1Our protagonists get to work making plans, but nerves are touched, and they are not the only ones scheming.
Kylo had woken up not too long ago and just finished eating a light breakfast, to see the spirit of Darth Vowrawn staring out into the black void of space in front of him.
"So, what exactly is this 'First Order?' My understanding of the passage time is rather limited. I only know a few things from those who came after me. The latest Sith Lord I've seen is Darth Plagueis, a Muun financial advisor of all things. These Banities are a strange bunch, but I digress lest I become like Thanaton." [1]
"They, We, are the True Remnants of the Empire. We will wait and reclaim the galaxy for our own."
"What empire? The Sith Empire?" For once, Kylo got a look of genuine curiosity on the ancient Sith's face.
"No, the Galactic Empire."
"So the Republic fell after all." Vowrawn had mused with a mix of shock and interest. "Dark Lord Plagueis mentioned something about a plan to topple the Republic from within, it seems his apprentice or their apprentice succeeded.
"Is there a point to this other than me just acting as some form of library?"
"Yes I cannot help you, if I have no idea of the situation you are in. Also I wonder what has happened to the galaxy in my long absence.
"After the Death of the Emperor, Gallius Rax rallied several Imperial forces towards him while some admirals and other leaders carved out their own fiefdoms. Especially upon hearing Operation Cinder." [2]
"Scorched earth tactics I assume, how senseless." The Sith spirit seemed to give a look of disgust, his tendrils slightly twitching .
"It was typical for the Empire, burning worlds that resisted, they even destroyed Alderaan." Vowrawn turned toward Kylo, his eyes frozen in shock.
"What?!" Kylo could only freeze as the spirit's anger began to choke the room.
"Yes, they used a weapon called the Death Star to destroy it."
"Why?" The Dark Lord's voice did not go beyond his normal speaking voice, but Klyo could feel something that almost felt like frozen fire if it could be called that.
"To send a message. Any and all defiance would be punished." Kylo noticed the feeling intensified with those words.
"By such blatant and wasteful slaughter? Vowrawn exploded in fury. "Would it be that this Emperor was like my own?"
"Why would you care this is many years after you and your people are gon-," Kylo's hands instinctively went towards his neck as he felt himself being choked. While the ghost seemed to stare almost wistfully out of the window
"My people were nearly wiped out by the Jedi. We were saved when one Sith managed to rally us together, and embark on the Qo'jen'dzwol. The Way of Dark Existence." Vowrawn let his grasp slip, as Kylo saw him stare at him mournfully, as he gasped for breath. [3]
"Our people were left to wander the stars, driven from our home worlds. My family traced their lineage back to minor lords on Ziost. For twenty years our exodus ended when we were guided to Drommund Kaas. This one Sith who united and guided us. Darth Vitiate, perhaps one of the few to bear the title and be worthy of its meaning. One Who Conquered Death, and we worshiped him as a God. " The Spirit still gazed at Kylo and he began to step forward and anger returned to his ghostly features. [4]
"What did he do as our leader after he saved us? He let his empire grow until eventually he brought us back to the known Galaxy a millennia later, and in this Great Galactic War we returned to our homes and payed the Republic back in blood, the best part was I was there to help orchestrate some of best victories and had to salvage some of our worst defeats. Me and my family returned to Ziost, we won back our home. Then just little over twenty years later our Emperor, Vitiate was revealed as a genocidal maniac who sought nothing but to make the galaxy his own personal plaything, even the Sith Empire he built was nothing to him." Vowrawn stopped in front of Kylo, who tried to instinctually move back, but was backed against a wall.
That feeling of frozen fire surrounded the young force user, to the point it felt as if he suffered from both being set on fire and frostbite.
"Do you know what Vitiate did to accomplish such a feat, the cost to become immortal?" Kylo could not move. "He devoured an entire world and left it a lifeless husk, Meridaas." The Sith's voice seemed to return to normal. "He only devoured one other world, Ziost." A sharp hiss punctuated the last word. "My home, rendered lifeless. 'To send a message, Any and all defiance, would be punished. The death of a world is no trivial matter to me, you would do well to remember this."
At once Kylo could feel himself move as the aura dissipated. "I understand, but there exists an even more powerful weapon than the Death Star." Vowrawn once again glared at him. "We will destroy it."
"But Starkiller Base is soon the to be the heart of the First Order." Klyo's protests saw the Sith glare at him as if looks could kill. [5]
"I did not ask. It will be disabled or destroyed. If not, I shall sear that mask upon your face with lightning. I still remember all the ways one can break a slave" Vowrawn had made a sighing motion. "I must apologize for that outburst, I do not know much about this period of time. Finding out just how little things have changed, especially for the worst, is not easy."
"But that power, you displayed by instinct. It seems almost incredible." Kylo let himself wonder what he could do with such power.
"It is, but it's price was the sheer hatred I nurse. Do you remember when I mentioned you could be betrayed or thrown away by your master? It may be millennia since that time, but such a thing happened to me and my own people, and it cannot be forgotten or forgiven. It is pain born of my passions that gives me strength, but it is pain I carry nonetheless.
"And to follow such passion, I too could gain such strength?" Vowrawn's typical smile returned.
"Of course. Now aside from the Republic and this First Order, who else are these power players?"
"Ardus Kaine heads the Pentastar Alignment, Alric Zinsj head of the Quelii Authority, and The Eriadu Authority remain in power. And these are just the most important ones. A combination of criminals gone "straight", and Ex-Imperials have formed a powerbase within the Corporate Sector Authority, among others. At least this is what our spies have told us." [6]
"And where exactly are we?"
"We are off in the Unknown Regions." Vowrawn's expression became blank at young man's answer.
"Another remnant empire out in the fringes of the Galaxy. How unoriginal. Next you're going to tell me they too have moffs." The Sith remarked flippantly.
"No, only our predecessors in the Empire did." Vorawn just put his hands on his hips.
"If people still dance the starslide or the droid in this time, you just might drive me insane, with how seldom changing the so-called future is! Was it all some insane fever dream?" The youth only shrugged as the old Sith's ranting ceased. "If the plan is to kill your master we need more information. He's talked to most of us to gain insight on the force, but the life I can feel on this vessel even it's size means he is no mere ascetic traveler to say nothing of the artifacts he has amassed."
"Apparently he took over from a Grand Admiral, Rae Sloane." Kylo did know much of the former admiral, but only that the First Order owes its existence to her.[7]
"Ah, so he's an outsider. That can leave him at a disadvantage."
"I am an outsider too, along with my Knights."
"Then we can work to mitigate that, I hope you are up for socializing."
"Why, so I can take over with little to no resistance, by cutting off his support?" Kylo received a nod, in response.
"I would not forget the needs of your troops, to say nothing of understanding of why you're deciding to go fight this war in the first place."
"As I said before I fight to destroy the Jedi." Vowrawn gave a half-hearted look of acceptance. "I thought most force users looked down on non-force users?"
"Only the foolish ones. I knew many non-force users, worked with them, fought with them, bled with them, and slept with them too." Kylo gave the spirit a sickened look, who merely returned a mischievous smile. "The point is the Force alone is a powerful tool but you need allies, and making ties in this First Order seems to be the most logical plan. It is always best to understand the mindset of others."
"To use or control them?" Kylo's question received a proud smile in response.
"Sometimes, other times it's good when a situation calls for emphasis with someone. I had to do a fair deal of explaining and even messages to the widowers and widows of soldiers after the Bothawui debacle."
"What am I to talk about, poor rations, and crushing the New Republic?" The Young man's irritation was met with skeptical look from the spirit.
"Surely you serve with some kind of military force, and are familiar with some officers?"
"I've been with this organization for less than a year, it might take some time."
"And already eager for power? Still I would get more knowledge of your fellows. It would also be important to learn more about this organization."
"You said Snoke was an ascetic, something similar to a Jedi in mannerisms. If I found out that information, I can find out what he wants with the First Order."
"Exactly." Vowrawn gave a small nod.
Unbeknownst to Kylo Ren and Vowrawn, The Supreme Leader sat in his throne room aware of their presence.
"So, it seems the boy has found and taken a relic, and with a powerful Sith spirit at his side. How interesting this is."
"Supreme Leader, shall we kill him." Snoke had turned to one his guards, whose near constant state of pain was ever presently felt through the Force.
"No, he is my student and he can still prove his worth as more than some puppet. Even if I cannot find Darth Sidious or Luke Skywalker." Snoke however sensed uncertainty from his bodyguard "I sense your doubts. What do you have to say?" [8]
"If we have the power of this First Order to use, must we fear them?"
"Yes, the Jedi and Sith are a blight, and we cannot allow them to fester. They view the Force in such narrow terms as light and dark, yet the Force is life itself. For all of their power and all of their wisdom, all they did was create cycles of death and for what? To uphold or destroy a mere political order. Balance? Hmph, the Force is not some sentient-made scale to qualify and examine, it is wild and untamed. So long as those relics of a bygone idea exist, we can never be free of them." [9]
"But aren't we corrupting ourselves by relying on these fools?" The Supreme Leader gave a small chuckle for his guard had raised an excellent point.
"We are, but their blind zealotry is a tool so long as we play to it. Yet we Acolytes of the Beyond must never lose sight of our goal.
"To understand the force unbound by those who bind the eternal to the temporal." Snoke and his bodyguards chanted in unison. The Master was content to let his student plan, after all a student that could not learn on their own was a poor one.
[1] Darth Plagueis was Palpatine's master who was a Muun, who was a financial advisor who in Legends was alive right until just after Episode One.
[2] Operation Cinder, was basically a plan for Palpatine to go punish the Empire for failing him by letting him die, by wanting to burn galactic civilization to the ground literally. Spearheaded by Gallius Rax, it ends after he and his fleet are defeated over Jakku.
[3] There was a Sith language made by Ben Grossblatt who had some degrees in Linguistics, but it's not a fully functioning language, and it exists in an odd place of technically being canon because of the Clone Wars. Qo means way, while Jen means darkness, and Dwzol means to abide or exist.
[4] This and the next paragraphs are events covered in the background or in-game of SWTOR.
[5] Apparently Starkiller Base wouldn't be completed until not to long before TFA.
[6] Kaine and the Pentastar Alignment, Zinsj who was never given a first name, and the Eiradu Authority were Legends Imperial Warlords. While the Cooperate Sector Authority was another power in the galaxy, think galactic mega corps where you could get cyberpunk in space. Here they exist as independent powers, but not direct threats to the New Republic, or out to restore the Empire.
[7] Rae Sloane was a Canon Grand Admiral, who helped build up the First Order, and was its leader for a time before Snoke that is not elaborated on, nor is her fate revealed yet.
[8] Palpatine isn't quite dead, however there is a divergence or two from Disney canon, which I'll explain below.
[9] Snoke and his bodyguards are actually not interested in rebuilding the Empire, here Snoke is interested in a radically different goal as some kind of mystic playing warlord, and he's not some strand-cast failed clone or what have you. Snoke is his own person with his own motivations, because I'm in an odd place with him. I liked Kylo killing him and taking his place in TLJ because I felt he was too much like Palpatine, Yet I felt TROS absolutely took any mystery or character to him by making him some clone.
So I hope no one minds me giving Vowrawn a bit more emotional depth than what one sees in SWTOR. Also I don't intend to keep Kylo as some kind of punching bag, in this case he brought up a very nasty subject. However the next two chapters are going away from Kylo and Vowrawn.