The Empress

Thoughts

Kylo looked at Rey in dismay, feeling as though he should say something to comfort her thoughts. Instead he stayed silent, knowing that he couldn't give advice that he didn't follow himself.

He propped himself down onto the rocky surface of the ground, attempting to find comfort. He wiped the dirt and blood from his face not realizing how feral he must have looked. He gazed up at the stars and the smoke that barely covered them.

Grand father... He thought to himself.

His eyes began to slowly shut as his hand rested against his saber and his awareness faded...

—

"Ben." A voice echoed through Kylo's mind. He quickly jolted up from the ground in search of the unfamiliar command. He looked over to see Rey fast asleep coddled against her duvet. He had no interest in waking her on account of what may have been his own mind.

Kylo lay his head back onto the hard surface and struggled to fall back asleep.

"Ben." The voice grew louder and clearer. He knew it wasn't just in his mind. He looked over at Rey still sleeping. He rose to his feet and slowly wondered away from their camp out. He walked his way through what looked to be old mining sheds. Bent transparisteel crowded his walkway as he yielded further through the junk yard.

"Whose there?" Kylo demanded. His fingers were bent against his saber.

"Is my voice not familiar to you?" The voice urged.

Kylo followed the youthful voice. Only to recognize it was roaming around his own mind. He did not answer, in hopes it would expose itself.

"How about now?" The agitated and raspy voice guarded by mechanical breathing threw Kylo off of his confident stride. He stepped back and assembled the uncanny voice.

"Grandfather?"

He let out a sharp gasp as a hand gripped his wrist. He  shifted around quickly to see Rey standing behind him. The voice had gone away and Kylo stood unanswered.

"I felt something and when I woke up you were gone." She stated. A half concerned look arose on her face.

"It was nothing," He looked around him and began pacing towards the camp. "We shouldn't wait till dawn to get started."

"And what exactly are we looking for in the archives?" Rey urged.

"The Jedi library of Ossus holds old Jedi texts and as long as they exist the rebellion will have a fighting chance to teach whoever they've gathered as force users. A piece of the rebellion guards the temple Zigguarut. We diminish their forces at the temple, retrieve the texts and burn it down as a message to the rebellion. The Resistence will be one step closer to being defenseless."

Rey nodded and fixated her eyes upon the five large vessels wielding the sky.

"We work our way from the bottom to the top and burn it all when we're done." She retorted.

Before Kylo could confirm her subtle plan, she catapulted herself onto the iron blocks, making her way towards the city. Kylo followed her through the smoke rising from the holes. They made their way through abandoned vector shields and maintained a steady speed towards the temple.

—

Resistance soldiers marched their way around the entrance. Kylo and Rey retracted their sabers and strut their way towards the entrance. Kylo was surprised to see how little defense they opposed. The soldiers stopped as they spotted the figures approaching them.

"Stop! You there!" Bellowed one of the soldiers. Without skipping a beat, Rey separated the two by force slamming them against the opposing walls. Effortlessly she waved her hand and the door hissed open.

One soldier lay breathing stagnantly on the floor. Kylo approached the twitching body and enfolded his saber inside of the soldiers chest.

Rey walked forward into the abandoned temple. The level was bombarded by fallen steel and smoke drifted through the air. It had been abandoned for thirty years since the Sith overthrew the senate. Kylo had a strong feeling that someone was watching him.

Fleeing casualties swept by too easily for him and Rey. There was no real challenge breaking through the resistance soldiers. Yet with every stroke of his saber, he felt closer to something more familiar. His mothers face came to his mind. As if every causality was her. But he continued to rampage at Reys side through the temples defense.

"Finish them off. I'll recover the remainders of the texts and gather the information I need." Kylo echoed to Rey.

He watched for only a moment as she spun her saber around to her side and dodged the ricocheting blast towards her all while slaughtering everyone around her effortlessly.

He walked his way up the spiral stairs leading down the abandoned hallways. As he looked through the rooms he was crowded with emotions of terrifying nostalgia. But not his own. As he peaked into one room he heard and felt an overwhelming sense of fear and shame. The cries of children grew louder in his brain until he quickly turned out of the room. He made his way toward the hollowed out elevator, ignoring the chaotic illusions.

He firmly gripped the wire trickling up toward the top and began to clime.

—

Rey shifted her saber into the last of the soldiers and twisted it until the body hit the floor in two pieces. Without shedding a bead of sweat she looked around to see the floor covered with resistance remains.