Kisameeeeee

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[C] In the Mustafar System, above the volcanic world of Mustafar, were six Imperial I-class Star Destroyers watching over Vader's personal planet. This was a little more than the seemingly ordinary number of capital ships protecting Mustafar. A good example being: When the Spectres, a rebel cell who attacked in hopes of rescuing their fellow Spectre, Kanan Jarrus, from his main Imperial captors: Grand Moff Tarkin and the Grand Inquisitor. Two important Imperial officials. If the Empire thought that such a fleet of four Imperial I-class Star Destroyers, three not counting Tarkin's flagship, the Sovereign, which was actually destroyed during the battle, could protect them and Mustafar then surely such a fleet could be considered ordinary. Though- these were unordinary times as factions of old and new were appearing and being too busy with them, they couldn't bolster Mustafar's defending force to a significant degree, giving them the same number it would have had without acknowledging the Sovereign, but doubling it. Therefore: The fleet currently looming over Mustafar was made up of six Imperial I-class Star Destroyers. That was- until three Resurgent-class Battlecruisers finished their trip through hyperspace, appearing not too far from the already defending fleet. Similar to how Resurgents exited hyperspace at the beginning of the Battle of D'Qar, they appeared one at a time, but unlike then, the leading vessel, the Finalizer appeared first. The two escorting battlecruisers flanking, coming out close behind the Finalizer on its left and right. The Supreme Leader of the First Order stood on the bridge of the imposing cruiser, his arms folded behind his back, looking exactly like when he was on his personal command shuttle, going down to a world the First Order had subjagated to give a speech. That was not the case today. Instead of bringing the Finalizer, he could have brought the Supremacy, the sole Mega-class Star Dreadnought in the First Order's service and a far more imposing flagship. As far as Ren was aware of, it was safe within the First Order's longtime refuge, the Unknown Regions. It being considered impassable due to many dangerous factors, but the First Order was able to call it a home of sorts and appreciated the security it brought them. The security Ren had the Supremacy protected by. According to his recent orders, it was to remain there creating, and repairing, as well as refueling and resupplying First Order Star Destroyers like the one he was standing in now and to use its quite capable industrial capabilities to support the First Order the best it can. The reason he chose to use the Finalizer was because he thought it would be too much of a risk for the only one of its kind Mega-class Star Dreadnought to be used for mere transport. And with so much conflict in the galaxy, doing anything really was a risk. But, Ren decided to use it in battle sparingly. Not to mention, the Resurgents were powerful themselves, he thought they would suffice. Being the first to see that their time in hyperspace was over, part of him was disappointed. He enjoyed staring at the kaleidoscopic and swirling patterns of light, and found it soothing to gaze at. He also saw it as something worthy of his admiration. The Master of the Knights of Ren was indeed one to appreciate beauty, for instance he once, like now, marveled at something outside of the Finalizer. It was when he was silhouetted against the spray of stars, marveling at the view he had of the galaxy. He found it so captivating, he even suspected the reporting Lieutenant Mitaka was either behind him to report, or to join him in appreciation. Unfortunately, it was a report. One that made Ren less than happy. Despite these feelings of disappointment, most of him was pleased. He was even slightly grinning. Because he was looking through the viewport in front of him, he gained a new view, he saw not just the fleet but also: Mustafar. His goal. The planet housed a dark side locus that was strong with dark side energies. The planet itself was also powerful with the dark side of the Force. He intended to use the dark side energies down there to further his own goals. Above this locus, Vader built his fortress which was fittingly dubbed Fortress Vader. He wanted to go there, always wanting to see it, he saw it has ruins but no- Ren wanted to see it during it's glory days during the Imperial Era and would not be stopped from doing so. The defending fleet did not open fire, or even attempt to communicate with the Ren and his escort. Why? Because, in truth, the First Order and the Galactic Empire were aligned. Negotiations with the Emperor were successful. Together they were the Imperium. Being the Supreme Leader in the First Order gave him authority comparable to the Emperor to the Empire. He and the Emperor were the two Imperators of the Imperium. So they had no authority, or right to deny him. After momentarily staring, Ren returned his arms to his sides, pivoting and going towards the Finalizer's hangar but not before saying:"Join our ally's fleet, and prepare the landing party." He said, or rather, ordered. Sounding rather imposing thanks to his reassembled mask's integrated voice-projecting vocabulater, but even without the voice projector, the crew, stormtroopers, and even citizens of the First Order were indoctrinated to have a strong sense of duty, loyalty, and obedience to the state, and taught to forgo their personal desires for the greater good of the First Order. Or- perhaps the Imperium. And when it came to the Supreme Leader, all who lived under the First Order's rule were required to render unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the Supreme Leader. As such, the bridge crew began doing as ordered not just because of loyalty, but also because of the fear and respect they've held for Ren. With haste, they made sure the landing party was set and ready, as well as them joining the fleet, soon having the battlecruisers parked in front of the Imperial Star Destroyers, floating a little above them, Finalizer still in the center, escort flanking. While his subordinates were following his orders loyally, Ren made use of a First Order Fleet Transport, a vehicle used by First Order troops, officers and personnel to travel quickly to different places aboard massive starships such as this one. When he first stepped into the transport, he noticed that all seven Imperium personnel using the transport with him straightened their postures. Good. They knew just whose presence they were in. Their Imperator's. Ren also sensed an array of emotions coming from them. Nervousness, fear. (Remember the Dooku calm dignity stuff. Main goal: Order.) Hence, when Ren saw his modified TIE Whisper and two Atmospheric Assault Landers fully prepared, no one was getting punished when he got back. His grin from earlier returned, widened even more. He enjoyed flying, found it exhilarating, especially in battle, and was excellent at it, coming from a bloodline of experts like his father and grandfather. After he got into his TIE whisper, he spoke once more:"Follow my lead." He again, ordered. He would have sounded exactly the same as when he personally attacked the Raddus if it wasn't for his helmet. Looking similar to when Ren flew down in his TIE whisper to Kijimi, except, if need be, he made it go slower in case the Firs- Imperium Transports were too slow, Ren made sure they were, like the escort before them, close behind and flanking. Though- two transports could hardly be considered an escort, these transports had a turret, shields, and a hyperdrive. Much like some of the First Order's starfighters. Fortress Vader already had a garrison, or to be more precise, a battalion providing security. Perhaps Ren brought too little to take on such a force, a total of fourty of of his own forces behind him. As long as the alliance he made with the Emperor stood strong, he was quite safe under the battalion's protection. But alliances can break unexpectedly. Betrayal. Knowing how affiliated with the dark side Palpatine was, treachery was still a possibility. Fearing such a thing, Ren brought some of his own First Order forces he knew were loyal to their Supreme Leader, even better, the stormtroopers. The First Order's officers and generals......it was possible that especially thanks to the Empire being an option, they'd happily overthrow him. Ren knew real trust was hard to find, and even more so to put it in someone. He was merely being careful. Looking out for those possibilities. But there was such a thing as too careful......if he had brought a battalion of his own, it'd be too obvious. The way he saw it, having some allies you could fully trust in a place full of possible enemies was better than nothing. Still, they were in an alliance. Ren intended that they become one. He saw a lot of potential for the Imperium. He did trust the Emperor and by extension, the Empire to a degree. In fact, he began seeing the Emperor as a friend of sorts, and admittingly, it felt good to have someone to fall back to. Like how it was with Snoke. Together, they were going to bring peace and order to the galaxy. As Ren and his escort flew over the lava rivers of Mustafar, the large obsidian castle came into view. It looked better than he'd thought it'd be. Knowing that Mustafar was ruled by his grandfather, Darth Vader, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren regarded it as hallowed ground—the place where Anakin Skywalker died and a Dark Lord of the Sith was born. He saw something in Mustafar and Fortress Vader......beauty. Like with the views, to him, they were beautiful. But also: Power. This was his grandfather Vader's- whom he considered his real grandfather, domain. Ren idolized his grandfather—the darkness that was Vader, not the light of Skywalker. He rejected the memory of Skywalker and believed that version of his grandfather to be nothing more than a coward and a traitor, not his true grandfather. But as mentioned before, the dark side had power here as well. Ren had sensed the strong dark side energies and, along with the common knowledge of Vader's home, let it guide them there. After marveling at the view from his TIE whisper, he, the starfighter, and the transports landed in front of the fortress. In the exact same place where Vader and the forgotten architect Sith Lord, Momin, stood when his grandfather warned him that either way, there would be no tenth attempt to build his castle. After landing first, he began getting out of his TIE whisper, looking very similar to the Second Sister when she got out of her Tie Interceptor before her first confrontation with Cal Kestis on Bracca, even jumping down from it, using a slight Force Jump like her as well. Mustafar’s heat was still quite intense. Something the Knight of Ren felt, the outer layer of his fabric absorbing more heat thanks to his choice of color, making him hotter. This, however, was endurable as Orson Krennic who, summoned by Vader, visited the planet and seemed relatively fine despite the lack of protection. And just like his grandfather, he endured the heat, not letting it affect his body language as he toiled to become an imposing figure, as threatening as his grandfather. TIE whisper facing the fortress, the two troop transports having landed to the left and right of his ship, the disembarkation ramp opening, revealing twenty units of the First Order inside each standing, weapons up to their chest as they were ready for battle. They then began disembarking in standard two-abreast formation. They did it with such order and fluidity, in a state that was nearly trancelike, seeming almost like droids. But the reason they did this was not purely technological, it was thanks to their loyalty to the First Order that they'd follow protocol and follow orders as fluently as a droid. It was thanks to their loyalty that they were ready to fight and die for the First Order, for their Supreme Leader. Two squads were in each one of troop transports, specialist included, one flametrooper, riot control stormtrooper and one megablaster heavy assault stormtrooper in each ten man squad. Ren then stepped forward about ten yards towards the fortress. His ground forces following until they were a yard behind him. From where he stood, he seemed to be standing right in the center of his Tie Whisper which was likewise, in the center of the two troop transports.”Go. Further secure this place with the local battalion." Ren said, rather commandingly. All of those behind him then responded in unison.”Yes, sir!" They then began attempting to fulfill that order. Mixing his forces in with the battalions could catch them off guard in that worst case scenario that the Emporer betrays him, or the way around, he thought. Now alone, Ren began walking towards the dark side energies he felt, his cape trailing behind him, eventually leading him under the fortress. Ren was now in the Sith Cave where his grandfather, the part he admired, Darth Vader bleed his lightsaber crystal. He would not have been the first person aligned with the First Order to have come here, as Snoke had his obsidian ring carved from this cave. Though that was likely at a different time. Ren felt the dark side was especially powerful here, this is where the locus oozed its power. Along with that, Ren also felt his grandfather's dark side presence, as his mother, Leia felt Darth Maul's own presence on Naboo. As his mother described Maul's presence, Vader's was cold. If the presence of the dark side was significantly powerful, nearby Force-sensitives often feel the sensation of cold. Kylo was no exception to this. Once, when the Force connected them, Rey proved this. The dark side emanated through Ren's presence in the Force, which caused Rey to feel cold due to their proximity. This showed Ren's dark side presence was significantly powerful. Kylo fully devoted himself to the dark side, something that concerned the First Order High Command, and naturally, with the Skywalker bloodline, he was powerful in the dark side. And more so the Force. This was not the first time he sensed a powerful Force-user's presence, and it wasn't of the dark side, either. It was his uncle Luke Skywalker's Light Side presence. When Snoke brought him to Dagobah, Ren felt his uncle's time training there and even told Snoke of it."Grandfather......even here, I can feel your power." Said the heir apparent to Lord Vader. Vader was likely out there in the galaxy, gaining more and more for the Imperium. Ren was truly proud of him. He put on a smile full of pride before he unhurriedly walked in front of the several rectangular, inclined stones which were placed around the table at the center of the cave which served as the focusing chamber for the local dark side energies. Ren analyzed all this, particularly the stones. Ren then placed one of his hands on one of the stones, it didn't feel especially cold nor did it feel especially hot. He then brushed his hand across part of it, what resulted from this were now his black gloves collected a bit of dust. The caped figure noticed this and proceeded to get rid of the dust by brushing it aside. The reason he did all that was because he was fascinated by this. All of this. These once were used by his grandfather. There was so much to take in. He didn't want to rush. He then looked at the table in the center, curiously. He not only noticed that this table was in the center of the cave and the stones- but he also noticed that the local dark side energies were focusing on it, however little. The center of the stone seems to have been stabbed. Whatever this was- it was destroyed. But the locus was still strong. Realizing this, he proceeded to sit down in front of the table in the center of what was the portal his grandfather and Momin created as his grandfather hoped to reunite with Ren's grandmother, all of which the grandson was unaware of. He hoped to ask his grandfather about it, soon. He decided to sit criss cross in a way he could properly meditate. Something he intended on doing. He felt closer to the dark side than ever before. He only felt this close truly, when he bleed his very own lightsaber crystal, when he poured all his hatred towards his family legacy into the kyber crystal, later using it to fuel his crossguard lightsaber. The one that was attached to his belt. Which he wielded with formidable skill, much like his grandfather and uncle before him. The power of the dark side of force flowed through the Skywalker heir then as it did now. Whereas the Jedi meditated to quiet their minds and connect with the Force, Sith Lords meditated to concentrate their anger, their fear, and their hatred into a pure point of ruthless power within them. Although not a Sith, he studied both the skills of the Jedi and arcane dark-side lore, contradictory teachings that gave him his power through discord. These teachings made the often angry dark warrior, one whose great temper was honed to be a weapon of the First Ord- ir- Imperium, the archetype of a new kind of dark-side user that filled the void left behind when the Sith were destroyed during the Battle of Endor. As the Son of Darkness meditated, Ren himself began levitating. This looked exactly like the image where he meditated before he oversaw negotiations with the Bethany. Except, unlike in the image, he levitated only himself and of course him being fully clothed. But- like in the image- he had that face of concentration. This was thanks to him having a more direct and stronger connection to the force. Everything else was the same, including how he was sitting. He began doing what Sith did whenever they meditated. He was concentrating his anger, his fear, and his hatred into a pure point of ruthless power within him. As he did when he bleed his lightsaber crystal, he used the hate for his family legacy, for his family. Or rather- one of his family, despite his feelings of neglect and abandonment, Ren did not hate his parents. During his trial on Dagobah, he could not bring himself to attack the vision of his parents, even as Snoke urged him to kill the source of his conflict. In contrast to the enduring sentiment that he harbored for his mother and father, Ren never forgave Luke Skywalker, believing his former master had intended to murder him in his sleep. He struck down a vision of Skywalker on Dagobah without hesitation or regret. Most of the hate Ren was using were the ones from the facts that his family, Luke and Snoke saw him as merely a set of expectations and didn't see him as a person. The other fact was that his uncle seemed to have feared his power and attempted to kill him in his sleep. He felt betrayed by both of them. He thought both of his teachers- the ones who taught him about the dark and the light sides of the force just saw him as a tool. He used his anger at these things in his meditation. His hate. 'Child in a Mask' Snoke called him. 'Kid' Luke called him. But now, Ren commanded the First Order, and was an Imperator in the Imperium. Now, he was his own master. He neither sought nor needed another. At least- that's what he thought. He used his fear of never becoming as powerful as Darth Vader, hoping one day to impress him with his power. He focused all his hatred, his anger, his fear and felt the ruthless power within him. He suddenly felt a rush of energy inside him. It was almost like.....ecstacy. It felt so good. He enjoyed it. That burning....it made him feel so alive. He began chuckling unabatedly. It was now he thought that devoting himself to the dark side was paying off. He knew this was his destiny. He knew he'd be the one to spread peace and order throughout the galaxy. Under his reassembled mask was now, a large grin.
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