Bonded

Chapter 21: Enemies?

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Kylo Ren struggles to find enough kyber to finish the construction of Starkiller II.

Kylo Ren makes his way through the tunnel, moving slowly, purposefully.

The only sound is the thud of his boots and the occasional pitter-patter of tiny feet, creatures scurrying across the cracked earth. He's deep underground, at least a hundred meters below surface. It should be pitch black, impossible to see.

But this is a kyber cave.

Bluish-white light illuminates the tunnel, crystals clustered on both sides and stretching to the ceiling overhead. Some glow so brightly it's painful, large crystals jutting into the path. It's a relatively large deposit, covering about a half mile radius.

Finally.

Finding kyber in this galaxy has become next to impossible. Kylo has over fifty teams searching, looking everywhere, turning over every rock in every shithole planet in the Mid Rim, Outer Rim, Colonies, everywhere.

And yet, they still don't have what they need, not even close.

It's not surprising, really. In the past few decades, the largest known kyber deposits have disappeared. First, it was the Empire, ransacking every last crystal from the caves of Illum to create the Death Star. Then it was Snoke, who converted his massive trove of kyber into Starkiller Base.

Kyber has always been the galaxy's rarest mineral, but now it must be on the verge of extinction, or at least Kylo can only imagine so given how infuriatingly difficult it is to find. At the rate they're going, it'll be years before they finish Starkiller 2.

Kylo groans inwardly.

And it's not just finding the damn stuff. Kyber is maddeningly difficult to mine, the only mineral that actively resists removal. They need to start extraction as soon as possible.

He just needs to make sure Rey's crystal isn't here first.

He continues at a measured pace, closing his eyes every now and then to listen for that voiceless song.

Who knows what it will sound like? Maybe trees rustling. Maybe the hum of the ocean floor. Maybe shifting sands, grains pouring over one another, creating a soft crackle. That would suit her...

But he won't know until he hears it, and he's been searching this cave for an hour and hasn't heard it yet. Perhaps it's because her crystal isn't here.

Or perhaps it's because he can't concentrate worth a damn.

He tries to focus, clear his mind of all thoughts and images, but he can't go five minutes without being there all over again.

Kylo slows to a halts, closing his eyes.

It really was exactly as he imagined it. So, strange... what was once fantasy is now memory. Real. Dynamic. Sensual. He can almost feel her soft lips on his, her fingers running through his hair, her body trembling in his arms. She just melted, gave into everything she was feeling, gave into him completely. It was perfect...

Almost.

He opens his eyes and shakes his head, forcing his mind to the task at hand. He resumes a measured pace, trying to open his mind, be receptive to the call of the crystal. But it's not long before he starts to drift...

That final image flashes, her wide eyes, the unmistakable panic.

He sighs.

She reacted about how he expected, pushing away in terror.