VENDETTA [ kylo ren ]

twenty-two

22. a weapon

BEFORE SHE COULD ASK any more questions, Kylo dragged her through the hangar and into his command shuttle. He pushed her down into the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit and sat himself down next to her.

"Kylo?" she asked him, raising her voice. She was worried and confused, but most of all, she was annoyed. He had suddenly just taken her from her work without explanation, and she didn't like it. "Kylo!"

He didn't care. Even if he did, Vada couldn't see his face so any emotion that would've been there, wouldn't have been visible. "Kylo!" Still, no answer.

Again, without warning, he started up the shuttle and lifted off quickly. She managed to put the seatbelt on just in time. She never really did enjoy flying so she certainly wasn't going to ascend without her seatbelt on.

He flew them out of the hangar in a matter of seconds. Then, he pressed all kinds of buttons before he switched the shuttle to autopilot. The ship flew steadily, and Vada felt a little safer.

He stood up and walked into the ship's small hangar. She quickly unbuckled and followed him. "Hey!"

With his back to her, he took his helmet off and put it on a seat. He then turned to her, jaw clenched and the anger flaring off of him. "What?" he growled.

She crossed her arms firmly. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. "Where are you taking me?"

He breathed loudly and she could notice he had trouble composing himself, but she didn't care. "Like I said, we're going to see if you're ready."

He then walked away from her and sat down in a seat at the rear end. She didn't give up and walked towards him. "Yeah, I heard that. But where exactly are you planning to find that out?"

He sighed and ran a hand through is dark hair. "Ilum," he finally confessed.

She frowned. "Ilum? What's on Ilum? Where even is that?"

"It's a planet in the unknown regions," he explained. He had calmed down a little and his breathing was now more controlled. "We're building a new base there, a weapon."

She sat down across from him and leaned her elbows on her knees. "A weapon? What kind of weapon?"

He looked up with a menacing stare. "A planet-killing weapon."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't even realize she was gaping until she wanted to say something again. "A...a what?" though unintended, she yelled the last part. "How?"

"It will draw the power of the sun, and then with one blast it will obliterate an entire system in the blink of an eye." His voice was deep and dark, and it was the first time she had considered him to actually sound evil.

"Millions of innocent people will die!" she exclaimed. In this moment, she didn't know what to think. She could've never thought that they'd do something this evil. Her mind was so distraught that if Kylo wanted to look into it at that moment, he could have. But he didn't.

"How is that any different from what happens now?" he asked her, seriously. "We go to a planet, we fight, we take, we kill. The weapon will only make it go faster. It'll be a quick death."

"So what..." she breathed out heavily, "this is your idea of mercy?" she asked. "Blasting them all to oblivion? Innocent people! Children!"

He stood up, his anger had risen again. "What does it even matter to you, huh? You joined us willingly, you knew what we did and you knew how we do it." She swallowed heavily and didn't answer. "You're just as much a part of this as I am."

She shook her head and refused to look up to him. Tears burned in her eyes at the thought of millions of innocents being killed. "No, I'm not. I didn't even know this! Yes, I joined you willingly, but killing rebels in a fight is nothing like blowing innocent, unarmed people out of existence."

Her mind tried to find a solution. How could she stop this? She needed to warn the Resistance. But how? Kylo had taken her from her office and she had no time to grab the transmitter. She would have to find another way. Millions of lives depended on it.

He had been pacing around the hangar while she tried to gather her thoughts. "How long until the weapon will be operational?"

He stopped right in front of the door leading to the cockpit. "A few years. The only operational base is still on the surface, for now. But we've started digging, we've started salvaging. We've got every abled man and woman working on that base."

A few years. That was good, she thought. At least it gave her time to warn the Resistance about this.

Something dawned on her suddenly, and she looked up to him in shock. "It's a new death star."

He shook his head, "no. It's better."

"This is insane!" she screamed at him. She couldn't keep it in anymore, she was so disgusted by this weapon, all rational thoughts were set aside. She stood up and took a few steps towards him. "You're insane. You can't possibly justify this!"

"Careful, Princess," he hissed, "if anyone heard you say this, they might think your loyalties lie elsewhere."

She walked to him and stopped only a few inches away from him. "Kylo, this isn't right. A weapon like this shouldn't be made. We kill in battle, yes, I get that. We take to survive and to lead and I get that! But this? This is too much."

He looked her up and down, noticing how emotional it had made her and he scoffed. "I told you, you weren't ready." Then he left her in the hangar as he entered the cockpit, closing the door behind him.

She sat down in one of the seats, trying her very best to calm down. She felt so disgusted, she could throw up. But she couldn't let herself show any more weakness. She had already shown him too much. Like he told her, people would get suspicious, he would get suspicious.

The only way she would be able to warn the Resistance, was to pretend she was okay with it. And she knew it would be one of the most difficult things she had ever done.

・。・。☆・゜・。・゜。★・。・

I republished chapter twenty-one because of a typo, thanks for noticing, kind reader!