It was around sunset when he arrived on Yavin IV. Heโd woke from sleep shortly before theyโd arrived in orbit. Heโd left his quarters to head to the hanger with his Alchemist a few steps behind him. He wanted Ziddicus with him when confronting the source of this distortion as a precaution. He wanted him with him to assist if this distortion was due to alchemy. He was capable of many things, but most Sith Alchemy was outside of his ability to use, recognize, or counter.
Ziddicusโ skin was somewhere between an alabaster and ivory white, his eyes were a light purple that felt almost like they glowed with a light of their own. His hair was raven black, long enough to reach the bottom of his shoulder blades. All of these were traits that as far as he knew were particular to the near-human species he hailed from. The black of his hair and clothing made his skin seem even more pale than it actually was. His clothing was a simple black fitted tunic shirt and pants. Around his wrist and neck were amulets made from alchemy. The one on his wrist allowed him to counter his speciesโ deadly allergy to light. The one around his neck acted almost like a tiny portable dark side nexus to amplify his abilities.
Vader now wore a solid black version of the robes worn by Jedi. Two red bladed sabers hung from his waist. In the six months since Veraโs final treatment to repair his injured body his hair had reached the same length it had been as a Jedi Padawan, his black cloak billowed behind him as he walked through the corridors on the way to the hanger where a small transport shuttle waited to take the two down to the planetโs surface.
It was only after his shuttle exited the hanger of his flagship that he felt a familiar presence on the surface below; it was a Jedi Master that he hadnโt sensed since the fall of the Republic. It felt fortuitus to him that the elder Jedi Master had come out of hiding to be found in the same location as this distortion that he was huntingโฆ maybe heโd be able to deal with both at the same time.
The Knights of Ren, that was what they were called, they were a group of force sensitives that had existed within the chaos between the Rebellion and Empire. They had no allegiance to the Emperor, nor did they fight for the rebellion, their goal was only to survive. Sy remembered the day that he had first encountered the group, dueling their leader โRenโ. Blue and red blade clashed as they were evenly matched, Ren had stopped the fighting midway through, he saw something within Sy, to where he was offered a position then and there.
Sy lead the group effectively when Ren was not there, this was one of those rare occurrences that Ren was not available for this assignment, a job from the Crimson Dawn to travel to Yavin IV and raid the abandoned temple for artifacts. The footfalls echoed around the walls as the group traversed through the ruins, the only illumination was that from the blade emitting from the saber, the red illumination creating silhouettes along the walls. Finally they reached a center room where in the center stood a pedestal, a holocron sitting on top of it. Turning his head he nodded to the rest of the group as he stepped forward.
Finally he reached for the relic, a moment of pause as he stared at it briefly before putting it away, turning around once more facing the rest of the group.
โWe leave now, prepare the shuttle.โ
Present Day
The First Order, a culmination of minds that had arisen from the ashes of the old Galactic Empire, former dissidents of the Imperial Remanants culminated together to form this new regime under the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, Sy and his Knights had been given his assignment, to pursue the mystery pilot that had fled with intel about Starkiller base, the leak had been found and quelled and all that remained was to find the Resistance pilot that had stolen the plans.
Sy turned to stare at the Knights gathered in the shuttle as the Tie escorts and shuttle continued towards the trajectory of a desert planet, his gaze landed on one knight in particular amongst their group, Ben Solo, - rather Kylo Ren. Ren had an untapped potential, he could feel it in the force, the sheer power that Ren held, a worthy ally to the cause of the First Order, a formidable foe on the other end of the blade, he remembered the boy from an encounter and skirmish the Knights had in previous years, dueling the boy alongside โRenโ whom had dueled Luke Skywalker.
โThirty seconds out from the landing site.โ
The shuttle landed finally touching down near a small settlement, the Ties overhead broke off roaring back towards the planetary atmosphere, Sy disembarked as the ramp lowered surveying the land as his feet touched the gravel.
โScour the settlement, question the people, press them until they give up who our friend we are looking for is, you all have the image on the wristpads.โ
Orders were orders, Supreme Leader Snokeโs plan and the First Orderโs plans could not be compromised, it was far too early for the plans toย be jeopardized, one setback would cause years of work to be destroyed, and failure could not be afforded not now.
His Masterโs Empire was still young. His dual with Kenobi had occurred three years ago in the lava fields of Mustafar. The battle had left him a very different man, a very injured man both physically and mentally. The burns that covered his body inside and out caused him to endure more pain than heโd ever feltโฆ. That pain ignited a new fire within him, one that replaced the fire that previously drove Anakin Skywalker. He wasnโt Skywalker he was Vader, two sides of the same coin yet so drastically different on so many fronts. Vader burned with a need for vengeance, Skywalker burned with a need to protect those he cared about. Both would protect those they loved at any cost, both could hold a grudge with the best of them, but only one of them would go to any lengths for vengeance. Vader would hunt down anyone he felt was inhibiting him from achieving his desires, even his own Master would feel his iron grip in due time.
He was still getting used to his body being whole again. It was intoxicating to him feeling how much his potential within the Force had grown thanks to one Echani medic, who held out hope that the man that held her brotherโs oath of service was still in there somewhere. He trained intensively with Nikita and Tierce on a regular basis to get used to his healed body, as well as to continue to hone his skills. Training daily over the course of four months gave him the confidence he felt he needed to face anything his Master or the galaxy could throw in his direction.
Meditating alone in his quarters after his morning spar with Nikita he allowed his mind to sink into the currents of the Force. He let it take his mind where it will, to show him what it will. At first everything was calm, quiet, then the visions started reminding him of everything that occurred during the fateful operation that would mark the downfall of the Republic. He could see the faces of everyone he killed during Knightfall. Just as suddenly everything shifted, he could see a distortion calling to him from Yavin IV. He tried to focus on the distortion to learn more about it. He could feel conflict, confusion, a darkness that felt like it was in its infancy. Opening his eyes he was intrigued and knew where he needed to be.
Vader called to the bridge, instructing his second in command to change course for Yavin IV. He would find out what the source of this distortion was. He also asked Ziddicus if he could tell what the source of the distortion was given his alchemist had a very different connection to the Force than he was capable of. โA person out of place, my lordโฆ. Heโs in a time that doesnโt belong to him.โ Ziddicus started laughing almost manically. โHeโs from the future it would seem my lordโฆ. I think he lied to us about a few things after Mustafar.โ
Ziddicusโ words gave Vader something to think about while waiting for his shipโs arrival over Yavin. It wasnโt a secret that he didnโt fully trust his Master, but depending on what his alchemist was hinting at it could remove the very little amount of trust he did have for Sidious. It could change the trajectory of his plans to overthrow himโฆ or it could give Skywalker that spark of hope to fight against him for control. Taking a heavy breath, he shook his head to clear the troublesome thoughts from his head. It would be hours before theyโd reach their destination, he needed rest before they did to fully recover from sparring against his wife. He didnโt want to start hunting for this distortion without being at full power. ย
The boy was strong, much stronger than Windu would have anticipated. To be at such a young age and have the strong to survive Windu's strikes and keep going only fueled him further. The Dark Side was too accessible to those who sought power; it was a dance Windu knew the steps to too well to allow Ren to reign over the galaxy. Darth Vader had similarities, but this was a newer threat. Where Vader thrived with a barrage of attacks against the Jedi, Ren seemed to be the very force that could not be stopped.
Windu had traded one devil for another.
Ren whipped his blade back to his hand and it returned like a conditioned dog to its master. The blistering sparks from the blade were a further extension of Ren's desire to burn, as if Mustafar itself conjured the blade from its hells.
"The Dark Side will betray you, boy," Windu reasoned. Windu lacked the silver tongue Kenobi possessed. In truth, Windu's Shatterpoint technique worked just as well with negotiations; finding the weakness in one's words, body language, in their very mindset would be easy to break with enough pressure. All he would need is the right word. However, Ren was too volatile to attempt this technique. Windu already knew little about his opponent and to shatter him further would only spell tragedy for the galaxy.
Ren didn't need to be broken; he needed to be saved.
But Windu could not save him and himself. TIE fighters roared above them with bombs being dropped. Windu's saber shrank into its hilt as he became a tornado to push the falling bombs back up onto their senders. The sky erupted in a glory of shrapnel and red, an explosion loud enough for the screams of those aboard to not be registered so much as a whisper. ย
The brilliance of it painted the field in a blinding light, making both combatants embodiments of darkness about the rolling debris that followed. Windu's meticulous move caused the metal to die out before it could touch him, those willed enough merely singed his robes. Still, together in darkness, Windu attempted,
"Your days are numbered, Ren... What's left, now, is," Windu paused, once again summoning his amethyst blade to be the only distinguishable trait from the foggy silhouette he cast in the smoke. "How quickly do you want them to end?"
