Force.

You dropped the stylus you were working with. And Kylo turned around. Wherever he was, he'd been looking through a window, into a large metal workshop of some sort. A place like a large ship hangar. You could feel that whatever was being built was the weapon.

You turned in your chair to face him.

Turning around all the way, sensing you, he tilted his head a few degrees to the side.

He paused slightly.

"Somethings bothering you."

You look at him in surprise, and respond carefully.

"I feel...so alone." You wince slightly, and preparing backlash about exposing your weaknesses.

His facial expressions turns unreadable once more.

"You're not."

Trying not to lose your composure you respond,

"I think I just miss my family."

"You have a family?" He asks

You mentally yell at yourself. You've said too much. Shaking your head slightly you say, "Well...no, not really. Not anymore."

"What happened to them?" He takes a pace forward.

"I'm not sure. I like to think they're dead. It makes things easier."

Seemingly wounded, he turns around sharply towards his weapon.

"Yes, I suppose it does."

____

There were some responsibilities you couldn't avoid here.

Kylo wanted people to know you were his new right hand. With a mask on of course.

Kylo had approached you with the mask earlier, you'd thought you'd thrown into the bottom of the Sobustkian ocean. Destroying the terrible thing. He forced it into your arms and looked you in the eyes for a few awkward seconds, and then walked away.

Shaking your head, you adjusted your uniform one last time. You took in a deep shaky breath, placing your hands on the mask, and putting it on.

You didn't like it for three main reasons, you couldn't see in it, it made you feel like the very thing you sought to destroy, and people were genuinely afraid of you when you wore it. So much so, you couldn't walk into a room with it on and not feel the Force around you flood with terror.

But today was the day, it was a test to see if you were competent enough to be kept around as an apprentice.

Walking around the corner you had finally reached the auditorium, but to you it was so much more. Just looking at the mere number of people in the room filled you with anxiety, not to mention that these numbers were far more than General Organa's worst case scenarios.

You held back a gasp. You allowed yourself to hurt for the Resistance for just a moment, before walking to your masters side obediently.

Kylo brightened at your arrival, he stood up more straight, and gave you a strange look. It was it out of character, to say the least, he'd never looked at you that way before. You shook it off reluctantly as he turned his head and began to speak,

"As you know, the Resistance is few. They have a scavenger, a traitor, and a suicidal pilot," You could see Hux and many of the upper officers smirk, you other hand squirmed uncomfortably. He was wrong, you had a Jedi, a hero, and a hell of a good pilot. And now, a spy.

However the back of your mind still whispered, we have your mother too. She misses you...

"We've placed a large bounty for their arrests, 70,000 credits for any high ranking members. 20,000 for any member of the Resistance. We hope this will...motivate any civilians to continue searching for the criminals. They are terrorists of the First Order. Security and Strength will protect us. Defend Order. And you have my personal orders to kill any Rebels on sight." Kylo spits, he stands up, cape dragging behind him.

____

You weave your way through the hordes of officers and storm-troopers, they break apart easily making way for Kylo's new right hand.

You have to get to him, you have to save him.

Duran

You spot him in the crowd and grab his arm, pulling him into an empty corridor. You see his eyes fill with fright, you can tell he thinks he's about to die. He begins to sputter nonsense apologies, seemingly confessing every sin he'd ever committed to the Order.

Placing your hands on your mask and tugging violently, your face is revealed,

"Duran, Duran, it's me! It's me!" You say placing your hand your on his shoulder.

"_______! You're alive!" He smiles gleefully, "You...you're Kylo Ren's apprentice?"

"Duran, listen to me please. You have to leave, you have to get out of here."

"What are you talking about?" He looks at you, obviously confused

"Just promise me you'll leave, please, promise me you'll leave and find the Resistance. Duran, I'm trusting you, please. You know what you're doing is wrong."

He seems stunned.

"Duran?"

He blinks slowly and responds,

"I...I've known for a long time. My Father was a Rebellion fighter. I should've known I made the wrong choice a long time ago. But, I can't leave. The person I love, I'm waiting for her."

"Duran..." You stop, the woman Duran loved, was far away, you knew that most.

"I know, she's probably going to die. But if I even have a sliver of a chance of seeing her again." He says "but your secrets safe with me, and I'm grateful for you trying to save me. But I can't leave."

You shake your head "Ok, Duran. But...promise me, you won't go against them, not here. I can't have another person's blood on my hands."

He looks at you solemnly, "You already do."