Taking Command Book 2 (Kylux)

Chapter 24: Breaking Free

Kylo PoV

I waited anxiously for the right time to strike. Hux's plan was for me to find where they had landed. There was already a trooper attending to that task, but I had a hunch on another way to do it.

I sat in my chambers and let myself drift in and out of the void that was the Force. Visions fell across my mind, and I picked them up and discarded them according to use.

I endeavored to pinpoint my mother. She was the easiest to do, due to her possessing a Force sensitivity that my father lacked. I found her. She was on this planet and coming nearer. I focused my power on that area and found my father as well, and Chewbacca.

I sighed. No more time to mess around. It was time to make my final move in this game of domination.

I donned a cloak and ventured into the snowy waste that was the Starkiller Base. I commandeered a speeder and rode out. I focused all my energy into piloting and did my best to calm myself. It would not do to be unsettled.

I commend Hux. "I'm going after them. I've found them."

"Alright." Hux's voice was faint in my ears over the howl of the wind and the motor of the speeder. "Good luck, Ky. I love you."

I could feel his presence back at the Base. I extended my presence and let it rest by him for a brief instant before withdrawing.

"I love you too, Hux." I ended the line. I did not want to talk anymore. I felt like it was too close akin to saying goodbye. I hoped that he would see me again, but for all I knew, this could be the end.

I drew closer, and memories, memories that  I had long blocked out started flooding back in. They were memories of me and my family. I remember playing with my father and hearing stories of the Empire from my mother.I remembered Luke telling me of his time on Tatooine and also of Ben Kenobi, the man that I had been named for. I remembered all of my parent's close friends and companions I had grown up with like dignified Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, the ever present Chewbacca, and so many of the fighter pilots of the old rebellion.

I had been well loved, and I had many memories of all of these people who had made up my family and the extended family as well. This was my ultimate betrayal against them. It hurt. I did not want to do it, but it was necessary. I could not go back now.

I screamed into the wind, which was now turning into a large storm. Snow whipped by me, turning the landscape a blinding white. I feared I would not be able to find the Falcon. I was relying almost completely on the Force now.

Suddenly, a blaster bolt into my bike sent me flying as my speeder exploded. A figure walked towards me in the snow. I struggled to my feet and drew my lightsaber.

"Who is it?!" I yelled, even though I knew the answer.

"You know who we are." Han walked out of the snow and into my line of sight. His face was more lines than I remembered, and his smile lines had faded. His eyes bore a sadness I scarce remembered. A trembling hand held a blaster leveled at my face. "I'm sorry, son. But we can't let this go on. Come back with us, Ben. If you don't.... We will do what we have to to protect the galaxy from you and the First Order."

I laughed aloud, letting the Dark Side drive me, not trusting myself. "You'd shoot me? I don't believe that for one minute. You know Leia would never forgive you if you did that. We both know that you aren't strong enough to do it, either of you." I smirked derisively, although the effect was lost under my helmet.

"It hurts to see you like this." Leia stepped forward to standby my father. She held a lightsaber in her hand. Luke's lightsaber.

"So you finally found Uncle Luke?" I asked her.

"You killed him, Ben. Why?!" Her voice was full of pain as she stood there, staring at me as if she had never seen me before. "I've lost both sets of my parents, my planet, and now my brother! Why did you take him from me?"

"He was an obstacle to our plan." I replied, thankful that the muffling of my helmet kept my voice cold and detached. I hated myself so much. I did not want to do this. I wished they had died in the crash so this would not happen.

"Our plan?! You mean you and that crazy General Hux?" Han shook his head incredulously. "I've heard all about him, the sadist."

"You talk about the man I love more than life itself." Hearing Han insult Hux gave me a bit of motivation. "He is my husband, and any slight against him is one against me."

Han looked shocked. "You've fallen in love with a monster. You've fallen so far. Why? Where did we go wrong?!" He yelled at me. His voice was not angry, just horribly sad, as if his heart was breaking.

"You went wrong when you did not notice Snoke's presence until I had left. Maybe you would have kept your son if you had. But maybe not. Perhaps I am more like my grandfather after all." I was tired of talking. I needed to end this before I was baited into something idiotic. "Enough talk. Kill me, or at least try to. If you don't have the guts for it, I will."

"Please. Come home! I still believe in you! Vader turned light again. So could you." My mother stepped a little bit closer, as if trying to bridge a gap. "I miss you. And I want you to know, I still love you. I want my son back where he belongs."

"I'm sorry then. Because your son has been dead for awhile. All that is left is a body. Kylo Ren is the one you see now. So die."

I was breaking free from my memories and love once and for all. I was ready to throw it all away. My final chance for redemption was going up in flames, and I was pouring fuel into the conflagration.